National Championship 2013 Promotion Spelling Fail

Thanks, Scott.

Crazy Cat People Arrested

How many cats you ask? 134.

How this is a New York story and not a Texas story is one of life's mysteries.

(And that woman looks like a character out of South Park.)

April Fool's Day Pranks

Yesterday I saw several references to the Sports Illustrated article of "The Curious Case of Sidd Finch."  It was written in 1985, and I still remember four guys huddled around it at the Baylor Law School library where, like most days, I was spending my time. They were "oohing" and "ahhing" and dropping some "you've got to be kidding me's."  All I could gather was that there was about to be a new pitcher in the Major Leagues the likes of which had never been seen.

I care about baseball about as much as I do now (very little), so I never got around to reading the article after them. But, whatever it said that day, they all absolutely believed it. And it had a credible author: The great George Plimpton.

But it turned out to be a hoax with the first and only clue being that this particular issue of SI had a date of April 1, 1985.

I finally looked at the article yesterday and quickly came upon this tidbit: The mysterious Sidd Finch's fastball was clocked at 168 miles per hour. Really? And people bought that?

The New Drug User: Prescription Drugs Without The Prescription

Story.

After being a bust as the second pick in the 1998 draft, Leaf ended up coaching at West Texas A&M and looked to be on the road to normalcy.  Then after allegations that he asked a player for a pain pill, he resigned in 2008 and was later charged with burglary and drug charges in Amarillo.  He was placed on probation after pleading guilty to Obtaining a Controlled Substance by Fraud (which normally means a forged prescription or making a misrepresentation to obtain a prescription.)

Fast forward to over the weekend when news broke that he was again arrested for burglary and drug charges for allegedly "entering an acquaintance house in order to steal a bottle of prescription painkillers." Now today the news comes down that right after posting bail on that charge he allegedly commits a new burglary/drug charge.

The chances of him being addicted? Oh, about 100%.   And the U.S. is seeing these type of addictions more and more.

P.S. I told anyone who would listen back in 1998 that I'd use the #1 draft pick on Leaf instead of Peyton Manning.  My sports brain had not yet fully developed.

Another Thing I Don't Understand

I don't understand rioting after winning a National Championship. I dang sure don't understand rioting after winning a semi-final game.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• I watched some of Platoon this weekend and realized that Johnny Depp has a minor role as one of the soldiers.
• A meat and fish salesman came by the house last week. Based upon the amount of fish and meat in the refrigerator, he was a very good salesman.
• I asked Mrs. LL if she bought a lottery ticket. She said she did. I asked how many. She said "twenty" -- followed by a pause and a "kidding." 
• The Lady Aggies had this yell leader play the part of Baylor's Britney Griner in practice. (And with one more win to go, I still think the Baylor women's team (39-0) has to be at least considered as the best ever.)
• Wrestlemania over the weekend in Miami had a paid attendance of 78,363 and who knows how much in pay-per-view receipts. Now that is Idiocracy.
• A movie shown at SXSW, "America's Parking Lot" prominently features Decatur resident Stan "Tiger" Shultz. I think it's about tailgating at the old Texas Stadium. 
• Hey, now.
• Heck of an upcoming sports week: Men's and Women's basketball championships, The Masters, and Opening Day for the Rangers.
• I've never had any desire to skydive, and the news of a man dying in Central Texas over the weekend when his parachute did not fully open pretty much solidifies that feeling. 
• Gruesome last week: A 10 year old's body is being sought in Ellis County -- police believe he was starved to death, a teenager is gunned down in a residential neighborhood in Wylie, and a two year old wanders off and drowns in a pool near Houston. Depressing.
• Mrs. LL and I ate Habanero's restaurant in Fort Worth on Friday evening and then I saw a comment on here about it a little later. 
• The Wise County Messenger brought home the sweepstakes award for twice-weekly newspapers in the 2012 North and East Texas Press Association Better Newspaper Contest. How many "twice-weekly" newspapers are there?
• I saw a pitcher in a Girls 10 and Under league strike out five in a row on Saturday morning. That came right after she hit three out of four batters. 
• Sarah Palin is going to host the Today Show for one hour tomorrow. She called in today to promote her appearance and Matt Lauer asked her is she was preparing by reading newspapers. Ouch.

Prank At University of Michigan

There isn't anything particularly remarkable about this bit, but I was amazed at the size of that class.

And Down The Stretch They Come

Kind of sad to see the Dead Tulips get so close but fall short.


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 and delivered 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.

Messenger Above The Fold

Vanessa Hudgens On A Movie Set Taking You Into The Weekend

Downtown Fort Worth This Afternoon

That's a Faithful Reader submitted pic. Unfortunately, there wasn't a description. I'm trying to get one.

(Thanks, Michelle!)

Edit: Here's an update . . . . "The naked man was driving his car, yes naked. Ran red light, hit car, hit construction equipment and rolled on to curb. Then he got out of his car, naked."

Edit: Star-Telegram blurb.

Edit: Related?

Bloomin' Onion!

I don't know what's more amazing: Six troopers eating at Chili's in Decatur today, or the fact they were able to find six parking slots together in that parking lot.

Whoa

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• I'm normally not a fan of fight videos, but some young bully getting clocked was equally satisfying and disturbing. 
• If you really want to know the applicable law in the Tayvron Martin case and why an arrest didn't occur, this written by a Texas lawyer makes perfect sense.
• Did you know if you are alone in a car with a Third Grader and that Third Grader has a copy of Guinness Book of World Records in her hands, you'll be bombarded with more facts than humanly possible?
• Channel 5 covered the Great Decatur Bluebonnet Massacre of 2012 last night (complete with an appearance of former educator Melinda Reeves who just happened to be at that cemetery at the time.) Whoever (whomever?) is on that Board probably no longer wants to be on that Board.
• I'm not sure I remember the land along Texas highways looking as lush and green as they do right now.
• Paradise's Conner Berry will be an upcoming Dale Hansen Scholar Athlete of the Week.
• The Arkansas Supreme Court, in a blatant attempt to ruin my "And Another" feature, ruled this week that such conduct  is constitutionally protected so long as the teacher and the student are at least 18 years old.
• The Wise County Animal Shelter is tired of "lies", "gossip", and "rumors" being posted on its Facebook page. Maybe The Family Cat accessed my laptop again.
• Hey, Now. Many have told me that today is "National Cleavage Day." 
• You'll read this in other places today but I'm first to discover it: The conviction of a man for murdering a former University of North Texas football player in Denton County was just reversed because the trial judge, citing a crowded courtroom, didn't take measures to allow the defendant's family to watch jury selection. All you constitution lovers don't have a problem with this, do you?  “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a . . . public trial.” - 6th Amendment
• Mrs. LL's softball team got a tie last night, 5-5. She was giddy. Then she wanted to talk about the infield fly rule. 
• George Bush 41 endorsed Mitt Romney yesterday but I couldn't stop looking at his lavender socks.
• Every road in the metroplex is under construction right now, right?

And Another

Holy cow! We've hit the mother lode.

This Story After Last Night's Execution Is Getting A Lot Of Traction

More.

But if you want to impress your friends, tell them that's not the first time. The last words of William Prince Davis who was executed in Texas in 1999: "Warden. Oh, I would like to say in closing, 'What about those Cowboys?'"

(Too bad the poor sap messed up "How" with "What". Then again, he might have had a little stress in his life at that moment.)

And He Knows All The Lyrics

From the comments on youtube: It would have been hilarious if when he sings, "Will you let me go?" the cop would sing back, "WE WILL NOT LET YOU GO!".

Decatur Police Were Excited Yesterday

I counted four with lights a-blazin' involved in a search on 287 South.