How Fox Sports' rant against Texans player completely misses the point!
HOT AIR
08 March 2024
A new low for Skip Bayless and Keyshawn Johnson. Composite Image by Brandon Strange.
Coming off a big contract extension with the Houston Texans, tight end Dalton Schultz joined The Pat McAfee show to discuss his new deal, and the Texans' success in the 2023 season.
Schultz spoke about head coach DeMeco Ryans and the culture he has created with the team. McAfee followed up by asking about the differences between the Texans and Schultz's former team, the Dallas Cowboys.
Dalton spoke about how it was a more public environment in Dallas, and how the facility is open to the public at times, with tours coming through.
Little did he know at the time, Schultz's comments caught like wildfire, after he compared the environment to a “zoo,” with people watching you through glass while you're getting in your workout.
People like Skip Bayless and Keyshawn Johnson took his assessment as disrespect to the Cowboys. When Schultz was really only answering a specific question from McAfee.
But in this world of headline manipulation and social media, Keyshawn and Skip acted like Schultz was rubbing the Texans' success in the faces of the Cowboys and their fans.
But here is what everyone is getting wrong. "Zoo" has different meanings.
1. An establishment which maintains a collection of wild animals for study, conservation, or display to the public.
2. A situation characterized by confusion and disorder.
Clearly, Dalton was referring to the first definition. He literally talked about people taking tours through the facility, watching players workout, and even tapping on the glass of two-way mirrors.
But because the Cowboys are an easy target after flaming out in the first round of the playoffs, people are trying to make it look like Schultz was referring to the second definition of “Zoo.”
Which does make some sense, owner Jerry Jones does have a reputation for running his organization like a carnival barker. But that's not what Schultz was talking about in the interview.
Keyshawn and Skip are acting like he has a grudge against Jerry Jones and the Cowboys because they parted ways after the 2022 season. When in reality, Dalton was saying something positive about his current team that just rewarded him with a 3-year, $36 million contract extension.
Bayless regularly complains about how Jones runs his franchise, and would also like to see Mike McCarthy fired as head coach. We believe Skip and the rest of the media are using this quote to overblow a controversy that never existed, based on their own insecurities about the Dallas franchise.
Be sure to check out the video above as we call Keyshawn and Skip out for their ridiculous takes on the situation.
How Houston Rockets hold the cards for a franchise-changing summer
May 8, 2025, 5:45 pm
It’s been a slog on the treadmill of mediocrity for the Astros thus far in 2025. Their 18-18 record heading into a weekend series at Daikin Park vs. the Reds is appropriate. Plenty of good teams will have similar stretches this season. The Astros have to prove that this year’s edition is a good team. Plenty of time for that remains. Reminder that the breakout 2017 Astros had a 74-game stretch over which they went 37-37. 162 games allow for a lot of ebb and flow. Of course, the 2025 Astros’ roster is not close in quality to that of the 2017 squad. The point isn’t that this team could be a 101-game winner but that the 88 victories good enough for a playoff spot last year are still quite plausible this year.
The Rockets achieved mediocrity last season after three seasons as a laughingstock. This season they made the leap to good. While curling up and succumbing to Golden State in the decisive game seven of their first-round playoff series was a disappointment, the Rockets are in excellent position moving forward. Where they go from here should be quite interesting,
OF COURSE the Rockets are going to explore trading Jalen Green. He is obviously their most physically gifted player, but his consistent inconsistency is exasperating. Green’s series against the Warriors was basically an embarrassment with the exception of his 38-point game two outburst. The other six games, a meager nine-point-two points per game. That Green is still just 23 years old means it is not near obligatory they move on from him as Green starts a three-year 105 million dollar contract extension. However, the state of his game and comparison to a few specific players cast enough doubt about Green’s ceiling that declaring him “untouchable” would be ridiculous. During the Golden State series, an NBA play-by-play guy who I think is very good overall once referred to Green as the “Rockets’ superstar.” Anyone, including Green himself, who calls him a superstar either misspoke, was caught up in a moment, or is clueless.
Jalen Green just finished his fourth NBA season. Fairness requires noting that his first two seasons were compromised by being on atrocious Rockets’ squads. That said, Green was on 41-41 and 52-30 teams the past two seasons. In neither of him did he shoot a league average percentage either overall or from behind the three-point line. He did approach the three-point league average of 36 percentage made with his 35.4. That Green is an 80 percent career free throw shooter gives hope the three-point shooting can further develop. Better shot selection sure would help.
Green was the second overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, one year removed from high school. The player taken ahead of him was Cade Cunningham who also played just one year out of high school before going NBA. Cunningham joined a joke Detroit Pistons team. Cunningham is a much better player than Green at this point.
Other shooting guards who played one year after high school then jumped to the NBA, who were markedly ahead of Green after four NBA seasons include Anthony Edwards (first pick in his draft class), and Shae Gilgeous-Alexander (11th), and Devin Booker (13th). In comparison to each Green is a disappointment, though certainly not a bust.
What is head coach Ime Udoka’s bottom-line belief in Green fulfilling his potential? My guess is that cup is not overflowing. The Rockets’ half-court offense simply is not of championship caliber. Can it evolve there with Green, or is he better used as a piece in a trade offer with other players plus draft picks for a Booker or Kevin Duran? The Phoenix Suns are a near assets-less mess of a franchise in dire need of a reset. Durant will be 37 years old when next season starts, but is still a tremendous offensive player who would be a gargantuan half-court offense upgrade for the Rockets. The Rockets have so much draft capital that offering two or three first round picks plus Green, Cam Whitmore, and another player or two to make the salary cap math work would A: not empty out the Rockets’ flexibility going forward and B: have to get the Suns’ attention. If I’m Udoka and General Manager Rafael Stone, I’m making the call.
Courtesy of the Suns, the Rockets hold what is currently the ninth pick in the NBA Draft. The draft lottery is Monday night. The Rockets’ have a three-point-eight percent chance of winning it and the right to make Duke freshman superstar (and Final Four loser to UH) Cooper Flagg the number one pick. There is a 13.5 percent chance the Rockets move up to pick two, three, or four. Otherwise, it’s ninth, or lower if another team or teams vault up the lottery board.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me 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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