WHITT'S END: 10.29.13

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

   *Apologize? For what exactly? Despite NFL Films releasing this audio of one of Dez Bryant's sideline rants Sunday in Detroit, I still maintain the receiver's demonstrative behavior was unprofessional and unacceptable. And if only me and Jason Witten and DeMarcus Ware and Jason Garrett see it that way, so be it. I'm fine with that. Now, if NFL Films releases the Dez/Witten/Ware exchange from the end of the game and they're simply making positive rah-rah dinner plans, then I'll apologize. (My money says that while Witten was still trying to figure out a way to win the game with :12 remaining, Dez the "passionate competitor" was already pouting and resigned to losing.) And if Dez's demeanor was no biggie, why did his head coach pull him into a private room for a one-on-one chat after the loss to the Lions? Trust me on this, there will be a day when Dez Bryant asks for the ball in a different manner. And on that day he'll be a better receiver, and a better teammate. My latest Dez Dilemma column at NBC 5's Blue Star Blog.

   *The Boston Red Sox are going to win the World Series because of Jon Lester's left arm, David Ortiz's historically hot bat and Koji Uehara's 82-mph splitter that nobody seems to see coming and even fewer have the patience to hit. With the Rangers in the playoffs in '11 and '12, that same Uehara pitched only 2.1 innings and gave up three homers and five earned runs. Now? Unhittable.

   *Feels like Christmas this morning? Nope, not December. It's NBA Opening Day. My favorite sport featuring the world's best athletes. Best team will again be the Heat. Best story will be Derrick Rose's return. Jason Kidd now coaches Paul Pierce in Brooklyn. Dwight Howard is in Houston. Worst team will be the Philadelphia 76ers (their top draft pick Nerlens Noel won't play because of a knee injury). And somewhere in the middle of it all, Dirk Nowitzki, Monta Ellis and the Mavs will return to 50+ wins, the playoffs and ... hit me back come April.

   *As for our little running gun debate, I offered to run the story of a knife mass murder if someone would ever email me a link. Done. And done. Guy in New York apparently stabbed to death a mom and her four kids. Horrible. So, yes, crazy people will find ways to kill regardless of the weapon. That said, I'd rather face the nut job with a knife than the one with a gun.

   *Was watching NFL Network's version of the weekend highlights and Bills-Saints came on. Jimmy Graham caught a bunch of passes including a couple of touchdowns and - I swear - this was analyst Deion Sanders' only, repeated comment: "Better pay dat man!" "Pay. Dat. Man!" "I'm tellin' ya, pay him!" Such insight. And, for what it's worth, no friggin' way Deion, even in his prime time, shuts down Calvin Johnson. Given his size and today's rules, Megatron is like Dad plowing through the 9-year-olds in the back yard. Deion could catch Johnson, but he'd never get him on the ground.

   *Hot.

   *Not.

Pages:    1       2   

---

(continued from page 1)

   *For the last month Sybil and I couldn't go anywhere without her stopping and squatting. Anywhere. Everywhere. Nope, not a bladder infection. She took this 30-day booty-camp challenge and did something like 3,300 squats in an attempt to become all "Baby Got Back." Ultimately, however, she thinks all the work failed to deliver results. I dunno, I think I see a little more tone in her lovely lady hump.

   *NFL's most annoying gum-chomper: Pete Carroll or John Fox?

   *Other than Designated Hitter, I've come to the conclusion that NFL wide receivers have the easiest job in all of sports. They're receivers in the first place because they generally run faster, jump higher and are more athletic than anyone else on the field. (The players who don't measure up in any of those categories are called cornerbacks.) Accenting those physical advantages are the rules edges. Receivers can only be touched in a 5-yard area, can't ever be held and nowadays can't be violently hit except when they're prepared for it and only then between their numbers. Piece of cake, right?

   *One guy on Twitter was ripping me in the wake of the new Dez Bryant audio, saying "you're in the minority on this one." I guess that's supposed to be a criticism, but I take it as a compliment. See, being in the majority is the easy way out. If I simply wanted to be popular in this area I'd blindly dive on the bandwagon of Conservatives and guns and pickups and anti-gay anything and Nolan Ryan and all things conventional wisdom. Would my radio show have lasted longer? Maybe. But I've scrapped together 27 years over three media platforms in this market by simply being myself. Minority opinion be damned.

   *Once upon a time it was revealed that Dexter Manley "graduated" from Houston Yates High School and attended Oklahoma State for four years without being able to read. Now we learn that Manley needs to go back to school. For sensitivity training. During an interview on Washington's WTOP radio Monday, Manley blurted out "I think Troy Aikman's a queer." You can read worse daily on Twitter or Facebook on any comments section of any blog (ahem), but if you're a public speaker the rules are different. Consider it Manley's first lesson. Hopefully it was learned.

   *Today? We're prepping for this week's Grand Opening at Pizza Buzz, which includes the installation of our lighted permanent sign and a giant menu board over the front counter. Starting to look like a legit restaurant. Don't be a stranger.

Pages:    1      2   

---