Above The Fold

Redneck Survival Tip

It's not the funniest thing in the history of the world, but those last few seconds made me giggle.

End on a high.

My Grand Jury Post (Which Will Probably Bore Everyone But Is Incredibly Honest And Accurate).

So how does it work?

First, understand it isn't like a "regular" jury. The best thing about "regular" jurors is that folks are called in from a list of those in the county who hold driver's license or are registered to vote. That will give you a pretty good cross-section of the community.  Anyone on that list might be rich or poor, dumb or brilliant, conservative or liberal. (Over a decade ago -- heck maybe two decades -- jurors only came from voter registration lists.)

So how are grand jurors selected?

The first process is probably the most flawed. The district judge, because he has to, must appoint a commission who will then select potential grand jury members.

The law says: "The district judge . . .  shall appoint not less than three, nor more than five persons to perform the duties of jury commissioners . . . .   Such commissioners shall . . . possess the following qualifications:
1. Be intelligent citizens of the county and able to read and write the English language;
2. Be qualified jurors in the county;
3. Have no suit in said court which requires intervention of a jury;
4. Be residents of different portions of the county;  and
5. The same person shall not act as jury commissioner more than once in any 12-month period".

So there you go.  Practically (and this is important), a judge will select folks who are active in the community, have a "good" reputation, aren't nut cases, and represent all parts of the county.  By default, this will include people who are, in practical terms, "successful". I have no trouble with that, but this is where the flaw in the system is.  Why? Because those folks, by and large,  are generally very pro-police and have a very law and order attitude. You'll never see them in a march about civil rights.

So once those names are selected, they are called up to the courthouse one morning, meet with the judge in a casual atmosphere, and then go in a room to come up with a list of names to serve as potential grand jurors. Who will they select? That group is going to select people who they know and, oftentimes, are friends.  You know what that means? They are going to select people, in general, who are going to be just like them. So, in almost all situations,  you end up with a grand jury panel which is extremely conservative and very pro-prosecution. They will select 15 to 40 people who will come in for potential grand jury service.

Is that process of the commissioners coming up with those names public? The law doesn't say. Practically, the answer is no.

The group of 15 to 40 will then show up for potential grand jury service. The grand jury is ultimately composed of 12.  The selection of those 12 is a very informal process. Normally, the first 12 on the list who don't object to serving end up on the grand jury.  That process is public. In a little known law, "any person may challenge the array of jurors."  And by "challenge" the law says it means they have not been selected according to procedure, are not qualified,  or have been summoned "corruptly".  Does that ever happen? No. How could it? It is not required that a public notice be given when the grand jury is impaneled.  (Crazy part of the law which is never been invoked: "Any person confined in jail in the county shall upon his request be brought into court to make such challenge.")

Note that no lawyers (other than the judge) are involved in this selection process. No one like me can stand up and give a speech about how important it is that the protect the citizens from crazy prosecutors. But, also, no prosecutor gets to pick and choose who is on the grand jury. But, like I said, the grand jury will ultimately be composed of 12 very conservative people.

From this point forward, the DA's office controls the grand jury. He decides when they will meet. He will decide what cases are presented. He will decide when to tell them what cases he wants indicted.

Some basic fundamentals about the grand jury process:

• The grand jury doesn't decide guilt or innocence. They just decide there is enough evidence to believe that someone "probably" committed a crime and deserves to be put into the system.
• But, shockingly, they practically never hear from witnesses. The only thing they will normally hear is a five to ten minute presentation by a prosecutor as to what the prosecutor believes the evidence to be. (Sometimes the officer in the case will be present to answer questions the grand jury might have -- at least that was my procedure as DA -- but that is not legally required.)
• There is no requirement that the grand jury be informed of evidence that indicates a potential defendant may not be guilty.
• A potential defendant who is facing an indictment is not allowed to be in that room or present any evidence unless the prosecutor agrees to let him in.
• In the rare instance that the prosecution agrees to let a potential defendant present evidence, his lawyer is not allowed in the room without the prosecutor's consent.
• Only 9 of the 12 grand jurors need to agree to indict. You can actual get an indictment if only 9 grand jurors show up. 
• All presentations before the grand jury are secret. This may be the most bizarre aspect of the U.S. criminal justice system.  
• 99% of the time there is no court reporter in the grand jury room. 
• A prosecutor is not placed under oath before he makes his presentation. 

So there you have it.  You think a prosecutor can "indict a ham sandwich?" In our system, he can.

So why is it so rare to hear about a grand jury deciding not to indict someone (called a "No Bill")? That's because the DA has the absolute right to reject any case that law enforcement presents to him. If a case sucks, he can simply "decline" it and tell law enforcement that there's no way he get a conviction.  He doesn't have to present it to the grand jury.

So why would a DA present a case to the grand jury that he doesn't think he could win? Why not just reject it? One reason: Political cover.  I did that as DA. All DAs do it. If I received a case from law enforcement that I thought I couldn't win  and it was (1) political, (2) had received great media attention, (3) law enforcement was really hot to trot about, or (4) I thought I would get beaten up in the press if I simply "refused it", I'd take it to the grand jury and recommend they not indict it. That way I could say, "The grand jury heard all the evidence in this case and decided there was not probable cause to proceed."  Additional nugget: You never asked for a no bill from a new grand jury. You waited two or three months to build a relationship. They generally will grow to trust the prosecutor.

That's how it works. The grand jury is supposed to be present to protect the public from zealous prosecutors. That is only a pipe dream.  Around the country, they practically serve as a rubber stamp. If the process were to be abolished, things wouldn't change one iota.

Edit: I'm taking questions from the comments!

(1) Are the jury commissioners paid? How much? Answer: Wow. I have no idea. I think the answer is no. That might be a county by county decision. That got me wondering if even the grand jurors are paid. A quick Google search told me Harris County pays $28 per session and Tarrant County pays $36 per session.

(2) Is the DA presentation to the grand jurors an open question and answer discussion? How interactive are these presentations? Answer: Great question. If the grand jury wants to pepper the prosecution with questions, they can do so. The prosecutor refusing to answer or being evasive does so at his peril.  In my experience, the grand jurors are timid in the first session and then begin to get more comfortable as time goes by.

(3) As a DA, did you ever show videos to the grand jurors to condition them [like they do in Houston]? Answer: No. But I'll admit to preparing a "packet" to answer predicted routine questions they would have. (Man, I'd love to find that.) Was that an attempt to "condition them"? Upon reflection, I tried to send a message of, "If I'm bringing this case to you it is because it's justified."  I thought I was unique. But, heck, what prosecutor doesn't think that?

(4)  If a grand jury returns a no-bill, that does not prevent the DA from taking the case to another grand jury. In legal terms, jeopardy does not attach to a no-bill, correct? So the cop in Ferguson could be indicted by another grand jury, especially if the current DA gets replaced, right? Answer: Absolutely correct.

(5) [Not a question but I'm printing it:] Grand juries are given much broader powers than they are ever told about. They can conduct their own investigations. For instance, there was that notorious "runaway grand jury" in Harris County a few years ago. I think it would be helpful for you to inform the folks that might serve on the grand jury that they are not bound by whatever the prosecutor wants to put in front of them. [?] Answer: That's basically right. Nothing says that a case must come to the them through the DA. And the DA "or" the foreman of the grand jury can request subpoenas.

(6) Does Subway make Subpoena's? Answer: I'll research that. (But isn't "subpoena" the weirdest spelled word ever?)

(7) Doesn't a DA need some level of new evidence before re-presenting a case to a different grand jury? Answer: Nope. He isn't even obligated to tell the new grand jury that he's tried this before. 

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• "Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, filed a bill to decrease the number of teams advancing to the playoffs from each University Interscholastic League district from four to two." Not a bad idea but not exactly legislation worthy. 
• I completely missed John McCain's condemnation of torture by the U.S. He might be my new hero. And Bill O'Reilly's treatment of him on Fox was embarrassing. 
• Ran into the Junior In The House in the hallway about midnight last night. We exchanged simultaneous, "Where are you going?"
• There was a shooting at a Fort Worth "club" last night and it drives me nuts that they never name the club.
• Hey, whoever keeps sending me a comment about, "When are you going to talk about the resignation of [name redacted]?", I have no idea who that person is. 
• I'll admit that I was confused by the budget vote yesterday and the anger of hardline Republicans. All the Democrats and a handful of right wingers gang up against the rank and file Republicans? 
• Movies from this year that I'd be willing to watch: Boyhood, Wild, Gone Girl, and Nightcrawler. And the more I read about Gone Girl, the more I'm nervous about the fact that Mrs. LL went and saw it without me. 
• I need to do my "worst person of the year" list again. 
• The judge presiding over the trial of the Ex Kaufman JP for capital murder chastised the defense yesterday for repetitive witnesses. Hey, we are only talking about life and death. Let's move along. Sheesh. 
• I sneezed yesterday and hurt my back. Not too bad, but it hurt all day. That scares me because I've heard that simple things like that can cause a disc to bulge. 
• A conservative Denton County jury awarded a half million dollars in a slip and fall lawsuit against Walmart which the conservative Fort Worth Court of Appeals affirmed late yesterday? What is this? Bizarro World? 
• I love the Cowboys visiting hospitals and food kitchens this time of year but, as I've said a million times, I'll give you credit when you don't tell the media you are going to do it. 
• Mrs. LL gives me 100% immunity for whatever I write or whatever Random Thought Girl I post (hey, she knew what she was marrying), but last night I sensed she took offense to being called a "pack rat". But, on the bright side, she did track down the super glue I was looking for.
• The Cowboys' and Little Elm native Cole Beasley was making the radio rounds yesterday. That guy has no personality and no sense of humor. And no one asked him about walking out of training camp his rookie year. 
• Family Pup #2 (the rescue dog), who is well behaved but dumb as a box of rocks, somehow managed to get up on the kitchen table during the day when no one was there. (She had never done that before.) But, once up there, she wasn't smart enough to figure out how to get back down. She was stuck there in distress for what was probably hours. (This isn't her, but pretty much what she looks like.)
• I once had an interview with a large law firm in Thanksgiving Tower. I remember being asked "What do you do for fun?" I dodged the question and the interviewer knew it. He then called me out on my answer. I should have just said, "I'm in law school. I don't have any fun." 

Don't Mess With The Russians

Ok, go ahead and take the Ukraine. Heck, go back and take Afghanistan. You guys are too crazy to get into a war with.

If we had youtube back in the day, Hitler might have decided to stay put as well.

Something I Heard This Morning

This is borderline bizarre.  The vocal audio track from Van Halen's Jump overlayed on the music of John Lennon's Imagine.

Double Vision

Funny Bit

Portly kid guards 7-foot-6, University of Central Florida commit Tacko Fall. The expressions make me laugh.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• I attended a retirement reception at the courthouse yesterday and met the guest of honor's mother. "You make me so mad because of what you write!!" she told me in equal amounts of authentic anger and sweetness.
• I have a weird phobia of being in a crowded room full of people I know. My friends who know that love poking fun of me during those moments. "You gonna pass out?" 
• Announced this morning: Wendy Davis made the cover of Texas Monthly's Bum Steer issue. 
• KSCS's Terry Dorsey announced his retirement and it will come very quickly. I actually listened to the station a lot during the 1990s and he and Hawkeye were pretty funny. (And I actually saw him once at the old Garcia's restaurant in Decatur.)
• Crazy story yesterday of a lady accused of killing her ex-husband and his adult child in Arlington. Two things: (1) She is in photos of the Open Carry group doing what they do, and (2) After the shooting she drove herself to a mental hospital which might just be a huge ruse. 
• Up until this year I had never heard of a transverse process fracture. Now I'm aware of three football players who have experienced it since September: Cam Newton, Tony Romo, and Bryce Petty.
• Nothing makes me cringe like seeing Dick Cheney being interviewed. The guy just seems perpetually unhappy.
• Hey, anonymous commenters, I'm not going to post assertions of fact about someone which, if not true, could be defamatory.  
• The Girls In The House (all of them) love Survivor.  I get got up in how the bits are edited to make them more competitive than they really were. 
• The attorney for the ex-JP from Kaufman County quoted Jesus yesterday in opening statements during the punishment phase of the capital murder case. Be careful there, hoss.
• The prosecutors in that case were appointed so they'll have to submit a bill. I hope some of the news stations find out how much it will be for. 
• The head coach of Wisconsin left to become the head coach of Oregon State yesterday. Part of me thinks Wisconsin is a heck of a lot better job then Oregon State. Then again, I'd rather live in Oregon. 
• How much did Kate Upton get paid to be in that video game commercial?  I bet it was a shockingly large amount. Successful video games just mint money. 
• If I ever kill Mrs. LL, it will be because she is a pack rat. (I tried to find some super glue yesterday that I could have sworn she bought the other day. Then I opened a few drawers to look for it and realize we are the National Archives of Junk.) 
• The Republican House "leaders unveiled a $1.1 trillion spending bill Tuesday night that would avert a partial government shutdown."
• My favorite Christmas gift as a kid: A miniature Bat Mobile which I could actually sit on and ride down the driveway. It was funny because it was designed for your legs to extend over the hood. But, man, it was cool. (I tried to find an Internet picture without success). 
• That first item in the Update is insane. A car left 380 and crashed a quarter of a mile from the highway? And the body is so burned that we don't know if it is male or female? 

Above The Fold

UT Pledge Class Video

What the heck was that?

I'm a short middle aged man, and I think I could whip every single person in this video. (A couple of the girls might give me a little bit of trouble, but I'm not worried about the frat guys.)

That Headline Is Way Too Nice

Edelman is being Internet destroyed. As he should be. And if anyone has a Ph.d and a law degree and is a professor: Be afraid. Very afraid.

Incredible.

(The 33 year old Edelman was in Time magazine's cross-hairs earlier this year.)

Edit: This is confusing: Boston.com announced that it could not verify the emails had had taken the story down. But it's still up at the above link.

Judge Update

There is some crazy stuff in this article.

• The prosecutor cited the lack of evidence as the reason for the dismissal but didn't ask for the video of the field sobriety tests when it wasn't included with the report? And he just dismissed the case without checking? 
• "That's not my responsibility". Oh, my. 
• Her attorney didn't know whether or not her license was suspended after the arrest? I've had a ton of DWI clients over the years, and I can promise you I know the license status of every single one of them. He represents a Texas appellate judge in a high profile case and he doesn't? 
• Side note: They offer pre-trial diversion often for DWI? Really? I like that. 

Oh, My!

PIC - 18 wheeler fire this morning on SB I35 near Valley View north of DFW. pic.twitter.com/FDCMywGZwD
— DFW Scanner (@DFWscanner) December 10, 2014

Index - 1974

There is some great Wise County history gold in that Rook Ramsey story.

And I love that tiny notice in the bottom right hand corner.

(Not) Motorcycle Death

Hey, You Guys On The Central Michigan Team, You Going To The Bahamas For A Bowl Game?

That's a funny bit.

#YOLO

12/09/2014 03:16:20 Dana, 27 yrs old ♐ DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED http://t.co/rWrSAYThKV pic.twitter.com/sZeFd0rTZq
— Arrests by @DentonPD (@DentonPolice) December 9, 2014

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• I'm hearing there was a talk-of-the-town basis for the firing of an administrative staff member of the Chico ISD yesterday. 
• Big story on Fox 4 last night about a federal drug bust in connection with an "after hours" club.  I'm not real sure all of those kids deserve federal charges but what really got my attention is that it was all associated with  (1) an 18 and over club, (2) that opened at -- good grief --  3:00 a.m., (3) at what is a nude dancing establishment during other hours. 
• And a weird connection: One of the kids indicted was the boyfriend of the girl who went missing from the Legacy Shops in Plano.
• Prosecutors in the case of ex-JP accused of murdering Kaufman prosecutors made a big deal yesterday about the "arsenal" of weapons that he possessed. Does that have any impact? People in the Northeast are freaked out about guns, but I suspect some of my Wise County friends have their own "arsenal", and it doesn't bother me one iota.  (Well, maybe some of them with an arsenal bother me.)
• They also presented evidence that he had googled the names of the special prosecutors in the pending case. Uh, who wouldn't? 
• Yes, it creeps me out that the Sixteen Year Old In The House can drive but, man, does it have some advantages. 
• "Don't you fall for that pouty face!" - Mrs. LL to me often once the Kids In The House try to persuade me.
• I continue my rant about Medical Examiners. A Fort Worth cop was suspended yesterday for thirty days for a 2012 vehicle collision. According to the Star-Telegram, the ME "ruled [the other person's] death an accident caused by complications of multiple traumatic injuries." Wait a second. "Accident"?  Hey, the only thing a doctor can determine is that a body quit functioning because of a body part became injured or stopped functioning. How a vehicle collision occurs is out of his area of expertise. How does he know it was an "accident" (not a crime) or was the result of negligent or reckless conduct (which are crimes)?  (By the way, the cop, rightly or wrongly, was indicted on a manslaughter charge which means the prosecutors believe the officer engaged in reckless conduct. That's a "homicide", not an "accident", by definition.) 
• The Ticket had a discussion today about the iconic song, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" Very awkward line sung by Bono in there: "Well, tonight thank God it's them instead of you." 
• Man, I was right about all the Representatives trying to think of a zinger for a five second sound bite in yesterday's Jonathan Gruber hearing. The winner goes to the very unoriginal and embarrassing Darrell Issa of California: "Are you stupid?" 
• The Senate's report on torture should embarrass all of us. 
• Uh, oh. The Update misidentified one of the motorcycle groups involved in the Toy Run fight! It was the "Lost Riders" instead of the "Road Dogs".  If the Road Dogs show up for a confrontation in front of the Messenger like the ending scene in Wild Hogs, I'll be all over it. 

So Goofy. Such A Time Waste. At Taxpayer Expense.

A guy takes a flag from a display on a sidewalk and throws it into the street where it is destroyed. Is he guilty of theft? Probably. Is he guilty of Criminal Mischief (damaging the property of another)? Definitely. Both are simple Texas laws that are used every day.

But let's not charge him with that. No, let's have some prosecutor(s) -- who works for you -- make the idiotic decision to charge him under a silly and never used flag desecration statute which is clearly unconstitutional and then lets clog up the courts with the fight. (The statute, to be clear, would make it illegal for someone to buy a flag and then go home and cut it up. You can do that.  This issue was decided by the Supreme Court in 1989. Not to be deterred, the Texas legislature tried to "fix" the statute by simply rewriting it in the exact same way.)

I can't begin to explain the amount of needless public expense here. Cops, administrative staff for cops, prosecutors, administrative staff for prosecutors, a trial judge, a court administrator, an initial appeal in front of three judges who also have clerks and administrative staff, and then to the next level of nine judges all who have clerks and administrative staff.

Story.

The NFL: Family Entertainment

Book In Gold

12/07/2014 22:30:00 Casey, 20 yrs old ♑ Bond: $429 GARLAND PD WARRANT / SPEEDING http://t.co/rWrSAYThKV pic.twitter.com/XGMirMOVeV
— Arrests by @DentonPD (@DentonPolice) December 8, 2014

I thought about making a Freddy Fender joke but realized hardly anyone would get it (or think it was funny.)

Get Me This Dog!

Or get that man a new oven.

By the way, I've got a ton of questions.

(S Bomb Warning).

Fantastic View Of Dallas This Morning

Good morning DFW! This Dallas view shows the foggy conditions you are waking up to. Details: http://t.co/dQ2c6Nh4XK pic.twitter.com/IxujQugyFg
— KRLD (@KRLD) December 9, 2014

Edit: Wow

Then there's this shot of fog-bound Dallas taken this a.m. from just a BIT higher in the sky http://t.co/ziBeY6KqmG pic.twitter.com/e8i0LuDEIw
— Robert Wilonsky (@RobertWilonsky) December 9, 2014

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• A Senate committee is going to release a report on torture by our military today. There are already people in the right wing media defending our tactics before we learn what was done. 
• Mark Davis made the very odd statement this morning that some of the tactics we will learn about would not be appropriate if they were done "on our own people." Think about that. Someone should not be waterboarded (or worse) simply because they had the fortuitous event of being born on American soil? Try to explain that to an alien from outer space. "Well, when his mother gave birth, she was on this particular piece of land on our globe. That's why we don't waterboard that person. Others we don't care about." 
• And then explain to the alien why it is OK for our government to execute "our own people" by lethal injection even though they were born on that same land. 
• Today the Republicans get to fight for sound bites as Jonathan Gruber is forced to appear before a House committee. That's nothing more than a media event.  Every representative has been working on just one five second zinger that will make the national news. 
• Driving in the fog: I like finding a car's tail lights in the distance which I can just follow from a safe distance.  I fear the fog pile up. 
• There's an editorial in the Star-Telegram today by a liberal calling for the abolition of the grand jury system so prosecutors will either have to either file cases in court or take responsibility and explain why they didn't. That's crazy because grand juries are supposed to protect us for nutty prosecutors. (Obscure legal note: The U.S. Constitution's right to a grand jury has never been ruled to be a requirement of a state prosecution. But Texas has a grand jury requirement in its own constitution.)
• I promise I'll do a post on how the grand jury process actually works. I've been asked about that a lot recently.
• I'm not sure I knew Bridgeport had a Taco Bell. When I was a kid, the news that McDonald's was opening in Decatur was about as big of news as there could possibly be. 
• I've been thinking it and they talked about it on the Ticket yesterday: The Elf on the Shelf causes more pressure on the parents to not forget before going to bed that the Elf is in the same place in the house that it was that morning than it is for the kids' enjoyment. 
• Someone mentioned it in the comments yesterday and it's in the Update today: There was a fight between two motorcycle clubs in last weekend's Wise County Toy Run. Good grief. If you google the two groups, the "Road Dogs" and the "Cossacks", you'll find some pretty interesting stuff to read.
• Sports: Junior Miller researched the non-conference schedules in 1974 of Baylor, aTm, TCU, and SMU. Oh, my. How insanely tough they were. (You'll have to click around a bit, but they can be found here.)
• It's now the punishment phase in the capital murder trial of the ex-JP who has been convicted of murder.  The prosecutor's are now allowed to bring up his other alleged murders. One witness yesterday said the ex-JP was an "immediate suspect" once an assistant DA was gunned down as he got out of his car.  Normally, saying someone is an "immediate suspect" is negative for the prosecution because it leads to the belief that the cops jumped to conclusions and were predisposed. But once someone has been convicted of murder and you're just presenting punishment evidence of another murder, the State can get away with that. 
• That Hulen Mall murder plot is a script for a crazed teenager movie. 

Guy Agreed To Get Eaten Alive In A Special Suit By An Anaconda

The show ran last night on the Discovery Channel. You won't believe what happened next!!! Unless you can believe that was the worst snake eating bit in the history of snake eating bits.

Hot Texas Appellate Judge's DWI Case Dismissed

So far, most of the details I have are behind a paywall protected Texas Lawyer site so I can't repeat the whole article. But it did say the case was dismissed "In the interest of justice" and the DWI said it was because the judge didn't look bad on video.   But I love this quote from the DA: "Of course nobody believes me, but that's OK. They didn't believe Christ when he was crucified," Rene Guerra said.

A portion of the video is here. (I haven't watched it yet.)

Hey, You Gun Folks

My ears perked up the other day when I heard an ad for silencers on The Ticket's online stream from this Texas store. I'm not sure I had ever seen a print ad for a silencer and certainly haven't ever heard one on the radio. I didn't even know they were legal.

"Furry Convention" Interrupted By Chlorine Gas Leak

And gives rise to a very funny photo of dejected convention goers.

Story.

Hire This Guy!!!!

Gives it all to keep a disaster from happening, and then pops right up after being launched.

That's a man who is committed.

Random 1975 Index Page

• That "Rental Housing Survey" is interesting for the way they broke down the ages and the income. 
• I'm not sure what the "Authorized" King James version of the Bible is. 
• And chance that guy didn't find out he could win $7.50?

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• There's normally a Christmas star hanging from a crane off of the Landmark site south of Decatur on 287, but I haven't seen it this year.
• There's a PSA to stop sexual abuse I saw this weekend which might be the most powerful thing I've seen in a long time. It depicts just a regular college kid who's not a muscle head doing something to stop it. 
• Mrs. LL and I went down to the Baylor game this weekend: (1) Hey, guy beside me, you want to get control of your kid? (2) And there was the grumpiest old woman in the history of ever sitting in front us. Lady, if you don't want to be there, don't come. (3) The crowd was overall insanely loud with the exception of about 15 minutes in the 4th quarter when every realized Florida State and Ohio State would win.  Then everyone snapped out of it. (4) Shout out to an old college roommate who saw me on the bridge. (5) There were still a lot of Game Day signs on display. Funny, funny stuff. (6) Mrs. LL said she wanted popcorn but the stadium was sold out except for a bags which were big enough to feed an entire section. I bought one anyway. Her face was priceless when I returned. (7) Art Briles being shown on the video board after the game getting in the face of the Big 12 commissioner was a crazy scene that has been under reported 
• Fox News is insane in general but their Saturday morning show is off the rails. I spent about 30 seconds on it and heard the three hosts blame the President for the current state of race relations. 
• How much do you think 61 acres at I-35 and 114 just sold for? (That's just a link for the sale. I don't know the answer.)
• A group of Navy SEALs had a failed mission over the weekend which ended up in two hostages being killed. And that occurred while two of its former members are profiting from writing about the Bin Laden raid. 
• Someone called up Junior Miller on The Ticket this morning accusing him of having an anti-Baylor bias.  His recent ex-wife graduated from Baylor so that'll do it to you. I give him a pass. 
• Mrs. LL and I watched Munich on Friday night. I think I know history but there are a ton of references in that film which were completely over my head. 
• On the Karl Klement car lot south of Decatur, there are hundreds of white work trucks for sale. Who buys those? I mean, it seems like they are at least a third or more of the inventory. 
• That wreck involving a teenager from Rhome described in the Update sounds horrific. Most accidents happen in a split second but this one sounds like you could see it coming. 
• If you tried to get into Fort Worth from Wise County this morning. Good luck. I-35 was shut down between Basswood and 820 due to a fatal wreck. And it's still shut down.

Hot Sports Prediction Before The Final Four Announcement

1. Alabama
2. Oregon
3. Florida State
4. Ohio State
5. Baylor
6. TCU

• I said three weeks ago that the Committee would shoehorn Ohio State in there if they had any legitimate reason to do so. They do now.
• ESPN and TV have tremendous power. Ohio State means ratings in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, et. al. as well as the general college football fan. Baylor and TCU don't bring that.  
• I think Baylor jumps TCU so the Committee can give head to head, and the Committee, some credibility -- that's the only reason. 
• The only thing which gives me pause about my predicted order is that they moved TCU to #3 above Florida State last week. My "shoehorn" theory about Ohio State has a flaw there. My predicted order of finish would be a no-brainer if they had put TCU at #4 last week.
• But if they put TCU in the Final Four, they catch criticism for leaving Ohio State out and for letting them stay above Baylor after losing head to head. Putting Ohio State in is the safe political choice. 
• This stuff is really fun.  Couldn't be prouder. 
• If Baylor had to pay for the amount of TV time that "Baylor" has been seen or mentioned over the last two days, it would cost multi-millions of dollars. Same goes for TCU. 
• I don't know if it is possible, but if Baylor and TCU are both left out, it would be epic to put them both in the Cotton Bowl for a rematch on a neutral field. 

Art Briles Chewing Out Big 12 Commissioner last night for not declaring "One True Champion". Why? Because he said he would back last summer during "media days":

Edit: Boom!!!! I'm un-retiring my Sports Genius status!

Double edit (stolen from someone else): You put a Longhorn sticker or a Sooner sticker on the side of the helmets of Baylor and TCU then one, or both, are in.