ESPN anchor Robert Flores sees gold in baseball diamond
Nothing is concrete until it’s set in stone, but ESPN anchor Robert Flores is preparing to leave the “mothership” after 10 years and moving to the MLB Network.
Flores said he couldn’t comment, but expect the opinionated sportscaster to start at MLB Network when his ESPN contract expires in March. Flores also expects to contribute to the NHL Network, which is part of the MLB Network family.
For nonsports TV fans, MLB means Major League Baseball and NHL stands for National Hockey League. ESPN stands for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, but one of those letters is making less and less sense lately.
The “E.” How could ESPN say goodbye to Flores, who’s smart, hip and “entertaining,” and keep Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless, who are “D” — none of the above?
Flores is a Houston guy — graduated Dobie High School in 1988, earned a broadcasting degree at the University of Houston and started his TV career at KHOU. And they’re off!
While the dog’s away, the horses will play.
With Gulf Greyhound Park ending live dog racing, Sam Houston Race Park is upping its horse-racing game this year with added food and fun promotions. While waiting for your 2-3-5-8 quinnella box to pay off, you can hit the expanded Winner’s Circle restaurant and Chop House buffet. The roast beef and loaded mashed potatoes are excellent, and the bread pudding is sensational.
Favorite events will be back — and bigger — this season, including Food Truck Fridays, Swine Pig Races (Feb. 6 and April 2), Wiener Dog Races (Feb. 20), Dollar Day (March 16), Derby Dog Dash (April 16), Wine Tasting ( Jan. 30, Feb. 27, April 23) and 50-Cent Beer (every Friday).
There will be one safety change to the track’s most popular attraction — Camel and
Ostrich Races (March 4-5).
In recent years, huge crowds turned out to watch local midlevel media stars hang onto camels like grim death to the finish line. I did it one year, aboard a vicious beast that banged me against the starting gate and shook me like Yahtzee dice. Check out “camel races” on YouTube — hilarious and painful.
So this year, they’re asking the TV weather forecaster, disc jockey, industry giant and newspaper typist to merely name a camel while professional jockeys do the riding. I’m naming my camel “Bloodbath,” for intimidation purposes.
Pethouse Pet of the Week
Name: Chase, as in Charlie, Chevy, Salmon P. and “tirescreeching car …” Birthdate: March 16, 2014 Ethnicity: I’m a red Miniature Dachshund mix. If you want to “get a long little doggie,” I’m your guy.
Chase’s notions: Ihada rough day last week. Driving downtown, I got caught doing 25 in a 20. Sent in the fine, and I’ll be doing six hours of online defensive driving. A couple of hours later, I was having lunch and got a phone call. My dogs were loose on the street, and my front door was open. Neighbors called the police. The officers corralled the dogs, put them back inside and, “We’re obligated to tell you that police went through your house to make sure you weren’t burglarized.” No robbery.
I thanked the police operator. It’s a weird feeling to have strangers in your house when you’re not home. I’m not crazy about having people in my house even when I’m there.
Did I leave my underwear on the bathroom floor? Were there dirty dishes in the sink? I hope my computer wasn’t on. Did they see the Miley Cyrus poster on my bedroom wall?
Two new menu items, one sounds pretty healthful, the other unacceptably healthful.
Pretty: Fuddrucker’s has a new, limited-time-only Chicken BLT Wrap. It’s a big green spinach tortilla packed with diced grilled chicken, smokehouse bacon, diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, honey mustard and hand-breaded onion rings. It’s a fistful. Fudd’s o-rings are among the best in the business. They’ll wrap one up for you for $8.49 through Feb. 9. Really good stuff.
Unacceptable: Wendy’s is test-marketing a vegetarian Black Bean Burger in three markets, Salt Lake City; Columbus, Ohio; and Columbia, S.C. Or as it’s now known, the meatless Bermuda Triangle.
Wendy’s describes the Black Bean Burger as “the harmonious pairing of Southwest spices, grains and vegetables.” The patty is made with black beans, peppers, grains, corn, carrots, cilantro, garlic and chili peppers. It’s served with a slice of Pepper Jack cheese and Parmesan ranch sauce on a bun featuring red quinoa, rolled oats and nine different grains.
The Black Bean Burger comes on the heels of Wendy’s combining Gruyère and Gouda on a cheeseburger. Time to start passing out Dixie cups in Wendy’s research and development lab. Have you completely lost touch with your demo — the ¾-pound-Baconator-withextra-bacon crowd? Instead of going all Gruyère and Gouda on us, try this: Make your burgers thicker and juicier, and cook your fries a minute longer, so they’re not mushy. Find out how McDonald’s does their fries — then do that.
Did you catch TMZ catching Rockets star James Harden visiting a Los Angeles strip club at 1:45 a.m., just hours after the Rockets lost a heartbreaker to the Clippers in overtime, and
Harden didn’t exactly play a superstar game? Plus, the Rockets have three games over the next five nights. Earlier this year, Harden complained that the Rockets were playing him too many minutes each game, causing “lapses” in his game. Local sports talk radio was buzzing with questions about Harden’s desire. I mean to basketball.