FanHouse Houston

Patrick Edwards' name might not ring a bell, but this video probably does. A loud bell. One that hurts your ears, teeth, and legs. Edwards was the freshman receiver for Houston who had an unfortunate run-in with an ill-placed golf cart behind the end zone last October, an injury some felt would be career-ending.

The incredible part of all this is that Edwards is recovering so well from it, Houston plans to have him back for spring practice.

Turkey Legs to Go is FanHouse's complete travel guide for all of the 2008-2009 college bowl games. Here, we cover the Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, Texas), which pits Houston against Air Force.

Overview/Matchup: A strong performance from the Mountain West this year helped Air Force land in the Armed Forces Bowl (which seems pretty, pretty, pretty convenient) even though they lost their last two games against BYU and TCU, while Houston's 6-2 record was good enough for fourth overall in Conference-USA (yikes) and a spot in nearby Fort Worth.

Hotels: The top hotel in Fort Worth, the Renaissance Worthington Hotel offers a sophisticated atmosphere of polished wood and marble complimented by a courteous staff. The Renaissance is about four miles from the stadium. The Courtyard by Marriott on Riverfront Drive and the Days Inn on S. University Drive are each about a mile from the stadium. The Courtyard offers the best all-around value, balancing proximity to the stadium and quality of the hotel. The Days Inn will probably have rooms for less than US$100 per night, but you shouldn't expect the same quality amenities as the nearby Courtyard.

Restaurants: When it comes to dining in Fort Worth, there's only one place to celebrate a big win (that is assuming, a classy celebration is what you're after); Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House. Del Frisco's is the place to go for a world-class steak, but make sure you budget accordingly. Blue Mesa Grill is a local southwestern chain specializing in blue corn and green chilies. Reasonable prices and good portions make it a local favorite. One location is just north of Texas Christian.

As you can see, in last night's Houston-Marshall game, one of the most freakish injuries you'll ever see occurred to wide receiver Patrick Edwards, and he isn't taking it lightly.

Edwards, who was running after an overthrown touchdown pass by Blake Joseph, ran into a poorly parked equipment cart, suffering a brutal compound leg fracture. The cart was basically just off the playing field, and Edwards, at full speed, had no chance to avoid it. Now, the question in the air is if Patrick and his family will file a lawsuit.

In a game between Houston and Marshall tonight on ESPN, Houston freshman receiver Patrick Edwards added himself to the sports injury hall of fame while attempting to catch a pass.

The pass sailed just out of his reach in the back of the end zone and as he slowed down the proverbial unstoppable force met the immovable object -- in this case, an oddly placed metal cart a few feet from the back of the end zone.

A trip to the land of horrible ensued. Naturally, Edwards emerged from the carnage with a compound fracture of the leg. Unless snuff films and other assorted awfulness is your thing ('tis the season?), we're warning you this is ugly. Video after the jump.

The second edition of the North American SuperLiga, which pits four top MLS clubs against four top Mexican clubs, kicks off on Saturday, and we are reminded once again that this made-for-TV event is made for Spanish-language TV only. Telefutura is once again the only American TV network carrying SuperLiga matches nationally. This is in spite of the fact that three MLS clubs made it through to the knockout stage last season, even though Pachuca won the million-dollar prize.

You would think Fox Soccer Channel might want to jump in on SuperLiga to get people psyched up for the CONCACAF Champions League, which the fledgling network will air starting in August, but it seems they would rather show more Barca TV this summer. We might get English announcers on MLSLive.tv, but possibly not until the knockout stages, as was the case last year.

You can find a full preview of SuperLiga here.

As you can't have enough Brett Favre news that is opined out of someone's rear end, Bill Williamson of ESPN recently wrote a list of the top potential destinations for the questionably retired quarterback. The alliterative headline of his piece reads: "Ravens, Texans, Bucs finer fits for Favre." Why the Texans?

The Texans are on the verge of good things, but they are not exactly settled at quarterback. Sage Rosenfels is waiting in the wings should Matt Schaub have issues. If Favre were available, then Texans coach Gary Kubiak, a quarterback lover, would be tempted."

I guess it is nice for Williamson to acknowledge that the Texans are a team with potential, but his one paragraph synopsis of the Texans quarterback situation and Kubiak's thought processes is way off.

The Texans salary cap situation is a little tight, and I just don't see the Texans wanting to spend their money on an old distracting quarterback rental. The Texans quarterback situation is one of the stronger positions on the team, so why would they throw money at that when they have other needs? Too bad Favre isn't a cornerback.

Houston, by virtue of running up a 22-game win streak last year but still finishing up without a playoff series victory, will be an odd duck to sort as 2008-09 prognostications come around. Yao Ming projects to be more tired than usual after a busy summer of rehab, smiles and international basketball, and Tracy McGrady remains precisely the sort of lightning rod that can be called a killer of other teams or his own.

Interesting is it, then, that Houston general manager Daryl Morey is talking about adding a third 'star' to the mix in a column by the Houston Chronicle's Steve Campbell.

[...] Morey and [coach Rick] Adelman are fully aware the Rockets as constructed are a nice team that doesn't have the chops to be a champion. [...] "That's our main focus: Get one more significant player on the roster somehow," Morey said. "That's the goal. That's my job, so hopefully we will get it done."

Who is the right piece, though? A point guard more potent than Rafer Alston could be a target, but point guards are scarce and Alston, while doing his job well enough, remains borderline untradeable. Luis Scola is a dream at the power forward spot, especially with solid defenders Carl Landry and Chuck Hayes able to pitch in. You'd be hard-pressed to find a more underrated defender than Shane Battier, and defense made Houston good last season.

If you trade for someone like Ron Artest, where's the upgrade? He's a comparable defender to Battier, and has more offensive weapons. But you'd assume Sacramento wouldn't take Battier back (long salary, plush position), so what do you do with him? Start a small lineup with Scola on the bench? Bring Artest in as a Manuish sixth man? (That'll go over well.)

The best bet might be replacing Alston with an offensive-minded point, and letting Rafer sub in as defense is warranted. Mo Williams, anyone?

When I sat down tonight to watch the Pirates and Astros, I didn't really think I'd be seeing anything all that special. The Pirates and 'Stros are tied for last in the NL Central, after all, and both teams have been pretty frigid of late. When Phil Dumatrait picked up an RBI single in the first, the announcers mentioned it was his first career hit. Then i the in the fourth, Runelvys Hernandez laid down a bunt into noman's land and scored a run. Again, the announcers noted it was his first career hit. That seemed mildly more interesting. In the bottom of the fourth, Denny Bautista came to the plate. Yep, RBI single, first career hit. Now that's odd.

Now, I'm only a baseball historian on Sunday afternoons after three beers, but it strikes me as incredibly rare that three pitchers all managed to pick up their first career hits and have them all be RBI singles in the same game. I'm sure it's happened before, but probably not all that often. I guess it's not all that surprising that it happened in a game where the starters combined to give up 17 runs, but I'm still impressed.

In case you'd forgotten, Runelvys Hernandez is the guy that kicked off the whole Shawn Chacon saga by taking Chacon's spot in the Astros rotation. Tonight he managed to actually give up ten runs (including two RBI singles to pitchers that had no career hits coming into the night), which is pretty rare for a starter. I imagine Shawn Chacon's looking in a mirror somewhere and feeling pretty good about himself.

According to Seth Wickersham of ESPN, Texans DT Amobi Okoye celebrated his 21st birthday on June 10th in big style but responsibly:

Okoye, who last year was the youngest NFL player in 30 years, was sober and happy and wasn't photographed doing anything stupid. Bloggers might be bummed, but kids who look up to him aren't.

I can't speak for all bloggers because we aren't a collective who thinks in lockstep (duh). Personally I would be ecstatic if Amobi Okoye and other talented athletes didn't risk everything getting stupid drunk. It would also make me happier if Wickersham hadn't promoted a wildly dangerous drinking practice in the structure of his article.

Wickersham organized his article by saying "let's do 21 shots" to discuss Okoye's birthday plans, and how he no longer wants to be defined by his age. It's an allusion to how some 21 year olds celebrate their birthday by trying to drink 21 shots.

I'm not your mom, but I think it is worth mentioning that this newish binge drinking fad kills people. Being deaded or put into a alcohol-poisoned coma isn't the best way to spend a birthday. You would think people would know that drinking 21 shots in short succession is dangerous, but apparently not. Education is the only way found to reduce the number of people doing this, and it's not a good idea to normalize this behavior in a sports article.

Oh, and belated birthday greetings to Okoye. Sorry, I didn't get you anything but I'm guessing with 400 people at your birthday party, you are doing okay in the gift department. Check out this link if you have interest in seeing Okoye photographed doing non-stupid things on his birthday. He is wearing a sweet suit. A bit heavy for June in Houston, but it can get cold in those overly air conditioned ballrooms.

Previously at FanHouse:
You Won't Want to Read This: NFL Players Doing Good in the World
Texans Defensive Line Coach Talks About Mario and More

Maybe the All-Star Game is a meaningless to the players and just an excuse for Bud Selig to admire himself for a week. That doesn't mean that the selections should be stupid. Today, the MLB 'Haus gives you All-Star Grievances.

Grievance: Nate McLouth over Jason Bay- It's not that McLouth isn't a deserving All-Star, because he is. The problem is that he's mired in a terrible slump, putting up a .209/.258/.355 line with two homers over the last month or so (prior to today's game). There's a decent chance that by the end of the year, McLouth will have faded completely. Still, he made the team over Jason Bay, who's already a two-time All-Star and is slugging along like he has every year of his career besides an injury-filled 2007. It should take more than a flash in the pan to make an All-Star team.

Grievance: Miguel Tejada? Really?- After a down year in Baltimore last year, Tejada got off to a decent start this year. That's all quickly gone to hell, as he's hitting .198 since May 30th. Tejada's not an All-Star, he's a guy in the twilight of his career that Ed Wade is going to regret trading for by the end of the season.

Grievance: Adam Dunn isn't even a snub- I get that Dunn's only hitting .228. Aren't we to the point of enlightened fanhood that people can look beyond that and realize that his .895 OPS makes him a snub?

Grievance: Alfonso Soriano and Kosuke Fukudome are starters- Fan voting is stupid and unreliable. We say that every year. This year, these two are the reason.

Other snubs: Carlos Lee (unless he wins the final vote but let's be honest, dude's got no chance against David Wright).