The Texans go for their third win of the season -- after coming frighteningly close to beating the Indianapolis Colts in a game marked by massive injuries to the Texans offense. And Texans QB Matt Schaub has something to prove to the team where he would have been starting this season if they hadn't traded him in the off season.

Better quarterback. Better defense. Texans win.

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It was a first that went unnoted at the time -- but which began a practice that is quite common today.

The play was 48 Toss, and 30 years later, Dick Vermeil remembers it as if he called it last Sunday. Herb Lusk took a pitch from Ron Jaworski, headed around left end and breezed unscathed 70 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown. Four steps over the goal line at Giants Stadium, the Philadelphia Eagles' running back rewrote the playbook. Alone in the end zone, with a crowd of 48,824 looking on, he celebrated with a gesture in what has since become a watershed moment in American sports.

With little ceremony and no advance warning, Lusk kept his eyes straight, dropped to his left knee and bowed his head in prayer. A few seconds later, he stood back up and returned to the sideline, his legacy sealed.

"Herb Lusk was the first NFL player to kneel in the end zone and pray," said Steve Sabol, president of NFL Films, which has footage of more than 9,000 games played since 1894.

No one doubts the sincerity of Lusk's action -- his faith was well-known to others in the NFL. The prayer was not particularly noted at the time. But it opened the floodgates to such religious moments -- something about which I have mixed emotions.

I'm glad to see folks be open about hteir faith.

I'm less pleased about the fact that some of those who engage in such public prayer appear to "talk the talk" during the game but don't particularly "walk the walk" off the field.

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Smoking pot while awaiting sentencing and subject to drug testing – how freakin’ stupid can you get?

A federal judge placed tighter restrictions on Michael Vick on Wednesday after the Atlanta Falcons quarterback tested positive for marijuana.
Because of the result, U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson placed special conditions on VickÂ’s release, including restricting him to his home between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. with electronic monitoring and ordering him to submit to random drug testing.

The urine sample was submitted Sept. 13, according to a document by a federal probation officer that was filed in U.S. District Court on Wednesday.

This could result in a longer sentence for Vick, because the judge can take such violations of release conditions into account when determining the amount of time he must serve.

I wonder – will this violation lead to an additional suspension by the NFL under its drug policy after his release from prison (state or federal, as the case may be) and reinstatement in the NFL?

Posted by: Greg at 10:33 AM | Comments (20) | Add Comment
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Hearts stopped and more than a few prayers were said at Reliant Stadium Sunday as Houston Texans DT Cedric Killings was removed from the field on a stretcher after what was clearly a serious injury. Those prayers seem to have been answered.

When Texans defensive tackle Cedric Killings stood up next to his bed Monday morning, the doctors and hospital personnel applauded. All indications point toward Killings eventually walking out of Methodist Hospital.

But there are a number of questions surrounding Killings' future as he tries to recover from a fractured vertebra. Killings, who initially had no feelings in his arms or legs, fractured his C-4 vertebra in the second quarter when he collided with Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Roy Hall on a kickoff return.

Team doctors said Monday that Killings, 29, has complete movement in his both of his legs, but his hands remain weak and so does his left arm. They said they are waiting to see if that changes in the coming days.

The C-4 is one of two vertebrae fractured by Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett two weeks ago. Everett is rehabilitating at Memorial Hermann Hospital, and has only limited motor function in his arms and legs. He is not yet able to walk.

The Bills' Everett is a local boy, so the Killings injury hit home for a lot of us in the stadium who immediately thought of the incident only two weeks ago. I'm thrilled to hear that Killings is doing better -- and that Everett is near to friends and family, and on the slow road to recovery.

Unfortunately, we have some other injury news that may have more of an immediate impact on the season, one that saw the Texans off to a strong start after five years of less-than-mediocrity.

Center Steve McKinney cannot believe the timing of it all. During five losing — and often hopeless — seasons, McKinney was on the offensive line trying to help lift the Texans to respectability.

If the Texans finally do record their first winning record this season, McKinney will be forced to watch from the sidelines.

During the 30-24 loss to the Colts on Sunday, McKinney suffered the first serious injury of his NFL career when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. He must undergo season-ending surgery, and will be replaced in the starting lineup by 12-year veteran Mike Flanagan.

The loss of McKinney will be keenly felt, for he is a great performer on the field and a team leader.

And he isn't the only injury that will impact the starting lineup.

Coach Gary Kubiak said he is confident backup running back Ron Dayne (bruised ribs) will be able to play this weekend against Atlanta.

Ahman Green, who hasn't finished the last two games with a bruised knee, received positive news from an MRI, but said he doesn't know if he will be able to play Sunday. Tests revealed no damage to the knee.

"It's just sore," Green said. "(The MRI showed) nothing bad, just swelling. I'm grateful for that."

Kubiak said Green bruised the knee against Kansas City in the season opener, and it has gotten worse.

He is hopeful Green will start. If not, Dayne will fill in and Samkon Gado will back him up.

Of more immediate concern is the wide receiver position. Jacoby Jones will be out two to three weeks with a separated shoulder. He started the first game of his career against the Colts, filling in for Andre Johnson, who is out with a knee sprain.

Johnson will not return this week, either. Sunday was the first time he was allowed to bend his knee since suffering the sprain Sept. 16 against the Carolina Panthers.

Johnson sprained the posterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in his left knee, and must wait until they both heal.

"It's like I'm learning to walk normally again," Johnson said. "I've been in a brace for the whole week. Now, I have slack in my brace where I can bend my knee."

Fortunately, we seem likely to get WR Andre Davis back after his finger injury.

But let's be honest -- we need Johnson, Green, and Jacoby back to bolster an offense that has done a good job in the opening weeks of the season. They are performers for the Texans, and without them the talent pool is definitely a bit shallower.

Posted by: Greg at 10:37 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Looks like he may have state time to do, too.

The prosecutor in the county where Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick has admitted to bankrolling a dogfighting operation plans to present evidence to the grand jury, Tuesday, that could possibly lead to an indictment.

"Yes, I'm presenting matters to the grand jury that involve dogfighting at 1915 Moonlight Road," Surry County Commonwealth Attorney Gerald G. Poindexter told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Monday night.

* * *

Poindexter couldn't detail the exact indictments he will pursue, but said the local investigation and the federal investigation largely focused on different crimes.

"The killing of dogs is one of those statutory prohibitions. Dogfighting is a crime, the mistreatment of animals is a crime, so you could take your pick, or take them all," Poindexter said before cutting the conversation short. "I don't have anything else to say about it. I'm through with it. Hopefully it's coming to an end."

The real question, other than the nature of the state charges, is whether the sentence will be served concurrently with or consecutively to the federal sentence that has yet to be imposed. If the latter, Michael Vick could find himself doing significantly longer prison time than he expected.

UPDATE: Vick indicted on state charges.

Michael Vick and three co-defendants were indicted by a grand jury Tuesday on state charges related to a dogfighting ring operated on Vick's Virginia property.

Vick, who already pleaded guilty in federal court to a dogfighting conspiracy charge and is awaiting sentencing Dec. 10, was indicted on one count of beating or killing or causing dogs to fight other dogs and one count of engaging in or promoting dogfighting. Each count is a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.

And since these are state charges, there should not be any question of double jeopardy.

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Can the Texans make it 3-0 this week? The loss of Andre Johnson is a problem, though, and the Colts are dominant. Still, a much-less talented Houston team beat the Colts last year as they prepared for their Super bowl run.

CBS had disabled embedding for the YouTube analysis of the game, but you can see it here.

In the mean time, here is another analysis for you.

This is a nationally televised this week, so let's hope they acquit themselves well and pull another miracle out of their hat.

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Oklahoma State University QB Bobby Reid is a graduate the high school where I teach. He was really savaged in a column this week by a hack reporter for one of the local papers. Coach Mike Gundy went off about it yesterday.

Bobby Reid is a fine young man. Thank you, Coach Gundy, for standing up for him.

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Posted by: Greg at 02:16 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Let's hope that the rest of the league has the integrity to not offer Barry Bonds a contract.

Barry Bonds was told by the San Francisco Giants that he won't play for them in 2008, he said on his Web site Friday. But baseball's all-time home run leader said he planned on playing somewhere next season.

In a statement, Bonds said: "This journal will be one of my last entries as a San Francisco Giant. Yesterday, I was told by the Giants that they will not be bringing me back for the 2008 season."

Giants owner Peter Magowan told Bonds of the decision in person Thursday night, said Bonds' agent, Jeff Borris.

Frankly, the MLB should have banned Barry Bonds before he passed Hank Aaron with his steroid-enhanced home run number 756*.

And for all you Barry Bonds fans out there, you can kiss my asterisk.

* home run count includes those hit while using illegal performance-enhancing drugs in violation of major league rules -- and which shrunk his package to smaller than that of a six-year-old.

Posted by: Greg at 02:06 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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And no, not based upon your personal faith or lack thereof. Based upon the nature of Western Culture, and America in particular, built upon the foundation of the ministry and mission of Jesus Christ.

I don't know what went through her mind and why she would think that was cutting edge or even funny. But first, I want to actually show you that, in fact, Kathy Griffin is wrong. Jesus had everything to do with her winning that award. And here's the reasoning.

Jesus died on a cross 2,000 years ago. His dying words were, "Forgive them Father for they know not what they do." He died and they buried him in a rock cut tomb. Three days later, as the Bible says, he rose from the dead. That day is what Christians celebrate as Easter.

After the resurrection, Christianity began to take off like wildfire, spreading from the Middle East northward to Europe and westward into Ethiopia. In 300 A.D. Emperor Constantine accepted Christianity and it beccame the religion of Europe. Rome soon became the seat of the faith. After several years of human failings, the church went through conflicts and quite a few unbiblical years — the crusades and the inquisition to name just two. Out of that came the Reformation — the reforming of the Church, sort of a back-to-basics Bible and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Out of the Reformation emerged a vision of law by Samuel Rutherford, called Lex is Rex, Law is King. From that, others devised a secular version that is used to help lay the foundation of government for a new land called America. Ninety-four percent of America's founding era documents mention the Bible; 34 percent quote the Bible directly. The idea of bringing unity to the universal is a particularly Biblical concept.

The freedoms we enjoy in this country to speak freely and to live freely are directly related to that man who died on a cross 2,000 years ago.

So, you see, Kathy Griffin, Jesus has everything to do with you winning that award. You live in a free country where your abilities can be recognized if you're willing to work hard enough. That's at least the dream of America. If you'd been born in many other parts of the world, your daily activity might involve seeking out a way to survive, or even trying to avoid persecution and death. Luxuries like pursuing a career in the entertainment industry would never have been realized; luxuries like being able to insult the founder of a religion of forgiveness and acceptance would not have been possible.

Kathy Griffin, just because you "can" say something, doesn't mean you "should." When you say "suck it, Jesus," you didn't just insult Christianity Â… you insulted the very reason you've prospered

Bravo to FoxNews religion reporter Lauren Green for that analysis.

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The CBS preview of this week's game.

While they may be picking the Panthers, i believe the Texans may just squeak out a win -- especially if they get to face David Carr under center for the Panthers for any length of time.

My pick -- Houston 24, Carolina 21

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It is a dumb rule.

But even dumber than the rule is violating it after the repeated warnings given by the NFL to its 32 teams.

The National Football League fined New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick $500,000 yesterday, and the team will forfeit its first-round draft pick in 2008 if it makes the playoffs, for violating league rules Sunday when a Patriots staff member was discovered videotaping signals by Jets coaches during the season opener at the Meadowlands.

The Patriots will be fined $250,000. If they fail to make the playoffs, they will forfeit their second- and third-round picks in 2008.

It is the first time in league history a coach and franchise have been disciplined for videotaping — essentially spying on — opponents. The league’s ire with a team that has won three Super Bowls in six years and that until last week was considered a model of success was obvious in the unprecedented severity of the punishment. No coach has ever been fined such a large amount. Teams have forfeited first-round picks before, sent to other teams as compensation in tampering cases, but no team has ever lost a first-round pick as an outright punishment. No team will receive the draft pick or picks the Patriots will forfeit.

“This episode represents a calculated and deliberate attempt to avoid longstanding rules designed to encourage fair play and promote honest competition on the playing field,” Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a letter to the Patriots.

Quite a penalty for the offense of filming what is done in the open, able to be seen by tens of thousands of fans in the stadium and (potentially) millions on television broadcasts of the game. As such, the notion that there is something wrong with "signal stealing" is rather absurd.

However, this is a rule that has stood for years, and warnings were issued about it just last season. As a result, I have no sympathy for Belichick and the Patriots, despite Goodell's acknowledgment that the taping had not had an effect on the game.

Still, is this a rule that makes sense -- and does it need to be revisited and modified, if not completely stricken from the books?

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After all, these words are nothing if not dripping with hatred and bigotry.

The comedienne didn't go home empty handed, winning Outstanding Reality Program at the 2007 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards for her show My Life on the D-List. As planned, Griffin shouted ""Suck it Jesus, this award is my God now!"" from the stage.

Will she have to go into hiding because of death threats? Will her show be cancelled? Will the Academy revoke her award? Will she even find it necessary to apologize for insulting Christians and the Son of God?

Of course not.

But what would have happened if she had dissed Mohammad?

Posted by: Greg at 09:31 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Jane Wyman was a beauty as a young woman. As she aged, she remained a marvelously talented, dignified woman whose grace exuded an inner beauty.

Many forget that, had the circumstances been different, she could have become the First Lady.

Jane Wyman, an Academy Award winner for her performance as the deaf rape victim in "Johnny Belinda," star of the long-running TV series "Falcon Crest" and Ronald Reagan's first wife, died Monday morning at 93.
Wyman died at her Palm Springs home, said Richard Adney of Forest Lawn Memorial Park and Mortuary in Cathedral City. No other details were immediately available.

Wyman's film career spanned from the 1930s, including "Gold Diggers of 1937” to 1969's "How to Commit Marriage," co-starring Bob Hope and Jackie Gleason. From 1981 to 1990 she played Angela Channing, a Napa Valley winery owner who maintained her power with a steely will on "Falcon Crest."

Her marriage in 1940 to fellow Warner Bros. contract player Reagan was celebrated in the fan magazines as one of Hollywood's ideal unions. While he was in uniform during World War II, her career ascended, signaled by her 1946 Oscar nomination for "The Yearling."

The couple divorced in 1948, the year she won the Oscar for "Johnny Belinda." Reagan reportedly cracked to a friend: "Maybe I should name Johnny Belinda as co-respondent."

My personal favorite movie starring Jane Wyman was “Brother Rat”, in which her co-star was none other than her future husband, Ronald Reagan.
Years later, after Reagan had entered politics, Jane Wyman kept silent about her ex-husband and their marriage. She said it was wrong to gossip about ex-husbands and ex-wives. But after his death in 2004, she released a statement that spoke volumes about him in its brevity and sincerity.

"America has lost a great president and a great, kind and gentle man."

And today Hollywood has lost a great actress, but America has gained a beautiful angel in heaven.

And to Michael Reagan and his family, I offer my condolences on the loss of his mother.

Posted by: Greg at 09:28 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Jane Wyman was a beauty as a young woman. As she aged, she remained a marvelously talented, dignified woman whose grace exuded an inner beauty.

Many forget that, had the circumstances been different, she could have become the First Lady.

Jane Wyman, an Academy Award winner for her performance as the deaf rape victim in "Johnny Belinda," star of the long-running TV series "Falcon Crest" and Ronald Reagan's first wife, died Monday morning at 93.
Wyman died at her Palm Springs home, said Richard Adney of Forest Lawn Memorial Park and Mortuary in Cathedral City. No other details were immediately available.

Wyman's film career spanned from the 1930s, including "Gold Diggers of 1937” to 1969's "How to Commit Marriage," co-starring Bob Hope and Jackie Gleason. From 1981 to 1990 she played Angela Channing, a Napa Valley winery owner who maintained her power with a steely will on "Falcon Crest."

Her marriage in 1940 to fellow Warner Bros. contract player Reagan was celebrated in the fan magazines as one of Hollywood's ideal unions. While he was in uniform during World War II, her career ascended, signaled by her 1946 Oscar nomination for "The Yearling."

The couple divorced in 1948, the year she won the Oscar for "Johnny Belinda." Reagan reportedly cracked to a friend: "Maybe I should name Johnny Belinda as co-respondent."

My personal favorite movie starring Jane Wyman was “Brother Rat”, in which her co-star was none other than her future husband, Ronald Reagan.
Years later, after Reagan had entered politics, Jane Wyman kept silent about her ex-husband and their marriage. She said it was wrong to gossip about ex-husbands and ex-wives. But after his death in 2004, she released a statement that spoke volumes about him in its brevity and sincerity.

"America has lost a great president and a great, kind and gentle man."

And today Hollywood has lost a great actress, but America has gained a beautiful angel in heaven.

And to Michael Reagan and his family, I offer my condolences on the loss of his mother.

Posted by: Greg at 09:28 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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And hopefully both will soon recognize that their fifteen minutes are up.

First Britney Spears.

Kicking off the show Sunday night with her new single, "Gimme More," Spears looked bleary and unprepared, much like her recent tabloid exploits on the streets of Los Angeles. She walked through her dance moves with little enthusiasm. She appeared to have forgotten the art of lip-synching. And, perhaps most unforgivable given her once-taut frame, she looked embarrassingly out of shape.

Even the celebrity-studded audience seemed bewildered. 50 Cent looked at Spears with a confused look on his face; Diddy, her new best friend, was expressionless.

No-talent drug-addled slutty white-trash is as no-talent drug-addled slutty white-trash does.

And then there was this from race-baiting rapper Kanye West.

"That's two years in a row, man ... give a black man a chance," West said, stomping around his entourage and directing his comments at a reporter. "I'm trying hard man, I have the ... number one record, man."

West said he never will return to MTV.

And MTV will be a better place for your absence, Kanye. The problem is not your race -- it is your talent.

After all, you can't spell "CRAP" without "RAP".

Posted by: Greg at 10:22 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I know I am -- I'm signing off for the next few hours to go watch the Houston Texans begin their first playoff run!

We will beat the Chiefs.

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I hate the University of Michigan -- so this story makes me very happy.

What was supposed to be a tuneup turned into a stunner: Appalachian State 34, No. 5 Michigan 32. Julian Rauch's 24-yard field goal with 26 seconds left put the Mountaineers ahead of the Wolverines and Corey Lynch's blocked field goal in the final seconds sealed one of college football's biggest upsets.

The two-time defending champions from former Division I-AA were ahead of the nation's winningest program 28-14 late in the second quarter, then their storybook afternoon seemed to unravel late in the fourth quarter.

Mike Hart's 54-yard run put the Wolverines ahead—for the first time since early in the second quarter—with 4:36 left.

One snap after the go-ahead touchdown, Brandent Englemon intercepted an errant pass, but the Wolverines couldn't capitalize and had their first of two field goals blocked.

Appalachian State drove 69 yards without a timeout in 1:11 to set up the go-ahead kick, but it still wasn't over.

Chad Henne threw a 46-yard pass to Mario Manningham, giving Michigan the ball at Appalachian State's 20 with 6 seconds left.

Lynch blocked the kick and returned it to the other end of the field as the final seconds ticked off, and his teammates rushed across the field to pile on Lynch as the coaching staff and cheerleaders jumped with joy.

Appalachian State has won 15 straight games, the longest streak in the nation.

Hurrah for the Mountaineers!

Posted by: Greg at 12:06 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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