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From todays WDL: (sorry its not online yet)

Church softball game ends in melee; two players injured, charges pending

The Waxahachie Police Department is investigating a brawl that broke out between two church teams at the conclusion of a softball game Monday night.
Officers were dispatched to the scene at the Waxahachie Sports Complex shortly after 10 p.m. in response to a fight in progress.
The game had concluded, with Ferris Avenue Baptist Church of Waxahachie taking the victory over Good Shepherd Church of Ennis, when the fight occurred.
According to the police reports, a player with Ferris Avenue Baptist indicated in his statement to police that “there had been tension throughout the game from questionable calls made by the umpires and both teams had been talking trash to each other during the game.”
The witness said that once the game was over, the two teams met in the middle of the field to shake hands but at that point a fight ensued.
During the fight, at least two of the Good Shepherd team members got bats and began hitting players with Ferris Avenue Baptist, according to the reports, with the Good Shepherd team then vacating the premises prior to the arrival of police and emergency responders.
One Ferris Avenue Baptist player was struck in the head with a bat, losing consciousness and falling to the ground, where he was kicked by several Good Shepherd players, according to witness reports.
Emergency responders transported the player, who was throwing up blood and who had suffered cuts to his face and a swollen eye, according to the reports, to Baylor Medical Center at Waxahachie for treatment.
His condition was not immediately available.
A second Ferris Avenue Baptist player who was struck on the hand by a bat transported himself to the emergency room for treatment of a possible fracture.
Umpires confirmed to police the fight started as the team started to shake hands but they were unsure who started it.
Other witnesses told police they thought the fight started when a Good Shepherd player hit a Ferris Avenue Baptist player with a bat.
Several Ferris Avenue Baptist players told police that mutual fighting had occurred, however, it was only Good Shepherd members who introduced bats into the melee.
The lineups of the teams were retrieved from the umpires, and an investigation continues as police try to identify all who were involved, especially the identity of those who used bats to attack their opponents, Lt. Cyndy Wiser said.
The players who used bats are facing a felony charge off aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, she said.
“We’re urging anyone who was a witness to what happened to come forward and contact either me or Sgt. Rodney Guthrie,” she said. “Or, if they want to remain anonymous, they can call our Crime Stoppers number at (972) 937-PAYS. If their information leads to an arrest, a monetary award may be available.”
Wiser said the Waxahachie Police Department would be working with investigators with the Ennis Police Department also to help identify the Good Shepherd players who used bats during the fight.
Contact the Waxahachie Police Department at (972) 937-9940.

Numbers released Tuesday show the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimating that the cost of operations in Iraq and the War on Terrorism have exceeded $432 billion.

About $393 billion of that sum was allocated to the Department of Defense. Because some of those funds are designated for classified purposes, about which little information is publicly available, CBO cannot provide a precise estimate of the amounts obligated to date. However, CBO concludes that DOD has obligated almost all of those funds, with the exception of the roughly $66 billion appropriated in the most recent supplemental.

Also according to the CBO, 2006 has been the most costly year for the War on Terrorism, with $120 billion allocated for the war this year. The lowest years were 2001 and 2002 with $11 billion and $19 billion respectively.

Vince over at Capital Annex showed some love on my article about David Harris, Dem. candidate for Congress (District 6).

In a lengthy article called a “Face-to-Face” with Harris, the paper’s Jonathan Blundell crafted a fair and balanced article that actually let Harris do most of the talking.
In addition, it has been reported that the article jumps from the front page across 12 various and sundry pages of the paper. As a former MSM journalist, that’s unbelievable and probably unprecedented coverage for a Democratic candidate in that area.
My summarizing of such a piece won’t even do it justice; just go read it.

According to Dallasblog:

WSJ: PAGE ONE ADS COMING
The Wall Street Journal will begin running ads on its front page in September, perhaps influencing other financially-strapped newspapers to adopt page one ads. Meanwhile, the New York Times has announced that it will reduce the width of its pages in 2008, losing about 5 percent of its news space. The Journal will move to a smaller page size in January. Both papers ran stories about the changes Wednesday.
Newspapers across the country, facing declining classified ad sales, higher news print costs and drooping circulation, are seeking creative ways to pump up profits. The Journal will offer a “jewel box” space in the lower right-hand corner of the front page or a “banner” running along the bottom of the page. USA Today has run a strip ad along the bottom of its front page since 1999, and now most other Gannett papers also run page one ads.
And why not? Internet viewers have gotten used to banner ads on home pages, and newspapers must take some steps to counter the influence of the blogosphere. Sure, page one space has been sacred, but looking back in history, newspaper sold front page space. In recent months, the Journal has begun offering ad space on some of its other section fronts and on European and Asian editions. The paper’s publisher says that hasn’t been an issue with readers. With 1.7 million in circulation, the WSJ is second in print circulation to USA Today. Many readers will recall when the Dallas Morning News had a daily Neiman-Marcus ad on its local news front.
As for the reduction in the size of the WSJ, the paper will shrink by three inches next year. But publisher Gordon Crovitz says the same amount of information will be published, even with the narrower width and page one ad. The reduced size could prove popular with readers, particularly business travelers who try to read the extra-wide WSJ on airplanes.
The NYT, which just reported flat second-quarter earnings, also plans to close one printing plant, thus cutting one-third or about 250 of its production jobs in the New York region. The company eliminated 700 other jobs over the last year.

Our lead story in today’s paper is about a fight that broke out during a church league softball game in Waxahachie.
There’s so much fun you could have with a headline on this story…
Ferris Avenue Baptist of Waxahachie and Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Ennis apparently had enough of each other and had an all out brawl at the end of their game Monday night.
According to witnesses, a member of the Ferris Avenue team was knocked unconscious when he was hit in the head with a bat. He fell to the ground and was then kicked repeatedly. He was transported to Baylor Waxahachie.
I’ve heard of backsliding Christians before, but this might take the cake.

Did I mention I’m really digging the Los Lonely Boys new album Sacred?
Maybe with an album title like Sacred they can get some airplay on KLTY before Salvador covers some of their songs…

My Way
You say you have all the answers
And I should do it your way
How many times do I have to tell you
I’m not a puppet on a string

Don’t tell me how to live my life
Don’t tell me how to pray
Don’t tell me how to sing my song
Don’t tell me what to say
Cause I believe miracles happen every day
I don’t care what you say, I’m going to do it my way