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Posted on Thu, Apr. 17, 2008

AAC requires an explosion, from Dallas Stars or demolition

By JENNIFER FLOYD ENGEL

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

FRISCO -- Loserville officially has a town square: the AAC.

The Ballpark in Arlington had been the unofficial capital of Loserville because, well, who stinks more than the Rangers? But they stink wherever they go whereas the AAC is where pretty good teams go to self-destruct in the playoffs.

Example No. 457 of this building's power drainage came Tuesday.

Your Dallas Stars arrived back from Anaheim after two impressive victories against The Defending Stanley Cup Champs with seeming firm control of this series. Fans were jacked. And the AAC was packed and humming for Game 3.

The Stars immediately threw up their skirts.

They reverted to playing like loyal residents of Loserville almost immediately upon arrival. It is like the building plays some sort Jedi mind trick on its inhabitants. They walk in and immediately choke.

And if the Stars do not win Game 4, a game described as "must win" by Mike Modano, put a fork in them.

A victory gives them a good chance to shed our Loserville ways.

A loss puts the Mavs on the clock, although, Wednesday provided hope that this Mavs team has a very good chance to do just that against New Orleans.

And if not, blow up the AAC.

Seriously, Stars captain Brenden Morrow needs to call Dirk (a kindred soul in "Do Whatever It Takes") and assemble an Oceans 11-like crew with Steve Ott, Stephane Robidas and Jerry Stackhouse and implode a building where playoff disappointment happens before another postseason is ruined.

"I have watched a lot of movies," mini-Mo volunteered. "I know where to put the C-4."

He was joking. I think.

He obviously misses Reunion Arena. Who doesn't?

I was driving past Reunion on Wednesday and actually found myself reflecting back fondly on the creaky old barn. Sure the bowels smelled of stale beer and you had to run up the stairs on deadline because no elevators exist and special funnels had to be attached to the ceilings in May and June to battle humidity.

But games were played in June in Reunion.

The Stars won in Reunion.

In fact, they were the last team to win a championship before we slowly slipped into Loserville status like everybody else. That was 1999. The Mavs were the last team to win a playoff series, back in 2006, but that run ended with what else? A loss at the AAC.

Of course, when compared to their Reunion Record, one Finals loss doesn't seem so bad.

The Stars have fared worse since arriving in the new building, losers of their seven of their last eight home playoff games. They have won five playoff games total since moving into the AAC in 2002 and two of those came against Edmonton, which only barely count.

So the building is jinxed, right?

"Do you think the building is jinxed?" Stars coach Dave Tippett asked.

What I think is the Stars, Mavs and Desperados make a pretty good evidentiary argument for jinxed.

Either that or they just stink.

This is what the Stars were on Tuesday. Bad, ugly bad. They lacked emotion. They played stupid. They looked timid. It wasn't so much that they lost. Nobody expected them to sweep the defending champs, but the non-compete we saw in the first 40 minutes was embarrassing.

Home. Or away.

Tip went through this whole deal about how it doesn't matter where you play but how. This sounds good in theory but what nobody seems capable of answering is why the Stars play better away from the AAC.

They were a really good team in Anaheim. Or I thought they were.

After watching Tuesday's game, fans had to wondering if what happens in California stays in California. And this is especially disappointing because Stars fans actually had showed up giddy to see that team and were treated to ghosts of playoff past.

And we can not even blame Romo's traveling jinx, Jessica Simpson, for this latest D/FW sports meltdown. She was nowhere near the AAC for this latest Stars choke.

"I'm not sure what it is over there," Mo said. "It always feels ... "

Mo couldn't finish the sentence. He, like everybody else in the Stars' organization, has no clue why they are so wretched at home.

Ducks types were mocking the Stars' AAC incompetence, calling it the "The One and Done Center."

Actually, American Airlines seems like a perfect corporate naming sponsor considering how poorly recent customer satisfaction rankings were. AAC customers are not exactly thrilled, either.

So forget black tonight.

Wear orange. Actually wear Ducks jerseys and T-shirts and wave Ducks towels and do whatever wackiness qualifies as hockey tradition in SoCal, hopefully a Duck-out will convince players they are on the road and thereby allow them to win.

If not ...

If they lose ...

Use those black outfits to join Morrow, Stackhouse and Co. in trying to blow up the AAC.

The other option is to blow up the Stars.