A BAD LOOK
This Texans announcement is leaving many media, fans very bewildered
Aug 26, 2021, 3:18 pm
The Texans' reputation remains intact. Composite image by Jack Brame.
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.
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Cam Smith brought three dozen Shipley's glazed donuts to his Houston Astros teammates Thursday morning before his major league debut.
Then he really delivered, with an opposite-field single on the first pitch he saw in the major leagues to help Houston to a 3-1 win over the New York Mets.
“They all liked it, so that’s a good thing," Smith said of the donuts, a sentiment that could also apply to his second-inning hit that set up the first run of the game.
The 22-year-old prospect reached the majors after playing just 32 minor league games. Batting seventh and starting in right field, he became the second-youngest Astros position player to make his MLB debut as a starter on opening day and the youngest since Rusty Staub was 19 in 1963.
With one out in the second, Smith grounded a single to right field on a sinker from Clay Holmes to get his first big league hit in his initial plate appearance. Jeremy Peña dashed from first to third on the play and later scored on a groundout.
“I was just looking for a pitch and I wanted to ambush it and I got lucky with that base hit,” Smith said.
The poise he showed in his debut impressed his coaches and teammates.
“He's amazing," Jose Altuve said. “He went the other way on a tough pitch and he set the tone to score the first run. I know he's going to help this team a lot. He's going to be out there getting better and better. He's just so talented.”
Most believed that Smith, the 14th overall pick in last year’s amateur draft, would need more time in the minors when he was acquired in December from the Chicago Cubs along with Isaac Paredes and Hayden Wesneski as part of the Kyle Tucker trade.
Instead, Smith hit .342 with a triple, four homers, 11 RBIs and a 1.130 OPS this spring to earn a spot on the major league roster.
The Astros announced he’d make the big league roster earlier this week, with manager Joe Espada inviting Smith's mother into the clubhouse to deliver the news. Video of the moment shared by the Astros captured the touching exchange.
After the trade, Smith moved from third base, where Paredes is starting, to right field, where he replaced Tucker.
Still wearing his dirt-stained uniform long after the last pitch Thursday, the kid who was playing college ball at Florida State at this time last year said he hadn’t had time to reflect on his whirlwind journey to the big leagues.
“I have not,” Smith said. “I was just out there with my family on the field appreciating this day and ... good thing we got done early so I can go home and get my feet under myself and think about it.”
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