Whether you're at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End:
*Sobering number right outta the gate: Since July 1 the Texas Rangers are 42-40. Are we fooling ourselves thinking they're an elite team that can actually win a playoff series against one of the two best teams in baseball? Are they, in the big picture, just a medicore outfit who won baseball's smallest, worst division with a two-week hot stretch in June? I hope not. But I'm afraid so.
*The decision not to pitch Cliff Lee in Game 4 of the ALDS baffles me. If the Rangers are trailing 2-1 and Tommy Hunter gets lit up, then you lose a series and your ace pitched one friggin' game. Doesn't that seem like a waste? I know Hunter's 7-0 at home and the three-days'-rest stats aren't good, but I'd like the Rangers to play this one by ear.
*Granted the SEC is a better conference than the Big 12, but college football has no better rivalry since 2000 than Texas-OU. Consider: Six times since '00 the winner of the Red River Rivalry has played for the national championship. Take that, LSU-Florida (four times), Ohio State-Michigan (three) and the rest of ya.
*I've experienced ghosts, but not a UFO. Still, it's ridiculously cocky and irrationally naive to think we're the only living things in the whole wide world of everything. There are more stars in the sky than there are grains of sand on all the Earth's beaches. Think about that. Something's out there. May not be little green men, but something. When Arlington residents claim to see weird blue lights in the sky I don't immediately write them off as lunatics. That said, do we really need the United Nations to have an Officer for Outer Space Affairs? And why is our Ambassador to Aliens a Malaysian astrophysicist? I'd nominate a dual position of Megan Fox/Jon Stewart. Just in case.
*Excited about the Dallas Mavericks. I wanna see Roddy Beaubois unleashed and I think Tyson Chandler will be better than Erick Dampier. But I still don't see a legit power forward backup for Dirk Nowitzki. You?
*Hot.
*Hotter.
*Not.
*Iraq held a democratic vote on March 7, but still has no elected officials in place and no formal government to enact new laws or enforce existing ones. Boo, America. But, hey, unemployment claims dropped drastically. Yay, America.
*Sunday, October 10 - 10.10.10 - could be an unprecedented day in metroplex sports. That day could feature Cowboys-Titans at 3:15 in Cowboys Stadium, followed shortly by Rangers-Yankees just down Randol Mill in Rangers Ballpark. You spell traffic with two f's, by the way.
*A new study reveals that atheists and agnostics know more about standardized religion than traditional religious folk. Tells me two things: 1. Faith comes from the heart, not the head. 2. Religion is like magic: The more you know, the less you believe.
*I once took shit in here for saying that Texas A&M quarterback Jerrod Johnson would be lucky to be as good as Vikings' backup Tarvaris Jackson. After watching Thursday night's four-interception performance against Oklahoma State, my apologies to Tarvaris. And to think, some touted Johnson as a Heisman candidate. Chuckle.
*Rubbed elbows and shook booties with the most eclectic of concert crowds Wednesday night at The Granada. All there to see CocoRosie, a band which features a human beat-boxer, an opera singer, a drum kit set up in a bed and, among other things, an old Speak-'n-Spell for an instrument. Not sure I liked them, but I was fascinated by them.
*Love me some Ryder Cup. Some of the best drama in sports is golf's U.S. v. Europe. For a weekend I'll even root for Tiger Woods. This year they're playing in Wales at a place called Celtic Manor (pronounced KELL-tick). As opposed to the NBA's Boston Celtics (pronounced SELL-ticks.) Give you one guess as to who's doing the butchering.
*Turns out I don't have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Diagnosis of my achy, breaky wrist: Tendonitis. Thanks P90X and your thousands of push-ups.
*NFL teams sporting a 300-yard passer this season are 5-11. Weird.
*In the last couple weeks I've been called "douchebag" a lot. In this blog, on the radio and for my TV appearances. Makes me giggle. And intrigued. I got to thinking, what's the antithesis of a "douchebag"? I think it's someone who doesn't care, or no longer tries. A nameless, faceless glob of DNA that melts into the masses. A "give up", you might say. Someone who rejoices in dragging everyone down to the same baseline level so we're all one big, bland blob. Couch potatoes aren't douchebags. Homeless dudes aren't douchebags. Guys with beer bellies who wear baggy sweats and gimme caps and go fishin' a lot aren't douchebags. Blog commenters aren't douchebags, only blog authors. Hmm. I guess to not be called a "douchebag" - according to the mud-slingers - I need to lose the earring, stop working out, get a sensible haircut, never wear my hat backward, start listening to Tom Petty and dress and act and, by all means, think like I'm 50-something. I need to be - gulp - mainstream. Somehow my critics want me to get real serious about not taking myself too serious. After further review, "douchebag" works just fine. Thanks.
*Guess the Canadian blogger who guaranteed Wade Phillips would be fired was wrong. Shocker. Never trust a sportswriter who spells rumour with more than one "u."
*OU 27, Texas 24.
*This weekend? Today I'll be co-hosting RAGE on 105.3 The Fan from the pep rally at Rangers Ballpark 11-3. Tonight I'm going to catch up on some Ryder Cup. Tomorrow I'll be at the House of Blues 10-2 for a free Texas-OU party. Sunday? The Cowboys are off, so I'll be hangin' with Big Tex. Don't be a stranger.
