Random Denton Book-In Photo

Proof.

If You Like Omens

The Ranger's first swing of the year resulted in a home run thanks to Ian Kinsler.

(The Ranger's first error of the year, thanks to center fielder Borbon, led to one if not two Boston runs.  Youtube.)

Box score.

Edit: Exclusive coverage of today's game from behind home plate ....

Wow: High School Fight In Fort Worth Ends In Death This Morning

And no weapons were involved.

More.

Naked Chick Rushes Mavericks' Bench Last Night

All this technology in the world and there's not one good view of her? Or camera phone pic?

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• Traffic deaths hit a 61 year low. I don't care if there are safer cars, with all the millions of people driving out there and acting like a fool, how is that possible?
• With a house full of females, I don't even start getting cleaned up to go out until I hear one of them say, "We're almost ready!" And I still beat them out the door. 
• Does any company advertise more that Geico?
• It's April 1st, the Red Sox are in town, and I just saw a live shot of a blanket of snow in Boston.
• Please tell me that the "Claw and Antlers" thing isn't coming back this year.
• The Lakers blew out the Mavericks last night (110-82) so I did a double-take when I saw the USA Today headline of "Lakers Beat Mavericks, But Not Without A Fight." But then I read where five players were kicked out for shoving.
• Man, I keep hearing rumors of a Wise County cop being dismissed after some improper conduct in a parking lot. (Don't give names or agency, but has anyone heard anything?) Edit: There sure are a lot of people who believe it to be true. Sorry I can't post most of the comments because, although it is probably true, I haven't verified it. 
• Fiona kissing sometimes-traffic-guy Todd Carruth. (He actually taunted me with this yesterday)
• My questioning of why there wasn't inflation when the federal government flooded the economy with bailout cash a couple of years back? Well, get ready. The CEO of Walmart says serious price increases are coming, and the Fed talks about raising interest rates to combat inflation.
• Courtney Cox is at the beach and she still has it. 
• Obama re-election boost: Unemployment numbers released this morning show the rate has dropped to a two year low of 8.8% with 216,000 jobs added. 
• The weeping willow tree we planted is still alive although I've seen healthier leaves in my life. 
• I watched "Mobbed" last night where a flash mob of 1,000 surprise a healthy chick who then gets proposed to and married on the spot. (Family and friends were brought in.) She acted happy, but it was borderline emotionally cruel. (And they slapped a wedding dress over the outfit she was wearing which seemed demeaning.)
• But then again, Howie Mandel is the host which might have sucked the entertainment value out of it for me. 
• Saw on the felony docket in Wise County for Monday that there was a Motion To Modify the probation of Betty Monroe, the lady who was convicted of Intoxication Assault of Jackie Murphree. I'm not sure what that is about but I'll find out. 
• I just realized that Betty Monroe was also the name of one of the victims of Wise County's most famous killer, Ricky Lee Green. 
• The "Albany Seven" who won the big lottery this week includes a 29 year old girl that could easily become a "Hey, Now" once you realize she's netting $19 million. 
• For those griping about Obama not getting the "approval" of Congress before the attack of Libya, the Constitution has no such requirement. It allows for Congress to only "declare" war -- something that wasn't done even for the invasion of Iraq.
• Edit: North Richland Hills motorcycle death.

Message To All You Married Guys Out There Wishing You Were Single

Think again.

Bronx Zoo Cobra Captured!

As that time of this posting, he hadn't had a reaction on his Twitter page. (He last mentioned he was going to the Yankee game.)

Edit: No update from the snake as of 9:00 p.m.  You know, that may be the best way to end his twitter feed. Just suddenly gone.

Edit: We've finally got an answer. He swallowed his phone once captured but he regurgitated it up on Friday.

Texas Senate Candidate Has Read Republican Playbook And More

Kill Obamacare? Check
Rights of the Unborn? Check
"Assist our cause of freedom" by giving me campaign money? Whoa. The man really knows how to go over the top.

Contest: Greatest Sports Photo Ever

Ali Knocking Out Liston in 1965:

Or some guy knocking out a naked and drunk Asian guy at some spring break function in 2011:

Toughest contest ever.  (There was a video on youtube for the Naked Asian but - can you believe it? - youtube took it down.) And, for the record, this blog does not condone naked fighting, Asian or Non-Asian.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• A 14 screen movie theater is coming to north Fort Worth at 287 and I-35. That's pretty close. 
• Fort Worth ISD high school baseball players sacrifice chickens to improve performance? Makes sense. That's what a guy wanted to do in the movie Major League which happened to star Charlie Sheen.
• I forgot to mention last week that Baby Jessica (who was a toddler who fell down a well over 20 years ago and gave us our first "reality TV"), turned 25 and gained access to an $800,000 trust fund. I suppose that sounded like a great idea by donors back in the day. Now, not so much.
• A ticket scalper service ranks (pdf) each baseball team's average opening day ticket price on the secondary market and the Rangers are #2 ($173.82) with an increase of over 100% from last year.
• By the way, MLB moving opening day to late in the week, and especially the Rangers moving the game to a Friday for the first time ever, is a great idea. I'll be enjoying it .......by checking in online.
• I don't know why some of you think my brilliant sports predictions of failure means I don't like a particular team. I predict Baylor football failure every year.
• As for the Mavericks, in the next couple of weeks I'll post the link of my prediction from last Fall of them getting knocked out in the first or second round.
• Mrs. LL demands that we watch Black Swan. I'm in. 
• I don't care if Barry Bonds took steroids or that he lied to a grand jury about whether he took them. That federal trial is a waste of taxpayer money and much ado about nothing.
• Lately I've been catching the Family Cat just staring at me intently from across the room. 
• Obama is no better than Bush when he feeds us this crap of bombing Libya for the sake of freedom and democracy for their people. If that's the case, let's go get a map of the eastern hemisphere, throw a dart, and then go invade that country as well.
• And the rebels in Libya are getting crushed. 
• Mrs. LL says that if she sees the "talking twins" one more time on the news she's smashing the TV.
• WBAP's Hal Jay said this morning: "That's the craziest name I've ever heard of" before confirming that he had never heard of The Screwtape Letters. 
• If you ever want to know how dishonest Sean Hannity and Fox News are, you just had to watch last night. On his "Great American Panel" segment he played the Great Texas High School Hockey Brawl clip and then they all  talked about how sissified America is because you can't fight to protect yourself anymore. Problem: The video clip was outrageously edited to show only the brawl on the boards (which looked like a typical hockey fight) and  blocked out the vicious hit that broke the kid's jaw. Not only did they cut the clip down in length, they enlarged it so the audience could only see 1/3 of the original version.
• I knew John Hinkley, Jr. was fascinated with Jodie Foster but I  never knew he wrote this letter to her on the day of his assassination attempt on President Reagan. 
• There was a no-body-murder-conviction in Oklahoma this week. (But the defendant admitted to killing her spouse, and her computer had searches for “easy murder,” “murder methods,” “spousal murder,” “quick kill,” “strangulation,” “execution methods,” “human torture methods” among other things.)
• Note to self: Clear internet browsing history. (Edit for a couple of you:  You see, putting this bullet point right after the above bullet point makes for, uh, comedy.)

More Cop Body Slamming

But since it's sand and she wouldn't stop trying to get away, I'll approve this one. And you can kind of see how a crowd could get out of hand in a hurry. (May be some language there at the end.)

Hudspeth from Bridgeport?

Edit: Must be a false alarm. Someone said Fox reported it was Bridgeport, but I haven't seen that.

Now For Something Completely Different

Imagine-a-jump-john-lennon-vs.-van-halen by jackstanleywp

David Lee Roth's vocals from "Jump" overlayed on John Lennon's "Imagine".  At first I thought it was a little bit of a stretch to say they matched up, then the chorus kicked in at the 44 second mark.

In Case You Missed It

Source.

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• Fatality accident on 380 near Krum this morning that shut down the highway. I always worry that it's a Wise County resident because I think we use that stretch more than anyone else. 
• The assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan occurred 30 years ago today. For me, that doesn't seem that long ago because I remember it. Kennedy's assassination, on the other hand, seems like a historical event that I can only read about. 
• Idiocracy:  Dallas radio station K104 has unveiled a new radio show called "Te Crazy Azz Morning Show."
• Chico school employees were told yesterday to expect a 5% pay cut across the board.
• Since my confrontation with the Neighbor Boys, things have been pretty quiet. I'm demanding my household thank me for 20 days of keeping them safe from attack.
• I told you I had a bad feeling about the Aggie/Baylor women's basketball game. The Lady Aggies beat them like a drum (with a smothering defense.)
• My prediction that the Rangers won't make the playoffs feels pretty good right now. That team has a bad vibe, and a bad pitching staff, coming out of spring training.
• The 5 Hour Energy Drink commercial where the guy says "Let's do this!" as he walks out the front door annoys me.
• The high school hockey brawl (which I still think I'm responsible for at least some of the local media explosion about) is a little odd because it was an amateur league that used high school team names. The UIL isn't involved at all. 
• But appropriate credit for the video: It looks like the first place it was posted was at Ellis County's The Observer on Monday night. 
• A school open house (went to one yesterday) makes me wonder how a teacher can keep a class of kids focused all day long. 
• I got my hair chopped off for summer yesterday but had to endure the chatty hair-cutter person. (Was it OK to pull out a short-haired-picture of myself on my phone to show her what I want to look like.)
• Lots of folks commented yesterday about the title of the Skip Hollandsworth article about the serial murderer "you've never heard of."  Hey, I had never heard about that story at all. 
• "Obese Ohio Man Found Fused To Chair He Sat In For Two Years." Ok, how many questions jump in  your mind right now? His live-in girlfriend called for help when he became unresponsive last weekend. Uh......girlfriend?
• Anyone have an opinion on Chuck Klosterman's series of books?
• The prosecutor in Willie Nelson's marijuana case might have been joking, but there's something amiss about his statement (other than proving he's a knucklehead): He said he would offer a plea bargain of a fine only if Willie would sing, and I quote, "Blue Eyes Smiling In The Rain" in open court. 
• College football fans: The Fiesta Bowl scandal that broke yesterday might be the beginning of the end of the BCS.
• The tweeting snake is still a funny bit. 

Edit: I'm killing any further Chico ISD posts. It's all been said, it's getting too personal, and some of the comments are pushing the envelope as to allegations.

I Wonder If I'm About To Start News?

This was posted on youtube yesterday, and I just saw it on a blog out of New York. Yep, New York. So far less than 400 hits.

We've got two metroplex high schools in the Texas State High School Championship of hockey and there is a vicious cheap shot. (The clip actually has two angles.)  I hear references to "blood" and that kid isn't moving. If he was seriously hurt (and even if he wasn't), I'm not sure why this isn't being covered by the local media.

P.S. Hey, teammates, way to stand around and do nothing after one of your own just got killed.

Edit: About two hours later, Fox 4 and the Dallas Morning News have got a hold of this. I wonder how.

Edit: The video went viral but the original poster of it on youtube took it down. I found a different copy which seems a little shorter. (And the hit counts have changed.)

Edit @ 9:00 p.m.: Fox 4 News leads with this story. I'm pretty sure they meant to credit me for finding it but some technical error prevented it from happening.

I Assume, Hope, Pray There Was More To This Scene

Scattershooting while wondering what ever became of these girls: This is from a movie called "To Grandmother's House We Go".

AlvordOnline.com

I honestly don't check AlvordOnline.com very often but I ran by it a second ago. And when I did, I just had to look at their "Last Week's Poll Results"  Hmmmm. 50% on both sides. I wonder how many people voted.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• Cars were sliding off the roadways all over the place this morning in Wise County. I guess that bit about a combination or a little rain with roadways built up with oil and grit is true.
• The guy that slammed into the tanker truck in Fort Worth causing the death of it's driver in a fireball had been at a club in Fort Worth called Embargo. According to its web site, that night was called/featured "Mezcla Latino." Somebody tell me what that means.
• Almost saw an on field controversy last night at a 2nd Grade softball game as to whether there were two or three outs. 
• Yesterday's Random Thoughts were riddled with words that sound the same but are spelled differently. Hey, I type fast.  I was going to refer to them as homonyms but then it seemed like the correct word was homophone and now I think they may technically be called heterographs. That's unnecessarily confusing. 
• A national sports columnist (who I can't decide it brilliant or a nutcase) reports that Bobby Knight is going to Purdue for $10 million a year for three years. Maybe he's a nutcase after all.
• An apartment balcony collapsed led to a man's death in Kaufman over the weekend. The fall was only 12 feet but having concrete fall along with you would not help your odds. 
• That apartment complex put notices on a handful of apartments telling them their home was unsafe. On WFAA, a couple was complaining they had no where to go because "we both work at McDonald's and have four kids."
• Woke Mrs. LL up yesterday and she groggily reached towards the corner of the bed and said something about trying to find the "curbside speakers." 
• The Wise County Sheriff's Office is auctioning off two donkeys and a pig on Saturday.
• A cobra escaped from the Bronx Zoo a couple of days and apparently he has started a Twitter account while on the run. Funny. Very funny.
• Anyone know what's going on with Fox 4's morning anchor Tim Ryan? I think I've seen him on TV one time in three weeks.
• My "hey, now" radar has been going off lately for actress Amy Adams.
• I saw last week the weird story of a deputy sheriff being injured by a cow in East Texas but didn't mention it here. I will now because the deputy died yesterday. 
• Libya: When W invaded Iraq, I just thought he was a reckless redneck who was going after someone "who tried to kill my dad." With Obama's attack on Libya, I think something deeply calculated is going on behind the scenes that he's lying to us about.
• Despite our propensity to bomb anything that moves, Congress hasn't passed a Declaration of War since World War II.
• Lots of buzz about Skip Hollandsworth's new article in Texas Monthly about a "1970s serial killer nobody have ever heard of." I haven't read "The Lost Boys" yet but it's available online here

The Other Tournament

Yeah, I know: Women's basketball is boring blah blah blah blah blah.

Well, not for me. And if you have any interest at all check out tomorrow night's game of Baylor/A&M with the winner going on to the Final Four. Baylor has lost only two times this year with one of those loses coming at #1 Connecticut by one point.  The Lady Ags have lost only five times this year, and three of those loses came to Baylor.   Somehow, I don't have a good feeling about this. (In the Big 12 Championship game, A&M started off with a 12-0 lead.)

And, if anything else, you've got to see 6'8" Baylor center Brittney Griner who scored 40 points last night. That girl is a freak of nature (and with a voice that is just a little too deep.) She was featured on ESPN's "Sports Science" this week.

First He Wouldn't Pull His Pants Up At The Mall And Now . . .

They were talking about Bryant's penchant for spending money like it's nobody's business on the radio last week. They might have been correct. (Story)

Over and under until his relationship with the Cowboys turns South: 3 more years.

J.J. Takes A Right Hook

The worst part of this video is not the blow that caused J.J. to go down like he'd been shot by a sniper. No, it's the fact that momma was the one rolling tape at the time the defender went all Manny Pacquiao on him. Now we are left to wonder for the ages if momma committed the act of murder right there on the soccer field.

Britney Plays Vegas On Friday And I Just Now Find Out About It?

I'm slipping.

Photos.

Liberally Lean Tourney Update

Full list here.  But looking at the "possible points" of many of those remaining, it's already the end of the line.

And one potential winner who shows up at the courthouse everyday would take great joy in winning the first place price from attorney Mark Howell and myself.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• That certainly got your attention if you turned on the news this morning: A wrong way driver on I-30 east of Fort Worth smashed into a tanker truck, killing its driver, and sending flames shooting into the air. The freeway was shut down.
• Entertained out of town friends this weekend which means trying to hit some highlights of the area.
• I thought Joe T. Garcia's would be a good idea for lunch, but being seated in the sun instead of the shade wasn't the best idea. (But this continues my streak of receiving the worst table in any restaurant.)
• Uh, is their food overrated? (Sidenote: I hadn't been there in a while and expected too just see their standard two choices of meals, but they had a full menu.)
• We ran by the Water Gardens in downtown Fort Worth on Saturday only to find it closed on a beautiful day for some type of construction. (So they didn't get to see the landmark that was featured in Logan's Run and what in 2004 was the cause of the death of four.)
• To show them Texas barbecue, I chose The Railhead in Fort Worth.  Good choice?
• We toured Cowboys Stadium yesterday. (Note to self: If you park on the wrong side of the stadium thinking it's a quick walk around to the other side, you will regret it.)
• It's pretty fun to go onto the field, to sit in a suite, and go into the locker room (which had to be the most underwhelming aspect of the tour - I bet their are Texas high school locker rooms that are nicer and bigger.)
• The most bizarre thing we did was go see women's roller derby over at the Texas State Fair Grounds. Wheel's Off. The league is called "Assassination City" and there's a JFK theme running throughout the event. They even had cheerleaders sprinkled throughout the arena wearing pill box hats and calling themselves the "Jackie O's."
• Hey, don't jump on me for that choice -- even the Dallas Observer was there in the announced crowd of just over 1,800 to take pictures.
• And if you like people watching, that was the place to be. It was like a crowd of nerdy bikers mixed in with women that could easily beat you up. 
• On I-35 in Fort Worth we saw two Ninja motorcycles pass us with one of the riders then deciding to ride side saddle while the other did a wheelie. But no motorcycle death.
• Back to normal random thoughts ... Fiona put up a new "hey, now" and one with a stalker-looking-guy. Edit: These are Facebook pics that I thought anyone could see even if not being a member of Facebook. I think I'm wrong about that.
• Heard that our Wise County Park Murder For Hire lady was featured in the National Enquirer this week but I can't confirm it. 
• I was watching Channel 8 news last night when they threw in a "filler piece" which concluded that a new study found that those who attend church in adolescence have a 50% of being obese as an adult. I'm no statistician, but having a 50% chance of anything doesn't seem to prove anything. 
• Edit: Grammatical errors duly noted and hopefully corrected. It was a long weekend with a rapid fire post.