Back to The Ballpark

Tom Hicks finally made a good move with the Rangers. The owner who has completed countless dismal trades and established a perpetually bad pitching staff deserves credit for an off-the-field decision this time. He jettisoned the unpopular name of his popular ballpark. He had no choice but to sever ties with Ameriquest Mortgage, really. But he could have resold the name. Instead, he realized the power of name recognition by bringing back The Ballpark in Arlington -- with only a slight modification.

Hicks added Rangers to the name. Still, Rangers Ballpark in Arlington is much more palatable than Ameriquest Field in Arlington, especially to those of us who never warmed up to the corporate name. There's a lesson to be learned here: Selling the naming rights to a stadium, while initially lucrative, can prove much more troublesome -- and less valuable -- down the road.

Cramming for Italy

My wife and I set out across the Atlantic tomorrow for a few days in Italy. We'll be flying into Venice, before moving on to Florence, Pisa and Rome. I've been voraciously reading about these three cities in hopes of remembering some of the sites we will visit. The famous ones are easy, but there's so much history in Europe I'm a little overwhelmed. I'm not worried, though. We have a long flight ahead of us -- plenty of time to finish cramming.

Lady Frogs earn seventh straight NCAA invite

Congratulations must go out to the Lady Frogs, who despite stumbling at the end of the season, earned their seventh consecutive bid to the NCAA Tournament. They've never advanced past the second round. With defending champ Maryland looming for the winner of Sunday's TCU-Mississippi clash, the Sweet 16 is unlikely again this year.

But unlike the recent past, a bid was far from a sure thing. Despite a 21-10 record, the Lady Frogs were fortunate to get in this year. For one thing, the Mountain West Conference was under-appreciated this year. Could the TV deal have anything to do with this? It seems likely, considering the strong performances of BYU, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming during the regular season. All have at least 19 wins. TCU could have -- and maybe should have -- been left out of the NCAAs. But the invitation is an indication of the type of program Jeff Mittie has built in Fort Worth. The men's program could learn a thing or two about success by examining how he has built a struggling team without much of a history of success into a nationally recognized power.

Frogs will not make coaching change

As expected, a 3-5 record down the stretch was enough to save Neil Dougherty's job. He'll be back for a sixth season after apparently assuring athletic director Danny Morrison the program is progressing.

TCU faces conference champ BYU

The Frogs are aiming for another upset in Las Vegas this afternoon. But this time, they face their most difficult challenge -- conference champion BYU. There was a time when TCU could beat BYU. A 50-plus-point victory under Billy Tubbs comes to mind. Those were the days when a good night resulted in 100 points. Now, the Frogs are lucky on some nights to post half that. On the bright side, Neil Dougherty has his team playing relatively well when it matters. For this, he deserves credit.

Whether a late-season rally will be enough to save his job is unknown. I suspect that when he's evaluated at the end of the season (likely to come today) Coach D will be given one more year to prove himself. His subpar record should supply all the evidence needed -- he's 19-41 in the past two years alone -- but TCU would have to buy out the final two years of his contract if he were fired. I'm just not sure they're dissatisfied with Dougherty enough to do that.

Today's game: TCU vs. BYU, 2 p.m., Las Vegas

Update: To no one's surprise, BYU ended TCU's season, winning 77-64 over the Mountain West's No. 8 seed. Frog fans must now wait for athletic director Danny Morrison to determine Dougherty's future.

Frogs win opener

The Frogs showed some heart last night by erasing a 14-point deficit against the New Mexico Lobos. The seeding held up in the play-in game. New Mexico -- by virtue of a miracle -- came in last in the nine-team league. Actually, it was the win over Air Force that pulled the Frogs out of the basement. Like I said, a miracle.
Final: 62-54