Whether you're at the end of your coffee, your day, your week or even your rope, welcome to Whitt's End:
*Heart-breaking news about one of my all-time favorite Cowboys. Tony Dorsett played 11 years for Dallas in a career that landed him in the Ring of Honor and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. These days the 60-year-old Dorsett carries not a football, but the burden of a degenerative brain disease found in more than 50 deceased former NFL players. It's the concussion syndrome, the baseline of the recently settled lawsuit between the league and former players and the reason for all the rules changes aimed at making football more safe and less violent. "My quality of life deteriorates every day," Dorsett says. He suffers from disorientation, depression and even thoughts of suicide. Next time you start to scream "Put a skirt on 'em!" or start yapping about the "Wussification of America", consider what a decade of helmet-to-helmet collisions has done to Tony Dorsett.
*I'm hearing that the injury that kept Dez Bryant out of practice Wednesday is more serious than a "balky back." That in and of itself would be a concern. Elite athletes who just turned 25 shouldn't have balky backs. But there are whispers at Valley Ranch of ominous words like "bulging disc" and even "traction." Dez will play Sunday night in New Orleans, but this isn't one of those temporary spasms that flares up and goes away quietly.
*Josh Brent retired from the Cowboys. But apparently he still works for the Cowboys. Guy who works at the team's merchandise warehouse off Highway 114 in Irving swears to me that Brent works alongside him. Critics of Jerry Jones had a problem with the owner employing Brent as a player. But what about as a warehouse worker?
*I'm all for sending messages and the Mavs have to beat the Thunder before we're all convinced that they're legit. But I'm not sure the messenger should be Vince Carter, the message should be a flagrant elbow and the
messagee recipient should be somebody named Steve Adams.
*This happened last night at Blue Martini in Plano: A guy (shorter and skinnier than me and wearing a sleeveless puffy Parka) walks up to Sybil and begins flirting. With me within earshot and within 30 seconds he boasts that he plays "professional hockey" for "Dallas, you know, the Stars." Oh wow, Sybil says, asking his name. "Trevor ... Trevor Drkvozakdiadyivasm," the guy mumbles. I'm familiar with Trevor Daley and I think this year they had a 6-foot, 200-pounder named Trevor Ludwig, but no way this dude is either. For the sake of entertainment I let the guy go weaving his web of lies and cheesy pick-up attempt. Later a buddy and me quiz Trevor Drkvozakdiadyivasm a little more. "Weird that you guys played in Boston last night and flew home before going back to Detroit tomorrow night." Trevor: "Yeah ... what?" Just for fun, dug around the minor-league Texas Stars and, nope, no Trevor. Also, no player listed at 5-6, 145 pounds. But good luck to you "Trevor." Keep casting worms in the water. Sooner or later you'll get a bite.
*Wait,
Richie Incognito was considered an "honorary black man" by his teammates? So on the dysfunctional Dolphins a white dude is black but the half-black player (Jonathan Martin) is white? Got it? Martin, by the way, is considered "soft" by some black teammates because he is Stanford educated and the son of wealthy parents. America salivates for some black vs. white controversy along racial lines. But I don't think it's clear who roots for whom. Either way, while Incognito being an "honorary black man" is perceived as a compliment, I don't know many black dudes who desire to be an "honorary white man."
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*Don't understand all the whining over the uniforms Northwestern will wear Nov. 16 against Michigan.
The look includes a distressed American flag critics say looks like splattered blood. But, um, aren't they honoring our Wounded Warriors?
*Unless you have a farm of Daffodils in your back yard, the issue of a "frost warning" is the biggest weather over-hype of all. I'm guessing that less than 1% of folks who are warned about an impending frost actually lift a finger to do anything about it.
*Okay,
Blockbuster, now what am I supposed to do with these two videos I've had for a year. I mean, I was gonna return them today but ...
*Dead 'n Gone:
The Houston Astrodome. Hard to fathom now, but there'll come a day when AT&T Stadium will be old and cramped and outdated and dilapidated and, yep, torn down for something shiny and new that costs upwards of $5 billion to build.
*Gotta give it to Toronto mayor Rod Ford. Dude has some big balls. In the wake of a video showing him using crack cocaine, he explains it away by adding that it merely occurred as part of a "drunken stupor." That's like admitting to your wife that you kissed her sister, but it's no big deal because it happened during a threesome with her mom. Shockingly, the guy won't resign.
And somehow his approval rating has increased during the scandal.
*Tired of hearing me carnival barking for Pizza Buzz? Fine. Let's let others do it for me today. Take it away,
Dallas Morning News and
Dallas Observer and
Channel 8. Thanks for the support.
*Today? Lunching with my ol' pal Bob Lovell of Home Marketing Services, then considering attending the grand opening of the new Top Golf in The Colony for a little driving range and dinner weaved around Baylor-OU. Don't be a stranger.
I like those Northwestern uniforms.
ReplyDeleteWe can all thank Oregon for taking football (and to some degree basketball and baseball) uniforms to the next level.
As long as Texas Tech doesn't wear those hideous greys again. So brutal...
You and Lovell can compare who has the worst rug.
ReplyDeleteMe? A wig? You cannot be serious.
DeleteNot a wig just frosted hair plugs.
DeleteAnd your point is?
DeleteToday's "Hot" of Baylor Cheerleaders = awesome!! Go Bears!!
ReplyDeleteToday's "Hot" = Awesome!! Go Bears!!
ReplyDeleteHow come none of the media had tried the pizza. Must be the same ol thing.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how RW thinks they are honoring Wounded Warriors. Personally I think they are using Wounded Warriors to sell some hideous decorated uniforms. But the style is a matter of personal taste. I am offended by the 10% contribution of profits for the sale of the jerseys. (Though they are also giving 100% profits of the used jerseys). How much will that add up to ...maybe $500 dollars? They are keeping 90% of the profits. Wow what a contribution, such sacrifice; I hope no one goes hungry. This weekend taking some WW's to the golf course, and then having dinner with a WW and his wife. Bill2455
ReplyDeleteYawn.
DeleteOf course we could ask that well known patriot Kevin Blackistone his opinion of the whole American Flag thing. Bill2455
ReplyDeleteFor God's sake give it a rest.
DeleteI saw what Blackistone said, Bill. And while it's disappointing, it's hardly surprising if you've seen anything produced by that hack over the years.
DeleteIt's laughed at more than frowned upon for people to smoke crack in Canada.
ReplyDeleteIt is not my problem if people let their tropical patio plants die in a freeze. I moved mine in to their winter homes nearly a month ago so I didn't have to scramble around at the last second. If city people are too busy to pay attention to the weather or learn what the requirements are for their plants it ain't my problem. In fact I make money from silly city slickers that don't have the good sense to bring inside the palms, ivy or Dracaenas. "Sure ma'am I will be glad to get you another one!" I am not about to let some of mine see frost. I know which ones can take and which ones can't.
ReplyDeleteAnd daffodils do not need to be indoors. They are a bulb crop. Yeah, you can get them in a pot from the florist and about 2 days later when they have dropped all their petals and look like a bunch of grass most people toss them out. Not me. Plunk that sucker out there in the perennial bed and forget about it.
Are we really talking about flowers on a sports blog?
DeleteBeen talking about insurance for nearly a month now so why not plants?
DeletePLAGIARIST!!
DeleteAs to Tony Dorsett, as I watched "League of Denial" I wondered to myself if we will look back and think of Dr. Omalu in the way we think of Upton Sinclair, and the insider who blew the whistle on the tobacco companies? (Wygant?) To watch Omalu discuss his findings and the subsequent reaction of the League was horrifying. There is no question that in the absence of radical advances in helmet technology, or some other method that will safeguard players, the game of football faces an existential crisis.
ReplyDeleteSad for all those great players who have given millions of us some of the greatest sports thrills of all time. I can't help but feeling ashamed of every time I cheered a defensive player delivering a highlight-style hit on an opposing player. I might not have enjoyed it so much if I had understood the implications. Maybe none of us would have.