Cook If I had to talk about the status of sports in the Brownsboro Independent School District, I’d have to say one word, “healthy.”

All of the programs here are competitive, especially the team sports.

Starting with the fall teams, the football and volleyball squads made the playoffs. Following them, both the boys and girls basketball teams advanced past the regular season.

Then came the “diamond” sports, with both the baseball and softball teams making the postseason.

I don’t think anyone missed the playoffs this year. It’s hard to match a record like that.

And you can add in the fact that Trey Volentine advanced to the State tournament in golf.

All in all, the 2009-2010 school year has been a good one for Brownsboro athletics.

***

My Texas Rangers are going to tease me again, I think.

I talked about this last year, at about this time, when they were leading their division and playing like a real baseball team most of the time.

Here we are again, and the Rangers (on Tuesday) have a two-game lead over the Oakland A’s, and are just three games over .500. That ought to be my first clue to not get my hopes up, that the Rangers are barely winning more than they’re losing.

But, in baseball, hope springs eternal. It’s the sport of “wait’ll next year!”

So, I’ll keep waiting for the Rangers to win at least one playoff game and worry about them winning a playoff series at another time. I’ve been a fan since they moved here from Washington, D.C. in 1972 when I was 12 years old. They’ve won a division title only twice in that 38-year period ... and were swept out of the playoffs both time by the New York Yankees.

Maybe this will be the year. Maybe the pitching will hold up ... or at least do enough to get us into the playoffs.

And, for the record, yes...I do believe in Santa Claus.

Loyd Cook has worked at newspapers for 17 years. He has earned multiple sportswriting and newswriting awards from the Texas Press Association and the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors organization.