January 2, 2011: Sunday Showdown!

(Click to Enlarge)

Clockwise from the bottom left:

• Loretta kicks off the first Sunday Showdown of the year with a devastating critique of Leroy's nonexistent fashion sense. With such a patently ridiculous ensemble, there was no doubt that it would be a slam dunk for Loretta. The only real question was what route she was going to take in mocking Leroy's attire. While she went with the "only a crazy person would dress like that" path, she could have also gone with mocking the loudness of the colors or the outdatedness of the styles, to name a few options. Loretta goes up 1-0.
• I'm pretty tempted to give Leroy the point here since it looks like Loretta's stunned realization that she almost agreed with him is about to give her a massive fatal aneurysm. If there was ever a way to earn a point, shocking the other Lockhorn to death would be one. However, I'm going to give Loretta the benefit of the doubt that she is exaggerating her reaction even more to insult Leroy. Although that sort of blank terror is pretty hard to fake. Loretta takes a commanding 2-0 lead.
• I'm not quite sure if this poster for the surname-less Tommy "The Kid" is for a boxing movie or a boxing match. Either way, it's impressive how Leroy can work any random prop into another, Loretta annoying, jab at the institution of marriage. I wonder if there is any truth to Leroy's statement and some correlation exists between singledom and boxing success. There is still the long running belief in boxing that one shouldn't have sex during training. Leroy closes in 2-1.
• Instead of building upon the momentum of his victory in the third panel, Leroy squanders his chance at a comeback by breaking out a totally lame joke about the high cost of gasoline. If he wants to finally claim a year for himself, he really has cut down on these missed opportunities. Besides, when was "price changer at a gas station" ever a real job? Is there any gas station in existence that requires someone to specifically just change the prices? Push, Loretta still leads 2-1.
• Ever the ice cold closer, Loretta drives the nail in the coffin with a solid dig at Leroy's sedentary, couch potato, lifestyle. I really enjoyed this insult, it hit all the right notes with the image of Leroy planning his entire day around the detailed TV listings of the TV Guide being oddly plausible and suitably pathetic. Maybe Leroy really should get a day planner, if today was indicative of the kind of sloppy effort he's going to give all year, he'll need to start getting things in order quick. Loretta takes the point and the day with a 3-1 win.

Official Count:

Leroy - 1
Loretta - 1
Push - 0