Don't Be Suprised

The title could apply to anything that happens in sports. In this context it is referring directly to the NFL game Monday night at Reliant Stadium. Don't be surprised if something bad happens to the Texans. The NFL can be cruel that way.



While the Texans have the best talent they ever had in their short history they may still be lacking that extra something needed to get to the next stage. Monday night will be a great indication whether they are getting that "extra something" or not.



They certainly should be able to handle the Tennessee Titans. Tennessee is playing better than it has all year. The Texans can't necessarily say that but they are still over .500. They know this game--because it should be winnable at home--is one they simply cannot lose.



But they could lose it. All it takes is some untimely turnovers which the Texans have still not been able to totally shake and some big plays by Chris Johnson or.... yes, Vince Young, and the home team could find themselves on the wrong end of the score.



Winning even the games you are supposed to is not easy in the NFL. Look at the Colts. They are very good and still unbeaten. But they are not crushing the opposition as they did earlier in the season. Offensively, the Colts are not the overwhelming threat they have been in the past. The running game is not good and the receiver depth is not what Peyton Manning has had to work with in days of yore. The defense is solid, though, and that has made up for shortcomings elsewhere.



The Texans have to be the same type of team. Their talent level now is not that far behind the Colts. Learning to win and being sure to win the games they are supposed to win every time out is the biggest difference. Tonight is very very important.



ODDS N ENDS



The Aggies-Longhorns go at it Thursday. Ho-hum...at least now. Texas A&M just is not a threat to hang with the Longhorns. The Aggie-Longhorn game has been one of the great rivalries in college football for years even if the Longhorns do have a commanding overall edge in the series. That, however, is mostly only for this region. The rest of the country cares little. Remember with Texas-Texas A&M on Thanksgiving was the only college game telecast that day with the Lions home game..usually against Green Bay..the only other football game aired on the holiday? In those days folks in Ohio and California and New York watched every year. It was a real national event. Its just not the same. A resurgence by the Aggie football program is needed to bring it back. The Longhorns have been where they need to be for years.

TMAC RUMBLINGS

The Houston Rockets would be a better basketball team with T-MAC running the court. Unfornately, that has little to do with Tracy McGrady who wants to play ASAP. Tracy McGrady used to be T-MAC--a annual NBA All-star and slashing scoring machine. That player has been gone for at least two years and won't be back. The Rockets frankly don't seem to know what to do with him. They would probably like to trade him to remove his big contract from the books. That is the trouble with big contracts. You rarely CAN trade the players who have them.

For the betterment of BOTH sides having McGrady move on would be most beneficial...if possible. For one thing history shows a number of players who were the main men with one team, but accepted a reduced role elsewhere. Wilt Chamberlain scored far less when be moved to the Lakers, Bill Walton and Pete Maravich were satisfied being backups with the champion Celtic teams late in their careers. Of course, things didn't work so well for Alan Iverson who can't understand it's time for a reduced role. So he has no role. That is a face McGrady might find himself in next year when the money on his current contract runs out. He does need to play this season, but to show he can fit in when his is not the main main. Will that be in Houston or not is the question.