WHITT'S END 11.4.22: *New Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy and his sparkling resume wont mean a thing without an improved pitching Wil Myers Jersey staff. How about a 2023 rotation led by left-handers incumbent ace Martin Perez, San Francisco Giants star and Derek Holland?Nope, thats not a 10-year-old typo.Folks close to Holland say the one-time Ranger is seriously considering calling Rangers' general manager Chris Young and asking for an invitation to spring training in February.The 36-year-old Holland, who still lives in DFW, is a free agent after pitching only briefly in the minors for the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays this season. In 2021 he appeared in 39 games as a reliever with the Detroit Tigers.After leaving the Rangers in 2017 he pitched for five teams, including Bochys Giants in 2018-19. Holland went 62-50 with the Rangers in eight seasons and authored one of the most clutch performances in franchise history with a two-hit, Game 4 shutout of the St. Louis Cardinals that evened the 2011 World Series at 2-2.*Week 5: Quarterback controversy. Week 10: Running back controversy?Asked this week if was a better running back than Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones offered a quick, emphatic answer.No, he said. Hes a different running back than Zeke. Its pick your poison. But Zeke is so punishing, and that takes its toll on a defense.Maybe, but With a sharp performance in , Dak Prescott has made us all but forget about Cooper Rushs succe sful stand-in. But Pollards eye-popping production and unique skills have done nothing but amplify fans who think he deserves to be RB1 over Elliott.Pollard promised to haul it in Zekes absence against Chicago with a sprained knee, and he did just that with 131 yards and three touchdowns on only 14 carries. On his 18-yard touchdown run, he made a smooth jump-cut into a gaping hole up the middle before totally juking a safety with a sharp move to his right. In the fourth quarter he hopped into a hole and then used breakaway speed on Rollie Fingers Jersey a 54-yard scoring dash.Zeke has two NFL rushing titles, but he no longer has the ability to score on either of those two plays.For now, Pollard is handling his secondary situation better than, say, Tony Dorsett.Its been almost 40 years since the Cowboys had a good, old-fashioned running back controversy. .Sensing Walkers immense talent and the imminent demise of the USFL, Cowboys general manager Tex Schramm selected him in the fifth round of the 1985 NFL Draft. When the USFL folded and Walker arrived in Dallas, he was rewarded with the richest contract in NFL history: five years, $5 million.Schramm and coach Tom Landry envisioned a Dream Duo backfield, lining up Walker alongside co-Heisman Trophy winner Dorsett. That fantasy, however, immediately turned into a nightmare as Dorsett, an aging star who helped win Super Bowl XII in 1977, demanded a trade.Im unhappy, Dorsett said at the time. I dont want to be here being second fiddle to any running back in Dallas.In his first game as a Cowboy in 1986, Walker scored the game-winning touchdown against the Giants in the final minute on . Later in the season he produced a still-standing team record of 292 total yards of offense in a victory over Philadelphia.Dorsett was traded to the Broncos in 1988.For the most part Walker was a good player on bad teams, never managing a winning record during his 81-game stint in Dallas. He made the Pro Bowl in 1987-88, and on Dec. 18, 1988 scored on a 1-yard run at Texas Stadium that was the final touchdown coached by Landry before his 29-year career ended when with his 1989 firing by Jones.His real value to the Cowboys came not as a player, but an a set.In 1989 they traded him to the Vikings in what is widely regarded as the most lopsided deal in NFL history. In return for one player, the Cowboys received five players and six draft picks that they ultimately parlayed into stars such as running back Emmitt Smith, safety Darren Woodson and Super Bowl wins in 1992, 93 and 95.Dorsett wound up in Canton. Walkers remains prominent in Cowboys history, ranking in the Top 10 in rushing yards and touchdowns.Then: Schramm went with the shiny new Ozzie Smith Jersey toy, ultimately trading the veteran.Now: Jones says, Were going to go as Zeke goes.*I know, I know. Luka Doncic is off to an epic start and is the early favorite for NBA MVP. But hear me out hes got to be even better if the Dallas Mavericks are going to match, much le s top, last seasons run to the Western Conference Finals.Granted, its difficult, almost irrational, to fathom Doncic doing more.In this weeks victory over the Utah Jazz he became the first player in 60 years to begin a season with seven consecutive 30-point games. Before that, he was the first player in league history with 200 points, 50 rebounds and 50 a sists in his teams first six games. And no team is more reliant upon a single player than the Mavs on Luka, evidenced by the Chase Headley Jersey fact he averages a league-leading and mind-boggling 558 dribbles per game. (For context, known ball-hog James Harden averages almost 100 fewer.)Scroll to ContinueThat said especially in light of last years succe s the Mavs and Doncic are long past being satiated by his individual accolades. Luka might win an MVP, but this season will be a failure if Dallas doesnt win enough games to get back to the West Finals.Bottom line: So far in crunch time hes 0 of 3.The Mavs have lost three games, and Lukas had a potential game-winning shot bounce off the rim at the buzzer in all of them. In Phoenix he mi sed a 30-foot 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left in a two-point lo s. Same in New Orleans, where he mi sed a long step-back triple with 0.4 seconds remaining in another two-point defeat. And in last weekends overtime home lo s to the Thunder, he mi sed a 17-foot jumper with 1.1 seconds left in regulation.To win MVP and drag his team to new heights, Luka will have to make at least a couple of game-winners along the way.If this sounds like asking Superman to not only vanquish the villains but also pick up the trash on his way out of town yes, thats exactly what it is. Heavy is the head, after all, that wears the crown.*So and is stripped of a boys state basketball championship. Sounds fair. Rules, after all, are rules. Unle s when, apparently, it comes to the Houston Astros. Remind me again why the Astros were caught cheating in 2017 and allowed to keep their World Series? Five years later, I still cant look at being my first thought.*Im officially one step from being the get off my lawn! old man. As in, no thanks, I have no interest in seeing Stevie Nicks and Billy Joel in concert next April at AT&T Stadium. In the 1970s I loved their music. Eric Hosmer Jersey But Nicks is 74; Joel 73. I mean, really?