I was tooling around BRB today and I remembered this post.  To recap, Solis is at a training camp session when Rick Smith spots a boy in the crowd named Donovan.  Smith invites Donovan to watch practice from the sideline with him and then makes a deal with him: Donovan keeps his grades up and Smith will get him tickets to a game.  Much gushing and praise for Rick Smith (all of it deserved) ensue. 

It occurred to me that we've never gotten an update as to what happened with this.  I'd like to think that both sides of the party lived up to the deal, but I don't know.

Any way we can get the rest of the story?

Our boy Stevie needs your help.  Not on the field, obviously.  And not off the field, probably, given his mack-daddiness in between the hashmarks and his mad cooking skillz.

What he does need, however, is your vote.  Slaton is up for NFL rookie of the week.

So do your part, Texans fans.  Don't let guys like Flacco or Forte get the limelight that our own Stevie Wonder deserves.  Follow your Inner Vision, head over to Higher Ground and vote for Stevie, Ma Cherie Amour!

I've always thought that Peter King has several flaws that make him a less-than-average sportswriter.  For one thing, he is at best an average writer.  He's too chummy with several of the league's marquee players (see also: Farve, Brett), which effects his ability to remain neutral on football-related issues.  His analytical abilities are even worse than his writing.  And I don't care to read about his coffee fetish or how annoyed he gets when travelling.

Today, however, he's crossed the line with me, and this time for entirely selfish reasons.  Tonight is a big night for us Texans fans, even if the season hasn't gone according to plan.  It's our team's first ever appearance on Monday Night Football. 

I realize that a huge chunk of the U.S. doesn't really care about the Texans, an expansion team with a crappy record, paying against the Jags, another (though less recent) expansion team with a crappy record.  And I realize that this is not what the NFL had hoped when they scheduled this game before the season started.  No doubt, a great many Americans will find this game about as interesting as reading a treatise on celestial mechanics.  I don't even mind that Peter King thinks so (not that he's capable of understanding even the drawings in a treatise on celestial mechanics).

But woud it kill him to keep that thought to himself?  Today I find in his Monday morning ramblings (they're like a trainwreck, I can't stop myself from looking) an entire segment dedicated to encouraging readers to spend their Monday evenings doing something other than watching the Texans.  Adding insult to injury, among the recommendations King makes are shows from the Animal Planet and National Geographic networks.

Peter, I get it.  You'd much rather watch some retard run after a bull mastiff or two humpback whales, err, humping than watch the Texans and the Jags.  It's a shame neither team's seasons have panned out the way their respective fans would like.  You're not a paid shill for the league (just an unofficial shill for some of its supposed marquee players), so you don't have any responsibility to hype matchups between losing teams.

But isn't this a little uncalled for?  Even if this isn't Giants - Steelers, it could still end up being a more exciting game than people think.  Even if it isn't it wouldn't exactly be the most boring Monday Night game of all time, or even this year.

So, Peter, how about next time, instead of taking a few more minutes to add space to your already-too-long column (and while I'm at it, how about you keep your Ten Things lists down to, you know, only ten actual things) with suggestions for alternate programming, you just keep your big yap shut?  Just think, you could spend that time getting all warm and fuzzy over a cup of some exotic latte while you imagine yourself giving Brett Favre a massage.  I'm sure that would be better than watching the Texans and Jags play tonight.

If you'll excuse me, I have a game to watch.  I'm hoping for a resounding Texans victory.  It's about the only thing that will get the image of you massaging Brett Favre out of my mind.

There seem to be quite a few posters on this forum that follow other teams.  Last week there was quite a bit of discussion about soccer, rugby and other sports.  Rather than clog the gameday thread (and risk a ban) with talk about soccer, I thought I'd open up a fan post to discuss it.

I'll start.  The Greatest Soccer Team In The History Of The Galaxy had a mixed week.  They lost 2-1 away at West Ham but rebounded well to win at home against NEC Nijmegen.  They're now within 3 points of surprising league leader FC Groningen.

Feel free to brag or complain about your other team here.

I just want to congratulate you guys on the win.  Because my mother raised me not to lie, I can't say you deserved it in any way, except for the fact that apparently both starting quarterbacks play for your team. 

In any event, good luck the rest of the way, and please take it as a compliment that the last words I uttered on this earth before gouging my eyes out with rusty paper clips were written on this blog.

I'm off to choke on my vomit now.

Thank you for all the memories.  Enjoy your day in the sun.  As the years go by, your grace, skills and character stand out more and more.  Thanks for what you did for Houston.

And thanks for crushing the Spurs.  It's hard to argue against Wilt Chamberlain or Bill Russell being the greatest centers of all time, but in basketball Valhalla, you sit at the head table.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW4uXlRGAF0

Earlier this month Football Outsiders published an analysis of rookie running backs in the preseason.  In a nutshell, rookie backs who carried more than 25 times and averaged more than 3.94 yards/carry in preseason went on to average 4.43 yards/carry in the regular season.  Backs that averaged less than 3.94 yards/carry in the preseason went on to average 3.5 yards/carry.

Taken together, this leads to the conclusion that our own Stevie Slaton could well become a good rusher in this league.  It is also worth noting that the Greatest Running Back Of All Timez is bringing the average down, not up.

Slaton has certainly looked the part in preseason and Football Outsiders seems to think that, in this case, you can tell something about how a player will do in the regular season from their preseason performance.