Whitt's End: 9.14.12
Whether you've reached the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End:
*Never been a big hockey fan, but NHL commissioner Gary Bettman should be dethroned. Immediately. Hockey's current labor stoppage – scheduled to start at 11:59 Saturday – will be the third during his tenure. And, remember, the NHL hasn't fully rebounded from losing an entire season in 2005. These are lessons all around from the NFL, NBA, NFL referees and even with Chicago school teachers. Yet somehow, again, the NHL and Bettman are too stupid to learn. Hockey has already slipped behind NASCAR among America's must-see sports. Can soccer, tennis and volleyball be far behind?
*Look for rookie Morris Claiborne to return kickoffs Sunday when the Cowboys visit the Seahawks. In other words, fans' frustrations with Felix Jones are now making their way to the coaches. In practice this week Claiborne was the deep returner, flanked by Phillip Tanner and Dwayne Harris. Maybe still Felix, but Claiborne is a viable option now.
*I hear all this nonsense about Rangers fans being the smartest in the Metroplex. Really? Coulda swore I heard closer Joe Nathan being booed Thursday night after giving up 2 homers and 3 runs in a loss to the Indians. Nathan had converted a club-record 31 consecutive saves since April 11. Booing him is Bush League. Big time.
*For all the good he's done – 3 Pro Bowls, playoff win in '09, franchise record for yards and passing touchdowns in a season – Tony Romo is framed nationally by his bobbled snap in Seattle that killed the '06 season. Cowboys have only 9 players left from that roster.
*Go sell your crap somewhere else, Mark Cuban. Sorry, but it's insulting and disingenuous to try and criticize the Lakers for putting together a super team and to tell season-ticket holders that, yep, all along we didn't want Deron Williams but rather O.J. Mayo. Embarrassing.
*QUARTERBET 2012: The NFL, more than ever, is a quarterback league. Gonna try an experiment. Regardless of site or line or team, I'm going to bet a mythical $100 on every NFL game versus the spread this year merely by picking the best quarterback in the game. Week 1 my theory flopped, going only 6-10. After WEEK 1: -$500. This week I'm taking Rodgers (Packers) – 6.5 over Cutler (Bears); Manning (Giants) – 7 over Freeman (Buccaneers); Brady (Patriots) -14 over Kolb (Cardinals); Luck + 1.5 over Ponder (Vikings); Brees (Saints) -3 over Newton (Panthers); Cassel (Chiefs) +3 over Fitzpatrick (Bills); Flacco (Ravens) +3 over Vick (Eagles); Palmer (Raiders) -3 over Tannehill (Dolphins); Dalton (Bengals) -7 over Weeden (Browns); Schaub (Texans) -7.5 over Gabbert (Jaguars); Romo (Cowboys) -3 over Wilson (Seahawks); Griffin (Redskins) -3 over Bradford (Rams); Roethlisberger (Steelers) -6 over Sanchez (Jets); Rivers (Chargers) – 6 over Locker (Titans); Stafford (Lions) +7 over Smith (49ers); Ryan (Falcons) -3 over Manning (Broncos).
*HOT
*NOT
*All we really know for sure is that 2-0 is a heck of a lot better than 1-1. But just for fun, I did a little research and unearthed that the Cowboys have started 2-0 24 times in their franchise history, and made the playoffs 20 of those times. And of the Cowboys' 8 Super Bowl teams, 7 of them started 2-0. The lone aberration: '93 team started 0-2 when Emmitt Smith missed the first couple in a contract holdout. Cowboys are 1-0, favored by 3 at Seattle Sunday.
*Jerry Jones called it correctly. 105.3 The Fan morning host Shan Shariff is indeed an "idiot" for playing "Hail to the Redskins" on the owner's weekly show. Shariff is a Redskins' fan, but he should know better than to walk into a First Baptist Church and start reading from the Koran.
*Romo's playoff bobbled snap is on the short list of Cowboys' crotch-kick moments along with Bart Starr sneaking over the goal line in The Ice Bowl, Jackie Smith's Super Bowl XIII dropped touchdown, Dwight Clark's The Catch, "No Danny, No!" against the Redskins in '83, Jim O'Brien's last-second field goal in Super Bowl V, Alex Barron's game-ending hold against the Redskins in '10 and, of course, Leon Lett's botched recovery of a blocked field goal in '93.
*If you missed my CBS column asking you to Pray for Rayne. 1. Shame on you. 2. Here's your second chance.
*I keep saying we're better off than we were 4 years ago and, yes, I do have the facts to back that up. In November 2008 the Stock Market was at 7,600. Thursday it closed at 13,539. Your money is much better off than at the end of Bush's Presidency.
*Spending Saturday walking for Alzheimer's awareness in Allen, 9 a.m. at Celebration Park. I've known Charles Lee for 10 years now, and it's devastating what is happening to him. Losing memory. Not recognizing family faces. It's terrible because he's a great man and his son, Trey, is one of my best friends. Sign up to walk with us, or just to donate here.
*Failure Jesus is investigating a case on Robert Griffin III, but, alas, no go. To truly work, the FJ curse has to be upon the noggin' of someone we truly hate. And that ain't the case with RG3.
*Not a big conspiracy theorist, but after watching the independent documentary Loose Change it does bring up great questions. Mostly, where were the remaining plane parts – the wreckage – from the 9/11 crashes at The Pentagon and in Pennsylvania?
*Jerry Wipes debuted at dallascowboys.com Thursday morning. They were sold out by Thursday night.
*Yep, had another round of NeoGraft on Thursday. Closing in on 50, the first treatment took my hair back to when I was 40. The second one closer to 30. And now, 6 months from now, I'll look 20 again. At least on top. It works. Trust me.
*Set your alarms, iPhone 5 debuts a week from today.
*Rangers' Magic Number: 17. More amazing Rangers' number: 3 million fans this season. Congrats!
*This weekend? Saturday it's the Alzheimer's awareness walk in Allen, then a fancy schmancy birthday party down in Dallas. Sunday it's Cowboys-Seahawks, official pre-game show starting at Noon from The Fan Sports Lounge with R.J. Choppy and Shan Shariff. Don't be a stranger.
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