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Win One FOR THE GIFFER |
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Giff Nielsen
June 2008
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football More KHOU Blogs
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April 2008 ArchivesWe were all on the edge of our seats waiting to see how the Rockets would come out the door in game five against the Jazz. The fans in Toyota Center were primed to blow the top off the place and they were whipped into an absolute frenzy from the start. ...So here we go! Will this be the final game for the Rockets this season or will they live to play again? Toyota Center will be rockin' tonight for game five. You can bet the local pro basketball fans will be wired doing everything they can to spur on Rick Adelman's team. For the Rockets, it's win or go home, it's that simple! ...The NFL draft is an event that seems to be getting bigger and bigger. With so much pre draft coverage and then wall to wall analysis, the thought is, everyone knows so much about a player, one can predict whether or not he will be successful or be a bust. But in reality you just never know what will happen. ...How refreshing was it to watch Rafer Alston back in the line up for game three of the Rockets/Jazz playoff series. It just proves what a key role Raf has played with this team this season. He is the energy the Rockets feed off and that seems to take pressure off everyone else. Even Tracy McGrady looked fresh in the fourth quarter quieting all of his critics with his clutch performance. T-Mac knows, along with everyone else on the team, it's because of Alston's outside shooting, his attacking the basket, his blanketing defense and his sharing of the basketball that the Rockets played step for step with the Jazz... Who cares about pitching? Oh sure, you win championships with quality arms but who really cares when the Astros are hitting and scoring runs like we've seen during their five game winning streak! General Manager Ed Wade has put together a club that loves to swing the bat. I was sitting with my producer Carleton Cole a couple of nights ago watching the hit parade. We were commenting about the offensive talent in the Astro line-up. I mention to him that if you have Mark Loretta hitting seventh, you might be one of the best or even the best offense in baseball. Opposing pitchers have to pick their ... As the NFL draft comes up this Saturday and considering how the Texans finished last season, football fans in Houston are on the edge of their seats wondering what the team is going to do. It's beginning to get fun around here as the Texans improve. You can feel it in the air... the excitement is building. Will they trade up or down with the 18th pick of the first round or stay put selecting the player they covet. There has also been talk about trading players to get more picks. ...Things happened pretty much the way I thought it would in game two of the Rockets-Jazz playoff series. Utah just kept coming with fresh bodies the entire game and you knew it would wear down the depleted Rockets. As I watched some of those wayward Rockets shots and their execution at the end of the contest, it was clear the Jazz' game plan was run to perfection. Tracy Mcgrady is on his way to his 7th first round playoff exit in his career and I really feel bad for the guy right now because he doesn't have chance in this match up. He's always been one to sit before the media after a game and face the musi... Game two of the playoff series between the Rockets and the Jazz will take place tonight at Toyota Center. After what happened in game one, I really don't see a silver lining for the home town team. The Rockets may win a close one tonight on sheer guts and determination but they won't win the series. Utah is too deep and too healthy. I was doing a television interview yesterday with a crew from KUTV in Salt Lake City. They were asking about my thoughts on game one and what would happen during the rest of the series. It's pretty simple to me. I told them you can't take, who many consider the best center... I am troubled to hear about another fabrication involving Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada. As he was coming to Houston in the off season, baseball fans were so excited because the middle of the infleld for the local baseball team would be manned by not only an excellent fielder but also a player who could rip the baseball. Tejada is clearly one of the best players in the game and to think the Astros could get him was bringing total excitement. But he was coming with a cloud over his head as he was being investigated for possibly lying to governmental officials involving steroids. As he came clean yesterd... So now we know. The Rockets will once again open the playoffs against a team their fans love to hate, the Utah Jazz. In fact, everyone around here can't stand the group from the Beehine state. Don't get me wrong. There is respect on both sides from the players just because the way they are coached along with the effort both clubs put forth, but you can only take so many times walking off the court wondering what happened until it just makes you sick. The Rockets and the Jazz have met six times in the postseason, the last three have been gut wrenching defeats for Houston. To make matters worse, not only... |
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Giff Blogs Sports!
Giff Nielsen blogs what he knows best, and that's sports. As a former player for BYU and a quarterback for the Houston Oilers during the "Luv Ya Blue" era, Giff gives you insight into the world of sports that most can't. |
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