Author Archives: Red from Texas

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About Red from Texas

I'm proud to be Red. I have lived most of my life in Texas and I love this place. Here are a few things you should know about me. 1. I am happily married and intend to stay so. 2. I live in a house that is older than you, unless you are really old. 3. I own 2 rifles and a shotgun. I think handguns are just trouble. 4. I have never killed a man, but have taken out some deer and hogs. 5. I was a good student, but never close to being valedictorian. 6. In no particular order I like the Houston Texans, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Astros, FC Barcelona, Tottenham Hotspur, Texas Longhorns and Houston Dynamo. 7. I hate Dallas but always have a good time when I go there. 8. I was a Dallas Cowboys fan for 26 years but declared that I was no longer a fan during the 1987 strike. 9. I don't own any pets. I like cats, and a good dog and I have met at least 3 of them in my lifetime. 10. I think the best part of Texas is west of I-35. 11. I own two pairs of cowboy boots, but don't wear them very often. 12. I don't have a pronounced Texas accent, but can affect one when needed. 13. My last meal would be fried shrimp with tartar sauce, a baked potato with all the fixins', a dinner salad with 1000 Island dressing, yeast rolls and chocolate fudge pie for dessert. 14. I'm an old Dad, but my children are none of your business. 15. I have two degrees from UT-Austin and somehow managed to fall in love with and marry an Aggie. 16. Most of my family are right-wing nut jobs but I love them anyway. 17. When I get to play golf on a regular basis, I shoot in the low 80's. 18. I don't get to play golf on a regular basis. 19. I think Fort Worth is the best town in Texas by a long shot. 20. I have a mean herb garden. Regards, Red P.S. Remember it's not a color, it's a state of mind.

Rodriguez and Bagwell into Baseball Hall of Fame

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The Baseball Writer’s  Association has selected Ivan Rodriguez, Jeff Bagwell and Tim Raines for the Baseball Hall of Fame class of 2017.

Pudge Rodriguez leads the class as a first ballot HOFer even though he barely got in with 76% of the vote.  PR deserves the honor.  For about a decade, Red’s view was that if he was building a team, Pudge would be the first player taken.  He is the greatest catcher ever by any metric.  In his 21 seasons, PR hit 311 home runs, drove in 1332 runs, scored 1354 runs, had 2844 hits and sported a .296 batting average. Throw in 14 appearances in the All Star game, 13 Golden Gloves, the 1999 MVP award and the fact that he played the most difficult and demanding position in all of sport and you have to wonder – who didn’t vote for this guy?

Tim Raines, who has long been touted by the sabermetrics crowd received 86% of the vote in his 10th and final year of eligibility.  Raines’ stat line is not as impressive as PR’s, but Red will defer to the experts on TR.  He never hit 20 home runs in a season and only once topped 70 RBI’s.  His 808 stolen bases are impressive, but Red thinks that Raines owes his new HOF status to a vigorous internet campaign.

Red will not make any friends here, but he really doesn’t think Jeff Bagwell is among the 220 or so greatest baseball players of all time.  Okay he has a better stat line than either PR or TR, but his greatest years were almost certainly tainted.  Never thought of as a great fielder, he played a relatively easy position and never earned a Golden Glove or Silver Slugger award.  He does have 4 All Star appearances and the MVP award from the strike shortened 1994 season in his favor. But having watched a lot of JB over the years, Red has a hard time seeing him in Cooperstown – but there he will be.

Today in Texas History – January 18

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From the Annals of the NFL –  The Pittsburgh Stealers beat the Irving Cowboys 21-17 in Superb Owl X at the Orange Bowl in Miami.  The Stealers scored 21 the hard way with 2 TD’s, 1 PAT, 1 Safety and 2 Field Goals.  The margin of victory might have been greater if not for Stealers’ kicker Roy Gerela being injured tackling Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson when the Cowboys ran a trick play reverse on the opening kickoff.  Gerela suffered bruised ribs and missed two short field goals and an extra point. Stealers quarterback Terry Bradshaw (who had been much maligned during the regular season) was an efficient 9-19 for 209 yards and 2 TDs, but it was the Stealers defense that won the day.   Cowboys’ quarterback Roger Staubach had one of his worst games throwing up 3 interceptions and getting sacked 7 times.   Still, down 21-10 in the 4th quarter, the Cowboys mounted a comeback driving 80 yards in 5 plays topped off with a 34 yard touchdown pass to tight end Percy Howard.  Remarkably, it was the only reception of Howard’s NFL career.  After failing to recover the onside kick, the Cowboys defense held and the offense came on with 1:22 needing a touchdown to win.  It was not to be as Staubach threw up his third interception in the end zone as time ran out.

Red’s NFL Picks – Conference Championships

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NFL Picks 2016 – Conference Championships

The dream of an all-Texas Superb Owl to be played in Texas died a harsh death last weekend. It wasn’t much of a dream anyway and it keeps alive the curious streak of the home team never hosting the big game.

The Texans never had a chance against the Patriots – although they did keep it close for a whole half as Red predicted. Red almost believed for an instant after Brady’s second interception.

Meanwhile in Arlington, the Cowboys must be sitting around muttering “I could have been somebody, I could have been a contender.” The problem is that Aaron Rodgers is somebody and is always a contender. But now Jerry’s Boys will be spending the off-season wondering what could have been and not making any real changes to a lineup that had a magical year – a year that is not likely to be repeated any time soon.  The Cowboys defense has real problems and the rookie phenoms – may just be rookie phenoms.  As Red has said, he is perfectly okay with the Cowboys winning one playoff game every decade. So, sorry Jerry, the win for the 10’s is already in the books.  Talk to me in 2021.

For Round 2, Red was a spectacular 4-0 and made good on both Sure Bets with the Stealers covering and the under paying off.   Good things come to those who wait and wait and wait and . . .

Prime Time Pick of the Week – Stealers smack Patriots.    About the only good thing to come out of the Texans’ defeat on Saturday was that the defense beat the everloving crap out of Tom Brady.  Even Mrs. Red was getting excited when Chris Covington body slammed TB and Whitney Mercilus dragged him to the ground.  Brady took more hard shots in that game than he usually does in a month.  The Pats running game was also exposed.  Brady won the game with repeated strikes downfield against  Texans defensive backs who always seemed to be clueless as to where the ball was going.  That won’t happen against the Stealers.  Brady will face even more pressure (the Stealers had 30 sacks in the last 8 games). And the Pats are not likely to run against the Stealers any better than they did against the Texans.  But the real question is for the Stealers.  Can they score against the Pats league-leading defense?  The mid-season matchup tells us – well, not much.  The Stealers didn’t have Ben and Pats still had Gronk. Landry Jones had to chuck it up 47 times that day in a losing effort for the Stealers – which is something Ben almost never does. LaGarrette “Fat Pig” Blount rushed for 127 yards and 2 touchdowns to lead the Pats to victory.  That does not happen Sunday.  The Pats also will not be bailed out by Dion Lewis – who had more touchdowns on Sunday than in the rest of his career going back to 2011.  Red doesn’t know how the Stealers are going to win, but he knows they are going to win and thus, cover the spread whatever it is.  The Stealers are getting 5.5 just in case you are interested.  The O/U is at 51.  Which strikes Red as way too high. Take the under here.   Pittsburgh 21 New England 20.

Sure Bet Pick of the Week – Packers pelt Falcons.  Aaron Rodgers – great family man that he is – will always have a place in Red’s heart.  Driving a stake through the heart of the Cowboys’ season will do that for you.  And the Packs’ reward is to be a 4.5 point dog on the road against the Falcons.  The Falcons looked like a well-oiled machine on Saturday – with the big exception of letting Devin Hester run wild on kick and punt returns.  Without Hester, the game was not even close.  With him, the game wasn’t that close.  The Pack has no one like Hester.  Although Ty Montgomery’s brilliant play during the Lions-Packers game showed that he is the thinking man’s kick returner.  One of the Lions’ kickoff was dying at about the Green Bay 3 yard line.  But since it was near the sideline.  TM stepped out of bounds and fell on the ball (still in bounds).  Under the very complicated NFL kicking rules, that made the ball out of bounds and put the Packers at the 40 yard line.  It pays to know the very complicated NFL kicking rules.  Red has been duly impressed by the Falcons this season.  He has picked them repeatedly in the past – only to be disappointed.  The long-suffering Falcons fans are not disappointed – well not yet anyway.  It’s a little too good to be true and reality is coming home.  The first meeting of these teams at mid-season was a complete shootout with Rodgers and Ryan combining for 7 TD passes, 534 yards and no INTs. Expect about the same on Sunday.  The oddsmakers sure do.  The O/U on this one is a whopping 61.5.  Red sees them getting there.  The Packers defense is suspect merely by virtue of having Dom Capers in charge.  The Falcons defenses has toughened up considerably over the last month of the season, but these are the Packers after all.  This one could last 4:15 and conceivably goes to OT.  Okay, Red calls OT.  Take the Pack and the points and the over. Green Bay 35 Atlanta 29.

And of course, that gives us a Packers-Stealers Superb Owl.  Who doesn’t want to see that?

Trump’s “Landslide”

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As readers know, Red fully supports the full implementation of the Trump/GOP agenda – beginning with putting Hillary in jail – because Red believes that the people should get the government they deserve.  And in this case the people deserve to get screwed by Trump, something that he has distinctly mastered in his business career.

But Red’s full-throated support for –  building the wall (at Mexico’s expense), deporting 11 million aliens, jailing (or if you really believe abortion is murder giving the death penalty or life without parole) to women who get abortions and the doctors who perform them, eviscerating environmental regulations, making the wealthy wealthier and letting Vlad Putin rebuild the Evil Empire, –  does not and will not get in the way of Red calling “Bullshit” where he sees it.

The number one piece of bullshit being touted by the Trumpistas right now is that Trump won in a landslide.  It’s  always TRUMP WON IN AN electoral college LANDSLIDE!!!  In typical Trump fashion, the belief apparently is that if you repeat Bullshit often enough, people will come to believe it.  Well Bullshit is Bullshit and this landslide talk is utter Bullshit.

We all know Trump lost the popular vote by a wide margin.  He got a smaller percentage of the popular vote than Romney, McCain and Kerry – the last 3 losers.  He did win the Electoral College – but hardly in a landslide.  He will be president because he won Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.  Let’s break it down.

Michigan – Trump wins by 11,000 votes out of over 2.5 million votes cast

Pennsylvania – Trump wins by 45,000 votes out of almost 6 million votes cast

Wisconsin – Trump wins by 23,000 votes out of about 2.8 million votes cast

That is 79,000 votes that swung 46 Electoral College votes to Trump –  which is more than his “Landslide” margin of victory in the EC.  To put it in perspective that is about like Beaumont deciding the presidential election.

So stop with the “Landslide” nonsense.  Here is what a real Electoral College Landslide looks like.

Sorry Jimmy, but Ronnie put a butt-whipping on you in 1980.

 

 

Today in Texas History – January 17

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From the Annals of the Empresarios –  In 1821, New Spain awarded Moses Austin of Missouri a grant to settle 300 families in Texas.  Although Anglos had previously travelled to and settled in Texas, this agreement began the process of Anglo-American colonization of Texas.   Moses Austin never acted on the grant as he passed away after his initial success in obtaining permission.  The task fell to his son Stephen F. Austin who  was recognized as his successor. The success of the Mexican War for Independence put the grant at risk. But  a special decree issued in April 1823 allowed the younger Austin to begin the colonization that resulted in 300 families settling in Austin’s Colony near San Felipe.

Photo of Moses Austin statue from tshaonline.org

Today in Texas History – January 13

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From the Annals of the Big Thicket  –   In 1939, Thomas Jefferson Golemon was arrested for the first time.  Known as the “Red Fox of the Big Thicket”, Golemon’s short but serious crime spree began at Corpus Christi,  where he and two others  were arrested and charged with the murder of a rig builder who had been killed in a drunken fight. Golemon was released on bond and predictably failed to show up for trial.  In July of 1939 he resurfaced in Hull where he and partner in crime Francis Alva Smith robbed the Hull State Bank making off with  $12,000.  Golemon eventually headed to Houston where he holed up with relatives one of whom gave up his location to the police.  He was delivered to the Liberty County Sheriff. By December 1939 Golemon was unbelievably out on bond again and of course failed to appear for trial.  He hid out in the Big Thicket where he robbed, kidnapped and stole from the local residents.   He was also accused of robbing and shooting a cab driver in Beaumont.  Golemon was also wrongfully accused of robbing the Kirbyville State Bank.  The search for Golemon continued until April 11, 1940, when he was cornered at his parents home in Hardin County and was killed in a barrage of gunfire.

Today in Texas History – January 12

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From the Annals of the Blue Northers –   In 1988, the Schoolhouse Blizzard roared through Texas after blanketing the Dakotas, Montana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma.

The blizzard resulted from the collision of a massive Artic cold front with warm humid air from the Gulf of Mexico.   The rapid temperature drop of almost 40 degrees in some places caused high winds and heavy snow.  The speeding storm struck Montana in the early hours of January 12, moved on to the Dakota Territory and reached Nebraska by mid-afternoon.

The storm caused an estimated 235 deaths.  The storm hit during mid-day and had been preceded by a short period of warmer weather. The strong winds and powdery snow caused a white-out on the open plains.  The thousands of people who were caught unawares outside were in immediate danger.   The blizzard’s name came from the fact that most teachers wisely kept children safely in their schoolrooms.

Red’s NFL Picks – Playoffs Round 2

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Red has now seen every Texans playoff victory in person as he had the good sense to be in New Mexico for last year’s 30-0 buttwhipping at the hand of the Chiefs. He would dearly love to be in Arlington on Sunday afternoon but will have to settle for hearing about the Cowboys game after playing golf (or possibly at the turn).

For Wildcard Week Red was 2-2. Only Red would pick a team that hasn’t won a playoff game on the road since 1957.  That would be the Lions if you weren’t paying attention.  Picking the Giants turned out to be a less than smart move.  Red will not dis A-Rodg again.  Onward and sideways.

Sure Bet Pick of the Week – Stealers slap Chiefs.    What in God’s name was Ben still doing in the game on the second-to-last play of the game?  The Stealers were lucky that BR was not seriously injured (and by Rotlessburger standards that means not in a coma or on life support in the ICU).   The Stealers simply manhandled an inferior Dolphins squad as expected.  The Chiefs will be a different story, but the ending looks the same.  As one site puts it, the Stealers “look mean as hell” right now.  Look at former Stealers linebacker and current assistant coach Joey Porter who was arrested for assault when he attached a doorman at a bar and topped that off with an aggravated assault charge when he got huffy with an arresting officer. When did the Chiefs last have a coach in a bar fight much less getting arrested?  The Stealers are getting 2 in most lines.  If that goes to 3, jump in with both feet.  The O/U at 51.5 is somewhat surprising.  Red likes the under here.  Enjoy your NFL game of the week.   Pittsburgh 27 Kansas City 20.

Underdog Pick of the Week – Falcons f#©k Seahawks. Matt “No One is Going to Mistake Me for Johnny Unitas” Ryan has one thing going for him this weekend.  He knows how to beat the Seahawks in the playoffs.  That is exactly what he did in 2012. Unfortunately for Mr. Mr. that’s the only thing he knows how to do.  That’s his only postseason win ever. We do have a bit of recent history here as the Seahawks beat the Falcons (Red loves him and all-avian playoff matchup) 26-24 back in October.  But Ryan threw 3 touchdowns against a much better secondary than the Seahawks are putting on the field right now.  The Seahawks missing Earl Thomas is like Red going hog hunting with a BB gun instead of his 7mm mag.   You might remember that just last week, Red made fun of Seahawks running back Thomas “Lou” Rawls and his season total of 349 yards rushing. After torching the Lions for 4332 yards or roughly 2.5 miles, Red takes it  all back.  All Hail, Mr. Rawls – last seen still shedding Lions tacklers somewhere near Butte, Montana.  The Seahawks best hail Mr. Rawls because it’s hard to see them winning this one without a similar performance this week. , Red wants some of what Mr. Rawls is smoking or at least a contact high.  Detroit 21 Seattle 20.

 

Texas Franchise Pick of the Week – Packers pucker up Cowboys.   Speaking of teams playing “mean as hell” consider the Packers.  They lose their best non-quarterback player and big time playmaker (J. Nelson) to a cheapshot and still cruise to an easy win over the best all around defense in the league.  Nelson claims he is going to play Sunday – fractured ribs and all.  The Pack still have the best player in the game right now in Aaron Rodgers – and here Red must again eat crow.  Rodgers was phenomenal last week.  He should fare just as well against  Red once pulled an interstitial muscle in his rib cage mowing the lawn and couldn’t get out of bed for a week.  Red doesn’t belong in the NFL.  Jordy Nelson does.  Meanwhile in the Metroplex, the Cowboys have pretty much stuffed all comers not named the New York Football Giants this season with a rookie QB at the helm.  A rookie QB that was the 113th quarterback taken in the 2016 draft –  okay he was really the 15th.  And to think it could have been Johnny Football.  But Red digresses.  Rookie quarterbacks typically have a hard time in playoff games.  Dom Capers is no dumbass and he will make life difficult for Dak Prescott.  Red predicts that before the game is over – Tony Romo attempts to ride to the rescue and fails miserably. Green Bay 37 Arlington 20.

 

Prime Time Pick of the Week – Patriots punish Texans.   Okay by now you have heard that this is the biggest point spread since David v. Goliath (Red had David at 5-1 just in case you were wondering).  Only around six times in the modern NFL era has a playoff team been disfavored by such a large spread.  One of those times was in 1979 when the Oilers were huge dogs to the Chargers because they were missing Dante Pastorini, Earl Campbell and Kenny Burroughs.  Guess what, they blasted Air Coryell and advanced to the AFC Championship game.  It’s probably the second biggest upset in modern NFL Playoff history.  Unfortunately for Houston fans it seems like no such surprise is in the works Saturday night.  The Texans are 1-7 lifetime against the Patriots.  Red was at the only Texans victory in the last game of the 2009 season and the Texans barely won even though by halftime Tom Brady was sipping a Crown and Coke in a Barcalounger on the sideline and some guy named Brian Hoyer was under center for the Pats.  It still took a fumble recovery in the end zone by Bernard Pollard and three 4th quarter touchdowns for the Texans to pull off a win in what was a meaningless game for the Pats.  It’s not like the Texans haven’t been competitive against the Pats at times.  The Lost 34-31 in December of 2013 at Foxboro and in the first meeting ever on a Sunday night in 2003, Brady had to rally the Pats to tie the game with 40 seconds left before winning 23-20 in OT.  But in the NFL, all of that is ancient history.  The Pats have simply demolished the Texans the last two seasons.  Are the Texans a different team than the one that got slobberknockered in September.  Yes.  But so are the Patriots – they have that guy Tom Brady – you know the one who sells magic pajamas (see above) and has a garage full of trophies. The Texans only win with at least 17 points scored or set up by defense and special teams, one long TD drive and one 75+ yard TD.  If those things happen – and they won’t – the Texans have a chance.  All that said, Red expects the Texans defense to keep it close for a while.  But if it goes according to form, Red will be able to switch over and watch Have Gun Will Travel reruns by the middle of the third quarter.  There are worse ways to spend a Saturday night.  New England 24 Houston 11.

 

Today in Texas History – Jan 11

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From the Annals of Criminal Justice    In 1954, the landmark appeal styled Hernández v. the State of Texas was brought before the United States Supreme Court.  Hernandez is considered to be the only Mexican-American civil rights case decided by the Court in the post-war era.

Pedro Hernandez, a Mexican-American agricultural worker, was convicted by an all-white jury in Jackson County for the 1950 murder of Joe Espinosa. Hernandez’s pro bono legal team, led by Gustavo C. Garcia,  wanted to use Hernandez’s conviction as a test case to challenge “the systematic exclusion of persons of Mexican origin from all types of jury duty in at least seventy counties in Texas.”  The appeal was based on the established practice of systematically excluding Mexican Americans, a recognized minority in Texas, from service on grand juries and juries.  The evidence showed that although numerous Mexican Americans were citizens and had otherwise qualified for jury duty in Jackson County, during the previous 25 years no Mexican Americans were among the 6,000 persons chosen to serve on juries.  This was a violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, as juries were restricted by ethnicity.  The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of Hernandez, and required he be retried by a jury composed without discrimination against Mexican Americans. The Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment protects persons beyond the racial classes and applies to discrimination based on nationality groups as well.

Photo of Pedro Hernandez with his attorneys Gustavo Garcia and Johnny Herrera.

 

The Official Vision of Texas

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The other day Red had occasion to visit the “official website” of the State of Texas  which is at www.texas.gov.    Red can’t seem to copy the background photo here, but you should check it out.  Red thinks it is remarkably emblematic of the state after more than 30 years of almost complete control of the reins of power by the incompetent fools in the Texas GOP.

The photo shows a worn and rusted cheap sheet metal barn with a faded Texas flag painted on the side.  Remember when the state used to erect great buildings like the Capitol or the UT Tower.  Now the only great buildings are the football stadiums.  Most government offices look like Class C commercial space even when brand new.  Off to the side is a rusted and broken down pickup truck.  Remember when we used to have great roads and highways that were the envy of the nation.  You’re lucky if you don’t bust a rim every couple of months now and the cumulative toll on your suspension (not to mention yourself) is considerable.  In the foreground is a patch of dead grass with cedar trees popping up.  Remember when we cared about soil conservation and taking care of our public lands.  Go to a State Park now and see how pathetic the facilities have become.  Also off to the side is an abandoned silo complex.  Remember when small towns were vibrant and farmers could make a decent living.

Red remembers a lot of things.  Not all of them good.  He remembers when the only black people he ever saw were women dressed in white waiting for the bus after working as domestics all day.  He remembers when his classmates referred to the occasional Hispanics at school as “Messkins.” He remembers dirty air and foul water.  He also remembers that our state government used to aspire to something other than hatred and fear-mongering.  But with folks like Our Poor Idiot Governor and homophobe Dan Patrick in charge, all we can really expect is third-rate leadership focused on important issues like telling women what to do with their bodies and policing who can pee where and making sure that poor kids keep attending crappy schools.

At least Red can look to the federal government for better leadership and focus on issues that really matter.  Oh wait a galldurned minute!