Whether you’re at the end of your coffee, your day, your week or even your rope, welcome to Whitt’s End …
*The Mavs aren’t tanking now. They tanked at mid-season, when they traded serviceable parts for cap room and decided to sit a healthy-enough-to-play Kristaps Porzingis. The plan is working to perfection. They have been beautifully brutal since the All-Star break, plunging down the standings while raising as much hope as eyebrows. Why? Because at this rate they have a chance to retain their 2019 first-round draft pick. As part of acquiring Luka Doncic, they traded their pick to the Hawks if it’s pick 6-30. In the Top 5, however, they keep it. The record will be forgettable, but a season in which the Mavs acquire Doncic, Porzingis and a Top 5 pick would be truly memorable. With 18 games remaining, they have the seventh-worst record. Owner Mark Cuban won’t admit it again at the risk of another fine, but down the stretch losing is indeed winning.
*I don’t expect Jason Witten to miss a beat when he returns to the Cowboys at age 37. He’ll get open. He’ll catch in traffic. He’ll be a reliable Red Zone target and, of course, he’ll be last in the league in yards after catch.
*Saw some renderings of a finished Globe Life Field and, sorry, it looks less like a baseball park and more like a Nebraska Furniture Mart. Give me Arlington Stadium’s metal bleachers and Texas-sized scoreboard any day.
*As a long-form storyteller, I delight in the details of a good tale. But in watching the Michael Jackson documentary this week, I was dumbfounded by the superfluous repetition. Guaranteed we were treated to the photo of Michael in that red jacket a half-dozen times, and how many ways are there to say, “He was like a kid himself”?
*Hold a good thought for Blake Novacek, son of former Cowboys tight end Jay Novacek. Once a promising broadcast journalism student, he was hazed at an OU fraternity and these days deals with daily migraines and frequent seizures. Blake’s lawsuit against Beta Theta Pi is set for trial in October in Norman.
*If Kyler Murray is 5-10 1/8 then I’m, well, 5-10 1/8. And I am not 5-10 1/8.
*Rangers’ best player this season could be closer Jose Leclerc. Who knows, maybe he can save all 62 wins?
*There is a plethora of solid safeties in NFL free agency, including Earl Thomas, Tyrann Mathieu, Landon Collins, Eric Weddle, Glover Quin and Kenny Vaccaro. Any of them would be an upgrade from Jeff Heath. The day Heath is reduced to Bill Bates – a try-hard special teamer – is the day the Cowboys will mature into a legit defense.
*In this week’s episode of The Very Stable Genius, Donald Trump hosted Apple CEO Tim Cook at The White House and promptly called him, yep, “Tim Apple.” Take it from me, Richie Writer.
*The Mavs last week lost consecutive games by a combined 69 points (each by 30+) for the worst two-game stretch in franchise history. Pretty impressive feat, considering I covered a Mavericks team in 1991 that was 2-39 at the halfway point.
*Bugatti this week unveiled its new La Voiture Noire sports car. Price? $18 million. I’ve bought 12 cars in my life, with an estimated expenditure of $250,000. My brain can’t fathom paying $180,000 for a vehicle, must less adding two zeroes.
*At last week’s Scouting Combine, Texas cornerback Kris Boyd was asked by an NFL team if he still had both of his testicles. His comeback should’ve been, “Yes, do you still have both of your ovaries?”
*Cuban didn’t dismiss running for President in 2020 when asked in Brooklyn. Sorry, but that ship sailed the day he admitted to not being able to run a business without rampant sexual misconduct in the workplace.
*There are more molecules in a cup of water than there are cups of water on our planet. That makes my head hurt. And makes me kinda thirsty.
*For those of you that have kept up with the Wally Lynn saga, he’s alive. He’ll join our PressBoxDFW Live! podcast Tuesday and we’ll see if he’s also well.
*This weekend? Not a dang thang on the menu. At the pace I’ve been keeping, even the welcome “spring forward” to Daylight Savings Time is gonna be a challenge. As always, don’t be a stranger.
