Wow: Kidd Kraddick Dead

Sources tell Fox 4 News that KISS FM morning show host Kidd Kraddick has died
— FOX 4 NEWS (@FOX4) July 28, 2013

Internal Clear Channel email confirms the news: Kidd Kraddock has died of an aneurysm while in NOLA.
— Peter Welpton (@peet2) July 28, 2013

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OU Running You Into The Weekend

Guy Gets Kicked Out Of Dodger Stadium

This is a multiple choice test. What do you expect to happen?

(a) The guy eventually gets tired and walks away,
(b) He breaks back into the stadium since he obviously has extreme ninja skills,
(c) A cop comes in and tells him to leave or he'll be arrested, or
(d)  A re-creation of the Battle of San Jacinto.

Before There Was Devon Energy, There Was George Mitchell -- Now Deceased

From the history of George Mitchell Energy:

CM&M [the predecessor to Mitchell Energy  expanded operations through the mid-1950s. In 1954 it opened a Western Canada field office in Calgary, where in 1955 it discovered the Alvord 3000' Strawn and Tidwell 4600' Strawn fields.

All was not completely rosy for the new firm, however. In 1956 royalty owners in North Texas's Wise County--where CM&M had drilled 57 oil wells and 103 gas wells in 34 separate fields--began to grow impatient with CM&M which, because of low gas prices, was keeping gas shut-in. George Mitchell decided to deal with the disgruntled royalty owners publicly. He invited the entire county to a barbecue, where he told 3,000 residents that though it had not seen a penny of revenue from gas sales, the company was willing to spend another $7 million to drill 40 wells in the area in 1956 and another 170 wells in 1957. Given the company's financial commitment, residents agreed to wait for satisfactory prices before demanding royalties.

It was not as if the company was not trying to market its gas. As early as 1954 it had negotiated with Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America for a pipeline spur that would transport Wise County gas to Chicago. The Federal Power Commission had rejected this first deal and did not approve a spur into Wise County until 1957. Through the late 1950s and early 1960s, the company expanded and reorganized. It became part owner of the GM&A Gas Products Plant at Bridgeport, which opened in 1957. In 1959 George Mitchell became CEO. And in 1961 the company, which had just discovered the Alvord South Caddo Conglomerate Field in Wise County, formed CM&M Equilease to lease oil field equipment.

Devon bought Mitchell Energy in 2002 for $3 billion.

Edit: Original George Mitchell office in Bridgeport

Guess This Former Child TV Star

Hey, now.

I Love Everything About This Video

The idea was to sling the skim boarder around the boat and give him a high five . . . 

S Bomb warning. 

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• There's now a  Ricky Bobby Sports Saloon open near I-35 and and north 820. Idiocracy? (But, I'll admit, I loved that goofy movie. My two favorite scenes -- other than the dinner prayer -- involved Will Farrell running in his underwear yelling "Help me Tom Cruise!", and the Borat guy telling Farrell,"My husband Gregory and I wish for only that which every other couple wishes for: to retire to Stockholm and design a currency for dogs and cats to use." In the latter, you can see Farrell begin to laugh as he replies, "That's dumb."
• The radio reminded me this morning of a now closed outdoor amphitheater which used to be at LBJ and Central in Dallas. It was called, maybe,  Starfest. I saw Amy Grant and Kenny Loggins there back in the day. I was full throttle.
• I actually got sucked in by an email ad yesterday: 12 monthly digital issues of PC Magazine for $12. I bought it. 
• The couple and small child who were killed by an alleged drunk driver on I-30 a couple of days ago were in the process of honoring the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.  (Question: What is the political and religious persuasion of the first person who will certainly post a hateful comment?)
• Another crazy water main break in the metroplex.
• From the email bag last night: "On the way to work just saw a guy dragging like a ten foot cross on his shoulder with a guy with a flash light walking beside him and a guy riding in a fat cart bout 20 ft behind them both.   I'm assuming it has to be some walk like Jesus thing across ?Texas? US?   Would have gotten a pic but it was 287 North of Alvord and its frickin pouring down rain dark.    Guy works for me called saw same thing so I'm not crazy."
• "A man who police say had 'the mental capacity of a young child' was found dead inside a hot car Thursday afternoon in Arlington." It was actually in the driveway of a "group home" in a residential section.
• Steve Eager and Heather Hays had an awkward segment last night where Heather called Steve "Ron Burgundy" and Steve called Heather " Veronica Corningstone?" Then Steve said, "What did he say? 'I'm gonna . . . . '" which prompted Heather to yell, "Don't say it!!!"  Researching lines from The Anchorman, there are some interesting ones that use the word "gonna".  (Best I can tell, Eager either threatened to marry her or punch her in the ovary.) 
• I'm not sure what happened, but I think I remember Mrs. LL chewing out the Kids In The House at 2:00 in the morning last night for not being asleep. And then I think she was on the phone to some unknown third person explaining what was going on. (I live a life of lots of head shaking and not asking questions. It's just easier that way.)
• ESPN has announced the next batch of 30 for 30 documentaries. I love that stuff. (The Jimmy Connors one and the Nancy Kerrigan one are definitely on my radar.)
• AG Eric Holder has "asked a San Antonio-based federal court to force Texas to get Justice Department approval before changing their election rules."  Fox 4 had ex-Bridgeport resident Allen Vaught and some Dallas Republican bigwig on last night to discuss the issue. I was surprised that the Republican didn't go into an anti-federal government rant. He seemed very timid and went with the "Who us? We would never discriminate" mantra.

As Cowboys Stadium Just Became AT&T Stadium . . .

. . . I've got a question. What the heck is the purpose of that "screen" on the side of the stadium. I've never seen anything shown on it, nor am I even sure if it is capable of doing so.  The original plans certainly seemed to indicate its purpose:

My New Favorite GEICO Commercial

I don't know who their ad firm is, but it would be my dream job.

What's Going On By Whistlestop Cafe?

Looks like a pretty high tone camera.

Thanks Trey.

Near Motorcycle Death

But he walked away. And "he" is Florida State tight end Nick O'Leary who happens to be Jack Nicklaus' grandson.

That Train Derailment In Spain That Killed A Bunch Of People . . .

. . . this is how it happened.

Story.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• Leo DiCaprio seen wearing a Texas Tech cap. What an odd combo. 
• Sports: (1) New Texas Ranger pitch Matt Garza was fantastic last night but that throw to first base was worse than the first pitch a couple of weeks back by Carly Rae Jepsen; (2) I think Peter King has a huge bag of nothing; and (3) the Longhorn Network is running a replay of the Empire's championship game against USC where it completely butchers and cuts the most of the best plays of the fourth quarter. 
• Peter King's advice to young wannabe sports writers is to "write every day even if it is not being published." Really? I used to practice a golf swing  every day that I was doing horribly wrong and never got better.
• That's very close to extremely wealthy people's advice of "do what you love." What if you love fishing and watching Sportscenter?
• We had five kids spend the night in the house last night. (The regular two plus three guests.) Having a game room might have been the best investment in my life. 
• The Messenger hasn't uttered a peep about the Saginaw killer who used to live in Decatur. Why? Even the Star-Telegram has interviewed his Wise County relatives.
• Back in May, an innocent metroplex man was killed by police in his own driveway after he was shot by police. The explanation which came out yesterday by officials was that police had accidentally responded to the wrong house after a burglary report because of "poor lighting." You gotta be kidding me. How horrific. And the cops fired six times! But let's all shrug our shoulders, right?
• The Ticket boys must have big time contracts based upon their vacations: (1) George Dunham took his family to Hawaii, (2) Donovan Lewis went to Greece with his wife, (3) Jake Kemp went to four countries including Switzerland. Edit: Sheesh. Forgot that Junior Miller went to France. 
• I have a poor man's sprinkler system set up with dual headed timers for the water hoses. It's fantastic. I probably need to get a sprinkler system. 
• I went to the doctor for one reason and then everyone got freaked out when my blood results showed freaky cholesterol levels. How is that possible? But I'm now taking medication for it. It's hard to be concerned about a condition which has no symptoms. Yet, I understand. 
• Hot opinion about Anthony Weiner's wife who continues to stand by her man despite his sexting: She secretly supports it. 

Accused Saginaw Killer In His Younger Days

This is an old (but confirmed) pic of Tyler Holden who recovers from a gunshot wound to the head during his attempted arrest yesterday.

From the Star-Telegram. (Link goes to pic only on the paper's website.) Edit: The photo has now been associated with a news story.

Football Helmet Post

Hey, it's the dog days of summer and things are pretty slow. I mean, all those little "scandals" are just a distant memory now, right? Benghazi, IRS targeting, PRISM, etc. All gone.

So, during this dead time, check out these cool helmets that Baylor rolled out at the Big 12 Media Days yesterday. (Those three interlocking rings are light reflections from the ceiling -- not part of the design.) I mean, how cool is that? Barely even need to play the games now. If the fear from all of that awesomeness doesn't get to the Longhorns, Frogs, Sooners, et. al.,  their burned retinas from the reflection of the sun will.

 

Amanda Bynes Is Crazy, Part 34

Amanda Bynes accidentally drenched her pet Pomeranian with gasoline while building a fire in a residential neighborhood ... then raced to a nearby liquor store to clean the pooch.

At 8:39 PM ... Bynes can be seen bursting into the liquor store and darting straight for a restricted "employees only" area -- while holding the dog in her outstretched arms. 

The cashier -- sensing something was wrong -- rushed out from behind the register and chased after Bynes to see what she was doing. 

TMZ spoke to the owner of the store who tells us ... the cashier detected a strong odor of gasoline and observed Bynes attempting to rinse off the dog in a sink in the back area. 

We're told ... as soon as the cashier confronted Bynes, she "freaked out" and left the store without further incident.

Look, this footage isn't particularly fascinating other than the fact she's carrying a gasoline soaked dog around. Darlin', the Internet will love you so long as you just act crazy, but if you were to accidentally set the little puppy dog on fire when you're acting crazy, they would have been coming after you like an Egyptian mob.

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