JOIN THE BRACKET CHALLENGE!
Enter the ESPN 97.5 BRACKET CHALLENGE 2020
Mar 2, 2020, 12:29 pm
JOIN THE BRACKET CHALLENGE!
It's that time again, ESPN 97.5's 2nd annual Bracket Madness presented by Bud Light Seltzer, supported by Four Roses Bourbon & Boost Mobile. We'll be giving prizes to 97.5 winners…..Yep the point five winner is the penultimate winner – second to last in the whole bracket. And did we mention this is all FREE?!
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER: https://www.runyourpool.com/join/pool_info.cfm?id=130926&p=espn975
Bellaire, Cinco Ranch, and Pearland.
Prizes include a custom Texas Mattress Makers custom queen size mattress, Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon, $50 gift cards to Roosters Men's Grooming Center, iRace Entertainment, El Tiempo, Pitch 25, Heights Bier Garten, Holman Draft Hall, concert tickets, ESPN 97 .5 Listener Appreciation Party tickets a Zummo meat basket and lots more. And last but not least, the PENULTIMATE prize is an authentic autographed Carlos Correa Bat. Prizes being updated daily.
And of course, come hang out with us during the tournament as we broadcast live 11am-7pm from these locations
March 19th: Over Under Sports Bar 1416 FM 528 Rd ste D, Webster, TX 77598
March 20th: Revelry on Richmond 1613 Richmond Ave, Houston, TX 77006
March 26th: World of beer Cypress 9945 Barker Cypress Road, Cypress, TX
March 27th: iRace Entertainment 24984 Katy Rand Rd, Katy, Tx
April 6th: Belle Station 207 Gray St, Houston, TX 77002
ESPN 97.5 Houston BRACKET CHALLENGE 2019
Official Contest Rules
A complete copy of these rules can be obtained at the offices of radio station KFNC, ESPN 97.5FM, owned and operated by Gow Media LLC (collectively, the "Stations"),5353 W. Alabama, Suite 415, Houston, TX 77056, during normal business hours Monday through Friday or by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the above address.
The Station will conduct the ESPN 97.5 Houston Bracket Madness (the "Contest") substantially as described in these rules, and by participating, each participant agrees as follows:
Prizes are as follows: | Prizes are updated daily: |
Prize 1: Texas Mattress Makers Custom Queen Mattress | Prize 51: $100 Aesthetica MD Spa Gift Card |
Prize 2: ESPN 97.5 Listener Appreciation Party Tickets | Prize 52: Four Roses Bourbon |
Prize 3: Four Roses Bourbon | Prize 53: El Tiempo $50 Gift Card |
Prize 4: $50 Rooster's Men's Grooming Gift Card | Prize 54: $50 Rooster's Men's Grooming Gift Card |
Prize 5: El Tiempo $50 Gift Card | Prize 55: $50 iRace Entertainment Gift Card |
Prize 6: $50 iRace Entertainment Gift Card | Prize 56: $50 Burger Joint Gift Card |
Prize 7: Sam Houston Race Park Winners Circle Dinner for 2 | Prize 57: Sam Houston Race Park Winners Circle Dinner for 2 |
Prize 8: Rudy's $50 gift card | Prize 58: Rudy's $50 gift card |
Prize 9: Pair of Shinedown Tickets on 5/2 | Prize 59: Pair of Shinedown Tickets on 5/2 |
Prize 10: Four Roses Bourbon | Prize 60: ESPN 97.5 Listener Appreciation Party Tickets |
Prize 11: $50 Rooster's Men's Grooming Gift Card | Prize 61: Pair of Ron White Tickets on 5/12 |
Prize 12: $50 Pitch 25 Gift Card | Prize 62: $50 Pitch 25 Gift Card |
Prize 13: $50 Burger Joint Gift Card | Prize 63: $50 Burger Joint Gift Card |
Prize 14: El Tiempo $50 Gift Card | Prize 64: Four Roses Bourbon |
Prize 15: Pair of Ron White Tickets on 5/12 | Prize 65: El Tiempo $50 Gift Card |
Prize 16: $50 World of Beer Gift Card | Prize 66: $50 Rooster's Men's Grooming Gift Card |
Prize 17: Sam Houston Race Park Winners Circle Dinner for 2 | Prize 67: $50 Rooster's Men's Grooming Gift Card |
Prize 18: $100 Aesthetica MD Spa Gift Card | Prize 68: Sam Houston Race Park Winners Circle Dinner for 2 |
Prize 19: $50 El Tiempo Gift Card | Prize 69: $50 Pitch 25 Gift Card |
Prize 20 Four Roses Bourbon | Prize 70: $100 Aesthetica MD Spa Gift Card |
Prize 21: $50 Rooster's Men's Grooming Gift Card | Prize 71: |
Prize 22: $50 iRace Entertainment Gift Card | Prize 72: $50 Heights Bier Garten Gift Card |
Prize 23: $50 Heights Bier Garten Gift Card | Prize 73: $50 El Tiempo Gift Card |
Prize 24: | Prize 74: Four Roses Bourbon |
Prize 25: | Prize 75: $50 Rooster's Men's Grooming Gift Card |
Prize 26: $100 Aesthetica MD Spa Gift Card | Prize 76: |
Prize 27: Sam Houston Race Park Winners Circle Dinner for 2 | Prize 77: Sam Houston Race Park Winners Circle Dinner for 2 |
Prize 28: Rudy's $50 gift card | Prize 78: Rudy's $50 gift card |
Prize 29: | Prize 79: |
Prize 30: | Prize 80: ESPN 97.5 Listener Appreciation Party Tickets |
Prize 31: $50 El Tiempo Gift Card | Prize 81: $50 Pitch 25 Gift Card |
Prize 32: Four Roses Bourbon | Prize 82: Pair of Shinedown Tickets on 5/2 |
Prize 33: $50 Rooster's Men's Grooming Gift Card | Prize 83: $50 Rooster's Men's Grooming Gift Card |
Prize 34: $50 Burger Joint Gift Card | Prize 84: El Tiempo $50 Gift Card |
Prize 35: Pair of Ron White Tickets on 5/12 | Prize 85: Four Roses Bourbon |
Prize 36: $50 Holman Draft House Gift Card | Prize 86: $50 iRace Entertainment Gift Card |
Prize 37: Sam Houston Race Park Winners Circle Dinner for 2 | Prize 87: Sam Houston Race Park Winners Circle Dinner for 2 |
Prize 38: $100 Aesthetica MD Spa Gift Card | Prize 88: $50 Burger Joint Gift Card |
Prize 39: | Prize 89: Pair of Ron White Tickets on 5/12 |
Prize 40: | Prize 90: $50 Holman Draft House Gift Card |
Prize 41: $50 Pitch 25 Gift Card | Prize 91: $50 Rooster's Men's Grooming Gift Card |
Prize 42: El Tiempo $50 Gift Card | Prize 92: Four Roses Bourbon |
Prize 43: Four Roses Bourbon | Prize 93: $50 Pitch 25 Gift Card |
Prize 44: $50 Rooster's Men's Grooming Gift Card | Prize 94: Rudy's $50 gift card |
Prize 45: | Prize 95: Sam Houston Race Park Winners Circle Dinner for 2 |
Prize 46: Pair of Ron White Tickets on 5/12 | Prize 96: $50 Rooster's Men's Grooming Gift Card |
Prize 47: Sam Houston Race Park Winners Circle Dinner for 2 | Prize 97: Four Roses Bourbon |
Prize 48: Zummo Meat Basket | Prize 97.5: El Tiempo $50 Gift Card |
Prize 49: $50 iRace Entertainment Gift Card | Penultimate Prize (2nd to last): Autographed Carlos Correa Bat |
Prize 50: Four Roses Bourbon |
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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