They gave the Dude a sponsor…
Very excited to say this week’s column is brought to you by WYLD GALLERY:
VISIT WYLD.GALLERY AND EXPLORE FINE, UNIQUE NATIVE AMERICAN ART
WYLD GALLERY is a downtown Austin gallery featuring traditional and contemporary fine art by Native American Artists.
The gallery is the part-time retirement gig for Ray Donley, an Austin attorney who has been a lurker on OB since 2002. Ray has been collecting Native American art since the 1980s. He has made friends with a number of Oklahoma Native American Artists, and enjoys ribbing them for their fanatical support of a football team that honors the land thieves who took their land.
This weekend, WYLD GALLEY presents a pop up show with artist Del Curfman on Friday (4-8 p.m.), and Saturday (2-8 p.m.), which will feature works from his Vanishing series.
Contemporary Native American paintings are bold, bright, and never boring. And they will look great on the walls of your office or home. Many of the artists in the gallery have pieces in the permanent collections of museums, including the Smithsonian.
Please check out these unique, vibrant paintings at www.WYLD.GALLERY. Treat yourself to some cool art because everyone has that one wall in their home that could use some more character. And treat yourself to 10% off any online purchase using the coupon code OrangeBloods19.
This week’s column:
1) The results of the Tom Herman era thus far…
As expected, the Longhorns found themselves in another tight, one-score game during the fourth quarter and final minutes. I say “as expected” because it was literally in my game prediction as the only thing I knew for sure would happen, and it’s beginning to feel like that’s all Texas does is play in close football games without much separation. Maybe the feeling is becoming, or already is, reality.
So, what exactly do the final score results look like for the Tom Herman era? I went through each of Herman’s 37 games at Texas and grouped them by final score margin regardless of opponent. Let’s take a look beginning with the wins:
WINS BY 30+ POINTS
56-0
48-13
38-7
45-14
----------
WINS BY 10 OR MORE POINTS
37-14
33-16
31-16
42-27
42-31
28-14
24-10
17-7
----------
WINS BY LESS THAN 10 POINTS
24-17
28-21
28-21
41-34
40-34
36-30
23-17
19-14
----------
WINS BY THREE POINTS OR LESS
27-24
48-45
50-48
AVERAGE MARGIN OF FINAL SCORE IN WINS: 35-20.6
Now, the losses:
LOSSES BY THREE POINTS OR LESS
41-42
21-23
10-13
24-27
35-38
----------
LOSSES BY LESS THAN 10 POINTS
23-27
29-34
24-29
27-34
38-45
----------
LOSSES BY 10 POINTS OR MORE
27-37
41-51
27-39
7-24
AVERAGE MARGIN FINAL SCORE IN LOSSES: 26.7 – 33.1
AVERAGE MARGIN OF RESULTS OVERALL: 31.9-25.3
2) What does it mean?
Quite literally, it means Texas has basically been just a touchdown better than its collective opponents during the Herman era. It’s impossible to compress 37 results into just one definition, but the numbers, while simplistic and not assigned any weight based on competition, are what they are.
My biggest question after examining all the numbers: why?
Why does Texas so often find itself in a situation where the game is close in the final minutes or final quarter? Why does Texas almost always keep the game close as a slight or significant underdog, and why does Texas seemingly struggle to blow out opponents?
Go find a great – heck, even just a good or very good – team in college football, and the chances are high you’ll find some blowout wins on their schedule. Texas has just four under Herman, and only one – San Jose State – above 40 points.
Through the first 37 games under Herman, Texas has played in a game decided by less than 10 points 56.7% of the time. Of UT’s wins during that stretch, it has generated a victory by 10 points or more just 32.4% of the time; basically, on average, Texas wins by that much four times a season.
Back to the biggest question: why? Is it the style Texas plays on offense? The Longhorns are rated as an elite offense by many metrics, but that hasn’t translated to big numbers on the scoreboard consistently. Does Texas too often play to its competition level? The Longhorns seem to react to what other teams are doing more often than forcing their style and will on opponents, although there’s definitely times when Texas goes to its bread-and-butter to a fault, like QB power at Iowa State.
As much as it pains Texas fans to hear this game, Oklahoma is a good example. You know what Oklahoma is – it’s going to be explosive, put up big offensive numbers, and generate a lot of points even on off games. Can you say the same about anything Texas does? Sure, the Longhorns have, somewhat frequently, embodied their mantra of being the tougher, physical, higher effort team. But what happens in games like Iowa State when that isn’t the case?
If you’re waiting for a singular answer, there isn’t one; it’s complex, and frankly, difficult to explain, which I suppose isn’t uncommon for an underachieving 6-4 football team in year three under a coach. Herman always says that winning is hard. Perhaps the singular answer is the way Texas plays football right now is making winning more difficult than it should be because the consistent lack of separation on the scoreboard is odd.
There aren’t many highs, and there aren’t many lows; it’s all kind of in the middle between above average and below average. Is this part of the building process or simply who Texas is? I guess we’ll find out.
3) Texas according to the advanced metrics…
S&P+ Overall: 28
FEI Overall: 22
Schedule Strength: 17
S&P+ Offense: 9
FEI Offense: 16
S&P+ Defense: 76
FEI Defense: 51
Slight bump in overall S&P+ for Texas, which makes sense given the betting line at kickoff. Also, the offense fell back a tad in FEI while the defense moved up a little, which, again, makes sense given the drive efficiency of the ISU game.
4) Ranking the Big 12 after week 12 (updated S&P+ ranking in parentheses)
Oklahoma (No. 6)
Baylor (No. 21)
Iowa State (No. 22)
Oklahoma State (No. 27)
Texas (No. 28)
TCU (No. 31)
Kansas State (No. 43)
Texas Tech (No. 47)
West Virginia (No. 94)
Kansas (No. 102)
League average: 42.1
The league, beyond OU, is a constant seesaw between average and above average. And after a while, seesaws lose their entertainment.
NOTE: S&P+ definition
5) Texas Basketball
I’m writing this section, and a lot of this column, on my flight to New York City ahead of the Longhorns’ games in Madison Square Garden. I’m becoming a regular at The Garden, which means I’m becoming a regular at my favorite sports bar, Foley’s. Certainly, I’m not complaining.
Anyway, a few things on my mind as the matchups approach:
--- Can Texas begin to limit its turnovers? While UT’s shooting has unsurprisingly garnered a lot of attention from Texas fans, the turnovers are a bigger concern on offense. Georgetown plays at a very, very fast, at times out of control pace and wants to force turnovers and fly up-and-down the court. Turnovers early in the season aren’t uncommon as a team tries to gel on offense, but Texas has too much guard experience and talent to continue to commit those mistakes too often.
Even more so than the shooting and defensive rebounding, UT’s turnovers rank highest on the concern list because Texas has often been excellent in the half-court defensively; it needs to allow its defense to be an even bigger strength by limiting the amount of times teams are running the other way after UT mistakes.
--- Maybe this will prove to be an outlier, but it is interesting to me Texas’s best offensive and shooting percentage came on the road at Purdue, an opponent and situation that clearly demanded and had their attention. Shaka Smart mentioned earlier this week Texas did a great job of staying connected and playing “we over me” basketball on offense.
Against Cal Baptist and PVAMU, it didn’t do those two things as well. Is that because of the opponent? It’s human nature – Texas has struggled with this more than it should, and it’s a big reason why Texas hasn’t had more success under Smart – for players, especially younger ones, to lack a little juice when they don’t see a recognizable game across the other team’s chest.
Regardless, Texas must do a better job of getting the ball into the paint consistently rather than settling for open perimeter shots early in the clock when those perimeter shots haven’t been falling. Texas can’t continue to look up and see 2-of-16 from three-point range in a half and a small lead despite playing outstanding defense.
Yes, the Longhorns should want Jase Febres, Matt Coleman, Andrew Jones, and Courtney Ramey to shoot open threes in the flow of the game every time. Eventually, Will Baker will probably join that list as well. If Kamaka Hepa is on the floor, he needs to shoot them too. But when the misses start piling up even for the good shooters, Texas must pass on those shots to get to the rim or free throw line.
6) Texas Baseball
Following the conclusion of the Fall World Series, it’s time for an updated lineup projection:
CF – Duke Ellis
LF – Eric Kennedy
RF – Austin Todd
1B – Zach Zubia
C – DJ Petrinsky
3B – Andre Duplantier II
DH – Douglas Hodo III
2B – Brenden Dixon
SS – Trey Faltine
SP – Bryce Elder, Ty Madden, Kolby Kubichek
Priority backend relievers – Dawson Merryman, Kam Fields, Mason Bryant, Duplantier
David Pierce said last night Zubia, thanks to his hard work in the offseason losing weight and changing his body, has earned the starting first base job heading into the season, which positively impacts what Texas can now do with its lineup. Hodo was very good and at times sensational all fall with the bat, and he needs to be in a position to receive regular at-bats. Since Zubia now doesn’t have to play DH, Texas could rotate its four outfielders between the three defensive spots and designated hitter.
Third base is the most wide-open position right now, which Pierce himself basically said last night. I’m giving Duplantier the nod right now because he was one of the team’s best hitters all fall, showed he could grow into the position defensively, and no one stepped up to grab a hold of that job. Like the case with shortstop, Texas would prefer to give a freshman more innings than an older player because of the growth opportunity and longer future in the program.
Lance Ford, Sam Bertelson, Murphy Stehly and Cam Williams are probably all in the mix and could play there as well. Bertelson changed his hand placement in the batter’s box, and swung the bat well this fall. But this isn’t the first time he’s performed well in practice. The issue becomes getting it to translate in games, which simply hasn’t happened yet. Frankly, none of these players have the upside of Duplantier.
On the mound, Bryce Elder took another step forward, and Ty Madden is emerging as a leader and a better pitcher. While Kubichek is coming off a terrific Cape Cod performance, freshman Pete Hansen pitched his way into the weekend conversation. The lefty was consistently good or better all fall, and with plus-plus athleticism on the mound, he repeats his delivery well and has shown strike-throwing ability with multiple pitches. It’s unclear what Texas will choose to do with Cole Quintanilla, who could profile as a starter or reliever. Coy Cobb didn’t appear in any of the Fall World Series games.
Petrinsky is currently listed as the starting catcher because Texas expects him to be healthy by the time the season arrives. If he’s not, Silas Ardoin would very likely be the starting catcher. Texas could really benefit from Petrinsky’s bat in the lineup, and experience behind the plate. He finished the fall by swinging the bat as a designated hitter in the Fall World Series.
7) Scanning the rest of the sports globe…
--- If MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is being honest when stating MLB is investigating only the Astros for cheating, I think that’s a very, very bad thing for the Astros. There’s likely more to find across MLB, but based on reports, Manfred is focusing on the biggest and most egregious offender if the accusations against the Astros are true. That means all the people MLB is interviewing are being interviewed solely because of the Astros. And it also means MLB believes there’s truth to the reporting/rumors/accusations.
--- After a poor start to the season when the Rockets were out of sync, especially on defense, but still able to generate wins against poor teams, the Rockets have been one of the league’s best defenses. That’s not good news for the Western Conference.
Speaking of bad news for the Western Conference, Luka Doncic looks like he’s going to be a serious problem for opposing teams, and able to elevate the Mavs franchise for a long, long time. Based on his talent, skill, performances, and the way he carries himself, it’s not too early to have superstar expectations for Doncic in the future.
Good news for the Western Conference: Carmelo Anthony posted a -20 in his first game with Portland, and the team was +9 when he wasn’t on the floor. Basically, with a lot of missed shots, turnovers, and bad defense, Anthony is in midseason form. In all seriousness, the Blazers are a mess right now, which is surprising considering how well-coached they’ve often looked in the past.
--- I’ve prepared myself, a Tottenham supporter, for the Jose Mourinho era by understanding there will be drama, entertainment, a trophy of some sort, and then an ugly breakup. I’m all-in. Let’s get weird, and finally win something while Mourinho drives everyone nuts and hopefully doesn’t burn the club to the ground. Hopefully, he’s driving opposing teams, fans, and coaches nuts more often than his own side. I’m choosing to look more at the titles than the ugliness. COYS.
--- If I had a top 10 CFB vote…
1. LSU
2. Ohio State
3. Clemson
4. Alabama
5. Georgia
6. Oregon
7. Utah
8. Oklahoma
9. Penn State
10. Minnesota
8) Anything and everything…
--- Work hard, play hard. I squeezed in a couple extra Peloton rides in preparation for New York City and pizza. Always, I make a trip to Joe’s in Greenwich Village for a slice and loved Prince Street Pizza after my first trip last April. Am I missing any NYC pizza places that I absolutely must try?
And each time I go to NYC, I’m reminder of Michael Scott always grabbing a slice of NYC pizza at his favorite spot – Sbarro. That scene is one of the best in television history.
--- If you don’t walk during most of your time in New York City, besides the occasional subway ride, you’re doing the trip wrong. There are few places in the world able to present so many cultures, so many unique neighborhoods, and so many gems every few blocks.
---
--- Willie is off to Camp Houston this weekend to spend time with my grandparents while my wife and I are traveling. I won’t hide from the fact I was incredibly spoiled by my grandparents, which was probably because I was their only grandchild. And I was an awesome angel. Anyway, Willie gets fed like he’s Martha Stewart’s favorite dog, and will undoubtedly return with another new toy after being pampered.
9) This week’s read… is from USA Today: The designers and the don: How two interior decorators took the fall for the Cali Cartel
And this week’s featured art from the WYLD GALLERY includes two awesome pieces that can be purchased at the gallery website:
In War Cry, Jackson Narcomey portrays a solitary warrior ready for battle. Jackson Narcomey grew up in Oklahoma and attended the Sequoyah Indian School, where he studied studio arts. His work won awards at the Red Cloud Indian Art Show in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, the Five Civilized Tribes Museum in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and the Cherokee National Museum in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, among others.
DIRECT LINK
DIRECT LINK
Again, fill some of your weekend by checking out some truly amazing art downtown at 805 Brazos, joining Ray Donley at the Del Curfman pop up show, and supporting a longtime Orangebloods.com member. And in the meantime, get to WYLD.GALLERY, get something for yourself, a friend, or your business, and use the coupon code OrangeBloods19 to receive 10% off.
Very excited to say this week’s column is brought to you by WYLD GALLERY:
VISIT WYLD.GALLERY AND EXPLORE FINE, UNIQUE NATIVE AMERICAN ART
WYLD GALLERY is a downtown Austin gallery featuring traditional and contemporary fine art by Native American Artists.
The gallery is the part-time retirement gig for Ray Donley, an Austin attorney who has been a lurker on OB since 2002. Ray has been collecting Native American art since the 1980s. He has made friends with a number of Oklahoma Native American Artists, and enjoys ribbing them for their fanatical support of a football team that honors the land thieves who took their land.
This weekend, WYLD GALLEY presents a pop up show with artist Del Curfman on Friday (4-8 p.m.), and Saturday (2-8 p.m.), which will feature works from his Vanishing series.
Contemporary Native American paintings are bold, bright, and never boring. And they will look great on the walls of your office or home. Many of the artists in the gallery have pieces in the permanent collections of museums, including the Smithsonian.
Please check out these unique, vibrant paintings at www.WYLD.GALLERY. Treat yourself to some cool art because everyone has that one wall in their home that could use some more character. And treat yourself to 10% off any online purchase using the coupon code OrangeBloods19.
This week’s column:
1) The results of the Tom Herman era thus far…
As expected, the Longhorns found themselves in another tight, one-score game during the fourth quarter and final minutes. I say “as expected” because it was literally in my game prediction as the only thing I knew for sure would happen, and it’s beginning to feel like that’s all Texas does is play in close football games without much separation. Maybe the feeling is becoming, or already is, reality.
So, what exactly do the final score results look like for the Tom Herman era? I went through each of Herman’s 37 games at Texas and grouped them by final score margin regardless of opponent. Let’s take a look beginning with the wins:
WINS BY 30+ POINTS
56-0
48-13
38-7
45-14
----------
WINS BY 10 OR MORE POINTS
37-14
33-16
31-16
42-27
42-31
28-14
24-10
17-7
----------
WINS BY LESS THAN 10 POINTS
24-17
28-21
28-21
41-34
40-34
36-30
23-17
19-14
----------
WINS BY THREE POINTS OR LESS
27-24
48-45
50-48
AVERAGE MARGIN OF FINAL SCORE IN WINS: 35-20.6
Now, the losses:
LOSSES BY THREE POINTS OR LESS
41-42
21-23
10-13
24-27
35-38
----------
LOSSES BY LESS THAN 10 POINTS
23-27
29-34
24-29
27-34
38-45
----------
LOSSES BY 10 POINTS OR MORE
27-37
41-51
27-39
7-24
AVERAGE MARGIN FINAL SCORE IN LOSSES: 26.7 – 33.1
AVERAGE MARGIN OF RESULTS OVERALL: 31.9-25.3
2) What does it mean?
Quite literally, it means Texas has basically been just a touchdown better than its collective opponents during the Herman era. It’s impossible to compress 37 results into just one definition, but the numbers, while simplistic and not assigned any weight based on competition, are what they are.
My biggest question after examining all the numbers: why?
Why does Texas so often find itself in a situation where the game is close in the final minutes or final quarter? Why does Texas almost always keep the game close as a slight or significant underdog, and why does Texas seemingly struggle to blow out opponents?
Go find a great – heck, even just a good or very good – team in college football, and the chances are high you’ll find some blowout wins on their schedule. Texas has just four under Herman, and only one – San Jose State – above 40 points.
Through the first 37 games under Herman, Texas has played in a game decided by less than 10 points 56.7% of the time. Of UT’s wins during that stretch, it has generated a victory by 10 points or more just 32.4% of the time; basically, on average, Texas wins by that much four times a season.
Back to the biggest question: why? Is it the style Texas plays on offense? The Longhorns are rated as an elite offense by many metrics, but that hasn’t translated to big numbers on the scoreboard consistently. Does Texas too often play to its competition level? The Longhorns seem to react to what other teams are doing more often than forcing their style and will on opponents, although there’s definitely times when Texas goes to its bread-and-butter to a fault, like QB power at Iowa State.
As much as it pains Texas fans to hear this game, Oklahoma is a good example. You know what Oklahoma is – it’s going to be explosive, put up big offensive numbers, and generate a lot of points even on off games. Can you say the same about anything Texas does? Sure, the Longhorns have, somewhat frequently, embodied their mantra of being the tougher, physical, higher effort team. But what happens in games like Iowa State when that isn’t the case?
If you’re waiting for a singular answer, there isn’t one; it’s complex, and frankly, difficult to explain, which I suppose isn’t uncommon for an underachieving 6-4 football team in year three under a coach. Herman always says that winning is hard. Perhaps the singular answer is the way Texas plays football right now is making winning more difficult than it should be because the consistent lack of separation on the scoreboard is odd.
There aren’t many highs, and there aren’t many lows; it’s all kind of in the middle between above average and below average. Is this part of the building process or simply who Texas is? I guess we’ll find out.
3) Texas according to the advanced metrics…
S&P+ Overall: 28
FEI Overall: 22
Schedule Strength: 17
S&P+ Offense: 9
FEI Offense: 16
S&P+ Defense: 76
FEI Defense: 51
Slight bump in overall S&P+ for Texas, which makes sense given the betting line at kickoff. Also, the offense fell back a tad in FEI while the defense moved up a little, which, again, makes sense given the drive efficiency of the ISU game.
4) Ranking the Big 12 after week 12 (updated S&P+ ranking in parentheses)
Oklahoma (No. 6)
Baylor (No. 21)
Iowa State (No. 22)
Oklahoma State (No. 27)
Texas (No. 28)
TCU (No. 31)
Kansas State (No. 43)
Texas Tech (No. 47)
West Virginia (No. 94)
Kansas (No. 102)
League average: 42.1
The league, beyond OU, is a constant seesaw between average and above average. And after a while, seesaws lose their entertainment.
NOTE: S&P+ definition
5) Texas Basketball
I’m writing this section, and a lot of this column, on my flight to New York City ahead of the Longhorns’ games in Madison Square Garden. I’m becoming a regular at The Garden, which means I’m becoming a regular at my favorite sports bar, Foley’s. Certainly, I’m not complaining.
Anyway, a few things on my mind as the matchups approach:
--- Can Texas begin to limit its turnovers? While UT’s shooting has unsurprisingly garnered a lot of attention from Texas fans, the turnovers are a bigger concern on offense. Georgetown plays at a very, very fast, at times out of control pace and wants to force turnovers and fly up-and-down the court. Turnovers early in the season aren’t uncommon as a team tries to gel on offense, but Texas has too much guard experience and talent to continue to commit those mistakes too often.
Even more so than the shooting and defensive rebounding, UT’s turnovers rank highest on the concern list because Texas has often been excellent in the half-court defensively; it needs to allow its defense to be an even bigger strength by limiting the amount of times teams are running the other way after UT mistakes.
--- Maybe this will prove to be an outlier, but it is interesting to me Texas’s best offensive and shooting percentage came on the road at Purdue, an opponent and situation that clearly demanded and had their attention. Shaka Smart mentioned earlier this week Texas did a great job of staying connected and playing “we over me” basketball on offense.
Against Cal Baptist and PVAMU, it didn’t do those two things as well. Is that because of the opponent? It’s human nature – Texas has struggled with this more than it should, and it’s a big reason why Texas hasn’t had more success under Smart – for players, especially younger ones, to lack a little juice when they don’t see a recognizable game across the other team’s chest.
Regardless, Texas must do a better job of getting the ball into the paint consistently rather than settling for open perimeter shots early in the clock when those perimeter shots haven’t been falling. Texas can’t continue to look up and see 2-of-16 from three-point range in a half and a small lead despite playing outstanding defense.
Yes, the Longhorns should want Jase Febres, Matt Coleman, Andrew Jones, and Courtney Ramey to shoot open threes in the flow of the game every time. Eventually, Will Baker will probably join that list as well. If Kamaka Hepa is on the floor, he needs to shoot them too. But when the misses start piling up even for the good shooters, Texas must pass on those shots to get to the rim or free throw line.
6) Texas Baseball
Following the conclusion of the Fall World Series, it’s time for an updated lineup projection:
CF – Duke Ellis
LF – Eric Kennedy
RF – Austin Todd
1B – Zach Zubia
C – DJ Petrinsky
3B – Andre Duplantier II
DH – Douglas Hodo III
2B – Brenden Dixon
SS – Trey Faltine
SP – Bryce Elder, Ty Madden, Kolby Kubichek
Priority backend relievers – Dawson Merryman, Kam Fields, Mason Bryant, Duplantier
David Pierce said last night Zubia, thanks to his hard work in the offseason losing weight and changing his body, has earned the starting first base job heading into the season, which positively impacts what Texas can now do with its lineup. Hodo was very good and at times sensational all fall with the bat, and he needs to be in a position to receive regular at-bats. Since Zubia now doesn’t have to play DH, Texas could rotate its four outfielders between the three defensive spots and designated hitter.
Third base is the most wide-open position right now, which Pierce himself basically said last night. I’m giving Duplantier the nod right now because he was one of the team’s best hitters all fall, showed he could grow into the position defensively, and no one stepped up to grab a hold of that job. Like the case with shortstop, Texas would prefer to give a freshman more innings than an older player because of the growth opportunity and longer future in the program.
Lance Ford, Sam Bertelson, Murphy Stehly and Cam Williams are probably all in the mix and could play there as well. Bertelson changed his hand placement in the batter’s box, and swung the bat well this fall. But this isn’t the first time he’s performed well in practice. The issue becomes getting it to translate in games, which simply hasn’t happened yet. Frankly, none of these players have the upside of Duplantier.
On the mound, Bryce Elder took another step forward, and Ty Madden is emerging as a leader and a better pitcher. While Kubichek is coming off a terrific Cape Cod performance, freshman Pete Hansen pitched his way into the weekend conversation. The lefty was consistently good or better all fall, and with plus-plus athleticism on the mound, he repeats his delivery well and has shown strike-throwing ability with multiple pitches. It’s unclear what Texas will choose to do with Cole Quintanilla, who could profile as a starter or reliever. Coy Cobb didn’t appear in any of the Fall World Series games.
Petrinsky is currently listed as the starting catcher because Texas expects him to be healthy by the time the season arrives. If he’s not, Silas Ardoin would very likely be the starting catcher. Texas could really benefit from Petrinsky’s bat in the lineup, and experience behind the plate. He finished the fall by swinging the bat as a designated hitter in the Fall World Series.
7) Scanning the rest of the sports globe…
--- If MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is being honest when stating MLB is investigating only the Astros for cheating, I think that’s a very, very bad thing for the Astros. There’s likely more to find across MLB, but based on reports, Manfred is focusing on the biggest and most egregious offender if the accusations against the Astros are true. That means all the people MLB is interviewing are being interviewed solely because of the Astros. And it also means MLB believes there’s truth to the reporting/rumors/accusations.
--- After a poor start to the season when the Rockets were out of sync, especially on defense, but still able to generate wins against poor teams, the Rockets have been one of the league’s best defenses. That’s not good news for the Western Conference.
Speaking of bad news for the Western Conference, Luka Doncic looks like he’s going to be a serious problem for opposing teams, and able to elevate the Mavs franchise for a long, long time. Based on his talent, skill, performances, and the way he carries himself, it’s not too early to have superstar expectations for Doncic in the future.
Good news for the Western Conference: Carmelo Anthony posted a -20 in his first game with Portland, and the team was +9 when he wasn’t on the floor. Basically, with a lot of missed shots, turnovers, and bad defense, Anthony is in midseason form. In all seriousness, the Blazers are a mess right now, which is surprising considering how well-coached they’ve often looked in the past.
--- I’ve prepared myself, a Tottenham supporter, for the Jose Mourinho era by understanding there will be drama, entertainment, a trophy of some sort, and then an ugly breakup. I’m all-in. Let’s get weird, and finally win something while Mourinho drives everyone nuts and hopefully doesn’t burn the club to the ground. Hopefully, he’s driving opposing teams, fans, and coaches nuts more often than his own side. I’m choosing to look more at the titles than the ugliness. COYS.
--- If I had a top 10 CFB vote…
1. LSU
2. Ohio State
3. Clemson
4. Alabama
5. Georgia
6. Oregon
7. Utah
8. Oklahoma
9. Penn State
10. Minnesota
8) Anything and everything…
--- Work hard, play hard. I squeezed in a couple extra Peloton rides in preparation for New York City and pizza. Always, I make a trip to Joe’s in Greenwich Village for a slice and loved Prince Street Pizza after my first trip last April. Am I missing any NYC pizza places that I absolutely must try?
And each time I go to NYC, I’m reminder of Michael Scott always grabbing a slice of NYC pizza at his favorite spot – Sbarro. That scene is one of the best in television history.
--- If you don’t walk during most of your time in New York City, besides the occasional subway ride, you’re doing the trip wrong. There are few places in the world able to present so many cultures, so many unique neighborhoods, and so many gems every few blocks.
---
--- Willie is off to Camp Houston this weekend to spend time with my grandparents while my wife and I are traveling. I won’t hide from the fact I was incredibly spoiled by my grandparents, which was probably because I was their only grandchild. And I was an awesome angel. Anyway, Willie gets fed like he’s Martha Stewart’s favorite dog, and will undoubtedly return with another new toy after being pampered.
9) This week’s read… is from USA Today: The designers and the don: How two interior decorators took the fall for the Cali Cartel
And this week’s featured art from the WYLD GALLERY includes two awesome pieces that can be purchased at the gallery website:
In War Cry, Jackson Narcomey portrays a solitary warrior ready for battle. Jackson Narcomey grew up in Oklahoma and attended the Sequoyah Indian School, where he studied studio arts. His work won awards at the Red Cloud Indian Art Show in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, the Five Civilized Tribes Museum in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and the Cherokee National Museum in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, among others.
DIRECT LINK
DIRECT LINK
Again, fill some of your weekend by checking out some truly amazing art downtown at 805 Brazos, joining Ray Donley at the Del Curfman pop up show, and supporting a longtime Orangebloods.com member. And in the meantime, get to WYLD.GALLERY, get something for yourself, a friend, or your business, and use the coupon code OrangeBloods19 to receive 10% off.
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