Alex Rodriguez

Exploring Texas Rangers' Options as Wheelin' and Dealin' Begins at Hilton Anatole

Photo by Sam MertenThe scene yesterday afternoon in the lobby of the Hilton Anatole.​Likely bracing for the departure of free-agent hurler C.J. Wilson, the Texas Rangers have already inked former Minnesota Twins closer Joe Nathan to a two-year, $14.5 million contract and announced Neftali Feli ... More >>

The Power of Plan B: Texas Rangers-Detroit Tigers ALCS Game 6 Preview and Open Thread

​Not so long ago, Minnesota Twins backstop Joe Mauer was the consensus pick as baseball's best catcher. But the 2009 American League MVP, four-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner and .323 career hitter had another injury-plagued season in 2011 (missing significant time for "leg weaknes ... More >>

Fear the 'Stache: Texas Rangers-Detroit Tigers ALCS Game 2 Preview and Open Thread

Back in February 2009, I penned a cover story about the Texas Rangers' new philosophy of relying on kiddos from their farm system instead of throwing big money at the likes of Alex Rodriguez, Chan Ho Park and Kevin Millwood. The youth movement was in full swing that spring as Elvis Andrus took over ... More >>

Last Night: 400 Blows at Bryan Street Tavern

400 Blows, El Paso Hot Button, New Science Projects Bryan Street Tavern October 6, 2011 Better than: Staying home and watching A-Rod strike out again! ​Maybe a couple dozen people ventured out last night into the sometimes seedy confines of old East Dallas to catch a fine triple-bill of noise, i ... More >>

Entourage: Fitting Finale or Farewell Flop?

​I dunno, last Sunday night's finale to HBO's Entourage was a little too tidy for me. Vince finally got the girl. Eric was back with Sloan. Ari was reconciling with Mrs. Ari. Drama's show was a go and even Turtle was a trim, fit millionaire. What the what?!  I guess I prefer my bre ... More >>

Michael Young Whiffs; Texas Rangers Lose

​Not saying by any means that it was an easy or routine play. As Rangers' manager Ron Washington said, the ball was "smoked." But it's a ball that third baseman Michael Young could've stopped, right?When Young did the ole on Casper Wells' hot shot in the 7th inning Wednesday night, I was remi ... More >>

Whitt's End: 7.1.11

​Whether you've reached the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End: *Rangers return from Houston today to start a series in Arlington against the lowly Florida Marlins. Did anyone go to the airport to see the Silver Boot as Nolan Ryan triumphantly raised it? ... More >>

Why We Love Sports in America: 2011

​Since I'm out on vacation next week let me get to this Fourth of July tradition a little early: Happy Birthday, America. Our country turns the ripe old age of 235 on Monday. Between burgers and beers and bikinis, I'll make time this weekend remembering how friggin' fortunate we are to have a ... More >>

Comedian Daniel Tosh Persuades Me That Barry Bonds and Other Roiders Are HOF'ers

Courtesy danieltosh.comDaniel Tosh​As a big fan of Tosh.0 -- a 30-minute show on Comedy Central featuring YouTube clips and jokes from comedian Daniel Tosh -- I set my TiVo for Sunday's premiere of Tosh's stand-up special Happy Thoughts. Finally got around to watching it last night. It sucked. ... More >>

Yo, Adrian! Rangers Officially Ink Beltre to Six-Year, $96 Million Contract

Photos by Sam MertenJon Daniels, Adrian Beltre, Ron Washington and Scott Boras celebrate Beltre's new contract. Nolan Ryan, Chuck Greenberg and Thad Levine were also on hand for the occasion.​As we speculated on the night Cliff Lee agreed to his contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, the Tex ... More >>

Ten Items Worth a Look-See: Mavs, Stars, Cowboys, Rangers and Fox News Pundit Says Michael Vick "Should Have Been Executed"

The fans gave him a break, and even President Obama applauded Vick's return to the NFL. Tucker Carlson of Fox News? Not so much.​10. Mark Teixeira says teammate Andy Pettitte's "probably leaning toward retirement," which is good news for the Texas Rangers and everyone else aiming to win the AL pen ... More >>

Let's Get Cliff Lee ... AND Zack Greinke

​Is that doable? Seems like it. Although the Kansas City Royals are reportedly getting impatient with the Texas Rangers' low-ball offers. I understand the odds are against the Rangers getting Lee, who is now also talking to the Boston Red Sox. But - dream with me here a little - how would a s ... More >>

Do the Rangers' New Owners Have the Money and Will to Build on a Winning Formula?

Josh Hamilton Should Win AL MVP Today. Right?

​For months I've been saying that Rangers' outfielder Josh Hamilton is the best player in baseball. Today he'll at least be validated as the Most Valuable Player in his own American League. Around 1 p.m. Hamilton should win AL MVP, joining Jeff Burroughs (1974), Juan Gonzalez ('96, '98), Ivan ... More >>

As of Right Now, I'm Wishing Failure Upon ...

Miami Thrice, enjoy your demise.​Dwyane Wade in specific. And the Miami Heat in general. Take this lightly if you wish, but consider the career/personal plunges of my previous targets: *Terrell Owens (cut by the Cowboys, irrelevant as Buffalo Bill). *Tiger Woods (lost his wife, reputat ... More >>

Once More, Rallying 'Round the 2010 Rangers

Photos by Conner HowellThe season ended for the Rangers on Monday night. Still, Pat Green would like you to take him out to the ballgame.​Not yet ready to let go of the 2010 season, Your Texas Rangers held that rally Wednesday evening in the Ballpark's parking lot. We dispatched Intern Conner Howe ... More >>

2010 ALCS - Rangers-Yankees: Game 6 Preview

Is tonight THE night? ​The lights are on. Clouds are circling but so far nothing but sprinkles. The wind is howling in from the south/right field, which means -- as evidenced by Josh Hamilton's extra-hitting session right now -- the jet stream out to right-center is in full effect an ... More >>

Hey, Look, it's a UFO! No, Actually, it's an Even Weirder Sight: Mike Modano, Detroit Red Wing

​Hell hath officially frozen over. In Arlington, the Texas Rangers are still playing baseball. And in Dallas, Stars fans are now cheering for the Detroit Red Wings. Well, at least one of them. The Stars, off to a 2-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 start or whatever the hell it is these days in the NHL, play ... More >>

Whitt's End: 9.17.10

​Whether you're at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End: *Of all the teams that lost in Week 1 of the NFL season, betcha there's only one that spent the last couple days explaining and defending their organizational flow chart: Your Dallas Cowboys. *On ... More >>

One Week Before Texas Rangers' Auction, a Parade of Objections From A-Rod, MLB, FOX Sports, MLBPA, U.S. Trustee, Arlington and ...

​On the other side, some light morning reading you won't find on the Texas Rangers Baseball Partners Information Site -- eight of the myriad objections to the sale of Your Texas Rangers, which is set to go to the highest bidder on Wednesday. They were all filed yesterday in Fort Worth bankruptcy c ... More >>

Why We Love Sports in America

​Happy Birthday, America.   Like tonight's July 5th fireworks show in Dallas, it's better late than never. Right?   Our country turned the ripe old age of 234 on Sunday. Between burgers and beers and bikinis, I tried to spend some time remembering how friggin' fortunate we are to ha ... More >>

This Just In: People That Aren't Us Hate Jerry Jones

​Is it because he's so powerful? So rich? So over-the-top passionate? Or is it because he's won three Super Bowls? Built an unprecedented stadium that is gobbling up sports? Or kept his team popular, relevant and "successful" despite only one playoff win in 13 years? Whatever the reason, ... More >>

The Top 10 Greatest Players in the History of Your Texas Rangers

​If you watched Sunday's 7-2 win in Milwaukee, you'd think Texas Rangers pitcher Colby Lewis (two hits, including a key two-run single) is a better hitter than first baseman Justin Smoak (0-5 with five strikeouts). If you've been watching forever, you're convinced it's time to ... More >>

And Everyone Stole From Shakespeare, Right?

​Not trying to pick a fight here. Promise. I just get really tired/annoyed by almost daily emails and comments to this here blog accusing me of stealing content from 1310 AM The Ticket. Got this one Monday for example: "I read Whitt's End and, seriously you hack, you never have an original t ... More >>

Tortured by His Bat for a Decade, Texas Finally Signs Rangers-Killer Vladimir Guerrero

Like Many Before and Most To Follow, Tiger Woods Dramatically Joins The Human Race

Wowboys 37, Filthy Birds 21: My Top 10 Observations

AP Not a one-hit wonder after all.​10. Linebacker Keith Brooking's performance and passion is refreshing. The way he was running past and taunting Atlanta's bench and his old Falcons' teammates after big plays today, he's quickly become the Cowboys' version of Brian Dawkins. All great ... More >>

Rangers 10, Yankees 9. Frank(ie)ly, That Was Too Close For Comfort.

​Random thoughts after a roller-coaster, thrilling, frustrating, sweat-stained best game of the Rangers' season: *From 0-4 to 2-4 to 7-4 to 7-5 to 10-5 to 10-9, seriously, what a damn entertaining baseball game. *Elvis Andrus turns 21 today. His baseball IQ turns 219. *I watched the game ... More >>

Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp

Friday, August 7,at QuikTrip park in Grand Prairie

The Top 10 All-Time Texas Rangers in the History of Ever

Very cool moment last night: The greatest player in Texas Rangers history - now a Houston Astro - smacks a 5th-inning homer and receives a standing ovation. Stay classy, Arlington. On a day when Toby Harrah and Ruben Sierra were elected into the Rangers' Hall of Fame, Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez rem ... More >>

Whitt's End: 5.01.09

And then one day, just to keep his readers on their toes, the demented blogger stood Whitt's End on its head ... *For those inclined toward auditory masochism, I'll again be the analyst for Time Warner Cable/Metro Sports Channel 185's upcoming telecasts of the Texas Brahmas minor-league hockey ... More >>

The Top 10 Best Current Rivalries in Sports

Tonight's the next chapter in one of sports' best rivalries. That's right, I said best.To be a true sports rivalry - more than just a plethora of games between teams in close proximity (see Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals) - the meetings between opponents must: *Take place at a ... More >>

Oscar Overhaul: Ahem, Where Was Sports?

I generally agree with Jerry Seinfeld. On everything. Including the Oscars. During a show at, of all places, UTA's Texas Hall in '02 the comedian quipped, "Worst thing about The Oscars is that they never tell you the final scores. We're Americans. We not only want to know who won, but ... More >>

Whitt's End: 2.20.09

Whether you're at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End: *At the risk of ruffling more Ticket feathers, the station treated one of its first-time, long-timers like shit rudely during its recent gaggle of 15th anniversary celebrations. The way I remember it, ... More >>

The Hottest Male Athletes According to Females

Second in a very sporadic, yet nonetheless fascinating series by Dallas Observer staff writers Merritt Martin/Megan Feldman. Ladies, as always, mi casa es su casa ... You've been waiting haven't you? We knew you wanted it, but c'mon, we had to make you yearn. It was a tease, all in good fun ... and ... More >>

Pitch Perfect

The Grand Prairie AirHogs are willing to do whatever it takes to make you a fan. And that includes win.

Sean Avery Likes to Be Both "Manly As Possible" and "A Little Bit Feminine"

Two Iconic Baseball Voices Announce a Texas Dream Team for the Ages

You Could Use Some Baseball? Yeah, So Could You.

Mark Cuban and Jerry Jones Are Powerful. Tom Hicks, Not S'Much.

Hart Attack

Everybody loves a winner? Tell it to Rangers GM John Hart.

Best Bait-and-Switch Strategizer

Tom Hicks, Texas Rangers owner

Best Youth Injection

Texas Rangers

Bolton No More in ’04

And other New Year’s resolutions we’re not sticking with

Texas Twister

Cowboys and Texans kick off

Best TV Sports Anchor

Dale Hansen, WFAA-Channel 8

He Knows the Score

Herbert Perry plays only until the next big-contract kid comes along

Buzz

Don't have a cow

:cueless

Buzz hacks through the past in search of the cool cats and fools of the year that was