Our first firing of the NFL season:
He was 24-28 over those 52 games.
Also, the Washington Nationals have fired their manager, Matt Williams, and their entire coaching staff.
(Loser update tomorrow: have to wait on Detroit.)
Number One!
October 5th, 2015105 years ago today.
October 1st, 2015At 1:07 AM on October 1, 1910, a bomb went off at the Los Angeles Times.
The bomb was planted in an area full of volatile chemicals and near natural gas lines. The explosion and fire killed 21 people, most of whom burned to death.
At the time, there was a massive struggle between “labor” and “capital”; Bill James, in his book Popular Crime
The Times of the time was strongly pro-capital and anti-union, which made it a target. Three men – Ortie McManigal and the brothers J.B. McNamara and J.J. McNamara – were charged with the bombing. McManigal rolled on the McNamara brothers, who were members of the iron workers union.
The labor movement engaged Clarance Darrow to defend the McNamara brothers. He agreed to do so, but warned them that he would need a boatload of money ($350,000 in 1910 dollars) to a proper job. The unions painfully raised the money.
The problem was that the McNamara brothers were pretty much guilty. Darrow is supposed to have told them, “My God! You left a trail of evidence a mile wide!” Ultimately, Darrow pled both brothers out in order to avoid the death penalty.
This case came pretty close to destroying Darrow. The plea bargain alienated him from labor, cutting off a large source of his income. In addition, Darrow was charged with two counts of jury tampering for actions during the case: I’ve written about that before. It took a while for Darrow’s reputation to recover.
Historical article with photos from the LAT.
Howard Blum’s American Lightning: Terror, Mystery, the Birth of Hollywood, and the Crime of the Century
TMQ Watch: September 29, 2015.
September 30th, 2015We apologize for the delay. We had a dinner engagement last night at Rocco’s Grill in Bee Cave. Some things are just more important than TMQ blogging, like dinner with family.
After the jump, this week’s TMQ…
Your NFL loser update: week 3, 2015.
September 28th, 2015It wasn’t a bad weekend. Of course, I didn’t watch any of the games, as I was busy all day Sunday (about which, more later), but the teams I expected to engage in good old fashioned curb stompings did, indeed.
NFL teams that have a chance of going 0-16:
Baltimore
Detroit
Chicago
New Orleans
We’re starting to get down there. But at this point, I don’t think there’s a team that’s really bad enough to go 0-16.
Short random notes: September 24, 2015.
September 24th, 2015James Mee has his job back.
I feel sure I’ve written about this before, but I can’t find the post now. Mr. Mee was a deputy with the LA County Sheriff’s Office. He was fired because of his alleged involvement in a police chase that ended when the vehicle he was supposedly chasing crashed into a gas station.
At least, that was the claim. So why was he really fired? Well, Mr. Mee was also one of the officers who arrested Mel Gibson back in 2006.
This one’s for Lawrence: Frank Gehry is working on a project to rehabilitate the Los Angeles River. This has some people upset.
(Obligatory. Plus, the video I’ve linked to before has been taken down, so call this a bookmark.)
Obit watch: September 23, 2015.
September 23rd, 2015Yogi Berra has passed away.
I hope he doesn’t find heaven too crowded.
The NYT obit, in my opinion, is unusually good, though I’m sure it has been in the files for a long time.
TMQ Watch: September 22, 2015.
September 22nd, 2015TMQ Watch? On Tuesday? Yes, we know it is a bit of a shock, but that is our plan and we intend to stick to it.
TMQ Watch will probably go up late in the afternoon, though: we like to run out to DFG Noodles on our lunch hour. And while the noodles are excellent, and the girls are cute (our two big reasons for going) it does cut into our lunchtime blogging.
But enough administration. After the jump, this week’s edited TMQ…
Your NFL loser update: week 2, 2015.
September 22nd, 2015NFL teams that have a chance of going 0-16:
Baltimore
Houston
Indianapolis
Philadelphia
New York Football Giants
Detroit
Chicago
New Orleans
Seattle
Obit watch and more random notes: September 18, 2015.
September 18th, 2015Milo Hamilton, sports broadcaster.
NYT.
Warren “Remo Williams” Murphy. I’ve never read any of the Remo Williams books myself, mostly because I don’t know where to begin with the series. I am told by trustworthy individuals that they are fun…
New indoor range coming to South Austin. Well. Well well well. Well. I am looking forward to trying this out.
Obit watch: September 17, 2015.
September 17th, 2015I didn’t know Frank James personally, though I wish I had. I did tell him on his blog that I wanted to meet him if he ever made it to Texas: he wrote Project 64: The MP5 Submachine Gun Story
That wasn’t the only thing he wrote. He was a prolific gun writer and blogger. And everything I’ve read about him says he was a really good guy.
TMQ Watch (for real): September 15, 2015.
September 16th, 2015TMQ Watch: September 15, 2015.
September 15th, 2015For the past few days, Gregg Easterbrook has been hinting at a “major announcement” about the future of Tuesday Morning Quarterback.
Today was the day. And where did TMQ fetch up?
Would you believe the New York Times?
We almost didn’t believe it either, but, yes, TMQ is now under the purview of the paper of record. We’re not sure how we feel about this yet. But having just finished Public Editor Number One
Does this mean that TMQ Watch will continue? Indeed. We would have already written up a TMQ Watch for today. However, we got stuck into a situation at work. We will not go into details except to say that we were busy all day (including lunch). Our plan is to curl up tonight with about four ounces of Canadian Club 10 Year Old Reserve, some fizzy water, and a copy of Carry On, Jeeves
So new TMQ Watch tomorrow, probably late afternoon would be our guess.
Your NFL loser update: week 1, 2015.
September 14th, 2015NFL teams that have a chance of going 0-16:
Baltimore
Pittsburgh
Cleveland
Houston
Indianapolis
Jacksonville
Oakland
Philadelphia
New York Football Giants
Washington
Minnesota
Detroit
Chicago
New Orleans
Tampa Bay
Seattle
Lawrence asked me the other night who I thought might be the first coach fired. My gut response was: whoever’s coaching the Jets this year. (Todd Bowles. You’re welcome.) It is his first year, but when one of your linebackers breaks your starting quarterback’s jaw, and people say “Yeah, he was asking for it”, well that’s your dumpster fire right there.
If not Mr. Bowles (the Jets, after all, won) perhaps Gus Bradley in Jacksonville?
A few random things I found interesting.
September 14th, 2015Some by way of the Hacker News Twitter, others from elsewhere.
Nice appreciation of Elmore Leonard from The New York Review of Books.
Brian Krebs goes to Mexico in search of Bluetooth ATM skimmers, part 1.
Fun with software defined radio, or scanners live in vain.
NFL loser update resumes tomorrow.
Obit watch: September 14, 2015.
September 14th, 2015Moses Malone, legendary NBA player with the Philadelphia 76ers, Houston Rockets, and San Antonio Spurs (among other teams). NYT. HouChron.
Frank D. Gilroy. Interesting story. He knocked around television for a while in the 1950s and 1960s, then had a huge Broadway hit with “The Subject Was Roses”…and then was unable to replicate that success, and spent the rest of his life knocking around movies and theater.