And You Wonder About The Power of Unions?

He's 24. Harper was going into his arbitration year and this is how it works: After normally three years of being on a major league baseball team, you become entitled to arbitration if you don't have a contract. The player and his current team can go in front of a binding arbitrator. The player says, "I want [x] amount", and the team counters with a different figure. The arbitrator can't split the difference. He must choose either one of the two numbers. The team and player can simply avoid the process by agreeing to a deal. That's what happened her -- the biggest salary for someone in their arbitration year.

Next year, Harper becomes a free agent to the highest bidder. The mind boggles.

Hey, mommas: Get your kids out of football and put a baseball in their hands. The NFL Union is a punching bag.

This is Dak Prescott's scheduled salary:

2017: $540,000
2018: $630,000
2019: $720,000

RG3 Getting Married Again

And someone brought some quality comedy:

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• I cocked an eyebrow when former Dallas city councilman, Don Hill, was released from federal prison late last week due to health issues. I shouldn't have. He died over the weekend. 
• Former MLB umpire  Steve Palermo also died over the weekend. I remember being disturbed that his career came to an end after being shot trying to be a good Samaritan outside of Campisi's in Dallas. (And I'm disturbed to realize that happened 26 years ago.)
• Whatever happened to Camp David? Has if just sat empty for years? 
• Whatever happened to Dez Bryant's monkey named Dallas?
• Organizations around the world have been hit with a computer virus where "ransomware" must be paid in Bitcoins to get rid of it. One of the craziest stories I remember is when the Wise County Sheriff's Office was the victim of the scam a couple of years ago. And they paid. 
• Speaking of Bitcoin, I'm reading a new book about Silk Road -- a subject, and the guy who started it, which I find fascinating. 
  
• The Rangers have won six in a row. Breaking news: They are still done. Every team will win at least 60 games. 
• I would like to announce I've never seen so many kayakers on Lake Bridgeport. I am their leader -- at least in my mind.
• I'm breaking with tradition by posting a picture of The College Freshman Not In The House as she is teaching in Rwanda. I'm posting it because it is the greatest picture in the history of ever. 
  
• Who is this man? 
  
• Trump speaking a Liberty University's (ugh) commencement this weekend: "You aren't going to let other people tell you what you believe, especially when you know that you're right." But, uh, what if you aren't right but think you are? Isn't that just a different way of saying you won't take advice?
• From the Update this morning: "Weatherford College President Kevin Eaton announced last week he’d be stepping down." I can say what the Messenger can't: Good riddance. 
• Me to Mrs. LL this weekend: "Ya know, I never have old girlfriends try to contact me." Her: "You want them to contact you?" Me: "No, but you would think they would at least care a little." Her: "It ever occur to you I'm the only one who can put up with you?" Good point. 
• The USA Today took notice of a Decatur HS pitcher (and stole a Messenger photo.)

Above The Fold

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

 He'll be in the Rangers starting lineup by Monday. 

 Come on. Give the puppy dog the sandwich. 

 Let's break into the swim park. It'll be fun. 

 "Ain't no jail cell can hold me."

 Don't laugh. She was aiming for the right spiral.

UT's new coach has forever blessed us with this. 

Who Ya Got?: Cheating Runner vs. Oblivious Umpire

Skipping 3rd base >>>>

A post shared by Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) on May 11, 2017 at 12:17pm PDT

Cheating Runner vs. Oblivious Umpire.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• The Texas Senate voted to end straight ticket voting (something I've ranted about for years), but I'm not sure it passed the House. That body was a train wreck last night as the midnight deadline came and went. As always, representative Jonathon Stickland was the butt of all jokes. 
  
• A different shot of the wreck that shut down I-35 yesterday: 
  
• I've noticed a pattern of crazy wreck and crazy driving over the last five years. It just seems to be increasing at a bizarre rate. 
• There was a police chase in the metroplex yesterday where the driver went through downtown Dallas. I learned that  a news helicopter has a heck of a time keeping up with a car that is zigging and zagging on the streets amongst skyscrapers. I could practically hear the cameraman yell, "Where is she?!"
• The President of the United States trolled Rosie O'Donnell yesterday afternoon because of a six month old tweet. Let that sink in for a second.
  
  
• But he wasn't done. I'll never think of sleeves the same way again. 
  
• Whenever I hear a commercial for lake front property that is "only thirty minutes from Dallas" I know that it's more like an hour and thirty minutes.
• A kid in my neighborhood has a hover-board. I keep waiting for it to erupt in flames. 
• From a Home Depot in Fort Worth: 
  
• Per Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth lawyer Christy Jack will chronicle "Fort Worth's notorious mansion murders and Cullen Davis trials . . . [Saturday] . . . on CBS 48 Hours." I like Christy, but I'm not sure how she got that gig. 
  
• Trump was unhinged this morning after his worst day in office. His NBC interview contradicted everything that had previously come from the White House. The guy just sits around every morning watching Fox and Friends and then goes off. (Side note: When you are being compared to Nixon, it's not a good idea to mention secret "tapes".)
  
• Yes, Fox News, the Civil War was worse: 
  
• The people of Rwanda, according to the College Freshman Not In The House, are very friendly. (She had a layover in Amsterdam to get there which allowed me to break out the "Royale With Cheese" joke.)

Not Good

Fiery semi-truck crash shuts down Interstate 35W in Fort Worth https://t.co/VRQRUfSMPZ

— Dallas Morning News (@dallasnews) May 11, 2017

It's far north Fort Worth at Golden Triangle Boulevard.

Passenger Tells Driver She Is Drunk . . .

. . . so the driver calls the cops on herself. Both get arrested in Friendswood, Texas.

Story.

We Might Need An Exorcist

YouTube – My hubby and his friend handled this situation very well. When I saw this lady dive her head into the window I couldn’t help but think she definitely is dealing with demonic spirits~this is my opinion. Weather it was demonic spirits, mental illness or pills her guardian should have done a better job of controlling this outrageous unnecessary behavior. You can also see the huge knife she was holding in her hand. ****I’m very thankful to the God that neither of them got hurt and they handled it very well and stayed calm. This is why it’s important to keep our family and friends in prayer.****

F bomb warning. And F bombs were dropped because that guy was justifiably scared to death.

(And that face plant into the window was equally psychotic and painful.)

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• "Former Parker County court-at-law Judge Debra [DuPont] Rogers' hanging death in her Aledo home has been ruled a suicide." It's hard to find any background on this story or her history.
• I took a portion of the 8th Grade History practice STAAR test last night. I think I might be held back this Fall.
• Prosper High School will give breathalyzer tests to all students wishing to enter the prom. Heck, why not take blood? Or a full body search? Search their cars? Check their text messages? 
• White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer had Mike Huckabee's daughter fill in for him at the  daily press conference yesterday. As she got peppered with questions regarding the firing of FBI Director Comey, she came across as America's Baghdad Bob.
• And her dad needs to stay off Twitter.
  

  

  Uh, that would be CCN and not CNN

  
  

  

  Oh, no, you didn't.

• I'm worried about the headline writers at the Dallas Morning News:
  
• Character actor Michael Parks died yesterday. He was in Kill Bill 1 and 2, Death Proof , Django Unchained,  and Dusk til Dawn. See a pattern there?  I was also surprised to see he was Bronson in a long forgotten TV series from my childhood that was only on for two seasons: Then Came Bronson.
  
• Trumpland Shocking News (that many faithful readers will ignore) : Just days ago, fired FBI Director Comey asked for more money and prosecutors from the Justice Department to continue the Russia investigation. Who did he specifically ask? Deputy AG Rod J. Rosenstein who just authored the memo, at Trump's direction, that Trump would then rely upon to fire Comey. And after that, Rosenstein threatened to resign once he was painted as the reason for the firing. Fake news? Even the Drudge Report is citing these stories which are everywhere.
  
   
• And Trump thought it was a good idea to meet with the Russians yesterday: 
  
  
  
• Ex Cowboy running back and former Baylor great Lincoln Coleman was reported to have been missing for eight days. Reports this morning are that he has been found. Weird. 
  
• For all of you who think its easy to collect from the government for civil rights violations, the Sixth Circuit reminded us all again that it is not: 
  
• Just a funny picture of Jason Garrett, Jerry Jones, and John Daly at Cowboys Country Club before noon yesterday: 
  
• "'Big Black,' co-star of MTV show 'Rob & Big,' reportedly died in Plano" Never heard of him. 

Above The Fold

On Sunday: Southwest Flight From Dallas To Burbank

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• Oh, I'll get to Comey. 
• The ACLU, since Texas has passed an unconstitutional "show me your papers" law, has issued a travel advisory for the state.
  
  
• There is a photo floating around of a fat guy naked on top of a shark (presumably the shark is dead since he's in a boat), and everyone from Deadspin to Bleacher Report is on the hunt to find out who it is. The  first culprit was the University of Florida's football coach but he has denied it. Yesterday, the resemblance to big game hunter and fisherman Jimmy John Liautaud -- yep, that's the sandwich king Jimmy John, became the odds on favorite. (You're on your own for research on this one.)
• The saga of Baylor's undrafted K.D. Cannon continues. He was picked up by the Jets yesterday after the 49ers paid him $45,000 and then immediately cut him last weekend.
• There might be as many as 7,000 bodies buried under the medical campus of Ole Miss.  Mississippi State Asylum was on the site from 1855 to 1935. This gives a whole new meaning to Ghosts of Mississippi.
• Legal nerd stuff: The conviction of former New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez was set aside yesterday because of his suicide.   As someone pointed out the other day, Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 7.1(a)(2) is very similar to Massachusetts. If a defendant dies during the pendency of an appeal in Texas, the appeal is then "abated." Since an abatement would mean the deceased's conviction never becomes "final",  the case remains technically and legally forever unresolved. (Texas doesn't "set it aside", however.)
• And now on to the bombshell news yesterday about the firing of FBI Director James Comey  by Trump. (Fun fact: Comey is 6'8" tall.) 
• The Right's Version of the Truth: Trump fired Comey because of the way he handled the Hillary email "scandal" last year as outlined in the "Rosenstein memo" -- which is exactly the excuse Trump used to fire him. Left's Version of the Truth: Trump fired Comey because the FBI was investigating alleged Russia/Trump connections and Trump wanted to stop it.
• Democrat example:
  
   
• Why not an independent prosecutor to get to the bottom of the Russian allegations. Heck, one was appointed in the 1990s to investigate a 1970s land deal. 
• Fun fact #2: Richard Nixon never fired the FBI Director. (That nugget was actually sent out on the official Richard Nixon Library twitter feed last night.)
• A guy most likely to be in a fetal position all night: White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer as he thinks about facing the press corp this afternoon. 
• You can always tell when the Trump White House is in crisis mode because they roll out Kellyanne Conway to take a beating in the press.  They served her up to Anderson Cooper last night. DFW TV critic Ed Bark was not impressed. 
  
• Trump's biggest problem is timing. Why fire Comey now for what he did last year in the email investigation? Actions which Trump praised at the time.  (And the second paragraph in Comey's firing letter is borderline bizarre -- he brings up Russia after explaining Russia had nothing to do with the firing.) 
• Why not just fire Comey for the incompetence he showed at the Senate hearing last week? 
• The College Freshman Who Is Not In The House is in Rwanda on a school trip. (Yep, Rwanda.) The Eighth Grader in the House is about to go on a multi-state school trip to the Northeast including, D.C., NYC, Gettysburg, Philadelphia and more. And those school sponsored trips are a million times cheaper than doing it on your own. I wanted to go to either of them as a chaperon on the condition I didn't have to do any chaperoning. 
• Both the Dallas Morning News and the New York Times reference Watergate on their front pages this morning.

Everyone Has To Do A Bit -- Some Odder Than Others

USA TODAY- A New Jersey high school student who hopes to become a funeral director has surprised her classmates by arriving at her prom in an open prop coffin. Megan Flaherty says she mainly wanted to have fun while attending Pennsauken High School’s junior prom Saturday. The 17-year-old says she checked with her date to make sure he had no reservations about her plans.

"FBI Directer Comey Is Crazy"

That is what I wrote last Thursday.  Today, he's yet again proving me correct.

Last week, this went down: "FBI director James Comey generated national headlines . . . with his dramatic testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, explaining his incredibly painful' decision to go public [days before the election] about the Hillary Clinton emails found on Anthony Weiner’s laptop.

Perhaps Comey’s most surprising revelation was that Huma Abedin — Weiner’s wife and a top Clinton deputy — had made 'a regular practice' of forwarding 'hundreds and thousands of Clinton messages to her husband, “some of which contain classified information.” Comey testified that Abedin had done this so that the disgraced former congressman could print them out for her boss."

I thought that was ridiculous then. Hundreds and thousands to be printed out? By Weiner? That guy won't get his own coffee.

Well the breaking news today is that "much" of what Comey testified to regarding regarding the forwarding and printing is wrong.  Reports are trickling in that maybe it just involved a "handful" of emails.  The FBI is trying to figure out how to correct the false testimony and is expected to send a letter to Congress later this week.

How does this happen? The leader of the FBI made a sworn statement before a Senate committee regarding one of the most sensational stories of the last election, and he completely screwed it up.

Edit: The FBI released the letter this afternoon and said the number of emails manually forwarded were "a small number."

Huge edit: Trump fired him this afternoon!

You Don't See A Lot Of Airport Fights

A post shared by Jary Romero (@kallejero) on May 8, 2017 at 7:40pm PDT

This was at Fort Lauderdale.

And we have the worst camera work ever.

That Didn't Go Well

republican congressman gets asked one follow up question, immediately walks out of interview https://t.co/g0czgiYRQ1 pic.twitter.com/N5YSmsG27d

— John Whitehouse (@existentialfish) May 9, 2017

But the kids looked a little amused at the end.