your blogs are always GG Ryan!

Thank you. I'm watching Impractical Jokers on truTV right now. It's one of my favorite comedy reality shows.



Agent Carter (ABC series). I caught the new episode tonight and it was awesome! It's in the second season.



I also haven't missed an episode of Supergirl on CBS. The first season has been absolutely fantastic to say the least.

I'm about to play a little Marvel Heroes 2016 on my PC and then start my two new characters on Diablo II US East.
I was able to re-make my old account (Madmartigan). I have a Druid named Madmartigan and an Amazon named Sorsha.

In the past I was able to reach level 98 hardcore ladder for my Druid and level 93 hardcore ladder on my Amazon.
But this time I'm just going to play softcore ladder. No reason to lose any of my items if I invest any decent energy into it.

I'll also play Diablo III and Path of Exile on the side for fun (cool games), and I'm going to start playing DC Universe Online sometime this week. I don't plan to level fast or anything like that. I'm only going to make one character just to experience the game and maybe I'll become good over time like I've been doing on Marvel Heroes 2016.

That's going to be five games total that I'll be playing at one time. I'll manage though.
That way I don't leave any stone untouched when it comes to my gaming urges. LOL

Will the Houston Rockets trade Dwight Howard or Ty Lawson?

The 2016 NBA trading deadline is at 3 PM Eastern tomorrow afternoon. The Houston Rockets, an under-achieving 27-28 team after last year's impressive run to the Western Conference Finals, have been actively shopping center Dwight Howard and point guard Ty Lawson. Pretty much everybody on the Rockets roster is up for trade talks other than James Harden. They have received some interest in power forward Terrence Jones as well.

There doesn't seem to be anything imminent other than the Hawks, Hornets and Heat have talked to the Rockets about acquiring Dwight Howard. Numerous players would have to be involved to match Dwight Howard's salary and the Rockets would like a first-round pick to be included. While the Utah Jazz have contacted the Rockets about a potential Trey Burke for Ty Lawson swap, but the Jazz would have to include another player because their salaries don't match in a one-for-one trade.

The problem is that Dwight Howard is going to opt out this summer and become an unrestricted free agent. Every team knows that which could be why they may shy away from trading for him before tomorrow afternoon's trading deadline, and plus he's 30 years old now with reoccurring back and knee injuries.

Personally, I think the Houston Rockets should just stick with what they have for these final 30 games of the season. They can still make the playoffs as a lower seeded team, currently 9th and on the outside-looking in, but they aren't far away from the 8th, 7th and 6th seeds. I know it's been a tough year, one that saw head coach Kevin McHale fired early in the season, but they shouldn't just give up on the 2015-2016 season.

The Rockets will probably conduct a thorough head coaching search this summer so you can add that to the ever-growing list of big changes they plan to make. Unfortunately, I don't see them bringing back J.B. Bickerstaff, this year's interim head coach, for the long haul unless they can somehow make the playoffs this year and perform much better in the playoffs than people think they will.

As of now, nobody in their right mind (except maybe a hardcore homer like myself) would give the Rockets any chance as road underdogs in a 7-game series in the first round of the playoffs against the Warriors, Spurs or Thunder. They would likely play one of those elite teams if they end up in the 8th, 7th or 6th seed.

To make a long post seem short; We'll just see if the Rockets are able to make any moves before tomorrow afternoon's trading deadline. I'll be gone most of the morning and won't return home until the afternoon time, so I'll have to be checking my smartphone for any minute-to-minute updates.

Also the Rockets next game is Friday Night at Phoenix. It will feel nice just to get back to actually playing basketball again. All of these trade rumors, plus the long all-star break, not to mention the three-game losing streak prior to the all-star break, I just want to see the Houston Rockets win some games again.

Donatas Motiejunas and Marcus Thornton are joining the Detroit Pistons.

The Houston Rockets just traded power forward Donatas Motiejunas and small forward Marcus Thornton to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for a protected 2016 first-round pick and Joel Anthony. While this trade isn't the big splash some Rockets fans were hoping for it does serve a purpose.

Can Joel Anthony still play? 33 years old and is averaging less than 5 minutes per game this season. Only 13 games played. He used to be a decent undersized center, very athletic and strong, when he first came out of UNLV eight years ago. He had some decent years with the Miami Heat during his younger days. I guess he's just on his last legs of his NBA career. Maybe we can get some bench minutes out of him?

General manager Daryl Morey is trying to gather future assets (draft picks) and he's creating more financial flexibility for this summer's big free agent class which is headlined by premier superstar Kevin Durant. If the Rockets are unable to trade Dwight Howard in the next 10 minutes before the NBA trading deadline ends then they are prepared to just play out the final few months of this season with him on the roster. Dwight Howard is going to opt out and become an unrestricted free agent this summer. The Rockets may have close to $30 million in cap space to work with in free agency just judging by the raw numbers.

The first-round pick we got from the Pistons could be nice to have. That pick is top-eight-protected in 2016 and top-10 protected in 2017 and 2018. If we still haven't gotten the first-round pick from Detroit by then, in 2019, it becomes unprotected and the Rockets would get the Pistons' pick even if it's the first overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft but that's highly unlikely. More than likely we'll attain that first-round pick in the next draft or two.

As far as losing Donatas Motiejunas and Marcus Thornton, it's tough to see because I became a fan favorite of both of those guys. D-Mo is a solid post-up scorer that can finish with either hand. He can also space the floor and make three-pointers. The problem is D-Mo has been dealing with back injuries since last season and he's been missing too many games with injuries. Also Marcus Thornton is a solid bench scorer. The Pistons just acquired two good players if they can stay healthy.

The Rockets may not even make the playoffs this year. I still want them to (I never lose faith), but it's hard when you are trading away good players, and if nothing else, gutting your overall depth. It seems like the Rockets are trying to rebuild on the fly. On the plus side they should be in position to reload this summer if they can get lucky and sign a premier free agent or two.

I still want to hold on to some small hope that the Houston Rockets can make the 2016 NBA Playoffs. We need to beat the Suns tomorrow night on the road which will end our two-week long losing streak. Try to jump start a nice final two months of the season. This team can still leap frog the 8th, 7th and 6th seeds by merely stringing together a nice little winning streak.

At least the Houston Astros began spring training practices this past week. Ken Giles is already hitting 96-to-100 MPH in his fastball. At least there's one pro team in Houston that is going to be really good and fun to watch win a lot of games. And this summer's interesting NBA free agency class will be just around the corner in July. Daryl Morey has put the Rockets in position to chase any of the big names which will be headlined by Kevin Durant.

I'm still excited looking ahead even if I feel a little down on sports right now. It didn't help that the Houston Texans lost 30-0 at home against the Chiefs in their AFC wild-card playoff game a little over a month ago. It's not like the football team was lifting up my morale any. Even though I wasn't too surprised given the horrendous play they continued to receive out of the quarterback position, mainly Brian Hoyer.

It was definitely bittersweet watching the Denver Broncos win Super Bowl 50 because they had the Houston Texans ex head coach (Gary Kubiak), ex defensive coordinator (Wade Phillips) and even our former starting tight end (Owen Daniels). Just four years ago all of those great men were good enough to lead the Texans to a franchise best 12-4 record. We also had the best record in the NFL through 12 games that season at 11-1.

Also seeing former Texas A&M Aggie and a local high school product as well, Von Miller, win the Super Bowl 50 MVP was pretty cool for me to see. I've always been a fan of his even before he was drafted by the Denver Broncos. But all of that just makes me want to see the Houston Texans win a Super Bowl one day. We have the best defensive player in the NFL in J.J. Watt (Von Miller is #2) but it never seems like enough. Without good quarterback play it's hard to win at the highest level.

I have to remind myself that sports can equate to unnecessary stress sometimes. Too much stress isn't any good. Well, only in moderation for me. So I must take a deep breath and not even think about anything sports related. In the mean time I can go enjoy a nice movie or TV show.

Maybe play some more games this weekend (I'm an action RPG kind of guy) although I haven't played much in the past few weeks. Mostly Marvel Heroes 2016: This game is the real deal Holyfield (the undisputed champ at the moment). But I also want to get back into all of the old games I used to play just to see if I can spark an exciting feeling of nostalgia.



I may relax and go to the movie theaters tonight.
Not sure which new movie I want to watch though...
Deadpool or Zoolander 2? Watching the trailers, both look exciting and enticing to me.

I just started slowly leveling my Druid (12) and Amazon (5) on Diablo II. Perming them is what I'll try to complete this weekend. I just wanted to get them started so I can say I'm playing D2 on US East again. My Summon Druid is going to use an act 1 rogue mercenary named Fiona. I was inspired by Kristin Kreuk's character role in the 2004 comedy "EuroTrip."







She has that funny dancing scene when Matt Damon is singing a song called "Scotty Doesn't Know" and it's one of my favorite movies from that particular decade. Like a rock star gracing the stage, Fiona then passionately kisses Matt Damon at the end of that hilarious scene. Gosh, that movie came out twelve years ago when it seems like only yesterday. I sure do feel old.

Kristin Kreuk was awesome as Lana Lang on Smallville (old show) and even more so right now as Catherine Chandler in Beauty and the Beast (current show). I've seen every episode from both TV series, and I'll even watch re-runs because she's been one of my favorite actresses for the past fifteen years (since 2001).

I'm looking forward to watching the Houston Rockets at Phoenix Suns game tonight.

It's the first Rockets game in over a week and they haven't won a game in nearly two weeks. The Houston Rockets are currently tied with the Utah Jazz for the 8th seed in the Western Conference after the Jazz lost at Washington last night. The Rockets are within striking distance of the Trail Blazers and Mavericks for the 7th and 6th seeds as well.

Making the 2016 NBA Playoffs is still a high priority for this team despite all the adversity and doubters out there.

The attitude of the team seems to be in high spirits after a long all-star break and a hectic trading deadline that featured many big-name players rumored to be involved in potential trades but they all ended up staying. James Harden and Dwight Howard seem eager to put all the criticism aside and lead this to the playoffs in these final two months of the season.

Ty Lawson says he is feeling good and ready for a good second-half of the season after struggling so much in the first half.
With Patrick Beverley dealing with a sprained ankle we may see Ty Lawson playing more minutes which could help him.

After trading our best bench scorer, Marcus Thornton, it's important for Corey Brewer to step up and play well. He's also been struggling this season. Just a year ago Corey Brewer was vital in the Rockets' Western Conference Finals run as his nickname is the greyhound for his quick speed and high energy level. Also the ageless Jason Terry was knocking down those corner threes last year and this year they just haven't been going down.

The main thing for the Rockets is just to keep playing hard and good things will start to happen. This entire season has been disappointing but there is still time to make the playoffs and try to salvage a respectable finish. When you're a talented team that's been underachieving and ridiculed all year long, pretty much the laughing stock of all the morning sports-talk shows, either you can listen to that nonsense and keep believing that garbage (weak minded). Or you can keep fighting and striving for improvement. I believe the true measure of success is not always defined by wins and losses, but rather what type of effort you give after being knocked around and embarrassed for so many games.

The Rockets may insert Josh Smith into the starting lineup tonight. Terrence Jones is a high-energy guy that could be better suited off the bench. A couple of lineup tweaks wouldn't hurt right now. It seems like head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has tried everything to light a spark into this team.

A quote from James Harden a few minutes ago during shoot-around: "We don’t care about the talk. Prove it to ourselves that we can get back to playing great basketball. We have a good opportunity. We’re good. We focus on these 27 games; 2nd half, brother.”

I just have to keep believing myself, as a hardcore Houston Rockets fan, because talent wise they've got it in them to make a run.