What it was was football, deal with it

This cloudy afternoon I did some catching up on my reading, mostly about Texas politics and in particular the governor’s race.

No links will be provided from my research because I don’t want to be blamed for confusing anyone. That said, I mean I am still totally in the dark as to whether Gov. “Goodhair” Perry could be beaten in November by Democratic candidate Bill “Sparsehair” White. Talk about your contrasts — in hairstyles. At least I understand what it’s like to be bald. I do not understand what it’s like to be rich like Bill White. I hope I never understand what it is like to be Rick Perry.

I don’t know. Some polls have Perry leading, mostly by single digits, others have them neck-and-neck. Okay, one poll does, and a Republican poll at that. I saw that on Texas Tribune which is texastribune.org. I already told you I am not linking today. I have the right to be contrary every now and then.

So I decided to write about the real burning question of the week: Can the Texans make it 3-0 and leave the Cowboys 0-3? You could get run out of town on a rail for such heresy in some parts of Texas. But 80 miles to the east of Reliant Stadium, I feel pretty safe.

I listen to “The Blitz” sometimes, mostly when I am in my truck going somewhere around noon-30. It is a local (Beaumont-Houston but all Houston and no Beaumont) radio program on 97.5 ESPN http://975theticket.com/ well, I lied. I ended up linking and didn’t mean to but I still have no remorse. The Texas Tribune has yet to prove to me that it is a journalistic gem that it is made out to be. “The Blitz,” with Fred Faour and A.J. Hoffman are on the other hand, at least a diamond in the rough.

One or the other Blitzers (not Wolf Blitzers) said in talking about the Oilers (Oops! Freudian slip is showing) Texans the other day something to the effect that a “cornered” Cowboys team is a dangerous Cowboys team. I have to agree. Dallas has a knack for pulling bad situations out of their a** and making them smell like a rose. The Cowboys, however, also can also snatch a defeat from the jaws of victory. (See Cowboys v. Redskins)

The Texans have been placed between Number 5 and 7 in most of the power rankings this week that I have seen so far. People who didn’t know Houston had a football team — how soon we forget except those of us who spit at the name “Bud Adams” — now are on the Texans bandwagon. Man, ain’t that Andre Johnson something! Uh, yeah, he’s been something since he was drafted by the Texans in 2003, you dope! Matt Schaub? He led the NFL in passing and completions last year. And the “faithful” said after the team’s first winning season last year that Coach Gary Kubiak should be fired. Idiots, to the left of me. Idiots to the right of me!

The Texans are real. Staying that way is going to prove the biggest problem. Last year the problem was finishing the deal. Running up leads at the half and blowing them. Success, at least in my way of thinking, is the number one danger any new big deal faces in the NFL or anywhere else for that matter. But can overconfidence make the Texans soar ever downward in flames? Hell if I know. I’m no football expert.

Although I do sound fearful that the mighty Cowboys will come in and level the Texans at Reliant Stadium Sunday I hope that doesn’t happen and I still see the Texans as the favorite by one touchdown over Dallas. Maybe something to the tune of 27-20 Houston.

Just a short-short on my other game of the week. Stephen F. Austin State University, the mighty Lumberjacks (and I’m okay), host the Lamar Cardinals. Okay, I am an SFA grad and support the Jacks, no matter how they embarrass me as they did in the suckola at Kyle Field in the season opener with the Aggies. It wasn’t so much a problem with the team — they are ranked in the top 10 of the FCS (former NCAA I-AA) — as it was with the scheduling. I understand money is money, but Hell’s Bells, can’t you line up a big-time school you have a chance of beating as SFA did last year with SMU? (A chance, SMU came from behind to beat SFA 31-23 in 2009.)

The Cardinals are from here in Beaumont-ville, Texas, where I reside. This is the first football team they have had in 20 years. One of my brothers is a Lamar grad. There are other ties as well. The Cardinals are the local team and I support them. Just not against my alma mater.  Oh and Lamar has done pretty well its first rattle out of the box this year. They posted a narrow loss to top 20 McNeese. Next, they beat a school I never heard of before. Last week the Cards beat Southeastern Louisiana 29-28.  I imagine that, for some folks, all of these teams sound like they are made up and should be the teams in movies like “The Water Boy,” but I assure you that these are real schools with real football teams. Lamar, since they are playing their first year and are getting their feet wet in football, are classified an independent school. Next year they will join the Southland Conference, the league in which Lamar already competes and has competed for some while in other sports. So, they will face McNeese, SE Louisiana and SFA each year. Get used to it!

Wild guessing, I think Lamar has a good team for its first year and has a great coach and decent guy in Ray Woodard, a former Denver Broncos player. I think the Cardinals will get beat up a bit when they play in Nacogdoches this week. The Swami (how i love ya, how I love ya, my dear old Swami) says SFA  36-Lamar 7.