Wednesday, February 24, 2010

A Day in San Antonio

Me in front of the Alamo, 02-13-2010

Ah the Alamo, it never ceases to surprise me. I always seem to stumble upon it, forgetting how small it really is. Consider the battle took place in 1836 and the history behind this building. Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, William Travis, the list goes on.

I wanted to snag some photos of a bowie knife or some muskets but they plently of signs and guards around to keep people from taking photos inside. However, its one of Texas' greatest landmarks and helped shape the state into what it is today.

Remember the Alamo.

Also that day I went to Rita's on the Riverwalk which was ok. Nothing to write home about. Had some fajitas and saw the typical riverboats but this time they were throwing beads out Mardi Gras style.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Beer of the Week: Roswell Alien Amber Ale


This week's beer of the week is Roswell Alien Amber Ale.

Background: Picked this up in Anderson, TX when I went to visit my buddy Chris. Bascially I thought it looked cool and since I like ambers, it was a good move.
Price: $8.99 6-pk 
Look: Looks more on the pale side of Amber.
Smell: Smells woody, not sweet.
Taste: Bitter. One of the more bitter ambers I have had.
Drink: Full-bodied, enjoyed the after taste.
Overall: C

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Moneyball Morey courts Kevin Martin


Looks like Moneyball Morey has struck again at the trade deadline.

The Houston Rockets have made a late night trade multi player trade involving TMac for Kevin Martin.
Houston Chronicle Article Here

The official breakdown is 7 players swap teams, 3 of them not scrubs. Those three are TMac (laughable), Carl Landry (Rockets) and Kevin Martin (Kings).

Now we all know that trading two expiring contracts for a multiyear contract will open the door for some wiggle room this offseason, but how much? The Rockets, if they plan on getting a superstar, will still need to unload. HERE is a list of the salary breakdown for the Rockets.

In my opinion the Rockets are paying two guys to play half the court (Kevin on offense, Trevor on D). These guy's contracts put together will go up from the say 16-17 mil range to over 20 in a couple of years. Is it worth it to pay these two guys 20 mil when we could go after a superstar like DWade or Bosh? Some might say yeah since we just got out of the diva drama a superstar brings, but to me this doesn't sync with the development of Yao.

Yao is (when healthy) an offensive superstar and I still feel having a quality slasher really opens up his mid range shot. I also think that the Rockets were anticipating Trevor to be this and now they are hoping Kevin can be this. I think that Kevin is a scorer in this league but has no defense. It's almost like trading for a mini Mac.

Looking ahead to the offseason...
The Rockets would be smart to try and restructure Yao's contract and go after another big body, one with a defensive presence.
Say that they do restructure and are in position to get someone like Bosh this offseason.
His contract will be in the 20 mil range, can you resign Scola at that point?
If the Rockets intend to resign Scola, it will probably cost them 4.5 - 5 mil a year for a contract.

If this were done, minus any callups or draft picks, the lineup would look like this:
C- Yao
PF-Bosh
SF-Ariza
SG-Martin
PG-Brooks

Where is the defense? Martin and Brooks are exploited quite a bit, we all know what to expect from Yao, and Ariza would be stellar. So basically, we don't have much on D and coupled with Adelman, the Rockets plan on playing small ball for a while now. One question though, how does a 7'6'' 300+ pound guy fit in to that system? He doesn't and will get injured again trying to keep up.

So to get back on track with this whole trade, Kevin Martin is a good pick up for the price but you just sacrificed heart to get that. Let's hope Moneyball Morey has got more up his sleeve today because we really need some size and D.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Rockets and the NBA Trade Deadline 2010


Today, Wednesday the 17th of February, is a big deal to fans of the Houston Rockets. We're one day away from the trade deadline and we're basically allowing the highest paid NBA player to workout on his own and not suit up and try and help the team.

Stats:
1. Tracy McGrady Houston $23,239,561
2. Kobe Bryant LA Lakers $23,034,375

TMac has played in 6 games while averaging a super human 7.7 minutes a game. PPG you ask? 3.1.... Link: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=532

3.1? Shouldn't that period be moved over a space?

Basically, TMac pissed off the management of the Rockets with this stunt last year on the trade deadline: Link: http://t-mac.com/tmac/blogDetail/1519
He knew he was in danger of getting traded to Detroit or another team and decided to announce, not to the Rockets but the world through his website, that he was "shutting it down". So becuase of this, the Rockets lost out on at least getting another position player, and who knows, maybe they would have beat the Lakers in Game 7.

Well fast forward past the Lakers winning and start at the beginning of training camp. TMac again is not ready from his microfacture surgery and again the Rockets get to find out when he's ready through his website. His attitude is not anywhere remotely being a team player so Adelman told him to take a hike. This was a bad move.

Adelman said he did not want to screw up the nucleus and the tempo of the game by having a superstar run isolation plays. Well now, thanks to small ball, the Rockets are 12th or 13th in the West and are sitting on the fattest contract in the NBA.

So today, one day before the deadline, the hopes and dreams of the Rockets Nation are again on TMac. I wonder what he has up his sleeve this time....maybe this: Link: http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/houston_rockets_catch_tracy

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Fat Tuesday 2010

With the start of the new year comes the familiar faces: New Year's Resolutions, the Superbowl and the one festival dedictaed to indulgence: Mardi Gras.

Now anyone who's celebrated this festival will admit to you the greatest of all the party days is in fact Fat Tuesday. Is it because it gives us an excuse to party early in the work week? perhaps... Is it because of the start of Lent the next day? maybe... Or is it a way to indulge in those cajun "good times"; the chance to jam out to some Zydeko while stuffing your face full of boudain and crawfish while enjoying your favorite distilled beverage? Hell to the yes.

This tuesday will be no different, except for the fact that I have this feeling of impending doom. I'm giving up a lot of things for Lent, and I know its going to be a rocky road...mmm....rocky road...

Last year I gave up cigarettes and was able to successfully kick the physical and mental urge to have one. Unfortunely around the time of my vacation I started back up as a casual smoker and have basically relapsed. Its your standard tale of quitting cold turkey.

So now, this Fat Tuesday, I'm torn between a feeling of knowing that the things I used to help stop smoking I will be giving up this year in addition to the smoking and the feeling of knowing I did it before and can do it again.

I think this year, I will have to rely on a far greater power and not just subsituting a smoke for a beer. I'm not sure if its a power in myself, a power in the almighty or if the almighty gives me power in myself. What I do know is that I can't do it in my current mindset. Things need to change.

I'm confident in myself to make these changes and I'm looking forward to my progress. But for now let me end it here and end it with a passage from the season:

Laissez les bons temps rouler!