ONCE IN A LIFETIME
Fred Faour: Astros opening day will be something truly special
Apr 2, 2018, 6:00 am
The Astros return to Minute Maid Park tonight. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images
Programming note:The Blitz will be broadcasting live today at 500 Crawford, right across the street from Minute Maid. Please stop by and say hello if you are in the neighborhood for the game.
Today will be a banner day -- pun intended -- for Houston sports fans. It is the home opener for the Astros, and while it is just one game out of 162, today will be special. It will be the first game at Minute Maid since the thrilling World Series win over the Dodgers. There will be other opening days. There will likely be more opening days after World Series titles. This team likely has one or two more in it if they can keep the band together.
But there will never be another opener like this one -- the first one after the first World Series win in franchise history. It will be a chance to relive the moment one last time.
It’s different, because this city has been a sports wasteland when it comes to titles. Sure, there have been Dynamo and Comets titles, and if you go back far enough (even before I was born), the Oilers won an AFL title. But even that was a secondary league at the time.
Among the big three, it’s been the Rockets winning back to back titles, and now the Astros. That’s it. There are those who claim the Rockets titles were tainted because Michael Jordan was on a hiatus, but they conveniently forget Jordan was back and playing at a high level the second title. His Bulls just weren’t good enough.
The Astros have no such false asterisks. They made their way through perhaps the three most famous franchises in baseball, and certainly the three with the biggest payrolls. They took out a solid Boston team, then knocked off the Yankees and a powerhouse Dodger team. They avoided the Indians -- perhaps the best team in the AL last season -- but then the Indians could not beat the Yankees.
So the Astros earned that title. And the scary thing? On paper, they look even better this season. The rotation will be stronger, with a full year of Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole. Cole is the fourth starter. World Series hero Charlie Morton is the fifth starter. The bullpen looks better, too. And there is room for improvement with young hitters like Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman.
Morton will fittingly get the ball tonight.
Yes, the Astros have already opened the season. They are 3-1 after a series in Arlington against the lowly Rangers. MLB should have let the Astros open at home. But that’s OK. Tonight will be fun. Amazing, in fact.
No opening day ever again will be as meaningful.
Jalen Green scored 35 points, Alperen Sengun added 24 points and 13 rebounds and the Houston Rockets defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 121-115 on Friday night.
Green finished 12 of 24 from the floor and was 5 of 11 on 3-pointers. Amen Thompson finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for Houston, which shot 50%, including 13 of 26 on 3-pointers.
Jabari Smith Jr had 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench in his first game back after missing 22 games with a broken bone in his left hand.
Anthony Edwards scored 37 points on 13-of-32 shooting, including 4 of 14 on 3-pointers. Edwards scored 25 points in the first half on 8-of-15 shooting, including 3 of 7 on 3-pointers.
Naz Reid had 22 points and eight rebounds, Jaden McDaniels added 21 points and Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 16 points for Minnesota, which shot 45%, including 11 of 39 on 3-pointers.
Takeaways
Timberwolves: Mike Conley returned to the lineup after missing four games with a sprained right index finger, but he was in foul trouble for most of the night and finished with five points in 24 minutes.
Rockets: One area that coach Ime Udoka pointed to before the game where Smith’s return would help was rebounding. Houston outrebounded the Timberwolves 48-35.
Key moment
Tied at 108, Green made a 3-pointer with five minutes remaining to kickstart Houston’s 9-2 run to open up a seven-point lead with 48 seconds left.
Key stat
Edwards was 1 for 6 in the fourth quarter, including 1 of 4 on 3-pointers. He scored 3 points in the quarter as Houston sent double teams at him.
Up next
Minnesota hosts Oklahoma City on Sunday night, while Houston travels to Utah on Saturday night.