• Home
  • popular
  • EVENTS
  • submit-new-event
  • CHARITY GUIDE
  • Children
  • Education
  • Health
  • Veterans
  • Social Services
  • Arts + Culture
  • Animals
  • LGBTQ
  • New Charity
  • TRENDING NEWS
  • News
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Home + Design
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Innovation
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • subscribe
  • about
  • series
  • Embracing Your Inner Cowboy
  • Green Living
  • Summer Fun
  • Real Estate Confidential
  • RX In the City
  • State of the Arts
  • Fall For Fashion
  • Cai's Odyssey
  • Comforts of Home
  • Good Eats
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2010
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2
  • Good Eats 2
  • HMNS Pirates
  • The Future of Houston
  • We Heart Hou 2
  • Music Inspires
  • True Grit
  • Hoops City
  • Green Living 2011
  • Cruizin for a Cure
  • Summer Fun 2011
  • Just Beat It
  • Real Estate 2011
  • Shelby on the Seine
  • Rx in the City 2011
  • Entrepreneur Video Series
  • Going Wild Zoo
  • State of the Arts 2011
  • Fall for Fashion 2011
  • Elaine Turner 2011
  • Comforts of Home 2011
  • King Tut
  • Chevy Girls
  • Good Eats 2011
  • Ready to Jingle
  • Houston at 175
  • The Love Month
  • Clifford on The Catwalk Htx
  • Let's Go Rodeo 2012
  • King's Harbor
  • FotoFest 2012
  • City Centre
  • Hidden Houston
  • Green Living 2012
  • Summer Fun 2012
  • Bookmark
  • 1987: The year that changed Houston
  • Best of Everything 2012
  • Real Estate 2012
  • Rx in the City 2012
  • Lost Pines Road Trip Houston
  • London Dreams
  • State of the Arts 2012
  • HTX Fall For Fashion 2012
  • HTX Good Eats 2012
  • HTX Contemporary Arts 2012
  • HCC 2012
  • Dine to Donate
  • Tasting Room
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • Charming Charlie
  • Asia Society
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2012
  • HTX Mistletoe on the go
  • HTX Sun and Ski
  • HTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • HTX New Beginnings
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013
  • Zadok Sparkle into Spring
  • HTX Let's Go Rodeo 2013
  • HCC Passion for Fashion
  • BCAF 2013
  • HTX Best of 2013
  • HTX City Centre 2013
  • HTX Real Estate 2013
  • HTX France 2013
  • Driving in Style
  • HTX Island Time
  • HTX Super Season 2013
  • HTX Music Scene 2013
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013 2
  • HTX Baker Institute
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • Mothers Day Gift Guide 2021 Houston
  • Staying Ahead of the Game
  • Wrangler Houston
  • First-time Homebuyers Guide Houston 2021
  • Visit Frisco Houston
  • promoted
  • eventdetail
  • Greystar Novel River Oaks
  • Thirdhome Go Houston
  • Dogfish Head Houston
  • LovBe Houston
  • Claire St Amant podcast Houston
  • The Listing Firm Houston
  • South Padre Houston
  • NextGen Real Estate Houston
  • Pioneer Houston
  • Collaborative for Children
  • Decorum
  • Bold Rock Cider
  • Nasher Houston
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2021
  • CityNorth
  • Urban Office
  • Villa Cotton
  • Luck Springs Houston
  • EightyTwo
  • Rectanglo.com
  • Silver Eagle Karbach
  • Mirador Group
  • Nirmanz
  • Bandera Houston
  • Milan Laser
  • Lafayette Travel
  • Highland Park Village Houston
  • Proximo Spirits
  • Douglas Elliman Harris Benson
  • Original ChopShop
  • Bordeaux Houston
  • Strike Marketing
  • Rice Village Gift Guide 2021
  • Downtown District
  • Broadstone Memorial Park
  • Gift Guide
  • Music Lane
  • Blue Circle Foods
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2022
  • True Rest
  • Lone Star Sports
  • Silver Eagle Hard Soda
  • Modelo recipes
  • Modelo Fighting Spirit
  • Athletic Brewing
  • Rodeo Houston
  • Silver Eagle Bud Light Next
  • Waco CVB
  • EnerGenie
  • HLSR Wine Committee
  • All Hands
  • El Paso
  • Avenida Houston
  • Visit Lubbock Houston
  • JW Marriott San Antonio
  • Silver Eagle Tupps
  • Space Center Houston
  • Central Market Houston
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Travel Texas Houston
  • Alliantgroup
  • Golf Live
  • DC Partners
  • Under the Influencer
  • Blossom Hotel
  • San Marcos Houston
  • Photo Essay: Holiday Gift Guide 2009
  • We Heart Hou
  • Walker House
  • HTX Good Eats 2013
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2013
  • HTX Culture Motive
  • HTX Auto Awards
  • HTX Ski Magic
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2014
  • HTX Texas Traveler
  • HTX Cifford on the Catwalk 2014
  • HTX United Way 2014
  • HTX Up to Speed
  • HTX Rodeo 2014
  • HTX City Centre 2014
  • HTX Dos Equis
  • HTX Tastemakers 2014
  • HTX Reliant
  • HTX Houston Symphony
  • HTX Trailblazers
  • HTX_RealEstateConfidential_2014
  • HTX_IW_Marks_FashionSeries
  • HTX_Green_Street
  • Dating 101
  • HTX_Clifford_on_the_Catwalk_2014
  • FIVE CultureMap 5th Birthday Bash
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2014 TEST
  • HTX Texans
  • Bergner and Johnson
  • HTX Good Eats 2014
  • United Way 2014-15_Single Promoted Articles
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Houston
  • Where to Eat Houston
  • Copious Row Single Promoted Articles
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2014
  • htx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Zadok Swiss Watches
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2015
  • HTX Charity Challenge 2015
  • United Way Helpline Promoted Article
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Fusion Academy Promoted Article
  • Clifford on the Catwalk Fall 2015
  • United Way Book Power Promoted Article
  • Jameson HTX
  • Primavera 2015
  • Promenade Place
  • Hotel Galvez
  • Tremont House
  • HTX Tastemakers 2015
  • HTX Digital Graffiti/Alys Beach
  • MD Anderson Breast Cancer Promoted Article
  • HTX RealEstateConfidential 2015
  • HTX Vargos on the Lake
  • Omni Hotel HTX
  • Undies for Everyone
  • Reliant Bright Ideas Houston
  • 2015 Houston Stylemaker
  • HTX Renewable You
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • HTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Kyrie Massage
  • Red Bull Flying Bach
  • Hotze Health and Wellness
  • ReadFest 2015
  • Alzheimer's Promoted Article
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Professional Skin Treatments by NuMe Express

    Manziel's Combine Blunder

    Johnny Manziel full of himself at Combine: He's no Johnny Modesty or Clowney speedster, no true No. 1

    Chris Baldwin
    Feb 25, 2014 | 5:19 pm

    In the end, the painstakingly planned publicity push orchestrated by the best PR team money can buy — the multi-part series with a friendly writer, the non-clubbing photo ops, the Twitter restraint, the best behavior sit down with Peter King — cannot save Johnny Manziel from himself.

     

    He still comes across like Johnny Football at the NFL Combine. He still sounds as enamored with himself as the biggest Texas A&M University fanboy. And there's nothing wrong with that. It's part of what makes Manziel the most compelling player in football. It's why Manziel could stare down a revenge-minded Nick Saban in what stood up as the best college football game of the entire 2013 season.

     

    Manziel pretending otherwise is akin to Brett Favre walking around in a designer suit rather than jeans and not blasting out the type of selfies that no one wants to receive.

     

    Whatever team drafts Johnny Manziel should embrace his anti-Peyton Manning side. The NFL has more than enough drone-like corporate pitchmen. Manziel can't ever fit that mold. No matter how hard he hits his talking points about having grown up and understanding that pro football is a job — leaving a PR team silently clapping in the wings — he reverts to the real Johnny Football before long.

     
     

    The campaign trying to hide Manziel's true personality isn't doing him any good. It's mostly just silly.

     
     

    Manziel will answer a question about his almost 6-foot height by shooting back that he plays like he's "10 feet tall." He'll insist that he's "one of the most competitive people on the face of this earth" as if Michael Jordan suddenly needs to run from Johnny Football's sight at any casino or golf course.

     

    This is part of what makes Johnny Manziel so fascinating. And it has nothing to do with why the Houston Texans shouldn't draft him with the No. 1 overall pick. It's been amusing seeing national commentators read disapproval into new Texans coach Bill O'Brien's "it's a free country" remark about Manziel's declaration that the Texans would regret it from infinity to beyond (or something like that) if they pass on him come May 8.

     

    O'Brien spent every media moment in Indianapolis making sure he didn't tip his hand. Phil Ivey has less tells.

     

    The Texans coach wasn't knocking Manziel. He followed up the free country line by noting how he enjoyed watching Manziel on film.

     

    This campaign of trying to hide Johnny Manziel's true personality isn't doing him any good. It's mostly just silly. Everyone in the NFL knows what Johnny Football is really about by now. Manziel's cockiness isn't going to hold Manziel back. Just like it's not Tim Tebow's Christianity that limited his career choices to hilarious TV pitchman.

     

    The reason the Texans can't use the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft on Johnny Football is much simpler than all the PR machinations would have one believe. It comes down to straight up talent.

     

    It's all about the big speeding blur that should have bloated out all the silly talk from the NFL Combine. Jadeveon Clowney was the No. 1 talent going into the Combine and he put on the best show. His 4.47 unofficial (and still much-faster-than-Manziel) 4.53 official 40-yard dash time is the stuff a new age Lawrence Taylor is made of.

     

    This burst of super speed from the 6-foot-5, 265-pound very bad man should have squashed all the forced rationalizations. The supreme talent of the 2014 draft class has long been clear.

     

    Yet, the campaigning persists. Many of the same writers declaring Manziel a changed man, dismissing his past (always overblown) sins are harping on Clowney's equally overblown transgressions. Only a Manziel fanatic could make speeding tickets seem like a great indictment of Clowney's character.

     

    The double standard is real and it's fascinating how committed those perpetuating it are to the mission.

     

     NFL Draft No. 1 Blazingly Clear

     

    You don't pass on the next Lawrence Taylor level offensive gameplan obliterator to grab an uncertain quarterback prospect. Especially when you already have a still young quarterback prospect on the roster who's shown plenty of promise like the Texans do with Case Keenum.

     

    Holding the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft is often about not outsmarting yourself. The Indianapolis Colts simply didn't outsmart themselves when they chose Peyton Manning in the 1998 draft. The Colts didn't dare to be different when they took the safety of Andrew Luck over the more brittle brilliance of Robert Griffin III (a much tougher talent choice than anything the Texans face this year) in 2012 either.

     

    When you're holding the No. 1 selection, you grab the surest, blinding talent.

     
     

    It's not about taking a few plays off. It's about what Clowney does with the plays he's on.

     
     

    That's clearly Clowney this year. And the gap isn't even close. The so-called worries about Clowney's "work ethic" are comical. It's not about taking a few plays off. It's about what he does with the plays he's on. This super fast big man can completely disrupt any of the NFL's pass-happy offenses. If anyone should appreciate that, it's a quarterback guru like O'Brien.

     

    Do you think Tom Brady would fear a matchup with Johnny Manziel? He'd sure take notice of where Clowney was though.

     

    There are plenty of guys barely hanging on in the NFL who work endlessly hard without ever truly impacting a game. There are maybe one or two with the skills and talent of a Jadeveon Clowney. You don't think Johnny Manziel ever took a play off in college? Really? Did you watch that first half against Duke in the Chick-fil-A Bowl?

     

    It turns out Johnny Football and his advisors are fighting the wrong war. It's not about finding corporate speak and feigning humility. Manziel and his team are like the Woody Harrelson character in True Detective, always looking at the wrong thing.

     

    It comes down to talent. That's where Manziel — as compelling and guts-out and great as he is — comes up lacking compared to the true No. 1. The NFL Combine couldn't change that. It only confirmed the bigger, faster truth.

     

    Jadeveon Clowney dazzled in the 40-yard dash.

    Clowney NFL combine
      
    Photo by Joe Robbins Getty Images
    Jadeveon Clowney dazzled in the 40-yard dash.
    unspecified
    news/sports

    most read posts

    Exclusive: New cocktail bar from Houston hospitality stars coming to the Heights

    Houston will have vivid sunsets and air quality issues from Saharan dust

    This Houston suburb had the highest apartment rent prices in June

    16,000 amateur athletes coming to Houston for Junior Olympic Games

    Jef Rouner
    Jun 30, 2025 | 9:45 am
    A boy in a gi breaks a stack of boards in a sports arena
    Photo courtesy of Amateur Athletic Union (AAU)
    Taekwondo is just one of the events showcased at the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Junior Olympic Games

    The finest young athletes in the nation will be heading to Houston for 12 days of intense competition as the city hosts the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Junior Olympic Games for the fourth time.

    “We’re very excited to once again welcome the country’s best competitors and their families to Houston for the 2025 AAU Junior Olympic Games,” Harris County - Houston Sports Authority (HCHSA) CEO Ryan Walsh said in a statement. “The AAU has a long history of producing some of the most renowned athletes in the country, and we look forward to seeing the next generation of talent compete in this year’s events. It’s an honor to bring the AAU Junior Olympic Games back to our city.”

    Competition will take place July 22 - August 2.

    Founded in 1888, the AAU is the largest nonprofit youth multi-sports organization in the United States, and its Junior Olympic Games is the largest multi-sport youth event, featuring 16,000 athletes in this year's games. Previously, it was the primary feeder program for the International Olympic Games, and to this day many Olympic luminaries are AAU alumni. These include Houston's own gymnast Simone Biles, Dallas track star Sha’Carri Richardson, swimmer Katie Ledecky, and beach volleyball player Sara Hughes.

    The schedule for the AAU Junior Olympics is as follows..

    • Swimming: Tuesday, July 22 - Sunday, July 27 at the Cy-Fair Natatorium
    • Indoor Sports: Wednesday, July 23 - Wednesday, July 30 at the George R. Brown Convention Center
      • Baton Twirling, Dance, Cheerleading, Gymnastics, Jump Rope, Karate, Taekwondo, Trampoline & Tumbling, Sports Stacking and Wrestling
    • Flag Football: Thursday, July 24 - Sunday, July 27 at Rice Stadium
    • Track & Field/Multi-Events: Saturday, July 26 - Saturday, August 2 at Turner Stadium
    • Field Hockey: Monday, July 28 - Thursday, July 31 at Episcopal High School
    One notable aspect of Houston hosting is that the city is on track to be the second-most used home for the games. With Houston slated to also host in 2027 and 2031, the Bayou City will trail only Des Moines, IA.

    “We are so excited to bring our premier event back to Houston,” AAU President Jo Mirza said. “The AAU Junior Olympic Games bring together athletes from all corners of the country and all walks of life to showcase their skills on a national stage. Harris County Houston Sports Authority has been an invaluable partner in helping us create such a successful event for these athletes and attendees.”

    Tickets and more information can be found at HoustonSports.org.

    news/sports
    Loading...