"Never Hit A Woman"

Skip to 1:15.

The girlfriend of some truck driver slaps this guy. Hard. He does what I hope any guy would do and restrained himself and walked away. You can see him stare into the air as he gained his composure.

But what would the public reaction have been if he had instantaneously fired a punch right back at her?

Near Bowie. By Gunshot.

Link.

Am I This Cynical Without Justification?

Man, this seems so obvious to me.  I don't think the President has any desire (or at the least is undecided) about launching a few (meaningless) bombs on Syria. So what does he do? He launches a huge PR campaign talking about how children are being killed and we need to do something!!! But he'll wait for Congress to authorize it* before taking any action.

The chances of Congress saying yes? Probably very little. Most Democrats are anti-war. And almost all Republican's are anti-Obama -- so whatever he wants, they don't like it.  I don't think there's a chance in the world Congress will authorize a strike on Syria.

So how does it end? Congress says "no", the U.S. does nothing, but the President can forever say he tried to save lives.

Politics 101.
___________
* Which even the strict constitutionalists shouldn't argue with it. Dropping bombs is an Act of War which can only occur with the authorization of Congress.

Indulge Me: College Football Random Thoughts

• Tech beat SMU on Friday night, and SMU QB Garrett Gilbert is simply awful. And I'll never forget him, as a Texas recruit who had yet to play a down, being on the cover of a UT magazine with the title "The Next Great Texas Quarterback."
• TCU's QB Casey Pachall is one tatted up guy. He was replaced in the third quarter against LSU, and I'm not sure he'll ever start again.
• I wrote a month ago that TCU would regret playing LSU on opening weekend. By that I meant they'd lose that game but might not lose another one. They lost 37-27.
• Cowboys Stadium seems like a morgue for an NFL game but the greatest venue ever when college teams play there. 
• I really, really dislike Gary Patterson. It's impossible to hate Mack Brown. I'm not sure what I think about Kliff Kingsbury, but I think I like him. Kevin Sumlin needs to get control of his scene. 
• Texas Tech is in great shape. They've got a true freshman quarterback who looked fantastic in his first game. And he may not be the NFL prototype which means he might be at Tech for four years. 
• I love this sport but, the older I get, the sight of young kids withering in pain when they tear up a knee or a shoulder makes me question the whole thing. 
• Baylor played Wofford (a replacement after SMU cancelled their scheduled meeting) and put up 692 yards of total offense. One thing Baylor is: An offensive machine. They led the nation in offense last year and were second in 2011.
• North Dakota State beat last year's National Championship contender Kansas State by scoring with 24 seconds left after going on a monstrous 18 play, 80 yard drive that took up eight and half minutes. As much as I love the wide open spread offense, that type of drive is the true measure of a beat down. 
• I've always used Yahoo! Sports to check on scores and get recaps. They've redesigned it so poorly that I have to use ESPN. 
• ESPN's College Game Day was four hours long. That's way too long. 
• Texas has joined the hurry up spread offense craze and put up a school record 715 yards of offense against a hapless New Mexico State team in a 56-7 win. Keep your eye on The Evil Empire -- they might be really, really good. 
• It's an Offensive World: 27 teams put up more than 500 yards of offense. 
• Johnny Football played great in the second half against Rice but got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after being taunted by a couple of Rice players. The guy is great. The guy is an idiot. But, man, ESPN's Sports Center is hard on that guy. 
• Three Aggie defensive starters are suspended for the first two games. Even more amazing is that no one knew it until seconds before kickoff. You'd think bettors would kind of like to know that a little earlier. 
• Because of Miami in the 1980s, the NCAA instituted very strict rules where any crazy celebrating would be penalized. And, man, was it enforced. At first, at least. I'm seeing stuff these days in every game which would get a 15 yard penalty just three years ago.
• North Texas drew 22,000 in a 40-6 win over Idaho. Not bad a bad win. Not a bad crowd. 
• I bought a University of Miami t-shirt the other day. When I showed it to Mrs. LL she broke out in song with, "I'm talking about the U!"  (There are a handful of guys that understand that and love her right now.)  
• There was a fake punt in the Villanova and BC game that I had to watch five times to figure it out.  I love the fake punt. 
• I don't understand the knew 'targeting' rule that got at least three payers ejected yesterday. (There were two Baylor players who delivered viscous hits which didn't even draw a flag.) 
• Beaten down moment of the weekend: FAU is being blown out by Miami but their head coach decides they should spike the ball in the final seconds to at least get another play off. You know, "play until the clock stops." One problem: It was fourth down. Video.
• Boise State lost to Washington. So? It's only the 13th time they've lost since 2002. Think about that. 
• Alabama's Christion Jones scored on a kickoff return, a punt return, and a receiving TD. No one has ever done that before. 
• In an upcoming movie, author Malcolm Gladwell (Outliers, The Tipping Point) says that football will eventually be "ghettoized". What does that mean? It's hard to say delicately. Basically, once society finally understands the risks, anyone who is smart and has the resources, if need be, will not let their kid play football but steer him to other options. 

College Game Day GIF Of The Day

Loved that the file's name when I downloaded it was "lilpuppah".

Above The Fold

"It's The Start Of The Greatest Season" Taking You Into The Weekend

And Another - Massachusetts

Boom! 2013 with a huge flurry as we enter the final months!

Girls On A Diving Board

Who knew the Houston Texans cheerleaders had discovered this little known method of inspiring an NFL team?

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• While you were sleeping: Great Britain decides not to take military action in Syria. Hopefully, that will bring the warmongers in this country to their senses. 
• "A horrific trial is underway in Galveston county that may leave you disturbed." And I've been tipped off that the young female defendant is from Boyd. Edit: Link fixed.
• I used to bag on Ann Curry all the time but I hardly ever see her anymore since I changed my morning schedule a couple of years back. But I did see her on a segment on NBC Nightly News this week when she was interviewing someone about global warming and, I'm happy to report, she still has it: Overly Concerned Face. 
• The Ticket had an amateur "Fight Night" last night in Dallas and one of the participants was Gabriel Thrasher of Decatur. I'm pretty sure he participated last year. 
• Funny line from Norm Hitzges at Fight Night about a boxer from Prosper who was getting killed and wearing a shirt that read, "Get some! Get some!" -- Norm said, "Think he should change his shirt to read 'Got some! Got some!'?"
• College football notes: (1) Reports are that Texas Tech will start a walk on true freshman at QB tonight against SMU. Wow. (2) No baseball game this season will be as good as Vandy/Ole Miss was last night. (3) An animated GIF of the lightening strike that delayed the North Carolina/South Carolina game. (4) Animated GIF of a punt returner getting killed -- a bit too early -- in the Indiana/Indiana State game.
• Ted Nugent's wife got arrested at DFW Airport last night for having a gun in her bag. I wouldn't rule out that was an intentional act for a little publicity. She was on the radio a couple of months back promoting some new business and she may need a little free coverage. (Let's see if she and Ted do a bunch of interviews this week.)
• And here's Steve Eager with a Ron Burgundy moment reporting the Nugent story: She remained "dzailed" instead of "jailed." 
• Maybe a little excessive?: In Houston, $32 million was awarded against Domino's when one of its drivers crashed into a car and killed a 65 year old and injured her husband. 
• I hate getting junk mail with a font that looks like real handwriting. 
• Yeah, it's preseason, but Bridgeport's Colin Jones had two interceptions last night for the Carolina Panthers.

"Say My Name"

Mobile meth lab may have set car on fire in Lake Worth http://t.co/TZaEefm5Hu
— FW Star-Telegram (@startelegram) August 29, 2013

The four-door sedan caught fire about 8:15 p.m. Wednesday as it was stopped at a traffic light at Northwest Loop 820 and Azle Avenue, authorities said.

Everyone knows you don't use a sedan to make mobile meth. (And that story reminded me that I saw a Breaking Bad looking RV in downtown Decatur the other day . . . )

Disclaimer: No meth was made in this vehicle

Afternoon Pick Me Up: That Hot Hurdler I Used To Post

Have no idea what's this about. Nor do I care.  I'm just here for the warm up.

NFL Pays "Big Money" In Concussion Lawsuit

Quick math: $765,000,000 / 4,500 = $170,000 a piece.

But let's look at the NFL current television contacts:

With NBC, Fox, and CBS: $27 billion total (2014-2022)
With ESPN: $15 billion total (2014-2022)
DirectTV: $1 billion for 2013 (with Google talking to the NFL about taking over in the future)

And just think, that doesn't include money from radio contracts, ticket sales, merchandise licensing agreements (clothes, equipment, video games, etc.) and whatever else I can't think of right now.

So $170,000 a piece? That's chump change.

Edit: Even crazier . . .

Craziest part of proposed $765M NFL concussion settlement: 17-year payment plan. $382.5M in 1st 3 years, then $27.3M/yr for next 14.
— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) August 29, 2013

I've Mentioned Before . . .

A professional writer employed by a major newspaper was paid to write this: http://t.co/iLwJsLRy9q
— Tim Rogers (@timmytyper) August 29, 2013

 . . . how I find it amazing that Steve Blow gets paid by the Dallas Morning News. I have company. Tim Rogers is a big wig with D Magazine.

(In between my "you're writing about this?" moments while reading the article, I had a few "you guys reacted that way?" moments.)

I'm Telling You, We Got Too Many Cops

One store in Weatherford and one in Fort Worth. Shut them down while it was ongoing and guarded the doors and entrances.

What was the crime, you ask? Drug running? Tax evasion? A child sweat shop?

Nope. Belts didn't have tags on them advising consumers where they were made.

Bonus: We need a catchy name for this police operation. "Operation Belt Buster" perhaps?

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• Train/car collision in Fort Worth this morning with only minor injuries -- although that's amazing based upon the way the car looks. 
• Oddest statement by President Obama yesterday about the chemical weapons use in Syria: “We have concluded that the Syrian government in fact carried these out. And if that’s so, then there need to be international consequences.” How do you "conclude" a fact and then follow it up with an "if"?
• When the Johnny Football scandal first broke, I mentioned that the NCAA was scared to death of the four big conferences contemplating breaking away from the organization. A half game suspension proves they wanted nothing to do with a case involving the star quarterback of an SEC team. The days of the NCAA slapping a season long suspension for cases like Dez Bryant lying about having a dinner are over. 
• Beyond incredible: When aTm released it's official statement on its website about the half game suspension, it ran a photo of Johnny Manziel along with a small banner in the corner that read "Buy Photo". I bet some tech guy got fired over that one. 
• I tend to refer to everyone in the house as "Babe". 
• Decatur teachers will get a 3% raise. 
• That doesn't sound like much, but how many years would it take to double your salary if you got a 3% raise every year? Someone do the math for me -- I'd screw it up. 
• I had my I'm-Going-To-Fail-A-Course-Because-I-Haven't-Gone-To-Class dream last night. And it was intense.
• Then the dream trailed off into insanity: I was getting golf lessons and reached into my golf bag to pull out a bunch of golf balls. I dropped them on the grass and looked down and, instead of golf balls, they were huge frozen shrimp. The golf instructor said, "They'll do." 
• In light of the anniversary of the March On Washington, the Golf Channel thought it would be a good idea to send out a tweet asking for everyone's "golf dream."  
• I like radio guy Mark Davis. I think he's smart and thoughtful. My only complaint is that he's slowly transforming into an angry white man which tends to color his judgment as he ages.
• Hey long term Cowboy fans, the Grantland article of "The Dallas Cowboys Are Trying to Kill Me" is really good. 
• I'm going to be on my own for four days.  I've got to be old because I'm excited about yard work, catching up on lots of long reads I've saved, and watching College Game Day in a quiet house. That's now my idea of a full throttle life. 

Above The Fold

Grass Fire

I think that's between Decatur and New Fairview.