NOT AGAIN!
How to avoid making another historical Houston Astros gaffe
Oct 19, 2023, 1:59 pm
NOT AGAIN!
With a nod to Mark Twain, reports of the Houston Astros’ demise in the ALCS were greatly exaggerated. The defending World Series champs beat the Texas Rangers, 8-5, Wednesday night on the road, of course, in Arlington. The ALCS stands at 2-1 in favor of the Rangers, with the next two games in Arlington.
Rangers’ fans and media were quick to shovel dirt on the Astros grave after the Rangers swept the first two games of the series in Houston.
Consider this headline in Tuesday’s Fort Worth Star-Telegram, which is a real newspaper in a major market. In fact, it’s the 45th largest newspaper in the U.S.
“Houston Astros dynasty looks to be fading fast versus Texas”
The story contained the following bon mots:
“These Astros look demoralized.”
“The Lone Star Showdown is thus far playing more like the Whataburger Beatdown.”
“The Houston Astros won’t do it but when the history of their dynastic run is written, or turned into a Netflix documentary, there will be a “the end started here” moment.”
And to show how razor sharp the Star-Telegram’s analysis of the ALCS is, how’s this from the Game 2 wrapup?
“The fans at Enron Field were starving for any reason to get into this series.”
The Astros ballpark hasn’t been called Enron Field for more than two decades. Two days later, the online version of Star-Telegram still says Enron Field. Hello? The Astros play at Minute Maid Park. You coulda/shoulda looked it up. Dumbass newspaper.
Of course history still favors the Rangers. The team leading 2-1 in an LCS goes on the win the series 70 percent of the time. No team that lost the first two games of an LCS at home has ever rebounded to win the series. That’s true, but three times it’s happened in the World Series. And the Astros have a World Series mentality. Speaking of the World Series, the Texas Rangers have never won one. Fun fact.
My 5-cents is on the Astros. Resurrected pitcher Jose Urquidy throws Thursday night against the Rangers’ Andrew Heaney. If the Astros win and tie the series, the Rangers’ backsides will be puckered tighter than a balloon knot at a Chuck E. Cheese birthday party.
After Wednesday night’s win, the Astros are 7-1 at Globe Life Field this year. And yes, that’s the correct name of the Rangers’ stadium. See? It’s not hard to know where these games are being played.
Now a confession. In 2005, my newspaper, the Houston Chronicle, buried the Astros more embarrassingly than the Fort Worth Star-Telegraph this week.
On May 30th, the Astros were trounced 9-0 and their record fell to 18-32, good for last place in the National League Central. Remember the National League?
Two days later, the front page of the Chronicle sports page ran a huge drawing of a gravestone pronouncing the Astros dead for the 2005 season. The stone was engraved: “RIP ASTROS SEASON.” The headline read, “The cold hard truth … the Astros might as well start thinking about next year.”
Much to the Chronicle’s red faces, the Astros turned their season around, finishing 89-73 and qualifying for the playoffs. They won the Wild Card game over the Phillies, won the NLDS over the Braves, won the NLCS over the Cardinals and advanced to their first World Series in franchise history.
If ever there was proof of life after death, it’s the Houston Chronicle sports page from June 1, 2005.
Lesson learned: do not write off the Astros. Then or now.
No. 4 Texas will be competing for a return trip to Atlanta when it plays at home against No. 13 Clemson in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
The winner of the Clemson-Texas first-round game on Dec. 21 will play No. 10 Arizona State in the Jan. 1 Peach Bowl in Atlanta in the CFP quarterfinals.
For Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik, who is from Austin, Texas, the game will be a homecoming.
“We recruited him hard," Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Sunday, calling Klubnik “a winner. He will do whatever it takes to put his team in position to be successful.”
Added Sarkisian: “When he made the decision to go to Clemson, honestly I wasn’t surprised. Both his parents went to (Texas) A&M.”
Klubnik applauded the announcement of the game at Texas for Clemson's seventh CFP appearance.
“For him to be going to his first playoff in Austin, Texas, where he grew up, you can’t make that up,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “Pretty cool opportunity for him and his family to go compete against Texas there in Austin.”
Swinney said his only visit to the Texas stadium was to watch Klubnik play in a high school playoff game.
“We’ve never played Texas or played in that stadium,” Swinney said. “... It’s going to be amazing. It’s one of the best venues in college football.”
The Longhorns (11-2) were seeded No. 5 in the CFP following their 22-19 overtime loss to Georgia on Saturday night in the Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta.
Sarkisian said his players were “really excited” to see Texas land the No. 5 seed and have the opportunity to play in the Longhorns' first game against Clemson.
Texas safety Andrew Mukuba is a Clemson transfer. Sarkisian said players already were calling the matchup the “Mukuba Bowl.”
Swinney said: “I love Mukuba. I just love his spirit and love his heart. He was a really neat kid.
“I certainly wish he had been able to finish here. He did everything that was asked of him at Clemson. Made a bunch of big plays.”
Clemson (10-3) beat SMU 34-31 in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game Saturday night to land an automatic CFP berth. The Tigers are ranked No. 16 in the CFP but were given the 12th and lowest seed. As the fifth-highest ranked league champion, the Tigers do not get a bye and instead must visit Texas.
Arizona State (11-2) earned a bye by rolling over Iowa State 45-19 in the Big 12 championship game Saturday. The Sun Devils were led by running back Cam Skattebo's 170 rushing yards in their impressive win to cap their first season in the Big 12.
Peach Bowl president Gary Stokan noted the Sun Devils were picked to finish last in the Big 12.
“You proved them all wrong,” Stokan told Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham.
Arizona State players celebrated the announcement of their No. 4 seed.
Dillingham said he hopes the conference championship and berth in the CFP helps him recruit and continue to build the program.
“Hopefully this stage will help get our branding out there, and show people that we can be one of the newer brands in college football," Dillingham said. "Every 10-15 years a new brand shows up, and a new brand becomes a national brand.”No. 4 Texas will be competing for a return trip to Atlanta when it plays at home against No. 13 Clemson in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
The winner of the Clemson-Texas first-round game on Dec. 21 will play No. 10 Arizona State in the Jan. 1 Peach Bowl in Atlanta in the CFP quarterfinals.
For Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik, who is from Austin, Texas, the game will be a homecoming.
“We recruited him hard," Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Sunday, calling Klubnik “a winner. He will do whatever it takes to put his team in position to be successful.”
Added Sarkisian: “When he made the decision to go to Clemson, honestly I wasn’t surprised. Both his parents went to (Texas) A&M.”
Klubnik applauded the announcement of the game at Texas for Clemson's seventh CFP appearance.
“For him to be going to his first playoff in Austin, Texas, where he grew up, you can’t make that up,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “Pretty cool opportunity for him and his family to go compete against Texas there in Austin.”
Swinney said his only visit to the Texas stadium was to watch Klubnik play in a high school playoff game.
“We’ve never played Texas or played in that stadium,” Swinney said. “... It’s going to be amazing. It’s one of the best venues in college football.”
The Longhorns (11-2) were seeded No. 5 in the CFP following their 22-19 overtime loss to Georgia on Saturday night in the Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta.
Sarkisian said his players were “really excited” to see Texas land the No. 5 seed and have the opportunity to play in the Longhorns' first game against Clemson.
Texas safety Andrew Mukuba is a Clemson transfer. Sarkisian said players already were calling the matchup the “Mukuba Bowl.”
Swinney said: “I love Mukuba. I just love his spirit and love his heart. He was a really neat kid.
“I certainly wish he had been able to finish here. He did everything that was asked of him at Clemson. Made a bunch of big plays.”
Clemson (10-3) beat SMU 34-31 in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game Saturday night to land an automatic CFP berth. The Tigers are ranked No. 16 in the CFP but were given the 12th and lowest seed. As the fifth-highest ranked league champion, the Tigers do not get a bye and instead must visit Texas.
Arizona State (11-2) earned a bye by rolling over Iowa State 45-19 in the Big 12 championship game Saturday. The Sun Devils were led by running back Cam Skattebo's 170 rushing yards in their impressive win to cap their first season in the Big 12.
Peach Bowl president Gary Stokan noted the Sun Devils were picked to finish last in the Big 12.
“You proved them all wrong,” Stokan told Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham.
Arizona State players celebrated the announcement of their No. 4 seed.
Dillingham said he hopes the conference championship and berth in the CFP helps him recruit and continue to build the program.
“Hopefully this stage will help get our branding out there, and show people that we can be one of the newer brands in college football," Dillingham said. "Every 10-15 years a new brand shows up, and a new brand becomes a national brand.”