Whether you're at the end of your coffee, your day, your week or even your rope, welcome to Whitt's End:
*Guess which Cowboy is on this week's cover of
ESPN Magazine? If you said "Monte Kiffin" I love your dark sense of humor, but unfortunately you're wrong. The quarterback, of course.
*In their proud 53-year history the Cowboys have never surrendered more than 5,687 yards in a season. This year's group is on pace to allow 7,000.
Seven Thousand! How far are the Cowboys from being a championship defense? The Super Bowl unit of 1992 was ranked No. 1 and gave up only 3,933 yards. I got the gory details over at
NBC 5's Blue Star Blog.
*Speaking of magazine covers, I have zero problem with
Time's inflated image of New Jersey governor Chris Christie and the headline: The Elephant in the Room. Christie is a large human and a big player in the political game. More importantly, he's a very public figure. Comes with the territory. Eat a salad, become an accountant or otherwise develop a thick skin.
*Metroplex weather in the last 7 days:
hotashellneedyoursunglasseswindyzerohumiditycloudyraingottahaveyourumbrellastillandcalmfrostwarninghardfreezewarningeightydegreesandsunnygorgeousopenthesunroofplungingbackintothefortiestakeajacketandbundleup. Don't like it? There's always next week.
*Just the thought of Rangers' new first-base coach Bengie Molina makes us chuckle. Him giving advice to base-runners is like Emmitt Smith leading a seminar on public speaking. Couple weeks ago on Twitter a follower asked the Hall-of-Fame running back to compare himself with DeMarco Murray. Wrote Emmitt: "The different's is ... " Nope, not kidding.
*Another sports personality is struggling with the meaning of words. He's not alone, but Baylor coach Art Briles doesn't understand "humble." After signing a 10-year contract extension the Bears' coach said he is "humbled." He is? Why? Getting beat 49-17 is humbling (right, Cowboys?). Getting fired is humbling (right, Richie Whitt?). Having to wipe your father-in-law's glasses is humbling (right, Shy Anderson?). But being awarded a giant contract worth millions of dollars as an acknowledgment of the terrific job you've done? No, not humbling. Flattering, maybe. Empowering. Confidence-boosting. Rewarding. But humbling? It just doesn't fit. Now, if Baylor goes 0-11 next year and Briles get fired and this contract torn up? That, my friends, would be humbling.
*Little media birdie tells me that 105.3 The Fan program director Gavin Spittle has failed in yet another ploy. His latest unsuccessful attempt? He tried to hire the recently-retired Randy Galloway, and got rejected at the rim. Looks like instead Spittle is trying to reach out to Fort Worth through ... Mac Engel.
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*Sunday the Cowboys are off, so it's a perfect time to reacquaint yourself with those people you sometimes call your family. I'm taking my brother and mother to Fort Worth for lunch at Pizza Buzz. And if you're close to Forney you should ... take in some
wrestling? Yep, $10 gets you in. Three cans of non-perishable food items slices $3 off your ticket. It benefits the Forney Food Pantry and you get to know everything about the wrestling Von Erichs from author Lisa Renee Andrews.
Check it.
*Weirdest Cowboys' stat of the season: Opponents are 8 of 14 on 4th downs. Dallas is 0 of 0.
*A dog has accomplished something that you and I never will:
Climbed Mount Everest. Very cool.
*Not that I root for drug dealers, but glad that former Cowboys' receiver Sam Hurd didn't get life in prison. If you read the details of his story, it's clear he wanted to smoke a lot of marijuana with friends, not be some cocaine kingpin. He got 15 years with no parole, which still makes it a tragic tale.
*You Betcha Week 12: Not a worse feeling in the world than buyer's remorse. I put some hard-earned (virtual) loot on Texas Tech last Friday morning and by Friday afternoon I was regretting it. Tech was slumping, Kansas State was rolling and I'd made a mistake. Alas, I was right about being wrong as the Wildcats thumped them in Lubbock. This week I'll attempt something very dangerous: being right about being right. I don't believe in the Kansas City Chiefs. Andy Reid's team has lucked into facing backup quarterbacks recently in Ryan Fitzpatrick (Titans), Case Keenum (Texans), Jason Campbell (Browns) and Jeff Tuel (Bills). They get Peyton Manning Sunday in Denver. Cue the blowout.
STARTING BANKROLL: $10,000
CURRENT BANKROLL: $4,825
SEASON RECORD: 4-7
LAST WEEK: 0-1
THIS WEEK: Broncos minus-8 over Chiefs for $3,000.
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You know you like it but it drives you insane. Well, doesn't it?
*Weird how life works. Back in the late '90s I had this runnin' buddy named Chad. We played flag football together in The Village, went on skiing trips to Whistler and ran games on girls, like approaching them with the cut-to-the-chase question of "Hi, do you have loose morals?" (Amazing how many times the answer was "Yes!") Then, life happened. I got married. He got married. Kids. Jobs. And just like that I hadn't seen him in 15ish years. Last night I'm at Blue Martini for Sybil's Boots & Babes event and who walks in the door? Yep. Commence good-ol'-day syndrome.
*Sometimes you need ... stuff. A good vodka. A trustworthy mortgage company. Some fast-food chicken. A relaxing/stimulating lap dance.
For all your daily wants and needs, keep this list of DFWSportatorium-friendly businesses handy. Thanks for your patronage.
*Today? Picking up some new threads from
Lombardo Custom Apparel. Gotta at least try to look spiffy for Sunday night's TV appearance on NBC 5. Don't be a stranger.
