Whether you're at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End:
*Lots of you asking for a breakdown of the latest Arbitron PPM radio ratings for July. Not worth a separate item these days because - yawn - The Ticket's dynasty just rolls on. Dunham & Miller and The Hardline have the equivalent of four-touchdown leads in morning and afternoon drive. The battle for No. 2, however, just got interesting. While The Ticket (No. 1 in the market) still dominates Men 25-54 with a 7.6 rating and ESPN (13th) has a 3.0 to The Fan's (20th) 2.2, 105.3 actually beat 103.3 from 10-Noon and tied it from 4-5 p.m.
*Speaking of The Fan, don't be surprised if Sean Salisbury's permanent new partner weekdays 2-6 is former Austin sports talk host Gregg Henson. Dan O'Malley isn't leaving. Just moving. Stay tuned.
*Now that's more like it. The Cowboys' second offensive series last night included a 12-yard out from Tony Romo to Roy Williams, a reverse to Patrick Crayton, a screen to Felix Jones and a power finish by Marion Barber. Toldja offensive coordinator Jason Garrett wasn't washed up just yet.
*Not to be too gross, but Texas Rangers' ace - that's right, ace - Scott Feldman reminds me of the girl next door. Not overly sensual. Not visually stunning. But day after day after solid outing after solid outing, he grows on you and, next thing you know, you're not in lust, but in love. Don't look now, but the neighbor girl with the pale skin and the lanky build is 12-4. All of his pitches have movement. He doesn't give away runs. He's gutsy. Hard to believe he wasn't in the rotation at the start of the season.
*Then again, of the five pitchers coming out of spring training only Kevin Millwood remains. Then: Millwood/ Vicente Padilla/ Brandon McCarthy/ Matt Harrison/ Kris Benson. Now: Millwood/ Feldman/ Derek Holland/ Tommy Hunter/ Dustin Nippert. Not sure if pitching coach Mike Maddux is a really crappy talent evaluator or a superb developer of young arms, but either way it's worked out.
*I know they get 100 miles to the gallon and are all eco-friendly, but I can't help from giggling every time I see one of these pull up next to me at a light. Just wondering, would you feel comfy in one on the Tollway now that the speed limit has been jacked up to 70 mph? Me neither.
*In town at various times this week: The Wiggles. Nastia Liukin. Paul McCartney. I'd pay to see none of them. If I had to go one, give me the Olympic gymnast.
*For those of you who this week "discovered" that Jerry Jones wears a rug, my response is "duh." Jerry's 66 with a full head of hair. His 45-year-old son Stephen has a considerable bald spot that looks like Tiger Woods took a 9-iron divot off of it. Do the math. The laws of heredity usually don't allow that kind of shit to happen.
*Hot.
*Not.
*Wildest thing to come out of Don Hill's corruption trial: There's a lawyer who makes $585 per hour. Wow.
*Don't be surprised that Michael Vick signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. If head coach Andy Reid can handle his crazy sons, a convicted dog-killer should be a piece of cake.
*Mack Brown: Classy or Pandering?
*I admit when I'm wrong, and I was wrong about Hank Blalock. He's been way better than I expected defensively at first base. He's not necessarily smooth, but he's more than functional.
*Remember all the "Jerry has gone too far!" sentiments at the pricing of tickets in the new stadium? Barely a whisper now since - as predicted - Cowboys Stadium is 95 percent sold out for this season.
*Barack Obama! He didn't really do anything, just wanted to make sure y'all are paying attention.
*Bottom line from Raiders 31, Cowboys 10: No major injuries. David Buehler can kick. Sam Hurd is a weapon. Mike Mickens is over-matched. Bobby Carpenter didn't look horrible. And if Stephen McGee takes a snap this season things have gone horribly wrong beyond repair.
*I won some cash playing craps recently in Las Vegas. I used to have decent luck/skill wagering on sports. But I think the easiest way to make money is by printing counterfeit bills. And it really doesn't look that difficult. Somebody try it and let me know how it turns out.
*One more thing about Josh Hamilton's little incident back in January. On second thought forget it. I was going to ask about the whereabouts of photos No. 9, 10, 11 etc., but it's not worth getting you Bible-thumpers all worked up again. Whatever he did and with whomever he did it, he's forgiven. Even though he remembers neither. Sorry, I almost forgot.
*Don't remember the last time I was this excited about a Rangers' rookie. Maybe Ruben Sierra. Or, come to think of it, Elvis Andrus? Neftali Feliz struck out five of six Indians in two innings yesterday, pushing his impressive start to retiring 19 of the first 20 Major League batters he's faced. Best thing is he hits 100 mph on the gun with a motion that looks like he's a dad playing catch in the back yard with his 7-year-old.
*For those of you that give a damn, I'll be on 105.3 The Fan Saturday 1-6 p.m. with O'Malley and Monday 10-2 with Newy Scruggs. If you don't give a damn, I'll be on anyway. Peace be with you.
