THE FUTURE'S BRIGHT!
Dark times & hot takes can't dull Astros, Houston's bright projections
Nov 2, 2023, 5:12 pm
The future is bright for Houston sports. Composite Getty Images.
If the darkest hour is just before dawn, then Houston sports suffered a total blackout last week. In the span of seven miserable days …
The Houston Astros’ quest for a second consecutive World Series title ended in a thud 11-4 loss to eventual champions Texas Rangers. The Astros lost all four games of the ALCS at home. Proving they weren’t one-hit blunders, the Astros also accomplished that shameful feat during the 2019 World Series.
The Houston Texans fell below .500 for the season by losing to the previously winless Carolina Panthers. It was a matchup between the Panthers’ No. 1 pick Bryce Young and the Texans’ No. 2 pick C.J. Stroud. The Texans were licking their chops at proving they made the right selection and the Panthers’ blew it. Defying mathematics, one was greater than two.
The Houston Rockets started their 2023-24 season by going 0-3 out of the gate, including a 30-point defeat by the Orlando Magic.
The University of Houston Cougars were whitewashed 41-0 by the Kansas State Wildcats, the Coogs’ first shutout loss in nearly a quarter-century, 48-0 by Texas in 2000, and their worst pointwise beating since a 56-7 thrashing by Tulsa in 2007. UH fell to 1-4 in Big 12 Conference play and 3-5 overall. On top of everything, the NFL spanked UH for wearing Houston Oilers trademarked “Luv Ya Blue” uniforms and threated to haul their butts into court.
Mama said there’d be days like this. But a new day is dawning and already there are signs that Houston sports will be fine as the calendar turns to 2024.
The Astros will have most of their key players returning next season and, fingers crossed, pitchers Lance McCullers and Luis Garcia will be back from injury. All signs are pointing to burgeoning star Yanier Diaz taking over the starting catcher job. The Astros are looking for a skipper to take over for the retiring Dusty Baker and that should light a renewed fuse under the Astros rockets. Guess who Las Vegas has as favorites to win the American League pennant in ’24? That’s right, the Astros. Free mattresses for everybody!
Why the sad Texans face? The Texans already have won as many games, 3, as they did all last season. We have a fiery head coach DeMeco Ryans, who is respected and looks like he could suit up himself and sack the quarterback. Our quarterback, with only seven games under his belt, already is the best QB1 in Texans history. We have a defense. We have a kicker. We have receivers performing better than expected. And holy crap, fans have returned to NRG Stadium! Imagine, all it took was Texans management and coaching staff putting a team on the field that fans have pride in.
The Houston Rockets already have broken out of their 0-3 funk with a victory over the Charlotte Hornets. You just have to look at the Rockets bench for better days ahead. There sits new coach Ime Udoka, breathing fire and not about to take another dreadful Rockets season. Departed coach Stephen Silas, a nice guy (probably too nice), seemed to be on happy pills the last three historically losing teams. Have you seen Udoka up close? I walked next to him outside Kenny & Ziggy’s delicatessen a few weeks ago. He’s huge. His shoulders look 6-feet wide. I was so intimidated that I passed on my pastrami and corned beef combo sandwich and ordered a broccoli salad. Vile weed.
The UH season is a disappointment for sure but, really, what did you expect from the Cougars’ debut in the Big 12? They’re playing with the big boys now and a Power 5 conference is the real deal compared to UH’s previous residencies in C-USA and American Athletic conferences. The Cougars have four games left in 2023 and three of those opponents, Baylor, Cincinnati and UCF have losing records. The Cougars just might, I said might, find themselves in a bowl game yet.
Perhaps the funnest news coming out of UH is this: starting Friday, first-time, officially licensed, limited-edition bobbleheads of UH mascots Shasta and Sasha are available at bobbleheadhall.com/products. The figures are produced by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum and numbered 1-2,023.
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Texas had barely settled back home after a dominant win at Michigan when coach Steve Sarkisian had a direct message for his No. 2 Longhorns.
“We are capable of anything. We've got a really good team," Sarkisian said. “We are entitled to nothing.”
To prove his point, Sarkisian showed his team video of Northern Illinois’ game-winning kick and the Huskies storming the field against then-No. 5 Notre Dame in last weekend's biggest upset.
Texas hosts UTSA (1-1) on Saturday night, and Sarkisian wants to snuff out any hint of complacency that could lead to a close game, or worse, against a Roadrunners team that should be overmatched across the field.
“Human nature is human nature. So what did I do this morning? I walked them through the Notre Dame scenario,” Sarkisian said.
That scenario was Notre Dame earning a tough road win at Texas A&M and earning praise as a team worthy of the College Football Playoff, only to be humbled at home a week later.
Texas' dominant win at Michigan vaulted the Longhorns to their highest national ranking since they finished the 2009 season No. 2 after losing to Alabama in the national championship game.
UTSA and Texas met in 2022 when the Roadrunners were seen as program on the rise coming off a Conference USA championship and Texas was still climbing out of its 5-7 finish in 2021, Sarkisian's first year.
The Roadrunners eyed an upset that day before Texas won in a rout 44-20. UTSA now limps into Saturday's matchup on the heels of a 49-10 road loss at Texas State.
Sarkisian did his best Monday to insist the Roadrunners are still a threat.
“The worst opponents or the toughest to play are the ones that are wounded or backed into corner,” Sarkisian said.
Texas plays three straight at home, and won't play its first SEC game until Sept. 28 against Mississippi State. After the UTSA matchup, the Longhorns play Louisiana-Monroe.
“If you keep dwelling on Michigan, you'll lose sight of who's right in front of you,” Texas safety Michael Taaffe said. “The SEC will come soon enough. UTSA is good enough to have our full attention.”
That's not lost on Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, who led the Longhorns into the College Football Playoff last season.
“It's a good feeling,” beating Michigan, Ewers said. “It's only Week 2. I want to have this feeling all the way through January.”