1. C1 08-31-2014 Set: 22:15:09
Sent by: mkondracki@dallasnews.com SportsCYANMAGENTAYELLOWBLACK
SportsDay
M . . . . . . . .
A
winless preseason in
which Dallas was
outscored by more
points than any other team
assures us only that the Cow-
boys will fool no one into
thinking they are Super
Bowl-ready in 2014. But can
this team possibly be as bad
as it looked?
It’s impossible to see oth-
erwise. Here are11reasons
the glorious days of 8-8 ap-
pear to be at an end as the
team slides back to 5-11medi-
ocrity.
1. The battle to replace
their best defensive player
(Sean Lee) is being waged
between a fourth-round
rookie and a man who re-
tired from the game on Face-
book two years ago. That
seems unusually problemat-
ic.
2. Tony Romo was limited
to 23 passes in preseason
games and skipped a signif-
icant number of practices to
rest his back. He looked fine
against Baltimore. He looked
panic-stricken when hit in
Miami.
Cowboys’ woes? Start counting
TIM COWLISHAW
wtcowlishaw@dallasnews.com
With more questions
than answers, this
looks like a 5-win team
See COWBOYS Page 8C
Automotive
Classified, 12-13C,
18-21C
The Dallas Morning News Section C Sunday, August 31, 2014
the winter meetings. They will
alsoownthetop—andthuspre-
vailing—waiverclaimthrough-
out the winter, spring training
and the first month of the 2015
season.
How much would you pay
forthatprizepackage,JonDan-
iels?
“Ineverthinkaboutthedraft
pickoranythinglikethat,”Dan-
ielssaidduringtheRangers’vis-
it to Seattle. “Whether we are
first or seventh, we are going to
finish with a bad record and
earn the top pick, but will be al-
lowedtospendthemostmoney
on draft picks. Similarly, they
will be entitled to spend more
money than other clubs on Lat-
in American/international
teenagefreeagents.
Andwe’renotdoneyet.
Theywillhavethetoppickin
the treasure hunt known as the
Rule 5 draft, which concludes
to the slim “lead” they hold over
Colorado,ArizonaandHouston
for the bottom spot, Major
League Baseball now offers a
grand package of consolation
prizesforsufferingsuchhumili-
ation.
The Rangers will not only
A
s they enter the final
month of the most dis-
appointing season in
franchise history, the Rangers
still sit on the threshold of
something significant: the ma-
jorleague’sworstrecord.
With that, of course, comes
the “consolation prize,” the top
pick in next year’s June draft,
whichisadistinctiontheRang-
ers haven’t held since they
chose David Clyde in 1973 and
then sacrificed his body to save
thefranchise.
Butwait,there’smore.
If the Rangers can hang on
RESTOCKINGTHERANGERS
Hidden treasure
Benefitspackage
When it comes to roster con-
struction, finishing with the
worst record in the major
leagues is a veritable boon. Here
are the “benefits” that come with
the embarrassing distinction of
being worst:
Amateur draft: The top draft pick
in the June draft and a larger
amount of money to spend on
signing draft picks. Houston,
which had the first pick in June,
had $620,500 more to spend
than Miami, which had the sec-
ond choice.
International signing: The largest
allotment of bonus money to
offer Latin American teen free
agents. Houston had $5 million
this last season. By comparison,
the Rangers had only $2 million.
Rule 5 draft: The top pick in the
December draft of minor lea-
guers left off 40-man rosters.
Waivers: From the end of the
season through April 2015, the
Rangers would have the prevail-
ing waiver claim on all players,
regardless of league. Between
the end of 2013 and April 2014,
Houston used its prevailing
claim seven times on players, five
of whom ended up playing for
the Astros.
Evan Grant
Having
baseball’s
worst
record has
its rewards;
getting top
pick is just
the start
RANGERSINSIDER
EVAN GRANT
egrant@dallasnews.com
See BEING Page 7C
RecordsthroughSaturday
Inside
I The Cowboys elect to keep three running backs as the
team trims roster to 53, 8C
I Roster, list of cuts, 8C
ComingThursday
Our Cowboys-NFL section previews the season, including
whether the Cowboys can get off their 8-8 merry-go-round.
Baseball.....4,6-7,17
Basketball...........2
Classified.......17-21
Colleges.......1-10CC
Golf....................3
High schools 14-15,17
Motor sports......15
NFL.................8-11
Outdoors ...........16
Running.............17
Scoreboard.........17
Soccer..........2-3,17
Tennis ...............17
Triathlon ............2
INSIDE
SCORES
David Ash (above) and
Malcolm Brown accounted
for two touchdowns each,
and the Texas defense held
down the Mean Green in
the 38-7 victory. 1CC
Also
I Florida State held off
Oklahoma State for a 37-31
victory. 1CC
I Trevone Boykin led TCU
to an easy win over Sam-
ford 48-14. 10CC
I Oklahoma started fast
and cruised past Louisiana
Tech 48-16. 8CC
I Davis Webb helped Texas
Tech outlast Central Arkan-
sas 42-35. 8CC
I Baylor opens its spar-
kling new home against
SMU today (6:30 p.m. Fox
Sports 1). 1CC
ALSO INSIDE
I FC Dallas saw its 10-
game unbeaten streak end
in Chicago 1-0. 3C
I No American men remain
in the U.S. Open. 17C
I Jeff Gordon thinks Tony
Stewart will contend. 15C
I Crowded leaderboard at
the Deutsche Bank. 3C
Vernon Bryant/DMN
SPORTSDAY 2
No trouble
for Horns
vs. UNT
at Houston ...........2
Texas...................0
at Toronto............2
New York .............0
at Chicago .........6-4
Detroit..............3-8
at Baltimore.........3
Minnesota............2
at Tampa Bay........7
Boston.................0
Cleveland .............3
at Kansas City.......2
Oakland .................
at Los Angeles........
AL, 4C
Washington............
at Seattle...............
Interleague, 4C
Chicago.............5-2
at St. Louis.......1-13
at Pittsburgh........3
Cincinnati.............2
Miami..................4
at Atlanta ............0
Philadelphia .........7
at New York..........2
Colorado...............2
at Arizona ............0
Los Angeles............
at San Diego...........
Milwaukee .............
at San Francisco......
NL, 4C
Cedar Hill came up with a couple of defensive
stops, and those were the breaks it needed to
take down South Oak Cliff 56-34. Also, Highland
Park rolled past Frisco Centennial 47-0. 14C
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
Taking advantage
COMMENTARY
SUNDAY BRUNCH
Next Hyndman is up, 2C
RICK GOSSELIN
Good start for Strong,1CC
KEVIN SHERRINGTON
CFP field in question, 5CC
A
fter five weeks of pre-
season practices, the
Cowboys made about
two dozen moves Saturday to
get down to a final 53-man ros-
ter.
Well, it’s more of an initial
53 with the regular-season
opener a week away.
Some of the original 53
won’t make it to kickoff next
Sunday against San Francisco.
That’s just the nature of a fluid
NFL roster.
The roster will look differ-
ent by Tuesday as the club
scours the waiver wire to find
players who it feels are better
fits. Last year, the Cowboys
added four players after the fi-
nal cuts and signed a fifth the
day before the season opener.
Some of the players the
Cowboys released Saturday
Cowboys’ 53
far from final
COWBOYS INSIDER
BRANDON GEORGE
bgeorge@dallasnews.com
Players likely to come
and go before season
opener and beyond
See TWEAKS Page 8C
Mike Kondracki/staff
Astros2,Rangers0
Robbie Ross pitches five hitless
innnings in an emergency start,
but the Rangers can’t find
offense against Houston, 6C