Cold spell torments city’s franchises, Jerome Solomon says.
As you sit in frigid Houston wondering if all those things you said would occur “when hell freezes over” are about to happen, perhaps thinking about the good ol’ days will cheer you up.
You know, way back a week and a half ago when it was darn near 80 degrees? Good times.
Or maybe travel in time to a couple years ago, when Houston sports teams were loaded with stars and promise. Who among us did not imagine an H-Town sports future with championships and celebrations, parties and parades?
The proverbial saying that tomorrow is not promised is a far more serious notion than typically required for the sports world, but what a difference a day makes.
Yesterday, in a sense, Houston sports were hot.
Today, however, they’re frozen.
How long this hard freeze will last is a good question. There are too many variables to provide a specific time frame, but for the most part, it is going to be awhile.
Only one team in the Western
Conference has a worse record than the Rockets’ 11-16 mark.
The Rockets’ future isn’t here yet. They don’t have a player on their roster who will be the best player on a championship team.
As for those of you who wanted to run James Harden out of town, how are you feeling these days? Not so good, I imagine.
Only two teams in the AFC finished with worse records than the Texans. Quarterback Deshaun Watson, the Texans’ future, needs more help than the team can provide in the next couple years, and that’s not even the reason he wants out.
As for those of you who wanted to run Bill O’Brien out of town, how are you feeling these days? No regrets there, I imagine. He proved he didn’t know jack or Jack Easterby.
It is a good thing spring training is about to start. And how about those Dash?
Amazingly, the Astros, who were one win away from the
World Series last year, are the favorite to win the AL West this season. And that’s despite having lost George Springer, Justin Verlander, and Roberto Osuna, plus general manager and manager Jeff Luhnow, A.J. Hinch, respectively, in the past year.
And even with a manager who is of retirement age, much of their potential championship future is still on the roster. Today, that is.
Not too long ago, we thought they were set for the 2020s with Luhnow and Hinch.
One of the summer delights from former Chronicle colleague Dale Robertson was the annual Houston 10, a ranking of the most influential local sports figures.
Unattainable goal aside, it often sparked interesting conversation.
As we look back at the last ranking, it is amazing how drastic a sports landscape can change in just a year and a half. There was no way to predict this.
After Robertson’s retirement, Texas Sports Nation senior editor Greg Rajan took the baton for
the July 2019 list. (There wasn’t one in 2020, but let’s presume COVID-19 would have been ranked Nos. 1-10.)
Half the names on Rajan’s list no longer work in the city, including Russell Westbrook, who was No. 1.
Having just been acquired in a trade at the time, Westbrook would indeed be influential in Houston sports. But instead of helping Harden lift the Rockets to a deep
playoff run, his play helped convince Harden that Houston was not the place he could win a championship. Oops.
Similarly, No. 2 on the list has proved his might by tearing down a team.
Rajan received some pointed criticism for giving Cal McNair such a lofty perch in his first appearance on the list. Clearly, Rajan deserves a salute for that vision.
McNair almost singlehandedly — one might
argue that said hand is in his back and Jack Easterby is the working ventriloquist — ripped the Houston 10 apart.
He fired No. 7 O’Brien, and his leadership has then-No. 4 Watson trying to join a top 10 elsewhere. Plus, he cut lifetime Houston 10 member J.J. Watt and signed off on O’Brien’s and Easterby’s trades of Jadeveon Clowney and DeAndre Hopkins, who each earned an honorable mention nod.
As far as we know, McNair is not to blame for the exits of Daryl Morey (No. 3) and Jeff Luhnow (No. 5) as general managers of the Rockets and Astros, respectively.
And, of course, he didn’t trade Harden (No. 6) to the Brooklyn Nets. In a very un-Texans-like move, the Rockets got some return value in the deal.
Speaking of value, UH men’s basketball coach Kelvin Sampson (No. 8 in
2019) continues to be the top coach in town. The Cougars didn’t get to make the 2020 postseason because the NCAA Tournament was canceled last spring, but Sampson has built a Final Four contender this season.
On the opposite end, Dana Holgorsen, then the Cougars’ new football coach, snuck onto the last list at No. 10. He might never again receive such notice.
Two seasons in, he hasn’t won 10 games. In fact, he hasn’t won eight.
We know UH will fire a football coach with only eight wins in a season. How about 3½?
General managers James Click of the Astros and Rafael Stone of the Rockets are top-fivers on any mid-winter list of important Houston sports figures.
Texans GM Nick Caserio is barely an honorable mention. Why?
He works for co-No. 1s McNair and Easterby, and it’s cold out there.
That’s enough to make you have wistful thoughts about the good ol’ days when O’Brien and Rick Smith ran the team.
Hell. Frozen.