FRANCHISE CONTINUES TO AMAZE OBSERVER
THIS IS MY 15TH YEAR COVERING THE TEXAS RANGERS - AND IF THE LAST YEAR OR SO HASN'T DRIVEN ME CRAZY, I DON'T THINK ANYTHING WILL.
TRADE AFTER TRADE HAS MADE KEEPING UP WITH THE LOGISTICS OF THE ROSTER A CHALLENGE, BUT ONE I DON'T MIND. CONFUSED ABOUT THE SALARY CAP? I JUST HAVE TOM SELVY, THE RANGERS' "CAPOLOGIST," DUMB IT DOWN FOR ME.
HAVE A STRATEGY QUESTION ABOUT WHY THE CLUB DID THIS OR THAT DURING A GAME? FIND MANAGER RON WASHINGTON AND HE'LL HAVE MOSTLY SOUND REASONS FOR DOING WHAT HE DID.
WASHINGTON READILY ADMITS HIS BLUNDERS WHILE MANNING UP FOR HIS PLAYERS. THAT USUALLY MAKES A MANAGER POPULAR. HITTING COACH CLINT HURDLE AND FIRST-BASE COACH GARY PETTIS, WHO COACHES OUTFIELD DEFENSE AND PROPER BASE-RUNNING TECHNIQUES, ARE JUST AS OPEN WHEN ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS.
ICON NOLAN RYAN, THE CLUB'S PRESIDENT SINCE NEW OWNERSHIP TOOK OVER IN LATE SUMMER 2010, IS AS EASILY ACCESSIBLE AS HE WAS WHEN HE COACHED TEXAS' PITCHERS BEFORE MOVING INTO THE FRONT OFFICE.
BORN IN AUSTIN, AND STARTING OUT AT A SMALL-TOWN NEWSPAPER COVERING ALL THE HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS, I HAVE LONG KNOWN FOOTBALL IS KING OF TEXAS.
I DIDN'T PLAY IN HIGH SCHOOL (AT 5-FOOT-6 AND 145 POUNDS, I LIKED MY COLLARBONES UNTAMPERED WITH, THANK YOU), BUT I DID PLAY RUGBY IN COLLEGE, STARTING MY LAST TWO SEASONS FOR A STRONG UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS TEAM. CERTAINLY, THIS PROVED I COULD HAVE BEEN A DECENT HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYER - I WAS USUALLY THE FASTEST PLAYER ON THE RUGBY PITCH - AND SAW PLENTY OF TIME OFF THE BENCH BEFORE BECOMING A FULL-TIME STARTER.
THE GROWTH OF RUGBY ACROSS AMERICA THE PAST DECADE HAS BEEN ASTOUNDING - IT'S BECAUSE OF HOW MUCH CURRENT AND FORMER PLAYERS LOVE THIS GREAT SPORT AND THE SACRIFICES THEY MAKE TO GET THEIR KIDS INVOLVED WITH THE GAME.
RUGBY IS PLAYED THROUGHOUT HIGH SCHOOLS - AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS - THROUGHOUT TEXAS AND MANY OTHER STATES. THE ANNUAL BURNT ORANGE VS. BIG ORANGE SHOWDOWN BETWEEN TEXAS AND TENNESSEE HIGH SCHOOLS DRAWS 50,000 FANS - A DAY.
I PLAYED BASEBALL IN HIGH SCHOOL - AND IT WAS ALWAYS MY FAVORITE SPORT BUT GOT BURNED OUT ON IT AFTER PLAYING SINCE AGE 5. I DID TRY SOCCER FOR A SEMESTER AS A SENIOR - JUST BECAUSE SOME FRIENDS PLAYED, BUT WAS JUST AS CLUELESS ABOUT THE SPORT AS I WOULD BE ABOUT RUGBY AS A FRESHMAN AT UT IN 1983.
SO I HAVE THE BACKGROUND TO COVER A VARIETY OF SPORTS, BUT I LIKE THE STABILITY OF BASEBALL - NINE INNINGS, 162 GAMES, 25-PLAYER ROSTERS - SO I HAVE BEEN THE RANGERS' BEAT WRITER SINCE STARTING AT THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS.
(THE HIGHER-UPS HERE ARE NICE ENOUGH TO RUN MY NFL PREVIEWS AND WEEKLY SCORE PREDICTIONS, SOMETHING I HAVE DONE FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS, STARTING WITH MY HIGH SCHOOL NEWSPAPER AS A SOPHOMORE).
SPORTS ARE SO MUCH FUN BECAUSE OF THE UNPREDICTABILITY THE GAMES OFFER - BUT IT'S THE STABILITY OF AN ORGANIZATION THAT ALLOWS THE BETTER TEAMS TO WIN MORE THAN THEY LOSE, DESPITE THE PLETHORA OF WAYS ANY TYPE OF BALL BOUNCES.
THE RANGERS HAVE NEVER BEEN CONSIDERED "STABLE," AND YOU CAN TAKE THAT ANY WAY YOU LIKE, BUT THE SEEDS ARE PLANTED FOR FOUR OR FIVE YEARS OF - AND I AM GOING OUT ON A LEDGE HERE - CONTINUITY.
SURE, TRUE RANGERS FANS ARE LAUGHING - CHUCKLING AT HOW 2010's INTERIM OWNERSHIP MADE TRADE AFTER TRADE - INCLUDING DEALING
AWAY
NELSON MYLES, WHO WENT ON TO BECOMING THE NATIONAL LEAGUE'S ROOKIE OF THE YEAR.
IT WAS A TEXAS TORNADO OF DEALS - AND THEY HAVE CONTINUED THIS SEASON, SO HOW CAN I SEE STABILITY ANY TIME SOON?
TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH I DON'T REALLY KNOW - I JUST FEEL IT. BUT UT;S GOING TO TAKE A COMMITTEMENT FROM THE FANS.
REMEMBER, I AM ALSO A MARCH MADNESS FANATIC - FILLING OUT A ZILLION-AND-A-HALF BRACKETS YEARLY.
BUT I WILL NEVER RETURN TO THE STABILITY OF THE HOOPS EXTRAVAGANZA IN 1983 AND THE SIMPLE POWER OF TWO. FILLING OUT JUST A PAIR OF BRACKETS - INCLUDING SCORE PREDICTIONS FOR ALL THE GAMES - I PLACED THE BRACKETS ON TOP OF CABINET IN AN OFFICE AT THE UT BOOKSTORE I WORKED AT.
A FEW WEEKS LATER - WHILE WATCHING LOUSIVILLE PLAY DUKE - I SAID, "I THINK I GOT THE SCORE RIGHT, TOO," AS MY PREDICTION OF THE TWO MEETING IN THE FINAL HAD ALREADY COME TRUE.
SHE REALLY COULDN'T HAVE CARED LESS - BUT I DID. WHEN I WENT TO WORK THE NEXT DAY, I PICKED THE DUSTY BRACKETS UP - AND SURE ENOUGH, HAD WHOEVER IT WAS - PROLLY DUKE - WINNING 72-69.
I ONCE TOLD HANK GREENBERG, ESPN's FOOTBALL POINT-SPREAD GURU, MY STORY. HE SAID, "SON, IF YOU COULD HAVE BET ON THAT, YOU'RE LIFE WOULD HAVE BEEN A PICTURE OF TRANQUILITY AND STABILITY."
DON'T FORGET I WAS THE FIRST ONE TO LET YOU KNOW THAT STABILITY IS COMING TO THE RANGERS.
SPORTS EDITOR'S NOTE: PAT DORWIN IS A LONG-TIME BEAT WRITER COVERING THE TEXAS RANGERS WHOSE TAKE ON TEXAS' STABILITY WILL SOON BE TESTED AS THE TEAM HAS OPTED TO FAST-FORWARD GAME PLAY FOR PITCHERS, AND ONLY RETURN TO IT IN CLOSE GAMES.
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