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June 2008
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Matt Musil: April 2008 ArchivesJust when the Jazz thought they would wrap this series up .... the Rockets came up with their best effort of the series. Afterwards everyone on the team agreed the defense was good and the intensity was there from the start .... but more than anything else ..."We finally made some shots," said head coach Rick Adelman and forward Shane Battier. ..."They gotta beat us 4 times to eliminate us ...that's the only truth here," said Luis Scola. Scola and his teammates have been tantilizingly close to winning all of the game in this series ....but in NBA playoff basketball the only thing that counts is the score on the board at the end of the game .....and the Rockets have been on the short end of the stick 3 times now. ...Saturday night after the Rocekts lost a Game-4 up in Utah ....Tracy McGrady said that he thought Dikembe Mutombo should have been in the game when Derron Williams shot his crucial free throws with 7 seconds left in regulation and the Rockets trailing by 2 points. Today ...McGrady made the same assessment but said he was not second guessing his coach. ...At the end of the draft .... General Manager Rick Smith and Head Coach Gary Kubiak ... were giving out a big sigh of relief. They had entered the weekend .... with a list of needs ....and except for the edge pass rusher they wanted ..... they basically filled every other need. ...In the 6th round the Texans picked a defensive safety. He's Dominique Barber out of Minnesota. Dominique isn't real big at 6-0 ...but he has great bloodlines. His dad Marion Barber played in the NFL ...and his older brother is a running back for the Cowboys. I just talked with Dominique on the phone with other media members and he says there is no pressure to live up to his brother's or his father's NFL credentials ...he just wants to play. But the bloodlines do play a role it sounds like ....because he says his brother and father have taught him a lot about how to approach the game ...the preparations t... With their 5th round pick ...the 151st overall ...the Texans have picked up defensive tackle Frank Okam from Texas. Okam is big .... 6-4 and weighs 322. He was first team All-Big 12 by Ft. Worth paper ....2nd team by A.P. ...Okay ....maybe that's not how the team would promote their first round pick ....but Offensive Tackle Duane Brown is an accomplished alto saxaphonist. He's been playing since the 6th grade .....but oh by the way ....he also has played some football over the past several years. ...The Texans went defense with their 4th round pick (118th overall) ...by picking Linebacker Xavier Adibi (pronounced A-dee-bee). Adibi is out of Virginia Tech ... which kind of makes me wonder how often Rick Smith watched the Hokies this psat season. This kid is active ...he was a first time All-America ...only the 2nd in Va. Tech history. He was a semi-finalist for the Lombardi award this past season. Texans' defensive coordinator Richard Smith reallyl likes this guy. Smith explained that the team likes to take 9 linebackers into every training camp and it only had 6 before the draft. Adibi played defensive end... Good morning from Reliant Stadium ....the 2nd day of the NFL Draft is underway ...and the Texans bolstered their roster on both sides of the ball in the 3rd round. Texans take Duane Brown an OT out of Va. Tech with the 26th pick ....fans here had mixed reaction to the pick ....I'll have those comments on 11 News at 6pm. See you then. ...The Steelers tabbed Illinois Running Back Rashard Mendenhall with the 23rd pick in the first round of the draft. Then with the 24th pick overall ..... Tennessee picked Chris Johnson a Running Back out of South Carolina. I'm headed downstairs to fanfest .....to get the fans reaction to the Texans pick ... when it comes ....at number-26. I'll air the comments on 11 news at 6pm He's not Darren McFadden ....but the Cowboys just selected Running back Felix Jones with the 22nd pick of the draft. ...With the 19th pick .......Jacksonville picked offensive tackle Jeff Otah from Pittsburgh. I know the Texans weren't that high on him ....but Jacksonville apparantly disagreed with that opinion. Then with the 20th pick ...Tampa Bay took Aquib Talib a Cornerback out of Kansas. Once again I thought he might be a guy the Texans would go after ....but they're all the way back in the 26th spot now ....so we'll see what's there when they get on the clock. Atlanta just made the 21st pick of the draft ..... after getting the pick by trading with Washington ....the Falcons picked Sam Baker an offensive tackle out of USC. ... As I said earlier ...when the two offensive linemen they really liked went off the board ....I figured the Texans were shifting gears. ....either to pick a defensive back ...or to trade down ...and they decided to trade down. I really thought they would go with a defensive back ....but after the two top rated cornerbacks went .....including Dominguez Rodgers Cromartie out of Tenn. State ...just two picks before them ....they decided to trade down. They swapped first round picks with Baltimore ....The Ravens needed a quarterback ..and they picked Joe Flacco out of Delaware with the 18th pick. In return th... The 2nd offensive linemen the Texans were wanting .... Brandon Albert ... who played guard at Virginia ....but was projected as a tackle in the NFL .... was just taken by Kansas City with the 15th pick. So the two guys the Texans really wanted ... Chris Williams and Brandon Albert were taken in back to back picks. Wow ...now it'll be interesting to see if the Texans switch gears and go cornerback.. Arizona and Detroit are slated to pick before the Texans ....I'm heaed downstairs to fanfest ....to get the fans reaction to the Texans pick. ...One of the tackles that the Texans coveted ... Chris Williams of Vanderbilt was just selected by Chicago with the 14th pick overall. 3 OT's have been taken thus far. There are still some good ones left ...including Brandon Albert out of Virginia. ...With the 10th pick overall New England picks Jerod Mayo ....an Inside LInebacker out of Tennessee. The Patriots had traded down to 10th with New Orleans. The Baltimore Ravens ...apparantly upset that QB Matt Ryan was gone .... traded the #8 pick overall to Jacksonville ...and with the 8th pick ... the Jaguars took Derrick harvey a Defensive Tackle out of Florida. That's a great pick for them ....they not only get an outstanding football players to put pressure on Peyton Manning, Matt Schaub and the rest in the AFC South ....they also will make Florida fans happy by taking one of their own. Baltimore ...by the way ...received the 26th pick overall ...plus 2 third round picks and a 4th round pick in exchange to allowing Jacksonville to trade up. The Texans top brass contiinue to watch the proceedings from the team auditorium on the street level of Reliant Stadium. The Texans are still slated to go 18th in the first round .. that pick will probably be around 4:30pm Central time. The Texans are still planning on picking 18th in the first round of today's round. But a lot of things could happen before the draft gets to them. The first two picks were named Long ...one a Off. Tackle ..and another a defensive lineman. Jake Long ..went to Miami ..and St. Louis picked Chris Long with the #2 pick. Matt Ryan out of Boston College was the first Quarterback taken nat numbver-3 overall by Atlanta. While his teammate Tracy McGrady has been making quotes like,"It's my fault that somebody in the stands ordered Heinekin and they got Budweiser." HIs teammate Shane Battier actually came up with the quote of the week. ...Team general manager Rick Smith is confident of his abilities when he gets to draft day on Saturday. He told me today more than anything else,"I'm excited ...I really am. I think our football team has gotten better this off-season. Obviously coming off an 8 & 8 season there's a lot of excitement about the future." ...Ronnie Price grew up in Friendswood. He attended Clear Brook High School and dreamed of playing in the NBA. His favorite team was the Houston Rockets. Now .. though he plays for the Jazz...and he brought his once favorite team to it's knees Monday night. ...With Deron Williams leading the way with 22 points ...and Carlos Boozer making 13 and Mehmeet Okur adding 16 ...the Jazz beat the Rockets 90 to 84 ..and the local fans may have just watched their final home game of the season. Tracy McGrady led the Rockets with 23 ....but it wasn't nearly enough. Bobby jackson had 18 .... little Aaron Brooks added 11. Shane Battier added 8. It came down to the final down to the final 4 minutes. With 4 minutes left ... the Rockets trailed 81 to 78 .... Bobby Jackson could have made it a one point game but he missed two straight free throws. Luis Scola then hit a... With 20 seconds left in regulation ...the Rockets had the ball in forecourt ...after a timeout ...they inbounds to Tracy McGrady ...and he misses a long bomb ..and the rebound went out of bounds. After the inbounds ...the Rockets fouled Korver ...who converted two free throws. With :09 left ...Jazz lead 89-82. ...Jazz get two points ....when the ball was batted around ....and once again it landed in a Utah player's hands ....Kyle Korver shot it up and it went through the basket with 20 seconds left ..and that will send the faithful to the exits. Rockets down by 5 ......Luis Scola shooting free throws .... makes the first ...and the 2nd. As the Rockets struggle to find their shooting touch ...the Jazz simply turn to Deron Williams to score ... seemingly whenever he wants ...or Carlos Boozer inside. They both just scored big field goals ....to put the Jazz up 85 to 80 with 1:51 left. Tracy McGrady just made one and missed one on a two shot opporunity ..and that won't catch it. The Rockets rookie out of Oregon .. Aaron Brooks .. has given the home team a 72-71 lead with 9 minutes to go ......on a great drive to the hoop and he was fouled ..and then he just now made it 74 to 71 with another great drive inside. ...2 minutes into the final period of regulation ....the Jazz lead 71 to 69. The Rockets put on a surge near the end of the quarter. Shane Battier hit a 3 ointer with :42 seconds left in the period ...to put the Rockets up 67 to 66 .....but after the Jazz missed a shot ...the Rockets had a chance to take the last shot ....but Aaron Broooks shot was blocked ...the Jazz came all the way down and Ronnie Price hit a 3 pointer at the buzzer to put the Jass up 69-67 after 3 periods. Unbelievable!!! The Jazz have made a habit of making big shots in this series from the outside ....and that was the biggest yet. ...Aaron Brooks ...I love the way the rookie plays ...but he just got fouled as he drove to the basket ..his shot was blocked he was fouled ...no call ....but the ball got batted out to Tracy McGrady and he missed a wide open 3. That's two really good looks T-Mac had and he missed both!! T-Mac has 22 points ...but he made need 40 if the Rockets want to win. After such a dismal showing Saturday night I felt for all the fans who paid playoff prices to see a good game ..and they just didn't get it. They're getting it tonight....it's 57-57 with 5:27 left in the 3rd. Time out on court. ...The 3rd quarter is underway ...and so far the Rockets have outscored the Jazz 12 to 6 ...and it's a tie game at 53-all. The fans started filing out with about 4 minutes left in this one .....sensing a Rockets loss. Battier led the Rockets with 22 ... McGrady had 20. Boozer has worked over by Luis Scola and Carl Landry on his way to 20 big points and 16 rebounds for Utah. ...With 2:40 left ....Utah leads 89 to 75. The Rockets have fought hard .... but they just haven't been able to score enough to slow the Jazz. The Rockets poor shooting continued all night long .....they're currently 36% ...to Utah's 53%. Barring a miraculous comeback ..... this one is over! ...5 minutes left .... the Rockets trail by 13 ... 83 to 70 ..and if they don't put a run together in the next 60 to 90 seconds ....this one is all over but the shouting. ...Time-out on the court ...and with 8:17 left in the game ....the Rockets trail 75 to 64. I had to go do a live report for our over the air station Ch-11 ....so I fell behind with my blog in the 3rd quarter. The Rockets had a short-lived lead midway thru the period .... but by the end of the 3rd the Jazz was up 68 to 60. Battier has 12 points for the Rockets ....McGrady is leading them with 20. The Rockets scored 5 unsnawered points to end the 2nd quarter ........the last a T-Mac 3 ...that brought everyone to their feet. A Rockets steal then got the ball downcourt to Bobby Jackson who slipped and fell failing to convert. Boozer then committed an offensive foul ...his 2nd ...by shoving Dikembe Mutombo. The Rockets then had 2 seconds to get off a shot ....and Tracy's off-balance 3 pointer at the buzzer was off the mark ....so the Rockets trail at the half 47 to 41. The biggest thing the home team in the closing seconds of that half ...was to show Utah ...that they were not about to go away. The Rockets... Rockets now trail 42 to 34 .....and after a great defensive trip down the court again by the Rockets ...Bobby Jackson bobbled the ball while coming back downcourt and he was called for double-dribbling. Bad turnover. In tennis it would be called an unforced error. And the Rockets can't afford any of those. ...After trailing by as many as 13 .... the Rockets have battled back to make it 40 to 32 with 3:15 left in the first half. ...The Jazz are flexing their muscle inside ..and the Rockets are having a hard time hanging with them. Carlos Boozer is the biggest obstacle inside ...banging with Scola at all times. The 4th rookie has now entered the game for the Rockets. No other team in the league will lean on their rookies as much as the Rockets will this postseason. Jazz leads 28 to 20 with 10:21 left in 1st half. ...Utah leads after one quarter ....23 to 18. The Rockets aren't getting any breaks .... but against the Jazz they're basically going to have to make them. Mike Harris makes it 3 rookies on the court for the Rockets so far ...but the 4th ... Carl Landry is expected to play plenty tonight also. In fact ...I'm a little surprised the Rick Adelman went with Harris instead of Landry off the bench first. We're about to begin play in the 2nd quarter! ...utah forward Andrei Kirilenko is killing the Rockets early ...scoring 9 points in the opening 10 minutes. With 2:50 left in the first quarter ....Jazz leads 15 to 13. Jazz wearing their road dark blue jerseys ...while the Rockets are in their home whites ...trimmed in red. ...With timeout on the court with 5:47 left in the first quarter ......it's all tied up at 11-11. We're underway ....with Shane Battier scoring the first bucket of the night ....but the Jazz came right back to make it a 2-2 game. The Utah defense forced a shot-clock violation the send trip up the court on offense. ...Checking the all-time NBA playoff stats ..... Houston is the 13th best record of all time .....guess who's 14th..... Utah. The Rockets hvae won 107 games and lost 111 ... the Jazz are just a tick behind with 103 wins and 107 losses. Remember ...the only two times the Rockets have beaten the Jazz in a playoff series was in 1994 and 1995 ... those two years ... the Rockets went on to win the NBA Championship. So a win tonight ......could lead to .....who knows???? ...Rockets fans ...most of them decked out in All-Red .....loudly booed the Jazz when they entered the court for their final pre-game warmups. Then when the home team came onto the court .......they got really loud with their cheers!! These fans are playoff ready!!! ...This game will be physical .... we know that. I asked Dean Cooper ..the head of basketball personnel for the Rockets if he thought his guys were ready .... while the team was warming up and his replay was quick:"They better be ....we've worked hard enough to get here. If they're not ready now ....I won't know what to think." ...Yao Ming was in good spirits as he took some good-natured ribbing Thursday night at a Roast and Toast hosted by Rockets Hall of Fame guard Calvin Murphy. "I feel like a sitting duck,: Yao said before the Roast started. ...Think of it as tomorrow's news today. No one in his or her right mind would pick the Rockets to win anything in this year's NBA playoffs .... but because I'm not in my right mind sometimes .... I'm picking them to beat the Jazz in 7 games. ...Dynamo President Oliver Luck says he doesn't appreciate Houston Mayor Bill White handing out a private letter from the MLS Commissioner to Dynamo owners to the media .... but he also says .... the Dynamo management is determined to work out a deal with the city of Houston. Luck says they are not considering leaving town. ...Minute Maid Park hosted the Grand Slam Genetics Angus Sale and Lance Berkman Horse Sale on Wednesday......and believe me there were some big hitters on hand. ...If you're a biker ....and didn't get burned out by the MS 150 ...there's another participant event coming up that is for another worthy cause. ...Bruce Springsteen once again proved last night that he can still Rock Out at age 58. But he also proved once again .... that he has a loving heart. ...15 year old Ryan Harrison has won his opening round match at the U.S. Clay Court Championships at River Oaks. Harrison used his 6-0 frame well .... as he used his leverage in his powerful serve and his length to reach returns to overwhelm his opponent Pablo Cuevas. He started the final game out with an ace! His second serve was unreturnable. His 3rd serve was long ....but on his 2nd serve to the point was returned but he returned it to Cuevas ...who rammed it into the net. On the final point ...he powered a serve ...and then followed up with an impressive return into the corner ...for the winner ...and it's over... Pablo Cuevas of Uraguay ...just won his serve ....so it's now 4-2 in the 2nd set .. .Harrison lealding. Cuevas is 22 years old ....wearing a black shirt ....white shorts and white cap ....while the 15 year old Ryan Harrison is decked out in all white .... except for a black wrist sweat band on his right arm. Both players are right handed ....but harrison is the more aggressive of the two. Cuevas is more content to lay back and play the baseline game ....while Harrison is always charging. Harrison just won the 7th game of the set ...it's now 5 to 2 Harrison .... 15 year old Ryan Harrison of New Braunfels ....just flat overwhelmed Pablo Cuevas in the 5th game of the set. Harrison now leads 4 games to one. The youngster ...is sliding for balls ...making drop shots ....power forehands ...hittingg effective lobs ....you name it ....he has it all on display today.. ...15 year old Ryan Harrison has just broken Pablo Cuevas's serve again ....to take a 3 games to 1 edge in the 2nd set of their opening round match. If he can hold serve here .....he will take a huge advantage into the final part of this set. ...In third game of the 2nd set ..... teenage sensation, Ryan Harrison, overcame a double fault to win the game. He fell behind in the game 30-40 thanks to a double fault .....but then responded by scoring an ace ......a long ...long fought ppoint featuring some tough net play by both players ......and then another great volley to finish off the game. Harrison now leads 2 games to one in set number-2. Harrison won the first set 6 games to 4. 22 year old Pablo Cuevas has broken back to tie the 2nd set at 1-all ...with 15 year old Ryan Harrison. Harrison ... though shows great poise. It's yet to be seen if he wins this thing ....but so far nothing rattles the kid. Good shot or bad shot ...he just keeps battling. Harrison's dad is the head tennis pro at John Newcombe's Tennis Ranch in New Braunfels. ...Harrison gets out to another quick start .....as he wins serve ....to go up 1 game to nothing in the 2nd set. The 15 year old won the first set 6-4. This kid is something!! And now he's getting the crowd behind him. With every shot he makes for a winner .....drop shot .... forehand winner ....or ace on a serve .... the crowd builds it's support. It's 1-0 in the 2nd set....Harrison leads. ...15 year old Ryan Harrison led 5 games to 2 in the first set.... but then lost the next two games .... to cut his lead to 5 games to 4. But in the 10th game of the first set .... Harrison roared back to break Pablo Cuevas's serve to win the set by losing only one point. Harrison wins the first set 6 to 4. Every match is a best of 3 affair ....so the young man from new Braunfels is one set away from a huge ....win. ...As 15 year old Ryan harrison took a 5 games to 2 lead in the first set over Pablo Cuevas .... he won the game by not yileding a single point!! This kid is something!!! ...15 year old Ryan Harrison has just broken pablo Cuevas's serve to take a 4 games to 2 advantage in the first set of their opening round match at the U.S. Clay Court Championships. The kid has been very impressive so far. His serves are powerful ...and his ground strokes are solid. ...The Kid ...just came back to take the lead ....as his powerful serve is causing all kinds of problems for Cuevas. The 15 year old Ryan Harrison leads 3 games to 2 ...in this best of 3 match set. After falling in the first game to 15 year old Ryan Harrison's pwoerful serve ..... Uraguay's Pablo Cuevas fought back to win the second game ...as he served ..then he broke Harrison's serve in the 3rd game to take a 2 games to one lead. But Harrison has just broken back ...to tie the score at 2 games apiece. ...
15 year old Ryan Harrison of New Braunfels. He's trying to become only the 10th player under 16 years of age to win a match on the ATP Tour ...and he's off to a quick start. ...Photographer Bob Luna and I are hanging out with the "beautiful people" today ..... as we cover the U.S. Clay Court Championships at River Oaks Country Club. ...Judging from the TV ratings whenever Tiger is in contention ....I'm guessing that you love him more than hate him. ...No working professional needs to have a shorter memory than a "closing" reliever in Major League Baseball. ...Astros fans packed into Minute Maid Park to the tune of 43,000 plus ....despite the home 9's lackluster 2 & 5 record coming in. ...One of the most fun parts of my job ....is to ...at least once a year, cover a PGA Tour event. ...Hall of Fame golfer Charlie Sifford is in town this week. You may have never heard of him before .... but he did for the PGA Tour what Jackie Robinson did for Major League Baseball. ...A case can be made for the Oilers loss to the Steelers in the '79 NFL playoffs .... or even the Astros collapse to the Phillies in the 1980 NLCS .... but clearly in my opinion ... never has the city of Houston sports scene suffered a more devestating loss than when the University of Houston fell to North Carolina State in the championship game of the NCAA basketball tournament in 1983. ... |
