Calf-Roped: On Cowboys' Dak Prescott & Mavs' Luka Doncic Injury Issues
WHITT’S END: 4.15.22
Whether you’re at the end of your coffee, your day, your week or even your rope, welcome to Whitt’s End …
*Texas is cattle country and, unfortunately, we’ve got ourselves a calf problem. Not with young cows, of course, but more so the backs of lower legs of our sports superstars.
October: Dak Prescott. April: Luka Doncic.
Why in the wide world of anatomy our Gastrocnemius muscle is referred to as the “calf” is a tale for another day on a different blog. For now, the concern is the Dallas Mavericks finding their Cooper Rush. Even though the Dallas Cowboys backup passer led them to a victory last Halloween as Prescott nursed his strained right calf, DFW sports fans learned all too well how debilitating the injury can be. With legitimate concerns about his health, I’ll be surprised if Doncic – who strained his left calf last Sunday night in the meaningless regular-season finale – plays in Saturday’s Game 1 of the Mavs first-round playoff series against the Utah Jazz.
Bigger question is, when he returns, how well will he play?
If Prescott is any indication, Luka’s level will drastically drop. Before he strained his calf throwing a game-winning touchdown pass to CeeDee Lamb in New England on Oct. 17, the Cowboys quarterback was in the NFL MVP chatter. But when he came back after the bye and one missed game, he was never the same.
Before the injury: 302 yards per game on 73-percent completions with 16 touchdowns, four interceptions, 12 rushing yards per game and a 5-1 record.
After the injury: 262 yards per game on 65-percent completions with 22 touchdowns, seven interceptions, nine rushing yards per game and a 6-5 record.
Looked to me as if – though physically healed – Prescott’s injury monkeyed with his psychology and, ultimately, his throwing mechanics. If Doncic suffers similar lingering effects from his calf injury, how will it affect his driving? His step-back 3-pointer? His aggressiveness? His availability? Jalen Brunson has developed into a more-than-adequate backup passer, but can he be the Mavs version of Rush for not just one game but perhaps an entire series? Their injuries looked similar. Dak couldn’t play in a football game 14 days after his calf strain. Is it rational to think Luka will be ready for a playoff basketball game in six days?
*It’s mid-April, better known as the time Metroplex fans write off their taxes … and their teams.
The Mavs haven’t won a playoff series in 11 years. The Cowboys haven’t lifted a Super Bowl trophy in a quarter-century. But the Texas Rangers – despite Thursday night’s slamming of reigning AL MVP Shohei Ohtani – have their own impressive (re: depressing) streak going. Unless they salvage a 2-4 start by rattling off four consecutive wins, they will fail to have a winning record after 10 games for the ninth consecutive season. Not since the days of Ron Washington, Ian Kinsler and Joe Nathan and a 7-3 start in 2013 have the Rangers been above .500 after 10 games. And the last time they held sole possession of first place in the A.L. West, even for one day? Oct. 2, 2016. Texas starting pitcher in that regular-season finale was Martin Perez who, after stints with two other teams, is back in Arlington. Yikes indeed.
*Forget the Cowboys and Luka and what Josh Hamilton said about DFW on his way to Cali in 2013 … we’re now a golf “town.''
Every tour – PGA, LPGA, Champions, Korn Ferry – plays at least one tournament here and the PGA is moving its headquarters to Frisco in 2023. As if that’s not enough, I submit new Masters champ Scottie Scheffler (Highland Park High School), old Masters champ Jordan Spieth (Jesuit), former U.S. Open champ Bryson DeChambeau (SMU) and future major champ Will Zalatoris (Plano resident) on our local roster of the world’s best golfers. If you need some history and heritage, we can always dig out everyone from Justin Leonard to Todd Hamilton (he won a major, look it up) to Lee Trevino to two fellas named Nelson and Hogan.
*Yes, the Cowboys need help in the trenches in the upcoming NFL Draft. A pass-rusher to replace Randy Gregory. A bulky blocker to make up for the loss of La’el Collins. But I think they’re sorely mistaken if they go into the season thinking they’re set at receiver with CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup coming off a torn ACL, Noah Brown and Pittsburgh Steelers disappointment James Washington.
Gone are Amari Cooper, Cedrick Wilson and Malik Turner. Suddenly a position of strength is an area of concern. How’s that? Remember, for all their talent both Gallup (9.1) and Lamb (8.2) ranked in the NFL’s top five in percentage of passes dropped the last two seasons.
*Raise your hand if you predicted that after six games Brad Miller, Jonah Heim, Mitch Garver and Nick Solak would all have more homers than Marcus Semien. Liar! While his middle infielder buddy Corey Seager hit his first dinger Thursday night, Semien – after launching 45 last season – has only one extra-base hit in first 28 at-bats.
*Heim’s grand slam off Ohtani Thursday night was not only the first of his career, it was the first homer ever allowed by the Anaheim Angels ace on an 0-2 pitch.
*Bad matchup for Mavs against the Jazz – or anybody – without Luka, but there is a history of good vibes against Utah in the postseason. Dallas is 2-0 against the Jazz, with two of the most unlikely road playoff wins in franchise history to close out series in Salt Lake City. In 1986, scrappy guard Brad Davis made 5-of-5 3-pointers and scored 26 points in a Game 4 win in the old Salt Palace. In 2001, reserve big man Calvin Booth scored his only basket of the game on a putback in the final seconds as the Mavs erased an 18-point fourth-quarter deficit against Karl Malone and John Stockton to win decisive Game 5 in the old Delta Center. It was between Games 1 and 2 of that series that Dirk Nowitzki uttered one of his funniest lines: “Utah is a bad city.”
*Surprised my Big Brothers Big Sisters lil’ bro Ja and his buddy with floor seats to the Mavs last weekend. Biggest thrills: “Luka is way bigger than I thought!” and recording a Snapchat video with Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott.
*I don’t care that he is a 90-year-old Pro Football Hall of Famer that I happen to like personally, Gil Brandt should not be afforded a job with the NFL after blatantly disparaging former Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins hours after his tragic death on a Florida freeway. Cancel culture works in mysterious ways.
*Buddy of mine this week referred to the left lane on a highway as the “fast lane.” Nope, I told him. Doesn’t exist. I’ll agree that slower traffic should keep to the right, but the left lane isn’t some Autobahn where speed limits don’t apply. The left lane is a “passing lane”, but if I’m driving at or above the posted speed limit I have absolutely no moral or legal obligation to move over merely to facilitate a driver wanting to go 83 in a 70. Once upon a time this was a hot debate on my old 105.3 The Fan radio show. We brought on a Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman who assured me “You will never get a ticket for driving the posted speed limit. Anywhere. Any time.” So pass me at your leisure. But don’t insist I adjust my driving to suit your whims.
*Hot.
*Not.
*Home Sweet Home? For the first time since the Western Conference Finals in 2011, the Mavs have home-court advantage in a playoff series. Big deal? You betcha. Not only are the Mavs 10-24 in playoff games and 0-6 in series since 2011, they have lost their last 11 games in Utah. Game 7 inside American Airlines Center has a nice ring to it.
*Not sure which part of this story is more troubling: That a guy I’ve known for 30 years is capable of sexually assaulting a minor, or that he can plead guilty to it and not spend a single day in prison. Justin Frazell, who I first met at radio station KLIF in the early 1990s, received seven years of deferred adjudication after admitting to serving alcohol to and then climbing in bed with a 17-year-old girl at a New Year’s Eve party at his house in 2020. “The Ol’ Redneck” was seemingly always a good guy and a great radio voice, but you just never know do ya?
*Remember when Jerry Jones waited too long and had to overpay Prescott a year ago? Since he signed that deal that averages $40 million per season, five quarterbacks have inked more lucrative contracts. “For a lot of reasons,” says Jerry, “I’m proud we have it.”
*Ugly today. Alive tomorrow. If you, like me, have spent most of your life in the Texas sun, make an annual visit to your dermatologist. Skin cancer is no joke. Zap your worrisome spots now before you have to get them cut out later.
*Since the NHL Playoffs usually start before the NBA, I planned on giving you a postseason update on the Dallas Stars. But turns out the NHL regular season is still ongoing. Looks like the Stars, who have eight games remaining, will be the second Wild Card. That said, I can’t ever remember hockey being more irrelevant in DFW.
*I’ve developed severe FOMO of … winning the lottery. Another week, another local new millionaire courtesy of a $2 scratch-off ticket bought in DFW. This time it was some lucky buck in Garland. I’ll never win the lottery. I’m going to start playing the lottery.
*Baseball is allowing electronic “Inspector Gadget” buttons on catchers’ shin guards to relay pitch signals, but outlawing defensive shifts? Does not compute.
Brian Fluharty/USA Today
Jeremy Reper-USA TODAY Sports
*As someone who has worn the same KISS mask as a Halloween costume since 1999, this criticism comes dripping with hypocrisy. But I have friends that are paying $59 to see Vanilla Ice in “concert” this weekend at The Statler Hotel in Dallas. Dude has one song, right? And it was released in 1990. If your musical taste hasn’t changed in 30 years, that’s a stubborn liability and not an endearing asset. Of course I’m writing this column listening to this, so who am I to throw shade at Ice?
*24-karat picks? From Calvin Hill to Robert Jones to Dez Bryant, the Cowboys have always struck gold with their No. 24 overall draft picks.
*Time is money. Money talks. So time talks. But talk is cheap. So time is cheap. But time is money. So money is cheap. Which it’s not.
*If you want an earful of “process” and “all three phases” drizzled with vanilla persona and zero insight, catch this former Cowboys head coach in his new role as TV analyst for the USFL. Me? Hard pass.
*Easter, explained: And then, after Jesus died on the cross and was buried in his tomb, some rabbits rummaged through a nearby picnic and ate a bunch of chocolate and candies. Powered by the sugar high, the bunnies then rolled a giant stone away from the entrance to the tomb, allowing Jesus out to fly up to heaven. And that's why we commemorate Jesus’ resurrection with ... No? Then you tell me about this peculiar Easter bunny.
*This Weekend? Friday let’s dial it down a bit and effort to merely get the oil changed. Saturday is for Mavs-Jazz Game 1. Sunday let’s spend Easter visiting the parents down in Johnson County. As always, don’t be a stranger.
