Remember how that Super Bowl commercial with Chester Pitts and Ephraim Salaam ended with them saying "and now we're in the Super Bowl....sort of"? Well, that's how it 'sort of' is for the Texans Pro Bowlers now that the game is at the SB site and the week before instead of after.

We're here broadcasting from "Radio Row" all week long with a guest list that could fill a hall of fame. I'm so excited I feel like I'm IN the Super Bowl...sort of. There would be nothing like being here if the Texans were actually in the game but this will certainly do for now.

Nice win by the Rockets Friday night. The Blazers had no answer for Carl Landry and Aaron Brooks played with a chip on his shoulder. The NBA season is such a long haul and the Rockets are in the roughest division.

Daryl Morey said that OK City looks like a playoff team and after beating Denver the way they did Friday who is to argue. Memphis is pretty interesting but he thinks the depth isn't there and when the injury bug bites they might not survive.

Heading into the Wednesday night's game with Denver the Rockets are on a bit of negative run. Since beating the Clippers before Christmas they went 7-9 in their next 16 game. In their last ten games they are in the bottom quarter of the league in offensive and defensive FG% and are fifth worst in the NBA in 3 point FG%.

In other words, things are not going well. Is it part of the ebb and flow of a long season or have they been figured out by the league?

The answer is yes. They have have been scouted, analyzed and, in many cases, played multiple times as teams have solved whatever mystery the Rockets had going early.

This is a year of built in forgiveness. With $40 Million on the sideline you can hardly blame the Rockets for struggling. The big question is what kind of deal Daryl Morey can strike (if any) before the trade deadline. The next question is can they get themselves into the playoffs and upset somebody.

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UK lost Tuesday night. John Calipari talked about the big bulls eye on the Wildcats' backs and South Carolina hit it dead center in UK's first bid to protect the ranking. It's a long season and now all the undefeated talk will go away enabling the 'Cats to concentrate on going deep in the NCAA Tournament.

Former Calipari assistant Tony Barbee is doing a nice job at UTEP which lost to Houston a couple of weeks ago at UH but upset Memphis last week and demolished Central Florida over the weekend. It's going to be the best C-USA Tournament in a while because Memphis is not as good as recent years and doesn't host this time. We'll see if the Coogs can improve on a shaky 3-3 conference start to do some damage in the post season.

Hearing the emotion of the Saints fans gives you just a bit of an idea of what it might be like when the Texans eventually make it. A regular caller, Casey, phoned in from Louisiana and painted a picture of the whole family pretty much staying up all night. No one could sleep because of the joy. A city that has suffered as much as New Orleans deserves a moment like this.

Another caller defined Brett Favre as "part John Wayne, part John Daly." An apt description for a man who was putting together one of the great quarterbacking performances ever only to throw it away at the end. This was like writing the great American novel on your laptop then hitting the delete button.

Favre had a chance to get into a lot of people's 'top 5 all-time' with a Super Bowl win. Now, he's on hold again until next year's 'comeback.' I've never been a card-carrying Favre fan. And the off season comeback-or-not drama turns me off. But I totally understood Minnesota wanting him and it was a pleasure watching him play in the NFC Championship game. The bone head throw at the end of regulation was part of the package. He succeeds or fails spectacularly and that makes for great entertainment.

On a lighter note: Venus claims she was wearing flesh colored underwear at the Aussie open.
You decide...

http://deadspin.com/5455477/venus-williams-is-angry-people-still-think-shes-playing-without-underwear

Sage Rosenfels would rather be playing but he's not going to complain about being in the NFC Championship Game this weekend. On the show Thursday he said he still keeps in touch with Owen Daniels, David Anderson and a few of the other Texans including Matt Schaub who is on his way to the Pro Bowl. It finally took Sage leaving for Schaub to stay healthy for an entire season. You can hear the interview on the podcast.

If Peyton Manning and the Colts win Sunday Schaub will start the Pro Bowl backed up by Vince Young. All of a sudden the Pro Bowl has become must-see TV. VY is there for the second time in his career.

There are four other quarterbacks with better numbers but he did something extraordinary by leading his team to an 8-2 finish. Plus, he did well in the MNF win over the Texans to rack up some votes. Of course Schaub played well in that game also but the Texans failed on a 49 yard last second FG attempt to tie the game.

Bryant Gumbel closed a recent Real Sports episode by calling on all the steroid users in baseball to fess up....

...."In closing, guys, please feel free to share this letter with Bagwell, Nomar, Pudge and all those others who went from hitting homers to power outages overnight. Tell 'em fans are ready to accept what happened. Tell 'em we're ready to move on...."

I have no idea whether Bagwell is on the list of players who tested positive in 2003 but for Gumbel to finger Bagwell out of the blue is irresponsible reporting. Bagwell's power went down over 2 seasons due to a shoulder injury. You can think what you want but a man in Gumbel's position has to be more careful.

The subject of whether Jim Nantz's objectivity is compromised for having done a commercial with Peyton Manning came up Wednesday.

As the play by play announcer Nantz is not on the air to give his opinion. If Manning makes a crucial error it's up to Phil Simms to call him out. And it's up to Nantz to make sure he has a platform to do so.

As the voice of an NFL team I'm often asked how I handle tough situations. It's actually easy during the game because I just stick to the facts. That's the beauty of sports. The numbers usually tell most of the story. If a sack is the result of Schaub holding the ball or a pass protection break down it's up to Andre Ware to figure that out. If a play call doesn't work it's pretty easy to stick to the description.

If a flat out bad decision is made I make sure I present the audience with all the options that were available. Usually the coaches will admit later if they made a bad call so you're not exactly throwing them under the bus for questioning a shaky decision.
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My favorite Rocket on the roster is Yao Ming. I root for him maybe more than I've pulled for any individual basketball player. The whole 'stranger in strange land' story capitivated me from the get-go.

But picking a favorite Rocket on the active roster is another story. Aaron Brooks and Carl Landry get most of the votes. But I'm going for Chuck Hayes. As a long shot to play in the league Hayes has constantly stiff-armed his critics and stayed on the floor. He's a coaches dream and one of those guys you want to watch away from the ball because he works hard and makes things happen.

I can understand why some people are upset about Favre throwing a TD pass on 4th down late in a game the Vikings had already won but in pro sports you're free to run it up. There is a caveat though: Run it up at your own risk! There's always the possibility of payback down the line as Dallas and Minnesota will play next year.

In college football running up the score is almost required for style points. In high school it is considered forbidden.

Did Keith Brooking contribute to the Vikings' decision to go for it?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd1WYX_NajA
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Big debate on the show: Did the Chargers goof by onside kicking late in the game? They were down 3 with one time out and the two minute warning to stop the clock. A first down ends the game. If you kick off deep you must stop them on 3 downs and force a punt. If you onside kick and don't recover, you probably have to stop them on 4 downs. My thought is that the slight chance of keeping the ball in an onside kick scenario is worth the risk of having to stop them on 4 downs.

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Jose Offerman needs help in the anger management dept.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6kt2I0wspM

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Reggie Bush looked great against the Cardinals which somehow brought callers who lamented not drafting him in 2006. In a semi-related story, I still wish I bought Microsoft at $1.50.

Bush is a fine playmaker with the following disclaimer: WHEN HE MAKES PLAYS. He's often an afterthought and he is no more than a role player for the Saints. Consider that the Texans own Jacoby Jones has a better return average than Bush and only one less total TD in the 2009 season than Bush. There were only 70 carries by Bush this year. He's not an every down back but he is a complimentary weapon in a fine offense. If the Texans had decided to take Bush #1 in 2006 it would not have been regarded as a good decision.

If you hate the ongoing Brett Favre saga AND dislike the Cowboys who do you pull for Sunday? Look, the Cowboys got a giant monkey off their backs by finally winning a playoff game for the first time since the Clinton administration last weekend. Yes, they are the most dangerous road team but Minnesota can get a pass rush going and make life very difficult for Tony Romo.

Isn't Favre the better story than the Cowboys? Wouldn't you rather see Favre vs. the Saints for the chance to go to the Super Bowl than a happy Jerry Jones? Just asking.

USC says O.J. Mayo did not cooperate with its internal investigation into possible NCAA wrongdoing. No kidding. The NBA 20-year-old rule is fun in the sense that you get one year seeing stars like Mayo, Derrick Rose and John Wall.

But who are we fooling here? Education is a far off thought as these guys sell tickets and draw eye balls to TV screens during their one season in a weigh station on their way to the NBA. Kids should be able to enter the NBA at anytime.

No, it's not the best thing for the pro game but this is America and the best in the business should be able to get paid for their craft.

With Lane Kiffin leaving Tennessee after one year is it any wonder why sports fans have become so jaded. He came in last year with a press conference that seemd a tad too brazen for the SEC but got his squad a winning record at 7-6. Other than finishing a game over .500 is there anything he has done that leads you to believe he will be a great head coach. If USC is as great as they think they are why aren't they going for a more established coach?

Bringing in Chow, Orgeron and his Dad will certainly help but it's not like the Trojans are getting someone with a great track record. And I hope everyone got a good tip on what the NCAA sanctions are going to be before they agreed to go with Kiffin.

Anyway, folks in Knoxville are not too pleased...

http://www.thewizofodds.com/the_wiz_of_odds/2010/01/the-natives-are-restless-in-knoxville.html

Tony La Russa's claim that his "programs" at Oakland and St Louis were "100% legit" is crazy. Canseco and McGuire both admit using so it's time to put La Russa in the same tainted light as some of the athletes that earned him the distinction of being one of baseball's best managers.

The players who have fessed up all owe an apology to Barry Bonds who took all the live bullets from the media during his run to pass Hank Aaron. Bonds should have walked away before he broke the record to help save his reputation but that's just a fantasy of mine.

Since the Feds clearly don't have the evidence to put Bonds away or to indict Roger Clemens they should drop both cases and stop wasting taxpayer money.

McGuire says he only took PEDs to get healthy, that they didn't help him hit home runs. Say what? If they helped you stay healthy then you were available to hit home runs. Case closed. The rest is just conversation.

An incredible comeback by Texas Thursday night fell short. The sack-fumble by Eryk Anders probably would have been spotted by Colt McCoy. The running game might have actually existed with McCoy in the game. But Garrett Gilbert deserves a lot of credit for coming into a difficult situation and pulling his team wtihin three in the fourth quarter of a game that most through would be well out of hand by then.

The upperclassmen should have helped him out more. Yes Shipley was outstanding but you couldn't afford to drop anything last night and he, Williams and Buckner had their moments. Plus, I realize you have a change of cadence with a new QB but false starts were unacceptable.

We're wondering whether McCoy would have at least tried to come back if his father had not gone down to the locker room. We'll never know.

Saban not taking a knee with first and goal inside the ten was classless. It's a football commandment: Thou Shalt take a knee when the clock can be drained in full.


How are your pipes? Is there really a serious threat or a Chupa Cabra (http://www.alienvideo.net/0702/img/06-12/chupacabra.gif) ?

Let's remember one thing about this run for the playoffs. With the postseason heat on at least eight AFC teams with four weeks to go it was the Texans who put together the most impressive run.

Yes, it came up short but it should serve as a reminder that great things can happen in sports when you keep fighting. The Texans clawed their way back into a playoff chase they were hopelessly out of and nearly tackled a playoff berth.

The amount of help they needed with four weeks ago was ridiculous yet they had all but one game come through for them.

In the end, it wasn't enough. And despite their late season heroics, the Texans didn't miss the playoffs because Cincinnati was chilly or because JaMarcus Russell can't hold onto the football.

They missed out because they lost to the Jets on opening day. Because they blew two fourth quarter leads against the Colts. Because they couldn't finish the job at home against the Titans. Because they couldn't get the ball back against Jacksonville.

You get the idea. Going to the playoffs was up to them and they didn't do the job.

That's not to say this wasn't their best season. It was.

We've never seen the defense play better. We were elated by Andre Johnson's history-making campaign. We were impressed with Matt Schaub's outstanding year. It was their best team with the best record but it wasn't enough.

The epitaph on the season should include a couple of key items. The first is that a playoff team can't go 4-4 at home.

The opening day loss to the Jets was a real head scratcher considering what would become the best Texans offense and defense in history would be helpless by scoring zero offensive TDs and getting third-down-converted to death by a rookie quarterback.

The next key item would be the four game losing streak against divisional opponents. Yes, the Colts were responsible for two of the losses but falling to Tennessee on Monday Night Football, blowing a 17-0 lead on Indy and misfiring against a Jacksonville team that was apparently not in the same class spelled doom.

The epitaph should also read that the team never quit and once again found a way to play at its best in December.

Next year, 9-7 might not do it either. There are a lot of good developing teams in the AFC. The Texans need to find a way to get off to a good start. They'll need to get running back help and continue to strengthen the defense. And they'll need to improve against their division foes.

It's been a roller coaster thrill ride and it's over. It was a taste of winning and playoff contention. Let's see what happens as they go after the full meal in 2010.