Dirk Does Dallas: Mavs' Nowitzki vs. Cowboys 'Triplets' as All-Time Best 'Homer'?

Home successful home, Mavs' biggest offseason need, gasping at gas and chilled by "The Fonz", all in this week's DFW sports notebook.

 WHITT’S END: 6.10.22

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

*As an admitted tennis geek, I was again awestruck by Rafael Nadal on Roland Garros’ clay last weekend. But I don’t think his dominance is appreciated by sports fandom at large.

Simply put: Nadal is the most dominant athlete at a single venue in the history of sports. And it’s not even remotely close.

At the French Open in Paris, he’s 112-3 with 14 championships: 2005-2006-2007-2008-2010-2011-2012-2013-2014-2017-2018-2019-2020-2022. His astonishing winning percentage of .973 blows away sports’ all-time greats in their preferred, most productive settings.

*Michael Jordan in the NBA Playoffs in Chicago? He posted .793 (73-19), but split time between Chicago Stadium and the United Center and only clinched three of his six titles on his home court.

*Wayne Gretzky in the NHL Playoffs at Edmonton’s Northlands Coliseum? He was .772 (51-15), but only lifted two of his four Stanley Cups on home ice.

*Lance Armstrong in the European Alps and around the Champs-Élysées in the Tour de France? He won only at a clip of .538 (7-6), capturing seven consecutive titles but also failing to finish the race three times and on three other occasions not making the podium.

*Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods at The Masters? Nicklaus won six green jackets, but made the Top 10 in less than half (22 of 45) his starts for a “success” rate of .488. Woods won five times, finishing in the Top 10 in 14 of 24 tournaments for .583.

*Bill Russell in the NBA Finals at Boston Garden? The only athlete that can live in Nadal’s neighborhood, he went 11-1 (.916) in championship series but only 29-10 (.743) in NBA Finals home games on the fabled parquet floor.

Which brings us to DFW. Who is our Nadal, the most successful athlete at a single local stadium?

.428 – As the longest-tenured Texas Rangers player, no surprise that Michael Young was the winningest at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. He clinched both World Series berths with ALCS wins in the park in 2010-11, but had only a .428 winning percentage (9-12) in playoff games played in Arlington.

.605 – Nobody has played in more DFW playoff games at single site than Dirk Nowitzki at American Airlines Center. He clinched an NBA Western Conference Championship for the Dallas Mavericks at AAC in 2011, but also lost the NBA Finals to the Miami Heat on that same court in 2006. In all, Dirk went 43-28 (.605) in home playoff games during his unprecedented 21-season career in Dallas.

.625 – Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach set up his two Super Bowl wins with NFC Championship Game victories at Texas Stadium, but went only 5-3 in home playoff games overall.

.632 – As Dirk owned AAC, Reunion Arena belonged to the Dallas Stars’ Mike Modano. He played a starring, scoring role in back-to-back Western Conference Game 7 wins in the old building, leading to the Stars’ Stanley Cup Finals trips in 1999-2000. Modano, however, lifted the Cup in Buffalo and had to watch the New Jersey Devils skate it on Reunion’s ice after going 0-3 at home in the 2000 Finals. Before AAC opened in 2001, Modano went 31-18 (.632) in home playoff games.

.875 – Our Nadal, turns out, is a three-headed monster named Troy Aikman-Emmitt Smith-Michael Irvin that roamed Texas Stadium. 

Sure, there were a handful of Cowboys that played on all three of the team’s Super Bowl victories in the 1990s, but none had more impact that the Ring-of-Honor “Triplets.” The trio powered the Cowboys to seven consecutive home playoff wins (by an average score of 35-16, mind you), including two NFC Championships that paved the way to two Super Bowls. The only blemish was the last home playoff they played together – a 20-7 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Jan. 2, 1999. A playoff record of 7-1 (.875) at Texas Stadium ain’t bad, but it’s not Nadal in Paris.

*The more we watch the NBA Playoffs without the Mavs, the more it’s clear what the Mavs need in order to play more in the NBA Playoffs. 

A rim-protector. 

A big man that will rebound, rebound and rebound some more, without requiring any offensive plays designed for him. A center that will keep them from getting obliterated on the boards every night. These guys are all different, but ... a player like Golden State’s Kevon Looney (at least the Looney the Mavs opposed), Boston’s Robert Williams III, Utah’s Rudy Gobert, Rockets’ Christian Wood, Indiana’s Myles Turner or even, yeah, the Lakers’ Anthony Davis.

*Bad Rangers news: Since rallying to touch .500 at 24-24, they are only 2-6 to sink back under water. 

Good news: Hello, Marcus Semien! 

The second baseman whose homer drought consumed way too much of my free time for the season’s first two months has finally swung into action. He had five homers through June 1. Now he has six. And Tuesday he produced a historic double-header performance, going 7-for-8 with three dingers, three RBI, four runs scored, a walk and two stolen bases. His seven hits tied a franchise record for a double-header and he became only the fourth Ranger to hit three homers in a twin-bill. 

Wait, do we still call it a “twin- bill”?

*Like you (probably), I’m torn about Dalton Schultz. On one hand, c’mon now, the Cowboys’ tight end is no Mike Ditka, Billie Joe Dupree, Jay Novacek or Jason Witten. Do you really skip offseason activities in hopes of a bigger contract when – let’s face it – you’re an inferior blocker? 

And in an offense blessed with coverage-demanding targets such as Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb, there’s bound to be one-on-one stats scraps to gobble up. 

On the other hand, hard to argue against his production. Schultz caught seven more touchdowns than Falcons’ Pro Bowler Kyle Pitts and only the Ravens’ Mark Andrews and Chiefs’ Travis Kelce had more catches. Is Schultz a replaceable “system star”? Or an elite route-runner and receiver that deserves every penny he can get? Your move, Jerry Jones.

*Once upon a time, I loved Barry. The HBO dramedy starring Bill Hader was edgy, funny, heart-warming and oh-so-dark, all wrapped in meticulous believability. 

Then – as shows do – this season it got all wonky and leaped over a great white. (Spoiler alert: Fuches gets shot right in the heart and somehow survives; Barry ingests poison and somehow survives.) I was so disappointed in the show’s U-turn that I took to Twitter and … if you’re going to get publicly scolded it might as well be from the one-and-only Arthur Fonzarelli. Right?

Damn. The Fonz - aka Mr. Cousineau - has spoken. Deal. https://t.co/bh9cmMSz0L

— Richie Whitt (@richiewhitt) June 8, 2022

*As golf’s LIV and college’s NIL remind us, the only loyalty in sports comes from fans. College football players you rooted for this season are suddenly the enemy because a rival offered them an upgraded car with custom wheels. And American golf heroes such as Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed are dumping the PGA for the new Saudi-backed tour because, well, the guaranteed money is hypnotizing. It’s all “dirty money” from boosters and terrorists, but clearly the plethora of college transfers and golf Benedict Arnolds are at peace with the fact that it spends all the same. Bottom line: Nowitzki’s legacy of loyalty – 21 seasons in Dallas, often at a discounted rate – grows more and more admirable.

*Filled up my SUV with gas this week and, for the first time I can remember, $100. Unlike some of my buddies who are inexplicably blaming “our incompetent government,” record gas prices are a global problem. It started during the COVID pandemic, when demand dwindled and, in response, oil companies reduced production. Then came the war in Ukraine and, in response, countries refused to buy Russian oil. That further reduced supplies, which now cannot meet the rising demand as COVID restrictions vanish and people resume traveling. 

Not surprisingly, the execs at ExxonMobil are too busy cashing in their record windfall rather than ramping up supplies. Exploiting our pain at the pump, ExxonMobil pocketed $5.5 billion in profits in the first three months of 2022. Experts say supply will catch up to demand and prices will dip back to normal - $3-a-gallon(ish) – but not until the end of the year. Until then? We can carpool. Trade in the SUV for a hybrid. Or go – on foot, preferably – down to this new joint in Plano where the vibe is a 1920s service station (but the prices are likely 2020s).

*Hot.

*Not.

*Lefty Martin Perez won A.L. Pitcher of the Month for May, the first Ranger to win the award in a decade. Last to do so was Matt Harrison in June 2012. As if you wondered why Texas hasn’t been successful since going to the World Series in 2011.

*Wait, so the Suns are claiming COVID played a part in their series loss to the Mavs. What’s the argument: That a healthy Phoenix team would have only lost Game 7 on its home floor by 13, instead of … 33?

*Think of the rich heritage of Cowboys’ quarterbacks and, sorry, Dak Prescott won’t roll off my lips in the first breath. Aikman. Staubach. Romo. Meredith. White. Shoot, even Eddie LeBaron. 

But maybe he should? 

In likely Week 3 of the upcoming season, Prescott will pass Staubach for No. 3 on the team’s all-time passing yardage list (he trails by only 617 yards). Crazy, right? Detail that is a tad more important than passing yards: Staubach was 13-7 in playoff games with two Super Bowl wins; Prescott is 1-3 and never advanced past the Divisional Round.

*Hair nets make you happy? Indeed. Last weekend I took Big Brothers Big Sisters lil’ bro Ja to volunteer at Feed Our Starving Children, a charity that sends food to impoverished countries like Haiti and Kenya. 

After two hours of packing boxes of rice-based food packets, Ja said, “I guess we have it pretty good here.” 

Amen.

Volunteered ⁦@fmsc_org⁩ this morning with Joyful Ja. Sent 8,000 meals to starving children in Kenya. Both remembered how fortunate we are. ⁦@BBBSGREATERDAL⁩ pic.twitter.com/KzAhqmtGcI

— Richie Whitt (@richiewhitt) June 4, 2022

*When he was busy getting suspended by the NFL in 2007 for conduct hiccups and then again for his involvement in a fight at Dallas’ Joule Hotel during his ill-fated, short-lived career with the Cowboys in 2008, I must admit I never thought of Adam Jones as someone I’d want to adopt my kids. But sure enough, give “Papa Pacman” credit.

*Part of avoiding “wrong place at the wrong time” is not putting yourself in peril. In other words, avoid OT Tavern on Lower Greenville in Dallas. The same bar where the incident took place involving Cowboys’ cornerback Kelvin Joseph is alleged to be a regular shoot-’em-up. Gotta be better – re: safer – options.

*They may not end up in Canton, but these familiar Cowboys may make the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.

*Heard it again last week: “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!” Balderdash. In my experience, it is in fact the “least” important meal of the day. 

If I get up early to work out, play tennis or do anything other than slumber, the last thing I want is a bloated belly and reduced energy due to my digestive system working overtime on those four bacon strips, three eggs and two biscuits. Food is necessary fuel, obviously. But I’m at my best on an empty stomach. A banana and a protein bar and I’m good – regardless of activity – until lunch. 

I fear those rascal farmers have been tricking us for years. And I’m not alone.

*This Weekend? Friday let’s play some golf in advance of 40th high-school reunion. Saturday let’s visit a Ninja Gym in advance of next weekend’s Spartan Race at AT&T Stadium. Sunday let’s chill in advance of 100-degree heat. As always, don’t be a stranger.