Ex-Factors: How to Watch Former Mavs Star in NBA Playoffs

Homemade holidays, Mavs' playoff leftovers, Micah Parsons' soft side, impending Rangers' sweep and first-quarter radio ratings, all in this week's DFW sports notebook.

MAVS and MORE WHITT'S END 4.21.23:

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

*Thursday was April 20, a significant date for those so inclined to reach, um, altered states. As “4.20” is endearing to the marijuana community, there are other customized, unofficial holidays on our calendars:

May the 4th (be with you) for Star Wars geeks. “Black Friday” for crazed early-bird shoppers. Each March 2 is a ballyhooed anniversary for Wilt Chamberlain scoring 100 points in an NBA game. Same for February 22 and U.S. Olympic hockey’s “Miracle on Ice.” 9/11 and JFK’s assassination on Nov. 22 are for all of us to remember and reflect.

The haze of 4.20’s second-hand smoke got me to pondering: What are the most significant – you’ll always remember where you were – dates in DFW sports history?

FEBRUARY 25 – During the infamous “Saturday Night Massacre” at Valley Ranch in 1989, the only thing that didn’t change about the Dallas Cowboys was the name. More than any of the five Super Bowls, the “Hail Mary” or Emmitt Smith breaking the NFL’s all-time rushing record, the surreal press conference announcing that new owner Jerry Jones had fired Tom Landry and the image of a somber Tex Schramm slumped in the corner has resonated every year for 34 years … and counting. (I was there, trying to pick my jaw off the floor while gathering quotes for the Fort Worth-Star Telegram.)

JUNE 12 – Not only did the Dallas Mavericks win their first (and only) NBA title in 2011, but they beat LeBron James and exacted revenge on their arch rival Miami Heat in doing so. Each year our dog days of Summer are made more manageable thanks to highlights of Dirk Nowitzki’s clinching lefty layup, ensuing retreat to the locker room to cry tears of joy, and lifting of the trophy alongside franchise founding father Don Carter. (I was there, letting out a joyous “yahooooty!” while hosting a post-game radio show on 105.3 The Fan.)

JUNE 19 – You can still – 24 years later – hear the echoes of Buffalo Sabres fans crying “No goal!”. Brett Hull’s controversial rebound goal 14:51 into the third overtime of Game 6 clinched the Stanley Cup for the Dallas Stars. Finally. Forever. (I was in New York, but way south of Buffalo in my Manhattan hotel room while covering the Knicks-Spurs NBA Finals for the Star-Telegram.)

AUGUST 4 – You’d think Texas Rangers fans would annually embrace clinching their first berth to the World Series. You couldn’t be more wrong. Instead, each year since 1993 they giddily share a fistfight video featuring … 46-year-old Nolan Ryan beating the snot out of Robin Ventura. (I … honestly don’t remember seeing this live. Can I blame 4.20?)

*Remember the days when Dirk would host those cool Heroes Celebrity Baseball Games in the Summer in Frisco? Looks like Micah Parsons is taking the baton from the retired Maverick. Sorta. Softer. While Dirk these days is more into hosting celebrity tennis tournaments, the Cowboys’ linebacker will on June 16 host the first annual Battle For Dallas celebrity softball game at Riders Park in Frisco.

*Bad enough that the Mavs are spoiling Spring by not being in the NBA Playoffs. Worse that almost every series you watch there are ex-Mavs in the NBA Playoffs. By my math there are seven players, including Dorian Finney-Smith-Spencer Dinwiddie-Seth Curry (Nets), Jae Crowder-Wesley Matthews (Bucks), Jalen Brunson (Knicks) and Harrison Barnes (Kings).

Said Dinwiddie of being in while the Dallas team that traded him for Kyrie Irving is out: "I ain't gonna' lie, there’s a certain level of happiness from the pettier side of my psyche.

*When’s the last time you were disappointed if the Rangers didn’t sweep a weekend series? It will happen if Texas doesn’t go 3-0 starting tonight against the Oakland, soon-to-be-Las-Vegas A’s … also known as one of the worst teams in Major League Baseball history. Texas comes in 12-6, off to its best start since the World Series glory days of 2010-11. Oakland is 3-16, losers seven in a row and 13 of 14. The A’s, who are 1-6 on the road, have already lost five games by 10+ runs and last week walked 17 batters in a loss to the Mets. The Rangers set the table by going 5-1 against the lowly Royals. Now it’s time to prove they are a legitimate team by cleaning their plates against the Minor League A’s.

*What has the new year brought to the horse race known as local sports-talk radio? A stallion, a thoroughbred and a donkey. While The Ticket is dominating the contest with each of its shows ranked No. 1 in DFW, The Fan is no slouch with all Top 10 shows and a No. 3 overall ranking. The Freak, conversely, continues to struggle for traction an can’t crack the Top 20 as its endeavor hits the halfway mark of its rookie campaign. Ratings (including overall market ranking) for the first quarter of 2023, targeting Men 25-54 and covering Jan. 5-March 29.

MORNING: Ticket 12.0 (1); Fan 3.3 (9); Freak 1.5 (24)

MIDDAY: Ticket 8.6 (1); Fan 6.3 (2); Freak 1.9 (20)

AFTERNOON: Ticket 9.6 (1); Fan 6.1 (3); Freak 2.6 (18)

OVERALL: Ticket 10.0 (1); Fan 5.3 (3); Freak 2.0 (21)

*Hot.

*Not.

*If you’ve ever been dumped, you go to the gym and get in shape to attract your next mate. Right, Ezekiel Elliott? It’s also, of course, an admission that while in your relationship you had gotten fat and happy.

*Want a piece of Facebook’s $725 million class-action payout for selling user info? Just submit your claim here.

*With the Mavs sidelined, I tried to watch hockey. Sorry, no can do. This “toughest postseason in sports” mantra is complete hogwash. Too much luck. Case in point, the Stars lost Game 1 of their first-round series and the headline blared “Stars Get Unlucky Bounce in Game 1 OT Loss.” Pucks regularly wind up in the goal after caroming off legs or skates or mid-air sticks or even the shoulders and backs of goalies. Let me know the next time an NBA team wins a playoff game when the decisive shot bounces off an opposing player’s head.

*Did my taxes this week and not real thrilled with the bottom line. I think I’ll just finagle the numbers and – if caught – simply “amend” my return years from now. What, “oops” is only an option for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas?

*The Rangers will debut their “City Connect” uniforms Friday night. As a kid who used to watch the old Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs at Turnpike Stadium in Arlington, I’m all about the spur in the logo. But the gothic print and the black-and-red color scheme is lost on me.

*Things I don’t get: Why are there holes in Saltine crackers? … Why does a Phillips head screwdriver get a fancy name but a flathead screwdriver only gets an obvious description? … Why is it called the “roof” of your mouth when it’s clearly the ceiling of your mouth?

*Ahead of next week’s NFL Draft, my all-time best and worst Cowboys picks.

*Irving-based Boy Scouts of America this week paid a whopping $2.4 billion in compensation to approximately 80,000 sexual abuse victims. Unfathomably, the company is emerging from bankruptcy and plans to stay in business. What kind of parents would let their kid be a part of that organization?

*Turns out Texas A&M football coach Jimbo Fisher is a joker, and the San Antonio Express-News is a joke.

*Good ratings: The NBA Playoffs drew their best first-round TV audiences since 2011. Bad ratings: WWE’s Wrestlemania 39 sold out two nights in Los Angeles with a combined attendance of 161,893 and set a global viewership record that pushed revenue to an astounding $21 million. It’s fake, people. Fake!

*Watched Cocaine Bear last weekend and was surprised that it was much more gory than funny. No sequel announced. But we do have the makings of Cocaine Shark.

*This Weekend? Friday let’s get into bikini-season shape. Come to think of it, that might take all of Saturday and most of Sunday as well. As always, don’t be a stranger.

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