Losses epidemic for locals
by Jennifer Bentley, sports editor

     In reviewing the past week in sports, all I can say is, when we lose, we really lose.

     The Cowboys, Stars, TCU Horned Frogs and the Mavericks have all lost within the past week.

     The Cowboys are limping through the season. But enough about them, if I don’t stop here, I won’t stop discussing this.

     The Stars have broken my heart. First, they lost the Stanley Cup, and now, they can’t seem to get it together. I watch each game with a sense of impending doom. Their 7-4 record makes me cringe.

     The one bright shining star in the game is Jere Lehtinen, the Star’s winger, who has been rock solid.

     Even when his twin daughters were born early and kept in the hospital, Lehtinen still made it to practice and to games. He has managed to find a balance in his life, and his talent is returning to the game. He makes me hope for better times and more wins.

     My only consolation is that it is early in the season for the Stars, and that they still have time, lots of it, considering the season, to pull themselves out of their slump.

     The Mavericks, who won the last 20 games they played last season, started out this season with a bang. They beat two Eastern Conference contenders, and the game against the Jazz seemed like a cake walk. I was wrong.

     The Jazz’s defense proved too strong, for-cing a turn-over in the game. And the combined forces of Karl Ma-lone and John Stockton kept the Maverick defense struggling. The game ended, Jazz 112, Mavericks 106.

     Then, they set out to play Vancouver. It should have been different; it should have been a win. Well, it was a win, for the wrong team. The Mavericks lost to the Grizzlies 101-74. The defense looked like it had been nailed to the floor as Vancouver shot a 62.2 percent from the field.

     The Grizzlies out rebounded the Mavs, 53-36, and Dallas got only 10 assists the entire game. The Grizzlies played hard, and the Mavs simply could not keep up.

     Still, it’s a much better team than in years past, and I look forward to the rest of the games this season.

     TCU has never been my favorite team; I’m an Aggie girl at heart. But even I could get into their incredible season this year. They seemed to own the field every time the clock started, racking up win after win. Oh how the mighty have fallen. While playing San Jose State, they stumbled.

     Even with Heisman candidate LaDaniain Tomlinson, TCU could just not pull off a win. San Jose’s defense kept Tomlinson to 81 rushing yards the game, some of the lowest stats he has seen all season.

     TCU had a 17-3 lead, but San Jose managed to score 24 consecutive points.

      Tomlinson managed another touchdown, but the game remained out of reach.

     The one bright spot in my otherwise dreary sports world is the Aggies. They are finally doing well for a change, led by coach R.C. Slocum and quarterback Mark Farris. They are rocking through the season, going up against number one-ranked Oklahoma this weekend.

     They walked away with a win over Oklahoma State.

     Granted, they won on a technicality, after an official watched an instant replay and reversed a Cowboys touchdown. But it’s a win, which is not something we’ve been getting a lot of.

     I have no idea what the cure for the blues is, but I think all of Fort Worth/Dallas has them. It makes watching a ball game hard. I should be enjoying sports right now and racing to the TV at night to watch a ball game, not having to force myself to watch the first half, and then losing heart.

     I know, I know. I should support my teams when they lose, not only when the win, but this is not simply losing. This is losing-so-bad-it’s-nearly-not-worth-it-to-even-show-up losing, which makes it all the more pitiful.

     For now, I can hope for better days when the wins are here and the losses are not quite as painful.