The Rockets won't be any good.....

But Johnathan Feigen is in mid-season form:

(Magic 104, Rockets 95: Cold shooting costs Rockets in season opener, Johnathan Feigen, Ultimate Rockets, ChronBlog)

After spending his two weeks spending roughly 80 percent of his practice time working on the Rockets defense, Kevin McHale will come home from the season opener needing to adjust.

It's really sad that Houston's NBA franchise has a beat writer who's incapable of crafting a coherent sentence.


The Rocket's aren't going to make the playoffs this year. It's unlikely fans will understand what's going on with the team as well.

Consider this: Texans final record 10-7

That's right, I'm officially predicting that the Houston Texans will not win another game this season. That's not because I think the Texans are no good (on the contrary, I've gone on record as saying they're much better this year than I thought they would be) or that Kubiak and Co. are going to falter down the stretch.

The reason I believe they are done for '11 is because they've simply had too many injuries, too many "next man up" situations to overcome. It's as if this team is snake-bitten, and as the injury count continued to mount, they've done everything with smoke and mirrors to win 10 games for the 1st time in franchise history.

Today was the first time this year the injuries really showed on the field of play. The defense, staunch all year, showed signs of cracking, and the offense, anemic since the first and second string QB's went down, couldn't mount enough of a charge to put a scare into an NFL caliber defense. Even IF Andre Johnson makes it back onto the field, the remaining Texans receiving corps are too lightweight to make much of a difference in the playoffs.

Skeptics will point to the weak record of Indianapolis and say that, surely, the Texans will win that one but I argue that it's because of that lowly record, and the fact that the Texans have already clinched, will prove to be their undoing. Indy looked like a world-beater today against the hapless Titans, and I'm predicting their offense will score again against the Texans back-up defensive coordinator. They'll then stumble into the game against Tennessee where they'll barely lose there before being dumped in the playoffs.

The good news is, once Schaub went down, there was never a chance this team was making a deep run. Getting out of the playoffs early will allow this team to focus on NEXT YEAR where, for a change, it will probably be THE year for Houston's pro football team.

Here's hoping they prove me wrong, but I'm suggesting it's more likely the Texans go 0-3 than any other scenario.

With Sumlin gone....

...UH now faces the unenviable task of hiring a third straight successful coach in a row.

I've been saying for years now that non-AQ schools with success need to think about their succession plans since their coaches ARE going to be poached by automatic B(c)S qualifying schools looking to rebuild programs. TCU did a great job of this, as has Boise St. So far Houston has struggled. The Art Briles defection was a personal failure on Briles' part (his poaching of UH assistant coaches before the bowl-game was reprehensible) the Cougars got lucky picking the right successor in Sumlin. By all accounts Sumlin has been honest and forthright with U of H, and will leave them in pretty good shape for the bowl.

But once again, the Cougars appear to have to go outside the current system to find a new coach, seemingly having no one on staff who can keep the machine rolling in the Big East. The hope, for Cougar fans, should be that UH finds and hires another young, up-and-coming coach with a flashy offense but who takes defense seriously. What they don't want to do is follow the basketball program's example and find an old retread who's looking to finish out his career quietly. I also think it's going to be important to find someone with Texas ties. Houston's biggest Big East advantage is going to be the superior players they have first shot at in recruiting.

UH football appears to be firmly back on the road to respectability. They need to find the next Kevin Sumlin, and not fall into the Kim Helton trap. Although given the fickle nature of UH fans (some are already calling Sumlin 'gutless' on the message boards, for what reason we have no idea) they won't be happy with anyone who's selected anyway.

The B(c)S: What Doyel said.....

I pretty much agree with everything written in this Gregg Doyel piece regarding the B(c)S.


If there was ever a sham system in America it's this joke of a method for determining a champion. Whether it's 'tweaking' the rules to keep certain schools from not getting in (OU) or exposing an irrational national bias that keeps out another (OSU) the plain fact is this system needs to go, and go now.

I'd be happier with the old system of conference alignments and no 'true' National champion than I am with this current system. It's a mess, the polls it are tied to are stupid, and it has no basis in reality.

And while I still have LSU and Alabama as my #1 and #2 ranked teams, that doesn't mean the latter should play in the B(c)S championship game. If you can't win your conference, you can't play for the championship.

It should be about the basics after all. If you want to bring in conference also-rans then have a playoff w/wild cards. Simple right?


Nope.

Quick Thought

UH's margin of victory over Tulsa was greater than that of OU, OSU and Boise St over the same.

My Top 10 (11/12/11)

Still pretty easy, after today's games, although the order has shifted a bit.....

1. LSU
2. OSU
3. Alabama
4. Oklahoma
5. Oregon
6. Arkansas
7. Clemson
8. Houston
9. Georgia
10. Va Tech

Boise St and Stanford fall out.

After today, my Top 10

After the games today it's fairly easy....

1. LSU
2. Alabama
3. Stanford
4. OSU
5. Arkansas
6. Oklahoma
7. Oregon
8. Boise St.
9. University of Houston
10. Clemson

Georgia is sitting on the cat-bird seat at 11. Va Tech at 12.

There are two important games left in the regular season, LSU/Arkansas and Oklahoma/Oklahoma St.

Everything else is just (fun) CFB filler.

I'm only going to say this once...

In the Breeder's Cup Classic: Havre de Grace.


In the Game of the Century: LSU by a safety.

Hiatus

I'm going to quit blogging for a while to put my focus on issues of a personal nature. Be back soon.

Why CultureMap Houston shouldn't do sports.

• Unleash the speed: With Marquise Goodwin back & Mike Davis on, UT has an attack Al Davis would love. Kevin Benz, CultureMap Houston
Homer articles that make veiled attempts to be "honest" aren't really all that compelling. The fact is, we know absolutely nothing about the Longhorns after the Rice game. We don't know if the supposed "speed" of their offensive weapons are going to hold up against a real college defense, we don't know if their LB's are as good as advertised, and we don't know much about their D-line or D-backfield either. What we do know is that they can beat a bad team that's looking down the pipe at a horrendous year. Beyond that? Well, they're a team with a lot of questions trying to come back from a 5-7 year.

 The season starts tonight, and my guess is it won't go the way the Longhorns want it to. They might win, but it won't be the confidence booster they were looking for. FWIW, the current Texas team calling the current BYU team "Not a national championship power" is humorous. Texas isn't exactly putting the fear of God in the SEC or OU either. 

 Keep to fashion shows CultureMap, leave the sports writing to those who know a thing or two about it.

UH losing out again?

Poor Houston, just when they think their seat at the B(C)S table is all but assured, along comes today's news that several conferences have been talking to OU and, by extension, OSU.

What this means is that the Big XII (IX 1/2) is soon to be the Big no more, which also means that UH's ticket to big boy land is no more as well. Unless, that is, they took my advice and sent out feelers to the Big East, and are aggressively courting each and every available option.

At this point, were I over at UH, I'd even start approaching the ACC, which surely has teams that are going to be poached and is going to have to expand to remain viable. What I see happening is that the Mountain West, SEC, Big X (XII), Pac-12, Big East and ACC are left standing as the only conferences that matter. The WAC, C-USA and Sun Belt are going to be left sucking up table scraps. (Oh, and then there's the MAC, but they're just a regional schedule stuffer for Big X (XII) teams so they don't really count.)

I still think that the Big East is the best available option for UH when and if they look to expand. If the Big XII (IX 1/2) comes calling I'd say thanks but no thanks and let that mess of a conference implode on its own. Start planning for the future now, a future that doesn't involve the Big XII (IX 1/2) as I see it.

It's College Football Season

That can only mean one thing:



The Brady Hoke era starts at 2:30 on Saturday.


Go Blue!

Flash! UT-Austin fans LOVE TLN.

The Few, the Proud, the Longhorn Network viewers: A critique from someone who actually saw it, Kevin Benz, CultureMap Houston

The headline is a little misleading. This wasn't a "critique" it was gushing by a UT-Austin fan who's so anxious to see this fledgling network not bomb objectivity was thrown to the side. As a regional network with a small viewership I think TLN has a chance. As a "game-changing force" or something that other universities will want to copy? No.

Contrary to the writer UT-Austin are not the "Joneses" of College sports, they're a top-tier program to be sure, but trust me when I tell you that the Big X (XII) and the SEC are not shaking in their boots because Samantha Steele will be bringing her blonde tresses to Austin. Neither will Notre Dame, who has NBC for all of their games, or the PAC X (XII) who will soon roll out their own network. Hell, even BYU had a network in place before UT-Austin. If anything the Mormon's in Utah are the Joneses that UT-Austin desperately wants to be.

As for TLN being a recruiting tool? Right now it can be viewed by around 5,000 people, which means that the Rice game will be viewed on TLN by slightly more people than regularly attend a Rice home game. In contrast, LSU and Oregon are going to get the National ESPN slot, the SEC game of the week will be covered by CBS and each will draw audiences in the hundreds of thousands. As long as they're not allowed to broadcast HS football games (and I expect that the NCAA will put the kibosh on that for good soon) then I would argue having some of your home games on closed-circuit TV is detriment to recruiting.

Which leads us to the programming, which is mainly going to consist of the Rice game, the Mack Brown Show and Women's volleyball for the first few weeks. While this may appeal to the dyed-orange-in-the-wool UT-Austin T-shirt fan, for most of us it's drier than cracker juice. It's telling that the most effusive praise Mr. Benz could offer was that they showed Mack Brown acting "Like a coach" (which, unless I'm wrong, is still his current job title right?) And this is leading up to the season. Even the Big X (XII) Network has problems filling time during the off-season, and they have 12 teams to cover. Once the newness has worn off I predict UT-Austin fans will migrate back to ESPN and the Networks, except during games. God help them if UT-Austin goes 5-7 again. There's nothing worse than a coaches show when things have gone terribly wrong. Except for a coaches show when things have gone wrong for the second year running.

Now, granted, I don't consider CultureMap Houston to be a serious news provider. In truth they're a bunch of Houston Chronicle "star" section cast-offs who are trying desperately to punch out controversial material to drive readership. But when they branch out into sports or political reporting the results are quite often a train-wreck.

This story was no different. As a letter from a fan it was humorous and very revealing of the delusion experienced by most UT-Austin fans. As a critique of the station it was a complete, unmitigated disaster.

Much like all of the other CultureMap sports "reporting".

Pre-Season (College and NFL) Thoughts...

It's the most...wonderful time...of the year.....


1. OU is a worthy pre-season number one, but the rest of the AP Top 25 is based more on reputation than what's probably going to happen.

2. Houston Texans: 8-8 'Nuff said.

3. The Eagles will NOT win the Super Bowl. Repeat: The Philadelphia Eagles will NOT win the Super Bowl.

4. The New England Patriots are going to be pretty good this year.

5. ....the Carolina Panther's aren't.

6. The SEC is STILL the best conference in the land. It's not even close.

7. 4-team super-conferences are right around the corner. There will be 5. Everyone else is out. (Are you listening UH?)

8. Speaking of UH, for the first time in a few years I haven't followed them AT ALL in the off-season.

9. If a Longhorn Network turns on in the woods, and no one can see it, does Mack Brown still call interviewers by their first name?

10. Two words: Brady Hoke. Michigan is now OK.


Let's play some football.

Listen up Coogs

THIS is why the Big XII(X) should be a non-starter for you. It's a conference on the outs, ran by a school (Texas) that doesn't have any concern for the conference as a whole.

Stay away from UT-Austin, far away. What seems like a good idea really isn't. Face it, with lesser facilities and budget you won't be able to compete with the OU and UT-Austin's of the world. Sure, maybe in the 70's and 80's you could, but this is a different football landscape in a different world for College sports. A move to the Big XII(X) is not athletic Nirvana, it's athletic suicide.

What to do now?

Start having conversations with the Big East. Not only are those school's budgets and facilities much more in line with yours, but you also have a travel partner (and instant rival) in TCU that will ease the costs.

Leave the Big XII(X) disintegration to UT-Austin, let them own it and have fund doing it.

Go East young people, and prosper out there.

The Longhorns gain a network....

......and lose a conference?

Already OU and A&M are giving signals that the SEC is back in the running, and with Nebraska and Colorado done that would pretty much do it for the Big XII(X). OSU would end up somewhere (ACC?) while KU and KSU could probably move to the Big East with no problem at all. ISU would be in trouble, as would Baylor. However, I'm betting the Mountain West would welcome both of them as they move closer and closer to B(C)S status. (Hell, KU and KSU could end up there as well, which would probably put the Mountain West over the top.

That would leave Texas on it's own, where really they're better off being. Face it 'horns...you don't play well with others, no one really likes you (they just tolerate you) and you're one of the few University's with a fan base that could pull this off. Since the Big XII(X) is too dense to form their own network, your best option is to sever ties with the outside world and take the independent tack. Heck, you could even follow the Notre Dame plan and keep one historically tough out of conference game in Oklahoma (Michigan) their cross-state rival that's usually a win but not so much lately in Okie State (Michigan State) a rival that makes no demographic sense in Oregon (USC), some patsies in Baylor and Rice that you typically manhandle (Navy & well, pretty much all of the rest of Notre Dame's schedule) and a school in which you share something in common in Mississippi State (Notre Dame's Catholic cousin Boston College, for UT it'd be another school with some jerk fans that no one really likes).


Now, if only you could game the B(C)S so you can get in even when you're clearly not B(C)S caliber you'd be onto something. Given the money of your donor base (and let's be honest, the B(C)S isn't about good football) that should be no problem at all.

The Longhorn Network, I'm for it.

Quick football thought.

The best way to deal with the NFL lockout is to pay NCAA players and create a FBS playoff.


That is all.

Not better than Reliant.

Jose de Jesus Ortiz has given us some bad sports analysis over the past couple of years. His beat reporting is typically not much better, gushing, overly positive, un-objective you name it.

Today's piece on the new Dynamo soccer stadium continues that trend....

(Soccer notebook: Stadium should earn city matches. Jose De Jesus Ortiz, Chron.com)

The Dynamo is building a beautiful soccer stadium on the East End. Sure, it would be silly for the federation to bring a qualifier against Mexico to Reliant Stadium. It would make tons of money, but there wouldn't be much of an advantage because of the massive Mexican fan base around here.
A large portion of that soccer-loving Mexican and Mexican-American fan base would readily pack the Dynamo's new stadium to support the U.S. against any other CONCACAF team, such as Jamaica, Costa Rica, Panama or Canada. We couldn't guarantee pro-U.S. crowds against El Salvador or Honduras because those communities are quite large here.

The idea that the new Dynamo Stadium, at less than half the capacity of Reliant, is MORE attractive to US Soccer is ridiculous. Sure, it's probably the line that's being pushed forward by the team, but it's not something that has a place in any serious analysis of the game.

Reliant Stadium is the big soccer draw in Houston, a nice little stadium in Downtown's East End isn't going to change that, no matter what the Dynamo's mouthpiece embedded at Chron.com says.

Juan (Diaz) and done.....

Juan "Baby Bull" Diaz hangs up the boxing gloves. He was a good fighter and a very nice man. Rumor is he's considering a career in politics. Good luck to him in whatever he does. I've not doubt he'll be a success in whatever he chooses to do.

A mess....played out on Twitter

First Bicycle Magazine reports that 60 Minutes reports George Hincape told Federal investigators that he saw Lance Armstrong dope

Then Hincape comes back with this:

I can confirm to you I never spoke with "60 Minutes." I have no idea where they got their information.

and this:

As for the substance of anything in the "60 Minutes" story, I cannot comment on anything relating to the ongoing investigation.

In short, another doping related mess.

Not surprising when you're dealing with a doping investigation, where even the authorities make a habit of ignoring the rule of law in order to get a conviction.

I'm a George Hincape fan, doping or not. I'm also a Lance Armstrong fan, doping or not. What I'm not a fan of are doping agencies trying to legislate events that occurred years prior without a shred of physical evidence.

A mess. Like it always is.

What's missing is......

that a 5th-round pick is typically competing for a starting job on a terrible unit.

McClain has never been able to admit to readers that the Texans secondary is a pitiful, way-below-average, unmitigated disaster. Keo might be the answer, but I seriously doubt it.

That said, that he will be a marked improvement from what was in place previously says more about Kubiak's previous defenses than it does about Keo's talent.

Draft thoughts....

Sorry, it's been a while....

1. San Francisco 49ers: I still don't understand skipping on Gabbert, not do I understand not getting an elite DB for a below-average secondary. Kendall Hunter is Gore's heir apparent, I get that, but the rest of their draft puzzles me. (P.S. Get well Frank...please)


2. Houston Texans. I don't know, I give up with this team. Yes, D-line is a need (has been for years) but the secondary and weak-side LB is a much bigger need. Instead the Texans go out and get another couple of pass-rushers, which is basically the same pick they've whiffed on for the past several years. I like the CB pick, and Yates, outside of that color me unimpressed. (Note: Watt was picked around the same time as Travis Johnson and will be wearing #99. Uh-oh.)


3. Cincinatti Bengals: Many pundits have this rated as the best draft in the league and I concur. The Dalton/Green combination could be paying dividends for years to come, and their Offensive line picks are potential starters. The sleeper in this draft could be Finley, a very underrated back from Baylor. Now that the Ochocinco side-show is leaving town along with the continually regressing Carson Palmer, look for the future in Cincy to be now.


4. Cam Newton: Yes, there's a lot of controversy about this pick but I think the nay-sayers are being a little ridiculous. Newton is not Russell and he has all of the tools to be a top-notch NFL QB. Besides, his family's money concerns have been solved. Carolina needed a QB desperately, Cam fills that need.


5. Detroit Lions: Think about this: opposing QB's will face the prospect of being the middle of a Suh/Fairley sandwich. Wow. If the offense can continue to improve this could be a playoff contender this year, certainly be next year.


6. New England Patriots: You hear it every year: "no one works the draft like the New England Patriots". This year they're called "one of five draft winners". My question is this: If they'r so good at the draft then why is their defense falling apart, lacking talent and experience? Yes, they work the mechanisms of the draft well, and they find some late-round gems, but overall I'd say the recent Patriots draft record is just slightly above average instead of the world-beater as it's constantly portrayed as.


7. John McClains draft grading...."F". over 90% of the teams have a passing grade, with many of them receiving B's. There were plenty of losers in this draft, McClain has just lost the ability to analyze that.


8. The NFL as a whole...."F". This was the first year in a while that I didn't watch the draft. The bottom line is, I don't care. Given the fact that we have a bunch of rich people hollering at each other and gumming up the court system should make you not care either......


Bring on College Football.

The Pick.

Green Bay: 24

Pittsburgh: 21



Aaron Rodgers MVP.

Say what you want about Jerry....

At least the guy wants to win.....


(Rob Ryan working out final details to become Cowboys' DC, SportsDAYDFW, Dallas Morning News)

Rob Ryan's interview to become the Cowboys defensive coordinator has finally concluded.

Before he left Valley Ranch, the first two candidates head coach Jason Garrett interviewed for the position were crossed off the list.

Ryan arrived at the team's practice facility this morning and didn't leave until shortly before 6 this evening. He met with Garrett for a large part of the day then was sheparded into the team's executive offices late in the afternoon to meet with owner Jerry Jones.

Of course, Rob Ryan was a guy many Texans fans wanted to be the DC of their hometown team. Instead they got Coach Cupcake, fresh off of his disaster of a term as Cowboys HC.

Jerry Jones has his detractors, with good reason. He's heavy handed on the team, his ego gets in the way of his team winning, and his treatment of Tom Landry was deplorable. All that said, the guy wants (needs) to win.

Contrast that to Houston Texans owner Bob McNair, who called his team in after the Jets loss to tell them the other NFL owners assured him he's "on the right path."

The Texans are a joke of a franchise, and their no accountability owner is lost without a rudder, their head coach is not anywhere near ready to take this team to the playoffs, and their new DC is a retread who's been brought in primarily because of his connections to Luv 'Ya Blue.

One owner wants to win, the other doesn't have any clue HOW to win, nor does he seem to have the fire in his belly to do what's necessary TO win.


Guess which owner has the worst expansion franchise in NFL history?

Fingers crossed.

Miles meeting with Michigan.


As long as his luck goes with him I'm for it.



In other coaching news: 1 year at Rice, 2 years at Tulsa, now 3 years at Pitt? One thing about Coach Douchebag, he gets around.

Glass half full

Welcome to the 49'ers Coach Harbaugh. As a card-carrying fan I wish you the best of luck finding a QB to run the offense. If you can, this team has a young nucleus that could be a contender for years to come.



Now, if we could just get Michigan a decent head coach I'll be more optimistic entering the next football season than I have in years.


At least the Texans will be hilariously funny over the next season.

Texans Heh.....

Coach Cupcake will be a perfect fit with this team. Kevin Whited, Publius TX)

Unfortunately, the man who won the nickname “Coach Cupcake” from the Dallas sports media for his destruction of the serious approach to football re-established by Bill Parcells will be a perfect fit in Houston.

Think about it — he was a No Accountability head coach in Dallas. In Houston, he’ll be working under a No Accountability head coach, a No Accountability general manager (whose responsibilities and authority remain a mystery), and a No Accountability owner.

A second problem is that the Texans defensive personnel is 100% wrong for the 3-4. You've got no nose-tackle, no real 3-4 DE's and maybe one LB on the roster (albeit one, in Connor Barwin, who has potential but is coming off a horrific leg injury that kept him out for the year).


And we haven't even mentioned the defensive backfield.....

Nice Mess Blue

(Rich Rodriguez's Mess at Michigan Hard to Clean Up. Pete Thamel, New York Times)

By waiting to decide on Rodriguez’s fate until after Stanford played in the Orange Bowl, Brandon set up Rodriguez (or his successor) for immediate failure. With all the uncertainty surrounding Rodriguez, recruits are fleeing.

As a Michigan fan it pains me to watch this. Say what you want about the "old" Michigan regime (behind the times, etc.) at least it was understood that the coach of Michigan should be a Michigan Man. Were Bo here (sorry fellow Wolverine fans he's not) he'd be kicking the crap out of someone right now. Were Lloyd Carr here...to be honest, he still wouldn't know how to defend the spread offense.

What he could do is win nine games in his final season, something Rich Rod hasn't been able to do in three. This is a big mess, one that started with a fan overreaction when Michigan lost to Appalachian State. Think about this: Virginia Tech lost this year to James Madison. You don't here people calling for his job do you? Of course, Carr was no Bemer and unlike the latter, the former needed to go. He simply forgot that part of what makes Michigan Big Blue is defense.


Now we have ourselves a happy little mess. Makes you wonder who's around that could fix it? (With a good offensive coordinator in place mind you)

Michigan: Wholesale Changes Weren't the Answer.

The view out there:

Five reasons Michigan should fire Rich Rodriguez. Nick Meyer, Yahoo!


ESPN Analysts weigh in on Rich Rodriguez, Michigan. Mark Snyder, Detroit Free Press.


Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh isn't the only answer should Michigan fire Rich Rodriguez., Pete Bigelow, Ann Arbor.com


Four seasons ago, when coach Lloyd Carr was on the way out, I opined to some friends that what Michigan needed wasn't a full overhaul, rather just some tweaking on defense and some tweaking of the old Wolverine offensive model. Instead, based on a fluke loss to Appalachian State, the administration panicked and decided that a major re-working of the winningest football program in NCAA history was in order.

What people forget about Lloyd Carr's last season (and I was among his most vocal critics) was that the 2007 team finished the season 9-4 beating the 9th ranked, Tim Tebow-led Florida Gators 41-35 in the Capitol One Bowl. Michigan was led by current NFL players Chad Henne, Mike Hart, Jake Long and Mario Manningham. The defense, while sub-standard for Michigan, had All-Conference talent on the roster including Brandon Graham, Morgan Trent & Shawn Crable. What Michigan needed was an infusion of team speed, not an abandonment of the entire system that Bo built.

Instead of tweaking the winning formula, the powers that be at Michigan decided to revamp the entire program, and brought in a coach who was successful in the Big East, but had a less than average record against the top teams in the country. Rich Rod was a hot name, but there was precious little evidence that he could recruit the defensive talent necessary to compete in the talent-rich Big Tenleven (XII). As a result, Michigan is falling behind along with the rest of the conference, which is behind the times, mired in mediocrity and (in many cases) forgetful of what got them there in the first place.

Is Jim Harbaugh the answer? Possibly, but I remember four years ago that he was not too keen on returning to his alma mater considering the way Michigan is currently running things. What Michigan needs now is their own version of Bob Stoops, a coach that understands the great history and traditions of the University and works to bring them back. Whoever the coach is can start by hanging the #1 jersey on the back of Junior Hemingway for 2011.


Then go recruit some defensive ends, hire Jarrett Irons to coach and recruit linebackers and you're on your way.