10.19.2016

High School Football Character Building Didn't Work Out


at 1:10 PM

Fun With Math And College Football




And we wonder why Texas won't give up or make any concessions on . . .

ESPN is on Year Six of a 20-year, $295 million contract
at 12:08 PM

Above The Fold

Full readable page.
at 9:07 AM

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts



  • How odd it is to have four young metroplex girls go missing or killed where their male friends are suspects or more: (1) The victim in the recently completed Arochi trial - never found, (2) Jackie Vandagriff, the TWU student - found dismembered and burned near Lake Grapevine, (3) Typhenie Johnson  of Fort Worth who went missing about a week ago - not found, and now (4) Zuzu Renee Verk of Keller who is/was attending Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas - not found.
  • "ZuZu" was the name of the child in It's A Wonderful Life. Several sites tell me it means "lily" which reminds me that a petal fell off  of ZuZu's flower in the movie which caused her concern. I wonder if that was a coincidence.
  • There was lots of talk yesterday that Hillary was tightening the race with Trump in Texas.  It won't happen this time, but Texas will eventually turn blue. Can you imagine four or eight years from now if Florida becomes firmly Democratic and Texas becomes "the" swing state which decides it all?
  • WBAP's Steve Lamb yesterday: "Tony Romo will come back sooner or later but we don't know when." You know, that "sooner or later" part is not necessarily true at all. 
  • I kept hearing about the Texas 11 and 12 year old Texas football team which had their "season  cut short after taking a knee". Here they are:
  • That area of Runway Bay which burned yesterday has been the general location of multiple unrelated fires over the years. (Condos, apartments, homes, etc.) And I'm not sure high winds/tornados haven't destroyed a couple of building right around there as well. It's like the Wise County Bermuda Triangle of property damage.
  • Anyone remember the Bermuda Triangle?
  • The Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas wants Trump to come by and renew his vows before tonight's debates.  That place has been the site of the weddings of such famous people as Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Michael Jordan, Britney Spears, and me. Decatur criminal lawyer Paul Belew was also married there. 
  • "The Legislature in 2015 approved $800 million over two years for border security and shifted the focal point of the campaign from the National Guard to the DPS, which is set to hire 250 new officers by the end of the year . . . . DPS Director Steve McCraw said the [new] $1 billion funding request for the 2018-19 budget is necessary despite competing demands for state resources. 'We wouldn’t ask for it if it wasn’t needed'." Incredible. Give it a few years and DPS will pull out of the border business but won't see its budget decreased by one dime.
  • Never forget: 
  • That "rodeo" scandal with Decatur connections has been settled per the Star-Telegram. (But even though they put the story on its front page, a link to the story is not on its home page --- a home page with a ton of links. I don't understand that.)


at 8:40 AM

10.18.2016

Actual News


at 4:33 PM

Reefer Madness 2016



As the states begin to legalize marijuana for personal use across the nation, opponents are taking one last stand.   I'd hate to see this lady's expression when she learns you can come to Texas and pick up some Pampers and a case of beer in the same store.
at 4:24 PM

Attempted Robbery In Houston



Did that glass break because the guy ran into it or did a bullet shatter it?


at 1:00 PM

Sign Abuse (And Loneliness) In Decatur Back Alley


at 10:00 AM

Callback From Yesterday and DPS' Press Machine




Remember that DPS announced they would have troopers in school buses or following them for this week? Let's take a look at that announcement.

Just like there was no trooper around or in the bus that was involved in the wreck this morning in Fort Worth, DPS probably isn't doing anything different this week. And you can't say they are lying in the press release. It just said:
  • troopers (plural so two would suffice) 
  • in "many areas" (how vague is "many" and "areas")
  • will either be 
    • riding on buses OR 
    • following them. 

That wouldn't take much, if anything, to satisfy the promise.  But they got the free and good PR out of it. 

at 9:41 AM

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts


  • Big 12 Expansion: Texas and OU are at a bad dinner party with the Big 12 and are just buying their time until they leave. And then expect to hear they got a quickie divorce themselves.
  • We've got a fake clown on a lawn in Decatur with the sign "Free Hugs" above it. We support funny current events humor.
  • Did you see the insane dripping-blood-finger from pitcher Trevor Bauer during last night's ALCS? I heard this morning that the umpires may not have had a right to keep him from playing. I could actually be an idiot on that -- I have no idea.
  • Time magazine lost its mind yesterday.
  • No one outside of their teens should utter the words "throw shade."
  • "Does this microphone work?" - Jason Garrett yesterday getting frustrated with QB questions. The Dak/Romo discussion has already given me Tired Head as well. 
  • For a while there was a rash of motorcycle deaths and wrong way drivers in the metroplex. It's picked up again with one on Central this morning where the wrong-way driver, identified as Lauren Cordova, 27, died along with the other car's driver, Hussein Zaybek, 23. There was a combination of both in Rowlett two days ago involving a motorcycle going the wrong way and colliding with a car.  Then there was the passenger motorcycle death in Fort Worth on early Saturday morning. 
  • Late yesterday, a Wise County jury was -- for the first time to my knowledge --assessing punishment for Possession of Marijuana < 2 ounces, a Class B misdemeanor. (I think it was a guilty plea.) Court records this morning show that he was sentenced to 180 days in jail but that the sentence was probated by that same jury. The probation term is for one year. I don't see  a fine as being part of the punishment.  (Court costs will run around $300, probation fees $720, and a multi-hour "drug class" to get his license back which for some reason is suspended by the State because of any drug conviction. And I'm leaving out some other fees, costs and hoops.)
  • I'm not sure I understand Hillary doing a one week ad buy in Texas. I would understand it if the buy had been done by DNC or some Democratic SuperPAC with the ads focusing on  Dallas, Houston, El Paso, and Austin because those are places Democrats lower down on the ballot can win. 
  • We've got a six week trend of NFL ratings being much lower than past years.  Could Mark Cuban have possibly been right when he said the NFL was "greedy" and "Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered"?
  • Let's check in on a Trump rally in Green Bay yesterday and pray this all ends soon:
  • Moment of silence for Billy Bush. 
  • The most recent text you sent is now your presidential campaign slogan. Go. 

at 8:41 AM

10.17.2016

Potential Terrorism News Out Of Austin Turns Out To Be Double Fake





at 2:04 PM

Oklahoma State Coach Has Hot Opinion On Phones


I'm not sure I follow this, but in the end we might be able to blame everything on smart phones.  Go to any location where there is a crowd with a few minutes to kill and everyone is staring into a screen. So Gundy might have a point. (And how can you disregard any words from a man who wants yelled at a reporter, "I'm a man! I'm 40!")


at 1:57 PM

Random Monday Morning Thoughts


  • "Thousands of DWI cases potentially at risk as credibility of DPS lab expert questioned" - Dallas Morning News. The guy has testified in Wise County before. (And there seems to be, or at least should be, more to the story than one incident of "conflicting" testimony. The story wasn't all that clear.)
  • The Messenger's headline seemed a little matter of fact for the case just being at the indictment stage. 
  • I'll refer to Mark Davis show on 660 AM  from time to time but I'm  worried about his radio station. Their website for the last week looks like someone forgot to pay the bill. (The home page redirects you to a page with "suspended" in the URL.)
  • Steve Eagar, the mild mannered Fox 4 anchor, can be a grumpy old man on Twitter. He fired off a tweet on Friday that sounded a little sensational. I called him out on it -- which is dumb on my part because twitter wars are dumb. He responded.


  • I still question that a detective just happening to drive up on a gunfight. (Dallas PD will later vaguely report that "The officer was in plainclothes driving an unmarked police vehicle at the time of the shooting.") But the officer wasn't shot in the foot. #LivingTheReclinerLife #SomewhatInaccurate
  • I'll give Eagar credit -- he's an entertaining follow. Most of the reporters on the station will tweet out something like: "Taco Shells! Flour or corn!? Fav for flour or retweet for corn!" 
  • In between Trump calling the election "rigged", he was able to solve a crime in record time over the weekend. 
  • And he got a little weird this morning and is still going strong:
  • Sports opinions: (1) I bet the Cowboys will run Elliott into the ground under his rookie contract and then let him go to free agency. It's the new NFL way. (2) I'm not sure UT's Shane Buechele can throw the deep ball. (3) They shouldn't allow blitzing in pee wee football. (4) Alabama will throttle unbeaten aTm this Saturday. (5) How much did Microsoft spend on the Surface campaign which is everywhere during an NFL game? And does anyone own a Surface? (6) Heard in the house during Packers' game: "Look, there's Jo Jo's brother-in-law." (7) I don't want to see Romo giving Prescott advice on the sidelines. (8) The Big 12 makes an expansion decision today, and know one knows what the crazy school presidents will decide. I'm not sure they do right now as they eat breakfast.
  • Risky Business was on the other night. I have never thought for a second that Rebecca De Mornay was attractive. 
  • Man, there are a lot of troopers: "According to the DPS, troopers will either ride on school buses or follow them as they make their rounds during National School Bus Safety Week, Oct. 17 through 21 . . . ."

at 8:38 AM

10.14.2016

It's Friday. Let's Get Out Of Here.

 "Here, kitty kitt . . . "
 I don't know. Car just got a little loose on me. 

 Makeup = Magic.
 See what happens when Sgt. Hulka is in the hospital?
"Shimmy shimmy cocoa what?"
at 2:30 PM

A Metaphor For All Of Our Daily Lives



We actually do this with The Family Pup and the coffee table. For some reason, the game was nicknamed "Gimmee".
at 12:03 PM

Shark Week Post




And around the thirty second mark we have a "Now you ask?" moment.
at 8:58 AM

Random Friday Morning Thoughts




  • In the Land of the Free, let's check in on what Denton considers illegal and will lock someone up for: 

  • For the first time in fifty years, no member of the Board of Regents at Baylor will be in the homecoming parade. The reason? They don't want to face the angry masses for their ridiculous mishandling of a crisis.
  • Trump sure was playing the victim of a "vast right wing/left wing/media conspiracy" yesterday. 
  • For the first time ever, I paid for lawn care this summer. The verdict: Why didn't I do this sooner? 
  • I didn't know that WFAA's Cynthia Izaguirre told John McCaa on the air that she was sad about the Rangers' loss "but golly, they are healthy and they've got great jobs and maybe there is next year." Hey, Izzy -- may I call you Izzy? - Don't try to cross talk about sports.  (I can't find a link.) 
  • "Police in Carrollton, Texas, were surprised with a choreographed dance routine when they responded to a noise complaint." Video. I thought that story was about a group calling the cops out for the surprise but, if the story is to be believed, it was a legitimate noise complaint and not guys trying to become famous via youtube. Maybe. 
  • After Ken Bone's popularity declined because of the Uber ad, it really took a hit when it was discovered what he had posted on Redditt. (He had a couple of hot criminal justice and porn opinions.)  I bet he'll turn into a Ken Bone broke bad meme today.
  • "The Chico Community Volunteer Fire Department is holding Dr. Demented’s Haunted House of Mayhem . . . ." I bet they sat around the table and argued about that name for a while. And, of course, not to be confused with Dr. Demento or this 2001 thriller:
  • Hey, I've never heard of that book but someone explain the two categories of paperback prices for it on Amazon. 
  • The Dallas Police and Fire Pension is going belly up with the $2.39 billion fund to become insolvent by 2028. The again, if any pension fund will get saved by the taxpayers, it will be that one. (Doesn't the Fund own the high rise that reflects sun onto the sculpture museum?)
  • Speaking of my healthy skepticism, the three Gainesville Clown Home Invaders were arrested. All were under 15 and the incident allegedly has something to do with the victim's son. (WBAP said this morning that the "lead" in the case came when one of the boys was identified by the victim by his clothes.  Cue the Serial theme.) And it looks like only one of them was wearing a clown mask. I'll continue my award winning investigation into these "facts". 
  • Speaking of WBAP, sports director Steve Lamb quizzed the crew on naming the seven Dallas Cowboys to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Someone pipped up with "Emmitt Smith". Lamb said, "No."  After a brief awkward silence someone asked, "You sure this isn't a list of just quarterbacks?" Lamb said, "Nope. All time Cowboys." Oops. They eventually convinced him. 
  • That kid who threw the old governor's portrait out of the Texas capitol building is a TCU student. We will continue to seek justice for Gov. Fletcher Stockdale.


at 8:37 AM

10.13.2016

That Escalated Quickly



I'm guessing "EPO" means "Emergency Protective Order".

Man, when the judge kept doubling down on the sentence it was just like that scene from The Breakfast Club where Bender keeps getting a longer and longer detention.
at 1:16 PM
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