‘NBA Preseason Champs’? Why it’s an Important Start for New Dallas Mavs Coach Jason Kidd
WHITE END: 10/15/11
Whether you’re at the end of your coffee, day, week, or even your rope, welcome to Whitt’s End …
*Did I read that correctly … the Mavs beat the Hornets by 68 points in a preseason game ?! Sixty-eight? The same team that led the Clippers at halftime at 50 last December.
Hey, Dallas is unbeaten under coach Jason Kidd (4-0). … and can be crowned “Preseason Champion”. We’ll be really impressed when we can say that “unbeaten” word after the tough first road trip of the regular season to Atlanta and Toronto next weekend.
But for now? The 4-0 win is important because it makes Luka Doncic and his colleagues believers when it comes to Kidd and his philosophies.
Kidd uses the word “joy” when describing Kristaps Porzingis’ game. “Joy” is much easier to get when things are working, and 4-0 at least in a tiny way suggests that things are working.
*It’s no secret that the NFL has a dirty little secret. Imagine if your colleague was publicly exposed as a misogynist, homophobic racist, but when asked about him, your answer was … “I have nothing that I would like to express there either way.”
This is how Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, responded to news that Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden resigned after 2011 emails revealing him as someone who thinks it’s okay to find out about the Making fun of the looks of black men, blocking entry into the NFL for women and gays, and casually using words like “p * ssy” and “f * ggot” to describe the company boss.
Instead of “Yikes, get the bastard out of here!” – what you or I would say – Jones basically left with “no comment”.
Why? Hmm I think we know.
From Donald Sterling and the Los Angeles Clippers to Jerry Richardson of the Tennessee Titans to Jim Montgomery, the trainer of our own Dallas Stars and his excessive indulgences, to Mark Cuban and the dysfunctional, toxic workplace of the Dallas Mavericks, sports owners / – management are, by and large, the owners and protectors of a fraternity of bad old boys who keep each other’s backs clear even when they know the truth should be open. We have learned that being rich does not mean being decent. What would the more than 650,000 emails allegedly investigated by the NFL about Washington Football team owner Dan Snyder reveal if made public? Or through other members of management, owners, or possibly even Jones?
“I have nothing to express there either way,” in fact.
By the way, do you remember all the rumors that Gruden linked to the cowboys over the years? Do you know the “He looks at houses in Plano” stories?
We will never know the truth. But we’ll know we’re glad it didn’t happen.
*Atta boy, ESPN. In your NFL shows you have employed both Gruden and Rush Limbaugh. What, David Duke was busy?
*Trevon Diggs handcuffed an undertaker. Yes, catching the cornerback of the cowboys in the first five games of the season set the franchise record set in 1961 by Don Bishop who worked at a funeral home during the off-season. In an unrelated story, Diggs struggled with conjunctivitis last week. … and now he’s working on an ankle problem to prepare for New England. The whole story here.)
*How can Houston sports fans really – with a clear conscience – cheer on the Astros? Jose Altuve notoriously wore a buzzer to alert him to what pitch was coming up. The team orchestrated an elaborate sign theft outfit with multiple players, coaches, and trash cans. You have been found guilty. Admitted guilt! Fine. Fined. One manager and one general manager were fired. But no player involved was disciplined. Now the same core group that stole the 2017 World Series is playing the Red Sox at the ALCS. In all fairness, if the cowboys won a Super Bowl by illegally filming an opponent’s training or deliberately dumping footballs – through outright cheating – would you celebrate them as champions? Neither do I. Too slimy.
*Hint: go the same way you go. I was strolling down a hallway this week and started turning right into an intersecting hallway when – boom! – I had a head-on collision with a man. He was essentially turning left, on my lane.
“Excuse me!” I said.
To which he replied: “Dude, I was here first!”
I just hung my head and strolled on, more convinced than ever that America is swirling the bowl in the direction of total blushing.
If you turn left – on foot or behind the wheel – you will not hit the left wall just because the distance is shorter and / or you are as lazy as a sock bag.
If you’re not reading this in fun old England, stay right. Thank you in advance for being decent.
* Tyron problems? Just as the Cowboys’ offensive line is buzzing, ominous news comes from Tyron Smith’s neck. The same problem that kept him off the field in 2020 requires an MRI this week. Oh oh. … Unless … Fish has the edge here.
*Shocking how people – including his former colleagues and bosses at ESPN – pretend to be shocked by Gruden. The truth is that there are empowered white men everywhere – some even coaches – who believe they are superior to those born black, brown, female, and gay. I have known many like Gruden. I call them ex-acquaintances.
*Cuban, who hired CEO Cynthia Marshall in 2018 and seems to have cleaned up the Mavs, nailed Gruden’s guilt years ago. “If you hit send on a tweet or text, you lose ownership of it. But you will never lose responsibility for it. ”
Amen.
Gruden’s problem, however, was not sending emails. Gruden’s problem was being a bastard.
*Do you remember when Cowboys’ running back Ezekiel Elliott had the fumble? Ssssshh, don’t curse it.
*Disgusting how ESPN has analyzed the whole week how the Raiders deal with the Gruden-Imbroglio. Remember, the emails were sent in 2011 – when Gruden was ESPN’s face on Monday Night Football. The analysis of the network should be done with a view in a mirror.
*Last chance this weekend to attend this year’s State Fair of Texas. The event is well advanced. Now: Raise Millions for DFW Charities. Then: In 1923 the trade fair sponsored a “Ku Klux Klan Day” that attracted 160,000 visitors to the site. In the 1960s, it displaced hundreds of minority homes in the name of an upcoming domain. Dark history replaced by a bright present.
*Still without banned starter Right Tackle La’el Collins and injured starter Michael Gallup, the cowboys are on the right track to be the highest scoring team in franchise history. With 34 points per game, you win more than you lose.
*Name is.
*Not.
*Dirk Nowitzki becomes the official NBA ambassador for the 75th anniversary. This makes him one of the 75 best players in the league. He should be better. To the right?
*The Dallas Stars started their 2022 season on Thursday evening. Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn are still on the roster, Rick Bowness is their head coach, and last year they missed the playoffs just months after reaching the Stanley Cup final. This ends my star preview. Bon Appetit.
*More than 500,000 people are missing in the United States each year. So why are we so fixated on the Gabby Petito case? Ohhhh, right. Pretty and white. I have it.
*Lots of furrowed brows and gnashing of teeth who should be the quarterback for the Texas Longhorns and what should be Bijan Robinson’s workload. But, um, isn’t this effort misguided?
Saw Texas-OU last weekend and saw the burnt orange give up 55 points. That, after last year’s 53 cough at the Sooners. That’s 108 points for your most hated rival in two seasons.
Morale for the story: Focus your attention on ways to improve your defenses, especially the pass frenzy.
How far is Texas from being an elite team? The Longhorns have given up 20 touchdowns; No. 1 Georgia only allowed three.
*The Cowboys haven’t beaten Bill Belichick in 30 years. Good luck Sunday in New England.
*Organic, confusing changes in sport that happened right before our eyes: NFL punt returner catching the ball within 10, sometimes at 5 … NBA players rolling the ball into the forecourt … baseball throwers no longer pitch to combat attempts with stolen bases …
*We’re supposed to be surprised that the Nets’ Kyrie Irving is still “undecided” about taking the COVID vaccine? The same guy who is still “undecided” as to whether the earth is round.
*The NFL Scouting Combine creates potential employees every year thoroughly and invasively examined. Physical measurands. Psychological intangibles. Wonderful tests. Studied family trees. If only the league performed a similar duty of care to its coaches … or owners.
*Dave Chappelle’s latest Netflix special “Closer” laughs and thought provoking, but not nearly offensive. Unless you hit the play button to be offended.
*Nightmare 2021 for ESPN. First the network was fooled by the fake high school, Bishop Sycamore, and now it comes to light that his face of the 2011 franchise was a despicable person. In the context of Sorta, the network’s MNF pregame show has grown into something completely unseen.
Between Randy Moss yelling at us for no apparent reason, the incessant false, forced laughter and the “Come on, man!” The NFL’s premier prime-time game, Simpleton Trope has grown into a show aimed at those who have apparently never seen a game before.
*The most popular TV character of all time is Seinfeld’s “Cosmo Kramer”. “Laszlo Cravensworth” from What We Do in the Shadows is quickly gaining ground. You don’t have to believe in vampires to believe he’s hilarious.
*Travel with someone three days a week for seven years and you must know them. To the right? Not according to ESPN’s Mike Tirico, who, despite being essentially married to Gruden, says, “I’ve never seen or seen anything that suggests Jon is racist in any way.”
*Stephen Jones, manager of the Cowboys, says they won’t get injured defensive linemen Neville Gallimore and DeMarcus Lawrence back for another month. Hard to believe the Cowboys would be 4-1 without a huge contribution from Lawrence.
*This weekend? On Friday, we’ll brave the cold front with golf and then we’ll play Johnson County-style high school football. We play tennis on Saturday. Sunday is for cowboy patriots. As always, don’t be a stranger.
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