I've gotta say, this diary thread caught me by surprise. First of all, goingforthecorner, I appreciate your spunk and your loyalty to your team, and I encourage you to visit SBN's (outstanding) Houston Texans blog.
With that said, you're totally, wholly, completely, Tom Cruise crazy. I said it before last year's NFL Draft, and I'll mention it again. Even if you don't think Vince Young's going to be a great NFL quarterback (and that position is quickly approaching untenable), the Houston Texans blew a gigantic opportunity to make as easy and sound a business decision as you'll find in sports today.
I was lucky enough to attend this year's Titans-Texans clash in Houston, at which I became more convinced than ever that Houston made the greatest blunder in NFL Draft history. Not only is Vince Young one of the most exciting football players ever to strap on a helmet, he's absolutely adored by the vast majority of the sports fans in this state. Not drafting a hometown hero with that much (financial and talent) upside was beyond stupid. I can't think of a word for it, really.
No matter what happens to Mario Williams in this league, Houston can never justify passing on Vince Young. Never.
I spent the better part of this weekend on my couch, writing and editing with the NBA playoffs on the (muted) television. I don't have any critical insights to offer after all the game ones, but I will say this: Dallas turned in as disappointing a playoff performance as I've seen in some time.
It's not so much that they played poorly (though they did) - it's that they barely bothered to play at all. Dallas just stood around and waited for the officials to call the game that the Mavericks' wanted while Golden State kept attacking on both ends of the floor. The only thing uglier than the Mavericks' on-court performance was Mark Cuban's hysteria after each call/non-call that didn't go his team's way.
The good news for Dallas? Avery Johnson has proven to be outstanding at making in-series adjustments. I'll be curious to see what the line is in Game 2 of this series, because I fully expect to see a night-and-day turnaround from Dallas. I'll call it now: Mavs win game two by 10+.
One of the great benefits of having a platform like Burnt Orange Nation to lecture from? There's no one to stop me from posting obnoxious notes about how much I love Barry Bonds. My boy hit #740 today in a 2-1 Giants win, just one day after he hit #739 in a 1-0 Giants win. Say it with me: MVP! MVP! MVP!1
Reader 'realmccoy' asks an interesting question in the diaries: "What should we expect out of the 2007 offense?"
It's a question that can't be answered in a paragraph, so I won't attempt to, but I did want to note (1) the diary itself, which has a poll for readers, and (2) my increasing fascination with the question "What to do with John Chiles?" We'll save that for a post of its own, but it's the most intriguing question about the 2007 offense.
Last, what others are saying... Double T Nation, one of my favorite daily stops, scoffs at ESPN's latest Big 12 football roundup... PWD's located the "Real Men Of Genius" commercial archives... NC State fans don't love Rick Barnes. A quick glance at the last ten years of college hoops at Texas and NC State has me wondering if they're in any position to snicker at Barnes...
1No need to get into an argument with me on this one. I know he's a jerk, and I know that you hate him. Let's just leave it at that.
--PB--