Chris' Blog

Hopefully his past injuries are over and he is the pitcher that he once was. This is taken from www.texasrangers.com.

ARLINGTON -- The Rangers have agreed to a one-year, $6 million contract with reliever Eric Gagne. The agreement is pending a physical but the Rangers have already checked out his medical reports and are satisfied that he is healthy again.

Gagne, 30, is a right-hander who has spent the past eight seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was the 2003 Cy Young winner who has been limited to 16 games over the past two years because of back and elbow surgery. He had 158 saves between 2002-04.

Although the Rangers are deep with young relievers, club officials view Gagne as one of the few free agents left on the market who could make a serious impact on a team. He could be an eighth-inning setup reliever or he could take over as closer. That would allow the Rangers to use Akinori Otsuka in the eighth inning.

The Rangers also view Gagne as a mentor to their young relievers.

Gagne is the second free agent the Rangers have come to terms with in the past two days. They are expected to hold a news conference on Tuesday afternoon to introduce center fielder Kenny Lofton, who has also agreed to a one-year deal.

They also spent Tuesday meeting with free agent pitcher Mark Mulder, who is also being pursued by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

T.R. Sullivan is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

I just wanted to know what some of you thought about the NHL to have the new slim fit jerseys for next season. I haven't heard any but rumors, but, it's been said that the Stars will have a completely new logo. I don't see what the big deal is, the jerseys right now look great and from what I have seen already from what they are trying to do, I don't like it at all. Just wanted everybody's opinion on this one, I think it will be a mistake in the long run.

----Chris----

'Cubby' killed, singer charged
Country star allegedly shot captive bear in hunting scam
BY TAD VEZNER
Pioneer Press

Michael Buckner/Getty Images
Country music artist Troy Gentry arrives at the 41st Annual Academy of Country Music Awards in this 2006 file photo.Between singing and strumming his guitar, country vocalist Troy Lee Gentry has billed himself as a hunting enthusiast and avid archer.

But the U.S. government believes it's partly a show, according to court documents released Tuesday in Minnesota.

Gentry appeared Tuesday in federal court in connection with the killing of a tame black bear that federal officials say he bought, shot in an enclosed pen with a bow and arrow, and then tagged as if it had been killed in the wild.

Gentry, 39, of Franklin, Tenn., and Lee Marvin Greenly, 46, owner of a Sandstone, Minn., wildlife refuge, made their initial appearances Tuesday before a federal judge in Duluth, Minn. The appearance was in connection with a sealed indictment returned by a federal grand jury last month in Minneapolis.

Gentry could not be reached for comment through his Nashville, Tenn.-based agent, Steve Dahl, who did not return a phone call Tuesday.

The government alleged that Gentry and Greenly tagged a captive-raised bear named "Cubby," killed on Greenly's property in October 2004, with a Minnesota hunting license and registered the animal with the state Department of Natural Resources as if it had been killed from the wild population. The false tagging would be a violation of the federal Lacey Act.

Gentry allegedly bought the bear from Greenly for about $4,650. The bear's death was videotaped, and the tape later edited so Gentry appeared to shoot the bear with a bow and arrow in a "fair chase"-hunting situation. The pair then shipped the bear's hide to a Kentucky taxidermist, the indictment said.

Both Gentry and Greenly face a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a $20,000 fine if convicted. The two were booked by U.S. marshals and released on a signature bond Tuesday.

Gentry is half of the hit Kentucky duo Montgomery Gentry , which won the Country Music Association's title for Vocal Duo of the Year in 2000. Gentry, along with co-singer Gerald "Eddie" Edward Montgomery, recently released the song "Some People Change."

In an August 2005 interview published in the Sikeston, Mo.-based Standard Democrat, Gentry said he went on his first bear hunt in Minnesota that year, but had been unsuccessful.

"I did get to see a bear and had a great hunt. I am looking forward to going back next year," he said in the interview.

Greenly's mother, Lavonne, reached by telephone Tuesday night, called her son an "all-American outdoor kid" who had been running a "wildlife refuge" at his 80-acre property in Pine County for 15 years. The refuge 80 miles north of the Twin Cities is billed primarily as a place to shoot photographs.

"He started just showing people animals, then got talked into photography," she said.

According to court documents, Greenly kept multiple animals, including wolves and bears, on his property, called the Minnesota Wildlife Connection. Of the bears, "Cubby" was the biggest.

"Sometimes things go wrong. It hurts me he has to go through all this," Lavonne Greenly added, declining to talk further about the case.

Greenly himself could not be reached for comment.

The government further alleged that Greenly also worked as a commercial bear guide for those wanting to hunt in the Sandstone National Wildlife Refuge, close to his property, where it is illegal to hunt black bears. One client, authorities said, killed two black bears during a hunt in late August and early September 2005.

Greenly faces an additional five years in prison and $20,000 fine for each of those deaths, if convicted.

In 2004, Gentry made news locally when he said he would pay for the passage of a herd of deer onto Greenly's property, after the deer became trapped on Minneapolis Water Works property in Columbia Heights and the DNR moved to kill them.

At the time, Greenly called Gentry a frequent visitor to his preserve.

"He's gone fishing with me. We've gone on motorcycles. I've been to tour dates with him," Greenly told the Pioneer Press.

----www.twincities.com----

With all the controversy out there regarding Myspace, I wanted to write this to get everybody's opinion on it...

Me, I truthfully think, if everybody uses it right, it can be a great place for friends to reconnect with each other. Yet, lately a few of my friends Myspace's have gotten hacked...if you are careful and not open/click a link that is unknown, especially if it looks like Myspace, except the very top part of Myspace is not there. I just thought I'd get everybody's opinion on what they thought of it, or some other blog type thing like Myspace...

You Know You're From Texas When...

- You see more Texan flags than American flags.
- You know someone who ate the 72 oz steak and got it for free.
- You attend a formal event in your best clothes, your finest jewelry, and your Cowboy Boots.
- You can write a check at Dairy Queen for 2 Hungr-Busters and fries.
- You prefer Whataburger to McDonalds.
- You dress up to go shopping at the mall.
- You've hung ornaments and tinsel on a tumbleweed and used it as a Christmas tree.
- You're disappointed when a food doesn't come in spicy flavor.
- You know from experience that rattlesnake meat tastes like chicken.
- You can tell a rock from an armadillo at 300 yards.
- You know what a 'Cowboy Cadillac' is.
- You have both a dog and a brother-in-law named Bud.
- Your local grocery store sells cactus in the Fresh Produce department
- You watch the movie Urban Cowboy and laugh at the phony Texan accents.
- You choose a brand of Mexican salsa with the same care that another might use to select a bottle of fine wine.
- You think that the 4 basic food groups are nachos, bar-b-que, fajitas, and Copenhagen.
- You refer to the Dallas Cowboys as "God's favorite football team".
- You know whether another Texan is from South, West, East, North, or Central Texas as soon as they open their mouth.
- You don't consider people from Austin to be real Texans.
- Your Pastor wears boots.
- There is no such thing as a "secret" sin.
- The Blue Book value on your truck goes up and down depending on how much gas it has in it.

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Rangers have acquired pitcher Kip Wells from the Pittsburgh Pirates for Minor League pitcher Jesse Chavez.
Wells was 1-5 with a 6.69 ERA in seven starts for the Pirates. He is 1-1 with a 1.83 ERA in his last three starts. Wells missed the first 2 1/2 months of the season with a blood clot in his right armpit.

The Rangers have also acquired first baseman/designated hitter Matt Stairs from the Kansas City Royals for Minor League pitcher Joselo Diaz.

Stairs was hitting .261 with eight home runs and 32 RBI in 77 games and 226 at-bats for the Royals. All but 29 at-bats were against right-handed pitching.

Diaz started the season at Double-A Frisco and was 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA in eight games before being promoted to Triple-A Oklahoma. He pitched in 28 games for the RedHawks without a decision and had a 3.28 ERA with four saves.

Chavez was 2-5 with a 4.42 ERA at Frisco and pitched in one game at Oklahoma.

The Rangers seemed close to acquiring veteran right-hander Jon Lieber from the Philadelphia Phillies. But he ended up making his start on Monday against the Florida Marlins and was pummeled for nine runs on 13 hits, including three home runs, in 4 2/3 innings. He is now 4-8 with a 6.09 ERA, which isn't exactly appetizing, considering he is also signed for next year at $7.5 million.

T.R. Sullivan is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

From texasrangers.com

It's been a hot summer, but, hey it could be worse! lol...this is just for fun...

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/TXWeather/D
SC00112.jpg[/IMG]

As seen at the Walgreen's in Saginaw

I was just wondering if anybody had any other information about what happened. I heard just a little bit about it on the news, but not much more. Since I live in Saginaw, and not far from where it happened, I'm very interested.

----Chris----

I just had to say, the traffic on I-35W at certain times is just horrible. I prefer to almost always go the back way. Does anybody know if they are ever going to widen it? It is way overdue.

Chris

I was just wondering if any of you thought that the Smirnoff Music Centre could use a few updates? It's a nice ampitheater and all, but, it just seems older. The screens aren't as good as they used to be, especially if you are out on the lawn. What do you others think?

-Chris

Eric Lindros is set to change teams again.

The oft-injured center planned to sign a one-year deal with the Dallas Stars, a team official told The Associated Press on Sunday on condition of anonymity because the contract wasn't finished yet.
"It's in the final stages of being finalized," the official said.

An announcement was expected to be made Monday.

Lindros had 11 goals and 11 assists last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, his hometown team, but was limited to 33 games after injuring his wrist against the Stars.

Injuries have been the story for Lindros, who has missed at least 10 games in 11 of his 12 NHL seasons. Concussions have been his biggest concern, and the 33-year-old Lindros was forced to sit out the entire 2000-01 campaign after he was leveled by New Jersey's Scott Stevens during a playoff game the season before.

He has sustained eight concussions and played an average of only 59 games per season. A long dispute with his first team, the Philadelphia Flyers, led to his trade to the New York Rangers in the summer of 2001.

Lindros clashed with general manager Bob Clarke and other Flyers officials, largely because he questioned the medical treatment he received while with Philadelphia.

After three years with the Rangers, Lindros moved on to Toronto - the team he grew up rooting for. But he lasted only one season with the Maple Leafs. At 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, he could provide the Stars with some much-needed size if he can stay healthy.

In 711 NHL games, Lindros tallied 367 goals and 472 assists. He was the NHL MVP in 1995 and followed up the next season with a career-best 115 points for the Flyers.

With the Stars, Lindros likely would fill the second-line center role vacated when Jason Arnott signed with Nashville. Mike Modano anchors the top line.

Lindros would be the highest-profile player among several offseason additions for Dallas. Already, the Stars have signed free-agent forwards Jeff Halpern and Matthew Barnaby, and traded for defenseman Darryl Sydor. In addition to Arnott, the club also has lost Bill Guerin, releasing him for salary-cap reasons.

Found Under The Sports Section....

I saw the segment earlier, and was just wondering. If you have the kit with you, is it the new way of doing CPR, or is it the old way? Was just wondering, I took a CPR/First Aid class at Tarrant County College in the spring. The new way is 30 compressions to 2 breaths. What does it say in the kit? I was just a curious one, and was thinking you might mention it in the segment but didn't.

Thanks,
Chris

Wow, what a way to start up after the All-Star Break, leading the Rangers to a 15-1 win over Baltimore. That's what we've been waiting to see from him. Hopefully Texas can keep this up!

-Chris

Does anybody here enjoy NHRA Drag Racing? I love it...I'm not much of a NASCAR person, but I love watching the drag races every weekend. It's amazing the speeds they get up to. I almost always try to go at least the Friday of the O'Reilly Fall Nationals in September. I would like to see it get more time on the news/sports stations, but it's almost like it's not even around. Just wanted to get other people's opinions on it!

-Chris

After a season of the new rules, which I thought were good except for a couple. I definitely believe they should make the shootouts 5 skaters, instead of the 3, it just ends way too soon. They need to get rid of the lines/boundary that the goalie can't leave, it made for much more exciting hockey when the goalie could go out to the corner. What changes would you make?

-Chris