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Sports Morning Headlines - Friday, 1/27/12

Written by MVPTexas Morning Sports Report

Friday, 27 January 2012 00:31

Project Spurs: Spurs decline to pick up Anderson's option - A bit of confusing news in the fallout of yesterday's flurry of extensions and non-extensions. According to Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News, the San Antonio Spurs declined to pick up the third year option on James Anderson's contract. Harvey writes the Spurs decided not to pick up Anderson's contract because of the emergence of Danny Green. He added that the Spurs spent all Wednesday (and many days before that) trying to decide if they should pick up the option. They feared that if they didn't pick up his option, he'd become the next Ian Mahimni, who has turned in to a decent big man for the Mavs. But Green's emergence and Gary Neal coming back from injury has buried Anderson on the bench, which Harvey noted has buried his trade value.   READ MORE

Spurs to honor ABA history with Dallas jerseys - The Spurs will be among nine NBA franchises who will honor the rich history of the American Basketball Association as part of the NBA’s Hardwood Classics series during the next several weeks. The Spurs will wear vintage Dallas Chaparrals jerseys and warmups for three games — Feb. 11 at New Jersey, Feb. 18 at L.A. Clippers and March 31 when they host the Indiana Pacers. I’m just curious why they won’t be wearing ABA San Antonio Spurs jerseys from the franchise’s history rather than one representing a team from Dallas.   READ MORE

Would You Like Kyle Lowry or Pau Gasol? - A little over one month ago, the city of Houston sat wide-eyed and speechless beside the rest of the world’s basketball watching community as David Stern overruled a league-altering trade that the Rockets were heavy participants in. You know the details, and so do I. Revisiting what might have been and tinkering the pieces has been beaten to death more times than Steven Spielberg’s beloved War Horse, but what I’m about to touch on is different in that it is as much theoretical as it is literal. I find this deal interesting due to the polarity it’s sure to arouse, and the ideological foxholes those on each side of the argument will find themselves digging into. Here’s the question: Rating each player purely on their value in the here and now, in today’s NBA—excluding salary restrictions, contract longevity, and age (as difficult as that may be) as possible factors—would you trade Kyle Lowry for Pau Gasol?   READ MORE

Loss to Bucks exposes Rockets' defense woes - The defensive results weren't glowing, but they were enough of a component in the Rockets' seven-game winning streak that complacency took hold of a roster far from accomplished defensively. And, for an added measure of hubris, the Rockets gained an unexpected edge when the Bucks lost center Andrew Bogut late in the first quarter, and with him any perceived threat to their interior defense. Once they rallied from an early deficit and secured a double-digit lead the Rockets arrogantly eased off the throttle a tad too generously and far too early. The Rockets aren't quite that good. The Bucks delivered that message with conviction and clarity by exploiting their uninspired defense for a 105-99 victory on Wednesday night, the Bucks' first at Toyota Center.   READ MORE

Dirk feeling good, hopes to return Sunday - Dirk Nowitzki says he's had a good week of work and is shooting to return to the Dallas Mavericks' lineup Sunday. Nowitzki spoke to reporters after practice Thursday, one day before the star forward will miss his fourth straight game as part of a planned hiatus to strengthen his sore right knee. Coach Rick Carlisle said last weekend that last season's NBA finals MVP needed some extra time to strengthen his knee and get in better game shape. Carlisle said then that Nowtizki would be out at least four games.   READ MORE

Nowitzki glad celebrating 'behind us now,' is eager to start 'the new season' - Nowitzki, by the way, said he got fitted for his championship ring, but the giant piece of jewelry still didn't fit. "I had it fitted for my ring finger, but it was way too big,'' he said. "So I just put it on my middle finger.'' Nowitzki is glad that the ceremonies commemorating the championship are over.   READ MORE

Ex-Astros closer Brad Lidge agrees to terms on one-year contract with Nationals - Former Astros closer Brad Lidge agreed to terms Thursday on a one-year, $1 million contract (plus incentives) with the Nationals. Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com tweeted the financial details of the deal, while MLB.com's Bill Ladson reported the agreement via Twitter. Lidge, 35, went 0-2 with a 1.40 ERA and one save in 25 relief appearances for the Phillies during an injury-plagued 2011 season.   READ MORE

Astros land three on Top 100 Prospects list - Singleton places 44th, Cosart ranks 61st, while Springer is 84th. Three promising young players infused into the Astros' system last summer find themselves on an impressive list this winter. First baseman Jonathan Singleton, right-hander Jarred Cosart and outfielder George Springer are all included on MLB.com's annual Top Prospects list for 2012. Singleton ranks 44th, Cosart is 61st and Springer is 84th on the list. The list, which is one of several prospect rankings on MLB.com's Prospect Watch, only includes players with rookie status in 2012. This year's edition of MLB.com's Top Prospects list has expanded from 50 to 100 players. The annual ranking of baseball's biggest and brightest young talent is assembled by MLB.com's Draft and prospect expert Jonathan Mayo, who compiles input from industry sources, including scouts and scouting directors. It is based on analysis of players' skill sets, upsides, proximity to the Majors and potential immediate impact to their teams.   READ MORE

Former Highland Park pitcher Clayton Kershaw wins Warren Spahn Award - Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw accepted the Warren Spahn Award on Thursday night as the best left-handed pitcher in baseball. "It's the biggest trophy I've ever gotten," the former Highland Park standout said, laughing. "I don't know if I'll be able to carry it on the plane."   READ MORE

Finishing touches may remain for Rangers - Rotation could get even deeper, with 'pen tweaks possible. The Rangers may not be done putting together their 2012 pitching staff. Major League sources said the Rangers are "intrigued" by the idea of signing free-agent pitcher Roy Oswalt and that there is a "pretty good chance" they could trade reliever Koji Uehara soon. General manager Jon Daniels, while declining to discuss specific moves that might be in the works, acknowledged that the Rangers might have some unfinished business this offseason. "I said after we signed Yu Darvish that I didn't anticipate any more major moves, and I still don't," Daniels said Thursday after returning from the Dominican Republic. "But we might tweak some things in the bullpen."   READ MORE

No more identity crisis - The Texans were disappointed at the way their season ended with a 20-13 divisional playoff loss at Baltimore, but when they review what became the most successful season in the franchise's 10-year history, they'll be pumped about the high expectations of the 2012 season. A torrent of turnovers, including three interceptions by rookie quarterback T.J. Yates, left them with the seven-point loss to the Ravens. They finished with a team-best 11-7 record, an AFC South title and a wild-card playoff victory before the largest crowd in Reliant Stadium history.   READ MORE

J.J. Watt reaches out to young Texans fan - And now for today's feel good story. J.J. Watt posted a picture of a young Texans fan on his Twitter account last night. The young man, pictured at the left, is obviously a big Watt fan. Watt put out an all points bulletin: "This little guy is awesome. If you know him, let me know so I can send him some gear!" Thanks to the power of the internet and a bunch of helpful Texans fans it didn't take long for Watt to track down his young fan whose name is Camden. READ MORE

Random Things About The Dallas Cowboys - Senior Bowl Week - I don't know if it is because I now look for things I can write about concerning the Dallas Cowboys, but I had never noticed before how much was going on during the week of the Senior Bowl. Here are some brief items that caught my eye this week. First, a clarification from an earlier post of mine. I wrote about the offseason conditioning and training for the team. At the time, I put in this information about what the players could do outside of the OTA and minicamps, based on what I thought were the rules under the CBA.   READ MORE

Kitna to coach football at Tacoma high school - Jon Kitna was hired as the football coach at Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Wash., after retiring from a 15-year NFL career. Kitna was introduced Thursday. He was recently hired at his old high school as a math teacher. Kitna received his math education degree at Central Washington University, where he was a standout quarterback and led the Wildcats to a share of the 1995 NAIA national title. Kitna went on to an NFL career with Seattle, Cincinnati, Detroit and wrapped up his career as a backup for the Dallas Cowboys.   READ MORE

Benn goes next to last in All-Star draft - Stars forward Jamie Benn was almost the last player selected in Thursday night’s NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft, but Boston defenseman Zdeno Chara decided that Benn would be the 37th player selected and not the 38th. Benn and San Jose’s Logan Couture were the last two players left in the draft and it was Chara’s decision as to which player would be picked next and which player would be the last one left. “It’s never easy to leave one guy standing, to be the last one,” Chara said as he made his selection. “But Jamie really deserves to be picked because he had surgery a couple days ago and he still showed up. That’s a big credit to him. So I am picking Dallas Star Jamie Benn.” Couture, as the last player to be picked in the draft, received a car. READ MORE

January by the numbers - January wasn’t a good month for the Stars. They won only four of eleven games and lost ground in the race for a playoff spot. Here are a few statistical notes. *The Stars were 4-6-1 in January and lost three points in the race for the final playoff spot. They started the month holding down 8th place and ended the month in 10th place, three points back. *For the most part, the Stars were middle of the pack or better statistically. They allowed 2.55 goals against per game in January, ranking 14th in the league. They were 13th in shots against at 28.3 per game. They were tied for 15th in team save percentage at 91.0 percent. The penalty kill ranked 11th at 85.3 percent. READ MORE

---Staff and Wire Reports contributed to this story