Call him the Dallas Wowboy.
In my years as a sportswriter I've come to appreciate lots of athletes. For the most part, I could comprehend and sorta explain their greatness. Troy Aikman's mechanically flawless accuracy. Jason Kidd's uncanny peripheral vision. Josh Hamilton's forearm-powered bat speed.
But for David Magee, I got nothing. No fathomable explanation to accept what he does, much less how he does it.
Simply put, Magee knows what you're thinking. Swear.
Says Mavs' GM Donnie Nelson: "He's a modern-day Jesus. We should have him at the (NBA) draft telling us who's going to pick who."
We've all seen sleight-of-hand magicians, and it's cool. But we know there's a trick. A logical secret we're just not seeing. An extra coin. A meticulous distraction. A fake thumb. Whatever.
But Magee - I've seen it about 10 times with my own eyes - can not only tell you whose initials you write down on a tiny piece of paper, he can also tell you who you considered writing down.
"I get it right about 98 percent of the time," said the Dallas-based mentalist who's about to become Vegas big without actually having to relocate to Vegas.
Nolan Ryan. Mark Cuban. Roy Williams. Jay Novacek. Dale Hansen. You name the star, and chances are Magee has knocked their socks off.
Except, that is, for the lady working at Lone Star Park's VIP room a couple months back. Magee gave her the deal: Think of a famous person - dead or alive - and write their initials on a piece of paper. She did.
But Magee struggled. He asked questions. He squirmed. He scowled. He finally gave up.
"This never happens," he sighed. "Who is it?"
Said the lady, "Red Skelton."
"No wonder!" Magee exclaimed. "You were thinking 'He is alive'. That threw me off."
Said the embarrased woman, "He's dead?"
Seriously, I know of one person - one - who doesn't believe in Magee's talents. He has the same initials as me and runs a similar store just down the street. But if Magee can pull off his next big trick, even the skeptics will reform.
Before Week 1 of the upcoming NFL season Magee says he will hand me a sealed envelope that I cannot open until after the Super Bowl in February. Inside?
"I'll have the two teams playing, the combined score within one point and one of the team's scores exactly right," he says. "I'll have a key play or major injury in there, too."
And, no, the envelope will not be for sale.
