Whether you're at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End:
*Ho hum, another month of Arbitron PPM ratings and another month of dominance by 1310 AM The Ticket. In the November ratings for the precious Men 25-54 demographic, The Ticket is No. 2 in the Metroplex with a 6.6 rating, well ahead of 103.3 FM ESPN (2.7, No. 16) and 105.3 The Fan (2.1, No. 24). To those of us that pay particular interest to the 10a-2p daypart, The Ticket leads with an 8.5, followed by The Fan and ESPN tied at 2.5.
*This just in: Eli Manning is a little snot-nosed punk. Remember after the Giants' 33-31 victory to christen Cowboys Stadium back in September when Manning autographed the wall in the locker room? Now he's not only fessing up to the unwanted graffiti, he's telling the Cowboys to "get over it." Such a sorry stunt that even Wade Phillips woke up and take umbrage.
*Was watching Saint Tebow quarterback Florida last weekend and wondered how the NCAA allowed him to wear "Hebrews 12:12" on the fake eye-black patches under his eyes? Tebow will "God bless" you to death during interviews, but isn't the NCAA sorta supporting Christianity by allowing him to wear a personal message on his person during a game? I get freedom of expression and freedom of speech and freedom of freedom and all, but what if he wanted to wear, I dunno, a swastika? Would that be cool too? Scripture signage might make sense if Tebow chose to play at a faith-based school like, say, TCU or SMU or Baylor. But if I'm a non-Christian taxpayer in Florida whose dollars were funding a public school, I'd be none too happy.
*The coolest, creepiest cartoon you ever did see.
*It's not exactly the Mavericks' releasing championship parade routes back in 2006, but the Cowboys are at the very least growing confident about a playoff berth. The following email showed up in the inboxes of season-ticket holders this week: As we near the end of the 2009 regular season, it's time to prepare to see the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs at Cowboys Stadium! Your 2009 Dallas Cowboys Playoff invoice will be mailed this week, and you should be receiving those soon. The invoice will be due by December 13, 2009.
*Tiger Woods the golfer will win more majors. Tiger Woods the pitch man will sell more products for more millions. But as for Tiger Woods the human being, we'll never look at him the same again. Plus, his hushed, reverent interviews with co-cheater Jim Nantz - accented by the twinkling piano - will never sound the same again.
*I say that behind only Bill Clinton, this is the biggest sex scandal of our lifetime. And until we heard this we were all skeptical. Right?
*SMU earns a bowl bid for the first time in 25 years and it just has to be in Hawaii. Check that. Was gonna feel sorry for fans who didn't have the time or money to make the trip, then I remembered I was talking about SMU.
*Dude in Rome claims he can make a fist and control his robotic arm just by "thinking" it to perform movements. I'm just not sure if I believe this story. If it's true, flying cars, moving sidewalks and Terminator are closer than we think.
*Last Tuesday was National AIDS Awareness Day. Shocked to learn the U.S. will send $680 million - holy guacamole! - to South Africa in 2010 to fight the disease. With the Sine Flu and West Nile and other scary stuff in our own backyards, I really don't think we'll cringe about AIDS in this country again until Magic Johnson dies.
*Hot.
*Not.
*Safest city in Texas? Yep, you guessed it, Allen. Funny, I once had a bike stolen off a front porch there. Wait, that shit ain't funny.
*I know a girl who still proudly boasts that "my man wears the pants in the family." Antiquated? Refreshing? Charming? Alarming? Perhaps a little of each?
*Hang in there, Rangers fans. Tom Hicks should be out of power by the end of next week.
*Okay Prez, one of the reasons I backed you was because you were gonna stop all this bullshit bullying around the world. I'm none too happy about news that we're sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. That's - let's see - yep, that's 30,000 too many.
*How crazy is coaching? Wade Phillips is 30-13 and has a flimsy future predicated on him winning in the playoffs. Meanwhile, up in Denton Todd Dodge just got a year extension on his contract despite a 5-31 record.
*Your Dallas Mavericks are off to a 14-5 start. They exploded for 49 second-quarter points against the lowly Washington Generals New Jersey Nets. I get the feeling that the casual sport fan in this town, however, won't even think about investing in this team until April. Right?
*Thanks for all the support via texts/emails/calls/etc. concerning me coming outta the closet about my divorce. I even received an old-school letter, hand-written, placed into an envelope and mailed with a stamp. Touching, really. I fully realize I can be a dick at times, but nice to know there are plenty of y'all out there that also see me as a living, breathing, feeling human being. (Tear.)
*Giants 20, Cowboys 17. One thing we learned in Green Bay is that the Cowboys don't handle success very well. I don't trust Nick Folk in the clutch anymore. And I trust that New York is going to play like the more desperate team. And it is, after all, December. Remember?
*On Sunday I'll be out at Duke's Original Roadhouse in Bedford for 105.3 The Fan's Cowboys Pre-Game Show with Jagger and Larry Brown from Noon-3. Don't be a stranger. Yeah, you.
