Five stories that have North Texas talking: a woman eats three 72-ounce steaks in 20 minutes; country music stars take over AT&T Stadium; Stevie Ray Vaughan is honored at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; and more.
The lean, mean, steak-eating machine did it again! Molly Schuyler ate three 72-ounce steaks – and all the fixins – in 20 minutes! (That deserves an exclamation point, right?!) She accomplished this impressive feat at the Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo. (This is the establishment where if you eat the steak and sides in an hour, you get it for free.) The Amarillo Globe-News reports: “Hundreds gathered outside the restaurant to watch her down three steaks, three baked potatoes, three shrimp cocktails, three salads and three rolls in a record-breaking time. ‘We’ve seen a lot of things come through these doors but Molly ... she takes the cake ... she takes lots and lots of cake,’ said a joking Bobby Lee, Big Texan co-owner.” Schuyler is a competitive eater and wins all sorts of eating contests. Last May at the Big Texan, Schuyler ate two 72-ounce steaks (with sides) in less than 10 minutes. Over the weekend, Schuyler competed against four teams of two, which included professional wrestlers and former college football players. No problem for Schuyler; no contest, really. She beat ‘em easily. Schuyler earned $6,000 for her feat.
Watch it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7GkAQsgbCo
Watch another version here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUU58hzPiXc
KVII-TV in Amarillo has more details:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds4vXsW9roY
- AT&T Stadium in Arlington hosted country music’s party of the year Sunday night. The Associated Press reports: “Miranda Lambert won four awards, including album and song of the year, but the singer lost the night's top prize to Luke Bryan at Sunday's Academy of Country Music Awards. ... Lambert was the sole female nominated for entertainer of the year; other nominees included Garth Brooks, Jason Aldean and Florida Georgia Line, who won two awards Sunday. Though she lost the top prize — again — Lambert was the queen of the night. She was on a red-hot winning streak — and she even rocked a red-hot bustier when she performed ‘Little Red Wagon.’ Lambert won her fourth album of the year, her sixth female vocalist of the year and twice for third single record of the year (she won twice this year as a performer and songwriter of ‘Automatic.')” The ACM folks report that the ceremony broke the Guinness World Record title for highest attendance at an awards show broadcast – 70,252 fans packed the stadium. Read more here. [Associated Press]
- North Texas’ very own Stevie Ray Vaughan was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame over the weekend. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports: “In honor of inductee Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, a collection of fantastic musicians hit the stage. It was one of the best performances of the night. The artists on stage took turns singing verses on "Pride and Joy." John Mayer kicked the run of solos off, followed by Doyle Bramhall II and the brilliant Gary Clark Jr., whose bluesy tone was easily the best fit for the song. Jimmie Vaughan, the older brother of the late SRV got in on the act with his own solo, honoring his brother. When blues guitars sound that good, it could go on forever and no one would mind.” [Cleveland Plain Dealer]
- Opposition to gay conversion therapy is growing – but it likely won’t face a statewide ban in Texas. The Texas Tribune reports: “State Rep. Celia Israel, D-Austin, has filed House Bill 3495, which would ban the practice for minors in Texas, but she acknowledges that just getting a hearing before the House State Affairs Committee would be a big accomplishment. ‘I don’t know that we’ll be able to pass the House and the Senate and go on to the governor’s desk, but there is some value in having a public hearing about this practice,’ Israel said. ‘If a family decided to take their kid to therapy, there is no need for a therapist to suggest there is anything wrong with that child. To put that on a kid is the worst thing you can do.’" [Texas Tribune]
- A Plano West High School football star was arrested over the weekend on a charge of evading arrest. The Dallas Morning News reports: “Sotonye ‘Soso’ Jamabo screamed that ‘his life was over,’ Kemp police said. But a representative for UCLA, where Jamabo has committed to play in the fall, wouldn’t say whether the arrest in Kaufman County would affect the running back’s future. Jamabo, 19, was speeding on U.S. Highway 175 about 7:20 p.m. Saturday when Kemp police tried to pull him over, Chief Robert Walker said. Jamabo, who was driving a pickup with three other teens, then ran a stop sign, swerved and sped past other cars with ‘total disregard for the public safety of others on the road,’ Walker said.” [The Dallas Morning News]