WALKING THE LINE

Why Astros, Rockets fans should take note of the Dolphins saga

Why Astros, Rockets fans should take note of the Dolphins saga
Losing games certainly helped the Astros rebuild. Photo by Getty Images.
Altuve's walk-off slam lifts Astros over Rangers

Now the question is … did Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross really offer $100,000 bonuses to head coach Brian Flores for each game the Dolphins lost – on purpose – during the 2019 season?

"That was a conversation about not doing as much as we needed to do in order to win football games," Flores told ESPN this week. “Take a flight, go on vacation, I'll give you $100,000 per loss -- those were his exact words.”

If that’s true, as Flores formally alleges in a lawsuit against the NFL charging racial discrimination, what happens now?

Would NFL commissioner Roger Goodell order Ross to sell the Dolphins? Or allow him to keep the team but force him to withdraw from daily operations for a certain length of time or forever? Would the NFL fine Ross and punish the Dolphins by taking away draft picks?

Would NFL owners tell commissioner Goodell to clean out his office and resign? Will the FBI investigate to determine if Ross committed a crime? If the accusation is true that he offered money essentially to fix the outcome of games, it sure sounds like bribery and racketeering. Plus I’m sure there are several people with crooked noses in the illegal gambling industry who’d like to have a private word with Mr. Ross.

And what happens now with former Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson’s similar accusation that the Browns long-term plan included losing games on purpose, or at least not trying their hardest to win, in 2016 and 2017 in order to move higher in the draft?

The Browns went 1-31 those two years and sure enough landed the No. 1 overall draft pick after both seasons. They drafted Myles Garrett in 2017 and Baker Mayfield in 2018. Jackson was fired midway during the 2019 season.

Flores was fired by the Dolphins last month after two winning seasons in a row. Both Jackson and Flores are African-American.

We’re only at the beginning of what could explode into a major scandal and black eye for the NFL. If two – so far – NFL teams conspired to lose games on purpose, the integrity of the NFL, the most popular and powerful sports organization in the U.S., could be damaged, probably not beyond repair, but two giant steps back.

I’d forget about Goodell losing his job, at least over this. Baseball commissioner Bud Selig ran the Major Leagues during the steroid era, most believe he knew cheating was rampant, and Selig later was elected to the Hall of Fame. Team owners, who are Goodell’s boss, can look beyond scandal as long as their bottom line keeps soaring.

Remember, Flores and Jackson’s accusations are only that, accusations. We don’t know if they’re true. There’s a thin line between rebuilding and tanking.

Between not trying to win and hoping to lose.

Did the Houston Astros tank during 2011-2013 when they lost 100 games each year? Or were they developing young players who took their lumps with the promise of good things to come? In the Astros case, the gamble paid off big time with three consecutive years of 100 wins, playoff and World Series appearances and the Astros first championship in 2017.

With the Texans, maybe we shouldn’t confuse tanking with mismanagement, poor judgment, lousy coaching and just plain stupidity. The Texans are losing on the field, in the community and among their fan base. The organization from top to bottom isn’t a dumpster fire, it’s an out-of-control blaze that’s rendered NRG Park into 350 acres of smoldering despair on game days.

How would you describe the Rocket’s game plan? They sent John Wall, their highest-paid and best player who isn’t injured, to NBA Siberia because the coaching staff wants to give their young players a chance to develop. This at the expense of winning games that would lessen their chances of gaining a premium draft pick. Wouldn’t young players benefit and learn from playing with an experienced guard with All-Star pedigree? Rebuilding or tanking?

Brian Flores, a finalist for the Texans head coaching position and the fans’ clear choice for the job, says he informed Texans management that he was filing a lawsuit against the league before his interview. Will the lawsuit leave Flores toxic as a coaching pick? Or will teams feel pressure to hire him now? Flores also is a candidate for the New Orleans Saints coaching position.

If the Dolphins owner did attempt to bribe Flores to lose games, it wouldn’t be the first time a team out-and-out went into the tank. The most famous instance involved Chicago White Sox players taking money from a notorious racketeer to throw the 1919 World Series. The players, though found innocent in court, were banned from baseball a year later and brandished the Black Sox forever.

There have been several point shaving scandals in college sports. In some cases, the team didn’t necessarily lose the game, but just kept the margin of victory under a certain number of points.

Nobody has proof – or cares – but the Washington Generals have lost 10,000 games in a row to the Harlem Globetrotters. There is suspicion that the Generals coach is told to lose on purpose. You know, like certain NFL coaches are claiming.

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Welcome to Houston, Nick! Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.

Nick Chubb didn’t expect to be a Houston Texan. At least, not until he got the call on a quiet Saturday at home and was on a flight the next day. It happened fast — too fast, even, for the four-time Pro Bowler to fully process what it all meant. But now that he’s here, it’s clear this wasn’t a random landing spot. This was a calculated leap, one Chubb had been quietly considering from afar.

The reasons he chose Houston speak volumes not only about where Chubb is in his own career, but where the Texans are as a franchise.

For one, Chubb saw what the rest of the league saw the last two seasons: a young team turning the corner. He admired the Texans from a distance — the culture shift under head coach DeMeco Ryans, the explosive rise of C.J. Stroud, and the physical tone set by players like Joe Mixon. That identity clicked with Chubb. He’d been a fan of Ryans for years, and once he got in the building, everything aligned.

“I came here and saw a bunch of guys who like to work and not talk,” Chubb said. “And I realized I'm a perfect fit.”

As for his health, Chubb isn’t running from the injuries that cost him parts of the past two seasons, he’s owning them. But now, he says, they’re behind him. After a full offseason of training the way he always has — hitting his speed and strength benchmarks — Chubb says he’s feeling the best he has in years. He’s quick to remind people that bouncing back from major injuries, especially the one he suffered in 2023, is rarely a one-year journey. It takes time. He’s given it time.

Then there’s his fit with Mixon. The two aren’t just stylistic complements, they go way back. Same recruiting class, same reputation for running hard, same respect for each other’s games. Chubb remembers dreading matchups against the Bengals in Cleveland, worrying Mixon would take over the game. Now, he sees the opportunity in pairing up. “It’ll be us kinda doing that back-to-back against other defenses,” he said.

He’s also well aware of what C.J. Stroud brings to the table. Chubb watched Stroud nearly dismantle Georgia in the College Football Playoff. Then he saw it again, up close, when Stroud lit up the Browns in the postseason. “He torched us again,” Chubb said. Now, he gets to run alongside him, not against him.

Stroud made a point to welcome Chubb, exchanging numbers and offering support. It may seem like a small thing, but it’s the kind of leadership that helped sell Chubb on the Texans as more than just a good football fit — it’s a good locker room fit, too.

It appears the decision to come to Houston wasn’t part of some master plan. But in retrospect, it makes perfect sense. Chubb is a player with a no-nonsense work ethic, recovering from adversity, looking to write the next chapter of a career that’s far from over. And the Texans? They’re a team on the rise, built around guys who want to do the same.

You can watch the full interview in the video below.

And for those wondering how Joe Mixon feels about Nick Chubb, check out this video from last season. Let's just say he's a fan.


*ChatGPT assisted.

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