Texas Rangers pitcher Jacob Latz delivers during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros at Globe Life Field on Sunday, July 12, 2026, in Arlington.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
“Kevin Sherrington’s A La Carte” is a weekly newsletter curated by DMN sports columnist Kevin Sherrington where he hits all of the latest sports topics around North Texas and all major sports.
Sign up for the Sports Roundup newsletter to receive exclusive content from Sherrington every week. Read an excerpt from this week’s newsletter below.
Kevin Sherrington’s A La Carte
— Best story of the Rangers’ first half is Jacob Latz. Deserved a spot in the rotation, took one for the team by going to the bullpen and turned himself into an All-Star closer. One of the main reasons this club still has a playoff shot.
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— Remember when the Rangers could have nominated several candidates for Home Run Derby? No park was too big back in the day. Do you think the Globe could have held Josh Hamilton?
— So let me get this straight: The Rangers’ first-round pick is a kid who played on the same team as Skip Schumaker’s son last year? Did their second-round pick come from a carpool?
— World Cup play proved that real grass could survive even in a closed environment like JerryWorld. NFL players prefer it, too, but it’s simple economics to owners. Turf holds up better for set-up of stages, etc., on the field. Rangers came to same conclusion at the Globe. They like 365-day income.
— The Mavs’ first pick, Morez Johnson Jr., looks like he’d be all-world as long as the NBA gives him 10 fouls a game like they do in Vegas. He’ll have to rein it in a little once the season starts.
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— Long before he moderated Cotton Bowl press conferences and became a fixture in both SMU as well as Cowboys press boxes, Peter Irwin was a star drummer at Hillcrest. Died last week at 84. Memorials may be made to the Hillcrest High School Band or Cristo Rey Dallas College Prep.
Story time: Our Evan Grant recently decided to take up golf again after a 30-year hiatus and sought yours truly as his accomplice, which is how I ended up in the emergence room on the Fourth of July.
Evan could have picked Tim Cowlishaw, SportsDay’s most gifted golfer, who, unprovoked, once challenged me to a match using only a 5-iron and a putter. He could have used a pickleball paddle and still won. Evan may have heard that story and made him think twice.
Anyway, we met at Stevens Park Golf Course on a blistering Friday morning where we were joined by a former postal carrier and firefighter, both retired. Pretty fair golfers. Gentlemen, too. You couldn’t hear so much as a giggle during my backswing.
Evan created a sensation when he birdied the first hole, a par-4. Frankly, I’d have retired on the spot and taken up something less daunting. Nuclear engineering, maybe.
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Pretty soon the thrill had worn off and a scene straight out of “Apocalypse Now” had set in. We staggered to the finish, bid farewell to our patient partners and adjourned to S&D Oyster Co., for an extended rehabilitation. And that might have been the end of it, I suppose, if not for the nasty rash that developed a few days later.
Admitting nurse: “Have you been in any trees or shrubs lately?”
Me: “I played golf the other day.”
Nurse: “How do you get in trees and shrubs playing golf?”
Me: “When you play like I do.”
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On a related note, I have also spent both a birthday and Father’s Day in the ER. Working my way around the holidays, apparently. Seems like a vote for the sedentary life.
More from Sherrington
— Mark Cuban’s history with Mavs makes petitioning Adelsons over ‘handshake deal’ a head scratcher
— Brett Yormark should’ve addressed Big 12-Texas Tech feud, not kick the can down the road
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— Team-first traits are highly prized in new Mavericks coach Dusty May’s vision