It's Time, Pick 'em update, Texans still baffling

The Rockets snuck out of LA with their season-opening win. I'm sure you've seen the miracle shot by Battier by now, but in watching it over and over and over again - did you notice the the Rockets had a 7'6" person standing all alone under the basket when Shane launched his long well-covered prayer from nearly out-of-bounds? Just a note, not important and no wet blanket on the win. A win is a win.

The Rockets were exactly what I figured they would be early on. They don't really know the offense yet, so they are going to rely on their 2 stars and a bunch of jumpers. Good thing Mike James was on, becuase nobody else was hitting anything. Bonzi gives a crap so he actually a helpful player and Luis Scola is a rookie and he's going to play like one for awhile.

-- Just a tip for the espn.com crew, they might want to mix in a Clippers or Lakers when posting the Rockets schedule.

And if everyone in the West stays healthy then wow are the playoffs going to be awesome. Denver is loaded - AI, Melo, K-Mart and Marcus Camby and a very deep bench. Utah did not regress by the way. Deron Williams emerged as the West's next great point guard - probably better than everyone that doesn't have an MVP (Nash) or Finals MVP award (Parker). Boozer, Okur, AK-47 (who allegedly is fine staying in Utah), Millsap, Harpring, Brewer, Miles, etc.. And they slot in behind, Phoenix, San Antonio, Houston & Dallas.
Golden State might be the team that drops back - I did not like the Jason Richardson deal and they are completely lost every time Baron Davis steps off the floor.

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Would you believe these rankings for the 3-5 Texans?
10th in scoring (22.4)
10th in yards per game (344.4)
2nd in passing yds (2,111)
4th in passing yds per game (263.9)
3rd in completion % (67.8)

How about these rankings?
32nd (out of 32) in giveaway/takeaway (-10)
31st in total turnovers (23, 12 INT, 11 FUM)
30th in rushing yds per game (80.5)
30th in rushing yds per carry (3.2)

Don't they always say, "To win in this league, you have to take care of the football and be able to run the football." The 2nd set of numbers are very believable.

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Good piece from the hoops junkies over at draftexpress, as they analyze all the newcomers that made opening day rosters.

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Look out for the coaches' wife. It's true - the wife of Oregon head football coach Mike Bellotti, launched into an expletive-laced tirade aimed at a columnist. In the press box. During their game. Against USC. Crazy.

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Pick'em contest results for last week
Wex (Last wk 1-3, Season 12-16)
Oregon -3 vs. USC: OREGON 24-17 WIN
Texas Tech -13.5 vs. Colorado: COLORADO 31-26, LOSS
Tampa Bay -3.5 vs. Jacksonville: JACKSONVILLE 24-23, LOSS
San Francisco +2.5 vs. New Orleans: NEW ORLEANS 31-10, LOSS

Danny (Last wk 2-2, Season 16-12)
West Virginia -6.5 @ Rutgers: WEST VIRGINIA 31-6, WIN
Washington -4 vs. Arizona: ARIZONA 48-41, LOSS
Indianapolis -6.5 @ Carolina: INDIANAPOLIS 31-7, WIN
NY Giants -9.5 @ Miami: NY GIANTS 13-10, LOSS

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------------------WEX

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