RIP Dr. Joyce Brothers, star of Police Squad & The Naked Gun

She was known for far different things, but when I hear Dr. Joyce Brothers I can only think of her cameos in "The Naked Gun" and on the short-lived TV show "Police Squad!"

The good Dr. Brothers died. She was 85.

Brothers made her career as a mass-media pyschologist who made house calls.

She also made several appearances in acting from TV shows to film. As a sports fan, I vividly recall her cameo as a sports announcer in the climatic game between the Anaheim Angels and the Seattle Mariners in the movie, "The Naked Gun."

She was joined by Tim McCarver, Jim Palmer, Curt Gowdy, Dick Vitale, Mel Allen and Dick Enberg as part of the crew that would call the game.

There is also this little known clip in the TV show "Police Squad!" where she visits a shoe shine guy who knows everything about everyone, ever.

 

 

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Nolan Ryan says he is happy, but ......

The timing is odd, but on the same day the CEO of the Houston Astros resigned, Nolan Ryan decided to talk for the first time in forever to the media.

Nolan is not interested in the job. Or he said, "I don't think so." He added, "I'm sure they will fill it with the right person."

Notice he never said no. He also said he has not talked to Astros owner Jim Crane about the job.

Making his first appearance on a weekly radio show with Star-Telegram columnist and ESPN 103.3 FM radio host Randy Galloway, Nolan downplayed the great fiasco that nearly was with the club this offseason.

Click here to listen to the full, 20-minute interview.

He sounds happy with his job.

"To my knowledge everything is going smoothly. From my perspective it appears to be (good)," Ryan said. "You have good days and bad days. Things come into play that affects your thought process. I guess I would say some days were better than others. I feel like things are going smoothly. I'm going to say things are good, and everybody has a better feel for our different roles are. I would say things are good."

Until Monday, Ryan had not commented on the apparent split of power between Rangers CEO Rick George and GM Jon Daniels. Every previous comment had been through press releases.

A few weeks ago, the team released a statement that said everything had been worked out, and that Ryan was staying on with power. 

"I felt like I needed to visit with Bob Simpson and Ray Davis for their vision of the ballclub was what rolI would play," Ryan said. "We have a much better understanding now than we did this offseason and did in spring training."

It's apparent now that egos were bruised, communication was terrible, assumptions were made, and that Ryan was not happy. He still may not be giddy with the situation because he never said "No" regarding the Astros.

Maybe he is just having some fun with the media.
Maybe this is a leverage ploy.

What matters is that he is here now, and the Rangers are in first place.

 

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Fort Worth & Arlington among the top "red neck" cities in the U.S.

Not sure this is going to sit well with the good folks of Fort Worth and Arlington, but a website has named both cities among the top 10 most redneck in the U.S.

www.movoto.com - which is a site dedicated to national real estate - recently published an informal ranking of the Top 10 Most Redneck places in America.

1. Atlanta
2. Kansas City, MO
3. Oklahoma City
4. Nashville
5. Tulsa
6. Fort Worth
7. Arlington, Texas
8. Sacramento
9. Cleveland
10. Mesa, Arizona

The author of this list is from Austin, Texas and used the following eight points to base his rankings:
* Percent of population that did not complete high school
* Number of gun/ammo stores per capita
* Number of taxidermists per capita
* Number of cowboy boot stores per capita
* Number of country radio stations per capita
* Number of NASCAR race tracks close by
* Number of Walmarts per capita
* Number of riding lawn mower/tractor repair shops per capita

Jeff Foxworthy would be proud, and then bummed he didn't think of it first.

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Red Raiders already announcing plans for football game against Horned Frogs

It's never too early to start planning for anything, and the good people at The Texas Tech University have already unveiled its plans for the home football game between the Red Raiders and TCU Horned Frogs.

Today is May 13, 2013.
That game is scheduled for Thursday, September 12, 2013.

This will be the first home Big 12 game for new head coach Kliff Kingsbury, so it's kind of a big deal. So big that you should probably find your parking spot soon, today preferably.

Of note:
* Potential game times range between 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. If this game starts at 8 p.m., we're looking at an 11:30 p.m. finish. Hopefully. The safe bet is midnight.

* Individual tickets will go on sale for this game on August 1. It should be noted that today is May 13.

* Classes at Tech will remain as scheduled for both Thursday and Friday. The university's "top priority is getting students/faculty to their classes and researchers to their labs while transitioning to host the football game later in the day."

What fell on the cutting room floor was, "The university's top priority is to squeeze as much cash from this game as possible. If studies/research can fit into that priority, all the better. Please don't be too drunk before kickoff."

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Quote of the day

Lawrence Bourne III: It's not that I can't help these people. It's just I don't want to.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The position in football that is no longer worth it

IRVING, Texas - Looking at Dallas Cowboys rookie running back Joseph Randle my first thought was, "Switch positions."

It is not his fault, or even any kind of indictment on his ability. Looking at any NFL running back these days is like the tired "dead man walking" cliche.

Randle is a fifth round pick out of Oklahoma State, which is just about the right place to draft a running back these days. 

With the way running backs "die" these days, why would any kid willingly want to play the position? 

"I like to run the rock," Randle told me.

Without any prompting he continued, "All of them (defensive backs) that were taken in the draft early. I thought about it. I was like, 'Man, I should have played defense.' I did think about that."

I don't have a son, but if I did and he wanted to play football I would tell him to play any position but running back.

With the pounding running backs take these days, and the way more teams both in college and in the pros rotate at least two of them, the "safer" long term plays seems to be something other than this position. Punter, perhaps.

Randle said he played running back, cornerback and safety in high school.

This draft was not running back heavy - the highest taken was North Carolina's Giovani Bernard. A total of six running backs were selected in the first three rounds. Sixteen cornerbacks were selected in the first three rounds.

ME: Running backs just seem to die out so fast.
Joseph Randle: Not my kind.

ME: What is your kind?
Joseph Randle: "I can do a lot. If you have more than one good back, like we do, that will help us. I'm a running back and that is the position I wanted to play. I wanted to score touchdown. It's more fun defense. I liked to tackle and hit people, but you can do that on defense. This is what I chose and I'm sticking with it."

 

Godspeed.

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Barbara Wawa to wetieah

Never thought this day would come: Legendary TV newswoman Barbara Walters is going to retire, according to this interview she did with the New York Times. She is going to quit after just one more year. 

She's only 83. Sounds right. She must need the money.

This will be the conclusion of one of the most significant media careers in history; Walters was a pioneer for female TV journalists whose path created a giant avenue for future women.

This year will give just about every media outlet in the world to do a retrospective of her 50-plus years in the business from The View to Univision.

Expect everything from Gilda Radner's impression of her on the early days on Saturday Night Live to this infamous question Walters asked of Katherine Hepburn: "What kind of a tree are you?"

 

 

 

Rander's impression of Walters is more lasting, but the one that was far superior belongs to Cheri Oteri:

 

  

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5/16/13 at the Ballpark it's Pitchapoolza! - Yu v. Verlander

Thursday! Thursday! Thursday!

Pitching! Pitching! Pitching!

Yu! Yu! Yu!
Darvish! Darvish! Darvish!

VERSUS

The guy who dated Kate Upton! The guy who dated Kate Upton! The guy who dated Kate Upton!

Provided Mother Nature does not screw this up, the Texas/Detroit game on Thursday, May 16 will be one of the best pitching matchups this season.

This is so big I'm putting it in a different color and type size: Yu Darvish vs. Justin Verlander

Yu may not have been dominant in a win against the Houston Astros on Saturday night, but he did win to improve to 6-1.

Verlander is 4-3 with a 1.93 ERA. He has allowed 44 hits in 51.1 innings with 57 strikeouts.
Darvish is 6-1 with a 2.73 ERA. He has allowed 30 hits in 52.2 innings with 80 strikeouts. 

IF YOU'RE NOT THERE YOU BETTER BE DEAD, OR IN JAIL, AND IF YOU'RE IN JAIL --- BREAKOUT!

BE THERE!
BE THERE!
BE THERE!

 

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Travis Frederick's beard is worth a first round pick

IRVING, Texas - The first day of Dallas Cowboys' rookie mini-camp commenced on Friday, and here is what you need to know:

* Each rookie thinks he can start by Week 1.
* Each rookie is in awe of the chance to learn from Jason Witten, Dez Bryant, DeMarcus Ware, et all.
* Each rookie has a tremendous upside, but the speed of the NFL is much greater than college.
* The coaching staff is incredible.
* Each rookie impressed his respective position coach with knowledge that is far greater than his experience.
* It's a tremendous jump to play in the National Football League.
* This class is loaded with "steals" and "value picks".
* Each rookie just wants to do whatever it takes to help the team win because they are "team" guys.
* First round pick Travis Frederick's beard is better in real life, and is worth of a top 10 pick.

Look at that thing ... it's amazing.  

Frederick can play center, and his beard will play right guard.

The Cowboys' first round pick out of the University of Wisconsin may be a complete bust, but that beard is headed for Canton and the Professional Football Hall of Fame.

He said that all o-linemen at the University of Wisconsin try to grow beards, and his obviously took. He said it's been growing for the last 10 months. The beard looks like it has its own cell phone.

"I cut it off a little bit and it started back," he said. "I'm attached to it."

He said babies are often scared of it, but "women obviously love it."

And men are in awe of it.

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Quote of the day

"It’s a great advantage not to drink among hard-drinking people."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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