The Biggest Sporting Event in Houston Since . . .

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Tonight’s semi-final match between World No. 1 Argentina and 31st ranked USA (tucked neatly between the Czech Republic and Algeria) will be the biggest sporting event in Houston since the World Series in 2005.  Sure there have been a couple of NFL Wildcard Playoff games and the occasional playoff appearance by the Rockets.  But this is the world’s most popular sport in a match featuring the highest ranked team in the world in a tournament that is clearly vying for the second most important soccer event behind only the World Cup Finals.  The 16 team Copa America Centenario features 3 of the top 5 teams in the world (Argentina, Columbia and Chile) and 5 of the top 10 (add in Brazil and Uruguay).  The  24 team UEFA European Championship also features 5 of the top 10 and more teams in the top 50, but it’s contests have not been particularly compelling match-ups so far.  And it will be hard to top the semi-final group of the CAC with Argentina, Columbia and Chile making up a world-class field.  Only the US seemingly doesn’t belong and was helped along by the poor showings of Brazil and Uruguay in not making the knock-out rounds.  We will see how it shakes out in Europe and if those final rounds will feature the same quality of competition.

Red Calls the Semi-Finals:

Argentina 4, USA 1   Red has been a big Argentina fan ever since Mexico 86 when Diego Maradona led El Albiceleste to its second World Cup title.  But he is also loyal to his national squad – so this one will be interesting as Red really can’t lose no matter who wins.  If Argentina moves on they have a chance at their first major trophy in an incredible 23 years – an eon for Argentinian fans.  It the USA wins, it is a huge boost for soccer in this country and a chance for the USA to claim its biggest tournament win ever.  All that said, it seems unlikely that the USA can keep up with the dynamic and versatile attack of El Albiceleste.  Even without DiMaria, the Argentines have world best player Leo Messi and Italy Serie A superstar Higuain along with an entire team of players that can put the ball in the net (Otamendi even!).  And while the Argentine center defense is somewhat suspect, the US is missing its best pure striker in Bobby Wood and will be somewhat hobbled in midfield with the absence of Bedoya.  Look for the USA to make a game of it until about 70 minutes in and then the superiority of the Argentinian squad will put the game out of reach.

Chile 3, Columbia 1   The only possible problem for Chile is an emotional let down after their complete annihilation of Mexico in the quarter-final. Columbia did not play like the No. 3 team in the world in having to go to penalties to defeat a game Peruvian team.  And Costa Rica beat them rather convincingly in group play.  Meanwhile, Chile has rounded to form after an opening loss to the powerful Argentines.  Look for the top scoring duo of Vargas (6 goals) and Sanchez (3 goals) to handle a Columbian squad that has had trouble getting balls on target all tournament.  Vidal sitting out is a problem, but look for Chile to press, press, press and control the action throughout the match.

 

 

Secessionists Take Heart from Brexit Movement

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Secession fever never completely cools among certain Texans.  And the Texas Nationalist Movement in particular is taking advantage of the impending Brexit vote to pump for a similar vote on Texas secession.  The Guardian has the story from Daniel Miller, the leader of TNM, and his group’s plan to create an independent Texas – one suspects with him at the helm.

How closely is Daniel Miller tracking the news ahead of the referendum about whether Britain should leave the European Union? “Hourly!” he grins. The Sun’s recent editorial calling for the UK’s departure got him quite excited.

Miller, though, is not from London or Liverpool. He hails from Longview, Texas, and we are talking in a cafe in the bleakly industrial Gulf coast town of Port Arthur, some 5,000 miles from Westminster.

Culturally, too, we are a long way from Europe. Heck, we are even a long way from Dallas. But the referendum matters deeply to Miller and like-minded Texans. As the president of the Texas Nationalist Movement, which wants Texas to secede from the United States, he is hoping for a Leave vote that he believes will ripple all the way from Austria to Austin.

“There are a lot of people asking, if Brexit why not Texit?” he says. “I do talk with some folks over there on a pretty regular basis that are involved in Ukip and the Conservative party.”

Today in Texas History – June 21

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From the Annals of the Border Wars  –  In 1916, the U.S. military expedition against Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa was attacked by Mexican government troops at Carrizal, Mexico.  The attack nearly brought the two nations to war.  The controversial expedition was led by U.S. Brigadier General John J. Pershing and was in response to Villa’s attack on Columbus, New Mexico in which 17 Americans were killed and the town center burned and Villa’s execution of 16 American citizens in Mexico.

The final struggle of the Mexican Revolution was between federal forces under the command of Venustiano Carranza’s government and Villa, the last revolutionary holdout.  By 1915, Villa had been fairly well contained to the mountains of Northern Mexico and from there had staged his raid on Columbus on March 9.  Cavalry from the nearby Camp Furlong pursued the Mexicans, killing several dozen rebels on U.S. soil and in Mexico before turning back. On March 15,  President Woodrow Wilson ordered Pershing to begin a punitive expedition into Mexico to capture or kill Villa and disperse his rebels. The expedition eventually involved some 10,000 U.S. troops and personnel. It was the first U.S. military operation to employ mechanized vehicles, including automobiles and airplanes.

The expedition proved futile as Pershing failed to capture  Villa.  For almost 11 months, Villa eluded Pershing’s troops aided by his intimate knowledge of the mountains of Northern Mexico and his popular support from the locals.   The expedition created unrest in Mexico and a diplomatic crisis between the countries which came to a head when Mexican government troops attacked a detachment of the 10th Cavalry at Carrizal.  If not for the critical situation in Europe, war might have been declared.  By January 1917, the failure of the expedition was obvious and after continued pressure from the Mexican government, Wilson ordered the troops to return to the U.S.

Photo of Villa, Pershing and Obregon from 1914.

 

Today in Texas History – June 20

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From the Annals of the Horse Troopers –   In 1852, Fort Clark was established by two companies of the First Infantry under the command of Major Joseph H. LaMotte along with an advance and rear guard of U.S. Mounted Rifles.  The U.S. Army post was located at the site of Las Moras Springs just outside of present-day Bracketville.   The site was a favorite camp ground for Comanche, Mescalero, Lipan and other Native Americans.  The enormous spring was a stopping place on great Comanche War Trail leading into Mexico.  The Fort was an important link in the line of defense against raiding war parties.   It also served as a base for the famous Seminole-Negro Indian Scouts and served as an active post through World War II.

Today the site is most famous for its fabulous spring fed swimming pool – the third largest pool in Texas.  Legend has it that the commander of the fort sent a requisition to create the pool at the request of his wife and was turned down.  He resubmitted it as a requisition for a horse-watering trough and was approved.  The 100 yard long pool is an ideal spot for summer recreation under the towering cottonwood and oak trees and a must-do for Texas swimming hole aficionados.

Photo from fortclark.com.

Ken Paxton – Vexatious Litigant (cont.)

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Texas Attorney General and Tea Party favorite Ken Paxton has failed in another frivolous lawsuit.  Paxton sued the federal government seeking to prevent the resettlement of Syrian refugees in Texas.  Yes, that’s what it has come down to for the Tea Party fanatics – let’s keep refugees out of our state because . . . well, just because.

Paxton’s suit claimed the Obama administration had not adequately consulted with states before placing refugees in Texas.   Not surprisingly, U.S. District Judge David Godbey ruled that the state has no role in the resettlement of refugees handled by the federal government which has authority over immigration policy. And in a dope slap to Paxton, Godbey also found the state had failed to present plausible evidence that Syrian refugees pose an imminent risk.   Paxton apparently forgot about something called the Supremacy Clause and another detail of the Constitution which vests authority over foreign affairs largely in the hands of the Executive.  But the Constitution is only important when it supposedly supports Paxton’s Tea Party agenda.

For his part, Paxton said that he was “disappointed with the court’s determination that Texas cannot hold the federal government accountable to consult with us before resettling refugees here.” He said he is considering options to “guarantee the safety of Texans from domestic and foreign threats.”  Yes, Ken will protect us from the predatory families that are being resettled in Texas. Good luck with that Ken.

Today in Texas History – June 17

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From the Annals of Song and Dance – In 1965, the Texas Panhandle Heritage Foundation opened the show “Thundering Sounds of the West” in an outdoor amphitheater in Palo Duro Canyon State Park. The show ran until September 6, 1965. The success of the show led to the first annual presentation of the musical Texas in 1966.  Texas has been performed annually ever since in the Pioneer Amphitheatre.   The show runs from the first weekend in June until mid-August  every summer.

Copa America Centenario Update

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Red did fairly well in his picks coming out of group play.  Red correctly called 6 of the 8 teams heading to the quarter-finals – missing out on Brazil and Uruguay.  Brazil got bumped on a bad call when the referee missed a handball allowing Peru to beat Brazil for the first time in 31 years and Uruguay just plain sucked without Luis Suarez in the lineup.

The surprises of the tournament are Venezuela and Peru neither of whom figured to factor into the knockout rounds.  So Red’s up-to-date revised picks for the quarter-finals are:

USA 3 Ecuador 1

Argentina 4 Venezuela 1

Mexico 2 Chile 1

Columbia 2 Peru 0

And if all goes right, Red y familia will be watching the US and Argentina next Tuesday before a packed house at NRG.

 

 

Preview of Donald Trump’s Speech in Texas

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Red cannot reveal his sources, but he has obtained a copy of the speech Donald Trump intends to deliver at his fund-raising events in Dallas, San Antonio, Houston and The Woodlands over the next two days.

Thank you, thank you for that great reception.  Thank you.  But really doesn’t a great person like me deserve a great reception.  Please stop.  You know, Joe Stalin had a policy that at his speeches the first person who stopped clapping would be taken out and shot.  Great idea, but you don’t really need that kind of incentive here in [insert city] to keep applauding for me.

First of all, let me make this clear. I don’t need your money.  I could win this race without spending a dime.  I don’t really want your money, but if you don’t spend it on my campaign, you might do something stupid with it like spending it on a worthless night school program that makes ridiculous promises and fails to deliver  –  like Hillary.  So since you are here, a check would be nice.  That is if you have anything left over after backing that Canadian loser Ted Cruz.

So let’s talk about winning.  You know I love winning.  I won a bunch of primaries and would have won more if that Canadian loser Ted Cruz had dropped out before I pummeled him into the dirt  – like I’ll do to Hillary.  There is going to be a lot of winning, victories, endzone dances and other celebrations.   I know you are tired of hearing me tell you that you will be tired of winning – but you will be tired – dog tired.  You will be as tired of winning as that Canadian loser Ted Cruz is tired of losing.  Ask him.  Hang around – he’ll be cleaning the toilets in the Men’s room after this speech.

So let’s talk about the Muslims – and I don’t mean Obama – even though he clearly is a Muslim, socialist, terrorist-sympathizer.  And you, know people – and I mean the worthless leftwing media –  say I am accusing the president of being a traitor.  Well let’s call a spade a spade – no pun intended.  I mean what has Obama done to take down ISIS other than bomb the shit out of them and kill off most of their leaders.  How weak can you get.   Those raghead, camel jockey, dune coons won’t know what hit them once I am president.

And here in Texas, you all know about the border.  I will build that wall and who will pay for it  [wait for it].  That’s right.  Of course, I won’t tell you how that is going to work and you’re just going to have to trust me here.  But that wall is going to be built and we are going to throw all of the murdering, raping, thieving illegal aliens over that wall and set up a free fire zone along the border.  You come across the wall – you get shot – think of Berlin in the 1960’s.  Who wants to shoot an illegal alien?   Yeah!

And what happened in Orlando – all because of our weak-kneed President who let this killer be born in our country.  It’s sad.  Because you know I love the gays.  I thought about being gay myself – but you’ve seen my wife.  Get real.  Like I’m going to let some leathered up dude poke me when I could be stupping that?  But I do love and respect the gays.  Where do you think I got this hair?

So when you go to bed tonight Texas, pray for me and for our country – but mostly for me – because without me this country is headed straight down the shit pipe.  Good night [insert city here] and God Bless!

Today in Texas History – June 16

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La Reunion August 2010 #1 photo DSC01820.jpg

From the Annals of the Utopians –  In 1855, 200 or so French, Belgian and Swiss immigrants arrived at La Réunion. The colony was located on the south bank of the Trinity River in Dallas County and was planned as a utopian socialist community. Victor Prosper Considerant was the founder of the colony and a French democratic socialist who directed an international movement based on Fourierism, a set of economic, political, and social beliefs advocated by French philosopher  François Marie Charles Fourier.  La Réunion was short-lived and disbanded due to financial troubles, bad weather, failed crops and rising costs.  On January 28, 1857, Allyre Bureau, one of the society leaders, gave formal notice of the colony’s dissolution.  By 1860, the site was incorporated into Dallas.  The colony’s name survives in the Reunion District of Dallas highlighted by the Reunion Tower.

Photo from texasghostowns.blogspot.com