Shredded in courage

Case closed: Keenum's Houston Cougars career is over, but he's proven he beatsJake Locker in guts

Case Keenum is done for the season, his University of Houston career over.
Kevin Sumlin now faces an unexpected retooling season.

Case Keenum's right knee is shredded and the University of Houston football team's season is in tatters.

Keenum is out for the season, after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in Saturday night's 31-13 loss to UCLA in the Rose Bowl. With backup quarterback Cotton Turner also out for the year after breaking his collarbone in the same game, the Cougars went from envisioning a major bowl appearance to bracing for an unexpected retooling season in one West Coast trip flat.

This is one Southern California wave that nobody wants to catch.

But today's not the day to lament what's evaporated for a Cougars program so desperate for national recognition.

There will be plenty of time for that. Instead, this day should be about Keenum and what he's meant to Houston. The senior ends his Cougar career as the fifth-leading passer in NCAA history, but that's the stuff of Heisman Trophy campaign pushes. Keenum is more than that.

At a football program that's long been defined by its quarterbacks' crazy numbers, Keenum brought a toughness and all-out-guts edge to the position that can't be defined in any stats book. Andre Ware and David Klinger were arguably both better college quarterbacks than Keenum, but neither one was quite as tough as this 6-foot-2, 210-pounder from Abilene.

That's why Keenum still might turn out to be a better pro than both Ware and Klinger, even coming back from a knee injury that will dramatically alter his draft status.

Keenum just never gives up. In the end, that trait helped cost him most of his senior season. If Keenum could just run away and stop chasing after players returning his interceptions, he'd be preparing to reassert the Cougars' PlayStation offense in Saturday afternoon's Robertson Stadium game with Tulane. But no matter how much Houston coach Kevin Sumlin urged him to make the smart retreat, Keenum didn't have that in him.

That's how he played. All out. Always.

The numbers say that Keenum's last game in a Cougars uniform is one of his worst (11-for-19 for only 87 yards and two interceptions). But anyone who actually watched UCLA dominate Houston's offensive line know that those numbers lie.

Coming off a concussion, playing when he really should have been sitting, Keenum just wouldn't stop coming at the Bruins no matter how many times he was hit, harried and hurried. He showed 10 times the guts that probable NFL No. 1 Jake Locker displayed in that 56-21 Nebraska wipeout of Locker's Washington Huskies earlier on Saturday. Locker never seemed like he wanted to be there in his 4-for-20 surrender.

Keenum always embraced the fight, threw himself into the center of it, no matter what was falling apart around him.

This quarterback is done at UH. But his fight still gives him a chance at a great future.

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chill out

Houston Astros ballpark gets cool new name for the next 15 years

Courtesy of the Houston Astros

The Astros' stadium will have a new name in 2025.

The Houston Astros are about to have the coolest ballpark in Major League Baseball. The team announced on Monday, November 18 that its has reached a naming rights agreement HVAC manufacturer Daikin Comfort Technologies North America, Inc.

Beginning on January 1, 2025, the stadium will be known as Daikin Park (die-kin). Scheduled to run through the 2039 season, the new name replaces Minute Maid Park, which has been the stadium’s name since 2002. It opened in 1999 as Enron Field.

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Astros fans online are already calling the new stadium “The Ice Box,” replacing its informal “The Juice Box” moniker. That name feels likely to stick.

Japan-based Daikin Industries is a leading manufacturer of HVAC systems. It sells air conditioning units and other products under brand names such as Daikin, Goodman, Amana® and Quietflex. Critically, it operates Daikin Texas Technology Park in nearby Waller, which is the largest HVAC manufacturing facility in North America. The company employs approximately 10,000 people in Greater Houston, according to a release.

“We are excited to be partnering with Daikin for our ballpark’s naming rights,” Astros owner Jim said. “Daikin is an international company that proudly calls the Greater Houston area its North American home. The Houston Astros and Daikin share the same values, a commitment to excellence and a desire to give back to our local community. As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of this ballpark in 2025, I am proud to have Daikin alongside us to create even more special memories for our fans now and in the future.”

The Astros will use the revenue for new stadium amenities and other upgrades. It will also continue the team’s various community initiatives. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. the Houston Chronicle notes that naming rights deals may be worth anywhere from $3.5 million per year (T-Mobile park in Seattle) to $11 million per year for the Texas Rangers’ Globe Life Field.

The team’s first game in Daikin Park will take place on Monday, March 24, which it plays an exhibition against its Triple-A affiliate, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys. It will open the regular season on Thursday, March 27 against the New York Mets.

“Daikin fit all of the criteria we set out to find in a naming rights partner,” Astros senior vice president Matt Brand added. “Their name and reputation fit our iconic downtown Houston home, and their values mesh perfectly with those of the Astros. We are grateful to partner with the entire Daikin team and to help them succeed in their business goals. Daikin Park will be a special place for our fans for many years to come.”

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