Whether you’re at the end of your coffee, your day, your week or even your rope, welcome to Whitt’s End …
*Even though he let Steve Nash walk in 2004 and broke up a championship roster after 2011, I have enough confidence in Mark Cuban to believe he wouldn’t have pulled the trigger on the trade for Kristaps Porzingis without being 99.99% certain the All-Star would eventually be healthy and eternally be a Maverick. “We’re rebuilding a championship team here,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. “That’s obviously a lot of what this deal is all about.” We won’t know if Porzingis is healthy until October. But we’ll find out if Cuban is right on July 1, the first day of NBA free agency.
*I’m not concerned that Jason Garrett will be the head coach and Kellen Moore will call the plays. I am, however, nauseous that the plays that will be called in 2019 are the same plays we watched meander in 2018.
*Social media is vital to branding, messaging and shaping a reputation. Especially to sports teams, organizations, etc. So why do I get the feeling that franchises like the Rangers, for example, leave the job to employees with no veracity toward grammar and little knowledge of the team’s legacy? Last week the @Rangers Twitter account posted a photo of Rougned Odor, Joey Gallo and Ronald Guzman under the screaming headline: “INJECT THIS INTO OUR VEINS”. I get it. Sorta. The players are getting pumped for spring training, and so should you. I guess. But let’s ignore the all-caps and lack of punctuation while we ponder if the author was alive/aware when the team was shamefully at the epicenter of the steroid era. Just a bad look.
*Received some – shall we say – interesting feedback to this week’s piece on the Mavs’ history of acquiring white big men. Somewhere along the way, a lot of folks have gotten lost in the weeds on the important distinction between “racist” (owning a bias for or against a select race of people, founded solely upon skin color) and “racial” (anything merely pertaining to race). My column was undoubtedly racial, but it’s nonsensical to charge that it was racist. A “racist” story would suggest that – in an NBA where 75 percent of overall players, 83 percent of this year’s All-Stars and 94 percent (30 of the last 32) of recent MVPs are black – the Mavs should start acquiring more whites. A “racial” story merely researches the fact that the Mavs have been mostly unsuccessful for almost 40 years in already doing so. It’ll be a better world when we can have an adult conversation about an objective, fact-based perspective on black versus white without immediately lurching to the lazy, shallow default of “racist!”.
*I admit it, Tom Brady is good. Hall-of-Fame good. But it wouldn’t be a fair analysis of him without also pointing out that he is damn lucky. If – I know, I know – Chiefs’ linebacker Dee Ford had not lined up offside late in the AFC Championship Game, Brady wouldn’t be showered with immortal praise in the wake of another Super Bowl, but rather drowned with doubt after his three-interception pratfall cost the Patriots a trip to the ultimate game. Ford’s mistake was wholly self-inflicted. He wasn’t fooled by a New England alignment, or teased by a Brady hard-count. And his gaffe that drew the penalty did nothing to affect the play, other than to negate a Brady interception that would’ve given Kansas City a first down at its 40 with only 54 seconds remaining. The ultimate sign Brady’s good even when he’s bad: In playoff games in which he fails to throw a touchdown pass, he is 5-0.
*My initial reaction to Bob Stoops being named head coach of the new Dallas XFL team was that he should get the franchise off to an easy, successful start by scheduling the Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl. Ya know, because his Sooners so dominated that rivalry. But, after review, Stoops was only 11-7 against Texas. A winning record, sure, but nothing like his 12-0 vs. Kansas/Iowa State, 14-4 vs. Oklahoma State or 11-3 vs. Texas A&M. I guess my perspective was polluted by those five consecutive Red Rivalry wins 2000-04 when both teams were ranked in the Top 10, punctuated by 63-14 in ’00 and 65-13 in ’03. Yes, Tommy Boy, that indeed “left a mark.”
*Got a phone call this week outta the blue from an old friend/former DFW media personality. He was safe, sound, sober and – seemingly – content. If you’ve followed me for any amount of time you know who I’m talking about it, and I hope the news brings you a smidge of comfort. If you don’t, but are interested, Google is your friend. P.S. If you guessed “Greggo,” Google harder.
*Former Longhorns quarterback Shane Buechele is transferring to SMU. Prediction: Combine the Mustangs’ pass-happy offense with Buechele’s mobility of a mailbox, and he’ll set an NCAA record for times being sacked during his two years in Dallas.
*When we’re really pissed, wouldn’t it make more sense to scream “Devil Dammit!”?
*The annoying “defense wins championships!” crew has fresh ammunition. The Rams entered Super Bowl 53 as the 11th-highest scoring team in NFL history. Make it 0 titles for those Top 11. Also make it 46 championships in 53 years for teams sporting a Top 10 scoring defense.
*“Pitchers and catchers report!” is traditionally an exciting proclamation of hope. Unless, that is, Baseball Prospectus predicts your team will lose 93 games in 2019, better than only the Orioles, Marlins and Tigers. Good luck, Rangers fans.
*The Big 12 Conference had 12 defensive players invited to the upcoming NFL Scouting Combine. Clemson had 9.
*This weekend? You’d think shivering in that brrrrricane last month would’ve taught me not to enter outdoor tennis tournaments in the winter. You’d be wrong. Saturday we’re playing. Sunday we’re thawing out. In between I’m not going to work, but instead just eat, sleep, tweet and half-watch TV. Better known in The White House as “Executive Time.” As always, don’t be a stranger.
