The Death Star Just Exploded!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the greatest moment of my life since the birth of my second marriage!!!

Attendance: 100,452. 

A New Plan To Battle Terrorism: Let Them Do It For Us

Friday Night Lights

Alvord at	15
Jacksboro	7
Callisburg at	16
Boyd	34
Chico at	8
Valley View	50
Mineral Wells at	35
Decatur	16
Ponder at	0
Paradise	27

For the score of the night: Jacksonville 84, Nacogdoches 81 in TWELVE overtimes.

Oh, My

Want to see an 8 point deer knocked through my buddy's chain-linked fence in Seven Wires last night?

Look.

Hey, it's the circle of life.

(Thanks, Mike.)

Lil' Ron Washington and His Dad Were on Fox 4's Good Day

And in three...two...

Link.

In Defense of Defense Lawyers

This is another one of those "create your own" videos which is kind of funny. At least to me.

(I haven't tried it yet, but apparently it's pretty easy to create your own cartoon.)

Credit.

Taylor Swift Scared By Ellen

I didn't want to laugh, but I did.

Breaking News: Bombs? This May Be Big

(CNN) -- Authorities were responding to reports of suspicious items on cargo flights that landed Friday in Newark, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

I caught the tail end of a CBS Radio news alert (they broke into programming) and I'm pretty sure it said one of the packages has been confirmed to be a bomb.  They are UPS planes.

Developing . . .

Edit: The bomb was on a UPS plane in London headed to the U.S.  Get ready for every UPS plane to be grounded and searched. 

Talk Radio News

This will find a limited audience, but I know quite a few of you are sports talk radio fans.

The News: Delicious.   105.3 The Fan's Richie Whitt and The Hammer will be moving to the 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. time slot beginning in November.   This puts them in direct competition with The Ticket's "The Hardline" -- the gig that Greg Williams was booted from.

(And in other news, former Ranger's Play by Play man Josh Lewin is getting his own show on The Fan.)

Spotted Near Boyd Yesterday

And if you listen carefully, you can hear techno music coming from that field.

Honestly, I don't have a clue as to what that sign means.

(Thanks, James.)

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• If you watched the Ranger game in the 8th inning last night, you saw a Walkfest of biblical proportions. It felt like I was watching a little league game when the pitcher can't throw a strike to save his life.
• Not that it mattered, because if you can't score a single run, you ain't winning. 
• And the starter for the Giants hasn't given up a single earned run in the playoffs? Was no one concerned about this?
• Funny tweet from Ranger starter C.J. Wilson yesterday before the game: "Rangers on the bus, random citizens/street people giving us salutes of some sort. A city this diverse, united by hatred of buses."
• In a post game interview, he said the pitching staff walked "a metric ton" of batters. Kinda funny.
• The best friend of Debra Winger's character in An Officer And A Gentleman has died. I never forgave her for tricking that guy into believing she was pregnant. 
• Newy Scruggs had 15 minutes of fame yesterday after his "They're smoking weed over there!" broadcast went viral. And it sounds like they smoke a metric ton of weed in San Francisco. 
• The 2nd grader in my house had a full fledged ballerina outfit on for school this morning. Either it's Halloween or she's obsessed with dance.
• The 7th grader advised me last night that she has no fashionable boots to wear like the other kids because she has outgrown them (I wonder why she came to me? Oh. Now I get it.)
• At 8:15 tomorrow morning, all the DFW stations will be covering the First Baptist of Dallas blowing up four of its buildings in downtown Dallas to make way for new construction. Both believers and non-believers can be entertained.
• Sexy Halloween outfits offensive? Please. That's the best way to combat evil spirits -- it distracts them. 
• Anybody else think Rick Perry has a creepy smile when he flips over that "Open For Business" sign?
• Decatur cops had someone stopped at the courthouse square this morning. I've never seen that before.
• Football fans: I always hear announcers say, "And on the first play from scrimmage in the second half . . . . "  Is that possible?
• The Fort Worth murder case I wrote about last week that gave you Tired Head when I referenced "Factual Sufficiency" finally made it to the Star Telegram yesterday.

Fainting Cats?!

I want 'em!!!

(Better than the classic "fainting goats")

"I Guess I've Lived Long Enough"

Wow. A Notre Dame student who was filming a football practice from a sixty foot tower died yesterday when the tower toppled in high winds.

Shockingly, he left a couple of prophetic tweets (that also went to his Facebook page) shortly before his death. Link (Language warning.)

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts.

• I kept saying that you can't consider Cliff Lee to be a 100% sure thing. 
• The ballpark in San Francisco looks cool. I may go there next year.
• Fox 4 had a couple of stories of Texans found outside the stadium who just decided to "fly in at the last minute" and buy tickets from scalpers. It seems like the going rate was close to $1,500 a ticket. Think they are happy this morning? 
• Former Boyd resident Greg "The Hammer" Williams is there covering the World Series for 105.3 The Fan. In a heartfelt segment yesterday, he almost teared up talking about how six months earlier he was an outcast (due to being unemployed due to a drug problem) and now he's got a great job and watching the Rangers in San Fran. (He also proclaimed the city the "greatest" one in the world.) 
• I'll stick to my proclamation that this Claws & Antlers stuff is a beat down. And then this gets circulated yesterday.
• Mrs. LL's root canal was successful but she was in pain last night. Get this: She won't take prescription pain medication.
• From my Liberally Lean Traffic Center: 1810 was shut down this morning due to a big wreck. 
• I had to use cash to buy gas this morning which is something I haven't done in ages. Man, that last 50 cents takes about a day and half to trickle in.
• Hot Batgirl.
• I have no problem with the Republicans winning the House next week. I love me some Washington gridlock. 
• Arkansas school board member is no friend of The Gay. Pretty shocking stuff. I wonder what political party he's associated with?
• And to the commenter that predicted I'd be divorced in 1 to 2 years? That's ridiculous. I can make it to four easily. 
• A very funny Ron Washington impersonation by a kid. 
• Previously unreleased clip of a 1928 Charlie Chaplain movie shows woman talking on cell phone? Sure, I'll buy that. 
• It looks like we finally have such a glut of lawyers, that new graduates can't find jobs. And, to compound the problem in our area, the University of North Texas is about to open a law school in Dallas. 
• Bill White has a commercial about border security that says something to the effect that Sheriff's representing "90% of the Texas border population" support him.  I guess that means the two Sheriffs for the counties that include Brownsville and El Paso support him. 
• I fear a huge Texas beat down of Baylor this weekend. The Empire is only a six point favorite but I bet Mack Brown has been all over them this week.
• Massive collection of NFL cheerleaders proving that Halloween is the greatest holiday of the year.

Image of The NFL Weekend

Which just had to be photoshopped.

I Know Some People That Could Really Use This Door Mat

An Email Question

"Any idea why Paradise is engulfed in smoke this morning?"

Uh, no. Anyone?

Crime Round Up

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• An executed man's last words were "Boomer Sooner." 
• I'll be glad when the Family Kitten turns into a grumpy old cat. That thing is driving me nuts. 
• I  love the fact that Cuban's Mavericks open their season tonight at the same time as the Rangers begin Game One of the World Series.
• And I said it last year: You can waste your time watching the Mavs play 82 games, but they'll get bounced in the first or second round of the playoffs. It's the easiest prediction in sports. 
• There was an Underwear Bike Ride in Denton? Why was I not notified?
• Weird: A 16 year old pregnant Fort Worth girl collapsed in high school and died. The baby was saved.
• Is it common to see a pregnant high school girl in Wise County?
• Wild card in re-signing Cliff Lee: His wife was none too pleased with the way the Yankee fans treated her last week. And if momma's not happy, no one is happy.
• Mrs. LL will be undergoing a root canal at 8:30 a.m. this morning. Please send an "ugh" in her general direction. 
• I might have chewed on Mrs. LL as she walked in the door because of her kids running in the house. I might want to rethink my approach next time. 
• For the first time ever, there are network/cable-satellite disputes that are more than threats. Dish Network subscribers still can't get Fox Sports and the main cable provider in Manhattan is having a similar dispute. In the past, they had always resolved their differences at the last minute. 
• Wichita County is weird: Its last grand jury declined to indict 50 cases.  There's no way they are doing that against the prosecutor's wishes, so why doesn't he just decline the cases and stop wasting the grand jury's time? There's no requirement they approve his decision not to prosecute.
• The radio was abuzz this morning about "the greatest Motion for Continuance" ever filed because a lawyer wants to go to the World Series. Puhleeze. It's filed in a municipal court. 
• Never really understood the worshiping with hands in the air and rocking back and forth, but to each his own. Then again, not real sure you should teach your infant to do it. 
• There's some weird plane circling the courthouse -- per a phone call I just got. Gotta go. 

Get Me This Ninja!!!!

I have no idea what the heck is going on here. African American Ninja? A million cops? Paint guns?  In can't be Texas because he would have been shot.

They're Stomping Liberals In Kentucky!

Hang on, baby! I'm coming!

Denton Jail Is On A Roll!

Anybody Else Worried About What $21,500 Will Buy?

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• So you didn't like Tony Romo? Prepare to miss him.
• Having your collar bone broken due to a krillion pound guy falling on you cannot be a pleasant experience. 
• LeBron James new commercial. Not bad. Cocky, but not bad. 
• Jerry Jones after the game last night: "There are 10 games left and we know how many those are." I love Jerry.
• Mowed my lawn for the last time last night -- thought I'd take advantage of the high winds. 
• Newspaper watch: The Star-Telegram's daily circulation fell over 8% and that's just over the last six months. The Morning News claims that circulation has increased but it has been caught lying in the past about those numbers. 
• Somehow my walk around the block last night ended up with me keeping my eye on five kids on bicycles and a dog. Sheesh.  When I told one kid to be careful around a storm drain, he told me, "Don't worry, I'm too fat to fall in."  Good point. 
• I utter the phrase "Be careful" about twenty times a day now. 
• Pennsylvania mom charged with killing how many infants?
• The formal sentencing of Steven York yesterday gave rise to the most packed courtroom since the Sharon Green trial. 
• And never before have their been so many people from Bridgeport in there at one time. 
• The 2nd Grader in the house wakes up in full fledged Cheerful Mode. Jumped out of her room this morning yelling, "Hello!!!!!"
• It dawned on me yesterday that I had never driven on I-30 any further east than Rockwall. 
• When I went through Greenville I thought about the sign they used to have that read, "The Blackest Soil, The Whitest People."
• Saw a commercial truck in Fort Worth with a large "Arborist" decal in the back window. I wonder if anyone has ever yelled "baby killer!" at the truck?
• Paris Hilton went costume shopping. Hey, now.
• Naked man ran down a Dallas street yesterday. Wasn't me. 
• Anyone else have a little of an "ugh" factor knowing that Cliff Lee is nothing more than a paid, short term mercenary?  But, then again, that's exactly how baseball go.

Combo: Ranger's "It's Time" And Halloween Humor

Antonie Knows To Strike While The Iron Is Hot

"Let's get outta 'ere!"

Steven York Sentencing Photo'd By Joe Duty

Edit: Victim Impact Statement being read:

Heading out of courthouse:

And the judge allowed a video camera in the courtroom so I expect it'll be on one of the local newscasts.

Video Yesterday From Rice, Texas

Sign Of The Week

(LSU fans)

Funny Bit

A review of the week's news through a fake Obama Facebook page.

All of it here.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• Arkansas is underrated -- especially in the fall when the leaves are changing. 
• Awkward moment this weekend when I met the neighbor of the Arkansas residents that we were visiting. "And you must be [insert name of Mrs. LL's ex-husband]."  Our host jumped in at break neck speed from across the room to get that train back on track. (I laughed and kidded the neighbor.) 
• How could Ron Washington, when addressing the crowd on Friday night, not fire off a "That's the way baseball go!"
• Maybe the best picture from the Rangers' win on Friday.
• The shark attack that killed a man last Friday off the coast of California might be the closest thing to Jaws I've ever seen. (Link includes a picture of his wakeboard with a chunk taken out of it.)
• Remember that cute little girl who became famous a couple of years ago because she couldn't stop hiccuping (even made an appearance on the Today show)? Well, she's been charged with murder. Wait, what?
• From the Update: "Chico Midget Cheerleaders will host a Father/Daughter dance 7-9 p.m. Friday in the elementary school gym."
• Made the 400  mile trip yesterday with just one stop to eat and get gas. And not a peep of complaining from the kids in the back or the spouse to the side. Then again, there was a lot of sleeping going on. 
• I drove right through the thunderstorms that tore up East Texas yesterday. It was the same storm that pounded Greenville with hail (although we met it after it had gone through Greenville and had somehow lost all its hail making capacity.)
• A Lamborghini crashed at the "Texas Mile." Uh, what/where is the Texas Mile?
• Stubhub link for tickets to Saturday's World Series game in Arlington.
• Crazy situation in Southern part of the county: Rhome's police chief is hired on Thursday night as the part time Chief of Newark and then on Friday morning Rhome places him on administrative leave. I think it was because of taking on the additional responsibilities but the Messenger story was unclear.
• Edit: Someone tricked up the sign in front of Newark City Hall!
• All the sports shows are trying to rank the Rangers making it to the World Series in the list of metroplex sporting events. Some folks bring up the Stars winning the Stanley Cup when composing their Top 5. That wouldn't make my Top 20. 

Yes, I'm Giddy

• But being on the road all day keeps me from yapping about it.
• How weird is this: Baylor is in the Top 25 and Texas and Florida are not.
• I'd bet the house that would not happen within 25 years.
• Now Baylor plays Texas next week and a sense of dread overcomes me. Mack Brown, in his post game press conference, was pissed. I feel a beat down coming on.
• In case you missed it, Texas lost to Iowa State at home. That's an Iowa State team ranked 112th in total defense and 104th in total offense, and was beaten by Oklahoma by 52. Oh, my. 
• Baylor could beat the Texas v. UCLA team or Texas v. Iowa State team, but will get killed by the Texas v. Nebraska team. 
• And Baylor was also #25 in the BCS rankings. So they're telling me there's a chance for a National Championship? (That's a movie reference that you'll either get or not.) 
• I can't tell you how great Baylor's quarterback is. The guy is a world class sprinter but decided to stay put and pass for over 400 yards on Saturday.  He takes a below average team to, admittedly, a slightly above average team. And for that, I'm thankful. 
• I'm still amazed at how TCU's defense shut him down. No one else has. 
• Baylor, and I can't believe I'm saying this, leads the nation in total offense.

I haz pre-season arrogance syndrome.