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10.18.2014
Take Me Home Country Roads
This a placeholder for my trip to Morgantown for the Baylor/WVU game.
But I just got back to the hotel more than 12 hours after I left it. And I'm catching the red eye in a few hours.
Edit; I'm home. Next morning. Landed at 8:20 a.m.
But I just got back to the hotel more than 12 hours after I left it. And I'm catching the red eye in a few hours.
Edit; I'm home. Next morning. Landed at 8:20 a.m.
- After my awful experience with Google Maps trying to get to Canton on Thursday, I took no chances. I researched and researched my route. The game was to kick off at noon, and Google told me the trip would take an hour and a half. I don't trust you. So I checked other sources. Their time might be right but they were using highway numbers that were changed four years ago! I'm apprehensive.
- I left at six a.m. (Hey, I've come here for a reason. Let's get after it. ) I finally made it through an incredible tunnel that led out of Pittsburgh and was headed down I-376 looking for an exit a few miles away (I even had tracked down the exit number. I'm all over this. ) Life is good. It's Saturday. I'm headed to a college football game in Morgantown!
- Uh. oh. Detour. This was insane. Overnight construction had shut down the highway and everyone was routed off into (and I'm not kidding) a residential district. I promise this would be the equivalent of I-35 being routed into a residential district in Fort Worth. I'm driving blind now. Just following the car in front of me -- at least when we moved.
- When they finally dumped us back on the highway (30 minutes later?), I'm back on I-376 but past my designated exit. Ugh. I put my faith in Google maps again and it finally came though. Back on track.
- I was now headed south on a freeway in Pennsylvania that doesn't end! It's a clean shot to Morgantown with great navigational signs that even I couldn't screw up.
- A big smile broke out on my face when I saw the "Welcome to West Virginia" sign that read the state was "Wild and Wonderful!"
- I arrive in Morgantown around 8:00.
- Four hours is a lot to kill, but I love walking around college campuses prior to games like this. Problem: The stadium isn't on the main campus. It basically looked like a hospital district under construction. I shall not be discouraged.
- I did find this statue, however:
- It appears to be a Mountaineer with students from early history to modern days at his feet. But the modern day gal has a big laptop. You know, in time, that'll be really cool.:
- They've got a monorail! Not sure where it goes. You can see the little bus (?) on it . . .
- I had heard about tailgating at WVU but this was insane. Here are two pics take taken around 9:00 a.m. as I pan from right to left from the base of the stadium:
- The weather? A comfortable windless 60ish degrees. But hang on.
- I roamed around the tailgate area for a while. Festive stuff. And game time is still three hours away. Funniest overheard comment: "They wanted to keep my ass locked up until Wednesday! Man, I had to be at work on Monday. So I called in and told 'em I was taking some emergency sick days." His buddies were all nodding their understanding.
- Lots of signs put up that read. "Be Respectful. Be a Mountaineer".
- I kept hearing people talking about improvements to the grounds (i.e. sidewalks.) It sounds like they have been spending their Big 12 money to upgrade the place but they have a ways to go. There are gravel walkways within 30 feet of the stadium in places.
- I noticed this huge concrete staircase and at the top of it was their law school. Heck, I've got time to kill - I'll walk it. It was massive and steep.
- A view from the top of the stairs of the stadium and tailgaters:
- Their fancy College of Law had a gravel parking lot:
- Remember I talked about the weather? Well, as I'm at the top of those stairs (I heard someone said the last time they were there they were wooden) a cold front comes through. Rain. 30 mph winds. It didn't last long, but it was brutal.
- I made it to cover by the stadium and then spotted their mascot. Or he spotted me. He's got a gun and looking at me. (He's the guy in the coonskin hat in the background).
- How in the world does the back of the stadium's press box not have signage or a logo?
- Later, I waited for the gates to open. A very excited student/fan (maybe he knew something) was there as well:
- Into the stadium. They sell beer. A lot of beer. But by every beer stand they have a sign warning of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Wild and Wonderful indeed.
- My seats were fantastic. $109 bucks on Stubhub. 19th row. 40 yard line. That's cheap for that location.
- If you have never sat as a fan in the middle of a crowd for the other team, you've got to do it. It's insane. But I feared ugliness. I'll give them this: That crowd was the nicest bunch of drunks I've ever seen.
- (I'll leave out the game thoughts. Baylor deserved to lose. But I will point out that one guy next to me yelled, "Finish them! Finish them!" in the fourth quarter. It was like he wanted WVU to kill an Offensive Dragon before it could come to its senses. He got his wish.)
- We lost. But I knew to stick around to listen to the crowd sing "Take Me Home, Country Roads." A couple of things. They actually play the John Denver song for the crowd to sing along to it. All of it. Also, after a rabid crowd was still hyped up over beating Baylor, it might have been one of the most amazing stadium experiences for me ever. (And I've been in a lot of stadiums.) I found this clip of the moment from yesterday on the Internet:
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- Heck of a moment. I hated the loss but I didn't come all this way for a game. I came for an experience. I got one.
- Oh, and then the students "rioted" later that night and cops fired rubber bullets and tear gas.
10.17.2014
Maybe we are going to hell in a hand basket
 | RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) |
OU team chaplain arrested on drug, larceny charges: newsok.com/article/5357432 pic.twitter.com/SgZZrIHIAM | |
Barry
New issue of Texas Monthly.
But I bet that Skip Hollandsworth article might be the best thing in there.
Walked across bridge to downtown
PNC Park as I look back. Right on the river. Heinz Field is the same way.
Couples put bad locks on the bridge
Fountain where three rivers converge. Heck of a park, too.
Random Friday Morning Thoughts On An iPsd In Pittsburgh
- Arrived yesterday afternoon The airport has a pretty amateurish statue of Franco Harris' Immaculate Reception.
- Flying is exciting and a beating. But for the first time in years the American Ailines flight attendants didn't act like they were all going through a bitter divorce.
- Renting a car should be easier especially when you do everything online beforehand.
- I decided to immediately "run" over to the NFL Hall of Fame Google Maps hates me because I think I took every backroad in southern Ohio. Then again, this part of the country seems to hate the freeway. And signs.
- But the leaves are turning and I saw some incredible country. Just beautiful.
- I think I drove by Kent State (4 dead in Ohio).
- And by the way, the news up here is all Ebola all the time. Dallas is getting lots of attention.
- The NFL Hall was impressive. At least the one room with all of the busts was. That's one thing they didn't cheese up. But, in true NFL fashion, the place had a gigantic gift shop.
- I got back to Pittsburgh after dark so I haven't seen how downtown looks in the light. But at night it looked fantastic. Downtown was packed with pedestrians on what looked like a classy Sixth Street.
- I hate driving in a crowded area and everyone knows every highway and byway except me.
- I'm staying on the North Shore and was in quick walking distance to Heinz Field for the Pitt/Va Tech game. I figured the stadium would be almost empty (interest was so low that mt ticket cost $19 on stubhub). But it was a good and rowdy crowd.
- A guy in the hotel lobby was describing the game to someone else with a lot of intensity. "What was the final score?" Reply: "I don't know. I left early". (Insert my head shaking). That game wasn't over until the last seconds.
- This appears to be walking town and I'll do that this morning. I'm not sure I'm up to another long day sitting.
- Baylor/West Virginia tomorrow with an early start. That has trouble written all over it.
- My stomach has hurt all week. Could it be .... (Dah dum)
10.16.2014
Former Ardmore Stripper Got Paid?
 | Robert Wilonsky (@RobertWilonsky) |
Looks like a mediator found a way to make ex-stripper's lawsuit against Jerry Jones disappear share.d-news.co/GDWjcmb pic.twitter.com/Eckazzf2PK | |
Barry
Random Thursday Morning Thoughts
- Ebola!!!! I'm scared to go outside this morning. Is there anyone left alive?
- Ebola has more of an impact as a photo op mechanism: (1) The President gathers his cabinet for the cameras yesterday, (2) The Dallas mayor and Dallas County judge may trample each other headed for the camera, (3) There is an actual Congressional hearing today on Ebola! and (4) Dallas County Commissioners will meet to day to declare Dallas County a "disaster area". Embarrassing.
- Belton ISD has closed three of its schools because a couple of its students were on the same plane as the Second Ebola Nurse?
- The blog will be a little different over the next couple of days as I begin my football trip this morning to West Virginia. (No way I'm staying in Ebola Land. I'm getting into a compressed tube that moves at over 500 miles per hour. In the sky!!!)
- I took the new express lanes on 820 to DFW Airport during morning rush hour. Verdict? Fantastic!
- If I can pull it off, I'm going to go to the NFL Hall Of Fame from the Pittsburgh airport.
- Some guy on here yesterday was blaming the stock market dip yesterday on President Obama. Any chance he judges climate change based upon one day's weather?
- Ed Bark got mad at me again on Twitter yesterday, and I didn't even start it! I am absolutely amazed how people in the local media are so thin skinned. Man, I take a beating far worse than he does before 9:00 a.m. every morning -- which is probably attributable to the fact that I have more readers. (For the majority of you who don't know who he is, he runs a TV web site which he created after "taking a buyout" from the Dallas Morning News.)
- Hey neighbor: Why is your dog barking like a fool at 4:30 a.m.?
- Fox News put up one of their polls last night that said 58% of people think the "world" is "going to hell in a hand basket." (Actual quote). I'm stunned their angry viewership only responded with a 58% margin.
10.15.2014
Ebola Has Left The Airport!
 | Matthew Haag (@matthewhaag) |
What's this guy doing next to a patient with Ebola? pic.twitter.com/QGZzwymGaL | |
Get Me This Ebola Puppy!!!!
Ok, may not be an actual pic of the Ebola puppy, but he looks just like him.
(And I'd name him "E".)
Random Wednesday Morning Thought
- Third Ebola diagnosis!!! Panic! Everyone panic!
- There was actually a Facebook rumor going around yesterday that an entire Texas town had been quarantined. How dumb can you be to spread that story?
- Things you need to fear more than Ebola: Cancer, heart disease, pneumonia, the flu, enterovirus D68, car wrecks, snakes, fire, a sniper, carbon monoxide, high blood pressure, and depression. And that's off the top of my head when I'm still half asleep.
- Wasn't there going to be some indoor snow skiing complex open up around Alliance Airport?
- There's a criminal trial going on in Wise County right now where someone is accused of possessing a "trace" of methamphetamine. That's less that 1/100 of a gram according to DPS. In other words, if you cut up a Sweet N Low packet into 100 equal parts, the defendant is accused of possessing less than one of those parts. And the purity of that less than 1/100 part wasn't even tested. Your tax dollars at work.
- I went back and rewatched the fourth quarter of the TCU/Baylor game: (1) Amazing, (2) That was probably pass interference on Baylor on 4th down, (3) That probably wasn't pass interference on TCU on the final Baylor drive, (4) I never thought I'd see the day Gary Patterson gave up on his defense. (5) That crowd had to be the whitest in the country for the season.
- The BagOfNothing guy lives by Dallas Cowboys' Doug Free. As much as I don't care about the NFL, I'd pepper that guy with questions at every opportunity. He'd eventually end up hiding out from me.
- That Paradise Model has become active online again.
- Junior In The House: "I learned something about parents! They spend half their time telling their kids what they do wrong, and the other half telling others how wonderful their kids are when we aren't around!" Lot of truth in that.
- Junior In The House: "Hey, name the four person rock band that doesn't sing!!" (Me looking at her in confusion.) Her: "Mount Rushmore!" (Me: Looking at her in more confusion.) Her: "Oh, wait! I meant four person rock group." (Me: Head shaking.)
- We've still got (and are keeping) the Maltese that I found while jogging over a month ago. I saved her life but she follows Mrs. LL around everywhere she goes.
- "A 55-year-old Springtown grandmother was sentenced Monday to 10 years of probation after pleading guilty to murder in the fatal beating of her 15-month-old niece more than 32 years ago." I have a million questions about this.
- Shout out to the guy who told me about the "Fallingwater" house in Pennsylvania and the George Washington battlefield. I'm going to try and pull both of those trips off on Friday. (I'm taking a long awaited football trip.)
- I bought gas at $2.89 a gallon this morning. I'm sending a letter to President Obama to thank him.
- I heard a rumor that a Wise County resident showed up at the Fort Worth Court of Appeals yesterday to present a petition to the court in the Terry Ross case before oral arguments. Hoss, appellate arguments are a little more nuanced than Judge Judy.
- That underwear that the Cowboys' Joseph Randle was accused of stealing was a two pack valued at $40. I think I speak for all men when I say, "Am I wearing cheap underwear?"
10.14.2014
I hope this wasn't intentional from this Paradise church
 | Grace Fellowship (@gfcfamily) |
Get 105 top @CreativeMarket products worth $1686+ for only $39 crtv.mk/bmMs | |
Barry
The Only Shocking Thing Is That He Waited This Long
 | Bud Kennedy (@BudKennedy) |
And here we go: @WendyDavisTexas is "just like Obama" in new @GregAbbott_TX ad m.youtube.com/watch?v=foGE_s… pic.twitter.com/DKiN1rD9X6 | |
Are You Smarter Than a Ph.D. In Physics Candidate?
Probably not. But I bet you can tell a better story.
NFL! NFL!
 | Clarence Hill (@clarencehilljr) |
|
Dallas Cowboys running back Joseph Randle was arrested by Frisco police Monday night for shoplifting "a bottle of cologne", per a source.
| |
Joseph Randle arrest report: pic.twitter.com/t0j6N6a5wk
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) October 14, 2014
Fort Worth Carpet Bagger Alert!!
I love how Jub sells it....so animated...
— Sean Bass (@sbass1310) October 14, 2014
Edit: After 24 hours, I went back and looked at this and realized I posted the wrong tweet. The intended one was Jeb Bush hosting George P. Bush at the Ol' South Pancake House.#TotalFail
Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts
- I forgot to mention last week that Greg Abbott on The Ticket just casually mentioned, "In case you didn't know, I'm in a wheelchair because a tree fell on me." Hey, buddy, that doesn't make you FDR.
- I've dogged Dave Carney, the political consultant for the failed Dan Dewhurst campaigns (both against Ted Cruz and Dan Patrick) as well as they very failed Rick Perry presidential campaign, for years. I found the guy on Twitter last night and discovered he tweets like a drunken sailer. Abbott is using him now and will win, but it is despite of what is probably the worst campaign advisor in the history of Texas.
- From the Update: "The Decatur City Council on Monday voted unanimously to move the city’s trick or treat observance to Thursday, Oct. 30, to avoid a conflict with the Eagles’ final home football game the following night, Oct. 31." What? Everyone knows you can't jack with Halloween! This is a horror movie in the making!!! Hide yo wife, hide yo kids!
- Nope, Ebola is not a problem in the U.S. (I did a double take this morning when Channel 11 had a story about a potential new case of a person who came in contact with the infected nurse. Then I saw this sentence: "According to the emailed note, the Alcon employee was admitted to the hospital on Sunday and is being monitored for Ebola symptoms. However, the man has not shown any signs of being sick." Good grief.)
- Hey, that goofy Texas Supreme Court judge is sending Nazi messages!!!
- Man, I've been sick the last two days.
- Kindergarten teacher quits to twerk on Vine and make six figures. (Borderline NSFW.) I doubt this is a good sign for our country's future.
- Alabama's Tommy Lewis, the guy who famously came off the bench to make a tackle in the Cotton Bowl, has died. Photo impressions: (1) Are we sure that guy would have scored? (2) Everyone in the background looks like a gangster.
- I haven't been to a concert in years, but I wish I would have seen Paul McCartney last night in Dallas. (Video clips.)
- Hot check book-in photo from Denton. That sad young lady is a Bonnie Raitt starter kit.
- Our Internet went out yesterday which also meant our TVs went out. Couldn't even play back DVR shows. Throw in that the new washing machine won't be delivered until later this week which caused Mrs. LL to take a trip to the laundromat, and it was a dark day indeed. I'm not sure how we survived.
- "Laundromat" is a funny word.
- Funny picture below once you read the headline to the far right.
10.13.2014
Random Monday Morning Thoughts
- The Wright Amendment expired yesterday, and it's about 20 years too late.
- I'm not sure why the Republicans in Wise County didn't confess error in the appointment of the Elections Administrator and then reconvene and appoint him again. Right or wrong, it seems like a less drama filled resolution.
- That was a crazy storm last night. Sounds like 287 was shut down near Rhome due to downed power lines in the middle of the night.
- Sports: (1) I stuck with the Baylor/TCU game when Baylor went down 58-37 with 11 minutes remaining. I could hardly cheer the win because I was in so much depression, and I'm still not sure how it happened. Baylor ran 109 plays! (2) I'm about to get the Sports Genius Title removed from me because of my Cowboys over/under prediction. But I'm certainly not alone. (3) And I would have bet big money that the the Aggies would have won over Ole Miss and Auburn would have won over Mississippi State. (4) When Barry Switzer makes an appearance on the The Ticket there is no question that you can hear how he is getting old.
- Have I ever mentioned how much I think George Carlin was overrated? Crude. Not witty. Anyone can be crude. (<-- by="" li="" nbsp="" random="" the="" thought="" very="" way.="">
- I'm a sucker for "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell but I had no idea that R.E.M. covered it. (Ditto.)
- I've always wondered why Lane Akin was behind the petition that had Terry Ross removed as a Wise County Commissioner.
- For 30 years I've written my accountant once a year about my taxes. I met him for the first time on Friday. (He thought I'd be taller.)
- Man, Clay Jenkins has to be sweating Ebola right now.
- Whenever a lawyer donates over $694,000 to a DA's race in San Antonio, be very afraid.
- Ebola Deaths vs. Motorcycle Deaths, who ya got?
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