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Wow

TCU Pro Day: Bridgeport's Colin Jones Runs A 4.32 Forty Yard Dash

I think I did that last week.

(Uh, I know the guy is fast but a 4.3 is crazy fast. I wonder if that's an official time.)

And You Wonder Why Ann Curry Makes Me Shake My Head

"Hey, I think I'll tell everyone I'm Ms. Big Time and headed to Japan. And that I'm willing to put myself in danger -- not to mention my underlings!!  And I bet it will make my fans feel good to ask them for their expert opinions on the consequences of a nuclear reactor core meltdown."

Rhome Is Burning

With the wind blowing like nobody's business, is that a grass fire I saw north of Decatur? I really couldn't tell.

But one could get out of hand in a hurry.

Edit: Based upon the comments, the worst of the fires is in Rhome. Some roads shut down. WBAP reports that the fire stretches about a mile and near a "subdivision".  This must be pretty big.

Edit: I don't know how long it'll be up, but Fox 4 is streaming its helicopter feed.

Edit: Fox 4 has put up an image gallery which is pretty good. All pics taken from helicopter.

Edit: At 1:47 p.m., the fire jumped over 287 (which had been shut down.) Wow.

Edit: Reader photo "From 114 looking West"

Edit: Wow

From Wells Fargo parking lot looking East.

On 287 headed into Rhome.

Edit: A faithful reader sent in a shot of the fire near Rhome @ 12:56 p.m. Don't know if this is the big one.

Edit: And some residents in Jack County had to be evacuated.

Earthquake Updated

Message From U.S. Department Of The Obvious

For a collection of amazing photos, see here.

For a few youtube videos shot when the earthquake happened, see here.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• If you haven't seen the video coming out of Japan this morning, you need to. Amazing. It's not often you get to see a wave which includes cars, trucks, homes, and flames. (And this quick loading video at CNN gives you  a pretty good idea.) Edit: Link fixed
• A huge fire at, and the evacuation around, a nuclear power plant should get everyone's attention. 
• And the death toll of "60" (which was being reported as late as 8:00 a.m.) is ridiculously low and ridiculously inaccurate. 
• It looks like there will be no damage in Hawaii as small waves hit the islands at around 7:50 a.m. CST.
• Rangers CEO Chuck Greenberg Will resign today. Kudo's to The Fan's Richie Whitt who about two weeks ago mentioned on the air that he had heard rumors that Greenberg's out-in-front style and hot opinions about baseball personnel decisions was irking Nolan Ryan and others.
• Car wreck in Fort Worth yesterday included four officers from Fort Worth PD in an unmarked car as part of a "Zero Tolercence Unit" -- whatever the heck that means. But that sure is a lot of cops in one car.
• About "two dozen community members" showed up for the Decatur ISD question and answer session last night about the budget. I don't think we know anything more than what we did -- and I'm not sure anyone cares. 
• I guess that Spring Break puts working parents in quite the bind, doesn't it?
• Viral video of the day: Tranny fight in a taco shop. Wait, what?
• By the way, the "anti-cat stuff" we sprayed around the house plants worked for only about half a day. 
• Most insane story of the year?: "ARLINGTON - Drivers on Interstate 20 reported a motorcycle without a rider flying by them at 100 mph Thursday night between Matlock Road and New York Avenue in Arlington."

Nothing Like Waking Up To A World Disaster

8.9 earthquake off the coast of Japan causes massive Tsunami.  And it sounds like it's headed across the ocean right now. Dramatic, dramatic video.

Phones down around county? What's up?

Barry (from iPhone)

He Got Weed! He Got Weed!

Hey, kids, want to know what the 1970s were like? Well take a look. This is Channel 8's coverage of what was commonly referred to as the Texxas Jamm from July 1, 1978. Think it's a good idea to have a packed outside concert in the Cotton Bowl at that time of year?

Among the headliners that day: Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, Van Halen (glimpsed briefly), Journey and Heart.

And a ticket would run you a hefty $12.50.

Credit.

Judge's Son Done Good

I mentioned a couple of days ago that Decatur native Josh Fostel, the son of District Judge John Fostel (and Cheryl Fostel), was coaching Eula in the State Tournament.

That game was just completed and look at that box score. If I read it right, a timeout was called with two seconds left with the game tied. Then a three pointer was hit for the Eula win.  I don't think the judge would mind me telling that he is in the stands watching it (I would be to), but I just hope he didn't have a heart attack.

Eula trailed by eight with about three minutes left.

I've never been to the Boys State Tournament but I've heard it is loads of fun.

Edit: On Saturday morning, Eula won the State Championship by beating Tenaha 64-49.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• I would have never thought that a mayor and city councilman would get into a fight at City Hall in Tarrant County before such a thing happened in Wise County. Although Newark came close a few months back. 
• Was in line at a Subway yesterday when a lady panicked as she was checking out because she had lost a $50 bill. And there it was on the floor about 10 feet back -- none of us in line had seen it.
• By the way, do you have to mop the floor right beside me while I try to eat my tasty Subway sandwich? Roasted chicken while looking at dirty mop water is not my idea of a pleasant dining experience. 
• Baylor was within an eyelash of being in the Final Four last year and this year they won't even make the tournament.
• And last night they lose to Oklahoma after the Bears presumed NBA Lottery Pick freshman player (how, I have no idea) was declared ineligible because his mom took some 15 day loans from a coach while her son was in high school. (The kid claimed he knew nothing about which apparently works if you're Cam Newton at Auburn but no where else.)
• Fox 4's Fiona out on the town on Tuesday with The Fan's afternoon crew.
• When the docket first came out, 75 criminal defendants were supposed to be in the Wise County Court at Law this morning. It's been trimmed some, but it's going to be a madhouse. 
• If you know what "Boom Goes The Dynamite" is, you'll enjoy this.
• Despite state funding being slashed to local schools, Gov. Perry said yesterday it's not the State's fault that teachers are being laid off. Just when you think he can't be anymore arrogant, he surprises you.
• Rep. Peter King's hearings today on the "radicalization of Muslim Americans" borders on the bizarre. There's a reason they've been compared to McCarthyism. (Jon Stewart compared it to having a hearing on why all Italian Americans aren't doing more to stop the Mob.)
• I wonder what the cop-per-person ratio is in Wise County. Man, it seems like we've got a ton of them on the streets. 
• Over the last couple of days, the news has shown video of a hit and run in Uptown in Dallas of a (pretty hot) girl who was "enjoying a Friday night" out with her boyfriend. I stopped down this morning when I finally heard she was the "mother of five." 
• Dumb but funny pic floating around yesterday: "Exclusive: Mr. Sheen On Coke"
• Insane: Lake Highlands, who had been winless, beat Dallas Samuel 54-0 in both teams district high school baseball opener. (And the game was shortened to five innings due to the "mercy rule.") 
• And the Waco paper gets featured because we have another multi-death trailer home fire:

Haven't Had A Brit Photo Shoot In A While

Got a short one now.

Viral Book-In Photo Of The Day

STAMFORD -- A 21-year-old man sitting down for a haircut allegedly grabbed scissors and slashed another in the back Tuesday in the South End, police said . . . . more

Where's Jim Cramer When I Need Him?

From the Update

NO RATING - Fitch Investors did not give Wise County a credit rating, which is tied to the bond sales for the Weatherford College Wise County construction project. County Judge Bill McElhaney told the Messenger Tuesday afternoon that although Fitch did not rate the county, they will still prepare to sell bonds by the end of March. He said the county will sell the bonds; they just won’t have a rating, which could result in a slightly higher interest rate. Read more in Thursday’s edition of the Wise County Messenger on news stands today.

I'm a financial idiot, but I would have thought that all bonds would have to have some rating. I mean, a rating basically tells me the odds of getting paid back on my investment. And if I don't know the odds of getting paid, I'm not investing in it.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• Mrs. LL jumped on the neighbor kids yesterday for taunting the the Family Dog (and other stuff). It got to the point where she even had a talk with the little brats' mother. But from the sounds of it, I don't think the Neighbor Mother has any control over those hellions.  Yep, we've got border tension and instability.
• Whoever suggested to spray anti-cat stuff around the plants: You're brilliant.
• Something weird is going on: The head of the Texas Rangers (the law enforcement ones) resigned to enter the private sector this week. But he's only 47 and had held that position for about two years. That doesn't add up.
• For the three of you who watched it, North Texas losing a chance to go to the NCAA Tourney on ESPN2 last night was gut wrenching. Ahead by two points, a three pointer by the opponent with 1.5 seconds left was the death nail. Edit: It's "death knell"? I'll be. 
• You might have missed: Seven of eight children were killed in a barn fire in Pennsylvania late yesterday.
• Decatur ISD to announce budget cuts this week?
• WBAP's Steve Lamb this morning: "The Maverick's play in New Orleans tonight right in the middle of Mardi Gras. I bet that's going to be a little crazy."  I'm guessing he didn't acknowledge Fat Tuesday. Edit for the guy that calls me "Dude": Uh, Mardi Gras ended at midnight last night. If he had recognized Fat Tuesday, he would have known that.  
• I've never given up anything for Lent. 
• Yesterday just south of Decatur on 287 there was a white pickup which look like it had gone into the center median and crashed into a cement drainage ditch. Later in the day, it had been moved about 50 yards but was still there. What gives?
• Haven't promoted it much, but we just cut the price on Mrs. LL former home in the Lipsey Addition in Decatur. Now at $119,000.
• I got an email from the County Attorney's office at 8:03 this morning about this month's trial docket. Sheesh. Have a cup of coffee up there or something!!
• Whoever was in the "Sky 4" helicopter yesterday posted a pic of a scary motorcycle wreck that he came across "on the way to Decatur." Why was it coming to Decatur. I guess it could have something to do with the gas well lawsuit, but that's all I can think of. 

I Had Heard Rumors About This

I had always thought, perhaps naively, that the office supply part of the Messenger empire is what brought in the money. Now the Messenger newspaper is left to survive on its own.

I've said it time and time again, I love the Messenger. But something doesn't feel right.

Drunk Man Gets The What For From A Cop In East Texas

Although the story never says the officer struck the man with his fist (he just used his baton), I loved this statement: "I went to the emergency room at East Texas Medical Center in Henderson where they told me one of the knuckles on my right hand was fractured.”


And the headline to the story was "Overton Officer Injured When Attacked."


Story.

Snoopy Snoopy Poop Dog?

Lawsuit News

A Star-Telegram reporter just tweeted "Wise County family speaking to press on lawsuit filed today, say gas drilling made them sick." He said there will be a story on the paper's website later today and that some television news stations were there as well.

Don't know who they are, who the lawyer is, or the merits of the case, but they did a good job on the publicity side.

With all this talk about gas well pollution, people forget about a Wise County case where a jury awarded $200,000,000 in punitive damages alone for land contamination in 1997. It was reversed on appeal on statute of limitations grounds.

Edit: The story about the lawsuit is up.

Is This Gal . . .

(1) 23 years old
(2) A grandmother
(3) All of the above

Answer.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• A 911 call was made from the home of Dallas Mayor Dwaine Caraway's house in January but when police arrived they he and his wife said "nothing to see here." No charges were filed but a news organization made a request for the 911 tape citing it as a public record. In response, the City of Dallas asked for an Attorney General's opinion which is nothing more than a common delay tactic. Last week the AG's office told Dallas to hand the tape over. So what does the Mayor do? Sue the AG which now further delays the release of the tape. Sorriness. When it finally gets released, I hope its played everywhere. 
• The Facebook page of one of those who died in the Granbury mobile home fire makes reference to smoking dope and that he should have been in jail the other day.
• Played pitch and catch with a softball yesterday. It had been a couple of years since I did that -- still incredibly fun.
• Judge John Fostel's son Josh will coach Eula (34-2) in the Boys State Basketball Tournament in Austin this week. It's the second time he's taken the team there. 
• Bad weekend Dallas cops: One arrested for Assault/Family Violence and another for Public Intoxication (just barely avoiding a DWI.)
• Mrs. LL is on some crazy decorating kick. And I wonder if all that stuff that is in those bags she keeps dragging in is expensive. 
• You think this will cause a flurry of 911 calls around 8:00 a.m. this morning?: "Officials in west Fort Worth and Naval Air Station Fort Worth are simulating an F/A-18 Hornet crash in a field behind a Lowe’s Home Improvement store off Loop 820 and Texas 199 to test their response to a real emergency."
• An absolutely fantastic -- and I do mean fantastic -- picture of a bat flying into the stands at a pre-season baseball game last Friday.
• I think Charlie Sheen is about to learn of America's short attention span. 
• From everything I read about the current Texas budget crisis, former Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn warned the legislature that this would happen. (And Keller ISD has announced it will eliminate 55 high school teachers as part of its 156 person reduction.)
• Paradise mobile home fire yesterday in Paris. I kind of understand the rash of those kind of fires in winter but when the weather is pleasant?

Half Court Buzzer Beaters Normally Bore Me

But this one has a little kid who launches it.

Although I would have broken his little heart by calling traveling.

I'm Shocked And Skeptical

11 year old victim? 17 arrested? Even with a video, something doesn't add up here. At least I hope something doesn't add up.  In sexual assault cases, 99% of the time you'll see only one Defendant. Once in  a blue moon there will be two people, but never more than that. Pick seventeen guys from the worst of the worst, and most would have objected, stopped, or reported this.

Fox 4 story.

NYPD Helicopter Released Of 9/11

This is making the rounds today, but the clarity is so poor it's hard to tell much. But the comments of the pilot and other officer's on board is pretty chilling.

But the video starts out with the closest flyover of the Twin Towers moments after the attack that you've ever seen.

A Little Tension

Had a little tension in the district court this morning when an inmate wanted the judge to fire his court appointed lawyer. He seemed so angry and deviant that I promise everyone in the courtroom was afraid he would throw an elbow at someone. (Notice the lawyer standing off to the side and the bailiff standing in a position he normally wouldn't be in.)

The case was set for a plea but the defendant claimed he knew nothing about it (I seriously doubt that.)

He's charged with a first degree felony which carries with if a minimum of five years and a maximum of life. He is also charged with a marijuana case that carries up to two years day for day.And he can't get probation from a jury due to a past felony conviction. The State is offering o dismiss the marijuana case if he'll take five years in the pen on the other. He rejected it. I have no idea what he is charged with or the strength or weakness of the case -- it might be a crappy prosecution's case. But Mr. Angry Man better think long and hard about rejecting the five years.

He didn't get a new lawyer, didn't throw an elbow, but did refuse to sign a sheet resetting the case.

Craig James For Congress?

A while back, former SMU and NFL player Craig James floated the thought of running for the U.S. Senate.   James also made huge headlines not too long ago when he was involved in the "you put my son in a shed!" controversy at Texas Tech which eventual led to the dismissal of Head Coach Mike Leach.

James was on WBAP this morning for almost 30 minutes campaigning for the office (although he has not formally announced.) But, man, he got lit up. All the show's callers wanted to talk about the Tech situation and most were Tech fans - some who basically called him a liar. (And, sheesh, three callers claimed to have read the depositions in the Tech/Leach lawsuit.)

Not exactly the background you want if you're running for office.

(And he sounds like Mike Huckabee, to boot.)

Edit: On an unrelated note, Tech fired its head basketball coach this morning.

Hot Lawyer Sues Ex-Fiance Who Is Also A Lawyer

This Is The Hot One

Sheesh. 

Lauren Serafin’s wedding was set — dress purchased, Ritz-Carlton reserved, honeymoon to Bora Bora booked — when her fiancé called it off, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in Cook County Circuit Court. 

Serafin, a Chicago attorney, alleges that her ex-fiancé, Robert Leighton, now owes her $62,814.71 in expenses for a wedding that never happened because of his “breach of promise,” according to the lawsuit.

Uh, oh. What happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas.

[I]n July 2010 the couple’s relationship began to deteriorate after Leighton went to Las Vegas for his bachelor party, the lawsuit states. 

Serafin’s lawsuit alleges that while in Vegas Leighton had sex with another woman. She became suspicious after reading text messages on her phone and when she questioned him about his activities on the Vegas trip, he tried to move out of the home they shared, according to the lawsuit. 

The lawsuit states that Leighton at first denied anything happened in Vegas, but later admitted that he “hooked up” with the woman and that he no longer wanted to marry Serafin.

Wait a second, he goes wild in Vegas and the he calls the wedding off?

Source 

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• I learned this weekend that you can't wash a TV remote control in the washing maching. (Yep, hurriedly grabbing up the sheets and throwing them is the washer has unintended consequences.)
• Six people died (three men and three women) and three others were injured in a trailer house on Granbury Lake on Sunday morning after a party. And another person who attended the party was hurt in a car wreck earlier taking other guests home. That's one wheels off party. (And check out the photo in the Star-Telegram at the bottom of this post.)
• But Fox 4 said dental records were being used to identify the victims. I wouldn't think that would be necessary.
• I bet all female roller derby in Dallas would be pretty entertaining.
• The Messenger continued its feature stories on teenage moms in Wise County with a profile of a 16 year old Boyd girl. (The father was 19 at the time of conception, was sentenced to probation for act, and ended up in prison after having the probation revoked.)
• Mark Cuban is talking with Charlie Sheen about a reality show, and last week he exchanged 100 angry tweets with  Friday Night Lights author Buzz Bissinger including calling him a "coward." How that guy ever made a dime is beyond me.
• Ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant on Friday night and the server dropped two plates of our food as he was bringing out. I kind of wondered if he was drunk. 
• I know they have to do something, but do local TV news stations have to send an anchor out to stand in a gas station parking lot to talk about gas prices?
• Steve Doocy on Fox and Friends this morning about the gas prices: "If there were a Republican in the White House, there would be outrage." And this wasn't in a commentary. It was just the set up to a news piece.
• Did you know companies like Brink's sometime store tons of cash in commercial airport cargo hold? Did you know that on some planes you can remove bathroom panels and get to the cargo hold? And did you know a guy stole $250,000 during a flight because he knew both of those things?
• Three people in Bridgeport, two of whom are teenagers, were arrested for gun "smuggling." I don't know anything about the case, but I bet "smuggling" is an overstatement.
• Pretty cool: A retiring high school basketball coach in his final game steps onto the court and sinks a three pointer in the last seconds. Sure, it didn't count, but it was a nice send off. (Story and video)
• For sports fans, this time of year is an utter wasteland.
• Caught an episode of Cops shot during Mardi Gras yesterday -- that was pretty entertaining -- except I kept saying "acting like fool" a lo. (And Mardi Gras, something I've never been to, looks like a beating. )