Texas Sports Fan Blog

The Houston Texans will pick up the $10 million option bonus payment in the contract of Pro Bowl MVP quarterback Matt Schaub, according to a league source.

The option will be picked up as early as Thursday and no later than Friday. Once the Texans officially notify Schaub of this with a letter, the quarterback will be obligated to Houston for the next three seasons at roughly $28 million.

The move comes in the same week they extended head coach Gary Kubiak’s contract through 2012.

Schaub initially signed a six-year, $48 million contract with the Texans in March 2007. The deal also included an option bonus payment of $10 million due no later than five days after Super Bowl XLIV, which will be played Sunday in Miami. With Houston having until the end of next week to do it, they will do it as early as Thursday.

Click here to read the full article – By Adam Schefter of ESPN.com

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Marty Turco will be in goal tonight against the Minnesota Wild, but the Stars have not yet gone to a “win and you’re in” strategy for their netminders.

Rather, coach Marc Crawford said the weight of the Stars’ position in the playoff race has them pondering possible goaltending choices for each game.

“We are so close with the teams we are battling and we need every point we can get, so I would say it’s probably more of a ‘feel’ thing than an automatic thing,” Crawford said. “It’s probably more a ‘play well and you’re in’ situation. If we feel good about how a goaltender is playing, we’re certainly going to stick with them.”

Crawford and his coaching staff felt good enough about Alex Auld that they played him three straight and six of the last eight. In each instance, the goalie who lost came out and the goalie who won stayed in. But Crawford said it’s not that easy.

“Right now, we need both goalies playing well and we need them both working together and helping the team win,” Crawford said. “I think in each situation, the goalie had a chance to help the team, he did that, and after he did that, it was the other goalie’s chance to come in.”

Auld is 4-2-0 in that span, while Turco is 1-1-0. On the season, Turco has a 15-14-8 record, a 2.88 GAA and a .905 save percentage. Auld, meanwhile, is 9-6-3 with a 3.00 GAA and a .894 save percentage.

Click here to read the full article – By Fort Worth Star-Telegram

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Dallas Mavericks rookie Rodrigue Beaubois’ playing status is in question after the guard suffered a bruised back during a hard fall against the Utah Jazz on Monday night.


Beaubois soared to try to swat away a layup attempt by Utah’s Paul Millsap on a fast break. The Mavs’ first-round draft pick fouled Millsap but got the worst of the collision, crashing to the hardwood and landing with a thud.

Coach Rick Carlisle said Beaubois might have been able to return in the first half, but the rookie’s back stiffened up during halftime of the Mavs’ 104-92 loss. He’ll spend Tuesday getting treatment in Dallas.

“Hopefully by Wednesday, he’ll be OK,” Carlisle said.

Click here to read the full article – By Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com

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Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has decided that head coach Wade Phillips will return next season despite the team’s 34-3 loss Sunday to the Minnesota Vikings, a high-ranking team source said Monday.

There has been no decision on whether to negotiate an extension of Phillips’ current contract, the source said. The Cowboys control Phillips’ fate because they have an option for the 2010 season under terms of Phillips’ original contract that will play him close to the $3 million he earned this season when he served as the league’s only head coach-defensive coordinator.

The Cowboys have made no official announcement on Phillips’ future.

Jones has indicated for weeks that Phillips was likely to return but remained non-committal following Sunday’s lopsided defeat that eliminated the Cowboys from the NFC playoffs.

A Cowboys spokesman said the head coach is not expected to speak to the media Monday and nothing has been scheduled for him to speak the rest of the week.

Click here to read the full article – By Ed Werder of ESPN.com

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Texas Tech defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill and four other assistant coaches were fired Wednesday as new Red Raiders coach Tommy Tuberville cleared the way for his own staff.

McNeill and assistants Lincoln Riley, Clay McGuire, Brian Mitchell and Eric Russell were let go on Wednesday. A sixth assistant, Carlos Mainord, is retiring.


So far, Tuberville has hired Neal Brown, formerly of Troy, as offensive coordinator. And The Tuscaloosa News reported Wednesday that Alabama linebackers coach James Willis had agreed in principle to become the Red Raiders’ defensive coordinator, according to a source close to the situation. Willis worked with Tuberville at Auburn for three seasons, according to the report.

McNeill was named interim coach at Texas Tech when former coach Mike Leach was suspended and then fired over the treatment of a player who had been diagnosed with a concussion. Tuberville and McNeill were the only applicants interviewed to replace Leach.

Click here to read the full article – By of ESPN.com

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Dirk Nowitzki became the 34th player in NBA history — and the first European — to hit the 20,000-point milestone.

The Dallas Mavericks’ perennial All-Star power forward passed the milestone at the 10:57 mark of the fourth quarter Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Lakers, the 876th game of Nowitzki’s career. He hit a 14-foot baseline jumper off a pass from Jason Terry, giving him 17 points for the game and 20,001 in his career.

Lakers star Kobe Bryant is one of five other active players with at least 20,000 points. The others are Cleveland’s Shaquille O’Neal, Philadelphia’s Allen Iverson and Boston’s Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.

Click here to read the full article – By Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com

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The lawyer for Mike Leach says the suspended Texas Tech coach did nothing wrong in how he treated a player with a “mild” concussion, and Leach is seeking a court’s help in allowing him to coach in the Valero Alamo Bowl on Jan. 2.


However, Leach and his attorneys anticipate Texas Tech will try to fire the coach in the near future, multiple sources tell ESPN’s Joe Schad.

Leach led Texas Tech to the best season in program history last year, going 11-2. But he and the university were at odds for months over negotiations for a contract extension. In February, Leach and the school agreed to a five-year, $12.7 million deal that could keep him there through 2013.


Click here to read the full article – By of ESPN.com

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Tracy McGrady has been cleared to take an indefinite leave from the Houston Rockets after the former All-Star’s representatives and Rockets management agreed to work together in search of a trade for the disgruntled guard, according to sources close to the situation.

Sources close to the process told ESPN.com that multiple phone discussions Monday between Rockets general manager Daryl Morey and coach Rick Adelman in conjunction with McGrady’s lead agent, Arn Tellem, led to a mutual agreement that both sides would try to hatch a workable trade before the league’s annual trading deadline on Feb. 18.

McGrady was allowed to return to Houston over the weekend, while the team completed a road trip, when his request for increased minutes in his comeback from microfracture knee surgery was denied by Adelman.

When McGrady’s camp pressed Monday for firm promises about when his playing time would be extended — McGrady has averaged just 7.7 minutes in his six appearances this season — sources say that the Rockets were not prepared to make any such commitments, leading both sides to conclude that combining their efforts to try to facilitate a trade was the best option.


Click here to read the full article – By Marc Stein of ESPN.com

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Cowboys’ special teams coach Joe DeCamillis has gone through a difficult year physically.

Sunday night, DeCamillis underwent an appendectomy at a Virginia hospital, about 90 minutes before kickoff between the Cowboys and the Redskins.

DeCamillis experienced pain on Sunday and then was rushed to the hospital. He will not coach in Sunday’s game. DeCamillis’ status for the rest of the season is uncertain. The Cowboys leave for Dallas after the game and it’s not determined if DeCamillis will be on the team charter.

Wes Phillips, head coach Wade Phillips’ son, will take over the special teams duties. Other coaches will also help Wes Phillips.


Click here to read the full article – By Calvin Watkins of ESPNDallas.com

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Here’s hoping this wasn’t Mike Modano’s last game at Joe Louis Arena.

The all-time leader in pretty much every offensive category for the Stars franchise, Modano has played more than 50 NHL games in his hometown arena. He skated here hundreds more times before that when he was a member of Little Caesars’ storied youth hockey program.

So at 39, with his contract up at the end of the season, and this being the second of two trips to Detroit, could this have been the last twirl for him at The Joe? He said he thought about that possibility all day Monday.

“I think it’s too early to tell you,” said Modano, who grew up in nearby Livonia. “There’s still a lot of time left in this season.”

Click here to read the full article – By Mike Heika of Dallas Morning News

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Dallas Stars Sports Memorabilia
and other Dallas Stars Gifts and Collectibles
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