NFC South

Most Awkward Interview Ever: Asante Samuel Discusses Gay Athletes On ESPN

Earlier this week, NBA career journeyman center Jason Collins announced in a very well written SI.com article that he is gay, technically making him the first active athlete to come out and announce his homosexuality. I say "technically" because Collins is a 34 year old free agent, so the likelih ... More >>

Geno Smith's Former QB Coach Refutes Scathing Draft Evaluation

Driven largely by back to back classes flush with immediate impact players, expectations have changed for highly drafted rookie quarterbacks in the NFL. Consider that two years ago, six of the top 35 picks were quarterbacks, and already three of them (oddly enough the second three drafted -- Chris ... More >>

Texans-Bengals, Act III: Same Names, But New Identities

After a season of lofty hopes and expectations of a home AFC Championship game, the Texans find themselves in the exact same spot they were one year ago. They're the number three seed in the AFC playoffs, opening at Reliant Stadium against number six Cincinnati. The Texans thrashed the Bengals, 31 ... More >>

Things We Learned from the Vince Young Outside The Lines Feature

Since falling out of favor with the Tennessee Titans in 2010, Vince Young's slide to the bottom of the quarterback food chain has been precipitous and eventful. The highlights include: - Backing up Michael Vick in Philadelphia in 2011 and pronouncing the Eagles a "Dream Team," a hex on that franchi ... More >>

2012: Year of the Texans

Assessing all their strengths and weaknesses, we could be looking at a repeat or better.

No Sanctuary at Spindletop

People dropping dogs off at the refuge trusted they were sending them to the best place possible. Not exactly.

Exotic Prop Bet Mania: Profiting Off The Madden Curse

When the average sports fan hears the word "wagering," for the most part they equate it with football and basketball, betting on spreads and total points scored. But if you read my work in this space, you know that the occasional prop bet is a fun diversion and oftentimes a chance to have more long ... More >>

John L. Smith Named Bobby Petrino's Successor, Leaves Weber State After Five Months

The "gust of wind" that blew Bobby Petrino off of his motorcycle swallowed up another victim on Monday. The Weber State football team now joins the University of Arkansas, Petrino's wife, Petrino's kids, Jessica Dorrell, the pride and self-esteem of Dorrell's fiancé Josh Morgan, and a slew of othe ... More >>

6 Awesome Things About Bobby Petrino's Resume

The Bobby Petrino Saga. It won't go away. And that's good because I can't look away. Last Friday, I posted the links to and a summary of the various documents that were released to the public. (Hat tip to the Freedom of Information Act, the plague on the house of any state employee who has skeleton ... More >>

Peyton Manning -- The Betting Window Is Open

It's official now, Peyton Manning will be a Denver Bronco after signing a five-year, $96 million contract that essentially boils down to being a series of one-year contracts over the next five years. No signing bonuses, no roster bonuses, plenty of protection in case Manning sustains injury again. ... More >>

Football! AFC and NFC Title Game Best Bets!

You can't spell "elite" without E-L-I. Really, you can't​We interrupt this Texans-grieving for an update on the Alabama tea bagger and my AFC and NFC title game picks! (I'm pretty sure when my parents sent me off to college, they didn't think I'd be typing that sentence in my job.) The main c ... More >>

Texans-Bengals Part 2: Why Conventional Wisdom Is Wrong

In national NFL circles, the apparent lead storyline for this weekend's Wild Card opener seems to be Cincinnati's opportunity to atone for their December 11 collapse against the Texans. Upon a closer look back, it's Houston that has the most to make up for. The clash in Cincinnati wasn't an exampl ... More >>

Who Needs Tim Tebow When You Have T.J. Yates (Or Just About Any Other NFL Quarterback)?

The only proper usage of Tebowing.​Vince Young was not who Jeff Fisher wanted to draft in 2006. His choice for the future quarterback of the Tennessee Titans was Jay Cutler. Bud Adams wanted Young, so Young became a Titan. Young was the 2006 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year as the Titans we ... More >>

Texans 20, Bengals 19: Historic Season Doesn't Have To Stop With Division Title

Photo by Marco TorresSign of the times​The popular opinion of the 2011 Houston Texans has been that while they were an inspiring story, injuries would prevent them from being a true Super Bowl contender. After Sunday, consider the latest in a long line of Texan myths officially debunked. Whe ... More >>

Jerry Rice Doesn't Really Grasp the Whole "Stock Market" Concept (w/ VIDEO)

Not read by Jerry Rice.​It seems like every retired NFL player with any small modicum of celebrity over the last decade has found his way onto television, either on the NFL Network or ESPN. The amount of money that is spent on salaries for largely repetitive, and oftentimes useless, opinions h ... More >>

Houston Texans Game 5 -- 4 Winners, 4 Losers (This Doesn't Go Well For Jacoby Jones)

Be sure to check out the rest of our pics from Sunday's game. As we were driving slowly down Murworth to park in the Teal Lot before the Texans game on Sunday, my girlfriend Amy and I noticed a father with two boys (presumably his sons) around the ages of nine or ten stopped on the sidewalk having ... More >>

Capsule Stage Reviews: Anna in the Tropics, Ether Dome, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, Republic Day, A Texas Romance, Woof

Capsule Stage Reviews: Anna in the Tropics, Damaged Divas of the Decades, Ether Dome, Farragut North, Republic Day, Woof

Do NOT Call This Announcer A Homer (w/ Hilarious Video)

Beau Bock probably has a VERY liberal definition of "dynamic"​Texans play-by-play guy Marc Vandermeer gets accused sometimes of being a "homer" for the Texans. True or not, it doesn't really matter to me. I consider Marc a friend and one of the nicest people in our business. The "homer" thi ... More >>

My Favorite 12 Nuggets from the Sports Illustrated Piece That Exposes Jim Tressel

Jim Tressel, tattoo victim​By now, you probably know the story at Ohio State. It's the age-old story of "football players befriend drug trafficking tattoo parlor owner, players swap memorabilia for tattoos (and quite possibly drugs), head coach finds out about scam via e-mail and does nothing ... More >>

My Trump Card To The Texans' NFL Draft Propaganda

With first pick of draft, Texans choose...David Carr!!! Da!!!​Let me first say that I really like the Houston Texans' public relations staff. The group that we, the media, interact with on a frequent basis (and during the season, on practically a daily basis) are some of the best at what they ... More >>

Texans 34, Jaguars 17: Will Strong Finish Outweigh Weeks of Futility?

Texans fans hold their breath​For the first nine seasons of the Houston Texans franchise, the biggest problem for owner Bob McNair has been his inability to properly handle or frame success. The beast could be about to rear its ugly head yet again. A week ago, the thought was that eight lo ... More >>

Case Keenum Faces The Future

Photo by Red Rooster Facing down a defense is the easy thing now​The Houston Cougars knew they were going to have to eventually make the transition. They just weren't counting on that transition coming during the middle of this season's third game. But it was during the second quarter of the Co ... More >>

Texans 2010 Preview: Not So Fast With The High Hopes

Photo by Aaron M. SprecherRemember, optimists, Gary Kubiak is still coaching​It's not bad enough that the Texans are starting this season with what is projected to be the toughest schedule in the NFL. Or that the Texans are starting out with Brian Cushing on the suspended list for the first four g ... More >>

Game Time: Houston Texans -- Stats That Will Illuminate Your Mind (and Break Your Spirit)

These guys look unhappy enough to be Texans fans​If you asked most adult sports fans why they follow a particular team or sport, my guess is their answer would be something along the lines of "It/they provide a distraction from my boring everyday life." In fact, maybe we can get Family Feud to as ... More >>

Game Time: JaMarcus Russell -- The Raiders' "Purple Drank"

Svelte, he ain't.​His Wikipedia profile merely describes JaMarcus Russell as follows: JaMarcus Russell is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. Right about now, the only items that are true in that statement are Russell's first and last names, because as of Monday morn ... More >>

Game Time: Cush-Watch Day 5: AP Voters Get Their Sanctimony On

You talking to me? ​I'm not sure what it says about your franchise when the most highly anticipated Monday is not a Monday following a big game nor the Monday after the NFL Draft, but instead it's the first Monday of "organized team activities" (OTA's for those into acronyms) in May, and it's ... More >>

Game Time: Prediction Monday -- Men's Hoops Finals And The Astros' 2010 Season

​NCAA MEN'S HOOPS FINALS (Butler vs Duke, 8:21 PM tip-off)When I ranked the list of NCAA Finals permutations from "Most Compelling" to "Least Compelling" in this space last week, I had Butler vs Duke ranked as the most compelling. The figurative "Cinderella" (although let's not forget that Cinde ... More >>