Whitt's End: 9.7.12
Whether you've reached the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End:
*Through 3 seasons in the NFL, Cowboys' receiver Kevin Ogletree had 25 catches for 294 yards and 0 touchdowns. Wednesday night against the Giants he caught 8 passes for 114 yards and 2 TDs. Result? 1) We suddenly forget the name Laurent Robinson; 2) Ogletree's rookie card, which was selling for $5, went on eBay Thursday night for $60.
*The Rangers are a victim of their own success. Having lost the last 2 World Series, there's nothing sexy now about winning the AL West or even the playoffs. It's win the World Series, or it's a failure of a season. The A's are a cute story, but the Rangers wrapped up the division in late July with that dramatic 11-10 win over the Angels. They'll win the West (magic number is down to 21), then they'll have home-field advantage throughout the AL playoffs (currently 5 games better than Yankees). That said, let's see some Jurickson Profar at shortstop instead of Michael Young. Otherwise, wake us up in October.
*Still stunned the Cowboys beat the defending Super Bowl champions despite 13 penalties, the loss of starting center Phil Costa 3 plays into the game and an interception that gift-wrapped the Giants a 1st-and-Goal at the 2. Something that's got to be fixed pronto: 7 pre-snap penalties on offense, including 5 false starts. That's Pop Warner stuff. Said owner Jerry Jones, "I didn't know you could win a football game with that many penalties."
*Tony Romo reversed his roles against the Giants. Dumb decision, bad-throw interception early. But in crunch time he delivered, going 6 of 6 in the 4th quarter including a TD pass on the game-clinching slant to Ogletree on 3rd-and-10.
*QUARTERBET 2012: The NFL, more than ever, is a quarterback league. Gonna try an experiment. Regardless of site or line or team, I'm going to bet a mythical $100 on every NFL game versus the spread this year merely by picking the best quarterback in the game. Of course it means I'm already down $110 (with juice) since Tony Romo upset Eli Manning Wednesday night. It also means this weekend I'm taking Luck (Colts) +10 over Cutler (Bears); Vick (Eagles) -9.5 over Weeden (Browns); Fitzpatrick (Bills) +3 over Sanchez (Jets); Brees (Saints) -7.5 over Griffin (Redskins); Brady (Patriots) -6 over Locker (Titans); Gabbert (Jaguars) +4 over Ponder (Vikings); Schaub (Texans) -12.5 over Tannehill (Dolphins); Stafford (Lions) -7.5 over Bradford (Rams); Ryan (Falcons) -3 over Cassel (Chiefs); Rogers (Packers) -5 over Smith (49ers); Newton (Panthers) -3 over Freeman (Buccaneers); Wilson (Seahawks) -3 over Skelton (Cardinals); Manning (Broncos) -2 over Roethlisberger (Steelers).
*HOT
*NOT
*Yawner of a college football weekend. Not a single game between teams ranked in the Top 25. Unfortunately for Texas A&M, lot of eyes will be on its SEC opener against Florida in College Station. Somehow that game is a pick 'em. Give me the Gators.
*Jerry Jones on the funny glasses-cleaning shot of him in the suite during Cowboys-Giants. It was Shy Anderson, Jerry's son-in-law. "Good thing for him, he's got a great sense of humor. Jerry also says "If I was another human on this planet one thing I wouldn't do is sit near me during a ball game." No word on whether Jerry has a personal shoe-shiner.
*If you like hot blondes with curves and muscles and suggestive grunting – and who doesn't? – I suggest today's U.S. Open women's semifinal between Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova. B-a-n-a-n-a-s!
*My 2012 NFL picks. AFC East: Patriots/ North: Ravens/ South: Texans/ West: Chargers/ Wild Cards: Broncos, Bengals. NFC East: Eagles/ North: Packers/ South: Falcons/ West: 49ers/ Wild Cards: Cowboys, Saints. Super Bowl: Patriots over Packers.
*For what it's worth, former Browns and Jets head coach Eric Mangini on ESPN picked the Cowboys to win the Super Bowl over the Patriots.
*My radio partner Greggo is funny on Ambien. So is NBC respected newsman Tom Brokaw.
*Congrats again to new basketball Hall of Famer Don Nelson. Nellie's 2 coolest achievements: 1) Drafting, developing Dirk Nowitzki; 2) Doing me a favor and hanging out with my Make-A-Wish buddy Jackson at his sports bar in Maui. My sincere thanks.
*Dear Romo haters, Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger also often wear their caps backward too. Means nothing. Stop it.
*I'm afraid that Billy Gillespie is out of the hospital, but also soon to be out of a job at Texas Tech. Seems like he's just too much of a hard ass for the kids on the plains in Lubbock to handle.
*Bummed that the Cowboys aren't honoring former coach Joe Avezzano with a decal on their helmets. I won't forget him. To help you remember, I invite you to play in the 1st Annual Coach Joe Golf Tournament to benefit Special Olympics Texas, Oct. 8 at Tour 18 in Flower Mound. Register here. Thank you.
*Chris Mortensen is a great NFL reporter, but boy did he swing and miss with the whole Jason Witten "waiver" story. Yikes.
*Republican VP candidate Paul Ryan claims to have run a marathon in 4 hours, with 3 weeks training, "on a whim." That's an insult to those of us who have actually finished multiple marathons and know the training required. Liar.
*Average cost to take a family of 4 to a Cowboys home game in 2012: $634.78. Ouch.
*My biggest complaint of Jason Garrett is sometimes he's too smart for his own good. On 4th-and-1 early Wednesday he had backup offensive lineman Jeremy Parnell blocking for fullback Lawrence Vickers. No. Bad. Horrible. Vomit.
*Two new places in the Metroplex I'm guaranteed not to be caught in this weekend: Toby Keith's I Love This Bar bar in Dallas, and Trader Joe's grocery store in Plano. Maybe at some point I'll go to the new Joe's to try a bottle of Two Buck Chuck $2.99 wine, but not during the ridiculous grand opening. Why? Because today I can go to In-N-Out and get a burger in 5 minutes. When it opened the lines were as long as 5 hours. Patience, people. Patience.
*Roethlisberger says he'll miss a Steelers' game to be at the birth of his child. That's 1 of only 16 games. Won't believe it until I see it.
*Our worlds changed drastically 33 years ago today. Happy Birthday, ESPN.
*A passionate, naïve FanFan bet me $100 that in 2012 Robert Griffin III will have more passing yards than Romo. I'm on the board with 307. Candy from a baby I tell ya.
*Wanna re-live Cowboys 24, Giants 17? 105.3 The Fan's new "Cowboys Rewind" features the full replay every Tuesday at 7 p.m. Enjoy.
*This weekend? Saturday it's playing sports with some tennis in the morning and a round of golf in the afternoon. Sunday it's watching sports with, duh, a day on the couch with the National Football League. Don't be a stranger.
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