A helping hand

Astros' Carlos Correa steps up to the plate in drive to get beds for kids after Harvey

Fred Faour
Sep 18, 2017, 6:00 am
Carlos Correa, center, poses for a photo with volunteers at a bed distribution at Texas Mattress Makers for the Houston Children’s Charity. Courtesy of Texas Mattress Makers

Carlos Correa has spent most of the season batting cleanup for the Astros. On Monday, he took a swing at helping the city itself clean up after Hurricane Harvey. Correa was part of a bed distribution at Texas Mattress Makers for the Houston Children’s Charity. The goal is to raise $500,000 to help get beds and linens for 5,000 children and families who lost theirs in the storm.

“I wanted to help," Correa said. “I pray for these families.”

Correa was joined by veteran newsman Dave Ward and several local sports radio personalities for the event.

“It went really well,” said Rachel Gordon, who works at Texas Mattress Makers with her father, Youval Meicler. Both have been active in charity in Houston for years.

Gordon is in charge of the Young Houstonians for Houston Children’s Charity and helped spearhead the distribution. “Carlos has been great. All of the volunteers were great. Our goal is 5,000 beds and we hope to raise $500,000,” she said. “We are close — we have raised almost $300,000 so far.”

Gordon had flood damage of her own during the storm, but is happy to be able to help others.

“I think it’s great the way Houston has come together,” she said. “We are all just trying to make a difference, especially for these children. Children sleeping on the floor ... you don’t want that. I’m really fortunate to be a part of this initiative and to be able to help out.”

Applications for those in need are available here and in Spanish here.

Donations can be made through the Houston Children's Charity Harvey Relief web page or through Correa’s YouCaring crowdfunding site. Also, the Young Houstonians for Houston Children’s Charity will be hosting their fall mixer at Hotel ZaZa ​on October 19 at 6 pm.

“All the proceeds are going to benefit this program,” Gordon said.

Meanwhile, Correa has donated 500 beds already. “I know how important this is,” he said.

On Sunday, Correa’s Astros clinched the AL West. A day later, he was helping another team of winners distribute mattresses to people in need.

And this group of volunteers and charity workers did what Correa always does in uniform — stepped up to the plate big time.

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ROCKETS FALL TO WARRIORS

Critical takeaways from Rockets' 105-103 loss to Warriors

Rockets fall short against Warriors. Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images

This wasn't the typical Houston Rockets-Golden St. Warriors game when Mike D' Antoni and Steve Kerr were having an offensive battle of wits. James Harden, who plays for the Brooklyn Nets, was nowhere in sight for the Rockets Friday night. Although the Rockets are in rebuild mode, it was still an interesting game. The intensity was high throughout the entire game. Emotions between Stephen Silas and Kerr were heavy, as they were yelling and jumping up-and-down along the sidelines.

A series of runs and back-and-forth scoring gave a slight reminder of the old rivalry between the Warriors and Rockets. Steph Curry was having a tough game, but with 5.1 seconds left, he was able to create great separation from a step back and drained an incredible midrange shot over Kevin Porter Jr. It was heartbreaking because Porter played great defense on Curry throughout the entire game, with Curry only making 6 out of 22 shots. Porter had a tremendous first-half defensively on Curry and recorded an 88.9 defensive rating. Porter had a good feel for guarding Curry, he didn't allow himself to switch away from him. He anticipated passing lanes and ripped Curry a couple of times.

Besides Porter playing great defense, the Rockets played good as a whole. They finished with 10 steals. Their main technique was to switch everything on defense, and Kenyon Martin Jr. and Christian Wood did a good job. It's never easy staying in front of Curry and Jordan Poole, but if they could hold their ground for five seconds, it became possible. Porter did a great job at times by communicating on defense, so he could tell Jalen Green and Eric Gordon when to switch.

And speaking of Green--- he had a strange night offensively. He went 0-11 from the field but made two great plays in the fourth quarter. Instead of Silas keeping Green on the bench because of his cold hand, he kept him in the game for learning purposes. Green made an outstanding play on Curry at the 2:52 mark in the 4th quarter. Before that, he missed a shot from three but fought hard for the rebound, then found a cutting Wood towards the rim. Green might of struggled, but the effort was there.

This was a tough loss for the Rockets, but they are steadily improving. The Rockets are 3-5 in their last five games.

Up next: The Rockets face the Spurs on Tuesday night.

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