A few years back, there was much hoopla over a girls basketball game in which The Covenant School of North Dallas beat Dallas Academy of the White Rock area 100-0.

The publicity even resulted a funny stunt by a The Ticket radio team to play a basketball game against the Lake Highlands High School girls team.

A few weeks ago, The Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools instituted a “mercy rule” for football and basketball that will come into play in the 2012-2013 season.

According to an ESPN.com piece, the Covenant-Dallas Academy game was cited as the main reason for the change.

The new rule requires that any game which reaches a 40-point difference after halftime will be subject to a running clock for the remainder of the game. This includes plays that end out of bounds and play stoppages for fouls in both sports.

As much as I dislike bullying, especially in the form of a coach and parents urging players to humiliate a weaker team, I’m not sure that rules are the answer in cases like this. If someone is employed as a football or basketball coach, especially at a pricey private school, shouldn’t part of the job requirement be good judgment, good leadership skills and sportsmanship? Sure, not all of them will demonstrate these things at all times, but when they don’t, they can be reprimanded as anyone else who fails at a job.

Is putting mercy rules in place tampering with the integrity of the game? Might it backfire and embarrass the losing team more than a blowout? Rob both teams of valuable learning opportunities?

Dallas Lutheran coach John Bronkhorst told ESPN that he has declined so-called mercy or clock rolling in the past.

“It’s not to be cruel to my team because it’s a teaching opportunity. It’s an opportunity for us to learn in life you’re not going to get bailed out. We need to learn how to overcome adversity, and I can tell you right now, we grew from that game.”

I watched one of my kids’ public school basketball teams get beat by more than 40 points a couple weeks ago. The other team never let up on defense (they did let up on scoring, it seemed) and the winning teams’ parents, cheerleaders and coaches continued to root their team on to massive victory — no mercy on their end.

Our losing team walked away feeling OK that they had fought to the end. I heard them commenting about how impressed they were by the talent on the other team. They did not seem devastated or broken by the experience. (If I remember correctly, neither did the Dallas Academy girls).

On the other hand, last night’s game was lost by a single point. Now that was more heartbreaking than any blowout.

Vapiano restaurant is hosting Pasta Helping People Thursday, but they’re flexible. They’ll let you order their delicious pizza, salads or panini and still help others in need. The Mockingbird Station restaurant is kicking back 10% of your total bill all day to support the Wesley-Rankin Community Center.

Wesley-Rankin serves the diverse West Dallas community, providing a wide variety of programming for children, youth, adults and families. For more than 75 years they’ve offered a loving, supportive alternative to a street-life of crime, poverty and despair.

Vapiano will host live music for the special event, and the offer is good for lunch or dinner from 10am to 10pm. You can dine on the bright, airy restaurant side with big picture windows allowing a view of progress on the Bush Library, or you can lounge in the hip bar area on cushy red couches while watching sports on the big screen. Either way, be sure to mention Wesley-Rankin when you pay.

Carrie Johnson

When Carrie Johnson told me about her son’s injury, a story we told as part of our February cover story, I nodded and asked a lot of questions. I didn’t ask, “Who is Jack Evans?” even though the question entered my mind. I know that name, after all. He’s the guy we named the police headquarters after. I know who Jack Evans is. But not really.

Evans touched Johnson’s life, although they never met, while he was chairman and CEO of Tom Thumb and she was an employee of the company. Evidently, he paid her son’s hospital bills after the son was shot in a random incident and almost died. It’s one thing that has kept Johnson loyal to Tom Thumb, where she has worked for 35 years.

Back at the office, I googled Jack Evans and found his Wikipedia page.

Jack Evans, you probably already know, was the mayor of Dallas from 1981-83. Forgive me, I thought Dallas was just a TV show and the place with awesome cheerleaders at that time. Evans lead the company that owned Tom Thumb, and he was a key investor in Norman Brinker’s Steak & Ale restaurant concept. My favorite sentence in his Wikipedia is this: “He received criticism for being the first (Dallas) mayor to address a gay and lesbian organization, the Dallas Gay Alliance.” Evans eventually backed off his stance that the city should hire openly gay police and fire fighters because homosexuality was illegal in Texas until 2003.

Evans is the mayor who made the Dallas Arts District possible, “persuading Borden Inc. to swap prime downtown property for a symphony hall location,” according to his Dallas Morning News obituary.

Evans also was our neighborhood son. He graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School, served in the U.S. Army Air Corps and opened Lakewood Food Mart in 1947. It was at the corner of Abrams and Goliad, at 2311 Abrams, where a vacant bank building is now. I can find two mentions of that grocery in the Dallas Morning New Historical Archives. In January 1948, a “safe-cracker” made off with $210. That two-sentence story says Evans lived at 6573 Anita at the time.

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If you want to win a year’s supply of Chick-fil-A combo meals by being one of the first 100 customers of the new Chick-fil-A at the WalMart center at Northwest Highway and Skillman, here’s a guide to giving it your best shot.

Just like every new Chick-fil-A during the past eight years, the new one in our neighborhood (which opens at 6 a.m. Thursday, by the way) is hosting a “First 100 Event” to promote the location. As the program name suggests, the first 100 people in line to open the store receive the big prize, and while standing, sitting or lying in line, they’ll be entertained by Chick-fil-A with games, activities and meals.

But there’s a bit of a trick to winning, it turns out.

First off, running out to the restaurant right after you finish reading this blog post — even if it turns out you are absolutely, positively, first in line — doesn’t necessarily guarantee you a place in the winner’s circle. Turns out to be a winner, you need to be one of the first 100 people in line at 6 a.m. WEDNESDAY, the day before the store opens.

That’s when the Chick-fil-A people count those present and hand out coupons to the first 100 people there, along with designating an additional 10 or so “alternates” authorized to take over in the event any of the actual first 100 are unable to fulfill the duties of their new-found office, which basically means they somehow can’t wait in line for all of the next 24 hours. (Don’t laugh: It happens, a Chick-fil-A spokesman says.)

But wait, there’s more: If at 6 a.m. Wednesday there are not 100 people in line (which the spokesman says is unlikely but not impossible), those who continue to show up will be given winning numbers until a total of about 110 have been handed out.

And if there are more than 110 people lingering about at 6 a.m. Wednesday (the most likely scenario, the spokesman says), you can still be a winner: If more than 100 people are in line, the “winning 100″ are selected by random drawing, with all of those in attendance — no matter how long they’ve been in line — drawing numbers randomly to determine who can hang around the next 24 hours to be a winner at 6 a.m. Thursday morning.

So if you want to play the odds and have the best chance of winning while spending the least amount of time hanging around outside the store, show up at 5:45 a.m. Wednesday, hope there are more than 110 people there and participate in the random drawing. If you win, you still have to stick around for the next 24 hours. But if you don’t pull one of the lucky 110 numbers, you’ll only have invested about 30 minutes in the whole process, and you can still stop by Whataburger on your way out of the parking lot for breakfast before heading back home or off to work.

So there you have it: A few tips to help you win the 52 combo-meal prize. If you head on down there, let me know how it all turns out; I’m going to wait a couple of days and simply pay for my food there. Complete rules can be found on the restaurant’s website.

If you do head over to the new Chick-fil-A, here’s what you’ll find: 4,040 square feet of restaurant with 105 inside seats and 16 outside patio seats. This store offers two drive-thru-ordering stations that merge into a single pickup window. And just so you know, there wasn’t enough room at this store to include an indoor playground similar to the one found in the Chick-fil-A at Central Expressway and Southwestern.

Both of those restaurants, along with one across from SMU on Hillcrest, are owned by former neighborhood resident Jeff White, who has long been a big supporter of neighborhood schools with Chick-fil-A products.

As bummed as the beer-drinking bros will be, this could be encouraging news for some neighborhood residents. The Greenville Avenue St. Patrick’s Day Parade is short about $40,000, and organizers might have to call it off.

The parade costs about $100,000 to produce, including police, portable toilets, traffic barricades and clean-up, reports WFAA. The Greenville Avenue Area Business Association is seeking additional funding sources.

The association has put up a fundraising website, where the public can donate to the parade, but as of this posting, it has raised only $380.

The parade has been a tradition for the past 11 years. I always assumed the parade was some stupid traffic-causing thing for drunk people and Jello-eaters (children), and it is. But then I actually attended the parade and surrounding festivities about three years ago, and you guys, it really is a good time. Not sure I would feel the same way if I lived in the line of fire, but hey, it’s only once a year.

With a line out the door and around the corner of the building on their grand opening, I think it is safe to say that our neighborhood welcomed Hypnotic Donuts with open arms. And stomachs. After being a weekend pop up at a pizza joint in North Dallas for a year and a half, Hypnotic is now standing alone in a storefront, as well as dominating the Dallas donut market.

Owner, James St. Peter, joined the donut revolution after visiting Portland’s Voodoo Doughnuts. Although the funky donuts resemble Voodoo’s, they are James’ brain children: individual, creative, and sprinkled with unexpected combinations. The customer favorite is the Evil Elvis: a glazed donut with peanut butter, banana, and honey. So decadent that the great king himself just might return for a bite. Okay probably not..but its really really good. Topping the charts with the kiddos is the infamous Zoo Ropa. This donut is every child’s dream and every parent’s nightmare. A vanilla cake donut with vanilla frosting, sprinkles, and iced animal cookies is what I fancy a syringe full of sugar being injected into my veins would be like. I love

sweets, but even I can’t do that amount of concentrated sugar so early in the morning. However, I think twelve years ago while studying for college finals, it would have come in pretty darn handy. My absolute favorite menu item is the Hypnotic kolache; spicy sausage wrapped in their homemade biscuits. Even an already seasoned grandmother could learn a few things from these biscuits. Thought bubble … I should give James my Nana’s number.

Some of their other ingredients include; bacon, fresh jalapenos, queso, Gatorade powder, Captain Crunch cereal, and yes, these things are atop donuts. Intrigued, aren’t you?
The service and experience is out of this world. After learning that my toddler had a doctor’s visit the day I was there, James insisted I take her a chocolate donut. I also learned that he takes any donuts left over after closing to the local fire station. Seriously. I will be returning again and again to Hypnotic to try their outrageous donut creations, but also because their owner is just super cool. James refers to himself constantly as a “hyppie”, and his shop follows suit. Its a 60s attitude and style that represents freedom for all. He calls Hypnotic a corporate getaway. He’s right.

Hypnotic Donuts is located near White Rock Lake, and is open 7 days a week.

Hypnotic Donuts
9007 Garland Rd.
Dallas, TX 75218

Monday -Friday 6:30 a.m. -noon, Sat 7:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Sunday 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

The Children’s Center preschool started out in 1952 on Mockinbird at Abrams. The school will celebrate its 60th anniversary
with a 1950s-themed reunion party from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, March 25, at Burger House.

Alumni and former teachers of the school, which relocated a few years ago to San Saba, near St. Bernard’s School, are invited to attend the party.

White Rock's new bike cafe offers long hours, food, drinks and a locker room.

Good news. The long-awaited Bicycle Cafe at Northwest and Lawther is open.

Well, it was open and it will be open again Tuesday. Looks like Monday might be the closed day. But the rest of the week, they are keeping lengthy hours. According to the website, they are as follows:

Tues.-Thurs.: 6 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri.-Sat.: 6-midnight, Sun.: 6 a.m.-10 p.m.

Not only does the bike cafe offer healthy food, coffee and adult beverages (beer and wine), but they also provide locker rooms for cyclists.

Of course you don’t have to be a cyclist to enjoy this place.

Walmart plans to open a store on Lower Greenville, in the old Whole Foods building, just one block from the site of a planned Trader Joe’s. Jeff Siegel mentioned this possibility a few weeks ago in his analysis of Trader Joe’s location pick, and Unfair Park broke the news this morning.

The new Walmart will comprise about 34,000 square feet, some 10,000 square feet smaller than a typical Walmart store. That indicates Walmart could be planning one of its Neighborhood Market stores.

This analysis in Forbes from October offers a picture of Walmart’s smaller format stores.

While cruising Greenville Avenue the other day, I noticed the unmistakeable Sweet Tomatoes logo right next to neighborhood favorite Another Broken Egg at 5500 Greenville near Old Town Drive. There was no information available on-site about a projected opening date, but from what I could tell it’s probably 30-60 days away. For those of you who have been around awhile, both restaurants are located in what I believe most recently was Two Rows restaurant.

Sweet Tomatoes, if you’ve never been, is a salad and soup oriented all-you-can-eat place. I’ve been to the Addison location, and both times I’ve been impressed with the food quality and offerings. The salad bar is long, and there are 6-8 different soups available daily, along with some breakfast/brunch offerings. It’s probably a good match to be located next to Another Broken Egg (which also has a Casa Linda store), because both will probably draw a similar crowd, making the spot a good destination breakfast/brunch location without knowing exactly which place you’re intending to visit until you get there.