15 September 2007
Bad Sports: OSU as the best in the Big 12 South?
It's early in the college football season yet, but we're still far enough along that we can start to make some judgments about which teams might be pretty good (and not).
So, just for fun, let's take a look back at the Big 12 South preseason picks from Terrance Harris, half of the Chron's bumbling duo of Big 12 reporters:
1. Oklahoma State
-Offensive weapons galore and just wait until you see Bobby Reid do his Vince Young impression this season. Look for the Cowboys to stun the Longhorns come Nov. 3.
2. Texas A&M
-Aggies have the toughest road to go in the Big 12 South, but they also arguably have the most talented offensive cast of any of the division opponents. Look for a combination of ball control offense and outstanding defensive play to carry the day in key road games against Tech, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
3. Texas
-Colt McCoy will be a year wiser and with the help of Jamaal Charles and Limas Sweed should take another huge step forward this season. But there could be questions along the offensive line and in some key defensive areas.
4. Oklahoma
-The Sooners are more than able to replace Adrian Peterson in the backfield, but who's at quarterback? Not much was settled this spring between Joey Halzle and redshirt freshman Sam Bradford.
5. Texas Tech
-The Red Raiders will again put up staggering offensive numbers, but one day Mike Leach will learn this game is really about how you play defense.
6. Baylor
-How can we say this? It's been real coach Morriss.
A few weeks into the season, it seems safe to say (as I said weeks ago) that those picks are pretty wack.
Oklahoma State has started the season 1-2, losing last night to tiny Troy State (after a lackluster performance at Georgia). They may come closer to contending with Baylor for last than contending with the big boys of the South. Boone Pickens, who effectively runs OSU athletics after donating millions, will surely fire head coach Mike Gundy after this season.
Texas A&M will not be finishing second in the South. Their schedule pretty much assured that, but nearly losing last weekend to Fresno illustrated all of the weaknesses with A&M football -- including a lackluster offense that is hardly the "most talented" in the South. Coach Fran seems likely to join Mike Gundy on the unemployment line after this season.
Texas has struggled more than some fans would like, and the arrests are becoming a distraction, but Mack Brown still has a team loaded with talent. They'll be around the top of the division as long as Mack Brown's recruiting machine remains intact. Talent wins.
Oklahoma has had a nice early run, and the quarterback play has been stellar, but it's a little too early to anoint them (as some people are doing). Sam Bradford tends to stare down his primary receiver, and good teams will figure that out. Still, like Texas, Oklahoma has too much talent across the board for anyone to pick them lower than second in this division.
Those Big 12 picks from Harris were wack when they came out, as the season is proving.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/15/07 12:01 PM | Technorati | Comments (1)
14 September 2007
Not as much a sports story as an announcement
I have been studying Tae Kwon Do for a little over 1 year now and our academy's booster club has an annual community event. It is a board break-a-thon, and all of the proceeds go to the Katy ISD D.A.R.E program. Last year we raised over $4500 as a group for the program and we want to do even better this year. It is a good program and a lot of fun for all of those that participate. As an added bonus I'll provide photos of myself or my kids breaking the boards that are purchased by readers here on blogHouston. I'll even make sure your name is on the board. Please help support D.A.R.E. You can contact me through here or the e-mail on the flyer.
Posted by bweldon @ 09/14/07 02:51 PM | Technorati | Comments (0)
13 September 2007
Best to watch out for those "foreboding signs of future trouble"
Favorite line from a professional writer blogging (i.e. writing without the aid of editors), seen on Chron.com this evening:
Blazers fans might fear the worst, but Portland GM Kevin Pritchard insisted that the doctors reported that the knee was otherwise "clean," without foreboding signs of future trouble.
That bold part is redundant, much?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/13/07 11:36 PM | Technorati | Comments (0)
12 September 2007
Veteran Chron columnist longs for an injury to Carolina QB
Here's a stunner from the Chronicle's NFL columnist, who is hoping former Texans quarterback and current Carolina backup David Carr gets some playing time against the Texans on Saturday:
Come on now, admit it. You're like me, and you'd love to see Delhomme suffer a minor injury, an injury just serious enough to force him out of Sunday's game against the Texans. Nothing against Delhomme, of course, but if you're a Texans fan, you know he's in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Geez, imagine the intensity level being turned up a couple of notches if David Carr comes off the bench against his former team. What a story.
No, Mr. McClain, some of us aren't like you and don't wish injuries upon athletes, no matter how delicious the resulting story might be.
It is rather stunning that McClain and his editors allowed the columnist's wishes for an injury to Delhomme (even a "minor" one) to appear in print, given the rather sobering injury news from the first weekend of NFL action.
There was surely a more tactful way for a veteran columnist (and a newspaper with editors) to frame a column about the Texans facing their former quarterback, without openly wishing for an injury.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/12/07 08:47 AM | Technorati | Comments (0)
01 September 2007
Chron Big 12 coverage = Bad Sports
A reader took one of the Chron's bad Big 12 football blogger/reporters to task tonight for the lack of commentary on UT's closer than expected contest with mighty Arkansas State.
The Longhorn blogger replied that he was in Fort Worth for the TCU-Baylor game, but that interested readers could check out Jerome Solomon's blog for game commentary.
The only problem? Jerome Solomon wasn't blogging about the Longhorns either.
That's pretty lame even by Chron standards. In fact, that qualifies as some Bad Sports.
UPDATE: In contrast, Murphy had lots of good stuff from the UH game (although UH didn't have enough good stuff). We can't help but wonder why a quality writer like Murphy is stuck on a relatively minor beat when so many mediocrities struggle with more glamorous beats at the Chron. Good for UH -- not so good for the newspaper.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/01/07 09:43 PM | Technorati | Comments (1)
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