A BAD LOOK
This Texans announcement is leaving many media, fans very bewildered
Aug 26, 2021, 3:18 pm
A BAD LOOK
Just when you thought the Houston Texans couldn't top itself for dumb moves already made, the team has reached a decision that falls into negative-stupidity territory.
When the Texans open their season at home Sept. 12, they will not impose any Covid-19 restrictions on fans. Nobody will be asked if they've been vaccinated. Nobody will have to show a negative test result. Nobody will be told to wear a mask or practice social distancing or anything else.
On game day at NRG Stadium, there will be 60,000-plus screaming fans (undecided for or against the Texans) indoors in what has the potential to be Super Spreader Sunday.
Sure, the Texans say they will "encourage" fans to wear a mask. Remember when the Astros said something similar back in March? Actually it was a MLB rule, fans were supposed to wear a mask or face ejection. On Opening Night, fans watching on TV saw owner Jim Crane and Hall of Famers Bagwell and Biggio sitting behind home plate not wearing a mask.
Presuming that Texans ownership and management approved this lack of responsibility involving attendance, it's a blown save opportunity worthy of the Astros bullpen. No wonder that a recent poll of 33 NFL-approved agents judged the Texans organization as a disaster. Eleven of the agents thought the Texans had the worst offseason of all teams. No other team got more than three votes. Texans employees call owner Cal McNair "Tommy Boy" behind his back. McNair's puppet master Jack Easterby? He's a "train wreck," and "nobody trusts Easterby."
Just a few hours east on I-10, with Louisiana experiencing a Covid rage as severe as Texas, LSU has announced that all fans 12 and older must show proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 PCR test within 72 hours of kickoff to enter Tiger Stadium. Fans must wear face masks inside the stadium. Tulane will impose similar rules. The New Orleans Saints also will require fans to show proof of vaccination or a negative test result.
Oregon and Oregon State will require vaccination or negative test results. The Las Vegas Raiders will require that all fans show proof of vaccination to enter the stadium. Negative tests won't cut it. Once inside, fans will not be required to wear masks. Now that the FDA has given full approval to the Pfizer vaccine, more colleges and NFL teams may impose Covid attendance rules.
Only 46.5 percent of Texans are fully vaccinated, good for 35th place, well below the national average of 51.7 percent. We're behind Florida, the Welcome Wagon of Covid infections. Texas has a governor who hosted an event where people didn't wear masks, he tested positive for Covid the next day, and still enacted an executive order prohibiting government agencies from requiring individuals to receive a vaccine jab. Gov. Greg Abbott has a future with the Houston Texans.
A month ago, Abbott unleashed another staggeringly dumb executive order prohibiting Texas school districts from requiring students to wear masks in schools. He even threatened severe penalties for any district that didn't obey his order. This despite children accounting for 18 percent of new Covid cases, according to the Texas Medical Center president.
Thankfully, the adults in the room, parents and educators, ignored Abbott's order and announced a mask mandate for teachers and students in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and more districts. The governor has since backed down on enforcing his executive order. Put it this way, Abbott got schooled.
Earlier this month, about 500,000 people attended the 81st Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota. The South Dakota governor would not impose any Covid restrictions on the event. Not surprisingly, South Dakota's daily case count has exploded 686-percent over the past three weeks.
Meanwhile, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner are doing backflips to encourage people to get vaccinated. By offering $100 gift cards to newly vaccinated residents, there's been a 529-percent increase in people getting the shot here.
Can 60,000 fans, unmasked and unchecked for Covid, crammed shoulder to shoulder in NRG Stadium, with the roof most likely closed, possibly be a good idea?
It's a sad state (that would be Texas) when Louisiana is behaving more responsibly than we are.
Michael Wacha scattered four hits over six innings, Vinnie Pasquantino homered and the Kansas City Royals beat the Houston Astros 2-0 for the second straight night Saturday to run their winning streak to six.
Wacha (1-3) once again received little run support, but the veteran right-hander made the meager production stand up on chilly evening at Kauffman Stadium. He struck out six while walking two and never allowed a runner past second base.
Steven Cruz worked the seventh for Kansas City, his seventh appearance this season without allowing a run. John Schreiber left runners on the corners in the eighth, and Carlos Estévez had a perfect ninth for his seventh save.
Bobby Witt Jr. doubled and scored in the first inning for the Royals, extending his career-best hitting streak to 18 games.
Framber Valdez (1-3) gave up a sacrifice fly to Mark Canha in the first inning and Pasquantino's shot down the right-field line in the fifth. Otherwise, the Astros left-hander kept Kansas City in check, allowing three hits and two walks over eight innings.
Valdez had tossed seven shutout innings against the Royals last August in a 3-2 victory.
The Astros, who have lost five straight at the K, have managed just nine hits while getting shut out over the first two games of the series. They had rolled into Kansas City having won three straight and five of their last six games.
Isaac Parades hit a two-out double and Jeremy Peña followed with a single to give Houston runners on the corners in the eighth inning. Schreiber bounced back to strike out Christian Walker with a four-seam fastball to end the threat.
The Royals have only scored seven runs in the 32 innings that Wacha has pitched this season.
RHP Hunter Brown (3-1, 1.16) tries to extend a 24-inning scoreless streak for Houston in the series finale Sunday. LHP Kris Bubic (2-1, 1.45) gets the start for Kansas City after tossing seven shutout innings against the Rockies his last time out.