Articles for April, 2008
Giddy-Up: Four More Days To The Kentucky Derby
My anticipation for the first Saturday in May starts earlier and grows more fervent each year, and it seems like I learn something new every spring. For instance, I didn’t know there was a famous train decades ago that ran from Dallas-Fort Worth to Louisville, dubbed the “millionaires’ special,” that signaled the start of Derby fever. It was the Gulfstream of the day for owners and horseplayers. Very cool. (If someone wants to hire me to write about 200 pages about the Texas & Pacific’s trek to Kentucky, let’s chat.)
In related Derby news, the peeps at the NYT have (wisely) asked SMU alum, fellow horseplayer, and fellow fan of Louie’s Joe Drape to contribute to the new, Derby-centric blog called The Rail. Interested parties should check it out.
Evan Smith Interviews Jim Moroney
The Texas Monthly editor queries the DMN publisher on circulation, discounted copies, web traffic, and more here. Interestingly, while circ is down (as planned), Jim says the latest Scarborough study shows readership is up .6% in the four-county Dallas area.
Bankston Chevy Picks Up Stakes, Relocates
Now you see it, now you don’t. Last week Bankston Chevrolet was occupying the northwest corner of Northwest Highway and Abrams Road in Dallas, as it has for years; this week that corner’s empty and Bankston’s moved to larger digs at 4747 LBJ Freeway, next to its Nissan location. A spokeswoman says Bankston is leasing the Northwest/Abrams property through 2011, and has yet to decide whether to sublease it or put another dealership there.
Steven Soderbergh to Visit High-Class Call Girl; Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner to Pay For It
Well, sort of. The second film in Soderbergh’s six-picture deal with 2929 Entertainment partners Cubes and Wagner will be The Girlfriend Experience, “a look into the world of a $10,000-a-night/$1 million-a-year prostitute.” Like Soderbergh’s first film for 2929, 2005’s Bubble, the movie will be released in theaters and on DVD and cable at the same time, and will be shot with mostly unknown actors. Unlike Bubble, maybe this time it will work.
Tony Romo Takes His Gunslinging Attitude to the Blackjack Tables in Vegas and Drops $2.5 Million
Allegedly. The source on this is Robin Leach, so you might want to take that with a handful of sea salt.
The House(s) of the Rising Sun Sales Price
Something weird is afoot in the Dallas residential real estate market. So notes a reader of DallasDirt and so seconds some commentors. Sales prices of some homes are actually going up. Now, they could be exceptions and a case-by-case basis, but it’s still weird.
Bobby Valentine Is Big in Japan
Ever wonder what the former Rangers manager is up to? An alert FBvian points us to the this story about his enormous popularity as a manager in Japan — and about the documentary on him in the works. In related news, there are no documentaries about Ron Washington currently under way.
Dog Problem Continues in Dallas
I’m on record as saying the stray problem in Dallas is out of control and needs to be addressed. (Rod Davis made the case very well in the print version of FB.) As Mayor Pro Tem Elba Garcia noted yesterday:
Of over 63,000 311 calls in 2007, 24,462 were for loose and aggressive animals.
So I’m glad the Dallas City Council is doing something about it. Doug Bedell, the former DMN investigative sports reporter who now taunts me with how much money he makes at Haynes & Boone, says I’m ill-informed and it’s a bad ordinance. His full explanation of why after the jump.
Leading Off
1. A 17th Dallas County man will likely be exonerated today after DNA tests showed that James Lee Woodard was not the man who sexually assaulted and killed a woman in December 1980.
2. SMU President Gerald Turner has rejected a proposal to open a pub on campus, which I’m very happy about. I don’t want those co-ed party girls getting hammered on campus on Friday nights. Their Daddies wouldn’t like that. They should do what they normally do on the weekend: Kick it with Old Man Celeste on the KSP dancefloor. Next thing ya know, shawty got low, low, low, low!
3. The Dallas Mavericks had a players-only practice yesterday, while Avery curled up in the fetal position under a footstool and spoke lovingly to his championship ring. Not that the wheels are coming off. Not at all.
Adam Scott Goes From Green to Scene
An eagle-eyed FBvian passes along this scoop (albeit minor) about your newly crowned Byron champ:
I thought you might be interested to know that Adam Scott, who won the Byron Nelson yesterday, was seen at W Dallas-Victory last night enjoying cocktails in The Living Room.
[Insert quippy, golf-y rejoinder here.]
Bunky Vroom Coaches Babes on the Pitch
Several in the FrontBurner Nation might know Bunky Vroom. He is the spawn of sometime D contributor Nan Coulter and the bulti-talented Jacques Vroom. He left these parts years ago to work for MTV in LA. Now he’s got a gig with Disney, for Those Who Care. But what brings our attention to Vroom today is the following video about his hobby: coaching an all-babe soccer team. You’ll find him about halfway through:
Update: Dunno what’s what. But several of you have said in the comments that you can’t see the video. You can find it here.
Re: Byron Nelson Final Round
While attendance was down yesterday, partly due to the weather, the EDS Byron Nelson Championship couldn’t have concluded in more spectacular fashion. The Four Seasons Resort & Club–which is undergoing a $190 million renovation, including new luxury condos–made a great setting for the nail-biting, three-hole showdown. And while the spectators’ outfits weren’t nearly as skimpy yesterday as earlier in the tourney–”This Comes Off” t-shirts were commonplace then–many still were underdressed against the chill. To remedy that the hotel thoughtfully provided some guests Sunday with colorful “wraps”–one of which was modeled by Caroline Free Bagot from Fulbright & Jaworski LLP (at left) in front of the Four Seasons hospitality suite.
Where You Should Have Been Friday Night
Jessica and I decided to have a drink at Barcadia, a new bar on Henderson, on Friday night. The place is located across the street from the Slip Inn and they’ve got about 15 old-school video games (Skee-Ball, Ms. PacMan, etc) and they only charge a quarter to play them. It’s got a great patio, and we were relaxing on it, when a cute girl in a short trench coat holding a briefcase walked in. Turns out, she was there for a little business they call strippin’. Happy Birthday to some lucky guy after the jump.
Search & Rescue Command Center in Uptown
An Uptown-dwelling, curiosity-having FrontBurnervian wonders and asks:
Can you ask some in-the-police-know folks and help me find out why Search & Rescue teams have set up camp in Uptown? The Search & Rescue trucks are actually across the street from last week’s rape victim on Cole. I’m kind of freaked out because as I left my condo, there were WAY too many police cars and search and rescue teams setting up a “command central” for a minor situation.
Here’s another update from one of my neighbors:
So, I went and talked to the S&R team. I made sure to not get in their way, but they do realize that we are worried. Believe it or not, they would not tell me what was going on. All they said (which is what they say is all they could say) was that they are assisting in an investigation with the Dallas Police. I asked if it was about the incident last week and was told that they could neither confirm or deny that. Whatever it is, they have a lot of man and dog power. I will keep combing the news sites today, maybe something there will tell us what is going on. They also said that residents in this area should “keep their eyes open and be aware,” but would not tell me what exactly that meant.
Byron Nelson Final Round: “No Weather for Skanky Women!”
It was an exciting finish to the EDS Byron Nelson Championship. Citizen journalist Anthony Pulido was there for us and files his final report, after the jump. As always: watch out for adult language!
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