Ed Bark Takes Brett Shipp To Task for His Facebooking

Remember that report WFAA’s Brett Shipp did on Southlake-Carroll QB Daxx Garman that ultimately resulted in Garman not playing the season opener?

Shipp followed up with a report on a scrimmage Southlake-Carrol and Euless Trinity held for some of their team members, in which he contended it broke UIL rules.

None of that is what got Shipp a scolding from Ed Bark. It was a Facebook status update by Shipp to tease the second report:

Uncle Barky writes:

“Tonight at Ten on News 8: Forget the QB,” he wrote. “Southlake’s coaches are in hot water. What’s more, see what happens when they invite Number 1 ranked Trinity into the hot tub with them. Sniff, sniff!!!! Is that the smell of two cooked seasons?”

No, that’s the smell of a grandstanding taunt that makes Shipp look like a juvenile blowhard. And really, he’s much better than that.

Uncle Barky has more about Shipp’s ouster from the school property, etc.

Zac Quits Smoking: Day 3

You know when you get hypothermia? You’re long past panic. You’ve stopped shivering. A euphoric calm settles over you. Then, of course, you die. But right before you die, it’s great. That’s where I think Zac is today.

Hang in there, Zac!

Corporate Counsel Awards finalists named

There are no slouches among the contenders in this year’s Corporate Counsel Awards (a collaboration between D CEO and the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel). One overcame breast cancer to help drive her company’s annual revenue from $140 million to $800 million. Another won a defense verdict in a $500 million suit—one of the biggest cases in the country. A third put together multimillion-dollar development deals, set up a business incubator, produced video soundtracks—and rushed into a burning home to rescue a family. Watch for the November issue of D CEO to find out more about these and other finalists. And don’t miss the Oct. 12 awards event at The Adolphus, where the winners will be revealed. (Two words: open bar.)

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Leading Off (9/3/10)

1. Homes in Carrollton, Farmers Branch and Dallas could be under water – and not in the real estate sense. An Army Corps of Engineers report calls the Lake Lewisville Dam “very high risk,” but also say it’s not in imminent danger of failing. So you can take your water wings off – I think?

2. Realtors are warning about a new scam on Craigslist - one where people copy photos and information about houses for sale from their online listings, and then list them on Craigslist as being for rent. The immediate tip-off it’s a scam? The fact that the “landlord” is from Nigeria and the rent is generally ridiculously low for the house.

3. Forget a gun. If you really want to fend off robbers, you need soda cans. And, like this guy, use the Pepsi, because it’s the one people will miss the least.

4. Father of the Year nominee here: A man is pulled over by the cops, and then gets out of the car and runs – leaving a baby behind. Turns out the car is stolen, and the man is wanted for drug charges.

5. Last week, commenter TLS challenged me to put my iPod on shuffle and list the first 10 songs that came up, because he/she doubted my music taste. So: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten. Happy Friday.

Zac Crain Quits Smoking: Day 2

I haven’t asked Zac how it’s going today. I am afraid to. When I arrived at work today, he was casually twirling a .44 revolver on his index finger, periodically stopping to spin its cylinder. Also, he was using the Dragon dictation app on his iPhone to write an e-mail to the Discovery Channel about how they need to air more programming that features dinosaurs. We’re on deadline for our October issue, and there are page proofs aplenty to read. But we’re leaving Zac out of the process for now. Just to be safe.

Hang in there, Zac!

Happy Holiday No-Refusal Weekend!

It’s a holiday weekend, so it must be time for a no-refusal weekend, right? And, right on cue, the Dallas Police Department doesn’t disappoint. Details at the jump.

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It’s Raining, And We’re Going to Need You To Be Careful

And by careful, I mean, you know, the speed limit. This morning, while driving down westbound LBJ, I watched a car do two complete 360s across all four lanes of traffic, hydroplaning. It was terrifying to watch, and I’m sure it was even more terrifying if you were in that car. By some miracle, there was not an accident – cars slowed and stopped to let this now wrong-facing car come to a stop and then turn around.

A veteran of many defensive driving classes, I can only tell you that you shouldn’t drive to fast – but don’t drive too slow, either. Now is not the time to start tailgating, and if you’re bad about it, stop it – you will indeed tempt the Auto Gods into a chain reaction accident that will tie up the road and earn you a ticket for following too closely. There’s a reason I left a car length between me and the guy in front of me, and it wasn’t to let you in, by the way.

But most of all, dear FrontBurnervians, be careful out there. But not irritating.

Eerie Cloud Bank Threatens Dallas

Ever read The Mist, by Stephen King? Just saying.