February 24, 2013: Sunday Showdown!

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Clockwise from the bottom left:

• Leroy's acknowledgement that Loretta was his "best friend" is probably the most blatant lie ever uttered by one Lockhorn to another Lockhorn. Even as enemies they're not the kind of old arch enemies that have forged some kind of begrudging admiration for the other after years of battling. They just plain hate each other. Clearly Leroy said it so he could support his flimsy excuse not to lend money to Loretta. Frankly, I'm surprised he was able to say the whole line with a straight face. It looks like Loretta will have to fire up the plastic for this shopping binge. Leroy gets the point and leads 1-0.
• The Lockhorns never seem to have enjoyable vacations. If it isn't trouble with air travel, or exorbitant tourist prices, or aggressively hostile service from the service staff, the fact that the Lockhorns are still together will always be enough to prevent any kind of unexpected joy. It must be the latter since there is nothing observably wrong with the Lockhorns' vacation in this panel. The scene seems to be pleasant enough so it might have been some off screen awfulness that has soured Leroy. Perhaps it has something to do with his freakishly disproportionate legs. Still, Leroy whines his way into another point and runs up a commanding 2-0 lead.
• I am always conflicted when I see Loretta, bruised and disheveled with a detached steering wheel in her hand, commenting on how she crashed the car. On one hand she's being a buffoonish caricature of the stereotype of poor women drivers but on the other hand she's sticking it to Leroy by wreaking his car. Here, I'm inclined to give Loretta the points. Leroy blows an opportunity to dig into a dazed, post crash Loretta and allows her to get in the final line. Loretta comes away with the point and stays alive as she trails Leroy 2-1.
• Loretta manages to hit Leroy at what used to be his personal stronghold, the dinner table. It appears that Loretta has cooked a meal that somewhat tastes consistently with the type of meat used. This is possibly the most competent meal Loretta has whipped up in decades. If Loretta is going to continue to reduce her liabilities and take charge of the dinner criticisms, Leroy may as well give up now and save us all the hassle. Loretta wins the point and rockets back to tie the day up 2-2 going into the final panel.
• Pretty lame joke Loretta, but hey it's more than enough to win the point. I suppose some fraternities out there are offended with Loretta's general association of fraternities with drunken partying and girl ogling; others might have already passed out from all the drinking. Also, did that line really need a caption box? I think there was plenty of space on the dance floor for Loretta's line to have been transcribed without getting the hated box involved. Leroy manages to have an epic series collapse as Loretta comes back from 0-2 down to take the day 3-2.

Official Count:

Leroy - 20

Loretta - 25

Push - 10

Sunday Showdown Count:

Leroy - 1

Loretta - 5

Push - 2