WEEKEND WRAPUP
Fred Faour: On actual odds of Lebron to the Rockets, Tiger Woods, Blake Bortles and the world is flat. Really.
Feb 26, 2018, 8:01 am
Lebron to the Rockets? Some gambling sites think so. NBA.com
One of the things that has become popular is the practice of gambling web sites releasing prop odds for things that will spark people’s interest. Such things as Odds to win the Heisman, which coach will be fired first, which coach will get a certain job. There are even odds on who sits on the Iron Throne at the end of Game of Thrones.
They are designed to be fun, create talking points and get the web sites’ names out there more than anything else. So I found it interesting this morning to see that The Big Lead fell hook, line and sinker into a topic that will be of interest to Houston fans: Where will Lebron James wind up next season?
It’s interesting because the Rockets are first favorite on one site, second favorite on the other. The reality is James will probably stay in Cleveland, but at least national news outlets are noticing the Rockets and how well they are playing and do not consider the possibility to be a joke. That sites have them so low is also a show of respect.
Odds are just speculation based on potential outcomes. And there is still a lot of time left before the season ends. After all, the Rockets appear to be title contenders now. But it’s always fun to speculate, right?
Tiger’s back?
Main headline on the front page of USA TODAY sports this morning:
TIGER IMPRESSES
Woods finishes 12th while Thomas wins Honda Classic
The golf world is so desperate for Woods to be good again, it’s almost pathetic. (The media is the same way. You are much more likely to click on a story that says Tiger Woods than Luke Thomas. Wait for it...Gotcha. You probably didn’t even notice that his name is Justin -- not Luke -- Thomas and he is on fire on the Tour). But hey, Woods finished 12th! Tiger being good benefits everyone, so expect more of the same moving forward. “Tiger finishes 10th; Speith wins tournament.” “Tiger shows promise with a ninth-place effort; that Thomas guy wins again.”
Rock solid
The U.S. men won gold for the first time in Olympic curling. It might be the first time I have watched an entire curling match. There is a hell of a lot going on in that game. It seems like it would be a fun beer league thing. But now it will go back into oblivion for four years.
Shame bell to NBC for the awful karaoke rendition by the team of Don’t Stop Believin’. I stopped believing four bars in.
Blake superior
The Jaguars locked up Blake Bortles for three years. He is signed through 2020 and the numbers look big -- $54 million -- but the Jags can essentially bail after one year without much penalty, and if he plays well they have him at a fair price. If you think you can win with Bortles, and the Jags clearly think they can, it is a good deal. I think there were better options out there for a team that is a QB away. Maybe Bortles can take a key step forward, but as we see with a lot of franchises, their window is now. There is no guarantee that a great defense will carry over from one year to the next. For now, Bortles is the man. If the Jags are wrong, they will miss out on a golden opportunity.
Flat out stupid
I would like to assume Geno Smith was trolling when he started buying in to the flat earth argument only to back off later when he was destroyed on Twitter.
One of the positives to social media is it has given people a way to share their views without filter. And that, too, is the negative. No filter means no one to say, “hey, you are going to look dumb if you tweet this.”
His last tweet was this: “I find it funny how you all assume I believe Earth is flat lol I just think you guys should have an open mind because as we know a lot of the “truths” that we thought were true actually aren’t.”
First off, slapping an LOL on it does not make it OK. Secondly, I’m all for questioning things that need to be questioned, but someone thinking the earth is flat is not a “truth.” It’s dumb.
What’s next Geno?
Truth: The moon is made of cheese. And there is a man in it.
Truth: The stars are just God’s night lights.
Truth: I can jump off a building because gravity does not exist and I will float like a leaf on the wind.
Truth: Scarlett Johannson has a secret crush on me and going to leave her attractive husband for an old, disgusting radio host.
Yeah, feel free not to believe any of those "truths."
I think it’s time we focus our energy on some real truths, like Geno Smith sucks at football. But Don’t Stop Believin’ buddy.
What looked like a minor blip after an emotional series win in Los Angeles has turned into something more concerning for the Houston Astros.
Swept at home by a Guardians team that came in riding a 10-game losing streak, the Astros were left looking exposed. Not exhausted, as injuries, underperformance, and questionable decision-making converged to hand Houston one of its most frustrating series losses of the year.
Depth finally runs dry
It would be easy to point to a “Dodger hangover” as the culprit, the emotional peak of an 18-1 win at Chavez Ravine followed by a mental lull. But that’s not the story here.
Houston’s energy was still evident, especially in the first two games of the series, where the offense scored five or more runs each time. Including those, the Astros had reached that mark in eight of their last 10 games heading into Wednesday’s finale.
But scoring isn’t everything, not when a lineup held together by duct tape and desperation is missing Christian Walker and Jake Meyers and getting critical at-bats from Cooper Hummel, Zack Short, and other journeymen.
The lack of depth finally showed. The Astros, for three days, looked more like a Triple-A squad with Jose Altuve and a couple big-league regulars sprinkled in.
Cracks in the pitching core
And the thing that had been keeping this team afloat, elite pitching, finally buckled.
Hunter Brown and Josh Hader, both dominant all season, finally cracked. Brown gave up six runs in six innings, raising his pristine 1.82 ERA to 2.21. Hader wasn’t spared either, coughing up a game-losing grand slam in extra innings that inflated his ERA from 1.80 to 2.38 in one night.
But the struggles weren’t isolated. Bennett Sousa, Kaleb Ort, and Steven Okert each gave up runs at critical moments. The bullpen’s collective fade could not have come at a worse time for a team already walking a tightrope.
Injury handling under fire
Houston’s injury management is also drawing heat, and rightfully so. Jake Meyers, who had been nursing a calf strain, started Wednesday’s finale. He didn’t even make it through one pitch before aggravating the injury and needing to be helped off the field.
No imaging before playing him. No cautionary rest despite the All-Star break looming. Just a rushed return in a banged-up lineup, and it backfired immediately.
Second-guessing has turned to outright criticism of the Astros’ medical staff, as fans and analysts alike wonder whether these mounting injuries are being made worse by how the club is handling them.
Pressure mounts on Dana Brown
All eyes now turn to Astros GM Dana Brown. The Astros are limping into the break with no clear reinforcements on the immediate horizon. Only Chas McCormick is currently rehabbing in Sugar Land. Everyone else? Still sidelined.
Brown will need to act — and soon.
At a minimum, calling up top prospect Brice Matthews makes sense. He’s been mashing in Triple-A (.283/.400/.476, 10 HR, .876 OPS) and could play second base while Jose Altuve shifts to left field more regularly. With Mauricio Dubón stretched thin between shortstop and center, injecting Matthews’ upside into the infield is a logical step.
*Editor's note: The Astros must be listening, Matthews was called up Thursday afternoon!
The Astros are calling up Brice Matthews, their top prospect on @MLBPipeline
via @brianmctaggart pic.twitter.com/K91cGKkcx6
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 10, 2025
There’s also trade chatter, most notably about Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins, but excitement has been tepid. His numbers don’t jump off the page, but compared to who the Astros are fielding now, Mullins would be a clear upgrade and a much-needed big-league presence.
A final test before the break
Before the All-Star reset, Houston gets one last chance to stabilize the ship, and it comes in the form of a rivalry series against the Texas Rangers. The Astros will send their top trio — Lance McCullers Jr., Framber Valdez, and Hunter Brown — to the mound for a three-game set that will test their resolve, their health, and perhaps their postseason aspirations.
The Silver Boot is up for grabs. So is momentum. And maybe, clarity on just how far this version of the Astros can go.
There's so much more to discuss! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! 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.
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*ChatGPT assisted.
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