All of these are Raheel approved!

5 Essential Gifts for the Modern Man

5 Essential Gifts for the Modern Man
Courtesy photo.


With the holiday season close to wrapping up (pun intended!), I wanted to help out our readers that are struggling to find gifts for the modern man. These are all tested and approved by me and I highly recommend them for the man or buddy in your life. I'm going to assume the reader is either A. a women or B. a guy looking for a gift for a buddy. Here we go:

Lululemon ABC Jogger Pants, $128 

ABC Joggers

Lululemon.com

If I could, I would wear my ABC Joggers every single day instead of every other day like I normally do. These pants are the perfect fit for the office or traveling. While a bit pricey at $128, just think about this as a gift that will never stop giving and will be used almost every week. Lululemon also makes an office pant in the ABC line so that's great for somebody that needs more business casual pants.

Onnit Kettlebell 6 Online Workout, $49.95

Kettlebell 6

Onnit.com

The best thing I did this year was taking the Onnit Kettlebell 6 online workout. All you need is a kettlebell and between 30-mins to an hour every day. The course is comprehensive six week schedule that accounts for every single day to help you become the best you. This makes for a great gift for somebody in your life or heck, even for you. After I finished my six weeks on the course, I added muscle and my body fat was down. I loved it because you can download the videos and complete workouts at the gym if need be. I also recommend this because it's great for beginners and advanced lifters.

LUSH Dirty Hair Cream, $17.95

Dirty Hair Cream

LUSH.com

Okay, I know you're probably thinking, "what the heck, Raheel?! Something from LUSH? That's where my wife shops!" Yes, LUSH. I've tried all sorts of pomades, gels, and creams, but this is by far the best one in terms of strong hold and not damaging your hair. I recommend this product to every guy I know because it's not harming your scalp with chemicals and other non-sense. Bonus: when you stop by a LUSH store, pickup some stuff for yourself! $17.95 for 3.5oz seems high, but this will last somebody an entire year or more.

Nike 3/4 Training Compression Pants, $32

3/4 Training Pants

Nike.com

I get destroyed by my co-workers about wearing compression pants to the gym, but with the new year approaching and fitness goals being top of everyone's list, you have to get compression pants for the man in your life. Your muscles will stay warm and feel great during any type of workout for 2019. You can also get some money back for buying these on Nike.com by using eBates where they usually offer a percentage back on your purchase.

LED TV Backlight, $11.88

LED TV Backlight

Amazon.com

More people ask me about my backlit TV than anything in my house. I found this little bad boy on Amazon for under $10 earlier this year and programmed it to burnt orange for Texas Football games. This makes for a great stocking stuffer or White Elephant gift for a holiday party as well. The setup is simple and all you have to do is plug it in to a USB port on your TV or outlet to power it up.

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The future is bright! Composite Getty Image.

Now that spring training is officially underway, we're able to make some observations about how the Astros 2025 roster is taking shape.

Houston's starting rotation is basically set, but we got to see Hayden Wesneski make his first start in an Astro uniform. Wesneski pitched two innings against the Mets on Tuesday, allowing one run with three strikeouts.

He's working on a curveball that's a new pitch for his repertoire, and he saw some success with it. Hopefully, adding this pitch will help keep batters off balance (especially left-handed hitters) and help elevate his game. Which is nothing new for the Astros, who have a history of helping pitchers get to the next level.

Forrest Whitley also looked good, pitching a clean inning and finishing off his final hitter with a 97 mph fastball. Whitley finally realizing his potential in the big leagues could be a huge deal for the Astros, as they're looking to lighten the workload for Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader this season.

Hader in particular could benefit from this adjustment, as he was much worse when pitching in non-save situations last season. An easy fix with Hader could be trying to limit his workload to mostly save situations. That way, you get the most out of him and achieve the goal of him pitching less innings this year.

The Houston Chronicle's Matt Kawahara wrote about Hader's struggles pitching when games were tied or Houston was trailing.

Hader converted 34 of 38 save chances but faced more batters in non-save situations (142) than in save situations (136), a sharp pivot from his previous few seasons. Opponents slugged .271 against him in save situations and .411 in non-save situations, while his ERA was more than two runs higher (4.98) in the latter.”

And while it's easy to say “suck it up, you're getting paid a fortune to pitch,” if he's not having success in those situations, and you're looking to back off his workload, this seems like an obvious way to pivot. He's under contract for another four seasons, so the Astros are right to want to be careful with him.

Astros plate discipline

Manager Joe Espada has made it very clear that he would like his offense to see more pitches this season. And we're seeing a stark difference in the approaches from the newly acquired players (Isaac Paredes, Christian Walker) and Houston's returning hitters.

Keep in mind, Paredes was first in pitches per plate appearance last season, and Walker was 10th.

So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Paredes and Walker both worked a full count in their first at-bats on Tuesday, while Mauricio Dubon, Yainer Diaz, and Chas McCormick swung at every pitch in their first at-bats.

Hopefully the new blood in the clubhouse will rub off on the rest of the Astros lineup, which is full of free swingers, especially with Alex Bregman now playing for Boston.

Which is why we're so excited about Cam Smith's early results. While we're super pumped about his two home runs on Tuesday, we're equally impressed that he walked in his first two at-bats this spring. If anyone would naturally be jumping out of their shoes to make a strong first impression, you would think it's the guy that was traded for Kyle Tucker. But Smith was patient, and he was rewarded for it.

What is Dana Brown saying privately?

Just last offseason, Brown was talking about extending Tucker and Bregman while also signing Hader to a shocking 5-year, $95 million deal. Plus, the team signed Jose Altuve to a whopping $150 million extension. Fast-forward one year and Tucker has been traded, Bregman left in free agency, and Ryan Pressly was dealt in a salary dump. Safe to say, his vision for the ball club has changed drastically in one season. Welcome to baseball economics under Jim Crane!

We're just scratching the surface on everything covered in the video above. Be sure to hit play to watch the full conversation!

The countdown to Opening Day is on. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!


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