Cowboys To Blame For Death of ESPN?

WHITT’S END: 9.27.24

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

* Makes me cringe that Oktoberfest is held in September. Not a big fan of Christmas music commencing on Nov. 1. Don’t like how the same bottle of beer costs $3.50 at one joint and $9.50 down the street.

But some things don’t have to make sense, as long as they make money.

Right, ESPN? We’re witnessing in real-time the erosion of the “Worldwide Leader in Sports.”

When it launched in 1979, many of us teenagers thought we’d died and gone to Heaven. Sports highlights and games featuring teams we otherwise hardly ever got a glimpse of? Yes, yes and more yes. But after 44 years the unique network has deteriorated into something unrecognizable.

Included in the downfall: 24/7 analysis of one and only one team: the Dallas Cowboys.

Tuned in this week and there were the morning hosts, jumping up and down in a circle and – I kid you not – throwing pancakes at a giant video screen. Then they donned workshop goggles, took a mallet and smashed tiny plastic football helmets. Couple minutes later it got worse, and I thought my TV had mysteriously switched channels to some cheesy soap opera.

Because as an intro to yet another debate show, there was "Mad Dog'' Russo theatrically bowing to Stephen A. Smith in some silly one-act play.

I remember when MTV stopped playing music videos. And when ESPN ditched sports for what it thinks is entertainment.

When they’re not producing skits that would make a junior high thespian club embarrassed, they’re talking Cowboys. Non-stop. Every. Single. Day.

We’re fully aware that the Cowboys are still wildly popular and profitable despite not being productive, but at this point ESPN is simply exploiting them . Once upon a time, Skip Bayless was on the network with hot takes pretending to love them. These days it’s Smith – about as authentic as a WWE “villain” – and his nonsensical faux hating them.

This week the 1-2 Cowboys got more airtime on ESPN than the 3-0 Bills, Steelers, Chiefs and Vikings … combined. There is obviously a “Cowboys quota,” not based on journalistic news judgement but instead what drives ratings and, therefore, revenue.

The "death'' of ESPN as a money-maker? Nah. The "death'' of what it was and should be? The funeral is coming.  But revenue? Oh, yeah ...

Imagine if Jerry Jones’ team ever got to another Super Bowl? Or even an NFC Championship?

ESPN would simply become – devolve into? – the Cowboys Network. And somewhere along the line, Smith would get a pie in the face while a co-host in a monkey suit rode past in the background juggling fire.

* Cowboys 20, Giants 15: My Top 10 Whitty Observations from one of the ugliest wins in recent memory.

*Seems like just last week (it was actually 14 of ’em) that the Dallas Mavericks lost the NBA Finals to the Celtics. Don’t look now, but they play a game in 10 days. After holding the first part of training camp in Las Vegas – hello, new owner and casino magnate Miriam Adelson – the Mavs and new acquisition Klay Thompson open their preseason schedule Oct. 7.

* This shouldn’t be a controversial statement, but thanks to our political “leaders” apparently it is: The State Fair of Texas opens Friday and patrons are prohibited from carrying guns onto the grounds at Fair Park. A year ago, a man started shooting in the Food Court and three people were injured. Bystanders who heard shots stampeded in panic for cover. In proper reaction, Fair organizers instituted a gun ban. It allows, however, acting or retired peace officers to carry. Whew! So if something goes down, armed uniformed and/or street clothes cops will be able to protect civilians. But, wait. Somehow, that’s not enough? Seems Attorney General Ken Paxton thinks we would all be safer if some hillbilly with a Fletcher’s corny dog in one hand and his seventh beer of the night in the other is also allowed to pack heat in his holster. Spoiler alert: No, we certainly would not.

*Texas Rangers’ lost season in microcosm: Last year the best defensive catcher in the American League, Jonah Heim in 2024 plummeted to statistically one of the worst. But, be honest, we didn’t really believe last Fall’s outta-the-blue World Series championship was the start of a dynasty anyway, did we?

Related: Stephen A. Calls Cowboys 'Trash' with Loss to Giants

*One of the big mysteries of my almost 40-year career in DFW sports media is how exactly I ever ended up a supposed enemy of The Ticket. For a long time I was more than friendly. Appeared as a guest on several shows. Tried out for Greg Williams’ vacant Hardline seat in 2008. Wrote flattering stories about the station for the Dallas Observer and on my DFW Sportatorium blog. Still friends with founding father Mike Rhyner to this day.

But somewhere along the line, management – and some on-air personalities – decided I wasn’t appropriately “in the bunker” so I magically became a villain. Good to know it was just for show, for content.

Bumped into longtime Ticket morning host Craig Miller at the gym earlier this month. He came up to me. Shook hands. Chatted. Couldn’t have been nicer.

* Hot .

* Not .

*Punctuating the “Derrick Henry’s revenge!” angle from last weekend: It was Cowboys’ forever scout Jim Garrett – Jason’s pop – who stood up in a 1998 pre-draft meeting at Valley Ranch and said essentially, “Guys, what are we debating here?! Randy Moss is going to be one of the greatest receivers in NFL history. Let’s stop messing around and take him if he’s there.”

Jerry, however, was convinced the gap between Moss and Greg Ellis was smaller than the needs between defensive lineman and receiver. The Cowboys passed on Moss, sorta like they passed on Henry. Different reasons. Same results?

*No, thank you very much, I do NOT trust the U.S. Postal Service. Couple years ago, several Christmas cards I mailed in early December just never showed up. Not delivered. Not returned. Just, poof, disappeared. Now, this month I get an email alert saying USPS delivered a parcel to my mailbox. Tracking number and everything. But I received nothing. Wasn’t exactly expecting anything, either. But, out of curiosity, I go to the post office. Bottom line: They can’t tell me where the parcel was delivered or even who it was from. “Yeah,” said a supervisor, “we had some trouble with deliveries on that day.” Hope it wasn’t important. If you wind up with it, let me know. Thanks. (Maybe it was lost Christmas cards?)

* Did the Mavs earn respect with their run to last year’s Finals? Sure enough. The defending champion Celtics are favored to win this year’s championship, followed by the Thunder, Knicks, 76ers and Mavs. Second-best odds in the Western Conference for Dallas, ahead of both the Nuggets and Timberwolves.

* 52-year-old in Mesquite seemed like good guy. Despite being disabled himself, he was the sole caretaker for his blind, 90-year-old mother. A devoted member of his Baptist church, he regularly walked to the nearby Albertson’s for groceries and medicine. But last week during his trip he was hit and killed by a drunk driver . Trying to figure out the more confusing part of “God’s Plan”: him getting killed, or deadly Hurricane Helene putting some homes in Florida under 20 feet of water and conditions that local officials warn are “ unsurvivable .”

*It’s all about pitching … or is it? Hitting helps. With just three games remaining, the 2024 Rangers are hitting .238 with 168 homers. In 2023 they hit .263 with 233 homers. What did 25 points in average and 65 more homers give them last year that they didn’t have this year? 2023: 881 runs (1 ^st in the AL); 2024: 659 (11 ^th ). Analytics be damned, that’s all you need to understand how a 90-win champion deteriorated into a 75-win team that missed the playoffs.

* Best place to have a rooftop cocktail with an amazing view of downtown Dallas: For my money, it’s the Canvas Hotel .

Related: 'Be Yourself!' Shaq Compares Cowboys' Aikman to Tom Brady

* Found this hard to fathom: On the Tuesday morning after the Eagles lost that heartbreaking game to the Falcons on Monday Night Football Sept. 16, Jerry had no idea of the result until informed by the hosts of his radio show on 105.3 The Fan.

I’m not jumping aboard the “Jerry the owner should fire Jerry the GM” train, but … isn’t it kind of in his job description to know what’s up with the direct competition?

*Cool that the White House reads (and acts on) Whitt’s End. Proof? In last month’s offering I wrote: “I will pay a premium for an airline ticket. If my flight arrives “on time,” good for the airline. Keep the money. But if it’s late, I get credit toward a future flight. Airline service has cratered over the last 20 years. No more meals. Bag fees. Laissez-faire timeliness. They need to start being held accountable.” Now this month: Voila! Refunds to delayed passengers . You’re welcome.

*This weekend? Friday let’s hang out with friends in town from Colorado. Saturday let’s work on a book writing project. Sunday, as usual, let’s gleefully drown in the NFL. As always, don’t be a stranger.