​We've all played Beer Pong. But tonight at Duke's Original Roadhouse in Addison the rewards -- not to mention the balls -- will be much bigger than forcing your buddy to chug a warm cup o' keg brew.

At 9 p.m. will commence the culmination of a 12-week Big Balls tournament hosted by 105.3 The Fan's Sybil Summers. It's steroid-sized Beer Pong, using those bouncy playground balls thrown into old-school metal trash cans.

Simple. Yet hard as hell.

There is zero athletic ability required to be good, but a definite amount of skill. Sorta like darts. Or golf. Or sex. Even auto racing.

I've played several times and -- hinty hint hint -- the best strategy is the two-handed, under-handed shot with backspin, a la a Ricky Barry free throw. Some players, however, manipulate their Big Balls with a bounce or even an over-handed straight shot.

Whatever works. The crowds at Big Balls have been big.

And tonight the prize is huge.

More >>

​The Cowboys won't be in Miami for Super Bowl XLIV February 7, but Dallas will be represented all over South Beach in the form of the latest and greatest in safe, sassy transportation - VAULT.

I saw this thing - it's like a giant combo limousine/Hummer/armored truck - pull up to a Dallas night spot recently and out climbed none other than Shaquille O'Neal. Then a couple weeks ago at a North Texas Super Bowl XLV event Tim Brown arrived in a VAULT. (I know what you're thinking, Tupac coulda used one of these back in '96. And you're right.)

Dallas-based VAULT Services plans to have 25 of their cutting-edge vehicles in Miami and I get the feeling these babies will be a hot product next month when the NBA All-Star Game and its accompanying posses hit town.

"Never before has a company dedicated a fleet of vehicles like this to major sporting events," says Vice President of Media Relations for VAULT Services LP Wally Lynn, a familiar Metroplex radio voice for two decades. "The VAULT fills a unique niche for our clients at high profile events in the post 9/11 world."

More >>

​For a couple weeks I coughed and sneezed and hacked and blew and ... denied. Last night I gave up and went to the doctor.

Sure enough: Swine Flu. AIDS. Walking Pneumonia.

Sorry, but today I gotta make this - ahhhhhchooooo! - short and sweet:

*Rick Carlisle gets mad and Erick Dampier gets what? 14 points? 20 rebounds? I smell a trade in the Mavericks' future.

*This is the problem with we, the media. When the D.C. snipers were on their killing rampage back in October of 2002, the story was everywhere. Headlines on TV. Front page of the newspaper. But today, after mastermind John Allen Muhammad was finally executed, it's buried on page 5. I just wished we lived in a world where mass murderers faced judgment in seven days, not seven years. And I wished, as Michael Irvin once famously pleaded, we'd cover the punishment with as much intensity as we covered the crime.

More >>

No. 12 in your football program ... No. 12 on our fantasy roster.

​When I say No. 22, who comes to mind?

Do you immediately think of the Dallas Cowboys' all-time best runner? Or their all-time best rusher? Or perhaps instead the second-leading all-time scorer in the history of the Dallas Mavericks?

The quest is to attach a Dallas/Fort Worth player to every sports uniform 0-99. A fantasy roster, if you will.

The criterion for determining which local athlete "owns" a specific number is as simple as it is subjective. It's not necessarily the best player to wear the number, but more so an associative combination of performance, personality, pizzazz and perseverance.

Bob Hayes vs. Emmitt Smith seems a juicy first bite. When Hayes was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last month it reminded me how cool - how fast - he was as the greatest number 22 in franchise history. Then Smith's image as the NFL's all-time leading rusher plunged into the conversation, followed closely by Rolando Blackman. Double-deuce may be, in fact, the most talented number in the history of Dallas sports.

But it's certainly not the most easily identifiable. Some numbers are indelible. Bless David Murphy because Texas Rangers' new/old catcher Pudge Rodriguez will always be No. 7. I say 12 and you see Roger Staubach. Nolan Ryan is No. 34. Roy Tarpley, for all the wrong reasons, evokes No. 42.

But who is our definitive No. 9: Tony Romo? Mike Modano? Maybe even Tatu? At 19: Eric Dickerson or Juan Gonzalez? The tug-of-war for numerical immortality at No. 20 is between a baseball MVP (Jeff Burroughs), a Stanley Cup champion (Ed Belfour) and an NFL Hall of Famer (Mel Renfro). Who's the better gritty captain at No. 10: the Rangers' Michael Young or the Stars' Brenden Morrow? Does No. 24 belong to the Mavs' Mark Aguirre or the Cowboys' Everson Walls? Do you associate No. 37 with the good of Doak Walker or the bad of Kenny Rogers? Is our No. 44 the heightened disappointment of Mavs' center Shawn Bradley or the diminutive desire of Cowboys' fullback Robert Newhouse?

This roster, of course, is fluid. A year ago Terrell Owens was our area's greatest all-time No. 81. Now he's in Buffalo and his reputation 'round these parts has been 86'd. T.O. vs. Jackie Smith just might make 81 our most heinous number. Is Mavericks' point guard Jason Kidd No. 5 (circa 1994) or No. 2 (circa 2008) or neither (circa all the years in between)? Can Rangers' shortstop Elvis Andrus someday - if not already - steal No. 1 from Rafael Septien? Can Cowboys' receiver Roy Williams overtake Danny White for 11? Felix Jones seemingly has a ways to go before catching Darren Woodson at 28. But Rangers' surprising ace Scott Feldman is closer than you think to owning 39. Is Neftali Feliz a legitimate threat to Dan Reeves at No. 30?

For my money, Randy White is a more deserving 54 than Chuck Howley, but just barely. Nate Newton's 61 - tainted as it is - dwarfed the laughable legacy of the Rangers' Chan Ho Park. Jethro Pugh edges Tony Casillas for 75, John Niland is still holding off Flozell Adams at 76, Harvey Martin is No. 79 over Erik Williams, Alvin Harper owns 80 over Tony Hill, Golden Richards No. 83 over Kelvin Martin and Jay Novacek is the better No. 84 tight end over Doug Cosbie.

No. 88: Gotta be Michael Irvin over Drew Pearson. Right?

If the 2009 Cowboys are to have a playoff season, Anthony Spencer needs to make us forget Peppi Zellner at 93, DeMarcus Ware needs to convincingly snatch 94 away from Charles Haley, and Marcus Spears needs to unseat Ebenezer Ekuban at 96.

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but this Dallas dream lineup surely is worth a couple lively debates. For the record, Smith's unprecedented production ultimately tops Hayes' legendary speed for No. 22.

 Grab a beer, choose a side and pick a number. Any number.

More >>

​There are sports. There are athletes. And then, above below all else, there is Beer Pong.

I'll be on the golf course Saturday morning. But quick as I can get there I'll then be at fabled Lee Harvey's for their first annual Beer Pong Tournament.

Singles. Doubles. And, yes, a Bikini division, the entrants of which are afforded free play and - voila - free beer.

More >>

Better days, my friend. Better days.

To quote the great Eddie Izzard, "The problem with America? You fuckers keep tearing down your history, man!"

Stubborn answer: Progress.

Grim reality: Sadness.

I remember a kinder, gentler era in Dallas when as a little punk I'd peer out the family Fury along I-35 and gaze in wonder at The Sportatorium, P.C. Cobb Stadium and a futuristic construction site dedicated to a dazzling new structure to be called Reunion Arena.

And now: This.

More >>

Danny Hurley

Commence jealousy. Miles Austin loving that it's his birthday.

We've got a handful of photo sets up from the weekend that, even if they're not quite sports shots, are at least sports-related. Well, close enough they're worth a mention here in the Sportatorium.

First off, got to point out Mark Graham's batch of photos from the big deal at Russ Martin Automotive Saturday afternoon that Richie mentioned yesterday. You'll find more from the former Live 105.3 favorite onstage, and his loyalest of fans, in this slideshow.More >>

Before I run out the door to Arlington this afternoon for a sneak peek at the facelift applied to Rangers Ballpark, thought I'd make a quick to-do list:

*Since the Mavs suck and the Stars suck and the Cowboys suck and the Rangers will in all likelihood suck, look into other sports. Like, for example, curling?

*Take frustrations out on a baseball or softball at Plano's state-of-the-art Extra Innings.

*Play God Commissioner for a day.

If I could I'd change a lot about sports. Off the top of my head - what do you know? - I came up with a Top 10 ...

More >>

   *If you've noticed some quirky fonts or crooked pictures this week it's because Sportatorium is taking a fancy schmancy new software program for a test drive. Cool thing for you customers is that if you see a pic you'd like to see even bigger - like, I dunno, maybe the one just to the left that gives OU girls equal time - all you do is click on it. Presto. Magnification! ...

   *You know Dirk Nowitzki was named NBA Player of the Week. What you didn't know is that he's won the honor nine times. And that, at 24.7 points per game, he's all the way up to fourth in  the league in scoring. Bet you a nickel he tops that tonight against the Pacers ...

   *I thought the Stars were done after Brenden Morrow's injury. Now, with the loss of Steve Ott and Jere Lehtinen for significant time, they're officially buried. In case you quit paying attention, Dallas has the fewest points and wins in the NHL ...

   *This is what you call an ominous footnote: Kyle Kosier will likely miss Thursday's game against Seattle. With him in uniform the Cowboys are 5-0. Without him they are, um, sucky ...More >>

For those of you scoring at home, the answers to Friday’s pop quiz are:

1. M; 2. E; 3. G; 4. F; 5. N; 6. J; 7. L; 8. K; 9. D; 10. I; 11. A; 12. H; 13. C; 14. O; 15. B.

Which means, according to my math, free Observers and red-carpet access into our Sportatorium to:

More >>