Mr. Smith goes to Canton

Whether it's a season MVP, Super Bowl MVP, or the game where he played with a separated shoulder, there are just too Emmitt Smith Memories to count.

I'm thrilled and excited for Emmitt to get that gold jacket and I'm so fortunate to have been able to watch his entire NFL career. It's great to have the third and final member of The Triplets in the Hall. Congratulations Emmitt.
Gosh, I miss that guy.
Check out his speech, highlight reel and more below:

Win, win

I would have put this post up last night, but when I heard about Nolan Ryan overbidding Mark Cuban, I was too lazy to get out of bed, but come on, it was what 1 a.m.?

Anyway, I'm pumped out about it. Nolan said he can't imagine being any less involved than he already is, and quite frankly, neither can I. 

He was one of the best pitchers of all time, he's a great president for the Rangers, and now  look to him being a great (part) owner. 

Ryan winning out was only the second win for the Rangers of the night. 

It happened moments before Michael Young hit a grand slam to put the Rangers up 11-6 on the Mariners, and during the post-game show, Emily Jones broke the news.

Thank God, the bidding all finally over, and it has a happy ending, and now we can talk pure baseball when it comes to the Rangers as they hold an eight game lead in the Al West, and one more in a three-game series in Seattle. It's just nice to know the Mariners won't catch up to us anytime soon.

AFC North

As I sit in my living watching the Rangers take on the Seattle on the road, I hear Josh Lewin say "going, going, gone!!" and I can only hope he doesn't mean the Rangers as an organization.
So far, it's not quite that bad, but it's still very, very ugly.I can't help but ask myself what the future holds. Who will be the new owner? Will Nolan Ryan still be the president or will Mark Cuban run him off?
From the sounds of it, the bidding will continue into tomorrow, and it's a race between Ryan and Cuban.
If Cuban wins out, and Ryan walks, Cuban won't exactly be popular amongst Rangers fans. I don't want to go as far as to compare it to Jerry Jones firing Tom Landry, but believe me, it can get worse, I mean seriously, just look at Cincinnati, no, not the Reds, the Bengals.....
It's time to preview the AFC North:
Last year, the Bengals swept the division, and won with a 10-6 record. I don't see that happening because of the fact that two Spanish numbers don't mix well with two English letters no matter how well they get along early in the season. They're bound to implode.
Carson Palmer said himself the Bengals are a running team first, and that's not going over well with the two disgruntled, cocky "I love me so me me" receivers.
Come to think of it, this whole division has issues.

We all know what happened with Ben Roethlisberger. Yes Ben, you were stupid, but Young? Well, it was only six months after the incident in the women's bathroom that you said that, so you decide.
If I get in trouble today, I should make that same claim tomorrow. I've learned so much.
The Steelers are in trouble. They let go of Santonio Holmes due to legal and character issues, and they didn't want to look like their division foes in Cinci.
The loss of Holmes will hurt on the field, as will the absence of Big Ben in the first four to six games, and it's going to take time for the team to recover once he does return. Pittsburgh finished in third place in the division last year with a record of 9-7 which is an extremely generous record for the upcoming year.
Finishing is second place last year, and probably first this year are the Baltimore Ravens. The addition of Anquan Boldin is huge. It gives young quarterback Joe Flacco another target, and speaking of young, that's not a term you hear about the Ravens much considering the ages of Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, but the offense is headed in the right direction.
Ray Rice made a lot of noise, and will take pressure of the passing game like any other good running back does. He will be a huge part in developing Flacco.
Apparently the Cleveland Browns plan on having their young rookie quarterback develop by sitting on the bench and holding a clipboard. As a Texas fan, I want to see Colt McCoy succeed, but the fact he's in Cleveland kind of holds him back.Who knows, maybe Mike Holmgren  has a good history with quarterbacks, but that history might only apply with him as a head coach.
I guess McCoys only chance of NFL success is a trade.At least we'll find out when we see how that guy who left for Miami does.
Anyway, that leads to my prediction of the 2010 AFC North:
1. Baltimore
2. Cincinnati
3. Pittsburgh
4. Cleveland

NFC North

On last night's podcast, I said I thought 4 would be back in Minnesota, and contrary to reports, I'm still not convinced he's done for good, and I think his history explains why.
On that same podcast, I gave my predictions to the NFC North, and in it I said despite the fact that 4 comes back, the Vikings finish at No.2 in the division.
I think the Saints exposed the Vikings, and they showed how to get after the veteran quarterback.Honestly I don't think he can take 16 weeks of torment for another season and if he does come back, he won't play all 16 games at 100 percent, and that will only drag Minnesota down.
You combine the fact that he was getting beat up and his stupid, idiotic pass across his body to the middle of the field (instead of the sure thing of running down the sideline and picking up at least seven or eight yards) with Adrian Peterson's fumbles, and you have a team that fell just short of the Super Bowl. I don't think it's a loss they can recover from and have another run like last year.
Green Bay is on its way up. Aaron Rodgers is finally getting out of the shadows and making a name for himself amongst Packer fans.
As far as I know, Jay Cutler hasn't blamed his interceptions on the fact that Chicago is the windy city, but if this year is anything like last year, he might be scraping the barrel to find an excuse like that. His career high 26 interceptions was just embarrassing.

Speaking of embarrassing, how do you think the Lions are feeling? Last year rookie Matthew Stafford led Detroit to a 2-14 season record. Yeah, pretty bad, but it was a two-game improvement from the year before so now fans are trying not to get too far ahead of themselves, but they're also hoping their team can double that this year. Knock on wood, and don't get too far ahead though. One step at a time here. This division is going up against the AFC East, that means they have to play the Patriots, Dolphins, Bills and Jets. That's a tough year for the NFC North, but they're feeding the Lions to, well everybody really.
My prediction for the NFC North in 2010 is as follows:
1. Packers
2. Vikings
3. Bears
4. Lions

AFC West

The glory days of when the AFC West was good are over. There was a short time when John Elway and Joe Montana went head to head twice in a year. In fact, a Chiefs and Broncos showdown on Monday night eventually proved to be one of the most memorable of all time.

The Raiders had two dynamic running backs in Marcus Allen and Bo Jackson. The Seahawks were in that division, but the only one they had worth writing about when they were would be Steve Largent.

The Chargers will probably win the division despite the fact they released Ladanian Tomlinson, but the glory days are certainly over in San Diego as well. 

The Broncos are hoping to have a future John Elway in Tim Tebow. The Chiefs overpaid Matt Cassell who doesn't look like will be a Joe Montana anytime soon and Darren McFadden is neither Marcus Allen nor Bo Jackson, and the Seahawks, well they left the AFC nearly a decade ago, and well, their last shot at being a contender was the Super Bowl against the Steelers.

All that to say, the division is week.

I don't see Jason Campbell turning around the Raiders. I highly doubt Tebow will ever be as good as Elway and there's no way the Chargers will improve with a rookie running back in Ryan Matthews, and the Chiefs don't have even the next Old Joe Montana on their roster. 

This division is set to take the other West, the NFC West, which is probably a good thing for both because it gives them an equal opportunity at a win or two. It's strength vs......well, weakness for weakness.

There's really not much to dissect here. It's plain and simple. What you see is what you get, and therefore, my predcition is as follows:

1. Chargers

2. Broncos

3. Chiefs

4. Raiders

Cowboys' training camp

If you ever think you’re really good at something, try doing it with the best of the best, and if you still hang in there, congratulations, more power to you.

Hoping for a job athletics has not been an issue with me since I was in junior high, but if there was ever a shade of doubt or wonder what could have been had I put everything into it, it’s all long gone.

All it takes to realize this is to watch the real athletes, on any level. Heck, even kids playing T-ball would give me competition, but when you work your way up and watch the pros, let’s just say it puts everything into perspective.

These athletes are gifted, but they have worked at gaining every ounce of talent.

Yes, lineman like Leonard Davis are about 6-foot-6 350 pounds, but just because you’re big doesn’t mean you’re athletic.

Former Dallas kicker Chris Boniol gives Beuhler training and his  jersey number

The mental preparation is a killer. Memorizing all those plays, and not only knowing you’re assignment on every single one but knowing where everybody has to be also has got to be a killer.

Cowboys’ kicker David Buehler’s specialty was simply kickoffs last year, but this year he’s shooting for the starting job, and that’s a tough role to take on considering the ‘Boys have had bad luck with kickers as of lately.

I’m obviously nowhere near physically fit for a job like that. I can’t gain any weight no matter how much I eat.

Before Dez Bryan went down, he refused to carry Roy Williams’ shoulder pads, but it wasn’t because he wasn’t fit, but for me, that might be enough reason to tell another player to carry his own pads.

I’m also nowhere near mentally fit. I can’t imagine trying to read a safety, watching out for the linebackers and defensive lineman and trying to make a smart decision with the ball.

It does sound fun, but I know, it’s a job that’s way out of my league, and I’m fine with that.

There was a reason I came to training camp, and it wasn’t to try out for the team. It was to get an early analysis as to how I think America’s team will do this year, and enjoy some good quality football.

That being said, as a Cowboys’ fan, I’m optimistic.

They’re stacked at running back with their three-headed monster in Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice. They have more than enough wideouts. The biggest question marks are with their offensive line and the secondary, but there’s plenty of time to get that fixed.

Right now the buzz around Cowboy nation is Super Bowl or bust, and if they do make history and become the first team to play at home in the Super Bowl, I’m just glad to have been a part of it early.

It’s nice to know, that when all is said and done, there’s a chance that I might have seen the best of the best, but the best is yet to come.