'Powerful S***!' Mark Cuban Trades: How Mavs 'Weed' Out Roster of Smoke?

Mavs' Mark Cuban blows smoke, nod to Cowboys' Gil Brandt, Rangers' failing to close deal, Texas-OU negotiation news, and when "Equal Pay" isn't fair, all in this week's DFW sports notebook.

WHITT'S END 9.1.23:

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

*NBA Hall-of-Fame antagonist Patrick Beverly for years has brought out the worst in opponents. But during his podcast this week, I can’t decide whether he brought out the worst – or best? – of Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.

For sure he extracted some eyebrow-raising truth.

Admitted Cuban, “I’ve traded guys because they smoke (marijuana) too much. Everybody smokes, right? It’s not about that. But there’s smoking. There’s how powerful the s*** you’re doing is. And then there’s how much you do.”

Started making a list of players Cuban traded for perhaps that reason but … pretty much all of them?

*In the wake of his passing this week, I pondered a long, thoughtful eulogy of Gil Brandt. As a kid, I rooted for the players (especially “Bullet” Bob Hayes) he discovered. As a sportswriter, I picked his brain and used his wisdom as the centerpiece for many a story. But who am I kidding? Brandt’s legacy needs nothing more than this:

There are 19 Dallas Cowboys players in the Ring of Honor. He acquired 15 of them. RIP.

*Perspective trumps reality, again. Temperatures stayed in the mid-90s this week in DFW. Usually that’s sweltering, but considering we lived near 110 for the better part of a month you might have been tempted to put on a light jacket. Same with the Texas Rangers. They have lost 10 of 13 and, thanks to a calamitous bullpen, are seemingly spiraling out of control and the playoffs. Perspective. This is a team that hasn’t been competitive since 2016, with astronomical finishes behind the AL West champs of 23, 36, 29, 14, 35 and 38 games. 

Don’t look at their fall from being a season-high 24 games over .500 on Aug. 15, enjoy the fact that they are 75-58 and only one game out of the division lead heading into September. Back in Spring Training you would’ve killed for them to be in this position.

*Had some business at Fair Park last week and took a stroll down the iconic tunnel leading into the Cotton Bowl. Shocking to see the place empty, but also to be treated to a field of … burnt brown. Our Summer of Satan was hard on the grass, but don’t fret. After Saturday’s Karol G concert (I had to look her up, too) the field will be ripped up and replaced with new sod that should be green and pristine for Texas-OU in six weeks. Speaking of the Longhorns and Sooners, their contract to play in the Cotton Bowl during the State Fair of Texas runs out after the 2025 game. But doesn’t sound like they’re going anywhere anytime soon.

“The schools and their alumni have made it very clear they want to keep the game here in Dallas,” says State Fair president Mitchell Glieber. “I don’t think Texas-OU leaving will ever happen.” 

Before the next contract is agreed upon, however, both schools are requesting significant upgrades to the 93-year-old stadium that wasn’t built to accommodate almost 100,000 fans. Think wider concourses, more restrooms and reliable Wi-Fi, etc. To that end, City of Dallas officials have hired Bryan Trubey – the architect who helped design the Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium, the Minnesota Vikings’ U.S. Bank Stadium and Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium – to give them recommendations on how to spruce the joint up a bit.

Looking out the iconic tunnel of the Cotton Bowl. Scorching Summer has been rough on its grass, too. Texas-OU in 7 weeks. ⁦@cottonbowlstad⁩ #TxOU pic.twitter.com/NOMZMVId7e

— Richie Whitt (@richiewhitt) August 25, 2023

*Tipping is officially outta control. I say this because I’ve never worked a day in the service industry, and because I recently traveled to two countries where tipping isn’t a thing – Spain and France. But this week I went to one of my favorite stops – Original ChopShop in Plano – and the payment screen at the counter gave me options to tip, starting at 18 percent. Um, for what? The employee was nice enough, but all she did was take my order and give me a number that I would later trade at the counter for my food. Eighteen. Percent? Outta control, I tell ya.

*So many aspects of the Cowboys’ trade for Trey Lance don’t add up. They gave up a fourth-round draft pick for a third-string quarterback. They didn’t consult coach Mike McCarthy before the move. They traded for a guy who, in San Francisco, couldn’t beat out Sam Darnold. They offered a fourth-rounder, while the Niners say other teams presented deals that “weren’t anywhere close” to that value. And now Lance arrives with a timeline totally out of whack. He might be the quarterback in two years, but the Cowboys open against the Giants in less than two weeks. 

Only two slivers of sense: Lance is 23; Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush will both be 30 by 2024 training camp. And if he can bring with him a shred of knowledge that can help the Cowboys finally beat the 49ers in January, the trade will be totally worth it. 

Those in favor of the “genius” deal for Dallas include none other than O.J. Simpson. The critics are led by former NFL offensive lineman-turned-analyst Mark Schlereth, who says “this is why the Cowboys will never win s***!” Knowing his risk-inclined DNA, I’m betting Gil approved.

*Hot.

*Not.

*Let’s see, Micah Parsons hops aboard airplanes piloted by teammates, boxes at a gym with rookie Mazi Smith, talks smack to Tom Brady and now apparently wants a pet lion. Safe to say the dude is a thrill-seeker.

*Our hurricane defense sucks. Like rivers beginning as merely a trickle, hurricanes are born as harmless tropical depressions. They’re identified as such almost immediately and named when still 35mph disturbances off the west coast of Africa. 

Why can’t we – at that point in their embryonic existence – drop a bomb in the middle of the ocean and the eye of the hurricane to disrupt the organizing air that otherwise will grow into monsters that damage property and kill humans? I know, sounds sci-fi silly and I rarely agree with Donald Trump. But here we go again, with Idalia causing death and destruction to kick-off another hurricane season in which our only strategy is … “run!”

*Of course Luka Doncic is leading the FIBA World Cup by averaging 30+ points per game. He love Love LOVES playing for Slovenia. I also bet he’ll light it up – preseason or not – when the Mavs play in Madrid, Spain on Oct. 10. Luka began playing professionally for Real Madrid at age 13 and will likely want to show his old team how he’s grown up.

*On the pyramid of excuses for being late to work, at the bottom is “the dog ate my homework.” At the very tip top: “An 8-foot snake was slithering around my car.”

*Can’t remember a crazier week of Rangers baseball, one in which they lost one extra-inning game on a four-pitch walk and another on a bases-loaded hit batter. Five blown saves in all. Ouch. De facto closers Jonathan Hernandez, Jose Leclerc and Aroldis Chapman all coughed up late leads. Every time the Rangers have made the playoffs they’ve done so with an elite closer: Mike Henneman (1996), John Wetteland (1998-99), Neftali Feliz (2010-11, Joe Nathan (2012), Shawn Tolleson (2015) and Sam Dyson (2016). Each had at least 35 saves. The Rangers’ leader this year? Will Smith with only 22. Texas is converting about 50 percent of its save chances. No team has ever made the postseason with that ugly of a number. Is it time to turn Max Scherzer into a closer? I’m kidding. I think.

*I know, I know. Don’t tug on Superman’s cape. Don’t spit into the wind. Don’t pull the mask of the ol’ Lone Ranger. And, when it comes to tennis, don’t trifle with Billie Jean King. But … 

I love tennis. I love equality for all humans. At the risk of being labeled a chauvinistic pig, what King and the U.S. Open are doing with this “Equal Pay” celebration is equal parts disingenuous and hypocritical. Last year’s women’s champ Iga Swiatek won her 14 sets in less than 12 hours of total time on the court. Men’s winner Carlos Alcaraz took more than 23 hours to win his 21 sets. Both took home $3 million. “Equal Pay” should be aligned with “Equal Play.”

Bottom line: Men’s players in New York (and every Grand Slam event, for that matter) have to work 50-percent longer than women for the exact same pay. King is a champion, ambassador and icon, but I’m not sure how she keeps a straight face. If these stats were reversed in favor of less time on court yet the same winnings for men, would she tolerate it? Moreover, would the U.S. Open celebrate with a logo on Arthur Ashe Stadium’s center court?

I support equal rights & respect for everyone. But this celebration of “Equal Pay” ⁦⁦@usopen⁩ is hypocritical. To win title & same $3M prize, women must win 14 sets; men 21. Working 50% more for same $ is unfair to men. Shouldn’t “Equal Pay” require “Equal Play”? #usopen pic.twitter.com/GmrThPPfIC

— Richie Whitt (@richiewhitt) August 31, 2023

*NFL cutdown day always reminds me that the Cowboys released – on their way to the Hall of Fame – Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and DeMarcus Ware.

*Extremely sad when a person is at the right place but at the wrong time.

*Gotta admit, makes me nervous when truth-telling basketball savant Charles Barkley predicts the Mavs’ teaming of Luka with Kyrie Irving is doomed to fail.

*If I made my own beer, I’d call it “Cold.” Bartender: “What’ll you have?” Everyone: “Cold beer!”

*Buckle-up, Rangers fans. The top three teams in the AL West are separated by only one game entering September. First time since 1980 and only the third time in baseball history that’s happened.

*When I was kid my family bought a set of glasses commemorating the Cowboys winning Super Bowl VI. They were emblazoned with the team’s old-school, single-bar facemask helmet and “1972 World Champions.” Always puzzled me, because they didn’t play any teams outside the continental U.S., much less around the globe. What I’m saying is that U.S. track star Noah Lyles is spot on.

*Love documentaries, especially when they detail ordinary people – powered by a unique mindset – doing extraordinary things. Couple years ago I was enthralled by Free Solo; now it’s Just One Mile. It’s the story of a competition in the woods outside Franklin, Tennessee in which runners are required to finish a 1.1-mile loop in 20 minutes. Simple, right? You could walk that fast. Couple catches: 1. The course features elevation changes of 340 feet up, and back down; 2. There is no finish line. The winner is merely the last one standing. In this particular year the champion ran the loop 107 times over 30 continuous hours. No trophy. No prize money. All pride. Cue the goosebumps.

*Because of Dalvin Cook and Ezekiel Elliott, the Cowboys’ games in Weeks 2 and 4 recently became more difficult. But because of Kyler Murray, Week 3 is now a layup.

*This Weekend? Last weekend without NFL until February. Little trip out of town. A little lake. A little tennis. Then, a lot of football. As always, don’t be a stranger.