Articles for February, 2011
Peter King to Nation: “This Is a Debacle.”
Sports Illustrated scribe Peter King just told his 500,000 Twitter followers: “I’m telling you: I-30 between Dallas + Fort Worth is a plow-less, snow-windswept moonscape. This is officially a debacle.” We will go ahead and file that under the heading “Less-Than-Glowing PR.” But you know what’s even worse? The gift shop at the Sheraton. That’s where most of the out-of-town media are staying. I popped over last night to see what the scene was like in the hotel bar, Draft. Short version: lots of dudes. If you’re looking for dorky white guys (aka sports reporters and broadcasters), head over to Draft. And then, if you want to feel really bad about your city, check out the Sheraton gift shop (pictured). Just be glad that Peter King isn’t tweeting about that.
Even With Snow, NFL Players Wives’ Fashion Show Is A Go
Yup, you woke up, looked outside and saw more snow. But you’re also suffering a bit from cabin fever. If you have tickets to the NFL Players Wives’ Off The Field Banquet and Fashion Show with Abi Ferrin (pictured left with event co-chair Sherice Brown) at the Fairmont, you’re in luck. It’s still on.
Ballroom doors just opened with silent auction, brunch and fashion show benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
To the Gentleman Doing Doughnuts
Nothing like doing a few doughnuts in the snow before going to work.
I was impressed with your ability to maneuver around the lightposts. However, you lost 10 points for knocking over an orange cone.
(And, yes, this is my post to prove that I was at work this morning so there’s no denying how dedicated I am to my job.)
Celebrities React to Arctic Dallas Weather
I know we get snow at least once a winter. But for some reason, I think people who haven’t spent much time in Texas think we experience balmy, lovely temperatures all year round.
But with the advent of Twitter, you can now see what a celebrity is thinking when they experience snow in Dallas. So with that, I give you: A Children’s Treasury of Bewildered Celebrity Weather and Other Super Bowl Weekend Tweets. (more…)
Leading Off (2/4/11): The Seriously, This Is Getting Old Edition
Snow, You Can Kiss My Asterisk. Listen – this is Texas. We get ice one day, and then 70 degree temperatures the next to melt it all off. Maybe you didn’t get the memo. But listen to me: This is not cool anymore.
Drug Dealers Use Houses in Nice Neighborhoods for Grow Operations. Interesting story, but the comments? Oy.
Keith Allen and Peter Brown Are Kinda Heroes. Heroes with their own, homemade all-terrain vehicle, hauling stuck cars off of icy streets in and around Cedar Hill.
Ice Makes Regional Approach to Super Bowl Difficult. Bud Kennedy at the Star-Telegram says visitors say having the pre-Super Bowl events spread out has made everything about an hour’s drive away, which is apparently a long time to drive somewhere.
This Just In: It Will Never, Ever Be Warm Again. As I sit here writing this, Pete Delkus is saying there’s a possibility of snow on Sunday. I give up. I’m putting on my drawstring sweatpants, my hermit sweatshirt, and my slipper socks. I miss sunlight, and I miss being able to see the lane markers on the Tollway.
Those Joneses Are Oh-So Accommodating
Tonight Gene and Jerry Jones are hosting a dinner party at Jerry World for the NFL owners. Because GJ and JJ tend to do things in a big way, we hear they’ve arranged to have Will Smith Jamie Foxx and Jennifer “Oscar-Winning, Weight-Losing” Hudson entertain the group.
Unfortunately, Jennifer couldn’t get out of Chicago, so the Joneses sent their plane to give her a lift this afternoon.
UPDATE: Alas, Jennifer didn’t make it as planned. Thank heaven, they had a Fergie nearby!
UPDATE ON UPDATE: Just heard from the Dallas Cowboys’ Joe Trahan (not to be confused with the WFAA Joe Trahan) that Jennifer did make it to the party after all and “performed late.”
Jamie Foxx Will Host Sirius’ Foxxhole From The Bud Light Hotel Friday
Local boy-made-good/Oscar winner Jamie Foxx will guest host Foxxhole on Sirius at The Bud Light Hotel from 4 to 6 p.m. on Friday. It’s an invite-only occasion. But if you’re a Sirius subscriber, you can enter a drawing for complimentary tickets. Follow the jump for deets: (more…)
DISD Schools Closed Friday
Just insane. Wow. DISD has already announced that schools will again be closed tomorrow. They’ve never given in to the weather like this before. That sound you hear is a mashup of teachers, who are wailing because they realize the school year will be extended by four days, and Linus Wright, who is roaring like one of the zombies from I Am Legend as he emerges from his grave to seek out Michael Hinojosa and remind him how the district used to do it back in the day.
Difference of Opinion on Why Attitudes & Attire Luncheon is Postponed Again
The Attitudes & Attire Luncheon and Fashion Show (pictured) benefiting women in need was scheduled for yesterday at the Dallas Trade Mart. Alas, it was postponed to Friday because of the Super Bowl Freezer. A&A’s pr lady, Heidi McKinley, just sent word that the luncheon has once again been postponed. The reason?
“Unfortunately, the Dallas Trade Mart remains closed due to broken pipes and flooding. Who could have predicted?”
Talked with the Dallas Trade Mart’s pr princess, Meredith Hite, who was mystified by the news of “broken pipes and flooding.” She replied, “I don’t know about that. We’re open for business. I’ll look into it.” Within seconds, Meredith was back on the horn reporting there were no broken pipes or flooding. Yes, the luncheon was indeed postponed but because of weather conditions. Regardless of the reason, the luncheon is now scheduled for Friday, February 25, at the Dallas Trade Mart.
So, Why Do They Have Super Bowls in Icy Climes?
While the adequacy of DFW’s response to the big storm is debated, Jerry and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell have issued their pronouncements: This week’s icy chaos won’t knock North Texas out of the running for future Super Bowls. Why not? Because there’s just too much dough to be made off attendees at JerryWorld, the conventional wisdom goes.
But, as an ESPN commentator argued yesterday, Super Bowls aren’t just about Super Sunday, but more like three- or four- or five-day festivals–like Mardi Gras. If shopkeepers and restaurateurs and cabbies and event planners and party-going fans can’t count on a decently pleasurable build-up to the game, why not just hold the thing in Southern California or Florida or Arizona every year, where there’s a much better shot at decent weather? (I know, every party needs a pooper …)
Win Tickets to XLV Party, Cont.
It’s not going to be held in tents anymore, but the XLV Party is still happening this Friday and Saturday. We have just a few tickets left. Go here to win them! The giveaway ends at 3 p.m. today.
Mark Cuban Will Never Own a Major League Baseball Team. And That Makes Me Sad.
My wife continues to nurse a grudge against him, but I was disappointed when Mark Cuban was shut out the bidding for my Chicago Cubs a couple years back. The guy seems to care deeply about fielding a competitive team, so I wouldn’t have minded him taking a crack at breaking the curse of the Billy Goat.
Cuban told The New York Times yesterday that he’s done bidding on baseball. At least until he feels a little love back from MLB, some sign that they actually want him as an owner. Baseball scribe Rob Neyer (who this week made the jump from ESPN to SBNation) writes that when it comes to pursuing a team, “Cuban’s going to finish last every time, because MLB doesn’t need his money and MLB doesn’t want an owner who’s already famous and won’t keep his mouth shut.”
MLB may not need his money, but they need him. Cuban, who grew up a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, should be handed the keys to that currently hapless franchise (which just had its 18th straight season of losing more games than it won, a record for any of the major sports). They should beg the Pirates’ current owners to sell the team to Cuban for a song.
Are All the Weather Forecasters Lying?
Comes news that we may get up two 2 inches of snow now. But have you looked at the forecast? They’re saying tomorrow’s high will be in the low 30s. Then, like magic, the high temperature is supposed to leap up 20 degrees for Super Bowl Saturday and Sunday before it again plummets 20 degrees, back into the 30s. I think Jerry Jones has struck a deal with the meteorology community to lie about how warm it will be this weekend, working on the premise that perception is reality. If enough believe that the weekend will be nice, then it’ll be nice.
A less resourceful billionaire might have spent a lot of money to build a giant flux capacitor that would change the weather pattern around North Texas. Not Jerry. Instead, for what I estimate to be just a few thousand dollars in bribes, he’s getting inside our heads. He’s using our brains to change the weather.
Well played, Jerry. Well played.
Fort Worth to Dallas: You Guys Shot JFK, Not Us
I just received a press release from Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. that made sure to mention the city’s new tribute to President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who, as we all know, was assassinated in Dallas on Friday, November 22, 1963. But did you know that JFK spent all of Thursday night AND Friday morning in Fort Worth without once getting shot at? No? Well, the folks at DFWI would like to remind everyone just in time for all our out-of-town visitors to decide where to spend their dollars.
Here’s the gist from the tribute website.
On Thursday evening, November 21, 1963, Air Force One landed safely in Fort Worth. Greeted by thousands along his route to the Hotel Texas (now the Hilton Fort Worth Hotel) downtown, President Kennedy and his motorcade arrived in time for a good night’s sleep before his morning speech at the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce. Protocol was exact. Preparations had been made. Friday would go smoothly. …But the day that began with such enthusiasm for the future ended in tragedy, and the story of his visit to Fort Worth has been lost to history. Until now.
ESPN’s Mike & Mike Was MIA at Sundance Square This Morning
Have never watched ESPN until this week. I’ve discovered that I like “Mike & Mike in the Morning,” especially Mike on the left. Perhaps it’s been their bundled-up look in their mega-makeshift set at Sundance Square.
Woke up this morning to discover the boys had moved indoors and had shed their woolly scarves and down parkas. Sorta miss the Mikes’ shivering reports and the frigid backdrop.
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