Corsicana —
I think there is a consensus that the Hershel Walker trade by the Cowboys was the greatest trade ever that is unless you’re a Viking fan. For the Georgia running back, Dallas got draft picks that turned into Emmett Smith, Darren Woodson, Alvin Harper, Alexander Wright, Dixon Edwards and contributed to getting Russell Maryland with the first overall pick in the draft. You might say that Hershel led to the Cowboy Super Bowl successes of the ‘90s.
For the Metroplex, if not the nation, the second biggest trade in history might have been the Rangers’ trade of Mark Texeira to Atlanta just a few years ago. That trade brought Texas three current all-stars. Although we didn’t know anything about these guys at the time (they were all minor league players), we certainly do now. I don’t think that back to back World Series appearances and the best record in major league baseball right now would have happened without Elvis Andrus, Neftali Feliz and Matt Harrison. At the time, the only player we had any knowledge of was Jarrod Saltalamacchia who came in and immediately became the Rangers’ starting catcher.
Elvis and Neftail were both two time all stars last summer. Matt Harrison will be making his mid-season classic debut this year with the most wins in the league. Which begs the question: Mark Who?
Now, let’s compare and contrast that to the blockbuster deal that wasn’t. That would be Mark Cuban disassembling the NBA champion Mavericks to clear cap space for this off season to acquire Dwight Howard and Deron Williams. Just in case you just emerged from a coma, let me tell you just how that turned out.
After letting the best center in Mav’s history (Tyson Chandler) go in free agency, along with Deshawn Stevenson, J J Berrea and Caron Butler. The Mavs were swept in the first round of the playoffs by OKC, a team they dispatched last season on the way to the championship.
I suspect that Mark and Donnie Nelson expected a similar outcome. That was the sacrifice they made to get to the dynasty category by adding Howard and Williams to the Dirk legacy.
Well before the season ended, Dwight Howard signed a one year deal to return to the Magic moving his free agency period to 2013.
Deron Williams? He decided to return to the Brooklyn Nets. Sorry, Mark.
So where does that leave Dallas? It appears that they’re all decked out in a new prom dress, special hairdo and even a beautiful bouquet with no date to the big dance. They have a ton of cap space and no one to spend it on.
While they were waiting on Williams’s decision, Steve Nash signed with the Lakers. Jason Terry signed with Boston, and Jason Kidd signed with the Knicks. That doesn’t leave much surrounding Dirk. Right now, I’d guess the starting lineup to be Dirk, Shawn Marion, Delonte West, Vince Carter and Brendan Haywood. The only person that lineup should frighten is Rick Carlisle.
So, Cubes sacrificed a chance to repeat as the NBA champs to pull a Miami with a blockbuster off season. Once again the hometown attraction didn’t materialize. Much like Roger Clemens once used to Rangers as a negotiating ploy and Chris Bosh talked about coming home, Deron Williams decided the big city attraction was greater than Momma’s home cooking.
Apparently, NBA players want to be by the shore whether that be the Atlantic, the Pacific or Lake Michigan (I guess Ray Hubbard doesn’t qualify.)
So, as Dirk finishes out his career, the question is: Will Dallas bring in young players to develop or continue to bring in old players on one year deals trying to squeeze on last piece of magic out of them.
Sports
Morgan: Metroplex involved in blockbuster trades
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GC Baseball: Unbelievable - Windthorst plates 6 in seventh to stun Dawson
Bo Moore lives by the run. He likes to put pressure on the opponent. A three-run seventh looked like just enough cushion in a five-run game. But it wasn’t. Windthorst scored six runs, five with two outs, to steal a 7-6 win from Dawson in Game 1 of the Region II-1A seminfinals at Weatherford College.
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NC Baseball: Bloodlines run deep for top hurler
Lukas Schiraldi will likely be drafted in the first five to six rounds in June’s Major League Baseball draft. Navarro’s right-hander already has signed with the University of Texas. His baseball career will continue at the next level after the JUCO World Series.
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Melton homers again as A&M tops Vanderbilt, 5-0
Parker Ray pitched eight-plus innings to lead Texas A&M to a 5-0 victory over top-seeded Vanderbilt on Wednesday in the second round of the Southeastern Conference baseball tournament. Hunter Melton of Corsicana homered for the second straight day.
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GC Softball: Single focus - Hubbard has sights set on steady Sam Rayburn
When Tuesday’s rains blew through Hubbard, blowing up the last half of practice, the Lady Jags loaded up, and went home. They can only hope to be loading up and going south next week. Hubbard (24-6-1) has a chance to set GPS devices for Austin if the Lady Jags can get past Sam Rayburn (28-2) Friday in the Region II-1A championship.
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Area Schedule: Updated to correct Navarro's game time Saturday
Here is an updated schedule for this week's three remaining Golden Circle sports teams: Navarro baseball, Dawson baseball and Hubbard softball. It corrects the game time for Navarro, which is playing in the JUCO World Series in Colorado, on Mountain Time.
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Melton powers Texas A&M past Florida, 6-3
Hunter Melton hit a three-run homer and had an RBI single to help Texas A&M defeat Florida 6-3 on Tuesday in the Aggies' first appearance in the SEC baseball tournament.
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GC Baseball: ’Dogs want more - Windthorst next up for surging Dawson
At this point, it might be easy to classify the rest of the baseball season for Dawson as gravy. But hold on a minute, coach Bo Moore said. The Bulldogs (20-7) are in the Region II-1A semifinals, the club’s deepest trek in many, many moons. To do that, they beat a Dodd City team that ousted them last year in the area round.
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NC Baseball: Multi-tooled, Reeves has brought offense, defense
Navarro catcher John Clay Reeves is back in the World Series. Only this year it’s the JUCO World Series and Grand Junction, Colo., and not the NCAA Division I College World Series and famed Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb. like it was in 2012.
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Lindblom loses 1st start, Rangers fall to A's 9-2
Josh Lindblom pitched out of trouble several times early in his debut as a major league starter. The Texas right-hander couldn't do it in the fifth inning. Seth Smith homered and scored three times, Bartolo Colon pitched seven strong innings for his first win in a month and the Oakland A's beat the Rangers 9-2 on Monday night.
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GC Softball: Mildred wins Game 2, but falls in series finale to Garrison
The Mildred Lady Eagles dropped their regional semifinal series to the Garrison Lady BulldogsSaturday in Lindale. After losing a heartbreaker on Friday night, the Eagles fought back to take Game 2, 2-1, but fell in the deciding game, 3-1.
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