Star-Telegram.com: Sports

Pressure to win doesn't rattle Cowboys coach Phillips

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:48 CST

CLARENCE E. HILL JR.

Dallas Cowboys coach Wade Phillips is in the final year of his contract. Owner Jerry Jones has an option for next year, but has chosen to let the season play out before addressing Phillips’ future.

How the Cowboys finish will determine whether Phillips will be back for a fourth season. Phillips knows as much, but chooses not worry about it.

“That’s the way I’ve always coached,” Phillips said. “Way back [in Denver], when we were 10-6, 10-6, 11-5 and went to two AFC Championship games and we got fired, I realized that ‘Hey, you can do a great job and for whatever reason, you can be gone.’ So I stopped worrying about all that and worry about coaching, trying to do the best I can do to help the team win. That’s all I really think about.”

The Cowboys are 6-3 and sitting alone atop the NFC East. Phillips has an overall record of 28-14 in Dallas. But, he is 16-13 since opening the 2007 season with a 12-1 mark and the Cowboys still haven’t won a playoff game since 1996.

No matter what happens, Phillips said his spirit and confidence won’t be broken because he knows he is a good coach and that he does a good job.

“I have confidence in myself as a coach,” Phillips said. “I think I can do a good job and I think I can help the team do better. Whatever it is, my record shows that. Everywhere I’ve been we’ve won.”

Clarence E. Hill Jr. 817-390-7760

Cowboys’ ground game hasn’t been up to speed

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:53 CST

By JEFF CAPLAN

IRVING — Prior to the loss to Green Bay, Dallas Cowboys coach Wade Phillips expressed his desire to rekindle fading memories of Felix Jones dashing downfield with the ball.

Jones got three carries and gained 6 yards against the Packers.

Facing Sunday’s bounce-back game against Washington, owner-general manager Jerry Jones, fresh from watching Thursday’s practice, weighed in with his own request to get the ball in the hands of his disappearing playmaker.

"I’d sure like to see the ball in the hands of the players with speed and playmaking ability," he said. "All of those are almost clichés when you say them, but I’d like to see him [Felix Jones] with the ball more."

Jones is the most dynamic of the Cowboys’ three running backs and, along with receiver Miles Austin, is the rare player on the roster who can go the distance on any given play.

Yet, he had only seven carries and 16 yards in the past two games.

"You don’t have to really be a sophisticated football man to step out here and watch practice and watch what Felix Jones does and understand that he needs the ball," Jerry Jones said.

That’s not a potshot at the Cowboys’ Princeton-educated offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, the man Jones is paying $3 million this season to effectively utilize his top weapons.

Much has been made recently of the Cowboys’ dwindling running game, an attack that came out of the gates with ferocity and ranked No. 1 in the league.

In the past two games, Dallas ran 37 times and threw 73 times. It failed to reach 100 yards rushing in both games, just the third time that’s happened this season and the first since the Week 4 loss at Denver.

Dallas’ ground game ranks eighth, averaging 130.0 yards a game, but still ranks second in yards per carry at 5.1, suggesting that when the Cowboys do commit to the run, they are usually successful.

Their season-low 14 carries at Green Bay, coaches say, was more a matter of circumstance than strategy. The Cowboys had trouble converting third downs all game, limiting their number of snaps, and then passed on their final 27 snaps, trailing 17-0.

Even so, the Cowboys spent the majority of the Green Bay game in shotgun formation, with only 13 of 58 plays coming with quarterback Tony Romo under center.

"Our goals are always to be balanced. That’s what we’re trying to do," Garrett said. "I think we were 10 [pass] and eight [run] at halftime. We always want to do that. That’s something that I think we’ve done a good job of this year. You always want to attack the defense with as many things as you can. It starts with the run and pass. It starts with running it inside, running it outside, throwing it long, throwing it short, and using different personnel groups and different players."

The Cowboys’ running game starts with Marion Barber, who hands the baton to Jones, recently with far less frequency. So why is that?

Phillips acknowledged earlier in the week that Jones is not adept at pass protection and some other assignments, which removes him at times that he otherwise might be in the game.

Then there’s Jones’ injury history. He strained a ligament in his left knee in Week 3, missed two games and hasn’t been the same since.

Before the injury, Jones had 21 carries for 212 yards (10.1 yards a carry). Since coming back after the bye week and wearing a knee brace, he has 23 carries for 92 yards.

His eye-popping explosiveness has been curiously missing.

"I’m feeling good. The knee’s been doing good," Jones said. "We’ve just been put into situations where we’ve had to do different things. That’s just about it."

With Cowboys’ Ken Hamlin out Sunday, Alan Ball makes starting debut

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:53 CST

By CHAREAN WILLIAMS

IRVING — Alan Ball will make h is first NFL start at free safety Sunday for the Dallas Cowboys in place of the injured Ken Hamlin.

Hamlin is expected to miss 2-4 weeks with a high ankle sprain.

"This is real big for me," Ball said Thursday. "I’m just looking for the opportunity to help out the team any way I can. Special teams, I look at the same way. Any way I can come in and help."

Ball, a seventh-round pick in 2007, was moved from cornerback to safety this season. He has seen spot duty at both cornerback and safety.

"It’s [safety] a position we’ve worked him on all along," coach Wade Phillips said. "He’s obviously very versatile. ... He’s ready to go in, and he did go in the last game and play at safety."

Ball, as the quarterback on defense, will make the calls, but he will get help from strong safety Gerald Sensabaugh.

"At cornerback, you don’t have to talk a lot," Ball said. "At safety, you have to know a lot. You have to make a lot of adjustments, a lot of checks. So you have to know a lot more going in. That’s about what it is."

Ball has five tackles and a pass breakup on defense this season. He has 12 special teams tackles, but is expected to have his special-teams workload lightened this week.

Phillips said rookie safety Mike Hamlin and cornerback Orlando Scandrick will fill in on special teams. Mike Hamlin has not been active this season.

This little piggy ...

Rookie David Buehler said he doesn’t expect his toe injury to keep him from kicking off Sunday. Buehler broke the little toe on his right foot last week while playing on punt coverage.

"It’s a little sore right now, but I’ve been getting treatment on it, so I’ll be good to go come Sunday," Buehler said. "... I’ve just got to tape it together and grit down and bite my lip and give it hell, pretty much."

Buehler, who is tied for third in the NFL with 17 touchbacks, kicked well in practice Thursday, Wade Phillips said.

"He bombed it like he normally does," Phillips said.

Ball security

Roy Williams said penalties and turnovers are holding back a potent Cowboys’ offense.

"This is a good football team. We’re too good to lose a ball game, and that’s turnovers and penalties," said Williams, who fumbled after a 42-yard gain into Packers territory last week. "Every time we lose, that’s the problem."

Penalties are high win or lose, but the turnover ratio reveals a significant discrepancy in victories and defeats.

In the Cowboys’ six wins, they have just five turnovers and are a plus-5. In three losses, the turnovers skyrocket to nine and minus-8. Dallas turned it over three times in the 17-7 loss at Green Bay.

"This is a fun offense to be in," Williams said. "Just penalties and turnovers, that’s it."

Some critics are missing the point when it comes to TCU

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:56 CST

JAN HUBBARD

Although TCU has been successful in the Gary Patterson era, the Frogs have reached new heights this season.

They have been so good that people have started to take shots at them. From a TCU perspective, that’s outstanding. Patterson undoubtedly subscribes to the notion of love me or hate me, but do not ignore me.

My friend Richard Justice at the Houston Chronicle belittled the Frogs this week, writing that, "Just because TCU is a sweet little story doesn’t mean TCU has accomplished more than Texas."

If someone has suggested in any way that TCU has accomplished more or is more deserving than Texas, I haven’t seen it. I can imagine someone might have said it, but I would guess that person was wearing purple shoes, purple socks, purple slacks, a purple shirt, purple vest, purple sport jacket, purple-tinged glasses and purple top hat.

Although it would be fascinating to see any non-BCS team in the national championship game, as Patterson has pointed out, Florida, Alabama and Texas have been the top-rated teams all year and because none of them has lost a game, it’s unrealistic to say any team should be in the mix rather than them.

Anybody would love to play for a national title, but putting TCU ahead of what is likely to be two undefeated teams from established conferences is not realistic. Only a playoff system would help the Frogs in that scenario, and that’s not going to happen.

But there is a fascinating possibility for the Frogs and for those of us who find the BCS about as appealing as kissing an armadillo.

Let’s say that Alabama loses its last regular-season game to hated rival Auburn and then defeats Florida in the SEC Championship Game.

Let’s say Texas finishes the season undefeated but loses to Alabama in the national title game.

Let’s say TCU goes to the Sugar Bowl and beats Florida.

You then have an undefeated TCU team, and the national champion and runner-up each have one loss.

(Apologies to undefeated teams from Cincinnati and Boise State, but the BCS makes life difficult enough without speculating about you guys.)

Coaches are still obligated to vote for the BCS winner as national champion, but AP voters are not bound by the BCS agreement. Such a situation occurred in 2003 when a one-loss LSU team won the BCS, but AP voters selected a one-loss USC team No. 1.

Both teams went to the White House.

The criticism that Patterson correctly finds tiring is that the Frogs do not play as difficult of a schedule as the BCS teams.

Justice fell into that trap when he wrote, "TCU has beaten Clemson, BYU, Air Force and Utah. Texas has beaten Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Missouri."

So the point is what? That Texas has beaten an 8-2 team and three 6-4 teams? Beat teams from OSU and Tech that lost to Conference USA Houston? Beat an OU team that lost to BYU, a team TCU defeated by 31 points? Beat a Missouri team that lost a home game to Baylor?

The point of such criticism is that the depth of BCS conferences is superior to that of the Mountain West.

No argument there, but as Patterson pointed out: "I watched UNLV beat Iowa State last year so I don’t understand their point. You judge everything off the top. That’s what you do. You don’t see the bottom tier going to the BCS. You judge it off the top."

Since the BCS formed in 1998, 37 of the 65 schools in the six BCS conferences have gone to major bowls, and the only reason some of them went is because the six conferences have had automatic bids.

Dallas Stars’ game plan falls apart in loss to Blue Jackets

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:56 CST

By MIKE HEIKA

DALLAS — The Dallas Stars were different Thursday at home.

Not better, just different.

Playing in a fight-filled game and losing the special teams battle in just about every way, Dallas fell 4-1 to Columbus to drop to 3-3-3 at American Airlines Center.

That’s not the kind of success you expect from a team that entered this season with the second-best home record in the NHL since 2002.

"We have to find a way to take care of home ice," said center Brad Richards.

And find a way to get on a roll. The Stars followed an impressive team performance in Detroit with a muddled game that went in about three different directions. And again, this team lost after winning. On only one occasion this season have the Stars followed a win with a win.

That leaves them 9-6-6 on the season, trailing the surprising Blue Jackets, who moved to 12-6-2.

Columbus was both smart and opportunistic in its play. Rick Nash forced his way to the front of the net midway through the first period to shovel in a loose puck on the power play for his 14th goal of the young season. That followed a missed power-play opportunity for the Stars less than two minutes into the game.

"Those are ones we need to take advantage of," said Mike Modano, who scored Dallas’ only goal later in the game.

After Nash scored, the game turned into a bit of a donnybrook, as there were three fights and one near fight that was called roughing. Dallas took advantage with a couple of power-play opportunities, including one in the final 1:43 of the first period.

But instead of the Stars tying the game, Columbus forward Kristian Huselius stole a puck from Mike Ribeiro, skated up ice and scored on Marty Turco with 0.3 seconds on the first-period clock.

It was a dagger through Dallas’ heart.

If that play wasn’t big enough, James Neal took a five-minute major penalty for boarding in the second period, and Columbus scored twice more. Huselius notched his second of the game, and Raffi Torres also scored to make it 4-0.

Modano scored, but Dallas never mounted a threat after that.

Rangers announce 2010 spring training schedule

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:43 CST

By ANTHONY ANDRO

Fans will get their first chance to see the 2010 Texas Rangers on March 4 when the team opens the exhibition season against the Kansas City Royals at Surprise (Ariz.) Stadium.

The Rangers released their spring training schedule Thursday, and they will play 31 exhibition games.

All but two of those games will be in Arizona. The Rangers will leave Surprise after an April 1 game against Cincinnati.

They will play Kansas City on April 2 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington and will meet the Royals again the next day in Frisco.

Pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report Feb. 18, with workouts beginning Feb. 19. Infielders and outfielders don’t have to be in camp until Feb. 23.

Full-squad workouts begin Feb. 24.

Texas will play 16 games at Surprise Stadium, highlighted by home dates against the Los Angeles Dodgers (March 20) and Chicago Cubs (March 24).

Exhibition season-ticket packages go on sale Dec. 1. For more information, go to www.surprisespringtraining.com or call 623-222-2222.

Young honored

For the fourth time in the past six seasons, Michael Young has been selected the Rangers’ Player of the Year by area members of the Baseball Writers’ Association.

Young also won the award in 2004, 2005 and 2007.

He finished the 2009 season hitting .322 with 22 home runs and 68 RBI in 135 games. In his first season at third base after moving from shortstop, Young made his first All-Star Game start.

Young’s average was fifth best in the American League and it marked a club-record sixth time that he’s hit at least .300.

Young will receive his award at the 2010 Rangers Mid-Winter Awards Banquet, which is scheduled Jan. 29 at the Omni Fort Worth Hotel.

Tickets for the banquet are available from www.texasrangers.com.

Two added to roster

Texas has added a pair of left-handed pitchers — Michael Kirkman and Zachary Phillips — to its 40-man roster.

Kirkman combined to go 9-8 with a 3.48 ERA in 26 games this year for Class A Bakersfield and Double A Frisco. Phillips also pitched for Bakersfield and Frisco, going a combined 2-3 with four saves and a 1.39 ERA in 36 games.

With those moves, the Rangers have 37 players on their 40-man roster.

2010 Texas Rangers spring training schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Time
Thursday, March 4	Kansas City Royals	Surprise Stadium	2:05 p.m.
Friday, March 5	Kansas City Royals	Surprise Stadium	2:05 p.m.
Saturday, March 6	Kansas City Royals	Surprise Stadium	2:05 p.m.
Sunday, March 7	Cleveland Indians	Goodyear	3:05 p.m.
Monday, March 8	Los Angeles Angels	Surprise Stadium	3:05 p.m.
Tuesday, March 9	Oakland A’s	Phoenix	3:05 p.m.
Wednesday, March 10	Seattle Mariners	Surprise Stadium	3:05 p.m.
Thursday, March 11	Colorado Rockies	Tucson	3:05 p.m.
Friday, March 12	San Diego Padres	Surprise Stadium	3:05 p.m.
Saturday, March 13	Cleveland Indians	Goodyear	3:05 p.m.
Sunday, March 14	Arizona Diamondbacks (SS)	Surprise Stadium	3:05 p.m.
Los Angeles Dodgers (SS)	Glendale	3:05 p.m.
Monday, March 15	San Francisco Giants	Surprise Stadium	8:05 p.m.
Tuesday, March 16	Chicago Cubs	Mesa	3:05 p.m.
Wednesday, March 17	Seattle Mariners	Peoria	9:05 p.m.
Thursday, March 18	Milwaukee Brewers	Surprise Stadium	8:05 p.m.
Friday, March 19	Cleveland Indians	Surprise Stadium	3:05 p.m.
Saturday, March 20	Los Angeles Dodgers	Surprise Stadium	3:05 p.m.
Sunday, March 21	San Diego Padres	Peoria	3:05 p.m.
Monday, March 22	San Francisco Giants	Scottsdale	3:05 p.m.
Tuesday, March 23	off day
Wednesday, March 24	Chicago Cubs	Surprise Stadium	3:05 p.m.
Thursday, March 25	Los Angeles Angels	Tempe	3:05 p.m.
Friday, March 26	Oakland A’s	Surprise Stadium	3:05 p.m.
Saturday, March 27	Milwaukee Brewers	Maryvale	3:05 p.m.
Sunday, March 28	Chicago White Sox	Surprise Stadium	3:05 p.m.
Monday, March 29	Colorado Rockies	Surprise Stadium	3:05 p.m.
Tuesday, March 30	Arizona Diamondbacks	Tucson	3:05 p.m.
Wednesday, March 31	Seattle Mariners	Surprise Stadium	3:05 p.m.
Thursday, April 1	Cincinnati Reds	Goodyear	3:05 p.m.
Friday, April 2	Kansas City Royals	Arlington	7:05 p.m.
Saturday, April 3	Kansas City Royals	Frisco	1:05 p.m.

SS-split squad

Martin junior Danzel Williams is stepping up in unexpected ways

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:59 CST

By CARLOS MENDEZ

ARLINGTON — Danzel Williams had a vision for how his junior season would look.

He’d be the main running back. He’d be scoring touchdowns. He’d be on the sideline huddling with the offense while the defense worked to get the ball back. Arlington Martin would be winning games.

He got just about everything right.

He’s not the main running back, but he does run the ball. He does score touchdowns, but he isn’t on the sideline huddling with the quarterback while the defense works to get the ball back.

And Martin is winning games, enough that the team has a second-round date in the Class 5A Division I playoffs against Odessa Permian in Abilene on Saturday.

But the Warriors (7-4) have gotten that far because the 5-foot-9, 175-pound Williams is also playing defense.

"I said, 'Defense?’ " Williams said, remembering the unspoken thought in his head when coach Bob Wager started talking to him about his defensive assignment this year. "I thought, 'Coach, what are you talking about? I don’t play defense.’ "

Wager knew that, but he knew what the Warriors needed in 2009. A safety who could chase down the ball or come up for run support. In his mind, that would be Williams, although he knew he also would be counted on in the offense.

"When he started the season, he was actually a full-time defensive player," Wager said. "He has gradually increased his role on the offense to the point where he rarely comes off the field. It’s been a seasonlong, 12-week progression to get him to where we are right now."

With his responsibilities on offense, defense and special teams, it would be surprising to see Williams on the sideline. He has more than 1,300 rushing and receiving yards with 15 touchdowns in 11 games. As if to re-emphasize his importance on offense, he ran for 117 yards and four touchdowns in the bi-district playoff win against Haltom last week.

But his defense continues to be noticed.

"He’s pretty good. He’s better than I thought he would be," said his younger brother, sophomore linebacker Cameron Williams. "He’s a big part of our defense right now, and defense is really helping us win our games."

Danzel Williams’ first interception, against South Grand Prairie, convinced him it was the right idea to play defense.

"At first, I didn’t really know the defense that much," he said. "I was nervous. But slowly I started getting it more and more. I said, I can do this. Especially after I got my first pick against South Grand Prairie and we beat them. That told me something. That told me they had a plan after all."

If there were any remaining doubts, they had to be gone two weeks later when Martin went to Cedar Hill and nearly pulled off what would have been the upset of the year. Williams made two interceptions, including one he returned 40 yards for a touchdown, and he made an extraordinary special-teams play. He picked up a shanked extra-point attempt that landed 5 yards deep in the end zone, ran it back 75 yards, then pitched the ball to Steven Caldwell, who ran it the rest of the way for two points.

The Warriors fell short, 47-39, but a spark for their season was lit. They followed with another near upset in a 23-21 loss to Arlington Bowie, but then did pull off an upset with a 38-20 victory against Arlington — starting a 5-1 stretch that landed them in the second round. Martin has never been past this round in its 26-year history.

"We’ve had ups and downs, but the streak we’re on now means we’re finally coming together as a team," Williams said. "Everybody’s playing their roles and their parts."

More than one, in his case.

Double duty Danzel Williams has been a two-way success for the Martin Warriors.

Offense	No Yds TD
Rushing	115 950 14
Receiving	17 255 1
Defense	Tack Ast Int
	42 18 3

Baylor senior has grown into a vocal leader

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:05 CST

By DWAIN PRICE

WACO — Trey Bryant admitted that when he first arrived at Baylor in 2005, he was a follower.

Not anymore.

Not only is Bryant leading by example, the Bears’ nose guard is relishing the role.

"When I first got here, we had some old heads here who had some negative attitudes," Bryant said. "Me, I didn’t know how to do things, so I was kind of following behind them.

"Then when coach [Art] Briles got here [in 2008], we started doing things a lot different."

Briles and others helped motivate Bryant and changed his mind-set, and that attitude has carried over onto the field.

"He comes to work every day, does a good job, is very solid across the board in the weight room and on the field, in the classroom and off the field," Briles said. "So those are all good values.

"He’s played extremely well for us, does a good job up front and has taken on a lot more vocal leadership role for us, which is a bit out of character for him. So I really admire him for that."

A 6-foot-2, 315-pound senior from Richardson Berkner, Bryant hopes his leadership will help the Bears secure two more wins to become bowl-eligible for the first time since 1994. Baylor (4-6, 1-5 Big 12) plays at Texas A&M (5-5, 2-4) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, then faces Texas Tech at 5 p.m. on Nov. 28 in Arlington.

Offensive tackle Danny Watkins said Bryant’s ability reminds him of defensive tackle Phil Taylor, although Bryant sometimes leaves Watkins scratching his head.

"The funny thing is he’ll kick your butt in practice and then smile and tap you on the head right after he does it," Watkins said. "You don’t know what to make of it. Is this guy messing with me?

"The first time it happened with me I was like, 'What’s up with this guy? He just drove me 10 yards into the backfield and then he smiled and tapped me on the head.’ "

That happy-go-lucky attitude, Briles insists, is just part of Bryant’s persona. But Bryant said it was conversations with Briles, defensive tackles coach Chris Achuff, and Kaz Kazadi, the assistant athletic director in charge of strength and conditioning, that convinced him he needed to shape up his overall game.

"I usually just sit back and enjoy everything and am not the outspoken one," Bryant said.

"I’m usually the goofy one and I’m just usually quiet.

"But they all told me for this to be a successful football team, 'You’ve got to come out of that shell and you’ve got to lead these young guys.’ I want to do anything to win, so if I’ve got to come out of my personality and talk more, that’s what I’ll do."

Bryant, who will graduate Dec. 19 with a degree in general studies, said he’s thankful he’s developed skills at Baylor that will help him the rest of his life.

"Trey has really come into his own more than anything," linebacker Joe Pawelek said. "I think from a leadership standpoint, from the time he got here he’s been a big physical presence on the inside.

"He’s really matured and really fine-tuned his game, which in turn has helped him fine-tune his leadership. People really look up to him, and he’s leading that terrific group of defensive tackles and is really doing a great job with them."

Brahmas begin road swing with blowout victory

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:06 CST

ODESSA — A struggling offense came to life in a timely fashion as the Texas Brahmas knocked off Southern Conference-leading Odessa 7-3 on Thursday night in a rematch of last season’s Central Hockey League Southern Conference Finals.

The Brahmas had lost three of their four previous games and scored more than two goals in only one of those games. But after Jason Deitsch started the scoring by beating Jackalopes goalie Juha Toivonen off a pass from new linemate Elias Godoy, the Brahmas’ offense sprang to life.

Texas earned the 2-0 lead just before the first intermission when James Hiebert netted his second goal of the season.

Jordan Cameron gave Texas a three goal lead early in the second when hescored at the 2:31 mark. Things began to get heated up on the Odessa ice when Brahmas defenseman Luke Sellars dropped the gloves with Garrett Gruenke midway in the period. The aggression seemed to awaken the Jackalopes, who responded with two power-play goals on Brahmas goalie Brett Jaeger to cut the lead to one.

Cameron scored again in the second period, followed less than a minute later by a goal by Matt Burto that gave the Brahmas a 5-2 lead.

Texas’ Grant Jacobsen added his sixth goal of the season on a power play in the third period and Burto capped the outburst with one more goal late in the game.

Brahmas forwards Jacobsen, Hiebert, Burto and Cameron finished the game with three points apiece and Jaeger stopped 15 of 18 shots for his third victory of the season.

The Brahmas have two more games on a three-game trip before returning home Wednesday to face Odessa.

Every win counts for Horned Frogs as they aim for NCAA volleyball tournament

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:56 CST

By JAN HUBBARD

One team had a nine-game winning streak and the other had won eight in a row. Oddly, the success of one led to a distraction for the other and the result is that one streak continued, and the other came to an ugly stop.

When ESPN Gameday came to the TCU campus last week, the bad luck of the schedule put the TCU volleyball team in Las Vegas to play UNLV. The Frogs had an eight-match winning streak for the second time this season and were playing a team they had defeated 3-0 in October in Fort Worth.

But the game started and the players’ focus was somewhere else. They came out flat and were overwhelmed in three consecutive games by UNLV.

"They weren’t focused on anything," TCU coach Prentice Lewis said. "They didn’t do their regular pregame routines. A lot of it had to do with our football team and ESPN and all that. Everyone was excited about ESPN being here so the focus wasn’t on what we were doing."

TCU coach Gary Patterson likely will be thrilled to get at least partial blame for one school loss on Saturday.

Lewis, however, wasn’t making excuses. It was only natural for the players to be as thrilled as the crowd of 50,000-plus was that night at Amon G. Carter Stadium. It was a distraction, but an understandable one given the historic nature of what was happening in Fort Worth.

The problem is that TCU is aiming for its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament and every loss hurts.

"We were really disappointed," senior Kourtney Edwards said. "But it was a wakeup call to let us know that we’ve got to get in gear. We found out anything can happen and we have to stay focused to be consistent."

With a 12-3 Mountain West Conference record, the Frogs are second behind 14-1 Colorado State. TCU has three matches remaining and is guaranteed to finish no worse than second.

But tonight will be special for the team because four seniors will play their final home match against New Mexico at 7 at the TCU University Rec Center.

Edwards (Haltom), Katelyn Blackwood (Houston Lamar), Victoria Hernandez (Brownwood) and Lauren Otto (Arlington High) will be honored after the match, but it is the match itself that gives them the chance to do something special.

TCU has a 23-6 record. The Frogs have never won 24 matches in a season and they have a chance to do it before what could be a sellout crowd of 1,800.

A victory also would improve TCU’s chance of making the NCAA Tournament.

"It’s really important to go out on a win and a good, happy note playing well on my home court," Otto said. "We’ve done a lot as far as making history with wins at BYU and New Mexico [both program firsts].

"Our goal since we’ve been here has been to make the tournament and to make it this year would be exciting for everyone."

Lewis said that one of the highlights of the year has been home attendance. The Frogs had never had more than 1,000 at a game, but they’ve exceeded that several times this season.

"One crowd was 1,800 and that’s never happened," she said, "and another was 1,600. The fan support has been great."

Part of the reason is that seven of the players are from the greater Fort Worth area and they have a large following of family and friends.

"Our families are so great," Edwards said. "We’re so close on the team. Whenever our parents come, they get together and we have a lot of fans, so that helps a lot."

The fans will see the seniors at home for the final time tonight. And the seniors are hoping that when the season ends with two matches next weekend, they can all look back and say that last home game went a long way toward earning them an NCAA berth.