NFL Draft

Is Football's Dominance of Sports Talk Sign of the Times or Permanent Fixture?

One man's opinion...not whether too little Astro/baseball coverage on local sports radio, but whether too much football in off season.— Greg Lucas(@GREGCLUCAS) May 13, 2013 Former Astros broadcaster Greg Lucas tweeted the above a few days ago, and it resonated with me and something I've been ... More >>

It's Time For All These Anonymous People To Back Off Geno Smith

I suppose that news outlets can determine what exactly constitutes news. I'm just one man, one voice in the current events wilderness. With that in mind, allow me to say this: Former West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith's precipitous tumble from potential top ten pick in the NFL Draft to 39th over ... More >>

2013 NFL Draft, First Round: 4 Winners, 4 Losers

All right, it's Friday morning, and either you're hungover from getting destroyed by the Battle-Drink BINGO drinking card for the NFL Draft or you're mentally exhausted from sweating out all the NFL Draft prop bets I shared with you earlier this week. Either way, however shitty you feel is likely my ... More >>

Battle-Drink BINGO Drinking Game: 2013 NFL Draft Edition

Back when the NFL Draft was a Saturday/Sunday affair, I had a couple buddies (brothers, actually, what up Andrew and Brock?) who used to gather with some of their other friends for the entire weekend and make a huge party out of the draft. We're talking kegs, entire animals cooked on an open fire, g ... More >>

2013 NFL Draft: Prop Bets To Keep It Interesting On Thursday Night!

The NFL Draft has always been an event that's required an incredible amount of patience. With ten minutes between picks in the first round (and for you ADD-afflicted youngsters out there, be glad, it used to be 15 minutes), with the proceedings spread out over three days, and for most of you reading ... 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 >>

NFL Free Agency 2013: Your Texans Cheat Sheet (Cap Numbers, Restructure Candidates, and More!)

Back in the day, when I used to have oodles and oodles of idle time on my hands during prime game-show watching hours (that's code for "back in college"), Wheel of Fortune was a staple of my game-show dance card. (For the record, Tic Tac Dough, Joker's Wild and Price is Right -- the Sopranos of game ... More >>

Sexual Orientation Questions at NFL Combine Spark Sports Radio Discussion, Create Welcome Distraction

I listen to a lot of sports talk radio. I listen to as much of the various hosts as possible across the five different stations that offer all-sports formats -- yes, five, it's insane. There are some shows and on-air talent I like better than others. We're all like that I would guess. For me, I tend ... More >>

Why the NFL Got Boring (for Me) and How to Get Over Your Football Addiction

Last Sunday, a strange thing happened. I woke up, did some reading, worked on a few stories, talked to some friends on the telephone for a while, went to the gym, made dinner and got back into bed, thinking, "Not a bad day." And then I realized it: I hadn't watched football. Hadn't even thought to. ... More >>

Texans Rewind: I Found a 2008 NFL Preview Magazine, Man Alive Was the Texans Defense Bad

On our radio show on 1560 The Game this past Monday, John Granato and I were breaking down various aspects of both the Texans 26-13 win over the Panthers and the preseason in general. The topic was the defense, specifically Whitney Mercilus and the various ways that Texans defensive coordinator Wade ... More >>

Longhorn Panic: Sealy WR Ricky Seals-Jones Decommits

It wouldn't be June if we didn't have some sort of off the field drama to worry about with our college football. And since the realignment talk this summer is at a dull roar at best, and since the resolution of a college football playoff is still several weeks away, how about a little recruiting ang ... More >>

Five Ways the Rockets Season And The MLB Draft Are Alike

I'll be the first to admit that while I like the game of baseball and generally keep up with it and the Astros during the season, I'm not an avid fan. I'm certainly not enough of a fan or baseball nerd to understand what the 40-round major league draft means or who is being drafted or even where the ... More >>

Adventures in DUI: Jacksonville Jags WR Justin Blackmon (w/ Mugshot!)

While the new NFL collective bargaining agreement has brought rookie salaries, particularly first round rookie salaries, more in line with their true value, there is no denying that NFL teams are still investing significant chunks of change in a bunch of unproven commodities. Along those lines, it's ... More >>

10 College-Related Thoughts On The NFL Draft, Including Case Keenum

I'm not the draft expert that some of my Press colleagues are. Yet I do watch a lot of football, especially college football, and like every football fan, I have a few thoughts about some of the things that happened over this past weekend. 10. There are probably a bunch of Houston Cougar fans that ... More >>

Texans Draft Notebook: What The Mercilus Pick Means For The Weekend

The Texans, as expected, addressed a need with their first-round pick Thursday night. It just wasn't the sexy playmaker position that many expected. Whitney Mercilus, a projected linebacker at the NFL level who led the NCAA with 16 sacks in his junior year at Illinois, proved too much value for the ... More >>

NFL Draft 1st Round by the Numbers: Ranking High School Ratings, Conferences

The first round of the NFL Draft is in the books, and now we spend today overanalyzing the selections the teams made last night (complete with the inane letter-grade report cards for a bunch of players that have not yet even had their first press conferences with their new teams) and preparing for t ... More >>

Texans Draft Preview: Understanding Needs In A Gary Kubiak Offense

For the first time in years, the first round of the NFL Draft may not be about defense for the Texans. After spending exhaustive resources to rebuild the depleted unit, the consensus among pundits is that Gary Kubiak will use the 2012 draft to add youth to his offensive core -- namely, in the passi ... More >>

NFL Draft WARNING Label: JaMarcus Russell 2007 Draft Footage

The day is finally here. Tonight at 7 p.m. all of the analysis, evaluation and conjecture will end (temporarily) and the hopes and dreams of 32 young men will come true. It is the first round of the NFL Draft, and for fans of everyone except the Jets it is another day of hope that your team is trend ... More >>

Don't Forget: NFL Draft Live-Blogging, Right Here

Will the Texans recapture that David Carr magic in this year's NFL Draft? Even though Carr has more Super Bowl rings than the Texans, we certainly hope not. The draft has become a huge entertainment extravaganza, stretched over days and preceded by months of hype, analysis and blathering. (Lotsa l ... More >>

2012 NFL Draft -- Live Blog

I made an analogy on my radio show this morning on 1560 The Game that the NFL Draft tonight is like Christmas Day for many NFL fans. Air of anticipation, excitement of the unknown, food, it's all there. (My co-host, John Granato, compared it to Hanukkah because it's played out over several days, but ... 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 >>

5 Quick Thoughts On The Great Carson Palmer Heist

Carson Palmer: Now rehabbing his rep​It's weird, as great as the National Football League has been, the one thing that the NBA and, to an even greater extent, Major League Baseball have had over the NFL for as long as I can remember is a compelling trade in-season trade deadline. In-season fo ... More >>

Houston Texans 2011 Draft Summary, Including Best Porn Name

Brandon Harris is no Cam Newtown​The Texans 2011 draft is over, and it had a decided Wade Phillips-ian flavor to it. Not that I'm complaining. With poor to mediocre drafts every year since the 2006 haul that produced five contributors (including three Pro Bowlers) for the current roster, some ... More >>

2011 NFL Draft -- Live Blog

I am not an NFL Draft expert. How's that for unbridled confidence? Right out of the shoot, in a live blog for the NFL Draft, a host of a sports talk show is admitting that he's not an expert at something sports related, let alone the thing at which he's about to live blog. If you're looking for l ... 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 >>

NFL Teams Don't Care That Cam Newton Can't Name A Play

Only one of these guys still has a decent job​Go to Google and put in "2011 NFL mock drafts." I did that this afternoon, and I couldn't find one current edition of a reputable mock draft that didn't have Auburn quarterback Cam Newton as the number one overall pick to the Carolina Panthers. T ... More >>

My Advice for NFL Players

Don't take these magic moments away, Players Union​In the battle for NFL labor supremacy, I'm rooting for football. I'm rooting for order in my world, and my entertainment to remain untouched. However, forced to choose a side, I am rooting for the players. I don't know if I represent Joe NFL ... More >>

Kareem Jackson, Cockfighting and Perception

That's entertainment​"Look at all these people that be at these chicken fights, you would think its a college football game." -- Reemboi25 (Kareem Jackson's Twitter handle) Early March is the meaty part of the NFL's offseason relaxation calendar for players. The season has been over for a co ... More >>

Andrew Luck and Jim Harbaugh -- What ISN'T Wrong With This Picture?

Andrew Luck pursues his architecture degree​As quarterback/head coach combinations go at the collegiate level, few have ever been as logical a fit and maximized that synergy like Houston's own Andrew Luck and Jim Harbaugh at Stanford in 2011. The head coach who on pure guts nearly willed th ... 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 >>

Randy Moss Gets Traded For Magic Beans

Randy Moss trades Brady for Favre​"I'm still in awe that I'm a part of this organization. I think that he's the kind of coach that can motivate me. He has a proven track record." -- Randy Moss on Bill Belichick the day he was acquired by the Patriots in 2007 Randy Moss and the Patriots were the ... More >>

Game Time: Sure I'll Grade The Texans' Draft, Just As Soon As I'm Done Tweeting With Peter King

Tweet this: The Texans are stone junkies for tight ends.​I admit I'm a total mark for Twitter. I'm not one of those people who has to tweet every little thing that happens throughout the day (unless there is some semblance of comedic value, and then I become to Twitter what Travis Henry becomes to ... More >>

Game Time: If You Want To Hear Richard Justice Getting Fired, Click Here

​If you are a celebrator of Christmas, you know what I mean when I say "that Christmas morning feeling" -- the giddy sensation when you wake up on December 25th, knowing that you made it through the 362 day grind since the last Christmas morning and today is the day that you get to open your p ... More >>

Game Time: Best-Case NFL Draft Scenario For HBO's Hard Knocks Fans

​In the end, I guess someone had to go. If you're the front office of a proud franchise like the Steelers, you can only have so many impromptu press conferences, district attorney explanations, and women screaming foul before a message needs to get sent. You're not going to move the star quarte ... More >>

Game Time: We Interrupt March Madness For This Earl Thomas Interview

​By the time this post is up, March Madness will have tipped off, so I hope everyone was able to glean enough "infotainment" (a word my good friend WWE Hall of Famer, Jim Ross, loves to use) to mentally and psychologically prepare you for the next few weeks. If you missed it, you can get the Mar ... More >>

Game Time: We Interrupt This Tebow Documentary For Seven Other Reasons To Watch The Senior Bowl

​Every year around this time, NFL prospects gather in Mobile, Alabama for the beginning of what amounts to a three-month job interview, complete with numerous forty-yard dashes, questions about their upbringing, and requests to "cough while I stick my fingers right...HERE!" It's a fascinating tim ... More >>

Aeros' Max Noreau: From Nowhere To All-Star

​One of the fun things about covering (and watching) sports is the joy that comes from watching the underdog triumph over all odds and get to the top. It can be a team -- like the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team -- or a player. Just someone or something that overcomes overwhelming obstacles that w ... More >>

No More Bull

The past, present and future of the Texans breaking our hearts

Jason Friedman’s NFL Picks, Week 15: Peter King is a Goober

Finally! Mock Draft Version 5.0

Random Thoughts While Anxiously Awaiting the NFL Draft and NBA Playoffs

Trading Spaces: Mock Draft Version 4.0

Here We Go Again

It's football time (cringe)

Cyber Shula

NFL Head Coach wants to make a legend out of you.

School's Out

Dallas outshines Houston when one magazine rates education

Bush, or Bust?