It’s a great day to be a Dallas sports fan. And an even better day to be Randy Galloway.
In light of Thursday night’s cumulative success, the media icon can do lots of talkin’ as he celebrates his 5,000th radio show on ESPN 103.3 FM starting at 2. He can yap about the Texas Rangers sweeping a double-header, the Mavericks clinching their 50th win and a playoff spot thanks to Dirk Nowitzki’s gutsy three-pointer, and the Stars’ shocking 4-0 dismantling of the defending Stanley Cup champs in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Knowing ol’ Randy, he’ll probably also find time to sneak in some results from opening day at his favorite place on Earth.
But it won’t be gabbing about Dirk’s heroics, the Rangers rising above .500 or the Stars’ power-play explosion that makes today memorable for Galloway. It’ll be what happens at 4:30. I don’t wanna spoil the surprise, but don’t miss the guest caller. (Hint: It’s a former Ranger.) Quite an honor for an ol’ shit-kicker from Grand Prairie.
I first met Galloway when he was a columnist for Dallas’ Only Daily and I was a wide-eyed Cowboys beat writer for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in 1990. Gallo, as he loves to do, piled anybody and everybody into his rented Lincoln Town Car for a Cowboys-Giants post-game night on the town in Manhattan. And as he performed abrupt U-turns in the friggin’ middle of Times Square while yelling through his mustache for New Yorkers to “move it or lose it!” I remember thinking to myself how cool it was to be hanging out with “McCloud.”
After he moved to the Star-Telegram, Galloway and I shared sources and beers and horse-track afternoons and too many red-eye flights. The main thing I learned about Gallo: What you see is what you get.
At Rangers’ spring training in Arizona last month Galloway, tip-toed up to general manager Jon Daniels and began an interview thusly: “This organization has a history of horseshit teams and bullshit trades. Why should we believe this year’s gonna be any different?”
And you what? Daniels -- after a can’t-help-it chuckle -- gave him a thoughtful response.
Congrats, Galloway. In a cookie-cutter profession, you’re a one-of-a-kind persona. --Richie Whitt
