GET A HINT JERRY! COWBOYS WEAR WHITE!

Oh lets face it-- there is trouble at the Star-- and the Star I am referring to, is the one on the side of the helmet and the one in Frisco!

Mr. Jones! SIR! Where is it written that the Dallas Cowboys wear their dark jerseys at home? Here's a hint-- IT DOESN'T!\

That's right-- the Team wears WHITE at home, and have been since in 1960...

WHY? you ask! Its simple!

When the team was first introduced to the NFL, the GM and President at the time, was Texas E. Schramm, who knew something about P.R. and marketing.

He thought that since this was an expansion team, that there would be no interest in the team, and that the fans would turn out to the Cotton Bowl to watch players such as Y.A. Title, of the Giants, or Jim Brown of the Browns, or maybe even Gayle Sayers of the Bears, and Paul Hornug of the Packers, just to think of a few- however they would be wearing THIER HOME jersey which is their primary color, while the Cowboys wore the "road" white... but there was more to this little escapade of Schramm's, yes there was the heat in Texas in September to deal with, so he would tell the players to where the white since the sun reflected the sunlight and heat off of them, and place it back on their opposition!

Ok so it didn't quite work out that way, since the Cowboys, that first season, went 0-11-1, with the tie being against the New York Giants.

Then teams started to get the idea behind the fact that the Cowboys NEVER wore their dark uniforms, at home or on the road, so teams such as the Redskins, Giants, Eagles, and Cardinals, started to wear white at their home game MAKING the Cowboys wear their Blue jerseys, and hence this whole JINX theory came about.

Take it a step further, the Cowboys lost the 1968 NFL Championship wearing blue-- oh wait a tick-- they lost the '66 and the '67 NFL Championships wearing WHITE!

They lost their FIRST Super Bowl appearance to the Baltimore Colts in 1970, in Super Bowl V, then they wore white in Super Bowl VI, but lost in X and XIII and won XII, alright enough with the Roman Numerals, figure it out!

They have not worn the dark jersey in the Super Bowl since they lost to the Colts, its not all in the jersey! I don't think., but the COWBOYS WEAR WHITE AT HOME!

Mr. Jones, if its about marketing, and such, then sell the Jersey in the Pro Shop, on line, or whatever but leave the team on the field alone!

This is not about the color of the jersey that they wear as a Jinx, its about Tradition, you don't see the New York Yankees changing their home uniform to look like hounds tooth, or the Red Sox wearing a different shade of red! What about the Crimson Tide-  or even the University of Texas-- they leave their Uniforms ALONE!

Its time to leave tradition alone! The Dallas Cowboys when at home wear WHITE, and they opposing team wear dark!

When they Cowboys are on the road, they will wear what the HOME team ask them to wear, and if it is the dark jersey, then so be it, learn to win in them, but leave Tradition ALONE!

If you wan the truth about why this team lost to the Minnesota Vikings on a Sunday night, at home, in prime time-- LOOK ON THE SIDELINE! The guy with the RED HAIR is the issue, you run the ball when you didn't have a running game all night, in a crucial moment and all of it fell around your ears and it is the cause of the failure-- and now you have to live with that!

Thats it in a nutshell!

Just a thought!

Time to do the Right Thing!

Seems that sometimes, it takes a sportscaster to shame an entire school system to do the right thing, and that’s what happened to the Plano ISD, when Channel 8’s (WFAA) Sportscaster Dale Hansen took the airwaves and did an editorial on why the PLANO ISD canceled a football game with El Paso Eastwood, that was to be played on September 6^th at Kimbrough Stadium.

A day later, the Plano ISD rescinded that, and scheduled the game on the 5^th, and moved from Kimbrough to Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, Texas.

So let me see if I get this right now, the original game was to be played in a Plano ISD facility in Murphy, Texas, then canceled, then  rescheduled, and moved to a facility that’s not even in the School District, they moved it to Frisco, moved it to an indoor stadium, and moved it apparently because Frisco has better security than Plano does!

This was a time to show unity, and show that one city can host the other from a tragedy, but both have a common denominator, the shooter that killed 22 people, and injured 24 others was from Plano, graduated from Plano Senior High School, and drove the 10 hours west to El Paso, and shot up a Walmart, and caused the anguish of a community, a city, a state and a country, because the very next day in Dayton, Ohio another shooter kills 9 people and injures 27, but police showed up 32 seconds after it started and took down the gunman and killed him!

Texas is known for its Friday Night Lights, it’s a tradition that Football in Texas is KING, and that we try and showcase the very best when we can.

You think back to a dismal week in 2001, September 11^th, when aircraft were used as missiles, flown into the twin towers in New York, into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and into a field in Western Pennsylvania.

On that Friday night of that week, the 14^th, we stood in stadiums, proud of our country, singing our National Anthem with our neighbors, and being united as one!

It was a tragedy, it was horrible, it was unthinkable, however we survived it, and we showed up on Friday night, and we watched football, because it was getting back to normal. WE as a nation needed to heal and we needed to feel normal again, and believe it or not,  it worked!

I remember that Friday in a small Texas town of Diboll, Texas, and doing a game that involved the home team the Diboll Lumberjacks, and to tell you the truth I have no idea who they played that weekend most likely Carthage, but couldn’t tell you, but the nicest compliment I got was from a writer with the Lufkin Daily News, who was driving back into town from taking his daughter to Austin to be with her mom, and my friend wrote in his article the following week, is that as soon as he was able get the radio signal, he was tuned in to listen to our broadcast, and for that instant—he was transformed back to normal. Though our world would never be normal again!

So why is it that something like a shooting, and community coming together, and the other community that hurts, because they felt like they were responsible for the Monster that was created, though they truly had nothing to do with it, but they still, somehow feel like its their responsibility.

So lets talk about how this game that is going to be played now is at Ford Center at the Star in Frisco. Most likely a couple of elements came into play.

First! Plano called Frisco ISD and made a request to play the game at Ford Center… SECOND! Jerry Jones stepped up to the plate, and made it available, but it had to be on a THURSDAY night,  since Frisco ISD have games there on Friday Night and Saturday night—not too mention, the Cowboys will be returning there for their opener with the Giants, so they need a place to practice!

Mr. Jones already has donated $50,000.00 to El Paso, and he has a firm place in the hearts of those in West Texas, and it shows because the number of Cowboy Fans that are there, and he knows that with this gesture, he has endeared himself to many more!

So TRYING TO DO THE RIGHT THING, is, make this game happen, without incident, and give those athletes, their fans, their families, a warm N. Texas Welcome and make sure that when they leave here—they will remember that there are many, in the state of Texas, that believes in giving back to the community and bringing the community together when they are hurting the most!

Just a thought!

They Say, “COME AND TAKE IT!”

And that’s just what the Texas Rangers are trying to do, take the Division away from the Houston Astros, or at least the rivalry of the Silver Boot, that the two teams play for since the turn of this century!

Its an imaginary rivalry, or at least that is what the teams used to say back in the early 2000’s, when this first started with interleague play, and the Rangers would go down I-45, to take on the Houston Astros, and play three games down there, then turn around, and play three games in Arlington.

The premise of this, was to create a rivalry that would pit fans against each other, and that one team was better than the other. However, the players weren’t buying into it. Mainly because one team was in the National League, the Senior League as they thought of themselves, over the American League, or the Junior squad!

It came across that way, when they decided to create something that would put two teams in the same state that didn’t play each other for the last 28 years of the last part of the 20^th Century, when the Rangers moved to Arlington from Washington, D.C. as the Senators, it was a dream of having an all Texas World Series! But that’s not a rivalry!

Now, the two teams are in the same league, and the same division, and they battle each other numerous times throughout the season, and the “Boot” might have some meaning to it, but then again, the two teams, and the players that are on it, just seem to think that it’s a waste of time. They much rather just play the game, not worry about some prize at the end of the season, and concentrate on winning the division, then the playoffs, then the World Series.

Both teams have been to the “Dance” twice, with the Astros being the first one to go in 2005 from the State of Texas, only to lose to the Chicago White Sox, then the Rangers represented the Lone Star Republic in 2010 and 2011, only to come up empty on both of their attempts, once by the San Francisco Giants, the other by the St. Louis Cardinals, but wait—the Astros returned in 2017 to beat the L.A, Dodgers to win the FIRST WORLD SERIES FOR THE STATE OF TEXAS, and bring the Commissioner’s Trophy to Houston!

However, it still, this series, the Silver Boot Series, that has the attention of the sports writers, and the talking heads, and when you think about it, some fans, not all, Its interesting that there are some fans that will boast about their team and how they are the better one, and that their stars are better, that their fan base is better, their stadium is better, some how that sounds like a rivalry , but remember, no one calls it that outside of the media types!

The Texas Rangers for their part, have done what they are suppose to do, by winning the first two games of the second half of the season, that means after the All Star Break, where they start fresh, and they have done just that, taking the first two of four games from the Astros. The first one was by a shut out of 5-0 the second was a come from behind, walk off single, winning run—and sending 

32, 000 plus fans, either screaming for joy or throwing their hats onto the ground in anger, since the crowds in the stadium in Arlington, known as Globe Life Park, is pretty much 50/50 on who you’re rooting for.

Lots of Orange to represent the Astros, and Red-White & Blue representing the Rangers! Giy

So how would you rate this rivalry—is it like the Yankees and the Red Sox—the Giants the Dodgers, is like the North Side vs, the South Side of Chicago, or is it just what it is—two teams in the same state with a fan base that loves their team, and if you put them on the same field at the same time—there is the chest beating and the ring showing, to tell the other team, they made it to the promise land and have a Championship! Lets face it, Houston, outside of Hockey, you have two teams that have won championships! The Rockets and the Astros, your Oilers, and now your Texans haven’t been to a Super Bowl, and one day they might!

But the N.Texas area, in which , Arlington, is a big part of, has won the Super Bowl FIVE TIMES! Have ONE Stanley Cup, and ONE NBA Championship, but does not have the Holy Grail of Championships, the World Series!

So for that, Houston has the edge, but the SILVER BOOT, that’s another story—the Rangers have won it more times, but to ask players, it means that they get to keep this trophy in their office for a year until someone wins it again or gives it to the other team!

What the players truly want…. A RING! That says—“WORLD CHAMPIONS!” then they will be happy, and then, maybe if the Rangers happen to win one—there might be a true Rivalry!

Just a thought!

Hang It On the Wall

When a professional sports team retires a number, it means that that number will never be worn again by any player in that organization!

Now only one number will never be worn by any other person in major league baseball and the same can be said about professional hockey—the numbers 42 and 99 will never worn again!

HOWEVER!

For teams that retire numbers, they reserve that right for the one person that they believed, represented that team in a manner that no one else can or will ever do with that number on their back!

For the Texas Rangers, they have retired 3 numbers from their roster. Just THREE!

They are: #26 former Manager and the late Johnny Oates, #34 The Express Nolan Ryan, #7 Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, and of course #42 The Leagues retirement of the Brooklyn Dodger great Jackie Robinson! Now add #29—Adrian Beltre’ who will join those names on the left field façade and no one will ever wear that number in a Ranger uniform again!

Beltre’ who played for the Rangers for 7 seasons came to the team in a round about way, he started with the Dodgers, played for the Mariners then the Red Sox then game to Texas! Its in Arlington, that Beltre’ became a team leader, not just on the field, but also in the club house, he developed a friendship with short stop Elvis Andrus, that was more like big/little brother antics, that showed on the field, they would tease each other, laugh at one another, prank each other, and respect one another.

You can talk about Beltre’s stats and the fact that he got his 3000^th hit in a Ranger uniform, and that he pretty much has his ticket punched for Cooperstown in five years, but the truth is, his production for the Rangers team is unmeasurable, he did things at bat, that was at times, super human- Hitting a home run from his knees, or diving for a ground ball and then throwing from the seat of his pants for the out! Adrian did it all, and then some!

He will be remembered for all of that, but truly, there was a night, where he was on deck, and getting ready to step up to the plate—but was not on the batting circle—and the umpire at first base told him to get back to the on deck circle, and with that, Adrian picked up the mat, that had the Rangers logo on it, and moved it to where HE was and not where it was! And after that—the umpire said a few words- then HEAVE HO! Threw Beltre out of the ball game in the 7^th inning! One of the best things someone could have seen in the ball game! Actually it was shortly after that—that the Rangers had a giveaway, that was the Batting Circle Mouse Pads to give out in honor of that! GENIUS!

Adrian though gave himself to the Rangers, and to the community, he strived to help inner city kids to learn the game of baseball, he did the same thing in this native Dominica Republic, striving to give youth an opportunity to learn and to share experiences with them.

The Charity work that he was involved in: Actively involved in the community, Beltré has contributed significantly to humanitarian acts in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex such as Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation, Texas Rangers RBI program, the I Love Baseball program, which operates in the Dominican Republic, and the Baseball Tomorrow Fund. Further, he has donated to Dave Valle's Esperanza International as well as foundations established by other major league players, including Robinson Chirinos, Eddie Guardado, Joakim Soria and Michael Young.

To have his number retired by the Rangers just after 9 months of retirement, is a little unusual, meaning that most clubs that retire numbers, wait at least 3 maybe even five years, just so that they might come at the same time as their induction into the Hall of Fame if that is the case, and IF that is the case with Beltre, that in five years we will be watching him in Cooperstown, what hat will he wear? Most likely they will place a Ranger cap on him, and he would be the 3^rd Rangers player to be placed in the Hall with a Rangers hat on his head. (Ryan, Rodriguez, and soon Beltre’)

When you think about the athletes that have played in the DFW area, and who have had their numbers retired, the Dallas Mavericks have Rolando Blackman, and Brad Davis, and they are talking about retiring #41 Dirk Nowitzki, and again not too long after his last game played, they are also talking about placing a statue outside the AAC to commemorate his days in a Maverick uniform.  

Mike Modano of the Dallas Stars has had his number hang from the rafters, but only after he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. And now lets talk Cowboys, oh wait, they don’t retire numbers they hang them on the Ring of Honor and EVEN that doesn’t mean that someone won’t wear the number! Look at Chuck Howley, they gave his number 54 to Randy White, now there are is the unwritten rule that no one will ever wear the #74 (Mr. Cowboy Bob Lilly), or #12 (Capt. American Roger Staugbach), but #88 is worn by a receiver that the Cowboys feel has the same abilities that Drew Pearson or Michael Irvin possess. So its not truly retried, just a suggestion!

But The Rangers WILL indeed not have anyone wear #29 again, there were others before Adrian that wore that number—Pete Incavillia, Rusty Greer, just to say two of them. But its Beltre that will have it hanging from façade, and one day be inducted into the Rangers Hall of Fame.

For all that, the greatness of a players is measured by the character of which he possess, and for that Adrian Beltre’ gave everything when he wore the uniform of a Major League team, and specifically the Texas Rangers.

He will live in the hearts of Rangers fans as #29!

Just a thought

The Demise of Another Local Team

Yep, it was bound to happen, it was just a matter of time, it would have happened soon or later! These are all the sayings that have surrounded the Texas Revolution for the last seven seasons!

On Thursday evening, May 9^th 2019, word officially came through that the Texas Revolution was going to cease operation for the 2019 season, and this was with five games in the books and one that was canceled! So with half a season, the Revolution closed shop!

There are some fans that are really upset about the whole ordeal, and there are others that are pointing their fingers and are saying “I told you so!”

Truth is, there was another business group that came in, known as The Owners Box Inc. . which is weird, since there is a Sports Bar at the Downtown Omni Hotel, that has the same name! SO it’s a bit confusing, to say the least!

In any case, they (the Owners Box Inc.) came into play a few months back, and were to take care of all the needs that the team was needing, that means travel expenses, and their rent for their home field which is owned and operated by the Dallas Cowboys, Ford Center and the Star in Frisco, and somehow, someway, they failed to do so!

SO, with that said, the operation has to completely fold! TWO years ago, this team is hoisting the CIF Championship Trophy, and praising their General Manager, Pro Football hall of Famer Tim Brown—because now he gets a ring!

Just TWO years ago!

Now we are two years later, and this team had to go and find another investor, and in doing so, either they failed to disclose that they truly didn’t have the money to back up their claim, OR, they just plain ol fashion lied to someone, and they didn’t pay their bill to the Star or anyone else for that matter!

So here’s the bottom line, Minor League Sports, no matter what kind it is, has to figure out there is going to be profit and loss, and in most cases the loss is greater than the profit. So you best have capital in the back to cover your team for at least 2 years and hope for more if you can make it work! Otherwise you have done all that you can and throwing money after money into a pit and when the cloud of dust clears, you are most likely out of the sports business!

We have seen it with the College Summer League Baseball, Indoor Soccer, Minor League Baseball, and now indoor football!

So why is it that we fall for this? Well the answer is pretty clear, it’s a step closer to making it to the “show” with either a legit minor league team, or the dream job of making  it to the big SHOW! And if that ever should happen, we can always look back at the experience of doing minor league sports to get there!

For now, we will mourn the loss of this team, we will wish the players and the coaches well, and the Staff of the Revolution good luck for their future.

We dare say, it will be hard pressed for a team to move back into the DFW area, due to the fact that there will be issues securing a venue, and the cost that it will take for a team to be put together, with uniforms, staff, and rent for an office and a venue!

As they say, all it takes is money!

Just a thought!

The Two THINGS that are SHORT—TIME and LIFE!

On the weekend of the April 27th, 2019, the Metroplex, and for that matter, the world lost an iconic voice, and a sound that will never be replaced.  

Not so much that the sound can’t be replace, but the body of that voice, the personality of that voice, will never be matched by anyone! 

On Saturday evening the 27th of April, Roger Emrich, the rich stoic, tone, that has graced the airwaves of Dallas/ Ft Worth since 1989, and specifically since 1993 for KRLD 1080AM and the Texas State Network in one capacity or another. Be it, covering the state capitol or sports, with the Friday Night Scoreboard, or even play by play of High School sports- Roger Emrich has been a part of the landscape all of this time. 

In 2011, he became the Public Address Announcer for the Dallas Cowboys inside their new home AT&T Stadium.  

That BOOMING Voice, bouncing off the rafters in the stadium, got your attention.  

Truly a great choice by the brain trust of the Cowboys for choosing Roger for their “PA VOICE”.  

But when you strip all of that away, and you take the time to have gotten to know Roger, you would have found out, that the “Bigger Than Life” persona, that came with his voice, was truly the package in what you got.  

He shook your hand, looked you right in the eye, and called you “Pardna!” as if you had been friends for a million years, and yet you just sat down with him five minutes ago!  

Yes that is exactly how he made, you feel, like a part of the family! Be it his radio family, or his extended family, Roger made you feel that comfortable and that warm.  

He was a show stopper, he would enter a room, and immediately we all knew who was in the house. RAJ-MAHAL was here! 

He was a "YO ROGER RAPS"  by doing satire RAP music for the sports station in Dallas/Ft. Worth 1053 the FAN, and it was a treat to see who they would get to do a duet with him! And most times it was hillarious!  

I have tried to write a eulogy to my friend, but to be honest with you, I can’t write a mournful word about him, I can and will continue to Celebrate Roger, and the life that he shared with those of us that had the opportunity to be a part of. 

Knowing Roger for the 30 years that I have been in this field, I was treated to some of the best stories, the best food ideas, restaurants, and advise about how to better my craft! All because HE wanted to, I have done my very best to pay it forward because of his ability to share. I try to continue to do that. 

Roger and his wife ( Cris, who preceded him in death) absorbed you into their lives, and were always genuine when they asked how you were doing, not something in passing, but truly cared. When their son was born, and Roger would let him tag along to games, and be a part of his broadcasting crew, it was only natural that “Little Teddy” would grow up being in this industry and surpassing Pops!  

He’s no longer Little Teddy! Now he is TED EMRICH! And over the years, he has done well, ESPN Television, the Olympics, The Masters, and other sporting events for Westwood One Radio and For Television on ESPN U and other outlets.  

Roger was very proud of his son’s accomplishments, and extremely proud the day that Ted met his future bride Kate, and they were married, and shortly thereafter, made The RAJ-MAHAL and GRANDPA ROG!  

The little girl that has Grandpa wrapped around her little finger and knows it too!  

Ted and Kate, it is times, like this one, that your faith and family along with the many friends of not just those of yours, but those that your father and mother have, that will surround you with the love and the protection that you will need!  

Everyone will ask you, if there is anything that they can do for you, and never hesitate to ask for that help when you need it most!  

No one is an Island, and no one should go through this challenge in life alone! It is, just that a challenge, and we all grow a little bit from it! 

Roger instilled in you Ted, everything you have become, and those of us who have known you for the majority of your life, are just as proud of you as if we were related to you!  

We will miss your father, we will miss our friend, and we will miss the laughter and the stories, as well as the suggestions for restaurants. 

Once Roger found out that I was once married to a woman from New Iberia, LA, you could have sworn I was an Honorary Cajun, by his standards!  

From his meager beginnings, to his joining the Air Force, to writing for the News Papers, to making it to Radio and continue his journey from Louisiana to Texas! Roger Emrich will be forever forged into our memories, and into our hearts! 

WE will miss you my friend! WE WILL REMEMBER YOU ALWAYS!  

Just a thought  

Next Stop--- Basketball Immortality! The Hall of Fame

Number 41 in your programs, number 1 in your hearts, the best of the best—the 14 Time All Star, the League MVP, and a World Champion! The ONE the ONLY, Dirk Nowitzki!

Twenty one years in one uniform, 21 years playing for the same team, and 21 years of bringing a brand of basketball to a league, to a city that everyone can appreciate, and not once could you say anything wrong about his ability!

Yes, the sun rose on a Thursday morning in Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas and for the first time in 21 years, there will no more Dirk Nowitzki hitting a fade away jumper from 15 feet out of the rim and letting fall between the twine of the net of the basket.

It is not the first time in the history of Dallas/Ft. Worth sports, that a “hero” had to step down from his playing days, and call it a career. Though rare that it is that you get to have that one player in your city for his entire career, and for that matter 21 years.

Most of the time its 10 years, give or take a few years.

Lets look at the others that have graced the front page of the Sports sections in this sports town.

Troy Aikman—10 years with the Dallas Cowboys, played his entire career in the same uniform, and retired with THREE Super Bowl Rings, Hall of Fame induction, Cowboy Ring of Honor, and countless Cowboys records.

Michael Irvin, 11 years as a Cowboy receiver. THREE Super Bowl Rings, Hall of Fame induction, Cowboy Ring of Honor and COUNTLESS records in the Cowboys record books.

Emmitt Smith—oops didn’t finish his career in a Cowboy uniform, nope he was released then went to Arizona to play one year for the Cardinals. But not before setting a NEW NFL Rushing Record, leap frogging over Walter Payton, and—YES, THREE SUPER BOWL RINGS—Hall of Fame induction, Cowboys Ring of Honor, and oh yeah that little thing known as a records.

Those are just a handful of the Cowboy greats, throw in  Roger Staubach, and his TWO Super Bowl Rings and Hall of Fame Induction and Cowboys Ring of Honor and we can just stay on this subject for the rest of article.

What about Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, he played the majority of his career for the Texas Rangers, but won a World Series ring with the Florida Marlins, and then bounced around to other teams, there is a patter that is about to follow, that not everyone one gets to start and finish with the same team- for a career.

Mike Modano of the Dallas Stars, started in Minnesota with the North Stars then the team moved to Dallas and became the Dallas Stars, and he played until they released him and one last season with the Detroit Red Wings and then retirement. The Stars did indeed retire his #9 sweater—and he does have a Stanley Cup Championship and numerous All Star appearance and Olympics as well!

Just to continue with this theme, prior to free agency, players were the property of the teams and their owners, they would start and end their playing careers with the same team unless they were traded to another team.

Look at Babe Ruth, started out with the Boston Red Sox, until the owner needed capitol to get a play on Broadway that, pretty much, FLOPPED. But none the less the New York Yankees paid to bring the Bambino to the Bronx and that is where he led them to championship after championship.

Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, all wore the pinstripes throughout their careers, but other guys like Billy Martin who, after a few altercations, was placed on the trading block and sent to Kansas City, (the Team owns you to do as they please, not getting the best offer from a team when your contract is up)

The few players that were able to start and end their careers with the same team, during the age of free agency, Cal Ripken Jr. comes to mind, who played his entire career with the Baltimore Orioles, and broke the Iron Man’s record for consecutive games played. Twenty years with the same team and played in 2632 games. Now that is a record that I doubt anyone will ever break, but then again, we said the same thing about home runs, and track records, that have fallen, all because, as the adage goes, “Records are made to be broken”.

Dirk Nowitzki, will be forever entrenched in the lore of the Dallas Mavericks, there were others that came into the Maverick fold, Brad Davis, Rolondo Blackman, Steve Nash, Jet Terry, and a host of others. But NO ONE will ever wear the number 41 ever again, and no one will touch what he has done for this team, for this city, or this community, and for his fans!

When the NBA season starts for 2019-20, it will be without Dirk as well as another star Dwayne Wade, who also retried this season, and the landscape will be in the hands of the other youngsters that will make their mark in the NBA.

Luka Doncic, has started his legend this year, as the rookie phenom, and the Wunderkind, to take the place of the Big German, as Nowitzki has come to be known over the years. There will be others, you can rest assure of that.

Come the dawn of a new season in six months or so, it will be a new roster and a new caliber of player to wear the uniform of the Mavericks and with that, hope will once again be on the side of the fans and maybe there will be a shimmering of hope that another NBA Title looms on the horizon.

Though when you think about it, it has been a lot of retirements happening since last summer, with the Rangers announcing the retirement of Adrian Beltre, and soon his number will be retired at the Ball Park, and to think they won’t even wait for several years to pass before they do that. Makes you wonder, how soon will Mark Cuban do that for Dirk, and retire 41 before he goes into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Thanks for all that you have done Dirk, for the Mavericks, the City of Dallas, and for the Community you have adopted as your home after coming over from Germany! Danke Shoen! Mein Herr!

Just a thought!