Thursday, February 23, 2006

David Camm & Charles Boney -- Am I wrong to say...

I don't care? I care about the three people who are dead and the families left behind, but I'm still beyond understanding as to how this trial has become such a circus worthy of such dedicated coverage. It's a tragedy involving several people, but it's not something that impacts me directly. There's nothing I've found out that I couldn't have heard in a 2 minute report on the day of sentencing.

And that James Zambroski! His long winded, head tilted, strained voiced reports grate on my nerves. Why do I care what he or anyone else is blogging about this case anymore than someone cares about this entry.

Enough already. Report verdict, sentence, the end.

Friday, February 17, 2006

Eddie Sutton Meets Earl

Call me evil, but I think Eddie Sutton deserves a little heartache in his life. While I'm not a UK fan, watching him help bring the program to its knees and then get a free pass to coach again was too much for me to stomach. I know its only basketball, but I think Karma comes back to get you eventually.



Sutton acknowledges drinking alcohol before accident

By MURRAY EVANS, Associated Press Writer
February 16, 2006

AP - Feb 15, 11:28 pm EST
More Photos



STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) -- When Eddie Sutton became the basketball coach at Oklahoma State in 1990, he openly spoke of his struggle with alcoholism.

Sutton underwent treatment at the Betty Ford Center in 1987 while he was coach at Kentucky. When discussing the issue three years later, he said, "I've dealt with it."

He's going to deal with it again.

During a late-night news conference Wednesday at Gallagher-Iba Arena -- where the Cowboys play their home games on Eddie Sutton Court -- he addressed reporters by telephone and acknowledged drinking before an accident Friday that has cast a cloud over the future of his 35-year coaching career.

Sutton apologized to numerous people for the accident -- his university family, his current and former players, and the driver of the other vehicle involved in the wreck. He said he plans to seek treatment for his drinking relapse during his current medical leave of absence, which began Monday.

He didn't say where he would be seeking treatment, but did say he would do so next week.

"I have a problem with alcohol," Sutton said. "That said, I make no excuses for what has happened. I recognize it and I will be seeking treatment for it. I know I have let many people down."

But many of those people expressed support for Sutton and his effort to approach his drinking problem head-on.

One of Sutton's assistant coaches, James Dickey, said Sutton is "like a brother" and that "he has always taught personal responsibility and accountability to our coaches and players. And that's what he's doing this evening -- taking responsibility and accepting accountability. I would expect nothing less from this wonderful man."

Added Randy Rutherford, a guard on Oklahoma State's 1995 Final Four team: "He has taught us a lot about basketball, but more importantly, he has taught us a lot about life. Tonight he's once again teaching us about life -- about accepting responsibility for our actions."

"We all make mistakes in life. But we shouldn't be judged by the mistakes," Rutherford said. "Judge a man by what he does to correct that mistake."

Sutton didn't address his coaching future during the news conference and didn't take questions.

Oklahoma State President David Schmidly said Sutton's future would be determined after he returns from his medical leave of absence. Sutton's son, Sean Sutton, will continue to coach the Cowboys in the interim.

Schmidly said the university will support Eddie Sutton.


"We want him to get well, get back on his feet and we will look forward to the time when he will return and continue his contribution to our university," Schmidly said.

Schmidly said Wednesday's announcement didn't necessarily mean Sutton would be retiring, but the president said he wouldn't be surprised if that happened.

"If anybody has seen this man, (they) know what kind of pain he's in," Schmidly said. "He's 69 years old. We've got to get Coach to focus on his health. That's the most important thing."

Sutton has had chronic hip and back pain in recent years. In September 2004, he cracked his tailbone in five places when he jumped into a ditch to avoid being hit by a vehicle.

The chronic pain drove him to alcohol, he said.

"The pain at times literally has been unbearable," he said. "Last Friday, the pain was so bad that I took a lot of pain pills, but that didn't seem to work, so I succumbed to temptation and went and bought a bottle."

Sutton was cited for driving under the influence, speeding and crossing the center line following a Friday night crash on his way to the Stillwater airport, where the team gathered before flying to a game at Texas A&M.

Witnesses told police they saw Sutton fall at Gallagher-Iba Arena before getting into his Dodge Durango. Crash witnesses reported seeing Sutton swerving before he collided with another driver's sport utility vehicle.

Sutton was hospitalized overnight and has been resting at home since Saturday afternoon.

Police are awaiting results of a blood test to determine whether Sutton was driving under the influence. Those test results could be available by this Friday.

Sutton coached at Creighton, Arkansas and Kentucky before taking over at his alma mater for the 1990-91 season. He's fifth on the NCAA Division I career coaching wins list with 794. He trails only Dean Smith (879), Adolph Rupp (876), Bob Knight (867) and Jim Phelan (830).

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Pamela Anderson keeps Derby time safe for Anacondas in Louisville.




I'm so glad that Ms. I Got Hepatitis from a Tattoo has decided not to join us this year. We need only go to the infield to find another semi-attractive freak of nature who will have sex with anyone mildly famous, so I doubt she'll be missed. Maybe she can join us for the balloon race instead.



Pamela Anderson Criticizes Kentucky Derby
Tue Feb 14, 5:16 PM ET

Pamela Anderson is boycotting the Kentucky Derby. The 38-year-old actress, who is an animal rights activist, says her opposition to animal cruelty in all its forms means she can never go back to the famed horse race.

"It makes me want to avoid Kentucky altogether, which is sad because there are so many great people there," Anderson said in a statement released Tuesday by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Anderson, a PETA member who attended the Derby in 2001 and 2003, has been involved in anti-fur ads and a campaign to raise awareness of what she calls abuse of chickens in processing plants that supply poultry to Louisville-based KFC.

"Like most people, I don't want to support cruelty to animals, whether it's forcing horses to race for our amusement or scalding chickens alive for our plate," Anderson said. "We have to be more evolved than this."

Last month, Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher refused Anderson's request to have a bust of KFC founder Colonel Harland Sanders removed from the state Capitol. Fletcher cited Sanders as a state icon and KFC called Anderson's attack a misguided publicity stunt.

KFC's parent company, Yum! Brands, was recently named presenting sponsor of the Kentucky Derby. The company will put its logo beneath the famed twin spires at Churchill Downs, on a sign above the starting gate and on billboards around the track.

Although her opposition to the Derby is not based on the Yum! sponsorship, Anderson did not look on it kindly. "I'm not shocked that KFC is sponsoring the Derby," she said, "it's greedy companies using poor animals all the way around."

A Churchill Downs spokesman said that although he disagreed with Anderson, he regrets that she will not be coming back to the big race.

"We would certainly love to welcome her back somewhere down the road," John Asher said.

___

On the Net:

http://www.kfc.com/about/colonel.htm

http://www.peta.org/

Sunday, February 12, 2006

Terry Meiners -- On Hiatus?????

In checking the results of my webcounter, I noticed a lot of people searching for Terry Meiners On Hiatus. I noticed that his website says that it is on hiatus, something that seems incredibly odd considering that there is no need to put a website on hiatus.

Is something going on with Terry?

Kingpin Lanes -- Good, clean, expensive fun





My wife, daughter, and I went to Kingpin Lanes, the new bowling alley in J-Town to take a look around and bowl a few frames. The lanes are laid out more like a theatre than the bowling alleys of old. Noticibly absent is the smell of smoke, and the bright colors of dayglow balls, background paintings, and the brightly lit lanes.

Unfortunately, the designer of the lanes didn't make a good first impression with the layout to rent a lane and shoes. Everyone gets corralled to one point to make their payment. As such, there was a long line the Friday afternoon we went. Since you pay for your bowling AND get your shoes in the same place, there is a bottleneck as people trying to get shoes hold up people trying to pay. It didn't help that the girl behind the counter looked like she'd rather be having a root canal than working.

Another bad impression is the price. Granted, it's been a long time since I bowled a game, but $3.75 for a game and $3.50 for shoes seems more than a bit pricy to me. The family of four in front of me paid $39.50 to play. While this may be in line with a trip to a game or other occasional family entertainment, it doesn't necessarily make for something you want to do every week. Oddly, the arcade style lanes for little kids are even more expensive, at four dollars a game. Plus, since it didn't make change, we had to wait to get $1 bills to play it. My daughter had fun, but still wanted to go again after an hour of playing and $12 out of my wallet.

Concessions were also pricy, with sodas running in the $3 range, and other food more in line with a movie theatre than your bowling alleys of old.

The lanes themselves are very nice. When you walk in the entrance, the lanes split off to the left and the right against the side walls. It appears to be AMF lanes with Qubica bowling systems. Unlike lanes of old, the lanes are not below the spectator seating, but rather on the same level. It was a bit heartbreaking not to see a scoring table, and to see that there wasn't anything to distinguish the bowler seating from the regular seating. And call me old fashioned, but part of the enjoyment of bowling is scoring your own game, not relying on some videogame system to do it for you. The keyboards for these systems are easy to use and look cool with their odd shape and dayglow colors, but their flimsy plastic and less than sturdy looking design seem to be inviting trouble for a type of business not known for a high level of upkeep.

The crowd the night we went was decidedly kid friendly, with lots of yuppie looking parents and Catholic school grade schoolers (lots of St. (insert Saint Here) School shirts in the crowd). It appeared to be non-smoking, which is one tradition I'm glad to see broken. And my wife and I had a lot of fun, even if we realized how out of shape we were the next day.

Overall, I recommend King Pin Lanes. It's clean, friendly (with the exception of the counter girl), and although a bit pricy, good for occasional family fun. I don't think it will have anyone missing J-Town Lanes.

Monday, February 06, 2006

Double Dragon Chinese Restaurant

I recently went into the Double Dragon restaurant on Taylorsville Rd., jonesin' for some Chinese. I got beef and vegetables and my wife had just some veggies and rice. As I stood there waiting for our food, I had the following thoughts about Chinese Restaurants.

1) Why is it that every Chinese restaurant, no matter what its age, seems to have the same faded pictures on its display menu (posted over the counter) and yellowed out letters and prices?

2) Do Mexican and Chinese restaurants all buy preprinted menus from the same place and make exactly the same things in each location?

3) When did fortune cookies become so vague? "You will do something today" isn't a fortune, it's a given.

4) How come there only seems to be one brand of soy sauce and mustard at these places?

5) WHy hasn't Lou Reed done a commercial for PF Chang's called Wok on the Wild Side.

Jacob Robida - Why is it every wacko on the run seems to stop in KY?

So somehow this sicko got Kentucky plates on his car. Why is it that every killer on the run seems to wind up with some connection to this state? That said, glad he got a little frontier justice. I'm just sad he took so many with him.


Suspect in Gay Bar Rampage Dies in Ark. By NOAH TRISTER, Associated Press Writer
47 minutes ago



An alleged attack at a Massachusetts gay bar, the killing of an Arkansas officer and the slaying of a mother of three — Jacob D. Robida left a streak of unexplained violence that ended in a fatal shootout with authorities.

Robida, 18, was mortally wounded when he opened fire on officers following a chase through the Arkansas hills at speeds in excess of 90 mph. He was shot twice in the head and later died at a hospital Sunday.

Authorities say Robida left behind three men wounded in a hatchet-and-gun attack in Massachusetts and two people dead in Arkansas: a 63-year-old officer, and a passenger in Robida's car, whom he had apparently met over the Internet.

"This is insane," said Heather Volton, 22, of Fall River, Mass., who had known Robida, a high school dropout, for a year. "That kid never so much as raised his voice at me. ... This is all pretty much a shock to me, like everyone else."

Authorities had sought Robida since a Thursday morning attack at the Puzzles Lounge in New Bedford, Mass., that left three men wounded, one critically.

Robida's friends said they didn't know him to hold animosity toward homosexuals, though police investigators said he dabbled in Nazism. Police labeled the attack a hate crime and sought Robida for attempted murder, assault and civil rights charges.

Robida next surfaced when he shot and killed Gassville police officer Jim Sell, which triggered a 20-mile chase from Gassville to Norfork as deputies and state troopers fired shotguns at Robida. Spike strips finally slowed Robida's green Pontiac to around 30 mph.

"The tires were deflating — at least two of the tires were now running on rims," Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said. "It was apparent he was losing control of the vehicle."

Before the final exchange, officers had a clear view of Robida and his passenger, Jennifer Rena Bailey, 33, of Charleston, W.Va., after Robida's car spun nearly 180 degrees, crashing into a pair of parked cars.

"Investigators now believe Robida raised a handgun to the head of Bailey, fired, and it is believed she was killed instantly by that gunshot," Sadler said. "Robida raised that same handgun and fired on the officers who were present at the scene. They returned fire."

West Virginia State Police said Bailey apparently had corresponded with Robida over the Internet and in letters, and that Robida had picked her up after the Massachusetts attack. Authorities were investigating whether Bailey went willingly with Robida or was abducted.

Three of Robida's friends from a home page the teen created on the Web site MySpace.com told The Associated Press that Bailey was Robida's ex-girlfriend. They said the couple had lived together in West Virginia. Bailey was either divorced or separated from her husband.

It appeared Sell had no idea that he had pulled over the Massachusetts suspect while working a radar unit on the east side of Gassville as Robida headed westbound into town. The green Pontiac bore Kentucky plates that hadn't been reported stolen.

"The only information they had is what had happened at Gassville to the officer there," Lt. Bill Beach, a criminal investigator for the state police. "It wasn't until after the pursuit had terminated that they were able to identify the suspect."

New Bedford investigators had been in contact with West Virginia authorities before Saturday's gunfight, but police spokesman Capt. Richard Spirlet declined to provide details.

Sell was the first Baxter County officer killed in the line of duty since the late 1960s, said Sheriff John Montgomery, who is based in Mountain Home, about five miles from Gassville. Sell worked with the Blytheville police department for over 25 years before retiring as captain in 2000. He had been working with the Gassville force since 2003.

"We are a close-knit, small community," Montgomery said. "I can tell you that even though it was not our officer, it was devastating for our department, like everyone else."

Bob Perry, one of the Massachusetts bar patrons attacked, said before Robida's death that he was hopeful the gunman would survive — if only to explain his actions.

"I'd like him to be able to regain consciousness and answer some questions," Perry said Saturday. "I should have been dead 48 hours ago. I have so many questions."

___

Associated Press writer Andrew Ryan in Boston contributed to this report.