King James in Town

My nephew called today and said he had been given tickets for the game between the Houston Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers. I had not been to a Rockets' game in a long time and I thought it would be fun to see LeBron James. The seats were 17
row from the floor at mid-court. They cost $175 per seat, which gives you a chance to see why it has been so long since I have attended a game.

The Rockets won 93-74 and LeBron had one of his worst games as a professional. He scored 19, but shot only 33% and had no assists, for the first time in his career. It was a quality win for the Rockets, to say the least.

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Mike Hampton's Heart

When Mike Hampton was a young pitcer with Houston Astros, the lefty was known for his heart, his determination and competitive spirit. He became a big winner, then accepted a big contract with the Colarado Rockies. In recent years he has suffered several injuries that have threatened his career. When he signed with the Astros over the winter, there was a hope that there was some more gas in his tank.

Last week his heart was discovered to have an irregular beat and he was sent for medical assessment. The good news is that the doctors believe it is a manageable condition and that he will be able to perform on the mound.

Now we will see if Hampton's heart is still his strongest asset!

Miggy In Court!

Miguel Tejada is to appear before Congress today to plead guilty to the charge that he lied to them about some of his associates' steroid activity. He has apparently worked out a plea bargain that allows him to avoid prison time.

I wonder how he will be received by the fans in Houston in his first at bat in April!

Good Signs!

As a baseball fan first and foremost, the winter is dismal as we wait for the opening of the spring training camps. Today was a positive sign, my USA Today Sports edition featured David Price on the front page. Price is the left handed pitching phenom of the Tampa Bay Rays. Surely this means it won't be long till we hear the crack of the bat from Florida and Arizona!

Manny, Manny?

I find it very hard to believe that Manny Ramirez turned down an offer of $25 million to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers for ONE year! Surely his agent, Scott Boras has advised him that he can get more if he waits, but that seems like pie in the sky to me. He is great, but how many teams can afford that kind of payroll for the long haul?

2009 Astros

Though the Houston Astros reached the playoffs six times in nine years, including the World Series in 2005, it has been three years since they made it to the post season.

The biggest lack on the team now is starting pitching. Roy Oswalt is a solid number one starter, and one of the most dependable pitchers in the big leagues. But behind him in the rotation this year will be Mike Hampton, coming off three injury plagued years, Wandy Rodriguez, Brian Moehler, and Brandon Backe.
The bullpen will be strong enough, with two serviceable lefties and proven set-up guys. The closer, Jose Valverde, has led the league in saves each of the past two seasons.

The offense will be okay, with Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee and Hunter Pence as the primary weapons. Shortstop Miguel Tejada needs to have a strong season for the Astros make the playoffs in 2009.

Beware of #5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There probably will never be a movie about it, but it was the kind of game that a young man will reflect on for a lifetime. Last Friday I went to watch my 16-year-old grandson play in a sub varsity basketball game. His team plays very hard, but they have not won many games. The first half of the game was hard to get excited about, because our team couldn't seem to find the basket with a shot. At the intermission they were trailing 29 to 16.

But the second half is a completely different story. The boys came out with the same high intensity on defense, but now they began to make some shots. One of the boys on our team got hit with an elbow just above his left eye and it began to bleed. He had to come off and get some treatment. To keep the bandage in place, his head was wrapped in a medical tape that made it look like he was wearing a sweat band. But his wound didn't keep him out of the game or cause him to be bashful. He and my grandson are the primary ball handlers for the team, so it was important for him to be on the court. In the third quarter shots began to fall for everyone, including my grandson who hit three three-pointers in that frame. Our team held the visitors to only six points in the quarter, and the score at the end of three quarters was 35-34.

The game was intense in the fourth quarter, but our defense was up to the task again and only allowed nine points in the quarter. In the midst of the battle, I was thrilled, and afterwards found out my grandson had heard and was also thrilled, to hear the opposing coach shot several times in the frame, "Beware of number 5, beware of number 5!" He didn't want number 5 to get any good looks at the basket because he was really on fire. Number 5 ended up leading scorer in the game with 25 points and his team won 55-44. Of course you know who wore number 5 for our team, don't you?