WHITT'S END: 10.16.13

      Whether you're at the end of your coffee, your day, your week or even your rope, welcome to Whitt's End

   *The Rangers are doing swell in the baseball playoffs. The ex-Rangers, that is. Even though Texas' postseason ended before it started, every time you turn on the TV to watch a game in the LCS there's a familiar player in a strange uniform playing a key role. Mostly the Rangers are playing in Boston, where Koji Uehara threw strike three for the 27th out to Jarrod Saltalamacchia to close out yesterday's Game 3 win that was set up by Mike Napoli's 7th-inning homer. The Dodgers are down 3-1 to the Cardinals in the NLCS, partly because Michael Young is 0-for-5. And of course in Detroit it was former Ranger Joaquin Benoit who gave up David Ortiz' series-shifting Slam in the 8th inning of Game 2. What does it all mean? If you want a Rangers' flavor to the World Series you're rooting for the Red Sox, but prepare for another Cardinals' title because St. Louis is void of our guys.

   *1964: The Island of Misfit Toys. 2013: The D-Line of Misfit 'Boys. And, yes, pretty sure I pulled a hammy stretching for that one over at NBC 5's Blue Star Blog.

   *How the heck did we men allow the invention of "throw pillows"? Bunch of bored women probably got together at one of their "coffees" where they wear sweatpants and come up with a myriad of decorative (i.e. non-functional) crap and tricked us into accepting these things by adding "throw" in front of 'em. We envisioned slant routes diving on the couch, but wound up doing what I (sometimes) do: Removing as many seven pillows off the bed every night before crawling in for a good night's sleep. Then, of course, the next morning I (rarely) help Sybil pile those same seven pillows back onto the bed after it's made. I'm not real good at math, but over the course of a year that's 5,110 throw-pillow on-and-offs our bed alone. What. The. What?!

   *The Cowboys' three wins are over teams (Giants, Rams, Redskins) with a combined record of 4-13. Their three losses are to teams (Chiefs, Chargers, Broncos) with a combined record of 15-3. I sense a trend. And, based on it, we have zero idea what to expect Sunday in Philadelphia against the 3-3 Eagles.

   *John Lackey played baseball at UT-Arlington, only moonlighting as a reliever from his regular position at 1st base. He's got a World Series ring ('02), an All-Star Game appearance ('07) and he's led the AL in ERA ('07). As an Angels' rookie he started Game 7 of the '02 World Series and went five innings to help Anaheim beat the Giants. He's been on bigger stages than yesterday's Game 3 of the ALCS, but he's never been better. Lackey out-dueled Justin Verlander, shutting out the Tigers for 6.2 innings. Probably not as big as UTA alum Derrick Jensen's blocked punt for a touchdown in Super Bowl 18, but it helps us forget that Mark Lowe ('11 World Series ring a bell?) ever went to school in Arlington.

   *Hot.

   *Not.

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   *After a hard easy day in the coal mines Pizza Buzz, yesterday I came home and propped my feet up and watched some baseball dressed up in a Halloween costume with Sybil while the worst photographer in the history of cameras snapped our pic. Blurred Lines, indeed.

   *Fitting Game 3 of the ALCS at Detroit's Comerica Park was delayed 17 minutes by a power outage. In the first 5 innings of Games 1-3 Red Sox' hitters have one hit and 27 strikeouts. Fortunately they scored a goal in the match's 65th minute and hung on for another 1-0 win. After that game, four of the six LCS games involved a team being shut out.

   *Speaking of soccer, with two goals in extra time in Panama the U.S. saved Mexico's ass last night. Our neighbors to the south owe us one. Cinco de Mayo? Okay we'll call it even.

   *Any time I start to get too cocky and begin to feel smart, I remember that I still use AOL. Receive/sent my first ever email there in 1993 and have kept it for 20 years. Problem is these days I pay $20 a month for AOL and - other than the pain in the butt of alerting all my contacts about a new email address - I'm not sure why. I've got emails through other servers for DFWSportatorium and Pizza Buzz and ... I dunno, stubborn I guess. With a pinch of lazy.

   *Pretty sure Alabama has a decent squad this year, but only two teams have won every game by 15+ points: Oregon and Missouri.

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   *White Truck Wednesday: Couple of men break into a store and steal beer in their ... White Truck.

   *I've been ragging on the baseball playoffs this week, but in retrospect isn't Torii Hunter's leaping, stretching, falling-over-the-wall attempt in Game 2 one of the most spectacular non-catches in the history of sports? The all-out attempt and the full-blown ramifications make it a classic. Steelers' fans would probably point to Jackie Smith's drop in Super Bowl 13, and I'd probably punch them right in the kisser for reminding us.

   *I don't expect to see Jay Ratliff in a Cowboys' uniform ever again.

   *Is it possible to have an NFC East "showdown" between 3-3 teams in mid-October? Important game sure. But we've sort of perfected the art of hype.

   *Today? Pizza Buzzin' while keeping an eye on the Dodgers, who will beat the Cardinals in Game 5 to extend the NLCS. Don't be a stranger.

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