Yao Intw w/ Local 2 Sports; Mario Williams Intw on Kubiak

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Great day for the Rockets who spent time at Children’s Memorial Hermann hospital visiting patients in their rooms and throughout the facility.

I caught up with Yao before he made his way around and got the latest on his foot , his trip to China and his day at Memorial Hermann.   You can watch it here from click2houston.com sports page.

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The Texans are all smiles after ending their winning streak. I wrote a column here on click2houston.com sports last week that Kubiak is the man for the the job and should keep it if they go 7-9, 8-8 or 9-7. My belief is only a 6-10 finish will cost Kubes his job. Bob McNair loves the guy and …
So does Mario Williams. Listen to his interview from click2houston.com sports here.

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Wednesday night at 10 on Local 2 Sports, I’ll announce Houston’s HS Football Player of the Year presented by Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation.   Over 40,000 of you voted and we appreciate the unbelievable support!  

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I’ll be calling the Class 5A Division 1 State Championship game at 2pm Saturday in Fox Sports Net with Shea Walker from the Alamodome in San Antonio.  It”ll be Austin Westlake vs Euless Trinity.    The nightcap has Katy facing Abilene for the 5A Division 2 Title.

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With Rice basketball,  the Football Roundup with me and Malatesta on ESPN 97.5 will shift this week from the normal Wednesday 7-9p slot to likely Thursday or Friday.  Hoping to get a few minutes with Mack in Austin.  We are efforting . The only College and HS football show in Houston. Listen to us and you’ll learn a thing or two. We promise or the trip to Sonic is on us!

Suh wins Lombardi; Astros lose ground in Indy; Texans

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Worst kept secret in college football’s postseason awards tour is official. After  it leaked out on Twitter,   Nebraska’s man among boys Ndamukong Suh formally won the Lombardi Award downtown.   TCU’s Jerry Hughes, OU’s Gerald McCoy and Bama’s Terrence Cody all showed up too.  Suh may sweep all of the awards, other than the Heisman.  But voters I know tell me Suh will get Heisman votes and take away from other front liner

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Slow week for the Astros in Indy.. They got bad news on Valverde,  realized Tejada likely won’t be back and today lost their other go-to reliever LaTroy Hawkins to the Brewers.  Ouch!

Their big move?  reliever Matt Lindstrom from the Mighty Marlins.  He got rocked couple of times early and I  mean pounded badly before settling in.  He throws 100 mph but this is the big leagues and heat doesn’t get out hitters a high percentage of the time.   He had 15 saves last year and a fat ERA but after his struggles he wasn’t too bad..

“We’re happy to have Matt as a part of our club,” Wade said. “He has a tremendous arm and has shown closer’s stuff in the past. He had some health issues last season, but we believe he’ll bounce back. We feel he has the capability to be our closer or to at least share those responsibilites.”

Don’t get excited though. If Lindstrom is the Astros closer we’re in trouble.   

Drayton, you better lower those prices on the concessions or I’m not buying those cold hot dogs and flat Cokes  anymore.

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Texans compound today.  Matt Schaub worked out and is good to go for Seattle despite a shoulder issue.  He had it popped back  into place in Jacksonville and showed his guttiness  that some claim he doesn’t have ,and played pretty well.

Bad news today:   Steve Slaton is done. On the IR with the nerve issues in his hand and shoulder.  Moats, Brown and Foster will get time this weekend.   Also Mario Williams missed practice time with a groin problem.  I would be surprised if he’s not out there Sunday.

Gary Kubiak is McNair’s man and the big boss will need to be pushed to make a move.  Check out my column from Monday here on  www.click2houston.com sports and you’ll see why.  He’s got it on track, is a good solid coach and McNair doesn’t want to blow  this thing up again.

Now…finish 1-3 in these final four..and all bets are off..    7-9 or 8-8 and Kubiak will be back..You heard it here.

If Kubiak stays, the Texans stay on course… Be patient people

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It’s a new week for our Texans who are staring at a 5-7 record with 4 games left to play.  At best I see a 3-1 finish but  more likely your looking at 2-2.   

I wrote a column on Monday for click2houston.com sports about why blowing this thing up would be a mistake. Kubiak has this thing progressing, maybe not at the pace we all want , but he is progressing. Offense is highly rated and the defense has a brand of attack that I like. The “d” still needs a tweaking though in the secondary and pass rush but other than that they are better.

I’m in the minority when it comes to Kubiak. I personally like the guy and I haven’t seen another name that “legitimately” is available that would be better. Read the column I wrote and you’ll see why Cowher, Dungy, Gruden won’t be on the radar if there’s an opening here. Not gonna happen. So, that said, who is really out there?

The answer is : Nobody that’s any better than Kubiak. Period. Got that?

This team, which seems to never get mentioned enough in the media, has been lit up with big key injuries. Not an excuse but it’s an important fact that I know Bob McNair will take into consideration. Owen Daniels? Chester Pitts? Mike Briesel? The Texans haven’t won since Daniels went down and Pitts was a presence out there as well not to mention a team leader.

Defensively, Dunta has stunk it up and overall the secondary is weak. Antonio Smith hasn’t shown up most of the season and Mario is having a down year. Don’t blame Kubiak and his staff for that. These guys get coached up but at the end of the day people it is ALL about the players getting the job done on the field.

I’ll repeat. End of the day it’s ALL about the players getting the job done and performing. These coaches spend 70-80 hours a week preparing and teaching.

Last I checked, Kubes and his staff were interested in putting on the pads to do the work for the players..

It’s their job and thankfully the players, all of whom respect and have confidence in Kubiak, are looking in the mirror .

Let’s see if they show up these final 4 weeks.

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Are these the most  ho-hum Baseball Winter meetings you’ve ever followed?   Boring !!!

The Astros have been quiet and even if they make a move , it won’t be a splash.  They will lose their closer Jose Valverde and now would be on the brink of losing LaTroy Hawkins to Milwaukee unless our local club opens the checkbook.  LaTroy is a wanted man.  The highest bidder will win.

2010 lineup:

C      Quintero, Towles or Castro ( I think Castro will earn it at spring training)

1b    Berkman

2b    Kaz

ss    Manzella  ( good glove,  weak with the bat )

3b    Blum / Keppinger

LF    Carlos

CF     Bourne

RF    Hunter

Ok, let’s play ball !  The boys report February 20th to Kissimmee,  Full squad on Feb 24..

UH and Sumlin; Texans and Kubiak; HS Fball Player of the Year

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You folks that are UH backers can relax.  Your Cougar football Head Coach Kevin Sumlin isn’t going anywhere.  At least not this off-season.

Sumlin led the Coogs to a 10-2 regular season and has the program showing progress.  Losing two games in a CUSA shows the program isn’t where Sumlin wants it to be.   Give him credit though.  UH offers a fun brand of offense to watch.  That defense though is not very good right now.   That needs to change if UH wants to take another step next fall.   I’ll say it again.  If they could get out of CUSA and build a stadium.. I’d jump to a more respected football conference in a heartbeat.  TCU’s in the Mountain West which in my opinion would be an upgrade.  Only 28,000 fans  showing up for a season finale shows UH isn’t ready for a major conference yet.  With a bigger stadium, would they fill it ?

Sumlin has already been rumored for multiple jobs:   Colorado as I tweeted last month ( until Hawkins was given another year ),  Kansas (if Mangino is booted) and Louisville (open now).   If Texas A&M makes a change after next season if things don’t improve, you can bet Bill Byrne will have Sumlin on speed dial. 

Sumlin is a hot name across the country and as he keeps winning, and I think he will, he will be pursued again next year and after that. 

An extension has been a given since early in the year when it was evident UH was for real nationally and recently Sumlin admitted he and UH AD Mack Rhoades have begun to chat about a new deal.   It’s coming, perhaps next week from what I’m told and he’ll be given a nice pay raise along with his assistants.  They all deserve it.  But like any deal, it has a buyout and when that big time job offer comes in 2010 or 2011 it will be hard to say no.    For now, Kevin’s a happy camper at UH and in his community.  He still has some building to do with his Cougar program.  He’ll hit the recruiting trail on Sunday after the CUSA title game against East Carolina Saturday in Greeneville.

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Big 12 Title game is at Jerry’s Palace in Arlington Saturday night.  Local 2 Sports will of course be there front and center to take it in.  Winston Dutchin will be in the house with Photographer Allen Reid. Coverage on Local 2 Sports Saturday and on SPORTS SUNDAY at 11pm this weekend.   Then…it’s on to the Rose Bowl.  Last time I was on that field, my man VY ran right at me and Reid for the GW Touchdown.  What a night that was!   They’ll be back and I think it will be against the Florida Gators. 

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The Texans begin a crucial 5 game stretch this weekend in Jacksonville.  Look at their remaining games and there is no reason why they can’t go 4-1.  Smart decisions, protect the football and play a full 60 minutes.

 I’ll write more later on why I still believe Gary Kubiak is the man for this job and good for the organization.   He’s made mistakes like every coach does in the NFL and has grown into the job.  He has more growing left to do but he and Rick Smith have built a team that is close.  A few more good decisions on the field and in the off-season with acquisitiions and they will be a playoff team. 

Blow Kubiak out now?   Be ready to start from scratch with a new coach who for all we know may want to come in and shift to a 3-4 defense.  That would mean big changes on the player side that would take time.  I don’t want to go there.

I am amazed at how much Kubiak gets blamed.  Yes he’s the coach and much falls on him.  But the Texans players have been given a free pass for the most part.  Every week, same answers in the locker room with no accountability.

 Bob McNair said it best yesterday when he called out the players to step up and do their jobs .  I always believe they need to earn their paychecks and produce.  They haven’t in many areas and few have been called out.   I’ve been pretty vocal in this space, on Sports Sunday and every week on ESPN 97.5 when Matt and I do the Texans segment on the football show.

I doubt I’ll be invited to the Texans Christmas party this month but that’s ok.  I don’t have the patience to sugarcoat things.  The Texans are “close”.  Here’s hoping for a strong finish and that McNair keeps his sense and realizes, what I believe he does now..that Kubiak is the right guy.  Lose him now and he may regret it one day. 

Stay tuned…

We’ll have it all covered for ya as usual on SPORTS SUNDAY this weekend at 11pm. 

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Wow, over 20,000 votes on our Sports Poll on www.click2houston.com/sports  already for our MEMORIAL HERMANN HS FOOTBALL ATHLETE OF THE YEAR.   Keep voting, your votes count 40%.  We’ll cut down to the Top 4 later this week.  Voting ends next Wednesday.  The winner’s school will get a nice big check from MEMORIAL HERMANN.

Chris Sampson opens new Baseball Academy in Baytown

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Had the chance to spend some time Saturday with  Brad Mills, Lance Berkman and Hunter Pence at the teams’ Thanksgiving event for former Homeless families here in Houston.  Really had a great time out there Saturday morning  with them talking about the event and of course talkin’ some baseball which is always a good thing any time of the year.  Brian McTaggart of MLB and Alyson Footer of Astros.com were also on hand at MMP.

Today.. I made the trek out to Baytown to hang with Astros pitcher Chris Sampson and his buddy Kade Johnson who are now the proud co-owners of ….. LoneStar Baseball Academy off of YMCA drive  in Baytown.

 Here’s a pic I took from today’s ceremony at the new complex.  Chris is partnering with Kade Johnson as Co-Owners of the facility that will cater to teaching local kids the finer points of the game as well as help athletes take their game:  pitching, catching, hitting to a new level of development.   Contact them at : www.lonestarbat.com

Horns,TCU still on outside looking in on BCS;Fri Sports Forum-LPGA

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The new BCS list is out..   Florida and Bama are 1 and 2 like it should be.   Sorry about that Horns Nation.  UT is number 3 after playing another below average Big 12 team.  That’s the problem.  the Big 12 is weak in both the South and North so those strength of schedule boosts aren’t  happening now or anytime soon.  With OU, Tech, Mizzou, KU and K-State all down based on previous seasons, there’s not much to brag about in the good ol’ Big 12.  Texas’ best opponent this season has been Oklahoma State and that’s it.

Meanwhile the SEC is its normally stout conference with no weak sisters.   Ok, Kentucky, Vandy…don’t count.  Everybody else can win on any Saturday..   Not the case in the Big 12.

In the past two weeks there have been other scenarios that  pointed out why Alabama/Florida  could very well meet in the SEC Championship and the way the computers could break down, again for the National Championship..  I think that’s a long shot but in this system you never know.  Texas finishes with Kansas and A&M so they need blowouts in both and hope for a blowout loss by Alabama against Florida in the SEC Championship. If that’s a close one or if Bama’ beats Florida in a tight game, they could easily just flip flop and the boys in burnt Orange could miss out again.

Then there’s TCU.  Big fan here of Gary Patterson. One of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet in the college coaching business.  I used to play in the TCU golf tournament when I covered the Frogs w/FSN and Patterson was as approachable as they come.   This team he’s got…. Very salty bunch full of players that Mack Brown and UT  recruited and missed out on.  It’s a team that will give Texas fits and probably any team in the country.  They are that good and probably should be in the top 3 but the system won’t allow it….  yet.. 

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LPGA Championship in town this week at the Houstonian.   Christina Kim and Stacy Lewis are on SPORTS SUNDAY with me tonight. 

I’ll be there much of the week, playing in the Pro-Am Wednesday and hosting the kickoff breakfast at 7:30am Friday at The Houstonian.   For 25 bucks you get the breakfast and a one day tournament pass with parking.  Go to www.fridaysportsforum.org  to register.

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McGrady was “misunderstood” in report… Really?

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Short and sweet because it’s been a long one and time to head out….. Frenzy Game of the Week announced tonight:  Pearland vs North Shore.  We’ll hand out our Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine and Rehabiliation Athlete of the Week Award tomorrow night at 10pm.

Now to our local NBA club..

Rockets blew a big lead, 13 at one pont and wound up losing 121-103 in Dallas tonight.  Love this tempo and the heart of the guys but scouting is detailed these days.  In baseball they figure out weaknessess and tendencies quickly and same goes for the NBA.  Teams will figure out the Rockets can’t win consisently with this bunch running and gunning every night. 

Before the game, Tracy McGrady told the media in Dallas that he was “misunderstood” in the Yahool article Monday. 

What?

Adrian Wojnarowski is one of the best and well connected NBA guys in the country.  Something tells me he read the email response from Tracy correctly.

Anyway, we’ve been there before with Tracy.   He thought he said November 18 as a return and today backtracked and said it was only a target date.

The Rockets, who were not informed by Tracy that he spoke with Yahoo, say there is no timetable on his return.

Not sure what the posturing is all about .  Maybe Tracy is showing he doesn’t want to be here in Houston?   I think there are plenty of fans, and I’m convinced a few inside the organization that would show him the door. 

He’s making something like 23 million this season which makes him the highest paid athlete in any sport and he’s not even playing…..yet.

Good gig if you can get it.

McGrady does it again…His act doesn’t sit well with Rockets

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Here we go again.   Tracy McGrady decides to play doctor and gave Yahoo Sports the scoop that he’s planning to play November 18th at Minnesota.

What?

That’s funny.  It’s news to the Rockets organization..  Again.   We’ve been down this road before. 

We spoke with GM Daryl Morey today and he downplayed Tracy’s status . That interview was before Adrian Wojnarowski’s story on Yahoo came out.

Click here to watch and listen to the Morey interview at practice Monday.

Tonight, Morey and the Rockets released this statement:

“While we are all encouraged by the fact that Tracy’s rehabiliation has been ahead of schedule, we must remain vigilant through the next stages of his recovery.  No timeline has been set for his return.  He will return when team doctors, officials and Tracy all agree it is best. We will refrain from further public comments.”

So, when he’s back is anyone’s guess.  

 Another reminder though Tracy: get with your team and boss before laying out your own playing plans next time and causing more confusion.

  That’s kind of how it works.   Just saying…

Texans need to go 6-1 rest of the way

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I can feel your pain people.  I have read the emails today and from the SPORTS SUNDAY blitz last night.  Some are blasting the Texans for their inconsistency, others are praising the Texans with a few  ‘atta boys”!  What? 

“I don’t believe in moral victories,” said Andre Johnson after the loss.

I hate to break the news to you but we are 8 years into the franchise and ‘atta boys’ don’t fly anymore , at least not in this space  and thankfully Andre Johnson isn’t a moral victory guy either.

The Texans check into their bye week with a 5-4 record and it’s tough to digest they should of won yesterday and would of been 6-3.  Heck, they’ve left a couple of other wins out there as well so really 8-1 isnt’ a stretch if they would of made a play here or a play there..  Check that..  a yard here or a yard there.

A 5-2 finish may get them into the playoffs but I doubt it from what I can gather from the other contenders schedules.  6-1 would get them to 11-5 and into the post-season.  Tennessee on MNF is next and also there’s a home date with the Colts  and Seattle..Road trips to STL, Jax and Miami.. and the season ender with the Patroits.  If the Texans are lucky, the Pats will have already clinched and may not play the regulars very much in that final week. 

Looking at these final 7.  I’ve got some bad news for you diehards and kool-aid drinkers.   6-1 isn’t going to happen. Neither is 5-2 unless we get our wish with the Patroits.  Otherwise I see a 4-3 finish and a 9-7 regular season. 

A winning record!   But no playoffs and one win shy of the 10 I predicted back in July.

What’s your take? Can they shock the world?   Send your rants to  sports@click2houston.com

Spare me the Moral Victory emails on the Texans

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Sports Sunday Soundoff question :    What disturbs you the most about the Texans loss? 

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For those of you drinking the Texans Kool-aid, and your out there because I’m ready your rants in the Ebag.  Stop and pause and repeat after me if you want to learn something about football.

Moral Victories don’t count in year number 8 !    Got that?   If a Bearkat can figure that out, I’m sure you Aggies, Horns , Bears , Red Raiders and Sooners  can to.

The Texans played a good team today in Indy but when it was over…. THEY LOST. 

Sure there are the feel good stories you’ll hear and read about.  We all watched the game.  Yes it was nice to see the  fellas fight back and not cave in.  At the end though…. THEY LOST

They have 7 to play and they need to go 6-1 to make the playoffs.  5-2 if they’re lucky.  Boys it’s time to man up and play a full 60 minutes if you know what I’m saying and I think you do.

Concerns are endless for this team right now and as fans you should be worried  as well.

1  ANOTHER FIRST HALF MELTDOWN

2  POOR ADJUSTMENTS IN THE FIRST HALF

3   FUMBLES

4   POOR TACKLING

5   WEAK RUNNING GAME

6   MISSED FIELD GOAL

I can go on if you’d like but this being close to the Holiday season and all, you know I kind of want to be the nice guy that I am and take it somewhat easy on the gang. 

On SPORTS SUNDAY tonight though , we won’t.   Make sure you watch the FIRING LINE with me, Lopez (610)  and Harris(1560) .  It’s pretty darn good TV each week where the hot sports opinions fly from all directions  from the voices and faces you’ve grown to love (and hate ) in the  Houston media circuit.  We like it and hope you do as well.

See ya tonight at 11p or so after the Cowboys/Eagles and Local 2 News for SPORTS SUNDAY for our blowout Texans/Colts coverage from Indy, Dynamo’s Big day, Rockets and much more.