Jon Mark Beilue's Blog

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2010-09-15T08:48:00.002-05:00

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Jon Mark Beilue's Blog

Heisman vote redux

2010-08-31T09:04:00.003-05:00

Mack Brown, if other voters like me would not have let two late-season games sway us, your point on the Dan Patrick Show on Monday would have never come up.

Brown, head football coach at the University of Texas, told the nationally syndicated sports radio talk show host that his quarterback, Vince Young, deserves the 2005 Heisman Trophy won by the now-disgraced Reggie Bush.

Bush was the center point on NCAA sanctions against USC in June. It was announced he received many "improper benefits" including hotel stays and rent-free home for his family, and a free use of a limo and a new suit at, of all things, the 2005 Heisman Trophy presentation weekend in New York.

It was also revealed the NCAA found Bush ineligible by December 2004, seven months prior to the start of his Heisman-winning season.

"I think you have to go back and really give that choice to the Heisman Trust," Brown told Patrick. "If they take it away, I think Vince should be awarded the trophy . . . Vince was second in the voting, so even if they re-voted I would like to see Vince get it. At this point it's irrelevant because the Heisman Trust has not decided to take it away."

Young should have won it anyway. I blew it that year and others did too. At the end of the season, Bush had one of those remarkable games that sway voters with a five-touchdown game against mediocre Fresno State. It didn't help that Young had a so-so game against Texas A&M in the last game before the voting deadline.

Bush, the object of a love-fest from ESPN, was already in a slight lead. Those two games only cemented it. I wrote that I voted for Bush over Young, but didn't feel good about it.

I really didn't in the Rose Bowl when Young staged one of the most phenomenal games ever by a college player in the national spotlight, running and passing for more than 200 yards each in leading the Longhorns to the national crown over USC. Bush was a non-factor.

What is the right thing to do? Take the Heisman back from a known cheater. And give it to Young, or just vacate it entirely.

Moises, one year later

2010-08-30T10:31:00.006-05:00

It's been just more than one year since Moises Salazar, the young boy from Belize, was released to go home after a life-saving surgery in Amarillo. He had been run over by a truck in an accident in his home country and the medical facilities and know-how was not advanced enough in Belize to save his life.

I had written this column and this column on him last year and the unselfish work of those in Amarillo, from surgeons to teachers, from nurses to strangers. Few did as much as Tim Tam, a local minister who heads up the Word at Work, a mission outreach in Belize and the one responsible for getting Moises to Amarillo.

Tam reports in an e-mail the continued remarkable progress of Moises:

"August 20, 2010 was the one year anniversary of Moises' return to Belize. During the first week of August I paid him a visit at his home. When we got to their house no one was home but soon we saw them coming down the road. All the children were running at top speed, and Moises was way out in front, a picture of health."

Moises also wrote a letter that he updated all on his current physical status:

Dear Friends,

I am Lazarus converted to Moises. That Moises which God took out from the tomb and which he gave life again. Because of God, I saw the light of the day. I came back to breathe the air. I saw the trees. Thanks to my god I saw the day and thanks to Him I knew all those great persons and all those friends.

Thanks to God I got to know all those nurses that treated me in the best way. I give thanks to God for putting Mr. Tim Tam and Lisa that came from far away to help me when I was dying in the hospital. When all those persons close the doors, God sent them. God sent them so I could receive a new hope of life so they could carry me to the United States so I could live and so I could make new friends.

I ask God that one day I could return to the United States so I could hug Lisa who was like my mother, Mary Barlow who was like my aunty, and Mr. Tim Tam who was like my father. I remember when Mr. Tim and I used to play games in the hospital now that God gave me the gift to live again. I wish that Mr. Tim and Mary Barlow were here so I could hug them. Now that I am courageous I ask God for an opportunity to return to Amarillo, Texas, so I could eat all those delicious foods that they gave me and I could hug all my friends that were there in my help and so I could go fishing. I miss you all.

Love,

Moises Salazar

This will fire you up

2010-08-27T08:56:00.004-05:00

Today is Christmas in August, the official first day of high school football. I could write about the importance of this tradition to players and communities, coaches and parents.

I could write about how this is a rite of passage, how fast it's here and then it's gone. How the memories stay with those on the field for years and years.

Or I could just have you click on this Kenny Chesney video. After watching this, I'm ready to put on the pads.

Big bond happening to the south

2010-08-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

There's always been a bit of competition between sister cities Amarillo and Lubbock when it comes to the public sector. Sorta of what one does, the other will attempt to follow.

Red light cameras, of course, being an exception.

But the Lubobck ISD could be getting a big face-lift if voters in November approve a $198 million bond issue. The Lubbock school board accepted the recommendation of a citizens committee this week to call for an election that trustees say will improve every school in that district without raising taxes, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal has reported.

One of the biggest items among the recommendations — and certain to be the most emotional for voters — is $34 million to build two new elementary schools that each would consolidate two existing schools.

The new schools are part of the school and academic improvements part of the bond package, which totals $106 million and makes up about 53 percent of the bond package. The rest of the improvements include general capital improvements and school expansions and renovations.

Another part of the bond package that is likely to be controversial is expansion of high school cafeterias to accommodate the students who now go off-campus to have lunch. High school lunch periods would be closed, and students would stay on campus to eat.

The arts and athletics part of the package includes new elementary school playgrounds, renovations to middle school and high school athletic facilities, renovations to Lowrey Field (let's hope that includes a new press box in place of the decaying one) and making the stadium compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and renovations to all four high school auditoriums.

The final part of the bond package is instructional technology.

The aggressive manner the school district has paid down bond indebtedness in recent years is the reason the new bonds can be issued without raising taxes, school board president James Arnold said.

Andthe former nerd is...

2010-08-26T08:43:00.002-05:00

Ryan Seacrest. That was the dorky kid whose picture was posted Wednesday. Several of you got it. A few cheated and got it. But like they say, if you're not cheating, you're not trying.

OK, so I wasn't short-changed

2010-08-26T07:30:00.001-05:00

Has this ever happened to you?

I went through the drive-thru Tuesday morning at the Hardback Coffee at Hasting's on Georgia. I ordered a coffee with cream -- $1.84 with tax. Being the obscenely rich person that I am, I paid with a $20. As I was checking my change while leaving, I noticed only $13 or so. I had been shorted a $5.

An honest mistake, and so I pulled back into the parking lot and went inside with my change and receipt. No problem, they said. They apologized and gave me a $5. Well, that was easy.

Then when I got in my car, I saw an extra $5 that had fallen between the passenger seat and the console. They didn't short-change me after all. Hey, a walk on the wild side.

Now this is the point in the movie when the little deveil sits on one shoulder, and the little angel sits on the other. Who to listen to? What to do? Actually, I was governed by only one credo: Do the right thing.

So Wednesday morning, I walked in and ordered a coffee before work. I give the manager the extra $5 and explain what happened Tuesday when I thought I was short-changed. And you know what he did.

HE TOOK THE MONEY!! Let me repeat: HE TOOK THE MONEY.

Can you believe it? In the back of my naive mind, I'm thinking he would have said, "Oh, Mr. Beilue, it's so gratifying to still find a honest person in this world. You keep the $5. As a matter of fact, the coffee is on us, and here's another $5 for being so honest."

But he just flat took the money, and thanked me and said that happens sometimes.

Actually, I had a mini-speech prepared if he refused the money or didn't remember the incident. But it wasn't necessary.

Who is this celebrity nerd?

2010-08-25T08:55:00.004-05:00

I will give you the rest of the day. No, I will give you the rest of the year. No, wait, I will give you until 2015 to guess what current celebrity this is. You'll never get it without a hint. So I will throw one your way. A big hint.

American Idol.

Not a no-hitter feel

2010-08-24T08:54:00.003-05:00

I came back from a "Meet the Rebels" function at Tascosa Monday night around 8 p.m. and turned on the Rangers-Twins game. It was the fourth inning and the Rangers led, 2-0. That's good.

With disappointing Rich Harden making another start off the DL, you take what you can get. An inning later, the end-of-the-inning graphic showed something that caught my eye. He hadn't given up a hit.

But he had been sloppy good. It had taken him 35 pitches to get through the first four hitters, though none had gotten a hit. He had already walked three and his pitch count was getting up, way up, which is not unusual for Harden. There was no way he was going the distance, no-hitter or not.

In other words, an effective, but not dominant performance against one of the hottest teams in the American League. If Harden had given up a hit in the first inning, I would have been thinking this is a pretty good performance from a guy the Rangers could really use.

But as far as no-hit drama, it just wasn't there.

After he issued his fifth walk with two outs in the seventh and his pitch count was at 111, Ron Washington did about the only thing he could do -- take him out. Some clueless fans booed taking Harden out, but they weren't going to risk Harden's arm.

So Matt Harrison and Darren O'Day got four outs in order and the Rangers to the ninth with a 4-0 lead. The ball went to closer Neftali Feliz. It was weird. The last multi-pitcher no-hitter in the Major Leagues was in 2003.

If Feliz doesn't give up a hit, do the Rangers go into a no-hitter celebration? Who do they jump up and down on? Feliz? He's the pitcher on the mound. Harden? He did the bulk of the no-hit work, but he's in the dugout.

All-star catcher Joe Mauer made it a moot point, though. He lined an 0-2 pitch up the middle for a hit with one out in the ninth.

Owner Nolan Ryan was in the park. The man has thrown seven of them, most in history, and been close on about eight others. He could relate to the near-miss, but when Nolan came close, he was on the mound.

First day of last day of school

2010-08-23T09:32:00.000-05:00

Twelve years ago, his mother and I did what millions of parents were doing that morning. It was a big day, a huge day. It was the first day of kindergarten.

Chad was scrubbed down and ready to go. Our neighbors' little girl was also starting kindergarten. We went outside and took pictures of the two of them on a warm August morning. Hannah and Chad stood at attention with goofy grins.

We drove him to school, met the teacher again, and waved bye. There were no tears, unless they were from his momma. First day of school. A rite of passage.

Let's go from 1998 to 2010. Chad got up at 7:10 a.m., on his own, no less. He asked his mother if she had an extra paper folder. She did. He asked his dad if he had $2 to round out enough money for lunch. He did.

His mom had already headed to school. He showered and poured himself some Cheerios. He watched "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" on TBS and then went to warm up his pick-up.

"See ya," he said as I came in from feeding the dog.

"See ya. Have a good --"

But he had already closed the door.

No pictures. No Spider Man backpack. No dropping him off to his class.

No doubt about it, the first day of being a senior is not quite the same.

The many friends of Fogelberg

2010-08-20T09:34:00.006-05:00

In whatever way anyone would like to measure it, Thursday night's "Friends of Fogelberg" concert to benefit local prostate cancer education and testing was a success beyond what most could measure.

The crowd? The Globe-News Center was virtually full.

The music? I should stop being amazed at the talent of local musicians community. There were the veterans groups like Anderson, Flesher and Key and Insufficient Funds. But those like Mike Fuller, Bob Hopkins, Kim Loe, James Davis and Magggie Scales-Peacock on violin got deserving standing ovations as they played Fogelberg music.

A jam session featuring all local performers toward the end of intermission would rival anything you could hear anywhere.

What about the cause? Prostate cancer is the breast cancer of men. About 32,000 die in the U.S. annually from this disease. This is the second such concert featuring Fogelberg music, the folk rocker who died from prostate cancer in 2007. And, best of all, the money raised from the first concert went to the Prostate Cancer Foundation in California. All of last night's proceeds stayed right here in Amarillo.

The concert was in memory of Jim Holston, who hosted the first concert but died last June of prostate cancer. There was laughter, a few tears and a whole lot of good music.

None of this would have been possible without the dogged effort of Joe Ed Coffman. A huge Fogelberg fan, he is the relentless drive behind this.

And there's more to come. On Oct. 8, there's the Great Palo Duro Prostate Putting Relay, where a golf ball will be putted from the Palo Duro Canyon entrance to the Comanche Trail golf course. Now THAT should be interesting.

The folloing day, Comanche will hosts a four-man Friends of Fogelberg scramble that will benefit the Harrington Cancer Center.

If you got any more ideas or you just want to say thanks, Joe Ed wouldn't mind a call at all. He loves to talk. It's 806-290-9868.

Three in 40 years

2010-08-19T17:29:00.003-05:00

I rode down to Lubbock on Thursday with Ken Pirtle, who retired in 2008 as chairman of the visual arts department at Amarillo College. Ken, a 1970 Texas Tech graduate, had been at AC for 33 years.

Ken was making the final of eight deliveries of his football mosaics, which will adorn the east concourse of Jones AT&T Stadium. Ken won the bid for the project in late May.

There were a ton of interesting things Ken told me, like it takes 300 hours per mosaic to complete, and that 416,000 tiles comprise the eight mosaics.

But the one that got to me was he has missed only three home Tech football games since the late 1960s. In other words, three in just more than four decades. And it's not like he lives in the same city. There's a bit of an effort to get there. He said he's watched the Red Raiders in snow, heat and with a 102-degree temperature.

His season tickets are in Section 3 on the west side.

One game he missed was his grandfather's funeral in Arizona. The other two involved soem kind of city championship game that his son, Jeff, was involved in.

"I've seen some great wins," he said, "and tough losses."

Communicating, the 1920s way

2010-08-18T11:17:00.004-05:00

My good buddy Walter Riggs -- and I do have a few of those -- passed this along not long ago. It's in Amarillo and he took with his cell phone.

A cell phone (or a phone, twitter account, facebook page, smoke signals, etc.) is apparently something the guy who needed to reach David didn't have.

I sure hope David and this guy connected.

Talk about ups and downs

2010-08-18T09:07:00.004-05:00

When it comes to rides at amusement parks, I'm not much into things that go round and round. Rides like the Himalaya and others than spin riders like a top have me wondering how embarrassing it would be to throw up in public. Shoot, Merry Go Rounds iwth a young nephew can have me about ready to dive off.

But I like a good roller coaster -- some better than others. I love the twists and turns, and that clickety-clack climb in anticipation of the first big drop. I like everything but that sudden lurch to a stop at the end and then staggering out. To paraphrase Will Rogers, I've seldom met a roller coaster I didn't like.

But I'm no Vic Kleman. But then, who is?

The Pennsylvania man is 78 years old. He took his 4,000th roller coaster trip on an old-time ride on Sunday. And it took all day to get there.

In celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Jack Rabbit (let's hope it's been refurbished since 1920)at a Pennsylvania amusement park, Kleman took 90 rides on the thing on Sunday. He said he usually rides that roller coaster about 20 times a visit.

I guess that's a nice number -- 90 rides for 90 years.

Kleman, according to the Associated Press, started riding the Jack Rabbit in 1959 when he was 27. Doesn't sound like he's slowed down much since.

Kleman says he never got bored on his record setting journey, which took about five hours to complete the 90 rides to get him from 3,910 to 4,000. By the way, who keeps track of such things?

Kennywood, the amusement park where the Jack Rabbit resides, presented Kleman with a certificate to verify his 4,000 trips on board the roller coaster, which has an 85-foot double dip drop.

Not surprisingly, Kleman had some advice on how to best enjoy the ride.

"Just let a little air out like, 'Ahhhh...'" he says, "you know, that helps you, and then keep your feet flat on the ground. You get more air time on the double dip."

Kleman has one very simple reason for doing what he did.

"It's fun. I'm not trying to break any records or anything," he said. "It's just fun."

Atta boy, Vic. Numbers sometimes don't matter -- if you're 78 years old or if you're riding a roller coaster 90 times in one day to reach 4,000.

A pain in the grass

2010-08-16T08:59:00.006-05:00

The good news from Sunday, other than the Rangers 7-3 win over the Red Sox: I didn't have to mow the grass in sweltering heat.

The bad news: That's because I busted up our lawnmover.

Here I was in the afternoon, about to knock the backyard out and be done with it. I was mowing in the alley -- even in a Good Samaritan way mowing the alley of our neighbors.

Later, TWHACK! Hidden in some tall grass in the corner of the backyard was a pretty good-sized rock. I hit it so hard that it shut off the mower. Not good. I started the engine again and it sounded OK. Then it sounded really weird, then OK again. So I did what anyone else would do who wanted to get the grass cut before it got real hot -- I kept going.

Nrmally I can run right over the top of the one of these exposed tree roots. Not this time. THWACK! Engine dead. So now I looked under the mower and one end of the blade was almost pointed downward in a 90-degree angle. That's not good.

Even worse, oil was powering out of the engine. Really not good. And this mower is like two years old. Most of my underwear is older than that.

I figure I could spent some money to get it fixed and with parts, plus labor, well, who knows. Or I could go mower shopping.

I went mower shopping, back to good ol' Sears where I got this one. I don't need a self-propelled mower. I just need something functional that will start easily and get the job done. Like what I have -- or had.

At any rate, I bought on sale a Sears Craftsman 6.75 horsepower plantinum motor with a 22-inch cut. It's even got a little thingamajig where you can put a water hose into it with the motor running and it will clean the blade area. Plus there was an additional 10 percent off.

We take the love of our lawn life home tonight, and I vow not to run over any more rocks. Even those that spill out of my head.

And I'm also taking volunteers to test drive it over my yard the rest of the summer. Volunteers?

An I-40 eyesore

2010-08-13T09:29:00.002-05:00

Probably back in the 1970s, if memory serves, there was no finer hotel in the city than the new Hilton that opened at I-40 and Lakeside. It was expansive, had a nice atrium, and new for the time, rooms opened into the interior of the hotel.

In many ways, it was what the Ambassador Hotel is now. But in the ensuing decades, it's gone through different names. At one time, I believe it was a Radisson. It seemed to go gradually down hill, then in the last few years, quickly down hill.

The latest name, before the hotel closed, was Amarillo Airport Plaza Hotel. A friend of mine called it the Bates Motel.

It looks like a rat trap now. I pass by it once a week going to a prison ministry class. A once-proud hotel is in complete disarray. Now it appears that mattresses and other room furnishings are being pulled out of there.

Makes you wonder if the building will eventually be torn down. But it seems like its days as a hotel are over.

'Cankles' didn't make the cut

2010-08-10T14:16:00.005-05:00

Just not any ol' word can make the Oxford English Dictionary.

From the you-learn-something-new-every-day department, there are thousands of words that are denied a place in the snobby dictionary, which describes itself as the definite record of the English language.

They didn't get it because, to the editors, they are too odd or haven't gained enough usage in common language.

"Tanorexia" didn't make it. Neither did "flashpacking." Never heard of either one of them. But "tanorexia" is the obsession of getting tan. I probably would have eventually figured that one out. "Flashpacking" is luxurious backpacking.

But "cankles" didn't make it. I thought everyone knew what a cankle was. It's the combination of the calf and the ankle where it's hard to tell the difference where one stops and the other begins. In other words, thick ankles.

As in, "Good night, check out the cankles on that gal."

Here's some other words still waiting to be chosen:

Burqini: a swimsuit intended to comply with Islamic standards of modesty. (think opposite of bikini).

Chimping: the practice of immediately reviewing each shot taken using a digital camera. (It is not the practice of a male monkey owning and getting a cut of money from monkey prostitutes).

Chin-strap: a type of beard along the jawline (not what a football player wears unless he has a beard along the jawline).

Clickjacking: the use of hidden buttons on a website designed to perform actions they do not intend to do, like revealing personal information. (no kin to carjacking).

Faboosh: fabulous (I've made that sound while sneezing).

Glamping: glamorous camping. (How is that different from flashpacking?)

Twetiquette: Twitter etiquette (in 140 characters or less, do course.).

The last one

2010-08-09T15:49:00.006-05:00

And now Alma is gone.

The last surviving member of the main cast of six in the iconic movie "Hud," which was filmed in Claude in 1963, has died.

Patricia Neal, who won an Oscar for Best Actress by playing Alma, the housekeeper of the Bannon family, died Monday from lung cancer at age 84.

Neal was great in that movie. She was sexy without trying to be, teasing, sarcastic, funny. She gave as much as she took from the Bannon family, and in particular, Paul Newman's selfish and cocky Hud Bannon.

"Hud" was nominated for seven Academy Awards, and won three. Melvyn Douglas won Best Supporting Actor as Hud's father. Newman, who died in 2008, was nominated for Best Actor, but did not win. Many local Claude folks were used as extras.

When I think of movies filmed in Texas, three great ones come to mind: "Hud," "The Last Picture Show," and "No Country For Old Men."

Neal, a native of Kentucky, had an extremely difficult life not long after "Hud." She had three strokes that left her paralyzed and unable to speak or remember. The first stroke occurred in 1964.

Her infant son’s brain was damaged when his stroller was struck by a New York City taxicab and a daughter died as a result of the measles.

Neal did recover from her strokes to continue some acting thanks to husband Roald Dahl, but then lost him to another woman whom she had accepted as a friend.

Neal also had a love affair with actor Gary Cooper.

Good news for Ranger fans

2010-08-05T14:10:00.003-05:00

Maybe this is the Rangers year after all.

Not only do they have an 8-game lead in the American League West as of today, but around 1 a.m. this morning, the long protracted ugly sale of the Rangers was over. And Nolan Ryan emerged the winner.

Can we get an amem from the Ballpark in Arlington?

Pittsburgh attorney Chuck Greenberg and Ryan, the current Rangers president, emerged as the winner in bidding for the bankrupt franchise from beleagured former owner Tom Hicks. Greenberg and Ryan's bid of $593 million topped the $581.2 million bid of Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Houston businessman Jim Crane in a 10-hour marathon.

The announcement in a Fort Worth federal courthouse that Greenberg/Ryan had emerged the winner prompted cheers and a standing ovation despite the late hour.

"It was an emotional roller-coaster," said Ryan. "You go to court one day and it didn't go your way, but you go back another day and it would. It's a relief."

It's a relief for Ranger fans. Why?

First, it's what just about everyone wanted, from current front office staff of the Rangers, to players to fans. It guarantees smooth continuity.

Greenberg is fan-friendly, is committed to stadium upgrades, and vows to be very competitive in the free-agent market, including trying to keep current pitching stud Cliff Lee.

Not that Cuban wouldn't have been all of these, but the key here is Ryan. It was his group that won and he will stay on as president and part-owner for a long time. Not that Cuban wouldn't have made a play to keep Ryan, but I doubt he would have the same enthusiasm and length of stay -- if at all.

Ryan is Texas and Ryan is the Rangers. There's something comfortable about seeing Big Tex in his seat, arms folded, watching the game. He had credibilty and authority, not to mention 5,714 strikeouts, seven no-hitters and a Hall of Fame plaque.

"Ever since Nolan's been part of our franchise, we've gone nowhere but up," outfielder David Murphy told the Associated Press in Seattle. "He's very very respected and admired in the state of Texas and nationally. Of course, we wanted a guy like that as our owner. How could you not want a group with Nolan Ryan in it?"

Rangers front office presented Ryan with an expensive bottle of Dom Perignon Thursday afternoon.

Final approval of the Rangers sales rests with Major League Baseball, which is expected to easily approve the deal next week.

Maybe Aug. 4 is just a day you don't mess with Ryan. In 1993, in his last year as a Rangers pitcher, he gave Robin Ventura what-for when he charged the mound after Ryan plunked him. Seventeen years later, he and Greenberg win a marathon auction in court.

Hey, all Ranger fans are winners.

Sad and senseless

2010-08-04T16:28:00.003-05:00

Right now there are more questions than answers in the sad and senseless tragedy Tuesday night at the Love's Travel Shop west of Amarillo. This is one of the most disturbing incidents that I can recall locally in many years.

This much I know: Sharrel Blankenbaker, 63, of Felt, Okla., died a senseless but very heroic death in protecting her grandchildren from Gary Don Carner. She had apparently picked up her granddaughters at the Amarillo airport and was on the way back to Oklahoma.

They stopped at Love's, presumably to get something for the road. That's when Carner tried to take her 12-year-old granddaughter from California. Mrs. Blankenbaker stepped in front of her grandchildren to protect them when she was shot and died on the way to the hospital.

Sharrel Blankenbaker, uncommon last name, uncommon courage.

I also know Potter County Sheriff's Office should be commended for their pursuit of Carner, who was later shot and killed by a deputy. Deputies acted quickly and decisively.

What is hardest to comprehend is Carner, 58. I saw his picture on Facebook, where he had 110 friends. He looked like a typical cowboy in his black felt hat. He had a family. But his actions of Tuesday night were of someone on a hell-bent rampage.

According to authorities, he first tried to abduct a woman at 8:55 p.m. at a convenience store at 34th and Soncy. She was airing a tire when Carner approached her, first to ask if she needed a tire gauge, and then pulled a gun on her. She got away, ran into the store and the clerk locked the door. The police were called.

Before Carner could be located, and just 10 minutes later, he was at the Love's where the tragedy unfolded. Carner escaped, and less than 20 minutes later, abducted another girl, this one 11 years old. After deputies spotted Carner, the girl escaped before gunfire was exchanged.

My God, how many lives and familes did Carner wreck in a night of madness? We live in a very fallen world.

Frying the proverbial egg on the sidewalk

2010-08-03T15:18:00.003-05:00

This is why they're called the dog days. It's only supposed to be a chilly 98 degrees here in Amarillo, but it's going to be at least 104 in Canadian, 103 in Perryton, 103 in Childress and 102 in Pampa.

And it's always about this time of the year some enterprising person with too much time on their hands wonders if it's hot enough to fry an egg on a sidewalk. Nope, not yet. And not bacon either.

According to my investigation, a sidewalk needs to be between 144 and 158 degrees for an egg yolk to go from a liquid to a solid. So we got a ways to go yet. A light-colored sidewalk needs to be at least 158 degrees for that to happen. It doesn't have to be quite as hot on asphalt, although you may get grit and pebbles in your egg.

The problem, experts say, is a constant heat source is needed to fry the thing.

Now as far as making a grilled cheese sandwich in your car, you could probably do that right now.

Clint Formby

2010-08-02T09:02:00.003-05:00

Clint Formby was a big man in a small town. He made his mark in Hereford, but his impact was felt far beyond his hometown.

Formby, 86, died Saturday after a bout with cancer. One of the stations he owned was KPAN in Hereford. In 1955, he began daily commentary as the "Day-by-Day Philosopher." And that became an institution in Hereford. He hosted more than 16,000 episodes of the six-day-a-week program without missing a day.

He was featured on NBC's "Today" show in 2007 for the streak, which eventually reached 17,000. According to KPAN, "it was the longest-running consecutive radio broadcast by an individual in the United States."

I was honored just a few months ago when Mr. Formby called to ask what five living people I would invite to a fantasy dinner party. He was calling several in the area to get their ideas. In the few times our paths crossed, he could not have been nicer.

He's the former president of the Texas Association of Broadcasters and the Associated Press Broadcasters. If there was a radio organization, it seemed like Mr. Formby was on it. He traveled all over the country on behalf of various organizations, including six years on the board of the Associated Press.

But he was much more than a radio personality. Much more. When I first heard of him was back at Texas Tech when he was a member and then later chairman of the board of regents. It was at Tech he received his bachelor's degree.

The former Army veteran in World War II was extremely active in community affairs, honored at one time as Panhandle Citizen of the Year by the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce.

In explaining his affinity for Hereford and small towns in general, he told the "Today Show": "I was born in a small town. You can relate and interrelate with people in a small town. To my way of thinking, they're the salt of the earth."

None more so than Clint Formby.

Coming to his rescue

2010-07-30T11:58:00.002-05:00

It was an early 7 a.m. meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous on Sunday, July 18. One of the attendees had ridden his bicycle to the meeting and chained it with a fairly worn lock.

Even at that hour, there were two kids milling around suspiciously.

"We were about to start the meeting, and someone said, 'Does anybody know who those kids are?'" said Larry (not his real name). "They were sitting next to my bike. I look out a little bit later and it's gone."

The lock was cut, and the bike was nowhwere to be found. While Larry later talked to police outside, other members passed the hat and collected $159. The result was Larry got a new bike and a better lock.

"I didn't ask them to do it, obviously," Larry said, "but what's expected of me is not to pay it back, but to pass it on."

Bike helmet made a difference

2010-07-28T09:45:00.003-05:00

Last Sunday, I wrote a column on how bike helmets may have saved the lives or at least serious head injuries to Robyn Willis and Sherri Williamson last month. They were hit from behind while riding down 23rd Ave. in Canyon.

Amarillo attorney Shawn Twing, who is training for a triathlon, knows full well the importance of a helmet as well. He was injured recently in a cycling accident.

"According to my trainer I went 51 feet going just under 30 mph. If it were not for this helmet I would have died or would have suffered a very serious head injury. With the helmet I suffered a mild concussion and broken clavicle. I have become a big advocate for cycling helmets."

Good stick, no speed

2010-07-27T15:45:00.002-05:00

It's a loss not only to First Presbyterian Church, but to Amarillo that Dr. Jim Bankhead, the senior pastor of the church, is leaving in August. Bankhead's final sermon will be Aug. 15, 11 years to the day after first sermon as First Presbyterian's pastor.

Bankhead said he began to consider retirement about three years ago, but instead is taking a position as interim associate pastor of discipleship at West Hills Lake Presbyterian in Austin.

Jim also knows his way around a baseball field. We were part of two adult teams who met monthly during the spring and summer about 10 years ago. That's baseball, not softball. We should have known better, but there's too much kid in a bunch of us not to get out there make fools of ourselves. And then two years ago on Fathers Day, we had one more game, sort of an Old Timers Game.

Jim is a pretty good baseball player. For his age.

50,000 miles -- and counting

2010-07-26T11:09:00.005-05:00

It took a a lot of cold-morning runs, a lot of hot summer races, a lot of Saturday morning runs with friends, some solitary jaunts and overcoming a few nagging injuries over the last 22 years for Monte Wells to reach the total he was at Saturday morning.

Since he began logging all of his runs since 1988, and provided he never carried a 2 when he should have carried a 1, Wells had run 49,990.8 miles entering the weekend. He was 9.2 miles shy of 50,000.

How best to hit that milestone? Simply, with a slight bit of pomp on the last mile. Wells, an English teacher at Tascosa for the last 23 years, ran 8.2 miles in Thompson Park early Saturday morning. With 49,999 miles behind him, his last mile was in Paul and Mike's Excellent Mile at Thompson Park.

He cruised the Excellent Mile race in 6:09 to reach 50,000. To put that in perspective a bit, it's 24,900 miles around the globe at the equator. So Wells, who will be 49 next month, has lapped the earth twice and has got about 200 miles in on his third journey.

"What's a plausible goal?" he said. "Maybe another 6,000 to 8,000 miles, who knows?"

I bet it ends up being more than that, barring injury. Few are more dedicated and consistent in fitness training. And over the years, especially in his age group, not many have been faster locally than the former Amarillo High track and cross country runner.

He's only been below 2,000 miles once in the last 20 years in a calendar year with a high of 2,700 miles. Mark it down: somewhere around 2025, he's going to hit 75,000 miles. And as a frequent running partner of his through the years, I, along with my new hip, will be applauding.

Playboy's 'safe-for-work' website?

2010-07-23T10:39:00.003-05:00

For all of those who claimed to buy Playboy Magazine for the Q&A profile, the annual All-America football team and the interesting feature articles, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner is trying to help out those at their work stations and cubicles.

Playboy is launching a new website -- er -- stripped -- of its trademark nude playmate photos. TheSmokingJacket.com is named after the leisure apparel favored by the 84-year-old Hefner for generations. Hefner is 84? Wow.

Playboy Enterprises said the site is intended to be a "men's entertainment destination that provides guys with smart and sexy distractions throughout the day."

"Next to the Playboy mansion," Hefner said in a video introducing the site, "it's the best hangout on the planet."

The site features video clips and articles in several categories, including Girls, Entertainment, Sex, Videos and Lifestyles. There is no nudity, but supposedly no scarcity of bikini-clad women.

"Cube dwellers and office drones alike shall rejoice at this fun, sexy, satirical antidote to the drudgery of the work day," said Playboy's editorial director Jimmy Jellinek in a statement.

Just the same, I'll probably stick to Sports Illustrated's website on my downtime.

Facebook loses face

2010-07-21T17:40:00.002-05:00

Facebook, the most visited site on the Internet, may also be the most despised. According to msnbc.com, a new poll says the site scored a 64 on a 100-point scale, putting Facebook in the bottom 5 percent of private sector companies.

"They are in the same range as airlines and cable companies, two annual low-scoring industries with terrible customer satisfaction," said the survey by the American Customer Satisfaction Index's E-Business Report.

This comes as Facebook, the omnipresent social networking site, nears 500 million subscribers.

"Facebook is a phenomenal success, so we were not expecting to see it score so poorly with consumers," said Larry Freed, president of ForeSee Results. "At the same time, our research shows that privacy concerns, frequent changes to the website, and commercialization and advertising adversely affect the consumer experience."

Facebook has been under fire much of this year from the ways it shares data to changing the site to frequently that regular users are confused and frustrated.

Reclusive founder and one rich guy, Mark Zuckerberg, prepares to go public to discuss the company and its woes in an interview today with Diane Sawyer of ABC.

Hey, they exist

2010-07-20T17:48:00.002-05:00

I saw them with my two eyes around 11:30 a.m. today. Photographer Stephen Spillman, who was driving, was a witness.

But along around 1-27 and Western, there is was. A TxDot tractor pulling a mower and cutting down the jungles in Amarillo otherwise known as the medians. I kid you not. Hopefully, I-40 will be getting a long overdue trimming as well.

All I can say is, what took so long?

"Major League" manager

2010-07-19T10:17:00.003-05:00

The name of character actor James Gammon, who died Friday at age 70, from cancer didn't really ring a bell with me. That is, until I started reading what movies and TV shows he appeared in, some 135 in all.

For someone who loves sports and and covered sports for 25 years, ironically, I'm not a huge sports movie fan. But "Major League" from 1989 is easily one of my favorites.

The plot was a little lame, but the movie pulled it off in style. The new female owner of the Cleveland Indians put together a purposely horrible team so they will lose in a huge way and sell the team. But the team of cast-offs and misfits uncover the plot, start winning and you can probably guess the rest if you haven't seen it.

Gammon was gruff, but likeable Indians manager Lou Brown. He had a voice that made it sound like he gargled with gravel. Brown was manager of a tire store when he was asked to manage the Tribe.

"Let me get back to you, Charlie," Brown said. "I got a guy on the line asking about white walls."

One of misfits was stylish centerfield by the name of Willie Mays Hayes. In a movie of memorable lines, this exchange was right up there:

Hayes: "I'm Willie Mays Hayes. I hit like Mays and run like Hayes."

Brown: "You may run like Hayes, but you hit like -----."

Ol Yeller'

2010-07-16T15:08:00.002-05:00

When people are content and happy with the way things are, they tend not to say anything. But when there's a burr under the saddle, oh, yes, they'll let you know.

Based on Wednesday's column questioning the effectiveness of red-light cameras in Amarillo, I received an e-mail from a friend in Southern California who said a $75 ticket is nothing compared to the one she got for -- get this -- $494. See Thursday's blog for that.

Now James Walker of Ann Arbor, Mich., home to the University of Michigan, checks in. He's head of JCW Consulting, and a member of the National Motorists Association, which has gone on record as opposed to red-light cameras.

Walker questions the motives of the camera vendors while saying more problems would be solved if the yellow light intervals were simply longer.

"If the yellow intervals were lengthened, it would be likely to drop the straight through violations down so far that the uselessness of cameras for safety purposes would be even more evident," he said. "The compliance rate would probably go up so far that the fees to ATS would look like a very foolish fiscal commitment for the city.

"Engineering is the answer to most traffic violation issues, NOT either regular or camera enforcement. ATS and the other camera vendors do not care at all about safety. Indeed safety is counter-productive to their business plan. If there are very few violations, there will be very few crashes, and the camera vendors entire reason to exist will vanish."

It could always be worse

2010-07-15T15:25:00.002-05:00

So you think a $75 fine for running a red-light camera is a swift kick to the bank account? Well, it's certainly not loose change in the couch, no doubt about that, but it could be a lot, lot, I mean, a lot worse.

In response to my column on Wednesday regarding the nearly two-year data the city of Amarillo released on red-light cameras, I got an e-mail from an old friend who now lives in Southern California near San Diego.

"I just had to comment on your 'View on Cameras,'" she wrote. "I'm about to write a check for my first red-light offense here in Southern California that will make Texas' $75 fine look wonderful. My ticket is for $494, yes, four-hundred-ninety-four dollars."

By my math, that's $6 shy of $500, or 6 1/2 times what an offense in Amarillo is.

"Thank goodness," she wrote, "I wasn't talking on the cell phone, too, which is against the law here -- only hands-free allowed. Who knows what they would have got me for! Needless to say, it's one of those checks that gets my goat and I refuse to drive down that street again, much less spend future money in the town were the camera is located. Living in beautiful Southern California comes at a cost."

I'm telling you, if fines for running a red-light camera were anything like that in Texas, there would be rioting in the streets. If you think there's controversy about them now, just imagine someone being forced to pay $494.

Put it this way: lawyers would be busy.

Lost in the mail?

2010-07-14T16:00:00.004-05:00

Did you get your invitation to Chelsea Clinton's wedding? Me neither. Could be the postal service though. So let's not lose all hope for getting an invite to the July 31 nuptials between the daughter of Bill and Hilary and investment banker Marc Mezvinsky.

But, then, again, maybe it's just not happening because already 500 have received their invitations. And to be honest, I don't run around in the same circles as them.

President Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Barbara Streisand and a former British head of state are among those who were invited.

Also on the 500-person guestlist: former British Prime Minister John Major, Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg, historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, CNN founder Ted Turner, and ex-Bill Clinton campaign aide Terry McAuliffe.

Chelsea's wedding will take place at the Astor Court mansion in Rhinebeck village, 90 miles north of New York City, the Hudson Valley News reported.

Earlier this month, news outlets reported the former first daughter had selected Astor Court a 50-acre estate once owned by wealthy scion John Jacob Astor IV -- to wed her longtime beau. Representatives from the Clintons have been mum with specifics on the hot-ticket wedding.

Oh, well, that's one less toaster I have to get as a wedding gift.

Let's not canonize Steinbrenner

2010-07-13T15:10:00.006-05:00

You're never supposed to speak ill of the dead because, well, they're dead. What's the point? What's done is done. No one hears many eulogies of those who are called scoundrels and jerks.

Take George Steinbrenner. The iconic New York Yankee owner, the most famous owner in professional sports in four decades, died early this morning from a heart attack at age 80. He and I shared the same birthday, July 4. He had been in failing health for many years leaving the daily duties to his son, Hal.

Based on the quotes today from those who knew Steinbrenner, I didn't know if Mr. Rogers had passed away or one of the most ruthless win-at-all-costs bullies had. He was cited for his philanthropic generosity, his business acumen, his passion to win. All of them are true.

Under his guidance, when he headed a group that bought the lackluster Yankees in 1973 for $10 million, New York would go on to win seven World Series, 11 American League pennants, and the franchise is now valued at $1.6 billion, third-richest in sports, thanks to his lucrative cable television package in the country's largest market.

His payrolls were the highest in baseball. Few free agents were off limits. He wanted the best and had the deep pockets to go get them.

Put it this way. I would love to have someone like Steinbrenner own the team of which I was a big fan. And most New Yorkers felt that way. But I would hate working for him.

Steinbrenner had another side, a bigger darker side. He had a mean dictorial tyrannical side that is as much a part of his legacy as any other. He ruled with an iron fist.

He fired 21 managers -- including Billy Martin five times -- a dozen general managers, and untold number of other front-office personnel. He once fired his public relations director who had hurried home to Ohio for Christmas Day only to get back late the next day for the contract extension press conference for pitcher David Cone.

He was suspended twice, once for illegal campaign contributions to Richard Nixon and the other for hiring a self-described gambler to dig up dirt of Yankee outfielder Dave Winfield, whom he publicly feuded with.

"Winning is the most important thing in my life after breathing," he said. "Winning, then breathing."

Give "Big Stein" -- as he was parodied on "Seinfeld" -- credit for many things. But the number of people he carelessly tossed aside and treated like dirt should be part of the picture as well. He should be remembered for both.

Bang for the buck

2010-07-12T15:19:00.005-05:00

I can always count on Walter Riggs of Wells Fargo Bank to put Texas Tech in the best light possible. Don't know if there's a bigger fan of the Red Raiders than Walter, a Clarendon native who walked on with the Tech football team in the mid-1970s and even felt the wrath of then-defensive coordinator Bill Parcells while on the scout team.

Walter owns the Tech Cruiser, a converted 1970s Suburban that he got in Las Vegas that's used for tailgating the last few seasons. The Tech Cruiser has rapidly become an institution belonging to someone who sometimes belongs in an institution. But that's another story for another day.

Walter got his dander up against an Okie State alum, and uncovered this gem from Sports Illustrated on how Big 12 football (the still hanging-on Big 12) fared against schools that spent more money in their football program since 2005.

Tech led the conference with an 18-10 record for a .642 winning percentage. Texas was second at 3-2. I can't believe there are five schools in the country that spend more money on football than Texas. Kansas was the only other Big 12 team to post a winning mark (26-20).

Most losses? That would be Baylor at 10-38. Worst winning percentage? That goes to the Aggies, who are 3-16 (.157) against schools that spent more money in their football program the last five years.

Nationally, Tech is No. 5. The top spot belongs to West Virginia, which is 14-3. The remainder of the top six are No. 2 Florida (9-4), No. 3 LSU (13-6), and the Oregon schools -- No. 4 Oregon (19-9) and No. 6 Oregon State (27-16).

Your fireworks history lesson

2010-07-01T10:19:00.005-05:00

Beginning about 9:45 p.m. Sunday night, the sky will light up over Southwest Park with the annual Globe-News Fourth of July fireworks display. From Washington State to Florida, southern California to Maine, large-city harbors to small-town America, fireworks of various colors and sizes will light up nighttime skies this weekend.

What in the world started this? Was it simply Francis Scott Key writing about the "rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air?" Certainly, having those words in our National Anthem didn't hurt. But maybe John Adams got the ball rolling, or the fuse lit, on July 3, 1776.

He wrote to his wife in regard to the pending adoption of the Declaration of Independence: "The day will be the most memorable in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival...It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade...bonfires and illuminations from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward evermore."

A forward-thinking Adams was right on. Beginning the next year, in 1777, a rudimentary form of fireworks were used and have been linked to America's birthday ever since.

Who invented fireworks? The Chinese, of course, say they did. China claims they invented everything. India disputes that. But the Chinese say hundreds of years ago, bamboo rods were filled with explosives and then set off to ward off evil spirits. And so they began doing that to mark any landmark event, like a birth, wedding, or now, perhaps the jailing of a dissident.

Fireworks came to Europe in the 13th century, and by the 15th century were used in religious events and public entertainment. Indeed, Shakespeare mentions them several times in his plays.

A couple of times fireworks have been canceled in the U.S. around the Fourth. The first was in 1881 after the shooting of President Garfield. The other was in 1942 because many cities had World War II blackout restrictions, especially on the West Coast.

But this Sunday, the skies will be bright.

And what is your Brazilian soccer name?

2010-06-29T16:58:00.007-05:00

Notice how those Brazlian soccer players are only known by one name? In this country, it's only reserved for the biggest of the big -- Elvis, Madonna, Cher, Kobe, Magic, Shaq.

You got to be a big deal to go by only one name. But in Brazil, everyone goes by one name. Must be a Brazlian or Portugese thing. They've got these exceptional soccer players with Robinho, Maicon and Kaka on the backs of their yellow jerseys.

Anyway, why let that country get all the cool? Thanks to this website, you can find out how your name could be translated into a breezy one-word name.

My translation is Beiluinhosa. That doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, does it?

Our publisher, Les Simpson, has his translated as Lildo. Sorry about that, Les. Sounds like a detergent.

Feature writer Brad Newman must be an off-shoot of Les. Say hello to Bildo.

Let's see, mayor Debra McCartt is Mcchino. West Texas A&M football coach Don Carthel is Carthino. Venom coach Jon Lyles is Jimo. Dillas manager Brady Bogart becomes the rather cool-sounding Briano.

Give it a shot.

"Choc" Climer -- still going strong

2010-06-29T09:01:00.002-05:00

A happy 80th birthday today to "Choc" Climer, who for 22 years had a hand in building many major facilities and landmarks in and around Amarillo.

"I finally got there," said Climer of the big 8-Oh.

From 1956 to 1978, Climer was owner of Climer Steel Erectors. His company's first job was putting in the steel for Tascosa High School.

They also did the work on First Christian Church, the Civic Center, the Palo Duro Canyon Pioneer Amphitheater, seven elementary schools in Amarillo, including Belmar, Ridgecrest and Oakdale, and kept a construction crew at Pantex for 20 years.

"It seems like we built everything from Helium (Road) to Hope Road except for Gander Mountain," he said.

But Climer Steel Erectors reached beyond Amarillo. His company of nearly 60 did work in four states. His biggest job may have been helping build a C5 hangar in Altus, Okla., not long before he sold out the company to his employees.

"That was a humongous job," he said.

Climer ran three times unsuccessfully for political office for county commissioner, sheriff, and county judge.

"I was probably lucky I never did get them," he said.

Today, he has Climer Properties, which is commercial sales and rentals. There were 116 people jammed into his and wife Barbara's home last Saturday to celebrate his birthday. He doesn't plan on slowing down.

"I'll never quit working," he said. "I'm about the only guy I know my age not taking prescription medicine. I've got no aches and pains."

But the best time of his life was having a hand in helping Amarillo grow.

"But I tell you, I still wish I was in the business," he said. "Once it gets in your blood, it's hard to get it out. I just enjoy seeing progress done."

A disturbing convicted murderer

2010-06-28T13:59:00.002-05:00

Some homicides can at least be easily explained and don't leave me shaking my head. But last week's conviction and sentencing of a 17-year-old Hereford girl is really disturbing and a sad tragedy of a young life gone wrong.

Sygourney Grajeda, 17, was convicted and sentenced to 45 years in the stabbing death of her grandmother, Lucia Guajardo, 73, in her Hereford home last July. Grajeda entered the house through her grandmother's window, and stabbed her grandmother in the chest. Guajardo called 911 before she died.

Damien Rodriguez, who also faces charges of murder and evidence tampering in Guajardo's death, was also at the crime scene.

What's still unclear, and adds to the brutality of the crime, is even at trial a motive was not established, Deaf Smith County Criminal District Attorney Jim English said. Why did she kill her grandmother?

"She's a premeditated, coldhearted murderer," said English, who had pushed for a life sentence.

What is clear is that Grajeda had been in trouble with the law for nearly four years. She was pregnant at 15, and testimoney pointed to a history of drug abuse.

Imagine Mari Grajeda. She is both daughter of the murder victim and mother of the murderer. What kind of pain must she be going through?

But what a waste of a young life in a senseless killing.

Dog in heat

2010-06-17T17:28:00.003-05:00

A dog's gotta do what a dog's gotta do in this summer heat.

History lesson

2010-06-16T17:29:00.004-05:00

For many years, the major fundraising project of the Amarillo Downtown Kiwanis Club, of which I'm president (don't ask), has been our flag service. The club puts out more than 2,200 flags five times a year: Memorial Day, Flag Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day and Veterans Day.

We start putting out flags at 6 a.m. and start picking them up around 5 p.m. On Monday, Jeff Neely, his wife Sandra and I were working one of the Wolflin routes. It was about 6 p.m. when I picked up a flag in front of a house on Parker Street where about three kids, all around 8 or 9, were out front playing.

"How come you're taking the flag?" asked one.

"Because it's the end of the day," Jeff said.

"No, it's not. There's still a lot of day left."

Jeff, being the ever-patient grandfather that he is, explained that by the time all the flags were picked up and loaded back to the storage area, that it would be late enough.

"Hey," I said. "Do you kids know what today is?"

"Martin Luther King Day," one of them piped up.

"Close," I said as we went on down the street.

Where does an 800-pound gorilla sit?

2010-06-15T08:35:00.006-05:00

Anywhere he wants. Isn't that right, Texas Longhorns?

In the ongoing soap opera of college football conference upheavel, Texas has decided to remain put in the new Big 12. As a result, the Longhorns, using the possibility of moving to the Pac-10 in a 16-team super conference as leverage, got everything it wanted. In other words, money. And Texas Tech fans are slightly miffed.

Texas president Bill Powers informed the Big 12 Monday afternoon the Longhorns were not going to the Pac-10 and were staying put. Since the Pac-10 invitation to Oklahoma, Tech, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M was contingent on Texas going, then no one was going.

The Longhorns were swayed by lucrative TV possibilities, which should enrich the remaining 10 teams since Nebraska and Colorado are bolting, but none more so than Texas.

The other key was Texas A&M. The school quickly followed with a statement from president R. Bowen Loftin, saying that the Aggies would continue as members of the Big 12. Loftin said the survival of the Big 12 was the preferred choice for himself and athletic director Bill Byrne. A&M was courted heavily by the Southeastern Conference, and could have gone that direction.

A key factor was a long-term TV deal initiated by beleagured Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe and unveiled Sunday. With help from current league partners Fox Sports Net and ABC/ESPN, the deal will enable most schools to double their revenue. Terms were expected to be revealed by Beebe Tuesday.

But the key component was to pacify Texas, and that sure happened. It will allow Texas to continue its long-held goal of its own TV network. With the network, Texas could make upward of $25 million annually in TV revenue. Big 12 schools each make between $7 million and $12 million in revenue now.

This was key, make no mistake. Texas got everything it wanted. While the Pac-10 TV contract would be very lucrative, the conference was not going to allow Texas to have its own network. Meanwhile, the Big 12 and Beebe were willing to wear a dog collar and puppet strings in public to keep the Longhorns -- and keep the conference alive.

Oklahoma and A&M, which has battled debt problems in its athletic department, could earn about $20 million. Other schools in the conference will make less under the plan, but more than they are currently making.

And that's what has some Tech folks steamed. The Red Raiders are being lumped in the TV revenue pot of about $14 million annually with Kansas State, Iowa State, Baylor, et al. And they don't feel they should. And they shouldn't.

Tech should earn somewhere between what Oklahoma and the rest of the confernece receives. This is a school that's been to 10 straight bowl games. As far as TV ratings, they've been exceptionally high, all things considered. Look at the epic Texas game in 2008 and last year's Alamo Bowl game with Michigan State.

The Tech Board of Regents meets this afternoon to likely rubber-stamp its commitment to the Big 12. What other options does Tech have?

Tech wasn't getting an invitation to the Pac-10 without Texas, OU and OSU. The Pac-10 presidents would never agree to solely invite Tech.

Join the SEC?The SEC, to my knowledge, has not shown the slightest bit of interest in Tech.

Seek membership to the Mountain West or Conference USA? That's stupid. Throw away millions and a spot in a BCS conference.

No doubt, the other schools cowed down to Bevo, pun intended. Perhaps Tech can play some kind of hardball with Beebe and the Big 12 to get a more weighted share of TV revenue. To be lumped with K-State, Iowa State and Baylor, based on what Tech has done and the attraction it has been the last decade, is ridiculous.

Tech doesn't have a whole lot of leverage, but if Chancellor Kent Hance and President Guy Bailey and the board of regents have any kind of backbone, they will inform Beebe that Tech's portion, based on ratings and record, is unacceptable. Take it public. Make it nasty, but don't just bend over and take it.

Powers confirmed UT's decision to Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott, who had seemed poised to deliver Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State – and possibly Texas A&M – to the Pac-10, creating a 16-team superconference that would transform college athletics. Soon after, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State announced they were also remaining in the Big 12. Texas Tech will stay and indicated it will issue a statement today. Texas canceled a special board of regents meeting scheduled for today.

"We are committed to the Big 12 and its success today and into the future," the statement read in part.

That ensured that Colorado (Pac-10) and Nebraska (Big Ten) would be the only defections from the Big 12, losses the league could endure.

A key factor was a long-term TV deal initiated by Beebe and unveiled Sunday. With help from current league partners Fox Sports Net and ABC/ESPN, the deal will enable most schools to double their revenue. Terms were expected to be revealed by Beebe today.

But one key component in the Big 12 proposal allowed Texas to keep alive hopes for its own TV network, viewed as an important project by athletic director DeLoss Dodds. With the network, Texas could make upward of $25 million annually in conference revenue, multiple sources familiar with the plan said. Big 12 schools each make between $7 million and $12 million in revenue now.

Schools such as Oklahoma and A&M, which has battled debt problems in its athletic department, could earn about $20 million. Other schools in the conference will make less under the plan, but more than they are currently making.

The Fox cable rights deal with the Big 12 expires in 2012, but ESPN/ABC is locked in until 2016. Both networks reacted with concern to Pac-10 plans to add major schools in Texas and Oklahoma and place them on a conference TV network, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation. The move also could have set off a chain reaction of college realignment that could have dramatically changed the landscape. Much of the A&M fan base was electrified about a bid to the Southeastern Conference and a separate identity from rival Texas.

A key barometer was A&M regent and Aggies football legend Gene Stallings, who had been among those vocally wondering if the Aggies should take a step away from Texas.

In a phone conversation just before noon Monday, Stallings said he liked the idea of a 10-team Big 12.

"First of all, if I had my druthers I would wish that the conference did not disband," said Stallings, who played for Bear Bryant at A&M and won a national title at Alabama as head coach.

"I would really hate to see A&M and its rivalries with Texas and Texas Tech and Oklahoma go away. I hated to see the Southwest Conference disband. I'm the sort of person who holds on to old values."

Another key conference voice weighed in during the afternoon – Dallas oilman and financier T. Boone Pickens, whose $400 million in donations have transformed Oklahoma State. He was optimistic after giving a talk in Austin and said he liked the idea of a lean Big 12.

"I don't want to go off and leave Iowa State, Kansas State or Baylor," Pickens said. "The Pac-10 is not that interesting. I'd rather trim the conference. I don't care if Nebraska leaves, I have no love for them. And I'd just as soon Missouri leave, and Colorado kind of fell in the same category."

Tascosa in elite company

2010-06-14T10:34:00.004-05:00

Tascsosa High School was selected as one of the top 1,600 high schools in the country in results released today by Newsweek Magazine. That represents 6 percent of the country's high schools.

Tascosa was ranked 1,345th. The Rebels have previously made the list. Newsweek has ranked the nation's high schools nine times.

The methodology gives much weight to college advanced placement tests and graduating seniors. According to Newsweek: "We take the total number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or Cambridge (AICE) tests given at a school each year and divide by the number of seniors graduating in May or June.

"All public schools Newsweek could find that achieved a ratio of at least 1.000, meaning they had as many tests in 2009 as they had graduates, were put on the list. Each list is based on the previous year's data, so the 2010 list has each school's numbers for 2009."

Tascosa had an index of 1.251. Lubbock High, No. 1,234, was the only other high school ranked. A total of 127 Texas school made the list, led by No. 1, Dallas School for the Gifted and Talented with an index of 14.938. Yeah, but how's their football team?

"We put a lot of effort and focus on our AP courses," said Tascosa principal Dr. Lynn Pulliam. "Our kids have a lot of AP options. Tascosa fits well into the grand scheme of things in Newsweek's rankings. We don't have an international baccalaureate program like Amarillo High does."

Pulliam said the school benefits from an anonymous donor that funds the advanced placement college credit course program.

"We are very fortunate," said Pulliam. "A good percentage of our students get college credit and it's a money saver. Even if they don't earn that, they are involved in rigorous studies that prepares them for college.

Here's the complete story.

College conference earthquake

2010-06-11T08:36:00.007-05:00

Bits of tid on the college conference shakeup, the likes we have never seen before:

* College athletics, above all, is a multi-billion dollar business. TV contracts with the Big Ten and SEC net those schools around $20 million annually. A Pac 16 would so the same thing when major TV markets are factored. That will balance a lot of college budgets. College administrators could not care less about tradition and rivalries when millions of dollars are at stake. And the Big 12's current TV contracts are poor in relation to others.

* The Big 12 never quite jelled. The old Big 8 resented the powerful new kids -- or kid -- on the block. Read: Texas. Nebraska, in particular, didn't like the way Texas seemed to get its way on taking no partial qualifiers, which NU profitted from. The North didn't like the way many of the championships were held in south venues. The North thought the newcomers acted like they owned the place. They didn't like the uneven revenue sharing that favored Texas.

But other than Nebraska football in the first five years of the conference, Kansas basketball, and on occasion, K-State football in the early part of the decade, what exactly did the North bring to the table in the revenue-producing sports?

* Nebraska leaving to join the Big 10 today means the dominoes really start to fall. The Big 12 is dead. But something tells me the addition of Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State to join Colorado in the Pac 10 is not quite a done deal. A&M is flirting with the SEC, and the Big 10 still loves Texas. Don't be shocked if some backroom deal lands both in the SEC or even Big 10, or just one. Nothing should surprise anyone.

* Reports are that A&M is seriously considering going to the SEC without Texas. A&M regent Gene Stallings is pushing it. He's the former coach at Alabama and a loyalist to that conference. Aggies athletic director Bill Byrne, former AD at Oregon, is not enamored with the travel of the PAC 10/16. Can you imagine Texas and A&M in difference conferences? Unthinkable in the old days, but now, who knows?

* Football drives the bus. I feel sorry for Baylor. The Bears have done about everything they can to establish a very solid athletic program with one major exception and the one that really counts -- football. Look at Kansas. Top five basketball program of all time. But the Jayhawks may be without a major conference.

* Colorado, which is heading to the Pac 10, has the worst athletic program in the late great Big 12. Football has gone in the tank. Basketball is a joke. The Buffs don't even field baseball and softball teams. About the only thing they're decent at is skiing and cross country. Oh, but they have the Denver TV market. Yeah, right. Denver is about as crazy about CU football as Dallas is about SMU.

* Tech alums, of which I am one, need to send a thank-you note or at least a pat on the back to big in-state brother, Texas, if the Red Raiders head to the Pac 10. Tech wasn't going to that conference without some subtle hints from Texas to the Pac 10 to include them. Same with Oklahoma State in regard to Oklahoma. Tech generally doesn't get the credit in football they deserve, particularly when the last 15 years are factored in, but at the same time, they and the Lubbock market do not have the cachet to go out on their own like this.

* What's going to happen to Missouri? The Tigers more or less pushed the agenda of leaving the Big 12 and would have crawled on broken glass to go. But they may be on the outside looking in.

* Those Big 12 schools left behind are going to do all right for themselves. Imagine a conference, a reconfigured 14-team Mountain West that would look something like this:

East Division: TCU, Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Air Force, New Mexico.

West Division: Boise State, Colorado State, Wyoming, Utah, BYU, UNLV, San Diego State.

But stay tuned. The next week is only going to get curiouser and curiouser.

Tragic coincidence

2010-06-09T11:54:00.004-05:00

As Bushland and Amarillo residents learned last November, an exploding gasline is not to be trifled with. When flames shoot up hundreds of feet, it's deadly.

And now, in a matter of two days, three workers have been killed in two separate accidents when machinery accidentally ruptured natural gas lines. One Tuesday afternoon was in the Panhandle, near Darrourzett in the far northeast corner.

The blast involved a crew removing caliche from a pit for a dirt-contracting company. A bulldozer struck the pipeline, triggering the explosion that killed two and has sent another worker to an Oklahoma City hospital. Two others were injured, but it was not considered life-threatening.

Twenty-four earlier, near Cleburne, a gas line erupted after utility workers accidentally hit the line. A crew was drilling holes for utility poles when the explosion occurred. In addition to one fatality, seven went to the hospital.

In both explosions, officials estimated the temperatures at more than 2,000 degrees.

Say what?

2010-06-08T07:15:00.000-05:00

Ever read something and do one of those actual double-takes? Ever say, did I just read that right? Here's one:

"Elton John sings at Rush Limbaugh's wedding.''

What?

Might as well have read: "Lady Gaga sings at Mennnonite wedding."

Now I can believe the right-wing conservative radio talk show host is now on his fourth wife (I believe the 59-year-old Limbaught can catch fellow talk show host Larry King's seven wives), but what's hard to believe is the left-leaning AIDS activist gay rock singing icon played at the wedding.

Karl Rove was there, jetting to Palm Beach after a book signing in Amarillo. So too were Sean Hannity, James Carville, Mary Matalin, Rudy Giuliani, and Clarence Thomas, among others.

And Keith Olbermann and Leonard Pitts were in the wedding party (Not really).

Like myself, Limbaugh must be a Sir Elton fan. Unlike myself, he can afford the $1 million price tag that Elton supposedly charges for a private concert, according to People Magazine. Then again, last year, Reuters reported that Elton charged more than $2 million for private performances, although all earnings go to his charity, the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

Now, Toby Keith, I could see that. But Elton John. That one was worth a double-take.

Together even more

2010-06-07T09:13:00.001-05:00

Last Wednesday, June 2, I wrote a column on how much twins Patrick and Austin Hodges have mirrored each other as they graduated with a 4.0 GPA from Texas A&M.

I made an off-hand remark in jest that got a couple of responses: "Backtracking slightly, Patrick graduated from Tascosa in 2006 with a 99.9 average and No. 3 in his class. Austin was No. 5, at 99.7, while some interloper squeezed in between."

The interloper crack was that how dare someone get between those two? Well, that "interloper" is Katie Zallar, who is graduating summa cum laude on Aug. 7 from Texas Tech. I heard from a proud grandfather and mother.

"As a mother of the 'interloper,' I do feel you could have selected a more appropriate word with less of a negative connotation," wrote Mary Jo Zallar. "... I realize the gist of what you were trying to convey and the humorous undertone. I even called my daughter to tease her yesterday that she was now an 'interloper.'"

Mary Jo went on to say at the end of that 2006 school year, Katie's GPA edged out Patrick Hodges for third place, so the twins actually did end up side by side, ranking No. 4 and No. 5 at Tascosa.

Here's to the Donut Stop

2010-06-04T08:33:00.005-05:00

If you're into your third doughnut by now, don't feel guilty. Not that you would if you typically eat three doughnuts. But today is National Doughnut Day. So pig out.

So here I am this morning eating a scone? Seems un-American, but I didn't know how special today was. But the day is not over yet either.

I've been to Boston twice in the last five years, and you can't go five feet in any direction without tripping over a Dunkin' Donuts. They are everywhere. Think there's a lot of Toot 'n Totums in Amarillo? Double that and you'll have the density of Dunkin' Donuts in New England. Yes, that's an odd mixture, Dunkin' Donuts and the Boston Marathon. But it's a big city.

I can remember two Dunkin' Donuts in Amarillo. It seems there was one on Western and one on Amarillo Blvd. But that was a long time ago.

Now, of course, Rosemartha Cates has seven Donut Stops in Amarillo and one in Canyon. They make a doughnut the way a doughnut should taste, fluffy and flavorful. And, of course, they essentially ran Krispy Kreme and their much overrated way-too-sweet doughnut restaurant out of town. I'll always remember the plucky Donut Stop for doing that.

There's a list online of the top doughnut places in America:

1. Fritelli's Doughnuts and Coffee (Beverly Hills, Calif.)
2. Sweeteater's Donut Mill (Kalamazoo, Mich.)
3. Randy's Donuts (Inglewood, Calif.)
4. Cafe Du Monde (New Orleans)
5. Top Pot Coffee and Doughnuts (Seattle).
6. Doughnut Plant (New York).
7. Voodoo Doughnuts (Portland)
8. Round Rock Donuts (Round Rock, Texas, near Austin).
9. Kane's Donuts (Saugus, Mass.)
10. Coffee an' Donut Shop (Westport, Conn.)

Amarillo's Donut Stop ought to be in the top 10. Rosemartha needs a publicist.

Perfection and the human element

2010-06-03T09:04:00.004-05:00

It will be interesting to see what kind of reaction umpire Jim Joyce will receive in Detroit this afternoon when he comes out to home plate at Comerica Park for a grounds-rule meeting and exchange of lineups between the Tigers and Indians.

Well, I know what kind of reaction he'll get when he settles in to work home plate. It won't warm and friendly, that's for sure. Probably some early boos that will eventually fade as long as Joyce doesn't squeeze the Tigers pitchers strike zone.

Joyce, of course, created an unholy baseball controversy Wednesday night when he ruled -- incorrectly-- that Jason McDonald was safe at first base with two outs in the ninth inning of the Tigers' 3-0 win. All the call did was cost little-known Armando Galarraga a perfect game.

Galarraga had retired 26 in a row, and needed just one more out for baseball immortality. There's been only approximately 20 perfect games in the history of the game, but oddly, there's been two since Mother's Day.

First baseman Miguel Cabrera took Donald's bouncer, turned and threw to Galarraga, who was covering the bag. The throw beat Donald by at least a half-step. It was not a difficult call for a Major League umpire, but Joyce, a 22-year veteran, emphatically gave the safe sign.

What stood out was the aftermath. Sure there was some gnashing of teeth in the heat of the moment. After all, by all rights, Galarraga threw a perfect game. There's no question about it.

Umpire, who was in near tears, and pitcher hugged in the hallway of the park afterward. No one felt worse than Joyce, who apologized. Usually umpires corner the market on arrogance.

“It was the biggest call of my career, and I kicked the (stuff) out of it,” Joyce told the Associated Press, who reported he looked and sounded distraught as he paced the umpires’ locker room afteward. “I just cost that kid a perfect game.”

No one had a right to feel more bitter than Galarraga. But, he, like many of the Tigers, moved on, even if it was not easy.

“You don’t see an umpire after the game come out and say, ‘Hey, let me tell you I’m sorry,’” Galarraga said “He felt really bad. He didn’t even shower.”

Initially, Tigers umpire Jim Leyland was irate over the call that would have put his non-descript pitcher in the baseball history books. He charged out of the dugout to argue the call and got in another heated discussion with Joyce after the final out.

Later, though, Leyland tried to give Joyce a break.

“The players are human, the umpires are human, the managers are human,” Leyland said.

This will renew the appeal for instant replay in the game. Instant replay is only used for disputed home runs. Maybe a slight tweak where a manager could ask for one replay a game would be workable, but I would hate to see something like pro or college football where the game goes it fits and stops because of incessant replays.

One of the traditions of baseball is the human element. This was a costly mistake by Joyce, but he, like all of us, are human. And there's no one -- I mean no one -- in America who feels worse today than Joyce. Umpires take pride in getting calls right and Joyce is one of the best.

But Joyce's response eased the bitterness of Galarraga afterward.

"I feel sad," he said, "but I feel sad for him too."

The perfect game and the imperfect final call.

Clintons outlast the Gores

2010-06-02T07:15:00.000-05:00

OK, which one of you had the Clintons in the office pool of which couple would stay together the longest from the 1990s White House?

Congratulations, you win. Shockingly.

In the wake of the Monica Lewinsky scandal in 1998, the odds that Bill and Hilary would still be together in 2010 seemed slim and none. And, as they say, Slim just left town. But here they are, 12 years later, still together. Some cynics may say it's for political reasons, but bottom line, they're still married.

Al Gore, Clinton's veep, and wife, Tipper, however, won't be too much longer, it seems. It was announced by NBC on Tuesday that after 40 years of marriage, one that often seemed sunny, that the two are separating.

According to NBC, the Gores were telling friends they "grew apart" after 40 years of marriage and there was no affair involved, according to two longtime close associates and family friends.

The associates said the Gores, over time, had carved out separate lives, with the former vice president on the road frequently. One of the associates said: "Their lives had gotten more and more separated."

Maybe Tipper got tired of hearing about all of her husband's warnings of global warming.

The Gores, who were married on May 19, 1970, at the National Cathedral in Washington, crafted an image as a happily married couple during his eight-year stint as vice president in the 1990s and a presidential candidate in 2000. The couple famously exchanged a long kiss during the 2000 Democratic presidential convention.

The image of their warm relationship stood in sharp contrast to the Clinton marriage rocked by Clinton's affair with White House intern Lewinsky, a scandal that hung over Gore's own presidential campaign. Gore narrowly lost the presidency to George W. Bush in the controversial 2000 election.

Al Gore at the time said his wife was "someone I've loved with my whole heart since the night of my high school senior prom."

The Gores have four adult children, Karenna, Kristin, Sarah and Albert III.

Is Memorial Day a holiday?

2010-06-01T09:56:00.003-05:00

We talk about the Memorial Day holiday weekend, and celebrating Memorial Day. But "holiday" does not quite seem like the right term. Certainly it's not in the same vein as July 4.

Above all, Memorial Day is a time to remember and honor the sacrifices of those who died defending our country in war. It's a time to lift up those families whose daily grief we can not possibly understand.

For those who did not have a family member die in conflict, it's often a time to remember those close to us who have died. It's a time to put flowers on cemeteries, to visit a gravesite, to make a concerted effort to recognize those who are no longer here, but impacted our lives.

But I still see nothing wrong with also having cookouts, planned events, picnics, laughing and cutting up and simply having a good time. That's part of the freedoms Americans have died for through many wars. If they could, they would be grilling and pitching horseshoes as well on Monday. And departed family members would want the same thing. They wouldn't want their family spending the day in a somber mood.

Since 1971, Memorial Day has been recognized as a federal holiday on the last Monday of May after Congress voted it so in 1967. Before that it was "Decoration Day," before more began to recognize and call this time "Memorial Day" after World War II.

A holiday? Not in the sense that we traditionally think of what a holiday is. But yet it's a time to remember and honor those no longer with us, and then enjoy the rest of the day as they would want us to.

Caustic Cowell's top slams

2010-05-28T08:58:00.003-05:00

Simon Cowell, the signature judge of "American Idol", said farewell to the top-rated show this week. Cowell's schtick was the bad guy, to hurt a few feelings, to be brutally honest, to be the Englishman America loved to hate.

He was good at it too. He could tear apart a poor musical contestant with a look and very few words. Contestants must have been briefed to expect his caustic remarks as part of the gig. Otherwise, some women would have cried and some men would have jumped over the judge's table at him. Or vice versa.

I'm not sure if he was the intentional spiteful judge or the designated bad guy, like in professional wrestling, that added to the ratings and kept things on edge. And with Cowell, they did stay on edge.

Here are some of his top slams:

Is he a spiteful, malicious little man with ludicrously white teeth? Or is he a great wit who saves America’s top-rated show from becoming an all-out love-in?

“You should sue your singing teacher.”

“I presume there was no mirror in your dressing room tonight."

"Did you really believe you could become the American Idol? Well, then, you're deaf."

"You have just invented a new form of torture."

"If you had lived 2,000 years ago and sung like that, I think they would have stoned you."

"You have the personality of a handle.”

"You were having fun. I'm not sure how much fun everyone at home was having."

"You sounded like Cher after she's been to the dentist."

“Can I ask you a question? Do you and your girlfriend sing together at home? Have the police ever called?"

Harvard is Canadian East

2010-05-27T09:24:00.002-05:00

The stout Canadian football program -- two state champions and a state runner-up the last two years -- had a devil of a time filling out its 2010 schedule. The Wildcats were forced to get games with teams in New Mexico and Kansas.

It's easier to get their students enrolled into Harvard, it seems, than to fill out a football schedule. Consider two students, Benjamin Antillon and Kate Abraham, who have been accepted to America's pre-eminent university for the fall 2010.

Well, there's a bit more.

Heath Flowers, from the Canadian class of 2003, is going to the Harvard School of Business this fall. His wife, Sarah, though not from Canadian, is going with him. She's going to Harvard Law School.

Flowers, writes his mom Dana, lives in Cedar Park. He grew up near Canadian on a ranch. And good for Heath, but he wore boots to his interview with the Eastern elite during the application process.

Canadian should lead the world this fall in Harvard students per capita.

A snowy 2014 Super Bowl?

2010-05-26T07:15:00.000-05:00

I'm glad NFL owners voted to give the 2014 Super Bowl to the new $1.6 billion Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey/New York. It will be the first Super Bowl in an outdoor stadium in cold weather climate.

I hope it snows a foot. How great would it be, for the sake of being different, an NFL championship decided in harsh elements? Howling winds, blowing snow, numb fingers. It would go down in NFL lore, just like the 1967 Ice Bowl between the Cowboys and Packers.

I don't think the NFL was pushing that cause when the owners voted Tuesday. It was to throw a frozen bone to the Giants and Jets and their fans for funding such an expensive new stadium. And it could open the frigid door to other cold weather sites. Denver, anyone?

It would be funny to watch in the comfort of a toasty house all the corporate muckety-mucks who make up the huge percentage of fans at Super Bowls suffering in the cold while paying for the most expensive ticket in sports. And it would be mildly entertaining to watch workers get ready to put together a halftime extravaganza stage in blowing snow.

Who would be the halftime entertainment? How about -- are you ready? -- Coldplay?

For the record, the coldest Super Bowl on record was 39 degrees in 1972 in New Orleans. It's been at least 57 degrees at every Super Bowl since 1975.

The avearage temperature in suburban New York in early February is between 24 and 40 degrees with precipitation likely.

Should be interesting.

In the dark

2010-05-25T08:23:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I hate satellite television -- the latest being the early morning hours of Tuesday. Nothing like the sirens blaring around midnight and, all of sudden, communication almost goes dark .

When the rain and hail cut loose around 12:05 a.m., so did the television. My Dish Network went down. Yes, $70 a month to leave you in your rare time of need. It was down for an hour.

So I have two radios on, and watching radar on the computer. Meanwhile, it's unleashing torrents of rain to the sound of sirens. The wife and one son went next door to our neighbors, who have a cellar. I was pretty sure most of the "cone of danger" -- as one TV weatherman has been known to say -- was off more toward the east and north, so the dog and I stayed put, though I did make some extra space in one closet if we had to dive in there. Plus 10's a crowd in the cellar, I always say.

Now had I started hearing a roar, it would have looked like Usain Bolt heading to the Hunters backyard.

While the tornadoes never really materialized, the rain sure did. We had about 3.25 inches and it was the might Paramount Park River in the wee hours. Water was above your knees. Another son couldn't get home because of the rising tides so he parked about six blocks away and waded to the house.

And, hey, the the satellite was up and running just after 1 a.m. when most of it was over. What's the number for Suddenlink?

Dylan's how old?

2010-05-24T16:44:00.002-05:00

Happy birthday today to Bob Dylan. The musical icon from the 1960s turned -- gulp! -- 69. As Dylan himself once sang, "How does it feel?"

Probably better than the alternative.

Dylan's songwriting will stand the test of time, particularly as it related to social unrest. A number of his songs -- "Blowin' in the Wind," "The Times They Are a-Changin'," and "Like A Rolling Stone" -- related to social unrest.

I'll say this. Dylan is a much better songwriter than singer. His distinctive voice can sometimes feel like fingers on a chalkboard. But as a lyricist, he is a musical poet.

And the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is still going strong as he continues to tour across the country.

You did us proud, Zach

2010-05-21T08:21:00.004-05:00

Maybe the greatest football player in Texas Panhandle history officially called it a career Thursday. Zach Thomas signed a one-day contract with the Miami Dolphins so he could retire from the team that he played with 12 seasons.

I first knew of Zach Thomas 22 years ago. His older brother, Bart, got most of the attention as he quarterbacked White Deer to a 15-0 record and the 1A state title. But you couldn't help notice this squatty body in the middle of the defense making all these tackles. It was Bart's little brother starting at middle linebacker on that team -- as a freshman.

Two years later, Zach moved to Pampa and dominated on the 4A level for two outstanding teams of coach Dennis Cavalier. He led the Harvesters to the 1991 state quarterfinals. To this day, Thomas credits most of where he is to the fundamentals taught to him first at White Deer, and especially by Cavalier and staff.

Zach was always seen as too small and just not fast enough. And that was all the motivation he needed. Just tell him he can't do something and then get out of his way. His mother, Bobby, used to send him clippings of people doubting he could make it just to light a higher fire under him.

Very few Division I schools came calling and so Zach went down the road to Texas Tech where he was a three-year starter at linebacker, and an All-American his senior year. Best defensive player in Tech history. Oh, but that's right. He was too small and too slow.

The NFL thought the same thing. The draft is all about measureables, not production. But Jimmy Johnson of Miami took a chance on him in the fifth round in 1996. There may have never been a more productive fifth-round draft choice in the history of the NFL.

Zach was driven, instinctive, smart and tough. Maybe he wasn't six feet tall, but as his old Tech coach Spike Dykes would say, "He was a football-playing Jesse."

For the next 12 years, he went to seven Pro Bowls and was named to the NFL's All-Decade teams for the 2000s. He had 1,038 tackles, 19 1/2 sacks and 17 interceptions in 168 games. Dolphin fans loved him for his passion for the game and his honesty in dissecting it.

In a difficult decision, he was released after the 2007 season, played one year with the Cowboys and then signed with the Chiefs before he was released in training camp. As it does with everyone who plays the game that long, injuries and age finally caught up with him. But his football heart was always in Miami.

Zach, who is now married with a 4-month-old son, has always been class in dealing with those where he grew up. He's always been extremely gracious to me and other local members of the media. Though home is Florida, he's never forgotten his roots. I remember a few years ago the effort he made to be at the funeral of Cavalier.

The Panhandle watched for years the sideline-to-sideline tenacity of Thomas. Anytime he had an interception or a sack on a blitz, I think most of us bowed up a little bit thinking he was our own. And he was.

Was he the best football player in Panhandle history? I'd say he was. The longevity and numbers speak for themselves. So did the leadership. He's a lock for the Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame, probably next year, as well as the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and anything the Dolphins may have.

Will he make it to Canton? I don't know. But I know this. He doesn't need enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame for validation of what a fantastic football career he had. Nice going, Zach. You made us all proud.

Move seemed inevitable

2010-05-19T08:24:00.002-05:00

As assistant sports editor David Henry reported in today's editions, the Amarillo Gorillas of the Central Hockey League are packing their bags. A news conference to announce the move is formally scheduled for this afternoon.

The Gorillas have struggled on and off the ice for several seasons. Unlike the other two minor league teams in the city -- the football Venon and the baseball Dillas -- they have not had the run of success as the other two. Plus, the Gorillas season coincides with a busy time and more competition for a sports fans dollar.

The Gorillas were probably losing money like it was being sucked through a vacuum. Amarillo finished last in the CHL in attendance in the last two seasons, averaging just 1,761 this last season.

They were losing too, finishing 21-34-9 last year, last in the Southern Conference. The last winning season was in 2006-2007 at 32-28-4.

Ticket prices were probably in line with other CHL franchises. And similiar in cost to the Venom.. Yet there are are so many games, fans are asked to pony up a price that would make them think twice about going for frankly an inferior product.

The Gorillas lasted eight seasons. Before that, professional hockey returned in 1996 in the form of the Rattlers. It was the first time Amarillo had hockey since the 1970s.

In its place will be a young developmental league out of the North American Hockey League. Players will range from 16 to 22. Players aren't paid. It's a 19-team league with 58 games.

Last year the season ran from September, which is the start of football season here, to April. I've got my doubts if this will make it either.

Get rid of all-night prom parties

2010-05-18T08:33:00.003-05:00

It seems there's always a tragedy somewhere that accompanies post-high school prom night. Look no further last weekend that the heartbreak that occurred in Houston.

Tobi Oyedeji was a young man with a bright future. Didn't smoke, didn't drink, didn't do drugs. What he did do was wonderful things with a basketball. He was a 6-foot-9 power forward from Houston's Bellaire High School and had signed to play with Texas A&M.

To say his future was bright was an understatement.

Last Saturday night was Bellaire's high school prom. And, of course, with the prom is the inevitable all-night parties. There was a post-prom celebration at a local Dave & Buster's, and then it moved on elsewhere.

Around 5:50 a.m., Oyedeji texted his father to say he would be home very soon. He never made it.

Around 6:15 a.m., Oyedeji's Toyota Avalon drifted into another lane, striking two cars. Oyedeji was killed as was the driver of a Jeep that he hit.

Speculation was that the young man simply fell asleep. He was close to home, he'd been up nearly 24 hours with a lot of high-adrenaline activities, relaxed and fell asleep. He was pronounced dead a short time later.

Can we now dispense with the tradition of the all-night post-prom parties? What's the purpose other than putting a lot of young people -- a lot of young tired people -- at a great deal of risk?

Speaking of the father of a son who was at prom last weekend, we, and specifically my wife since I was out of town, finally drew a line in the sand about all-night parties. No. Sorry.

You can stay out until 2 a.m. and that's plenty of time to get all the fun you need in. Prom actitivies start around 6 p.m. or so, so that's eight hours. That's plenty. And if takes all night to have fun, I'd say it's time speed up the fun.

The old saying that nothing good happens after 2 a.m. is never more true than when young kids get together on a night they feel obligated to party hearty.

Part of the problem is a lot of adult parent enablers who schedule all-night parties, turn a blind eye to alcohol and then hope for the best. Like that's going to happen.

Tobi Oyedeji apparently had no alcohol in him. But he was unfortunately exhausted. And that snuffed out a promising life. Let's shut off the post-prom parties at 2 a.m. Tobi might be getting ready to be an Aggie basketball player if that would have happened.

Those annoying work habits

2010-05-17T09:01:00.002-05:00

This being a Monday, it's back to the I-owe-I-owe-it's-off-to-work-I-go grind. If you want to make it a good week for those you work with, and not be "that" employee, here's a few suggestions to follow or not to follow, courtesy of carerbuilder.com.:

No. 1: You make a daily call to your partner to "check in," which can last anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes and, depending on how you two are getting along these days, can result in either a nasty fight or the sweet murmurings of baby talk.

No. 2: You just can't seem to make it to those early morning meetings on time. If only the wait at the Starbucks next door weren't so slow, you'd never have to ask your co-workers what you missed.

No. 3: You almost always leave the office early "to beat traffic." You're positive that you have the worst commute of all your officemates. Now in Amarillo, while traffic can sometimes get annoying, it's not that bad.

No. 4: You buy a huge gift basket for someone in the office without consulting any of your co-workers, and then tell everyone that they owe you $10 to chip in.

No. 5: You can't understand what the big deal is whenever you ask your co-workers for "a tiny favor." Don't they know how much work you have piling up?

No. 6: You've once again forgotten to take home and wash the container that has the remnants of your tuna salad lunch a few days ago. It is now a mutant container with things growing off the side and threatening to contaminate the entire office refrigerator.

No. 7: You don't see the need to learn how to send a fax or fix a paper jam when there's always someone around to help you do it.

No. 8: You play your favorite boy band CD on repeat. All day. Every day.

A big day for Shurlie

2010-05-11T09:09:00.003-05:00

Shurlie Horn, 62, walked the stage Saturday afternoon as she received her bachelors degree in social work from West Texas A&M. Her difficult road to graduation was chronicled in my column last Friday.

So, Shurlie, how was it?

"Oh, it was wonderful," she said. "It was everything and more."

"Miss Shurlie," as she is known to most, was part of Saturday afternoon's commencement. She had much of a sizable extended family at the First United Bank Center as well as many friends who helped her to get to that point.

Her husband, Sonny, held a surprise gathering at their church, New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church, afteward.

"Oh, it was a tear-jerker, I'll tell you," she said. "They all said something about me. We were all in tears."

One of several reasons that Miss Shurlie didn't give up in pursuit of her degree was to set an example to her family.

"One of my grandsons was a senior in college and he dropped out and he said, 'Granny, I'm going back,'" she said. "I had a nephew who flunked out of school after two semesters and he said he's going back. That's what it was all about."

And when Shurlie heard her name announced and walked to get her diploma?

"At first I didn't know which way to go," she said. "It was overwhelming."

That hard-earned diploma nows rests in a curio case in her home. Well done, Miss Shurlie, well done.

Gonzales family needs the truth

2010-05-10T08:55:00.002-05:00

Army Staff Sgt. Esau Gonzales, 30, of Panhandle died May 3 in Mosul, Iraq. Other than that, and the Army deemed it a "non-combat related chest wound," that's about all his family and the public know of his death.

The Army needs to be much more forthcoming, and soon. A funeral Mass is scheduled for Tuesday and a memorial service is set for Wednesday in his hometown.

His family deserves every bit of information possible of Staff Sgt. Gonzales' final hours. Too be vague or even secretive is disrespectful and insensitve to his family, particularly to his parents and young wife, Melissa.

A spokesman for the Department of Defense said more information should be made available today. I hope the Army is simply conducting a thorough investigation before presenting the facts and not manufacturing some kind of cover-up.

If you read Jon Krakauer's book on the death of Pat Tillman -- "Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman" -- the public's confidence in the Army's truthfulness would be questioned. The former NFL player who was killed by friendly fire in 2004, and the Army's subsequent actions in the release of information, would make a lot of folks a little skeptical.

Newspaper demographics?

2010-05-06T07:25:00.000-05:00

Want to know what kind of people read what kind of newspaper? Well, we know only very intelligent people read the Amarillo Globe-News. But beyond that, what about other newspapers? This was sent to me not long ago, and there's probably a bit of truth in it:

1. The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country.

2. The Washington Post is read by people who think they run the country.

3. The New York Times is read by people who think they should run the country and who are very good at crossword puzzles.

4. USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country but don't really understand The New York Times. They do, however, like their statistics shown in pie charts.

5. The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn't mind running the country -- if they could find the time -- and if they didn't have to leave Southern California to do it.

6. The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run the country and did a poor job of it, thank you very much.

7. The New York Daily News is read by people who aren't too sure who's running the country and don't really care as long as they can get a seat on the train.

8. The New York Post is read by people who don't care who is running the country, as long as they do something really scandalous, preferably while intoxicated.

9. The Miami Herald is read by people who are running another country but need the baseball scores.

10. The San Francisco Chronicle is read by people who aren't sure if there is a country or that anyone is running it; but if so, they oppose all that they stand for. There are occasional exceptions if the leaders are handicapped minority feminist atheist dwarfs who also happen to be illegal aliens from any other country, or galaxy, provided of course, that they are not Republicans.

11. The National Enquirer is read by people trapped in line at the grocery store.

A case of two seniors

2010-05-05T10:02:00.003-05:00

Talk about a contrast with Steve Consalvi, 17, of Berks County, Pa., and Trey Holloway, 18, of Canyon. Consalvi is going to college at Penn State, while Holloway is headed to Oklahoma State.

Going on to college may be where the similarities end.

Consalvi became a national talking point after he ran onto the outfield like an idiot Monday night in Philadelphia in the Phillies game with the Cardinals. It's not so much he ran onto the field, which happens far too frequently, but that he was Tasered by a Philly cop after he zigged and zagged away from security.

Some say it was excessive force. Others say it was appropriate and about time. I line up in the camp that it was warranted. For one, Consalvi was up and walking, albeit in handcuffs, in 27 seconds. It wasn't like he was shot with a bullet in the leg and had to be trasnported on a stretcher.

Second, if that sends a message that pro venues are growing increasingly tired of these stunts and will take more excessive measures, so be it. Disrupting the game is only part of it. One of these days, some crazed fool will try to pull a knife on an athlete, most of whom, though much bigger, are often defenseless. Think Monica Seles, the tennis star, who was stabbed during a changeover many years ago. And the father and son who attacked a Kansas City Royals coach in 2002.

And as one ex-baseball player said, if a fan charged a player, he only wished he were Tasered. The guy would get pummeled.

Then there's Holloway, the Canyon High School senior who is a National Merit Scholarship finalist. He has received a full scholarship over five years worth more than $100,000 to attend OSU where his oldest brother, father and grandfather graduated.

Holloway will study biochemistry and molecular biology. Last summer he attended the Duke University Talent Identification Program Institute of Human Genetics.

Consalvi's parents apologized publicly for their son's stunt. Stanley and Stephanie Holloway of Canyon have no such worries. They're only proud.

Helen Gerald: A treasure

2010-05-03T09:45:00.008-05:00

Helen Gerald was a jewel. She was a treasure for the city of Amarillo for decades. She was remarkable woman had she never even picked up a violin, but that she did, only added to her giving spirit and an expression of her talent.

Helen died over the weekend, and services will likely be Friday. She was 91. I never knew her age. I had to ask once when I did a column on her in 2006. She politely declined to reveal, afraid the Amarillo Symphony might not look favorably on a member that old.

Right.

Helen was a member of the Symphony for 63 years. They didn't carry her. She was an integral part for more than six decades. And for about as long, she taught students in the Suzuki strings program at Amarillo College. Four years ago, at age 87, she was still teaching 20 students.

"She's a very fine musician. One thing that's kept Helen going all these years is her sheer love of music,'' said Beverly de la Bratonne, a symphony violinist, said in 2006. "She told me she'd rather play her instrument than eat. That's how much she loves music.''

The one thing she loved more than music was her family. Activity and accomplishments were a Gerald gene. Husband Tom just last year retired from his dental practice -- at age 96. Dr. Robert Gerald is an ophthalmologist, but is just as well known for his constant marathon training and quality runs even though he's just on the other side of 60.

Helen was a 1994 breast cancer survivor, enduring 26 radiation treatments at age 75. Late in life, she was still walking two miles a day and going to an aerobics cloass.

She knew heartbreak. Oldest daughter Nancy, a registered nurse, was part of an Amarillo group which died in a plane crash in Africa in 1987. Oldest son Tom, Jr., a veternarian, died in 2006 from a motorcycle.

"My motivation is just to keep on," Helen told me in 2006. "I don't want to die on the vine."

Through it all, Helen was relentlessly upbeat. Age was just some hidden number. She cared for so many people for so long, that's her legacy.

"She's risen above it all,'' said de la Bratonne. "She's an incredible woman.''

That she was.

Thelma Lou robbed in Mayberry

2010-04-30T10:19:00.003-05:00

Man, this is depressing. Of all things, Thelma Lou was robbed last week in Mayberry. This just isn't supposed to happen.

But Betty Lyyn, the actress who played Barney Fife's girlfriend Thelma Lou in the 1960s classic "The Andy Griffith Show," had her wallet stolen in Mount Airy, N.C., the town that inspired the idyllic small-town fictional Mayberry.

Lynn had her purse stolen at a shopping center in Mount Airy, birthplace of Andy Griffith. Say it ain't so! And Lynn had moved there from Los Angeles because she had been robbed three times there.

I propose deputizing both Gomer and Otis and have them hunt down this thief. This is a big job. As Barney, who no doubt would be putting his one bullet in his gun, would say, "Let's set up a roadblock! Let's get some tear gas! Call the state police! Andy, this is no time for sittin' around!"

But, wait, a suspect has already been apprehended. She's Shirley Walter Guynn of Cana, Va. I would have thought she's been in the Mayberry Jail, but she's being held in Surry County Jail on a $10,000 bond. Sounds to me like she might be a member of Old Ma Barker's gang.

I don't know what's more depressing. That Lynn had her purse stolen or that she's 83.

"Ginormous' yard and bake sale

2010-04-29T09:10:00.002-05:00

On Saturday, you have a chance to buy some second-hand items or some fresh goodies at bargain prices while helping a little 2-year-old and her brain injury.

Billed as a "Ginormous" yard and bake sale, there will be nearly a full parking lot of all kinds of stuff at Got Junk? lot at 16th and Washington. All money raised will benefit 2-year-old Savannah Anderson. She suffers from a hypoxic-ischemic brain injury, which has resulted in severe brain damage, ongoing seizures, poor muscle tone and significant development delay.

The goal is to raise enough money to help with medical and transportation costs so her mother, Michelle, can take her daughter to the Xcell Center in Germany. At the Xcell Center, doctors will extract stem cells from Savannah's hip bone and then inject them into her spinal fluid via the lumbar puncture. There is hope that once the stem cells reach her brain, it will regenerate new brain cell growth.

Michelle is a police dispatcher for the Amarillo Emergency Communications Center. Saturdays in the spring and summer are garage sale days anyway. So stop on buy for a very worthy cause.

Every day is Earth Day to a farmer

2010-04-22T08:39:00.005-05:00

It's the 40th anniversary of Earth Day -- and you only thought you had the day off. Earth Day, to inspire awareness and appreciation of the environment, was started by former Wisconsin senator Gaylord Nelson and first recognized on April 22, 1970.

It's going to be day of speeches and rallies on college campuses and elsewhere, and, no doubt, the A list celebrities in Hollywood will stop flying around in their fuel-guzzling Gulf Stream jets long enough to discuss recycling, going green, clean energy, global warming, the fragile ozone and the like.

But you know who does more for Earth Day than anyone I can think of? Those guys eating lunch in small-town diners today, with mud on their boots, worn jeans, shirts and gimme caps. Who does more for Earth Day 365 days a year than the farmer?

He tills and waters the land, grows wheat, milo, cotton, soybeans, corn, and nurtures and cares for the soil like no other. Certainly more so than a Tinsletown celeb. Every day is Earth Day to a farmer.

Why is Earth Day celebrated on April 22? Well, maybe it's just coincidence, but it's the birthday of the late Eddie Albert, who played the frustrated farmer Oliver Douglas in the "Green Acres" sit-com from the late 1960s-early 1970s. In real life, Albert was a staunch environmentalist and spokesperson for National Arbord Day Foundation.

Our "free" dog

2010-04-20T14:50:00.003-05:00

Back in June 2005, our neighbors had a litter of puppies. Actually, it wasn't our neighbors -- that would really be a story -- but their dog. There were about six of little puppies. Mom was a Australian Shepherd, and Dad must have snuck under the fence.

Anyway, we were offered one when they were eight weeks old. We thought about it for a few days. It had been a couple of years since our previous dog had to be put down, so we thought we were ready. After all it was "free.''

The puppy wasn't crazy about going all the way next door, what with his mom and the rest of the dysfunctional family (the puppies, not the neighbors) within howling distance. He whimpered when he went in our house and slept in the cool grass of the backyard near the fence of his birthplace. But after a few days, he adjusted.

I named the dog "Ranger" after the downtrodden baseball team. This may explain a lot since that's how he looked. Within a couple of days, my wife noticed he was pretty listless and still. She thought he may have Parvo, a deadly dog illness. So we took him to the vet, and sure enough, it was. It would cost about $350 to have him treated.

That was a lot of money and chances of survival weren't good. But the little fella sure was cute, so we bit the bullet and forked over the money, thinking he wasn't going to make it. But lo and behold, he responded.

Flash forward a year or two and now Ranger developed some kind of allergy where his stomach turns hot red and he gets restless and stretches and whimpers if he eats the wrong thing or doesn't get his allergy pill. One night after midnight, he was doing all of that. None of us could sleep, and instead of just tuning him out for the evening and taking him to the vet the next day, it was voted upon that I take him to the 24-hour emergency vet.

Some $200 later for the emergency call, he got an allergy shot and we eventually had our sleep. The next morning I got him his pills. Never even a thank you.

Thene there was the time we gave him a bath IN the bathtub. His fur clogged up the plumbing and caused all kinds of issues. That wasn't cheap.

Just a few weeks ago, we thought the old boy had arthritis. It's a common affliction when they get to be about that age among the breed. He had trouble getting up. But once he was up, he was running around like Secretariat. But he just had trouble getting up or down.

So again, took him to the vet last week. He got a shot and I was told to bring him in this week. So this morning he went in for an X-ray. Nothing in the joints or bones, but something maybe muscular. He got a cortisone shot and some cortisone pills, and oh, I needed some heartworm medicine. That was $140.

So this "free" dog has cost more than $700 in major medical expenses. And that doesn't include the usual vaccinations and a huge appetite.

And the worst part of it is Ranger keeps looking at me with those sad brown eyes and that little pant of his and I can't even work up a good anger at him.

Lining up for the marathon

2010-04-19T08:36:00.004-05:00

Right now, I'm sitting at my desk, surrounded by three other colleagues. One year ago at this very moment, I was in a panic, standing in line with many others trying for one final call of nature in a portable potty near the start of the Boston Marathon in suburba Hopkinton, Mass.

The most famous 26.2-mile race of them all starts at 9 a.m. central. A year ago, the weather matched what we're having in Amarillo this morning -- cool, cloudy and calm. Perfect weather conditions.

About 20,000 runners had taken school buses from downtown Boston around 6:30 a.m. the 26 miles west to Hopkinton. There we waited for a couple of hours lying around under tents, trying to relax, eating fruit, listening to music. At one point, I decided to get in line at a Hopkinton gym for a free massage. There were about 30 massage tables on the gym floor. I wasn't the only one as we wound our way through a meandering line. Took about an hour.

And later while wating in a long line among of a dozen portables, it was obvious I wasn't going to make it, especially with running buddy Paul Elms pointing at his watch. So I did what any country kid would do, took off and found an out-of-the-way clump of trees and then joined a sea of runners in two waves for the start.

The beginning of the traditional race, moved from noon to 10 a.m. eastern time several years ago, begins in about 10 minutes. For those 20,000 or so, it will be a time where they will run in front of nearly half a million cheering fans into downtown Boston. For one of the few times, they will feel just as important as the Kenyans leading the pack. And no matter how many times they've run it, it will be an experience they will carry for a long time.

Boston is a qualifying race based on age. No one can just decide to enter. You earn your way to Boston. So best of luck to the Amarilloans in the race: friends Dr. Charlie Hennesseey and Dr. Tony Stuart, and Kevin McClish and Jeff Allen, all of whom ran last year. Karen Roberts, owner of Get Fit running store on Georgia, will be lining up to run. So too will Andrea Blackmore, Janae McVean, and Andrew Reichard.

The oldest is Allen at 53. The youngest is Blackmore at 31. The weather will be cool, the wind will be at their back, and in four minutes, the masses will be taking off. I'm slightly jealous.

All-century track teams

2010-04-15T11:24:00.003-05:00

The University Interscholastic League, the governing body for public high school extra-curricular activities in the state, is celebrating a century of service. The UIL continues to ask the public to vote for the top high school athletes over the previous 100 years in the sports under its umbrella.

Currently, they have ballots online for the spring sports at the uil website. Voting continues through Sunday.

In track, there are approximately five to seven in each event on the ballot. Most events have one from each classification. Plus there is an opportunity for a write-in.

Here are the ones from the Panhandle on the ballot. In boys:

Randy Matson of Pampa in the shot put and discus. Before he set the world record and won a gold medal, Matson dominated in high school. He threw 64-7 and 66-10 1/2 in the shot put in 1962 and 1963, and 192-3 and 185-9 in the discus those same years.

Jim Verden of Wheeler, 185-7 in the discus in 1977.

Ernie Mendez of Canyon, 7-1 1/2 in the high jump in 1983.

Jon Colby Miller, Lazbuddie, 16-9 in the pole vault.

Panhandle's 1600 relay, which ran a 3:17.1 in 1983, a Class 2A record that stood for 26 years. It was broken a year ago.

In girls, there are two in two events. Susan Bean of Class 1A Miami in the 200 (24.34) and long jump (18-11 1/2) from 1981 and Betzy Jimenez of Hereford in the 3200 (10:37.34) and 1600 (4:54.16) in 2006.

Also listed are Amarillo High's Lori Scott in the 1600 (5:05.2) from 1977 and Angel Williams of Clarendon in the 100 hurdles (14.27).

Sure, there are plenty of holes in it and it's a thorough list. But if you are a track geek, take a look at some of the history in this track-rich state and vote.

I know a Pulitzer winner!

2010-04-14T08:46:00.004-05:00

The winners of the 2010 Pulitzers were announced Monday. The Pulitzers are the Academy Awards of journalism without evening gowns and acceptance speeches. It's the highest honor in journalism.

Tod Robberson was one of three editorial writers from the Dallas Morning News to win for editorial writing. Their entries concerned the stark economic differences between North Dallas and South Dallas.

Robberson, a native of Houston, graduated from Texas Tech. He and I were on the same staff at Tech's University Daily in 1980. I learned what I could, but mostly had a good time in sports. Tod was breaking stories every other day on news side of the five-day-a-week paper.

It was obvious Tod was going places, but who knew how far? After Tech, he got his masters in Arab Studies from Georgetown. He covered Latin America, the Middle East and Europe for primarily the Dallas Morning News but also the Washington Post.

He spent 10 years as a foreign correspondent and assistant foreign editor for the Washington Post. Among his stops at the two newspapers are Columbia, Panama, London, Lebanon, Cyprus, Iraq, Syria, and El Salvador.

I, on the other hand, have been to Samnorwood. Twice.

Finally, Tod settled in as an editorial writer for the Morning News. I, of course, would like to think some of myself rubbed off on Tod during our formative journalism years. And I'm sure it did, as in what not to do.

By my unofficial count, that gives Tech three Pulitzer winners, not counting the two or three I should have won.

Some good advice

2010-04-09T08:50:00.004-05:00

Attorney Tom Riney works downtown, and like a lot of us, he will on occasion cross paths with a street person. As I wrote about in a column last week, when we're confronted with a request for money or a ride, we often don't know what the right thing is to do.

But two directors of downtown shelters said the best thing to do is not give them money, but offer to direct them or call one of the shelters and they will help them. Makes a lot of sense.

Last week, Riney said he was downtown and saw a street person talking to a businessman, and then eventually made his way to Riney. Taking the advice of Jena Taylor of Faith City Mission and Major Tim Grider of the Salvation Army, he said he couldn't give him money, but would be glad to call one of those places to get him some help.

The man basically mumbled thanks, but no thanks. As Riney said, that response told him what he needed to know. That the man didn't so much need help as he needed money to fund whatever bad habit he had going on.

"That's the best advice I've ever received on how to handle those situations," Riney said.

Happy Hundredth!

2010-04-07T14:23:00.002-05:00

Alice Neal, the oldest living resident at The Continental, turns 100 later this month. The occasion was celebrated this afternoon in the parlor of the Continental, 1300 S. Jackson.

Not only is Neal the oldest resident there, but she has lived there since the day it opened. She walks more than a mile a day.

Alice has lost two husbands and both children, but her granddaughter, two great-grandaughters and her great-great granddaughter are scheduled to be there for the occasion. Five generations all told.

Happy birthday, Alice.

Looking for Miss April

2010-04-06T08:39:00.003-05:00

Some people call the wind "Mariah." There were some kindergarten teachers at Coronado Elementary School, including my wife, last week calling the wind something else. And it wasn't complimentary.

They had the kindergarten classes outside on recess on a particular windy day. Wind can carry all kinds of trash to the chain link fences that border the play area. Not sure who discovered it first, either 5-year-old or teacher, but I believe it was young Johnny.

He found a torn picture from a gentlemen's magazine that has blown against the fence. Then there was another one. In a matter of mili-seconds, once the teachers were made aware, they were combing the fence for the offending matter like CSI at at a crime scene.

Time will tell if they got all the pages. There will be some explaining to do if in some little boy's take-home folder tucked inside their drawings of the letter "B" is a smiling Miss April.

Ah, opening day!

2010-04-05T15:56:00.003-05:00

I was trying to work with one eye on my computer and one at the TV directly to my left for the good part of two hours today. The left eye won.

Nothing quite like Opening Day in the baseball season, and nothing quite like overreaction to a win or loss on Opening Day.

The Rangers came back from 3-0 deficit -- they were being no-hit in the seventh inning -- and 4-3 in the ninth for a 5-4 win over the Blue Jays. If this were a game in June, I'd go, hey, nice little come-from-behind win.

But since it's Opening Day, it's quite appropriate to go through all the histrionics of that first game:

This is our year!
Vlad Guerrero, what an addition!
Nelson Cruz, he's come of age!
New ownership, new era, playoffs here we come!
This is going to set the stage for the entire year!

Since the Rangers are off on Tuesday, I'll have 24 hours to look up the hottest start to an MLB season. Detroit's 34-4 start in 1984 comes to mind. I think that's very doable, if not a given.

Big anniversary day

2010-04-01T09:31:00.006-05:00

I'm sure most of you already know this, but today is not only April Fool's Day, but a huge anniversary date as well. It may even be on your calendar, but today, April 1, is the 2 1/2-year anniversary that entertainment writer Brad Newman has taken the stairs and refused to ride the elevator up to the newsroom.

The reason I know of this monumental date is that's about all Brad has talked about all week. But this honorable streak began on Oct. 1, 2007.

The picture you see is of our elevator in 1928. We've since got a new door handle.

"It was the fact the elevator was not working well," said Newman, echoing something everyone who works here is well aware. "It wasn't really to get into shape, but I started taking the stairs because the elevator was acting stupid.

"I kept doing it because I knew the elevator would break again. It has many times and I've had my little moments of victory. Now it's mostly out of habit, and I've found out it doesn't take that much longer to take the stairs."

This streak should go to at least three years. So on Oct. 1, plans are already in the works for a party where people can have cake and ice cream while working on a Stair Master.

Oh, by the way, the newsroom is located all the way up to the third floor.

It's '86' for '24'

2010-03-30T17:07:00.005-05:00

Can't say I disagree with Jack Bauer on this. Kiefer Sutherland, who plays counter-terrorist super agent Bauer on the Fox TV show '24', is glad the show is getting canceled after eight years and is looking forward to the movie of the same name.

Me too. I've watched every year of the 24-hour real-time series since a colleague hooked me on to the series a few years ago. I went back and rented the first few years, and it was riveting. As soon as one episode ended, I couldn't wait for the other. My wife and I would watch several in a row.

But I haven't been able to get into this year's. And when it's not on DVD, it's hard to pick it up in mid-stream and figure out what's going on because there are so many plot twists.

But the movie version is scheduled at some point, and that sounds like a winner.

Sutherland tells Daily Variety, "I'm very excited about the idea (of a movie). I'm very excited about the opportunity, and singularly because it's a two-hour representation of a 24-hour day. So for the first time, it will be very feasible in this 24 hours to go from England to Russia, or from China to Japan, depending on where they choose to set it.

"Before on the TV show, the crisis had to come to us, because the best we could do was get across town. And the two times we ever put Jack Bauer in a plane, it just didn't work. So it alleviates a huge hurdle that real-time writing presented for us."

Sutherland said a ninth season of the TV series would be a mistake.

"From a creative point, I think Howard (Gordon, executive producer) was feeling that as confident and as strong as he felt about season eight, he was feeling that it was going to be very hard to do a ninth season."

That cool canine Boston

2010-03-29T14:18:00.004-05:00

I did a column last week on Boston, a Golden Retriever/Labrador mix which has been such a godsend as a "seizure alert" dog for Karon Silva, 7, who has epilepsy. Karon received Boston as a puppy for a birthday present 3 1/2 years ago. No one knew at the time just how much of a gift Boston would become.

Over the weekend, I got an e-mail from the previous owner, Alyssa Renteria: "I am so glad to hear that Boston is such a smart dog. Me and my fiancée sold Boston to them around Christmas more 3 years ago. It was him and his full brother Dodger that we were selling at the time for $250 a piece.

"We got the call from Elizabeth Silva asking how much we were asking for the dog, and she told us that was too much and in the tone of her voice I could tell that she was really interested. I asked her how much she would be willing to pay and she told me what he was going to be used for and I told her that we would take $50 and we would take him right then and there.

"I never thought my dog would be able to connect with anybody else but me, but as soon as we walked in you could tell that there was a connection like no other that Karon and Boston had. I can still remember that night so perfectly.

"We even still have the pictures on our camera from the moment right before we took him. He was a special dog who even had even overcome being sick from Parvo. From the day we picked him up from the vet after staying 5 days from treatments, I knew he had something special. I love that he is taking care of her so well and saving her life."

Benefit for Bruce

2010-03-26T09:16:00.002-05:00

Everyone has to eat, right? And everyone has to eat on a Monday night, right? So why not drive over to the Blue Sky Restaurant, 4201 W. Interstate 40. Basically, I-40 and Western, this March 29 during the evening hours.

Many of the proceeds that night will go to help Bruce and Tanya Beck. As many of you know who are familiar with the Globe-News, Bruce is battling cancer and has for more than a year. Bruce has worked at this newspaper for about 30 years with a number of duties.

He's best known as the guiding force behind "Our Town," the weekly supplement that covers non-profits and community news. His byline is probably in scrapbooks all over town. Bruce has been good to a lot of people.

Now, thanks to the good folks at Blue Sky, a lot of people have a chance to be good to Bruce and his family's mounting medical bills. Go get one of their good hamburgers, or some cheese fries or anything on the menu. The more the merrier. You'll get a good feeling in your stomach and a good feeling helping the Beck family.

An unbelievable perfect bracket

2010-03-24T08:45:00.005-05:00

Is your NCAA tournament bracket been blown to bits after the first two rounds? Or are you hanging in there because everyone else's bracket is in the same ugly form?

Not so with Alex Herrman, a 17-year-old from the Chicago area. You may not be in the mood to hear this, but remember, your bracket was for entertainment purposes only (cough-cough). Herrman has picked every game, all 48, correctly so far, including crazy upsets like Northern Iowa over Kansas and Ohio over Georgetown.

Herrman is autistic. He told a Chicago TV station that he has studied all season for the tournament, but unfortunately entered one of the only online pools that doesn't offer a prize. Yahoo offers $1 million for a perfect bracket; Sportsbook.com offers $13 million.

The odds of this happening, to go 48-0 so far, are one in 13,460,000, according to BookofOdds.com. It's easier to win the lottery. Twice. Alex picked Purdue to win it all, because Purdue is his brother's alma mater.

For the curious, here's his entire bracket.

Herrman says that he studied all season for the tournament, but unfortunately entered one of the only online pools that doesn't have a prize. Yahoo offers $1 million for a perfect bracket; SportsBook.com offers $13 million.

"I'm good at math," said Alex. "I'm kind of good at math and at stats I see on TV during the game."

Alex entered the bracket on CBSsports.com's bracket challenge. His 24-year-old brother Andrew, who helped him enter his picks into CBS' bracket manager, also entered the contest -- and ranks behind 500,000 other people.

"My bracket is totally shot," Andrew said. "So is everyone else I know."

ESPN estimates around 4.78 million played in their bracket challenge, but no one picked all the games correctly. The leader at ESPN's bracket has already missed four games.

Who'll be the next?

2010-03-23T11:15:00.004-05:00

Who will be the next Republican Congressmen to join Joe Wilson and Lubbock's very own Randy Neugebauer to apologize for inappropriate outbursts in the halls of Congress?

Wilson, from South Carolina, set the bar pretty high when he shouted, "You lie!" to President Obama during a health care address to Congress in September. He apologized the next day.

Not be outdone, Neugebauer on Sunday shouted "baby killer" though he insists he said, "It's a baby killer" as Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., was speaking at the time.

Neugebauer insisted the outburst was aimed at the legislation and its handling of abortion funding – not at Stupak himself.

“I have apologized to Mr. Stupak and also apologize to my colleagues for the manner in which I expressed my disappointment about the bill,” Neugebauer said in a statement. “The House Chamber is a place of decorum and respect. The timing and tone of my comment last night was inappropriate.”

Ironically, Stupak is one of the most anti-abortion Democrats in the House. He was speaking against a Republican amendment on abortion when the shout came out. Stupak has led a group of like-minded Democrats to force assurances from party leadership and the White House that the bill would not chip away at existing bans on the use of federal funds for abortion.

I know emotions get high on the health care issue, but is it possible for elected officials to use their brain before they use their mouth?

Dividing the country

2010-03-22T09:02:00.005-05:00

In the wake of the House narrowly approving health care reform legislation Sunday night, I'm trying to think of an issue in my lifetime that has divided the country like this one.

Abortion with Roe v. Wade? No. O.J. Simpson murder trial verdict? No. Iraq? Nope. Watergate? Not that either.

We probably have to go back more than 40 years to the height of the Vietnam War protest to find the United States as divided on one white-hot issue as health care reform. Part of it is the talk-radio, CNN/msnbc, moveon.org, Drudge Report climate we live in.

The House passed the legislation, 219-212. Not one Republican voted in favor because he/she would probably like to run for re-election and win. A Republican voting for $980 billion health care reform is political suicide.

Naturally, Democrats are euphoric. The other side of the aisle not so much. On "Good Morning America" this morning, Arizona senator John McCain, who lost to Obama in the 2008 presidential election, said: "Outside the Beltway, the American people are very angry. They don't like it, and we're going to repeal this."

McCain said the GOP “will challenge it every place we can,” and said there will be reprisals at the polls, in Congress and in the courts.

The Tea Party crowd is warming up their vocals and getting new signs ready and it's not even 10 a.m. Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Keith Olbermann are wiping their mouths in anticipation of waxing for and against reform.

Already today, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said the state will be joining other states that the health care reform legislation is unconstitutional.

"To protect all Texans' constitutional rights, preserve the constitutional framework intended by our nation's founders, and defend our state from further infringement by the federal government, the State of Texas and other states will legally challenge the federal health care legislation," Abbott announced.

Abbott is expected to argue that the legislation, with a requirement that nearly every American has to be insured by 2014, violates the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution.

After Obama signs the bill into law, expected to be as early as Tuesday, several Attorney Generals have said they would file suits.

"At no time in our history has the government mandated its citizens buy a good or service," Virginia attorney general Ken Cuccinelli said.

I guess I'll take a wait-and-see attitude, but two things seem to have already emerged: (1) seeing Nancy Pelosi on TV gives me a nervous tic, and (2) when something seems too good to be true that's because it's too good to be true.

Reform will give insurance coverage to 32 million uninsured in this country. Most of the new measures will not go into effect for three years. The first things that it would do is close the so-called "doughnut hole" for senior citizens in their prescription drug benefits and prevent sick children with pre-existing conditions from being denied coverage by in the insurance industry.

How is this going to be paid for? By spending cuts and taxes. It will probably be mine and your taxes, but I will wait and see. In the meantime, I'll sit back and watch the fight.

It's spring?

2010-03-19T10:50:00.005-05:00

Through the winter of my discontent, I've tried to be patient. I've tried to be understanding. I've tried to roll with the snowy punches, the biting cold, the snow piled in the middle of the street, the ice on the windshield.

I've not done a good job of it, but I've tried -- in a half-hearted kind of way.

"Hey, come on, it's winter," said entertainment writer Brad Newman a couple of months ago. Brad is one of those species who likes cold and snow and admits to it. See this picture? That's his ideal July 4 celebration.

"Hey, it's supposed to be cold. Now if it's the spring, OK, I can understand your gripe."

So, what say you now, Brad? Saturday is the official first day of spring, March 20. Here's what's in store for us on a day that's not officially winter. It's spring.

Precipitation in the form of rain should begin by about 6 p.m. It will change to snow by midnight. The first day of spring we will be greeted by north winds of 25 to 35 mph and 1 to 2 inches of snow at least, and as much as 3 to 6 inches up north.

The average high is supposed to be 63 on Saturday. We'll be lucky to get in the low 30s in this March blizzard.

"Winter is going to smash spring in the mouth," said Brad and it wasn't too hard to detect the glee. And then he starts to rationalize.

"We've had 60- to 70-degree days prematurely," he said. "Winter is getting one last hurrah, one last effort."

I hope you can't find your ice scraper tomorrow.

The bombshell in Arizona

2010-03-18T09:39:00.004-05:00

Baseball spring training is supposed to be a sleepy time where prospects show their potential, pitchers get the kinks out, and veterans hold on to their job. Not much big news comes out of Arizona or Florida other than roster moves.

Except Wednesday when it was revealed Texas Ranger manager Ron Washington tested positive last July for an illegal drug, reportedly cocaine. Wow. Only the Rangers it seems. With players, unfortunately, it doesn't get much more than a raised eyebrow. But this is believed to be the first time in Major League history a manager or coach failed a test like this.

Rangers president Nolan Ryan and general manager Jon Daniels stand by their manager. They've known about this since July when Washington was proactive and told them. He knew he would likely flunk the required test.

Because of that, because of his remorse, because he convinced Rangers brass it was a one-time stupid mistake, they stood by him and did not fire him even when Washington offered his resignation.

Because of the failed test, he was put on a mandatory program by MLB in which he was tested three times a week. He completed the program without incident.

To Washington's credit, he has manned up. He held a 13-minute press conference Wednesday in which he blamed no one but himself and owned up to everything possible. He couldn't have said or done anything more.

"I made a huge mistake," he said. "I'm not here to make excuses. There are none." He called the incident "stupid" and "shameful." And he was right.

It should be noted that almost the entire team was at the press conference as a show of support of their manager.

Questions abound. Should, though, have Washington been fired? Aren't leaders held to a higher standard? Can he still lead, can he still have credibility in the clubhouse after this? What does this say about his judgment and decision-making? Maybe it was a one-time thing, but if it was, how does a non-user get cocaine so easily?

The public is torn. A Fort Worth Star-Telegram poll had 1,073 voters: 52 percent (560) agreed with the Rangers to keep him, and 48 percent (513) disagreed. The Dallas Morning News poll showed that 48 percent said to move on, 32 percent thought he should be terminated and 19 percent said he should be disciplined.

Managers have never been choir boys. Tony LaRussa, considered among the best in history, had a 2207 DUI arrest. But LaRussa has won championships. Washington hasn't.

Players get second chances too when they run afoul of the law or drug policies. Those that get repeat chances usually hit home runs and drive in runs. Those who don't are shown the door.

I hope Washington overcomes this. Lord knows, he's under a microscope. But if the Rangers get off to any kind of a slow start, this incident will only accelerate his exit.

Green for a day

2010-03-17T08:40:00.004-05:00

'Tis supposed to be the wearin' o' the green today. Yes, laddies and lasses, it's St. Patrick's Day. For some reason, I actually remembered last night that today was St. Patty's. And so rifling through my closet, there's a light green and white narrow striped polo that will have to do the job.

Among the early arrivals in the newsroom, I'd have to say it's not too impressive. For the second year in a row, entertainment writer Brad Newman has on a light green T-shirt under a bold blue shirt.

Cheryl Berzanskis, our jack-of-all-trades features, faith, Our Town writer, had to resort to pinning on a $10 bill when I gave her the once-over. Joe Gamm, police reporter, improvised. He slapped on the green Happy State Bank stick-on advertisement that was on today's front page.

City editor David Warren might be in green if blue and beige mixed together get that color.

Graphics artist Jenni Sandlin has on a green top. But she claims it's pure luck of the Irish -- if she was Irish.

"I didn't even know it was St. Patrick's Day until I driving to work and heard on the radio it was today," she said, "and look at me -- green."

Susie Self, Globe-News administrative assistant, is doing her part. Every Wednesday breakfast is served in the break room. Today's it's green quiche (I'll pass) and lime smoothies (that might happen).

And this just in: Medical writer David Pittman walked in with a green polo shirt. All in all, we're batting about .500.

Does is seem like the traditional wearing of green has lost a little steam over the years? One reason is probably, unlike years ago, March 17 falls during spring break. There's no push or pressure in school to wear green or get the dreaded pinch.

Nevertheless, there's 34 million Americans with Irish ancestry, according to the 2003 U.S. Census. That's almost nine times the population of Ireland, which has a population of 4.1 million.

One's man trash is another's treasure

2010-03-16T16:30:00.004-05:00

Steve Britt takes exception to one Mr. Peter Cheney, an automotive writer with the Toronto Globe and Mail, who has put together a list of the 12 worst cars ever built.

The Dirty Dozen looked like the Best of Breed of the now-defunct American Motors. The old Gremlin, of course, was on the list. And Britt called to take exception.

"I have driven many contented miles in my Gremlin," Britt said.

Britt comes from somewhat of a Gremlin family. His dad bought a 1974 Gremlin new some 36 years ago, and his dad and sister put well over 100,000 miles on it.

A few years ago, Britt bought a '74 Gremlin with well more than 100,000 miles too. The engine had been reworked, and Britt has since had a new clutch in it. It's basically a summertime car, but it's been worth the investment.

"It's been good to me and my family," said Britt.

Britt's only complaint is the color. It's green, which on Wednesday, St. Patrick's Day, is great. But maybe not the other 364 days.

"It's green," he said. "I really hate that color. It's not my favorite. The people before me rebuilt it and repainted it for their daughter. But as far as driving, it's been wonderful."

And it just goes to show you that one man's trash is another man's treasure.

"Good morning, Mr. Phelps"

2010-03-15T08:55:00.004-05:00

Funny how some things stay in your mind.

A ritual when I was a kid was "Mission: Impossible" at 9 p.m. on Sunday night. My dad loved that show. It was a forerunner to "24" and other anti-terrorist shows. Tom Cruise has starred in about three "MI" movies.

The signature beginning of the show was the lighted fuse that went across the screen as action highlights played behind it. Cool stuff for the late 1960s.

One of its lead actors, Peter Graves, died over the weekend of a heart attack at age 83. Graves was Mr. Phelps, who was the leader of a group of special agents who fought bad guys all over the world. Each episode began with Graves getting directions to a tape recorder. He'd play it -- reel-to-reel in those days -- and ineveitably there would be a packet of pictures of the evil-doers that the would have to infiltrate.

The taping always began the same way: "Good morning, Mr. Phelps." No one knew who the guy was. I'd do my best to follow the complicated story line that set up the plot but when you're 10 or 11, I didn't make it more than a couple of sentences.

It was always ended with something like, "If any of you or caught or killed, the secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions."

So it came down to Peter Graves and Martin Landau and Greg Morris and the gang -- good. Everyone else -- bad. Root for good guys.

Graves later gained notoriety in the campy hit movie "Airplane" in 1980. It was a spoof and a total riot. Graves and basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were the pilots. A little kid asked to come up into the cockpit and Graves is talking to him about the instruments. Then he said, "Joey, do you know what it means when a dog rubs on your leg?"

Graves also hosted many of the "Biography" episodes on A&E in the 1990s. He never did gain the notoriety of his brother, James Arness, who was Matt Dillon in "Gunsmoke." But he was a solid actor.

"Here comes the sun, do-do-do-do"

2010-03-12T10:28:00.003-06:00

For those who don't recognize your "do-dos," that's the lyrics of George Harrison's "Here Comes the Sun." The reason I thought of that is because we're about to get an hour more of it -- at least in the evening.

As a public service announcement, spring that clock an hour forward Saturday night before bedtime.

March 14 is one of my favorite days of the year. Last year it was March 8. The year before, it was March 9, and then March 11. You get my drift.

I'm a big fan of Daylight Saving Time (and, yes, there's no 's' in saving). There's fewer things more dreary than it being dark at 6 p.m. But beginning Sunday night, it will be nearly 8 p.m. before the sun goes down. Can I get an amen from the congregation?

It signals spring and warmer weather and sufficient time to do something after work except griping about how dark and cold it is. The later the sun sets, the merrier. All the way to 9:05 p.m. on June 22.

The start of DST has been four weeks earlier since the passage of the Energy Policy Act in 2005. That's supposed to save money on energy costs since the sun is up later. Good enough reason for me. Before that, it was always the first Sunday in April, or has been since Congress passed the Uniform Time Act in 1966. Yeah, a few grumpy states like Arizona and Indiana didn't observe DST, but that's their problem.

Sure, there's a bit of a drawback. We lose that hour of sleep on Sunday, and driving to work with the headlights on and dealing with an 8 a.m. sunrise isn't ideal. But life is a compromise and your body will adjust by Tuesday and the sun will come up earlier in the coming weeks.

Winston Churchill had it right when he said about Daylight Saving Time: "It enlarges the opportunity for the pursuit of health and happiness among millions of people."

Saving Tex Randall

2010-03-11T07:30:00.000-06:00

Deb and Curt Brummett own the property that Tex Randall, the 47-foot steel, concrete and wire mesh cowboy statue, stands on in Canyon. And has stood on since 1959. And they would dearly love to sell that property, which has been on the market, since April 2005.

The property adjacent to Highway 60, which includes a building that was formely "Cowpokes Smokes and Tokes," is listing for $65,000. Deb said she and her husband would accept $55,000 for the property and donate $5,000 back to the restoration of Tex if he remained there.

The Texas Panhandle landmark has been named as one of the 10 most endangered roadside places in the U.S. in the Society for Commercial Archeology's Falling By The Wayside list. Tex Randall was the focus of my column on Wednesday.

Danny Byrd, co-owner of a Feldman's Cafe in Canyon, owns Tex. He bought him five years ago with the intention of moving him to his restaurant, but he said the cost to move the aging landmark was just too much. Byrd said earlier in the week that he would virtually give away the statue and help raise money if it would go to a prominent part in or near Canyon.

"I like to see him fixed up," said Deb. "That's one of reason we sold to Danny because we knew we couldn't do anything with it. We had several offers prior but they were talking of moving Tex out of town and we didn't want that."

The Brummetts, who now live in Willis in suburban Houston, said they offered Tex to the City of Canyon for $1 a year for 10 years if the city would restore him.

"We've tried a lot of different ways to fix him up, but the city doesn't appear that interested," Deb said.

Brummett suggested the area could be turned into a tourist inlet along the highway, sort of a roadside cowboy park. How feasible that is, who knows?

The most logical plan would be to move him. Deb said if Tex stayed in Canyon, but not at the site of their property, they would make a smaller donation to that.

"We want him restored," Brummett said. "He's part of the history of the Panhandle."

Brown impresses more than just judges

2010-03-10T16:29:00.003-06:00

Amarillo's Lacey Brown had her finest performance of the "American Idol" competition Tuesday night on Fox as she attempts to remain among the top 12 female singers.

Who said? Not only the normally taciturn judges, but apparently Sixpence None the Richer singer Leigh Nash. Nash, according to Idol Chatter on the USA Today website, was impressed. She wasn't watching last week when Brown sang Nash's song, "Kiss Me," but she heard about it quickly.

"I almost immediately started getting texts from people," says the Nashville-based singer. So Nash looked up Lacey's performance of her song online.

"For the most part, I heard people saying she wasn't very good," Nash says, "but when I watched it, I thought she was adorable."

Nash liked Lacey enough that she watched an entire episode of Idol Tuesday for the first time this season. And what she saw impressed her.

"I really enjoyed it a lot, and I didn't expect to," Nash says. "It seems like this season, they've got some great artists on their hands. I'm hooked."

Nash's favorites? Didi Benami's "Rhiannon and Lacey's "The Story," which she sang Tuesday.

"Didi Benami was pretty crazy," she says. "She exuded this effortless, gorgeous what's-upness."

Nash adds that Lacey's performance of Brandi Carlile's "The Story" gave her chills.

"If she made a whole record of original songs where she relayed the kind of mood that she did, I would totally buy that record. That says a lot coming from me, becaue I still listen to Leonard Cohen and Patsy C line, but i thought she was interesting and captivating. And she really does know how to work the camera, so that was impressive."

The 14 male singers are scheduled for tonight, and then two men and two women will be eliminated on Thursday.

"Hellooo, Mr. Wilson!"

2010-03-10T09:45:00.006-06:00

He may always look like he's 11 years old, but Dennis Mitchell turns 59 in a couple of days. The "Dennis the Menace" comic strip made its debut on March 12, 1951, making the kid with the rooster tail able to use his AARP card for all kinds of discounts.

Hank Ketchum, the creator of the enduring comic strip, got the inspiration from his own 4-year-old son named -- what else? -- Dennis. Legend has it Ketchum's wife, Alice, threw open his studio door one day and said, "Your son is such a menace!"

Eureka. The name was born.

Ketchum retired from the strip in 1994, and died in 2001. But Dennis lives on through the work of Ketchum's former assistants, Marcus Hamilton and Ron Ferdinand. The strip appears in roughly 1,000 newspapers, including the Globe-News, in 48 countries in 19 languages. A TV show based on the strip ran from 1959 to 1963.

Some Dennis trivia: His favorite drink is root beer, and he keeps a slingshot in his pocket. Dennis, along with parents Henry and Alice Mitchell, live in Wichita, Kan. His dad is an aerospace engineer.

His best friend is Joey, and he has a dog named Ruff and a seldom-seen cat named Hot Dog.

The next-door neighbors, George and Martha Wilson, get the brunt of Dennis' well-meaning hijinks. George is a crank, but Dennis considers the retired postal carrier his best friend.

So happy birthday, Dennis. Don't ever grow old.

Random thoughts about Oscar night

2010-03-08T08:48:00.003-06:00

A few tids and bits from last night's Academy Awards:

1. The best way to watch the Oscars, I've found out, is to watch the first 30 to 40 minutes, and then catch the last 30 minutes. You get to see the opening monologue, all the major categories, and miss a lot of the dull middle. There's always the risk of missing something, like Ben Stiller as one of those little "Avatar" dudes, but at least it keeps things fresh and I can do other things.

2. "Avatar" and "Hurt Locker" were both nomined for nine Oscars. "Locker" won six, and "Avatar" just three. Could it be the Academy wanted to award old-fashioned film making and a taut storyline over a computer-generated production? Or just wanted to contrary as it often is by ignoring the obvious fans choice?

3. Here's a nice consolation prize for Avatar -- $2.5 billion. It's the highest-grossing movie of all time. Hurt Locker is the lowest grossing movie ever to win Best Picture -- less than $20 million. That $20 million represents the 9:05 showing of Avatar around Christmas.

4. The Hurt Locker must have been in Amarillo for maybe a week, about the same length as in most places. I don't understand it either. After having rented it, it's got action, intensity, some bomb explosions -- in short, everything a guy would want in a movie. Well, just about everything.

5. I'm sure Jeff Bridges was good in "Crazy Heart." That's another one to rent.

6. Sandra Bullock looks way better with that short blonde hair in "The Blind Side" than long black hair last night. Either way, though, not bad for a 45-year-old. Interestingly, Bullock also won a Razzie Award for worst actress this year in "All About Steve." But obviously a good sport, she showed up for that satirical award ceremony too. "You have to take the good with the bad," she told reporters backstage.

7. The best acting performance, though, might have been Christoph Waltz as the Jew-hunting Nazi in "Inglorious Basterds." He won for Supporting Actor, but he stole that show.

8. Are Meryl Streep and Helen Mirren nominated for every movie they make?

9. Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin were OK as co-hosts. They pulled it off. Maybe it wasn't Billy Crystal, but at least it wasn't Whoopi Goldberg either. They got a few laughs. For those under 40, Martin was the hottest stand-up comedian in the known world in the 1970s. I remember seeing him in concert in Lubbock around 1978 at the height of his comedic career. So last night was not his first rodeo.

10. Still like everyman's actor, good ol' Tom Hanks, who presented the Best Picture without any lame jokes or fanfare. He knew the moment wasn't about him.

No problem at all

2010-03-04T07:30:00.000-06:00

Elaine Brown didn't blow out 70 candles Wednesday on her 70th birthday. But she did swim 70 50-yard laps as she had hoped to in celebration of her next decade.

Before about 18 watching at Gold's Gym, including son Kevin and granddaughter Haley, and three cameras to record the moment, Brown was impressive in the pool as I knew she would be.

"She doesn't have an 'off switch,'" said her friend, Janda Raker.

Brown, as I chronicled in a Friday column, is an inspiration. She lost her left leg when hit by a drunk driver outside Panhandle in 1988. In 2000, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She went through chemo and became a survivor.

An active swimmer for more than 15 years, Brown's plan was to swim 70 laps and help raise money for the local chapter of the Red Cross. She did so -- with two arms, one leg and an immeasurable amount of determination -- like a metronome. Consistent, back and forth, back and forth. Most of her laps were around 1 minute, 10 seconds. She did her 70th lap in 1:15 to cheers and applause. Afterward, soaking in the water and the adulation, she was serenaded with "Happy Birthday!"

Her extra lap for the two miles was in 1:27 before she finally called it quits. Her actual 70-lap time was 1 hour, 26 minutes, and 16 seconds after she started.

"Oh, I was going to do another lap," said a beaming Brown. "This is a good thing. I really did better than I thought I would do."

The most laps Brown had gone before Wednesday was 50 in training a few weeks ago.

"I'm really excited about the time," she said. "I was hoping for 1:30. I figured 1:30 to 1:40, so I swam better than I thought."

And so how was the rest of her birthday going to be spent?

"Margaritas!"

Elaine didn't argue.

Are you listening, Gorillas?

2010-03-03T07:30:00.000-06:00

With April 15 fast approaching and Americans known for their procrastination, the woeful New Jersey Nets of the NBA have hit upon a promotion.

It's a gimmick to sell tickets, sure, but it's a nice gimmick.

The Nets, who at 6-52 have a chance to set the all-time worst record of 9-73, have combined with the Roni Deutch Tax Center (I thought Roni Deutch was a personal lawyer with those cheesy TV commercials?) to offer a free state income tax return to any New Jersey resident 18 years or older who sits through Friday's game with one of the NBA's elite teams, the Orlando Magic.

Fans don't need to bring in any forms or recepits. They just get a coupon for a free state tax return. Normal cost is $29.

Yes, if you live in Texas, what is a state income tax? That's the price you pay when you don't live in this great state. But we all have to have our federal taxes done.

The Amarillo Gorillas of the Central Hockey League aren't exactly Team Canada. They sit last in the Southern Conference with 45 points. They have four more home games left. Why not use one of them and partner with a local tax service for the same thing and sell out the Civic Center?

Or since filing a federal return is a little more costly than $29, offer them a discount. You never know.

Contributions to the Williams baby

2010-03-02T11:03:00.002-06:00

Several e-mailers have inquired about a way to donate money to David and Bonnie Williams, the two Amarillo High teachers, who are in Houston as their infant daughter Emery undergoes treatment for a cancerous tumor. The column ran in Sunday's Globe-News.

The reason it wasn't in the original column is the Williams family is sensitive to it in light of all the support they've received, particularly at Amarillo High. They would have preferred it not be in the column.

However, they said nothing about a blog. If you would like to contribute to a fund set up to help Emery Jane Williams, contact any branch of Happy State bank, say you want to donate to the Emery Williams fund and they will hook you up. It will be money well-spent.

40th anniversary of AHS fire

2010-03-01T14:21:00.004-06:00

Today marks one of darkest days in Amarillo history and certainly in the history of Amarillo High School. On March 1, 1970, a fire destroyed the old Amarillo High and its original downtown campus.

For those who were affected by the most infamous fire in Amarillo history, it's one of those times people remember where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news.

A calm Sunday morning was interrupted around 6:15 a.m. when a custodian at nearby First Baptist Church noticed flames coming from Amarillo High. Chaos descended on the calm as a fire, started by a faulty boiler, destroyed the school.

For 4 1/2 hours, more than 100 firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze. Most of the fire damage was to the auditorium and two-thirds of the top floor, but smoke and water damage made the school a complete loss.

It was an emotional experience for 1,700 students, who came to help retrieve trophies, pictures, textbooks, and other mementos. Students finished out the school year in makeshift classrooms at several downtown churches.

The new Amarillo High would open on South Bell four years later. In doing so, it reconfigured some of the boudary lines affecting Amarillo High and Tascosa.

The Olympics need the Cold War

2010-02-26T08:58:00.004-06:00

You know what the Olympics misses more than anything?

The Cold War.

Capitalism vs. Communism. Freedom vs. Oppression. Us vs. Them. Boy, those were the good ol' days of the Olympics. But ever since the fall of Communism and the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, the Olympics has lost its edge.

In those days, the medal count was like a referendum on way of life. You would shake your head at any Russian gold medal, and get pumped in a big way when an American would win.

Do you think the Cold War added a lot more drama and accomplishment when the U.S. beat the Soviet Union in hockey in the 1980 Winter Olympics? You're darn right. The next day in the press area, Tass, the Soviet propaganda mouthpiece, had a sign on its door stating, "CLOSED FOR THE DAY ."

Now much of the Soviet Union is broken up into satellite countries that has severely weakened their overall athletic strength. And I miss the old East Germans, especially the women, who had so much steroids flowing in their system they looked like they had a three-day beard and shoulders wider than a Ford F-250.

I still pull for the U.S., of course, but not with the same fervor as the old days. It dawned on me during these Winter Olympics why I'm just a casual watcher. Rooting for the U.S. now is like rooting for Microsoft or AT&T. We don't even care that much about the Winter Olympics and we're leading the medal count.

I know there's China, but they don't pose the same threat as the old Iron Curtain did. And I don't even know if they're at the Winter Olympics. What's up with that? I'm sure it snows it that country.

Life is full of compromises. Sure, the threat of nuclear and global annihilation has lessened, but it was at a steep Olympic cost.

Lot of hype for 13:51 of action

2010-02-24T08:46:00.003-06:00

Got this in the mail from my friend Warren Hasse from Pampa, the former broadcasting great who's in the Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame.

Warren has always thought it interesting how much two-week hype, coverage, specials, stories, discussion -- you name it -- is spent on the Super Bowl compared to how little time of action there actually is. The action means from the snap of the ball or kickoff until the whistle blows at the end of each play.

With the help of the Chicago Tribune, he passed this along from the Feb. 7 Super Bowl between the Saints and Colts:

"Figuring kickoff to game's end at 3 hours, 13 minutes, 60 minutes per hour gives it 193 minutes. A total of 7 percent of that was actual game action provides 13 minutes and 51 seconds of action. This is the general time I recorded in three previous games. Not much action for the ticket price, two weeks of 3-plus sports pages daily in most newspapers, TV, radio time, etc.!! The three games I tried were in the 13-minute range."

When you put a watch to it, there's more time for the halftime than the actual game action.

Flipping a coin

2010-02-23T09:04:00.003-06:00

Does it make any difference where a candidate's name is in the ballot box? It might.

When I voted early last week (and, no, that's not me in the photo), I noticed there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the order of the candidates listed. It wasn't necessarily the incumbent's name listed first (if there was one) nor was it done alphabetically.

So how it's done? I asked one of the candidates a few days ago and was told that it's basically a random drawing, a flip of the coin that determines a candidate's place on the ballot. Apparently, an amendment a few years ago determined that. Must have missed that one.

Obviously, for the bigger races like governor, state rep, and any publicized local races, positioning of the candidate's name won't matter.

But there's always more than a few races, most of them statewide, where I got no clue. None. I'm sure more than a few others are the same way. I wonder how many maybe subliminally just vote for the first name they see?

Put it this way: If I were running for dog catcher, I'd want my name listed first.