Daily Ticket: The Blog

Breakfast Crumbs: Friday

Notes and thoughts compiled at the breakfast table ...

* Woody Austin, Tim Clark and Steve Stricker each shot 7-under 63 to share the first round lead at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Vijay Singh and two-time plaid jacket-wearer Kenny Perry shot 64. Complete Colonial coverage (and there's a lot of it.)

* Texas Rangers first baseman Chris Davis, despite his .203 average and major league-leading 71 strikeouts, isn't leaving the starting lineup.

* Jerry Jones says receiver Miles Austin can become another Terrell Owens. (He's talking about on the field.)

* TCU's baseball team opens play in the Fort Worth NCAA Regional at 7 p.m. by hosting Wright State at Lupton Stadium. Texas A&M and Oregon State play at 2 p.m.

* Thursday's NBA highlight: Cleveland Cavaliers 112, Orlando Magic 102 -- The Cavs extended the series to Game 6 thanks to LeBron James' triple-double (36 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists). The Cavs led 32-10 in the first quarter.

* Thursday's MLB highlight: Boston Red Sox 3, Minnesota Twins 1 -- Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek hit two home runs then later became one of four people ejected for arguing by home plate ump Todd Tichenor. Tichenor ran both teams' starting catchers and both managers. Josh Beckett got the win, allowing three hits and one run over eight innings. He struck out eight.

* It's Friday, so it's '80s Music Day in CrumbsLand. Today, we're featuring Billy Ocean with "Caribbean Queen."

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The best of what to watch today ...

* Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Some of the late tee times for TV coverage include co-leaders Woody Austin and Tim Clark, plus Vijay Singh and Kenny Perry in the same group. 2 p.m., Golf.

* Oakland Athletics at Texas Rangers. Let's watch two! The Rangers have called up righthander Tommy Hunter to start the first game of the doubleheader. He'll face Josh Outman (2-0, 2.90). In the second game, Scott Feldman (3-0, 4.04) goes against Edgar Gonzalez (0-0, 1.80). 4 p.m., Fox Sports Southwest.

-- David Thomas

Breakfast Crumbs: Thursday

Notes and thoughts compiled at the breakfast table ...

* New York Yankees 9, Texas Rangers 2: The Yanks take two out of three in Arlington. Over the past 13 seasons, the Rangers have won one home series against New York.

* Randy Galloway: Rangers owner Tom Hicks now says he is open to selling majority ownership of the franchise.

* Today's Colonial coverage:
-- Without Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh's return highlights this year's tournament.
-- Jimmy Burch column: Tweaks to the course should make scores higher.
-- Jimmy makes Geoff Ogilvy the odds-on favorite to win.
-- Speaking of Ogilvy, he's a surfer dude.
-- Notebook: Jim Furyk says the course isn't just more difficult, it's also better.
-- Past champions share their favorite Colonial memories.

* Cowboys Stadium -- with an updated price tag of $1.15 billion -- is open for business.

* Ten reasons to feel as good about the Cowboys as their stadium.

* It's always a good time to speculate on what might happen between the Dallas Mavericks and Jason Kidd.

* Wednesday's NBA highlight: Los Angeles Lakers 103, Denver Nuggets 94 -- With the score tied after three quarters, the Lakers opened the fourth quarter with an 11-0 run to take a 3-2 series lead.

* Wednesday's NHL highlight: Detroit Red Wings 2, Chicago Blackhawks 1 (OT) -- Darren Helms' goal 3:58 into overtime ended the Western Conference Finals series in five games. The Red Wings now have a Stanley Cup Finals rematch with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

* Wednesday's MLB highlight: Chicago Cubs 5, Pittsburgh Pirates 2 -- Reed Johnson's home run in the eighth broke a 2-2 tie, then the Cubs added runs on doubles by Andres Blanco and Jake Fox, yada, yada, yada. Let's get to the real reason why this game is Wednesday's MLB highlight. Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano threw a good tantrum after getting ejected. Here's the video.

* Indy 500 champ Helio Castroneves visits Fort Worth to promote the upcoming Bombardier Learjet 550K at Texas Motor Speedway.

* The NCAA accuses the Memphis men's basketball team of "major violations" while current Kentucky coach John Calipari was in charge.

* Today is National Hamburger Day. This is going to be a great day.

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The best of what to watch today ...

* Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. See for yourself what impact the course changes have on the first-round scores. 2 p.m., Golf.

-- David Thomas

What's in a nickname?

One in a weekly series on the history behind college nicknames and mascots.

Idaho State Bengals

Bengals do not have a deep, rich history in and around Pocatello, Idaho. In fact, in his History of Idaho State College, author Merrill Beal referred to the Bengal Tiger as "a creature that has never been found hereabouts, living or dead."

Idaho State's nickname comes from Princeton.

When the school's name was Idaho Technical Institute, athletes were called Bantams. But the nickname never seemed a good fit. Princeton graduate Ralph H. Hutchinson became Director of Physical Education and Athletics in 1921 and created an "I" Club. Members made Princeton's Bengal Tiger their mascot.

(Source: isubengals.cstv.com)

-- David Thomas

Breakfast Crumbs: Wednesday

Notes and thoughts compiled at the breakfast table ...

* Texas Rangers 7, New York Yankees 3: Thanks to the weather, the game didn't end until after 12:30 a.m. In case you didn't stay up, here's what happened: Chris Davis homered twice (and struck out twice), the Rangers knocked Joba Chamberlain out after four innings, Kevin Millwood didn't make it out of the fifth for the first time and the Rangers' bullpen threw 3 1/3 shutout innings.

* Today's Colonial coverage ...
-- Flower Mound resident Rod Pampling certainly has had his chances at Colonial.
-- 1989 champ Ian Baker-Finch leaves the broadcast booth to play in his first event since 2001.
-- Third-ranked Paul Casey flew in from England to play Colonial for the first time.

* With Greg Ellis on his way out as a Dallas Cowboy, the stage is set for Anthony Spencer to become a full-time starter at linebacker.

* It is confirmed that Dirk Nowitzki's jailed ex-girlfriend is pregnant.

* Tuesday's NBA highlight: Orlando Magic 116, Cleveland Cavaliers 114 (OT) -- LeBron James scored 44 points, but this time his last-second 3-point attempt -- from farther out than in Game 3 -- didn't go down. Now the Cavs are up 3-1. Dwight Howard had 27 points and 14 rebounds and scored 10 points in overtime. Orlando made 17 3-pointers.

* Tuesday's NHL highlight: Pittsburgh Penguins 4, Carolina Hurricanes 1 -- The Penguins swept the Hurricanes out of the Eastern Conference Finals, earning Pittsburgh a return trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. Former Star Bill Guerin scored one of the Pens' goals, and Sidney Crosby had two assists.

* Tuesday's MLB highlight: Kansas City Royals 6, Detroit Tigers 1 -- Zack Greinke turned in his fifth complete game to improve to 8-1, even though the run he allowed raised his ERA all the way up to 0.84. Greinke struck out eight and allowed six hits. Mitch Maier, who entered the game in the fifth inning, drove in three runs for the Royals.

* Today is National Sun Screen Day. And with lots of sunshine in the Colonial weekend forecast, we'll be needing the sun screen.

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The best of what to watch today ...

* New York Yankees at Texas Rangers. Monday's 11-1 loss seems so long ago, doesn't it? The Rangers can win the series tonight. Derek Holland (1-1, 4.82) starts opposite A.J. Burnett (2-2, 5.28), who hasn't won a game since winning his first two starts as a Yankee. 7 p.m., Fox Sports Southwest and ESPN2.

-- David Thomas

Breakfast Crumbs: Tuesday

Notes and thoughts compiled at the breakfast table ...

* New York Yankees 11, Texas Rangers 1: A crowd of 48,914 booed both teams as Alex Rodriguez got more hits (five) than the Rangers (four).

* Today's Colonial coverage ...
-- Some day when you're playing Meadowbrook Golf Course, you might just bump into Chad Campbell.
-- After moving up to No. 3 in the world rankings, Paul Casey is Colonial's highest-ranked competitor.
-- Carl Pettersson loves Colonial, loves Fort Worth. And with the glowing things he says, don't be surprised if the Chamber of Commerce asks him back to speak again.

* TCU receives the Fort Worth regional's top seed and will host Wright State on Friday. Texas A&M and Oregon State complete the four-team regional.

* Gary West on Lone Star Million Day: "Everything you love about racing and everything you hate about the sport were summed up in six stakes races at Lone Star Park ...."

* Monday's NBA highlight: Denver Nuggets 120, Los Angeles Lakers 101 -- The Nuggets evened the Western Conference Finals series at 2-2 behind 24 points each from Chauncey Billups and J.R. Smith. Kenyon Martin and Nene both had double-doubles for the Nuggets. Kobe Bryant scored 34 points for the Lakers. But here are the interesting numbers from the game: five technical fouls and 84 free throws. Sound familiar, Dallas Mavericks fans?

* Monday's MLB highlight: Cleveland Indians 11, Tampa Bay Rays 10 -- The Indians scored seven runs in the bottom of the ninth to win after trailing 10-0 in the fourth inning. Ryan Garko was 3-for-5 with five RBI for the Indians. The Rays have lost 14 consecutive games in Cleveland.

* Today is Sally Ride Day, on the birthdate of the first U.S. woman in outer space.

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The best of what to watch today ...

* New York Yankees at Texas Rangers. Should Rangers fans hope that Kevin Millwood (4-4, 3.12) doesn't throw a complete game tonight? He is 0-2 this season when he goes the distance, including last time out against the Detroit Tigers. The Yankees start Joba Chamberlain (2-1, 3.70), who recorded only two outs in his last game before being hit with a line drive and leaving. 7 p.m., KDFI/Channel 27.

-- David Thomas

Breakfast Crumbs: Friday

Notes and thoughts compiled at the breakfast table ...

* Detroit Tigers 4, Texas Rangers 3: That's 11 straight losses in Detroit for the Rangers. Kevin Millwood pitched a complete game, allowing six hits. Millwood, by the way, is 0-2 in his complete games this season.

*When the Rangers take the field in Houston tonight, rookie lefty Derek Holland will be on the mound for his first start. Vicente Padilla goes onto the DL, Frankie Francisco comes off.

* The Lone Star Series ... is it a rivalry?

* The Dallas Cowboys have placed Greg Ellis on the trading block.

* Jerry Jones & Co. unveiled the new, humongous Diamond Vision video board at Cowboys Stadium. I was there and, trust me, it's a little bigger than what you're used to watching in your living room.

* Ken Duke and James Nitties are the names atop the leaderboard at the HP Byron Nelson Championship.

* As anticipated, Geoff Ogilvy commits to play at Colonial next week. Ranked fifth in the world, Ogilvy will be the highest-ranked golfer in the tournament.

* Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach, in a Q&A with our Dwain Price, on why he does not like golf: "It's too slow, too boring. Who cares if the ball goes in the hole or not?"

* TCU 9, BYU 2: Behind freshman Kyle Winkler's complete game, TCU stays alive in the Mountain West Conference baseball tournament

* Thursday's NBA highlight: Denver Nuggets 106, Los Angeles Lakers 103 -- The Nuggets defeated the Lakers for the first time ever in the postseason to even the series at 1-1. Carmelo Anthony had 34 points and Chauncey Billups scored 27 for Denver. LA's Kobe Bryant scored 32 points.

* Thursday's NHL highlight: Pittsburgh Penguins 7, Carolina Hurricanes 4 -- Evgeni Malkin's hat trick -- he also added an assist -- helped the Penguins take a 2-0 series lead. Malkin scored back-to-back goals in the third period to give the Pens a 6-4 lead. Matt Cooke assisted on three of Pittsburgh's goals.

* Thursday's MLB highlight: Minnesota Twins 20, Chicago White Sox 1 -- This game tied for the most lopsided loss in White Sox history. Joe Mauer hit a grand slam as part of his six RBI for the Twins, who scored seven runs in the second inning and six in the sixth.

* Today is Buy A Musical Instrument Day. Except at my house.

* Speaking of music, it's a lovely Friday -- a great day for our weekly mini-concert on the CrumbsLand '80s stage. Today's featured act is Duran Duran with "Hungry Like the Wolf."

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The best of what to watch today ...

* TCU vs. Utah baseball. It's a rematch of TCU's first game in the Mountain West Conference tournament, a 9-7 loss to the Utes.3 p.m., The Mtn. If TCU wins, the Horned Frogs play San Diego State at 7 p.m. on The Mtn.

* Texas Rangers at Houston Astros. In the first game for the Silver Boot, Rangers rookie lefty Derek Holland (1-1, 4.85) faces Houston's Felipe Paulino (1-3, 6.93). Paulino has yet to throw more than six innings in a game for the Astros (18-21), who lost two of three to the Milwaukee Brewers at home. 7 p.m., Fox Sports Southwest.

-- David Thomas

Breakfast Crumbs: Thursday

Notes and thoughts compiled at the breakfast table ...

* Detroit Tigers 5, Texas Rangers 3: Not even a triple play could keep the Rangers from losing their 10th consecutive game in Detroit.

* Defending Colonial champion Phil Mickelson withdrew from both the Nelson and Colonial after his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer.

* Utah 9, TCU 7: The Horned Frogs became the first top-seeded team in Mountain West Conference tournament history to lose to a No. 6 seed, dropping their first game in the tournament.

* Who will replace Terrell Owens for the Dallas Cowboys? Everybody.

* Thanks to the sterling work of Kevin Millwood and the ever-churning mind of Randy Galloway, we may have a new phrase: "A come to Nolan meeting."

* Because the Los Angeles Clippers landed the top pick in the NBA Draft, they may be looking to unload a big contract. Will the Dallas Mavericks be interested?

* There are 26 native Texans and Texas residents in the HP Byron Nelson Championship that begins today.

* Wednesday's NBA highlight: Orlando Magic 107, Cleveland Cavaliers 106 -- The Magic overcame a 15-point halftime deficit to surprisingly grab Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Dwight Howard scored 30 points and Rashard Lewis added 22 for the Magic. LeBron James scored 49 points for the Cavs, who lost for the first time in this postseason and for only the third time at home all season.

* Wednesday's MLB highlight: Boston Red Sox 8, Toronto Blue Jays 3 -- David Ortiz homered! Big Papi hit his first home run of the season, going deep in the fourth inning along with Jason Varitek, Jason Bay and Mike Lowell. Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury recorded 12 putouts, tying the major-league record for putouts by an outfielder in a nine-inning game.

* Today is National Memo Day and -- in case you didn't get the memo -- it also is National Waiters and Waitresses Day. So here's a tip: Tip well.

TUBE TOPPERS

The best of what to watch today ...

* Texas Rangers at Detroit Tigers. Kevin Millwood (4-3, 2.93) tries to stop the Rangers' skid at two. Detroit goes for its second sweep of the Rangers this season with Edwin Jackson (3-2, 2.42) on the mound. 12:05 p.m, Fox Sports Southwest.

* HP Byron Nelson Championship. The first-round tees off in Las Colinas. 2 p.m., GOLF.

* TCU vs. BYU or New Mexico. The Horned Frogs are backed into an early must-win corner at the Mountain West Conference baseball tournament. 3 p.m., The Mtn. and CBS CS.

-- David Thomas

What's in a nickname?

One in a weekly series on the history behind college nicknames and mascots.

Valparaiso Crusaders

Valpo's original mascot was the Uhlan, a violent German knight. The school changed its nickname to Crusaders in January 1942, shortly after the United States entered World War II. A committee appointed by Valparaiso president O.P. Kretzmann and the faculty athletics committee came up with the new nickname.

(Source: www.valpo.edu)

-- David Thomas

Breakfast Crumbs: Wednesday

Notes and thoughts compiled at the breakfast table ...

* Detroit Tigers 4, Texas Rangers 0: Did someone go into the Tigers' locker room and hang a calendar from 2005? That was the old Dontrelle Willis we saw hold the Rangers to one hit over 6 1/3 innings.

* The Dallas Cowboys held their first OTA, and QB Tony Romo says there's no more pressure going into this year than any other year.

* Special teams coach Joe DeCamillis was on the field for workouts, wearing a neck brace two weeks after surgery for injuries suffered in the practice facility's collapse.

* The woman arrested at Dirk Nowitzki's home tells her story to a reporter via a phone call from jail.

* The Clippers won! The Los Angeles Clippers won the top pick in the NBA Draft lottery. Could be bad news for Oklahoma's Blake Griffin.

* The Trinity Trojans will play the first high school football game at Cowboys Stadium, meeting a team from Utah.

* At the HP Byron Nelson Championship yesterday, Arnold Palmer picked up the Byron Nelson Prize for his spirit of community involvement. There are many things to know about Mr. Nelson, but one is that Palmer considered Nelson his hero.

* Tuesday's NBA highlight: Los Angeles Lakers 105, Denver Nuggets 103 -- The Lakers opened the Western Conference Finals by overcoming a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter for their 11th consecutive victory over the Nuggies in the postseason. It looked like Dirk-Melo all over again, with Kobe Bryant scoring 40 points and Carmelo Anthony scoring 39.

* Tuesday's NHL highlight: Detroit Red Wings 3, Chicago Blackhawks 2 (OT) -- Mikael Samuelsson scored 5:14 into overtime as the Red Wings took a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals. Chris Osgood stopped 37 shots for Detroit. Jonathan Toews scored both Chicago goals, including one with 7:40 left in overtime that ultimately forced overtime.

* Tuesday's MLB highlight: New York Yankees 9, Baltimore Orioles 1 -- The Yankees won their seventh straight behind Alex Rodriguez's fourth consecutive game with a home run. Mark Teixeira hit his fourth homer in as many games, and CC Sabathia held the O's to three hits over seven innings.

* Today is Be A Millionaire Day. Show me how to become one, and I will.

TUBE TOPPERS

The best of what to watch today ...

* Texas Rangers at Detroit Tigers. The seven-game winning streak is over, but Rangers Fever is still contagious. Matt Harrison (4-2, 4.23) goes to work on the next winning streak. He has thrown back-to-back complete games. The Tigers, who are going for their 10th consecutive home victory over the Rangers, send out Justin Verlander (3-2, 4.29). He is 3-0 with a 0.92 ERA over his past four games. 6 p.m., Fox Sports Southwest.

* Utah at TCU baseball. Tenth-ranked TCU plays its first game in the Mountain West Conference tournament against Utah, which had to play 10 innings yesterday in winning its first-round game against BYU. 7 p.m., The Mtn. and CBS CS.

-- David Thomas

Breakfast Crumbs: Tuesday

Notes and thoughts compiled at the breakfast table ...

* Jim Reeves gives five reasons the Texas Rangers are THE FIRST-PLACE TEXAS RANGERS, beginning with Kevin Millwood.

* Today's game in Detroit starts a 27-day stretch for the Rangers in which they'll play 25 games. Nineteen of those games are against teams currently over .500.

* We have yet to reach the "happily ever after" part of the Kenyon Martin-Mark Cuban story.

* This is a potentially important season in the coaching career of Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett.

* If you want to see a lot of good baseball packed into a short amount of time, head over to TCU for the Mountain West Conference tournament that begins today.

* Tony Kornheiser is out, and Jon Gruden is in the booth for Monday Night Football.

* Monday's NHL highlight: Pittsburgh Penguins 3, Carolina Hurricanes 2 -- Former Dallas Stars defenseman Philippe Boucher and Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist each and Marc-Andre Fleury made 23 saves as the Penguins grabbed Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

* Monday's MLB highlight: Los Angeles Angels 10, Seattle Mariners 6 -- John Lackey lasted more than two pitches in his second start of the season. Kendry Morales hit two homers for the Angels, who won despite Lackey allowing five runs in five innings. The M's have lost 11 of 14, beginning with that two-game sweep administered to them by the Rangers in Seattle.

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The best of what to watch today ...

* Texas Rangers at Detroit Tigers. Brandon McCarthy (3-1, 5.92) defends the Rangers' seven-game winning streak against Dontrelle Willis (0-0, 7.71), who allowed four runs in 4 2/3 innings Wednesday in his first start since coming off the disabled list. The Tigers, who swept the Rangers in three games in Detroit in the first week of the season, are 6-3 over the last nine games -- with all three series being three-game sweeps. 6:05 p.m., KDFI/Channel 27.

-- David Thomas