Star-Telegram.com: Sports

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo out four weeks with fractured pinkie

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:50 CDT

By RICK HERRIN

IRVING -- The Dallas Cowboys have lost two of their last three games and have now lost their Pro Bowl quarterback.

Tony Romo suffered a fractured pinkie finger on his right hand and could be lost for up to four weeks. The Cowboys next three games are at St. Louis, home against Tampa Bay and at New York Giants before the bye week. Romo could return at Washington on Nov. 16.

Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips termed the injury more week-to-week and his finger would not require surgery. Romo suffered the injury on the first play of overtime.

The Cowboys now turn to 40-year-old backup Brad Johnson, who is in his 17th year and owns a Super Bowl championship with Tampa Bay in 2002. Johnson started 14 games in Minnesota in 2006, throwing for nine touchdowns and 15 interceptions, and will be making his first start with the Cowboys.

Johnson expects to bring a drastic difference to the Cowboys offense, which may be forced to rely on more shorts passes due to his limited arm strength. He also lacks the mobility of Romo.

Dallas also has Brooks Bollinger, who was signed by the Cowboys on Sept. 8. Bollinger will take some first-team snaps this week, but the Cowboys are committed to Johnson as the starter.

Dallas Cowboys punter Mat McBriar out 6-8 weeks

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:53 CDT

By RICK HERRIN

IRVING -- The Dallas Cowboys have more significant injury problems than just quarterback Tony Romo.

Punter Mat McBriar, who was averaging 49 yards per punt, will be out six to eight weeks after suffering a broken right foot against the Arizona Cardinals. He was injured when Cardinals special teams player Sean Morey blocked his punt on the game-winning play in overtime Sunday.

That leaves the Cowboys pressed to find immediate long-term help and could turn to free agent punter Jay Ottovegio, who was with the team in training camp before being released. McBriar could be placed on injured reserve.

After Sunday night’s game, McBriar was diagnosed with a bruised foot and it wasn’t believed to be broken. But he was re-examined at Valley Ranch Monday.

The Cowboys also lost wide receiver Sam Hurd, who will likely be placed on injured reserve due to surgery to repair his reinjured left ankle.

Another hit to the offense will be the loss of rookie running back Felix Jones, who is likely to miss at least two weeks with a left hamstring strain. Jones, who had three carries for 22 yards against Arizona, suffered the injury on a 14-yard carry in the Cowboys’ first drive of the second half and did not return.

Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said they expect to lean heavily on Marion Barber this week against the St. Louis Rams with Jones out. Rookie Tashard Choice could also get a few carries.

Also, outside linebacker Anthony Spencer suffered a hamstring strain and is week-to-week.

Your Turn: What should the Dallas Cowboys do now?

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 11:26 CDT

Monday Musings: Nothing special for Dallas Cowboys in loss to Arizona Cardinals

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 09:53 CDT

By JENNIFER FLOYD ENGEL

Arizona scored on the first and last play Sunday.

Both touchdowns came courtesy of shoddy Cowboys special teams play in a 30-24 loss in overtime. Ugly, disgusting special teams play.

I would not want to be Cowboys special teams coach Bruce Read this morning. Let me rephrase, I would not want to be Read if the Cowboys were an organization who held people accountable for such things.

They are not, at least not recently.

This is not to say the 93-yard kickoff return by J.J. Arrington and the punt blocked by Sean Morey in overtime that turned into the game-winning touchdown by Monty Beisel are necessarily all Read’s fault. He did not miss the tackles. He did not miss the block, allowing Morey to come free off the edge. But he is the guy who has been watching silliness like this happen for a while and thereby, he is responsible.

“Everybody’s been saying our special teams coach has been hanging on by a thread. It’s not him,” linebacker Kevin Burnett said. “That’s not cool.”

Too bad Read did not sound like he had any answers on how to solve what has become an almost-weekly problem of varying degrees of special teams ineptitude.

“If we knew, we’d clean it up,” Read said. “The result, I suppose, is the most disappointing. Our guys are working hard and we have good players.”

He was a little more harsh than anything we get from Coach Wade, although, not quite hard enough. Especially considering they just handed the Cardinals 13 points on special teams.

I am pretty sure Read will keep his job. And if we are being fair, he probably should not since nobody is held accountable. But this has to get better, and quick.

While I ponder if this hot mess also is the figment of negative media imagination, let’s dive into another round of Monday Morning Musings:

1. Losing in Arizona may actually help this Cowboy team more than another pull-it-out-of-their-you-know-whats win.

OK, I admit to pulling you into a debate we had on our live Game Log (click here to view a replay of Sunday's Game Log), and by “we” I mean S-T writers and Cowboy fans blogging together. I am not normally a believer in “losing is good” yet I found myself arguing for this.

Let’s be frank, losing always stinks.

But what we learned this week was the Cowboys do not learn from winning ugly. They barely beat Cincy a week ago, looked pretty average doing so and chafed when called on this fact. Unfair expectations and meanie media was the plaintive cry. And what did we see in Arizona? A Cowboy team who barely won the week before and sloughed off their problems as not important because they won.

Blame for this has to fall on Coach Wade.

If he refuses to hold them accountable, how will they ever be accountable? Or get better? Or fix mistakes? Or get up for a game? And players seem to be noticing this as well, with a few even starting to call him out on his lackadaisical approach to this team.

“Maybe we need our asses chewed out or something,” Cowboys receiver Pat Crayton said. “You never know that might jumpstart something.”

2. The Cowboy offensive line owes Tony Romo an apology, or a massage, or a promise to be much much better in St. Louis.

The only thing saving them from being judged the worst unit on the field Sunday was Read’s special teams. They were not good. And Romo has bumps and bruises and a dinged ego as proof.

Hoof injury will keep Big Brown out of Breeders' Cup Classic

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 11:56 CDT

Dallas Stars baffled by early woes

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 23:47 CDT

By TRACEY MYERS

Dave Tippett doesn’t like to lose. No coach or player who cares about their sport does. And he said Sunday it’s his job to figure out why the Dallas Stars have started so badly.

But it’s ultimately the players’ responsibility to execute, and that’s something the Stars did little of this past weekend.

The question is, what’s been the problem?

"I don’t have video to completely break it down, but if feels like we’re trying too much," said captain Brenden Morrow immediately after Saturday’s 3-1 loss to the Nashville Predators. "We’re getting bad results and we’re wanting to do more. It is only two games, but we’d like to be in a better position at this point."

No, the Stars aren’t happy to be two games into the season and have only one point to show for it. So before the Stars host the Nashville Predators on Wednesday, they’re going to spend the next two days figuring out what needs to be done.

That also means getting back to the style that led to so much success last season.

"We have to recognize that, last year we got to be a good team because we put the work in throughout the year," Tippett said. "This is a whole new team. We’re trying to find the identity this year."

The lineup could alter a little. Jere Lehtinen (groin) skated on his own Sunday morning, and the Stars will see what he can do the next two days; Tippett would like Lehtinen to get a good practice in before he’s even considered for action this week.

Defenseman Doug Janik and forward Fabian Brunnstrom have been healthy scratches the past two games. As far as Brunnstrom’s potential to play, Tippett said, "we’ll look at all the options."

Yes, the Stars will get things together. Yes, there’s still plenty of time. So far, however, they haven’t righted many of the wrongs that developed in the preseason. And in an always-tight Pacific Division, the Stars need to get their competitiveness back soon.

"We looked at the preseason and said, 'Ah, it’s just preseason.’ We needed to step it up and we haven’t done that," Philippe Boucher said. "You can’t win them all, but you sure can compete in all of the games."

Avery assessed two

Sean Avery was called for two game misconducts, the first for a second altercation and the second for arguing with referees, in the Stars’ 3-1 loss to Nashville on Saturday night. Avery and Predators defenseman Dan Hamuis got into a fight not long after Steve Ott and Jordin Tootoo scuffled behind the net in the first period.

According to NHL rules, when a player receives a third game misconduct he automatically will be suspended the next game. Each misconduct after that will also result in more suspensions.

ONLINE: dallasstars.com

Dodgers top Phillies 7-2, fight way back into NLCS

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 05:47 CDT

By JOHN NADEL

Tired of getting brushed back in the NL championship series, Manny Ramirez and the Los Angeles Dodgers came out ready to fight their way back against Philadelphia.

Blake DeWitt's bases-loaded triple off Jamie Moyer capped a five-run first inning, and the feisty Dodgers beat the Phillies 7-2 in a testy game Sunday night to trim Philadelphia's lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.

The benches and bullpens emptied in the third moments after Los Angeles starter Hiroki Kuroda threw a pitch over Shane Victorino's head, with an angry Ramirez barking at the Phillies during the dustup.

But there were no punches or ejections, and the Dodgers played with poise all night.

"We needed to get the momentum back," catcher Russell Martin said. "I think we did that."

Kuroda pitched effectively into the seventh for Los Angeles, which will try to even the series Monday night. Game 1 loser Derek Lowe, working on three days' rest, will face Philadelphia's Joe Blanton.

Kuroda buzzed Victorino in an apparent attempt to retaliate for Brett Myers throwing behind Ramirez in Game 2. Plate umpire Mike Everitt immediately warned both teams, and Victorino shouted at Kuroda while pointing at his own head and upper body as if to say: "It's OK to throw at my body, but not my head."

Victorino grounded out to first baseman Nomar Garciaparra and then exchanged words with Kuroda near the bag. Both dugouts cleared and the bullpens followed.

"Someone was bound to get hit. The situation called for it. Just don't throw at my head," Victorino explained after the game.

Dodgers third base coach Larry Bowa and Phillies first base coach Davey Lopes appeared to be two of the angriest participants in the near-scuffle, yelling at each other before the teams cleared the field. Ramirez also came in from left field and had to be restrained by teammates, manager Joe Torre and an umpire.

"It wasn't at his head, it was over his head," Martin said. "We're just trying to make a statement. It's part of the game. Manny looked a little more steamed than I was."

Myers threw behind Ramirez in the first inning of Game 2 on Friday, and Martin was brushed back as well. The soft-tossing Moyer hit Martin with a pitch in the first inning Sunday night, and reliever Clay Condrey knocked down the Dodgers' catcher in the second.

Martin was hit by another pitch in the seventh, a breaking ball from Chad Durbin, drawing boos from the crowd and prompting Ramirez to climb to the top step of the dugout. But Martin took first base without any trouble.

Crew chief Mike Reilly said the warning was issued to protect the players.

"That's the toughest thing for an umpire to read - intentional," Reilly said. "But we absolutely had a situation, we had a batter hit and then the retaliation, pitch up high. And we figured at that point that we should put a warning in to stop any further retaliation from the other side coming back out again."

The Phillies and Dodgers don't have a recent history of animosity, unlike Boston and Tampa Bay, the ALCS participants. The Red Sox and Rays have played two peaceful games in their series after a nasty brawl in June.

"I think it's over. I'll squash it," Victorino said.

Torre thought the warning from umpires was proper.

"With the passion that goes on in this postseason, I mean, you work all year to get here, and I think the umpires just basically tried to do the safe thing," he said. "And I can't fault them in that.

"Nobody wants to get hit in the head," he added. "That's certainly frightening. I've been hit a couple of times. I'm not sure that that was the intention, even though the pitch was there. Again, you try to throw a ball inside and sometimes it gets away. But certainly there was no intent on hurting somebody in that area. That I can tell you for sure."

Dallas Mavericks’ new swingman knows what to expect

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 23:45 CDT

By JEFF CAPLAN

DALLAS — After a rigorous Indiana Pacers practice Friday afternoon, Shawne Williams was wanted upstairs.

"If you go upstairs, it’s because you’re either in trouble or you’ve been traded," Williams said Sunday. "I knew I didn’t get into trouble."

Off-court trouble, though, is the reason why the third-year swingman is no longer in Indiana. Traded to the Dallas Mavericks for veteran Eddie Jones, two future second-round draft picks and cash, Williams said the Mavs’ front office quickly made their expectations clear.

"Oh yeah, they laid it on the table what’s expected of me," Williams said. "They said we’ve got a great group of guys, and I feel for them on that because I feel like I wouldn’t want nobody coming in and ruining this program, neither. I feel like they’ve been honest; they told me, and I understand."

Williams watched Sunday’s practice. He’s not allowed to participate until Jones reports to the Pacers, which he is expected to do today.

The Mavs hold their annual charity golf outing today at Hackberry Country Club in Irving, so Williams will have to wait until Tuesday to get onto the court. The Mavs play an exhibition game at Indiana on Wednesday.

Williams will start off learning three positions — shooting guard, small forward and power forward — in coach Rick Carlisle’s up-tempo scheme.

"He’s got really good length, he’s got quick feet and the ability to chase smaller guys," Carlisle said. "He’s got the length to affect the game against the bigger guys, too."

There is a familiarity factor. Carlisle coached Williams during his rookie season in Carlisle’s final year with the Pacers.

"The only thing I can remember about Rick is he was hard on me," Williams said. "I always had to be there an hour-and-a-half before practice. I feel like it’s a good situation for me."

Defense first

If 6-foot-7 Antoine Wright wins the starting job at shooting guard, he knows he will win it with defense. Assignments in the Western Conference are tough, starting with Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady. Wright, however, smiled and said don’t call him a "Kobe Stopper" just yet.

"Really, that’s going to be a team type of thing," Wright said. "You can’t just expect because I’m the same height as these guys that I’m going to slow them down. But it does help to have a guy of similar size, similar build to disrupt those guys a little bit better."

Junior linebacker making a name for himself at TCU

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 22:55 CDT

By MERCEDES MAYER

Senior Robert Henson likes to call junior Daryl Washington the future of linebacking at TCU.

The future is needed now as the Horned Frogs prepare to face No. 9 BYU on Thursday night with the inside track to the Mountain West Conference title on the line.

Washington had a breakout game just in time for the Cougars’ visit to Fort Worth.

Washington had a sack and two tackles for losses, a fumble recovery and an interception in TCU’s 13-7 road win against Colorado State on Saturday.

"TCU always has good linebackers, and Daryl is going to keep that going for us," Henson said. "He’s a smart player, athletic — he’s more athletic than me and Jason [Phillips], honestly."

The Frogs, ranked No. 24 in the USA Today poll, lead the country with 28 sacks, and 12 players have recorded at least one sack.

That will come in handy because BYU quarterback Max Hall has been sacked just twice this season.

Getting pressure on Hall and showing him different defensive looks will be a key for the Frogs.

"You have to [try to get to Hall], but not any more than any other game," TCU coach Gary Patterson said. "And not at the expense of giving up long touchdown passes."

TCU had three sacks against SMU and four each against Oklahoma and San Diego State. All three are predominantly passing teams like BYU.

Looking ahead

BYU (6-0, 2-0 Mountain West Conference) has won 16 consecutive games, the nation’s longest winning streak. The Cougars also will be the highest-ranked opponent to play at Amon G. Carter Stadium since TCU lost to No. 3 Texas A&M 59-3 in the 1993 regular-season finale.

Oklahoma, ranked No. 2 at the time, is the only other ranked opponent TCU (6-1, 3-0) has played this season. Gary Patterson hopes his team learned a few lessons from the 35-10 loss to the Sooners.

"It allowed us to understand the speed we have to have to play with a team with the ability of BYU," Patterson said.

Room to improve

Scoring. Saturday’s 13-7 win over the Rams was TCU’s first victory without at least 20 points since it beat Texas Tech 12-3 in 2006.

The Frogs had lost five in a row since that win when scoring less than 20. Until Saturday, TCU had at least 26 points in each of its wins this season.

"You’ve got to score points," Gary Patterson said. "This group [BYU] scores 37 points a game, so we’ve got to score points."

Injury update

TCU quarterback Andy Dalton (right knee) practiced Sunday night. Gary Patterson said he’ll see how Dalton progresses this week to determine whether he’ll start — or even play — but "right now he’s looking better."

Texas faces tumultuous road to stay No. 1

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 23:45 CDT

JIMMY BURCH

For the Texas Longhorns, the easy part is over.

They’ve gone from under-the-radar to top of the mountain in the college football world, thanks to Sunday’s rise to No. 1 in the weekly polls.

Now, comes the hard part: staying there.

That might prove tougher than outlasting Oklahoma, last week’s No. 1 team, in Saturday’s emotional meat grinder that resulted in Texas’ 45-35 victory in the Red River Rivalry.

Moments after his Longhorns (6-0, 2-0 in Big 12) walked off the Cotton Bowl turf with an upset in hand, coach Mack Brown made it clear he was thrilled by what he’d seen in Dallas, but knew he needed to turn the page, emotionally, to what he called an "even bigger" matchup this week against No. 11 Missouri (5-1, 1-1).

Brown said the victory over Oklahoma "puts us in a different place and, now, we’re looking at a bigger goal."

Brown did not utter the phrase "national championship," but it was clearly implied. As it should be. The Longhorns, considered the fourth-best team in the Big 12 on most preseason ballots, have blown away those meager expectations during the first half of the season.

But unbridled success comes with a price: the target Texas will wear, from this day forward, as a frontrunner in the national title chase. The No. 1 ranking is a heavy burden and one that no Texas team has carried during the regular season since Oct. 13, 1984.

Although the Longhorns won the 2005 national championship, that team never earned a No. 1 ranking until knocking off top-ranked Southern California 41-38 in the Rose Bowl to claim the top spot in the postseason poll. Throughout the summer and into last week, current Longhorns rallied around their underdog status and cited it as a motivational tool.

They’ll need something else to stoke the emotional embers, starting Saturday against Missouri (7 p.m. in Austin), because the nation’s top-ranked team cannot be viewed as an underdog. Not when it is outscoring opponents by an average margin of 47-15, as the Longhorns are doing, and featuring the nation’s most accurate passer, quarterback Colt McCoy (79.4 completion percentage).

Brown issued a statement Sunday that served, in part, as a warning to his players.

"Every week, we’re seeing teams learn the hard way that the only poll that matters, or lasts, is the final one. No one remembers who was No. 1 after six weeks last year," Brown said in his statement. "If we’re No. 1 in late January, it becomes a statement."

Bingo. That is why the next three weeks loom as the most dangerous of the season for the Longhorns. Not only is Texas coming off an emotionally draining victory over rival Oklahoma, it must follow by meeting a talented Missouri team in a must-win situation after the Tigers’ stunning 28-23 home loss to Oklahoma State.

That would be the same eighth-ranked Cowboys (6-0, 2-0) who visit Austin on Oct. 25, one week after Missouri. Texas follows that matchup with a Nov. 1 visit to No. 7 Texas Tech (6-0, 2-0).

For Orangebloods feeling starry-eyed in the wake of the OU upset, or players tempted to think they’ve cleared the season’s steepest hurdle on the road to the Big 12 title game, Brown offered a pointed rejoinder.

"Any more, the winner of this game doesn’t have an automatic bid to the conference championship game," Brown said of the Red River Rivalry. "This league’s too good. ... Even if you win, you’ve got to go back to work."

This week, the Longhorns will report to work with 39 of a possible 65 first-place votes in The Associated Press poll cast for them, rather than No. 2 Alabama (26 first-place votes). In the coaches poll, Texas received 44 first-place votes, well ahead of No. 2 Alabama (14) and No. 3 Penn State (3).

Brown, however, knows the recognition can be fleeting.

In his Sunday statement, he said: "Being ranked No. 1 shows respect for what we’ve accomplished through the early part of the season, but nobody really knows who is No. 1 at this point. Our team has just played well for six weeks and we know more about where we are today than we did last Sunday. But we have a long way to go and a lot of room to improve."

If the Longhorns do not continue improving, another team could be atop the polls next week. That’s why the hardest part of Texas’ journey during a potential mountaintop season — staying ahead of the pursuers — is just beginning, thanks to Saturday’s upset of Oklahoma.