The Houston Rockets

Tracey McGrady and the Houston Rockets started off their season with a win over the Sacramento Kings last night. Jon Barry led the team in scoring; that won’t happen very often especially for someone who doesn’t start and only plays about half the game. Regardless of who was the scoring leader, the Rockets put up points on the board. The scoring was spread around with everyone on the team scoring at least 2 points except Bowen, who was held scoreless. McGrady had 23 and Yao Ming had 22. This is the type of scoring the Rockets need to be successful. They have to spread the ball around more.

I know I’ve said this before (although it’s my first time saying it on this blog), but I think this is the year for the Rockets. If everyone can stay healthy, they can challenge the Spurs for the top spot in the west. They would have last year had Juwan Howard not missed so much time. Yao Ming and Howard both put up some nice rebound numbers, especially on the offensive side. The Rockets need Yao to be more aggressive. Everyone has knocked him and the organization for being so soft. They have Patrick Ewing for a coach and they still can’t toughen him up. This has to be the year for Yao to break out. I mean he’s still only 25 so he has some time. But we’ve been patient long enough. It’s time for Yao to get aggressive and start throwing some bows. He looks so goofy out there on the floor. There’s no question he is a threat on offense, he just needs to step up his defensive game. Blocks aren’t good enough, we need boards!

My bold prediction of the year – The Rockets win the West !

picture is from bballone.com

Charlie Weis

Who has the largest coaching contract in college football? Not Bob Stoops, or Bobby Bowden, or Steve Spurrier, or even Pete Carroll. The answer to the question is Charlie Weis. I’ve been waiting awhile to write a post on Charlie Weis, coach of Notre Dame football. What in the hell has Weis done that warrants getting the fattest contract in the history of NCAA football? Am I missing something here? Have the Fighting Irish even beat any worthy teams? No they haven’t.

How does a school give a rookie coach 40 million dollars? He hasn’t even proved himself. Notre Dame didn’t even want him last year when they fired Ty Willingham. And now he is the 40 million dollar man. Unreal. I hope Tennessee beats the crap out of Notre Dame this weekend. The Vols aren’t really good this year, but they are still a tough SEC team. They got beat up by teams like LSU, Florida, and Alabama. They didn’t lose any cream puff games. And now they are going up to South Bend with blood in their eyes.

I hate Tennessee (because I’m a gator fan), but man do I hope they destroy Notre Dame.

And does anyone else think Charlie Weis looks like Aguado from Ace Ventura?

The Steelers

Big Ben Roethlisberger will be out this Sunday vs. the Green Baby Packers. Ben underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair the knee injury he sustained a few weeks ago. He aggravated the injury Monday night in a game against the Ravens. "Everyone that watched the game and knows how I play could tell there was something on my knee," Roethlisberger said. "I didn't feel as mobile. We took it off at halftime and taped it and it felt a lot better. If I can go without a brace, I'm going to do it."

I’m glad that Ben has finally decided to have surgery on his knee. He can’t just keep going out there every week and taping it up. Part of what makes Ben a great quarterback is his ability to get outside the pocket and complete a pass. With an injured knee he won’t be as mobile and will be prone to getting sacked. In the Monday night game Ben threw for a career high 30 times. Is that unbelievable or what? Big Ben threw for a record 30 times. I bet in college he would throw the ball 30 times in a half, and now look at him. He still maintains a high passer rating though and a high winning percentage. I guess you don’t need to be the best passer to be the best QB.

The Steelers have decided to go with Charlie Batch as their QB this week. I guess they didn’t like what they saw in Maddox when he played the Jags a few weeks ago. Batch can’t be any worse can he? I mean he hasn’t played in like 4 years. But then again, the Steelers are playing the Packers this week. What a lucky break that is. They could field Kordell Stewart at QB and probably still win the game. Look for the Steelers to run the ball 50 times this weekend. Batch just needs to keep his cool and not make any mistakes. But then again they are playing the Packers. He could make 5 mistakes and the Steelers would still win by 20 points.

When asked about the future, Big Ben said "I understand that everyone always worries about longevity and a long career and this and that, but I'm living for this year right now. So, no, we'll see what we can do for this year."

The NBA Season has begun

Last night was the opening game of the NBA Season where the Sacramento Kings took on the Oklahoma City Hornets. Quick question… do they have hornet in Oklahoma? Anyways, the Hornets romped the Kings 93-67. Ouch! I have to admit that I did not watch the whole game, but from what I saw, the Hornets looked good. This is a team that sucks every year (especially since they were moved to the West). Being in the same division as Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio is not good for anyone. But the Hornets stood strong. Perhaps it was the crowd that got them so pumped up. Oklahoma City is known for its college basketball. If they can bring that atmosphere to the pro court, they might have one of the biggest home court advantages out there.

Another question I have to ask is why did the court, jerseys, and shirts all say Oklahoma City Hornets? Are the Hornets there to stay? In the NFL, the Saints kept their New Orleans name even though they are playing in San Antonio. Why did the Hornets change? Well this might be a sign that they are going to stay in Oklahoma City for good, providing they sell a lot of tickets and show good fan support. New Orleans is a wreck. It is a shame that they are going to lose both their professional franchises due to a hurricane. Maybe the owners were looking for a way out. Benson of the Saints, has said time and time again he wants to stay in New Orleans, but I have a feeling the NFL will force him to sell to Los Angeles.

Here’s to an awesome basketball season. I wonder if there will be any fights this year? I wonder how good the Pacers will be having all their players for a full season. I wonder how good my Rockets will be? Will they ever make it past the first round of the playoffs? They haven’t since Hakeem left. And the only two championships they won lately were the two years Jordan was retired. Come on Yao! Show that you’re worth that number 1 pick.

The Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings have been on a roller coaster ride of a season. They started out awful with Culpepper throwing like 15 interceptions in 3 games. They were 1-4 at one point, and were spotted by the public eye doing some things not meant to be done in public. Yes I’m talking about the sex cruise. Has this team gone a week without being under the spotlight? Mike Tice is going to get canned after this year (unless he wins a Superbowl). Their running game is the only part that is working for them, and that’s not saying much. Their receivers suck, including Nate Burleson who managed 1000+ yards and 8 tds last year. They signed veteran substance abuse user Koren Robinson to their roster. I mean they get rid of one problem (read Randy Moss) and brought in five more.

As if things couldn’t get any worse for the Vikings this season, news came out yesterday that Daunte Culpepper blew out his knee and is done for the year. He tore everything in there, ACL, MCL, and PCL. He’ll need season ending surgery to repair his knee. Enter Brad Johnson at QB, a veteran who has Superbowl experience. Can he lead this team to the promise land? Hell NO he can’t. Brad Johnson is the only QB to ever throw a touchdown pass to himself ! I laugh every time I see that video clip.

The Vikings are a wreck. They are lucky they play in the NFC North. Chicago is on a roll winning 3 games in a row, but that won’t last. It can’t. The Bears don’t have a quarterback either. The Packers won’t win anything. So that leaves the Lions. The Lions are just a mess as the Vikings, except without all the negative press. This division is wide open. Don’t be surprised if the winner is 8-8 this year.

picture is copyright of graphics.jso.com

Theo Epstein and the Boston Red Sox

From espn.com

BOSTON -- At 31, boy wonder Theo Epstein was ready to step out on his own.

The Red Sox general manager walked away from his hometown team on Monday, stunning Boston and the baseball world just one year after helping the franchise win its first World Series championship since 1918.

"I gave my entire heart and soul to the organization," Epstein said in a statement. "During the process leading up to today's decision, I came to the conclusion that I can no longer do so. In the end, my choice is the right one not only for me but for the Red Sox."

Epstein will continue working for a few days to assist in the transition and prepare for the offseason. The Boston Herald, which first reported the news on its Web site, said the Yale graduate has told associates that he might leave baseball or at least take a year off.

The Dodgers, Phillies and Devil Rays have GM openings, but none has a $120 million payroll to match the one Epstein was given in Boston.

Once the youngest GM in baseball history and still the youngest to assemble a World Series champion, Epstein was reportedly offered about $1.5 million a year for a three-year extension. That was quadruple his previous salary but still short of the $2.5 million the Red Sox offered Oakland's Billy Beane in 2002 before hiring Epstein.


In case you are not a hard core baseball fan, let me fill you in. Theo Epstein is a young Yale graduate. He is pretty much a nerd who followed sabermetrics, which is a method of calculating a players effectiveness by using statistical formulas. Not many other GMs use this method, Billy Beane and Paul DePodesta are a few who do. For more information on sabermetrics, pick up the Basbeball Abstract by Bill James or Moneyball. Epstein is probably one of those performance oriented perfectionists. He achieved his goal by winning a World Series and now he has nothing left to do. He might feel bored and needs a new challenge. I’ve got a challenge for him. Go to the Devil Rays and try to build a championship team. Instead of having 120 million to work with you can have 25 million. If Theo needs a challenge, it can’t get tougher than that.

NFL Running backs, Florida Georgia Football, Pro Bowl

This weekend in the NFL was amazing from a fantasy perspective. So many players put up huge numbers, especially the running backs. In a week that did not feature two of the NFL’s top three rushers, Edgerrin James and Shaun Alexander, eight different running backs broke the 100 yard barrier, and about 3 or 4 others were above 90 yards. Both Barbers, Fred Taylor, Steven Jackson, Ronnie Brown, Mike Anderson, Kevin Barlow, and Willis McGahee all rushed for over 100 yards. It was a very impressive weekend and it’s at times like these when I wish I had Direct TV.

I was at home watching the Jaguars vs. the Rams. The first quarter was exciting, from a Jaguar’s fan perspective, but after that it went all down hill. Steven Jackson manhandled the Jags rushing for nearly 180 yards and having another 20 in the air. It’s quite pathetic the Jaguars could not put up more than 21 points against the worst defense in the NFL. It’s quite pathetic the Jaguars allowed Jamie Martin to throw an 80 yard bomb to Kevin Curtis. It’s quite pathetic that the Jaguars receivers drop so many freaking balls. Sure their stats look good on paper, but unless you were watching the game you don’t know the truth. Jimmy Smith has lost it completely. He has stone hands like you’ve never seen before. For someone who is number 10 on the all-time catch list, he sure doesn’t show it. Ernest Wilford put up huge numbers for the Jaguars but had a key dropped ball that was in turn intercepted by the Rams. That interception resulted in the go ahead touchdown by Steven Jackson.

Fred Taylor seems to have his step back. Although he struggle in the 2nd half, it was not his fault. The Rams knew the Jaguars passing game is suspect at best, so they stuffed the box. The offensive line couldn’t open holes and Fred had no where to go.

In other NFL news, Green Bay lost again. Brett Favre threw 5 interceptions. There is no way the Bengals defense is that good. I am convinced the Packers WRs are just that bad. Houston finally got on the board with their first win. How big of a blow is that loss for Cleveland? Houston might get on a roll now. They face Jacksonville next week where they always seem to step up and win.

I was at the Florida vs. Georgia football game Saturday. I had the luxury of sitting in a skybox for the first time. It was awesome. All the food and drinks you can eat, a spectacular view, and a room divided between Gators and Dawgs. The Gators seemed to dominate in the first quarter. Why they abandoned the run when it was working so well is beyond me. Meyer has got to figure this offense out. They were completely shut down for 3 quarters. I can completely understand why Georgia fans hate the Gators so much. Every year we ruin their season. It has to get frustrating.

It’s Pro Bowl Voting time. Click the NFL.com link below to cast your vote for your favorite players. Some AFC likely Pro-Bowlers are Palmer, Edge, Chad Johnson, Stroud, and Rashean Mathis. Some NFC likely Pro-Bowlers are McNabb, T.O., Steve Smith, Alexander, and Bryant Young.

www.nfl.com