Dallas Sports Blog

​Yeah, yeah. Who Dat and all that. Congratulations. Hug a troubled city.

Now, let's move on. To 2010. Next season is now this season.

When the NFL kicks off next season your Dallas Cowboys will be a favorite to play in Super Bowl XLV next Februrary in Arlington. According to one online gambling site, the Cowboys are at 12-1 odds, tied with the Packers and Vikings and just behind the New Orleans Saints at 10-1. In the AFC it's the San Diego Chargers at 8-1.

While the Cowboys in the Super Bowl would be a unique sight, the NFL itself will likely look much different come next season. Two words: Labor unrest.

Saw NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Face the Nation Sunday and he all be declared 2010 an "uncapped season." As for NFL Players Association boss DeMaurice Smith, on a scale of 1-10 he characterized the seriousness of the chasm in negotiations a "14."

Most importantly, if the two sides don't reach an agreement by March 5 next year there will be no salary cap. Initially you'd think owner Jerry Jones combined with a lack of financial constraints would be a good things. And it might be. But an uncapped 2010 won't be the Wild West you might imagine. There is a stipulation, for example, for teams in the final eight being able to sign a free agent only if they lose a free agent.

Part of the uncapped landscape would be that it would remove 212 players from unrestricted free agency, including Cowboys' receiver Miles Austin. Should Jones franchise Austin and pay him $9.5 million or reward him with a lucrative, long-term deal, the likes of which retarded the growth of players like Marion Barber and Ken Hamlin.

The Cowboys have only one unrestricted free agent in offensive lineman Montrae Holland, but 13 restricted free agents including Stephen Bowen, Cletis Gordon, Jason Hatcher, Sam Hurd, Pat McQuistan, Duke Preston, Cory Procter, Gerald Sensabaugh, Junior Siavii, Marcus Spears, Shaun Suisham, Pat Watkins and Austin.

I don't have all the answers to the NFL in 2010, but the league was kind enough to send me a fact sheet. C'mon, let's learn together ...

​20.

19. Of all the things on my to-do list today, calling Barney Stinson - whoever the hell he is - isn't one of them.

18. Entertaining, electric game. Two things that jumped out at me in regard to your Dallas Cowboys: The Saints have receivers who attack the ball when they catch it. The Colts' Joseph Addai runs harder, and better, than Dallas' three-headed monster.

17. Saints' tight end Jeremy Shockey may look like Cowboys' linebacker Bobby Carpenter, but he doesn't play like him.

16. Carrie Underwood = Hot. Rhianna = Trying to be the world's best ventriloquist singer? I mean, she barely, barely parts her lips. Looks good. Sounds more lazy than sultry.

​Whether you're at the end of your rope or merely the end of your week, welcome to Whitt's End:

UPDATE: I've been saying for months - starting back in October - that Michael Irvin's 103.3 FM ESPN radio show was a dead show talking. Don't look now - um, apparently some folks haven't been paying attention at all - but today it is officially kaput. I hear Ben & Skin - as predicted - are taking over the 11 a.m.-2 p.m. show any minute now.

*Sorry, woman in Florida, not buying it. If you were "raped" by Irvin in a Florida bar, why'd you wait 2 1/2 years to tell somebody or to do something about it?

*So a couple of allegedly drunk chicks saunter out of the stands at American Airlines Center and right into the Portland Trail Blazers huddle the other night during a Mavs game. Owner Mark Cuban's reaction: "Hey, happened at the White House, too." Really? Try this one: You're making out with your girlfriend when your wife walks in. "Hey honey," say with a shrug, "happened at the White House." Think it would fly?

*After saying he would never ever never, now Tom Hicks is indeed considering selling the Dallas Stars. You get the feeling he's going to end up with no teams. Here's hoping he has a shred of credibility left when it's all over.

*Still not exactly what all the ramifications of an uncapped year are going to be, but sure feels like we're headed in that direction. NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith says the union and owners are so far apart in contract talks that on a scale of 1-10, the seriousness is a 14. So, what will you do without the NFL in 2011?

*Greggo fans, take note. And maybe heart. Greg Williams will be on John Clay Wolfe's Real Deal Auto Show Saturday morning at its new home, 97.1 The Eagle.

*Hot.

*Not.

Go Daddy made me giggle at its "wardrobe malfunction." But, nope, not on the list.

No Cowboys? No problem.

We're still watching Sunday's Super Bowl, right? Still ingesting chips, dips, beer, bets on the coin flip and, of course, commercials.

The ads had better be good. At $3 million per 30-second spot, you'd think they'd be great. That's right, three friggin' million. Bailout? Layoffs? Madoff? No worries, apparently.

There's going to be a controversial anti-abortion ad featuring Tim Tebow and a Brett Favre spot as a 50-year-old still contemplating retirement. Possibly funny. But likely the ads will disappoint more than the game. Probably be a forgettable amalgamation of, hmm, lemme guess: talking animals, flatulence humor, celebrities, sentimentalities or a rudamentary catch phrase. Come to think of it, all - good, bad or indifferent - fit into those molds.

If you don't find a commercial you like come Sunday - sorry, Terry Tate doesn't make my list - click back and enjoy the good ol' days:

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The question is, will he enter Canton as the NFL's all-time best running back or simply the running back with the most yards?

Hall of Famer Barry Sanders rushed for 15,269 in his 10-year career. Smith, of course, is the all-time leader with 18,355 yards over 15 years. He also rushed for a NFL-record 164 touchdowns.

Most experts - or just guys who can do some exponential math - believe Sanders would've been the leader had he not abruptly walked away from the game in 1998. Barry's endorsement of Emmitt isn't exactly ringing, is it?

"He's been sort of heading on his way here for a long time," Sanders told reporters this week in Miami. "We've all known it. It's just appropriate to see him go in."

Who's better, Sanders or Smith? In fact, does Emmitt even rank among my NFL all-time top 10 runners.

Let's jump shall we? ...

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But I'm genuinely fired up for the 2010 Texas Rangers. Why?

New owner Chuck Greenberg.

Met him for the first time last night at Jamey Newberg's shindig, which was basically a town hall meeting set in Sherlock's in north Dallas. (Video introduction, anyone?) Greenberg, Michael Young, Newberg and Chuck Morgan packed the joint. (Kudos, the event raise more than $10,000 for Wipe Out Kids' Cancer.)

Something struck me about Greenberg as we talked 1970s Pittsburgh Pirates baseball and lowering beer prices (yep, you read that right) and the nuisance of "The Wave" at Rangers Ballpark.

He's got Pittsburgh ties. He's casual. Wears jeans. Is a creative marketer whose minor-league clubs set attendance records despite losing records.

By God, he's Mark Cuban.

​Third date time hanging out together. High hopes.

True story.

So we go to dinner and a couple drinks. Bueno. Go back to her place not far from my house in McKinney. Perfect.

She takes the initiative. Sets the mood. Color me desperate horny intrigued.

Not big on baths, but what the hey. She's hot. Warm-ish water. Bubbles. Candles on the tub. Music in the background.

Game on.

Shit does indeed happen ...

​Stay tuned later today for my interfacing with new Texas Rangers owner Chuck Greenberg and details of a romantic moment that went horribly wrong. (And no, smartass, those are two separate stories.)

But for now, in recent losses Dirk Nowitzki has taken one and zero shots in the fourth quarter. That, of course, is unacceptable.

Tonight I predict he comes up big against the lowly, 13-34 Golden State Warriors. Why?

​The Dallas Mavericks fell apart in the fourth quarter last night in Utah. In the last 12 minutes they had more turnovers (7) than baskets (5). Not good.

A lead vanished into a four-point deficit and, ultimately, a blowout loss to a Jazz team playing without Carlos Boozer. Yikes.

That's three consecutive losses for the first time this season. Jason Terry was supposed to fix things moving into the starting lineup, but he was 0-for-the-fourth-quarter in Salt Lake City. The Mavs are still among the best in the West, but things have wandered badly off course.

Says Dirk Nowitzki, "You got to be worried."