Afternoon Gem

I had ESPN on in the background when something got my attention a second ago.

The Little League World Series was on and Mexico was leading the Netherlands 10-1. I learned there was a "10 Run Rule" which meant if Mexico scored one more run, the game was over. The coach of the Netherlands, in the middle of the inning, went to the pitcher's mound. The entire team gathered around him.

In broken English, in a soft tone, and in a truly inquisitive manner, he said this:

"If they score one more point, then it is over. What do you want to do? Do you want to give them the run or do you want to play for the honor?"

Long pause.

Then one little kid said, "The honor."

That moment beats anything in professional sports I'll see all year.

Seems Wrong

The Morning News today has a story about how a mobil DWI Command Center is getting little use. I really wasn't interested in the story. But I felt incredibly sorry for this random girl who gets arrested for DWI and had her picture plastered in the paper for everyone to see.

Edit: Just picked up a copy of the News at the convenience store. Before I had just seen the online edition. But this girl's pic is above the fold. Belo should be ashamed.

Edward Norton Is 38 Today

The "curb scene" in American History X is one of the only scenes in any movie that I refuse to watch again.

My Lawn Work MP3 Music

Batta Batta Batta

The Little League World Series is going on over at ESPN, and I basically stay confused by it. There's a ton of teams from a ton of countries, and I'm not exactly sure how a team gets there to start with. I suppose there's more to it than paying a $100 entry fee and loading up a bunch of kids in a minivan.

Anyway, this kid made a home run stealing catch for the last out of the game to secure Walpole, Mass's first win. Walpole? But the sad thing about it is that this kid is 12. If that happened to me at 12, that would have been the high point of my life. It all would have gone downhill from there.

"16 Acres"

The Star-Telegram has a story today about one of the survivors from the 2123 wreck a couple of weeks ago that claimed three lives.

Slow Afternoon Around These Parts

I'm off to an afternoon seminar in Fort Worth that will teach me what the legislature did in the last session to make my job harder. And although it's being presented by a bunch of prosecutors with a prosecutor's "spin", it's a great bi-annual seminar.

I'll probably learn that it is now a State Jail Felony to "look upon a woman with lust in your heart."

Now That's A Good Movie

The blonde, I don't know who she is, is in the process of filming a movie called "House Bunny." I say it has "Oscar" written all over it. But I'm not sure what my ex-girlfriend is doing in the picture.

Major 380 Wreck This Morning

I have few details (surprise). But I do know that a young woman from Decatur (20ish) was flown to JPS. Edit: The Update now has an accurate version of the story. Edit: Ok, I'm doing something I rarely do. I'm taking down the comments. Why? Someone close to the family ask me to. The young girl is in critical condition. I'll respect the request. It seems like the right thing to do.

I'm Kind Of Surprised By Tbis

It certainly means, when combined (55%), the loyal reader base wants the troops out in two years or less. But I thought it would be a lot higher.

Susan Sarandon’s . . .

. . . daughter wishes Wise County a happy Friday.

Bridge Safety Tired Head

Ok, the above chart represents the "structurally deficient" bridges in Wise County as released today by TxDot. Click to enlarge. The lower the number at the end, the worse it is. The Minnesota bridge that recently collapsed was rated at 50 in 2005. Does it mean your bridge will fall down tomorrow? Probably. So stay home. The full pdf report is here.

"If You Were A Girl I Might Just Marry Ya"

The Ticket has a segment called "Gay Or Not Gay?" Uh, if you and your buddy write a song about how happy you are that Mark Teixeira is an Atlanta Brave and then post a youtube.com clip of you singing it? Hmmmmm. (The printed lyrics are on that page - you just have to expand it to see them all.)

"Mom, Hurricane Harbor's Wave Pool Is Too Crowded!"

"Boy, you just better be thankful you don't live in Japan."

Our Long Countywide Nightmare Is Finally Over

I was remiss a couple of days ago by not mentioning that McDonald's, the bastion of all fat grams, has reopened in Decatur. Let the binging begin. The drive through line was backed up to the street at lunch.

Anybody Getting Nervous Yet

I really haven't concerned myself with the recent stock market drop because we were due for a "correction" (a fancy word meaning "it needs to come down some because its been going up a lot.)

But today we've got some over-correcting going on, and I'm a little worried were going into the ditch. And that Countrywide news doesn't help.

Sheesh

I had a post last week about "Racehorse" Haynes being back in the courtroom. He was defending a 41 year old woman who had consensual (but illegal) sex with a 16 year old boy.

Well she was found guilty and yesterday the sentence was handed down.

Count I: 13 years in the pen
Count II: 10 years in the pen
Count III: Probation.

But, get this: The judge stacked the 13 year and 10 year sentence. She will now become eligible for parole after she serves half of that 23 year sentence. That's insane. (And each "count" normally means a different sexual act.)

Williamson County (Georgetown) would be a horrifying place to practice law.

I Distance From This

And I blame a Texas Tech blog for causing me to stare at this.

And I am so prepared for heavy comment moderation on this one.

Throwing A Football And Talking About Football Is A Good Gig

Troy Aikman has moved to Highland Park and is selling his old home for $4 million. (Source.)

Morning News Throwing Down Humor?

Source.

Elisha Cuthbert . . .

. . . contemplates Northwest ISD and the "No Child Left Behind Act." (Update reference.)

Tropical Storm Erin . . .

. . . was a big bag of nothing. It's the lead story on every newscast, but it was a big bag.

Elvis Still Dead Today

Thirty years ago, Elvis died. I remember I had spent the afternoon fishing with my mom out at Bilby's Marina on Lake Bridgeport. (I had figured out you could use a tiny hook, bait is with some big old bug, and just float it on the water and catch as many perch as you want - but I soooooo digress.)

But we got back in the car around 4:00 or so in the afternoon and we heard the news before we had driven a quarter of a mile. My mom was completely shocked. It really didn't mean that much to me because I was just a kid. I just thought he was pretty old to have been 42.

And Deliver It By UPS, Beeeyotch

An inmate sues NFL QB Michael Vick for stealing his dogs. And wants $63,000,000,000.00.

Story (with a pdf link to the lawsuit.)

Edit: An astute commenter points out that he technically asked for "63,000,000,000 billion dollars" which, if taken literally, would be $63,000,000,000,000,000,000.00 (I think).

Double Take?

Anyone else doing a double take today on the headline and the photo (which is unrelated to the headline)? And when the paper is folded in half - which is the way it appears to most the first time we see it - it will really stop you down.

Serious Flashback

When I was a kid, I'd stay up late every weekend to watch rasslin' from the Sportitorium in Dallas. There were names like Fritz Von Erich, Killer Kowalski, and Yahoo McDanial (the resident Indian.) But in the obituary section of the Morning News today is a name I haven't thought about 30 years: Bronko Lubich. He was always the referee.

Wise County Wakes Up With . . .

. . . Katherine Heigl.

Kay Bailey Must Be Scared

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) sure is working her political arse off. She showed up in Collin County this morning for the dedication of a new courthouse. Huh? And then, to shame herself, she appeared at Sean Hannity's "Freedom Concert" tonight at the Nokia Theater.

The recent Democrat uprising must have got he attention.

Sidenote: I got to meet her at once at K-Bobs in Decatur during a lunchtime speaking engagement on a Saturday. It was probably around 1994 when I was DA and realized I had better ruin my perfect summer afternoon by dressing up and going to the speech. But she was very cordial. Then again, she's a professional politician - she should be.

As A Tropical Storm Hits Hawaii . . .

. . .you know that on the islands are people that planned their vacations for months and couples who either planned their marriage on the beach or honeymoon for this very week.

What Is This Man Talking About?

From the President's press conference on 8.9.07

"I recognize there's a debate here in America as to whether or not failure in Iraq would cause there to be more danger here in America. I strongly believe that's the case. It matters if the United States does not believe in the universality of freedom. It matters to the security of people here at home if we don't work to change the conditions that cause 19 kids to be lured onto airplanes to come and murder our citizens." Would he please separate Iraq from 9/11.

Helen Keller Falls Off Stage

But she's a born showman because she went right back into character.

Back To School

The comprehensive list of Female Teacher . . . uh . . . misdeeds.

Carmen Electra . . .

. . . (second from the left) went swimming this weekend. I just can't take my eyes off of the girl who would require the use of a fork lift for me to look her in the eye.

Dead and Gay

I saw this story yesterday, but the story is picking up steam.

From what I can tell
- A gay guy dies
- Gay guy's brother works in a church
- Church volunteers to hold the funeral for dead gay guy
- Church finds out he is gay
- Church claims that the service, as designed by the family, would show men "hugging and kissing." Family denies this.
- Church says "No funeral here."
- Controversy ensues

Star Telegram story here.

You know, I'm torn on this one. The church has the right to refuse any funeral it wishes. But it would be a bit harsh if it were denying the funeral only because he is gay (that's why some say they are making up the "hugging and kissing" photo excuse.)

Edit: Speaking of The Aid (tangentially) and Not Dead, I just saw that Magic Johnson is 48 today.

Puuuleeeze

The "question and answer" section on the inside cover of Sunday's Parade magazine always drives me nuts. First, it's about two months out of date. Second, who would write a magazine a question when they can find the answer themselves on the Internet in less than a minute. And a lot of the questions sound like pre-paid ads: "Can you tell me about [insert star name here] new movie. I just love him in the sitcom [insert spare sitcom name]."

But the magazine out did itself last Sunday when it told me that Kelly Clarkson is happy that her current tour is a failure.

Random Thoughts

I watched "Two And A Half Men" for the second time tonight. You know, it's really funny. The cliche "at the end of the day" beats me down. Recently ex-Texas Ranger Eric Gagne has blown a couple of games for Boston. With the Yankees now four games back (at one time in the season they were fourteen games back), the Red Sox fans want to kill him. The DVD release of "Wild Hogs" doesn't make it look any better than the first time. In 2004, the legislature enacted a law requiring any Commercial Driver's License (CDL) holder to lose his CDL for one year for refusing a breath test after a DWI arrest or blowing over a .08. This is true even if that person was off duty and in a passenger car at that time. That law is stupid. And it hurts Wise County as much as anyone.

I'm Shutting Down The Internet

Cosmetic surgery has gone too far. Trust me, do not click on this.

So Wrong

Although I'm sure someone was messing with him off camera.

She Doesn't . . .

. . . look like she spent a few weeks in the Big House.

That Mound of Garbage . . .

. . . near the Whataburger drive through did not help my appetite. (Salad day.)

Wise County Wakes Up With Jessica Alba

Dumbest Guy In America

You may have seen this story last week. A guy sends flowers to his girlfriend but the flower company ends up sending the receipt to his wife. So he sues the company. And he's dumb enough to appear on the Today Show this morning.

OMG!!!!

There is a serial killer on the loose in Miami whose victims are in there 40s, male, and associated with the legal profession. He left this message to warn his next victim.

I'm kinda laughing. I'm kinda freaked out.

Link

Credit: C4U

Edit: I think know I am the victim of a practical joke. A genius practical joke. But I think I know the name of someone who I will spray paint on a brick wall. (And this ad campaign for "Dexter" is worth every penny they are paying for it.)

Drowning At Lake Bridgeport

Just saw a brief story on Fox 4 News that a "rafter" was missing in Lake Bridgeport in the Wise County Park area. The raft was found around 4:00 p.m. this afternoon. Edit: The body of a 17 year old has been recovered. Name not released yet.

Just Caught My Eye

I was looking through the Messenger while working on The Spin and came across this wedding announcement. The couple was married in Belize and then spent their honeymoon in Istanbul, Turkey.

You just don't see that every day.