Whether you're at the end of your coffee, your day, your week or even your rope, welcome to Whitt's End
*My best friend/co-worker/roommate in college was a full-blooded Choctaw. Political correctness wasn't chic in the '80s, but I asked him once if sports nicknames/mascots like "Redskins" were offensive to him and/or his family. "It's
Hail to the Redskins," he quipped, "not
Hell to the Redskins. Why would anyone take offense with that? I have major problems with the way we were robbed and discriminated against and banned to reservations. But a football named after our heritage? Nah. Bigger problems. Besides, that logo os pretty cool." Nonetheless, activist groups and now even
President Obama are growing in tenor as they urge Washington to change the nickname of its NFL team. I've been to Redskins' games in D.C. and witnessed groups protesting the name outside the gates of the stadium. But it's usually 4-5 people. That number grows to 4,000-5,000 and the debate will gain legitimacy. I can't possibly know what it's like to be offended by a nickname mocking the color of my skin, so for now I'll rely upon my focus group of one and say owner Dan Snyder should remain firm in keeping it Redskins. Now, about the Hornets being 'dissed in favor of the Pelicans ...
*The post-Galloway era commences on 103.3 FM ESPN this afternoon at 3 with Matt Mosley driving the bus, temporarily flanked by Tim MacMahon and the guy they call "Stretch". It'll be a "soft open" and not a finished product. Still convinced it's only a matter of time until
Dallas Morning News columnist Tim Cowlishaw joins Mosley as the permanent co-host. Without near as much fanfare as Galloway's farewell,
Fitzsimmons & Durrett also did their final show on the station Monday afternoon. That was a short little 7-month run, wasn't it? Cumulus - which, remember, now runs 103.3 - apparently offered them the opportunity to keep the doing the show. But Durrett is returning to full-time writing at ESPNDallas.com and looks like Fitzsimmons is remaining in the 11 a.m.-3 p.m. time slot. Today he'll fly solo. For four hours. Yikes.
*Too Hot For Teacher: All Cristy Deweese ever wanted to be was a teacher. And, at 21, she is. Teaching Spanish at the Sorrells Magnet School in Dallas. By all accounts she's a good teacher that's liked by her students and commended by her supervisors. But Deweese might get fired. Because of two strikes against her: She's hot. And she works in the Bible Belt.
While in college she was Co-Ed of the Month in Playboy. She hunts and she eats beef jerky and she's proud of her body. But Puritanical, ninny parents are taking a break from tearing out the pages about evolution in text books long enough to call for her firing. Yep, because of something totally legal she did at age 18, before she was hired. Ridiculous.
*When I'm wrong I'll admit it, and boy was I wrong about Will Allen. I loved his aggressiveness and the way he fearlessly stuck his nose in piles in run support. But the guy couldn't cover Michael Jackson in pass coverage, much less DeSean Jackson. Took horrible angles. And now? From starter to jobless in six weeks. Beaten out by a rookie, J.J. Wilcox. Swing and a miss by the Cowboys. And me.
*Update on the former "friend" who borrowed $6,500 from me in May and then conveniently quit taking my calls/responding to my texts. Sent him a certified demand letter through my attorney, and received zero response for 30 days. Means I'm all clear to this morning head down to my local Justice of the Peace and file a lawsuit in small claims court. If the guy doesn't show up to fight it I'll win a default judgment and within 4-6 weeks, or maybe months?, I'll be recouping most, if not all, of my loot. That's the plan anyway. The guy, by the way, is still running his profitable business in North Dallas. I guess he just thought I'd give up and go away. Guess that's why we're not really that good of friends. I'm horrible at just giving up and going away.
*Folks flippin' out over Jerry Jones' flip-phone? Yawn. We busted him on
RAGE at training camp in 2011 when we noticed he had the same antiquated mobile device as, you guessed it, Greggo. During the interview he took a call on his flip-phone, notifying him that the Cowboys were losing the Nnamdi Asomugha Sweepstakes to the Eagles.
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Hot.
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Not.
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*Remember back when we chanted Nap-oh-LEE! for the .220-hitting Mike Napoli as a Ranger? Checked out Rays-Red Sox last night and - holy hair - I barely recognized him because of the bird's nest growing on his face. By the way, the Red Sox went from 93 losses last year to the ALCS this year. Somewhere Bobby Valentine is ashamed.
*There was a time when I thought
Placebo's "Pure Morning" was the badassiest song ever. The lyrics are still pretty damn skippy:
A friend in need's a friend indeed; A friend with weed is better; A friend with breasts and all the rest; A friend who's dressed in leather. I wholeheartedly concur.
*Breaking Bad: Tony Romo. If you're still calling the Cowboys' quarterback a "choker" you haven't read
my breakdown of his fatal fling against the Broncos on NBC 5's Blue Star Blog. Debated the late-game pick with ol' pal Newy Scruggs Tuesday afternoon on his NBC Sports Radio show. Chalk one up for thinkers who don't get it. Newy kept saying flatly, "I don't care, you just can't throw an interception in that situation." That's like analyzing the scene of a crash, realizing that one of the car's brakes went out but still stubbornly deducting that "I don't care, you just can't have a crash in that situation." Circumstances. Outside influences. Shades of gray. I'm gonna keep preaching. If Romo would've had a clean pocket he would've completed the pass to Gavin Escobar. He didn't have a clean pocket. And not having a clean pocket was nothing of his doing. The end. For now ...
*Headline that didn't even remotely tease into reading the accompanying story: Mavs' Samuel Dalembert Out of Shape. It's Oct. 9. No sweat.
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Honestly, I'm surprised this hasn't happened to Romo.
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*White Truck Wednesday: Guy drives up and down the freeway shooting at other drivers in his ...
White Truck.
*Jay Ratliff, all is forgiven. The former Pro Bowl defensive lineman was arrested for drunk driving in the off-season and then got crossways with the Cowboys' medical staff during his rehab for a sports hernia. He's missed the first six games because of a strained hamstring suffered in training camp. Not long ago we were praising George Selvie and Nick Hayden and defensive line coach Rod Marinelli, but suddenly the group appears to be playing down to its modest pedigree. Only one sack of Phillip Rivers and zero pressure on Peyton Manning. Anthony Spencer is gone and DeMarcus Ware has disappeared and ... Ratliff is eligible to be play next week against the Eagles. Jerry Jones, however, says of Ratliff's return, "I don't know. I don't know if anyone knows." Yikes.
*You know who's having a crappy year? Yes, women in local media. Josh Hamilton. The New York "Football" Giants. Jerry Sandusky. And, okay, local sports fans who dig the post-season. But also those who are fascinated by/make a living off of major storms. Ya know, the Weather Channel's Jim Cantore and the like. Humberto was the season's first hurricane on Sept. 11, Tropical Storm Karen lifted her skirt and quit last weekend and - don't look now - but it's been eight years since a major hurricane (Category 3+) reached landfall in the U.S. (Sandy was a bitch, but never technically reached hurricane status.) I thought Global Warming was doomed to drown us all? The season doesn't officially end until Nov. 30 but ... hey, this isn't like jinxing a no-hitter is it?
*I like the
HBO Showtime drama
Homeland. But after the dramatic finales of Dexter and Breaking Bad, watching Season 3 so far is like a warm cup of NyQuil.
*Today? Pizza Buzz. Experimenting with dough and stacking beer in a cooler. Ain't life grand? Don't be a stranger.
