SATURDAYJANUARY 12, 2013

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DIVISIONAL DOMINANCENFL PLAYOFFS CONTINUE WITH TEXANS IN ACTION, 1B

LAREDO — A Zapatanknown to be a cocaine dealer inthe area has pleaded guilty infederal court here, according tocourt records released Monday.

Jose Daniel Mercado agreedto plead guilty to count one of

the supersedingindictment filedSept. 25, whichcharges Mercadowith conspiracy topossess with in-tent to distribute,according to a plea

FEDERAL COURT

Zapata manpleads guilty

Jose Daniel Mercado charged with conspiracyBy CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ

THE ZAPATA TIMES

See COCAINE PAGE 11A

MERCADO

LAREDO — A Laredo highschool teacher who once taughtin the Zapata County schoolsand was wanted on a sexual as-sault warrant in WilliamsonCounty, north of Travis County,was arrested Wednesday.

Javier Reyes, 55, was bookedon the sexual assault chargeWednesday at the WilliamsonCounty Sheriff ’s Office in Cen-

tral Texas. He was held under a$100,000 bond, according to thecounty’s district clerk’s office.

He later posted bail.Reyes, a teacher at Alexander

High School and a former girls’basketball coach, is on paid ad-ministrative leave until the case

FORMER ZAPATA TEACHER

Assault arrestJavier Reyes faces sexual assault charge

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZTHE ZAPATA TIMES

See REYES PAGE 11A

JAVIER REYES: Bookedon the sexual assaultcharge Wednesday inWilliamson County.

Two Roma brothers ar-rested Dec. 14 in southernZapata with more than1,000 pounds of marijuanahave been indicted on drugtrafficking charges, courtrecords released this weekstate.

An indictment datedTuesday charges Daniel Ra-mirez and Marco AntonioRamirez with conspiracy topossess with intent to dis-tribute 100 kilograms ormore of marijuana and pos-sess with intent to distrib-

ute 100 kilograms or moreof marijuana.

The penalty per eachcount is anywhere fromfive to 40 years in prison,the indictment states. Bothmen are out on a $150,000bond. Daniel and MarcoAntonio Ramirez had1,009.2 pounds of marijuanaworth $807,360 when arrest-ed, a criminal complaintstates.

On Dec. 14, agents man-ning a temporary check-point along U.S. 83 insouthern Zapata began fol-lowing a dark blue 2006Chevrolet Silverado that

exited the primary inspec-tion land and made a U-turn.

Agents activated theirpatrol lights and stoppedthe driver shortly after. Acriminal complaint statesMarco Antonio Ramirezhad bundles of marijuanaweighing 377.90 pounds.Moments later, agents de-tained a Ford F-150 thathad been driving closelybehind the Silverado. Acomplaint states agentsidentified the driver as Da-niel Ramirez. He had sever-

FEDERAL COURT

Two indicted for half-ton of marijuanaBy CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ

THE ZAPATA TIMES

Marijuana found in this vehicle has led to conspiracy charges against brothers from Roma.

Courtesy photo

See COURT PAGE 11A

NEW YORK — Flu is nowwidespread in all butthree states as the nation

grapples with an earlier-than-nor-mal season. But there was one bitof good news Friday: The numberof hard-hit areas declined.

The flu season in the U.S. gotunder way a month early, in De-cember, driven by a strain thattends to make people sicker. Thatled to worries that it might be abad season, following one of themildest flu seasons in recentmemory.

The latest numbers do showthat the flu surpassed an “epi-demic” threshold last week. Thatis based on deaths from pneumo-nia and influenza in 122 U.S. ci-ties. However, it’s not unusual —the epidemic level varies at dif-ferent times of the year, and itwas breached earlier this flu sea-son, in October and November.

And there’s a hint that the fluseason may already have peakedin some spots, like in the South.Still, officials there and else-where are bracing for more sick-ness

In Ohio, administrators at Mia-mi University are anxious that abug that hit employees willspread to students when they re-turn to the Oxford campus nextweek.

“Everybody’s been sick. It’s mi-serable,” said Ritter Hoy, aspokeswoman for the 17,000-stu-dent school.

PUBLIC HEALTH

FLU SPREADING FAR AND WIDE

Seventeen-month-old Sophia Stricker momentarily loses her composure as she endures a flu shot from Nurse Katy Whitman on Friday, at Eugene Urgent Care in Eu-gene, Ore. The clinic reported a steady stream of vaccination patients through the day. Sophia visited the clinic with her mom, Catherine Schmidt.

By Paul Carter/The Register-Guard | AP

122 dead asflu spreadsto 47 states

By MIKE STOBBEASSOCIATED PRESS

See FLU SEASON PAGE 11A

PAGE 2A Zin brief SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 2013

SATURDAY, JAN. 12The Laredo Volunteer Income

Tax Assistance program is offering afree tax-training course at the GoodwillJob Help Center. Training classes con-sist of two Saturday trainings starting8:30 am to 5:30 p.m. Call 726-4462 toregister for the free training. Communi-ty volunteers train to attain IRS volun-teer tax preparer certification for the2013 tax season. VITA volunteers dofree tax preparation at no cost to fam-ilies or individuals making up to$50,000.

The United Independent SchoolDistrict will host its second annualLet’s Move for Scholars 5K Run andWalk at the Bill Johnson Student Activ-ity Complex, 5208 Santa Claudia Lane.On-site registration will be held from7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. The event isslated to start at 9 a.m. Registration is$25 for adults and $15 for students.Those who register will get a T-shirt,certification of participation and en-trance to the zumbathon and healthfair. All proceeds to benefit UISD stu-dents with scholarships to college.

TUESDAY, JAN. 15Kiwanis Club of Laredo meets

weekly from noon to 1 p.m. Guestspeakers usually are on tap. Newmembers are welcomed. For info, callMemo Cavazos at 956-337-2266.

THURSDAY, JAN. 17The Relay For Life 2013 Kick Off

is 6 p.m. at Rudy’s Country Store andBBQ, 7305 McPherson Road. For moreinformation, call Stephanie Gonzalez at334-9249, Alma Jasso at 744-3029 orAyda Rodriguez at 489-2340.

The Webb County Heritage Foun-dation and President of the Republic ofthe Rio Grande Renato Ramirez willhost a Membership Cocktail Party, from6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at the Villa AntiguaBorder Heritage Museum, 810 ZaragozaSt. The public is invited to renew orinitiate memberships. Candlelit tours ofthe Republic of the Rio Grande Mu-seum will be available for all membersuntil 7:30 p.m. For more information,contact the Webb County HeritageFoundation at 956-727-0977 or visit usat www.webbheritage.org and on Face-book.

SATURDAY, JAN. 19The 18th Annual Crime Stoppers

Menudo Bowl is from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.at L.I.F.E. Fair Grounds on State High-way 59. There will be a menudo coo-koff, live music, performances by theVidal M. Treviño Magnet School band,team cattle roping, a motorcycle ride,brush country trail ride, Laredo Wres-tling Alliance, children’s activities andmore. Contact Laredo Crime Stoppersat 956-724-1876 or crimestoppers@bi-zlaredo.rr.com; or come by the officelocated at 1200 Washington St. atConvent Avenue.

TUESDAY, JAN. 22Kiwanis Club of Laredo meets

weekly from noon to 1 p.m. Guestspeakers usually are on tap. Newmembers are welcomed. For info, callMemo Cavazos at 956-337-2266.

Gain new insights on how tomaximize on-the-job effectiveness dur-ing Laredo Community College’s “Ma-naging Multiple Projects, Objectives &Deadlines” workshop from 9 a.m. to 4p.m. at the De la Garza Building, Room101. Registration is $159. Group dis-counts are available for groups of fiveor more. For more information, call theLCC Economic Development Center at721-5110 or visit www.laredo.edu/edc.

FRIDAY, JAN. 25The Texas A&M International Uni-

versity Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetari-um will show “Force5” at 6 p.m. and“The Future is Wild” at 7 p.m. Generaladmission is $4 children and $5adults. Premium shows are $1 more.For more information, call 956-326-3663.

SATURDAY, JAN. 26The Texas A&M International Uni-

versity Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetari-um will show “Attack of the Space Pi-rates” at 3 p.m.; “Extreme Planets” at4 p.m.; and “Wonders of the Universe”at 5 p.m. General admission is $4 chil-dren and $5 adults. Premium showsare $1 more. For more information, call956-326-3663.

TUESDAY, JAN. 29Kiwanis Club of Laredo meets

weekly from noon to 1 p.m. Guestspeakers usually are on tap. Newmembers are welcomed. For info, callMemo Cavazos at 956-337-2266.

CALENDARASSOCIATED PRESS

Today is Saturday, Jan. 12,the 12th day of 2013. There are353 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in Histo-ry:

On Jan. 12, 1948, the U.S. Su-preme Court, in Sipuel v.Board of Regents of Universityof Oklahoma, ruled that statelaw schools could not discrimi-nate against applicants on thebasis of race.

On this date:In 1519, Holy Roman Empe-

ror Maximilian I died.In 1773, the first public mu-

seum in America was orga-nized in Charleston, S.C.

In 1828, the United Statesand Mexico signed a Treaty ofLimits defining the boundarybetween the two countries tobe the same as the one estab-lished by an 1819 treaty be-tween the U.S. and Spain.

In 1912, textile workers atthe Everett Mill in Lawrence,Mass., (most of them immi-grant women) walked off thejob to protest wage cuts.

In 1915, the House of Repre-sentatives rejected, 204-174, aconstitutional amendment giv-ing women the right to vote.

In 1932, Hattie W. Carawaybecame the first woman elect-ed to the U.S. Senate after ini-tially being appointed to serveout the remainder of the termof her late husband, Thaddeus.

In 1959, Berry Gordy, Jr.founded Motown Records(originally Tamla Records) inDetroit.

In 1966, President LyndonB. Johnson said in his State ofthe Union address that theU.S. should stay in South Viet-nam until Communist aggres-sion there was ended.

In 1969, the New York Jetsof the American FootballLeague upset the BaltimoreColts of the National FootballLeague 16-7 in Super Bowl III,played at the Orange Bowl inMiami.

In 1971, the groundbreakingsituation comedy “All in theFamily” premiered on CBS tel-evision.

In 1987, Anglican Churchenvoy Terry Waite arrived inLebanon on his latest missionto win the release of Westernhostages; however, Waite end-ed up being taken captive andwasn’t released until 1991.

Today’s Birthdays: ActressLuise Rainer is 103. Countrysinger Ray Price is 87. SingerGlenn Yarbrough is 83. TheAmazing Kreskin is 78. Coun-try singer William Lee Golden(The Oak Ridge Boys) is 74.Rock musician Cynthia Robin-son (Sly and the Family Stone)is 69. Singer-musician GeorgeDuke is 67. Actor Anthony An-drews is 65. Movie directorWayne Wang is 64. Radio com-mentator Rush Limbaugh is62. Actress Kirstie Alley is 62.Writer Walter Mosley is 61.Country singer Ricky VanShelton is 61. Radio-TV per-sonality Howard Stern is 59.Writer-producer-director JohnLasseter is 56. Broadcast jour-nalist Christiane Amanpour is55. Rock musician Charlie Gil-lingham (Counting Crows) is53. Actor Oliver Platt is 53.Basketball Hall of Famer Do-minique Wilkins is 53. Entre-preneur Jeff Bezos is 49. ActorOlivier Martinez is 47. RapperTBird (B-Rock and the Bizz) is46. Model Vendela is 46. Ac-tress Farrah Forke is 45. Ac-tress Rachael Harris is 45.Rock singer Zack de la Rochais 43. Rapper Raekwon (WuTang Clan) is 43. Singer DanHaseltine (Jars of Clay) is 40.Thought for Today: “Everyoneis entitled to his own opinion,but not his own facts.” — Da-niel Patrick Moynihan, U.S.politician and diplomat (1927-2003).

TODAY IN HISTORY

AUSTIN — A judge refused to allowPlanned Parenthood to temporarily rejoin ahealth program for low-income women onFriday, saying the organization would un-likely win its court fight to get around a newlaw that disqualifies health clinics with anyaffiliation to abortion providers.

Planned Parenthood was one of the largestchains of health clinics in the Texas Wom-en’s Health Program, which provides cancerscreenings, contraceptives and other basichealth services to more than 110,000 eligiblewomen statewide. Planned Parenthood offersabortion services at some of its U.S. clinics,but not at any of its Texas facilities.

State District Judge Steve Yelenosky ac-knowledged that excluding Parent Parent-hood would likely to impact women who de-

pend on the program’s free services. But thejudge said the organization would likely tolose if its lawsuit went to trial.

Yelenosky previously sided with PlannedParenthood in November — but that was be-fore federal funding stopped paying for 90percent of the program on Jan. 1. Federal of-ficials severed ties with the program becauseof the new rules, saying it was illegal to denya woman the right to choose her own doctor.

“In this suit, because there are no federalfunds at issue, the successful argument inthe first case isn’t availing,” Yelenosky saidFriday.

Yelenosky’s ruling does not exhaustPlanned Parenthood’s legal option, but it is ablow to the organization’s two-year fight torejoin the program. Attorneys for PlannedParenthood declined to say Friday whetherthey would press for a trial.

AROUND TEXAS

Gov. Rick Perry speaks during a news conference Oct. 31 in Georgetown. A judge refused to allow Planned Parenthood totemporarily rejoin a health program for low-income women on Friday, saying the organization would unlikely win its courtfight to get around a new law that disqualifies health clinics with any affiliation to abortion providers.

Photo by Ralph Barrera/statesman.com/file | AP

Group loses appealBy PAUL J. WEBERASSOCIATED PRESS

Calif. man pleads guilty inPonzi scheme

FORT WORTH — A Californiaman has pleaded guilty in feder-al court to two counts of securi-ties fraud for running a morethan $40 million Ponzi scheme.

Jeffrey Sykes entered hisguilty plea during a court hear-ing Friday in Fort Worth.

Prosecutors say Sykes usedhis Redlands, Calif.-based privateequity company to solicit inves-tors to participate in a T-Billtrading program.

At least 6 kids have diedfrom flu in state

DALLAS — A 6-year-old NorthTexas girl who died of the flu hasbeen laid to rest.

The Dallas County medical ex-aminer confirmed that TahliaJohnson’s death was flu-related.Five other children’s deaths werealso flu-related since last fall.

At a Dallas funeral home Fri-day, Tahlia’s white coffin wasadorned with flowers.

3 boot camp workers eyesin stun gun case

ABILENE — The police chiefsaid three workers at a bootcamp that disciplines childrenwith stun guns and handcuffsare being investigated.

The Abilene police chief saidFriday no one has been arrested.The Taylor County District At-torney’s Office is reviewing thecase.

Standridge says five victimshave been identified.

Teen pleads guilty in 2011stabbing deaths

TEXARKANA — A teen ac-cused in the 2011 stabbing deathsof a woman and her two childrenin the East Texas town of Redwa-ter has pleaded guilty to twocounts of murder.

Rachel Pittman entered theplea Friday. District Judge LeonPesek sentenced her to two lifesentences to run concurrently.She’ll be eligible for parole in 30years.

Dewhurst calls for guntraining for teachers

AUSTIN — Lt. Gov. DavidDewhurst called Friday for state-funded, specialized firearmstraining for teachers and admin-istrators to guard against schoolshootings.

Dewhurst said school districtswould nominate who they want-ed to carry weapons on campus.The training would be more ex-tensive than what is currentlyrequired for a Texas concealedhandgun license.

2 wanted convicted sexoffenders caught

AUSTIN — Two of the Depart-ment of Public Safety’s 10 MostWanted Sex Offenders have beencaught in Texas and Louisiana.

DPS in Austin on Friday an-nounced the arrest of 52-year-oldEdward Dwin Jackson and 42-year-old Jimmy Ray McMillan.

Jackson was arrested Thurs-day night in Houston.

— Compiled from AP reports

Mindset of terrorismdefendant debated at trial

PORTLAND, Ore. — Lawyersfor a man accused of planning aterrorist attack during a Christ-mas tree lighting ceremony isbuilding its case during histrial’s opening statements, sayinghe was the victim of manipula-tion by undercover FBI agents.

Defense attorney Steve Sadysaid Friday Mohamed Mohamudwas an impressionable 18-year-old who talked big about carry-ing out terrorism plots but hadneither the means nor the expe-rience to do so.

Former NASA mannedspaceflight director dies

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Familymembers say Dyer BrainerdHolmes, 91, director of mannedspace flight for NASA whenAmericans were making theirearly forays into space in theearly 1960s, has died.

Suspect in ecoterrorismfires pleads not guiltyGRANTS PASS, Ore. — A

woman who turned herself in af-ter a decade as a fugitive in the

largest ecoterrorism investiga-tion in U.S. history has pleadednot guilty to conspiracy and ar-son charges in federal court.

Rebecca Rubin, 39, was or-dered to remain in custody dur-ing the hearing Friday.

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE NATION

Nissan Manufacturing plant manager Dan Bednarzyk speaks to reporters Thurs-day about Nissan’s adding 400 jobs to its current total of about 5,200 at theCanton, Miss., facility during a 10th anniversary celebration.

Photo by Rogelio V. Solis | AP

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SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 2013 THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A

A traffic violation led au-thorities to arrest a man ac-cused of breaking into area

homes andbuildings.

Aaron Vil-larreal, 30,was arrestedJan. 3 atabout 5 a.m.A ZapataCounty Sher-iff ’s deputy

pulled Villarreal over for atraffic stop. According toSgt. Mario Elizondo, asearch and investigation re-vealed that he was a suspectfor several burglaries.

For now, Villarreal facescharges of burglary of abuilding and burglary ofhabitation, a state jail felonyand second-degree felony re-

spectively.He is out of Zapata Coun-

ty Jail on bond. Elizondosaid investigators are gath-ering victims, owners of theitems found in his vehicleand are looking into otherburglary cases. Deputies re-covered Walt Disney chairs,

Mexican Revolution iconPancho Villa portraits and aCD stereo, among otheritems. For more informa-tion on the case, call thesheriff ’s office at 765-9960.

(César G. Rodriguez maybe reached at 728-2568 or ce-sar@lmtonline.com)

Burglary charges filedBy CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ

THE ZAPATA TIMES

Aaron Villarreal, 30, faces burglary charges. He is accused of takingthese Pancho Villa portraits, as well as other items.

Courtesy photoVILLARREAL

Authorities in WebbCounty are investigating theshipment of a package con-taining marijuana worth$15,028 that originated in Za-pata, Webb County Sheriff ’sauthorities announcedTuesday.

The case began Dec. 18when deputies spotted awhite 2006 InternationalVan commit a traffic viola-tion along U.S. 83 South.

Webb County Sheriff ’sdeputies identified the driv-er as an employee of a com-pany subcontracted by theU.S. Postal Service to trans-port mail, the news releasestates. During the investiga-tion, a K-9 unit alerted to alarge box to the possiblepresence of narcotics.

Deputies seized the boxand obtained a federal war-rant in conjunction withfederal postal inspectors.The warrant was servedJan. 7 and the package wasopened. Sheriff ’s deputies

identified three large pack-ages wrapped in aluminumfoil that contained 29.7pounds of marijuana.

Kristina Guerra, sheriff ’sspokeswoman, said the pothad an estimated street val-ue of $15,028. According toGuerra, the package origi-nated from Zapata Countyand had New York as desti-nation. The case remainsunder investigation.

“This is the first package

of the year that we have en-countered with narcotics be-ing attempted to be shippedvia U.S. Postal Service. How-ever, it is clear that if at-tempted, law enforcementpersonnel will work togeth-er to identify the packagesimmediately,” Webb CountySheriff Martin Cuellarstates in an email.

(César G. Rodriguez maybe reached at 728-2568 or ce-sar@lmtonline.com)

Pot found in U.S. mailBy CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ

THE ZAPATA TIMES

Authorities found packages wrapped in aluminum foil containing29.7 pounds of marijuana in a box being mailed to New York.

Courtesy photo

PAGE 4A Zopinion SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 2013

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM

AUSTIN — Notwith-standing the gentle jabs Itake at them (always withlove), I have great respectfor folks willing to enterthe cruel arena of politics.Something in their DNA(absent in us noncombat-ants who heckle from thesidelines) allows them torisk rejection of the mostpublic kind. I’m gladsomebody is wired thatway.

Image repairI had that in mind

Wednesday when Gov.Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. DavidDewhurst and HouseSpeaker Joe Straus gath-ered for a Capitol newsconference. We don’tknow how Straus reactsto rejection (the ballot-boxkind; I don’t know how hedid with the ladies inhigh school). But Perryand Dewhurst, whoselong winning streaks end-ed ugly last year, now arein political rehab.

”Good morning,” Perrysaid at the news confer-ence. ”We’re glad to behere with you. ...”

Somewhere elseHe sounded sincere, as

did Dewhurst. But thatroom at that moment wasnot where those two want-ed to be.

Back when he was apoll-topping contender forthe GOP presidentialnomination, Perry proba-bly figured by now he’d beputting finishing toucheson his inaugural address.And back when he wasthe heavy favorite to winthe U.S. Senate seat vacat-ed by the retiring KayBailey Hutchison, Dew-hurst probably figured bynow he’d be in week twoof a six-year term in D.C.

Sometimes the votershave other plans. ”I laidout my ideas, and theyweren’t acceptable,” Perryon Tuesday told The Asso-ciated Press about hisWhite House bid. Dew-hurst’s Senate campaign(including about $20 mil-lion of his own) fell victimto a tea party wave thatcarried previously little-known Ted Cruz to aneasy GOP runoff win andinto the Senate.

In controlSo here were Perry and

Dewhurst, the state gov-ernment’s top two electedofficials, back in the sad-dle at the Texas Capitoland speaking ill of thecity in which they hadhoped to be working now.

”We’re all three com-mitted to keeping Texasboth fiscally and political-ly the complete oppositeof Washington, D.C.,” saidDewhurst, who later toldme being back at thehelm of the Texas Senate

now seems more attrac-tive than being a fresh-man in the minority ofthe highly partisan U.S.Senate.

Perry talked about ”theintriguing side” of whathe hopes will happen atthe Texas Capitol thisyear: ”At the federal level,you have Washington thatis raising taxes, that iscreating programs costingthe people of this countrymore money. What a starkcontrast it can be over thenext 130-plus days thatTexas is sending the abso-lutely opposite message.”

Eying the futureFor Perry and Dew-

hurst, those 130-plus dayswill be crucial. Dewhurst,undefeated in four previ-ous statewide electionsuntil last year’s loss, sayshe’s running for re-elec-tion in 2014. In his wins,Dewhurst’s money helpedscare off some potentialopponents. In his loss, po-tential 2014 challengerssaw vulnerability.

Perry won’t say what, ifanything, he’s going torun for in the future. Per-ry, like Dewhurst, couldface serious GOP opposi-tion if he seeks re-elec-tion. Attorney GeneralGreg Abbott is thinkingabout it. And George P.Bush is raising money torun for something; landcommissioner is oft-men-tioned, but who knows? Abattle between Perry andthe Bush family would befine spectator sport.

Looking backAnd then there’s the

notion of President Perry.For public consumption,he seems undeterred bywhat was a pretty spectac-ular, largely self-inflictedcrash and burn last year.Perry is too good a politic-ian to really think all thathappened was he ”laidout my ideas, and theyweren’t acceptable.”

”Oops” happened, andhe knows it. The damagewas bad. And the linger-ing national impression ofPerry might be worse.One wonders if he has afriend or relative braveenough to tell him that,deserved or not, he mightbe in Dan Quayle territo-ry with many folks inAmerica.

As Quayle found out inhis short-lived 2000 presi-dential bid, not many peo-ple come back from DanQuayle territory.

(Ken Herman is a col-umnist for the AustinAmerican-Statesman. E-mail: kherman@states-man.com.)

2 men whowished to be

elsewhere“KEN HERMAN

OTHER VIEWS

The Zapata Timesdoes not publish anony-mous letters.

To be published, let-ters must include thewriter’s first and lastnames as well as aphone number to verifyidentity. The phonenumber IS NOT publish-ed; it is used solely toverify identity and toclarify content, if neces-sary. Identity of the let-ter writer must be veri-fied before publication.

We want to assure

our readers that a letteris written by the personwho signs the letter. TheZapata Times does notallow the use of pseudo-nyms.

Letters are edited forstyle, grammar, lengthand civility. No name-calling or gratuitousabuse is allowed.

Via e-mail, send let-ters to editorial@lmton-line.com or mail them toLetters to the Editor, 111Esperanza Drive, Lare-do, TX 78041.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

Didn’t we almost have itall, Shanny?

After enduring two yearsof criticism over his inabil-ity to turn the WashingtonRedskins into a competitiveteam, head coach MikeShanahan had reason tosmile last Sunday at FedExField.

RGIII goes downThe Skins had won sev-

en straight games, capturedthe NFC East title andwere hosting a playoffgame for the first timesince 1999. And when quar-

terback Robert Griffin IIIled the Redskins to a quick14-0 lead over the SeattleSeahawks in the first quar-ter, the Shanahan self-satis-faction meter — alwayshigh — probably went offthe charts.

Bad knee, bad fieldThen everything went

wrong. It became apparentto anyone watching — ex-cept Shanahan, it seems —that there was a seriousproblem with RGIII’s knee.And it also became appar-ent that the field at FedEx

resembled nothing so muchas a gravelly parking lotpainted green. Playersslipped, slid and fell.

Still, Griffin remained inthe game even as the Sea-hawks came from behindto tie and then take thelead. By the time the quar-terback’s knee buckled instomach-churning fashionin the fourth quarter, thegame wasn’t in doubt any-more, and the only thing atrisk was next season.

The happy talk that Grif-fin’s reconstructed knee —he had two ligaments re-paired Wednesday — couldbe ready for the start of the

2013 season did little toquell the fury directed atShanahan for his decisionto risk the franchise on asingle game.

Reports of an apparentdispute between the coachand renowned surgeonJames Andrews overwhether Griffin had beencleared to return to an ear-lier game in which the ini-tial injury occurred addedto the "What is Shanahandoing?" story line.

Mike Shanahan, forknee-ding to win at allcosts, you had the worstweek in Washington. Con-grats, or something.

WORST WEEK IN WASHINGTON

‘Skins coach had bad week

The nationwide premierof ”Zero Dark Thirty”didn’t occur until Jan. 11.But that didn’t stop an un-usual group of critics fromgiving the movie a unani-mous thumbs-down weeksago — and for the most un-usual reasons.

”I thought it was terri-ble,” one commentator toldThe Hill after a pre-screen-ing in mid-December. ”It isa combination of fact, fic-tion and Hollywood in a ve-ry dangerous combina-tion.”

The critic was Sen.Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.No word yet on whetherthe senator considers mov-ies such as ”Fahrenheit 9/11”, ”W.”, ”Frost/Nixon” or”Game Change” to beequally dangerous.

Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and John McCain,R-Ariz., joined Feinstein inseeking to protect theAmerican public from thisparticular motion pictureperil. On Dec. 19, they senta letter to acting CIA Direc-tor Michael Morell request-ing ”information and docu-ments related to the CIA’scooperation with the mak-

ers of the film.”The bipartisan group

said they were motivatedby concern over the film’simplication that ”coerciveinterrogation techniques”played a critical role in lo-cating bin Laden. Theyknow that isn’t true, theywrote, because Feinsteinand Levin read it in astudy presented to the Sen-ate Select Committee on In-telligence.

On the same day, Siskeland Ebert . . . make thatFeinstein, Levin andMcCain sent a not-so-subtleletter to the chairman ofSony Pictures, the movie’sdistributor. ”You have a so-cial and moral obligation toget the facts right,” theywrote while acknowledgingthe film is fiction. ”Pleaseconsider correcting the im-pression that the CIA’s useof coercive interrogationtechniques led to the oper-ation against Osama binLaden.”

Setting aside the issue ofchilling effects, it’s a mat-ter of orthodoxy amongsome people that ”coerciveinterrogation techniques”never provide accurate in-formation and that, even ifthey did, intelligence endsnever justify torturous

means. That dogma restson the assumption that CIAofficers are modern-dayTorquemadas.

Jose A. Rodriguez, a 31-year CIA veteran whoheaded the agency’s clan-destine operations and wasintimately involved in whathe calls its ”enhanced in-terrogation” program, hasa different criticism. Con-trary to the movie’s depic-tion, the techniques em-ployed by the CIA are tothumbscrews what open-heart surgery is to bloodlet-ting.

”I left the agency in 2007secure in the knowledgenot only that our programworked — but that it wasnot torture,” Rodriguezwrote in a Washington Postop-ed. ”The truth is that noone was bloodied or beatenin the enhanced interroga-tion program which I su-pervised.”

Morell, the acting CIAdirector, has a more nu-anced view. ”The truth isthat multiple streams of in-telligence led C.I.A. ana-lysts to conclude that binLaden was hiding in Abbot-tabad,” he wrote in a Dec.21 message to CIA employ-ees. ”Some came from de-tainees subjected to en-

hanced techniques.”Amid all the murky as-

sertions of truth and false-hood, one thing is clear: Inthe fight against terroristsdetermined to inflict mas-sive civilian casualties,those who claim to knowwith absolute certaintywhat should or should notbe done, what they wouldor would not do in a posi-tion of responsibility aredeluding the public andthemselves.

Morell gets to the heartof the dilemma faced bymembers of a civilized so-ciety when confronted byenemies bent on their de-struction: ”Whether en-hanced interrogation tech-niques were the only time-ly and effective way toobtain information fromthose detainees, as the filmsuggests, is a matter of de-bate that cannot and neverwill be definitively resolv-ed.” That discerning state-ment earned Morell anoth-er threatening letter fromthe D.C. trio demanding toknow what role the CIAplayed in helping shape amorally ambiguous movieabout a morally ambiguoussubject.

(jgurwitzexpress-news.net)

COLUMN

Movie critics hate ambiguityBy JONATHAN GURWITZ

SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

COLUMN

SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 2013 THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A

6A THE ZAPATA TIMES SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 2013

SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 2013 THE ZAPATA TIMES 7A

8A THE ZAPATA TIMES SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 2013

BURGLARYA burglary of a building was reported at noon

Jan. 4 in the 2100 block of North of U.S. 83.A burglary of a habitation was reported at 2:24

p.m. Jan. 4 in the 5400 block of Pascual Lane.Deputies responded to a burglary of a vehicle

at 10:08 p.m. Jan. 6 in the 2500 block of BrazosStreet.

THEFT

Deputies responded to a theft call at 2:30 p.m.Jan. 4 at La Perla Ranch by the 6300 block of NorthU.S. 83.

A theft was reported at 4:41 a.m. Monday at theS.O.S. Yard.

Deputies responded to a theft call at 9:39 p.m.Monday n the 1200 block of Medina Avenue in theMedina Addition.

A boat was reported stolen at 7:29 p.m. Tuesday inthe 100 block of Loma Verde Circle.

THE BLOTTER

BROWNSVILLE — Three people wereseriously injured Friday when a packagethey opened inside their South Texashome exploded, police said.

Richard Solis was drinking a cup of cof-fee in his driveway two doors down whenhe heard a loud “boom.” He ran towardthe two-story stucco home as flames and aplume of smoke poured out.

Solis heard a woman screaming andsaw a badly burned man and little girl runout the front door. He said it didn’t looklike the girl had skin left on her face andone side of the man’s face appeared seri-ously burned. The man held what ap-peared to be a ball of fire in one hand andthrew it out the door, Solis said.

“The guy yelled, ‘the package said tothe addressee,’" Solis recounted. Solis saidhe seemed in shock.

Brownsville police spokesman J.J. Tre-viño said the family found the packageoutside their home and opened it earlyFriday morning.

All three victims — a mother, fatherand their 5-year-old daughter — receivedextensive burns, he said. Police are not re-

leasing their names. Additional explosivedevices in the package that did not ex-plode were later detonated by the bombsquad.

“This hit too close to home,” said Solis,a postal worker, who did not know thefamily.

The motive or whether the family hadreceived earlier threats was unknown,Treviño said. He said there was extensivedamage inside the home and police wereworking closely with the FBI and the Bu-reau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms andExplosives.

The Brownsville Herald reports the girlwas airlifted to Shriners Hospital for Chil-dren in Galveston. Her parents were air-lifted to Brooke Army Medical Centerburn unit in San Antonio.

Late Friday, Treviño said he did nothave information on the condition of thevictims.

Police kept the street closed for a blockin both directions Friday and said itwould likely remain that way late into thenight as the investigation continued.

The tall, two-story beige and orangestucco home was one of the larger ones inthe suburban neighborhood on the northside of Brownsville.

Police investigate a package explosion at a home in Brownsville on Friday. A mother, father and their 5-year-old daughter were seriously injured when they opened the package inside their home.

Photo by Brad Doherty/The Brownsville Herald | AP

3 injured in bomb blastBy CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN

ASSOCIATED PRESS

CENTENNIAL, Colo. — A stunned si-lence settled over a courtroom Fridayafter the father of a woman killed in theColorado theater shootings loudlycursed defendant James Holmes,prompting a sympathetic but firmwarning from a judge.

Steve Hernandez, whose 32-year-olddaughter Rebecca Wingo was among thedead, shouted, “Rot in hell, Holmes!”moments after Judge William Sylvestergave Holmes two months to enter a plea.

The outburst capped an emotionalweek of often gruesome testimonyabout the July 20 shootings and came asthe nation debates gun control andstruggles to find ways to stop massshootings.

In Washington, Vice President Joe Bi-den met with the stepfather of one ofthe Aurora victims as part of a push forgun control by the White House.

In Denver, Colorado Gov. John Hick-enlooper has called for new measures tokeep guns away from mentally ill anddangerous people.

Despite the procedural wrangling inthe theater shooting case, there may befew options for Holmes. If, as many an-ticipate, he enters a plea of not guilty byinsanity, he would undergo lengthy eval-uations at a state mental hospital beforetrial.

If the case goes to trial and he’s foundnot guilty by reason of insanity, Holmescould conceivably be released from amental hospital someday if he isdeemed to have recovered, but that isconsidered an unlikely possibility.

A guilty plea or conviction couldmean life in prison or the death penalty.

Holmes, 25, was ordered late Thurs-day to stand trial on charges of murderand attempted murder after 2 1/2 daysof testimony from police and federalagents who provided excruciating de-tails about the attack.

Sylvester called Holmes back to courton Friday for an arraignment hearingto enter a plea, but defense attorneys re-quested the delay, saying they would notbe ready to do that until March.

That prompted a murmur of disbeliefamong about 40 survivors and familymembers of the victims in the gallery.

Sylvester granted the delay, saying hewanted to avoid giving the defense anyopening to later appeal the case. Imme-diately after Sylvester adjourned thehearing, Hernandez shouted at Holmes.Deputies took Hernandez aside and Syl-vester reconvened the proceedings.

“I’m terribly sorry for your loss and Ican only begin to imagine the emotionsthat are raging,” Sylvester told Hernan-dez, saying he could watch the proceed-ings by video if he could not containhimself.

Hernandez apologized and promisedto remain silent at future hearings.

Sylvester then addressed other on-lookers in the courtroom.

“I really, really do not want to haveany outbursts,” he said.

Holmes is charged with 166 felonycounts, mostly murder and attemptedmurder, in the killing of 12 people andinjuring of 70 others during a midnightshowing of “The Dark Knight Rises” inthe Denver suburb of Aurora.

Defense attorneys did not give a rea-son for requesting the delay in enteringa plea, but prosecutors suggested to Syl-vester that his lawyers might want timeto build an insanity defense.

The case now moves to a new phasedealing less with the bloody details ofthe shooting and more about what wenton inside Holmes’ head. His attorneyshave said he has a mental illness, and itis widely expected they will argue he isnot guilty by reason of insanity.

“Insanity is what this case is going toturn on,” said Denver criminal defenseattorney Dan Recht, who is not involvedin the case. “This is not a whodunit.”

Before the shooting, Holmes was see-ing a psychiatrist at the University ofColorado, Denver, where he was a first-year neuroscience graduate student.The psychiatrist became alarmed, butHolmes left the graduate programshortly after failing a year-end exam inJune. Holmes was apparently never con-tacted by law enforcement.

During the hearing, witnesses testi-fied that Holmes spent weeks amassingan arsenal and planning the attack, andthat he took photos of himself hours be-fore the shooting, including one thatshowed him grinning with a handgun.

Holmes plea delaydisturbs families

By DAN ELLIOTT AND THOMAS PEIPERTASSOCIATED PRESS “I’m terribly sorry for

your loss and I canonly begin to imaginethe emotions that areraging.” JUDGE WILLIAM SYLVESTER

SÁBADO 12 DE ENEROLAREDO — Jornadas

Sabatinas 2013 del Consuladode México en Laredo se reali-za de 9 a.m. a 1 p.m. Se tra-mitan pasaportes, matrículasconsulares, y se ofrece asis-tencia consular en el ámbitode protección.

LAREDO — PlanetarioLamar Bruni Vergara de TA-MIU presenta: a las 3 p.m.,“The Zula Patrol”; a las 4p.m., “Stars of the Pharaohs”;a las 5 p.m., “Dark Side ofthe Moon”*. Costo: 4 dólares,niños; 5 dólares, adultos. (*)1 dólar más.

LAREDO — La exhibi-ción “Algorithm” de David Be-rrones, se presenta a partirde las 8 p.m. en Caffé Dolce,1708 Victoria. Además será lafiesta de lanzamiento de la lí-nea de ropa “Algorithm Ar-t&Apparel”, que diseñan Be-rrones y Erika Skyles-Berro-nes. Habrá refrigerios ymúsica en vivo a cargo de Ar-cher Crab and Jewels in theSky.

LAREDO — “Josh Ab-bott Band” y “Smokin’ DirtBand” se presentan a las 8p.m. en Casa Blanca Ballro-om. Evento para todas lasedades. Costo: 25 dólares enla puerta.

LAREDO — Gira Mun-dial de WWE “RAW”, a las7:30 p.m. en Laredo EnergyArena. Costos de 15, 25, 35,50 y 95 dólares, más el costode las instalaciones. Adquieraboletos en taquilla de LEA.

NUEVO LAREDO,México — Baloncesto: Torosvs Córdoba (Mex) en Gimna-sio de la Nueva Ciudad De-portiva a las 7:30 p.m.

MARTES 15 DE ENEROLAREDO — Hoy es la

inauguración de la exposiciónfotográfica “Mexican Revolu-tion and Beyond: Mirada yMemoria”, a las 6 p.m. en laGalería Rosalie Goodman delLaredo Center for the Arts,500 San Agustín. Son imáge-nes del archivo fotográfico deAgustín Victor Casasola (Méxi-co: 1900-1940). Estará vigen-te hasta el 1 de febrero.

NUEVO LAREDO,México — Cine Club “AliciaCaro” presnta “El InspectorGeneral”, dirigida por HenryKoster, a las 6 p.m. en Casade la Cultura. Entrada libre.

MIÉRCOLES 16 DE ENEROLAREDO — El club de

libros de misterio “Scene ofthe Crime” se reúne a las 6p.m. para analizar dos libros,“Creole Bell” de James LeeBurke, y “Never Tell” de Ala-fair Burke. La cita es en la Bi-blioteca Pública de Laredo,1120 E. Calton Road. Entradagratuita.

LAREDO — LTGI y TA-MIU presentan “Magnolias deAcero” de Robert Harling, alas 8 p.m. en el Teatro Experi-mental Sam Johnson de TA-MIU. Boleto: 15 dólares (gene-ral), 10 para estudiantes yadultos mayores.

NUEVO LAREDO,México — Cine Club presen-ta “La Costilla de Adán”, diri-gida por George Cukor, a las6 p.m. en Auditorio de Esta-ción Palabra. Entrada libre.

JUEVES 17 DE ENEROLAREDO — La Funda-

ción para el Patrimonio delCondado de Webb y RenatoRamírez, Presidente de la Re-pública del Rio Grande, invitana una Fiesta de Cocktail paraMiembros, el jueves de 6 p.m.a 8 p.m. en el Museo VillaAntigua Border Heritage Mu-seum, 810 calle Zaragoza.

NUEVO LAREDO,México — Asamblea-cenamensual de la Sociedad Histó-rica de Nuevo Laredo, A.C., alas 6 p.m. en Dr. Mier 3522.

VIERNES 18 DE ENEROLAREDO — Planetario

Lamar Bruni Vergara de TA-MIU presenta: “DestinationSaturn” a las 6 p.m.; “Secretsof the Sun”, a las 7 p.m.

Agendaen Breve

Autoridades de salud identificanlocalmente una condición generali-zada de influenza (gripe) y enfer-medades respiratorias, lo cual noes diferente a lo que ocurre en Te-xas o el resto de EU.

Héctor González, Director delDepartamento de Salud de la Ciu-dad de Laredo, dijo que la princi-pal herramienta contra la gripe es-tacional es vacunarse.

Desde septiembre de 2012, la ofi-cina de salud local ha recibido másde 2.000 informes de enfermedadessimilares a la gripe a través del sis-tema de vigilancia, dijo Gonzálezen un comunicado.

El 50 por ciento de los casos fue-ron niños en edad escolar, quienesse recuperaron pero que, al estarenfermos, exponen a otras perso-nas, dijo.

Igualmente, reveló que se hanconfirmado alrededor de 60 casosde influenza. De esos, 43 han sidoinfluenza tipo B, y 17 del tipo A.

“Los años pasados los casos con-firmados fueron menos de una do-cena”, dijo González. “Nuestra in-sistencia se centra en precaucionespara evitar un periodo de influen-za extendida”.

Insistió en la importancia de ex-tremar precauciones en mujeresembarazadas, bebes de 6 meses ymenores de 5 años, y personas quepadecen diabetes, del corazón y delriñón, asma, cáncer o VIH.

SíntomasGonzález urgió a las personas

acudir al médico al presentar sín-tomas como: fiebre de 100,4; dolor

de cabeza, tos seca, dolor de gar-ganta y dolor muscular extremo.

“Es importante que la personautilice pañuelos desechables, se la-ve las manos después de toser, ylimpie su nariz”, dijo él. “Peroprincipalmente vacunarse contrala gripe ayuda a reducir el riesgode propagación del virus”.

También dijo que al toser la per-sona debe hacerlo hacia el codo omanga de su ropa, así como evitartocarse los ojos, la nariz o la bocaya que los gérmenes se propagande esa manera.

Para vacunarse contra la gripepuede acudir al Departamento deSalud de la Ciudad de Laredo, en2600 avenida Cedar. El costo de lavacuna es de 8 dólares para niños(18 años y menores); y 20 dólarespara el resto.

(Localice a Miguel Timoshenkoven el (956) 728 2583 o en mrami-rez@lmtonline.com)

SUR DE TEXAS

Prevenir ante gripePOR MIGUEL TIMOSHENKOV

TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

““Nuestra insistencia se centra enprecauciones para evitar un periodo de influenza extendida”.HÉCTOR GONZÁLEZ, DIRECTOR DEL DEPARTAMENTO DE SALUDDE LA CIUDAD DE LAREDO

Zfrontera PÁGINA 9ASÁBADO 12 DE ENERO DE 2013

AUSTIN — Texas empieza a recupe-rarse, o al menos así lo indica un repor-te de la Contralora de Texas.

Susan Combs publicó el Estimado deRentas Bienales del estado que proyectasumar a 101.4 mil millones disponiblespara gastos de propósito general duran-te el bienio de 2014-15.

“Texas ha experimentado una fuerterecuperación de una severa recesión”,dijo Combs.

Ella aseguró que la recuperación lepermitió al estado recaudar rentas “me-jor de lo esperado”.

Se recuperó en impuestos tales como:sobre las ventas, producción de petróleoy gas natural e impuestos sobre las ven-tas de vehículos.

“La perspectiva para la economía ylas rentas del estado continúa en expan-sión”, dijo Combs. “Así como la rápidarecuperación económica continúa dan-do paso a un crecimiento sostenido ymoderado”.

Inclusive, el reporte anticipa que eldesempleo continuará a la baja. Duran-te la recesión el desempleo se ubicó en8.2 por ciento, y se espera que llegue al6 por ciento para el 2015.

BienioLas recaudaciones del estado en ren-

tas generales de recursos de impuestos,las cuotas y otros ingresos se calculaser de 96.2 mil millones para el bieniodel 2014-15, de los cuales aproximada-mente 3.6 mil millones serían apartadoscomo parte del fondo de reserva conoci-do como Rainy Day Fund, dejando apro-ximadamente 92.6 mil millones en ren-tas generales netas.

El informe agrega que, aunado a es-to, se encuentra una proyección de 8.8mil millones en el balance final para elbienio actual, dejando así a la Legisla-tura unos 101.4 mil millones para gas-tos de propósito general para el próxi-mo bienio.

La economía de Texas, en términosde ajustes por la inflación, está proyec-tada a aumentar 3.4 por ciento en elaño fiscal 2013, otro 3.4 por ciento en elaño fiscal 2014 y 3.9 por ciento en el añofiscal 2015, expone el reporte de Combs.

“El mayor recurso estatal es el im-puesto sobre la venta, lo que resulta enmás de la mitad en rentas generales delestado”, dijo ella. “Se anticipa que gene-re aproximadamente 54.9 mil millonesdurante el bienio de 2014-15, un aumen-to de 9.4 por ciento del bienio actual”.

“Mientras que la economía de Texasle está yendo bien, deberemos estarconscientes de los factores que ensom-brece nuestra economía,” dijo Combs.“Los problemas económicos y financie-ros que persiguen a Europa continúany la poderosa economía China se ha he-cho más lenta. Mientras tanto, el go-bierno federal continúa paralizado envarios temas. La incertidumbre econó-mica y regulativa, incluyendo la posibi-lidad de un incremento de impuestos,puede demorar las decisiones de com-pras por parte de los negocios y fami-lias.”

Las rentas estatales para todos lospropósitos se calcula ser de 208.2 milmillones para el bienio 2014-15, lo cualincluirá aproximadamente 112 mil mi-llones en recibos federales y otros in-gresos.

TEXAS

Economíasigue enmejoría

ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

MÉXICO — El nuevo embajador de México enEstados Unidos confía que Estados Unidos logre uncambio en la regulación de armas después de un ti-roteo en Connecticut que resultó en la muerte de 26en una escuela primaria. El recién juramentado di-plomático Eduardo Medina Mora dijo el jueves queeso ayudaría a frenar el flujo de armas ilegales ha-cia México.

Medina Mora, quien prestó juramento, como em-bajador el miércoles dijo que el control de armasera uno de los temas prioritarios para la represen-tación de México en el país, ya que México ha vistodecenas de miles de muertos desde que lanzó unaofensiva armada contra la delincuencia organizada.

Medina Mora dijo que México es respetuoso dela Segunda Enmienda de la constitución estadouni-

dense, según la cual no se puede li-mitar el derecho del pueblo a poseery portar armas, pero señaló que elvencimiento de la prohibición deventa de fusiles de asalto en 2004 setradujo en mayor violencia para Mé-xico. El diplomático dijo que confíaen que funcionarios estadounidenses

tengan una mejor comprensión del problema de laviolencia armada a partir del tiroteo en Newtown,Connecticut donde 20 niños y seis adultos fueronasesinados por un joven que portaba un fusil estilomilitar.

Medina Mora dijo que México tiene la “esperan-za” de una regulación “más sensata”.

“Ojalá que se catalice un apoyo social a un cam-bio de regulación que sea más favorable a los inte-reses que para nuestro país implica esta circuns-tancia”, dijo el embajador.

GOBIERNO

México espera EU regule armas POR ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON

ASSOCIATED PRESS

MEDINA

McALLEN — Cientosde Winter Texans vi-sitaron el módulo deTamaulipas durante

los dos días del InternationalMcAllen Travel Show, donde elGobierno de Tamaulipas y quie-nes integran los clúster de saludde las ciudades fronterizas, ofre-cen información sobre la infra-estructura y los servicios de lazona.

“La amplia infraestructuracon que cuenta la frontera ta-maulipeca, así como la calidadde los servicios, especialmenteen el rubro de salud, son unatractivo para los miles de win-ter texans que vienen año conaño del sur de Canadá y del nor-te de Estados Unidos”, dijo Ru-bén Valero, funcionario de la Se-cretaría de Desarrollo Económi-co y Turismo.

Indicó que el InternationalMcAllen Travel Show es una

plataforma para dar a conocerlas ventajas competitivas queofrece el estado a este sector delturismo estadounidense y cana-diense.

“Estamos maravillados de lacalidad en los servicios que nosofrecen en los hospitales de lafrontera, hemos ido varias oca-siones y consideramos que tie-nen todo para seguir atrayendoa más turistas que requierenatención médica”, dijo SheilaBrown, una jubilada originariade Canadá.

Javier Guerra, quien radicaen el Valle de Texas, dijo quecon la promoción que están rea-lizando, se va convencido de vi-sitar Nuevo Progreso en RíoBravo para recibir los serviciosde salud.

Para Maggie Thompson,quien viene de Alabama, Ta-maulipas es un estado maravi-lloso, porque año con año su es-poso y ella viajan desde Ontario,Canadá, y cruzan a Reynosa,

Nuevo Progreso y Matamorospara disfrutar de los servicios yatractivos que ofrece esta re-gión.

“Me siento muy confortable ysegura al cruzar a México, lo hehecho mucho tiempo y piensoseguir haciéndolo”, dijo Thom-pson.

Javier Guerrero, por parte delhospital CEMQ de Matamoros,dijo que están integrados en elclúster con hospitales, clínicas,médicos y prestadores de servi-cios diversos, quienes realizancampañas de difusión de mane-ra conjunta.

“Estamos muy contentos deque el Gobierno del Estado apo-ya esta actividad y vemos cómode manera gradual el turismomédico va en aumento en nues-tra ciudad, principalmente loslatinos y ahora vamos enfocadosa la atracción de los anglosajo-nes, por ello el motivo de nues-tra participación en este even-to”, enfatizó Guerrero.

TURISMO

ENCUENTRO

Winter Texans participaron en el International McAllen Travel Show esta semana. En el lugar pudieron conocer in-formación sobre Tamaulipas, como servicios médicos y turísticos.

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas

Promueven a Tamaulipas en McAllenESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

10A THE ZAPATA TIMES National SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 2013

COLLEGE STATION —Gov. Rick Perry and hisformer Texas A&M class-mate and now SystemChancellor John Sharpwelcomed the reactivationFriday of their old Corpsof Cadets squadron.

Squadron 6 — known as“Savage Six Flying Ti-gers” — was one of twoAggie Corps squadronsbrought back to life on theCollege Station campus,the result of growing stu-dent interest. The corpssquadrons are the vestigesof the previously all-maleschool’s military founda-tions.

Squadron 6 was dis-banded in 1992 as corpsmembership slipped, butA&M officials say mem-bership in the recent fallsemester was 2,303 stu-dents — the highest in 15years. So, for the secondstraight year, two formersquadrons are being reac-tivated.

“I think what this uni-versity is about is ser-vice,” Sharp said after cer-emonies. “The kind of kidswe have tend to gravitatetoward an organizationthat is principally andforemost about service.And plus, just being in thecorps is just special.

“It just works. It pro-duces captains in industryand generals in the mili-tary.”

Joe Ramirez, a retiredbrigadier general who isnow commandant of theCorps of Cadets, credited

efforts to emphasize, espe-cially with parents, thecorps’ focus on academicsand professionalism toprepare students “for to-day’s very competitive en-vironment.”

About half the Corpsmembers move on to jointhe armed forces. Squad-ron 6 is among aboutthree-dozen corps compa-nies at A&M, each com-prising from about 35 to 65cadets. Texas A&M isamong the nation’s largestuniversities, with about50,000 undergraduate andgraduate students com-bined.

“It is a relatively smallpercentage of the studentpopulation and civilianstudents are just as impor-tant and just as much Ag-gies,” Perry said. “But theCorps of Cadets will al-ways be perceived, and inreality, is the real heartand soul of Texas A&M.”

In 1968, only a coupleyears after corps member-ship stopped being com-pulsory and women wereadmitted to the university,Perry and Sharp wereamong 58 freshman mem-bers of Squadron 6. Bytheir senior year in 1972,Perry had been electedyell leader for the entireschool and Sharp was stu-dent body president.

“I think you could sayTexas A&M and Bryan-College Station was a littledifferent from the rest ofAmerica and maybe a lit-tle different from othercollege campuses youwould step foot on in thelate 1960s and early ’70s,”

Perry told several hundredpeople outside a museumdevoted to the corps. “Thisis a place that changeslives forever.”

Perry said that in thecorps, “service and sacri-fice became a very realvalue, a very real experi-ence in my life — that be-ing part of this brother-hood, this fraternity, thisentity, was more thanabout yourself.”

Fernando Aguilera, 23,an aerospace engineeringsenior originally fromSanta Cruz, Bolivia, wasgiven command of the re-activated squadron. Aguil-era, who went to highschool in Edinburg, saidhe “fell in love” with A&Mwhen he first visited.

“They were somethingspecial,” he said of thelure of the 137-year-oldcorps. “I wanted some-thing more. I wantedsomething different fromthe regular university ex-perience. It’s best decisionI’ve made in my life.”

Perry told members ofthe squadron that theywere “part of a legacy, apart of a history.”

“It’s good to see the Ti-ger flying again,” he said,referring to the nicknamethe squadron adopted in1964 in honor of WorldWar II volunteers whoserved in China.

As squadron memberspast and present gatheredfor a group photo, Perry— forever the yell leader— lead the group in theunit cheer: “Savage Six,best damn outfit on cam-pus!”

Cadet Commander Fernando Aguilera, center, and his squad stand at ease during ceremonies mark-ing the reactivation of Corps of Cadets Squadron 6 at Texas A&M University on Friday.

Photo by Pat Sullivan | AP

Perry, Sharp markrevival of old unit

By MICHAEL GRACZYKASSOCIATED PRESS

CLARISSA, Minn. — In2006, an 18-year-old Minne-sota man legally changedhis name to Michael JeffLanders. Six years later, au-thorities determined Lan-ders was really the Indianachild who had been abduct-ed by his paternal grand-parents in 1994.

Richard Wayne LandersJr., was reportedly abduct-ed when he was 5 yearsold. The 24-year-old Mi-chael Landers now lives inthe small central Minneso-ta town of Browerville, theTodd County Sheriff ’s Of-fice said Friday.

Sheriff Peter Mikkelsonsaid the investigation is on-going and the case will beforwarded to federal au-thorities for possible charg-es.

It’s unclear what Lan-ders knew about his histo-ry, but authorities said hehad lived with his grand-parents since birth.

Change of nameAccording to court re-

cords, Landers applied forthe name change himselfin November 2006, just acouple weeks after he turn-ed 18. The applicationdoesn’t say why he request-ed the change, and itwasn’t immediately clearhow long he had used thename Michael.

A home phone numberfor Landers could not befound. Telephone and so-cial networking messagesleft with him and his wifewere not immediately re-turned.

In July 1994, after a cus-tody dispute between Lan-ders’ mother and thegrandparents, the grand-parents fled from Wolcott-ville, Ind., about 50 milessoutheast of South Bend.

“I’m not sure that they(the grandparents) everhad legal custody,” saidJohn R. Russell, who spentseveral months investigat-ing the disappearance withthe LaGrange (Ind.) CountySheriff ’s Department.

Lived in a carThe mother and stepfa-

ther were unemployed andlived in a car, Russell re-called.

“These people (thegrandparents) were nicepeople. It was wrong forthem to do it, but I can un-derstand why,” he said.“But I also didn’t think thechild would be in any dan-ger at all with them.”

Landers’ stepfather,Richard Harter, did not re-spond to phone calls Fri-day. A phone number forLanders’ mother, Lisa Har-ter, could not be located. In-diana State Police spokes-man Sgt. Ron Galaviz saidit appears Landers’ fatherwas never in the picture.

Indiana attorney Rich-ard Muntz has worked withLisa Harter in her 19-yearsearch and told the StarTribune that child welfareservices stepped in becauseshe has some developmen-tal disabilities and thegrandparents had tempora-ry custody.

Muntz said after a judgegranted Harter custody fora trial period, the grand-parents took $5,000 out of ahome equity line and lefttown.

Cold caseThe grandparents were

charged with misdemeanorinterference with custody,which was bumped up to afelony in 1999. But thecharge was dismissed in2008 after the case wentcold.

Investigators reopenedthe case in Septemberwhen Richard Harter turn-ed over Landers’ Social Se-curity card to an IndianaState Police detective. That

turned up a man with thesame Social Security num-ber and birthday with anaddress in Long Prairie,about 100 miles northwestof Minneapolis.

Indiana State Police thencontacted Minnesota lawenforcement agencies,which began investigatingalong with the FBI and theSocial Security Adminis-tration.

IdentityMinnesota officials say

the grandparents — nowliving in Browerville underthe assumed names Ray-mond Michael Iddings andSusan Kay Iddings — veri-fied Landers’ identity. Theywere known as Richard E.and Ruth A. Landers at thetime of the abduction.

A woman who answereda phone number associatedwith the Iddingses declineda request for an interview.A couple who answered thedoor at their home declinedto identify themselves andalso refused an interview.

A spokeswoman with theU.S. Attorney’s office inMinnesota, Jeanne Cooney,said charges in such a casecould be related to non-cus-todial kidnapping, whetherthe child was exploited,abused, trafficked or beingused to obtain benefits.

Living conditionsMichael Landers and his

wife, who police say are ex-pecting a child, share a plotof land with his grandpar-ents a few miles outside ofBrowerville. There are twohouses and two deteriorat-ing barns on the property,and a few toys were scat-

tered in front of one of thehouses Friday. Ten cars satin the shared driveway.

Landers works at an au-to parts store in Long Prai-rie, but wasn’t at the storeFriday and an employee de-clined an interview.

HeardsmanRaymond Iddings has

worked since 1999 as aherdsman at Twin EagleDairy in nearby Clarissa,where owner Patrick Lune-mann described him as a“dedicated, faithful” em-ployee. Lunemann said hewas in shock when he reada story about the case.

He said Iddings playsguitar at his church, andrecalled a day last summerwhen the couple broughttheir instruments to playfor dairy workers. He saidhe knew Michael slightly,saying he stopped on occa-sion — perhaps to drop offIddings’ lunch if he had for-gotten it.

“(Landers) works at anauto parts place. That fitshim perfectly, because Rayis kind of a motorhead andMichael is the same way,”Lunemann said.

Big newsThe town buzzed with

the news, though. RichWall, a retired jeweler, saidsome residents speculatedthat some people knew ofLanders’ history but keptquiet. He said it was themost notable news since agrisly triple homicide therein 2003.

“My grandson called lastnight and said, ‘Long Prai-rie made the news again,’ “Wall said.

Abducted boy’smother lived in car

By KYLE POTTER AND AMY FORLITIASSOCIATED PRESS

The home of Michael Jeff Landers, left, is seen outside Browerville,Minn. Authorities have determined he was abducted by his paternalgrandparents when he was 5 years old.

Photo by Jim Mone | AP

SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 2013 THE ZAPATA TIMES 11A

In loving memory of awife, mother, sister,aunt, grandmother,great-grandmother andfriend.

Alejandra V. Zapata,96, passed away Jan. 8,2013; joined her hus-band, Juventino Zapata,Sr. of 63 years of mar-riage. She was sur-rounded by her familyas she joined our Lordin Heaven.

Alejandra V. Zapatawas born in Uribeño onMay 20, 1916. She andher husband Juventinoopened and operated theLone Star Meat Marketin 1950. She excelled inbusiness as this was herpassion. She retired in1980, but continued go-ing to the ranch and tak-ing care of her rentalproperties. At home sheembraced get-togetherswith her children; inher leisure time, she en-joyed cooking, sewingand gambling.

She believed in work-ing hard and havingstrong family ties. Shestood her ground at alltimes making her agreat role model. Shehelped countless of peo-ple in the communityand she will be greatlymissed. Alejandra’sunique character,strength and her valuesmade a lasting impres-sion on the lives shetouched.

Ms. Zapata is preced-ed in death by her hus-band of 63 years, Juven-tino Zapata Sr., parents,siblings and parents-in-law.

Ms. Zapata is survivedby her loving children,Oralia (Juan) Garza, Yo-

landa (Ricardo) Soliz,Juventino Jr. (Maria Nu-ry) Zapata and Javier(Debbie) Zapata; lovinggrandchildren, MarissaY. Garza, Liza A. Soliz,Raziel (Abygail) Soliz,Tatiana (Eduardo†) Vil-larreal, Juventino III(Laura) Zapata, MarcoA. Zapata, Sebastian Za-pata and by six great-grandchildren.

Visitation was Thurs-day, Jan. 10, 2013, from 6to 9 p.m. with a rosaryat 7 p.m. at Rose GardenFuneral Home.

The funeral proces-sion departed Friday,Jan. 11, 2013, at 9:30 a.m.for a 10 a.m. funeralMass at Our Lady ofLourdes CatholicChurch. Committal ser-vices followed at ZapataCounty Cemetery.

Funeral arrange-ments were under thedirection of Rose GardenFuneral Home, DanielA. Gonzalez, funeral di-rector, 2102 N. U.S. Hwy.83, Zapata.

ALEJANDRA V. ZAPATA

Erico Salinas-Sanchezpassed away Sunday,Jan. 6, 2013, at FalconLake Nursing Home inZapata.

Mr. Salinas-Sanchez ispreceded in death by hisparents, Isabel and Elvi-ra Salinas and sister, El-vira Arredondo.

Mr. Salinas-Sanchez issurvived by his daugh-ters, Rosa Maria (R. Ro-meo) Gonzalez, MariaGuadalupe Garza, AnnaSalinas (David Villar-real); grandchildren,Roel R. Gonzalez, JohanaTejada, Rosa Vela, RandyGonzalez, Rodrigo Cas-tro, Jeanette Alaniz,Marco Villarreal; 15great-grandchildren; sis-ter, Olga (Derly) Rodri-guez; nephews, ErmiloArredondo, Derly Rodri-gez, Jr. and Leticia Arre-dondo; and by numerousother family members.

Visitation hours wereheld Monday, Jan. 7,2013, from 6 to 9 p.m.with a rosary at 7 p.m. atRose Garden FuneralHome.

The funeral proces-sion departed Tuesday,Jan. 8, 2013, at 9:30 a.m.

for a 10 a.m. funeralMass at Our Lady ofLourdes CatholicChurch. Committal ser-vices followed at ZapataCounty Cemetery.

Condolences may besent to the family atwww.rosegardenfuneral-home.com.

Funeral arrangementswere under the directionof Rose Garden FuneralHome, Daniel A. Gonza-lez, funeral director, 2102N. U.S. Hwy. 83 Zapata.

ERICO SALINAS-SANCHEZ

Higinio Castillo, 83,passed away Wednesday,Jan. 9, 2013, at Laredo Med-ical Center in Laredo.

Visitation was held Fri-day, Jan. 11, 2013, from 6 to 9p.m. with a rosary at 7 p.m.at Rose Garden FuneralHome.

The funeral processionwill depart Saturday, Jan. 12,2013, at 9:30 a.m. for a 10a.m. funeral Mass at Our La-dy of Lourdes CatholicChurch. Committal serviceswill follow at Zapata CountyCemetery.

Funeral arrangements areunder the direction of RoseGarden Funeral Home, Da-niel A. Gonzalez, funeral di-rector, 2102 N. U.S. Hwy. 83,Zapata.

HIGINIO CASTILLO

Alfredo Pruneda-Maldona-do, 91, passed away Wednes-day, Dec. 26, 2012, at his resi-dence in Zapata.

Mr. Pruneda is survivedby his wife, Maria Del Refu-gio Borjas; sons, daughters,grandchildren, great-grand-children and great-great-grandchildren and by nu-merous other family mem-bers.

A funeral Mass was heldFriday, Dec. 28, 2012, at 4p.m. at Our Lady of LourdesCatholic Church.

Condolences may be sentto the family at www.rose-gardenfuneralhome.com

Funeral arrangementswere under the direction ofRose Garden Funeral Home,Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeraldirector, 2102 N. U.S. Hwy. 83,Zapata.

ALFREDO PRUNEDA-MALDONADO

al bundles marijuana adding up to 631.30 pounds ofmarijuana.

“It was determined that both Marco Antonio Rami-rez and Daniel Ramirez were traveling in tandem andit was also discovered that both are brothers,” the com-plaint states.

Arraignment in the brothers is set for 11 a.m. Jan.17 in Courtroom 2C before U.S. Magistrate Judge J.Scott Hacker.

(César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 orcesar@lmtonline.com)

COURT Continued from Page 1A

agreement filed Jan. 4.In September 2010, the

Federal Bureau of Inves-tigations received infor-mation that Mercado“was known to be thebiggest cocaine dealer inthe area and had beensteadily selling up to onekilogram of cocaine perweek in small personal-use amounts for severalyears,” according tocourt documents.

An FBI-led undercoverinvestigation on Merca-do showed that fromSept. 23, 2010, to March4, 2011, the FBI conduct-ed 13 controlled drugbuys from Mercado.Amounts varied from 2.7grams for $100 to 68grams for $2,000. Duringthe purchases, agentsidentified seven people,known as runners, whodelivered cocaine forMercado.

Angel Javier Cuellar,Martin Emilio Pacheco,Lucia Guadalupe Hinojo-sa, Magda Ramos have

pleaded guilty to posses-sion with intent to dis-tribute less than 500grams of cocaine. In asuperseding indictment,prosecutors dropped con-spiracy and cocaine pos-session charges on Leo-nardo Cortez and JavierMolina Balderas on Nov.27.

Sentencing dates forall defendants are pend-ing.

Prosecutors allegedthat during the time ofthe conspiracy, Mercadopurchased property — 10acres of land at $35,000and 55 acres of land at$50,000.

“(Mercado) now judi-cially admits that thesereal properties were pur-chased in whole or inpart with proceeds fromhis illegitimate drugtrafficking activities,”court documents state.

(César G. Rodriguezmay be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmton-line.com)

COCAINE Continued from Page 1A

is resolved by the courts,said David Garcia, UnitedIndependent School Districtassistant superintendent ofhuman resources.

Reyes could not be imme-diately reached for commentWednesday night.

Reyes, who has spent 13years with the district afterstops at Roma and ZapataCounty independent schooldistricts, taught a computerclass called Odyssey that al-lowed students to receivecourse credit.

Once a girls’ and boys’basketball coach, Reyes hadnot been coaching at the dis-trict when the arrest cameto light, Garcia said.

“The allegations … comefrom an area outside UISD,so that’s about as much as Ican affirm regarding thematter,” he said.

He said a determinationon Reyes’ employment sta-tus would be made after theconclusion of his case.

“We will weigh our op-tions to determine what is

in the best interest of ourhigh school and our kids,”Garcia said.

Details on the case werenot available Wednesday.The Williamson CountySheriff ’s Office did not re-turn calls for comment.

Reyes resigned in Junefrom his position as Alexan-der girls’ basketball coachafter five successful yearswith the program.

Reyes won 154 games, fourdistrict titles, five bi-districtchampionships and four ar-

ea championships in fiveyears.

Before taking the reins ofthe girls’ basketball team, hecoached Alexander track forfive years.

“(A) little bit at a time,(I’ll) withdraw from theschool system,” Reyes toldLaredo Morning Times inJune.

(LMT staff reporter JJ Ve-lasquez contributed to thisreport. Cesar Rodriguez maybe reached at 728-2568 or cro-driguez@lmtonline.com)

REYES Continued from Page 1A

Despite the early start,health officials say it’s nottoo late to get a flu shot.The vaccine is considered agood — though not perfect— protection against get-ting really sick from the flu.

Flu was widespread in 47states last week, up from 41the week before, the Centersfor Disease Control and Pre-vention said on Friday. Theonly states without wide-spread flu were California,Mississippi and Hawaii.

The number of hard-hitstates fell to 24 from 29,where larger numbers of

people were treated for flu-like illness. Now off thatlist: Florida, Arkansas andSouth Carolina in theSouth, the first region hitthis flu season.

Recent flu reports includ-ed holiday weeks whensome doctor’s offices wereclosed, so it will probablytake a couple more weeks toget a better picture, CDC of-ficials said Friday. Expertssay so far say the seasonlooks moderate.

“Only time will tell howmoderate or severe this fluseason will be,” CDC Direc-

tor Dr. Thomas Frieden saidFriday in a teleconferencewith reporters.

The government doesn’tkeep a running tally ofadult deaths from the flu,but estimates that it killsabout 24,000 people in an av-erage year. Nationally, 20children have died from theflu this season.

Flu vaccinations are rec-ommended for everyone 6months or older. Since theswine flu epidemic in 2009,vaccination rates have in-creased in the U.S., butmore than half of Ameri-

cans haven’t gotten thisyear’s vaccine.

Nearly 130 million dosesof flu vaccine were distrib-uted this year, and at least112 million have been used.Vaccine is still available,but supplies may have runlow in some locations, offi-cials said.

To find a shot, “you mayhave to call a couple plac-es,” said Dr. Patricia Quin-lisk, who tracks the flu inIowa.

In midtown Manhattan,Hyrmete Sciuto got a flushot Friday at a drugstore.

FLU SEASON Continued from Page 1A

12A THE ZAPATA TIMES SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 2013

Sports&OutdoorsSATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 2013 ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

Barry Bonds and Roger Clem-ens will get into the Hall ofFame someday, and without us-ing the side entrance, either.

It won’t be because people for-get, or even forgive, but becausethey won’t care anymore. Every-body in every sport will be onsome kind of performance-en-hancer by then, the way they’reall on “approved” supplementsalready. That day hasn’t arrived,but you can see it from here.

Everything is out in the opentoday in a way it wasn’t just adecade ago, when baseball’s su-persized era was full-on. Backthen, nobody felt sufficient heatto do anything about it. Therewere suspicions, and outrage,too. But they were papered overby the profits flowing into base-ball’s front offices, or buried onthe inside pages of the sportssection.

Just imagine if there had beena photo of that bottle of Andros-tenedione sitting on the shelf ofMark McGwire’s locker back in1998 to accompany The Associat-ed Press story, the way there al-most certainly would be thesedays. The story that hung overbaseball like a dark cloud for adecade would have gone throughthe media wringer in a matter ofdays, and everybody would havegone off in search of the nextthing to argue about. That’swhat’s going to happen, soonenough, to the anger thatstretched from the top of theHall of Fame ballot Wednesdayall the way down to the bottom.

Decide for yourself whetherthat’s a good thing. The 24/7 en-vironment isn’t just shrinkingour attention spans, it’s dimin-ishing our sense of outrage, too.The soaring popularity of theNFL in the age of social media isproof of that. Everybody whowatches football knows there’s aconcussion problem always lurk-ing in the background, and mostof us suspect the players are alot bigger than they should be.But we overlook those untilsomebody drops the photograph-

See LITKE PAGE 2B

MLB

The San Francisco Giants’ Barry Bondswas not inducted into the Hall of Famedespite his historical numbers becauseof the cloud of steroids surroundinghim.

Photo by Gene J. Puskar | AP

Litke:HOFwillcall

Bonds, Clemens willget enshrined

eventuallyBy JIM LITKE

ASSOCIATED PRESS

The records are gaudy. The starpower is high.

Here come the NFL’s big boys.Denver, Atlanta, New England and

San Francisco host divisional playoffgames this weekend. They’re a com-bined 49-14-1, and their rosters are filledwith such headline grabbers as PeytonManning, Tom Brady, Tony Gonzalezand Patrick Willis.

Their home-field advantages could be

formidable, too. The Broncos, who havewon 11 straight games, and Falcons eachwent 7-1; the 49ers were 6-1-1 and the Pa-triots 6-2.

None of which makes the Ravens, Sea-hawks, Texans or Packers quake in theircleats.

“That’s not in my mind at all going upto Denver,” said the Ravens’ Joe Flacco,the only quarterback to win a playoffgame in his first five seasons. “We feelconfident, and I think we should.”

Baltimore at Denver opens the week-end’s action, followed by Green Bay at

San Francisco on Saturday night.Sunday, Seattle is at Atlanta, then

Houston goes to New England.

Ravens (11-6) at Broncos (13-3)For all those impressive numbers,

here’s a baffling one: four-time leagueManning is a mere 9-10 in postseasongames. Those wins and losses were com-piled with the Colts, with whom he nev-

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Bringing the boom

The Atlanta Falcons will welcome the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, as the NFL’s Divisional round of the playoffs kicks off today.

Photo by John Bazemore | AP

Divisional games boast NFL’s big boysBy BARRY WILNERASSOCIATED PRESS

See PLAYOFFS PAGE 2B

HOUSTON — The first timeHouston faced the Patriots, topcornerback Johnathan Josephplayed while still struggling toget healthy, and outside line-backer Brooks Reed sat outwith an injury.

That game turned into anembarrassing 42-14 loss to NewEngland. Now both are back tofull strength, and the Texans

believe that makes their de-fense much stronger this timearound.

“Right now, I can probablysay this is the best I’ve felt allyear,” Joseph said.

He was slowed by a hamstr-ing injury that kept him outthe two games before the firstmatchup against the Patriots.

“Obviously, back then I wasgood enough to play but Iwasn’t at my best,” he said.

HEALTHY IN HOUSTONTexans take on Patriots

with full strength defenseBy KRISTIE RIEKENASSOCIATED PRESS

See TEXANS PAGE 2B

Houston Tex-ans defensiveend J.J. Watt(99) will leada healthy de-fense againstthe New Eng-

land Patriotsthis week.

Photo by Karen Warren | Houston Chronicle

IRVING — The Dallas Cow-boys hired former Tampa Baydefensive coordinator MonteKiffin as the replacement forRob Ryan on Friday.

The team announced themove on its website a day af-ter the 72-year-old Kiffin wasat team headquarters to inter-view with coach Jason Gar-rett and owner Jerry Jones.

The hiring of Kiffin meansthe Cowboys will switch back

to the 4-3 defense after goingto the 3-4 under Bill Parcellsin 2005. The most notableswitch will be Pro Bowl line-backer DeMarcus Ware be-coming a defensive end, andAnthony Spencer could makethe same move if the Cowboysre-sign him.

Kiffin hasn’t coached in theNFL since ending a 13-yearrun in Tampa in 2008. Hespent the past few years

Monte Kiffin, right, was hired by the Dallas Cowboys as the replacement forRob Ryan, the team announced on Friday.

Photo by Mark J. Terrill | AP

Cowboys replaceRyan with Kiffin

ASSOCIATED PRESS

See DALLAS PAGE 2B

“Right now I can say I’m 100 percent.”Joseph, who often shadows the oppo-

nent’s best receiver, knows that he andthe rest of the secondary will havetheir hands full. Not only must theydeal with New England’s wide receiv-ers, but also its tight end duo of AaronHernandez and Rob Gronkowski. Gron-kowski didn’t play in the first gameagainst Houston.

“They can place the ball on his backside or throw it up top and those guysboth have great hands where they canmake the difficult catch in traffic,” Jo-seph said. “For us, it will be a task, butI think that we have the guys here thatare up for the challenge. It’s just aboutmaking plays.”

Reed, a second-year player, started 12games in the regular season. Defensivecoordinator Wade Phillips called him a“physical force.”

“He’s obviously a good player, but Ithink just his physicality really helpsus as far as our mental toughness over-all as a defensive unit,” Phillips said.

A frustrated Reed had to watch theteam struggle against the Patriots andnot be able to help out.

“Now, it’s a little bit different,” hesaid. “So I’ll be out there and try tomake plays of my own.”

Reed had a sack last week againstthe Bengals; he now has at least one ineach the three postseason games in

Texans history. His best playoff per-formance came last season against theRavens when he had 21/2 sacks.

Joseph appreciates Reed’s versatility. “He can play the run and the pass, so

he’s a two-sided guy,” Joseph said. “Ithink he had just experience from lastyear coming in ... so just having Brooksback and those guys rotating and what-ever they’re doing up front, I think itjust helps those guys from a healthstandpoint and just being fresh all thetime.”

Houston is hoping to build on lastweek’s dominant defensive perform-ance in its 19-13 wild-card win over theBengals. The Texans limited them to198 yards, which was the lowest yar-dage total in the first round of the play-offs, and only 53 before halftime.

They also cleaned up their problemson third down, not allowing Cincinnatito convert any of its nine third-downchances.

This week the Texans know theymust get pressure on Tom Brady andmake him uncomfortable in the pocket.They’ll look to defensive star J.J. Wattto lead that charge. Watt led the NFLwith a franchise-record 201/2 sacks inthe regular season. He also had 107tackles, including 39 for losses, 16 pas-ses defended and forced four fumbles.

In Watt’s rookie season, the Texanslost to the Ravens in the divisionalround.

“We were happy to make it as far aswe did, but this year, new year, newgoals,” he said. “Biggest goal of themall, Super Bowl, and this is a big stepfor us, and we’re really excited aboutthe challenge.”

Phillips, who began coaching in theNFL in 1976, believes Watt is clearly thebest defensive player in the NFL thisseason.

“He had the best season ever,” Phil-lips said. “I mean, nobody has had aseason like that. Nobody has made thatmany tackles, that many sacks, thatmany pass breakups and that manytackles for loss or tackles for no gain inthe history of football. Nobody has hada year like that. It’s the best I’ve everseen, sure.”

TEXANS Continued from Page 1B

HOUSTON (13-4) ATNEW ENGLAND (12-4)

SUNDAY, 3:30 P.M., CBS

OPENING LINE — Patriots by 9 1/2 RECORD VS. SPREAD — Houston 10-7; New England 9-7 SERIES RECORD — Patriots lead 3-1 AP PRO32 RANKING — Texans No. 8; Patriots No. 2 LAST MEETING — Patriots beat Texans 42-14, Dec. 10, 2012 LAST WEEK — Texans beat Bengals 19-13; Patriots had bye. TEXANS OFFENSE — OVERALL (7), RUSH (8), PASS (11) TEXANS DEFENSE — OVERALL (7), RUSH (7), PASS (16) PATRIOTS OFFENSE — OVERALL (1), RUSH (7), PASS (4) PATRIOTS DEFENSE — OVERALL (25), RUSH (9), PASS (29)

er had a defense like the onethe Broncos possess.

That defense made a big dif-ference when Denver won 34-17at Baltimore in Week 15. A 98-yard interception return byChris Harris at the end of thefirst half turned it into a rout.

“I really haven’t made awhole lot of comparisons, butour defense has been outstand-ing all year,” Manning said.“Our offense has fed off of ourdefense. I think that’s one ofthe best things this team hasdone. If the offense was in arut, defense picked us up. Thedefense was bending a littlebit, the offense picked them up.That’s what you’ve got to have,to me, as a team.”

The Manning-Ray Lewismatchups through the yearshave been intriguing, and thiswill be the final one. Balti-more’s emotional leader an-nounced his retirement daysbefore he had 13 tackles in hislast home game, a 24-9 wild-card victory over Indianapolis.

“They are always classic,”Lewis said. “It’s just one ofthose chess matches. He knowsme very well. I know him verywell. ... But at the end of theday, it’s not about me and meand Peyton. It’s about theirteam against our team. I loveour team right now.”

Packers (12-5) at 49ers (11-4-1)

Another rematch, but fromso long ago: San Francisco won30-22 in the opener, at LambeauField.

The Packers have the edge in

this postseason series, 4-1.They would seem to have theedge on offense with top-ratedpasser Aaron Rodgers and adeep crew of receivers.

And the Niners would havethe advantage on defense, hav-ing yielded 63 fewer points inthe regular season.

A key will be whether GreenBay, which beat Minnesota 24-10 last week, can protect Rodg-ers after allowing 51 sacks. The49ers’ Aldon Smith had 19 1-2himself.

“We understand that it’s go-ing to be up to us to keep Aa-ron clean, let him make someplays back there in the pock-et,” left guard T.J Lang said.“That’s going to be a huge fac-tor in how this game turnsout.”

Seahawks (12-5) atFalcons (13-3)

Those road woes thatplagued the Seahawks can beforgotten. They’ve won threein a row away from home, in-cluding the 24-14 wild-card vic-tory at Washington that wastheir first on the road in theplayoffs since 1983.

With six straight wins over-all, they’re a confident bunchas they head to the GeorgiaDome.

“We’ve grown and becomemore together and more intune with our QB and what hecan do and all that,” Carrollsaid, referring to rookie Rus-sell Wilson. “We’re a prettyhard team to beat right now.”

Atlanta has been easy to beatin its last three playoff appear-

ances, something quarterbackMatt Ryan dismisses as a fac-tor for this game.

“We’ve proven we can go outthere and be successful. Youhave to buy into that. You haveto believe in that. I feel morecomfortable with the guysaround me.”

Texans (13-4) at Patriots (12-4)

Yet another rematch, thisfrom Dec. 10 when the Texansflopped in Foxborough, 42-10.That was the beginning of afade in which they droppedthree of four and sank from topAFC seed to No. 3.

Houston recovered some-what last week in a 19-13 wild-card victory over Cincinnati.This is a much tougher task.

“If you want to move on,you’ve got to bring a sense ofattitude and nastiness withyou to go out and dominateyour opponent on every play,”said QB Matt Schaub, who gothis first postseason win lastweek.

Tom Brady has 16 postseasonwins and needs one win tobreak a tie with Joe Montana.

“He’s won a lot of regular-season games, won a lot ofplayoff games,” coach Bill Bel-ichick said. “What he does ona day-to-day basis, how he per-forms on the practice field,how he performs in games —whether they’re preseason,regular season, postseason,whatever it is — he’s prettyconsistent. I think you see thatduring the week, so it showsup on Sunday.”

PLAYOFFS Continued from Page 1B

PAGE 2B Zscores SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 2013

coaching in college with his son, Lane Kiffin,at Tennessee and Southern California.

At Tampa, Kiffin’s defenses frequently wereamong the league’s best, and the Buccaneerswon the Super Bowl with him after the 2002season. That unit was the first in the leaguesince the champion Chicago Bears in 1985 tolead the NFL in total defense, points allowedand interceptions.

Ryan was fired Tuesday after two seasons.His defenses were inconsistent pressuring thequarterback and didn’t force many turnovers.In 2011, the Cowboys allowed the second-mostpassing yards in franchise history. This sea-son’s injury-plagued unit couldn’t stop New Or-leans quarterback Drew Brees and rookieWashington running back Alfred Morris inseason-ending losses that kept Dallas out of theplayoffs for the third straight year.

Jones also said in a taped interview beingaired this weekend that he wasn’t pleased withsome of the early-season performances beforekey defenders started getting hurt. Garrettsaid in a statement announcing the firing ofRyan that the team was going in a differentphilosophical direction.

The Buccaneers finished in the top 10 in to-tal defense 11 times in 13 years under Kiffinand had streaks of 69 straight games with asack and 54 with at least one turnover duringthat stretch. Tampa had 31 interceptions theyear it won the Super Bowl, nine more thanthe Cowboys have the past two seasons com-bined.

Kiffin turns 73 next month.

DALLAS Continued from Page 1B

ic evidence in our lap, tsk-tsk fora while and go back to watchingthe games. It wasn’t that longago, remember, that formerChargers linebacker ShawneMerriman got busted for ste-roids, sat out a four-game sus-pension, and still managed to fin-ish third in balloting for Defen-sive Player of the Year.

There’s no question that base-ball has been disproportionatelypunished for a problem that af-flicts just about every sport. May-be that’s because the game wasso slow to acknowledge it, andthen put in place a programcredible enough to do somethingabout it. Whatever the reason,taking another year off to assesswhere Bonds and Clemens andjust about every other great ball-player from a compromised erafits in the history of the gameisn’t that big of a deal. The onlyreal shame in what happenedWednesday is that Craig Biggioand Jack Morris, two guys whostrung together long and appar-ently drug-free careers, couldn’tgather enough votes from a skep-tical electorate to get in. Here’shoping it’s sorted out in time sothat the same thing doesn’t hap-pen to Greg Maddux and FrankThomas, who will be similarlypositioned at the head of nextyear’s class.

There’s plenty of confusion outthere about who did what, andhow much? We always knew the“clean” players — and whoknows how many of them existedin any sport — were going to suf-fer in comparison to the rule-breakers. That hasn’t changedand probably won’t. We were out-raged by McGwire’s use of Andro— even though it was allowed

under baseball rules in place atthe time — and only subsequent-ly found out about the muchmore sophisticated and perform-ance-enhancing substances thatplayers kept in refrigerators andmedicine cabinets back home.

Based on the way fans havevoted with their feet and remotecontrols in this age of (mostly)full disclosure, most quit caringsometime ago. In that sense, thepeople who cast ballots for theHall of Fame are throwbacks, de-termined to defend a standardthat applied when they begancovering the game, but is hardlyas unambiguous today. The truthis that rules have always beenbent. Check out how manyscoundrels of different stripesare in the Hall already, from TyCobb to Tom Yawkey. That tellsyou how the voters decidedthings in accordance with theprevailing attitude.

Now we know how perform-ance-enhancers work, along witha growing sense of how to usethem, even if the claims their be-ing “safe” sounds more like aprediction than a guarantee. Yetyou can’t watch a game withouttaking in a host of commercialsthat promise some pill or otherwill enable you to do somethingbetter. Athletes might be the lastgroup of people left in our socie-ty who can’t bring them to theworkplace. That will change in afew years, too. Then Clemensand Bonds and a few of theirsidekicks from this year’s classwon’t have to spring for a ticketto visit the game-worn jerseys,baseballs and assorted other arti-facts they’ve already sneakedpast the guardians of the mo-ment.

LITKE Continued from Page 1B

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. —New cars, same results at DaytonaInternational Speedway.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. started a 12-car accident at Daytona on Fridaythat essentially shut down a three-day test session designed to honeNASCAR’s redesigned cars.

Stock-car racing’s most populardriver was trying to bump draftwith Marcus Ambrose on theback straightaway when he liftedAmbrose “like a forklift” andturned him into the wall. Am-brose’s Ford bounced back acrossthe track and triggered a pileupthat collected a host of others.

“It was a big mess and tore upa lot of cars down here trying towork on their stuff,” Earnhardtsaid. “Definitely the drafting isnot like it used to be. You can’treally tandem certain cars; certaincars don’t match up well.”

Two of Earnhardt’s HendrickMotorsports teammates, Jeff Gor-don and Kasey Kahne, also wereinvolved. So were defendingSprint Cup champion Brad Kese-lowski, new teammate Joey Loga-no, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Ja-mie McMurray, Martin Truex Jr.,Aric Almirola and Regan Smith.

There were no injuries, but thewreck caused several teams toleave Daytona. At least 10 teams,including Michael Waltrip Racing,Penske Racing and Richard Petty

Motorsports, packed up their haul-ers and headed back to North Car-olina.

“It is unfortunate, but some-times you have to wreck them tolearn,” Keselowski said. “Thesport is rewinding. That is the im-portant thing to say. The sport ad-vanced to the two-car tandemthree or four years ago, and therewere certain things you could dothen that you couldn’t do in thepast without wrecking.

“Now the rules package is backto where we were in the early2000’s when the fans enjoyed theracing better. We as drivers have

to rewind to how we used to drivethese cars. This is how you do it.You make mistakes and learn andthat is part of it. I might be theguy who makes the mistake nexttime, so I can’t be mad about it.”

Manufacturers Chevrolet, Fordand Toyota are using new cars in2013, ones that have unique frontends that make race cars moreclosely resemble those on thestreets and in the showroom.

The new cars have considerablyless downforce than their prede-cessors and perform differently onthe track. The previous modelshad identical designs that made it

easier for bump drafting becausethe front and rear bumpers linedup squarely.

But with redesigned parts inlow supply as vendors try to keepup with demands, many teamscame to Daytona without backupcars. Drivers took a cautious ap-proach to the test, trying to gaininformation about speed andhandling while hoping to avoidthe kind of huge wrecks typicallyassociated with racing in tight-knit packs at nearly 200 mph.

NASCAR asked teams to simu-late race conditions Friday byforming the large drafting packs,

and there were 18 cars on thetrack when Earnhardt triggeredthe big one.

“ You can’t push, which I thinkis a good thing,” Gordon said.“The bad thing is you can still getto the guy’s bumper, but the carsjust don’t line up very well. ... It’ssomething that is going to have tobe dealt with very carefully. Youare going to have to be cautiouswhen you do it and do it with theright guys, but most of the timeyou’re going to need to stay awayfrom it. That is certainly some-thing we learned.”

Backing up Gordon’s senti-ments, Earnhardt said the nose ofhis Chevrolet slid under the rearbumper of Ambrose’s Ford.

“It’s going to take a lot morecare and concentration and justknowing kind of what is at stake,”Earnhardt said. “Certain cars youline up OK with and can push fineand for whatever reason mine andMarcus’ car didn’t line up good.We got our bumpers together andit hooked him. For whatever rea-son, you’ve got to be careful whoyou are working with.”

One driver who avoided the me-lee was five-time series championJimmie Johnson. He and crewchief Chad Knaus decided beforethe session to stay.

“It doesn’t make any sense togo out there and draft,” Johnsonsaid before the crash. “You don’tlearn anything. You’re just takinga chance of ruining your best racecar.”

Junior sparks wreck at Daytona testingBy MARK LONG

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Dale Earnhardt Jr. stands by his car in his garage after he started a wreck involving a group of cars during NASCAR testingat Daytona International Speedway on Friday in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Photo by John Raoux | AP

SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 2013 THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B

DENNISTHE MENACE

PARDON MY PLANET

DAILY CRYPTOQUOTES | HERE’S HOW TO WORK IT:

JUDGE PARKER

REXMORGAN M.D.

FOR BETTER OR WORSE

HINTS | BY HELOISESOCKET SOLUTIONDear Readers: Here are

some hints about REMOV-ING A BROKEN LIGHTBULB from a socket. Wear-ing garden gloves, use a(rubber) jar opener, slowlyreach in and twist and jig-gle back and forth to gentlyremove the base that is leftbehind. Be sure no glass re-mains in the socket. Hereare some other hints fromreaders:

Elaine V. in Spokane,Wash., says: “I have twoways of removing a light-bulb base that remainsstuck in a socket after theglass bulb has broken off:

“Take a pair of needle-nose pliers (Turn off thecircuit breaker before doinganything. — Heloise) andgrab the edge of the metalbase. Gently turn the metalcounterclockwise, holdingthe outside of the socket.

“Or you can open up thepliers inside the metal baseand press the tips firmlyagainst the sides of the met-al. Twist the pliers slowlycounterclockwise, keeping astrong, steady pressure onthe pliers. Voila! Out popsthe bulb base.”

Karen M. of ColoradoSprings, Colo., says: “Bro-ken-off light bulb? Make awad of duct tape; push it onthe exposed base and turn.Works every time.”

At one time, using a rawpotato was the solution fora stuck light-bulb base. Thatis no longer a recommend-ed solution, as the moisturefrom the potato could causea short. — Heloise

PET PALDear Readers: Donna, via

email, sent a photo of herdog, 2-year-old Riley, a mini-ature schnauzer who lookslike my miniature schnauz-er, Cabbie! Donna says: “Ri-ley is the most handsomeguy ever! I have to say thatwhen I saw your adorableschnauzer, Cabbie, Ithought it was Riley. Wewould love to see our boy inyour pet section of yourwebsite, and thank you inadvance. I’m certainly a bigfan of yours — always thehighlight of reading the pa-per daily.”

Donna, Riley does looklike our own Cabernet! It’samazing how miniatureschnauzers look a lot alike,but any owner knows howcharming and mischievousthey can be. To see Riley orCabbie, visit my website,www. Heloise.com, andclick on “Pets.” — Heloise

“HELOISE

4B THE ZAPATA TIMES Sports SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 2013

Kentucky, North Car-olina and UCLA are allunranked together for thefirst time in more thantwo decades.

The tradition-rich pro-grams with 24 NCAAchampionships betweenthem are still seeking anidentity after falling fromthe Top 25 due to incon-sistent nonconferenceplay fueled by inexperi-ence, players in new rolesand injuries.

The Wildcats andBruins have shown signsof figuring things outnow that league play hasbegun, but the Tar Heels’struggles have worsened.

UCLA started the yearwith eligibility concernsover star freshman Sha-bazz Muhammad and ahome loss to Cal Poly,though it has won eightstraight. Kentucky lostthree times in the firstmonth and its latestfreshman haul is still ad-justing to college. UNChas started 0-2 in the At-lantic Coast Conference.

“They’ve all got newpieces,” said Jay Bilas, aplayer on Mike Krzyzew-ski’s first Final Fourteam at Duke and now anESPN analyst. “Kentuckyis completely new. NorthCarolina is basically allnew. Even the guys com-ing back are in differentroles. ... It’s a lot differentbeing the first guy on thescouting report than be-ing the sixth or seventhguy.”

Before this season, thelast time that Kentucky,UNC and UCLA were allout of The AssociatedPress Top 25 in the sameweek was March 12, 1990,according to STATS LLC.But Kentucky and UCLA— both counting on tout-ed freshmen like Muham-mad and Nerlens Noel —

were out of the poll bythe start of December;North Carolina droppedout the day before Christ-mas.

Of the trio, the TarHeels (10-5) are on theshakiest ground.

North Carolina startedat No. 11 and reachedninth in Top 25, but theylost at Virginia over theweekend then at home toMiami on Thursdaynight. And while the lastUNC team to start 0-2 inthe ACC won the NCAAchampionship in 2009,this year’s group hasn’tshown similar promise.

The Tar Heels are re-placing four NBA first-round draft picks fromlast year’s team, whichhas put a bigger burdenon 6-foot-9 sophomoreJames Michael McAdoo.But he’s struggling withthe transition to a lead-ing role after returningto school instead of enter-ing the NBA draft.

In the Bluegrass State,the Wildcats (10-4) startedat No. 3 despite losing sixplayers to the NBA draftfrom last year’s nationalchampionship team, in-

cluding No. 1 pick Antho-ny Davis and No. 2 pickMichael Kidd-Gilchrist.But the Wildcats fell toNo. 8 after an early lossto Duke then slid out ofthe rankings after consec-utive losses to NotreDame and Baylor inwhich they failed to score60 points.

Kentucky has only lostonce in the past sevengames, and that 80-77 atthen-No. 4 Louisville. TheWildcats won their South-eastern Conference open-er Thursday night at Van-derbilt, though they blewa 16-point second-halflead before winning 60-58.

The Bruins, who start-ed the year at No. 13, gotbehind when Muhammadmissed two weeks of pre-season practice with ashoulder injury thenmissed the first threegames due to improperbenefits before the NCAAcleared him to play.

But UCLA (13-3, 3-0Pac-12) hasn’t lost sincefalling to San Diego Stateon Dec. 1, includingThursday night’s 57-53win at Utah in its firstroad game this year.

Traditional powersfall short in rankings

By AARON BEARDASSOCIATED PRESS

Kentucky, North Carolina and UCLA are all unranked together forthe first time in more than two decades.

Photo by Jae C. Hong | AP

SAN ANTONIO — TimDuncan was lounging athome, idly watching a car-toon with his two youngchildren when somethingcaught his ear.

He couldn’t be positive,but he was fairly certainLola Bunny, Bugs Bunny’sanimated girlfriend on theLooney Tunes Show, hadjust uttered the name ofSpurs teammate ManuGinobili.

Duncan rewound theclip to make sure he’dheard correctly. He indeedhad, prompting a call toGinobili.

“He told me, ‘You finallymade it,’” Ginobili said. “Atfirst I thought it was Ar-gentinian, someone had(dubbed my name). It wasfun to see. Unexpected, ve-ry unexpected.”

It happened again latelast month, with Lola as-signing the role of Ginobilito Speedy Gonzalez in aplay. Santa Claus then pop-ped through the WarnerBrothers logo and bellowedManu’s name at the end ofthe credits.

As is so often the case onthe court, Ginobili’s in-stincts proved correct. Thereferences are a tributefrom Alamo Heights gradu-

ate Hugh Davidson, theLooney Tunes Show’s headwriter and a passionateSpurs fan dating back totheir ABA days.

Davidson said a fourthmention, in which LolaBunny explains the roots ofher Ginobili infatuation,was cut. But there is no ed-iting Davidson, who ratesGinobili as his favoriteplayer.

“He’s under-appreciatefor how great he is,” saidDavidson, 43. “It’s madnesswatching him play. I thinkhe’s the most entertainingplayer to ever put on a uni-form. His brain is not likeanyone else’s.”

It’s hardly surprisingthat Lola — voiced by for-mer Saturday Night Livestar Kristen Wiig, whoneeded help pronouncingGinobili’s name — wouldhave a crush on a baller.The beautiful blonde bun-ny made her debut in the1996 Michael Jordan vehi-cle “Space Jam.”

Living in Los Angeleshas been essential for Da-vidson’s career as a profes-sional writer. In addition tohelping re-boot LooneyTunes as a contemporaryversion of the classic car-toon, he shared multipleEmmy Awards for his workon Robot Chicken.

As a basketball fan, how-

ever, it’s been hell. Adrifton an endless sea of purpleand gold, Davidson is onlytoo happy to fly the home-town flag in enemy territo-ry.

“The Lakers are the an-tithesis of the Spurs,” hesaid. “They throw moneyat everything, they’re lazy. Ican’t bear it.”

Davidson is only slightlyirritated that the Spursdidn’t start to win big untilhe left town.

Davidson has convertedfellow Looney Tunes writerRachel Ramras, a Phoenixnative with whom he livesin L.A. She and Davidsonhad been waiting for somesort of feedback, whichthey finally received whenGinobili acknowledged hisaffinity for Speedy Gonza-lez via Twitter.

It only took four cham-pionships, but the Spurs’ Qscore might finally be tak-ing off. In addition toGinobili’s Looney Tuneslove, an Israeli rap groupproduced a track in GreggPopovich’s honor last sum-mer.

“We’re the Spurs,” saidDuncan, who was refer-enced in the Adam Sandlercomedy “Grown Ups.” “Wedon’t get it a whole lot. Butevery once in a while youget something like that. It’spretty cool.”

San Antonio Spur Manu Ginobili has been referenced several times on the Looney Toons, adding uniquefame to the Argentenian’s resume.

Photo by Eric Gay | AP

Ginobili finds unique fameBy DAN MCCARNEY

SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS