The Rockets won a thrilling 130-125 overtime game against the Denver Nuggets. James Harden scored a game high 32 points with 10 assists. Omer Asik added 18 points with 23 rebounds and rookie Isaiah Canaan came off the bench and scored 15 points (4-for-7 shooting threes). It was a gutsy win for the Houston Rockets, who only suited up nine active players, as four guys continue to be injured. The most important ones being starters Dwight Howard and Patrick Beverley.

With a 51-25 record the Houston Rockets continue to strive for home court advantage in the first round of the 2014 NBA playoffs. They are close to clinching the fourth seed with only six regular-season games left to play. The next one being at Staples Center against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday Night. A 10:35 PM Eastern start time on TNT.

After losing two games in a row to the Los Angeles Angels by a combined 16-2 score (11-1 and 5-1) with their number four and five starting pitchers, Lucas Harrell and Dallas Keuchel, the Houston Astros are back to .500 at 3-3 with a nice 7-4 win over the Angels. Opening day starter Scott Feldman continues to dazzle with 2-0 record, 0.66 ERA and an excellent batting average against of .111. He pitched a three-hitter over seven innings and only allowed one run. The Astros provided Scott Feldman with all the offensive support he needed by hitting five home runs: Two-run shots by Jason Castro and Jonathan Villar, and solo homers by Matt Dominguez, Jesus Guzman and Alex Presley.

The Astros will try to split the four-game series with the Angels later today: Jarred Cosart (1-0, 0.00 ERA) versus C.J. Wilson (0-1, 9.53 ERA).

The Houston Rockets beat the Lakers 145-130 at Staples Center to improve their overall record to 52-25 on the 2013-2014 season. James Harden and Terrence Jones both scored 33 points apiece and combined for 66 points total. Harden added 12 assists and Jones produced 7 rebounds to go along with their monster scoring games. Omer Asik continued to play well starting at center: 10 points, 15 rebounds and 2 blocks. Isaiah Canaan provided 15 points off the bench on 3-for-4 shooting from three-point range. The Rockets only have five games left this season and they play at Denver tonight at 9:05 PM Eastern.

The Houston Astros continued to stumble with a 5-2 loss at Toronto last night following their 9-1 loss against the Angels. That's now five losses in their last six games and the Astros 2014 record is now a disappointing 3-5 after a nice 2-0 start. I guess following a franchise worst 51-111 season in 2013, I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. It would have been nice to at least flirt with a .500 record as the summertime approaches. It's still early in the season but it's frustrating to watch them being out-scored 41-11 in the past six games.

The Houston Texans began their 2014 off-season workout program as they continue to make preparations for draft night on Thursday, May 8. With the first overall pick it seems likely that they will select South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney. I expect them to draft a quarterback with the thirty-third overall pick which is the first selection in the second round. Eastern Illinois quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, would be an ideal second-round pick but his stock is so high he may be drafted towards the end of round one. It's definitely a wait-and-see game at this point. All I know for sure is that the Texans can't afford to make the wrong picks coming off a 2-14 season.

It was a tough 123-116 loss for the Rockets at Denver last night. Playing their third game in four nights it seemed like tired legs set in from the get go. The Rockets fell behind by a score of 30 to 11 during the first quarter. Omer Asik was the only starter who played reasonably well by scoring 12 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. James Harden had his worst shooting game of the season (1-for-9) and suffered a minor left shin injury. He would later return to the game and go a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line and ended up with 10 points scored.

The bright spot for the Rockets were rookies Troy Daniels, who scored 12 points by making four three-pointers on 4-for-6 shooting, and Robert Covington, who added 5 points on 2-for-3 shooting which included one three-pointer. The two rookies entered the game with 11:05 left in the fourth quarter and they out-scored the Nuggets 28 to 13 during that time (+15 scoring differential). The Rockets next game is at Minnesota on Friday Night. An 8:05 PM Eastern start time.

A 7-3 loss at Toronto drops the Astros' record to 3-6 on the season. They are now a dismal 1-6 in their last 7 games. They are just not generating enough runs per game and the starting pitching, outside or ace Scott Feldman, has been unreliable and inconsistent. The Astros will try to end their losing ways tonight: Dallas Keuchel (0-1, 7.20 ERA) versus the knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (1-1, 4.63 ERA).

The 2013-2014 Houston Rockets journey towards winning their third NBA title in franchise history starts tonight in Game 1 of their 2014 first round playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers. It was a fun season that saw many ups and downs but in the end a 54-28 record was good enough to earn home court advantage in the first round against Portland. I expect Toyota Center to be extra loud tonight with a sea of Rockets red among a sold-out and energetic crowd. I'm beyond excited and ready for the game to tip off tonight at 9:35 PM Eastern. The game will air nationally on TNT. In a seven-game series every game is huge and you can't take anything for granted until you win that fourth game.

Game 1 was a thrilling game but the Rockets came up short 122-120 in overtime. I could sit here and point out all of the mistakes the Rockets made but it's a waste of time. I have to give credit to the Portland Trail Blazers for simply making the big plays they needed in order to win that game late in regulation and overtime.

LaMarcus Aldridge was sensational and had one of the better playoff performances that I've ever seen scoring 46 points with 18 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 assists. There is no question he's the best power forward in the game. The Rockets simply have nobody who can defend him. Damian Lillard, who I consider the third best point guard in the NBA behind Chris Paul and Tony Parker, was quicker than lightning when attacking the basket. He ended up with 31 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists.

Game 2 is set for Wednesday Night in Houston at 9:35 PM Eastern on TNT. I'm not sure how the Rockets can win this series after what I watched last night. As a Houston sports fan I'm sort of used to disappointment in the playoffs so I guess I can brush a tough loss off my shoulders. It's easier to do when the other team flat out earned it with better clutch plays and coaching late in the game.

The Astros picked up a rare 7-6 win over the Oakland Athletics to improve their season record to 8-17 on the season. It was the first time in five games that the Astros had defeated the Athletics this season. Chris Carter hit a two-run homer, Dexter Fowler added a solo homer with an RBI single, and starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel put the team in position to win with 6.1 innings pitched allowing only three earned runs, six strikeouts and two walks.

Sunday's pitching matchup figures to be a good one as Collin McHugh (1-0, 0.00 ERA) takes on Tommy Milone (0-1, 4.24 ERA). Collin McHugh will try to build on his amazing Astros debut at Seattle: 3-hit shutout over 6.2 innings pitched with 12 strikeouts. Hopefully he'll prove to be more than a one game fluke because the Astros need all the help they can get. A fourth straight year with the worst record in baseball is starting to take its toll on me.

The Houston Astros have won two games in a row and improved to 9-17 this year. Collin McHugh continues to be a nice surprise as he dazzled yet again against a very good Oakland Athletics lineup, limiting them to one earned run and two hits over 8.2 innings pitched. In two starts for the Astros he has an impressive 2-0 record with an 0.59 ERA and a 19 to 3 strikeout-to-walk ratio. I'm excited for his next start this weekend against the Seattle Mariners. The Astros will host the Washington Nationals for a mini two-game series starting tonight. They are trying to win a season high three games in a row and Jarred Cosart will oppose Gio Gonzalez on the mound.

This post was edited by Madmartigan on Apr 29 2014 02:22am

I'm looking forward to the 2014 Houston Texans preseason opener August 9 at Arizona.
About 15 more days to go! Even though it's just the preseason I'm glad the NFL is back.

The Houston Texans are 2-1 on the young 2014 NFL season. Key injuries to first overall pick Jadeveon Clowney and all pro running back Arian Foster are definite setbacks but that's part of the game. There really isn't any reason to panic this early in the season and it's not like both players will be out a long time.

Week 1: Texans 17, Redskins 6
Week 2: Texans 30, Raiders 14
Week 3: Giants 30, Texans 17

It's nice to see Jeoffrey Pagan, the rookie defensive end out of Alabama, getting a few snaps. He's yet to fill up the stats sheet but he nearly picked off a batted pass by J.J. Watt. We definitely need nose tackle Louis Nix III healthy and on the field. Obviously Jadeveon Clowney is the big piece to the puzzle that we're missing. I have faith in all three rookies but it's going to take some time and patience for the defense to become as great as I envision it to be. The overall pass rush right now is lacking and the run defense is struggling. I'm happy with a 2-1 record for now.

The Texans have to beat the Bills at home on Sunday and reach 3-1. I'd call it a must win game without a doubt. Especially with two tough games against the Cowboys and Colts coming up. At worse, I want to be 3-3 after six weeks. Hopefully we can pull off 4-2. That would have us looking good and very much alive in both the AFC South standings and the AFC wild card race. Jadeveon Clowney should return for the Week 7 game against the Steelers. I'm targeting that date for him. That's a Monday Night Game (October 20) on ESPN at Pittsburgh. No doubt Clowney wants to return in style on primetime TV.

Best case scenario: Jadeveon Clowney returns for the game against the Colts Week 6 and the Texans defense causes some serious havoc against superstar quarterback Andrew Luck. I'd love to see the Texans defense dominate against the Colts' explosive offense. That's why the Texans drafted Clowney and put this defense together. To try and handle Luck twice a season for the next decade.

A couple of random thoughts this morning on the Houston Texans: 9-time all pro punter Shane Lechler continues to feel soreness around some bruised soft tissue on his punting foot after one of his punts was blocked this past Sunday against the Giants. Worst case scenario is searching through the waiver wire for a released punter or signing a street free agent. Shane Lechler is listed as a day-to-day injury so perhaps he won't miss any time. Punters typically don't qualify for the pro football Hall of Fame just on that alone, but Lechler has been so great during his career he may test that theory out sometime down the road.

Punting is important for field position but the Texans have to focus on more sustained drives and scoring Touchdowns. Our offense right now leaves a lot to be desired. Arian Foster has to play every game and stop missing action because a little minor injury. Are you telling me Arian Foster wouldn't have played last Sunday if it had been a playoff game? I find that hard to believe. He said himself he felt good enough to play 20 minutes before the game but somehow he wasn't in uniform when the game kicked off. His nagging hamstring injuries have been a constant problem for three years now. He went from being a top three running back in the league to a mere afterthought at this point. You'd be lucky if you find anybody who still considers him a top ten back much less top five.

The quarterback debate and which Ryan to start: We'll never know how good Ryan Mallett can become if he doesn't play. I think this team can make the playoffs regardless if it's Fitzpatrick or Mallett behind center. For me personally, I want to see the guy with the bigger upside who can be around longer. That's probably why I'm in favor of Mallett. We already know what Ryan Fitzpatrick can do. Average arm, high IQ and a decent scrambler who can pick up some yards with his legs at his old age. Pretty much a game manager at best. Mallett is younger and has a much stronger arm. Accuracy is the key for him. It's obvious that rookie quarterback Tom Savage is nowhere near ready to play so he's not even an option at this particular time.

This post was edited by Madmartigan on Sep 23 2014 10:35am