October 2004 Archives
31 October 2004
Big 12 Wrap: Week 9
Halloween weekend brought nasty surprises for many teams in the Top 25, and a few surprises for Big 12 teams as well. Here's the wrap of a weird weekend of football:
Oklahoma 38, Oklahoma State 35
Donovan Woods looked like one of the worst passers in the Big 12 in the first half, but his team only trailed 21-14 thanks to two gift-wrapped touchdowns from the Oklahoma special teams, which are starting to resemble John Blake's old units. In the second half, Woods torched the Sooner secondary with numerous long completions, and was inches away from a completion for a go-ahead touchdown on the Pokes' final drive (which ended in a missed field goal). Adrian Peterson was, once again, the difference maker for Oklahoma, running wild for 249 yards, and Mark Bradley at least gets an assist for touchdowns receiving and returning. Representatives from the Holiday Bowl were reportedly scouting the Cowboys in this one, but the Pokes have some tough games ahead before they start making reservations. The Sooners are lucky to have escaped this one, but poor special teams play and susceptibility to the deep pass may eventually derail their national title hopes.
Texas 31, Colorado 7
Early on in this game, Texas seemed (inexplicably) determined to turn Vince Young into a passinq quarterback. After the disastrous results, Texas went back to the power option game that has been their bread and butter this season, and easily disposed of Colorado. It didn't hurt that the Longhorn defense just battered Colorado quarterback Joel Klatt. To me, Vince Young looked better running the ball in this game than he has all season. His numbers weren't outrageous, but he was elusive and showed a good burst. When combined with Cedric Benson's power, Young's occasional dinks to the tight ends, and a defense whose #11 looks like a heat-seeking missile in Greg Robinson's scheme, this team is more than most teams not dressed in crimson can handle.
Baylor 35, Texas A&M 34
On upset weekend, A&M probably suffered the second most embarrassing upset of any ranked team (Miami gets the nod here for losing to North Carolina). They probably were looking ahead to Oklahoma and a chance to avenge last year's 77-0 loss as well as take over the lead in the South next weekend, but it's not like the team flatlined against Baylor -- the Aggies still dominated yardage and led most of the game. However, turnovers hurt, the A&M defense couldn't stop Baylor when it had to, and the game just got away. It's hard to figure whether this will act as more motivation for Oklahoma next weekend (as if A&M needed it), or will dampen spirits.
Texas Tech 35, Kansas State 25
Texas Tech is awfully hard to beat when they sprint out to an early lead, as they tend to force opponents to abandon their game plans prematurely in an effort to keep up. This year's Kansas State team isn't equipped to play that kind of game, and the fact that Dylan Meier threw the ball 41 times and Darren Sproles ran it 18 tells the tale. The Wildcats may be headed towards Snyder's first losing season in... a long time. Texas Tech should become bowl-eligible against Baylor next week, but games against A&M and Oklahoma State will determine the quality of their bowl.
Nebraska 24, Missouri 3
Missouri came out flat in this one after a week in which their starting running back was suspended indefinitely, and following a mishap in which the team plane slid off the runway en route to the game. That seemed to foreshadow an offense that appeared to be stuck in the mud all day. Nebraska's offense didn't exactly set the place on fire, though. Joe Dailey went 4 of 18 for a whopping 25 yards, and the team punting 11 times. Still, it's good enough to have Nebraska in sole possession of first place in the woeful North.
Iowa State 13, Kansas 7
I didn't watch or otherwise follow any of this one, so I can't really comment on it. I thought Mark Mangino had turned Kansas into a better football team than this. It was either a bad week or I was fooled.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/31/04 21:34 | Big 12 Football | Technorati | Comments (3)
30 October 2004
* EXHALE *
My Sooners were very lucky to escape Oklahoma State today.
Between the penalties and giving away 14 points on special teams, they did their best impersonation of John Blake's teams.
I would say the secondary getting torched constantly for deep passes surprised me, but Les Miles seems to be able to do that to Oklahoma. I wasn't surprised, but it did leave me shaking my head.
Bedlam indeed.
Adrian Peterson was certainly the difference in this one. Again. How many times am I going to say that this year?
I will close with this -- if the Sooner special teams do not improve, they're going to come up short against a good team. It almost cost them today against a very good OSU team that they might have put away by halftime if not for the miscues.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/30/04 14:48 | Big 12 Football | Technorati | Comments (1)
29 October 2004
Halloween Photos
Callie and I rounded up pumpkins to decorate earlier.
I HATE political yard signs, so we thought we'd make a political statement in a slightly different way:
It's amazing what a little Canon A70 digital camera (and some serious tweaking of aperture and exposure settings) will do when paired with a tripod.
Down the street, some neighbors put out the following (unintentionally) hilarious display:
I don't think they stopped to consider just how closely their candidate resembles their Halloween decs. That's great!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/29/04 22:18 | Other | Technorati | Comments (4)
28 October 2004
Those Brits
The Times of London has a speculative article about a potential Kerry cabinet.
I found this sentence hilarious:
Given the reputation of senators as windbags with large egos and an argumentative manner, Mr Kerry, a senator himself, may be reluctant to have former senators at President, Vice-President (John Edwards, his running mate), Secretary of State, Secretary of Defence and Director of Central Intelligence.
Senators as windbags with large egos and an argumentative manner!
Whatever your partisan preferences, it's hard to take exception with that. And the matter-of-fact presentation is great.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/28/04 23:43 | Other | Technorati | Comments (1)
Chris Harmon on Al Qaeda
Orrin Judd found an old (May 2004) article by Chris Harmon, entitled How Al Qaeda May End.
It caught my eye because Harmon's a terrorism expert who went to grad school with my boss, and who studied under one of my mentors in international politics, a little-known professor of strategy by the name of Harold Rood. Not to mention he's an awfully nice guy.
Last time Harmon was in town, it was well before 9-11, and we spent much of an evening at Taste of Texas lamenting the fact that policymakers were not taking threats of terrorism seriously.
*sigh*
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/28/04 22:34 | Other | Technorati | Comments (0)
27 October 2004
Random Thoughts From A Less-Than-Brilliant Ideologue
I ran across this peculiar line in a Dallas Morning News editorial today:
It is extremely unlikely that, say, a brilliant ideologue like Justice Antonin Scalia could make it through Senate confirmation today.
A brilliant ideologue?
Clearly, Justices Scalia and Thomas are the most conservative justices on the Supreme Court. And Scalia is regarded by most Court watchers as a significant intellect.
But does the fact he's a brilliant conservative jurist make him an ideologue?
And if so, why do we rarely see references to the "brilliant Progressive ideologue Oliver Wendell Holmes" (whose dissent in Lochner always has praise heaped on it, despite the fact that it was largely beside the point in terms of the actual case and case precedent at hand at the time, and was itself intended to serve as a guidepost for future justices)?
Maybe in the world of all-knowing newspaper editors, anybody outside what they consider the mainstream is just an "ideologue" to be dismissed. That attitude might not be the healthiest one for a Belo newspaper (or our local one), and it's just peculiar that we've reached a point in the discourse when conservatives, no matter their credentials or intellect, are simply dismissed as ideologues. Maybe some of them (*shock*) are truth-seeking folks guided by a philosophy, not unlike the fine truth-seeking folks in journalism. At least those who work places other than 60 Minutes.
Maybe?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/27/04 23:12 | Other | Technorati | Comments (1)
Lone Star Times
Dan Patrick launched his latest endeavor today: the Lone Star Times.
Unfortunately, Patrick's successor to Chronically Biased doesn't render properly in Firefox, so it's hard to say much about the thing.
Here's wishing them well in their new project, though, which seems to be the "internet newspaper" that Patrick has longed for.
Meanwhile, a few of us refugees from internet newspaperdom are doing exactly what we want to be doing over at blogHOUSTON.
May Chronically Biased Rest In Peace.
(Update) For you folks not from Houston (I always forget there are bunches of you), I should note that the Dan Patrick in question is the local conservative political talk guy, NOT the ESPN sports dude.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/27/04 22:42 | Other | Technorati | Comments (13)
26 October 2004
Just Another Day In A City With Declining Police Manpower
There was a bit of excitment near the Galleria where I work earlier today.
KTRK-13 reports:
A cabbie has been shot and his cab stolen Tuesday afternoon.
It all happened at the intersection of Sage and West Alabama right behind the Galleria. Houston police took a person into custody a short time later, but it's not known if that person was being considered a suspect.
The cabbie was taken by ambulance to the hospital. He is expected to survive.
And, KHOU-11 adds:
Houston police arrested a suspect Tuesday in the shooting of a cabbie in the Galleria area. Houston police report that just before 3 p.m., the cab driver was heading south on Sage near West Alabama when a minivan pulled up next to him with the doors open.
Police search the area for suspects in the shooting of a cabbie in the Galleria area Tuesday.
Police say that's when a man jumped into the cab, shot the driver and threw him out of the vehicle. The driver was transported to Ben Taub Hospital. The cab, No. 202, is still missing.
Police arrested a suspect near the Office Depot on Kirby near Richmond.
Our office is at Sage and Westheimer (roughly), and the back side of the parking garage faces Alabama.
Fortunately, I was oblivious to all of this excitement. However, half an hour before the shooting, I actually made my semi-regular afternoon trip over to the Galleria for a Starbucks break. And often (but not today), I take a long route back along Alabama to get a little exercise. That would have put me right where the shooting took place. Nice.
And an hour after the shooting, I took Richmond home, home being not that far from the Office Depot on Kirby where the suspect was captured.
Like I said -- fortunately, I missed all the excitement.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/26/04 19:55 | Houston | Technorati | Comments (0)
Ewwww
Okay, Dan Patrick just said on KSEV that he can't imagine John Kerry and Theresa Heinz Kerry having sex together.
Ewwww, why would anybody try to imagine that in the first place?
Of course, some people don't have the good sense to keep some things private themselves!
He who casts stones....
(Update) Speaking of the website publisher, it is just a bizarre thing to announce that there are zero days left until the launch of the next great thing, BUT everyone has to wait one more day. You wouldn't think counting down from single digits would be so confusing.
Ah well. I don't pretend to understand, and thankfully it hasn't been my problem for quite a little while.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/26/04 17:41 | Houston | Technorati | Comments (2)
25 October 2004
Running The Score Up
Sunday's Daily Oklahoman attempts to spin the Sooners' running up the score with a cheap passing touchdown at the end of Saturday's game:
Oklahoma took two shots at the end zone in the final moments of its blistering of Kansas.
And there was nothing wrong with it.
Such is the state of college football. With a BCS formula geared toward human polls -- or so we're told -- appearances are important for highly ranked teams like the Sooners. Score padding is not just acceptable but necessary. Who knew college football would ever have anything in common with beauty pageants.
Looks matter.
So, the Sooners threw into the end zone in the last minute Saturday even though they led Kansas by four scores. Jason White connected with Mark Bradley and scored what might have been the most important touchdown of the day in a 41-10 victory.
Crazy? Most things are when the BCS is involved.
Rest assured, the system influenced the Sooners' decision to throw the ball and try to score at the end of the game.
"It's not fair to say that it doesn't,'' Sooners coach Bob Stoops said. "As opposed to just sitting on the ball the last minute of the game, it forces you to play.''
I don't believe Bob Stoops has ever intentionally run up the score on another team until Saturday (unlike his mentors Steve Spurrier and Bill Snyder). And I don't think Stoops believes in showing up the competition. But clearly, the pressure of being third in last week's BCS rankings (the Sooners are second this week) affected his decisionmaking on Saturday. That's the only explanation for thinking this cheap touchdown actually mattered. And sadly, maybe it did -- to East and West Coast sports hacks who probably didn't even watch the game and look only at scores each week (of course, that's one part of my argument that human polls aren't infallible).
Still, as I said in answer to TP's comment here, I wish they hadn't done it throwing the ball. I would have preferred Jason White Tommy Grady take a knee and run out the clock. Or let Adrian Peterson have a crack at the endzone with the defense stacked up to stop the run. But don't tell your sixth-year Heisman quarterback to pass into the endzone against a defeated team whose defense is ganged up to stop the run.
It's even worse because it came against former Sooner offensive assistant Mark Mangino, a good guy who's done a hell of a job building Kansas into a respectable program, just as he did a hell of a job helping Bob Stoops get Oklahoma turned around. Here's a little reporting on Mangino after the game:
On the field afterward, Mangino sought out Sooners defensive ends Dan Cody and Jonathan Jackson, hugged them and said, "Look at you guys, kicking our (butts). I'm happy for you."
OU fans lingering in the south end zone gave Mangino warm applause as he walked to his locker room.
"This place is special to me. I've never tried to hide it," Mangino said afterward. "The people here have always been very kind to me and my family, and the feeling is mutual."
No complaints: With style points and margin of victory constantly looming in the BCS, late touchdowns can become a little touchy.
Mangino had no complaints with the Sooners throwing an 8-yard touchdown pass with 35 seconds left to set the final margin.
"I don't fault Oklahoma; I'd do the same thing," Mangino said. "They didn't make the rules with the BCS, but they have to live with them. We're not complaining. It's our job to keep them out of the end zone.
"In the quest for a national championship, there are going to be some casualties along the way."
You don't run up the score that way on this guy. I don't care what lame spin you put on it afterwards.
Bad move, Bob.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/25/04 22:51 | Big 12 Football | Technorati | Comments (0)
A Real Political Criminal
Here's one for all those partisans who want to turn Tom DeLay's practice of hardball politics into criminal activity.
Carroll Fisher is a real political criminal, in the finest tradition of Oklahoma sleazeball politics.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/25/04 22:28 | Other | Technorati | Comments (0)
Swift Geese Veterans For Truth
Some people have ENTIRELY too much time on their hands.
Still, this is funny as hell.
My good friend Mr. Vaughn sent it to me.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/25/04 21:50 | Other | Technorati | Comments (1)
Why Did They Ever Hire Him In The First Place?
The answer to my question here?
Florida has reportedly fired the ass clown.
A tip of the hat to my friend Dave, who alerted me to this earlier this morning.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/25/04 10:40 | Sports | Technorati | Comments (0)
24 October 2004
Big 12 Wrap: Week 8
The elite teams of the Big 12 won handily this week, the middle teams beat up on each other, and 25,000 people showed up to see really bad teams. That's all the introduction I can muster.
Oklahoma 41, Kansas 10
Oklahoma led only 14-10 at the half, thanks to penalties, dropped passes, a bust on defense, and other miscues. Whatever Bob Stoops said at halftime seemed to work, as Oklahoma dominated the second half, cruising to 27 unanswered points. Jason White had his most productive passing game of the season (despite numerous dropped passes), and second most productive game of his Heisman career at OU, and STILL was overshadowed by the fantastic freshman (who had a big fourth quarter en route to another hundred yard performance).
Texas 51, Texas Tech 21
All of those critics who said Texas can't beat good passing teams with its power option game and a dominant defense can now be quiet. Earlier in the week, Mack Brown made the most important decision of the season, staying with Vince Young as his starter. He also seemed committed to the power option game in this one, with Vince Young making the defense choose its poison (usually him blazing on by) on option plays, and Cedric Benson pounding it up the gut. When done well, it even turns the inaccurate Young into a reasonably effective passer. The (ridiculous) Mack Brown death watch officially ended with this win. One wonders if he'll lose again this season.
Texas A&M 29, Colorado 26 (OT)
Colorado led almost all of this game, but Texas A&M rallied late to tie, and pulled out the victory in overtime. Reggie McNeal had another monster game directing the A&M offense, although Dennis Franchione has to be a little concerned that his defense got torched for 510 yards at home. Texas A&M moves to 6-1 and remains undefeated in conference play, although they close the season against Oklahoma, Texas Tech, and Texas after their scrimmage against Baylor next week.
Oklahoma State 20, Missouri 17
Oklahoma State pulls a comeback against the North's best team, rallying from at 17-0 second quarter deficit to score the game's final 20 points. OSU's offense remains one-dimensional, but their defense really clamped down on Mizzou, limiting the Tigers to only 264 total yards.
Kansas State 45, Nebraska 21
This kind of score should be familiar to Nebraska assistant John Blake, as he saw quite a few like it when he was the head man on the Sooner sideline. Bill Snyder's crew held Bill Callahan's inept offense to 3 of 11 passing and 109 yards rushing. Meanwhile, Snyder's Wildcats rolled up nearly 400 yards of total offense even though they were led by backup quarterback Allen Webb. Bob Devaney must be turning over his grave, although the North is so pitiful that the Huskers remain tied for the lead in the division.
Iowa State 26, Baylor 25
Who would have guessed 25,000 fans would show up for this? Maybe Ann Richards bribed them. In any case, how does a team outgain an opponent 450 yards to 257 yards and LOSE? Oh yeah, four turnovers. And Baylor really is that bad.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/24/04 22:32 | Big 12 Football | Technorati | Comments (3)
Where's Drew?
Okay, the dreadful Cowboys have made a team that has been crappy on its home field so far this season look like the return of Lombari's group.
It's 28-6. The Cowboys will not be winning this game, and after their first two drives haven't even competed.
It's not Vinny's fault, but I see no reason at this point not to get Drew Henson some snaps.
I'm not a GENIUS like Big Bill, but why the hell wait?
(Update) Okay, Testaverde stayed in and they went on a quick TD march to stay in the game (down by two TDs in the middle of the third quarter). See, I'm really NOT a GENIUS like Big Bill. :)
(Update 2) And the Packers went right through that Swiss cheese defense to answer with a touchdown of their own. The Cowboys will not win this game. It really is time to get Drew Henson some snaps.
(Update 3) Boy, that was a real stinker. 41-20. Good gawd. Good thing I took Green Bay in my weekly picks. :) Drew Henson inexplicably NEVER got in the game. If Parcells was trying to punish the team by keeping in the starters who didn't get it done, he was being foolishly shortsighted. If he actually thought he had a chance to win this game in the fourth quarter (when Henson should have been in the game), he was delusional. Either way, we're no further along knowing what Drew Henson can do.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/24/04 16:58 | Dallas Cowboys | Technorati | Comments (17)
23 October 2004
Zook
How much longer is Florida going to keep this clown around?
Good gawd, he managed to lose to Sylvester Croom's awful team today.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/23/04 15:28 | Sports | Technorati | Comments (0)
At The Half
On a day when my Sooners have misfired but have made enough plays to lead, it seems appropriate that their longtime radio play-by-play man Bob Barry Sr., who has a great set of pipes (but doesn't call a great game anymore), has come down with some sort of odd laryngitis that he did not have early in the game and is now CROAKING out commentary.
Weird day. Weird game.
(Update) The Sooners have scored two fairly quick touchdowns (one on offense, one on defense) early in the second half, and Bob Barry's voice seems to have recovered somewhat. Very strange.
(Update 2) Towards the end of the third quarter, the Sooners have gotten sloppy again, and Barry's voice has died again. They had to bring the sideline reporter upstairs to take over play by play. Bizarro.
(Update 3) An Adrian Peterson touchdown seems to have put this one out of reach finally. However, the sideline reporter is still doing the play by play. I think the crappy play early may have killed Bob Barry. Expectations have risen since the John Blake days.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/23/04 13:59 | Big 12 Football | Technorati | Comments (0)
22 October 2004
Danger Train: Collision #69
KPRC-2 is reporting the latest Danger Train incident:
A driver ran a red light and hit a METRORail light-rail train Friday afternoon, police told Local 2.
Investigators said the motorist was traveling eastbound on Jefferson at Main shortly before 5 p.m. when she hit the train.No one was injured.
Police said the driver will be ticketed.
It was the 64th accident involving METRORail.
Actually, by our count, it's number 69, a number that only reaffirms that WE ARE WORLD CLASS!!!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/22/04 18:23 | Danger Train | Technorati | Comments (5)
21 October 2004
Bummer
I actually listened to the Fox announcers tonight, instead of turning the sound off and listening to music (or anything, really).
I should have passed. Nine innings of three grown men taking turns sticking their tongue in Tony LaRussa's ear was about enough for a lifetime.
But I will credit the Cardinals for playing great baseball all year long. Those guys do little things like moving runners over and getting them home when they're supposed to. Nothing fancy, they just do it, and have all season.
At least this idiocy can stop now.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/21/04 22:23 | Sports | Technorati | Comments (6)
As The State Crumbles...
Platts reports the following today:
Amid communist-ruled Cuba's worst energy crisis in a decade, President Fidel Castro has fired the minister responsible and taken overall control of the sector himself, sources in Havana said.
That will surely fix what's broken.
Oh yeah, and he fell down and broke himself too.
The symbolism is all just too rich.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/21/04 13:10 | Other | Technorati | Comments (1)
20 October 2004
The Train Ride From Hell
Julie recounts one long train ride in this post.
Actually, it reads more like a short story. Good stuff.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/20/04 08:49 | Other | Technorati | Comments (0)
19 October 2004
Oklahoma Third In The BCS (The Horror!)
The first BCS rankings were released this week, and to the chagrin of sportswriters who thought they were once again in control of how we should all think about the best college football teams from the biggest conferences in the land, it turns out that Oklahoma is ranked third in the rankings despite being ranked second in the human polls.
The horror! How could this happen?! Didn't the BCS gurus tweak the formula so that last season's circumstance of Oklahoma sneaking into the BCS title game despite losing late and being ranked third in the polls would never happen again?!
Actually, no. No they did not. They tweaked the formula a bit to give the human polls a greater weight and eliminate some aspects of the formula they thought unfairly favored Oklahoma last season, but computer polls that factor in strength of schedule still are part of the overall formula.
And guess what? Miami is undefeated and has played a stronger schedule than undefeated Oklahoma.
So they're second in the BCS rankings despite being third in the human polls.
I don't have a problem with that, because I don't buy into the infallibility of the human polls in the first place (nor do I buy into the infallibility of CBS News and Dan Rather, for reasons that are not dissimilar).
The computer polls are not perfect, but at the end of the day, they take all the teams, they make some assumptions (that we can all go look at if we want) about how to rank various relationships among those teams, and they produce an overall ranking. It's cold and efficient. It's geeks and statistics instead of biased (or just busy) regional sportswriters or coaches who spend all their time watching game film mostly of conference opponents. It's brutally objective (although the assumptions behind the various ratings are key). And I don't mind it. Because you know what? The computer polls are right about Miami's schedule compared to Oklahoma's so far. It's better. And number of losses (0) being equal, isn't that as objective a criterion to determine the two best teams as where a team started the season in some human poll?
I will concede that I do want the human factor to play a role. I don't think we should just determine the top two BCS teams by computer poll. But we aren't (nor did we last season).
All of you people who bitched and moaned at me last season when I defended the BCS system for picking the two best teams in college football over the course of the season are probably now bitching and moaning because the tweaks to that system really haven't fixed what you perceived to be a major problem back then -- that the computer polls disagreed with the human polls and what you thought the outcome should be.
I didn't mind it then, and I don't mind it now. We knew the rules going into last season, and we know 'em now. I have to say, though, that it's kind of fun to see things unfold this way, for all sorts of reasons.
Incidentally, these first rankings ought to cause DeLoss Dodds and Mack Brown to reconsider their silly notion that strength of schedule doesn't matter in the revamped BCS rankings. You better believe it matters. Besides, it might actually benefit UT to play someone besides cream puffs before the annual Red River shootout.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/19/04 23:44 | Big 12 Football | Technorati | Comments (2)
Beach Experiments In Surfside
Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson has announced the start of a project at Surfside that is an interesting approach to the serious coastal erosion issues the state is facing:
A $2.8 million project to restore almost a mile of beach and sand dunes at Surfside Beach is the newest hope to slow down erosion of Texas beaches.
Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson announced Monday that Surfside will get a $1 million grant to put 150,000 cubic yards of sand on the beach to replace sand that has been washed away by storms and high tides.
Last summer the city was awarded a $1.8 million federal grant to install a sand-filled tube called a ProTecTube to form the base for new dunes.
The project will create a 100-foot-wide beach backed by 12-foot-tall dunes, said Surfside Beach City Secretary Kelly Hamby, coordinator of the project.
The sand will be brought by barge from Matagorda County to the Intracoastal Waterway, which forms the northern boundary of the city. It will then be transported by truck to the beach.
"This will give us our beach back and protect more than 400 homes," Hamby said.
The project is the first of its kind in Texas and will serve as a test bed for other possible projects along the coast, Patterson said.
"Surfside was once one of the best beaches in Texas," Patterson said. "When these projects are done, it will be. They will protect millions of dollars worth of property and reclaim one of the most popular tourist beaches in Texas with a promising new system we hope to use coastwide someday."
The new tubes are similar to sand-filled tubes tried before on the Texas coast. Unlike the cylindrical tubes used before, the new tubes will be in three stair-stepped sections, designed to transfer the force of water washing against it upward.
When water hit the older tubes, the force of it tended to scour out the beach in front of the tubes. The tubes would also sometimes roll around in the force of water, Hamby said.
The new tubes will be covered with sand, and vegetation will be planted to help make the dunes permanent.
"There's no way anybody could have ever gotten me to support the old Geotubes," Surfside Mayor Larry Davison said. He dubbed the old black tubes "sausages."
The new tubes will be the same color as the sand. When storm tides do wash the sand away from them, they will at least blend in with the rest of the beach.
While this expensive approach obviously can't be used to protect the whole of the Texas coast, it will be interesting to see how it pans out, and if it can protect beaches that elected officials deem a priority. Further, if the experiment is successful, it could be a helpful way for the state to reconcile the competing demands of beachgoers (who have a right of access to the Texas coast guaranteed by the open Beaches Act) and affluent coastal property owners (who long for some way to protect their investments against the ravages of nature).
Patterson has been an effective leader on this issue, and deserves praise for it.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/19/04 23:15 | Outdoors | Technorati | Comments (8)
The Minority Party Files
Andrew Ferguson has penned an entertaining column for the Weekly Standard -- The Birthplace of Bush Paranoia: How the political culture of Austin, Texas, infected the presidential race.
I found it at Brothers Judd, but I see that Tom Kirkendall also has linked to it.
I don't think all that much about the minority party in Texas (I'm reminded of that great Howard Roark line, "But I don't think of you"), although I do wonder if more thoughtful members of that party would agree or disagree with any aspect of the proposition that the party's minority status is directly attributable to its embrace of Austin liberalism. And is the notion that redistricting's real purpose ("real" purposes involving conspiracies and evil intent always lurking behind stated purposes) was to eliminate white Dems as a political force in the state also influenced by Austin liberalism?
Beats the hell out of me. If anyone cares to enlighten, have at it in the comments.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/19/04 23:04 | Texas | Technorati | Comments (2)
See Ya Jacques
I've been so busy posting over here (and watching baseball and football) that I realize I never commented on the passing of Jacques Derrida.
It's not nice to speak ill of the dead, so we'll just think of it as deconstructing his life and passing.
Personally, I think Mark Goldblatt summed it up pretty well:
Derrida's special significance lies not in the fact that he was subversive but in the fact that he was an outright intellectual fraud -- and that he managed to dupe a startling number of highly educated people into believing he was on to something.
Yeah.
Who knows -- maybe Jacques will even convince the Creator that He needs to rethink some aspects of human reason. Knock yourself out, Jacques! :)
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/19/04 22:37 | Other | Technorati | Comments (0)
Believe!
THAT WAS ONE HELL OF A BASEBALL GAME.
Gotta love that scoreboard.
Fireworks surround a goofy train full of oranges after Jeff Kent's decisive homer.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/19/04 00:59 | Sports | Technorati | Comments (1)
18 October 2004
Go 'Stros!
I have wonderful friends.
Tonight, Callie and I are heading to Minute Maid to watch the Astros courtesy of our friend Cathy, who had two extra tickets for some sweet seats.
SWEET. I bet the place is gonna be rocking!
Anyway, I'm looking forward to it. And I'm not gonna say anything more about it for fear of jinxing the good guys.
Sometime later, though, I'll post some thoughts on the newly released BCS rankings.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/18/04 16:46 | Other | Technorati | Comments (4)
17 October 2004
Big 12 Wrap: Week 7
The two best teams in the Big 12 fought tougher-than-expected teams from the North this week, and the next best teams in the South fought each other, making for an interesting week of football in the Big 12.
Oklahoma 31, Kansas State 21
Bill Snyder leaves no stone unturned in preparing for his former co-defensive coordinator Bob Stoops, and this year was no exception. With the Sooners expecting a game plan featuring a heavy dose of Darren Sproles, Kansas State opened by frequently emptying the backfield and throwing. They moved the ball effectively at first, scoring on their first two drives (with the help of untimely Sooner penalties). The Sooner defense finally adjusted, and shut down Kansas State, whose defense also slowed Oklahoma. By the end, the precision of Jason White and the persistence of Adrian Peterson (who wound up with 36 carries) was too much for a Kansas State team that is now 0-3 in the Big 12.
Texas 28, Missouri 20
Mack Brown may have created expectations in Austin that he can't fulfill. All his team did this week was go out and beat the North's best team, despite the loss of Vince Young during the game. And all that columnists have to say is that Texas can't throw the ball very well. Mack Brown got that pot boiling with bizarre comments after the game about his team's inability to throw, and wouldn't rule out a change at quarterback. Meanwhile, it appears Vince Young's health is fine after he was knocked out of the game. The Texas defense did a good job with Mizzou's dazzling quarterback, and Cedric Benson ran well again. Mack Brown will be favored to win every game left on the schedule, and barring a coaching meltdown on his part, his team should (related thoughts here). Has the expectation in Austin really become that the man must win every game by 35 points AND beat Oklahoma?
Texas A&M 36, Oklahoma State 20
Texas A&M went on the road and dominated an Oklahoma State team that has made a habit so far this season of pushing other teams around. Reggie McNeal accounted for nearly 400 yards of total offense passing and running, and the Aggie defense clamped down on a potent Cowboy rushing attack. I said last week that the real test of A&M's progress under Dennis Franchione would come in this game. I was pretty sure that Oklahoma State was for real heading into this one. Now I'm pretty sure that A&M is for real too. The two best teams in the conference (UT and OU) will underestimate these guys at their peril -- and of course the remaining games among these four teams (with the possible exception of UT-OSU) all offer grudge-match potential.
Colorado 19, Iowa State 14
I flipped over to this one once, and quickly realized that it was probably the most boring game that anyone had the bad sense to televise on Saturday. I never flipped back and can't really comment intelligently on what happened. But Colorado may stay in the thick of things in the mediocre North, and is almost assured of the ability to play spoiler (finishing with Kansas, Kansas State, and Nebraska).
Nebraska 59, Baylor 27
The good news is, Bill Callahan finally got his sputtering West Coast offense on track. The bad news is, it came against Baylor, which means next to nothing. The further bad news is that the defense, which was an overachieving, tough unit last year under Bo Pelini, gave up 27 points to Baylor.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/17/04 22:35 | Big 12 Football | Technorati | Comments (0)
Not Gonna Sneak Up On Anyone This Year
This year's Dallas Cowboys are on track to be the most penalized team Bill Parcells has coached. EASILY.
They just manufactured a way to lose a game they had in pretty good shape with roughly two minutes left.
And it just has a feel that things are going to go that way this season.
So here's a question for the two Cowboys fans who might be reading this -- at what point do you bench Vinny Testaverde and start getting Drew Henson ready to be your quarterback?
Vinny has played okay, so it's not a knock on him, but the Cowboys brain trust (if that's not an oxymoron these days) have made it clear Henson is their guy, probably next year. They have an extra first-round pick for next year too, so they should be able to surround him with some impact players. Wouldn't it be better at some point this season to start getting ready for next year by letting Henson learn at full speed?
Who knows, maybe he's a quick learner and you wind up winning a few? Anything can happen in today's mediocre NFL.
Personally, I think it might be a little early for such a move. But what if the record goes to 2-4? 2-5? At what point do you make the move, if at all?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/17/04 18:19 | Dallas Cowboys | Technorati | Comments (11)
You Knew This Was Coming
Longhorns fans have to be groaning today.
After roughly a year of constant praise of Vince Young and his ability to lead the Texas offense (he's been the starter following UT's loss to OU last year), Mack Brown backed away from such talk after UT's win yesterday:
Longhorns quarterbacks Vince Young and Chance Mock were a combined 7 of 19 passing for 58 yards and two interceptions against Missouri on Saturday. After the game, Texas coach Mack Brown left open the decision on who will be the starter next week at Texas Tech.
"I don't know [who will start], I'm a little confused right now, too," Brown said. "We'll go back and look at it. It's not a one-guy problem, it's a group-of-guys problem."
Young started Texas' 28-20 win and went 3-for-9 passing for 19 yards, but left late in the second quarter with a rib injury after throwing his second interception. Chance Mock entered, and finished the game 4-for-10 for 39 yards.
As Dick Cheney might say, it hard to know where to begin.
I guess the biggest question I have is why, one year after making Vince Young his starter and after a full spring practice devoted to building an offense around his skills, Mack Brown has discovered the offense he implemented isn't a very good passing offense.
No kidding! The quarterback Mack Brown chose to run his offense isn't an accurate passer. So they implemented a power option game to take advantage of the two best offensive players on the team: Cedric Benson and Vince Young. It's a running offense, and to do a power option game well, you have to spend time (snaps) on it in practice, time not devoted to the passing game. There's a reason why Tom Osborne's Nebraska teams never threw the ball well -- it's wasn't a design flaw, but a feature!
That being said, the power option game that Texas runs should open some passing opportunities that even Vince Young should be able to exploit, because he's a gifted athlete and they can roll him out and let him buy time to find matchups (or take off and run with the ball). The passing game doesn't have to be highly sophisticated for that kind of stuff to work, so long as the team is patient and sticks with the power running persona it seemingly adopted in spring practices.
Mack's problem right now seems to be that he seems to be treating the lack of a sophisticated passing game as a design flaw rather than a feature. Mack Brown can probably ride his defense and that explosive power running game (taking some shots in the passing game) to victory against every opponent in the Big 12 that doesn't have Bob Stoops standing on the sideline. So why not ride 'em?
Indeed, I thought limiting the power running game against OU in favor of trying to throw the ball was a mistake. Cedric Benson wound up with only 24 carries against a Sooner defense that is extremely thin on the defensive line. Yesterday, Moe Dampeer got time at defensive tackle despite being in Bob Stoops' doghouse and despite reportedly coming close to being kicked off the team altogether because of his attitude. That's how thin the Sooners are. Might ten more carries for Benson (and ten fewer of those passes that resemble wounded animals from Vince Young) have broken the Sooners in the fourth quarter of the OU-UT game last week? Who knows. We do know, of course, that Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson headed into the fourth quarter against Kansas State yesterday with 23 carries for 66 yards (by my rough count). He finished with 36 carries for 130 yards. The Sooners stuck to their run-heavy game plan, and it paid dividends in the fourth quarter against Kansas State (although it didn't hurt to have last year's Heisman winner hit some key passes to talented receivers along the way). Texas has a good defense, a good offensive line, and two great runners in their backfield (Benson and Young). They could win a lot of games the same way, and might have been more competitive last week if they had stuck with it a little more.
Instead, Mack seems determined to foul things up by insisting that Texas become (implausibly!) a good passing team this year, and stunting yet another quarterback's development with a needless quarterback controversy.
Longhorns may find this advice to Mack Brown surprising, but here it is -- don't create another quarterback controversy. Vince Young is a more talented athlete than Chance Mock, and he gives your team its best chance to win this year. Stick with that power option game. Create situations where the quarterback can take a shot with run-pass options and gain some confidence. Ride that defense, and one of the best linebackers in college football. Use those special teams that dominated the first half of the OU game and created a field position advantage. In short, take advantage of your strengths for the rest of this season. You can beat every team on your remaining schedule if you play to your abilities. Don't listen to critics like Kirk Bohls, who is clueless in thinking a sophisticated passing game can be conjured out of thin air.
But DO fire/retire Greg Davis at the end of the season. You and he together managed to make the wrong decision in starting Chris Simms over the one legitimate Sooner killer on your team (Major Applewhite). Then you managed to turn Chris Simms from a can't-miss prospect into a (barely) third round draft pick. You don't have a good record in developing quarterbacks, and it doesn't look like you can beat Oklahoma with Greg Davis running your offense. Bring in a thoughtful YOUNG quarterbacks coach/offensive coordinator type who can not only implement an offense to take advantage of the team's talent, but who can also tutor Vince Young, whose pure athletic ability gives defensive coordinators migraines. Learn a lesson from those guys in Crimson who have beaten you five straight years: Josh Heupel, Nate Hybl, and Jason White weren't the most heavily recruited quarterbacks, but under the tutelage of Mike Leach and Chuck Long, they became very good quarterbacks in the Sooner system. None of those guys was heralded like Vince Young, who has great skills. Ditch Davis and find some coaches who can develop the guy. Otherwise, the losses to Oklahoma are going to become more regular, as your recruiting slips because students see that your great recruits don't develop as they should.
Of course, feel free to ignore all that advice above. It comes from a Sooner fan who's more than happy to watch you continue to screw things up.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/17/04 09:39 | Big 12 Football | Technorati | Comments (0)
15 October 2004
Help The Children
The Montrose Beer and Gun Club will be hosting their 4th First Annual Cook Off and Musical Extravaganza at the best Icehouse in the whole damn state tomorrow.
They describe the charity thang as "An event to benefit kids who wish things were better."
There's more information on the event from those hard working kids over at blogHOUSTON.
I sure hope to see all you liberal bloggers who are always bitching and moaning about "the children" and CHIP and all that BS out actually supporting the children tomorrow! :)
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/15/04 23:49 | Other | Technorati | Comments (0)
14 October 2004
Best Of Dallas
The Dallas alt-weekly has released its annual Best Of issue, and this time around the editors name Mark Cuban's Blog Maverick as Best Blog.
Last year, they named D magazine's Frontburner as the winner.
You can say this about New Times Dallas -- they sure seem to like corporate blogs that aren't very alt at all. Or even that blog-like. But then, alt-weeklies have, in many ways, become like their dinosaur daily print media brethren anyway, so this isn't all that surprising.
At least they have the good sense to have a reader's choice category, which my buddy Cindy Chaffin at Texas Gigs has won two years in a row.
Never one to rest on her laurels, Cindy's streaming tunes from her site now. Sweet! Congrats Cindy, and thanks for all the good work!
We're thinking next year maybe the New Times Dallas folks will get a clue and give her the the editors' award (and our friends at Y'all Blog can assume the readers' choice championship). That's how it would work in Kev's world anyway.
Here in town, the New Times folks don't have a reader's choice category, but the editors had the good sense to give their nod to Charles Kuffner this year (and the bad sense to give the nod to this little blog last year). These are actual blogs. With frequent updates, comments, links, blogrolls, trackback and the like. Go figure. Advantage: New Times Houston.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/14/04 18:19 | Web Stuff | Technorati | Comments (0)
13 October 2004
Bob Schieffer
Okay, Bob Schieffer's done one last debate.
Now, for the love of gawd, can the doddering old fool just retire?
Dinosaur media. Bah.
(Update) I think I share Orrin Judd's view:
It wasn't easy to achieve but this truly was the most boring debate since Carter vs. Ford.
The distraction of two compelling baseball games didn't help.
(Update 2) Good lord, now there aren't even two compelling baseball games. 10-4 now, Astros trailing. Dang.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/13/04 21:32 | Other | Technorati | Comments (0)
12 October 2004
A World Class Newspaper
OpinionJournal's James Taranto sent a nice number of new readers blogHOUSTON's way today because of a little problem we found in a Chron editorial.
Surely such national attention for our newspaper makes it world class. Err, or maybe not. :)
Hamid Crazy. Asama bin Laden.
The Chron continues to find new ways to surprise and entertain me.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/12/04 23:17 | Other | Technorati | Comments (0)
Mack Brown Is A Middle-Age Macbeth?
American Statesman columnist Kirk Bohls is a UT homer, for sure, but he's usually not a retarded UT homer.
However, I don't know how else to describe him after reading this column:
Mack Brown bled Monday.
Right before our very eyes and all over the Bellmont Hall carpet.
The man who is either the most persecuted football coach in America or the most perseverant opened his wounds for all to see. And it was downright humanizing.
In so doing, Mack let his guard down, not that it's ever very high, and provided a glimpse inside his 53-year-old soul.
He let the media peek past those blue eyes that know little rest during football season. We found a middle-age Macbeth who yearns to be everything that Texas fans from Austin to Anchorage want him to be. No surprise there, but Mack was as honest and revealing as he's ever been.
He's hurting. He's as prideful as ever. Sleeps four to six hours a night. He says he's handling the heat better than ever, although I have my doubts. He looked drained and totally whipped in Dallas after the 12-0 loss to Oklahoma. He needs to get that one heartbeat checked regularly.
Mac Brown bled? Middle-age Macbeth?
Good gawd, I almost wish they'd beat OU one of these years just so Bohls wouldn't write columns like this. Almost.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/12/04 23:11 | Big 12 Football | Technorati | Comments (0)
They Really Do Love Him
Okay, I've listened to KSEV radio.
I know the callers revere Dan Patrick.
But comments on his weblog that begin "Dan I love you..." are just bizarre.
BIZARRE, I tell you.
Although substantively, more spot on than most of the comments over there.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/12/04 21:58 | Other | Technorati | Comments (3)
Eric Celeste Blogs
Scott Chaffin writes that Eric Celeste of the Dallas Observer alt-weekly now has a blog (but on blogspot, blar).
That ought to be good for some smartassery, I imagine.
I don't understand why New Times hasn't pushed some of its better writers towards blogging on the company dime. It would draw readers to their websites, which are a bore aside from Wednesday night/Thursday morning, when they all update and we all rush to see what restaurant Robb Walsh has reviewed and what gaffes Rich Connelly has pointed out.
A Connelly blog would just plain rock, btw, for any New Times folks who might be reading.
But maybe New Times figures it won't sell sex aids or escort services and isn't worth the trouble. Beats me. Alt-weeklies just aren't very alt in their thinking these days.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/12/04 17:48 | Web Stuff | Technorati | Comments (0)
11 October 2004
Go 'Stros!
How 'bout those 'Stros blasting Atlanta to win the first playoff series in franchise history?!
And how about Bagwell and Biggio, clearly in the twilight of great careers, finally getting it done in a playoff series?
Good for them. Regular readers here know that I wouldn't have expected it. I'm happy to be wrong.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/11/04 22:52 | Sports | Technorati | Comments (0)
10 October 2004
Big 12 Wrap: Week 6
OU-Texas dominated this week of Big 12 action, obviously, but here's a quick wrap of all the games.
Oklahoma 12, Texas 0
Everybody who's interested in this one has already read the numerous accounts of the game. Obviously, Oklahoma's super freshman Adrian Peterson was the story. He dominated the game, overshadowing a Heisman Trophy winner (Jason White) and candidate (Cedric Benson). But there were a number of substories worth noting. First, the Texas defense flowed to the ball much better than in previous years and never gave up. That's to their credit. They're even claiming to have shut down the Sooner passing attack. They certainly didn't allow OU receivers to streak free like last year, but it seems toward the end of the second quarter that Bob Stoops made the decision that his defense would give him enough cushion to play it close to the vest with a bruising running game. Until their first scoring drive, the Sooner pass/run ratio was 14/12 by my count. On the scoring drive before the half, the ratio was 3/11. The final ratio was 27/52. The Texas defense played the Sooner passing game well, yes, but it also opened up some running room that a dominant Sooner defense allowed Stoops to exploit. Meanwhile, UT offensive coordinator Greg Davis inexplicably went away from pounding a thin Sooner defensive line with Cedric Benson and Vince Young to passing plays for which Young is not well suited. One suspects Davis will be "retiring" at the end of the year.
Oklahoma State 42, Colorado 14
Everyone now understands that Vernand Morency is the latest star of the backfield at Tailback U, and that the Cowboys have ridden a physical rushing attack to an undefeated start. In this one, they actually showed they can throw the ball a little. It remains unclear whether the floppy passes that Donovan Woods launches will be sufficient against the elite teams of the conference (see Vince Young v. OU defense above), but a powerful running game certainly opened things up against Colorado on the road.
Missouri 30, Baylor 10
Only 22,000 fans showed up to see Baylor take another one on the chin. Missouri now claims the top spot in a weak Big 12 North. Baylor travels to Nebraska next for a battle of two bad football teams. Mizzou travels to face a Texas team that usually responds well after the Red River shootout. Watching Brad Smith and Vince Young ought to be fun, but the Texas defense should carry the day for the Longhorns.
Texas Tech 70, Nebraska 10
Nebraska defensive assistant John Blake should be used to scores like this by now, as he was certainly on the wrong end of enough of them as head coach at Oklahoma. After Nebraska declined seriously to consider last year's defensive coordinator and interim head coach Bo Pelini for the job, Bob Stoops snapped him up to help coordinate Oklahoma's defense. So, the dynamic duo of Bill Callahan and John Blake get to work their magic at Nebraska. To the tune of seven turnovers and the worst loss in school history. Ouch.
Texas A&M 34, Iowa State 3
The Aggies are definitely an improving football team. Iowa State, however, is not. So the real test of Texas A&M's progress under Dennis Franchione will come next week, as the Aggies travel to Stillwater.
Kansas 31, Kansas State 28
Mark Mangino's building a more competitive program at Kansas, and didn't let this game get away like he did two weeks ago. The Jayhawks enjoyed good field position throughout this one, allowing them to win despite being outgained by more than 100 yards. Kansas has next week off. They'll need it to get ready for their next opponent (Oklahoma). Kansas State gets Oklahoma in Norman next week, in a rematch of last year's Big 12 Championship.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/10/04 22:10 | Big 12 Football | Technorati | Comments (3)
Football Contest
I do this weekly online football pick'em contest for fun (no prizes that I know of) with a group of 30 or so people.
And it's been going pretty well. I've hung around close to the top, and even led the group overall one week.
But this week has not gone well. I remembered late Friday night after a bit too much wine in Galveston that I hadn't made my picks yet. Needless to say, not enough any research went into the thing, and the results so far are just horrible. Ouch.
I won't be leading after this week, regardless of the remaining NFL games. :)
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/10/04 18:40 | Sports | Technorati | Comments (0)
Danger Train: Collision #68
Danger Train collision #68 is "olds" rather than news at this point, but since I only mentioned it in passing while in Galveston, I thought I'd put up the news blurb (from KHOU-11):
A METRO rail car has to be repaired after yet another accident. The 64th incident occurred Friday at Main at Franklin in downtown Houston, and happened much like the others.
A woman driving a Buick south on Main tried to make an illegal left turn on Franklin -- right into the path of the train.
No one was hurt, but the woman's car and the train were damaged. The woman was ticketed for the accident.
Even though it happened a few days ago, I'm still feeling world class.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/10/04 14:43 | Danger Train | Technorati | Comments (0)
Texans on Fox? Bah
I like the home sports teams.
I want the Astros to finish off their series today.
I hope Charlie Casserly really does have a plan and the Texans win more than they lose this year.
I'm eagerly awaiting the retooled Rockets.
But I'm still a huge Cowboys fan, and I wish the Texans weren't on Fox INSTEAD of them today. Blar.
At least I can listen to the Boys on the Beaumont AM station (since Jerry Jones and Bob McNair agreed to keep them off the air in Houston last year, an agreement that still seems to be in effect).
(Update) In retrospect, it doesn't seem like I missed much.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/10/04 13:20 | Dallas Cowboys | Technorati | Comments (1)
09 October 2004
Sunset
It's been cloudy here in Galveston all day.
The clouds finally peeled away for a beautiful sunset.
Of COURSE the batteries in the digital camera had to be dead about the time I decided it'd be nice to have a record of it.
Oh well. It was there. You'll just have to take my word for it. :)
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/09/04 19:58 | Outdoors | Technorati | Comments (0)
Not Quite A Shootout
The "Red River Shootout" wasn't so much a shootout this year, but I'm happy enough with the outcome.
I can't help but think if Texas had played with this intensity in recent years that Bob Stoops might not own a winning streak right now. But this year, Oklahoma had the edge in talent and experience and should have won.
Or I should say, Adrian Peterson won.
How about that guy?
There was a Heisman winner (Jason White) on the field, a Heisman candidate (Cedric Benson), and all sorts of NFL-caliber talent.
And a sweet freshman made 'em all look like BOYS.
At some point, I didn't even care so much who would win the game. It was just fun watching Adrian run. Wow.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/09/04 14:28 | Big 12 Football | Technorati | Comments (1)
08 October 2004
Sea Blogging
Don't expect much in the way of blogging from me until later in the weekend.
I roadtripped my arse on down to Galveston today to hang out with Callie and her family at the beachhouse they rented for the week. It's mighty nice, but I'd forgotten what dialup is like. Let's just say I doubt I'll be tempted to stop drinking in order to play on the innernut much.
The roadtrip down was powered by some fine music from those kids in Rodger Wilko, who are mighty mighty talented. I had Ken Layne's CD along, which is also good for these sorts of things, but I just kept playing the RW. Sorry Ken!
Oh, and I can't leave town more than an hour without someone taking on the Danger Train.
At least it was a car this time, and not a pedestrian. Count that as Collision #68 if you're keeping score at home.
Okay, I'm off to walk the beach and drink and track down some seafood. And probably drink some more.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/08/04 15:28 | Danger Train | Technorati | Comments (1)
07 October 2004
Oh No!
Adrian Peterson on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week?!
Oh no.
I hope the Sooners can overcome the jinx.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/07/04 23:59 | Big 12 Football | Technorati | Comments (1)
At Least They're Better Than Dana Dimel's Worst
Despite penalties and mistakes that made them rather resemble the John Blake teams at Oklahoma, the Coogs somehow managed to get themselves a lead for much of the second half tonight, only to give the game away in overtime.
I put this one on Art Briles.
With a 22-21 lead and lots of time in the game (about 9 minutes into the third quarter), he went for two points instead of kicking for the PAT.
The Coogs didn't succeed. They later scored to make it 29-21.
When Southern Miss scored a late touchdown, they went for two and were successful. The Coogs couldn't answer, and the game went to overtime. Southern Miss scores a TD. The Coogs don't. Nice.
One point was effectively the difference in the ball game.
I know that coaches have a little sheet that tells them when they should go for two or kick.
I wish someone would take that sheet and rip it to hell.
At the end of the game, it's one thing. But for the most part, I would rather see coaches take the point earlier in the game and put the pressure on the other coach late in the game.
How much nicer would it have been for Jeff Bower to be gripping over having to get an onside kick with a minute left because his team still trailed by the point Art Briles gave away?
Oh well. This team has one more win than Dana Dimel had in his worst season, and nobody can take that away from Coach Briles.
Otherwise, this season's just painful to watch.
And it's not all on Briles.
Dave Maggard ought to have his ass kicked for scheduling Oklahoma and Miami in the same season. Those were physical beatings this team couldn't handle, and the paychecks are a small consolation when you don't have enough players left to compete in a middle-of-the-road conference, and your fans are bailing because one-win teams really aren't that popular in this harshly judgmental sports town. Bill Yeoman can carry on all he wants about having to play great teams to be great, but Yeoman should be relegated to cheerleading in the athletics department and little else. He was a legendary coach, but this team and program CANNOT compete with Miami and OU at this point in time, and would be better served by rebuilding via the Bill Snyder method of nonconference scheduling than being humiliated and injured by national championship contenders.
This season is over for the Coogs, in early October. If that happens too many more times, it won't be long before I-A football in general is over at UH.
Rant complete. Go ahead, Coog Fans, and blister this season ticket holder with all the reasons you think I'm wrong. But do give me some reasons, and not just the pablum I've heard from Maggard and Yeoman about expecting great things.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/07/04 22:02 | Sports | Technorati | Comments (4)
Danger Train: Collision #67
The incidents tend to come in bunches:
A man was injured Wednesday when he was knocked over after stepping in front of a light rail train, Metro officials said.
The victim, whose name and age were not available, was struck about 7:30 p.m. by the northbound train on Main near Walker.
Metropolitan Transit Authority officials said the man was conscious and breathing after the accident. He suffered a cut or bruise on the back of his head and was taken to Ben Taub General Hospital.
It was unknown later Wednesday whether he would be cited for the accident, officials said.
If you're keeping count just for the week, that's Danger Train 2, Pedestrians 0.
The pedestrian who ran into the train (as Metro likes to phrase these things) on Monday was given a citation, so it's surprising this pedestrian/violator wasn't cited. After all, he was "conscious and breathing" afterwards. It's surprising Tom Lambert wasn't in his face yelling "What part of safety do we not understand, Houston?!"
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/07/04 06:40 | Danger Train | Technorati | Comments (1)
06 October 2004
My Boss Makes The Local Rag
Local political risk analyst Terry Hallmark is featured today in a question-and-answer article put together by David Ivanovich for the Chronicle business section.
Hallmark is one of the foremost political risk analysts practicing the craft, having been at it roughly 20 years or so now.
I've been privileged to call him my boss, mentor, and friend for about seven years now. For a sampling of sorts of issues we deal with on any given day, go check out Ivanocich's article.
And if you get a chance, check out the dead-tree version of the article, which features a flattering photo of Dr. Hallmark. If you're wondering -- no, we don't dress like that every day.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/06/04 21:07 | Other | Technorati | Comments (0)
I'll Take That One, Chris
Former UT quarterback Chris Simms will make his first start for the Tampa Buccaneers on Sunday:
"I hope I can give us the spark we need," Simms said Wednesday, when the Bucs (0-4) began preparation for Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints (2-2).
The second-year pro is the son of former New York Giants star Phil Simms. The Bucs selected him in the third round of the 2003 draft, and the strong-armed left-hander saw his first regular-season action in relief of Johnson three weeks ago.
Simms learned of coach Jon Gruden's decision on Tuesday.
"I was ear to ear, smiling all day. I'm excited. ... It's long way from being the last pick of the third round," the 24-year-old quarterback said.
When asked about his former star quarterback's rise from third-round draft pick to starter for one of the NFL's most respected offensive minds, UT coach Mack Brown was excited:
I'm just so happy for Chris. I was just telling DeLoss [Dodds] this morning how it's just worked out so well, with the Sooner game being the early game for ABC. That should give me plenty of time to get to New Orleans and get settled in, so I can take any postgame questions from the media for Chris.
Gotta love Mack. :)
[for anyone who might be confused, that last is SATIRE]
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/06/04 14:32 | Sports | Technorati | Comments (2)
05 October 2004
Rodney Dangerfield, RIP
Rodney Dangerfield has passed away.
May he rest in peace.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/05/04 21:26 | Other | Technorati | Comments (2)
Why Does She DO That?
Our dog Kiwi, an abandoned street dog we adopted who is part Australian Shepherd and part Doberman, is an exceptionally smart dog who actually has a vocabulary (she'll fetch things by name, or get frantic if we ask "Is the pizza here?" or start looking at the ceiling if we ask "is there a squirrel in the tree?").
But sometimes, you can't tell that she's an exceptionally smart dog.
To wit, this email update from Callie, who (along with her mom and sister) has rented a Galveston beach house for the week and for some reason wanted to take the dog:
kiwi rolled on a dead catfish head. the thing was huge. nice. i'm going to have to bathe her.
She really IS a smart dog. Most of the time.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/05/04 19:44 | Other | Technorati | Comments (7)
04 October 2004
A Matter of Choice
A few days ago, NRO posted an article from Jay Greene on school choice.
I normally don't delve into non-Texas politics here, but I'm posting the link because I studied legislative politics from Greene in grad school. He was a really bright guy, but didn't stay at UH for long. Rumor has it that certain folks in the department didn't think his cutting-edge research on vouchers was "academic" enough. He moved on to UT (good choice on their part) for a while, and he's now at the Manhattan Institute.
It's nice to see him doing well for himself, not to mention important research for an institution that appreciates it.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/04/04 21:55 | Other | Technorati | Comments (0)
OU-Texas Week
I'm trying really hard not to be an ass during OU-Texas week this year (for a change).
I feel less nervous about the game than I have since Bob Stoops has been at Oklahoma. If both teams play their best games, OU should win.
But who knows if that will be the case?
OU's defensive line is thin with Dvoracek, Dampeer, and Thibodeaux out, the defense has suffered from busted assignments at times this year, and they have not faced a power option game as good as UT's this season. That could all be trouble.
That's why I'm just happy to let the game get here and watch it. For a change.
But I have to say, it's all I can do not to comment on this:
Texas coach Mack Brown said Sunday he's been assured by school administrators that his job is not in jeopardy, even if he loses Saturday for a fifth consecutive season in the annual showdown at the Cotton Bowl against Oklahoma.
Brown said he wants his players to know so they won't feel undue pressure in Dallas.
"I think the No. 1 thing they need to know is, it's not about my job," Brown said during a Sunday conference call, without being questioned specifically about his job status. "I've been assured I'm going to keep my job regardless of the outcome of this game. I can get that out of the way, which, I think, takes some pressure off of them [Texas players]."
Brown did not say who he spoke to about his job status. But multiple school officials, especially athletic director DeLoss Dodds, have expressed unwavering support of Brown in recent weeks and in the aftermath of last year's 65-13 loss to the Sooners. The defeat was the largest in series history. If No. 5 Texas (4-0) falls Saturday to No. 2 Oklahoma (4-0), Brown would become the third coach in school history to lose five consecutive games to the Sooners.
Of the two coaches in that group, only Darrell Royal -- who won three national titles at Texas -- returned the next season. Royal lost to the Sooners each year from 1971-75 but oversaw a 6-6 tie in 1976 before retiring after 20 seasons as the Longhorns' coach. Ed Price, who endured a five-game losing streak from 1952-56, was replaced by Royal for the 1957 season.
Folks who read this blog regularly KNOW what great restraint I'm showing.
I can't wait to watch some football on Saturday. No smack. Just football.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/04/04 20:18 | Big 12 Football | Technorati | Comments (4)
Danger Train: Collision #66
Today, a pedestrian tried to take out the Danger Train.
The Danger Train won:
A pedestrian was taken to a hospital Monday morning after she walked in front of a METRORail train, officials told Local 2.
Police said a METRO train in a northbound lane of Fannin near the Reliant Stadium rail stop struck a pedestrian at about 8:15 a.m. south of the station.
She was transported to Memorial Hermann Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The train was back in service by 8:40 a.m.
That's number 66, for you kids keeping track at home.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/04/04 14:02 | Danger Train | Technorati | Comments (0)
03 October 2004
Big 12 Wrap: Week 5
Oklahoma 28, Texas Tech 13
Turnovers hindered Texas Tech in this one, but Oklahoma's inability to generate points from those turnovers kept the score a little closer than expected. The Tech defense actually slowed down the high-powered Sooner offense a bit, but Adrian Peterson had another fine game and Jason White was sharp on third down. The Sooners may have been guilty of looking ahead a bit to the Red River Shootout, and Tech wasn't quite good enough to take advantage in Norman. This one, incidentally, was the most poorly officiated Big 12 game I've watched this year. There were plenty of bad calls to upset both teams in this one.
Texas 44, Baylor 14
Texas had their way with hapless Baylor, as Cedric Benson had yet another monster game running the ball, and Vince Young put up nice numbers passing. Of course, the opponent was Baylor. After thrashing Baylor, Rice and North Texas, and squeaking out a victory over Arkansas (handled by Florida this weekend, a late comeback notwithstanding), Longhorns fans will get to see next weekend if the soft schedule has their team ready to play bigtime football.
Oklahoma State 36, Iowa State 7
The Cowboys didn't get this season's usual overwhelming ground game, but they dominated the clock and turned in an aggressive defensive performance, forcing four turnovers. In a year where too many teams in the Big 12 are performing below expectations, Les Miles' crew continues to surprise. At some point, we'll have to stop calling them surprising, and just call them good.
Missouri 17, Colorado 9
Somebody has to take a turn each week as the North's "best" team (nominally), so why not Mizzou? The Brad Smith/Damien Nash combo outperformed Joel Klatt and Bobby Purify, as the Tigers pulled out a close one with a controversial call by the referees at the end.
Texas A&M 42, Kansas State 30
Kansas State outgained the Aggies and doubled their time of possession. But, four turnovers negated all of that. It's too early to say Texas A&M is back, but clearly Dennis Franchione has the team and the faithful in a better frame of mind. A few wins will do that.
Nebraska 14, Kansas 8
Having had their respective turns as the mythical "top" team in the woeful North, Nebraska and Kansas combined for five turnovers and 20 penalties in this minor setback for offensive football.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/03/04 22:01 | Big 12 Football | Technorati | Comments (0)
02 October 2004
Blogs About Houston
So, for quite a little while now, I've been working on a new web project: a niche, Houston-centric blog that will focus on Houston politics, media, and life.
No design of mine ever seems "ready," but I guess it's close enough to throw open the doors to a few folks. Please go have a peek and see what you think. And especially, please let me know if something seems broken.
Interestingly enough, the Metroblogging Houston folks have also thrown open their doors to the public (talk about odd parallel developments). Their focus seems to be a little more on entertainment. I like it.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/02/04 17:36 | Houston | Technorati | Comments (5)
Mike Leach
There's a good profile of Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach in today's Daily Oklahoman.
Leach, of course, was Bob Stoops' first offensive coordinator at Oklahoma, and even though the Sooner offense is not at all the same these days, Leach certainly had a big hand in the resurgence of Sooner football.
At halftime, he's giving the Sooners all they want with a harassing defense, not exactly a Tech trademark under Leach. Sooner offense hasn't been crisp at all, and needs to be better in the second half.
(Update) Much better second half. Sooner defense chased those guys all day and didn't give up too many big plays. Offense wasn't crisp, but made plays when necessary, especially on third down. They must do a better job getting points from turnovers, and must be more crisp to win next week.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/02/04 13:16 | Big 12 Football | Technorati | Comments (0)
01 October 2004
Dead Sea Scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition at the Houston Museum of Natural Science opened today.
The exhibition will run through January 2, 2005.
THAT is world class.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/01/04 21:25 | Houston | Technorati | Comments (2)
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