Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• Longview decided it didn't want Ted Nugent to perform at a festival in the city so they are paying him $16,000 to go away. (Maybe my favorite statement was from the mayor who said, “Not a lot of people know who Ted is. Younger people here don’t know him.”)
• A man who was subject to the Bataan Death March and who lived in Tarrant County for a while, died over the weekend. (I raved about this book a few years back about the March.)
• Saw some tweets this weekend that Stephen F. Austin is the ultimate party school. I'm not sure I've ever heard that. 
• A guy was shot and killed outside of a pool hall in Arlington over the weekend. He was 24 and  "the father of three sons and another baby is due."
• I read the Lake Waco Murder article I mentioned last week, and I had totally forgot how controversial former Waco DA Vic Feazell was. He was indicted by the feds but ended up being found not guilty. And WFAA went after him in a 10 part series which prompted him to sue the company and ultimately win $58 million.
• Man, CBS just wouldn't leave a crying Kansas kid alone in the Stanford game yesterday. 
• "Present-day college freshman and devout Christian, Josh Wheaton, finds his faith challenged on his first day of Philosophy class by the dogmatic and argumentative Professor Radisson." That's the premise of the film God's Not Dead which finished fifth at the box office this weekend. And we've got the blockbuster Noah coming out soon. 
• Random fact:  41 percent of all American children are born out of wedlock.
• Regarding the solicitation case reported by the Messenger last week: "[He] was arraigned on the solicitation charge by Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Terri Johnson in Decatur and was transported to the court of jurisdiction." Huh? I have no idea what that means. Everyone just sits in jail or bonds out. 
• "And another" from Oklahoma. (Actually occurred late last year.)
• James Rebhorn, a character actor you have seen a million times but didn't know his name, has died. 
• Sports: (1) Didn't expect Baylor to win by 30 last night -- and it wasn't that close, (2) The Rangers appear to be in book trouble. Profar is out 10 to 12 weeks, and their pitching staff is the worst in years, (3)  Mark Cuban thinks "the NFL is 10 years away from an implosion" because of greed. Is there a place I can bet him on that? It's simply silly. (And he might was to focus on a basketball team that he is running into the ground.)