Worst Sports City? Houston

Alright. I know what your thinking...

The Rockets won back to back titles in 1994 and 1995. But remember this was due in large part to Michael Jordan's absence. (His first retirement and baseball tryout) Not to mention these two Finals had dismal ratings.

And what about Seattle? No major pro titles? And yes, Seattle recently lost the Supersonics. Seattle just cracks the top 25 for largest cities in the U.S. And Houston is the 4th largest.

I've lived in Houston for over two years now and it is extremely difficult to root for the home teams.

Since the back to back titles, Houston has struggled in the postseason, winning just two playoff series and failing to win a division title.

And of course last night the Rockets were in position to gain the number 2 seed in the Western Conference. A Houston win at interstate rival Dallas, and the Rockets were guaranteed a 3 seed. The Rockets were up 14 in the third quarter and lost by 11! Thus falling all the way to number 5.

NFL? The Houston Oilers never appeared in a Super Bowl. They do lay claim as the victims to the biggest NFL comeback in history. How can anyone forget the 1993 playoff disaster against Buffalo? The Oilers blew a 32 point lead! Even worse, they lost that lead to a backup QB, Frank Reich.

Now the Oilers don't even exist. They played their last game in 1996 with the team moving to Tennessee. Hell, the Titans have had more success than the Oilers!

The NFL came back to Houston in 2002, with a terrible name, the Texans. A lot of thought put into that one. Since their origin, the Texans are 40-72 and have never reached the postseason. They've yet to finish a season over .500!

Major League Baseball. The Astros have yet to win a World Series. They only recently won their first NL Pennant in 2005 and didn't show up for the World Series being swept by the White Sox.

They moved from the eighth wonder of the world, the Astrodome, to Enron Field. And we all know how that company turned out.

In 1980, the Astros broke the hearts of Houstonians. Up 2-1 in the NLCS against the Phillies, the Astros lost Game 4 5-3 in ten innings. Going into Game 5, the Astros had one of the best pitchers of all time taking the mound, Nolan Ryan. Ryan was going up against a rookie in a series clinching game. Of course Houston went on to lose 8-7 in ten innings. The last 4 games of that series all went extra innings.

And who can ever forget the ugly uniforms the Astros sported for so many years?

College sports? The Rice Owls did win the 2003 College World Series. But who outside Houston and Omaha remembers or cares?

The Houston Cougars do have the 1989 Heisman Trophy winner, Andre Ware. What a bust he became in the NFL. Dave Klinger set a lot of college passing records, but again, who remembers or cares.

What about the Houston Cougars college basketball history with Phi Slama Jama? More heartbreak. Led by Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon, the Cougars went to the final four 3 straight years from 1982-84. The '83 team will forever be linked to Jimmy Valvano running all over the court looking for someone to hug. Houston lost the championship game on an air ball 3 point shot that was rebounded and slama jammed for the winning bucket as N.C. State won the title.

The following year, once again Houston lost in the championship game to Patrick Ewing and the Georgetown Hoyas. A great run by the Cougars, but no championships.

The top sports franchise in Houston today? The Houston Dynamo! A soccer team! Again, no one outside of Houston knows or cares.

Dolphins/Texans Week 6

Since I'm always traveling for College Football on Saturdays, Sunday was a rare NFL Gameday for me. I was able to score a ticket to the Dolphins/Texans game. I went tailgating with some friends and we arrived at Reliant at 7:30 AM. Cracked my first beer at 7:35.

I like the NFL just barely over College Football. However the College Football Gameday/tailgating scene kills the NFL.

First off, tailgating for an NFL game your jaw isn't constantly hanging to the ground as you look on in disbelief at 30,000 beautiful coeds shot gunning beers, doing keg stands as they're all dolled up in sundresses looking like they're going out to the club, not a football game.

College football seems to have more passionate/drunk fans with a student body. Opposing fans beware as you will be heckled and yelled out to no end. You will see fights!

One other thing that sets college football apart from the NFL is the bands and the school fight songs. There's nothing like hearing "Boomer Sooner!" and "Go Gators!", to name a couple, played throughout a game.

My tickets to the Phins/Texans game were awesome! By the fourth quarter I was sitting in the front row right behind the Dolphins bench. I gave Ronnie Brown a couple of "War Eagles!" and he turned around and saluted each time.

I also had one of those Kangaroo TV's. If you've never seen one, they're pretty sweet. It's a palm screen that gives you every NFL game. You can have a sidebar of every NFL score and you can switch to any game. Along with scoring updates, you can also check any game/player stats. Definitely great for Fantasy Football junkies and gamblers.



The game started off great as it looked like the Phins would roll to their third win of the season. After Matt Schaub's second interception in as many drives, the crowd was chanting, "We want Sage!"

Running the "WildHog" formation, this Miami team is a lot of fun to watch. The Dolphins pulled out to a 14-3 lead on a "WildHog" running back pitch to Pennington with Chad connecting with a wide open Patrick Cobbs (North Texas) for 53 yards.

The play reminded a lot of the 2001 Nebraksa/Oklahoma game where back QB Mike Stuntz hit Eric Crouch for the electrifying winning TD on the Black 41 Flash Reverse.





Moments later, Pennington hooked up with Cobbs again on a screen pass that went for 80 yards. The Dolphins put together great down field blocking as this play developed.

The turning point of the game had to be Jacoby Jones' 70 yard punt return in the second quarter that gave the Texans new life.

Houston turned the ball over 4 times to the Dolphins, but Miami's defense was unable to hold up. The Texans finished with 485 yards of offense. Schaub had 379 yards passing and Andre Johnson burned the Miami secondary for 178 yards-all three of these numbers are Texans' team records.

It's safe to say that Miami's secondary is the weakest part of the team with much improvement needed.

The Texans were able to march down the field with the winning touchdown drive with 1:45 left in the game. The 12 play, 76 yard drive was highlighted by two crazy plays. First, on fourth down, Johnson made a circus catch somehow grabbing the ball away from Yeremiah Bell. Then on 4th and 2 from the 3 yard line, Gary Kubiak called a QB draw and Schaub was able to walk in untouched for the winning touchdown.

The Texans stunned the Dolphins (and myself) 29-28.

This Miami team will definitely be one of the surprises of the year in the NFL. The Dolphins are actually giving their fans something to cheer about. And Bill Parcells has put together a solid team just one year removed from a disastrous 1-15 season.

Heck, the biggest winner from the Brett Farve drama of the summer may be the Dolphins. Miami was able to land an experience quarterback in Chad Pennington instead of having to throw Jon Beck or rookie Chad Henne in to the wolves.

2008 Houston Texans

Coming off a 8-8 season, the Houston Texans are looking for their first winning season in franchise history and a shot at the playoffs.

The Texans are well stocked at maybe the most important position in the game, Quarterback. Matt Schaub will be the starter, but he has never showed he can play an entire NFL season. Last year, Sage Rosenfels came off the bench and performed unexpectedly well for the injured Schaub.

However neither is really considered as a franchise QB or a Super Bowl QB. At the same time, Trent Dilfer or Brad Johnson were never really considered to be Super Bowl caliber QB's. Heck, less than a year ago no one looked at Eli Manning as a Super Bowl winner.

At first look, Houston looks loaded in the backfield. But Ahman Green's endurance is questionable because of constant injuries. Chris Brown looked like a nice addition but also has been bit by the injury bug. Rookie Steve Slaton from West Virginia could be the X-Factor for this year's Texans. Slaton will most likely be featured as a third down back. Look for Slaton to get more and more playing time as the season progresses.

If Andre Johnson can stay healthy for the entire year, the Texans will always pose a threat on offense. Andre Davis filled in nicely when Johnson went down last year. Kevin Walter was actually the Texans' leading receiver last year. With Johnson and Walter starting, things should really open up for Tight End Owen Daniels. Daniels might be one of the lesser known TE's in the NFL, but he caught 63 passes for 768 yards last year.

For the most part, Davis will be featured on special teams as a kick returner. Houston is also hoping WR/KR Jacoby Jones can come back and bring the explosive potential he showed in the 2007 preseason.

The offensive line has improved on protecting the quarterback each of the last two years. In 2005 David Carr was sacked a record 68 times. 2006 the sack count when down to 43 and last year the O-line allowed only 22 total sacks.

The Texans' defense will keep the team in every game. The defensive line anchored by Mario Williams should improve on shutting down the run and adding pressure to the quarterback. Last year Williams showed why the Texans drafted him as the number one overall pick. He finished with a franchise record 14 sacks.

The defensive line runs deep and they should be able to constantly rotate guys. N.D. Kalu, Amobi Okoye and newly acquired Roosevelt Colvin will help to provide a solid defensive front.

The Texans' also feature the most under rated linebacker in the NFL, DeMeco Ryans. All Ryans has done in his brief two years as a Texan: 2006 Defensive Rookie of the Year, 2008 Pro Bowl starter and racked up 283 tackles.

Morlon Greenwood provides excellent experience playing alongside Ryans.

The secondary will be under the most pressure with leader Dunta Robinson out until at least the halfway point. Fred Bennett, Will Demps and Jamar Fletcher will really have to step up.

Kicker Kris Brown provides a reliable leg and is always good fantasy football pick.

As for the schedule, outside the division, Houston has favorable games against Oakland, Baltimore, Miami, and the entire NFC North.

If they can find success in the running game, Houston should easily go 10-6 have a shot to make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.