Open Letters: Michigan, Go Blue!!

Hello Wolverines.

Yes, I'm one of your own.  Not a native son, I doodled around in High School and ended up attending a local Junior College and a school with no intercollegiate sports, but an adopted son. Whether or not you claim me is up to you.

I am a Wolverine fan. I have been since High School when I saw Bo Schembechler roaming the sidelines in his shades and big, burly offensive linemen plowing gigantic holes for running backs to gash through. A High School acquaintance of mine, who today would probably have no memory of me, attended there and the bond was sealed.  Jarrett Irons was one of the great Michigan linebackers of all time, and I had a couple of high-school classes with him.

Prior to adopting Michigan as my team I sort-of rooted for who my parents did. I was a (sort-of) Sooner fan because me father rooted for them and I was a (sort-of) Oklahoma State fan because my grandfather went there and played basketball for them under Iba. (Back when they were Oklahoma A&M).

I then dabbled in UH fandom, when I attended a university in their system, but I never could 100% get behind the Coogs because of my love for the Maize and Blue.  Add to that the fact that UH fans are..what's the word?.....interesting sorts, and I fell out of the pattern of rooting for them as quick as I fell in. As a sports free agent I settled back in with Michigan, knowing this was the pattern when UH went to the Big House and got walloped 50-3.  My UH fan friends were despondent, I was giddy.

All of this was before Appalachian State.

During that game I was sitting in an Austin bar watching everything unfold on TV.  I won't rehash it, we know what happened. Then a UT-Austin fan sitting next to me started screaming at me that I should "find a real team to root for" before he was ushered out of the bar by the biggest bouncer I have ever seen. The bartender apologized and gave me a free whiskey for my sorrows.

I married an Ohio State fan.  Which makes me somewhat odd among Michigan fans in that I don't hate Ohio State, I don't like them but I begrudgingly respect them, but instead reserve my rival vitriol for Sparty.  In fact, I've had way more intelligent (and friendly) sports conversations with Buckeye fans than I have with Sparty fans. I even get along with them.

Read into all of the above what you will.  I think my fan bonafides are solid but your mileage may vary.  But pulling for the Wolverines is one of the reasons writing this open letter was so difficult. It's much easier to pen an even-headed letter to a fan base when you're not a fan yourself.  When you are a fan, you need to ensure that the fog of disappointment has fully cleared.

So, here we are. Year 3 of the Harbaugh era and things are not progressing exactly as we hoped. Granted, the first year was pure job.  Harbaugh took a team that got progressively worse under Brady Hoke and went 10-3 with a Citrus Bowl win.  Next year he matched that record but lost the Orange Bowl.  Now this year, and we're sitting at 8-4 with a bowl coming that probably won't be what we want, and there's still the issue of losing all but one game in three seasons to Michigan State and Ohio State.

Now is not the time to panic. Now is certainly the time to take a few things into consideration however.


1. Year Four for Harbaugh will be key.

Don't listen to the Paul Finebaum's of the world, Harbaugh is doing just fine as Michigan's coach. Finebaum is a troll who's sole goal is to see the SEC dominate the football landscape. Harbaugh leaving Michigan would be bad for the B1G.  that said, if Coach Harbaugh doesn't improve on his 3rd and 4th place division finishes in year 4 it will be time to show some concern.

We're not paying Harbaugh to finish behind Ohio State, Michigan State or Penn State, we're paying him to beat them, if not routinely then a majority of the time.  So what's happened so far is discouraging, but it's not a crisis.....yet.


2. We need a quarterback.

I would argue that Michigan's skill position players are as good as they ever were. On defense they might even be better. But the glaring hole for this team is the signal caller, and we're not sure if what's on the roster is the long-term fix.

I think we know what we have in Peters, but the unknown is Dylan McCafferey. IF McCafferey is the quarterback we all think he is things will be OK.  If he's not?  Then Peters had better develop because with Speight transferring to another school it's all in on the youth movement.


3. Recruit. Speed.

Harbaugh needs to continue along his path of recruiting fast, athletic players and big-guys on the lines.  It really is that simple.  He's rated high in the mythical recruiting rankings so far and he needs to keep that up and show results on the field.



I'm a believer in Harbaugh, even after year three.  I saw the holes in Rich Rod's game early, and I was never a huge fan of Brady Hoke, but Jim is one of ours, he's a Michigan Man through and through, a native son, not an adopted scoundrel like myself.

So, my advice to the Big Blue Nation is this:  Don't panic.

The program is in MUCH better shape now than it was 3 years ago, and it's infinitely better than it was 10 years ago, when Appalachian State happened.

What people forget however is that the Michigan team that lost to App State went on to finish 9-4 and win the Capitol One Bowl.

Their opponent?

The Tim Tebow led Florida Gators.

Go Blue!!

Sincerely,

Cory

College Football: The Problem with the College Football Playoff

Here we go again.

Another year another in a long list of confusing interim Top 6 rankings from a CFP committee that continues to re-write the rules week-to-week depending on how it thinks it can generate the most controversy.

And it's a sham.

We're constantly told that "body of work" is important with the "eye test" being used (by supposed experts who watch a 'lot' of college football) only to intervene in situations where it's close between two teams.  They say they have criteria, and then they toss them out the window when Auburn beats a pedestrian Alabama team.

Here's the current Top 6

1. Clemson
2. Auburn
3. Oklahoma
4. Wisconsin
5. Alabama
6. Georgia

How you can justify Auburn being in the top 2 is beyond me, especially when you consider that they've lost two games, one to Clemson and one to LSU.  I'm OK with Clemson at number one. Their loss was on the road to Syracuse on a Thursday night when their quarterback was out with injury.  That's an excuse, Auburn doesn't have one of those.

Granted, using the "eye test" Auburn looks pretty good right now.  They boat-raced Georgia right out of the building and they handily beat Alabama.  Those are two quality wins.

But Wisconsin is undefeated, and Oklahoma's one loss is better than Clemson's one loss. If we're going on "body of work" then how in the world can you justify placing UCF at 14?

In short, you can't.  Because UCF's win over USF is much better than Wisconsin's win over Michigan. Ohio State (at 10-2) has a better body or work than Alabama (who, to be honest, have beaten nobody very good this year) and Stanford coming in at 12 is just mind-boggling.

Were I to rank the teams it would be as follows:

1. Clemson - I have no beef with this.  As I said, they're the defending champions and their only loss has a ton of asterisks around it.  Clear number 1 in my mind.

2. Wisconsin - Again, undefeated is undefeated folks and that's hard to get around. In retrospect, the win over FAU is looking pretty good, and they do have wins over Michigan, Iowa and ranked Northwestern to crow about.

3. Oklahoma - I don't see really any other place for them. Their loss to Iowa State looks worse after Farmageddon, but Iowa State is still a bowl team and it was on the road. They also have quality wins over Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Texas (a bowl team) and TCU.

4. UCF - You should not underestimate what they've done this year. Wins over Maryland, Memphis, USF and Navy are quality wins. Discounting those is difficult to do.

5. Alabama - While I'm not a fan of the Tide this season, they have the "best" one-loss of the year is much better than any other team's one loss.  They fall behind OU because they really haven't beaten anyone really good.

6. Memphis - I know, I know, but their only loss is to UCF and they have quality wins over UCLA, Navy and a pretty good Houston team. Their one loss was to UCF by a lot, but they get a chance at revenge this Saturday.

A lot of the rankings come down to how you view the American.  I view them as the single best group of five conference and the gap is not small.  In fact, I would argue the gap between the Pac-12 (the lowest rated Power 5 conference in my estimation) and the American is very, very small.  Compare the resumes and Memphis and UCF are right in there with the big boys.  Plus, my agenda does not include keeping the Group of Five out of the playoff as the CFP committee's obviously does.

Can you leave the SEC champion out of the CFP?

Of course you can.  Especially when they're having a down year such as this one.

It won't happen though, and either Auburn, Georgia, Alabama or (stunningly) two of the three might get in should OU & Clemson both lose.

A big part of me hopes for that latter scenario, so people can see just how corrupt and stupid this entire system really is.  We're not better off right now than we were under the old bowl system, which I think we should go back to.

If for no other reasons than to restore the primacy of New Year's day.

Open Letters: Dear Houston, Dominating the American is going to be harder than you think.

Hello Coogs,

Year one of the Applewhite experience was interesting yes?

Of course, your stated goal of dominating the American Athletic Conference and gaining entry into the P5 seems to be just a little further off than you thought.  Not that you had a BAD season, quite the contrary, but it's not the domination that you envisioned when you moved to the (then) Big East with the hopes that you would be able to beat the USF's and UCF's of the world.

Again, I'm not a fan, nor am I inherently against you. I'm just a schmuck who blogs in the Houston area so I thought you might, or might not, want to read some initial thoughts from a local whose not either a UT-Austin, or aTm fan.

With that said, let's take a look at a few things.

1. The book is still out on Applewhite.

I don't think he did a BAD job coaching this year, but the question of why it took him and his team so long to realize that King should have been the guy at QB all along is puzzling.  With the offense you are running a mobile QB is almost a must, and neither Postma or Kyle Allen were never going to be those guys.  In fact, I hate to say this but Kyle Allen is not a good QB, and his starting at ALL was almost as bad as the Texans decision to start Savage over Watson.  It's fair to ask yourselves that question when looking at the season.

2. Those bad losses will haunt you.

Just like in the Herman era, the Cougars ability to pull a loss from the jaws of victory sting.  Losing to bad teams from Texas Tech, Tulsa and Tulane has to sting, and the inability of your defense to stop Memphis should sting even more.  At this point it's a good thing that early season game vs. UTSA was cancelled because you might have lost that as well.

This continues a recent trend of the Cougars winning bigger games that they're not supposed to win and losing games where they should dominate.  That has to be something Applewhite fixes going forward.  Memphis is a coin flip either way, they're a good team, but the other losses, had they been wins, might have placed you in a position to win the American and go to a New Year's 6 bowl game (again).  You're not in a position to miss out on opportunities such as that.

3. Let's talk talent.

You have some DUDES on this team Houston.  We all know about Oliver but Nick Thurman, Matthew Adams, Duke Catalon, Mulbah Car and your two WR's (Linell Bonnar and Steven Dunbar) are next-level talent guys.  You've basically wasted the Sr. season of the latter two, but with the others you still have a window (minus Adams) to achieve great heights.

There's no reason that a team with the type of talent Houston possesses should have 3-4 loss years. Except coaching.

Now, granted, this was Applewhite's first year and some things changed from the Herman program which is natural. I would have expected struggles in the first of the year (see: South Florida) but I would have expected the team to pick it up significantly by games 3 or 4.  This SHOULD have been a team that challenged for the AAC championship.  You might want to be more than a little concerned that it did not.

This is not to say that Applewhite isn't the right guy.  The truth is you don't know.  But I do think you'd be right to get worried after next year if the results stay the same. Also, if recruiting starts to fall off.  Still, give Major some time and see what happens.  You should be in contention for the AAC title almost every year.  You haven't really been there for two-years straight now, mainly due to bad losses to inferior teams.

You have a right to expect that.

Good luck in your bowl game.

Sincerely,

Cory

Open Letters: Dear Texas A&M, About those expectations.

Hello Aggies,

Well, you've gone and done it. You've messed around and fired a coach who did the following:

Had a record of 51-26 (.662) as the coach of your football program.
NEVER had a sub .500 season.
Went to 5 bowls in five years and lost two of them.
Had players selected in the 1st round of the last six NFL drafts.
Had a player win your school's 2nd Heisman.

Granted, some of those wins and players (including the Heisman winner) were recruits of the last regime, and since Sumlin started playing a majority of his own players things seemed to stagnate at around 8-5. He also had difficulties winning games against a.) Conference opponents and b.) teams with winning records.

I say all of this to say "I get it". Sumlin had to go, at least you were more welcoming of him into your ranks than UT-Austin was of the first black coach in their history.

Of course, and I'm going to say this often in these little letters, I'm not a fan. Nor am I someone who really hates aTm and all things Aggie. I think Kyle Field is one of the best home-game advantage stadium in all of college football and I think your traditions, and the embracing of them, is good.  I think it's a little silly that UT-Austin is in your fight song, (which is really odd when you sing it and you're playing say....Ole Miss) and the whole #BTHO [Insert Team Name Here] seems excessive to me but overall you and I are on neutral terms.

That said, we need to talk about some things.

1. Beware the curse of Nebraska

Back in the olden days of college football, when Keith Jackson was still calling games and when players still sported half-shirts un-ironically on the field, Nebraska decided that they weren't getting what they wanted out of a coach and pulled the trigger on Frank Solich, who had just finished 9-3. We all know what happened next.

My worry is that you're doing the same thing here, that you've decided, despite facts, that Texas aTm is a Top 5 job and that you deserve a top-flight coach to get it done. It's more likely that you're going to end up with a string of Bill Callahan's and Bo Pellinis which won't get you where you want to be.

2. Too-high of expectations.

This is not going to be easy for you to hear, and some of you might react to it in a negative way, but let's just get it out in the open:  Texas A&M is not now, nor has it ever been, a Top 5 (or 10 to be honest) college football job.  Go ahead, repeat that to yourself several times, go outside and holler at the heavens.  I'll wait......

Back?  Good.  Now before you start sharpening Revile's fangs to come after me hear me out. I'm not saying that Texas aTm is a BAD job, only that's its not one of the top jobs in the country.  Yes, you have money and some resources and a sweet conference alignment, but you're at the middle-bottom of a division that features Alabama, Auburn and LSU.  All of those are top 10 locations. In my mind you're Mississippi State, the two programs are so similar it's startling.  And your expectations should be about there as well.

3. What should those expectations be?

Here it is simply: No worse that 7 wins annually, with a couple of years in every 5 year period that you finish with double digit wins and challenge for (and sometimes win) the SEC title, which puts you in the conversation for the CFP as it currently stands.

From that perspective, Sumlin failed because he never came close to the latter.

While not a bullet point I would also encourage you to talk to UT-Austin, revive your Friday after Thanksgiving series with them. I would also caution that a lot of coaches who were a good fit in other places might not be the best of fits in College Station given the culture you have developed.

Yes, I might include Jimbo Fisher in this list.

Good luck in your coaching search and in your upcoming bowl, should you decide to play in one.

Sincerely,

Cory

Open Letters: Dear Rice, What a mess.

Hello Owls,

That was quite the disappointing year eh? As a matter of fact it was so bad a very good man, but probably so-so football coach David Bailiff got shown the door.  He'd been your coach for 11 seasons, many of them pretty good and, to your credit, you didn't do the same thing that you did with good man, and also so-so football coach Ken Hatfield the time before.

You didn't hang onto him for too long.  Good on you.

Now comes the real problem, who are you going to hire next?

Houston wants you to be good.  Because Houston sports are much better when you are, and when you're going to bowl games and distracting the lot of us from sub-par Texans football in December. Houston can't take up all the slack alone (I've got some things to say to them later) so you need to step in and fill the gap sometimes.

I get it, Houston is a terrible college sports town. You feel like you toil and try and, especially in 2013, do some great things and nobody notices. That's true, but you still need to keep trying for the same reasons you keep getting your brains bashed in by UT-Austin.  Here are some things though that you need to consider.

First, I'll tell you the same thing that I told the Longhorns. I'm not a fan. Neither am I someone who roots against you. I live in Houston and write a sports blog, that's my only connection to you. Like the Longhorns when it comes to your athletics I am ambivalent.

1. This next hire is pretty important.

I've a feeling that whoever runs the program next could be the key to determining where you end up once the next round of realignment shakes out.  And, make no mistake, it's coming sooner rather than later. The age of the P5 is destined to fail under the new "CFP" system as is the myth that the so-called "Group of 5" teams have any chance of getting into the playoff.  Don't believe me? Look at UCF.  Once that happens there's going to be a sea-change in college football and where Rice stands in it.

2. Your resources, it's all about your resources.

Let's admit it, you don't prioritize college football nor should you. Rice is an academic institution first and foremost, one that just happens to participate in collegiate sports.  Even when your team was good and winning championships you had problems drawing fans to the games.  Some would say your ceiling should be that of Stanford, but that ignores the fact that the Cardinal place way more emphasis on sports as a front door to the university than do you.

3. Hire someone young.

I would suggest either a young, up and coming coordinator or a young head coach at the FCS level. I know you might be thinking of K.C. Keeler at Sam Houston, but at 58 he's not what I think you need. I'd take a look into Louisiana at McNeese State, Lance Guidry is a fine coach who had a down year but who might be able to bring some energy and excitement into your program. He's only making around $180,000 at McNeese so you should be able to offer him a half-a-Million.

4. If this doesn't work, you're going to have to consider FCS.

I realize that this is going to make you fairly angry but, if things don't turn around soon you might need to consider dropping to FCS for football and trying to get a decent conference affiliation for basketball only.  Rice in the Southland conference would be ideal, would lessen your travel budget, as well as your athletic-scholarship obligations.  Just something to think about, in case this C-USA, no-rival FBS thing starts to wear thin.

Whatever you do don't be tempted to stop the Bayou Bucket rivalry any time soon, as long as you're in the FBS. Playing Houston, and admitting they are your rival, is going to be a key step in generating interest in your program.  Why does Rice play Texas?  Because every once in a while they pull a massive upset.  Why does Rice play Houston?  Because they are rivals.

Here's hoping you get this hire right, to the 100 or so hard-core Rice football fans still out there.

Good luck in your coaching search.

Sincerely, 

Cory

Open Letters: Dear UT-Austin, Mack left a mess.

Hello Longhorns,

Rough year. Not at all what you were expecting.

After being ran over by Maryland your fighting Hermans rebounded against a pretty bad San Jose State team then proceeded to take you on a roller coaster ride for the rest of the year.

The USC game provided hope, as did good wins over Iowa State and Kansas State.  You came into the Red River Shootout Rivalry feeling pretty good about yourselves at 3-2 but then hit a rough patch with close losses to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State in successive weeks. True, you beat Baylor and Kansas, but so did pretty much everyone else. You also had a good win against West Virginia which was book-ended by a loss to Texas Christian and a bad loss to Texas Tech.

The end result? 6-6 which is one measly game better than all but one of the Charlie Strong years. You're paying Tom Herman a lot of money to be better, and this season has to hurt a bit. I get that.

First off, I'm not a fan. Neither am I a 'hater' of your program. In fact, when it comes to UT-Austin Football the best way to describe my feelings toward you is ambivalent.

That said, I live in Texas, and you consider yourself to be Texas' "premier" football program so I think we need to talk.

Mack Brown left the program in shambles.

I realize that this is not what you want to hear right now but it's true.  What Charlie Strong inherited was a dysfunctional, disorganized pile of dung with talent deficiencies at key positions due to questionable recruiting decisions by coaching, odd business decisions by the old leadership, and a proud program that needs to look in the mirror and realize that the long road back to championship glory is going to require some needed changes.

1. It's time to let the Longhorn Network die.

I realize that this was viewed as your salvation and that it's pumped a lot of money into your program but right now it's still a laughingstock and it's prevented the Big XII (X) Conference from pursuing any meaningful network. It's also estranged you from the rest of the FBS and has lessened your attractiveness for any new conference.  Your current administration needs to return to the bargaining table with ESPN, admit failure, and move on.  Maybe next time you'll remember to include your conference partners in any TV deal?

2. Talk to Texas A&M.

I realize there's a ton of sore feelings there but last Friday we all looked at the football schedule with a gaping hole in our hearts that the annual game between you two was dead, and has been for several years.  UT-Austin needs to play Texas A&M annually in the same way Georgia plays Georgia Tech.  And the game needs to be on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

3. Give Herman some time.

I realize that you're impatient. That you want to win and you want to win NOW.  But there are some serious talent holes that need to be filled, especially at WR, Oline, DLine, and QB and those will take more than one recruiting class to fill.  I think Herman will win there, but I don't think it's going to be a sudden turn like he did at UH. Part of the reason for this is that UH had excellent talent for him to work with.


Here's the thing Texas, even though a lot of people dislike you most of them WANT you to be good.  Because the Big XII(X), and college football in general, are better products when UT-Austin and OU are both playing at a high level.  We all want the Red River Shootout Rivalry to be meaningful, and we really do want you competing for the Big XII(X) title.

The only thing holding you back.......is you.

Enjoy the Texas Bowl.

Sincerely,

Cory

The Week 12 FIVE: Not this week

Sometimes, real life intrudes.

This is one of those weeks as I'm spending a lot more time on the road traveling for business than I would prefer.

As a result the FIVE is taking another week off.  I went 2-3 last week, which was a bummer because I felt really good about all five games.

One thing we do know about this college football season is that we really don't know much at all.

That said, this week is an AWFUL week for college football.  There's literally no game that I consider "must watch" as the SEC is giving us their annual "play a patsy" week and the teams that aren't are playing the bad teams.  The ACC isn't much better, while the Big XII has a couple of mid-card matchups of interest and we MIGHT find out something about Wisconsin.

Were I going to make some plays this week it might be these.....

UAB @ Florida (-11) (No Total Yet)

Florida has fallen apart and UAB is not THAT bad for a group of 5 team returning to the game after a two year hiatus where they shut their program down because the parent school in Tuscaloosa basically torpedoed them.  Pick: UAB to cover +11

Army @ North Texas (-3) (No Total Yet)

It's hard to believe that the oddsmakers and public haven't yet caught up to Army being really good but here we are.  North Texas is pretty good as well, but do you really feel comfortable saying the Mean Green will beat the Black Knights?  I don't.  Pick: Army to win on the M/L

UNLV @ New Mexico (-1) (No Total Yet)

All year I've been banging the drum for UNLV, but it's time to jump off the bandwagon.  They have a good QB, RB and.....not much else. The defense is atrocious and should struggle against the Lobo's triple option. Sorry Desert Rug Rats, but you've lost me.  Pick: New Mexico to cover -1.

And finally.....

Michigan @ Wisconsin (-8) (No Total Yet)

I've been mum on my Wolverines for the last couple of weeks and I think it's time to address some things.  First, the defense is still pretty good, but they've shown that they can tire and be ran over. 2. Harbaugh is still struggling to win big conference games. That's a problem he needs to address. 3. NO his job is not, nor should it be, in jeopardy.  The program is in much better shape now than it was at any point in the last 10 years.  We just need a QB to emerge,  That said I'm afraid that Wisconsin is the real deal and Michigan is going to have some issues with them.  I think the Badgers are underrated on defense and despite the fact that Michigan has shown an offensive pulse since making the QB change, this is too tall a hill to climb. All that said, hope springs eternal.  Pick: Michigan to cover +8

Enjoy the games or, if you're a more level headed person, go watch some college basketball instead.  The two ESPN games on tonight might be a good place to start.

The Week 11 FIVE: Quickly.

Win, Lose or Draw (usually lose) the FIVE continues to chug along.

Last week though was a winner (3-2) which raises our overall record to 16-22-2 such that it is.

I have a new slate of games to get to this week so let's get to it.

1. Duke (-3) @ Army. T: 48

I'm a big believer in the Black Knights this year and Duke seems to be struggling since they got broken by Miami. This is one of those where everyone might think Army is the better team, but the betting is going to go the way of the Blue Devils. Take advantage of that. Pick: Army to win on the M/L

2. Arkansas @ LSU (-17) T: 56.5

Yes, I know that Arkansas has looked like crap of late but LSU is coming off of Alabama and teams the week after playing Bama are.....not good.  Pick: Arkansas to cover -17

3. Florida @ South Carolina (-7) T: 45.5

Speaking of broken, have you seen the Gators of late?  Pick: South Carolina to cover -7.

4. Michigan State @ Ohio State (-15.5) T: 55.5

The easy play is that a pissed off Ohio State team is going to come out and whup up on Sparty at home.  The problem with that thinking?  1. I don't think Ohio State is that good and 2. I don't think Sparty is that bad. Pick: Michigan State to cover +15.5

5. Washington State (-1) @ Utah.  T: 52

Utah has questions as to whether it can score and who knows what Wazzu is these days, both of these teams seem different on the road vs. at home.  Utah looked great last week and that's hard to get out of my mind.  Look at Wazzu's last two road games.  Yuck.  Pick: Utah to win on the M/L.

I'll try to do a full write up of what promises to be a really great weekend of football tomorrow.

Maybe, the schedule she be pretty full right now.

Good luck and enjoy the games.

Houston Texans: Welcome to the disaster.

The Houston Texans are talking Kaepernick which tells you just far off the rails this team has gone.

As an admitted fan of the 49ers I've always been sympathetic to Collin. He got caught up in a dysfunctional team environment and then cast aside by a 2nd generation head coach who didn't want to deal with the drama.

Yes, he's a polarizing figure, much of that he brings onto himself in tandem with his activist girlfriend.  And yes, there are big (huge) questions regarding whether or not he can actually still play to the level he did during the Super Bowl run. But the issues with Kaepernick's protests are overblown and have become politicized to the point that the original intent has been washed away in a wave of psuedo-patriotism.

Ignoring all of that, were I the Texans I would give him a tryout.

'I'll boycott!!' you say?  I would argue that most of the fans who would abandon the team over that have left already and that's a small sub-set of fans anyway.

MOST fans just want their team to win. To feel like they're a part of something that's successful on Sundays.  And that's what fandom is really all about. Winning makes people feel good. They like it. Losing makes them feel like, well.....losers.

It's ridiculous and silly and it's all about being a fan.

For 49ers, and Texans, fans of late that's been a real hard thing.

At least the 49ers seem to have a plan for turning it around.  For the Houston Texans things have never seemed more dire.  You have an owner who isn't serious about winning, might possibly be slightly addled and is known more for his poor word choice than anything else. You have a general manager who might be the sucker at any table he sits down at, and a head coach who is irascible, foul mouthed and seemingly not very good at coaching the game of tackle football unless a gift from the God's is playing at QB.

But even WITH Watson the Texans record was 3 & 4 1/2. With three of those losses squarely falling on the shoulders of the Chin.  Whether as a result of bad game-planning or overly conservative play-calling it's apparent that BoB is in well over his head, and the team is destined to be 9-7, 8-8 or (more likely) worse with him in charge.

Here's the problem.  From top to bottom this is not a franchise that is built to win. It starts at the top, incompetent management who can evaluate talent in the first round, but which is splotchy in its track record in the subsequent rounds. The result of this is a roster with more holes than Mayor Turner's tax increase defense and no plan to address it.  Do YOU have any faith the Texans brain trust can draft its way out of this mess?

There are stars on the Texans, and a bunch of guys. The problem is most of the 'guys' are just that. Not players, not performers, but guys, roster spot fillers who would be camp bodies for good NFL teams, but who start for the Texans.  I'm not going to call anyone out, you (and they) know who they are.

After losing Sunday to the hapless Colts, one struggles to find a future game on the roster where the Texans could reasonably be favorites.

Well, except for my 49ers of course.  But 4-12 is now more of a possibility than is 9-7 and don't even think about 10-6. Such a thing for O'Brien is unpossible.

Maybe he can tell us again about his AFC Championships. THAT should do it.

Houston Astros: 2017 World Series Champions!!!

40 years.


That's how long I've been a fan of the Houston Astros.  I was five when my infatuation with the team started.

Back then it was all about Enos Cabell, Jose Cruz, J.R. Richard and Terry Puhl.  Then Nolan Ryan came on board and it all clicked. Through the years of Dickie Thon, Bob Knepper, Phil Garner, Kevin Bass, Bill Doran, Kevin Bass, Mike Scott and Denny Walling followed by Glen Davis, Jim Deshais, frumpy old Charlier Kerfeld and the magical 1986 team with the no-hitter.

After that some leaner years, with great (to me) players though. Billy Hatcher and Gerald Young, some young buck named Ken Caminiti, Buddy Bell, Danny Darwin and a young catcher named Craig Biggio. The dawn of the 90's brought us Larry Anderson, one of the pivotal players in franchise history and Casey Candele, the original 'everyman's' player.

But the trade of Larry Anderson (one of the games all-time great characters and funny-men) brought the Astros one Jeff Bagwell and we were off. Pete Harnish and Tony Eusebio joined the fold, each to play key roles in the development of the team. Daryl Kyle and Shane Reynolds joined the pitching staff along with Doug Drabek.  Eric Anthony joined the team and hit one of the longest home runs I've ever personally seen.

The mid-90's brought terrible uniforms, and Steve Finley and Luis Gonzales. Plus, a labor strike. (And Bagwell's only MVP.) Those were fun times. Derek Bell made his appearances as did Billy Wagner (Enter Sandman), The bulldog Mike Hampton and the debut of Bobby Abreu.

The late 90's brought us Sean Berry, Tim Bogar, Richard Hidalgo and the late, great Jose Lima.  And then the Grand Randy Johnson experiment.  Which was brilliant but fell just short.  Into the late 90's and early 2000's Lance Berkman, the Big Puma, started his rise to local hero fame. Carl Everette and Bill Spires were also mainstays of those teams. Teams that consistently finished either 2nd or 1st in the NL Central, but could never knock down the World Series door.

The 2000's ushered in the Ballpark at Union Station, also known as Enron Field. It also saw Moises Alou added to the roster, who may, or may not, have peed on his hands for grip, and flame-throwing, but out of control, Scott Elarton, and a cup-of-coffee by Dwight Gooden, who threw the first pitch ever at Enron in an exhibition game. I missed that first pitch, and the entire first inning, because the Metro bus driver from our park and ride got lost.

These early 2000's teams were good. Roy Oswalt was the ace and the offenses were stout. Brad Ausmus became the catcher and then-local sports columnist Richard Justice fell in love with him. Morgan Ensberg would be clutch from time to time and light-hitting Adam Everett was never the star they wanted him to be.

In 2003 the Astros spent a lot of money, for them, to sign Jeff Kent. He solidified the hot-corner and provided depth behind the "Killer B's" of Biggio, Bagwell and Berkman. In 2004 it all clicked. The Astros traded for Carlos Beltran before the trade deadline and he went on to have one of the best post-seasons of any player, ever. Oh yeah, they also signed Roger Clemons and Andy Pettitte to deals, this was a good team. There was trouble brewing however when closer Brad Lidge gave up a homerun in the NLCS to Albert Pujols that is still flying somewhere today.

But they ran into a juggernaut that year in the form of the Chicago White Sox, who swept them in four.  At that time we didn't care however, because we knew that big things were ahead for this team. How wrong we were.

The next year saw the loss of Billy Wagner, the signing of Chad Qualls and Wandy Rodriguez, and the beginning of a slide. 2006 saw the departure of Jeff Bagwell and Andy Pettitte, and the deepening of the slide.  By 2008 this was Lance Berkman's team. Carlos Lee was the 2nd star, but the Clemens and Biggio's and Bagwell's were gone. Hunter Pence showed promise, and Miguel Tejada had an all-star year, but the team finished 3rd. In 2009 the Astros signed Pudge Rodriguez, and finished fifth, things were coming off the rails, yet team owner Drayton McLane refused to acknowledge the team needed a rebuild. The City had fallen out of love with the team it once adored. 2009 was awful, the team finished 4th in the division and only Michael Bourn made the All-Star game, as the "has to be one" Astro representative.

After 2011 the team was sold. Jim Crane came in, inheriting a team that had lost 106 games and finished last in the NL Central.  2012 was last time the Astros would play in that division, and they finished dead last again, with 107 losses. One bright note, Jose Altuve was the team's All-Star game representative.

2013 saw the beginning of the rebuild. Dallas Keuchel was a rookie, Altuve was in a Sophomore slump but Jason Castro showed some promise.  The team lost 111 games. In 2014 though there was improvement. The Astros only lost 92 games, George Springer made his rookie debut, Altuve returned to All-Star form and Marwin Gonzales started playing better. The team had hope leading up to 2015.

As amazing as this sounds, the 2015 team led the Major Leagues in strike-outs, by a lot, and STILL made the wildcard game.  The team as we now know it was starting to come together as Carlos Correa, Brad Peacock, Luke Gregerson and Evan Gattis all joined the roster. The team made the playoffs, beat the Yankees in an exciting Wild Card game only to lose to the eventual Champion Kansas City Royals in heart breaking fashion. (The Astros blew a 3-1 lead before the Golden State Warriors did).  2016 was a year lost to injury and strikeouts, as the team decided it needed to go back to the drawing board to build a winner.

Enter 2017. And what just happened.

This team, this wonderful, outstanding, beautiful team that I've been following for my entire life just did what I thought was unthinkable.  All of the stars came together, the team signed Justin freaking Verlander, Alex Bregman became a star, Yuli Gurriel became a 33 year-old rookie, and Charlie Morton delivered 3 plus innings of some of the most clutch pitching I've ever seen.

It was a beautiful night, a marvelous night, a night that I never thought had any chance of happening.

But it did.

And right now I'm still not even sure it's really, really real.

Houston Astros: 2017 World Series Champions.


Thank you for giving this one Houston sports fan the sports moment of a lifetime.

College Football: The Week 10 FIVE

Last week, as advertised, I took a much-needed week off from the FIVE to visit Las Vegas and reset my compass.  Yes, I made some sports bets and no, I did not write about them. It was my annual "personal week" with the missus in Vegas and it did wonders.

We need to start this turnaround.

Sports betting is a marathon, not a sprint, and there are a ton of handicappers who will tout a "unbelievable" winning record over the short term but don't pay much attention to long-term. From the beginning I've said that I'm more concerned about the long-term than anything but I'm really going to need to start getting some stuff done if I want to hit my goal of 55% for the season.

To recap, I was 11-17-2 going into last week, which saw me go 2-3 which lowers my record to 13-20-2 for the season.  All I can say is I hope you're fading.

Previously I could point you to my "Bet the Rent" newsletter results to bolster my record but, sadly, last week the founder of that understandably decided it was no longer worth the effort he was putting into it and decided it needed to be shuttered.

Before I get into the picks I just want to thank Brian for the opportunity to write for him, albeit briefly.

Now, let's get back to the FIVE.....

1. Kansas State @ Texas Tech. (-3.5)  T: 63

My feeling has been that KSU head coach Bill Snyder has been given too much weight all year. His teams aren't near as good as they used to be and they DO, in fact, often make mistakes to beat themselves, especially on the road. I'm no fan of Kingsbury as a head coach, but he should win pretty easily here.  Pick: Texas Tech to cover -3.5

2. Maryland (-3) @ Rutgers. T: 50.5

Despite not looking horrendously awful at Michigan the fact remains that this is not a very good Rutgers team. Maryland has not been consistent this year but they do one thing well that Rutgers fails to stop.  They run the ball. They also have a good passing game. I think Rutgers struggles here. Pick: Maryland to cover -3

3. Iowa State @ West Virginia (-2)  T: 59.5

In case you haven't been watching, Iowa State is a good football team. They've shown the ability to handle spread offenses, while the Mountaineers have not looked good against better than average competition. (mild) upset here. Pick: Iowa State to win on the M/L

4. Army @ Air Force (-6.5)  T: 59.5

The Black Knights are bowl eligible. Let me repeat that, the Black Knights are bowl eligible. I also think there's a better than average chance they walk away with the Commander in Chief's trophy this year.  Air Force in Colorado will be tough though.  Pick: Army to cover +6.5

5. Oklahoma @ Oklahoma State (-2.5)  T: 76

It just feels weird having Bedlam occur this early in the season, but I think that OU is still the better team and there's something about this rivalry that brings out the worst in the Cowboys. I still think the Sooners will be a CFP team so I can't pick against them here right?  Pick: OU to win on the M/L




Bonus game:

CMU @ WMU (-4)  T: 48

I've got a weakness for Tuesday and Wednesday Night college football.  And while I will be watching the World Series tonight I'll have this game up on TV2 just for kicks.  Western Michigan is still a very, very good team, but this is a rivalry game so anything can happen.  Pick: Over the total of 48.


Enjoy the games and have a great weekend.

Houston Astros: So much for fate.

It seemed the stars were perfectly aligned. Then the game happened. A game that was as much of a wet fart for Astros fans as the city itself. 

Were you caught in rush hour traffic?  It took me 2 1/2 hours to get home, on a drive that typically takes 45 minutes to an hour. Then the rains came, we found a roof leak, and the Astros lost.  As far as bad birthdays go this one ranks right up there with the time only one kid showed up to my bowling party on Halloween day. (In retrospect, not the best day to hold a birthday party)

Days like this are why I no longer celebrate my birthday.  Fate is bunk.

And the Astros are in deep trouble.

It's not that they can't win the game tonight, but that I'm afraid they won't.  Because Yu Darvish is taking the mound against them, a very good pitcher that had a very bad game a few nights ago, but who will have the entire Nation behind him because he was the epitome of class after the Yuli Gurriel situation. (On a related note: Rich Hill is a sanctimonious prick)

But to cast this story as "the good guy Dodgers versus the bad guy Astros" is way, way to simplistic.  Don't forget that that walking piece of human garbage Chase Utley is on the Dodgers roster as is Yasiel Puig, who can have fun, but is also a brooding, glowering sore loser when things don't go his way.  And the Astros have Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa, two of the legitimately good guys in baseball.

It's never about "good versus evil" despite what fans will tell you, and despite the fact that I make jokes about it on various occasions.  It's about pitching versus hitting and I'm still worried that the Dodgers have more good of the former.

And that's a problem.

Because again the Astros bats went cold when they needed it most. They couldn't plate a single run with men on 2nd and 3rd with no outs, they went into a funk after that for four innings, in the 8th and 9th they went meekly, on around 20 pitches.

You never felt comfortable at 1-0 because you knew that Verlander is human.  A great pitcher no doubt, but human, and the Dodgers have a powerful lineup as well.  Taylor, Seager, Turner, Bellinger, Puig, Pederson is just as good as Springer, Bregman, Altuve, Correa, Gurriel, McCann, possibly better.

But here's the rub.  Morrow, Maeda and Jansen are much, much better than Morton, Gregerson and Giles.  Much, much, much better.

In game 7 the Dodgers give the ball to Darvish while the Astros place their hopes on Lance McCullers.  Unless the latter can miraculously do something that Verlander could not (Pitch 9 scoreless in a World Series elimination game) I'm afraid that the stage is going to prove to be too big, too soon for these baby Astros.

I hope I'm wrong.

Go Astros.