THE MANSION

Here are my picks for week 8:

Indianapolis over Carolina
Chicago over Detroit
Cleveland over ST Louis
New England over Washington
New Orleans over San Francisco
NY Giants ove Miami
NY JEts ove Buffalo
Philadelphia over Minnesota
Pittsburgh over Cincinnati
San Diego over Houston
Tampa Bay over Jacksonville
Tennessee over Oakland
Green bay over Denver

1. Before I get into the past game, let me say something about what Wade Phillips said last week for his strategy against the Patriots. Phillips said that he would stop the run and have Tom Brady beat them with the pass. Excuse me? What have you been smoking Wade? I know that was the strategy you used last year in the playoff loss to the Chargers and you did pick them off 3 times and if were not for some mistakes, you would have won the game. But that was a different time. Reche Caldwell was the Patriots number 1 receiver. Now Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker are his 3 options. If he had admitted it was a mistake, it would have been a little better received but refusing to admit that was a mistake and saying you would not change anything? If that is the way you strategize, I hate to see if it comes down to a close moment or what. Well Brady did beat you and pretty much shredded you. The Patriots number 1 back was not even playing and you still went with that strategy. God help us.

2. If Phillips was still on the same mindset against the Vikings, I worried he would go into the game saying, we dare them to beat us with Adrian Peterson and stop the pass. But fortunately, Vikings coach Brad Childress stopped Peterson for us. Other than that long scoring drive early in the game, the Vikings offense was abysmal and I was surprised they abandoned the running game. And by the looks on the sideline, all is not well in Vikings land with all the sideline clashes. That said with all that went bad with the Vikings the Cowboys should have beaten them up. But again stupid mistakes killed us. Romo and Craytons fumbled killed all the momentum and the Vikings defense could not stop us. If the Cowboys are going to contend with the Patriots and Colts of the league, they need to beat up on these bad teams.

3. Again the Cowboys need to start Marion Barber in the games because he gives the Cowboys more momentum in getting to score in the first quarter. I know he still gets more carries than Jones but we need to start getting some yards.

4. Wow was that Roy Williams actually blocking a pass in coverage and not getting beat deep? The world must be coming to an end!

5. Wade Phillips needs to not be so gung ho on these challenges. Granted he won one but the other was a waste and in the first half. We are just lucky we did not need that challenge later. I still say adopt the college replay system and it will be much simpler.

6. The way Romo played this game should have been a blowout. The Boys should not have to be running out the clock in the fourth quarter to try to keep the Vikings from getting the ball. We need to finish plays and stop this gung ho reckless play that will ultimately kill us at the end.

7. The bye comes at a great time because the Boys need to rest up on some injuries particularly Tony Romo who strained a hamstring and needs the rest plus this is usually the time of year where all the small aches and pains can be rested. The schedule after this is not easy with the Eagles and Giants on the road and then the Redskins at home and short weeks with the Jets and Packers at home and then closing out with 3 of the final 4 games on the road. Now we will see what these guys are capable of.

8. That said I believe the Boys are the class of the NFC. That is not really much to go by because the NFC is that bad. About 4 AFC teams I feel are better and the road to the Super Bowl will be easier this way but the Boys need to beat up on some good teams to prove they belong among the elites.

9. The Patriots are going to go 16-0.

10. The Rams and Dolphins really suck.

11. Rob Bironas kicked 8 field goals to beat the Texans. I remember Billy Cundiff kicking 6 against the Giants in 03 and Chris Boniol kicking 7 in 96. What ever happened to them? Hopefully Bironas does not have the same fate.

12. Jason Elam, you are money.

13. I don't know what is more impressive the drive by Brian Griese against the Eagles to beat them or the fact he did it without the radio system, and calling his own plays and being backed up to the far end of your side of the field.

14. The Giants are scaring me.

15. I am tired of hearing Randy Moss being mentioned as an MVP candidate. HAs he elevated the play of the team since his arrival. Yes. Has he given Brady the deep threat and big play man he longed for? Yes. Are they shredding teams? Yes. But Moss is the play when I want to play guy. When he was with the Raiders, his play dropped in part because he stopped trying. He hated losing and so his focus and work habits shifted to the worst. A true Hall of Famer and MVP player does not allow this to happen. Dick Butkus played on very bad teams and is still considered if not the best one of the best linebackers of all time. Supposing he had Moss' mentality. Would he have gone far? No. Sorry I am not rooting for Moss this year.

16. The blown call in the UConn- Louisville game should never have happended. Anytime a player raises his hand that is a fair catch. I know Larry Taylor discussed it with the ref and that if the hand was not over his head it was not a fair catch signal. Apparently after the apology from the Big East commish, that is not the case.

17. Ohio State has not played anybody and should not be number 1. The Big ten is a terrible conference this side of the ACC.

18. I feel that the Yankees did do wrong on how they treated Joe Torre because he has brought a lot of class and dignity to the organization. This is not the Billy Martin Bronx is Burning Yankeed. These guys are more respectable. However I do agree with Hank Steinbrenner on some things. Joe Torre was not exactly known as a great manager when the Yankees hired him, in fact the NY media blasted the Yankees for selecting him. Also as much credit as Torre gets for the wins, he sure does not want any credit for the losses. Why is he immune to that? Coaches/managers get to much credit for wins and too much blame for losses. They deserve both but it has to be rationalized.

19. It is an amazing coincidence that the steroid story on Indians pitcher Paul Byrd came out on game 7 of the ALCS. Steroid investigator Geroge Mitchell has ties to the Red Sox ball club who the Indians were facing in the ALCS. I believe Mitchell is a good guy and would not let this happen, but I feel he needs to separate himself from the Red Sox to avoid thi kind of conspiracy talk but it is too obvious for it to be deliberate.

20. Don't have a problem with Kevin Millar being at the Red Sox game cheering on his former teammates. Just let it be people. He will still play hard for the Orioles next year.

21. ESPN knew what it was getting when they had Jimmy Kimmel on MNF. I just findd it hard to beleive that the suits at ESPN do not watch his show and know that he is an insult comic to the extreme. This guy makes the most insulting, demeaning, homophobic jokes and somehow gets away with it. Did ESPN really feel Kimmel would hold back? Why is he even on the show?

22. I like the Rockies in the series because they are just so hot right now and I feel the layoff will affect them but I say Rockies in 7. Plus I just don't see the Red Sox succeeding at Coors Field.

23. The Dolphins were right fro shutting down Trent Green for the season. We hear these retired players saying that the NFL did not watch over them when they were playing and now they have to step up and do something so this generation won't be sitting in front of Congress one day about the unfair benefits of retired players.

24. I don't who is the best team in college football right now and I feel we are in for a huge BCS mess. YAY!!!

25. Dan Patrick goes to SI and Rick Reilly goes to ESPN. SI got the better deal.

26. Going to Texas Tech-Colorado this weekend. See if I find something interesting to post about it.

HEre are my picks

Dallas over Minnesota
Baltimore over Buffalo
Cincinnati over NY Jets
Houston over Tennessee
Detroit over Tampa Bay
NY Giants over San Francisco
NEw England over Miami
New Orleans over Atlanta
Oakland over Kansas City
Philadelphia over Chicago
Pittsburgh over Denver
Seattle over ST Louis
Washington over Arizona
Indianapolis over Jacksonville

1. Well you knew it had to end eventually. I mean it sure seems to me unrealistic that any team even the Patriots will go 19-0. The game I do not feel was as close as the score suggests. The main problem was the defense could not match or keep up with the Patriots offense. Remember, Anthony Henry coming back will not solve all the problems if we play them again. The Patriots are that good. I mean forget Randy Moss, Wes Welker and Donte Stallworth are dangerous receivers in fact I had pressed for the Cowboys to go after Stallworth but they opted to stay with the current set. When Welker is your slot and third receiver, I mean what defense in the league can honestly match up with that. We always wondered what Tom Brady would be like if he had receivers and now we see.

2. The Cowboys are still the class of the NFC which is not saying much because the NFC is so weak. This loss only established that the Patriots are the best team in the league. That said I still do not feel they will go 19-0. The team is on pace to clinch its division early like in November and there is no way Belchick will play any of his marquee players when he does not need to and so the Patriots will fall victim to those opponents they play down the stretch.

3. The problem I had was with the decision to go for the field goal when it was fourth down and trailing 38-24. The defense obviously could not stop the Patriots offense so we needed the TD and not the field goal. The field goal still made it a 2 possession game. It was obvious the defense could not keep up. The game needed to be won by a shootout.

4. Also the penalties keep mounting. There was the questionable pass interference penalty on Terence Newman that was really for Pat Watkins on Randy Moss. I mean Moss just ran into him, no harm. Flozell Adams was his usual self. But the penalty on Kyle Kosier for holding on a big pickup on fourth down is the stab in the back. He did not even need to do it. The play would have resulted in the first down.

5. There was no effort to throw the ball deep, probably a precautionary effort to avoid a similar performance by Tony Romo in the Buffalo game. Also the Cowboys just did not have the ball long enough to establish any rhythm. Romo made a lot of safe short underneath throws rather than force it and make a big play.

6. The Cowboys need to quit these slow starts in the first quarter. And they need to do it my starting Marion Barber in the games. He will give a quick burst of energy and the way he runs will probably help set up some first quarter scoring drives.

7. I don't want to hear about adjustments the Boys could have made because it was simply that they were over matched. The only thing like I said that we can hope for is if we see them again is to outscore them through the air because the Cowboys offense, Romo in particular, did not looked fazed by the looks the Patriots defense looked despite the short time it was out there. And of course defensively hope for the return of Anthony Henry.

8. The Vikings will be a tough opponent considering because of their rookie sensation Palestine, TX native Adrian Peterson, who is sure to have a huge fan base at the game on Sunday. My advise is put Roy Williams close to the line and pray he will actually wrap up on a tackle and dare the Vikings to beat us with their QBS Tavarius Jacson or Kelly Holcombe. If the Cowboys cannot stop these QBS, then I do have questions.

9. The Cowboys according to various reports did not seem to be depleted over this loss and I think if had it been to an opponent like Buffalo last week, the locker room would have looked like a funeral parlor. But the attitude was up because how can you be upset by losing to the best team in the league.

10. The Cowboys though need to stop the trash talking. First TO and his won't talk about the other 81, then refusing to admit the Patriots were the better team. Plus now we have Patrick Crayton guaranteeing a Super Bowl rematch with the Patriots. Just shut up!

11. Wow, Vinny Testaverde still has some play in him. If he can beat the ARizona Cardinals after only learning the playbook in a few days and his new teammates during the game and still come out with an impressive win.

12. I don't know who that corner was covering Steve Smith but they should be benched for giving up on that play so easily. Even if it was misjudged you do not give up.

13. Brett Favre breaks the all time interception record set by Geroge Blanda. You know they should have had Blanda come out and congratulate him the way Marino did. I mean in baseball Nolan Ryan is also the all-time walk leader in addition to the strikeout king so why not?

14. If Santana Moss asked to be taken out of the game for playing bad, no one should be mad at him. They should be mad at Joe Gibbs and his staff for doing it. But I find it hard to beleive an old school coach like Gibbs would pull a player asking to be taken out unless it was a serious injury. Selfish act, not selfless act. And if he did get bench, man up and say so or shut up!

15. Well, I wonder where are those Browns fans calling for Brady Quinn. And now they are approaching the bye. Now what to do with Derek Anderson? Keep playing him of course. And I am sorry Cowboys fans but that number 1 or top 5 pick looks at best a teens pick, which is still not bad.

16. The team that will win the number 1 pick will be the Miami Dolphins or the St Louis Rams. I just can't decide who is worse.

17. The Bears and Seahawks have major problems.

18. Does anyone want to go undefeated in college football. What an upset weekend. I hope it keeps up, that way the BCS will be so screwed up, we will have to have a playoff system.

19. Man if Boston College and South Florida could wind up in the BCS title game that would be the ultimate.

20. It seems George Steinbrenner has relinquished control to his sons. You really think he would give that up? Unless his health is really bad, I would say no.

21. I can only name Matt Holliday, Todd Helton, and that MAtsui character from the Rockies. Man, this gives hope for all the teams with mediocre talent (Rangers I am talking about you).

Here they are:

Dallas over New England
Arizona over Carolina
Baltimore over ST Louis
Chicago over Minnesota
Cincinnati over Kansas City
Cleveland over Miami
Green Bay over Washington
Jacksonville over Houston
Philadelphia over NY Jets
San Diego over Oakland
Seattle over New Orleans
Tennessee over Tampa Bay
NY Giants over ATlanta

1. Well an ugly game. 6 turnovers with all 6 being attributed to QB Tony Romo, it was ugly. But somehow, Romo was able to overcome that and be able to lead the Cowboys on two drives that ended in 2 scores the TD to Crayton and the field goal by Folk. Romo showed he did not let the interceptions affect his performance. He was able to overcome the adversity and seal it with the drives. But that said, he needs to be able to go back study tape and find out why these interceptions happened. A couple times looked like there was miscommunication issues with the receivers. A deflected pass was just bad luck and timing. Another looked as though he tried to force a few balls. I remember Brett Favre throwing 24 interceptions to 19 TDs in his second season and looks like he turned out pretty good. But still lets hope this is just one of the few bad games a good or gret QB has. Remember, everyone jumped on thow bad the defense supposedly was back in the season opener and now it just had its best game.

2. You know the way the media is carrying on you think that no other Hall of Fame QB never had a multi interception game. I mean Tom Brady has had a 4 interception game every year since 2002. No one seems to be harping on him. Great QBS have bad games. The bottom line is that it is based on how few bad games they have and how they are able to overcome those games mentally and put them behind. This separates the Brett Favres and Peyton Mannings from the Tim Couchs and the Jeff Georges of the world. I mena ask any Bears fan right now how they would feel if Romo was their QB.

3. The Cowboys defense was great. All three TDS by the Bills were from the special teams and the defense. Even though Bills QB Trent Edwards looks like he is going to be good, the Cowboys were able to keep him from making the big play and not allow them to take advantage too much of the mistakes. I mean what kind of offense must you have to not take advantage of 6 turnovers by your own defense? Well only when the Cowboys defense steps up that is. I mean this was a momentum killing loss I feel for the Bills.

4. Another thing that is sure is the kicker. I mean what guts does it take to overcome the freezing timeout attempt to make a kick from 5o+ yards twice? This is no Mike Vanderjagt. We have a real kicker and not only is QB a non issue, kicker is non issue for years to come.

5. The NFL competition committee has to look at this rule about coaches being able to call timeouts just before the snap. I still don't know how I feel about it but I feel every option needs to be considered.

6. All in all it was a sloppy game and the Cowboys offense were not prepared for the schemes and stunts that the Bills defense threw at Tony Romo. That said if the Bills could get to Romo easily, what will happen next week? Now we can talk about the game at last. Yes the big bad evil Patriots are coming with the evil mastermind Bill Belicheck is coming with his ability to drive opposing QBS insane plus all that video equipment he keeps stashed in the back. You think the Bills were tough? Be prepared to see another potentially sloppy game by the offense as well as the defense. I am not saying the Cowboys will lose, I always pick them to win, but it will be a close, ugly game similar to Monday Night.

7. I felt this game was a trap game along with the Rams game. I don't really fault the Cowboys for looking ahead. Hey they are human. But now the pressure falls squarely on the Patriots. No media outlet I have seen has even suggested the Cowboys would even win. Boston media columnists are already saying that the only stumbling block on the Patriots quest for an undefeated season is the November game against the Colts, noting that the Cowboys will fall victim to the Patriots. Now it is a step up game. Show the league that the Cowboys are for real.

8. Another reason this concerns me is mainly a superstitious reason in the fact that Randy Moss factor kicks in. This guy has never lost to the Cowboys, continuing on his anger-filled grudge for the Cowboys not drafting him. Even when he was with the lowly Raiders, he beat us. Think he still has anger in him?

9. You know the taunt Texans Travis Johnson gave to Dolphins QB Trent Green was in bad taste but Iwill give him the benefit of the doubt that maybe he did not know immediately that Green was out cold and he was thinking of his own career as that was a low blcok and the knees could go. but after seeign him being carted off and having three+ hours to get over it, you would think that Johnson would know better than to say what he said. I mean in hindsight, how else does Green block the guy?

10. Kurt Warner to replace MAtt Leinart. You know I like it and think Warner will help the Cardinals win. Leinart strikes me as the type that is concerned more with the Hollywood lifestyle and making the party and club scene than he does being an actual football player. Maybe with all the free time he can now have time to spend with his child instead of going to the clubs.

11. How embarassing a loss for the Broncos to lost by 30+ at home.

12. You think the Dolphins regret letting go of Daunte Culpepper?

13. Good job by Stanford and hats off to Jim Harbaugh for the upset of USC. This is an upset but because of the way the rankings are and that we have no college playoof, I have no idea how far to rank this upset. USC may just stink.

14. I told you Texas fans. Another long year and I am not on board with this theory that the national champion will have 2 losses. Never will happen.

15. I like the Red Sox in 7 and the Diamondbacks in 7.

16. The umpires should not have stopped the game with the Yankees-Indians game because of the bugs. Yankees would not have complained if they were winning.

17. You know A-Rod did not have a good series but man enough with the overanalysis of his hitting. You got Cal Ripken on TBS saying he sees A-Rod hitting a lot of pop-ups which is an indication he is trying to hard. Enough already. Jeter had a bad series as well and no one is getting on his back. The Yankees fan will be sorry when he opts out and winds up in an Angels or Cubs uniform.

18. Joe Torre did not lose this series. The only bad call was starting Wang on three days rest. If Joe Girardi, Don MAttingly, Tony La Russa or Lou Piniella was managing, this would not have changed the outcome one bit. Torre should be brought back.

19. So Jerry Buss wants to trade Kobe away. You will not get equal value and even if you did, such as a proposed Dirk Nowitzki, I mean Dirk is a great player but they will nto fill up the arena to see him because he does not have the superstar quality of a Kobe Bryant. The LAkers are about marketing with guys like Kareem, Magic, Shaq and now Kobe. Dirk is a great player but he does not have the quality the Lakers have looked for.

20. MArion Jones scandal now rocks her teammates. Now some of the mmay have to give up their medals. I understand that maybe they should not have to pay for her sins but whose to say that they would have won if not for her in the baton meter race? Or if they suspected she was doping, they said nothing. So if they take them, Iwould not have a problem with it.

21. Reggie Bush scandal looks like it will hit USC hard. Too bad he did not turn out to well as a pro.

Here are my picks for week 5:

Dallas over Buffalo
Baltimore over San Francisco
San Diego over Denver
Green Bay over Chicago
Houston over Miami
Indianapolis over Tampa Bay
Kansas City over Jacksonville
New England over Cleveland
New Orleans over Carolina
NY Giants over NY JEts
Pittsburgh over Seattle
Arizona over ST Louis
Tennessee over Atlanta
Detroit over Washington

Here it goes:

1. I thought it was a trap game. I felt the Rams were going to be tough to beat becomes a team that is 0-3 will play tougher and harder than a team that is 3-0 and for a while I thought that was the case. Until the botched snap. Then all hell broke loose. That is a play that will be remembered for a long time. I don't care what anyone says. The way they play Donovan McNabbs run against the Cowboys in 2004 they will play the longest 4 yard run by Tony Romo. What a statement. I mean with the Rams and that fresh momentum from the return for a touchdown, it seemed the Rams would go into the locker room with a fire in them. But Romo quickly put it out. After connecting on passes for two first downs afterwards, he finishes with a scramble on his own. No trap, but a complete dominance.

2. I don't think the Cowboy fans need to worry about a contract with Tony Romo. The Cowboys can franchise him for the next two years so I am not worried about him going anywhere. That said, I think the Cowboys should sign him before they can put the franchise tag on him. The franchise tag was originally designed so a team can still own the rights to a player without having to lose him in free agency, costing first round picks for any team that wanted to sign a franchise player. In return, the player would be guaranteed to have a minimum salary of the top 5 players in his position combined. Now it is used as an advantage to keep players from leaving and from paying them what they are worth in the open market, keeping them from the big contracts. Jerry Jones has yet to use the franchise tag on any player. The closest I recall was after the 1995 season with Darren Woodson, but they were able to ink out a deal. I know Jones wants to be careful with his money, especially on a QB considering the roller coaster of QBS that have come in since Troy Aikman retired. I feel a deal will be done around Thanksgiving week or shortly thereafter. They won't let this linger.

3. I told you we did not have to worry about Terry Glenn's injury. PAtrick Crayton is showing what most Cowboys already knew. He has good hands and yesterday showed he had deceptive speed. So as long as defenses keep sending a safety over the top to cover Owens and Witten, Crayton will be on single coverage and usually with the teams second corner or the nickel back covering him. This will burn defenses. My only concern is defenses will be wise to this and send their best corner to cover Crayton and have the double teams on Ownes and Witten. And if Glenn comes back this year, what then? Crayton is another Cowboy I feel needs to be resigned long term, because I don't feel he will be a number 1 receiver, I think he would make a solid Number 2 receiver.

4. 2 penalties for 10 yards. After a week when they had 10+ penalties for nearly 100 yards. Will the real Cowboys show up!

5. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman were commenting on how great this offensive line was playing. Excuse me, I already said this but other than Leonard Davis, is this the same line last year that could not block anybody? What a difference the quarterback makes.

6. I did not think Greg Ellis was going to play this year. But he played and had a good game. Also read this morning how Jones worked out a contract situation with him at his home the previous day. Gee, what a difference a contract makes as far as playing status goes.

7. Well the defense essentially pitched a shutout considering the lone TD was a special team one. Where are all the naysayers about the bad D from week 1. I said the defense would not give up 35 points a game and I was right.

8. Terence Newman stepped up when CB Anthony Henry went out. Hopefully Henry's injury is not serious. The last thing this defense needed is two hobbling defensive backs.

9. The Buffalo Bills are another trap potential game. The Bills now have a QB controversy brewing as their new QB, Trent Edwards showed more poise in the game than their highly touted QB JP Losman. Remember they gave up on Drew Bledsoe for Losman. So I would not get to complacent especially with another big game coming up in two weeks. Can't look ahead now.

10. Well the Bears and Chargers are 1-3. It is still too early to write this off but it sure does not look good.

11. Heard the commentary talking about Brian Griese play as the good and bad Griese. Is that not the way they described Grossman's play? Not looking good people. There are more problems than the QB.

12. The Chargers are feeling the effects of hiring Norv Turner and firing MArty Schottenheimer. I am not saying that Turner is to blame, but everyone knew that when dictator-GM AJ Smith fired Marty that any move this year would be compared to last year if this would have happened if MAry was here and Turners previous failures at other head coaching gigs would be brought up. Fire everybody say, coaches management, front office and start over. Lets hear the Pete Carroll rumors starting

13. Brett Favre is looking like the Brett Favre of old. He broke MArion's all tiem TD record. They even played a message from MArino a la style the way they played a message from Hank Aaron when Barry Bonds broke the record. The record but I don't know if it isthat sacred. I know most people knew what the home run record was but most did not know what the TD record was. They knew who held it but not the number. Besides, in a few years, Peyton MAnning will hold the record. Packers and Cowboys are in for a collision course come November 29th. Just like old times.

14. Man ifelt sorry for Eagles tackle Winston Justice. I mean did they not try to help him like send the tight end, start screen passes as well as draw plays. I would have taken him out just to save face. For all we know he will be a good tackle in the league but what a beating. Think McNAbb will be hearing it this week?

15. Notre Dame is 0-5. Where is the outrage. Why no calls for Weis's job?

16. I told you Texas would not be competing in a BCS bowl this year and that game proved it. The game play for QB Colt McCoy is just to rattle him by gettin in his face. He cannot handle it and it clearly shows. I still think he gots talent but man, he is fragile, kind of remind me of Chad Pennington and Donovan McNabb comnined as far as mentality and injury prone.

17. 5 top 10 teams lost, Texas, Oklahoma, West Viringia, Rutgers, and Florida. And USC barely gets by Washington which effects them long enough for them to get bumped down in the polls to numebr 2 behind LSU.

18. Forget the Darren McFaddon bid Cowboys fans. The Browns are going to be at least a good team this year.

19. The MEts collapse is just brutal. I mean on Sept 14th, they were up 7 1/2 games and now they lose the division, they don't even make the playoffs. Brutal. Makes me feel better about the Rangers seaon.

20. Obviously I feel the Rangers need to address a lot of things this offseaon so here they are.

21. Reduce ticket prices. You need to make the confines of the Ballpark more fan friendly. So not only reduce ticket prices but reduce prices of the concessions. They already started this with the all you can eat tickets seats but I feel it needs to me more broader. I don't drink beer but reduce the beer price. Believe me it will work. Have 2 bathroom attendants at every restroom, have double ultra toilet tissue, have ushers escort fans to their seats if they do not know where the seats are at. Bottom line is more fan friendly.

22. Next is market the Rangers. Have guys like Ian Kinsler, Micahel Young, CJ Wilson, Jarrod Saltalamccia out in the public in the MEtroplex, have them go to the Cowboys games, MAvs and Stars games, free public appearances at malls, spoting goods stars. Make these guys as recognizable as Tony Romo, Dirk Nowitzki are.

23. Ownership and management be at every game. We always saw Geroge Bush in his seat down near his usual seats. MAybe if owner Tom Hicks wants the fans to warm up to him he needs to spend at least a part of his day down there, and not just when he has a VIP guest like Bill Parcells or Bobby Knight. Jon Daniels I feel needs to mingle as well. Trust me, the fans will like this.

24. There a lot of free agents and I know the rangers will pursue some of the big name free agent center fielders, Audrew Jones, Mike Cameron, Torri Hunter and Aaron Rowan. I would prefer Rowan because he will be cheaper and he is the youngest but from what it looks, it will be Torri Hunter. It would be fine but he will command a big multi year deal and will be 38 when that deal expires, assunign he commands 5-6 year deal. He is also a resident of the Metroplex which makes it more appealing.

25. There are no big name free agents out there as far as pitchers are concerned so there is little that can be done. Don't rush the minor leaguers like Eric Hurley so keep the staff as Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, Brandon McCarthy, JAson Gabbard, and Edinson Volquez.

26. HAve Joaqin Benoit and CJ Wilson compete for the closers job in spring training. And make a decision on Akinori Otsuka soon.

27. Sign Rudy Jaramillo, now. It is stupid to let this guy go. Why would they not give him a good deal?

28. Don't resign Sammy Sosa, and don't sign Barry Bonds. Bonds could probably hit a lot of home uns in gthis ball park but PR wise it is not good if you are trying to rebuild a teams image. We need to take our licks with the young players like JAson Botts.

29. Decide what to to with Gerald LAird and JArod Salty. To be more clearer, decide what to do with first base and catcher. I would keep it this year. HAve them both come back and have the rotating catching position with Salty getting time at first base. Sign a player like Brad Wilkerson or experimetn with Frank Catalatto at first or sign or trade for a low risk first baseman like Richie Sexon to rotate with Salty at first.