Blitz Weekly

November 2 – 8 , 2011 voL. 4 – ISSUe 9

vISIt US oNLINe at www.bLItzweekLy.com

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voL. 4 – ISSUe 9 November 2 – 8, 2011

FoLLow bLItz weekLy oN twItter aNd Facebook

SPORTS NEWSOn Deck 3Must see tV 3uFc 138 PreView 4stars news 5Manager calls it Quits 5tcu PreView 6sMu PreView 6sec gaMe OF the week 7Big 12 gaMe OF the week 7cOwBOys return hOMe 8tOtally crusheD cOwBOys 8

COvER STORyit wasn’t in the “carDs” 9aaa texas 500 PreView 10eDDie gOssage interView 11

BliTz BaBE Of ThE WEEkautuMn 12

lOCal ENTERTaiNmENT2012 Fiat 500c cabrio 16gadgets 16the Joystick 16

maN WORld2012 chrysler 300 srt8 16gadgets 16the Joystick 16

BliTz fuNNySJokes/horrorscopes/weird news 17

ThE ClOSERweekend relaxer 18train your cat to Be a star 18gadhafi’s gone, now what? 18

PublisherKelly G. Reed

Editor

C. Patterson

Food, Entertainmentand Lifestyle Editor

Judy Chamberlain

Photo EditorDarryl Briggs

Cover Photography:

Joe Lorenzini

Cover Design:Damien Mayfield

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERSJohn Breen, Gregg Case, Steven

Hendrix, Rick Leal, Kevin Jacobson, Joe Lorenzini, Chuck Majors

STAFF WRITERSHannah Allen, Tony Barone, Geoff Case, Vivian Fullerlove, Robin George, David Goodspeed, Jack E. Jett, Frank LaCosta, Mark Miller, Richard Pollak, Jesse Whitman

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERSBob, Joel Abroad, Keith Allison, Mark H. Anbinder, Yu-Ping Chen, Jerry Edmundson, David Goodspeed, Viktor Hertz, John Irving, Yumi Kimura, KT King, Justin Molush, Matt Pearce, Herman Von Petri, Pauleon Tan, Bob, efohbe, prayitno CONTRIBUTING WRITERSJoe Avezzano, Cote Bailey, Brian Beard, Jay Betsill, BW Cameron, Sonny Capps, Andrew J. Hewett, Keysha Hogan, Mateeka Lanee, Tommy Smith, Joe Stumpo

CONTACT USPHONE: 214-529-7370 • FAX: 972-960-8618

EMAIL: [email protected]

BLITZ WeeklyP.O. Box 295293, Lewisville, TX 75029 • www.blitzweekly.com

Copyright 2011 YK Publishing, LLC. No portion of BLITZ Weekly may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means, including electronic retrieval systems, without the express written permission of the Publisher. BLITZ Weekly is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. BLITZ Weekly may be distributed only by BLITZ Weekly’s authorized independent contractors or BLITZ Weekly’s authorized distributors. No person may, without prior written permission of BLITZ Weekly, take more than one copy of each BLITZ Weekly issue. Articles printed in this publication may express opinions or views not necessarily the opinions of BLITZ Weekly. The BLITZ Weekly is not responsible for the content or claims of advertisements or editorial in this publication. Story reprints are available for $1 plus postage; call the office at 214-529-7370 to place an order or check our archives at www.blitzweekly.com.

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muST SEE Tv S av i n g y o u f r o m c a r pa l T H u m B S y m p T o m S !

NCAA:#1 LSU vS. #2 ALAbAmASat. November 5 – 7:00PM – Bryant-Denny Stadium – CBScurrently billed by some as the “game of the century” this match up between SEc foes is sure to provide lots of excitement. The shrewdness of nick Saban is pitted against the trickery of les miles. This game will feature intense hits and surprise plays. The winner of this one will have the inside track to the BcS title game.

NFL:GiANtS vS. PAtriotSSun. November 6 – 3:15PM – Gillette Stadium – FOXa rematch of Super Bowl Xlii could be in store when these two teams collide. The giants escaped a close one last Sunday against the Dolphins, while the patriots lost to the Steelers. Expect big pass plays and hard hitting for this one. Bill Belichick is the master of getting the team prepared and Tom coughlin will try to match wits with him.

texAS rANGerS moviNG oN

by Keysha Hogan [email protected]

Do you ever get the feeling that the Ballpark in Arlington and Jerry World were built on an an-cient Indian burial ground? I’m not sure if the Hal-loween vibes are lingering, but there may some bad juju vibes that can even flow past Arlington. I mean, we were agonizingly close to victory in Game 6 of the World Series and the Cowboys regularly show moments of brilliance and inabil-ity. Over the past few days I have heard DFW natives question the desire, want, and passion of the Rangers. Seriously?! These men have dedi-cated their lives to this game, and you question their want? I think the is-sue was sheer emo-tional exhaustion. The tumultuous ex-tra-innings in Game 6 proved too much to overcome. Each time we caught a glimpse of Nolan Ryan and GM Jon Daniels they were either filled with elation or doing a thousand-yard stare. Imagine the range of emotions you’d feel if you thought you were minutes away from winning the World (expletive deleted) Series. The joy, the relief, the emotional montage of memories; little league games, playing catch in the yard, and that crazy hot and supportive waitress in Phoe-nix. Then suddenly, you’re thrust back into fierce competition. Now take that, double it, and add a fiercely loyal Cardinals crowd psychically willing this thing their way. Honestly, I’m a little exhaust-ed from just thinking about it. Now I must commend the team for the Zen-master way in which they are fielding questions from the media. Phrases such as “…it’s not up to me...” and “…that’s just what happened” filled the newspapers the next morning. Please know

that after that sluggish limp back to the locker room, if one of them threw a bat at the hoard of press along the way, all would be forgiven. The loss was hard, painful and unforgettable. Instinct makes us want to shake our heads, curse the team and declare the season a bust. I know there must be some fans that remember when being last in the division was an expected part of Texas baseball. The quantum leap to play-ing in back to back World Series’ should not be diminished. What we need is more emotional

conditioning. We need more hard fought on the road battles in hor-rible icy tundra-like places. We need supercharged regular season games that push us to the break-ing point. Once we hoard that re-silience and emotional capital we

will be more than contenders, we will be champions. Forgive my ram-bling, but do you remember that VH1 show Behind the Music? The first 20 minutes would cover a painful upbring-ing, then before the break a somber voice would declare “…and then things took a turn for the worse.” The next 20 minutes would be a haze of

poor decision-making and the last bit of the show would be a resur-rection of our former heroes along with an up-coming reunion tour schedule. Since this formula has been proven pretty precise (e.g. Journey, Bret Michaels, and Robert Downey Jr.), I’m predicting that there is still a World Series Championship in the Rangers’ future. Once the dust settles and time has passed, the team will be ready to fight again. All soldiers de-serve a little leave-time from battle. In the mean time, don’t turn your backs on our boys. Let’s spend the off-season exercising the demons of Game 6. Opening day is April 6th, and you’ll find me with the diehards in the grandstands.

@SarahKSilvermanSarah Silverman A lady wrote 2 me “F*&K YOU!” I clicked on her profile- it says “I’m inspired by beauty, exist 4 love & live to be free”

SPORTS NEWS



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ufC 138 PREviEW

by brian [email protected]

tHiAGo “Pit bULL” ALveS (23-7-0) vS.

PAPy “mAKAmbo” Abedi (8-0-0)

This certainly could be the fight of the night if both fighters bring it. Alves has been in a bit of a slump, only winning one of his last four fights (Howard). The “Muay Thai wrecking machine” will want to stand and bang. Striking is his strength, takedowns aren’t. Abedi on the other hand is well-rounded. Makambo definitely wants to ground and pound. If Alves can avoid the takedown he’ll win quickly. He has the experience. Even though Abedi is in great shape, Alves wins it in the first. Book it!

brAd “oNe PUNCH” PiCKett (21-4-0) vS reNAN bArAo (28-1-0)

This fight features two fighters with a ton of experience. Pickett has been on a roll lately winning three of his last four. Takedowns is his game and from there, submissions. He’s getting up there in age though and if he doesn’t start taking his game to the next level he’ll be out of it. Barao has won his last three. He’s coming in confident and sporting a faux hawk. Barao is all about the submission. Don’t expect either fighter to try winning this one on their feet. I’m going with Barao in this one by decision in the third. If Barao loses I might be forced to rock a faux hawk. Don’t let this happen.

CHriS “CriPPLer” LebeN (22-7-0) vS

mArK “FiLiPiNo WreCKiNG mACHiNe” mUNoz (11-2-0)

Touted as the “main attraction,” I don’t think it’ll disappoint. Leben has been making a name

for himself for some time. As one of my favorite fighters in the UFC, he packs a powerful punch and can take some serious punishment as well. It’s been over a year since Munoz has last lost (Okami) and he has won two of his last three via unanimous decision. Look for Munoz to take this one to the ground where he’ll employ his wrestling skills to suffocate Leben. Munoz wins again by decision. No tap out necessary.

SPORTS NEWS

ufC 138Saturday – Nov. 5 – 7pmWaTCh iT aT:



STARS

by tony [email protected]

Dallas Stars general manager and 2011 NHL Hall of Fame inductee Joe Nieuwendyk was honored in a pregame ceremony Saturday night before the Stars took on the New Jersey Devils. “Nieuwey” spent 20 years in the league and won Stanley Cups with 3 different teams in 3 different decades (Calgary in 1989, Dallas in 1999, New Jersey in 2003). He was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Stanley Cup Playoffs MVP as a Dallas Star in 1999, where he spent seven seasons (1995-2002) and played in 442 games while scoring 340 points. An emo-tional Nieuwendyk thanked his family, coaches, teammates, and fans for supporting him during his 20 years in the league. Nieuwendyk will be inducted November 14 in Toronto. The Stars are turning heads in a good way again to start this season with their 8-3 record. They’ve received outstanding goaltending, they’re seeing wonderful early returns on play-

ers like Sheldon Souray and Vernon Fiddler, who both scored goals in a 3-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils at the AAC Saturday night. While things are seemingly going according

to GM Joe Nieuwendyk’s plan, the one disturb-ing trend early on is a shot differential that has some crying “smoke and mirrors” again.

Through the first 11 games of the season, the Stars are being out shot 26.6 shots per game to a pretty staggering 32.6 shots against on average. The 32.6 shots against is tied for 3th worst in the

league, and only Florida and the NY Rangers allow more shots than the Stars. Head Coach Glen Gulutzan has attributed those numbers to the dis-parity in special teams time (PP time versus PK time) and points out the benign nature of much of that rub-ber headed goalie Kari Lehtonen’s way. The Stars want to force shots from the outside and “bend but not break” where quality chances against are concerned. The best way for the Stars to turn the shot differential around is on special teams. They have been shorthand-

ed 52 times already this year, second most in the NHL, while only being on the power play 38 times. The Stars are never going to be a team that

forces others into taking penalties and then pun-ishing them with the power play, but they have got to find a way to spend at least as much time on the PP as their opponents. That will protect their goaltenders from seeing 40 shots a night, or needing to block 26, as was the case in Los Angeles earlier last week. Vancouver businessman Tom Gaglardi was the only person to submit a bid to buy the Dal-las Stars by the deadline, according to NHL.com. While Gaglardi remains in line to become the Stars’ new owner, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said it could take until the end of Novem-ber before the process is finalized. Attendance at games continues to dwindle, with an announced crowd of 11,740 for the New Jersey game, the first since the Texas Rangers lost the World Series.

StArS SALUte NieUWeNdyK

5

SPORTS NEWS

uPCOmiNg SChEdulE:Nov. 4 vs. Avalanche 7:30pmNov. 6 @ Hurricanes 12:30pmNov. 8 @ Capitals 6:00pmNov. 11 @ Penguins 6:00pmNov. 12 @ Red Wings 6:00pmNov. 15 vs. Panthers 7:30pm

by Frank [email protected]

Only three days after winning his third World Se-ries championship, St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa is retiring. Some called him Tony “La Genius,” while his detractors called him Tony “La Doofus.” At the end of the day, La Russa has contributed significantly to the game of baseball and made an impact that few achieve. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, La Russa is the only individual in major league history to win a World Series in his final season as a manager. We know he’s leaving, but let’s take a look at where he began his career.

Playing CareerPrior to the 1962 season, La Russa was signed by the Kansas City Athletics as a middle infield-er. Over the next six seasons La Russa labored through the minors. During that time the team moved to Oakland and he joined the big league roster in 1968. He would stay there until the club traded him to the Atlanta Braves in 1971. La Russa would end his career with the Chicago Cubs in 1973. In 132 games played he went 35-for-176 with a batting average of .199, 7 RBI and scored 15 runs. Not amazing stats by any stretch. Afterwards he earned a Juris Doctor de-gree from Florida State University, but his heart was always with baseball.

managerial CareerLa Russa can thank then Chicago White Sox owner Bill Veeck for the opportunity to join the organization as a manager. The White Sox orga-nization had brought La Russa on to manage their

Double-A team (Knoxville Sox) in 1978. He was quickly promoted to the big club after half a sea-son on as a coach. Towards the end of the 1979 season La Russa was named the team’s skipper. Named American League Manager of the Year in 1983, La Russa and the White Sox won the AL West but ultimately fell to the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Championship Series. However, not all ended well and he was fired after a 26-38 start in 1986. Three weeks later La Russa joined the Oak-land Athletics as manager. Powered by Mark Mc-Gwire and Jose Canseco the Athletics made three consecutive World Series appearances starting in 1988. He won it all in 1989 over the San Francisco Giants. La Russa earned two addition-al Manager of the Year awards with the A’s, in 1988 and 1992. In 1995 after the Athletics had been sold to new ownership La Russa switched leagues to manage the St. Louis Cardinals. In 2002 La Russa earned the National League Manager of the Year award. He became the first manager to win the award four times. In 2004 he led the Cardinals back to the World Series but they were swept by the curse-breaking Boston Red Sox. Two years later he returned and won it all against the Detroit Tigers. La Russa along with Sparky Anderson are the only managers to win a World Series title in both leagues. As we all know, he won a third World Series title this season and his second with the Cardinals. Tony La Russa managed for 33 seasons, win-ning six pennants and made the playoffs 14 times. His 2,728 victories are third all-time trail-ing only Connie Mack and John McGraw. He was pivotal in playing bullpen match ups. He’s leaving the game on top and with class.

WiNNiNGWorLd SerieS

mANAGerCALLS it

QUitS



6

tHe WHeeLS Are oFFtHe PoNieS WAGoN

by tommy [email protected]

It has been six quarters of bad football in the past two weeks that have made the Mustangs hopes of a repeat trip to the Conference USA championship game a mere holiday wish. Since trailing South-ern Miss 10-3 at halftime two weeks ago SMU has been outscored 55-7. When asked about scoring

10 points in the last two games Head Coach June Jones said, “I don’t know what to say. I have not been through a stretch like that before.” Certainly, not this season. The Mustangs were riding a five game winning streak and a 3-0 conference record into the Sothern Miss game, but they came limp-ing home from Tulsa Saturday. The Mustangs now (5-3, 3-2) and two games behind both Tulsa and Houston in the division have basically been re-duced to spoiler as conference play winds down. Tulsa took advantage of the Mustangs’ mis-takes and some tipped balls to take a command-ing 24-0 lead at halftime. Tulsa quarterback G. J. Kinne completed 24 of 36 passes for 274 yards and a TD, while he ran for 39 yards including a 2-yard touchdown. Willie Carter set career highs with 13 receptions for 173 yards, includ-ing a 40-yard touchdown. J.J. McDermott had a day to forget completing 17 of 37 passes for 180 yards and a dismal four interceptions. Zach Line was the bright spot for the Ponies, if there was one rushing for 118 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown. It was his sixth 100yard game of the season and his 14th rushing touchdown. What this team needs now is what it is about to get. Tulane comes to Ford Stadium Saturday afternoon in what should be a nice Homecoming victory for SMU. Tulane (2-7, 1-4) are a popular choice for a homecoming foe this season as they were just vittles for East Carolina fans to feast upon 34-13 last Saturday in Greenville, NC. SMU beat Tulane at the Superdome last season 31-17 and will need to beat them this year to move one win closer to becoming bowl-eligible for the third sea-son in a row. It might not be the team’s ultimate goal but it remains the realistic one.

tulane vs. sMusat. nOV. 5 - 2:00pm

geralD FOrD staDiuM

FroGS CoNvert byU miSCUeS iNto A WiN

by tony [email protected]

TCU scored 21 points off three BYU special team miscues and then held on to beat the Cougars 38-28 at Jerry World on Friday night. The Horned Frogs (6-2) became bowl-eligible for the seventh straight year, beating BYU (6-3) for the fourth season in a row. The teams were play-ing each other in a nonconference game for the first time after being Mountain West Conference rivals for the last six seasons. BYU outgained TCU 218-191 yards in the first half, but TCU’s defense and special teams helped the Horned Frogs tame the Cougars and shorten the field for four quick drives in the opening half. TCU led 28-10 after quarterback Casey Pachall and Josh Boyce connected on a 33-yard touch-down pass 36 seconds before halftime. The Horned Frogs picked up in the second half right where they left off in the first stanza, taking

over at the BYU 37 on their first possession after BYU dropped the snap on yet another attempted punt, the third such gaffe for the Cougars. TCU’s drive took just four plays, and Waymon James scored on a 4-yard run as the Frogs built a 35-10 lead. A field goal and a punt return for a touchdown got BYU within 35-20, but a fumble recovery by TCU’s Jon Koontz at the start of the fourth quarter squelched another Cougars drive in TCU territory. BYU would score a TD and get the 2-point conver-sion with 2 minutes left in the game, but it was not enough. “We wanted to just come out of this with a win,” Patterson said. “I was really proud of my team, probably one of the better ballgames we’ve played this year.” Announced attendance for the game was 50,094, even with the game competing against the Texas Rangers playing in Game 7 of the World Series. The Horned Frogs and Cougars are no strang-ers to Cowboys Stadium. BYU played in the first ever collegiate football game at Cowboys Stadi-um in 2009, knocking off then No. 3 Oklahoma 14-13. TCU beat Oregon State 30-21 in their opener last season.

tcu vs. wyOMingsat. nOV. 5 - 1:00pm the Mtn hD

war MeMOrial staDiuM

SPORTS NEWS



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biG xiiGAme oF tHe WeeK

by Frank [email protected]

Kansas State had been riding an undefeated record and dreams of a Big 12 Conference title until the Oklahoma Sooners visited them in Manhattan. The Wildcats actually had a 17-14 lead in the early part of the second quarter and things were looking good. The mirage lasted briefly, as in through the television time out. Shortly after, the Sooners regained the lead and didn’t look back as they went on to win 58-17 victory. Now the Wildcats must prepare for the “other” Oklahoma team…the Oklahoma State Cowboys. For the Wildcats to be successful on offense, quarterback Collin Klein must lead the troops with accurate passes. When the offensive line provides protection he makes quality passes in the short to mid-range part of the passing game. He doesn’t quite have the touch for the long ball it seems. What makes him dangerous is his ability to run. He is still the team leader in rushing attempts, yardage and touchdowns on the ground. When Klein isn’t carrying the ball the ground game is handled by John Hubert, who possesses decent speed and is shifty but has only broke the 100-yard mark twice this season. One thing is certain; Hubert isn’t one for catching many passes out of the backfield. The Wildcats’ receivers are effective when needed and look for Chris Harper to be Klein’s main target. The defense will give up points and yardage. Even though Kansas State started off with seven consecutive wins they had some close games. They’ll have their hands full against Oklahoma State. 28-year-old quarterback Brandon Weeden and a relentless offensive attack lead the undefeated Oklahoma State Cowboys. The team is well-balanced and can strike at any moment. Weeden is experienced and has a cannon for an arm. Look for Weeden to spread the ball to a variety of receivers including the tight end and running back. Running back Joseph Randle provides the ground attack. He averages about 15 touches per game. Wide receiver Justin Blackmon is in sync with Weeden. The duo continues to make plays when needed and Blackmon remains in the Heisman race. A few more big games will legitimize his candidacy. The Cowboys defense has proven durable and as they gain more experience they’ll become more effective. Contain Klein and the game will be another victory in what is sure to be a special season.

#17KANsAs sTATE vs. #3OKLAHOmA sTATEsAT. NOv. 5 – 7:00pm / ABCBOONE pICKENs sTADIUm

SeCGAme oF tHe WeeK

by Sonny [email protected]

The air is cool, it drizzles in the morning, and when you walk outside you can see your own breath. This is the kind of weather that makes you want to run across the yard and just tackle your neighbor’s tree. When the weather turns like this you know it’s football season and there’s no better way to head into the end of the year than with a game between two SEC schools and it just so hap-pens those schools are #1 LSU and #2 Alabama. When the clock expires on this game you’ll have three questions that will most likely be an-

swered; “Who will win the SEC West,” “Who will win the SEC Title,” and “Who will be headed for the National Title game.” Oh, if only it were that easy. The SEC has been either the top or one of the top conferences in football for a while. Out of the 12 teams that comprise the conference six of them are ranked in the top 25, and four of those are in the SEC WEST, and this Saturday #2 Alabama will be hosting #1 LSU in Tuscaloosa. Alabama has established the best defense in college football, #1 against the run and #2 against the pass. This has been the cornerstone for their success this year. QB McCarron has been able to take the offense right down the field. They also bring in a top rushing attack, with RB Richard-son breaking loose almost every game, and if you do start to stuff him, well then McCarron takes to the air. Alabama has handled three top 25 teams thus far and LSU will be a true test to see if Nick Saban can take the Tide to the top again. LSU also has a top 10 defense against the pass and the rush, has a solid rushing attack, can go to the pass when they need to, and Les Miles doesn’t hesitate to use trickery if need be. The Ti-gers have pretty much walked all over four top 25 schools, with the closest game being the 13 point victory over #3 Oregon. If the Tigers hold true to form, they may just “Roll the Tide” on their way to the holidays and The BCS Championship Bowl Game. This may very well be the best game of the year, and as the SEC has been able to show, it should at least four full quarters of Smash Mouth Football.

#1 lsu vs. #2 alaBaMasat. nOV. 5 – 7:00pm / cBs

Bryant-Denny staDiuM



8

COWBOYSbAttered CoWboyS retUrN Home

by Jay betsillTwitter @thefamousjay

The Dallas Cowboys knew going in to their na-tionally televised NBC Sunday Night Football match-up with the Philadelphia Eagles that their opponents were 12-0 under head coach Andy Reid following a bye week. It was apparent after the opening drive that the Eagles had come to play, while the Cowboys seemed out of sorts. The final score of 34-7 may not be truly indica-tive of how big of a domination this game was on the playing field, due to the fact Dallas also lost linebacker Sean Lee to a left wrist injury on the final play of the first quarter, punter Mat McBriar with a left foot injury and cornerback Mike Jen-kins with hamstring injury. The lone bright spot of the contest was linebacker DeMarcus Ware recording four sacks of Eagles QB Micheal Vick. It’s possible that the Eagles were playing up to Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan’s “All-Hype Team” comments that followed the Nnamdi Asomugha free agency fiasco. Then again, the Eagles could finally be witnessing the gelling of the team with all of the new faces. Dallas returns home to Cowboys Stadium for three of the next four beginning with the Seattle Seahawks (2-5). Much like the Cowboys, Seattle is coming off a bad loss as they fell 34-12 to the Cincinnati Bengals led by former TCU Horned Frogs quarterback Andy Dalton. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll began the game with Charlie Whitehurst at quarterback, but inserted Tavaris Jackson with 10:41 left in the second quarter. Jackson was active after missing last week versus Cleveland with a chest pectoral injury. He would go on to throw for 323 yards in the losing effort. “We learned something about what we’re try-ing to do on offense,’ Carroll said. “We learned something about what happens when a coach gets hormonal and tries to jam it down their throat for a touchdown at the half -- a mistake.” Cowboys fans can only hope that Carroll’s hormonal instincts continue as Dallas tries to sal-vage its 2011 season on the same day the team enshrines legends Larry Allen, Drew Pearson, Charles Haley into its prestigious Ring of Honor.

SPORTS NEWS

tASHArd CHoiCe CUtThe Dallas Cowboys waived injured running back Tashard Choice on Saturday morning prior to the loss to Philadelphia. His release gave rookie linebacker Bruce Carter a roster spot. Choice suffered a shoulder injury against the St. Louis Rams, and then had hamstring issues that limited him in practice. Monday afternoon, NFC East rival Washington Redskins claimed Choice off waivers. He will be an unrestricted free agent after this season. In four NFL seasons, Choice has rushed for 1,139 yards on 250 carries and scored eight touch-downs. The 2008 fourth-round pick from Georgia Tech burst onto the scene as the only healthy run-ning back on the Cowboys roster against the Pittsburgh Steelers last December when he rushed for 88 yards on 23 carries and caught five passes for another 78 yards. While vying for playing time with Marion Barber, Felix Jones and now DeMarco Murray, Choice often appeared to be the odd man out. “I just want to say thanks to all the great Dallas Cowboy fans,” Choice said on his Twitter account. “My time in Dallas has come to an end and the best is yet come. God bless.”

by Joe Avezzanowww.hattricksdallas.com

There’s an old saying “Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you.” Well, if this is true the Cowboys were devoured by the Eagles on last Sunday night and the bear should be resting today completely full. In every way possible the Eagles soundly and completely crushed the Cowboys 34-7. And it might be safe to say it wasn’t that close. On defense the Cowboys came into the game leading the NFL in rushing defense and the Ea-

gles led the league in rushing offense. Score one for the Eagles. LeSean McCoy is definitely one of the best running backs in the league and he proved it by rushing for 185 yards. The Cowboys are no longer leading the league. Because of the big play threats of the Eagles at their skill posi-tions the Cowboys chose to play cautious in the secondary and take away the big passing plays by Jackson or Macklin. That worked pretty well. Only problem was that they were not even close in defending the run with seven men up front. The Eagles out schemed and out played the Cow-boys’ front seven and gashed them repeatedly over the course of four quarters. They contained

Jackson and Macklin but didn’t have a clue about stopping Celek, McCoy and Vick. The Eagles are now 13-0 after bye weeks in Andy Reid’s tenure. He needs to write a book on how he’s doing that because it’s uncanny how he prepared this team to completely dismantle the Cowboys. On offense the Cowboys were basically in-ept because they didn’t have many opportuni-ties and when they did they were not capable of keeping pressure off Romo, and Austin and Bryant couldn’t escape the talented corners of the Eagles. Murray looked good again early in the game but when the Eagles dominated so much he was taken out of the picture as the Cowboys played catch-up or rather attempted to play catch-up. The line struggled and is a work in progress. It will continue to be as the season continues. The kicking game took a big hit as Mat Mc-Briar, the Cowboys outstanding punter, was hurt and couldn’t continue so that made Dan Bailey the emergency punter. The word emergency is correct and the Cowboys will probably have to activate Chris Jones from the practice squad to punt until McBriar gets well. They used Ogletree as the kick returner and I don’t see why Bryant isn’t being used on punt returns. He’s not getting the ball on offense, due in large part to route running, so why not use his abilities in the kicking game. Bright spots? DeMarcus Ware again played like one of the best in the game with four sacks as he continues his assault on the single season sack record. The record is 22 and he now has 13.5 and we’re not halfway through the season. It was brought to my attention that in the early 90’s the Eagles beat us 38-0 and we then went on to win a Super Bowl. The point is that you must let it go and move on to the next game. The NFC East is far from being settled and things can change in a heartbeat. The Cowboys finished the first quarter of the season 2-2. Beat Seattle this week and they finish the second quarter 2-2. The problem with that is that they are on pace to be 8-8. When you are 8-8 you are the best of the worst and the worst of the best and you go nowhere. Take your whipping, regroup and get ready for a whole new set of circumstances this week. This team is not as bad as it looked against the Eagles. Let’s hope not!

Joe Avezzano can be heard Tuesday nights at 7pm on 95.3FM and on all Cowboy postgame shows on 105.3 The Fan. He can be seen on Channel 21 on Wednesday nights at 7:30pm. Join him for great food, sports, music and his TV show on Wednesday nights.

uPCOmiNg SChEdulE:10/16 @ New England 16-20 loss10/23 St. Louis 34-7 win10/30 @ Philadelphia 7-34 loss11/6 Seattle11/13 Buffalo11/20 @ Washington

eAGLeS totALLy CrUSHed tHe CoWboyS



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by mark miller [email protected]

Whether it was fate, destiny or divine interven-tion, a World Series victory in 2011 just wasn‘t meant to be for the Texas Rangers. That‘s the simple explanation for what hap-pened last Thursday and Friday at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. After taking a 3-2 series lead back to Missouri and with a 7-4 edge entering the bot-tom of the eighth inning of Game 6, the Rangers seemed headed for their first world title. But when circumstances that by now are well documented went the wrong way for Texas and its fans, it was the Cardinals who won their 11th World Series and second in six years. “You have to congratulate the Cardinals,“ Texas Manager Ron Washington told Fox‘s Ken Rosenthal. “They are the champs. They clearly beat us. It was in our grasp and we didn‘t do it. “ The Cardinals did it after trailing the Atlanta Braves by 10½ games in the National League wild card race on Aug. 25. They beat the top two teams in the National League – the Phila-delphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers – and slipped past a Rangers team that won a club-re-cord 96 games and beat the equally hot Tampa Bay Rays and Detroit Tigers to get to their second straight World Series. “If there‘s anything we‘d like to take away from this is that one pitch but you can‘t,“ Wash-ington said. “We had three opportunities where one pitch would have got it done. “ When the Rangers beat St. Louis in Game 4 and 5, they surpassed last year‘s 4-1 series loss to San Francisco to already make it their best season ever. But then came the fateful eighth through 11 innings Thursday and what proved to be an anticlimactic finish Friday. “It‘s very disappointing because this is what you play for, “ Washington said. “But we gave it our best and we know what it takes. We have the materials to do what it takes to get better. “ LooKiNG AHeAdThe Rangers clearly have the offensive tools. The addition of Mike Napoli and Adrian Beltre to a

group already featuring Josh Hamilton, Michael Young, Nelson Cruz, Ian Kinsler and Elvis An-drus will again give the Rangers a potential Mur-derer‘s Row every night. Only when someone like Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter put pitches where he wanted to – like he did after the first inning in Game 7 – could they be shut down. All five of the Rangers‘ starting pitchers won at least 13 games during the regular season. While they struggled in the playoffs, they all know what they need to do to succeed in the future. The relievers, much maligned during the regu-lar season, shined against Tampa Bay and De-troit before faltering against the Cardinals. Yield-ing 20 of the record 41 overall walks didn‘t help. The defense was inconsistent at best and poor at times and will need to be improved for Texas to take that last step. So too will the bench. FiNAL tAKeAlthough the Rangers didn‘t meet their ultimate goal, they achieved an awful lot in 2011. Per-haps most important was that for the second-straight year, they made baseball relevant in North Texas. Amidst the brutal summer heat, nearly three million fans attended their games. T-shirts, ban-ners, flags and other memorabilia were visually displayed in abundance throughout the region. Texas joined great franchises like the Atlanta Braves (1991-92), Los Angeles Dodgers (1977-78) and New York Yankees (1963-64) in losing consecutive World Series. They were the only American League franchise to play in back-to-back Fall Classics in a decade. While the Rangers didn‘t win the World Se-ries, they received a new level of respect outside of Texas. Fox broadcasters Joe Buck and Tim Mc-Carver were high in their praise of the players, front office and manager after Game 7. “You will not find someone with more warmth, humor and integrity than Ron Washington,“ Mc-Carver said. Just like in 2010, Washington and the Rang-ers didn‘t lose first place in 2011. They won sec-ond place, something very few teams can say.



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The Texas Motor Speedway dons a quad-oval, 1.5-mile track similar to the Charlotte and Atlanta Motor Speedways. Since its inaugural race in 1997, the current twelve in the Chase have domi-nated the track; Carl Edwards owns the record for most wins with three, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Matt Kenseth share the record for most top 5s with 7, Mark Martin has notched the most top 10’s at 11, and Denny Hamlin has the best average finish of any driver at the track. This weekend, the Texas Motor Speedway will host another NASCAR three-race weekend. As the Sprint Cup Chase nears a close, there will no doubt be some exciting racing for Texas NAS-CAR fans. Let’s turn the spotlight on three drivers that look like hopeful candidates that might finally beat Jimmie Johnson for the Cup.

toNy SteWArtTony Stewart stunned Johnson at Martinsville Speedway by snatching away the win behind the wheel of his No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet; Stewart took the lead on the final re-start and remained on the point for the final three

laps of the 500-lap/263-mile race. The victory was Stewart’s third in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and vaulted him into second place in the standings, eight points behind leader Carl Edwards. Stewart won for the 42nd time in his career. “He’d better be worried,” Stewart said of Edwards after the race, “that’s all I can say. He’s not going to have an easy three weeks.”

CArL edWArdSCarl Edwards has remained a steady champi-onship contender throughout the first six weeks of the Chase, leading in points for the past five weeks. Edwards has an average finish of 5.6 thus far in the Chase, but is without a win. His 11th-place finish at Talladega was the worst of his Chase, but was like a win considering the fate of other Chase contenders. Edwards cannot simply cruise to his first Sprint Cup Series champi-onship, as Stewart trails him by only 8 points. Ed-wards finished 18th there earlier in the year with two top10 finishes in 2010. Edwards’ chances for winning the Sprint Cup Series should increase if he can make significant gains this weekend.

The Roush Fenway Racing driver has three wins at Texas, one win at Phoenix and two wins at Homestead.

mAtt KeNSetHThis year, Wisconsin native Matt Kenseth has three wins, including one in the Chase at Char-lotte. Again using a consistent approach to the season, Kenseth has an average finish of 11.4, second only to Edwards’ 10.0. Much like his Roush Fenway Racing teammate, Kenseth will also need to have a solid showing here in Texas, as he has slipped to 5th place in the Chase. Also like Edwards, Kenseth has a pretty good track record at Texas, Phoenix and Homestead. Kens-eth is a proven champion and has the experi-ence of Jimmy Fennig calling the shots atop the pit box. This year’s title battle could come down to a battle among Roush Fenway teammates and their performance in Texas will be crucial to these drivers.

No LimitS GArAGe PArtyNew for the 2011 series- The LiftMaster Garage

will be transformed into the NO LIMITS Garage Party filled with spectacular performers including:

• 100 X 100 Rodeo Arena with Bull Riding• Live Music from “LC Rocks”• Mechanical Bulls• BubbleRunner• Live Longhorns for photo ops• WinStar World Casino Gaming Tent• Pig Races• Pit Stop Challenge• The Great American Sweethearts• Gun Fighters and Saloon Girls• Free Giveaways

This exclusive party is open to all 2011 Season and Novem-ber Weekend 4-Pack custom-ers! Current Season and Weekend 4-Pack custom-ers should have received their tickets to the ga-rage party with the rest of their tickets.

by bW Cameron [email protected]



11

With the recent success of the local sports teams, how is texas motor Speedway impacted? Any thoughts? I think it’s a ‘rising tide floats all boats’ kind of thing. The beautiful thing about us is that we never have a losing season. I can remem-ber when everybody had Stars fever, and I mean everybody. People who had never seen a hockey game in their life had a Stars flag hanging on their car or something, be-cause they were jacked up and excited about winning and bringing the Stanley Cup to a southern town. Right now, everybody’s been pumped up about the Rangers, and this of course is a Cowboys town. All those things I think just raise the attention of sports, and that’s good for us.

With the upcoming race, you’ve pulled off a coup. you have country star trace Adkins performing. How well do you know him? How’d you make this happen? I’ve been chasing after Trace for a good while because he certainly fits that noble image attitude, which is our promo-tional campaign. I’m from Nashville originally, and one of my best friends is one of Trace’s best friends. Sometimes you can work deals through the contacts you have like that and then there are other times where things just kind of fall together, you kind of laugh at those kinds of things sometimes.

How’s the NASCAr season been so far? What do you think we can ex-pect for the upcoming race? It’s been really, a tremendous season. If you use objec-tive standards like margin of victory or lead changes or things of that nature, it may be the best season ever in NASCAR. The chase has been just amazing. It looks like we’ll probably have a new champion this year, after Jimmie Johnson has won five straight titles. Which is just unprecedented, you know? Nobody wins five straight Super Bowls or five straight World Series, and Jimmie has won five straight cham-pionships in a sport that, it’s tough, tough, tough to win that title. Mark Martin, one of the greatest drivers of all-time, for instance, has never won a championship, and yet Jim-mie won five. However, it looks like we’ll have somebody new. Carl Edwards is at the top of

the standings. Matt Kenseth has quietly snuck in there. [As for] Brad Keselowski, [it] has been a breakout season for him as a young guy, just kind of everybody says snuck into the chase, the playoffs. And here he is, solidly in third or so, and then Kevin Harvick I think is up there. In my gut I’ve got Harvick winning the cham-pionship this year, so he’s still got a good shot at it. There’s a bunch of guys in contention, so I’m excited about it. I think it’s been a great season, a great Chase, and after Texas there are only two races to go. This is the race the last couple of years that was the most dramat-ic in the Chase. It’ll probably determine the champion. Texas is where it comes down to, so this is exciting stuff. I can’t wait to see what happens because, you make a mistake here in Texas with two to go, a whole year’s worth of work is gone.

danica Patrick is returning for this race. What do you think her impact or influence will have on the local fans and increasing NASCAr’s visibil-ity, with local dallas-Ft. Worth fans? Danica will be going to NASCAR full-time next year, and it’s the first time she’ll run a NASCAR Nationwide car here. She’s run a bunch of Indy car races, but she’ll be here on Saturday. It’s big, it’s huge. Danica is the second most recognized female athlete in the world behind Anna Kournikova. She’s done extremely well here in Indy cars. She’s finished as high as second before, here in Texas. Can she make the transition? You know, Indy and NASCAR both use race cars, but that’s about the only similarity. It’s like saying football and golf use balls. There’s nothing alike about them. Danica’s been part-time in NASCAR for two seasons while she’s run Indy cars full-time, and that transition is sometimes easy for some driv-ers. There are a couple of drivers that come to mind recently that have not enjoyed the suc-cess of stock cars and NASCAR that they did in Indy cars. Danica has had some good runs. Now that she’s focused full-time on NASCAR, she’s got a load of talent, I wouldn’t be sur-prised. It’s probably going to take a little while for her to get up to speed, but who knows, she might just pull it off here.

you have a new Great American

Sweetheart. Can you tell us a little bit about her? Absolutely. Katie is her name, and she’s the fourth Great American Sweet-heart. The Great American Sweethearts are our ambassadors. Fans want their pictures made with them, and their autographs, and that kind of thing, and so Katie’s the newest addition. She’s from just south of Ft. Worth, played college basketball, she’s about 6’1, and I don’t think I’d want to play her one-on-one. I think she’d probably kill me in a game of basketball. She’s just the sweetest lady to talk to and easy to talk with, so we’re looking forward to having her with all the fans. Stepha-nie, Brittany, and Becky have been great. You know, we just rolled that program a year ago, and they are huge celebrities with their fans. We’ll probably add more as we go down the road, but Katie’s really a sweet lady.

tmS has always provided great value for the fans. How do you keep mak-ing this happen? Well, you know, just by not being greedy. I look at it and, I go to a lot of sporting events myself and you pay $30 or $75 to park your car, and you’re not even talking about the price of a ticket. And that’s tough for a family. [When] I grew up, you know, my dad dropped out of high school to fight in World War II and came back home and got a job loading box cars. And we had a life growing up, but we never had a bunch of money to do things with. I remember sneaking into sporting events when I was a kid or not getting to go and what not. It’s just important to me that we keep it where fans can enjoy and come with their families. You can park for free here. Nobody else in Dallas-Ft. Worth sports does that. You can carry a cooler in with your own food and beverages, as long as it’s not bigger than 14 inches in dimensions or any glass in the container, you can bring it in. That’s a huge savings. We always try to have some special ticket values like “2 for $99” or things like that. I remember how I grew up. Bruton Smith, our chairman, he’s the same way, a self-made man and now he’s on the Forbes 400 list as one of the wealthiest men in America. If you remember where you came from, it’s easy to do. I think that’s just the way our sport does things. So, you know, money shouldn’t keep you away.

by Frank LaCosta – [email protected]



12

BliTz BaBE Of ThE WEEk



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11/2dia dE la dulCE vida dallaSWild Salsa - DallasIt’s been awhile since you’ve found yourself in a drunken stupor – hopefully. Dulce Vida Tequila wants to change all that and they do it in the name of charity…those devils. Bottoms up at 7pm.

11/3adOBE ROadWiNE diNNERFearing’s – DallasNASCAR team spon-sor Adobe Road wants to lavish you with Honey Malt-Glazed Quail, Wood-Grilled Lamb, and lots more high society stuff. Don’t wear your grilled cheese-stained Dale Earnhardt shirt. It’s $300. 6pm.

11/4avalaNChEvS. STaRSAAC - DallasBe in the house as the Stars try to continue their hot streak against the visiting Colorado Avalanche. We may even get to see Kari Lehtonen give his rendition of the Ron Washington shuf-fle. 7:30pm.

11/5ROmaNiaN fOOd fESTival St. Mary’s Romanian – ColleyvilleIt seems that when the Ro-manians weren’t produc-ing blood-sucking, undead, vampires that orchestrate the nightmares of children everywhere they made some pretty dang tasty food. Yum. 10am.

11/619Th aNNual TEddy BEaR RidE Duke’s Original Roadhouse – PlanoThe yearly event where rid-ers show support for the fight against child abuse. The ride starts at 10am, be at the Duke’s parking lot by 11am for more fun. Go to cacplano.org for more info.

11/7iNSidE ThE huddlE House of Blues – DallasHear Miles Austin and team-mates talk Cowboys football when Inside the Huddle takes over the HOB. This may be the closest you get to a Cowboy without getting drafted. 7:30pm.

11/8ShREk ThE muSiCal Base Performance Hall – Fort WorthA dancing and singing big green ogre? Count us in. Bring all the littles to experi-ence the land of fairy tales with Shrek, Princess Fiona, Lord Farquaad and more. Trust us you’ll be the man. 7:30pm.

WEd. ThuRS. fRi. SaT. SuN. mON. TuES.

Photos Courtesy: prayitno, John Irving, Herman Von Petri,Joel Abroad, Pauleon Tan

Dallas Polo Club

LE A R N TO PL AY PO L O

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HulA HOOPS, Fun AnD FOOD

by Judy Chamberlain [email protected]

The second annual Taste of Greenville Avenue, held last week at Energy Square, was a rousing success, with more than two dozen restaurants turning out to feed an SRO crowd on a beautiful Dallas autumn day. Who knew there was so much to eat on Greenville Avenue? With the sweet scent of beer in the air and no shortage of tacos, pizza, sliders and wings among the numerous culinary offerings, there were standouts in a throng of edible delights punctuated by reps from Kia wearing funny ham-ster hats and a notable media group’s booth pur-veying hilarious hula hoop-ery. Take The Grape, for instance. Long one of the Metroplex’s most beloved neighborhood hang-outs, this place totally outdid itself. I’m already reminding myself to consider putting it on my Blitz List of the Dallas Fifty - fifty top eats anyone who lives in Dallas needs to check out, if only for the meatballs (presented in thin cones made of recycled bamboo; very green and a nice touch) and the house’s signature sweet and salty roasted nuts. But there’s so much more to The Grape than burgers (theirs is reportedly a winner), meatballs, almonds, pecans and cashews! Peking duck with spiced butternut squash pu-ree wasn’t one of the items The Grape was serv-ing at TOGA, but now that I know it’s on their dinner menu wild horses won’t keep me away. And that, my friends, is the best reason I can think of for participation in what is probably not a big moneymaker for a restaurant. At “tastes” like this, restaurants have an opportunity to show off the best of what they serve, make new friends and attract loads of potential customers. Sure, I would have gotten to The Grape eventually – it’s a well-

known Dallas favorite - but now I’ll be checking it out sooner than later and will probably dedicate one of my Blitz reviews to a comprehensive over-view of their background and “simplicity” food philosophy. So far, I’m impressed. Equally impressive, and possibly one that will turn out to be another candidate for my “Dallas Fifty” is the fabulously Francophile-ish old school St. Martin’s Wine Bistro, which turned out steam-ing bowls of the most wonderful Champagne brie soup, topped with hefty little gougere style pas-try puffs (these are sort of like unfilled miniature éclairs or cream puffs, and not to be mistaken for dessert). Is it too soon to review St. Martin’s pates, foie gras, coquille St. Jacques and escargots? Not on your life; I’ll be sneaking in to do exactly that as soon as the ink is dry on this issue of The Blitz. There was only so much one could eat and/or drink at TOGA, but I did manage to taste quite a few terrific bites, including a fabulously fresh ahi

and snow crab tower at The Blue Fish’s booth, an oyster nacho at Fish City Grill’s prevail and a pretty decent mini-burger on a brioche bun at the stand run by Twisted Root Burger Company. All tastes were priced at five bucks or less, a whopping bargain in most cases. Plenty of free parking directly adjacent, along with well-planned staging of nice looking booths, added to the convenience and fun of the event. Many age groups were represented in the crowd, including some very entertaining tod-dlers. Revelers were certainly having a good time!

RESTauRaNT REviEW

TaSTE Of gREENvillE avENuE

deLiSH AtGALLeriA dALLASwww.galleriadallas.com

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Photo Courtesy: Yu-Ping Chen



HollywooDPROfilEwith EddiE Murphy

by vivian [email protected]

lOCal ENTERTaiNmENT

You can catch Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller, Gaborey Sidibe, Alan Alda and Matthew Broderick in Tower Heist when the film opens nationwide this week. The movie is rated PG-13 for language and sexuality.

You knew it was bound to happen. After the Ponzi scheme that rocked the nation, I wondered how long it would take for a “ripped from the headlines” take on the incident to hit the big screen. Ben Stiller, Ed-die Murphy and a host of hilarious characters put a comedic spin on the situation in the new movie Tower Heist. The film centers on a group of hard working guys who conspire to rob the high-rise residence of a wealthy businessman when they find out they’ve been swindled out of their hard-earned money in a Ponzi scheme. Stiller’s character, Josh Ko-vacs is the mastermind behind the plot to get even and he enlists the aid of his longtime acquaintance, Slide, played by Murphy, to help the crew carry out the plan. Murphy, who is also a producer on the film, sat down to discuss the movie and going back to his comedic roots.

the theme behind this movie is more relevant than ever it seems, considering a lot of the big money scams that have been in the news in recent years. do you think that will make it resonate even more with audiences? The theme is timeless, the workers being taken advantage of by the rich folks and the workers turning the tables... that

always works. One of my earliest movies Trading Places proves those themes work forever.

your character, Slide, is a guy we haven’t seen you play in a very long time. How was it to go back to your acting roots, so to speak? It was fun for me to do something like this because I hadn’t done something like that in a while. I’ve done a bunch of fam-ily movies and a lot of stuff that was characters [who] were not “streety” guys; so, it was fun to go and do something like that. And then be-cause I hadn’t done it in so long, there was a freshness to it. It was like “Hey!” people were like “That’s funny.” And I was like, “Yeah, I used to do that years ago.” [Punctu-ated with that classic Eddie Murphy laugh.]

And your character gets re-cruited to help these guys and girl who have been bamboo-zled out of their money. Why is he chosen to help scam the scam artist? Ben’s character comes to Slide because he’s never done anything illegal like this be-fore. We’d just met each other in passing. He’s known me since I was a kid, and I’ve forgotten that I’ve even known this guy, and that I knew

him when I was a kid, but he knows that I’m a shady character; so, when he goes to do something shady, I’m the shadiest person he knows.

but you’re not real gung ho about helping these guys out. Slide has trepidation about pulling a scam with the people Ben has put to-gether because they are as straight as Ben or even straighter; so, it’s like we can’t do this with these guys; so, he gives them a little crime quiz. If they can do this [small step], then we’ll take it to the next level.

oscar nominee Gaborey Sidibe also stars in the film. Folks will remember her from the movie Precious. What was it like working with her and how did she handle her co-medic role? She’s an interesting actress. She has a versatility you don’t realize she has until you start seeing her do different things. She’s super versatile, and confident and sweet, and my character has some interplay with her where there’s this kind of flirty thing going on. It’s sexy and funny. You don’t expect it to be, but then you find yourself thinking, “ That scene was kind of sexy.” I think she’s a very good actress.

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tAKe SHeLter:tHere’S CrAzy AFootI, for one, have always known that there’s a thin line between prophecy and insanity. Make that a thin and blurry line, in the Cannes Film Festival’s favorite John Nichols’ latest indie gem, Take Shelter, the line is drawn so thin, it’s almost transparent. The psychological thriller also examines the heavier lines we draw between ourselves and our romantic partners, friends, and our own grasp of reality, offering a gripping take on fam-ily and personal life. In small-town Ohio, Curtis LaForce is a man troubled by apocalyptic visions – recurring nightmares in which terrible storms cause the people around him to try to kill him and his young deaf daughter – needless to say this puts Curtis’ sanity in a somewhat compromised position. His wife, Samantha, gets an even shorter end of the psycho stick, watching help-lessly as he begins to lose his grip on what‘s real and what he’s manifesting in that One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest noodle of his. A fresh take on the classic ‘the world is ending’ tale, the film also attends to issues including communication in relationships and the crisis of the American middle class. By the time the final scene approaches (two hours later), however, you know that this isn’t all that writer/director Nich-ols’ wants to get across. Rather than that of the world as we know it, it’s the fate of the marriage between the stars, Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road) and Jessica Chastain (The Help) that really hangs in the balance. The two give stellar performances; Shannon’s progression from stressed, prideful husband to man-on-the-verge-of-a-breakdown can be followed as closely through his physical presence as through his spoken delivery. His embodiment of the 30-something man he portrays is so intense, his struggle made so real, that by the end of the film you’re hoping he’s right about all he’s envision-ing, because if he’s not…there’s no way he or his family can ever be the same again. Take Shelter hit independent film houses here in Dallas last week, after winning the Grand Prize during the Cannes’ film festival Critics Week contest earlier this spring. You can catch it at the Angelika Theatre or Landmark Magnolia Pictures.

by mateeka Lanee’[email protected]



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by C. Patterson [email protected]

The new Chrysler 300 commercials tell us, “Good things come from humble begin-nings.” I agree, as would 70+ million NAS-CAR fans that understand the history behind every engine that powers the car of their fa-vorite driver. Every car on that track has a soul and it’s steeped in a deep and winding tradition of occasionally nefarious acts. There is no denying the lineage between stock cars and shine runners. A history that was often as bumpy as the back roads of Appalachia with sheriffs often in the rearview. Junior Johnson, the Flock brothers, Willie Clay Call and count-less other one-time outlaws made their way from half-paved roads to the prim and primed asphalt. Basically, this how they did it: January 16, 1919 – The 18th Amend-ment to the U.S. Constitution, prohibiting the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxi-cating liquors for beverage purposes,” is rati-fied. Nationwide prohibition is set to begin on January 16, 1920. Most likely about 24 hours after that, defiant and rebellious Americans and some Canadians started preparing home-brewed moonshine, a whis-key made by distilling potatoes or corn, and loading the trunks of their upgraded vehicles to evade any pestering revenue agents. Besides giving the runners a way to drasti-cally reduce their chances of sitting in county jail, the new souped up vehicles also inspired the competi-tive spirit among the ranks, leading to informal yet organized races for who had the fastest car as early as 1930. The success of the drivers often depended on speed, how well they

knew the roads, and all out intestinal fortitude i.e. guts. The introduction of the Ford V-8 in the 1930’s increased courage along with horsepower and gave the bootlegger with the best mechanic the edge over any revenuer that even dreamed of catching one while in motion. Though the 18th Amendment was repealed in December of 1933, it was too late, the adrenaline of shine runnin’ pumped through the veins of an entire region. By the end of World War II driving skills and performance tuning had progressed to an art, bringing to racetracks the same land jets that they used to leave Rosco P. Coltrane in the dust. Around this time Ray Parks, Red By-ron (winner of NASCAR’s first Strictly Stock championship), and mechanic Red Vogt became the first stock car “team,” according to Neil Thomp-son’s Driving with the Devil: Southern Moonshine, Detroit Wheels, and the

Birth of NASCAR. February 21, 1948 – Bill France Sr. gave the best of the shine runners a per-manent home on the pave-ment with the formation of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). Still the thirst of the hooch haulers wasn’t quenched. In 1956 moon-

shine deliverer turned NASCAR rising star Junior Johnson was sentenced to serve 11 months in jail when he was caught working at his father’s still. Johnson returned to the track in ’58 to continue his legendary career. Though in all likelihood the days of the shine runnin’ NASCAR champion are over – although I am not complete-ly sure what Kurt Busch does on his off time – the history will always be there; seductive, dangerous, and rebellious reminding us of a time when the driv-ers had more to lose than a race. So hats off to Chrysler for reminding us that the best beginnings are humble beginnings, because they will not only take you far but they will take you there really fast.

FASt CArS, SteAdy HANdS,ANd A trUNK FULLA HooCH:A simple timeline of how “runnin’shine” transformed into America’s #1 sport

Photo Courtesy: Yumi Kimura, Jerry Edmundson, Bob



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Gerber Apocalypse SurvivalBottled water, check. Flashlight, check. Ar-ray of end of day’s melee weapons, check. Don’t be caught wandering the desolate surface of a newly ravaged earth without these bad boys, transforming you from vagabond to badass vagabond instantly. See these beauties in action on the series The Walking Dead and practice on your own by samurai chopping melons in the driveway. Grocery run!

Price: $21-69

tHe diFFereNCe betWeeN A mAN ANd A boy iS tHe PriCe oF HiS toyS! THESE arE for SurE To makE your wanT liST!Crossbow Snow Launcher Ready to make you neighbor regret stealing your newspaper? Just wait ‘til first snow of the season and break out this puppy. The cross-bow snow launcher has two parts: a snow-ball press churning out 3 frosty grenades at a time and the launcher that pummels your domestic opposition from up to 60ft away completely annihilating any friend, foe, dog, cat, or Cardinals fan crazy enough to defy you. Get ready to sign your restraining order.

Price: $40

Console:PS3

Rating:T

Developers:Naughty Dog

9.5 out of 10

by Cote bailey [email protected]

uNChaRTEd 3:dRakE’S dECEPTiON Nathan Drake is back again for an-other chapter in the groundbreaking Uncharted series. This time while on the search for treasure Nate battles his first female villain, Katherine Mar-lowe, part of a shadow group that will spare no expense to find what they are looking for and its up to Nate to find it first. Joined by Victor “Sully” Sullivan,

Elena Fisher, and Chloe Frazer, Drake embarks on a journey that will take him to even more exotic locations. The third-person shooter action-adventure chronicle comes with plenty of wow moments brought on by awesome visuals and a rock solid multiplayer mode. Boosters become part of the fun in Drake’s Deception. Boosters do ex-actly what the name implies, allowing you to expand upon particular abili-ties that may be desired while in multi-player mode. Nate often finds himself in positions that call for him to exer-

cise his acrobatic prowess and imme-diately engage in hand-to-hand com-bat. Combat melees are the norm with one-on-one scenarios being as rare as getting somewhere in the game that does not require cliff hanging, puzzle solving or clue finding. Uncharted 3 like its predecessors, goes beyond the threshold of what we thought was visually imaginable, cre-ating sequences and imagery that en-amor even the most seasoned gamer. It will undoubtedly win many awards and keep the franchise atop of the bar of aspiration for years to come.

tHe ReAl itALiAN Job

by david [email protected]

Move over MINI, we got the real Italian Job right here…Fiat is taking the ‘New World’ by storm and the hottest thing since the Vespa scooter has landed in America – the Fiat 500c Cabrio. The first “Nuova Cinquecento” debuted in the summer of 1957 as a cab-riolet model and offered a distinctive canvas roof that opened right down the middle to the rear of the vehicle. Fast forward 54 years and Fiat builds on the brand’s spirit of building world-class small cars that ignite a “spirit of the times through simple design.” Sporting unique but mod-ern Italian styling, the new 500c continues Fiat’s legacy of all-season performance, fuel-efficient powertrain op-tions and interior comfort for

four. We received quite a few stares just about everywhere we went in the little cabrio, a very metro-friendly car. Street parking is a snap and visibil-ity all around is good top up or down. Speaking of the top, the new 500c features dual-layered cloth that is power operated and can be rolled back into numerous positions at speeds up to 60 mph. Even with the top fully closed the Fiat offers very good head room although rear seat space is a bit tight and should be reserved for the young-sters. The Cabrio is not a true convertible as only the roof retracts – the side supports (A-, B- and C-pillars) remain in place. Powering the 500 is a sprite little 1.4-liter 16-valve four-cylinder engine with Fi-at’s MultiAir fuel-saving and emissions-reducing technol-

ogy that delivers 101 hp, 98 lb. ft. of torque and 38 mpg when mated to the five-speed manual gearbox. Fiat brings the 500c to the U.S. in two models: Pop or Lounge. Pop is designed for individuals who want Italian style and efficien-cy (read base model) while Lounge reflects those with a more fashion-oriented lifestyle and are attracted to premium amenities. There are more than 500,000 ways to stylize and personalize the new Fiat 500c and a full line of Fiat ac-cessories is available through MOPAR outlets. Fiat has also recently announced a special Gucci edition 500. In the short time the Cinquecento has been avail-able it has already earned some honors including be-ing named one of the Top 10 Back-to-School Cars by kbb.com. “In just a few short

months, the Fiat 500 already is becoming a favorite with young buyers who recognize all that the new Fiat has to of-fer,” said Laura Soave, Head of the FIAT Brand for North America. “The new Fiat 500 is affordable transportation that is safe, practical and with a 38 mpg highway rating, easy on the wallet for high school and college students on a budget. It also has great looks and performance.” Our recent 500c Pop tes-ter came nicely apportioned

with the BLUE&ME handsfree communications package, the Bose premium audio pack-age, bright Rosso (red) seats and Bordeaux (red) soft-top. Base pricing for the Cabrio model 500 is $19,500 with our 2012 tester coming in at $21,750. Chrysler needed a small car partner to be truly compet-itive not only here in the states but globally and it looks they may have found the right one with Fiat. Ciao.

maN WORld

2012 fiaT 500C CaBRiO:eNGiNe tyPe

Gas I4

diSPLACemeNt:1.4L/83

FUeL SyStem:Electronic Fuel Injection

HorSePoWer @ rPm: 101 @ 6500

torQUe @ rPm:98 @ 4000

brAKe tyPe:Power

brAKe AbS SyStem:4-Wheel

SteeriNG tyPe:Electric Rack & Pinion

FUeL eCoNomyeSt. HWy:

38 MPG

FUeL eCoNomy eSt. City: 30 MPG

The SPeCS

Photos Courtesy: David Goodspeed



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ACroSS:1. Communion table6. Corrosive10. Not that14. Depart15. Have the nerve16. Apartment payment17. What we pay the government18. Murres19. Wings20. Lacking vigor or energy22. Not a single one23. Memo24. The arch of the foot26. Rip30. Two short of a dozen31. Captain’s journal32. Competent33. At one time (archaic)35. Scoria39. Heavy fabric with a woven design41. Core43. French for “Sister”44. Repose46. A celebrity47. P

49. A pig’s home50. Achy51. Urgent request54. After-bath powder56. Teller of untruths57. A type of cooking utensil63. Seaweed64. Cast a ballot65. He told fables66. Nipple67. Biblical garden68. Add herbs to69. Feudal worker70. Where a bird lives71. Impale

doWN:1. Anagram of “Salt”2. Jump3. Cab4. Affirm5. Varnish ingredient6. A husband who cheats7. Lurches8. Colored part of an eye9. Clockwise (archaic)10. Sin

11. Serf12. Silly13. Precipitous21. Carried with difficulty25. Gestures of acceptance26. Restaurant bills27. A river in Spain28. Found in skin lotion29. Convalesce34. In the Bible, either New or Old36. Not deceived by37. Left by a wound38. Arid40. District42. Elan45. Demesnes48. Just short of a dozen51. Winged52. Heaps53. Heathen55. Schoolroom58. Connecting point59. Sobbed60. Largest continent61. Stone62. Sword

SCorPioOctober 23 – November 21Everything will go well for you until Monday when a starving elephant smells the bag of peanuts in your pants.

SagittariusNovember 22 – December 21 All is well until you discover that your children have been cheating on you with you a different set of parents.

CapricornDecember 22 – January 19The bad news is that the stars have discovered that they are very, very disappointed in you.

AquariusJanuary 20 – February 18The week will be filled with perils and fraught. Your former life is none other than that of a coal mining donkey.

PiscesFebruary 19 – March 20The stars have discovered the cause of your ongoing string of panic attacks: Your heart has conspired with your girl-friend to kill you and retire to Holland with the insurance money.

AriesMarch 21 – April 19The Fates counsel you that things could be worse. However, they are lying in order to spare your feelings.

taurusApril 20 – May 20Your sleep walking will become an issue when you wake up in your neighbor’s bed with the neighbor’s wife. Again.

GeminiMay 21 – June 21You will be the center of fame after making it on the cover of Time maga-zine as their “Rodent of the Year!”

CancerJune 22 – July 22Even though you think it was impos-sible, you will achieve new lows this week at the secret society meeting of underachievers.

LeoJuly 23 – August 22The government of Mexico will recognize your greatness for correctly ordering in Spanish your entire meal at Taco Bell.

virgoAugust 23 – September 22You’ll be denied admission to heaven based on your poor phone etiquette.

LibraSeptember 23 – October 22Your habit of indulging in over-educat-ed, pun-filled “trash talk” provokes the other members of your bowling team to bury you alive.

BliTz fuNNySQ: What do you call a blonde standing on her head?A: A brunette with bad breath.

Q: What do you do when your wife’s staggering?A: Shoot her again.

Q: What’s a rednecks most popular pick up line?A: Nice tooth!

tHeir FiNGerS tALKedtoo mUCH To help her hearing and speech impaired brothers, Celina Aarons added them to her T-Mobile phone service, expecting to pay a total of $175 monthly. Unfortunately, she neglected to add an International Plan. Meaning, when the brothers sent 2,000 texts and downloaded videos over two weeks while in Canada, she received a bill for $201,000. (After a complaint to Miami TV station WSVN, T-Mobil did agree to reduce the bill to $2,500 and give her six months to pay.)

Solu

tion

on P

age

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Horse SenseFarmer Joe is suing a trucking company over injuries he suffered in an auto accident. The company’s lawyer begins to cross-examine the plaintiff. “Isn’t it true you said, ‘I’m fine,’ at the scene of the accident?” asks the lawyer. “Well, I’ll tell you what happened,” Farmer Joe starts. “Did you or did you not say, ‘I’m fine!’” thunders the lawyer. “Let me explain,” pleads the farmer. “I had just loaded my mule Bessie into the trailer and was driving down the highway when this semi-truck crashed into us. I was hurt real bad. When the highway patrolman came on the scene, he heard Bessie moaning and groaning. He took one look at her, pulled out his gun, and shot her between the eyes. Then he came across the road with his gun in his hand, looked at me, and said, “Your mule was in such bad shape I had to shoot her. How are you?”

(d)riviNG (W)HiLe (i)NNoCeNtWoodhaven, Michigan – Even though 39-year-old Shawn Weimer’s driving license was suspended over a DWI, he was still cruising bars and getting drunk. However, he did have a designated driver. That is... until his arrest for child abuse. Dur-ing a traffic stop, police found Weimer’s 9-year-old daughter set-ting in a booster seat, behind the wheel of his 2000 GMC van.

‘tiL deAtH did tHey PArt, NotOn October 12, 2011, Marshalltown, Iowa, couple Gordon Yeager, 94, and his wife, Norma, 90, were rushed to a local hospital after an auto accident. Explaining they’d been married 72-years, they asked to share a room in the ICU, where they held hands in adjacent beds. There, at 3:38 pm, Mr. Yeager passed away. Exactly one hour later, at 4:38 pm, Norma joined him. (For that first hour of his death, Gordon’s monitor continued to show a heartbeat ... because Norma continued to hold his hand, sharing her heart with his one last time.)



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HoW to trAiN yoUr CAt to be A yoUtUbe StAr

by Jesse [email protected]

Are you unemployed or underpaid? Make some quick cash with your cat on YouTube! Here are some tips on how you can make your cat the next YouTube sensation. (Please note: In attempting any of these cat tricks you should not annoy your cat. You should only do these tricks if your cat is a willing partici-pant. And remember, whatever doesn’t kill your cat makes it stronger) Every cat has the potential to be a YouTube star. Several activities will help guide them along to stardom. First you have to identify the kind of tricks that will go viral. Here are a few ones to get started:

tHe tALKiNG CAtFirst, try and get your cat to talk. This is not as easy as it sounds. Not every cat is talkative. It has to be in a certain mood. As seen by the ‘Cat Whisperer,’ you need to communicate with the cat using the silent blink method. Stare into your cat’s eyes and wait for it to blink. Then blink back. This establishes communication between you and the cat. Then, simply invite your cat to

talk by conversing with it. Once it starts speaking you can do a funny voice-over with music.

WAter FAUCet CAtThe cat will probably not like this one very much. Most cats don’t like water, however, you can gradually train your cat to get used to running water by placing a catnip plant or treat by the water and then try to entice the cat to put its head under the faucet.

HAirLeSS CAt iN tHe bAtHtUbThis is going to be tricky. First of all, cats don’t like baths. Secondly, unless your cat is hairless you might have to go to a groomer, but this step is optional. Gently place its paws into the bath and wait for it to make a pawing motion, as if the cat is playing patty-cake with the water.

CeiLiNG FAN CAtFor this trick you have to take a long piece of string and tie a cat toy to the end of it, Then tie one end to the ceiling fan blade and put the other end on the ground. With one hand you will slowly giggle the toy until the cat’s claws are securely around the string, and then turn on the ceiling fan.

KeyboArd CAtThis is a classic. The cat may not have any mu-sical talent, therefore this will require a lot of practice. Gently place the cat’s paws on the keys. Choose an easy song so the cat won’t get confused. “Three Blind Mice” is a good song to start with.

CAt iN A boxYou place a box on the floor, which are irresist-ible to cats. Once it goes inside the box you will then put a toy on the other side so the paws will stick out.

PLACiNG obJeCtS oN yoUr CAtA seemingly simple trick but challenging nonethe-less. While your cat is fast asleep, simply pick an object and place it on your cat. Experiment with different objects such as an apple, deck of cards, a cell phone etc.

bAtHroom SiNK CAtPlace a soft fabric in the bathroom sink. The cat will immediately want to go in there and take a nap. When it is fast asleep turn the faucet on. Mayhem will ensue.

Alpha King Pale Alebrewed by: Three Floyds Brewing Co.Abv: 6.50%Call it an IPA or an APA! The pour is a nice hazy amber, copper combination with a two finger head that quickly dissipates, but leaves a nice lacing. It’s a great beer with scents of citrus, pine and sweet caramel malts to enjoy. The citrus and pine are pretty well balanced. The bready, caramel malts put up a decent fight, but are soundly outmatched.

21-year SaluteWrapper: Dominican Republicbinder: Dominican RepublicFiller: Dominican RepublicStrength: Medium-FullThere is a good amount of sweetness that comes through along with prominent notes of cinnamon and anise. The smoke is rich and has a full-bodied aroma, complementing well the lighter flavors. The finish also appears to linger on the palate longer than at the start of the cigar. Well worth it for the special occasion.

rusty Nailingredients:1 1/2 oz Scotch whisky1/2 oz Drambuie Scotchwhisky1 twist lemon peel

mixing instructions:Pour the scotch and Drambuie into an old-fashioned glass almost filled with ice cubes. Stir well. Garnish with the lemon twist.

ThE ClOSER

GAdHAFi’S GoNe, NoW WHAt?

by Joe Stumpowww.darthstumpo.com

I think I learned more humorous tidbits about former Libyan dictator Col. Muammar Gadhafi this year since the downfall of his 42-year re-gime began last March, which ended with his much-publicized bloody death at the hands of his own people in his hometown of Sirte on Oc-tober 20, than I ever did in decades past. I sup-pose I should thank a friend of mine who posted a blog link on Facebook last March about the dictator’s “All-Female Virgin Bodyguard Retinue” which was reposted again as part of an ABC News story last week called The Seven Weird-est Things About Moammar Gadhafi. Apparently the “Mad Dog of the Middle East,” a name Presi-dent Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) called him back then, surrounded himself with female body-guards who were called “Amazons,” took vows of chastity and wore battalion type uniforms and high-heeled boots. Up until last March, the only Gadhafi quote I was familiar with which proved to me, and most likely others, that the leader was having delusions of grandeur was his comment to ABC News’ This Week host Christiane Aman-pour in an interview last March at the height of the unrest going on in Libya. “They love me, all my people. They love me all. They will die to protect me, my people.” When the Chicago Tribune came out with a “who said it” quiz in March with quotes from Gadhafi and Charlie Sheen, who at the time was also going through some much publicized delusions of grandeur of his own, I failed the test. Reading such quotes from the quiz as “I am like the Queen of England,” “I’m dealing with fools and trolls. I’m dealing with soft targets,” and “If you love with violence and you hate

with violence, there’s nothing that can be questioned,” I honestly figured both could have said such comments at one time or another. Then there’s the wealth of pictures showing the dictator in his many multi-colored wardrobes at various political functions that was profiled in an 8/12/09 issue of Vanity Fair. The Snoopy hat and leather bomber jacket he wore in Decem-ber 2007 at the Palace of Versailles for example. “Where does this extraordinary individual get the ideas for his wardrobe? Does he have a team of designers back in Tripoli, working up the hundreds of bi-zarre looks required of a world leader on official business,” in a caption that came with that magazine photo. “He was without question the strang-est foreign leader I had ever interviewed,” said CNN host, columnist and author Fa-reed Zakaria when he interviewed the leader in 2009. “Gadhafi seemed like he was on drugs – completely out of it. He was bizarre, constantly quoted from his own Green Book and was unaware of what was going on around him. Interview-ing Gadhafi was like interviewing Yoda.” Just don’t mistake Gadhafi’s end as reasons to back slap and give each other high fives as a result of his demise – some-thing that was apparently going on at the White House the day after he was killed. I agree with Lt. Col. Oliver North that the celebrations going on in Libya could be premature, as he stated when conservative radio host Sean Hannity in-terviewed him on October 21. “There are at least six armed militias who are part of this Transitional National Council — and

not part of it as well — there is no agreement as to who is going to lead the country,” North said. Call me a pessimist or Glum, the Lilliputian from Gulliver’s Travels, whose trademark line from that novel was “We’re doomed,” but I be-lieve it’s still too early to tell with Gadhafi gone whether or not this will actually be a good thing for Libya, the United States and the world.



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