Whether you're at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End:
*Dallas Cowboys' fans left training camp convinced they had three above-average running backs, each of which could start for most NFL teams. But, in retrospect, is the "three-headed monster" actually a liability? None of the three - Marion Barber, Tashard Choice or Felix Jones - has had a superb season, partially because of the inability to find a running rhythm. A Valley Ranch source tells me that offensive coordinator Jason Garrett recently wanted to start Choice, but was "persuaded" to stick with Barber by someone up the totem pole a bit. And no, I'm not talking about Wade Phillips.
*Speaking of Phillips, the Stumbledoofus bandwagon is getting crowded.
*SMU heads for Hawaii tomorrow for its first bowl game in 25 years. David Stanley, your thoughts?
*Some days I trick myself into thinking I have a decent grasp on this big ol' world. Then I try to digest a story about what Troy Aikman is up to in the business world and I'm reminded how clueless I am. "The T7000 is based on a patented "switch-on-a-card" design, in which all the functions of a Class 4/5 switch, IP gateway or MGCF/MG are performed on a single circuit pack." Seriously, what language is that?
*After a very robust Dallas Observer Holiday Party Thursday night at a cool joint called Family Karaoke, I found myself at a place I hadn't been to in, oh, 15 years - Lizard Lounge. And what exactly did I stumble upon? Same look - and even some of the same songs - as my last visit. And something called Hellzapoppin. It was basically a circus freak show, complete with a guy who ate fire, another dude who screwed stuff in one nostril and out the other, and a man who has hands where his arms should be. Goes by the name of Penguin Boy.
*After typing the above snippet, I'm convinced "karaoke" is one of the weirdest words, especialy when a country bumpkin - I'm looking in the mirror - pronounces it like the name of an old girlfriend: "Carrie Okrie."
*Hot.
*Not.
*"There's an app for that" and the other quotes that shaped 2009.
*Marion Barber spoke at Valley Ranch yesterday. I remember a time when he spoke, and actually said something interesting.
*Saints 45, Cowboys 10. I think Dallas is emotionally gutted from last week's loss. Plus, New Orleans is just plain better.
*Programming note: I'll be on vacation next week but I'll try - try, I said - to post some year-end, best-of content. Don't be a stranger.
*They'll come a time - is it here already - when we tell our kids about something called a "Christmas bonus" and they look at us the same way as when we try to explain TVs without remote controls.
*If you want to drop off my Christmas gift early I'll be at Duke's Original Roadhouse in Bedford Saturday afternoon at 4 for 105.3 The Fan's Dallas Cowboys Pre-Game Show with Jagger and Larry Brown. And if I don't see you before then, Merry Christmas.
