The Unabashed Blogorrhea stares into the crystal ball (if not blue) persuasion.  The ground rules hardly need introduction or explanation when dealing with the NFL new order.  The preseason means absolutely nothing; the post season wildly shuffled from the previous Super Bowl tournament.  It’s a random roll now, not quite but almost roulette-like, where the most recent results carry minimum impact or influence for the next go round. 

Divisional winners from last season miss the playoffs this season (think Tampa Bay).  Double-digit winners from last season miss the playoffs this season (think Tennessee and Cleveland).  The Super Bowl winner from last season misses the playoffs this season (Sorry, Eli).

And your Houston Texans miss out on that first-ever franchise-bending bolt and jolt of playoff madness.

The seventh edition of the McNair Mob is their best yet.  The Kubiak plan is in place.  These are his players, in his system, with two tons of off-season reps to refine.  Best quarterback setup yet, best pitch-and-catch game, best offensive and defensive trench troops we’ve seen so far.  Kick game is rock solid.  Huge questions at running back and defensive back.

Many forecasters break down the blow-by-blow of the week-by-week schedule and suggest nine wins are within the Texans reach.  And The Unabashed Blogorrhea finds that rationale reasonable. And nine wins would certainly place the Texans in playoff contention, although ten out-of-nowhere wins in ’07 still left Cleveland starting the New Year staring into the unsightly Lake Erie waters.

But the Texans are not wining ten, or nine, in 2008.  Here’s why.

The Blogorrhea’s sees the Texans facing six games where the opponent owns a decided advantage for assorted reasons:  Indy twice, Jacksonville twice, Pittsburgh, Green Bay.  There’s only one win out of those six and that’s Houston’s return to Monday Night Football on 1 December in what will be a raucous Reliant.  So we start with 1-5.

The Texans face but three games where the universal chorus reverberates, “That’s a win, that’s win.”  That would be Baltimore, Miami and Oakland.  Only one of so-called gimmes follows Week Six.  So we are now at 4-5.

The Texans remaining seven games are all against similar type teams.  All with that seven-to-nine win potential provided a sizable dose of good fortune minus the bad breaks, to max out whatever talent and coaching strengths, and minimize whatever talent and coaching and pedigree weaknesses.

What is a reasonable return for the Texans on:  two games with Tennessee, one each with Detroit, Chicago, Cincinnati, at Minnesota, at Cleveland.  Six and one?  Really?  Five and two?  The Texans have improved and proven what to own that sort of confidence within that pool against those sorts to expect five out of seven?

Really?

Each of those above mentioned teams expects to beat the Texans.  The Titans expect to beat them twice.  Like last season.

The Unabashed Blogorrhea anticipates nothing more than four wins out of those seven.  So, three losses runs the final record to 8-8.  No playoff invitation but a more legit break-even that a year ago when Jax all but forfeited in the finale and the Texans were more than willing to accept and acclaim “We are losers no more!”  Sort of.

The Texans resemble in oh many ways seven-nine teams in the NFL, all with aspirations for nine wins (or more) who just as easily could slide to seven (or less) for a wide variety of reasons.  The margin between winning nine, and losing nine, ever so slight.  The perception of the team either way, Grand Canyon-like.  The key – not losing a home game you should (allegedly) win, winning a road game you should (allegedly) lose. 

Eight up, eight down for the Texans.  Not bad.  Not grand.  Average.  Mediocre.  That’s the NFL rung they occupy.  It’s up to them to prove otherwise.  Starting Sunday in Pittsburgh.

Rest of the fearless forecast:

NFC East:  Dallas

NFC North:  Detroit

NFC South:  Carolina

NFC West:  Seattle

NFC Wild Cards:  Philadelphia, New Orleans

NFC Overrated:  Minnesota, NY Giants

NFC Champion:  Dallas over Carolina

AFC East:  New England

AFC North: Pittsburgh

AFC South:  Indianapolis

AFC West:  San Diego

AFC Wild Cards:  Jacksonville, NY Jets

AFC Overrated:  Cleveland, Jacksonville

AFC Champion:  Pittsburgh

Super Bowl Champion:  Dallas

MVP:  Tony Romo

Offensive Player of the Year:  LaDanian Tomlinson

 Defensive Player of the Year:  Julius Peppers

 Rookie of the Year:  Jonathan Stewart

Enjoy with a discerning friend.  Or an attractive stranger.

The Blogorrhea routinely waits until Week One is on record before fearlessly forecasting the season of hits and kicks from those crazy college kids on campus.

It is not cheating.

Rather, much more wise and reasonable to eyeball one slice of actual product, with personnel and coaching changes actually in play, and not basing the ballyhoo of a five-month season on raucous rep or spring practice snaps from five months prior.

Makes sense.

The burning questions beckoning for the Big 12.  Does Texas see the end of their seven-year stretch of 10-win seasons?  In a word, no.  Does Texas Tech live up the most-hyped season in their history and break through into BCS big time?  In a word, no.  Do the Sooners again bully through bowl time and reestablish Stoops as Big Game Bob?  In a word, no.

Really.

To the best regular season in all of sport.

The Mack Brown bunch breezes through the non-conference undefeated.  Then drops back-to-back games, at Colorado along with the regularly scheduled downer with Oklahoma.  Then returns home to slap Missouri with their only regular season hickey.  Then looses in Lubbock before winning out for 9-3, ending with a Cotton Bowl win over Tennessee.  On Fox.  That would be eight straight 10-win seasons for the ‘Horns.

Tech squeezes every last drip of delight from the home-turf tango with UT.  The problem is that prior road show no-show at Kansas State after four straight sub-varsity wins in September.  Still, the Red Raiders waltz into Norman 10-1 for a showdown with unbeaten Oklahoma for the Big 12 South.  Alas, yet another Boomer Sooner blitz bop to the conference title tilt.  Yet again Tech reduced to secondary status.  Harrell and Crabtree conclude their record-setting Red Raider stay with a Holiday Bowl loss to Cal.  So much for the hype.

Oklahoma rampages to 12-0 and one win away from cementing a bid to the BCS title game.  But in the Big 12 brewhaha, Missouri reverses the 2007 verdict in San Antonio by hammering OU with a crushing loss in the cold December Kansas City night.  Chase Daniel seals the Heisman vote, the Tigers cash their first league title since 1969, and the drought ends with a desert date (and win) in the Fiesta with ACC Champ Florida State.

Florida-Oklahoma, with two losses between them, serves as the perfect prelim to the South Beach BCS bash on the same field days later between USC-Ohio State, The Return.  The season’s lone perfect outfit forced to again beat a Buckeye bunch they already blistered back in September.  The Orange simultaneously serves as a month-long forum and referendum that the BowlChampionship System blows.  Brain-dead.  Again dumber than Britney.

l

Unfair!

The pooh-bahs yawn.

Predictably, the Trojans storm by/through/over/under Ohio State to recapture the title throne, a third for Pete Carroll, branding the Buckeyes with a third consecutive BCS final fizzle.  On Fox.

Stoops and Meyer relent long enough from podium and/or chest pounding to coach a for-the-ages down-to-the-final-tick 31-30 Gator flick.  What might have been had either survived to square-up and stare-down with USC.

Preseason top-dawg Georgia is BCS banned with two losses (September at Arizona State and Florida in the Jacksonville Cocktail Party), forced into minor bowl biz with LSU.  They complete the New Year’s slam-dance on the not-so-Big Ten.  Two-loss Auburn punctuates SEC supremacy with a Sugar sweet stomp over Least East entry Pitt.

The Texas Aggies slump and snore through four additional losses after the Arkansas State embarrassment before accepting an invite to the Texas Bowl.

UofH’s initial season with Kevin Sumlin registers with eight wins and losses to Oklahoma State and Air Force, UTEP and Tulsa before bowling for C-USA.  Tulsa makes a legit bid for unbeaten BCS buster (including a win over Arkansas) but comes up one game/one loss short of crashing the party and settles for mere conference kingpin.

David Bailiff’s second rodeo at Rice ends with five wins and no postseason.  Chase Clement and Jarret Dillard finish as the all-time pitch-catch touchdown duo in D-1 history.  Think about that.

Two guys from San Antonio with likely one scholarship offer a piece five years ago, recruited by Ken Hatfield for a run-dominated attack, play for three head honchos and leave campus with more tag-team touchdowns than any other duo.  Ever.  While at Rice.  Really and truly.

There’s the season.  That's where we're headed.  Now sit back and enjoy the ride.

Nothing ventured, Nothing gained which is the best way to describe the experiment with linebacker Rosevelt Colvin. Signed as a free agent with hopes he could help with the team's pass rush, Colvin is the big name in the group of 21 players released by the Texans Friday.

Colvin had five and a half sacks in nine seasons with the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots where he won two Super Bowl rings.

"It's a tough part of the business," said Kennard McGuire, Colvin's agent. "I'm sure it was a very difficult decision for Gary and his staff.

"I have all the confidence in the world we will be able to find a home for Rosevelt that's sutiable for his skill set."

Also released Friday safety Glenn Earl who was in his fifth season with the Texans.  Glenn played in 37 games, starting 31. He missed all of  last season because of injuries.

"It is kind of a strange feeling," Earl said in an interview with FOX 26 Sports. "I've never been cut before.

"I wanted to be here and expected to be here. If you hang around long enough in this league things happen."

The Texans also cut quarterbacks Shane Boyd, who they signed last season as a free agent, and rookie Alex Brink, who was drafted in the seventh round.

This means the team will open the season with only two quarterbacks on the roster, Matt Schaub and Sage Rosenfels.

Some of the players released Friday by the Texans will be added to the eight-man practice squad that teams can put together beginning Sunday.

Boyd could be one of those guys.

"I'm not upset," Boyd said. "It's been a privilidge to be here and I'm hopeful I still will be.

"The coaches have done a great job of preparing me and making me a better quarterback which will prepare me for what's to come."

The Texans also released veteran defensive tackle Anthony Maddox. In his third season with Houston, Maddox had a quarterback sack and an interception against Tampa Bay Thursday.

The Texans still have one more move to make by Saturday and Head Coach Gary Kubiak said the club is trying to determine if they are going to keep running back Chris Brown who has been having injury issues.

"Chris is going to be back and ready to go," said Ryan Morgan, Brown's agent.  "We are just waiting on the results of the medical tests.

NBA sources told FOX 26 Sports Friday the Houston Rockets traded forward Patrick Ewing, Jr. Friday to the New York Knicks for forward Frederic Weiss.

Ewing, Jr, son of Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing,Sr, is headed to the franchise where his father became an NBA star.

Weiss, who played on the national team of France, is unlikely to be a factor here.

Ewing, Jr. was acquired by the Rockets in the deal that brought Ron Artest to Houston.

This trade is part of General Manager Daryl Morey's goal to manage his roster and salary cap for the upcoming season.

...it's been awhile since I've been to the corner sports store...so I decided to drop in for a bottle of anything...and...a glazed donut...to go...until I saw...

...Haterade on sale on Aisle 2!!!!!!

...I know it must be hard to realize...that...in the real world...McFly NEVER beats Biff...or Daddy in this case...NEVER!!!!...not that I would ever steer anyone to another website...as if you needed one...McFly has...once again...started on his "there is no I in team...but there is an M and an E..."...ME...ME...ME...ME...I told Mack Brown...I invented the I-formation...I taught Dream the dream shake...MY fifty years in high school football...I never go to the airport...unless it's a big story...and then I send Jr. Jr...rant...even if you are a big Kenny "I Like Dreaming" Nolan fan...I would like to leave a wake up call...WAKE UP!!!!!

...in the world of Never Neverland...just beyond the hill top...right past the Winchell's Donuts...blogs upon blogs are written...I guess to SKIP past the man behind the curtain...where he claims there's a billion emails of praise...and...yet not ONE comment on the blog!!!!...Jedi mind trick!?!?!?...different movie...

...come on McFly!!!!!...if you start picking on typos...and...act like it's a win...it's game over...insert end of Pac Man game sounds here...

...I don't know...that's just me...

...late...

...DOC...

...ps...McFly...that shoe you found...it belongs to Daddy...

Former Alabama quarterback Nick Fanuzzi is transferring to Rice according to his father, Mike, who was a quarterback at Kentucky  from 1971-1975.

"My son is transferring to Rice and I'm thrilled," said the elder Fanuzzi in an interview with FOX 26 Sports.

Nick Fanuzzi is on the Rice campus and is going through the process of enrolling.

Fanuzzi, a former star quarterback at Churchill High School in San Antonio, was ranked the fifth best quarterback in the nation when he was being recruited.

Fanuzzi played in one game for the Crimson Tide last year as a freshman before redshirting. So he will come to Rice with three years of eligibility. He will have to sit out the 2008 season which is an NCAA transfer rule.

Fanuzzi is perhaps the most important transfer at Rice since quarterback Bert Emanuel transferred to Rice from UCLA in the early 90's.

So apparently there is an amazing athlete in New Haven,Conn.   He is so good infact they have dibanded his team and refunded the parents the money for sign up fees...

This lil guy has a fast ball that reaches 40 mph and the league has said he can no longer pitch.  He has never hurt anyone and the kid misses pitching

Jericho's coach and parents say the boy is being unfairly targeted because he turned down an invitation to join the defending league champion, which is sponsored by an employer of one of the league's administrators.

Jericho instead joined a team sponsored by Will Power Fitness. The team was 8-0 and on its way to the playoffs when Jericho was banned from pitching.

"I think it's discouraging when you're telling a 9-year-old you're too good at something," said his mother, Nicole Scott. "The whole objective in life is to find something you're good at and stick with it. I'd rather he spend all his time on the baseball field than idolizing someone standing on the street corner."

League attorney Peter Noble says the only factor in banning Jericho from the mound is his pitches are just too fast.

"He is a very skilled player, a very hard thrower," Noble said. "There are a lot of beginners. This is not a high-powered league. This is a developmental league whose main purpose is to promote the sport."

Noble acknowledged that Jericho had not beaned any batters in the co-ed league of 8- to 10-year-olds, but say parents expressed safety concerns.

"Facing that kind of speed" is frightening for beginning players, Noble said.

League officials say they first told Vidro that the boy could not pitch after a game on Aug. 13. Jericho played second base the next game on Aug. 16. But when he took the mound Wednesday, the other team walked off and a forfeit was called.

League officials say Jericho's mother became irate, threatening them and vowing to get the league shut down.

"I have never seen behavior of a parent like the behavior Jericho's mother exhibited Wednesday night," Noble said.

Scott denies threatening any one, but said she did call the police.

League officials suggested that Jericho play other positions, or pitch against older players or in a different league.

Local attorney John Williams was planning to meet with Jericho's parents Monday to discuss legal options.

"You don't have to be learned in the law to know in your heart that it's wrong," he said. "Now you have to be punished because you excel at something?"

What is this nonsense of teaching our kids they can never lose...they are all winners and the world will be handed to them...when in reality we are handing there a$$es to them and setting them up for COMPLETE FAILURE!

The Houston Texans announced Monday wide receiver Harry Williams, who underwent surgery on his spine Sunday, will be able to lead a normal life but will never play football again.

Williams suffered a cracked vertebra in his neck Friday when the Texans were playing the Cowboys. He was paralyzed immediately after the injury, but gained feelings in his arms and legs a short time later.

Meanwhile the Texans released fullback Jameel Cook. Cook was arrested Wednesday by a Fort Bend County Sheriff's deputy after a routine traffic stop. Police discovered that he allegedly had marijuana in his car and was arrested on misdemeanor possession.

Cook had been stopped because he didn't have a front license plate and didn't display valid registration. He also did not have a valid Texans drivers licence or proof of insurance.

He gave the officer a Florida driver's license that had been suspended in May.

Cook did not make the trip to Dallas with the team where the Texans played the Cowboys Friday night.

Cook was drafted by Tampa Bay in 2001 in the sixth round. He is in third season with the Texans. Last year he played in all 16 games for Houston rushing for 24 yards on eight carries.