Free Agency

Free agency, in all sports, is one of my favorite times of the year. I've always thought it was cool to see players in a new uniform, and I've always loved the intrigue of "who will sign with who?" Because so much goes into it. Which players are just in it for the money? Who wants to win? And who's lucky enough to get both?

Free agency gets fans excited because it gives you hope. "Yeah, we didn't win it last year, but now we've added (insert free agent name)? We're going all the way now!"

But for the Dallas teams, free agency has sucked in recent years. Hugely sucked. In the last several years, I can only think of a handful of players that my teams have signed. A lot of it is purely financial (my teams are right up against the cap), but it takes away from my excitement.

Because with no free agents, I look around and think, "This didn't work last year. We weren't even close. Why would it work this year?"

And it's probably because I don't anticipate players getting better. I look at Player A's production last year, and I expect the same. And while I probably realize that Free Agent A won't put my team over the top, I do realize that it puts us that much closer.

My second problem is money-related. Free agency, in all the sports, has exploded in recent years. Fair market value is no longer around - so if you want to sign a free agent, you're probably going to pay too much. And while I understand teams wanting to be financially responsible, I don't have a problem with spending some billionaire's money. And I get upset when Owner A will spend $75 million on his fifth private jet, but he won't throw in a couple million to sign some free agent.

Let's take a team-by-team look at free agency and why it sucks now.

Cowboys

I have no issues with Jerry Jones and free agency. When Jerry sets his eyes on a free agent, he doesn't let him leave town. Owner Jerry is perfect in my eyes. Whether it be Leonard Davis, Ken Hamlin, or even T.O. - if Jerry wants him, Jerry gets him.

The Cowboys have probably done the best in recent years with free agents. They didn't really sign anyone this year, but they're pretty close to the cap. I give them a pass.

Rangers

Ashley's going to hate this, but this is the team I have a lot of issues with. Of the four major sports, Major League Baseball is the only one that isn't capped. So the Rangers can go out and sign every player on the free agent roster.

And the Rangers like to pretend that they're a lot poorer than they are. We're in Dallas/Ft. Worth - we're a top 5 market. But Tom Hicks would like to convince us that we're in Boise, Idaho, and that's how he's been setting up his payroll.

Now I understand the problems that Hicks is facing. I promise that I do, and I'll illustrate:

1. The man is hemorrhaging money. He's having trouble paying for a lot of things, and the team is suffering because of it.
2. The Rangers have sucked for so long that the fanbase is turning on him. No fans in the stadium means less money to spend. If the Rangers draw like a small market team, their payroll will look like one too.
3. Hicks wants to win, but he's in this for the business of it. He's in it for the money. And he doesn't want to lose any of it.
4. The Rangers are trying to win with a home-grown roster. Free agents will take playing time away from Derek Holland, Chris Davis, Elvis Andrus, Nelson Cruz, Neftali Feliz, Michael Main, etc.
5. Signing a free agent costs the Rangers draft picks. That draft pick could be extremely important down the road.

So...see? I do understand. But I don't think I have to like it. And I think most of those reasons are going to be defunct in the next couple of years.

Because the Rangers are winning. And when the Rangers are winning, fans start showing up. Revenues will rise. Hicks will be able to sell the team or it will become profitable. And if the Rangers are close enough, it's worth losing a draft pick or two to make a run.

I've had this discussion with Ashley before. I'm okay not signing Free Agent A in 2009 if it means that Hicks is willing to spend money in 2010 and 2011. If we're going to be the New York Yankees (home-grown kids like Derek Jeter surrounded with free agent talent like C.C. Sabathia) then I'm okay with the waiting process.

But if we're going to pretend we're the Oakland As - with constantly rebuilding and trying to make a run before arbitration ends - I'm not on board.

Stars

This is a funny one because hockey only recently started up a salary cap. Outside of the Alex Rodriguez signing (which I thought would revolutionize my life in ways I couldn't imagine), the free agent signing I was most excited about was Bill Guerin. It's why I own a Guerin Stars' jersey - I knew he was the final piece to getting back to the Stanley Cup.

And while he's become nervous about spending money in baseball, Tom Hicks has never been afraid to spend money in hockey. He took on the huge Brad Richards contract two seasons ago to make a run at the Cup, and he seems to let his hockey people decide what kind of money is smart and what kind of money isn't.

Hicks has kept the Stars at the top of the salary cap for as long as he's been the owner, and I've never really had a problem with that.

But this year is a bit different. Because of Hicks' money problems, the Stars are suffering a bit. Instead of spending up to the NHL's real cap, Hicks is holding the Stars at a personal cap...about $10 million below the actual cap.

And that means that the Stars aren't going to get any new players to plug any holes. I guess the good news is that I don't see a lot of holes on this team - even though they didn't make the playoffs. I blame injuries more than anything with the Stars, and I'm looking forward to their season whether they sign anyone or not.

Plus, they've won a payoff series this decade. So I can give them the benefit of the doubt.

Mavericks

Here's the one that annoys me the most. Because I know for certain that Mark Cuban wants to win. I know for certain that he'd be willing to lose $100 million if it meant the Mavericks would win the NBA championship. If you want to rank the owners in their desire to win, Cuban and Jerry are right there at the top in all of professional sports.

And I realize that the Mavs are over the cap. They only have a mid-level exception with which to sign free agents.

But this is supposed to be the ultimate team at working around the money. This is the team that made blockbuster trade after blockbuster trade at the beginning of the decade. They were able to trade the Ultimate Albatross Contract in Raef LaFrenz. You could make a pretty awesome team with all of the players the Mavs have traded (and traded for) in the last 10 years.

But in the last couple of years, what have they done? The Kidd trade. And, outside of swapping spare parts, that's it.

Dirk, Terry, J-Ho, Dampier. That has been the Mavericks in the last few seasons. It didn't work in 2006, choking (or being strangled, whichever way you want to look at it) in the Finals. It failed against Golden State. It failed against New Orleans. It failed against Denver.

And the Mavericks are the ultimate example of "This didn't work last year! Try something else!" I look around and see the same faces, and I expect the same results. And I promise you that the players are thinking the same thing.

I see teams trying to get better. The freakin' Spurs go out and get Richard Jefferson. The Cavs go out and get Shaq. The Magic got Vince Carter. The Pistons are getting Ben Gordon and Charlie Villenueve. The Warriors are trying to get Amare.

The Mavs are trying to re-sign Jason Kidd (just to get back to the level they were at last year) and they drafted a bunch of projects. So far, that's it. In addition to Kidd, they're also looking into a backup center.

Where is the big splash? Where is the mix-up? Where is the shake up? Where are the Mavs?

I'm not saying there's anyone out there that can change the world. There isn't a player out there that the Mavs can sign or trade for that will win them the championship. But I don't think that's an excuse not to try. Even the Rangers are "rumored" to be going after people - you don't even hear the Mavs mentioned in any of these scenarios.

And I realize that they're chasing the Great Dragon of 2010. The free agent class that will include Wade, LeBron, and Bosh.

But I can't help but think that it's going to all be a ruse. Because the NBA is structured so that players stay on their teams. So that LeBron James will want to stay in Cleveland, Dwayne Wade will stay in Miami, and Chris Bosh will stay in Toronto.

And if they're going to leave, they're going to leave via sign-and-trade. So all the salary shedding and financial responsibility doesn't make a whole lot of sense - because to make a sign-and-trade for any of those guys, they'd still need salary to send back in most cases.

So I don't get it. And if the Mavs don't do something, I'm going to be angry. Because I don't believe in the power of the 2010 free agent class. And I won't believe in the braintrust's ability to get anyone...even if all those guys become available.

Because they haven't done anything in almost four years. Why would they do anything then?

And so I faithfully monitor the news websites and the blogs, desperately looking for activity. I see great players going to other teams while my teams stand pat.

And I can't help but understand why my teams haven't won a championship this decade.