There's no preventing comebacks

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Victor Cheap Jerseys From China Cruz's 77-yard game-winning touchdown on Sunday Nike NFL Jerseys 2012 was unbelievable. Even for the New York Giants' wide receiver, who didn't think the Washington Redskins' secondary would possibly allow him to run through it like that with 1:23 to play while guarding a three-point lead. "I just Nike NFL Jerseys read it, saw that thing part like the Red Sea and I just took it. Once I started running, I was like, 'Man, this can't be,'" Cruz told USA TODAY Sports. "Then, I looked up, saw the ball there, just caught it and took it in for six." Cruz and everyone else should start believing things like that are possible, because lately in Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys the NFL, they certainly have been. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Cruz's catch was one of nine touchdowns of 30 Cheap NFL Jerseys or more yards to tie a game or take a lead in the fourth quarter this season. That ties the 2009 mark for most such scores in a season over the past five years. In 2008, 2010 and 2011, there were only nine such TDs combined. Meanwhile, there's another disturbing trend for defenses giving up big plays and folding late: double-digit fourth-quarter comebacks. This season, according to Elias, there have been seven of them. Last year, there were eight. In the previous three seasons combined, there were only 10. Cruz's 80-yard touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 2 fell into both categories. And with the New York Jets and Oakland Raiders erasing 10-point deficits in the fourth quarter this past week, you begin to wonder: What is going on? Why are defenses unable to close out games? "I'm going to tell you, there's more time spent on that particular part of the game, which is incredible," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "You spend a tremendous amount of time on two-minute (offense), you spend a tremendous amount of time on four-minute (offense). "Those are the things in the old days where you just knew, 'There's going to be this coverage.' Week in and week out, you just recognized the personnel involved ... That's not the case today. As soon as that ball goes over the midfield line, anything can happen." The old joke for those who couldn't stand the prevent defense used to be "all it does is prevent you from winning." Now we're seeing the opposite with teams refusing to default to that umbrella look to force an offense to dink and dunk its way to a comeback. Prevent looks are Cheap Jerseys being mixed in — the Redskins ran one just before Cruz's touchdown — but the days of abandoning a base defense for a four-deep look that keeps everything in front of defensive backs seem to be over. "We don't have any defenses designed to give up 50-yard touchdowns," New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick said last week after Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Sidney Rice got behind Tavon Wilson for a 46-yard game-winning catch from Russell Wilson on a two-man route with 1:18 to play. And they also don't have any defenses guaranteed to stop them, either. Giants safety Antrel Rolle was watching Cruz's touchdown on Sunday with amazement. But he understands why Redskins safety Madieu Williams cheated forward. "In this league anymore, with as talented as guys are," Rolle said, "you can have a guy make a catch for 10 yards, and then run for another 20 to make it 30 yards." Or another 62 yards. That's how much of an 80-yard touchdown Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Cecil Shorts gained after the catch to stun the Indianapolis Colts in Week 3. To sum up, players are so fast and talented these days, no call from a coach is safe. "You have to play your defense," Rolle said. "But you also have to be smart about it. You can't give up the easy deep ball." But there will always be fastballs by the offense for strikes, whether they're of the shorter catch-and-run variety or the long bomb many, including the players catching it, can't believe was allowed. That's just the way it is with talented players being able to score quickly. It's what the league wants, and it's what the NFL is getting. As Jaguars coach Mike Mularkey said after Shorts' stunning game-winner at Indianapolis: "Typical NFL finish. Up and down, up and down emotionally." Of course, sometimes all a team needs to win is a field goal. And the nine game-winners kicked in the final two minutes is also a five-year high.

Former Redskins coach Joe Gibbs inspires Cowboys

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — With their season hovering on the brink, the Dallas Cowboys turned to inspiration from former Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs. No, seriously. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said coach Jason Garrett invited the team's former rival coach to speak Nike NFL Jerseys 2012 to his players for the chapel service at the team hotel Saturday night Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys in Charlotte before their game against the Carolina Panthers. It must have helped because the Cowboys won 19-14 on Sunday. BOX SCORE: Cheap Jerseys From China Cowboys 19, Panthers 14 Gibbs lives in Charlotte and owns a stock car racing team, Joe Gibbs Racing located just north of the city in Huntersville, N.C. "He was saying to us that when they called him and asked him to speak he was like, 'Are you crazy?' knowing what that rivalry was like," Cowboys linebacker Dan Connor Nike NFL Jerseys said with a laugh. Connor said Gibbs talked about "battling through adversity," something the Cowboys (3-3) needed to do on Sunday against Carolina. Dallas overcame a 14-13 deficit in the fourth quarter to break a two-game losing streak. "He was talking about different situations he's been in and how he fought through them," Connor said. "He said when you're in a situation you think it's the worst thing ever, but when you have to have faith in God and push through it. That was the message. He was unbelievable." Jones said he Cheap NFL Jerseys and his players have "immense respect" for Gibbs, who won three Super Bowls with the Redskins. Jones said he even consulted with Gibbs when he was looking to hire a coach to replace Barry Switzer. Gibbs's message came after Garrett was criticized for poor clock management last week in Dallas' 31-29 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. "He came into chapel, and talked about some of his low times," Jones said. "He spoke Cheap Jerseys about some of the coaching errors. He wasn't directing it to the team at all, relative to our criticism this week of our sideline coaching decisions, but he talked a little about a couple that bit him. "The players told me that when they hear Joe Gibbs talk about a few bad decisions, they know anybody can make them."

Albert Pujols message showed on Fox's closing shot of Cardinals game

When television networks show sprawling, overhead shots of cities during big games, they aren't always live. Case Cheap NFL Jerseys in point: The "GO PUJOLS" scroll that showed up in Cheap NFL Jerseys the closing shot Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys of Fox's Wednesday night coverage of Game 3 of the National League Cheap NFL Jerseys Championship Series in St. Louis. An eagle-eyed observer spotted the message to the since-departed Cardinals slugger (on the top Cheap Jerseys right of the .gif below) and Deadspin posted it. Albert Pujols, of course, left St. Louis for Anaheim before the start of the 2012 season. This is why I love the Internet: As Timothy Burke notes in his post, the message could be an ironic reference to Pujols' departure from St. Louis. More likely, it's a sign that Fox never updated the shot from last year. If Thursday night's closing features a reference to Dizzy Dean and Stan Musial, we'll know for sure.

Vilma practices, eyes season debut with Saints

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — As the Saints began their pre-practice stretch on Wednesday, receiver Lance Moore hopped up, looked over at linebacker Jonathan Vilma, and hollered, "Glad you're back! We missed you!" while the entire team offered a round of applause. "Hello!" Vilma responded with a smile, still seated on the field, one leg pulled over another. Vilma then did something he had yet to do in 2012: practice. BOUNTIES: NFL tells federal judge to butt out And it was obvious the Saints were pulling for him to be ready to play this Sunday in Tampa Bay, which might be his only chance to get back on the field this season if his bounty suspension, currently on appeal, winds up going back into effect in a week or so. "Vilma continues to fight for what's right and a fair process which I think is extremely justified," Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. "The fact that he was out there practicing today, it just kind of puts a smile on everybody's face knowing what he's been through and having the opportunity to get him back." Vilma did not work with the first team, but also did not wear any kind of brace or sleeve on his surgically repaired left knee, which has been another obstacle to his return. "He's back," safety Malcolm Jenkins said. "He's doing a bunch of extra stuff, too, to make sure he's ready as far as conditioning and Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys things like that. But he's ready to play. I know he's been champing at the bit and this is his opportunity this week and I know he'll be ready." Vilma had several offseason procedures done on his knee, which had slowed him last season and sidelined him five games. He even traveled to Germany to see a specialist in platelet rich plasma therapy, a relatively new blood-spinning technique also used by Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant and New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez. Vilma's initial season-long suspension was handed down in May and went into effect in July after his initial appeal was rejected. That suspension lasted through training camp before being vacated by a three-member appeal panel that instructed Commissioner Roger Goodell to start the disciplinary process again and clarify his reasons for suspending Vilma and three others — Saints defensive end Will Smith, free-agent defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove and Cleveland linebacker Scott Fujita — in connection with New Orleans' cash-for-hits bounty pool. FANTASY: USA TODAY Sports' Week 7 Waiver Wire Because of his rehabilitation, Vilma was placed on the Saints' physically Nike NFL Jerseys 2012 unable to perform list when his initial suspension was lifted, a move that saved the Cheap Jerseys From China Saints a roster spot and also prevented Vilma from practicing or playing during the first six weeks of the regular season. The suspensions were reissued last week and promptly appealed by all four players, with appeal hearings set for next Tuesday at NFL headquarters in New York. Vilma remains suspended for the season and Smith for four games. Hargrove's was reduced from eight to seven games and Fujita from three to one. Vilma did not make himself available for comment while the locker room at Saints headquarters was opened to reporters on Wednesday afternoon. However, his teammates had plenty to say about how he looked and what it would mean to get him back on the field. "Having him on the sideline when he wasn't suited up was one thing," linebacker Jonathan Casillas said. "Now, suited up, ready to go, maybe get some plays here and there ... It's definitely good to have him out there. He's always been that energy on the defensive side of the ball that we needed." For the past four seasons, Vilma was a defensive captain and starting middle linebacker, making all the defensive calls on the field. Now the Saints have a new defense under first-year coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Vilma has now practiced in the scheme only once, although he has been numerous defensive meetings. "It's Cheap NFL Jerseys Jonathan Vilma. He's one of best football players in Cheap Jerseys the National Football League. He's an instinctive player Nike NFL Jerseys and he's been in all the meetings for the entire time he's been on PUP, allowing him to see what's going on, understand the schemes," interim head coach Aaron Kromer said. "All we can do as see as it goes on, but I would expect Jon would come back quickly because he's Jon Vilma. ... He does look healthy." Kromer and Spagnuolo have said they can find a spot for Vilma, even if Curtis Lofton remains at starting middle linebacker. Lofton said he also is confident he and Vilma will have good chemistry on the field. "You can't have too many great football players out on the football field," Lofton said. "You can't have too many leaders and too many communicators on the field at once. "He's been the leader of the defense," Lofton added. "Having him back out there, seeing his face, seeing him in pads knowing everything he's been through and is going through and worked so hard to come back on the football field, it adds extra energy. Guys are excited and I'm excited to play with him." Notes: Three players missed practice on Wednesday, including two linebackers, David Hawthorne (right hamstring) and Scott Shanle (illness). TE Jimmy Graham (right ankle) also was out. ... CB Jabari Greer (right groin) and RG Jahri Evans (left big toe) were limited.

To tell the truth, college coaches spin the rhetoric

As a general rule, coaches and athletics directors should not be friends. A good working relationship? Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Sure. A healthy respect for one another? Great. Ability to communicate on all major issues? Very important. But friends? That's not something you hear coaches say very often, and with good reason. A coach's job is to prepare his team and win games. An athletic director's job is to give the coach the resources he needs to compete in his conference and, if necessary, evaluate how good a job is being done with those resources. There is a natural push-and-pull inherent in those two roles. A coach and athletics director need to be on the same page with their vision for the program, but the relationship doesn't work if they are not challenging each other. And at some point, either a coach will leave for another job or an athletics director will have to fire him. This makes friendship hard. And this is also why Kentucky coach Joker Phillips' news conference Monday turned cringe-worthy when he was asked about his recent communication with athletics director Mitch Barnhart. "We talk a couple times a week," Phillips said. "It's just a small talk. It's nothing -- you know, he's been very encouraging and nothing what you want to get at. "One thing Mitch and I, we're friends, and that's more important to me than anything on the business side. We are friends. And I can tell you this: There's not a lot of people out there that can say they are friends. There's not a lot. One of the things I do cherish and appreciate is our friendship." That's an unfortunate answer for several reasons. Everybody knows Phillips, whose teams is 1-6 and totally uncompetitive in the SEC, is unlikely to be back next season unless he can turn around the season. Phillips needs to be fighting for his job right now, not talking about his personal relationship with Barnhart because that's not going to matter much in the final calculus. Phillips is going to keep or lose his job on merit, and talking about friendship makes him sound like he's already resigned to his fate: "Hey, it's OK if he fires me because our friendship is more important than wins and losses!" Not what you want to hear if you're a Kentucky fan. It also brings up a larger issue with the Kentucky program. If Kentucky wants to win, it needs to upgrade facilities and devote more resources to the program, period, to get on a level playing field with the SEC. It will take a coach demanding Nike NFL Jerseys that of Barnhart the same way John Calipari does. You can't do that with a "friend." So while it's nice to know Phillips has a positive feeling toward Barnhart, it won't mean much when Kentucky is looking for a new coach this December. And with that, let's take a look at who else was spinning in this week's coachバッグ Tuesday Truth Squad. Gary Patterson, TCU, on playing games against Texas schools: "If you ask if I could win a game between Iowa State or Baylor, I would say Baylor. If you asked me the same thing about Iowa State and Texas Tech, I would say Texas Tech. We know Baylor. We know the kids at Texas Tech, and there are bragging rights on the line. With Iowa State, you have to learn what kind of football team they are." Can anyone lose a football game these days without some sort of extenuating circumstance or excuse? Patterson has been known to say some Nike NFL Jerseys 2012 weird stuff in newss conference settings (accusing a Boise State reporter of spying on his practice, declaring Southern Methodist's June Jones persona non grata for some very milquetoast comments after a game last November, etc.), but this one is just ridiculous. Patterson's larger point makes some sense; that it's easier for TCU's players, who are playing their first year in the Big 12, to get up for games against in-state schools. But a couple weeks removed from getting spanked at Iowa State, it sounds like an excuse — and a bad one, at that. This isn't very complicated. The moment TCU lost quarterback Casey Pachall, who withdrew from school that week to enter a substance abuse rehab program, its chances of beating Iowa State went from decent to very shaky. Combine that with the fact Iowa State is a pretty good team, and it's no surprise TCU lost 37-23. So for Patterson to suggest TCU won the Baylor game simply because players cared more about beating an in-state school — as opposed to, maybe, the fact that Iowa State is a better team than Baylor — doesn't seem particularly believable. And it borders on sour grapes, especially when Cheap NFL Jerseys TCU seemed to do pretty well getting up for games in the Mountain West, a league where it had no geographic ties or true rivalries. Gene Chizik, on former Auburn coach Pat Dye's criticisms of the program on the Paul Finebaum Radio Show: "Coach Dye is a tremendous football coach, was a tremendous football coach and I have a lot of respect for Coach Dye, without question. I can't spend a lot of time and energy in deliberation about what somebody said, whether it was Coach Dye or an alum from 1968 that nobody knows; I just don't have an opinion on that. My day when I walk through the door consists of my coaches and my players and the direction we're headed. What makes college football great is that, you know what, there's people on the radio, people on TV that can say and do whatever they want and hey, that's great. But if I concern myself with all of that, that would suck the energy and life out of me trying to do a job here where I have to stay concentrated on one thing: Trying to get my coaches and players on the path to improvement. I'm not really sure what you're talking about, but I can't spend my time one way or the other with that type of stuff." After watching Chizik's news conference Tuesday, it's clear he's taking the George Costanza approach to speculation about his job security. Remember that episode when George got fired, then showed up to work the next day like nothing's wrong? That's Chizik. The man is supremely self-confident or totally delusional. Dye went on Finebaum — which, for the uninitiated, is pretty much the sports talk show of record in the state of Alabama — and said many of Auburn's problems weren't fixable and he'd be surprised if the Tigers won an SEC game this year. (They are seven-point underdogs to Vanderbilt this weekend.) Given Dye's status as the emeritus voice of all things Auburn, this can only be seen as fanning the flames – and Chizik has every right to be furious about it. But Chizik's tactic is to run the other way and pretend that A) He doesn't know what Dye said, and B) It doesn't matter who said it because the great thing about college football is everybody has an opinion. For someone in Chizik's situation, with his program in full-blown crisis mode, that's laughable. When coaches say they don't know what people say about them, it's not true 95% of the time. Dye's comments rippled through the Auburn community Monday, and yes, it does matter that it was him and not some anonymous alum from 1968. This is a tough situation, and Chizik deserves some credit for answering questions and not hiding from the media, which is starting to ask tough questions. But at some point, he needs to acknowledge the firestorm swirling around him because, whether it's fair or not, public opinion is going to determine in part whether or not Auburn makes a coaching change. Or maybe Chizik, knowing he's either going to keep his job or get that nice $7.5 million buyout, simply doesn't care. Mack Brown, Texas, on whether the 63-21 loss to Oklahoma makes him question anything about the program: "No, I think it makes me stronger in my belief. Because when you get kicked in the face like that, you're competitive and you're determined to make sure that you don't let that happen again and get it back." The problem for Brown is this runs deeper than just one game. If he's not questioning everything at this point, he should be. At various moments this year, Texas has seemed like a program making progress. But the bottom line is that Oklahoma is light years ahead of the Longhorns, and Saturday wasn't just one bad game. In the same news conference, Brown touted that Texas has won four of the last eight against the Sooners, but even the most ardent Longhorns supporter would acknowledge spin doesn't get more egregious than that. If Texas is going to measure itself against Oklahoma, losing three years in a row should tell you exactly where you stand. And that whatever you've been doing isn't working. With all of Texas' advantages, it should not be middle-of-the-pack in the Big 12. Changes have to be made, whether they are philosophical or in personnel. What changes? That's hard to pinpoint, but if Brown is going to continue coaching there he needs to figure it out quickly. It sounds nice to say you're stronger than ever in your belief about what you're doing, but who believes in something that produced a 42-point loss to Cheap Jerseys your biggest rival? Advertisement More Stories: Fujita's agent won't confirm career-threatening injury Fujita's agent won't confirm…

Ravens CB tells Cowboys' Dez Bryant to 'man up' on miss

BALTIMORE -- Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant says pass interference should have been called against the Baltimore Ravens on the potential game-tying two-point conversion pass which glanced off his hands. MORE: Ravens hold on to beat Cowboys STORY: Ravens' Ray Lewis injured in win The man who was covering him, Ravens cornerback Cary Williams, says the 23-year old Bryant needs to "be a man." "I felt like it was a P.I. My opinion," said Bryant, visibly upset after a 31-29 loss which dropped Dallas to 2-3. "Not saying I couldn't catch it, because I feel Cheap NFL Jerseys like I can make difficult catches. But I feel like he put his arm around me. I haven't seen the play yet. But it wasn't called." The play came after a Bryant touchdown catch against Williams with 32 seconds left on the clock, which pulled the Cowboys within two points of tying the game. Told of Bryant's claims, Williams, 27, was both surprised and amused. "I see it as good Nike NFL Jerseys defense, man," Williams told USA TODAY Sports. "Dez is a great player, but it wasn't pass interference. It's two players going at it. And the referees let it happen. It is what it is, man. I didn't get my hand in there early, he just needed to catch the ball. I was able to make the play and he didn't. Kudos to me. Photos: Best of NFL cheerleaders "He needs to step up and be a man. You can't be a baby about stuff. You've got to man up. It's one on one. Mano-a-mano. I got you. コーチバッグ Sometimes you're going to win. Sometimes you're going to lose. "You've just got to be a man and accept responsibility, give credit coachバッグ where credit is due. If it was me I'd say, you know what, he made the play and I didn't. Bottom line. Don't complain and look for a flag, man." Williams added that he respects Bryant and he believes the wide receiver has "huge upside." He congratulated Bryant on beating him for a touchdown on the play previous to the two-point try. "It was a great catch," Williams said. "Hats off to him on that play. He made it a game. ... I wish him the best in his future endeavors and future games this season."

Modano's selflessness helped grow hockey in Texas

As the number of California-born players grows at all levels of hockey, much of the credit is given to Wayne Gretzky for his arrival with the Los Angeles Kings in 1988. The next great prospect pool is growing in Texas -- and for that, credit can be given to Mike Modano and his arrival with the Dallas Stars in 1993. From the hockey hinterlands, the state of Texas now boasts a thriving hockey culture, one that houses not only the Stars, but three American Hockey League franchises -- the San Antonio Rampage, Houston Aeros and Texas Stars -- as well as two teams in the Central Hockey League. In addition, there are a growing number of youth players, thanks to programs like the Dallas Junior Stars. Much of that growth is attributable to Modano, who will be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame on Oct. 15 in a ceremony in Dallas, along with Stanley Cup champion and NBC hockey analyst Ed Olczyk and New Jersey Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello. "He was the poster child for USA Hockey at the time and carried the flag well," former Stars teammate and current GM Joe Nieuwendyk told NHL.com. "He did a lot for hockey in this state. With the success of our team in the late '90s and the ownership take over and the building of StarCenters around town, it really got hockey going in our city and Mike was the face of that." There wasn't anything resembling a hockey culture when Modano arrived. The Michigan native set about changing that. "We had to sell the game again," Modano told NHL.com. "We had to get at clientele, a fan base. Create a buzz. … We had to do a lot of work in order to make this thing work in Dallas." A lot of that work was laid in Modano's lap. As the best player on the team, he knew it would be his job to Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys go into the community and sell the team and the game. Modano relished the opportunity. "It was a lot of work and there were a lot of things to do, and you were getting pulled in a lot of different directions all the time," he said, "but there was always a part of me that saw what [Troy] Aikman accomplished here in town and [Roger] Staubach and Nolan Ryan and things like that. Here's an opportunity for me to be that face for hockey as well. There wasn't anything I turned down if it helped promote the game and the Stars and helped the team in some sense in this city. It wasn't very hard to say 'Yes' to." Modano said there were a few northern transplants who gave him and the team a bit of a foothold, but the key was getting the new fans into the building. "We knew it was more of a spectator sport," he Nike NFL Jerseys 2012 said. "If we could get people in the building and see the excitement and pace of the game, the energy of it, we could hook into a new type Cheap Jerseys of fan base. We felt we did that right off the start. People were hooked. We still have fans from the early days that are still around. Once you get a loyal hockey fan, they're around forever." As Modano worked as hard off the ice as on it, others noticed and followed along. "Mike never said 'No' to anybody as far as promoting the game of ice hockey," Ken Hitchcock, who coached the Stars from 1996-2001, told NHL.com. "When I was around him, I never saw him say 'No' to anybody. I think that unselfish attitude really helped grow the game. He, as the face of the franchise, that unselfishness forced other players to do it. It really grew the game in a proper manner. There are a number of players from that group that have iconic stature in that city and that state, and I think Mike's unselfishness and willingness to go anywhere to promote the game and sell the game had a huge impact on generations." The next generation already can be seen. Austin Smith, a Dallas native, was drafted by the Stars in the fifth round in 2007. He made his professional debut with the club's AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars, last season and will spend the 2012-13 season with the team. Plano native Stefan Noesen was chosen by the Ottawa Senators with the 21st pick of the 2011 NHL Draft, and Coppell native Collin Jacobs was picked in the fourth round that same year by the Buffalo Sabres. The first name called at the 2013 NHL Draft could be Plano native Seth Jones, a defenseman playing with the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League. Jones developed most of his hockey skills while living in Colorado, but played a few years with the Dallas Junior Stars prior to playing with the U.S. National Team Development Program in Michigan. "It was not by accident that a lot of kids Cheap Jerseys From China [in Texas] joined hockey because of Mike Modano in the late '90s," Nieuwendyk said. "If you went back and dug even deeper and looked at registration numbers in that time period, they probably went through the roof and that's because of the team's success but because of Mike Modano, as well." Jones said when his family moved back to Texas, he had a preconceived notion of what hockey in Cheap NFL Jerseys the area would be like. However, he was pleasantly surprised at just how high-quality the program he joined was. "I had a great coach in Colorado that I grew up with the whole time I was there, Kent Murphy. He taught me everything I know today," Jones told NHL.com. "But when I moved to Texas I was a little bit worried because I got out of my comfort zone and tried something new, a new style of coaching. I came in, my first year playing in Texas I played for Trevor Hanas. He was a great coach for me, and I had kids like Colin Jacobs on my team and Nike NFL Jerseys Cason Hohmann, who's playing for [Boston College]. That was a great first year for me, a lot better than I expected coaching-wise." Modano -- who knew Jones' father, former NBA power forward Popeye Jones, when he played for the Dallas Mavericks -- said he's prouder of the development of players like Jones and others still to come from Texas than he is of the fact he's a Stanley Cup champion and the highest-scoring U.S.-born NHL player in NHL history. "I think there's more pride in that than anything in coming down here to help transition a team and a city and a state that didn't know much about hockey and now has the most professional hockey teams of any state in the country," Modano said. "There's a lot to it that you feel you were a part of and helped start that back in '93. There's a little bit of pride in that, as well, that you helped jump-start a state into liking or being a part of hockey."