Wise County Sports Thought

I was wondering what the list would look like for the all-time Wise County Athletes based upon post-high school performance. In a list that I created in about 30 seconds I came up with: 1. Kyle Clifton. (Bridgeport High School. Played linebacker at TCU during the early 1980s and then went on to a decade long career with the New York Jets. Intercepted a pass by Troy Aikman.) 2. Bob Goode. (I honestly don't know where he went to high school, but he was Bridgeport resident for years before his recent death. Texas A&M football star. First round draft pick of Washington Redskins. Two pro bowls.) 3. Kevin Haney. (Decatur High School. Starting quarterback at TCU. I think he tried out as a free agent for the Dallas Cowboys but didn't make the team.) 4. James Maness. (Decatur High School. Receiver with TCU and a one year career with the Chicago Bears. Caught a touchdown pass at Texas Stadium in a pre-season game.) 5. Joseph Krebs (Bridgeport High School. Just finished the season with the third best ERA for the Texas Longhorns baseball team.) Like I said, a quickly built list. Edit: I'm an idiot. New list: 1. Kyle Clifton 2. Billy Joe Tolliver (Boyd High School. Texas Tech star quarterback. First round NFL draft pick with a ten season career for a variety of teams. In all honesty, gives Clifton a run for the #1 spot and probably qualifies as more "famous".) 3. Bob Goode. 4. Kevin Haney. 5. James Maness 6. Joseph Krebs.

I Like The Way The Parachute Comes Out

I've got a big bag of nothing today so I thought I'd show some old footage of Highway 114.

Hey! I've Been Violated

After years of posting stuff from the Star-Telegram, they finally steal an idea from me! I kind of like it.

And the story has an online poll.

I've Always . . .

. . . suspected this is what my secretary does when shes says, "I'm going on break!".

(Pic is actually Beyonce.)

I'm Not Real Sure What This Means

(Truck by the Dairy Queen in Decatur at lunch.) But he does support W.

"Five Ex-Horned Frogs To Enter Hall Of Fame"

Five former standout TCU student-athletes will comprise the 2007 TCU Lettermen's Association Hall of Fame class. The honorees are Pittsburgh men's basketball coach Jamie Dixon (men's basketball), James Maness (football and track), Al Paschal (baseball), David Roditi (tennis) and Mike Sullivan (football). They will be inducted on Thursday, Sept. 20. (Source) James Maness played high school ball at Decatur.

Mena Suvari At The Beach

That may be Wise County Park. Not sure.

My Netflix Junk

I've actually seen "Blow" before, but I want to see it again. "Apocalypto" looks gawd awful but I've had two people tell me it may one of the greatest movies they've ever seen. And I don't know what to expect with "Alpha Dog."

If You Are Pregnant, Have A Heart Condition, Elderly, Or Want To Keep Your Feet, Don't Ride This Ride

This was all over the news this morning but, in case you missed it, I figured you could use a Friday morning-pick-me-up.

Sheesh. And again, sheeeeeesh.

(Story)

Where's Montel Williams When Ya Need Him?

In the rare CPS case I'm involved in, one of the issues we are trying to determine is the identity of the father of a newborn that is in protective custody. Mom (we know who she is) said it was Mr. X. He denied it, so a DNA test was done and Mr. X was right - not the father. Mom then told us it had to be Mr. Y. Mr. Y denied it, so we DNA test him. Just saw this report roll across my desk: "The alleged father is excluded from paternity." Man, this is getting tricky.

Kelly Clarkson Says,

"When I'm in Decatur, I always stop by the local tanning salon before headed over to Casa Torres for a big ol' plate of sour cream enchiladas"

War on Mosquitos

Free of mosquitos? We might want to lower those goals by just a tad. (My spellchecker says "mosquitoes" by the way.)

Obama Hip Hop Ringtones

From his official site. (Here.)

From Jon Stewart's Daily Show tonight: "Like most plans for Iraq, its better when you hear it while on Ecstasy."

Crying Mug Shots

Presented by The Smoking Gun. And I've made a promise to myself that once I get arrested for Improper Photography - which I'm pretty sure can't be proven - that I'll hold it together.

He Said "Butts"

Fox 4's Good Day is pretty good because they don't take themselves too seriously. Plus, this clip allows me to watch the very hot Megan Henderson.

Oh, My

Rest of story. Yep. 40 and 16.

The guy also served as the girl's cross-country coach and here's a story from last fall (with her picture) where she talks about how encouraging he is.

Update again: Here is his picture. Another one of her.

Update again: Small pic of both of them together.

Baseball All District 8-3A

From the DMN. It might be old news (not sure), but I thought I'd post it. Softball awards are here.

What's The World Coming To?

Some guy in Houston writes about the chicken fried steak he ate in Paradise.

(Thanks to the reader for the tip.)

Speaking Of Nutrisystem

Have you ever wondered what a guy's skin would look like after losing 400 pounds? Find out here. (Warning, finish that breakfast before you click on it.)

Bring On The Pain: Drunk Guy Backflip

To be re-enacted in newly "wet" Bridgeport this summer.

Over-Hype

Boy, this story started out with a bang and now is more rumor than fact. Yesterday, the impression was a crowd of thousands had killed a guy during a Juneteenth celebration in Austin. By last night, the story had changed to a parking lot across the street from the celebration, a crowd of about 15, and assailants that may be less than four. Moreover, the APD spokesperson said the dead guy may have only been struck one time. But I just heard the story lead ABC Radio News at the top of the hour.

Summer Begins at 1:06 p.m.

Resist the temptation to click to enlarge.

Julianne Marie Hough says,

"Happy first day of Summer, Runaway Bay."

Thursday Birthday

Sheriff David Walker is one year older today.

Breaking News #2

Fox 4's story on the Embezzlement Lady revealed a more shocking development: District Attorney Jana Jones has apparently divorced her husband of over 15 years and secretly married someone named "Davis."

Developing . . .

Edit: Uh, folks, do you not see the Fox 4 News screwed up graphic that reads "Jana Davis"?

Food Question

I just bought bananas at 38 cents a pound (normally 50 cents a pound). Since I've never really noticed the price before and since I never buy bananas, do they always cost that little? If so, you can buy a bunch of bananas for almost nothing.

Breaking News

Sammy Sosa has a hot wife......and he might have hit his 600th home run.

And I was talking to my buddy Kevin Clark this afternoon who mentioned he was going to the game. He was kind of regretting it since going out to the ballpark on a "school night" is, to say the least, a beating. But he told me he had tickets to Kenny Roger's perfect game several years back and chose to go out on a first date instead. So he should be there tonight to witness a little bit of Ranger history. But it'll be kind of funny if he got distracted and didn't make it.

Background

Just saw Fox 4 News up at the courthouse. Probably Definitely here in connection with the embezzlement scandal mentioned in the Update. Kind of interesting: The allegations concern when the alleged thief, Susan Gail Ray, worked at Gasparilla Inn in Florida. (Its web site is here .) The owner, who is extremely high tone, is this man. And to think little ol' Wise County is now connected to them.

A Follow Up

What a Texas high school football official makes per game. (DMN story.)

Hadn't Seen This Pic In Years

It appeared in either Time or Newsweek in the late 1990s in an issue called "Guns In America." You can hardly see it, but the logo on the guy's shirt says "Young Country" - a now defunct DFW radio station.

Thou Shalt Not Commit Road Rage

The Vatican released a very odd document yesterday which serves as The Ten Commandments For Driving. But as I glanced through them, I noticed nothing about driving while intoxicated.

Uh, oh. I expect to see the following very shortly:

(AP) Dallas - Mother's Against Drunk Driving (MADD) issued a press release today denouncing the Vatican's omission of the sin of drunk driving from its new Ten Commandments For Driving. "We are outraged," said MADD president Glynn Birch. "We always suspected those Catholics hit the bottle too much, but how can you omit DWI from that list?" There was some speculation that MADD might place pressure on the Church to remove Pope Benedict XVI from his papal position. "Look, we've been bullying prosecutors for years, and it won't be the first time that we've cost someone their job for not doing exactly what we tell them to do." Birch added. "Even though the Vatican almost has as much money and power as MADD, we have God on our side. They will listen or face our wrath which, as we have demonstrated, can be merciless. And while we're at it, we'll probably have them start substituting grape juice for communion. That's bugged us for quite a while."

Edit: And look what happened on the same day as the Commandments were released.

You Got Anything Illegal In That Van? Whoa.

Dark Day

Christina Aguilera, the girl I'm most likely to be convicted of stalking, has been mysteriously absent from all of the gossip web sites over the last few months. Bad news. She's three months pregnant. I'm expecting a court order for my DNA anytime now.

Wise County Church Schtick

Located on the left side of 380 eastbound just after the 287 overpass.

www.victoryfamilychurch.net

(And a shout out to a Wise County attorney who called to give me the heads up on this one.)

Politically Incorrect Random Thought

Today is Juneteenth.

You know, I always impulsively cringe when I hear this "holiday" has arrived because I can't tell the number of times I have heard (and tried to avoid) the following uncomfortable conversation:

Random Person #1: "Hey, it's Juneteenth today."
Random Person #2: "Yep it's [deleted] Day."

I suspect that most Wise Countians know exactly what I'm talking about. Honestly, I haven't heard it quite as much over the last few years (probably because I hang out with less and less people), but I bet it was said all over county/state today.

We've got a long way to go. And I'm not sure we're walking very fast to get there.

Top 10 High School Athletic Programs In The Nation . . .

. . . as ranked by Sports Illustrated. Only one Texas school makes the list with Southlake coming in at #8.

Decatur fans are shocked to see the name of Abilene Wylie omitted.

Mississippi State Fan At College World Series

Taken last Sunday. I was so focused on "Pumble" that I almost missed the first word.

And, seriously, is that the best ESPN acronym that he could come up with?

Jessica Biel . . .

. . . in Adam Sandler's new movie, "I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry". Man, that looks like a good film.

New Book. Great Title.

The simplicity of "they hate us for our freedom" has gone a long way in making Bush what he is today.

Blow

Mark Cuban, walking into some club/restaurant somewhere, decides to act like he is snorting coke off his cellphone. (It's really not that impressive, but you can see the video here.)

NFL Opening Ceremonies

The first game of the NFL season, full of fan fare and fireworks and crap, will feature the very odd combination of Diddy (formerly P. Diddy, formerly Puff Daddy) and Rascal Flatts.

Joining Diddy (seen above copying my typical courtroom entrance) will be Cassie, Tego Calderon and DJ Riz. I have no idea who they are. And I bet the music is too loud. Now get those kids off my lawn.

Thursday. September 5th. It can't get here soon enough.

Not That I Would Go, But

LUNCHEON CANCELED — The Decatur Chamber of Commerce luncheon today has been canceled due to scheduling conflicts.

The news is so slow I have to resort to this, but isn't this a bit weird? I would think those events are planned weeks in advance. What could possibly be a conflict?

Edit: A commenter suggests that Rep. Phil King was scheduled to speak, but canceled. Is this true?

Redskins: Gay Or Not Gay

And the guy did the same thing last year.

Starting Off The Day

Tiger Woods and wife have a new baby. Ann Curry of the Today Show announced it by saying, "And Tiger has a new cub".......power down.

Edit: I forgot to mention that the kid has just been declared The Luckiest Baby In The History Of Ever.

Cubs Are In Town

Baseball is boring but it's all we've got during the dog days of summer. I noticed the Cubs are in town for a very, very rare inter-league appearance. Almost enough to get me interested. Ranger fans (if there are any) have suffered for thirty something years. I think the Cubs have struggled for like sixty years or something like that.

But about 15 years ago I did get to see an afternoon game at Wrigley Field. It was all it was cracked up to be and more. Took the subway from downtown which dropped me right at the stadium, sat in the sun, looked at fans on nearby rooftops, and marveled at the ivy covered outfield walls. Good times.

Edit #1: This picture appeared on the Star-Telegram's front page today. I swear I pulled it out of Google Images before I knew that.

Edit #2: This is the FIRST visit by the Cubs to Arlington. I should have guessed that, but I didn't.

Kobe?

I've always been proud of my Pop-A-Shot skills. I beat a college baseball player back in the 1980s (hey, I was proud), and a few years back I beat the all time leading (female) basketball scorer for Decatur High School. But this guy, uh, might be a little bit better.

You're Doin' A Heckuva Job There, Rickie

Gov. Rick Perry has assigned 38 soldiers, three helicopters and six high-profile vehicles to parts of Cooke and Tarrant counties hit hard by flooding. "The state is taking swift action in addressing the needs of the individuals and areas impacted by these storms," Perry said in a statement. Translated: I watched what happened to those politicians after Hurricane Katrina and, although the damage isn't a fraction of that, I'm going to err on the side of overkill with my response.

My Favorite Jacksboro Beauty Salon

. . . that I always seen but have never been in. I always picture three ladies standing behind three chairs.

Gainesville......Wow

Uh, Not So Sure About That

Check out the last line of this paragraph from a Yahoo story on today's flooding.

Celebrate Me Home

Eva Longoria and Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs celebrate (presumably) the winning of a championship and the MVP trophy. Funny, wife #4 used to great greet me the same way every time I got home from work.

How San Francisco

. . . viewed the Dallas mayoral runoff.

Legal Humor

A group of present and former law professors asked the court in the Scooter Libby case to be allowed to file a "friend of the court" brief. The court granted their request with this footnote. Source.

(Thanks to a Decatur reader for sending this one to me.)

Posh Spice Says

"Good Monday morning to the east side of Decatur."

Haltom City Carnage

First it was a tornado this spring and now flooding.

What's next? A plague of locusts?

Sunday Night Sign Off

Stick around for the last shot. Although I think it may be understandable how no women were involved in the shooting of this film.

MySpace Paranoia

Silly article today in the Star-Telegram on the dangers of MySpace.com. A teenager driving on 380 is in more danger than she'll ever be because of MySpace.

And if a prosecutor that worked for me drove over to a citizen's house to warn the mother about her daughter's MySpace page, I'd call her into my office and tell her to cut that crap out.