Beyond the Boxscore

Lucky Peyton Manning & dismissed Tim Tebow don't stack up to Texans' revengegame

No one needs to tell the Houston Texans and Arian Foster how important it is toget a leg up on the Ravens.
Photo by © Michelle Watson/CultureMapSNAP.com
The Houston Texans haven't forgotten the feeling of having their season crushedin Baltimore last January.
While the Texans identity remains locked in defense, the Ravens have become anoffensive team under Joe Flacco.

It's been 275 days since the Houston Texans had their hearts ripped out in Baltimore and you can be sure that they've thought about it almost every day since.

"You just don't forget a game like that," defensive end Antonio Smith says.

And Smith is one of the most carefree characters in all of football. Imagine how that second-round playoff loss hounds a player like Andre Johnson. It's not just that the Texans lost 20-13 in excruciating fashion with an AFC Championship Game berth right there for the taking — with Jacoby Jones touching that punt he never should have gone near to gift Baltimore a touchdown, with rookie quarterback-turned-emergency-starter T.J. Yates throwing three interceptions as he kept trying to force the ball to Johnson.

Both Baltimore and Houston are 5-1. No other team in the AFC is above .500. Even Tom Brady is only 3-3.

It's more than all that. It's the fact that anyone who attended that game couldn't help but leave the stadium certain that the better defense had lost.

This season-ending loss was in many ways the Bulls On Parade's national coming out party, the time that anyone who really knows football understood that Gary Kubiak's team would be challenging for the Super Bowl this season. There was that unforgettable goal-line stand, the constant collapsing of Joe Flacco's pocket by J.J. Watt and Brooks Reed, the forcing the Ravens to go three and out nine times.

Now, the Ravens are suddenly standing back in the Texans' way, coming into Reliant Stadium for a Sunday showdown that will determine which team walks away with the best record in the AFC.

Them again.

The New Rivals

If you don't think that the Ravens and Texans are rivals, that a game against this Baltimore team doesn't mean more than one against Tennessee or Jacksonville to Watt, Johnathan Joseph and Brooks Reed (or Matt Schaub for that matter), you simply haven't been paying attention. Or are stuck somewhere around 2004.

The Ravens have beaten Houston three times in the last two seasons — including two of the most crushing defeats ever for Bob McNair's franchise: the 2010 Monday Nighter (in the pre-defense days, before Wade Phillips, Watt, Joseph or Reed) when Schaub led a frantic, thrilling comeback only to throw it away on the first play in overtime and the playoff game that will sting at least until the Texans are back in the postseason this January.

"You just don't forget a game like that," defensive end Antonio Smith says.

Baltimore has become the Texans' measuring stick in many ways.

The fact that the Ravens boasted one of the most ferocious defenses in the land for more than a decade has something to do with it. These Bulls love to hold themselves up against the best.

In a twist, John Harbaugh's team no longer possesses that type of defense — especially not with the Monday news that Ray Lewis is out for the season with a torn triceps, joining cornerback Lardarius Webb on the list of Baltimore difference makers gone. These Ravens must try and outscore teams, while the Texans are the team whose dominant identity now lives on defense.

"They’ve been successful defensively for numerous years — ever since I've been around," Kubiak insists at his Monday press conference. "I’m sure they’re planning on staying the same way. It’s about their scheme. (The injury) just challenges their scheme.”

Schemes don't work without great players though — and now Baltimore's best players are on offense.

Standings Don't Lie

One thing that hasn't changed is the Ravens being the Texans' prime obstacle.

Peyton Manning's lucky comeback in San Diego might be the talk of the NFL. But Ravens-Texans will be the game that carries on into January.

Both Baltimore and Houston are 5-1. No other team in the AFC is above .500. Even Tom Brady is only 3-3. Whoever wins this game suddenly has a huge early, near mid-season edge on holding homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.

Peyton Manning's lucky comeback (he never has a chance if Philip Rivers doesn't pull off one of sports' all-time implosions) in San Diego might be the Tuesday morning talk of the NFL — if it's not Tim Tebow being made increasingly irrelevant. But Ravens-Texans will be a game that carries on into January.

It doesn't matter if it's being played at noon on a Sunday rather than Sunday or Monday night. Some games are prime-time whenever they're played.

"The Ravens," Reed says. "It doesn't get any bigger for this team than that."

Relive the punt that crushed a season:

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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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