Mavs' Luka Doncic Has a Twin in DFW Sports?

Whitt's End: Don’t look now, but Joey Gallo and Luka Doncic are the same person. DFW Sports Notebook

Whether you’re at the end of your coffee, your day, your week or even your rope, welcome to Whitt’s End 7.9.21 …

*Eye-popping statistics. Record-setting individual achievements. Must-see TV highlights. All adding up to … zero team success.

Don’t look now, but Joey Gallo and Luka Doncic are the same person.

While his team flounders 19 games under .500, the Texas Rangers’ outfielder is again commanding and dazzling in his own personal spotlight. Wednesday at Globe Life Field he smashed two mammoth homers – 440 and 462 feet – to give him 23 before next week’s All-Star break. The second homer was the longest hit by a Ranger in the new park, and allowed him to become the first player in franchise history to hit 10 in a 10-game span. Just to remind fans that he’s not a one-trick pony, the Gold Glove right fielder also threw out a runner with a laser to third base. So intimidating is Gallo that with a 5-2 lead and the bases loaded in the 8th inning, the Detroit Tigers cautiously pitched around him for a unintentional intentional walk. Not surprisingly, the strategy to surrender a run but mitigate the damage worked, as the next two Rangers struck out and Detroit escaped with a 5-3 victory.

If this all sounds too familiar, you must be a fan of the Dallas Mavericks. Because the last two seasons it’s been Doncic with the tape-measure shots via 35-foot step-back 3-pointers, the onslaught of triple-doubles and barrage of almost nightly “Luka is the first NBA player to … ”

The Mavs obviously are more successful than the Rangers, or are they? Despite singular superstars that sell tickets, win games and help keep their teams relevant, neither franchise has won a playoff series since 2011.

At this point, the Mavs and Rangers are like a Perrier-flavored Dave Matthews Band, made listenable only by nightly guitar solos by Eddie Van Halen.

*When Dallas Cowboys training camp kicks off in 11 days, Dak Prescott will be a full-speed, 100-percent participant with a new $160 million contract. Mind and body right.

All is well.

But … based on his recent interview with ESPN, I’m not sure the team was totally honest with us when they said the quarterback’s second ankle surgery was “planned.” Nor am I certain that I can comfortably read how he attempted to re-set his shattered ankle himself. Wince, commence.

READ MORE: Cowboys' Playmaker Pleads For Help

*The NBA’s 75th anniversary logo is a blatant back-court violation. By not updating the silhouette of Jerry West into the 21st Century, the league is chaining itself to the past. Plus, it’s bland blanderson.

*Amazing how hockey in DFW magically melts the second the Dallas Stars stop playing. The Tampa Bay Lightning won their second consecutive Stanley Cup this week. But, honestly, I forgot the NHL Playoffs were even occurring. The Stars last took the ice 60 days ago. This might be a Stars town, but it definitely isn’t a hockey town.

*As I’ve said before, The Fan has more total radio listeners but The Ticket has more dedicated listeners that tune in longer. The race for DFW sports radio essentially stayed the same in May, with The Ticket finishing No. 1 among Men 25-54 with a 7.9, compared to The Fan at No. 8 with a 4.0. Interesting stats to me continues to be cume or, in radio parlance, cumulative audience. During May, the total number of people that listened to The Fan for at least five minutes of a given quarter-hour was 107,000, well ahead of The Ticket’s 89,000 but way behind DFW’s most popular station: Jack FM, with 221,000.

*Speaking or radio ratings, the shine has worn off of Ben & Skin at The Eagle. In May 2020 their show clocked in with a 9.1 rating, No. 1 in their afternoon drive time slot. With a consistent decline, in May 2021 that number dipped drastically to 4.6, only sixth-best in the market.

*While Gallo mashing in Denver’s mile-high air will be tantalizing on Monday night, even a 550-foot homer or two won’t top what a Ranger once did in the All-Star Home Run Derby. In 2008 at Yankee Stadium, Josh Hamilton hit an unfathomable 28 homers in the first round, including several 500-plus feet. Few remember that he wound up losing the title, leaving Ruben Sierra (1989) and Juan Gonzalez (1993) as the only Rangers to win the derby.

*As mesmerizing as Hamilton’s performance was, give me the NBA Slam Dunk Contest over the Home Run Derby. Creativity and athleticism beats simply watching a ball sail over a fence.

READ MORE: Luka Leads Underdog Slovenia To Tokyo

*So I’ve got this long-time female friend. Mom. Professional. Successful. Fortysomething. Apolitical. And unvaccinated. “I was but … ” she said when I inquired. “I just gotta make time I guess.” Treating getting a COVID shot like cleaning out your dryer lint is just bizarre, right?

*Very cool move by the Mavs to treat the Greater Dallas Big Brothers Big Sisters “littles” and “bigs” to a free screening of Space Jam: A New Legacy Saturday morning. Also a tad vexing for some of us. I’m taking my little brother Ja to volunteer Saturday at White Rock Lake’s “Shoreline Spruce Up.” It’s the 304th consecutive second Saturday of the month that the organization has kept Dallas’ prettiest lake pretty. That’s right, though seeing a free sports movie in the A/C sounds inviting, we’re committed to picking up trash outside in the heat. I am a decent mentor. Trust me?

*Hot.

*Not.

*From Clint Longley’s fists to Michael Irvin’s scissors to HBO’s cameras, Cowboys’ training camp has always proved fascinating. My Top 20 all-time moments are right here.

*Zero sympathy for Dallas sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson. She qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, but was then booted off the team after testing positive for marijuana. Pot will be legal everywhere sooner rather than later. But, for now, it’s illegal in international track and field competition. Yes, even if you smoked it to cope with the death of a close family member. Richardson knew the rules and took the risk anyway. Actions have consequences.

READ MORE: 5 Cowboys' Veterans On Thin Ice In Oxnard

*In 2020, the top three most popular female and male names remained the same for a second year in a row. Olivia, Emma and Ava were the top three most popular names for baby girls, and Liam, Noah and Oliver were the most popular for boys. I personally know only one Olivia, one Emma and one Noah. I clearly need to get out more. Or to hang around new parents.

*At age 5 I was beginning to get immersed in sports. Loved Lew Alcindor at UCLA and was curious where he was going to play in the NBA. I remember Dad telling me “Well, either Milwaukee or Phoenix.” He then attempted to explain the dumbest rule in the history of sports: The 1969 NBA Draft’s No. 1 overall pick was determined by, yep, a coin flip between the two teams that finished last in their division the previous season. The Bucks won the toss, and two years later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led them to their first and only championship. The Suns were left with the second pick – the extremely forgettable Neil Walk. If nothing else, this makes me root for the Suns in this year’s NBA Finals. Along with former Maverick Jae Crowder, who did nothing except play his butt off in Dallas.

*Shame on Uber. In 2019 the Dallas City Council approved $9 million – along with tax-break incentives worth about $20 million over 10 years – to attract the ride-sharing giant. Uber took the deal, moved in and promised to create 2,500 jobs with a salary of at least $100,000 by 2023. Now, blaming the pandemic, the company says it is only brining 500 jobs to its Deep Ellum office. So long, tax breaks. One good re-neg deserves another.

READ MORE: New Mavs' Coach Jason Kidd Hires First Assistant?

*Though I still get goosebumps remembering my time covering the 1996 games in Atlanta, I’ve soured on the Olympics through the years. Corporate bribes. Judging and doping scandals. One-and-done venues built in areas of Brazil and Russia where poverty abounds and running water is scarce. Billed as pure amateur athletics, nothing about it seems clean. That said, I will tune in to Tokyo when Luka leads Slovenia in the hoops tournament. He had a – stop me if you’ve heard this one before – triple-double to lead his country to its first Olympic berth. The win came against Lithuania, the country coached and, pretty much, funded in the 1992 Olympics by former Mavs’ GM and close Luka ally, Donnie Nelson.

*Stumbled upon the Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest. It’s nonsense as a sports “event”, of course. Nonetheless, Joey Chestnut eating 76 hot dogs – with buns – is staggering. That he ate them in 10 minutes is … nauseating.

*Ever tried ordering the Soup of the Night?

*Luka also said if, given a choice, he’d rather win a gold medal for Slovenia than an NBA Championship for the Mavs. I have zero problem with this. None. Think of what it would mean for the poor country of two million vs. what it would mean to our prosperous Metroplex of six million.

*For the first time on Earth, human-made materials outweigh all living things. Surprised it took this long.

*The Dallas County Commissioners Court declared July 6 as “Luka Doncic Day.” Seriously, imagine what the kid will get when his team finally wins something. Dirk got “Nowitzki Way.” Luka might get an entire freeway. The Luka Loop?

*Tried to get into the frenzy over the EURO 2024 soccer tournament. But nope, not happening. In a given game there are approximately 100 backward passes away from the goal only about five shots actually on goal. Way too much foreplay for my liking. And more flopping than Chris Paul. Hard, um, pass.

*Serious question: How is QAnon still a movement when “Q” has been unmasked? I watched HBO’s Into The Storm documentary and in the final episode “Q” is revealed. It’s not Donald Trump. Or Steve Bannon. Or Michael Flynn. Or anybody inside The White House or, for that matter, anyone even remotely associated with government. “Q” – the person who posted cryptic messages that were interpreted by millions as some sort of marching orders – is none other than a random techy named Ron Watkins that went by the name “Code Monkey.” In the documentary’s finale, he admits that he posted as “Q”. And he hasn’t posted anything since Dec. 8, 2020. It’s over. Q is no longer anonymous. And Q no longer posts online. But, somehow, it’s still a thing. Delusion is powerful.

*RANGERS RISK: We all think the Texas Rangers are going to be putrid this season. Our lil’ roundtable revealed predicted win totals of anywhere between 61 and 78, but no one thinks .500 is plausible. Let’s put our money where our mouth is. I’m going to bet a virtual $100 against the Rangers every game this season and, after six months and 162 games, see where I wind up. I’ll keep a running tab right there each Friday and come September I’ll (wink) disperse my profits to my most loyal readers. RECORD: 34-53 TOTAL: +$294.

*There are 86,400 seconds in a day. C’mon now, how do we not get more things done?

*This Weekend? Saturday we’re cleaning up White Rock Lake. Sunday we’re visiting the folks in Johnson County. As always, don’t be a stranger.