Daily Ticket: The Blog

Monday's Pick 6

Six links to click before you head to the water cooler:

1. Big 12 Insider: Texas' defense has taken a step backward late in the season, but defensive coordinator Will Muschamp is the right coach to fix the problems.

2. Dallas Mavericks notes: The first-place Mavs' December: the returns of Erick Dampier and Josh Howard, plus a friendlier schedule than November's.

3. TCU notes: Although the offense has received more attention this season, the Horned Frogs' defense is now ranked second in the nation.

4. The TCU volleyball team, in the NCAA Tournament for the first time, will play Thursday against Rice in Austin.

5. The Dallas Stars are again struggling on faceoffs. A year after rankings 26th in the league, they are 27th overall.

6. Tiger Woods released a statement on his Web site saying he alone is at fault for his car crash, but he is not talking to police about the incident.

-- David Thomas

Friday's Pick 6

Six links to click before you head to the couch for football and then the dinner table:

1. Dallas Cowboys 24, Oakland Raiders 7: The Cowboys held their second consecutive opponent to seven points or fewer, and Miles Austin and Jason Witten both had more than 100 yards receiving.

2. Randy Galloway: The Cowboys played well right before a difficult December stretch arrives.

3. Jimmy Burch: Texas' 49-39 win over Texas A&M keeps alive the Longhorns' national championship hopes and Colt McCoy's Heisman Trophy chances.

4. TCU notes: The Horned Frogs need a decisive victory against New Mexico on Saturday because No. 5 Cincinnati, which has two games remaining, could jump past TCU into the fourth spot.

5. After missing 11 games, Tim Thomas is already proving to be an important addition for the Dallas Mavericks. (Mavs at Indiana Pacers, 7 p.m., Fox Sports Southwest).

6. Dallas Stars center Brad Richards is fourth in the league in scoring with 30 points in 22 games. (Stars at Phoenix Coyotes, 8 p.m., Fox Sports Southwest Plus).

-- David Thomas

Thanksgiving Pick 6

Six links to click before you head to the couch for football and then the dinner table:

1. Dallas Cowboys special teams coach Joe DeCamillis, injured when the Cowboys' indoor practice facility collapsed, is thankful to be able to coach from the sideline on this Thanksgiving Day.

2. Randy Galloway: Turkey Day provides a national stage for Roy Williams to silence the critics.

3. Texas A&M players savor their chance to ruin Texas' dreams of a perfect season and a national championship (7 p.m., ESPN).

4. Dallas Mavericks 130, Houston Rockets 99: Subs Jason Terry and Tim Thomas combined for 50 points, and Jason Kidd became No. 2 on the NBA's all-time assist list.

5. St. Louis Blues 4, Dallas Stars 3 (SO): Brenden Morrow scored on a deflected goal with 26 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime, but the Blues won in a shootout.

6. TCU notes: Gary Patterson's Thanksgiving Day plans: 1. ) spend time with son Josh, who is stationed at Fort Hood; 2.) watch game film of New Mexico, the last obstacle to an undefeated regular season.

-- David Thomas

Wednesday's Pick 6

Six links to click before you head to the water cooler:

1. Golden State Warriors 111, Dallas Mavericks 103: The Warriors played just six players, but Monta Ellis scored 37 points and Golden State overcame a 98-89 deficit in the fourth quarter to win on the Mavs' home court.

2. Gil LeBreton: The TCU football team -- especially its seniors -- deserve a big crowd for Saturday's game against New Mexico.

3. TCU notes: Quarterback Andy Dalton needs one win to tie Sammy Baugh for most career wins by a TCU quarterback.

4. With Greg Ellis in town with the Oakland Raiders tomorrow, the Dallas Cowboys stand by their off-season decision to let Ellis (five sacks) go and replace him with Anthony Spencer (no sacks).

5. Cowboys notes: Jason Witten has a sprained foot and will be a game-time decision.

6. Dallas Stars notes: Coming off a two-game suspension, winger James Neal needs to learn how to play physical along the boards without crossing the line into being too physical. The Stars host the St. Louis Blues tonight (7 p.m., Versus).

-- David Thomas

Tuesday's Pick 6

Six links to click before you head to the water cooler:

1.Dallas Cowboys coach Wade Phillips loves how his team responded to pressure Sunday, but he still does not have answers for why the offense is struggling.

2. Cowboys notes: Tony Romo is expected to play Thursday despite hurting his back against the Washington Redskins.

3. Dallas Stars 2, Carolina Hurricanes 0: Marty Turco pitched his second shutout of the season, and the Stars have won back-to-back games for the second time.

4. Dallas Mavericks notes: Rick Carlisle prefers having either Dirk Nowitzki or Jason Kidd on the floor at all times. The Mavs played the Golden State Warriors at 7:30 p.m. (Fox Sports Southwest.)

5. Texas Longhorns notes: Freshman running back Tre Newton, who will start Thursday against Texas A&M, draws a comparison to Emmitt Smith.

6. Colt McCoy, Tim Tebow and Case Keenum are the finalists for the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, which will be announced Dec. 10 and awarded Feb. 10 at the Fort Worth Club.

-- David Thomas

Monday's Pick 6

Six links to click before you head to the water cooler:

1. Dallas Cowboys 7, Washington Redskins 6: It certainly was ugly, but the Cowboys scored in the final three minutes to move to 7-3 and keep sole possession of first place in the NFC East.

2. TCU, which remained fourth in the BCS standings, hosts New Mexico on Saturday with a chance for a 12-0 regular season.

3. Jimmy Burch: If the up-and-down Texas A&M Aggies have one of their "up" games against the Texas Longhorns on Thursday, there could be another upset in the rivalry series.

4. Sounds kind of like the Cowboys, but the Dallas Mavericks are in first place despite a sluggish offense.

5. The Dallas Stars are seeing a kinder, gentler Marc Crawford behind their bench. The Stars host the Carolina Hurricanes tonight (7:30 p.m., Fox Sports Southwest).

6. Jimmie Johnson finished fifth in the final NASCAR race of the season -- Denny Hamlin was the winner -- to become the first driver to win four consecutive points championships.

-- David Thomas

Friday's Pick 6

Six links to click before you head to the water cooler:

1. With the Dallas Cowboy's running game struggling, Jerry Jones wants Felix Jones to get the ball more.

2. Cowboys notes: Alan Ball will replaced the injured Ken Hamlin at free safety, his first start there.

3. Randy Galloway: Tom Hicks' plan to retain majority ownership of the Texas Rangers is not good news for fans.

4. Jan Hubbard: Picking apart some of the criticisms of TCU while thinking a Sugar Bowl matchup with Florida with be great for the Horned Frogs.

5. Dallas Mavericks notes: Dirk Nowitzki's hot start -- he is averaging 27.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per game -- has seen him beat defenders in a variety of ways.

6. Columbus Blue Jackets 4, Dallas Stars 1: A night after winning in Detroit, the Stars lost at home to Ken Hitchcock's team. The Stars are 3-3-3 at home.

- David Thomas

Thursday's Pick 6

Six links to click before you head to the water cooler:

1. Jennifer Floyd Engel: Jason Garrett needs to find a way to make Jason Witten the impact player he used to be and needs to be in the Dallas Cowboys' offense.

2. Cowboys notes: Doug Free will take injured Marc Colombo's place at right tackle. Also, the NFL says the Cowboys would have lost a challenge on what we all thought was a Felix Jones fumble recovery and that the Green Bay Packers should, indeed, have been penalized 15 yards for challenging a play when they were out of challenges.

3. Gil LeBreton: Tom Hicks is working on a last-minute plan, including Nolan Ryan and Roger Staubach as part owners, that would allow him to keep majority ownership of the Texas Rangers.

4. Baseball's free agency period begins in full today, and with the Rangers not expected to be big players in the market, here is a look at the team's needs and possible free-agent targets.

5. Dallas Mavericks 99, San Antonio Spurs 94 (OT): Dirk Nowitzki scored 11 of his 41 points in overtime as the Erick Dampier-less Mavs beat the Tony Parker-less and Manu Ginobili-less Spurs to even the season series at 1-1.

6. TCU notes: Gary Patterson says his defense is "in a lot of trouble," after bad practices last week, allowing a season-high 28 points to Utah and "two of the worst practices we've had all year" this week.

- David Thomas

Wednesday's Pick 6

Six links to click before you head to the water cooler:

1. For just a brief moment Tuesday, TCU coach Gary Patterson allowed himself to look ahead to playing in a BCS bowl.

2. Gil LeBreton: Answering the difficult questions about TCU's chances of making the national title game.

3. Dallas Mavericks notes: A play designed for rookie Roddy Beaubois has been effective early on. The Mavs host the San Antonio Spurs tonight (7:30 p.m., KTXA/Channel 21 and ESPN). Unlike the last meeting the Spurs won, San Antonio will have Tim Duncan and Tony Parker in the lineup.

4. Dallas Cowboys notes: Billy Crystal joined players in serving Thanksgiving dinner at a Dallas homeless shelter.

5. Scouting the Washington Redskins: Sunday's win against the Denver Broncos ended a four-game losing streak.

6. The Dallas Stars will split Brenden Morrow and Mike Ribeiro onto separate lines for tonight's game at the Detroit Red Wings (6:30 p.m., Fox Sports Southwest).

- David Thomas

Tuesday's Pick 6

Six links to click before you head to the water cooler:

1. With three games in 12 days, the Dallas Cowboys are facing injury problems as well as having to overcome Sunday's loss.

2. Randy Galloway: It's back to the beginning for the Cowboys' offense.

3. Dallas Mavericks 115, Milwaukee Bucks 113 (OT): Dirk Nowitzki's rattling 18-footer at the overtime buzzer helped the Mavs keep sole possession of first place in their division.

4. Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus finished second to Oakland Athletics reliever Andrew Bailey in voting for American League Rookie of the Year.

5. It seems like we wrote this summary a few times in the preseason, but Dallas Stars coach Marc Crawford wants his defensemen to be move involved in the offense.

6. Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams was fined $250,000 for flipping off Buffalo Bills fans.

- David Thomas