Sounds Like Insane Decatur Game Last Night

Lost in 4th overtime after Stephenville converted a two point conversion on a halfback pass. (And on the play before they pulled off a fourth down TD from 25+ yards out to tie it.)

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The Great Decatur/Bridgeport Cheerleader Brawl of 2001 Taking You Into The Weekend

That's about all there was to it. But it was a big deal at the time.

Decatur/Graham Made "The Ticket's" Homer Call Of The Week

It's called The Ticket, it's a DFW sports radio station that has a huge share of one of the largest media markets in the country, and this afternoon, two of its popular show hosts will be poking fun at Young County Commissioner Matt Pruitt.

To explain: last Friday, Nov. 7, the Steers came back from a 14-point deficit to win the District 4-4A title, scoring two touchdowns in the final 90 seconds of the game to force overtime. The hometown boys closed the game out with a touchdown run from Graham High School junior Nick Martin. That's when Pruitt lost his mind.

More.

I Honestly Didn't Know Who Diem Brown Is . . .

. . . [but she ]has lost her long battle with cancer, PEOPLE confirms. She was 32.  The reality star, who rose to fame on MTV’s Real World/Road Rules Challenge, had candidly chronicled her cancer fight in a blog for PEOPLE.com. Along the way, she became an advocate and inspiration for others facing similar battles, founding MedGift, a support registry for those suffering from any illness.
“I want people to know that the fight is worth it,” she told PEOPLE in October. “And that’s something that’s so important for me.”  Last month, Brown revealed the devastating news that the cancer that had been found in her stomach and colon in August had spread to her liver and lymph nodes.

Should scare the heck out of every single one of us. Or, at the very least, remind us to live while we are here.

Index - 1955

• Car wreck carnage everywhere. Good grief.
• Check out that box score for the football game. Especially the passing stats.
• The Feds went after a local guy for bank robbery even after he was probated in Wise County state court for the same offense. (Legal note: Double Jeopardy didn't protect him then -- and wouldn't now -- which is insane.)

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• In October of 2011, I wrote: "Somebody find me more info about this: Back in 2007, a UNT student was murdered with the eventual convicted murderer being caught on surveillance video in a convenience store with her shortly before her death. There was a blurb yesterday in the Texas Lawyer . . . about her parents and estate winning an $8.6 million civil judgment after a five day trial in Denton. Who did they sue? Tell me it wasn't the convenience store." Come to find out, it was the convenience store. So why do I post this now? Late yesterday the Fort Worth Court of Appeals vacated the judgment. (I thought it was an amazing legal story at the time and even emailed Lari Barager at Fox 4. She replied that she couldn't get any interest from her bosses about it.) 
• Well, we finished up the catapult project last night. It began with me saying, "Ok, so the ball needs to be projected five feet, right?" Junion In the House: "Uh, it said five meters." Recall I had already built the catapult and it was just testing time. Or so I thought. 
• Let me tell you some things about a catapult project which are capable of causing family fights: (1) The weight of the ball. (2) What that ball is balanced upon before being projected. (3) The length of the projecting lever. (4) Where the pivot point is of the lever. (5) The amount of weight used to cause the projection. (5) The Family Cat trying to confiscate the projected ball after every test. 
• Actually, everyone got along fairly well. Probably the biggest stop down moment was, at about 10:00 p.m., the Junior says, "Ok. now we just need a triggering device to fire it."
• I'm sick. But last night we noticed that Family Pup #2 was sick, too. She would hardly move and, after doing our own amatuer vet examination, determined that she would squeal if any pressure was placed on her stomach. She'll probably go to the vet today, but any ideas? She would hardly move this morning. 
• I'm going to admit I'm sick.. But last night Mrs. LL was more concerned about the sickness of Family Pup #2. She gets a pass because I was more concerned about the Pup than me, too. Hey: Can humans and dogs transfer sickness to one another? I would assume "yes" but I've never heard anyone say, "You're going to give that sickness to the dog!"
• "Mark Cuban Just Finished a Net Neutrality-Bashing, Ayn Rand-Featuring Twitter Rant." My head just exploded. How Cuban gets a pass on saying stupid things is amazing. (He was on The Ticket yesterday in full snake oil salesman mode.) In the past he said that "Google will never buy Youtube because it would be sued into oblivion" and about 15 years ago he said that broadband will never be much faster than it was at that moment. Promise. 
• Jonathan Gruber vs. Hans Gruber: Who got more press yesterday? 
• Sports: (1) Correction from my earlier note about the Texas high school playoffs: There was actually an 0-10 team who made it. (2) There is a 90% chance of snow in the TCU @ Kansas game this weekend. (3) You couldn't pay me to go to an NBA game. Some people paid to watch the Mavs win last night 123-70. (4) From the Update: "GAMES CANCELED – Slidell basketball games scheduled for tonight have been canceled." Why? (5) Worst fake punt in the history of ever last night. 
• BagOfNothing is doing my trademarked Random Thought Girl today and is trying to sneak it by us just because it is Star Wars related. He'll be hearing from my lawyer. 

Fellowship Church In Grapevine Recent Promo

What scares you: Ebola? Shootings? The economy? Natural Disasters? Terrorists? https://t.co/x18sW4znpU
— Ed Young (@EdYoung) October 31, 2014

I suppose he might mention Jesus. Or the poor. Or love. Or Compassion.  But I wouldn't bet on it.

Has the mega-church simply turned into a large group therapy session?

Oh, How I Wish The Tea Party Would Understand "The Big Government" They Should Really Fear

The seminars offered police officers some useful tips on seizing property from suspected criminals. Don’t bother with jewelry (too hard to dispose of) and computers (“everybody’s got one already”), the experts counseled. Do go after flat screen TVs, cash and cars. Especially nice cars.

In one seminar, captured on video in September, Harry S. Connelly Jr., the city attorney of Las Cruces, N.M., called them “little goodies.” And then Mr. Connelly described how officers in his jurisdiction could not wait to seize one man’s “exotic vehicle” outside a local bar.

Story. 

Al Roker Trying To Set World Record For Continuous Weather Broadcasting?

He has to follow specific rules in order for the record to be verified by Guinness:

• He must talk about weather for the entirety of the time, outside of breaks.
• He can talk about current weather, and weather seven days in the past or seven days ahead.
• For every 60 minutes completed, he can take a five-minute break. The breaks can carry over and be combined, so if he goes four hours without stopping, he can take a 20-minute break. 
• Two independent witnesses must also be there at all times. 

Link. (I can't get the video to work. For which, I'm eternally grateful.)

Index 1968

• Loved the hot opinions of Shootin' Blind in the 1960s.
• Shooting!
• "Girl of the Month"? They were doing Random Thought Girls before Random Thought Girls were cool.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• Let me tell you something: It was crazy cold yesterday afternoon with the wind chill. And for some reason, I thought about high school football teams practicing for the playoffs. 
• I'm borderline sick. But I swear by Advil Cold & Sinus even though the government makes me show my driver's license to purchase it. I always want to ask the pharmacist, "So how many of these do I need to make a nice batch of meth?"
• The Junior In The House doesn't ask me for much. But last night, with her mother not around, she sheepishly came to me and said: "Uh, I have to build a catapult for Physics and it is due on Friday morning."  I would love to have a photo of us as we looked at each other in silence for the next few seconds. She runs off and comes back with the project rules: No springs. No rubber bands. Just wood and weights. She'll have three chances to hit a target five feet away. As far as I was concerned at that moment, the competition might as well have been: "Build a nuclear weapon."  
• But, I'll be dang, with the help of the Internets and Home Depot, we built one last night (with the exception of that critical aspect of actually testing it.)  The only thing that's left is coming up with the proper weight and proper projectile to land five feet away. What could possibly go wrong?
• Odd not-Bob Vila moment for me to Mrs. LL: "I've got to go buy so wood clamps." Her: "We have wood clamps." 
• There's news that there is another Cold War starting between the U.S. and Russia. I support that because that is not a "war" in any stretch of the imagination. It's peacetime. 
• Tom Craddick, Texas House rep, was on the The Mark Davis Show yesterday advocating a cell phone texting ban. He actually used the mindless phrase, "If it saves one life . . . ." And I'll be dang, Davis told him how dumb that phrase was and he didn't even fight back. 
• Reports are that President Obama is about to take executive action on immigration. [I'm sitting back, smiling, got my popcorn ready.]
• Sports: (1) I'd be scared to pay Dez Bryant big money. He's great. He's competitive. But he's stupid. And that stupid thing scares me. (2) The Troy Aikman segment on The Ticket is a snoozefest. (3) UT QB Tyrone Swoopes isn't great but he's a heck of a lot better than I thought he would be. (4) It doesn't bother me that Intoxication Manslaughter convict Josh Brent is back on the Cowboys. (5) Other Ticket thought: I agree with Junior Miller on almost everything, but his views on criminal justice are Nancy Grace-like. 
• Fox News: "Kim Kardashian's full-frontal pics hit the web." I expected to see a condemnation of this sin and anti-family values conduct from that fine conservative site. Instead, I got NSFW links. I guess they wanted their readers to decide. 
• Oh, come on. That photo on the front page? They have to be doing a bit to recreate this famous photo. 

Sooooooo Texas

Quoting from its website (they are based in San Antonio):

• 80-90% of terrorist attacks occur while the victims are traveling by automobile.
• In recent years over 4,000,000 violent crimes have occurred in the United States alone.
• It is believed that between 40,000-60,000 kidnappings take place each year. . . Almost 70 percent of those kidnappings are resolved by paying the demanded ransom.
• Typical kidnapping-for-ransom payments range from $500,000 to $3,000,000 USD. . . with no guarantees of survival.
• Phoenix, AZ is the kidnapping capital of the United States, second only worldwide to Mexico City.
• A properly armored vehicle can help you disarm potential terrorists and prevent kidnapping threats.

(Thanks, emailer.)

Let's Create More Crime (Episode 1,245)

You know, I linked to this story today in Random Thoughts but hardly even read it. A buddy at the courthouse pointed out to me the insanity of the whole thing so I went back and checked it out.

So a guy brags about being a Navy Seal, cops get pissed off when they find out it is a lie (even though he is a veteran)  and is then invited to a gun store by the cops where he is given a gun and then arrested for accepting the gun?  You kidding me? Who cares if he walks around a lies about being a Seal?

If Sheriff Larry Fowler is the mastermind behind this great sting, Sheriff Fowler needs more things to do. And needs to retire.

Edit: Some of you guys might want to check out United States v. Alvarez.  (Trying to bypass it by giving someone a gun probably isn't going to cut it.)

Proof Of My Athleticism

Although I'm not sure why, playing second base, I'm tagging a guy from that position.

Get Me This Baby Elephant!

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• Pete Delkus is talking about the possibility of snow for Christmas. (I bet he wakes up every morning and sits on the side of the bed, head in hands, and thinks, "My job is so irrelevant.")
• Paradise model with lots of hair products.
• Kinda Sports: (1) I love the new college football playoff format. I was standing in front of the TV at 6:30 last night much to the confusion of Everyone Else In The House. (2) Not impossible: Both Baylor and TCU ending up in the Final Four. Delicious. (3) Made Mrs. LL watch "A Football Life" about Earl Campbell last night. He looked 75 when he was 50. (4) I actually met Earl once and talked him into recreating his "Skoal, brother" commercial as he walked away. 
• I think I'm sick this morning. It always takes me about 30 minutes to realize it. Weird. 
• I can't tell you how many people write me or stop me on the street to tell me how much they love the old Index posts. Note: I knew about their existence but I didn't delve into them until old high school friend Marilynn Andreasen started posting single pages on Facebook with a caption. 
• "And this idiot was fool enough to come to Parker County, Texas, and try to pull this nonsense? He got a ride to the jail. And I got his uniform." - A (shaking) Sheriff Robert Fowler on the "capture" of a guy posing as a wounded Navy Seal.
• I'm getting old: When I have a day off, I prefer to just sit around with dogs in my lap. (On the National Geographic channel last month, I learned dogs "hug you" with their eyes.) 
• Watching Jeopardy yesterday with the Sixth Grader in the House after seeing a category of "Movies From A Decade Ago". Me: "Oh, that'll be easy." Her: "Uh, I was two years old." 
• Maybe the biggest moron in the Texas Legislature: Jonathan Strickland. (And keep away from the cheeseburgers, buddy.)
• A "bulldog" lawyer is someone who is compensating for not being very smart. 
• Craziest thing about Mrs. LL and The Kids: They don't care about celebrating their birthday on their birthday. The slightest acknowledgement is all they require so long as there's a dinner/party within the next month. 
• Governor Elect Greg Abbott appointed a Secretary of State yesterday. I would have been more impressed if the anti-big government Abbott had abolished the silly Secretary of State office. 

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