Whether you're at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End:
*There's probably some heart-over-head at work here, but I'm picking Rangers in 7. If Neftali Feliz doesn't blow a save and if the Rangers can avoid letting the Yankees' mystique force a mistake, I think this is a very winnable series. Especially if Cliff Lee takes the ball in Game 7 in Arlington.
*Like I said last week, I'm worried about all the direct, violent hits absorbed by Cowboys' rookie Dez Bryant. He may miss Sunday's do-or-die game in Minnesota with that bum ankle. Is he too physical of a player for his own good?
*Jon Daniels is a New York guy. He cut his teeth riding subways from Queens into Manhattan by himself at age 13. Him returning home to the New York Mets makes too much sense, but so far the Rangers' general manager is saying all the right things. "I don't want to be part of that story," he says. Not yet, anyway. Lee and Daniels may be in NY in 2011, but right now let's just enjoy this ride shall we?
*September radio ratings are in. I know a lot of you summarily dismiss 105.3 The Fan as "The Fail" - y'all are so cute - and regularly take shots at me via "no one listens" and the ol' "the format will change by Christmas" routine. First and foremost, 1310 AM The Ticket remains the unchallenged dynasty in Dallas sports talk radio. Secondly, I know I suck at radio. Trying to get better and having fun doing so, but I fully realize I'm a writer at heart and lot of my written craft doesn't translate to the spoken word. That said, since I've teamed with Greg Williams on June 1 our midday rating at 105.3 The Fan has made monthly jumps from 1.8 to 2.7 to 3.0 to 3.5. RAGE - we're so cute - is now 11th in the market among Men 25-54, still well behind The Ticket but now ahead of ESPN (2.2, 17th). Blame it away on the Rangers or the Cowboys or the Greggo but, whatever, we don't suck as much as we used to. And more, better changes are a comin'. Stay tuned.
*One of those Chilean miners returned to Earth and boasted: "I was with God and the Devil. I reached out to God." Again, wouldn't it have been cool if God had intervened before the mine collapsed and before it almost killed 33 men?
*Hot.
*Not.
*Which suburb is more stuffy? Mesquite or Southlake. Mesquite turns away students wearing khakis to its homecoming dance (at the Hampton Inn, no less) while Southlake residents "rise up" and vote down the opening of a Twin Peaks because it's a "sexually oriented business." Pretty sure the rest of the world looks at us and giggles.
*Speaking of stuffy, a group of six World War II vets were turned away from Wolfgang Puck's 560 - the rotating restaurant atop Reunion Tower - because they didn't meet dress-code requirements. Really? Seems to me a P.O.W. T-shirt should mandate carte blanche entrance to anywhere, anytime. Dallas = Style over substance. I shake my head in shame.
*Bobby Knight this week to the SMU Athletic Forum audience on his polarizing persona: "Frankly my dear I don't give a damn. Pleasing everyone all the time has never even crossed my mind." Yeah, I totally get that. (Sorry to burst your bubbles Sports Panties, Russell, Mark Perez, et al.)
*Funniest show on TV is back. Kenny Powers, anyone? Man I wish he played for the Rangers.
*In school we daily did The Pledge of Allegiance, but never The Texas Pledge of Allegiance. If "under God" would've been taken out this week because a Dallas couple who took to court their claim that their child would be damaged in some way by the oath, can you imagine the Bible Belt outcry? It's upheld and staying in, so on with your lives. Carry on.
*Last week we I determend determined that Cake was the best four-letter band of all time. As for the three-letter variety, give me ... STP.
*I wished failure on Terrell Owens, and he bottomed out in Buffalo. Then I transferred my evil powers upon Tiger Woods, who suffered through the worst year of his career/life. Currently my hex is upon the noggin' of Brett Favre, he of the NFL investigation, aching elbow and 1-3 team. Not sure how, but this shit works. Maybe because it's fueled by pure hatred. This just in: Sorry Cowboys fans, but I'm officially transferring my failure upon ... Alex Rodriguez. A-Fraud, enjoy your imminent demise.
*Possible World Series tickets go on sale tomorrow morning at 9. I'm still pinching myself. Is this real? By the way, you can buy a standing-room-only ticket for only $50.
*This Rangers' craze? About on par with our annual Mavericks' craze. The team's first-round series against Tampa produced a 10.5 rating on TBS, just under the 10.6 on TNT for Mavs-Spurs in the first round back in April.
*This weekend? Friday I'll be at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington - where else? - from 11 a.m. through Game 1 of the ALCS. Saturday I'll be at J. Gilligan's in Arlington from noon until I head over for the first pitch of Game 2. Sunday I won't have my usual Cowboys-Vikings post-game duty on 105.3 The Fan, because I'll be en route to New York for Games 3-4-5 of Rangers-Yankees. On-site, Big Apple-coverage of the ALCS beginning Monday morning right here in my lil' corner of the blogoshere. Don't be stranger.
