Etc.

Next time, the bar needs to ADVERTISE or make public the Chihuahua races and not assume people know about them.

I would have entered Sam in the competition this year.
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Obituary: Character actor George Lindsey, 83, best known for his role as Goober Pyle in the sixties classic The Andy Griffith Show, after a brief illness.

Lindsey had an interesting background prior to becoming an actor. He graduated in 1952 from what is now the University of North Alabama with a degree in bioscience. He taught high school before going into the military. Afterwards, he decided to try his hand at acting.

Some sources had his age at 76, but this is not correct. I like this from another report:

He joined "The Andy Griffith Show" in 1964 when Jim Nabors, portraying Gomer Pyle, left the program. Goober Pyle, who had been mentioned on the show as Gomer's cousin, thus replaced him.

"At that time, we were the best acting ensemble on TV. The scripts were terrific. Andy is the best script constructionist I've ever been involved with. And you have to lift your acting level up to his; he's awfully good."

In a statement released through the funeral home, Griffith said, "George Lindsey was my friend. I had great respect for his talent and his human spirit. In recent years, we spoke often by telephone. Our last conversation was a few days ago ... I am happy to say that as we found ourselves in our eighties, we were not afraid to say, `I love you.' That was the last thing George and I had to say to each other. `I love you.'"

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I am happy Shaquille O'Neal values things other than fame and fortune. He earned that doctorate, by the way:

After leaving school early in 1992 to enter the NBA Draft, O'Neal went back to Louisiana State University eight years later and earned his bachelor's degree in general studies, fulfilling a promise to his mother. In 2005, he earned a master's of business administration through the University of Phoenix's online degree program.

After leading the Heat to the NBA title in 2006, O'Neal decided it was time to go back to school again and on a tip from the Heat's foot doctor decided to enroll at Barry in Miami Shores. He spent the past 41/2 years -- including his final two seasons in the NBA -- quietly working toward his doctoral degree in organizational learning and leadership with a specialization in human resource development. He studied before and after games, and between his work on television as an analyst, often staying up to the wee hours of the morning to get work done.

The big man didn't just get by either. O'Neal achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.813 while completing 54 credit hours comprised of 16 courses and six credit hours of self-directed research. He did most of his course work via satellite, video conferencing and Blackboard.com. The title of his doctoral capstone project was "The Duality of Humor and Seriousness in Leadership Styles.''