ESPN Profiles Man Behind Scoops Callahan

For those of us who have been pretty much glued to our TVs for the past few weeks because of the Mavs playoff run, we remember vanquished Lakers coach Phil Jackson ending his storied career with a press conference after game 4 of the series, where BaD Radio producer Tom Gribble’s alter ego, Scoops Callahan, got the last question in.

Some found it hilarious. Some had the vapors and moaned about the demise of journalism. And then writer Kevin Duffy profiled Gribble for ESPN – and you should read it.

Family of Champion Surfer Andy Irons Still Waiting for Answers

Last November, champion surfer Andy Irons was found dead in his hotel room near Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. While it was rumored to be a methadone overdose, at the time the family said it could be the result of dengue fever.

His widow, Lyndsie Irons, argued for and received a temporary injunction delaying the release of the autopsy back in December. That injuction was due to to expire last week, but the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports that a Dallas attorney, Arch McColl III, filed for an extension of that delay, which was granted.

The only problem, the story reveals, is that the family says is actually ready to find out whatever is in that report, and they don’t know why this attorney acted on their behalf.

Leading Off (5/24/11)

Mavs Win! The lead from the Oklahoman story: “Dirk Nowitzki scored 40 points, Jason Kidd hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 40 seconds left in overtime, and the Dallas Mavericks overcame a 15-point deficit in the final 5 minutes of regulation to stun the Oklahoma City Thunder 112-105 on Monday night and take a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference finals.” What the story doesn’t reveal is that I, me, this guy called it. At 8:49, I tweeted the following to Kurt Watkins, cousin and campaign manager of DA Craig Watkins, because Kurt had expressed his disappointment at the early Mavs’ deficit: “@kurtwatkins Hush your mouth. The Mavs have withstood OKC’s run. First half will end Mavs down 6. They will win by as many. Gonna be sweet.” The Mavs actually did better than that in the first half. They went to the recess down by only 5. I adjusted accordingly, adding one point to the final score with this tweet at 9:13: “@kurtwatkins Sorry. End first half Mavs down only 5. Revised projection: Now they’ll win by 7.” Picture me, with my children asleep, running around my living room with my arms out, flying like Jet Terry.

Be Afraid of Tornadoes. This is a strange story — made even stranger by its placement behind the DMN paywall. The headline to David Flick’s effort is “Dallas’ Tornado-Free Year Could Unravel Quickly,” and the lead unfolds thusly: “In one of the nation’s deadliest years for tornadoes, the Dallas area — despite residing near the southern tip of Tornado Alley — has so far escaped. But the message from weather officials: Keep your guard up. … The tornado that struck Joplin, Mo., on Sunday only added to the 365 deaths already recorded in 2011, one of the deadliest years in decades. When the Joplin figures are added, the 2011 deaths will be about 10 times those caused by tornadoes all of last year. The recent devastation serves as a strong reminder that whenever the warning sirens sound, residents should seek shelter.” It’s pretty certain that Flick just jinxed us. Dude, there are some stories that don’t need to be localized.

Read This Jim Schutze Column. He’s crazy, yes. And he doesn’t command the respect he once did. But every so often, Jim Schutze writes something worth reading. Here’s why Michael Hinojosa’s departure from DISD is a good argument to torpedo Governor Rick Perry.

DMA Scores New Art. With help from the Menil Collection in Houston, the Dallas Museum of Art has done something it has never done before: gone Dutch on a major work of art. My take: if the DMA wanted to get to third base on Menil, it should have picked up the full tab.