NBA 2008 Draft - Results (Rockets)

Well, the Rockets picked a couple of small forwards. Not what I would have done, but it might work out for them. With their picks that late in the draft, you take what you can. Hopefully you find someone with some upside. The Rockets probably weren't going to fill any holes.

Well, it looks like Houston has trade the rights to Nicolas Batum. I'm not sure yet what they got in return. His size looked good, apparently he has upside but his averages (8.5 pts/3.5 rbs) in Europe weren't anything special.

I guess they traded Batum for another SF, Dante Green and a future second round pick. I'm not real sure about this one. Unlike the NFL draft, two 2nd round picks don't get close to a 1st round pick. I'd guess they took who they thought they should take at that specific position in the draft and worked with it. It looks like they also got Joey Dorsey (I'm not a big fan) out of their dealings. Incidentaly, they had the rights to Darrell Arthur for awhile. Arthur was ranked #15 by ESPN - he went 27th - but their PF situation is pretty strong.

Seems like the Rockets were really gunning for a small forward. I like that they turned one pick into two players and a future pick. That's what the good franchises do. Usually, teams do that when they're already set, but the Rockets weren't going to benefit from their first round pick this year anyway, so they might as well get some players and stockpile some picks for the future.

The talk about Batum was good, but his numbers didn't back it up. Dorsey talks a lot and benefitted from being on a good team. Arthur did too, but he seemed to be a pretty good player without a lot of moves (indicating some upside).

Looks like the Rockets are hoping to be healthy next year. I really think the management and ownership are intoxicated with the thought of Yao and TMac playing on the same team for a majority of a season. In my opinion, there were some spots that could have been filled with the 25th pick. Obviously, the Rockets' brass thinks otherwise, or they have identified other holes.

NBA Draft 2008 - Rockets

Before I get into the Rockets' draft picks, let me first discuss which spots I thought they should be looking to fill. Basically, I'll look at the depth chart and highlight positions I think the Rockets could improve.

POS Starter 2nd 3rd
PG Rafer Alston Bobby Jackson Aaron Brooks
SG Tracy McGrady Luther Head Steve Francis
SF Shane Battier Steve Novak Mike Harris
PF Luis Scola Carl Landry Chuck Hayes
C Yao Ming Dikembe Mutombo Loren Woods

The starting lineup, should everyone ever be healthy at the same time, would be good enough to contend. The scoring would come from McGrady, Ming and Alston. Defense from Battier. And rebounds and general scrappiness from Scola. The bench of Brooks, Harris, Landry and Hayes is very good. Undersized, but very good.

Yao and McGrady aren't ever healthy together, or at least that's what it seems. Mutombo played well in relief, even though the team seemed reluctant to play him. He brings zero offense, but still has that defensive presence and some rebounding ability. Number one priority to me would be a backup center. One who can relieve Yao of some minutes and play some big minutes when Yao is hurt. The center they are looking for should have an emphasis of defense, with the ability to score some scrappy points - the offense would go through McGrady. I'm looking for a guy who can put up 10 pts, 7 rbs, 1blk when playing for more than 24 minutes. (Note: this may seem like a lot, someone who can average 20 pts, 14rbs per 48 minutes, but the other players on the bench can explode for some good numbers when given the chance). Besides, I've never heard of Loren Woods.

Second priority should be a big guard. McGrady doesn't stay health either. When he is healthy, he isn't TMac anymore. Anybody can take 20 15-foot jumpers a game. But say I give him the benefit of the doubt. He could use somebody to spell him. Play significant stretches off the bench with the ability to score while not being upset by the irregularity of playing behind McGrady. Not an easy find. However, I think CDR would fit very well. A tenured player in college, big guard, can defend and can create a shot with the ball in his hands. But I digress. Luther Head is undersized and okay at best, Stevie Franchise used to be good.

Third priority - point guard. The Rockets seem hellbent on replacing Rafer Alston every year. Yet every year, Skip wins the spot and performs well if not very well at the position. He assists when Yao and McGrady are in the lineup and scores when they aren't. Rafer seems to embrace the opportunity to prove himself and shifts his game to compensate for the team's absences. I'm okay with Rafer. Bobby Jackson did great down the stretch and in the playoffs. He takes a lot of shots and hits some of them, but he's getting old. Time to find some new blood. Aaron Brooks is really quick and seems sharp. Maybe he could take the reigns with some veteran leadership. It's hard for me to believe that Rafer and Jackson haven't already taken this kid under their wing. Bottom line, I don't think this is a position the Rockets should address in the draft. Yet. If they can find a PG better than Rafer, they should do it, but it would be unlikely for them to find something in the draft better than the Jackson/Brooks combo.

Small Forward - I hated the draft day trade that brought Shane Battier to Houston for Rudy Gay. It should also be noted, I wasn't that hot on Rudy Gay. That said, I really, really like what Shane Battier brings to the Rockets. In addition to being the default (read: college educated) team spokesman every night, he is a legitimate first-team all-defensive player. He takes the hardest defensive assignment (Kobe, Carmelo, etc.) and still brings energy to the offensive and defensive glass, along with some three-point threat. The impact of this type of player would be invaluable should the Rockets ever find themselves beyond the first round of the playoffs. And because Battier does it the right way (moving his feet, body position, jazz hand to the face-type deal) he should be able to defend well for seasons to come. Because he isn't a scorer, he can be had on the cheap. I'm high on this guy. I'm also high on Mike Harris. That dude works every minute he's in the game. Rebounds and put-backs, he's money. Unfortunately, at 6-6 he's undersized for the position. I don't like putting a lot of stock into the prototypical size requirements of the NBA, but I know he isn't an every day, every minute SF. Steve Novak is a great shooter, and should have warranted some more minutes, but he doesn't play inside the three point line at all. This is a position the Rockets could gain some ground.

I love the Rockets' power forwards. All three of them. Chuck is a defensive presence, even though he's 6-6. Landry showed some flashes of offensive brilliance, along with a willingness to do the dirty work. Luis Scola blends the best of European finesse and offensive rebounding of a player hungry to succeed in the NBA. If Yao is healthy, I think Scola is a great fit for the Rockets. He has shown a willingness to score points without having the offense run through him (which it won't) and is also a more active rebounder than Yao.

It seems to me the obvious holes are SG and C. The order in which they are addressed probably isn't important. Dead weight at center isn't necessary. The Rockets can play small effectively, moving Scola to the 5. Without McGrady, the Rockets currently play very, very small with Rafer at the point and Head at the two.

Those are the holes, next comes my draft commentary.

OJ Mayo splits with Agent

Mayo has split with his agent and the runner who was supposedly hired to bring Mayo to the agent. It's the right move. Makes him look sincere when he says he didn't know what was going on. Reduces the media frenzy surrounding him a little bit. Showed he's willing to make a definitive stance and return to a focus on basketball. Not sure about his mom being so involved in the process though, NBA moms are usually the craziest people in players' lives. Anyway, she said this, "As a family, we decided to modify O.J.'s inner circle and allow him to solely focus on improving his game without distraction in a structured, disciplined environment."

Reading through the comments, I found this one particularly amusing:

G8RUSA (9 hours ago)
Alltell lets me modify my inner circle anytime I like without any hidden fees.

NBA Postseason Suggestions

This season's postseason just proves my continuing argument that the NBA needs to reconsider their playoff format. Their most recent mistake was making the first round best-of-seven series instead of best-of-five. This enhances the top seed's chances to win. My suggestion is to throw out the first round completely. What would this do? It would eliminate almost two and a half weeks of the NBA postseason. It would make the regular season more meaningful. It would eliminate teams with sub-.500 records competing in the postseason. It, in my opinion, would make the postseason better to watch. Looking at this years results thus far, no lower seeded team has won a series, including the conferences semi-finals. Sure, there was Golden State over Dallas last year and that was fun to watch. Was it worth the two and a half weeks? No. Even if Stern does not want to get rid of the first round, he desperately needs to move it back to five games. In EVERY series this year, including the conference semi-finals, every team that has led the series after FIVE games has won the best-of-seven series. None of this will ever change because of money, but just think about how successful baseball pennant races are and only 8 out of 30 teams make the playoffs rather than 16 out of 32. With that being said, I look forward to watching the remaining series, now that they actually mean something.

NFL News - sad state of affairs

When I use the term "affairs" I mean just that. Take a look at this list of NFL local news stories. As of 5/16/08 the breakdown was such:

2 - injury updates
8 - legal/offense issues
9 - depth chart/signings
6 - contract disputes
4 - spygate
1 - steroids

There were some other stories assorted in there. It's sad that at a time of the year that teams should be focusing on fielding a competitve team in the fall, there is so much about contracts and legal issues, spygate and steroids. The NFL may have cleaned up its act, but it still has a ways to go.

I'm proud to say the Texans had no news stories concerning any problems on this page, just one about a position coach pushing his young players.

Houston news report #2 - May 2008

I hadn't posted this yet. Here's a couple news stories from a couple months ago.

You can't make this stuff up.

3 Kingwood teens accused of abusing corpse
"Kevin Wade Jones, 17, and Matthew Richard Gonzalez, 17, both of Kingwood, told Houston police that around March 15 they and a 16-year old juvenile dug up a grave, removed the skull from the coffin and converted it into a "bong," a device used to smoke marijuana, according to court documents."

Not in Texas, but no less ridiculous. Jim Bob has been gettin' busy.

I bet Eight Belles would be delicious. Short article, but two quotes from this one.
" 'Mexico kills horses, whether we like it or not, and people in France eat them. And sometimes the slaughterhouses like to ship the meat out of Corpus or Houston,' Chisum said."
"American Airlines has stopped shipping horse meat from Texas, said airline spokesman Tim Wagner."

“the Sinkhole de Mayo,” People in East Texas are pretty clever with their nicknames.

Tyler's Leap

Much discussion has been made over Tyler Hansborough's leap from a second floor balcony into a pool. Most of the columnists are calling this a horrible decision, saying he is costing himself thousands of dollars. I have gone back and forth over this issue, but when he decided to stay in school I commended him and although I don't commend him for taking the plunge, I am not going to get all over him. Roy Williams has a reason to be pissed, but would he rather have Tyler jumping into pools or jumping into the draft? Hansborough has had a great career and he most likely will not be a good NBA player. He is enjoying his life in college and I applaud him for that. Sure he could have broken a leg or hurt himself in this act, but he also could hurt himself doing a lot of other things. I know little about Tyler and have no clue what other stupid stuff he does, but if this is the extent of his stupidity then I say get off his back. He wasn't putting others in danger like many other college students that drink and get behind the wheel or decide to throw haymakers in a bar. If Micheal Beasley had done this, I would have had a different feel. The truth is Tyler is one of the great college basketball players (his number has already been approved to be retired at UNC) and he actually fufilled his committment to the university to play basketball for four years. If college basketball players aren't allowed to act like college students once in awhile, then they might as well get rid of the one-year rule and let high school players go straight to the NBA. So much is discussed of players being student-athletes. Tyler was simply living up the student part of that as much of college basketball players don't. Part of being a college student is having a few beers and doing something stupid while you are still young and fearless. Im sure Tyler will look back in thirty years and say his time at UNC was the best time of his life. He can always reside in Chapel Hill and open a car dealership. There is one thing I am upset with Tyler about. Stay away from the fratertinity man. You have to know someone else with a two-story balcony.

I just realized I misspelled Hansbrough the entire entry. Sorry "brough".

Houston 2008 Draft Rating - the Pundits

(B) AOL Sports Blog by Stephanie Stradley: NFL Draft Grades: Houston Texans

(C) USAToday by Larry Weisman: Draft grades: Which team scored the best?

(B-) Bleacher Report by Peter Bukowski: NFL Draft 2008: Report Card

(F) Viking Report by John Holler: Draft’s Winners and Losers

(C-) KFFL by Cory J. Bonini: NFL Draft Grapevine: 2008 Losers

(B) NFL Draft University by Greg Trippiedi: NFL Draft Recap and Grades

(C-) MertleBeachOnline.com by Rick Gosselin: Making the Grade?

(C-) SignonSanDiego.com by Jerry Magee: Handing out the grades

(C) CBSSports Community by Billdawg12185: NFL Draft Grades

(C-) Star-Telegram.com by Charean Williams: Grading the Draft

These are the first ten grades I found. What does this mean? Probably not much, but you get an idea that people weren't terribly impressed with the Texans' draft. The pick of Duane Brown was widely slammed, most people thought he was anywhere from a second round to a third round pick. As the Texans didn't have a second round pick, they probably felt they needed to take a tackle with this pick. They gambled once by moving down, and the Chargers were apparently looking for a tackle as well. Not much was said about the other picks, which I think were decent.

Average grade: C

Like I said, no one was too impressed.

The Texans' 2008 Draft

The draft went fairly well for the Texans. They moved down in the first to acquire more picks later, a strategy that many successful teams employ. The Texans filled their stated needs (OT, CB, RB) in order, and used later picks on some lesser needs (OLB, DT). Overall, I gave it a B.


They've shown the ability to find good players (DeMeco Ryans 2nd rd, Owen Daniels 4th rd, Fred Bennett 4th rd, Jacoby Jones 6th rd) which makes me think that one of the later picks will make an impact.


The Texans have spent a lot of high draft picks (2002 - 3rd, 6th, 7th, 7th; 2003 - 3rd, 6th; 2004 - 1st, 7th; 2005 - 1st; 2006 - 1st; 2007 - 1st; 2008 - 5th) and a lot of money on the defensive line, so I was happy that they didn't go there again. They haven't spent high picks on offensive line players. The OL picks by round (2002 - 2nd, 3rd; 2003 - 3rd, 7th; 2004 - NONE; 2005 - 5th; 2006 - 3rd, 3rd; 2007 - 2nd, 5th; 2008 - 1st). The Texans haven't even tried an OL in the first, so there isn't much track record there.


It does feel like the Texans kinda got burnt by the Dallas Cowboys. They got both Felix Jones, a coveted RB and Mike Jenkins, a CB who was probably on the Texans' draft board. When Jenkins came off the board right in front of the Texans' pick, it sure didn't look to me like there was anyone there for them to pick. I was rooting for another trade, letting the Texans slip lower (where they probably still could have picked Duane Brown) and pick up another 3rd round pick. Jerry Jones didn't think there was anyone good enough to pick in the 3rd, but Dallas is a lot better team than the Texans.


Draft Pick #1 - Duane Brown, Virginia Tech, OT


The Good - "I think I can fit in great with what (Alex Gibbs, a new assistant head coach) does," Brown said about the zone blocking system. "His zone scheme fits athletic tackles and guards. My athleticism is my biggest asset, being able to move, get on the second level and cut (block) down." That's the hope anyway.

- Brown was the fastest player at his position at the combine, running the 40-yard dash in 5 seconds.


The Bad - "Brown was a former tight end like Texans right tackle Eric Winston." Winston is just that, a right tackle. Hopefully Brown can stay at the left tackle position and doesn't need to get hidden at G.


The Ugly - "The Texans will ask Brown, who allowed 8 1/2 sacks as a senior, to make the field a safer place for Matt Schaub" 8 1/2 sacks as a senior?!? That's not very good. Jake Long hasn't given up a sack in like two years. The NFL will be harder than college, and if he allowed that many sacks in college...


Draft Pick #2 - Antwaun Molden, Eastern Kentucky, CB


"Molden will compete for the nickel job." Ouch. Hopefully that's meant for just this year. In the third round, you'd like to get a guy who could compete for the #2 CB spot, especially with Dunta Robinson down through half the season. Not a glowing endorsement.


Draft Pick #3 - Steve Slaton, West Virginia, RB

"Slaton should become the third-down back with speed that's been missing." - He's projected to play in certain situations, a reasonable expectation for the first year of a third round pick. That means the Texans will be looking again next year for a #1 RB. That said, I've always liked Slaton. The WVU offense that they ran with Pat White was one of the most fun to watch over the last three years.


"Slaton (5'9/197) might get run over in pass pro. Chris Brown is a pretty good third-down back already and Darius Walker can work those downs too. The Texans have a whole lot of competition at tailback with nothing set in stone. " - good thoughts, but the Texans haven't been afraid to cut RBs loose. They might see Chris Brown as a #1a RB (which I'd be ok with) and Slaton as the 3rd down back. Walker is probably back to the practice squad.


Draft Pick #4 - Xavier Adibi, Virginia Tech, OLB

Technically, Adibi was listed as an inside linebacker at Virginia Tech, but he said he played more like an outside backer. - That's convienent, considering the Texans really need an OLB. If nothing else, they could use him as a PR person next year. 'Technically, we were a 6-10 team, but we played more like a 10-6 team'

Draft Pick #5 - Frank Okam, Texas, DT

"The fact Okam lasted as long as he did speaks volumes about how many teams question his desire. " - Uh oh. His redeeming quality is his sheer size - 328 lbs. That type of huge DT seems better suited for a 3-4 type defense (think Wilfork) but the Texans have the luxury of experimenting with one of the DT spots already filled for the forseeable future.


Draft Pick #6 - Dominique Barber, Minnesota, S

"Barber is the younger brother of Cowboys running back Marion Barber III and the son of former Jets running back Marion Barber Jr." - Not good if that's the only thing they had to say.


Draft Pick #7 - Alex Brink, Washington State, QB

"Brink started for 3 years for the Cougars in the pass-happy Pac-10. He set the school's career passing records of 76 touchdowns and 10,913 yards. Kubiak likes the fact that Brink has been chased by some very good players and knows how to get rid of the ball. " - Well, I suppose Kubiak is only being practical (in that Texans' QBs usually get hammered)

NFL Draft

Probably the second biggest weekend in football to the Super Bowl, the NFL Draft gives a reason for fans of bad teams to get excited about football again. I would have liked to have watched more of it, but I had other things on my agenda.

Bears Draft
It wasn't sexy but the Bears took who they needed to I think. Matt Forte will hopefully light a fire under Benson or take the job himself. It's not very fun to see your favorite team draft three offensive lineman in the draft but it is something they needed to address. Jerry Angelo always does a nice job, outside of the first round. Hopefully Chris Williams won't be a bust such as Curtis Enis, David Terrell, Rex Grossman and probably Cedric Benson. Jeremy always talks about how everyone thinks it is important to find steals in the late rounds when making good picks in the first round really is key. All of the Colts starting skills players were first round picks made by them (Manning, Addai, James (now at Arizona but definetely not a bust), Reggie Wayne, Gonzalez and I think Marvin Harrison, not to mention Dallas Clark. That is how they won the Super Bowl. The Bears got to the Super Bowl with their defense, mainly drafted in the late rounds but they lost becuase of their offense that included players that haven't lived up to hype.
We won't know how this draft class will turn out for a couple years but for the moment I am pleased. There was talk about getting a quarterback in the second round but in my opinion none of the quarterbacks in this class were really that great. I think they will try to sign a free agent or trade fro one if Grossman and Orton prove they are worthless this year.

Picks I liked
Dorsey to KC for the fifth pick was a gift to KC. He's a stud and it was a no brainer for KC to snatch him up although Herm Edwards wanted to trade the pick for my draft picks.

Kevin Smith to DET in the third round. Watching a couple of his games at UCF during the late part of the season last year, this guy is a stud. He could be the pick of the draft.

Rashard Mendenhall to PIT. Luckily for PIT, Jerry Jones couldn't put aside his Arkansas bias and drafted Felix Jones one spot ahead. Both will be good players but with Mendenhall and Parker, Big Ben will have even more help.

Picks I didn't like
McFadden to OAK- I hate to see McFadden go to Oakland and I think Oakland could have filled other needs. They already have Fargas, LaMont Jordon and Micheal Bush and who knows if JaMarcus Russell will pan out. I would have rather seen him go to New York with the Jets to help them compete with the Patriots.

Brian Brohm and Matt Flynn to GB- I know Brett Favre is better than Rodgers Brohm and Flynn combined but you can only play one QB at a time. I felt Rodgers looked like he was ready but now, if Brohm shows up to play the Packers have a QB controversy which can't be good for the psyche of Rodgers.

Chris Johnson in the first round to TEN- Vince Young needs a number one receiver and with no receivers taken at this point in the draft they could have taken whoever they wanted. Tennessee keeps drafting running backs when they have other needs.

Rockets 2008 Playoff game #2

THIS IS A MUST WIN FOR THE ROCKETS!!! Probably. The Jazz have been very good at home (only 4 losses) and they now have home court advantage with the win in Houston on Saturday. The Jazz' record is poor on the road for the year, but they've been good on the road since acquiring Kyle Korver. Yes, you read that right, Kyle Korver. Boozer, Williams, AK-47, Okur ... and Kyle Korver made the difference.

8:40 Kady Milloy singing the National Anthem! So you don't know who that is. If you watch American Idol you would. She's from the Houston area, she's pretty decent looking, she does a good Britney Spears impression, however, she can't sing very well. And apparently brave is a two syllable word. And the home ... of the ... ba-rave!

8:43 They're announcing the starting lineups. Scola, Battier, all of them do this flying shoulder bump thing with the bench players. Except McGrady. He went with the index finger touch. Hopefully I can find a picture of it, you've got to see it to believe it. That shoulder must be a bigger problem than people are making it out to be.

8:50 I'm watching this game on local tv. The game is also being broadcast on TNT. Not really sure why it's on local, too, but I wasn't too impressed with the announcers on Saturday night.

8:56 Somebody should try guarding Darren Williams. The Rockets miss Rafer Alston. Yes, you read that right, as well. They've been trying to give his job away for 3 years and he's still the best PG on the team.

9:01 I've already mentioned Kyle Korver - Iowa tie #1, I should also mention Matt Bullard a.k.a. Bull. You may know him from the University of Iowa teams in the late '80s. He's from WDM Valley and played for the Rockets on their championship teams. Iowa tie #2.

9:08 Mario Williams sighting!!! I wonder if he drove to the game in his orange Lamborgini?

9:22 Rockets still down 30-25, but McGrady seems to be trying, so that's a plus.

9:26 T-Mac averages 28.5 ppg in the playoffs. Good for fourth best all time. Behind Jordan and Jerry West (and somebody else). Maybe it isn't all his fault that his teams haven't made it out of the first round.

9:39 Okur (7') gets a rebound over Chuck Hayes (6'6"). Bullard says, "You can't teach 7 foot." To which Clyde Drexler adds, "You can't teach height" Uh, I think that's what he just said. I suppose if you've got a half-dozen quips stocked up, you use them when you can.

9:48 The Utah Jazz are so long! You would have thought Jay Bilas was calling the game!

9:49 Chuck Hayes has missed 3 point blank shots. And Battier just had a sweet put back dunk. Drexler dubs him "Air Battier." Original. I'm guessing he didn't come up with Clyde The Glide.

10:14 Second half and its tied on a TMac jumper, but he can't make the free throw and the Rockets can't take the lead. McGrady should be a better free throw shooter (68% !!! Not to mention his three-point shooting 29%. Ouch!)

10:18 McGrady is getting eaten up on defense by Kirilenko. McGrady has never been a great defender, but usually the Rockets hide him. Who is Battier guarding?

10:22 Rockets lead! Rockets lead! And of all people to make the go-ahead, it's Diekembe Mutumbo. That dude is oooooooold.

10:30 McGrady takes a three ... and misses! Not surprising, for those of you who have been following along.

10:35 Ronnie Price just hit a buzzer beater three at the end of the third quarter. Austin dubbed them the Utah Buzzer Beaters. Better than Drexler could have come up with, I guess. Ronnie Price is Houston-tie #1. He's from Friendswood.

10:39 4th quarter, 71-69, bad guys. Mehmet Okra just made an easy layup. Rockets should try playing some defense. Just heard that Darin Williams is not hurt, he's just chillaxin in the locker room.

10:45 Bennett Salvatore is bad at his job. One of the few things I agree with Bill Simmons about. Seriously, that guy's a turd. Well, both him and Salvatore.

10:49 McGrady goes 1 for 2 from the stripe. He's missed 4 ... of 9. 55%, that's about right. If someone like Amare Stoudemare can make 22 of 22 in a game, McGrady (a SHOOTING guard) should be able to go better than 70% from the line.

10:57 McGrady is rubbing off on the other players, and not in a good way. Bobby Jackson just missed two free throws - he's who they send up for technical free throws (81%). They needed that, too. Down by three, you can't miss two free throws.

10:59 Down by five, the Rockets get a five on four break, and McGrady is lucky to draw rim on a three point attempt (0 for 2 tonight). He just can't put together a complete game. This is the time when he needs to take the game over. He didn't score in the 4th quarter last night and only has one point in the fourth tonight. Maybe that's why he doesn't make it out of the first round.

11:06 Drexler and Bullard have been dogging on the refs all game long. I'd agree that there have been some pretty terrible calls. The last one was especially poor. Bullard doesn't think these refs belong in the playoffs.

11:09 Kyle Korver hits a shot and then ices the game from the free throw line. The Iowa kid killing us, that's what hurts. Kyle Korver makes the difference in yet another road game. We didn't get to the next two Iowa ties, maybe next time.

Beer Can House

Only in Houston ...

A Man’s 6-Pack Can Serve as His Castle

I'm proud to say I've been there. Mom came to Houston and asked me about the beer can house, I said I'd never heard about it and she couldn't believe it. When asked how long she'd known about it, she said "a couple days." Apparently somebody she works with had heard about it. Now, it wasn't much to look at when we drove past, but it's now been restored and made into some sort of a historical destination. This article might not be the best about the beer can house, but it made the NYTimes. This dude retired and drank a six-pack a day for 18 years. Dedication.

Master's Challenge

Having a hard time getting into most golf events, I decided to try a fantasy event on ESPN. The Master's best ball challenge is similar to other "challenge" events on ESPN.com, where you get a salary cap and get to choose athletes based on their performance. Having really no clue on strategy and possessing what I thought was not a lot of golf knowledge I sat down to make my picks. Of course Tiger is on my roster. No matter what is cost and it turned out to be 6 dollars more than any other golfer, I knew I had to take him. My next pick was kind of a homer pick with Zach Johnson. I chose Aaron Oberholser and Tom Watson to round out my four. I couldn't find a group to my liking, so I joined the Iowa Hawkeyes group and named my entry Cyclone Fan. After Day One I was atop the leaderboard and I really got into it. I picked up Immelman for Oberholser for days two and three and then picked up Snedecker instead of Immelman on Sunday so I could pick up a fourth golfer that made the cut. After all was said and done I finished atop the Iowa Hawkeye leaderboard and in the 99.6 percentile, 189th place overall. I guess I knew more than I thought.

Billy Butt Packer

Billy Packer just referred to Shawn Taggart as an "ISU Grad". I did not know you could graduate after finishing about two classes. I need to find out what track Taggart was on and finish up my degree apparantely. Jim Nance + Billy Packer equals brutal to listen to. I don't think I can go through another game of this crap.

Houston News Report - 4/4/08

There's been some interesting news in the Houston area as of late. Here are a couple links.

There's been a lot of news about these two the last week. Why are 14 year olds pregnant?!?
Juvenile Girl Will Not Be Charged for Abandoning Fetus on Airplane
Texas Police Say Baby Probably Cried Before 14-Year-Old Mom Killed Him in Flush Attempt

Maybe kids are as shocked and disappointed as everyone else
Houston teens push for better sex ed

Another example of "Texas Justice"
HPD: Convenience Store Clerk Kills Robber

72 grand doesn't seem like enough
Indonesian Woman Enslaved By Sugar Land Family For Years, Court Records Show

Not all news out of Houston has been bad - Only 78 murders during the first three months of 2008!
City Houston on track to lower homicide rate compared to 2007

Cubs Season Opener

Chicago Cubs Opening Day

1:33 PM- The game was supposed to start at 1:20, and like typical Chicago weather in March-it’s raining. The game is going to start soon, they are chalking the infield and Big Z (Carlos Zambrano) is warming up in the outfield. I am enjoying listening to the replay of Ernie Banks’ statue ceremony. His quote, “I am proud to be the only player to play his entire career in one city, Chicago, one mayor, one owner, one stadium and under one light, God’s light”

1:53 PM: Ernie Banks throws out the first pitch. Its low and just a touch inside (probably would have hit a right handed batter). Hopefully Zambrano will have better control.

1:59 PM: Zambrano throws out the first pitch, strike one! The season is under way.

2:00 PM: Three pitches, three strikes- Sit down Rickie Weeks!

2:06 PM: Top of the first in the books. Zambrano looked fairly sharp. The lone hit came on a Tony Gwynn infield single. Lets see how this new and improved lineup looks.

2:12 PM: Three up three down. This entry is being fueled by Bud Light.

2:24 PM: Kosuke Fukudome’s first at bat. First pitch ripped into Center Field for a double! Hopefully there is more of that to come. Felix Pie strikes out swinging to end the inning, same shit-different year.

2:25 PM- 3:30 PM: Zzzzzzzz’s and beers. Rain delay again!

3:32: And we are back. Baseball again. Good to see Zambrano is still on the mound.

3:44 PM: Fukudome gets a walk. He is on pace to set the On-Base Percentage record (1.000). I’m having a hard time keeping up with both the blog and the beers and my homework. After four innings its still tied at zero, could call it a pitchers duel or shitty hitters, I’ll go with the latter.

3:55 PM: It seems as though this game is dragging on. It is only the fifth inning and the game was scheduled to start two and a half hours ago. That’s what rain does I guess. Felix Pie goes down looking. Same shit, different year. Lets go Zambrano take care of it yourself.

4:01 PM: Zambrano is looking real good. He has only given up one hit so far and even that didn’t leave the infield. I would not want to be a hitter against him in this weather. Ah, hit number two against Zambrano and fat ass Fielder is up to bat.

4:22 PM: Zambrano exits the game with cramping in his forearm. His first strong opening day outing going 6 2/3 innings without allowing a run. Cubs get their first look in 2008 at their bullpen as Carlos Marmol enters the game. It’s good to see him start the year off right. Marmol strikes out Hardy on one pitch! Sing it Ernie! The Bud Lights are starting to kick in.

4:29 PM: Fukudome with another hit! He has been the offense for the Cubs thus far. He is 2-2 with a walk. Ben “I wet my” Sheets is out of the game finally. Maybe the Cubs can start something now.

4:36 PM: DeRosa just got beaned by Torres, that’ll leave a strawberry tomorrow. They have two on, one out lets see if Soto can get something started. Ah shit, Kendall gets lucky on a passed ball that hits Soto and Fukudome is thrown out. Soto walks and now Pie is up again. Pie grounds out to second base. Well, a moral victory-he put the ball in play.

4:46 PM: Marmol looks very sharp. Four hitters faced, four hitters retired. It’s nice to have a solid end to the bullpen to complement good pitching performances by the starters. Hopefully this continues for the duration of the season. Going to the bottom half of the eigth. Hopefully we can push a run across and bring in Kerry Wood for his first save of the season!

4:59 PM: The Cubs go down three up three down in the bottom of the eighth. Daryle Ward had a nice pinch-hit at-bat but “The Riot” and Soriano go down on strikes. Now we get our first look at the 2008 Kerry Wood and PLUNK! First pitch nails Rickie Weeks with a 95 MPH fastball right between the 2 and the 3. Wood had showed good command in the Spring, lets hope this is not a sign of things to come.

5:07 PM: Ah, shits. Wood hits Weeks, Gwynn bunts him to second and they walk Fielder. Braun hits a single and the Brewers take the one run lead in the top of the ninth. Not a good start to Kerry’s season.

5:10 PM: Well, another double and the Brewers lead 3-0. Kerry’s spring isn’t an indication of how he is going to do in the regular season apparently.

5:16 PM: Eric Gagne comes in to try and close it out. Lets get something going.

5:20 PM: Gagne is having trouble. Two on, none out. Fukudome is working the count as well.

5:21 PM: FUKUDOME!!!!!! THREE-RUN HOME RUN! He’s 3-3! And the curtain call!!!! Tie ball game. There is still no one out and DeRosa up at the plate.

5:27 PM: DeRosa and Soto get sat down in a row. Pie grounds to first and Gagne doesn’t cover. Fielder steps over the bag to tag Pie and he’s safe. Fielder needs a burger. Maybe this is a sign the Cubs luck is turning around.

5:37 PM: Top of the tenth starts off with a Counsell double off Howry. They bunt him to third with one out. Zambrano and Marmol looked good but Howry and Wood, not so much. Haha, weeks gets hit again! Serves him right for holding his hand right over the plate. Gwynn gets the RBI sacrifice fly, looks like we need some more Fukudome magic.

5:50 PM: Cubs go down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the tenth. Cubs fall to 0-1, Brewers go to 1-0. Sluts.

AL Preview

With the season starting tommorow night I thought I should get my picks for the AL before it was too late. I am not as confident on the AL as the NL so no quarantees. The more I think about these picks though the more I really appreciate the system the MLB has. Sports Illustrated has the Tigers winning it all, ESPN doesn't even have them making the playoffs. That doesn't happen in the NBA or NFL where a team in competition for a championship also has to fight their butts off just to make the playoffs. Going off topic for a little bit, the NBA playoff system is rediculous. Half the teams make the playoffs, including a few in the Eastern Conference with losing records. Ah, there is nothing like celebrating mediocrity. I hear all sorts of people raving about the race in the Western Conference. Just think if only four of those teams got into the playoffs. Wow, now that would be intense. Only one team will be left out in the NBA, many many more are left out in the MLB. I will write about my innovative plan to change the NBA playoffs later.

AL East
Boston
New York
Toronto
Tampa Bay
Baltimore

Summary: I really struggled whether to pick the Yankees or the Red Sox. I chose the Red Sox because the Yankees have finally begun to use their farm system a little bit. This will pay huge dividends for them in the next few years and maybe this year but I think it will result in a division crown for the Red Sox this year. Team to look for is the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. They have some quality young players and could make a run at .500 this year and play a huge role in who wins the AL East. They could make a run at third in the division over the Blue Jays.

AL Central
Detroit
Cleveland
Minnesota
Chicago
Kansas City

Summary:
This division in my opinion has the best two teams in the AL in Detroit and Cleveland. Detroit has one HELL of a lineup wiht Pudge hitting ninth. Their pitching is quality but not amazing. I think Detroit is built to have a great regular season but not necessarily built for the playoffs. I think Detroit will win with Cleveland right on their heels. The rest of the division is just average at best.

AL West
Seattle
Anaheim
Oakland
Texas

Summary:
My pick for this division has changed in the past few days with the injury to Escobar. Without him, the Angels aren't nearly as strong. Seattle thus becomes my favorite to win the division. Oakland will surprise a lot of people. No one knows any of their players now but they will, Billy Beane can pick out talent like nobody's business.

Division Series:
Seattle vs Detroit
Red Sox vs Cleveland

Championship:
Detroit vs. Cleveland

World Series:
Cleveland over Arizona in six games

Cleveland avenges their choke job against Boston last year. Detroit gets past a week Seattle. Cleveland behind C.C. and Fuasto get to and win the World Series.

Cy Young:
Fuasto Carmona
Dark Horse:
Erik Bedard
Best Pitcher on a bad team:
Rich Harden

AL MVP:
Miguel Cabrera
Dark Horse:
Grady Sizemore
Best Player on a bad team:
Carlos Pena TB

Im too lazy to explain these. I have to watch some basketball and admire my bracket some more.

My bad...top.8 percent of all entries and top ten of ISU fans!

Bracket Bragging

Top 11 of ISU Fans!!! Top .9 pecent of the 3.65 million entries

National League Preview +

I forget to list my predictions for individual awards.

MVP: Jose Reyes NYM
Darkhorse MVP: Ryan Braun MIL
Best Player on Bad Team: Hanley Ramirez FLA

The NL East has three of the best shortstops in the game with Reyes, Rollins and Ramirez (nickname needed). Reyes is the most exciting player in the game and the most valuable player to his team. If the Mets win the NL East, Reyes should win the MVP, but his teammate David Wright will probably steal some votes. Ryan Braun will be playing a full season for the Brewers and like the Nationals did with Soriano they moved him to Left Field so his god awful filed skills won't be as much of a problem. Hanley Ramirez, who came to FLA in the Josh Beckett trade has been putting up MVP like numbers on a bad team. If Ramirez is lucky like most Marlins, ownership will ship him out and he will be an instant MVP contender assuming he is dealt to a good team.

Cy Young: Brandon Webb ARI (I don't want to pick the obvious Santana)
Darkhorse: John Maine NYM
Best Pitcher on a Bad Team: Tom Gorzelanny PIT

The National League Cy Young is wide open. The league is incredibly deep in pitching and some teams have more than one contender on them. I picked Webb because I didn't wnat to pick Santana and his innings will go down as he will be taken out in the later innings now for a pinch hitter. Santana, Webb, Peavy and Zambrano are front runners with many darkhorses shortly behind. John Maine moving down in the rotation with the addition of Santana and Pedro's health should get better matchups and add to his 15 win total of last year. Gorzelanny won 14 games for the Pirates last year with a 3.88 ERA. Keep in mind the Pirates only won 68 games, if my math is right, and its probably not, thats slighty above 20 percent of the teams wins. The Pirates have a surprisingly good young staff with Snell, Duke, Gorzelanny and Matt Morris, who is not young by any stretch of the imagination.