Sports, music, movies, TV shows, video games and life in general.
I'm going to try and post a daily blog entry with my random thoughts.
Hopefully I'll be able to keep it going for a long time if my health allows it.

Some days I'm more active on here than others. I consider D2jsp my home away from home.
I've had many other tedious blogs in the past but I'm going to try and keep this one short and simple.

People always complain that I write too much sometimes so I purposely try to skip spaces more often.

This is mainly for my writing. I'm not going to post any images or make this blog all glamorous and fancy.
We still can't embed YouTube videos on blogs. That's a nice change that I tried to push for over the years.

People that know me realize I'm a hardcore fan for the Houston Astros, Houston Rockets and Houston Texans.
So I'll be discussing those teams the majority of the time. I never miss a game and I enjoy talking about sports.

The bottom line is I'm a big nerd. An adult that still acts like an energetic kid just to feel young at heart.
I don't think there's anything wrong with that. All I ever try to do is make other people laugh and feel good.

You either like me or hate me. I don't care anymore what others think. I'm just trying to have fun on here. That's the main reason I'm in the amazing guild "Harley's Playhouse." All the members are friendly and accepting towards me. Nobody in this guild has ever judged me or belittled me like other guilds I've been in. I have to say thank you to all of them, especially wraps, for always being a helpful friend and supporting me even when times are tough.

The 2017 Houston Astros begin their much anticipated season at home tomorrow night against the Seattle Mariners.
Dallas Keuchel will take the mound for the opening day start and he's trying to have a bounce back year.
Opposing him will be Mariners ace, Felix "The King" Hernandez. It should be an exciting opening night of baseball.

It's a seven-game homestand for the Astros: 4 games against the Mariners and 3 games versus the Royals. Hopefully they can play some good baseball right out of the gates and get off to a 5-2 or better start. Collin McHugh will start the year on the 10-day DL so the Astros starting rotation will look like this early on: Dallas Keuchel, Lance McCUllers Jr., Charlie Morton, Joe Musgrove and Mike Fiers.

Starting pitching is my only question mark with this team because it does look a little thin especially if lack of health factors into the equation like it did last year. They dabbled around some off-season trade talks with the Chicago White Sox for their all-star starter, Jose Quintana, but the Astros were unable to agree upon a deal. Partly because they refused to give up top pitching prospect, Francis Martes. We may see Martes called up at some point this season if he isn't traded.

The Astros starting lineup is loaded and stacked with young everyday stars (Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, George Springer and Alex Bregman) and solid veterans (Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann, Josh Reddick, Evan Gattis and Yuli Gurriel). They should have one of the better offenses in baseball. Their depth is very solid as well. They can easily plug in bench guys like Marwin Gonzalez (valuable utility player), Nori Aoki (excellent contact hitter) and Jake Marisnick (elite defensive player in the outfield) when needed.

Their bullpen looks good on paper but it all depends how they perform on the field. Ken Giles, Luke Gregerson, Chris Devenski, Will Harris, Tony Sipp, Michael Felix, Jandel Gustave and Brad Peacock will all play a significant role pitching in relief. I'm excited to see what happens!

The Houston Astros have a decent chance to win the AL West in 2017. They haven't won a division title since 2001.
All the Astros have known for the past 16 years is winning the wild-card like they did in 2004, 2005 and 2015.
A lot will depend on how the starting pitching holds up and whether or not they can manage to eat a lot of innings.

There are a lot of good-looking teams in the American League West this year but I'm confident the Astros can hold their own.
Fitting enough, the 2017 Houston Astros slogan is "Earn It!" and that's exactly what they have to do this season.

I'm looking forward to watching the newest episode of Homeland on Showtime tonight.
It's going to be the 11th episode of season 6. We'll be at the season finale next Sunday.
I've seen every episode of every season and it's become my favorite TV series to watch that is currently airing.

Claire Danes is fantastic and Mandy Patinkin made me a fan of his decades ago during the movie "The Princess Bride!"
Every time I see Mandy Patinkin I want to say, "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

Also the show "Billions" is really good on Showtime. Starring Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis, previously on Homeland. I'm still trying to catch up and watch that one from the very beginning. I've seen the first five episodes of season 1. It's only finishing up season 2 so I can catch up rather easily with my Showtime on-demand app.

I also have Netflix and all of the Marvel TV series (superheroes) intrigue me. Shows like Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones and Daredevil. I'm a big fanatic of anything Marvel (comics, movies, TV shows, video games, etc... etc...). Part of the reason why I enjoy playing Marvel Heroes 2016 on the PC. It's so fun and entertaining. It's the best action MMORPG that I've ever played. It plays more like a typical RPG like Diablo II. Some of my friends are trying to sway me back to Path of Exile and Diablo III but I don't think I'm coming back guys.

So far so good tonight. The Astros lead 2-0 in the bottom of the 5th during their season opener.
George Springer and Carlos Correa have both homered. That's been all the scoring so far.
Correa's solo shot was measured at 449 feet. It flew right over the left field foul pole near the train tracks.

Dallas Keuchel is one of the best starting pitchers in all of baseball.
His struggles in 2016 was just an anomaly stemming from injuries and a dead arm.

He won the AL Cy Young award in 2015 and may do so again in 2017.
That's now 5 shutout innings. He's working on a two-hitter up to this point.

I'm glad the 2017 Houston Astros season is underway. I've been bored without it since early October.

Dallas Keuchel tossed seven shutout innings of two-hit baseball and Carlos Correa added a sacrifice fly.
Luke Gregerson pitched a scoreless top of the 8th and Ken Giles is trying to nail down the save.

Ken Giles! Show me the money!!!!!
Whoohooo! Shut 'em down, big boy!
#100MilesGiles, just struck out Nelson Cruz with some high heat.

I'm so glad Ken Giles is our closer. No distractions like last year.
I like Luke Gregerson but a closer he is not. He's a set-up man, period.

Giles is filthy and can flat out dominate with his fastball and slider.
He's basically Brad Lidge from back in the day. The good Lidge I hope! LOL

Good morning, good afternoon and good night!
Three strikeouts for Ken Giles in the 9th inning.

That's some real Texas flame-throwing right there. The Astros won 3-0. There was no doubt about it!
A good start to the season. I hope they sweep this four-game series with the Seattle Mariners.
With Lance McCullers Jr. slated to start tomorrow night I feel really good about taming the M's yet again.

There are three entertaining and funny prank reality shows on truTV that make me laugh every time I watch.
Impractical Jokers, The Carbonaro Effect and the very new Chris Webber's Full Court Pranks.
The previous two have now crossed over for a few episodes called "The Impractically Carbonaro Jokers' Effect!"

All of those funny reality TV shows remind me when MTV used to air Punk'd and Boiling Points a decade ago.
We needed more feel-good shows like that and thankfully truTV has now become a tremendous and versatile network.

On Marvel Heroes 2016, I have finally unlocked 50 playable heroes and 26 team-up heroes.
I've accomplished a lot in my short time playing this amazing game. From a total newbie to a really good player.
I also have a healthy amount of infinity gem points: It seems like my progression is finally paying off.
In fact, the supergroup I'm in, a lot of my guild mates now ask me for help with various end-game content.

There are currently 12 playable heroes I still don't have and another 15 or more team ups I still need.
This game is a deep grinder for sure. It's hard for me to cosmic prestige every hero. I only have six of those.
By the time I reach 62 playable heroes on my roster there will be a handful of new heroes added to the game. LOL

So needless to say Marvel Heroes 2016 is a lot to handle and it keeps me away from re-installing Diablo II, Diablo III and Path of Exile.

I enjoy listening to "Walking on Cars" which is an Irish alternative rock band. They performed in Houston a year ago.
I'm hoping they travel to Texas and the U.S. while on tour again sometime soon. Watching them live is a great experience.
They're mostly going to perform in European countries throughout the rest of 2017. Their concerts are fun to watch.

As a disheartened Houston Texans fan I've pretty much accepted the agonizing fact that this team can't seem to land a good quarterback. With the exception of a few pro bowl caliber seasons from a healthy Matt Schaub during his prime years the Texans have never had what I would deem quality quarterback play.

I can't say that I'm all that surprised by Tony Romo's decision to retire from the NFL and pursue a career in broadcasting. Not just because of the mounting season-ending injuries he's endured in recent years, but the longer Jerry Jones was holding onto him for trade bait the more I had essentially known it was going to end like it did today.

Had the Dallas Cowboys released Tony Romo several weeks ago when free agency had first started and it was still early in Romo's decision making on what he wanted to do, I do believe the Texans could have wined and dined him for a couple of days and made a strong case for him to sign here in Houston. Nevertheless, I do wish Tony Romo well in his future endeavors as a broadcaster. He has a charismatic personality and he'll be well liked offering his expertise about the game.

As far as what the Houston Texans do now? We have two quarterbacks currently under contract for one more year. Tom Savage and Brandon Weeden are both signed for the 2017 regular season but both of them can become unrestricted free agents next off-season. I don't envision either of them here long term. Which means the Texans pretty much have three open roster spots at quarterback when you look ahead to 2018 and beyond.

The Texans will definitely draft a quarterback in this upcoming draft which is only weeks away now. Likely in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th round (two picks). Whomever it is will be groomed for the future. On top of drafting somebody I still expect the Houston Texans to sign a veteran free agent quarterback. Those options now include Jay Cutler and Colin Kaepernick. To a lesser degree injury-prone Robert Griffin III. Sadly enough, while none of those quarterbacks are overly appealing they are still an upgrade over what we've had at quarterback for the past couple of seasons.

So we'll have to wait and see now. I'm still excited about J.J. Watt making a healthy return in 2017. The Houston Texans have a great defense that could become special if J.J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney and Whitney Mercilus can finally play a full 16-game season and playoffs together. That trio of elite pass rushers will be difficult for opposing offenses to contain. We still have some dangerous weapons on offense as well. This isn't a rebuilding team like you may see in other places that have quarterback issues.

It's not a dire situation at all. The Houston Texans may win their third straight AFC South division title in 2017. Despite shuffling around our 8th or 9th different quarterback since Bill O'Brien has taken over as head coach (I lost count!). I would honestly have to write the names down of all the guys that have started a game at quarterback for the Texans in just the past three years alone: Brock Osweiler, Tom Savage, Brandon Weeden, Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallett, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Case Keenum and T.J. Yates.

Hopefully we will know more as the 2017 NFL draft approaches. The Texans still have some available cap space they can use on free agents. In the mean time please cue that old theme song to "Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?!" Or perhaps the Jeopardy final round theme song would be more appropriate. I don't know whether to laugh or feel a sense of hopelessness right now. That's the life of a Houston Texans fan.

If I could go back to the year 2002 in a time machine, Marty McFly style, during the Houston Texans expansion season I'd have warned myself about 15 years of disappointment that I would endure as a Texans fan. We've won a total of three wild-card games and that has all come in the past six years. I'm not sure if I could have stomached what I've seen for this long all over again.

What the Houston Texans have done (three playoff wins) is good enough for a pat on the back and surprisingly it's better than what some other notable NFL teams have done in that same time frame like the Dallas Cowboys (2 playoff wins since 1997), Detroit Lions (0 playoff wins since 1992), Cleveland Browns (0 playoff wins since 1995), Cincinnati Bengals (0 playoff wins since 1991) and Buffalo Bills (0 playoff wins since 1995). It's amazing the Houston Texans have done better than those teams in terms of playoff victories during their NFL existence but that doesn't make me feel any better. But it just goes to show how hard it is to win playoff games in the NFL. Unless you have an elite quarterback like Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, etc... etc...

Anyways, I'm too stressed out to discuss the Houston Texans all that much right now. *Face palm*
At least the Houston Astros and Houston Rockets are fun to watch and talk about. All is not lost sports wise.

This post was edited by Madmartigan on Apr 4 2017 07:57am

The Astros won again last night! 2-1 ballgame. I was at the game and had a great time.
Brian McCann and Marwin Gonzalez both hit solo homers that reached the Crawford boxes.

Ken Giles dominated in the ninth inning and is 2-for-2 in saves. #100MilesGiles
Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers Jr. are two Aces! They both shut down a decent Mariners lineup.
2-0 record. 160 games to go. Book 'em, Dano! I can't wait for tonight's game. #HTownPride

I'm purchasing another ticket on-line right now. I'll be attending tonight's game as well.
It's $1 dollar hot dog day. But I'm going to limit myself to only three or four. LOL

Also starting pitcher Charlie Morton, who had an excellent spring, will be making his Astros debut tonight.

Hopefully the Astros can keep the good times rolling. Our hitting hasn't erupted quite yet but it hasn't had to.
Solid starting pitching, the best bullpen in baseball and great team defense is also a good recipe for success.

I believe the Astros will sweep this four-game series with the Mariners. This is setting up to be a great home stand!