Now that's a meal

I know this blog is supposed to be a clearinghouse for sports news and insight, but I simply must take a radical detour today.

Did anybody see the Associated Press story about the 16-foot python that stalked a family dog in Australia and eventually swallowed it whole in front of two terror-stricken children?

It used to be that the Aussies didn't have much to worry about other than dingos eating babies, but that changed Monday when a scrub python squeezed the life out of a silky terrier-Chihuahua mix and devoured it oustside a home in Queensland.

A 5-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl saw their family pet disappear down the gullet of the snake.

But here's the truly freaky part of the story.

"It actively stalked the dog for a number of days," said Stuart Douglas, owner of the Australian Venom Zoo, which sounds like a lovely place to visit. "The family that owned the dog had actually seen it in the dog's bed, which was a sign it was out to get it.''

Gee, do you really think so?

According to the story, the python was taken by the Australian Venom Zoo.

It was still in the process of digesting the dog as of Wednesday.

It undoubtedly needed a long nap afterward.