Battle Red Blog: FanPosts

Los Angeles Football Stadium

losangelesfootball — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 18:56:16 -0000

Los Angeles Stadium Plans Presented to NFL Commissioner

www.losangelesfootballstadium.com Provides Complete Plans

LOS ANGELES, CA – Ed Roski Jr. Chairman of Majestic Realty Co. and the leader of the new effort to return the NFL to Los Angeles presented the designs for the new Los Angeles Stadium to the NFL last Monday. In New York, the NFL met with Majestic Realty regarding Ed Roski's stadium proposal in the City of Industry in which this state of the art facility would be one of the premier stadiums in the country and will serve as a new entertainment center for families across Southern California.

"At their request, the Roski group provided us an update on their stadium project," wrote NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy, "Mr. Roski's site certainly seems to present an interesting possibility. The permitting and construction processes seem to be more defined than other sites we have seen."

The Los Angeles Football Stadium is moving forward with its plans to build this new stadium.

The stadium development will feature:

592 acres
75,000 Seats, including 11,000 club seats and 175 suites
NFL team training facility
Medical center and clinic
25,000 parking spaces
2.8 million square foot mixed use entertainment and office development creating a sports and entertainment destination for Southern California

For more information on the stadium please visit: www.losangelesfootballstadium.com

Houston Lebowski Fest

StephS — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 20:34:38 -0000

via www.memeticians.com

I am going to this with my youngest sister this evening.

http://lebowskihouston.wordpress.com/

I'm not sure if any BRB peeps are also Little Lebowski Urban Achievers, but if you are, I'd like to see you if you go.

I will be going as a nihilist. My sister will be a green robed Maude, with a wee Lebowski baby who has a goatee and is smoking a j.

I know it is late notice, but if you happen to see this, I'd love to see you.

Lunch this week anyone?

Shake — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:20:28 -0000

1Texan & myself are planning to meet up for lunch either Thursday or Friday of this week somewhere on the NW side of Houston. This is an open call for any other BRB family members who will be hungry at the same time in this area.

The idea right now is to hit the Hot Dog Shop which is located here. But that is by no means set in stone.

So let's hear it......anyone want to join this blog dork luncheon?

UPDATE: How is 1PM on Friday for everyone??

We need your help!

SOLIS — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 06:21:45 -0000

Okay, so there I am - a quarter `til midnight, hanging out in my backyard. I'm 17 yrs old, gas is a buck four, and cigarettes are a buck eighty a pack. I have nary a care in the world. Then out of nowhere, I see someone jump my fence. Getting ready to start chucking empty bottles, I realize it's a friend of mine. So at that point, I'm back to feeling copacetic, right - but not him... he had a dilemma. He needed me to get him out of a jam. For reasons that defy explanation, my friend needed to borrow a pair of underwear. See, he was set to see this chick that lived a street down from me and he didn't want to go over to her house wearing the same ones he had on the night before. So, I did what any good friend would do, I gave him a pair of my boxers and sent him on his way. Suffice to say he owes me one.

What's the point? Well, that kid grew up to be a graphic designer, and on the strength of our 15 year friendship has agreed to design a 10"x13" Battle Red Blog promotion poster that we can pass out at to local sports bars. In fact, I already have a green light from the owner and proprietor of Brother's Pizza and Sports Bar here in San Antonio. "Bring it in, and I'll hang it."

So we have a graphic artist, a place to advertise, and now we need your help. Battle Red Blog needs a slogan. See, anyone can design a badass poster with a fire breathing bull on it, but what is going to really set that image off is a catch phrase that sums up what Battle Red Blog is all about. That's where you come in.

Battle Red Blog was built by you for you - and now you have a chance to put your stamp on it. If your entry is chosen, we'll send you a Texans T-Shirt and give you the admin rights to edit or erase one account of your choice. Okay, okay, so I haven't cleared that second prize with Tim, but he can't stop me from sending you a T-Shirt in appreciation. So be witty, be creative, and submit your slogan ideas in the comments section below.

Thanks!

UPDATE: We got some really good slogan ideas over the past two months. Here are the five finalists, feel free to make additional suggestions in the comments below. Keep in mind that these are really slogan intros. The rest of the slogan will follow along the lines of BFD's suggestion of "BRB: Your home for Texans news and analysis..." The winner is still getting a T-Shirt and a maybe a beer koozie. Good luck and thanks for your help!

Poll

We are looking for a creative slogan to help spread the word about Battle Red Blog. Take a look at the choices and pick the one you think fits the site the best. Thanks!

Offseason Things to Acquire

Shake — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:15:07 -0000

OTA's, for all you pun-happy BRB enthusiasts.

So I'm sitting here working my ass of on a Friday afternoon, and I stumble across this little item up for sale:

The Beer Belly Cooler

How's that for a return on investment versus the $8.50 Bud Lights? Or, say you have season tickets to college football, where they no longer serve outside of the "Endzone Clubs". (Note: My birthday is this month)

Jerome Mathis Has Been Removed From Office

Tim — Fri, 16 May 2008 03:22:57 -0000

Or cut a mere month after signing. While I can't say I'm shocked that Mathis didn't stick in D.C., I figured he'd at least be good for a lingering ailment and/or a threat to innocent neighbors before he was actually handed his walking papers.

Talk about a guy who squandered what was once a helluva promising career. I think he's going to have a tough time finding another team that'll take a chance on him.

Reasons to drink the kool aid

texanphil — Fri, 02 May 2008 17:15:20 -0000

There are a lot of different opinions on how we screwed up this draft. Think of it from Smithiak's point of view, was there a pick at each spot we had in the draft that would have made all of US happy? We all know that is not possible, so whatever their picks were, some group of people would be screaming we missed some Longhorn backup waterboy.

So the ones that are paid and responsible to make the picks did just that. And they did it last year. And the year before, where we have a significant number of roster players and starters from those drafts. An arguement can be made that in 05 we were bad enough that it wasn't hard to get a lot of starters from the 06 and 07 drafts, but even if that is true, we are at least moving in the right direction (down in the draft!).

I say we thank the front office for their picks, and welcome all the new starters and competition to our roster. Just heal most of the injuries from last year and we are 10-6 with that roster. I think the Colts are on the decline, and this may be our year against VY. The Jags have the dreaded "expectations" and we are a last place team with nowhere to go but up!

AFC South Draft Recap

bullpen116 — Fri, 02 May 2008 15:58:52 -0000

I found this draft recap of our division, and it's the one of the best post draft articles I've read. Enjoy :

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2008-05-02-afc-south-draft-recap_N.htm

-Tyler

HOUSTON TEXANS

Once the Texans couldn't draft offensive linemen Chris Williams or Branden Albert with the 18th overall pick, they went to Plan B.

They traded down eight picks to No. 26 and held their breath for Duane Brown out of Virginia Tech. Assistant head coach/offense Alex Gibbs fell in love with Brown and convinced the staff that he was going to fit perfectly into the team's zone-blocking scheme.

Coach Gary Kubiak was nervous Brown would be taken before No. 26, but for once the team got lucky at left tackle. For the first time in franchise history, they took an offensive lineman in the first round. Now, they just hope he can develop quickly and solve their long-time issue at that position.

"We're just very excited to get Duane, and obviously we're calling on him to help this football team very, very early," Kubiak said.

It really was a solid pick for the Texans. They picked up an athletic offensive lineman, one capable of starting soon. In addition, they picked up an additional third-round pick and a sixth-round pick, which was crucial in a draft that they entered with no second- or sixth-round picks.

Another key addition could be running back Steve Slaton, the Texans' second pick in the third round. He will likely make an immediate impact as a rookie with the Texans targeting him to become their third-down back. The Texans have lacked speed at running back the past two seasons, and Slaton adds speed and playmaking ability.

"We see him as kind of a change-up kind of guy," Kubiak said. "He's got home run ability as far as his speed. He makes a lot of big plays. There's a place in the National Football League right now for what people describe as third-down backs, guys that can catch the ball out of the backfield do those types of things. So he's got that dimension. He's a very smart young man. This kid had 1,700 yards two years ago. We know he's a great kid and we know he'll catch up with us real fast as far as what we do. We just think he gives us a little bit of a speed element that we may have been missing."

The biggest surprise pick was the fifth-round selection of Frank Okam. They needed a defensive end, but couldn't find one all weekend. Instead they took a risk by drafting Okam, whose motivation to play the game has been questioned. They interviewed him just last week, and are convinced he will be good in the NFL. He's already dropped 20 pounds since the NFL scouting combine and is weighing around 328 pounds.

"Okam adds an element to our team," general manager Rick Smith said. "We didn't have a big massive man with quickness in his body and a very intelligent guy."

The Texans are somewhat undersized at tackle, and Okam adds a big presence and a solid run stopper.

Duane Brown

jkoy20 — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:17:11 -0000

For those pissed the Texans picked Brown in the first and didn't try to trade back, apparently the San Diego Chargers were going to pick Brown at 27 for tackle depth. They went with Cason in order to address their CB depth. For better or worse it looks like the Texans made the correct call in drafting Brown at 26th if he was their guy and got two more picks.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/chargers/20080428-9999-1s28chargers.html

Welcome to the new Battle Red Blog and SB Nation

clockwerks — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 05:29:26 -0000

Hey Battle Red Blog,

Today is the big day. We've switched your community over to the new SB Nation sports blog platform. My name is Trei, and I'm here to help you get adjusted to the new home we've built for you. If you have questions or trouble with the new system, post a comment in this thread and myself or one of the team (lovitt, sixfoot6 or odacrem) will try to point you in the right direction.

Before we begin, I want to let you know we still consider this a beta platform, so don't be surprised if you find a few bugs or if everything isn't exactly right yet. We hope you'll take the time to report any problems you encounter at bugreport@sbnation.com. We'll be continuing to make changes and improving things.

Please take a few minutes to read about what's new below. But if you just can't wait to jump in, here are some quick things to check out:

Sign up for your SB Nation network account and claim your old blog accounts
Once you're logged in, press your Z key in any thread with new comments
Explore your dashboard and setup your profile
Read the guide to the new FanPost editor
Install the FanShot bookmarklet and post videos to Battle Red Blog from YouTube or images from Flickr
Click the "Rec" button on posts and comments to help other people find the good stuff.
Customize display options on your Edit Settings page

What Has Changed

SB Nation Network Accounts - the Big Change

Readers across all of our blogs told us they wanted one account to use on every SB Nation blog. To make this work, we're requiring that everyone create a new SB Nation network account. In most cases you should be able to keep your old username, but a few of you may have to choose something new, since every other community in SB Nation will be going through this same transition. We tried to be as fair as possible in deciding who gets to keep which name, using a formula that takes into account length of membership and frequency of activity.

We want to make it as easy as possible for you to participate on all of our blogs, but we don't want to encourage everyone to start visiting rival team blogs and initiating flame wars. To maintain friendly communities we ask that you explicitly join each blog in order to participate. It's a two-click process, but it does means accepting each blog's community guidelines. Just as you join each blog individually, you can be banned on each blog individually.

You can claim old accounts from multiple SB Nation blogs, and your new username will be retroactively attached to all your old comments and diaries. So now you'll be able to access all your writings from your single profile page... like magic.

To get started, click here to claim your old blog accounts and create a new SB Nation network account.

FanPosts (the Section Formerly Known as Diaries)

We changed their name. Why? Because we took this major upgrade as an opportunity to leave behind some vocabulary that never made much sense for a sports blog. SB Nation is the network of, by and for fans, and these are the blog posts we make. So we call them FanPosts. When you're at a bar telling someone to check out your online sports opinions, you don't have to suggest they read your diary.

FanPosts are displayed differently on the homepage - we include your avatar to give more credit for the time you spend writing great posts. The new post editor has a WYSIWYG view that provides easy formatting. It also auto-saves drafts so you don't have to worry about losing your work when you compose a post within the web browser. And you can now associate teams, players and games with your posts: these tools promote your FanPosts on our new team, player and game pages - across the entire network.

The new system does not work like the old diary editor. For example, in HTML mode the new editor doesn't auto-create a new paragraph from two line breaks. But it does offer a whole array of new features. Look for the blinking help button on the right side of the FanPost editor for quick tips, and take a look at our full guide to writing FanPosts on the new platform.

IMPORTANT - if you write your posts in Microsoft Word or some other off-line editor, you will get the most reliable behavior if you cut & paste your post into the HTML view of the FanPost editor. And if you do that, remember to wrap <p></p> tags around each paragraph so your text doesn't run together.

Visual Redesign

This one is probably the most obvious change of all. Like other major websites working to improve readability for their audience, we've adopted a fixed-width layout optimized for the 1024 x 768 resolution used by the majority of Battle Red Blog and SB Nation network users. Use the switcher below the user menu if you prefer the wider layout designed for 1280 monitors. We've introduced a top navigation bar with quick links into old and new sections of the site. We also polished a few edges, made some things larger, others smaller and moved a few boxes here and there. More changes and adjustments to come.

Search

We've completely replaced the old search engine with a new one. We're excited to make it easier to find old posts and comments, but we've only taken our first pass on the tools we're offering. We're focused on making search even better than what you had before, so please know that we're aware search is missing key features and we're working on it.

What's New

Schedule, Scores, Stats and Roster

Battle Red Blog now has all the basic information about the Houston Texans and hundreds of other teams. During games you'll see a regularly updated line score, and as the season progresses we'll track team stat totals and leaders. This is just our first step, so look for us to publish more detailed and archival stats in the future. The best part about all this sports data is that we've integrated it directly into the blog so. We now have special pages that aggregate all blog posts written about games, players and teams.

Recommending FanPosts

Some writing deserves more attention and more conversation. If you want to bump a FanPost up to the top and keep it there for awhile, just click the 'Rec' link under the body of the post. When a FanPost receives enough recommendations it will make the recommended list.

Auto-refreshing Comments

You no longer need to refresh the page to see new comments. If you're logged in, new comments will automatically appear on the page every few seconds. When you post a comment, the page will not refresh either. If you want to quickly cycle through all the new comments, you can press the C key on your keyboard. Unmark a new comment after you've read it with the X key. And use the Z key if you want to umark comments as you're cycling through them.

As you use these shortcuts to cycle through comments, press the R key to reply to the current comment. All these helpful keyboard shortcuts are listed at the top of each comments section for reference.

Recommending Comments

Now you can reward those folks who take the time to look up stats and make smart arguments in the comments. Next to each comment there is an 'actions' link that you can click to find the recommend and flag options.

Flagging Comments

To help the moderators on a site, we've built-in tools that let you flag comments that are spam, trolling or just plain inappropriate. Only moderators can see those flags.

FanShots

Many members of the community just want to post that one link, video, photo or quote, but don't need a full FanPost. We've got you covered: FanShots let you share YouTube videos, Flickr or PhotoBucket photos, quotes from articles, portions of chat transcripts, top 5 lists and simple links. If it's a video or image we'll put a thumbnail on the homepage when you post it.

For those of you who are experienced internet hunter-gatherers of Houston Texans material, install the bookmarklet onto the links bar of your browser and share FanShots with the community from wherever on the web you find that killer quote or photo.

Avatars

Upload an image so folks can see your custom avatar on your profile, your FanPosts, and all your comments.

Network Profiles

Now that we have unified SB Nation network accounts, your profile will be your central hub for all of your activity on any blogs where you are a member.

Network bar

The top bar stays with you on all SB Nation blogs. It's a quick way to login and logout. When you're logged in, you'll see your avatar and screen name which links to your profile. The icon to the right leads to your Dashboard area where you can edit your settings, profile, account details and any FanPosts or FanShots you've published. As we add more blogs to the new SB Nation network, the My Blogs menu will be a handy way to navigate between the blogs you've joined.

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There are plenty more small changes and additions we've made, so please take a careful look around and explore this new system. We appreciate your patience and hope you'll help us improve the new platform for this and all the other SB Nation blogs.

And in case you missed it, you'll want to start by claiming your old blog accounts and creating a new SB Nation network account.

Draft Day 2 - Open Thread

Shake — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 14:28:04 -0000

Since it seems that I am the only one awake this morning, here is your place to post all your thoughts about the picks taken in Rounds 3-7.

As I type this, we are 8 picks away with some very interesting prospects still on the board. (Justin King, Jamaal Charles, Reggie Smith, Jeremy Thompson, etc.)

See you in the comments.

GM Manfull

bv — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 19:36:48 -0000

Megan Manfull put on her GM hat and represented the Texans in SI's beat writers mock draft today, where she selected OG Branden Albert. How do you feel, given that DRC, Mike Jenkins, and Johnathan Stewart were still available?

My first reaction was befuddlement, but he does appear to be talented and rated highly. I haven't seen anywhere that he plays other positions. Would he be a good LT?

Lets hear it in your vote below.

Poll

How do you feel about Branden Albert?

Draft favor

bigfatdrunk — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:20:39 -0000

Also to get the damn spam off the top (hey, how many leads did you generate from that? I'd guess -50.), I need a favor.

Does anybody have an approximate guess as to when the Texans will be making their draft pick? I have some other family/non-football related events to attend to on Saturday, so camping out in front of the TV isn't an option. Any sort of guess would be delightful.

Also, I can't wait to hear Mort bash us for missing out on Reggie Bush and VY. That'll be awesome.

Football Fans need Quality Hotel Accomodations

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:26:24 -0000

As you follow great football, you need a great place to lay your head.....

We are a newly renovated property located in the heart of the Galleria and centrally located in the city with easy access to Reliant Stadium.

We have 316 rooms, a Texas sized pool, fitness room, full service restuarant and bar, and free parking!

As the Texans represent much of the Houston life, let us make hotel accomodations easy for you. I can take of all your individual and group needs at competitive rates.

Call 713-353-7387 today for a site tour or group quote!

Andrea

Position Need Poll!!

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 19:36:04 -0000

Hey folks,

After reading up on some of the discussion about our pick in the upcoming SB nation draft, I came to the realization that there should be a poll over what position we have the greatest need in.

After seeking some clarification from others, I've narrowed it down to the list in the poll options. If you think there is another superior need please leave a comment to that effect.

Cheers!
-Clam liquor

Frerrottttet to Vikings

txnpwrlifter — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:49:18 -0000

I don't know how to spell Gus' last name, nor do I have the desire to look it up, so I will just call him Gus Asshat.

Gus Asshat's signing with the Vikings eliminates one of our dance partners for the the offseason/draft. The Vikings will not be offering multiples or a 2nd rounder now that they have effectively brought in a poor mans Sage. I don't know who, if anyone, else has expressed intrest in him besides them. So it's not exactly a Bull market. Pun intended.

Mock Draft Board

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 21:15:35 -0000

A list of the possible draft picks, so that when it's our turn to pick on Mocking The Draft, Tim has an easy job, and we all get input.

This is on a Google Spreadsheet. As of right now, Me and Shake have put up our lists on the Spreadsheet. It requires an invite to be able to edit it, so if you want to add your two cents to this list, shoot me an email at tailgateandy@gmail.com

The spreadsheet can be viewed at http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pGMwxdqg00qHc0LoWiW8cSQ&hl=en

So if he ever testifies, and the judge is a Texans fan, he'll go easy on him...

texanphil — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 17:27:16 -0000

http://www.nepatriotsdraft.com/2008/03/charles-godfrey-just-waiting-to-get.html

With this level of commitment to our team, and knowing we don't have a second round pick, is he making a play for the first round???

Extreme SBN Makeover

Shake — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:39:52 -0000

For those who haven't been paying attention in class, it turns out that we are in the offseason. We're still a month out from the draft, and about a month past the opening of FA season. So what exactly is Captain Obvious leading into here?

It's time for a preview of what's to come at BRB this summer. It seems that the SBN sites are in the infant (or maybe toddler) stage of rolling out a new universal platform on all their sites. The word on the street is that the NFL-related sites will go under the knife for this cosmetic surgery during the summer, so they will all be on version 2.0 when the '08 season kicks off.

Just this Monday, the SBN site for our local MLB team was assimilated. So if you want a preview of things to come, head over and take a gander at The Crawfish Boxes.

FYI....all SBN sites will finally have a single user login that is shared. I haven't had time to play with any of the other new features just yet, but the feedback seems positive in the posts/comments.

Why should I be a Texans fan?

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 06:47:05 -0000

Hi there,

I lived in Texas a bunch when I was growing up, my alma mater is UNT (go Mean Green!), and I spent a few years of my life down in Galveston.

I live in the Pacific Northwest now and I've been a Seahawk fan for some time but I've been intrigued by the Texans, and since they're an AFC team and don't play often, I thought I could possibly share my fandom with the T-units.

I've been reading this blog (excellent by the way, but not as good as Field Gulls, www.fieldgulls.com) and I've gotten some sense of what it is to be a Texans fan, but tell me:

Why should I be a Texans fan?

What is it about the Texans you like?

If you face the Steelers in the post season, can you actually beat them? (Unlike the 'Hawks, damn zebras)

Thanks!

Battle Red Blog: FanPosts

Los Angeles Football Stadium

Houston Lebowski Fest

Lunch this week anyone?

We need your help!

We are looking for a creative slogan to help spread the word about Battle Red Blog. Take a look at the choices and pick the one you think fits the site the best. Thanks!

Offseason Things to Acquire

Jerome Mathis Has Been Removed From Office

Reasons to drink the kool aid

AFC South Draft Recap

Duane Brown

Welcome to the new Battle Red Blog and SB Nation

What Has Changed

SB Nation Network Accounts - the Big Change

FanPosts (the Section Formerly Known as Diaries)

Visual Redesign

Search

What's New

Schedule, Scores, Stats and Roster

Recommending FanPosts

Auto-refreshing Comments

Recommending Comments

Flagging Comments

FanShots

Archives

Avatars

Network Profiles

Network bar

Draft Day 2 - Open Thread

GM Manfull

How do you feel about Branden Albert?

Draft favor

Football Fans need Quality Hotel Accomodations

Position Need Poll!!

What position is of greatest need?

Frerrottttet to Vikings

Mock Draft Board

So if he ever testifies, and the judge is a Texans fan, he'll go easy on him...

Extreme SBN Makeover

Why should I be a Texans fan?