27 November 2007
How will Sherman's departure affect the Texans?
The Battle Red Blog has a nice post up that discusses how Mike Sherman's departure might affect the Texans (hint: blocking scheme).
Texans beat writer Megan Manfull, on the other hand, posts that the Texans are "excited" for Sherman.
Advantage? Battle Red Blog.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/27/07 06:19 AM | Technorati | Comments (0)
26 November 2007
Morey addresses gripes about Rockets defense
Jason Friedman of the Houston Press scored a nice Q&A with Daryl Morey.
This snippet is particularly interesting:
JCF: Do you feel as if the team is stuck in a bit of a limbo stage, where they’re not playing the defense they did a year ago, while simultaneously failing to show the hoped for improvement on the offensive end?
DM: Well, I think except for transition, our defense has actually been pretty good. I think we’re 7th in the league, while facing the hardest schedule. So the defense has been pretty good, that’s been focused on too much. In transition, we’ve had issues, but those are things we’re working on. Offense is where we’ve struggled quite a bit more, both with our shooting and in terms of running the system.
Eh, what does the Rockets' stats-oriented GM know, compared to the Chronicle's master of sometimes undecipherable prose (who just happens to be their Rockets beat guy)?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/26/07 11:19 AM | Technorati | Comments (0)
21 November 2007
Is Jonathan Feigen his mentor?
From the Chron sports section's tortured prose department comes this lede from Rice beat writer Moisekapenda Bower:
With every adventure for the Rice men's basketball team comes a corresponding logistical hurdle more cumbersome than anticipated.
Does anybody edit the sports section?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/21/07 09:40 PM | Technorati | Comments (0)
17 November 2007
That sounds familiar
Here's an excerpt from John McClain's latest Chron NFL notebook:
Every time a team is unbeaten midway through the season, the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins become a topic of conversation.
Because the Dolphins are 0-9, the 1976 Buccaneers are getting some attention. Since World War II, the expansion Bucs are the only team to lose every game. They were 0-14.
"Hopefully, we won't have teams joining us in that distinction," defensive end Lee Roy Selmon told the St. Petersburg Times. "I do not wish that on anyone or any team."
Unlike the Dolphins, who toast the last unbeaten team that loses, the Bucs don't celebrate when the last winless team pulls out a victory.
"We don't celebrate, 'Hey, guys, we're in a distinction of our own still. Let's have a drink to that,' " Selmon said. "I see some of our teammates from the '76 team, but we don't do a whole lot of reflecting on our record."
And here's an excerpt from a column in the Kansas City Star:
Each season, when the last unbeaten team loses, select members of the 1972 Dolphins pop open a few bottles of champagne and toast their place as the only unbeaten, untied team in NFL history.
Now that the current Dolphins are 0-9, there’s a chance they can join the 1976 Buccaneers as the only team since World War II to lose every game of a full NFL season by going 0-14 in the expansion franchise’s first season.
The ’76 Bucs have no champagne celebrations, though their desire to remain alone in history is just as strong.
“Hopefully, we won’t have teams joining us in that distinction,” defensive end Lee Roy Selmon, the first overall draft pick in 1976 and a Hall of Famer, told The St. Petersburg Times. “I do not wish that on anyone or any team.
“We don’t celebrate: ‘Hey, guys, we’re in a distinction of our own still. Let’s have a drink to that.’ I see some of our teammates from the ’76 team, but we don’t do a whole lot of reflecting on our record.”
Interesting similarities.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/17/07 10:53 PM | Technorati | Comments (0)
Chron sports section blows Cougar win total
Here's the headline for the Chron coverage of UH basketball's victory over Marist:
Pane lifts UH by Marist
Late trey helps Cougars earn first win of year
There's a big problem with this headline, since the win was the Cougars' SECOND win of the year.
The error is repeated in the story:
Robert McKiver had 17 points and sank three 3-pointers for the Cougars (1-2), who were coming off a 73-72 loss to Virginia Commonwealth in the tournament opener on Thursday.
The Coogs' record is 2-1, not 1-2.
Whoops!
UPDATE (11-17-2007): The reporting has been corrected this morning.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/17/07 01:32 AM | Technorati | Comments (0)
84 points is not evidence that "the offense works"
On his Chron blog, Jonathan Feigen supplies some interesting quotes on the Rockets' 90-84 loss to the San Antonio Spurs:
The offense works: A loss, but plenty to build upon
and
One game usually proves nothing, and the encouraging performance of the Rockets' offense in the 90-84 loss to the Spurs on Friday normally would not, either.
and
The key is to string enough of these sorts of offensive games together to learn from them and then to be an effective and efficient offensive team in the spring.
and
Until then, they might want to get their defense in gear, get McGrady back (maybe much sooner than expected) and keep taking the ball to the rim.
The offense scored just 84 points! The defense held the world champs to 90 points. The Rockets actually held the world champs to fewer points than opponents have been averaging this season (91.55, which ranks the team fifth in the NBA in scoring defense). The defense was not the problem in this game (and, indeed, is still a strength of this team). The problem was that the offense couldn't produce enough points.
Now, I understand the point Feigen was trying to make (which makes this an improvement over some of his writing) -- namely, that Rockets fans can be encouraged that the team is showing some sign of being able to execute elements of Rick Adelman's offense, and that there are some things the team can build on from this game.
Unfortunately, that accurate assessment is somewhat overshadowed by Feigen's suggestion that this 84-point effort somehow was a good overall offensive performance, and that the team's defense needs to improve (when statistically, the team's defense is among the best in the NBA). Those are questionable assertions that detract from the valid points he was trying to make.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/17/07 01:00 AM | Technorati | Comments (0)
09 November 2007
Big UH sports weekend
It's a big weekend for the UH Cougars.
Tonight, the men's basketball team opens its season against Morehead State at Hofheinz. On paper, this looks like Tom Penders' deepest and most talented team yet. Unlike previous seasons, Penders has really eased up on the scheduling, so Coog fans could be in for a fair amount of home blowout basketball this season. The Show starts tonight at 8pm.
Tomorrow, the football team plays at Tulsa in a contest that will go a long way toward settling the CUSA West champion. Inexplicably, this is another UH game that will not have any television, the sort of decisionmaking by CUSA that helps explain why Dave Maggard would love to bolt for a better conference, and why CUSA's underwhelming chief Britton Banowsky isn't wanted by better conferences.
It seems a little early to be saying this, but I am ready for some college hoops and am looking forward to the game tonight. Go Coogs!
UPDATE: Basketball was fun. The football team's trip to Tulsa, however, was not fun.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/09/07 10:05 AM | Technorati | Comments (0)
I'm still here but have been busy
Yes I have been around but things in life sometimes require that priorities change. I hope to get a couple of commentaries up about our favorite local sports teams here in the near future. In the mean time...
Ladies --
The Katy Tae Kwon Do Academy is hosting a Womens Personal Protection Seminar. This seminar is for all women ages 13 and up.
Katy TKD
625 South Mason Rd @ Kingsland
Saturday November 17th
3:00 - 4:15 PM
Cost $29.95
To Register call 281-829-9300
Posted by bweldon @ 11/09/07 09:08 AM | Technorati | Comments (0)
08 November 2007
An Aggie joke that really misses the mark
Here's a line from Jerome Solomon's latest that literally made my jaw drop:
While the bratty Longhorns constantly rub A&M's nose in national championships — no matter how infrequently they come — the Aggies have to play with matches to get attention.
That's tacky and obnoxious even by Chron standards.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/08/07 09:29 PM | Technorati | Comments (0)
01 November 2007
Why isn't this edited?
Jonathan Feigen leads today's article with some of his patented tortured prose:
As temporary a condition as euphoria is after a regular-season win — even one as sudden and stunning as the Rockets' over the Los Angeles Lakers to open the season Tuesday — cold reality hits quickly.
When the Rockets' charter touched down at 3 a.m. Wednesday, they were back in Salt Lake City, where for them, euphoria has gone to die.
For all the Rockets' changes since last season's first-round playoff loss to the Utah Jazz, tonight's return to EnergySolutions Arena offers a chance to heal still-open wounds.
The Rockets cannot undo the playoff loss. Any success today will fall short of the failure last season. But they seek a chance not for redemption but closure.
Brutal.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/01/07 09:11 AM | Technorati | Comments (1)