I put this footage of Ron Washington being the best on the D Magazine Tumblr — follow us! — but thought footage of Ron Washington being the best might want to hang out here, too. So, here is Ron Washington being the best, reacting to Josh Hamilton’s game-winning hit last night.
Okay, so here’s the real video. Yeah, John Wiley Price gives Brett Shipp a pretty good shove. But where’s the “split his throat” threat? Anyway, it’s fun to watch, but I don’t think it’s a very big deal. The best part is that Price really wanted to tell Shipp that the commissioner’s county office isn’t public property.
A soccer-loving FrontBurnervian passes along a link to this story on an SB Nation blog, about when U.S. men’s national soccer team coach Jurgen Klinsmann visited the West End when he was in town to play for the Germans during the 1994 World Cup:
Germany was in town to face South Korea. After a practice at the Cotton Bowl, Klinsmann and German team buddy asked if David [McNabb of The Dallas Morning News] could drive them to the Sixth Floor Museum nearby. It’s in the building where Lee Harvey Oswald, perched on the 6th floor, shot and killed President Kennedy in 1963.
David was happy to oblige. But here’s the real hoot:
The museum sits in a downtown restaurant area, and they happened to be staging a Hoop-It-Up tournament there at the time. Hoop-It-Up was (maybe still is, I’m not sure) a series of outdoor 3-on-3 basketball tournaments. And these were big events.
David is a tall fellow himself; he played basketball in high school.  So there’s David and, as they got into downtown, literally thousands of basketball players, all milling about. As David said, a lot of “size 15 shoes.”
Klinsmann made a quick assessment of his surroundings: “You guys in Texas really are big!” he told David.
A mole at Channel 8 sent us the video of the alleged and so-called quote-unquote assault perpetrated on Brett Shipp by John Wiley Price. We can’t show you the video. It’s protected by copyright. So we created this reenactment of the confrontation, wherein Price “uses his arm and the heel of his hand to physically remove Shipp from his office” while threatening to “split his throat.” Standing in for Brett Shipp is Rangers radio broadcaster Eric Nadel.
We added some new categories to our Best of Big D issue this year, many of them geared towards families with children. One of these new honorees was Critterman, whom we named the Best Children’s Entertainer.
Intern Kelsy McCraw caught up with Critterman, aka Dave Kleven, to see how an ordinary boy from Minnesota came to delight Dallas-area kids with his exotic animals. Between shows for 100-plus children at the Rockwall County Library with his “Texas Tails” program, which features an American alligator named Steve and a ferret named Slinky, he explained why it takes a kid-at-heart to keep the attention of pint-sized audiences. Here’s the video Kelsy made:
Earlier this summer, Corporate Dr Pepper (also known as Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc.) sued Dublin Dr Pepper, saying the smaller, real-sugar-using bottler distributes far beyond the agreed upon boundaries. Now Dublin Dr Pepper has fired back, with a 64 page legal counterclaim that’s really more of a history lesson or a love story gone awry. Included is the story of how Dr Pepper was “discovered” in Waco, a recounting of the long — mostly adoring — relationship between Corporate and Dublin, photos of Dublin bottles, and a clipping from a March 2010 Texas Monthly (“The Bucket List”) in which Deputy Managing Editor Brian D. Sweany writes: “The ice-cold eight-ounce bottle proudly proclaims the signature ingredient, Imperial Pure Cane Sure. No need for the high-fructose corn syrup that has become part of the standard formula for Dr Peppers elsewhere. That simple tweak makes a Dublin–named for the city whose bottling plant has been producing the Texas-born refreshment since 1891–a throwback indeed.”
Happy national s’mores day to you and yours. S’mores always remind me of two things: the fact that I was not a very good Girl Scout, and the time my college roommate, Pam, and I really wanted toasted marshmallows and all we had were Hanukkah candles and a menorah.
Anyway, I’m okay with all these ridiculous fake holidays since they always seem to offer something tasty for cheap. There’s a rather good chance that I’ll be heading to Cavalli Pizza for their insanely delicious-looking s’mores pie. Sarah Reiss over on SideDish has details and photos, but the upshot is you can snag a large for just $5.
Elsewhere, Juan Williams, the journalist fired from NPR and subsequently hired by Fox News to the tune of two million dollars, is speaking and signing books at the Fairmont Hotel. I present it to you as an option, and as one of the more interesting things happening around town regardless of your politics. If you go, this On The Media transcript is worth a read. Personally, though, I’d rather head to Jimmy’s for the Italian Club’s wine tasting with Guy Stout, one of just 180 master sommeliers in the world. There are six spots left for those of you with an extra hundred dollars to spare. Nancy has details. Apparently, they’re pulling out the really good stuff.
If you haven’t made a trip to FrontRow Giveawayland recently, you absolutely should. We’ve got a guitar. A brand new, awesome on all accounts, guitar. And it could be yours. Scuttle on over.
And then go here, for more to do this evening.
Channel 8′s Brett Shipp says on his Twitter stream: “I was just assaulted by John Wiley Price. Details to follow.” Then: “Jwp goes on to threaten to ‘split my throat.’” I’ve got a message in to Shipp asking for details.
Update (12:56): Shipp told me he was too busy to talk. Understandable. He was writing. Here’s the story on Channel 8′s site. Two things about the story: 1) I love that the byline is Shipp’s and that he writes in the third person. E.g.: “According to Shipp, Price used his arm and the heel of his hand to physically remove Shipp from his office.” 2) The story says: “Brett Shipp was not seriously harmed.” It sounds to me like that should read, “Shipp was not harmed at all.” That said, I look forward to seeing the video at 5.
Rangers Notch Another Comeback Win. Josh Hamilton sawed down a redwood tree with a butter knife, whittled it into a regulation bat, then hit a walkoff single. The key to the game is that someone gave me a ticket at the last-minute. You’re welcome.
U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess Wants to Impeach Obama. The Lewisville Republican told a Tarrant County Tea Party group that would “tie things up.”
The Water is Back on in Kemp. The small town in Kaufman County has water again after three days without. Now they are praying for rain. Good luck, I guess, but I think the rain dance Tim and I have been doing may prove more effective.
8-Year-Old Saves Toddler From Drowning. His name is Jesus Lara, and he’s already better than I’ll ever be. Which isn’t tough, but still.