Are You Ready For Some...Soccer?

The Astros are horrible. I don't live close enough to Atlanta to watch Braves games on regional TV. College football hasn't started yet, and I refuse to watch preseason NFL football. And to top it all off, American Ninja Warrior is done for this year (curse the Japanese and their penchant for constructing impossible obstacle courses!). All told, there has definitely been a lull in my sports viewing the past couple weeks. My schedule was wide open. The spirit was willing to watch sports, but the TV Guide schedule was weak.

Enter soccer (still not calling it football, you can't make me.). Now, a few years ago, after reading an article by espn.com's Sports Guy and grantland.com creator Bill Simmons, I tried to get into the English Premier League and pick my own team. In his article, Simmons lists all of the teams in the EPL and scores them against his own criteria. Now, I have only seen a few games and don't care to be as thorough as "Jabaal Abdul-Simmons", but for what it's worth in 2008 I picked Liverpool.

However, I'm willing to take a closer look and reconsider the recipient of my "footy" fandom. So I figure that I'll watch with an open mind for as much of the season as is necessary, and then when I finally do pick a team, seal my decision by buying a jersey. Or a scarf. Because those things are tight.

The things I'm taking into account for my decision: team style of play, having a star player (who's likable, or at least who I like), team talent (I don't want my team to be in danger of relegation...like my 'Stros [Boom goes the dynamite!]), and rivalry. I think those are all pretty self-explanatory.

So far, unfortunately the two teams that I have my eye on are Liverpool and...Everton, the 'Pool's bitter rivals. Since this is such a heated rivalry, especially as of late (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merseyside_derby), I figure that I can't ride the fence on this one. However, my mancrush on US Men's National Team goalie Tim Howard has the Blues (Everton) with the early lead.

Some other star players that I've liked so far: Edin Dzeko (Manchester City), Peter Crouch (Tottenham Hotspur), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), and Tim Howard/Tim Cahill (Everton). Some of the things that I've really enjoyed about watching soccer are the rabid fans (especially the cheers), the high vocabulary used by the English commentators (why John Madden, why?), team scarves (as previously discussed), the collars on the jerseys, and the disdain used to describe a flopping player.

Does my bro-mance with the EPL have the potential to be completely forgotten within hours of the beginning of NCAA football and the NFL? You bet. But I can honestly say I've been pleasantly surprised with what I've seen so far. And that, if all else fails, I am counting down the days to World Cup Brazil 2014!

An Unconventional Rebuilding Strategy

The MLB playoffs are looming. The Astros, my hometown boys, are long gone from the playoff hunt. We've traded away two of our best players in Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn, and are now fielding a team of youngsters hoping to make a splash against big league opponents as the train wreck of a 2011 season winds down for Houston.

With all of that said, there is a positive to be taken from this: I noticed that with all of the new players seeing major league time for the Astros, there seems to be an interesting connection running through several of the players. Their names all start with the letter J.

Now, having been an Astros fan back to the time of the Astrodome, I fondly remember the era of the Killer B's (Bagwell, Biggio, Derek Bell, and in the later years Lance Berkman). So we know that Houston's management has not been against constructing teams loosely-based on player names. Knowing that, take a look at the number of players on the current Astros roster who fit the criteria:

Juan Abreu

Jeff Fulchino

Jordan Lyles

Jason Castro

Jose Altuve

Jimmy Paredes

Jason Bourgeois

Jason Michaels

Jordan Schafer

And that's not all! Check out this fascinating list of players:

J.A. Happ

J.B. Shuck

J.D. Martinez

J.R. Towles

With this trend in mind, I propose we make some more additions to the roster to complete our overhaul this year. Let's trade for Atlanta Braves catcher J.C. Boscan, Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy, Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia, and bring back the ghost of former-San Francisco Giant 1st basemen J.T. Snow's career. Since we're undergoing an ownership change as it is, let's get rapper Jay-Z to chip into the ownership, and we can do this "J" thing right.

Lastly, I feel like a nickname would be fitting, similar to the "Killer B's". After thinking about it, my two thoughts would be the "Flying J's" to continue with the Astros' space theme, or my personal favorite of "The J Crew".

Go 'Stros!

Watch The Throne

When rumors started swirling that two of my favorite rappers (Jay-Z and Kanye West) were getting together for an album-long collaboration, I understandably got very excited. I bought Watch The Throne (WTT) about a week ago, and have been listening to it more or less nonstop since.

Three reasons why I like the album:

1. Kanye's beats are a better background than what a Jay album normally features. Jay-Z can rap over anything and make it sound awesome, but when it's over a thought-provoking, substantial soundtrack like Kanye's, it raises the bar significantly. My favorite beat of the album is "Otis", with honorable mention going to "New Day" and "Who Gon Stop Me".

2. Jay-Z brings better rapping "chops" to the album than what Kanye can consistently fit into a studio release. His ability to convey a lyrical metaphor throughout the entirety of a verse is better than any other rapper out there right now (see his Pledge of Allegiance analogy in "Made in America"). My favorite rapping display from Mr. Carter is on "HAM" (on the deluxe release), and then a very close second is on "N-Words in Paris". "Why I Love You" gets honorable mention.

3. The surprising debut of Frank Ocean! If he's been on something before this, I missed it. I've never heard of him before, but his voice on "No Church In The Wild" and especially "Made In America" is so freaking good. He's just got some really great vocal strength, and his control over his own voice lets his incredible tonal quality shine.

"Otis" is my favorite track. The perfect blend of Jay and 'Ye trading off over the Otis Redding sample of "Try A Little Tenderness" gets happily stuck in my head for hours at a time. It probably already is pushing my Top 25 Most Played list in iTunes, and rightfully so.

Basically, taking the best of both worlds (Kanye's soundtrack and Jay-Z's lyrics) makes for an incredible collaboration. The interludes linking the tracks throughout the album together are such a professional touch, and it really puts this record over the top. Throw in an up-and-comer singer in Frank Ocean, and that's just a nice cherry on top. Two thumbs up for WTT as a whole, and hopefully I can score some tickets to see "The Throne" on their tour!

(As a side note, I've recently discovered an incredible website for decoding some of the more difficult lyrical passages and references in rap: www.rapgenius.com. Self-described as "A Hip-Hop Wikipedia", it's a user-submitted, moderator-regulated discussion on rap lyrics and references, with a dash of humor thrown in. It's been a great sidekick for listening to new lyrics, as well as for going back and listening through the back catalog. Plus, I'm pretty sure it's run by some Ivy League-educated white guys, for what that's worth.)

SEC Rumors

The blog is back! After a prolonged absence, it's making a comeback - just like ugly clothes that you'd never be caught dead in....until they become trendy and retro.

A while ago, was it 6 months ago? maybe almost a full year? there were rumors circling surrounding college football and, more importantly, the Big 12. These rumors were brought on by the vacancies left in the Big 12 due to Nebraska leaving for the Big Ten (now to 12 teams), and Colorado's moving to the Pac-10, along with Utah (now the Pac-12). Right around that time, there was made known the possibility of Texas and most of the Big 12 South (OU, OSU, and Texas Tech) moving to the Pac-12 to become a super-conference of 16 teams. As an A&M fan and student, I was curious why the Ags hadn't been mentioned in the Super Pac conference rumors. Then, news broke that there were talks going on between TAMU and the SEC - so it all made sense. However, none of the big shakeup actually transpired, and the only tangible evidence that anything actually happened was the creation of the Longhorn Sports Network, Texas' own television station.

Arriving at the present, the LHN is about to begin it's first football season on the air, and the Big 12 (-2) will start its awkward schedule of playing each and every school in the conference every year. However, earlier this week my twitter timeline blew up with rumors once again circling that TAMU might move to the SEC. According to texags.com guru Billy Liucci's tweet, if A&M and the SEC agree on a deal within the month, the Ags can be playing in the SEC in 2012! Pretty cool idea, but is it the best thing for the Maroon and White?

My ideal situation is as follows: A&M moves to the SEC and joins the West division. The SEC adds another team (Clemson? Virginia Tech?) to even out the divisions at 7 apiece. Texas, now with its own TV deal in the LHN, goes independent. The Oklahoma, Kansas, and remaining schools from the now-defunct Big 12 regroup and form something resembling the old Big 8 (with more teams like TCU, Boise State, etc.).

What does this mean for Texas? They honestly have a big enough national audience and fan base to keep themselves afloat without conference ties, and can you imagine a yearly rivalry with Notre Dame? How crazy would that be? Also with the independence, you can keep the rivalry games with both OU and A&M, and not fight over the Big 12 South crown with Oklahoma, as has been the case for the past 10 years. Texas' schedule would have some cream puffs, as would be the case in a big-time conference, but would also have yearly games against OU, A&M, and Notre Dame with a possible Ohio State/USC rivalry renewed. Sounds like a win to me.

What does this mean for Texas A&M? Well, it's kind of out of the frying pan and into the fire, honestly. From the Big 12 South (Texas, OU, Ok State, Tech, and Baylor) to the new SEC West (Arkansas, LSU, Bama, Auburn, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State), you go from a bad draw to a worse draw. However, I think that with the Texas recruiting connection, A&M could definitely hang in there with the perennially elite teams in the country, and I could see the Aggies playing up to their competition. Also, in the basketball realm, TAMU could definitely excel after getting out from underneath KU's presence.

All told, I think A&M could adapt to contend in the SEC, Texas could excel as an independent school, and the rest of the Big 12 as we know it might be better off reshaping and melting into other conferences. Will all of this go according to my personal plan? Most likely not. But will something happen? I think so. Now it's just a matter of time.