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11 Sports BLOG |
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June 2008
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August 2007 ArchivesThe man known as "Skip to my Lou" .....from his AND ONE basketball exploits ..... is in trouble with the law again. Rafer "Skip to my Lou" Alston was arrested early Monday morning in New York after being charged with stabbing a man at a Manhattan nightclub. The Cops showed up early Monday morning after a ruckus broke out in the club. Police arrested Alston on felony assault charges after the alleged brawl. A criminal complaint alleges that amid the chaos that morning ...... Alston used a knife to slash a man at the club in the neck. The Queens native has a January 3rd court date scheduled, which might work o... Whew! I thought I was going to be covering the Texans most of today ....but that didn't work out. Manager Phil Garner and General Manager Tim Purpura were officially fired today by the Astros. I asked Phil Garner if he was stunned and he told me,"No. After being around Drayton awhile I know that he likes to make changes when things aren't going right." I asked owner Drayton McLane, Jr if there was one thing that made him pull the trigger twice on these firings and he said no. McLane said it was just an accumulation of things that went wrong that made his decision for him. Purpura was roundly booed ... "How many of the people who claimed to know Eddie and to care about Eddie really did?" That's what Rockets guard Mike James told me today when reacting to the loss former NBA players Eddie Griffin. Griffin's charred remains were found in his vehicle that crashed into a train late last week. Word of his untimely death came out Tuesday night. I talked with a number of players and former players today and all were saddened by the loss. Griffin was a first round draft pick by the Rockets back in 2001. Former coach Rudy Tomjanovich told me," I am saddened by the news about Eddie. He was a very talented you... Veteran golfer Woody Austin has been called bold, cocky, Austin turned in a gritty effort staying within shouting If his play was amazing on Sunday, so was his post Is it just me or did you think Matt Schaub should have played another series or two?? I know ... I know it's pre-season, but this is the Texans new "guy". I would like to see if this guy can really get it done or not. Also ... is it just me or did you think Mario Williams spent most of his time playing "patty-cake" with the Bears offensive tackle instead of just taking off and putting some pressure on his opponent to collapse the pocket??? Here are my impressions of the 2007 Texans after one pre-season game. I thought Matt Schaub looked like a real NFL quarterback. That's important. But he st... A lot of people wonder if these games matter. Well, if you're trying to make an NFL team as a player ..... you darned tootin' they matter. But, if you're a veteran and concerned about getting injured odds are you're voting against playing these games. Still the fact is ..... NFL teams need pre-season games to not only shake out the roster before the regular season ..... but also to get their regulars used to the "high speed" action that comes when the 1st teamers on one team takes on the 1st teamers of the other. As much as coaches try to simulate those conditions in practice it's never the same. Stil... I don't know where Rudy Tomjanovich was yesterday ....but I know he was beaming like a "proud papa" when he received the news that one of his former proteges was named Vice President of Player Personel with the Houston Rockets. Dean Cooper .... who's been a Rockets employee for nearly 9 years .... was awarded that job yesterday by General Manager Daryl Morey. Cooper got the news when he returned from spending a month in China working out with Yao Ming. He tells me he didn't stay for Yao's wedding due to the timing of the event .....but he says he thoroughly enjoyed working out the big man ....because Yao ... Where were you last night when Barry Bonds became baseball's all-time homerun king?? I know where I was ..... asleep in bed. That's because I'm like millions of other people who are not excited about Barry's feat. It's a totally different attitude than I had back in April of 1974 when Henry Aaron was going for homerun number 715 to break Babe Ruth's record. That night my girlfriend's sister sat in for me at a music lab so I could stay home and watch Aaron take his shot at getting the record. It was an awesome night as I remember it. Not just because I skipped out of class ....but because I was like ... So he did it, everyone knew he would. Afterall Barry Bonds has been climbing in the all time rankings for over a decade. Then why do we feel so empty? Like many sportswriters and broadcasters of my age, we saw Henry Aaron break Babe Ruth's home run record either at the game or on television. Back then there were many terrible things said about "Hammerin' Hank" but Henry endured leaving a legacy of a gentleman. Contrast that to Bonds and there's no comparision. What is perplexing to me, why it is taking so long for Bonds to have his day in court if he is to have one? The BALCO scandal has gone on for years, ... As most NFL teams go through their annual summer training camps in the cooler climes of the Northern or Western parts of the U.S..... once again this summer the Texans are sweltering through practices at Reliant Park. I understand why owner Bob McNair wants to have his team practice here in Houston so the fans will have more access to the players ..... but c'mon ....enough is enough. This is no longer a "new" franchise where the team has to drum up support with all the new fans. True ...the Texans need to drum up support for their team because the team has been so bad in it's first few years of histor... |
