Decatur Beggar Spotted At Vista Ridge Mall Yesterday

(Thanks emailer.)

A Litttle Known (Recent) Texas Stadium Memory

A Euless Trinity football player has been disciplined for intentionally running over a game official during a playoff game two weeks ago.

"We did conduct an investigation and he is being disciplined according to the student code of conduct," said Judy Ramos, director of communications for the Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD.

Ramos declined to name the player, but internet video of hit shows the player wearing No. 47, who is listed on the Trinity roster as senior linebacker Elikena Fieilo.

Fieilo, a second-team all-state linebacker, was the defensive MVP in Trinity's 2007 Class 5A Division I title game win over Converse Judson.

The University Interscholastic League is also investigating the incident and could levy additional sanctions. Trinity football coach Steve Lineweaver directed all inquiries to Ramos.

The video, taken from two angles, is from the late stages of Allen's 34-21 win over Trinity in the Class 5A Div. I Region I final at Texas Stadium Dec. 6.

At the snap of the ball, the Trinity linebacker immediately runs to his right and knocks the unidentified official to the ground, even though the play is a running play to his left.

Ramos said the student has mailed a formal letter of apology to the official.

"He's very remorseful," Ramos said.

Crazy News From This Morning

A lady and two kids were found dead today in a pretty nice area of Dallas. But the story is weird because she's the daughter of an ex district judge and had reported two crazy assault/kidnappings at the home from the week before. There's speculation that the attacks were because her father was a judge in a "high profile" case. Story. All the details are vague because these (presumably) murders just happened. I bet it's going to get pretty nutty. And weirder. Edit: Ex-judge identified as Mark Tolle by WBAP. Oddly, he died in 2007 and the most "high profile" case he presided over was that of Darlie Routier according to this obituary. That same obituary listed his only daughter as Jeanmarie Geis. The picture below is a lady by that name who owns a real estate agency in Dallas.

And, Now, It Becomes Real

Getting reports that 42 people are being laid off at the Decatur plant.

And Another

Story. Sheesh. These are almost the exact same facts of the last one that I couldn't support. These women are making it hard on me as the nationally renowned Champion for Hot Teacher Justice.

That's Messed Up

I think I would understand quantum physics before I understand the Duggar Family. You see, they are all gathered around momma holding a baby because that baby has just become the 18TH child in that family. 18!!!! For the record, the child has the tricked up name of Jordyn-Grace Makiya Her siblings:

• Joshua
• John-David
• Jana
• Jill
• Jessa
• Jinger <--- Most tricked up name
• Joseph
• Josiah
• Joy-Anna
• Jeremiah
• Jedidiah <---- Close second for most tricked up name
• Jason
• James
• Justin
• Jackson
• Johannah
• Jennifer

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• The White House will announce its plan at 8:00 a.m. today for auto industry. Let me guess: Throw money at the problem and make it go away.
• I feel fat.
• I don't know Lanier of the "Lanier Law Firm" in Houston but he's rich enough to hire Hannah Montana to sing at his Christmas party.
• There used to be a band called "Buck Naked" that played in a little shack outside of Boyd in the 1990s.
• I couldn't afford to hire Buck Naked to play my firm's Christmas party right now.
• I'm calling for updates of the Christmas decorations around the Wise County Courthouse. It's looking a little shabby compared to the way the old Denton County Courthouse looks.
• I used to go in the district clerk's office and examine every Christmas decoration to make sure there weren't any religious reference while saying stuff like, "I better not find the baby Jesus in here!" I was joking, but I think it always made them uncomfortable.
• I don't know how you people afford kids.
• It's easier to search for a story in the Star Telegram or the Dallas Morning News by using Google instead of the paper's own search engines.
• Kristy Swanson is 39 today. I've been extremely jazzed by her ever since I saw her in a little known movie called The Chase.
• Drew Peterson, 54, (who is rumored to be responsible for the fact that his current wife, Lacey Stacy Peterson, is missing) is engaged to a 23 year old. Her picture should be here. Man's a playa. Edit: Yep, I had "Peterfusion"
• While looking for something I wrote one time, I stumbled across this gem that I penned on October 12, 2003 about the University of Texas: " . . . how long do you think Head Coach Mack Brown has left?" (Here, last item.) Might have missed on that one.
• I'm thinking about going to the last high school game ever in Texas Stadium which is played tonight. It's Celina vs. Carthage For the 3A-II championship. I suppose if Bridgeport had been lucky enough to win out, they would be playing there tonight. That would have been cool.
• I had a weird dream last night that I was in a 300 type of battle in a cornfield. Man, there have been some crazy nights in my head this week.

We Need More Lawyers

What story out of the Houston Chronicle could possibly prompt that many comments? Hints: Alcohol. DWI. Death. A lawsuit. A judge's daughter. And you'd still never guess. Answer. (Thanks, Keith from bagofnothing.com.)

Lunchtime Choice . . .

. . . as I noticed an Asian kid on the cover of "America's Best Popcorn" in my office kitchen. Now the choice: A. The "pictures of the year" as brought to you by the Boston Globe. -OR- B. Hot girl in her underwear sitting on Santa's lap. -OR- C. A Midlothian High School newscast that involves a Santa who may be Larry the Cable Guy and who also busts his arse getting on the set. (Warning: We must have a crisis in education because the web servers at Midlothian ISD require half a day before this video loads -- although it might be worth it to see the production value alone.)

The Death Of Jennifer Gale

"Jennifer was a homeless, transgendered, former marine who ran for every public office imaginable in Austin and Dallas. " She was found dead yesterday in front of a church in Austin. I routinely record a rather obscure show on Channel 8, "The Gordon Keith Show" (from the Ticket), and last year I saw Gordon interview her when she ran for the Dallas mayor's job. Yeah, he had her on there as a "bit" but you couldn't help but like her - quirks and all. But the above video has surfaced which, at least to me, is another Stop Down Moment. It shows her addressing some governmental board in Austin the day before her death. In an odd twist, she begins her remarks by singing "Silent Night." Sleep in heavenly peace, indeed. Edit: I found this somewhere else: "She had the courage to choose to be the person she wanted to be, with full knowledge that society would not handle it well. Sadly, most people do not have that amount of courage to pursue his/her true passion in life for one reason or the other. Before you know it we are all saddled with responsibility of adulthood and the trappings of being normal, and even though sometimes miserable, more comforting somehow because it is familiar and secretly you know everyone else suffers in silence with you."

My Final Female Christmas Present

I feel kind of guilty about subjecting you ladies out there to the Hairy Back Guy below but, quite frankly, I never noticed the Hairy Back Guy when I was uploading it. My bad. So, in the spirit of the Holiday Season, I bring you this pic. For you out there who are thinking that's me, which is certainly understandable, hold on. It's actually baseball player Alex Rodriguez. And, if that's not enough for you, in 2007 he signed a 10-year, $275 million contract, with the New York Yankees. Put that on top of his past earnings: Mercy.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• It was foggy out there this morning. Before 7:00 there was a van upside down along 287 at around 407.
• Former TCU and NFL great Sammy Baugh has passed away. I presume he was great because that's what everyone is saying - he was 94 - who knows. (He lived in Roby which, after looking it up, is was out by Abilene. Then I got distracted because Google Street View had been to Roby.) Edit: OK, I'm an idiot. It's "Rotan" not "Roby". And for the life of me I have no idea where "Roby" came from.
• I hate waking up hot because I had the heater up too high.
• Caroline Kennedy wants the Senate seat that will be vacated by Hillary. I think Kennedy is personality challenged and, after reading her "constitutioanl law book" a few years back, not that bright. It was like "Con Law for Dummies."
• Great idea for TV: There needs to be an alternative channel for every sporting event that does nothing but zoom in on people in the crowd.
• I use too much salt. I'm not sure why salt is bad for you, but I use too much of it anyway.
• Carbonated soft drinks burn my mouth. It's really painful.
• HBO is running a documentary on the integration of college football. Sheesh, there's all this footage from the 1960s (which isn't that long ago) where we were a Redneck Nation. Some video from Ole Miss showed a mascot which was a Rebel General in full battle gear, a full sized confederate flag unrolled on the field, and the band spelling out "Dixie."
• The weirdest thing about the Price Is Right video below is Drew Carey's lifeless reaction.
• Another day, another Mindy McCready suicide attempt.
• I woke up in the middle of the night and saw some movie awards show on TV. I thought it was VH1 or MTV. Then I saw the graphic for the winner in a category that involved an unmentionable body part. It was then I realized it was The Adult Video Movie Awards. (Hey, it was Cinemax or Showtime.)
• Not that I watched the aforementioned awards show, but one of the entertainment routines involved very scantily clad women dancing only to be surrounded by other dancers wearing jackets that had "FBI" on the back of them. The singer was ranting about censorship. Pretty good schtick.
• Crazy dream last night: I was trying to defend myself by trying to load a gun with mushrooms. (I have no idea.)
• "Watership Down" is a cool title. I've never read the book, but it's a cool name. Kind of like "Clockwork Orange."

Unstable

I Don't Think I've Ever Said This

You have to watch this Price Is Right clip.

Good Bye Texas Stadium

With the final game in that old place being this Saturday night (how rotten is that? Saturday night and on the NFL Network), I've compiled my list of top things I've seen in person at the stadium. (The Dallas Observer's Richie Whitt just posted a legitimate Top Ten list on his blog.) But mine:

• I saw the first event in the stadium's history in the early 1970s: A Billy Graham Crusade
• In 1989 when Michael Irvin, I think in his second season, blew out his knee and was gone for the season. I'm pretty sure Steve Walsh started over Troy Aikman for some reason. The Cowboys lost because they always lost back then.
• Southlake Carroll vs. Euless Trinity epic playoff game (was that crazy fake punt game, played in front of about 50,000 people, last year or the year before?)
• A Paul McCartney concert (tickets via scalper in the parking lot.)
• A Monday Night Football game in around 1993 or 1994. Not too memorable because I can't remember who they played or who won.
• A game in the early 1990s against the Kansas City Chiefs. I just remembered that I had a blind date. I don't think we ever went out again. She wasn't too bad.
• The1992 playoff game against the Eagles -- the first season that Jimmy Johnson led the Cowboys to the Superbowl. (Odd event: A group of about 12 of us, without game tickets, rented an RV and bought a parking ticket next two the stadium. My very good looking girlfriend then persuaded an attendant to let the two of us in the stadium during the game. There weren't any seats, but I saw a few minutes of the playoff win.)
• Bridgeport High School vs. Niceville, Florida on 9/29/00. Pics.
• Edit: Forgot watching Baylor vs. SMU in, I think, 1985.
• Edit: Forgot watching Eric Dickerson score for SMU against North Texas in 1981 or 1982.
• Edit: It's ridiculous that I left off one of the most amazing things I've ever seen: No. 9 Colorado 39, No. 3 Texas 37 on 12/1/01 (First game tickets I ever bought off Ebay.)
• Edit: I just remembered that I went to a Cowboys/Eagles game in 1987 during the NFL strike so the game was played with replacement players. The first Cowboy play was a reverse that I thought was a little cheezy.

And Another

Well I certainly can't approve of that. (Thanks emailer Jay.)

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• I'd be scared to try to pull off a bank robbery because it seems like a lot of things would go wrong.
• Funny line from Raising Arizona. Robber: "All right, ya hayseeds, it's a stick-up. Everybody freeze. Everybody down on the ground." Customer: "Well, which is it, young feller? You want I should freeze or get down on the ground? Mean to say, if'n I freeze, I can't rightly drop. And if'n I drop, I'm a-gonna be in motion. You see..."
• I'm not sure I've ever heard of "freezing fog" until yesterday.
• As much as we get beaten down with "going green", I haven't heard any call to ban Christmas lights.
• The Fort Worth ISD Superintendent now makes $328,950. That's insane.
• Man, the Obama haters won't even give the man a chance. The man won fair and square (I'm pretty sure the Supreme Court didn't have to declare a winner in a 5-4 decision), but they've can't even wait for him to take office before the bashing starts.
• I have no desire to see the Twilight movie about vampires. And I've tried to watch the HBO's True Blood but I've had a little trouble getting into it.
• The Ticket spent a segment on why women think vampires are sexy. I'd never really thought about it.
• I'm buying a black cloak.
• I giggle when I see Santa in the middle of a nativity scene display. Very unstable.
• I've never really thought about the meaning of the word "nativity".
• There was a big story yesterday about a guy who got arrested after a child relative wrote a letter to Santa complaining of molestation. Before we hang him, would you want to be arrested based upon the facts contained in this affidavit as reproduced by The Smoking Gun? Anybody want to investigate those allegations before making an arrest?
• My hot sports opinion: The Cowboys won't reach the NFC Championship game.
• That "Real Wives Of [Insert Geographic Area]" is silly.
• I've got a pretty big and cool bathtub but I use it only once every two years or so.
• Come January 1, I will have worked at the same job for eight years and one day. That's will be a new record for me.
• Very random road thought: That merging of traffic from eastbound 380 to southbound 287 (that relatively new exit) is dangerous.
• Just got a "are you ok?" phone call. I laughed.
• That girl in the top pic reminds me of some celebrity.

Afternoon Pick Me Up

Man, I'm a selfish guy. All year long I've posted hot girls as part of the random "Afternoon Pick Me Up" and not once have I given a single thought about the ladies. I've ignored emails from them. Texts. IMs. Telegraphs. And that strange message written in lipstick on my windshield which caused me to give a panicked cell phone call to Sheriff Walker as I knelt behind a dumpster. Well, today I make amends. I present to you: The Santa Speedo Run. That should make up for it. And, man, is this a great idea for a fundraiser for the Wise County Bar Association.