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It is with great heartache that I report the end of my alma mater's undefeated run to the Texas Class 5A hoops title:

Poor shooting in the final minutes spelled doom for previously undefeated Strake Jesuit, as the Crusaders fell 48-44 to DeSoto on Friday at the Frank Erwin Center in front of a crowd of 11,914.

With the loss, Strake Jesuit's (37-1) bid to become the first Houston-area boys team since the 2004 Milby Buffaloes to finish undefeated comes to a close.

I'll get over the anguish soon enough. But in the meantime, I'd like to offer some much-deserved props for a group of kids that represented our school with equal parts class and character.

More links:

1. Even Tucker Carlson would have to agree: Stewart vs. Cramer was predictably lopsided. In some ways, I almost felt sorry for Cramer. I'm not quite sure how anyone could ever take him or his TV clown act seriously again. Glenn Greenwald follows up with an insightful piece about why Cramer represents a larger problem with celebrity journalism.

2. "Don't ask, don't tell" is unfathomably stupid. As a country, we should really call for an end to the nonsense. Are we not at war?

3. Speaking of stupid: Glenn Beck. He's so insane that he makes Bill O'Reilly seem reasonable.

4. Charles Barkley wants to punch "the hell out of" Rush Limbaugh and Karl Malone would like to slap some members of Congress. Neither of these guys will ever be confused with Bill Bradley.

5. Important sexting research. Kwame Kilpatrick was, indeed, a very busy man.

6. An interesting argument against the myth of SEC speed. Of course, it would be written by an Oklahoma fan.

7. Pac-Man Jones likes young, nude, willing women. And what's so wrong with that?

8. The secret to Mark McGwire's success: his self-made swing. Right.

9. In an effort to escalate his "beef" with Rick Ross, 50 Cent is set to release a sex tape with Ross' baby mama. Don't they know. Beef is when working folks can't find jobs. The silliness must stop.

10. Answer: Hero.

11. Paintings of all the President's Girls. Sally Hemmings is pictured above.

12. And now, in an effort to remember brighter days for the Crusaders, how about Penn State signee Tim Frazier?




More later.