Whitt's End: 2.17.12
Whether you've reached the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End:
*Spent a lot of time analyzing why so many people have such an emotional defense of Rangers' star Josh Hamilton. Guy comes from good family, middle-class upbringing and is saturated with God-given baseball talent. Yet when he suffers one of his "relapses" the majority of fans inexplicably show sympathy, then somehow praise his noble fight against his dastardly demons. I think I figured it out. Josh has two impenetrable forces at work for him: 1. White skin; 2. Jesus shield. How else to explain the love and compassion heaped on him at a time where, let's face it, a black athlete would be booed off the court and run out of town. Right, Josh Howard? It's religion and race. We're not all racists, but we all are racial. Josh Hamilton looks like us and believes what most of us believe, therefore we'll give him the benefit of the doubt – and third chances – until we deteriorate into naïve fools in denial and he becomes he the most beloved addict in Metroplex sports history. One day Hamilton refuses to answer questions from the media about his latest relapse; the next he begs you to buy his forthright book. And we fall for it? In a July 2008 story in the New York Times Josh said "If I don't stay clean and sober, I'd be the biggest hypocrite in the world." But when I go on 105.3 The Fan and call him a hypocrite, somehow it's me that's the villain? Second chances are color blind. But we aren't. Think about it, if Josh Hamilton was black – or Muslim – would you feel the same about him drinking and having sex with a female other than his wife at Sherlock's?
*When Matt Doherty came to SMU in '06 I figured he'd put the Mustangs back on the college basketball map. Nope. Nothing. And in the wake of a dismal 28-point performance – that's 28 points, in a 40-minute game – in a loss to UAB, I fear this will be his last season in Dallas. At SMU Doherty is 27-64 in Conference USA, including 2-9 this year. Ouch.
*No major college scholarships. Undrafted. Slow start to pro career as a free agent. Then … boom. I got it. Jeremy Lin is Tony Romo.
*Speaking of Romo, bunch of former Cowboys were out for an annual reunion dinner Wednesday night in Dallas. When the topic turned to Romo, a guy at the table stood and defiantly offered this wager: "I'll betcha Tony Romo wins a Super Bowl with the Cowboys within two years!" Anyone else wanna take the bet from Roger Staubach?
*The NBA's Dunk Contest has flat-lined. I like the format better this year – one round, three dunks, fan voting. But Chase Budinger is a competitor? The dude has six dunks all year. And, no, it doesn't help that Jeremy Lin will be there to "assist" teammate Iman Shumpert. The Rising Stars Game might be watchable however, considering Lin, Ricky Rubio and Blake Griffin will all be on the same team.
*HOT
*NOT
*I'll always remember Gary Carter for being a great player as an Expo and a Met, but also for wearing that tiny helmet that always flew off his afro head soon as he left the batter's box. If I could rid this world of one thing, it'd be cancer.
*In 2012, how can the E channel not be in HD?
*As gruesome as his fractured finger was the other night (blood and bone), I was impressed as heck with Delonte West's calm, casual reaction. I've winced more at a hangnail. West is a tough sonofagun.
*President Barack Obama raised a whopping $29 million in funds in January. And apparently 98% of the donations were $250 or less. Amazing.
*Chasing hundreds, perhaps thousands of dollars by selling drugs, TCU All-America linebacker Tanner Brock has cost himself millions in the NFL. Idiot. Maybe somehow Brock and the TCU students didn't hear the news about Sam Hurd?
*If you can't stand listening to me on 105.3 The Fan daily, don't read this item. The Richie and Greggo Extravaganza is now simulcast every night at 6:45 on TXA 21. Yep, now you can put an ugly face with my annoying voice.
*There was a day when us teenage boys sprinted to the mailbox for the annual Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Those days are gone. Reason? Yep, the Internet. You can see hotter girls wearing fewer clothes in the click of a button. For free. At least that's what I heard.
*I saw the supposedly "offensive" image that Madison Square Garden showed the other night during the Knicks' game. Jeremy Lin's face, in the middle of a broken fortune cookie and the slip of paper which read "The Knicks good fortune." How the hell is that offensive? Every time I order Chinese they include a fortune cookie or two.
*Flying the New Jersey state flag at half-staff in memorial of Whitney Houston is laughably insulting to anyone who's actually ever deserved the honor. Born with a great singing voice, she was a multi-millionaire by 20 and wasted everything because she liked to get high. And, honestly, I didn't know she was from New Jersey until I read the obit.
*I hear this came very close to happening: Don Nelson, head coach, D-League's Texas Legends.
*You can have Jimi Hendrix. I'll take Junior Brown
*Was watching the 1987 NBA All-Star Game last night on NBATV. Wow. Fans in Seattle's Kingdome were already doing "The Wave" and listening to music from Footloose during timeouts. On the court was breath-taking. Magic Johnson. Hakeen Olajuwon. James Worthy. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Alex English. Rolando Blackman. How's this for the East's starting five: Dominique Wilkins, Michael Jordan, Julius Erving, Larry Bird and Moses Malone? Off the bench came Isaiah Thomas, Kevin McHale and Charles Barkley. Can't believe it's already been 25 years.
*This weekend? Today we're at Desperados Mexican Restaurant at Greenville and University from 2-7 p.m., raising funds to ensure that the Greenville Avenue/St. Patrick's Day Parade is saved in 2013, 2014 and beyond. Saturday I'll be at Vandergriff Honda in Arlington 2-4 p.m. And Sunday I'll be glued to Mavs-Knicks, noon tip on ABC. Don't be a stranger.
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