By Keysha Hogan

C’mon, be honest…are you ok? Between the abrupt ending to the Rangers’ season, watching the Cowboys collapse on Monday Night Football, and the lockout cancellation of Dallas Stars’ games, this has been a tough week for local sports fans. So, in the spirit of moving forward and not stress-eating our favorite stadium foods, let’s step back from the ledge and let’s look these epic fails in face.

Monday Night Football

Let’s just be grateful for this bye week. There is no way that any of you are ready to face the inconsistent playing of the Cowboys after last week’s manhandling. Chicago’s defense applied relentless pressure on Romo and each of those interceptions was like a kick in the gut. The mental game seems to have improved with Tony Romo, but Dez Bryant was in the middle of his trial by fire and it wasn’t pretty. However, I do hope you noticed the 13 passes, 112 yards and 1 touchdown that Witten delivered. He may be the key to creating a standard of consistency that this team is desperate for.

Postponed Hockey

The NHL threw down the gauntlet last week and officially cancelled 82 games from October 11^th – October 24^th. Usually a lockout is the final last stand during negotiations, but in this case it seems it’s the owner’s opening move. In the midst of the gridlock the Dallas Stars have already lost forward Jamie Benn to a German Hockey League. And now our Canadian neighbors to the north are floating the idea of recruiting scab players in November. Was nothing learned from the NFL replacement ref fiasco? Brutal fights are a part of the game, but there will certainly be some amateurs willing to put someone in intensive care,  if it means capturing nationwide attention.

2012 Rangers

Everyone felt that this would be a “Third time’s the charm” for this year’s team. Instead, fans are consoling each other and packing away their claws and antlers for next season. This loss was devastating and wasn’t close to demonstrating the greatness from the last two years. I’m sick over Josh Hamilton’s fate, and Mike Napoli, Mike Adams and Roy Oswalt are joining him in free agency. This off-season will be more reassessment than rebuilding, but there is no way that I’m lowering my expectations of this franchise.

In psychology, there are studies claiming that depressed people can face insurmountable sadness with relative ease, because by their nature, they expect bad things to happen. And after 17 years without a Superbowl win, 13 years past our only Stanley Cup win, and two World Series’ teasers it’s getting easier to expect the worst. But this is the time where we must reject the negative thoughts and find some brute force optimism to get through this dismal season. So here’s a little good news: The Dallas Mavericks squeaked out an 89-84 win over Alba Berlin in a German exhibition game. (At least it’s a win!)