Clinging to Hope: Ian Kinsler Hiring Restores Rangers Link to World Series

Rangers invoke glory days, Cowboys waste a golden era, Mavs dance to Kyrie and Christmas trumps Valentine's, all in this week's DFW sports notebook.

WHITT'S END 2.10.23:

Whether you’re at the end of your coffee, your day, your week or even your rope, welcome to Whitt’s End …

*The Texas Rangers’ glory days are hanging on by a thread, thanks to the return of Ian Kinsler. The two-time member of the exclusive 30 homers-30 stolen bases club is back with the team as a special assistant to GM Chris Young. From the 2011 club that got within one strike of winning the World Series, Nolan Ryan left long ago. Same with Ron Washington. Elvis Andrus was traded two years ago. Jon Daniels was let go as GM last season. The lone link was David Murphy, seen on the TV studio set as an analyst here and there.

*Dancing with the … stars.

The day before pulling the trigger on one of the biggest trades in franchise history, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was clearing his mind and working his body in a “Dance Jam” class at a fitness club near SMU in Dallas.

After completing a rigorous circuit training workout, the 64-year-old Cuban – and his two hip replacements – then double-dipped by jumping into the Zumba-esque class alongside about 50 members spread out over the facility’s basketball court.

Hip-hop, indeed.

The next day he made another smooth move, trading for Kyrie Irving.

And after Irving’s first game as a Mav Wednesday night in L.A., he handed his sweaty jersey to a guy who in 2007 was eliminated from Dancing With The Stars one week before Cuban – Floyd Mayweather.

*What a waste: Between 2006-13 the Dallas Cowboys possessed new Hall of Famer DeMarcus Ware, no-brainer Class of 2026 Hall of Famer Jason Witten and franchise all-time leading passer Tony Romo. Eight seasons … one playoff game.

*With the Mavs’ acquiring Kyrie and the Rangers heading to spring training after signing free-agent pitching gem Jacob deGrom, the Cowboys are suddenly shoved out of the spotlight. Jerry Jones hates being ignored almost as much as he hates losing. Upstaged by the bold moves by Cuban and Rangers owner Ray Davis, you can bet Jerry’s itching to make a splash. Promoting Brian Schottenheimer to offensive coordinator ain’t gonna cut it. But signing free-agent receiver Odell Beckham Jr. certainly would.

*Last week I was merely bellyaching when I accidentally peered into a crystal (basket)ball. Then: Tired of watching Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie miss stand-still jumpers. Now: Off to Brooklyn.

*2 for 2? One team’s scapegoat is another’s savior. In February 2008, the floundering Mavs traded for a baggage-heavy All-Star point guard from the Nets to team with Dirk Nowitzki. In February 2023, the floundering Mavs traded for a baggage-heavy All-Star point guard from the Nets to team with Luka Doncic. He didn’t think the Earth was flat or have antisemitic views, but Jason Kidd came back to Dallas with a checkered past of domestic abuse and a seemingly charred bridge from his first stint in the 1990s. Irving arrives with a multitude of issues, so much so that upon his trade the New York Daily News headline screamed: “He’s Your Problem Now!” Both rewards came with risks. After three seasons, Kidd helped the Mavs to their only title. Said Cuban in the days before that deal 15 years ago, “Treadmill teams don't have a realistic chance to win the championship.” Oh, and Kyrie is wearing No. 2, same as Kidd during his second act.

*How much money are Texas and Oklahoma expecting to make when they jump to the SEC? Enough that the schools are willing to pay a combined $100 million in premature-evacuation penalties to the Big 12. The Longhorns and Sooners will leave after next season, meaning in 2024 they’ll play football against the big boys of the SEC. It also means that next year in the Big 12 will be as wild as it is overlapping lame duck. In July the conference will officially welcome new members BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston, and will operate as a 14-team league.

*Given its publicity, potential and pitfalls, Kyrie to the Mavs feels a lot like T.O. to the Cowboys in 2006, A-Rod to the Rangers in 2000 and Brett Hull to the Dallas Stars in 1998.

*Is it just me or does it feel like Cowboys quarterbacks dazzle as rookies before drastically regressing? Dak Prescott on the field. Romo in the booth. Good, it’s not just me.

*Still haven’t had anyone explain why playoff stats shouldn’t count toward a player’s career stats. In any sport. LeBron James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time scoring leader this week. But – to me – he passed him a year ago. Granted there are more teams and expanded playoffs these days, but points are points. Counting the postseason, LeBron is up to 46,021, 2,000 ahead of Kareem. The top eight all-time scorers would remain the same on this list, with Dirk still at No. 6 with 35,223 combined points.

*Better late than never. Remember those three Christmas cards I put in the mail on Dec. 19 that just sorta, well, vanished? This week they were all delivered to the correct addresses on the same day. Probably lost under a pizza box the last seven weeks.

*Kyrie the player will likely love playing alongside Luka in Dallas. Kryie the conspiracy theorist will also likely love that DFW is so flat, and that the JFK Sixth Floor Museum is only a dribble drive from American Airlines Center.

*Hot.

*Not.

*Just like in your heart of hearts you actually do have a favorite child, I also have a favorite Super Bowl among the Cowboys’ five titles.

*The Mavs’ trade was about acquiring Kyrie. Don’t fret over what they gave up. In this case it was expendable assets named Finney-Smith and Dinwiddie. We all remember that Kidd brought a title to Dallas. Anybody recall who the Mavs gave up in the trade to get him? Devin Harris, Keith Van Horn, Trenton Hassell, DeSagana Diop, Maurice Ager and two first-round picks. Think it was worth it?

*In a time when we’re so polarized that we’re drawing defiant lines in the sand over a friggin’ spy balloon, what we need is more … laughing gas. I remember getting a face full of the stuff as a kid in the dentist’s chair. I knew bad, painful stuff was going on inside my mouth, but the gas made me just giggle about it. I vote for a morning crop-dusting of the stuff over DFW and let’s see if our differences sorta melt away.

*For all his highlight-plays and bluster and double-team attention, Micah Parsons didn’t receive a single first-place vote for NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

*For the third consecutive year, the NFC representative in the Super Bowl is a team that was mega-aggressive in roster moves the previous offseason. The Buccaneers signed Tom Brady. The Rams traded for Matthew Stafford. The Eagles went out and acquired receiver A.J. Brown and cornerback C.J. Gardner-Johnson. It’s more complex, of course, but a big reason Philly is playing Sunday instead of Dallas is that the Eagles were right about Brown and the Cowboys were wrong about Michael Gallup taking up Amari Cooper’s slack.

*Great as he is during this MVP-ish season, can we admit that watching Luka dribble for 20 seconds per possession was becoming drab? Teams were learning when and how to trap the ball out of his hands. With Kyrie, the Mavs have yanked that strategy away from opposing defenses.

*When you heard Michael Irvin was involved in another he-said-she-said you initially leaned toward believing “she.” Well, didn’t you? It’s not fair, but that’s what happens when you earn a reputation that definitely proceeds you.

*The biggest loser and … winner. Good ol’ East Dallas boy “Mattress Mack” lost $3 million betting on TCU in college football’s national championship game and another $2 million on the Cowboys against the 49ers. Nonetheless, he’s one of Texas’ most successful sports gamblers.

*Good news: Former Cowboys linebacker and Super Bowl V MVP Chuck Howley finally made it to Canton. Sad news: At 86 and suffering from late-stage dementia, he likely isn’t able to appropriately enjoy the honor.

*The n-word is alive and … as harmful as ever. Even at local high school basketball games. Some days it feels like we’re making progress on diversity and racism. Others …

*I know it was just one game without Luka, but I could’ve sworn my TV was stuck on fast-forward during Wednesday night’s Mavs-Clippers game. Dallas’ speed and athleticism literally jumped through the screen. From Kyrie to Theo Pinson to Josh Green to Jaden Hardy, that was one of the most athletic Mavs’ teams I’ve ever seen.

*Though I’d love to see good guy and great player Darren Woodson inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, I understand Ronde Barber going in ahead of him. Woodson may have won two more Super Bowls than Barber’s one with the Bucs, but Ronde’s play-making set him apart. He finished his career with 47 interceptions and 14 touchdowns, to only 23 and two for Woodson.

*In 2019, Patrick Crusius drove from his home in Allen to El Paso and opened fire on innocent people at a Walmart, killing 23. He got his 15 minutes of fame. Problem is, the consequences for his actions are now just a footnote. Well I’m here to give it at least 15 seconds of attention in hopes that the next lunatic stops to think if it’s truly worth it. Now 24, Crusius is an admitted white supremacist who said he went to El Paso to “kill Mexicans invading our country … to defend my America.” He will rot and die in prison. Crusius plead guilty this week to the slaughter, and was slapped with 90 consecutive life sentences without chance for parole.

*While it’s confounding that Duke in 2011 couldn’t get past the Sweet Sixteen with a roster that included Kyrie, Seth Curry and eight future NBA players, what happened in Lubbock is even more unfathomable. With future NFL head coach Kliff Kingsbury calling the shots and future Super Bowl champ and now two-time MVP Patrick Mahomes throwing the passes, Texas Tech in 2015-16 went 12-13 and could manage only an appearance in the Texas Bowl.

*While there continues to be much consternation over Dak the quarterback, there is no debating about Dak the human being. Thursday night he won the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year Award for his philanthropic efforts, joining Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman and Jason Witten as previous Cowboys honorees.

*The magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Syria/Turkey has now killed 20,000 people. Twenty. Thousand. Less than 3,000 died on 9/11. But do go on about how everything that happens is part of some God’s grand plan.

*In a December car crash that led to a brief stay in the hospital, Plano police estimate that Cowboys’ rookie edge rusher Sam Williams was driving 98 in a 55. Sounds ridiculous. But then last week’s ice thawed, and I was reminded that everybody in Collin County drives 98 in a 55.

*Mark your calendars for March 5 at AAC: Kevin Durant’s Suns vs. Kyrie’s Mavs.

*Super Bowl LVII prediction: Chiefs 30, Eagles 27. Philly is better than Kansas City at every position, except quarterback.

*This Weekend? Friday let’s prep Dad for his release from the hospital. Saturday let’s go to dinner with lovely people who despise Valentine’s Day as much as I do. Sunday let’s watch Super Bowl LVII and imagine how fun it would be if the Cowboys were involved. As always, don’t be a stranger.