Kobe Bryant transcended sports.
It's been a weird week for everyone, I think. Let's just hop into it.
Dusty Baker, eh?
Wednesday afternoon it became official that Dusty Baker would be the Astros next manager.
That was actually the first name I suggested on that darkest of Mondays. He's handled big names and big expectations before, and aside from Joe Espada or Bruce Bochy being coaxed out of retirement, he seemed like the best fit.
Some wanted an authoritarian, no nonsense manager like a Buck Showalter. It just never seemed to make sense in my mind how that kind of personality would jell with the players. This Astros team is still very very good, and bringing in anything other than a player's coach would poison the water.
It will be interesting to see how willing a 70 year old Baker is to adopt that Astros noted affinity towards analytics, but I don't think he would've been offered the job otherwise.
Pitchers and catchers report in 13 days, FYI.
Texans balk at fans, make Bill O'Brien supreme ruler
Seriously. Well, they promoted him to general manager at least. It's so hard to watch the McNairs double down on this guy. Whatever. Go Roughnecks.
Super bowl stuff
I'm actually legitimately excited for this Super Bowl. The teams are both stacked and they both steamrolled their way in. The Chiefs have an unreal offense, while the 49ers have a staggering defense. You've got the young upstart coach looking to legitimize his place in the ring against one of the game's legends seeking the one accolade that has eluded him thus far. Patrick Mahomes is goofy, Jimmy Garappolo is gorgeous. There are reasons to root for both sides if you don't necessarily care one way or the other about either team, and that just adds to it.
Personally, I'm rooting for Andy Reid. If Andy Reid were my neighbor, he seems like the type of guy that would bring mis-delivered mail over, put a fallen bicycle back up on its kickstand, and also water your yard on the way out. Here's hoping Mahomes takes some Dramamine before the big game and helps the big guy cement his place in Canton. If you have something bad to say about Andy Reid, take it somewhere else. This is a pro-Andy column.
And yeah, Kobe
I really wanted to write something poignant about the whole Kobe Bryant thing. I tried about three different angles, but none of it rang true. It sounded hollow. So I'm just going to shoot from the hip and see what falls.
I wasn't always a fan of Kobe. Hell, I'd say I've spent most of my life booing him to be honest. People change though, especially once the sport part is over.
I grew up watching Kobe play. I watched him grow old. I watched him fail. I watched him succeed. I watched him succeed a lot. Kobe Bryant, as far as I've known my entire life, has always been intertwined within the fabric of the NBA.
I've never known basketball that doesn't include Kobe Bryant.
It's just the suddenness I suppose. The only other time I've felt this sort of grief toward celebrity was the day that Robin Williams died. It was sudden, too. It wasn't supposed to happen this way.
It's not grief over a ball player either. Kobe Bryant, through all of his faults, didn't just become a legend. He became a philosophy. He was a brutal pursuit, personified. You don't teach legends. You teach philosophies.
In college we had a copy of NBA 2K9. I once played a guy with the Lakers and told him I could beat him scoring only with Kobe, and he could pick whatever team he wanted. He picked the Jordan All-Star team and scored 100 points.
I beat him by 20. Kobe beat him by 20.
I'll end with this fun stat. Kobe Bryant played the Rockets 61 times in his career. Out of 61 contests, do you know how many times the Mamba was held to single digits scoring?
FOUR.
I'm still processing this whole thing. Everyone take care.
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The Texans used to market their matchups with the Titans as the "TnT" rivalry. There is nothing explosive or even interesting about Sunday’s meeting in the regular season finale. The number of people in Houston who are ex-Oilers fans has steadily diminished over the years. Those who remain will be hard-pressed to work up any bile for this game. Most Texans fans won’t be watching. The Texans are again champions of the garbage AFC South, but a season that opened with five wins in six games has devolved to the point where the Texans may be home underdogs against whichever Wild Card round opponent shows up here next weekend. Are you fired up?!? For their part, the Titans are a Titanic-esque 3-13, with one of those wins coming 32-27 at NRG Stadium. If you’d like to attend in Nashville Sunday (why you would I have no idea), a ticket can be had for eleven bucks, including the fees larded on by the resale sites.
Some would make the argument that the Texans need to play their starters in this game to try to rediscover some mojo after the Baltimore Ravens brutalized them on Christmas Day. C.J. Stroud hasn’t had a good game in over a month, and against the Ravens was plain awful. The all too often pathetic Texans’ pass blocking has done damage to Stroud. One wonders if Nick Caserio has modified his arrogant and/or ignorant position of several weeks ago that those critical of the offensive line were using a “lazy narrative.” The losses of Nico Collins, Stefon Diggs, and Tank Dell for huge chunks of the season have hurt as well. Still, Stroud deserves blame too for the offense’s overall mediocrity. He has been noticeably less accurate this season. After Stroud’s phenomenal rookie season, only acolytes would characterize this sophomore campaign as better than disappointing. Last season Stroud was named a Pro Bowler (granted, as a replacement for Patrick Mahomes who was occupied preparing to win another Super Bowl). This season if six AFC quarterbacks were named Pro Bowlers Stroud still wouldn’t make the cut. Within the conference among quarterbacks with enough playing time to qualify in the rate statistical categories, the only guys behind Stroud in QBR: largely washed-up Aaron Rodgers, Anthony Richardson, Gardner Minshew, and Will Levis.
Would Stroud benefit from a good game against a feeble opponent? He’s taken 52 sacks this season. Why expose him to injury risk in a game where the outcome means nothing. With 53-man gameday rosters in the NFL teams can’t sit all their starters, but the most important Texans should leave their helmets and shoulder pads in Houston this weekend: Stroud, Joe Mixon, Nico Collins, Will Anderson, Danielle Hunter, and Derek Stingley Jr.. I’ll guess most play some. For instance, Mixon needs seven yards rushing for a 1000-yard season. 1000 yards over 17 games is not a big deal (59 yards per game does it), though Mixon missing three games to injury does mean he has been of the quality generally associated with 1000 yard running backs.
Danielle Hunter would like a word
On the subject of Pro Bowlers, the NFL named the squads Thursday. Thankfully there is no more hideous Pro Bowl game, but the recognition is still meaningful. Laremy Tunsil and Stingley got starting nods, with Mixon and Collins named backups. I imagine a few eyes rolled at reading Tunsil’s selection. Tunsil is a very good tackle who has mostly cleaned up his embarrassing early season false start problems. Should he be a Pro Bowler? It’s not absurd, though as one frame of reference Pro Football Focus ranks Tunsil the 18th best offensive tackle in the league heading into this weekend. Mixon’s selection is questionable but that guy runs hard and has pretty much been exactly what the Texans hoped for when they added him. This is the third consecutive season that Mixon has not fumbled. Collins missing five games makes his choice a non-no brainer (Jaguars rookie Brian Thomas had a strong case), but over the 11 games he has played Collins has been sensational. Stingley has been excellent in this his first healthy season, after missing eight games as a rookie and six last year.
The way the roster is constructed, no Texan was blatantly snubbed, though Danielle Hunter can rightfully ask "What about me?" relative to the Raiders' Maxx Crosby. Will Anderson cannot. A snub exists when a player is omitted for a clearly less deserving player. Attendance is part of the grade. Anderson has played a tick under 55 percent of the Texans’ defensive snaps. Hunter has played over 73 percent. That’s a difference of almost 200 plays. Defensive end selectees Crosby, Myles Garrett, and Trey Hendrickson are all outstanding, all have been on the field for more than 200 plays more than Anderson, and none of them benefit from having a Hunter-caliber d-line mate.
For Texans’ conversation, catch Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me on our Texans On Tap podcasts. Thursdays feature a preview of the upcoming game, and then we go live (then available on demand) after the final gun of the game: Texans on Tap - YouTube
The Astros are always in season for discussion. Our Stone Cold ‘Stros podcasts drop Mondays: Click here to watch!