Whether you're at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End
*Congrats to avid reader Robert Candeleria of Fort Worth. By paying attention this week he knew that the winning sentence was "I saw Tony Romo's baby at DFWSportatorium." Took his knowledge to Pollo Campero this morning and now he's got a full belly of free Latin chicken and two tickets to a big sporting event. Very cool.
*With a loss to the Bengals, the Cowboys (1-2) would clinch a losing record in the preseason for the first time in more than a decade. You heard me. Last time the Cowboys were under .500 in exhibitions was 2001 (2-3), when Dave Campo coached and Quincy Carter handed-off to a fella named Emmitt Smith. Since '02 the Cowboys are 28-16-1 in the preseason, a winning percentage (.622) better than over their last 11 regular seasons (.534). But they had losing pre-season records before all three of their Super Bowl seasons in the '90s. Moral to the story: There is little or no predictive value in the outcomes of NFL pre-season games. If the Cowboys fall to 1-3, shrug.
*Alerted you about a month ago to a potential fourth 24-hour sports-talk radio station in the Metroplex. Despite the obvious hurdles - it's an AM station in an already crowded market dominated by a ratings-greedy gorilla named The Ticket - apparently plans are still a go. Though the initial Sept. 1 launch date is pushed back. ... In other radio news, I still hear ol' friend Randy Galloway is very open to being bought out of his contract by his new bosses over at The Ticket. His contract runs through December, but he's lame-duck done.
*Something I bet you thought you'd be saying by now but haven't: "Man, I miss Nelson Cruz." As long as the Rangers play the Astros we can't forget about the steroid slugger.
*
Dig a tad deeper and the three teens that gunned down that college baseball player in Oklahoma weren't merely thrill-seekers, but people filled with evil, hate and gangs. This was a hate-crime, right?
*How bad of an off-season has it been for Johnny Goofball? From accepting the Heisman Trophy as America's best overall college football player, to now not even considered the best quarterback in his conference. He's second-team pre-season All-SEC, behind Georgia's Aaron Murray.
Gig 'Em. Giggle.
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Hot.
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Not.
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*Sean Lee is a badass and a leader. If you listen close enough during practice he will throw out some some obscenity-laced trash talk. And obviously he can make plays all over the field. But, sorry, he isn't yet among the
10 best linebackers in Cowboys' history.
*Try this bar bet on your buddy: Two Rangers lead MLB in offensive categories. One is Adrian Beltre with 162 hits. The other? Leonys Martin, with 11 bunt singles. Drink up!
*I'm sure you know more football than Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach. They've only won five Super Bowls and their legacies reside in Canton. But just in case your mind is cracked even a little bit open, allow me to consolidate
my pro-Tony Romo column from last week with another reminder from Captain America at Thursday night's Silver 'n Blue Debut at AT&T Stadium: "If there's a bigger Romo fan in town, I don't know who it is," Staubach told a group of us reporters. "I want to argue with all my negative Romo fans and let them know and tell them how great this guy is. ... He doesn't complain. He doesn't blame it on anybody, but he needs some help up front at times. The running game has got to be better than 31st in the league, but Tony just does his job. He makes plays. He's got a strong arm, and he just does a lot of good things out there only a few quarterbacks in the league can do. ... Tony is a franchise quarterback." Just something to consider next time you irrationally blurt out "Romo is a choker who'll never win." But, then again, I'm sure you know better.
*Next time you start to groan about being bored by the "same sh*t, different day" job wasting your life, consider Vin Scully. He'll be back at Dodgers' broadcaster next season ... for the 65th year.
*Last time we saw the Cowboys in Arlington they were losing in overtime to the Saints on Dec. 23. That was almost eight months ago to the day. Feel better or worse about this team today?
*It's the simple things in life. Sometimes, anyway. This week I enjoyed a cold nectarine during a late-night swim under a full moon. And yesterday I got the best drink in the world: Panera Bread's Iced Green Tea.
*Caught up with some more old Cowboys this week. There aren't two nicer people on this planet than Amy and Jay Novacek. Super Bowl XXX MVP Larry Brown gave me an NFL prediction: "Watch out for the Chiefs and Rams." The Chiefs, really? And ol' pal Tony Casillas has caught on with an afternoon drive radio show in Oklahoma City, where he still a God. Congrats.
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*Proud of former 105.3 The Fan Fantasy Girl Shaunda Poster. Once upon a time she was
smooching pics of cocky guys at the Greenville Ave. St. Patrick's Day Parade. Now: Pre-game, in-house Cowboys' host at AT&T Stadium. I'd say that's an upgrade, yeah.
*Hey
Fox NBC, we weren't clamoring for English Premier League soccer over here on this side of the pond. Stop shoving it down our throats, lest you become ESPN trying to convince us to care about women's college basketball.
*Wait,
Christian Swingers? What. The. What?! Wonder if they moan "Oh, God!" with each other's partner?
*How did The Fan not broadcast live from the Silver 'n Blue Debut? I remember back when 105.3 was the official home of the Cowboys.
*As long as hitters like A-Rod are allowed to wear giant shields of armor on their elbows, pitchers should be allowed to throw inside. And, in the wake of two batters hit in the face Wednesday night - one by Tanner Scheppers - how long until baseball at least ponders protective facemasks on helmets? Considering there are already shields on hockey and football helmets, isn't baseball - again - well behind the curve?
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Sybil's Our dog Duncan was attacked and bitten at a McKinney dog park yesterday. I don't understand the concept of those places. Aren't they just built for trouble?
*I'm still learning the nuances of Facebook and Twitter. Not sure I'm ready for Vine. Or,
after watching this, maybe I am.
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*Saw
We're The Millers this week. Review: Thumbs up. More than a couple laugh-out-loud moments and one of the most grotesque scrotums you've ever seen portrayed on the big screen. (Gotta be a pretty short list, right?) Also, for 44, Jennifer Aniston has a rockin' stripper body.
*Normally mild-mannered and very astute CBS 11 sports anchor/Cowboys' radio color analyst Babe Laufenberg went on a weird rant last Sunday night. Giving his thoughts on the Cowboys' summer transactions of moving to Frisco and teaming with AT&T, Babe said he was "mad" that the city and the telecom giant would give the Cowboys any money in the wake of their sole playoff win over 16 years. Nonsensical on a couple fronts, first and foremost because Jerry Jones doesn't take real kindly to criticism from his own mouthpieces. Ask Dale Hansen and Brad Sham about getting fired for saying less.
*
Toldja there'd be a "Blurred Lines" lawsuit over stolen lyrics. Well,
didn't I?
*Silver 'n Blue tidbits: Maybe it's just me but I think Jason Garrett is embracing a year without the pressure and constraints of being offensive coordinator/play-caller. He was much more animated Thursday night, encouraging the crowd to make noise and running around the field like a colt in a meadow. ... Dan Bailey was booming 53-yard field goals through the uprights and well up the net. We take for granted how good he is ... Rookie cornerback B.W. Webb isn't equipped to be an NFL punt-returner. Fumbled two more ... Receiver Terrance Williams has an impressive glide to his giddy-up. Before the end of the season I think he'll be No. 3 behind Dez and Miles. Sorry, Dwayne Harris.
*Want good food at a great joint for a fantastic cause?
Long-time local musician Nancy "Shaggy" Moore is about to lose her childhood home to the tax man. Help her raise money Sunday 2-6 at
Stratos on Northwest Highway.
*Man that I enormously trust and respect tells me to "cut the whining" for credit on this here blog. I reminded him that my self-promotion helped me earn the attention of NBC 5. That said, I'll take his
advise advice into serious consideration.
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*Several people have alerted me to this and I obviously have no answer. But I think it's telling of CBS management: On its Radio.com App, The Fan's afternoon drive show remains
RAGE. SMH with ya.
*Not sure who authors the blog,
LAKisses. But I'm most certain he/she/it is the worst writer in America. The grammar. The spacing. Did I mention the grammar? Seriously, "she kept it nice
in short ..." Just atrocious. I was pointed to this site a year ago when it spewed false rumors about Cowboys' offensive lineman "Tyrone" Smith's family. Sorry, zero credibility. It gives people with blogs a bad name.
*So I let a "friend" borrow - I know, big mistake - $5,000, with 10% interest. Also agreed to work for him for another $1,000. In a week's time (all my work was completed) I was supposed to (it's in writing, signed) have $6,500. That was on May 20. It is now Aug. 23, and I have nothing to show for the deal except a fee I had to pay my bank because a $3,000 check he gave me bounced. Do I: A) Write it off and chalk it up to "my bad"; B) Pursue him in small-claims court; C) Publicly expose him as a thief/liar on this here blog?
*Weird week for Maria Sharapova. Fires coach Jimmy Connors after one match. Announces she'll change her name to "Sugarpova." And then pulls out of the U.S. Open with an injury.
Women.
*Both my projects now come equipped with new T-Shirts. I'll be giving away DFWSportatorium shirts at our launch party in two weeks - Sept. 7 at Baby Dolls Dallas.
*You heard it here first: Tim Tebow is going to get cut by the Patriots. Because he sucks.
*Ben Affleck is the new Batman? Are we really in the market for a new Batman? I think we're pretty saturated with Batman, considering we've already seen Michael Keaton and Val Kilmer and George Clooney and Christian Bale and, of course, Adam West, as Batman.
*Allow me to issue a pre-emptive apology. If I seem distracted the next two weeks it's because I will be. The U.S. Open starts Monday in New York. Favorite sporting event of the year. And, yes, I'm fully aware that I'm a total dork.
*If you hated me on the radio, good news! Now I'll be on TV. Started the writing portion of my new gig at NBC 5 last week on
Blue Star Blog. And Saturday night around 6:20 I'll join KXAS-Channel 5 anchor Pat Doney on the field for some Cowboys' pre-game back-and-forth.
*This weekend: Saturday it's tennis in the morning and Bengals-Cowboys at night. Sunday's between the pool and
Dave Chappelle. Don't be a stranger.
