Oddities and endities

So yes, there was no post yesterday.  For one thing, the comment section on this Sunday's message was post enough!  For another, yesterday at work was like a Monday superimposed over another Monday.  Bad enough to just put it the same way I did to a co-worker:  "Y'know, I guess when you start the day by getting toothpaste on your shirt, you should just. Go. Back. To. Bed."

Today I figure up our fantasy football games.  I haven't been posting them online as I have in the past, out of sheer laziness.  Now I'm glad of that.  Before I say why, let me explain.  Our fantasy league is 12 teams- 4 for me, 4 for KC, and 4 for Laurie.  Each of us has a main team that we work the hardest for (And one of Laurie's teams is the Fiery Beagles, which is Scrappy's team).  My main team- the team I started long before our league, when I first started playing around 25 years ago, named after my then-infant son and my favorite sports team, is the KCA's.

This week, out of 12 teams, ten of them are at 3-3.  One of the 2 teams that are not:  The KCA's.  They aren't really as bad as their 1-5 (!) record shows... Every team the KCA's have lost to have had their first or second highest point total of the season against me.  I've lost 47-35, 39-38, 59-35, 48-33, and 51-31.  Alright, whine over.

Also in a sports heavy post, I told you last week about the China Dragon hockey team figuring out how to win again after a five-YEAR drought.  Well, I think I have found their successor as worst team in the world.  I while back, just for fun, I had KC pick out a team in each of the leagues I follow, just for fun.  In the Polish Hockey League, he took Katowice.  Katowice, to say the least, is having a rough start to the season.  Today they had their biggest offensive output in a 14-2 loss.  That's right, they were the one that scored 2.  Their other games have been losses of 14-0, 15-1, 12-0, 9-1, and 16-1.  They have given up 80 goals; the next three worst combined have given up 101.

Moving on, I have a couple of sport stories that are worthy of a Martin World News post.  First off, we have the sad story of Dallas Cowboy RB Joseph Randle.  Randle makes almost half-a-million bucks per year right now... or at least he did.  It seems that that wasn't enough for the back, who just had his best game ever Sunday, because Monday night he was arrested for shoplifting.

The arrest report states that store security officers, watching via the closed-circuit surveillance system, observed Randle purchase an item at the perfume counter before walking to the underwear section and concealing merchandise in his Dillard's bag. He then exited the store before being stopped by security in the parking lot. (per ESPN)

Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

Joseph Randle, who has a base salary of $495,000 in 2014, is accused of stealing underwear and cologne from a Dillard's in a suburban mall.

The store security officers recovered from Randle a two-pack of black Polo underwear valued at $39.50 and an almost full "tester" bottle of Gucci Guilty Black cologne valued at $84.

And if the stupidity of this act isn't enough for you, let's add on what happened when he opened his mouth:


After being placed in the back of a police car, Randle told Frisco police officer Jason Kimbrough that he would have just kept walking to his car when confronted by security officer Raymond Wymer -- the "old guy," Randle called him -- if he had known he would be arrested, according to the arrest report.


As, Laurie put it:  "What did he think the guard was going to do when he stopped him? 'Oh, thank you for stealing from our store, have a nice day?' "


And please don't think that only the pros making the big bucks are this stupid.  Remember last year, all the trouble Johnny Manziel got into for selling autographs?  Getting paid for signing stuff is against NCAA rules.  Remember last WEEK, when Georgia rb Todd Gurley got suspended for the same thing?  Ready for some people just won't learn?

Multiple Las Vegas sports books halted betting on the Notre Dame-Florida State game Tuesday as uncertainty surrounding the status of Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston escalated.

Melina Vastola/USA TODAY 

Florida State is investigating more than 900 Winston autographs that were authenticated by the same company that has been linked to suspended Georgia running back Todd Gurley.


I think they should be made to spend the rest of their careers wearing an "I am stupid" jersey on-field.   Whether you feel that the rule is unfair (as my son does) or not, the fact of the matter is clear- There is a rule.  You saw others break it.  You broke it, too.  NFL drafters occasionally look for intelligence in the players they draft.  Your draft stock has just went down in their eyes.  Nice job.


Anyway, here are some nice pictures!

From a distance, I thought we may have had a fox sighting...

...but it was just a kitty cat.

I was trying to get a good pic of Scrappy and I sharing his favorite human food, the one snack he'll stop a walk for- BabyBels!  But, he has the best avoidance timing...

Meanwhile, the Green Hole is still verdant..

Years ago, a little tree picked a damn bad place to grow...

And Sunday, the Hurshtown Dam must have been closed.  Half the channel was mud flat!