The Babaganoush Sports Beat

Texas Rangers
We’ve hit the skids. We’re on the schneide. When will it end? I’m not going to tell you! Why? Because you should be watching the games at home or heading out to the ballpark, that’s why. The Rangers are on the cusp of being a true playoff contention team, but they need fan support. So dig out those Rangers shirts you have hidden away in the back of your closet or on your rag pile and throw up The Claw. IT’S TIME!

Dallas Cowboys
As much as I would like to say about the embarrassment that was our preseason, I’d rather not. We’ve had some keys players with injuries over the length of preseason, so it is hard to judge, but let’s just be content that preseason doesn’t count, it’s hardly important, and it’s over. The regular season starts Sunday for the Cowboys, so get your hands out of your pockets and start cheering for the home team. How embarrassing would it be to be considered a Super Bowl contender at the beginning of the year and not make it? Not as embarrassing as having to host the Super Bowl at your new home stadium and not make it? Think about it.

SMU Mustangs Football
Kyle Padron was 21 for 38 and threw for 218 yards, along with 2 touchdowns in a loss against Texas Tech on Sunday, 35-27. The win gave Tommy Tuberville his first as Red Raiders coach. Texas Tech ran its winning streak against SMU to 14 games, dating back to 1989. Tech QB Potts was 34 for 53 with no interceptions and connected with Lyle Leong for three scores and Detron Lewis for the other. Eric Stephens rushed for 3-yard TD to put Texas Tech up 35-14 midway through the third quarter. Texas Tech's defense had the task of trying to stop Padron, who threw for a school-record 460 yards and two touchdowns running coach June Jones' run-n-shoot in a 45-10 win over Nevada in the Hawaii Bowl. SMU’s Darryl Fields returned a kickoff 92 yards to set up a 24-yard field to pull SMU within 35-17. Early in the fourth, Matt Szymanski booted a 61-yard field goal, his longest ever.

SMU scored its first touchdown on its final drive of the first half as Padron led a 13-play drive, including his scrambling for 18 yards for a first down on fourth-and-3 from Tech's 34. Zach Line scored from 2 yards and the Mustangs were down by only one score. SMU pulled within 35-27 midway through the fourth quarter after taking over on downs on the Tech 32. On fourth-and-six from the 13, Padron threw into the end zone and it looked like safety Cody Davis had broken it up. But the ball stayed up in the air and Cole Beasley caught it for a score.

The Mustangs had a chance late and were driving when they failed to convert a fourth-and-21 from the 50 on their final drive. Texas Tech intercepted SMU quarterback Kyle Padron three times in the game. The Mustangs rallied behind their special teams. The Mustangs also blocked two field goals. All in all, it was a fun game to watch, if not completely frustrating. SMU had many chances to break open this game and turn the tides, but failed. It was just plain sloppy, especially the first half. Once Padron seemed to calm down and get in a rhythm things started to look up for the Mustangs, but you can’t bet the farm on him just yet. If I had to pick an upside of this loss it would have to be the SMU defense. There were times in this game where SMU’s defense looked completely gassed, but came through with a big stop. Against the less offensively suave teams in our conference, I have no doubt that this defense will be a huge game changer.