What the Abilene Reporter-News liked and disliked: Dogg days of fall
LIKES
1. Better grab a jacket. Abilene on Monday went from summer to fall, then went from summer to winter Friday, when the season's first true cold front blew through. It made for a brisk night, finally, at football games. The yo-yo weather will continue as we cool down, heat up, cool down, heat up. Welcome back, fall in West Texas.
2. Cougars connection. Congrats to Cathy Ashby, the former Cooper High teacher and later Abilene ISD administrator, who was named Friday to the CHS hall of fame. Ashby today is the boss lady at United Way of Abilene.
3. Scarecrows. Who doesn't like scarecrows? You can follow the yellow brick road, otherwise known as FM 89, to Buffalo Gap to see plenty at Taylor County History Center. There's an event planned from 1-5 p.m. Saturday, or you can make the short drive through Oct. 26.
4. And pumpkins. It's not fall without an even shorter trip north to Disability Resources Inc. to buy all shapes, sizes and colors of fruits of plants in the two Cucurbitaceae genera, Lagenaria and Cucurbita (thankfully, that's on our next science test). The DRI patch is open all month, and you can stock up on salsa and other items, too. Someone asked if the pumpkins were free, to which we heard the answer, "You have to be out of your gourd!"
5. What up Dogg? Even if you don't care for his music, you were talking about him this week. Snoop Dogg ... in Abilene. No way! But he is scheduled to be here Nov. 4 at a downtown nightspot, La Nueva Luna.
6. Astros fire Ray-guns. Houston moves on in the baseball playoffs to face the New York Yankees after eliminating pesky Tampa Bay. Astros vs. Yanks should be a great series.
DISLIKES
1. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. As if we needed another controversy, now we're divided about China. Do we express how we really feel about how people are treated there (we heard so right here from Grace Museum exhibiting artist Hung Liu) or do we cater to China because there's money to be made? The NBA can't make up its mind.
MOURNING
1. Sad day in Abilene. Our community was stunned by the crash Wednesday at Abilene Christian School that could've been worse than it was. Phillip Cochran died from injuries after his pickup veered off the road and collided with a number of parked vehicles at the school. Thankfully, school still was in session. The immediate outpouring of grief suggests to those who didn't know Cochran that he was a man held in esteem and will be missed.
HMMM
1. The Cowboys ride away. Not a good football weekend if you are a Cowboy. Oklahoma State's Cowboys couldn't win in Lubbock against Texas Tech, turnover-plagued Hardin-Simmons was stunned by Texas Lutheran at Shelton Stadium, tumbling the Pokes from No. 6 to No. 20 nationally, and the Dallas Cowboys took almost three quarters to wake up against Green Bay but still lost. Interceptions killed those three teams, with Spencer Sanders (3), Brennen Wooten (4) and Dak Prescott (3) combining for 10 errant throws. Cheers to the six-man Woodson Cowboys, who defeated Gold-Burg.
2. When is too much? Mary Hardin-Baylor is having to vacate its 2016 national titles and wins over two seasons because its coach loaned his car to a student-athlete, an apparent big-time NCAA violation. And Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was fined $5,000 for wearing an Apple watch on the sidelines. He was in street clothes because of an injury. He violated an electronic devices rule by the NFL. Everyone is OK with rules that ensure fairness but these penalties seem severe.
3. Game of the Weak. The internet is full of all sorts of comments about Sunday's Redskins at Dolphins game. Both are winless, and we're interested only because we hope one of our boys, Case Keenum or Colt McCoy, will have a breakout game for Washington. McCoy played in last week's loss to New England but Keenum may get the nod. Reports are this will be the least televised NFL game.