ProHouston

And the thing is, we NEVER had to rely on Rafers shot. He just took upon himself to shoot unnecessary shots. Instead of continuing to swing the ball, he'll pull up and shoot a three with someone in his face or when the next guy to pass to is wide open, and to top it off, he takes those shots as if the shot clock is running out, and it's not. Basically, he takes shots that should be reserved for the guys who get paid to score. He's not paid to score. He's not even a good shooter. He just frustrates me to no end.

I can't argue with that. At least now he has a host of better shooters to defer to. Hopefully he will defer.

Is anyone else w/ me that we need to let Rafer go? I mean, seriously. He's taking the same bonehead shots and making the same dumb decisions as a pg as he did last season.

He's got some skills, it's just his decision making can be absolutely horrible. That's not good for a PG.

I say get rid of him and let Stevie fill in the minutes that are remaining. I really want Steve to do well. I like him a lot. I think everything people say about him is totally false, as far as turnovers and being selfish, etc.

I guess you've been watching a different Stevie and Rafer. Rafer isn't horrible, it's just that his horribleness showed last year when he couldn't put up a good shot. Well this year he doesn't have to. Now we don't have to rely on his shot. He's great at not turning the ball over and making his teammates more effective.

Stevie is an undisciplined player, he's erratic, and doesn't include his teammates in the offense as well as he should. I think that he can be ok with a role coming off the bench where we need a playmaker and a spark (like Mike James), however if you come into the season and you aren't in shape, you shouldn't be on the floor with the guys that are in shape.

Did Francis even play? Get the dude some minutes.

That's going to be hard when you're not one of the top 8 or 9 guys on the team. He needs to be proactive and find a way to show coach that he's ready. Unlike Bonzi last year.

Here is a demolition photo from this morning. Pretty cool, huh?

So I guess his contract ended? I know he filed for free agency, but I thought that he had more years on his contract. Guess not.

30 mil a year? I'm not so sure. What did we give Bags, 20/yr? Maybe I'd give him less and throw in a no trade clause. I don't see him having a down year too soon in the future.

A-Rod "opted out" of his contract, therefore it is over. He is a free agent and will get a new contract. He'd definitely not worth $30 mil/year or even $20 IMO. However, watch for the Dodgers to sign Torre as their mgr and A-Rod to a bloated contract.

This Chronicle blog says to expect a stadium more similar to the new Colorado Rapids stadium than the Frisco stadium.

i saw a banner that read "Hermes and Americanas open during remodeling" i really would like to see renderings of the project i just dont see a Whole Foods next to Hermes lol

They won't be next to each other. Hermes will be in the new section that just started construction at the SE corner of the project. I believe Whole Foods will be at the NE corner. This is a huge development, there will be all types of stores/restaurants accounted for.

We didn't really deserve to win the game. We played 3 horrible quarters. Things will get better though. I really feel that this team would've gone 9-7 w/o all the major injuries this year. Oh well. I felt before the season started that we should've seeked a trade for Adrian Peterson by giving up Mario Williams. We should've at least given Dominick Davis a shot in training camp, but he wasn't even invited to camp.

Mario for Adrian Peterson is not an equal trade. We would've had to add a LOT to it for that deal to work.

True. The Texans have an even more insidious group following them...Non-fans, who constantly proclaim that the reason they are non-fans is because the Texans refused to draft the QB from their college bandwagon team, a QB so mediocre that he has thrown twice as many interceptions as touchdowns, has thrown more INTs as a percentage of his pass attempts than ANY starting NFL quarterback, and is mired comfortably in the mid-20s or lower in virtually every QB statistic. But, no matter that this QB has led his team to the 28th best passing offense in the NFL, any one cruel enough to mention this fact is immediately branded a hater.

Let's step back a minute. I've been anti Vince Young since the beginning, after all I am an Aggie. However, regardless of his stats, you have to admit that the guy knows how to win. It may be ugly, it may be unorthodox, but the guy can lead a team and win. I would take his "it" factor over many other QBs with better ratings. With Young on the field you just never know what can happen and can never count his team out. And that's hard for me to say.

The Texans haven't been good enough to have bandwagon fans.

And bandwagon fans, which Dallas has loads of, are the most obnoxious subspecies of human on the planet.

And people who actually display loyalty in spite of losing especially despise bandwagon fans and love to see them brough back to earth so they can wait for the Yankees and the Lakers to start their seasons.

Throw Longhorn fans in there too.

I'm just upset that we've made such little progress. We should be 5-2 right now, not 3-4. I don't know what's going on down on Kirby, but the offense is inconsistent, the defense is subpar, the lines on both sides of the ball are in the bottom quartile of the league. Where is the improvement?

I'm still a fan and I think we can still have success this year, but I'm not nearly as confident as I was in the preseason.

I'm guessing that you are talking about me? Well if so, I have changed. I believe in Houston and all thats happening. All that I will complain about is hopping that the new parts of METRO rail are nothing like the red line from downtown to the Astro dome. Other than that, I'm okay.

Not you citykid, there was actually a poster named "What" who came on the board several months ago only to stir things up with negativity. That poster appears to have left, thankfully.

I'm wondering about the dissapearance of WHAT from this thread. I guess he or she got tired of reminding everyone that this project isn't going to get off the ground.

I think that if Who's on first, then What must have struck out.

I love happy endings.

Good point, I forgot about the negativity and anger that user spewed.

Demolition began today on the Hunan portion of the Pavilion. It shouldn't take too long to tear that portion down then begin breaking up the parking lot for the new foundation of phase 1.

So did Kubiak pull Schaub in the 4th because of his poor play? Or was it just to give Sage and others some garbage time?

It is going to take several (i.e. more than one) key injuries or a Saturday night Tom Brady drinking binge for anyone to beat the Patriots this year.

Any team from the NFC anyhow. The AFC is much stronger this year.

No wonder so many people in this city are fat.

Why? Because these 5 people on segways are making the rest of us fat?

The fence is almost all the way up around the SE corner of the property (Post Oak @ Ambassador's Way) and there is a sign up telling customers to access America's and Hermes on the other side of the building. Evidently these stores are staying open during the first phase of construction.

Travis Johnson just got the worst player in the NFL award on Sunday Night Football, but I don't blame him for what he did. If you watched the play, you would see that Trent Green hit Travis Johnson in the knees on purpose. It was a cheap shot (chop block, too). Dumbass move on Green's part. Travis Johnson did a complete flip in the air (he is 300 pounds mind you), and right when he got up, he started yelling at Green. He was walking past him when he was yelling, too. He was only yelling at Green for about two seconds. Do you think that if Green was not injured, that that "taunting" penalty would have been called? Hell no! Also, I would be pissed off if someone came in and hit me on my knees all of a sudden. TJ was just on IR last year with a knee injury. He is trying to prove himself this year, and what Green did could have cut his leg in half. The media is just all on Green's side because he is a media-favorite white QB.

Since when is Trent Green a media favorite? And why does it matter that he's white?!? Come on Trae, I've been reading your posts for a long time and that doesn't sound like you. Hopefully you're just emotional.

I agree that TJ probably wouldn't have been called for taunting if TG wasn't injured, in fact TG might have gotten flagged the way TJ flipped in the air. However, the ref could see that TG was lying there motionless and he could hear what was being said. It's unfortunate but could have all been avoided if TJ had simply walked away. He needs to think team first. Yes, TG shouldn't have made the chop block, but TJ didn't have to start jawin' either.

That sign has been there since at least September 20th, that's when I noticed it. I haven't seen any additional changes since then either. Let's kick this thing off!

OK, I guess I spoke too soon. The America's parking lot (SE corner of the property) has been closed and they are in the process of building a fence around that area.

We're finally seeing progress folks! This thing is now real and is under contruction!

There are some utilities marked near the corner of Post Oak and Ambassador way and what looks like building permits on a new sign near the entrance to current shopping center off Ambassador Way. I may have to stop on my way home tonight and see what they say.

That sign has been there since at least September 20th, that's when I noticed it. I haven't seen any additional changes since then either. Let's kick this thing off!

Well, October 1st has passed and I didn't see any shovels hitting any dirt. Oh well, I guess I'll keep a keen eye out the remainder of the month.

After today, I don't think we will be anything other than mediocre. Atlanta was 0-3. We gave them zillions of yards in penalties. Houston played with no pride or winning attitude. It's the same old thing with the Texans. Why is it the Texans get hurt by everyone on the team but other teams go for months without that problem? I am totally discouraged and don't think we will pull out of an "expansion team" mode. I hope the Texans prove me wrong. I have season tickets that beg for loving and I, too, beg to be loved by the non-Texans world, but this kind of play doesn't win respect from anybody in the NFL.

Wow! And you're a season ticket holder? Talk about turning on a dime, are you a Longhorn fan also? The Texans had a bad game. It's not a surprise, they have 4-5 starters on offense that couldn't play due to injury. It's hard to win on the road in the first place, much less without the guys you depend on. Yes, it's disappointing b/c we all thought they would win, but the season isn't over, it's only the 4th game. Don't give up yet, I can assure you the players haven't.

There is plenty of room. This building will be at the very southeast corner of the site. There is an open space at that corner that is approximately square and something like 225 feet on each side. That's 50,625 square feet. The building will be 3 or 4 stories and contain a total of 70,000 square feet. So if it's 3 stories, they only need a 23,333 square foot footprint, less than half the space that is available. If it's 4 stories (and that's what it looks like in their renderings), they only need a 17,500 square foot footprint, about 1/3 of the space that is available. There actually does not appear to be any reason they could not start shoveling on October 1.

Wouldn't that effectively eliminate the vast majority of America's parking? They use that entire parking lot today at lunchtime. I guess they could go to all valet parking.

I fear for the developers. They apparently paid significanly above market for the real estate, that no other building options were feasible. They're portraying this project as a slam dunk, however I would not want to go up against these politically connected neighborhoods with significant resources. This could drag out a very, very long time.

It was a mistake on their part to buy this land before determining what the local reaction would/could be. You wouldn't catch me spending that kind of money without a lot more due diligence.