Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• "Trial of Eddie Routh, killer of Chris Kyle, will be darkest chapter of American Sniper". True that. Routh is a victim of that that war, too. A war which took so many young lives will haunt, if not destroy, many of its survivors for year and years to come.
• Conservative talk show host Mark Davis actually believes Chris Kyle killed two truck jackers at a convenience store in Texas? 
• The King of Saudi Arabia died yesterday. Every time I hear "Saudi Arabia" I think of the fact that 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were from there. And I also think of a book I've always intended to read: House of Bush, House of Saud. 
• Odd NFL fact I had forgotten about: Tampa Bay began in the AFC and then moved to the NFC. Seattle started in the NFC, moved to the AFC, and then back to the NFC.
• Deflategate is whipping me to no end. And note to media: If you think double entendres about balls are funny when discussing the controversy, I suspect you go home and watch Larry the Cable Guy on a DVD player.
• Fox 4's Becky Oliver had a segment last night on "extreme billing" by Texas General Hospital in Grand Prairie. She focused in on a lady who had gastric sleeve surgery and received a bill for $622,887.  Anyone else confused by this? She had an elective surgery and there was not an agreed upon price upfront? This isn't like she was rushed to the emergency room after an auto accident with severe injuries.
• You guys can gripe all you want to about Obamacare, but the system we have lived with for decades is jacked up. Getting rid of it might be like being on a journey with Lewis and Clark, but it needs to be made. And I don't care how Obamacare morphs over the years to come so long as the old status quo is gone.
• In the Jacksboro murder case where the guy was representing himself, he was found guilty and received 85 years in prison. Based upon what I've read, that seems excessive. 
• Come on, can't we have at least one ice day?
• Yesterday was the seventh anniversary of Heath Ledger's death.  Is it just me, or does the passage of time seem to be ramped up to overdrive?
• Kyler Murray is a very highly rated high school QB who is committed to the Aggies. (He's also the son of former Aggie great Kevin Murray.) But he did three weird things this week: (1) Took a surprise unofficial recruiting visit to UT, (2) Tweeted a picture of a Longhorn jersey with his number on it, and (3) Attended a function wearing a burnt orange tie.  If he ends up with the Aggies, I'd be worried he's a nutcase. 
• Very nerdy legal observation: Yesterday the Fort Worth Court of Appeals issued an "en banc" opinion which means all seven judges decided the case instead of the typical three. That's beyond rare so I expected something big. But the opinion issued concerned itself with the pretty routine issue of whether there was sufficient evidence of intoxication in a DWI case. It was incredibly short and there was not a dissent. And they designated the opinion as "Do not publish" which it means it doesn't go in the formal printed law books (but can still be cited.) So why did they go to all that trouble to have all seven judges hear the case? 
• Stolen from BagOfNothing: I completely missed the filming this week during a NBA game of Will Ferrell hit a cheerleader with a (probably fake) basketball as part of an upcoming film. Here's the video. Here's an incredible photo of it. And here is the gal who played the part of the cheerleader. Hey, now.