It's Mrs. LL's Birfday

The Family Cat and Family Pup Wish Her Well

Just Smiling: Baylor Goes To The Elite 8 For Second Time In Three Years

The next game is against Kentucky to get to the Final Four. Never heard of 'em. Should be a cake walk.

Edit: To you Baylor fans out there (especially the young ones), enjoy this Saturday night. At this moment and in this place, you have a Heisman Trophy winner, a men's basketball team in the Elite Eight, and a women's team that joined them this afternoon. Yeah, it's just sports. In the grand scheme of things, it means nothing. But in life there is the concept of pride. When it gets too big  and it controls you, it can be a very bad thing. But in the beginning -- the first time it really, really erupts after years of being dormant -- it makes you believe that nothing is impossible. Ask TCU after the Rose Bowl. Ask UT after Vince Young scampered to win a National Championship. It makes you want to got out, set a goal, and live.

As the Sports Illustrated story said . . . .

It's a good day.

Erika Jayne Taking You Into The Weekend

Honestly, I Had No Idea Who She Was

Anyone?

Edit: Channel 8 story.

We've Got A Dead Kid . . .

 . . . and everyone wants to talk about the line, "You know, if I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon." (1:19)

I Want My Government Handout!!! Decatur Considering Purchasing iPads For All Middle School Students!

SUPERINTENDENT RECOMMENDS IPADS – As part of a new academic vision for the district, Decatur Superintendent Rod Townsend encouraged the school board at last night’s meeting to consider purchasing iPads for all students and teachers at the middle school . . . More in the Update (which wasn't loaded until well after 9:00 a.m. this morning)

Edit. Wow. Paradise is already doing this. Here's there* their "iPad handbook". (pdf)

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*Bridgeport education sneaking through again.

Liberally Lean Tourney Update

That Gardere Bracket bet the farm with  that San Diego State pick.

Complete.


Sponsors:

-All Wise Garden Center in Bridgeport has pledged and delivered a $100 and $50 gift certificate for in-house purchases (counts as two prizes). 

-Bloomoon Pet Resort in Chico has pledged and delivered a $50 Visa Gift Card

-Wise Liquors in Bridgeport has pledged and delivered a 1.75 liter bottle of Crown Royal for the last place finisher. Two caveats: (1) Your bracket must be completely filled out to win, and (2) I need a little Baptist forgiveness for this one. 

-A signed Lebron James jersey with a certificate of authenticity pledged and delivered by attorney Paul Belew

- New: $100 Silpada Designs Gift Certificate pledged by April Cowling (can be used online or through April)

-A $100 Visa Gift Card has been pledged and delivered by Chris Miller's Farmer's Insurance Agency in Bridgeport.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• Suddenly there's a copy of The Hunger Games in the house. It was being read when I went to bed last night and as I walked out the door this morning. 
• Craziness in Irving last night. A couple run off the road and vehicle disabled off of Loop 12. A friend comes to pick them up and  parks on the other side of the the road. As the couple runs across the highway, the female ex-passenger is struck by a car. The guy then gets in the vehicle that had stopped and they take off. She's alive. For now. 
• Our freezer is now acting up. First the hot water heater, now this. 
• Apparently Tim Tebow had the choice of either going back home to Jacksonville or going to the New York Jets. He chose New York. I bet one day he will tell us that he felt "called" to the epicenter of America. And I bet he does.  
• Kay Bailey Hutchison defended Planned Parenthood yesterday. I bet she wouldn't have had the guts to to do that if she were running for re-election.
• No matter where you were in North Texas yesterday evening, that was a fantastic sunset.
• Our new flowerbed is beautiful but for the two grassy areas in front of it that I destroyed with weed killer. I'm really mad at myself about that. 
• Finished my book, Manhunt. The co-conspirators of John Wilkes Booth were tried by a military court instead of a civil federal court. And they learned of their death sentences less than 24 hours before it was carried out. 
• There was one photographer at the executions with his most famous shot of it here.  This one, since it involves a woman, is chilling.
• Michelle Obama strikes the Heisman pose.
• I wonder why Nancy Grace won't take up the Trayvon Martin case as her cause? Or do I even have to wonder at all?
• The City of Bridgeport's phone tree is hosted by a gal with a British accent?
• I will never visit sweetjack.com because of the ad campaign which can only be described as carpet bombing. (If you know what I'm talking about, you will absolutely agree.)
• Had a great debate yesterday at the courthouse as to what the public's attitude is about the guy who realizes he is too intoxicated to drive, pulls over to the shoulder and falls asleep with the car running and in park, and later found by a cop. Angry at him for driving in the first place or grateful he pulled over?
• Another courthouse question: Currently, what is the typical age of a person who truly does not know what a "carbon copy" means?
• Running for President would be a beating. 

Edit: I dogged sweetjack.com and looked what just snuck past my Gmail spam filter:

All Media Are Equal But Some Media Are More Equal Than Others

I take an interest in this story because I am part of the Liberal Media just like my friend April Thompson at WREG Channel 3 in Tennessee. I can't tell you the number of times I've been involved in an in depth investigation in the back woods of Joiner, Arkansas -- not trying to do no harm, mind you -- when some hillbilly comes up and threatens me with a hand cannon. But every time I've called for a deputy to help me out, I get a big bag of nothing.On the other hand, this fellow sister in the media gets on the horn for a deputy and the Sheriff in Arkansas sends some serious muscle out to assist them in record time.

Serious Muscle Looks At Exclusive Videotape

There's a lot of injustice out there.

"Ah . . . I work out" Pick Me Up Of The Day

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• Sen. Wendy Davis is milking that "firebombing" for all it is worth.  And to initially invoke the name of Gabby Giffords right after it happened was borderline shameful. 
• If we could go back in time and give Davis the chance to stop the homeless guy from burning her office door, there is no way in the world she would (if she were honest about it.) She can't buy this much publicity.
• Finally, the national media went nuts with the story with some even saying in headlines: "Office of Planned Parenthood Supporter Firebombed." Hey, this wasn't an Eric Rudolph abortion clinic bombing.
• But if we learned anything from this story, it is this: Wendy Davis is kind of hot. 
• RG3 had his "pro day" yesterday at Baylor and ESPN showed up to broadcast it live. Live??!! But I have to admit, there has to be no more useless stat in the world than his completion rate in drills when there is no defense on the field.
• Does NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell really have that much power? He cost Sean Payton a year's salary of $7.5 million, and we are supposed to believe he made that decision independent of the 32 NFL owners?
• Mrs. LL, who is doing softball coaching this year, is stressing now that Spring Break and rain has killed almost all of the team's practices. 
• I used an ATM in a seedy convenience store in the metroplex last Saturday. After pressing "no receipt", I got my money. After I then stepped to the side, the guy next in line awkwardly called me back over. On the "Confirm Transaction" screen (which I had never seen in my life) was my transaction details including my balance (which I had not asked to see.) 
• Remember that line from The Jerk when Nathan* Navin R. Johnson said, "Yeah, you flash a wad a cash like this around here and some people will kill you for it." *Edit: How I continue to make that mistake is disturbing.
• Based upon Justice Scalia's dissent yesterday, he doesn't think the constitution requires a defendant's lawyer to communicate to him any plea bargain offers. Incredible.
• Fox News has discovered Paul Harvey's 1965 "If I Were The Devil" broadcast and proclaims it has come to fruition. 
• 60 Minutes will do a segment this Sunday on alleged Texas prosecutorial misconduct.
• The "Stand Your Ground Law" (or the "Mobile Castle Doctrine") has nothing to do with the Trayvon Martin case. The lack of a duty to retreat only comes into play once the use of deadly self defense is justified. And that's the whole issue in the Martin case: Was deadly self defense justified in the first place?
• I got stopped for the "Man On The Street" question by the Messenger yesterday. They promised they wouldn't make me look like an idiot (although I really didn't have an opinion on standardized school testing). 
• Have you seen the Apache helicopter crash in Afghanistan? Pilot hot dogging?
• WBAP's Hal Jay got Yu Darvish and Jeremy Lin confused this morning. 

Falsely Accused - Even In Newark

Story.

(Thanks, emailer.)

Burglary Verdict

After a jury's verdict of guilt, Judge Fostel sentenced the James R. Biegler, Jr. , 33, to eleven years in prison. The range was 2 to 20. (Despite no one suggesting it, he was eligible for probation.) Restitution was ordered.  From what I gather, that was a longer sentence than a co-defendant received.

Biegler testified during the punishment phase and said he didn't do the crime for money. "I had a job at the time and was making $3,000 to $3,500 a month easy."

Edit: What the table in the jury room looked like after the guilty verdict:

"Full Throttle: When You Need That Extra Energy To Convict."

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Being Roger Goodell*

The NFL took the bounty program run for three seasons in New Orleans seriously.

And the Saints franchise will pay dearly.

Gregg Williams, the defensive coordinator who masterminded the operation, has been suspended indefinitely by the NFL. He can apply for reinstatement after one year. That means the St. Louis Rams will need a new coordinator this season.

The Saints are reeling. Sean Payton, the head coach, has been suspended for the entire season. Mickey Loomis, the general manager, has been suspended for eight games. The Saints will lose their second-round draft pick this year and in 2013. The club has been fined $500,000. Additionally, linebackers coach Joe Vitt, who is also an assistant head coach, has been suspended for six games.

More.
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* Spelling corrected. Sheesh, did you know he makes $10 million a year with an increase to $20 million by 2019?

"The Hunger Games" Suddenly Sounds Like A Good Movie

Jennifer Lawrence

Burglary Trial Going On In Wise County

Tim Cole and Greg Lowery for the State.  Jim Shaw for the defense.

I'll try to learn more about it this afternoon.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• The "firebombing" of the front door of state legislator Wendy Davis' office is really disturbing. The Democrat is despised -- really despised -- by Republicans. So much so that Sen. Jane Nelson, my longtime nemesis, said in February that defeating Davis is "most critical race in the whole state."
• But wouldn't it be shocking to learn that Davis set the whole fire up just for publicity? (I'm not implying that happened. I'm just saying it would be shocking.) Edit: Arrest made. News conference at 10:00 a.m. Double Edit: It was a homeless guy.
• I'll boycott any product or service that has a commercial which depicts adults screaming in it. Carnival Cruises, I'm looking at you.
• Not many reports of motorcycle deaths this year despite the good weather.
• Mitt Romney won Illinois last night after "extremely low voter turnout."  Kind of hard to get excited about that man, isn't it?
• Looking at the level of Lake Bridgeport, there was a quick 2.5 feet rise around March 12 which is more than this last rain caused (so far.) I'm may be losing my mind, because I don't even remember a huge storm around that time. 
• If you can't stand C.J. Wilson, click here.
• OK, I take it back. The Trayvon Martin case is getting a lot of publicity.
• After announcing the $96 million Denver Bronco Peyton Manning at a press conference yesterday, a reporter asked him about his neck. "I'm not where I want to be. I want to be where I was before I was injured.," Peyton said. Think that caused Bronco officials and ownership to have Failed Smile? (To be fair, I think he has to pass a physical every year as part of the five year contract.)
• Ferris Bueller turns 50 today. (And dare I say this about the movie: Overrated.)
• The Family Cat curled up in my lap yesterday for a good 10 minutes. We might go to counseling to re-evaluate our relationship. 
• A 21 year old college student from Dallas was stabbed and beaten by a crowd during Spring Break. Channel 5 has posted a graphic video of the end of the beating which has surfaced. People are a stone's throw away from being animals sometimes. 

"Mitt, of all people, I know you are full of it."

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/02/25/3763065/why-is-jane-nelson-livid-let-us.html#storylink=cpy

If Those Girls Don't Win This Whole Thing . . .

Baylor defeats Florida to move onto the Sweet Sixteen

. . . it would be the definition of the agony of defeat. But as good as they are -- maybe the best college women's team ever -- I've got a weird feeling. There's been nothing to indicate they shouldn't win it all, but that's when things come crashing down.