Hello and welcome to another Wednesday of deep thoughts. For the record, Austin got its first cold front on Tuesday. I know that many of you have been wearing jackets for awhile now, but we may see temps in the 40's tonight. Honestly, as much as I love the warm weather, it will be nice to have to add a layer. We have been close to 90 each day, so a high of 75 or so will be a nice departure from the long heat spell.

After a long season of baseball, finally we have the World Series. With the Phillies eliminated, I immediately thought the Rangers were the most talented team remaining in the playoff field. But as we saw with the Phillies, the most talent does not always portend a championship. Texas faced a game Tigers club and managed to win the series. The Tigers are a very good young team and I expect them to contend again next year. I think the rain sort of messed with Verlander a bit, but there is no doubt that he will be the AL Cy Young. Congrats to the Tigers on a great season.

The Cardinals are an amazing example of a team that got hot and healthy at the right time. In many ways, the Cardinals are very similar to the Rangers. A potent lineup with thin starting pitching. LaRussa did a masterful job of using his bullpen to take down the Phillies and Brewers. Albert Pujols also decided to remind everyone that he is the best right handed hitter of recent memory. I love to watch Albert hit, but watching him run is beginning to be painful. Although he was never fleet of foot, he has always been a great base runner and quick enough to play great defense. His foot is obviously bothering him and it makes me wonder if he will be able to play another 10 years. I suspect that if the Cards win the WS this year, that he won't be back in St. Louis...but who knows. I do know if I am a GM, that a 5 or 6 year deal is all that I would offer. But that is for the future and thankfully, we get to see him play in another WS in a Cardinal uniform...which is probably not the case for Prince Fielder. I am not sure if you saw Fielder as he left the field, but he paused and took one last look back, gave Braun a hug then headed to the locker room. Not the sort of thing you see from a guy expecting to be back. He seemed reluctant to leave, and I can't blame him.

My prediction of Rangers in 6 over the Tigers worked out well for the Texas gang, so I will go with this prediction again. Many of the experts are making a big deal of the National League advantage, but with the way that the Rangers are made up, I don't see that being an issue. Too much offense for Texas and a shut down bullpen will be the recipe for a Ranger championship. The experts correctly talk about the great job that the Cardinal bullpen has done in the playoffs, but I also can't help but remember that the Cards led baseball in blown saves.

This NFL season has been full of surprises. I have to admit that although my favorite team is not faring too well, the games have been extremely entertaining. Except for the Monday night matchup this week...oh boy, was that a stinker or what? I could not watch the game for more than a few minutes at at time. Perhaps the Jets will make a late season run, but they just don't look very good at the moment. I admit the Jets defense is still plenty good, the offense has no real focus at all. For a team that likes to brag about playing smash mouth football, they really don' run the ball very well at all. Everyone thinks that Shonn Green will bust out each week, but I just don't see it. LT is still effective as a 3rd down back, but his best days are well behind him. My eyes tell me there is no way they are in the AFC championship game this year.

I half expected Dallas to beat New England last Sunday. With two weeks to get ready, I figured that they would have success limiting Brady. Truthfully, Dallas played exactly as I hoped. The trouble is that when it mattered, Dallas lacked the testicular fortitude to do what was needed to win. If you want to win, you don't hand the ball off with the Pats defense expecting the run. Several weeks ago, I mentioned that I no longer trusted Tony Romo to win. It was obvious that the Dallas coaches feel the same way. After throwing the game away against Detroit, those three running plays were clear evidence that they were afraid to risk a pass. Any football fan with any knowledge knew that giving the ball back to Brady with more than 2 minutes was a recipe for a loss. Brady did what he does. He picked apart the Dallas defense as he drove the Patriot offense down for the winning score. As a Cowboy fan, I could only hope that Brady and Co. would be held to a field goal...no such luck. Trust is a funny thing. Once you lose it, it is very difficult to get back. The more I watch Romo, the more I am left wanting for another option. I could be wrong, but my eyes tell me I am not.

Congrats to the SF 49ers. The win over the Lions was big. I think most of us expected the Lions to be much better this year, but the 49ers? Now Harbaugh just needs to work on his post game approach. That little show after the game makes for great conversation, but was really inexcusable. It appeared to me that Harbaugh knew exactly what he was doing. As an NFL head coach, he has to be better than that. He is a really good coach and I suspect that this will be something that Harbaugh can use as a "learning" experience. In fact, perhaps they could take this and make a Brut commercial?

Westwood faced another district foe on Friday and came away with a big win. The tone for the game was set when McNeil fumbled on the first play of the game. From that point on, it was all Westwood. Ben Johnson had another huge game breaking a long run when he bobbled he snap on a punt. It is not often you see a fake punt go for 70 yards.

Blake got quite a bit of playing time vs McNeil and had a nice tackle for a loss. This was one of 16 tackles for a loss that Westwood had vs McNeil.

The Westwood defense had a chance to show off their dancing skills at the Friday pep rally. Blake is the ham in the middle

.

With their victory over McNeil, Westwood is now 7 and 0. Next up is a homecoming game vs Georgetown. Several former Westwood coaches coach at McNeil and it is not a friendly rivalry. Hopefully, we will continue on the winning path...

One nice thing about this game was that my folks were able to travel to Austin to see Blake play.

That's all I have for this week, but I will leave you with a bit of Jack Handey to finish the week...

“I was sad, because I had no shoes. Until I met a man that had no feet. So, I took his shoes, cuz hey, he wasn't using them!"
   
  Lov“Love can sweep you off your feet and carry you along in a way you've never known before. But the ride always ends, and you end up feeling lonely and bitter.  
“Love can sweep you off your feet and carry you along in a way you've never known before. But the ride always ends, and you end up feeling lonely and bitter.

Wait. . .

It's not love I'm describing. I'm thinking of a monorail.”    
   “Love can sweep you off your feet and carry you along in a way you've never known before. But the ride always ends, and you end up feeling lonely and bitter.

Wait. . .

It's not love I'm describing. I'm thinking of a monorail.”    
   “Love can sweep you off your feet and carry you along in a way you've never known before. But the ride always ends, and you end up feeling lonely and bitter.

Wait. . .

It's not love I'm describing. I'm thinking of a monorail.”    
   “Love can sweep you off your feet and carry you along in a way you've never known before. But the ride always ends, and you end up feeling lonely and bitter.

Wait. . .

It's not love I'm describing. I'm thinking of a monorail.”    
    

“Love can sweep you off your feet and carry you along in a way you've never known before. But the ride always ends, and you end up feeling lonely and bitter.  

Wait...

It's not love I'm describing. I'm thinking of a monorail.”    
   

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave a few deep thoughts of your own...

Hello again and welcome to another Wednesday of deep thoughts. It has been has been quite a week in the central part of Texas. The Labor Day weekend started okay, but suddenly our fires began to flare up in random places. I have lived in the area most of my life and I have never seen anything so bizarre. I had a friend over on Friday taking a look at my AC system. He thought he had the problem figured out, but he did not come back to finish the job. I found out today that his brother in law was killed in one of the fires. I am sure you have probably seen a brush fire on the side of the road, but this has been crazy. The tropical storm whipped a very strong wind. Weeks of 100 plus temperatures created a bad scenario for us.

It is unreal to realize that this can happen without notice. My wife's parents were about 5 miles from a fire. Thankfully the wind let up and the fire is under control now. Send us some rain please...

As much as I hate to admit it, I am really looking forward to the NFL season. I want to be mad about the lockout, but to hell with it...I am ready for some football.

Finally, the NFL begins Thursday. Is it me or does this season seem to be loaded with many potential success stories? I know that my Lion friends are hoping their team takes a giant step this year. There is even hope in Cleveland to be competitive.  Will the Rams actually have a chance to win their division? The Eagles made big offseason moves, but if the Cowboys can stay healthy there is plenty of talent for a December run. Of course, given the dismal start last year, perhaps I should not get ahead of myself there. I look at San Diego and see a damn good team, but for whatever reason they always seem to stumble out of the gate. Will this be the year that they have a good start? Will Peyton Manning miss a game or more? Would a normal offseason have provided Manning a better opportunity to be ready for opening day? Did the lockout prevent him adequate medical options? For Colt fans, I hope that Peyton is not too late to the party.

Who do you like this year? It is difficult to ignore the juggernaut that Philadelphia has assembled. As a Cowboy fan, I hope that I am wrong, but I see Philly as the NFC representative and the Jets as the AFC team left standing. There will be many Patriot fans that will vehemently disagree, but that is what it looks like to me. Of course, the Ravens and Steelers will have something to say about this as well. The team that puzzles me is KC. I cannot decided if this is a team on the rise or a team that overachieved last year.The Texans are another team with offensive firepower and a promising defense.

Let's get it on! 

From what I have heard, Texas played Rice last Saturday. Because the Longhorn leadership is so damn greedy, the new Longhorn Network was basically unavailable for anyone to watch. What good is a network if you demand too much for the product and the  cable and dish folks refuse to broadcast it? I really enjoy  following Texas, but this is just a train wreck. So far, the Longhorn greed has created a dangerous chasm among the Big 12 schools. Two member schools are gone and the Aggies are as good as gone. A blog this week described the Longhorn Network as a beta test; which is exactly right. Everyone is watching to see how successful Texas will be with their network. So far, I would give them a big fat F. One thing that may keep the Big 12 together is that Texas and Oklahoma have a very good chance of obtaining two BCS berths by staying together. Going to the Pac 16 or whatever it would be called would make the road to the BCS much more difficult. I guess the end result will depend on what pays the best.

My son's Westwood team faced the Bowie Bulldogs last week. Bowie is another team that Westwood lost to last year. This year, I thought that the Warriors had the talent to soundly beat Bowie. I was not wrong...Westwood 31 Bowie 10. Here are a few clips...

Ben Johnson with Westwood's first score.

Ben finishes a nice run by trucking a defender.

This is a great run. It was difficult to film with everyone standing, but check out the wicked hesitation move that

Ben puts on the corner back.

Blake snags an interception. Those baseball skills come into play.

I read a hilarious story today about Angels pitcher Jerome Williams. Williams played for the Giants for two years and was known as Jeremy. He was a rookie and afraid to tell anyone that his real name is Jerome. The exchange with his pitching coach is too funny...

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Jerome-Williams-The-Giants-called-me-Jeremy-f?urn=mlb-wp18625

That is all I have for this week. Here is a bit of Jack Handey to ponder the rest of the week:

There should be a detective show called "Johnny Monkey," because every week you could have a bad guy say "I ain't gonna get caught by no MONKEY," but then he would, and I don't think I'd ever get tired of that.  

Love is not something that you can put chains on and throw into a lake. That's called Houdini. Love is liking someone a lot.  

Damn that Johnny Monkey is one bad ass monkey...

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave a few deep thoughts of your own...

Hello gabbers, and welcome to another Wednesday of deep thoughts. I know that some of you are digging out from the damage done by Irene. Thankfully, the damage was not nearly as bad as forecasters had predicted. I wish that my job allowed me as much margin for error as the weather guys...The Austin weather guys have a much easier job this time of year. It is either hot or hotter. As hot as this summer has been, I glance to the west and realize that Harvey and his neighbors have it worse. At least this year Arizona has some good baseball to take their mind off of the heat.

There are still a few good baseball races left to entertain us...the DBacks are trying to run away from the sagging Giants. The Rangers appear to have a comfortable lead over the Angels and the Tigers are trying to hold off the surging White Sox...but the sporting world's  attention has been drawn to football. Tell me that you have not watched a bit of preseason football or have read to prepare for your drafts...yes indeed, football season is here.

I read today that Michael Vick has signed a 6 year contract for 100 million dollars. How does this make you feel? We have always been a nation that embraces comebacks. If ever there is a guy that has reinvented himself, it is Michael Vick. I know that the proof is in the long term pudding, but considering that this guy was signed last year as the 3rd string  QB...the contract he signed this week is pretty damn amazing. Do you remember Kevin Kolb? I know that I do. I drafted him on more than one fantasy team last year. I was lucky enough to grab Vick in two of my leagues when Kolb went down; the other one I was not so lucky. I read an article about Vick in ESPN the Magazine yesterday and was intrigued by the transformation that Vick went through to become a more polished NFL QB. After each practice last summer, Vick worked with Eagles QB coach Marty Mornhinweg. Because Vick arrived from prison 2 steps slower, he was forced to embrace the pocket. After practice was over, Vick worked on his footwork...over and over again. You may have seen these drills...cones are set up and the QB has to work through the cones then fire to a target. Slowly but surely, Vick became better. The article shows Vick's numbers from his last year at Atlanta and last year by quarter. In each quarter, he was at least 10% more accurate. As Vick's athleticism came back, the finished product was pretty damn good. I sense that prison changed Vick in many ways...let's hope that he does not forget what he learned behind bars.

Ben prepares to fire...

Last Friday was the first game for my son's Westwood HS football team. The Warriors of Westwood faced one of their old rivals from Cedar Park. Cedar Park put a whoopin on Westwood last year on their way to a heartbreaking loss in the 4A state finals. This was a really good team that had 5 D1 OL prospects. Thankfully four of them are playing on Saturdays now, but there was still one big ugly and a returning stud at QB. Cedar Park is a power football team. They really run the old single wing attack and last Friday saw their Sr. QB rush 33 times for 225 yards. Brian Hogan is the Timberwolves QB and he was his slipperly, silding self last Friday. Not exceptionally big or fast, he has a talent for evading tacklers. It is a good thing that he does not pass well as the two interceptions he threw probably resulted in a Warrior victory. As I have previously mentioned, Westwood has a stud QB of their own. The Cedar Park Timberwolves defense was determined to not allow Ben any running room. They did indeed contain the QB run, but as they found out, we also have a pretty good running back and receiver this year. I have included several videos of last Friday night. The Final score was 21 to 13 and was a great start to a promising season. My son played on each special team and played most of the 4th quarter as an inside linebacker. He is #35 in the videos.

Blake brings down the elusive Brian Hogan.

Those Friday night wins feel so good...

Westwood begins the season with flair...

Cedar Park's troubles began early...I missed this, but of course it was on you tube...

Opening kick off...

What will give area defensive coordinators sleepless nights...Ben to Dez.

Another completion to Dez...

The back breaker...after Cedar Park scored to make it 14 to 13 (missed the extra point) We were trying to run out the clock. LeDeans Anderson had a better idea. This kid moved to Austin from out of state at the end of last year...welcome to Texas LeDeans!

Blake makes a nice tackle (had to include this).

Can anyone explain why the flute section is sitting down? I am sorry to say that I have a difficult time with much of what the high school bands do these days. I guess I am a traditionalist...

Here is the after game celebration...we call this the 5th quarter.

After reading this today, I could not help but mention. It has become common for many folks to train in CPR and to learn things like the Heimlich maneuver. It is such a simple thing, thankfully this vendor knew what he was doing:

Hot Dog Story Link

That's all I have for this week...but I will leave you with a bit of Jack Handey to ponder:

There should be a detective show called "Johnny Monkey," because every week you could have a bad guy say "I ain't gonna get caught by no MONKEY," but then he would, and I don't think I'd ever get tired of that.  

I wish I would have a real tragic love affair and get so bummed out that I'd just quit my job and become a bum for a few years, because I was thinking about doing that anyway. 

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave a few deep thoughts of your own...

Hello and welcome to another Wednesday of deep thoughts. I have to admit that I am not really too inspired to write today. I don't know if it is the long summer that has drained my creative flow or maybe my biorhythms are just a bit off. Whatever the reason, I will work through my block to get this blog finished.

I had a very interesting conversation with my wife this week about Terrell Pryor and his entry in the supplemental draft. Her point was that player should not be allowed to mess up in college and skate to the NFL leaving their punishment behind. While I understand and appreciate this thought, what happened to Pryor is just not consistent with what the NFL and specifically Commissioner Goodell have established as precedent.  Why is it that a certain USC coach can leave his college program in the ditch and go to work in the NFL without even a backward glance, yet Pryor is subjectively punished. I have a huge problem with a system that is not consistent...and this system is currently whatever Goodell decides it will be. I am not a fan or Terrell Pryor, but the NCAA had their chance to punish Pryor and gave him a pass. It was obvious that Pryor would jump the NFL, why not prevent him from playing in a bowl game last year?. I know that Pryor is no angel, but this is as much about a screwed up system than selling/trading bowl gifts for tattoos.  While on the subject...it was indeed interesting to read the comments that Vick made to GQ magazine. Here is the exact quote:

“I think I can say this now, because it’s not going to hurt anybody’s feelings, and it’s the truth,” Vick tells me a few weeks after the commencement ceremony. “I didn’t want to come to Philadelphia. Being the third-team quarterback is nothing to smile about. Cincinnati and Buffalo were better options.” Those two teams wanted him and would’ve allowed him to start, but after meeting with commissioner Roger Goodell and other reps from the NFL, Vick was convinced—and granted league approval—to sign with Philly. “And I commend and thank them, because they put me in the right situation. ” 

 

 

It is clear that Vick is shooting straight in this interview. Even if Philly was the right place for Vick to be, should the NFL commissioner be the person deciding where a troubled player starts over? Of course Vick later "clarified" his statement to say that going to Philadelphia was his decision. Why would Vick mention Goodell's involvement if it were not true?

Jerome Harrison has frequently expressed his distaste for Goodell. He has used words like crook, devil, puppet and dictator to describe Commissioner Goodell. I have always felt that Harrison was just sore because all of the fines his aggressive play has caused...but perhaps he offers an honest assessment of the man?

Professional football is a great game that has endured many changes. The current game has little of the toughness that I grew up watching...and maybe that is as it has to be. I do know that the commissioner is chosen to serve the game as an independent voice, not a scheming tyrant that works the game for his benefit.

I watched the movie Radio Tuesday evening. I love that movie and I am always amazed at the great work of Cuba Gooding.Jr. There is one scene that always stands out for me :

I love the line about looking for a win on Friday nights and Saturday morning when you found one. As cool as that is, what always sticks with me is the message about priorities. Growing up my father used to say the exact same thing to me when I screwed up..."son you need to get your priorities straight." He probably did not think I heard him, but I did. After the past few weeks at the Gab, I am again reminded just how important each day is. As much as the coach loved football, he realized that his family was more important to him. As important as sports are, my family and friends is what is most important to me.

As my son begins his junior year of high school football, I will attempt to slow the days and enjoy each one. It will be a fun season, but I know that these dog days of August will soon turn to the cooler weather of fall and suddenly it will be baseball season again. Last week, I traveled a to Brenham Texas to watch 5A Westwood scrimmage 4A Brenham. You frequently hear that the defense always looks better early...and the scrimmage was indeed this. Although Westwood had a few good offensive moments, it was the monster in the middle of the defensive line that caught and kept my eye. Do you remember seeing Miami dismantle Texas in the Cotton Bowl years ago? Well, Malcolm Brown looks like a young Russell Maryland. 6'3 and pushing 300 this DT runs a 4.7 40. I was happy to see that he has committed to the Longhorns, but sad to see their fine Mike LB is headed to A&M. I did not load any film of the scrimmage, but mark my word...Malcolm Brown will be playing football for years to come.

Did you happen to see that Matt Holliday had to leave a game because he got a bug in his ear? I have seen any number of injuries forcing a player off the field, but that was a first for me...

Here is the link:

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Earmoths-Matt-Holliday-leaves-game-after-bug-in?urn=mlb-wp16823
 

That is all that I have today, but here is a bit of Jack Handey for the rest of your week:

Is there anything more beautiful than a beautiful, beautiful flamingo, flying across in front of a beautiful sunset? And he's carrying a beautiful rose in his beak, and also he's carrying a very beautiful painting with his feet. And also, you're drunk.

I think a good novel would be where a bunch of men on a ship are looking for a whale. They look and look, but you know what? They never find him. And you know why they never find him? It doesn't say. The book leaves it up to you, the reader, to decide. Then, at the very end, there's a page you can lick and it tastes like Kool-Aid.  

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave a few thoughts of your own.

Hello Gabbers and welcome to another Wednesday of deep thoughts. It is official, the dog days of summer have arrived....and mercy is it hot! The baseball races have also begun to heat up and we are seeing some really great games currently. If your team is still in contention, congratulations! For me, I have begun to turn the sports page and hopefully fall will follow my lead. Even though it is hot, hot, hot...high school football has begun in Texas. Westwood began their practice this week and I have a few pictures to share.

The player in the red jersey is Westwood's senior QB Ben Johnson. Ben is a tremendous talent and this year has been eagerly awaited. Although Westwood lost two very good receivers from last year's team, they got a surprise when Coach Wyatt accepted the Longhorn receiver's coaching job. The surprise was his son enrolling at Westwood. I have watched many good high school receivers, but none are as polished as Dezmond Wyatt. If you think Steve Smith (the fast one) in high school you have an idea of what type of talent the kid is. Great routes and terrific hands set this player apart from his peers. I place the over/under for his TD passes this year at 20...seriously. Of course Ben has taken an instant liking to his new receiver and who can blame him I just found out today that this may be the last year that Mr. Johnson plays football. He has had visits to several schools looking at him to sign as a QB, Ben has verbally accepted an offer to play baseball next year at Texas. I really hope they let him play both sports, but that remains to be seen. Ben runs a 4.5 40...this is not hand timed, but an electronic timing. He is the real deal and I am excited at the prospect of this year.

Here is a short video of Saturday's scrimmage. If you watch closely, you will see Blake giving a sophomore wide receiver a welcome to varsity.

If we are talking football, we must include this weeks debacle in College Station. Although I am a Longhorn fan, I do not look down on the Aggies. Do you know why Aggies don't eat M&M's? Because they are too hard for them to peel. But seriously, I really feel for the Aggies and many other teams in the Big 12. I laugh when I hear folks say that they don't watch professional sports any longer because it is only about money. How can these same folks not see that the college game has become the same thing. Why does Texas need the Longhorn Network? I know that this made me uneasy when I heard that this was a reality. The Aggies have had their fill of being the step child in Texas sports. But, allowing word to leak of their impending move to the SEC only to be rebuked by the SEC is simply embarrassing. I know that the SEC is the power conference in football, but is this really the right move for a college that prides itself with a high standard for academics? I heard one Longhorn fan remark that the Aggies should just start their own TV network. In fact, I seem to remember seeing proposed programming for this channel? What bothers me tremendously is that everyone seems to overlook the importance of tradition. For fans in Texas, the Texas and A&M game matters. Do we really want to have 4 super conferences? Is the SEC better with 16 teams? There is so much that bothers me about this proposal that I am very much worried with the future of college football. The only bright spot that I can find is that at some point a playoff will become a reality.

I hate to leave this subject on such a somber note, so hear is another Aggie "story":

Two Aggies go on a fishing trip. They rent all the equipment - the reels, the rods, the wading suits, the rowboat, the car, and even a cabin in the woods.
     The first day they go fishing, but they don't catch anything. The same thing happens on the second day, and on the third day. It goes on like this until finally, on the last day of their vacation, one of the men catches a fish.
     As they're driving home they're really depressed. One Aggie turns to the other and says, "Do you realize that this one lousy fish we caught cost us fifteen hundred bucks?"
     The other Aggie says, "Wow! Then it's a good thing we didn't catch any more!" 

Here are a few more...

Why do Aggies always smile during lightning storms?
     They think their picture is being taken.

     A 2-seater plane crashed into a cemetery near College Station. The Aggie fire department uncovered 700 bodies.  

    Please Aggies don't leave...it just would not be the same without you...  

I can always tell when football season is getting close because Fan begins to bash the Cowboys.

Although I feel good about the Cowboys this year, I really had to talk about Colt McCoy. I read an article this week that completely floored me. Colt described his season last year and how he was totally unprepared to lead his team. He was the third string QB and was treated as such. He was given the game plan on Wednesday and never got reps. He found out that he was starting his first game only minutes before the game. I watched this kid grow up while in Austin and I know the work ethic that he has. Did you know that during the lockout Colt called Brett Favre to try to get some information about the offense that he was expected to know this year. I was amazed to read this. Brett Favre picked him up at the airport and invited Colt to his home for a few days. Say what you will about Favre, that was cool. He had no reason to give Colt the time of day, yet he shared his knowledge with the young signal caller. Thankfully, Colt was able to use the temporary reprieve in the lockout to obtain a playbook. This will be a very interesting year as there are several young QB's expected to lead their teams this year. I would not bet against Colt...

That's all I have for this week, but I will leave you with a bit of Jack Handey to ponder:

Consider the daffodil. And while you're doing that, I'll be over here, going through your stuff.

One good thing about Hell, at least, is you can probably pee wherever you want to.  

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave a few deep thoughts of your own...