Man gets 2 DUIs in 1 night

So much for learning a lesson.
Police in western Pennsylvania have charged a man with driving drunk twice in the same night.
According to the Associated Press, Robert Brodnick, 58, of Washington, was arrested twice by state police for DUI -- the second time about 15 minutes after they released him into the custody of a friend.

 Brodnick's blood-alcohol limit was at least double what the law allows when he was arrested, police charge. Trooper Joseph Christy says troopers released Brodnick to the custody of a "responsible party" but say that person must have dropped of Brodnick at his vehicle because the same trooper who arrested Brodnick saw him driving again.
Brodnick tells WPXI-TV that he had two or three beers and just wanted to drive his new car home.

Father, son die 67 minutes apart

Saturday was a very difficult day for a family from Irwin, Pa., which is mourning the deaths of a father and son who suffered fatal heart attacks 67 minutes apart.

According to the Associated Press, Charles McCauley Jr. was rushing to his father's home Saturday after learning of the older man's death when the younger McCauley began suffering from chest pains. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Charles McCauley Sr., 83, had been watching the Pittsburgh Steelers preseason game on television at his Irwin home when he suffered a heart attack. His 54-year-old son was at the game and was stricken after being called by paramedics and walking out of the game to his car.

Family friends called the double tragedy difficult to grasp.

Abercrombie no fan of "Jersey Shore"

Apparently, I"m not the only one who despises MTV's reality show "Jersey Shore." So does Abercrombie & Fitch.

AP Photo
Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino

On Tuesday, the Ohio-based clothing retail giant released a statement saying that it is concerned that having cast memeber Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino wear its clothing could cause "significant damage" to the company's image.

The company is so adamant about the situation (no pun intended) that it has offered what it says is a "substantial payment" to Sorrentino and the show's producers so he'll wear something else. The company says the offer will be extended to other members of the cast.

MTV, however, isn't buying A&F's stance.

"It's a clever PR stunt and we'd love to work with them on other ways they can leverage 'Jersey Shore' to reach the largest youth audience on television," MTV said in a statement.

That's gotta hurt

I don't know how much pain this guy was in, but it had to be pretty bad to consider self-surgery.

According to the Associated Press, a Glendale, Calif., man was in such pain from a hernia that he stuck a butter knife in his belly in an attempt at self-surgery.
After 911 was called, the man was placed on psychiatric hold in a hospital.

Here is the AP story:
GLENDALE, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California man stuck a butter knife into his belly in a failed bid at self-surgery to remove a painful hernia, police said Tuesday.
The wife of the 63-year-old Glendale man called 911 on Sunday night and told the emergency operator her husband was using a knife to remove a protruding hernia, Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.
"She said he had impaled himself with a knife," Lorenz said.
Officers found the man naked on a patio lounge chair outside his apartment with a 6-inch butter knife sticking out of his stomach.
The man's wife told officers that her husband was upset about the hernia and wanted to take it out.
While waiting for paramedics, the sergeant said, the man pulled out the knife and stuffed a cigarette he was smoking into the bleeding, open wound.
"What he was thinking, I don't know. I don't know if he was cauterizing it (the wound)," Lorenz said.
The man wasn't screaming or showing any signs of pain, the sergeant said.
Based on his actions and statements from the wife, Lorenz said the man was placed on psychiatric hold and taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.
Because he's on psychiatric hold for up to 72 hours under the state Welfare and Institutions Code, Lorenz said the man's name and condition cannot be released.
"You just never know what to expect," said Lorenz, who has been on the police force for 29 years. "I've seen self-mutilation, but not a maneuver like this."

Sherwood Schwartz, R.I.P.

Yes, I'll admit it, I am a fan of "The Brady Bunch" and "Gilligan's Island." So it was sad to hear Tuesday about the passing of Sherwood Schwartz, who created both of the classic TV shows.

Florence Henderson, left, and Dawn Wells, who starred in
"The Brady Bunch" and "Gilligan's Island" respectively, kiss
show creator Sherwood Schwartz when he received a star on
the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2008.
AP Photo

Yeah, the shows are corny and yes, I still laugh at every episode. And I think I  watched every re-incarnation of "The Brady Bunch" that came along since the initial show ended in 1974.

Not only did Schwartz create and produce the two shows, but he also wrote the theme songs that are hard to get out of anyone's head.

In an Associated Press story on his death, here's what Schwartz said about his shows relying on cheap laughs:

"I think writers have become hypnotized by the number of jokes on the page at the expense of character," Schwartz said in a 2000 Associated Press interview.

"When you say the name Gilligan, you know who that is. If a show is good, if it's written well, you should be able to erase the names of the characters saying the lines and still be able to know who said it. If you can't do that, the show will fail."

Thanks, Sherwood, for giving us TV fans years of laughter that will live on forever.

Kruk going into Phillies Hall of Fame

The Phillies announced after the first game of  today's doubleheader with Florida that former first baseman/outfielder John Kruk will be inducted into the team's Wall of Fame in August.

Kruk played for the Phillies from June 1989, when he was acquired from San Diego, through 1994. In 1993, when the team went to the World Series, Kruk hit .316 with 14 HRs, 85 RBI and 100 runs scored.

He played 744 games with the Phillies and had a .309 batting average, 62 HRs and 390 RBI, and 403 runs scored. Kruk was an All-Star from 1991-1993.

Kruk is now an analyst on ESPN.

Overzealous dad banned from Little League field

Here's another lousy example of parental sportsmanship that I discovered on the Associated Press wire today:

A father in Michigan became irate at a Saginaw-area Little League game last week after finding out his son didn't make the league's all-star team. According to the report, the man got angry with a coach and was using the F-word. Police said the dad was involved in a minor assault with another parent before they arrived.

No arrests were made, but the irate dad was issued a trespass warning by police and told he'd be arrested if he returned to the Little League fields.

The league is for 7- and 8-year-olds.