Here we are folks, just days away from the first official and true kickoffs of high school football season.
Brandon Faircloth, are the Port Neches-Groves Indians ready? Hey coach Larry Neumann, how do your Bulldogs look? Can someone ask Kenny Harrison if his Titans are prepared for the Beaumont Ozen Panthers?
These questions have answers and readers can find them all this week throughout the sports pages of The Port Arthur News. …
If readers have not noticed, Barbara Comeaux and the PN-G Rock-A-Noos are kicking some tail these days. Comeaux and her volleyball team entered Friday’s match against Hamshire-Fannett with a 10-3 record. Interesting note on Comeaux, she and my mother Patricia Hebert went to school together at Thomas Jefferson High School. …
Word out of McNeese State is former Nederland quarterback Sage Seay is now at the linebacker position. Seay is listed on the school’s website as 6-feet-3 and 205 pounds.
Last year’s Port Arthur News Super Team MVP will wear No. 33 and reported Saturday he expects to get some playing time as a freshman. …
Speaking of Seay, a few weeks back I issued the challenge to all current Nederland players to show off their best dance moves during practice in honor of his dancing around last year. This past week I noticed offensive lineman Justin Carr getting down quite a bit during a break in action. Carr is the winner for last week. …
Robert Griffin III cannot catch a break. Griffin left Washington’s 21-17 preseason victory Thursday with a stinger and it was soon announced he suffered a concussion. Coach Jay Gruden said the team is unsure how much time RGIII will miss.
I have never been a full RGIII fan and still hope to see him get back on the field and play some good football in 2015. …
At least through Friday, the Houston Astros all of a sudden have what is called a hitting problem. Tampa Bay’s Chris Archer was pitching proof on Thursday.
Archer pitched a one-hitter and the lowly Rays split the series in Houston. Archer now has three career shutouts, two against the Astros. The first was back in 2013.
Colby Rasmus in the fifth got the only Astros hit. Jose Altuve has started to come around with his bat, yet guys like Carlos Gomez, Evan Gattis, Preston Tucker and Jed Lowrie are struggling at the plate. If it was not for Carlos Correa and Marwin Gonzalez, the Astros might not have a first-place lead in the AL West. …
One of the more perplexing moves by Houston as of late was sending relief pitcher Josh Fields down to Double-A ball. Fields, over his last 13 appearances, has not given up a run. He has been the best pitcher out of the bullpen and has a 2.20 ERA. It is possible the Astros simply want to look at Vince Velasquez, whom they brought up but late August is not the time to try things out.
Houston cannot afford a bad outing from Velasquez, so go with what you know works while in a division race. …
Correa is starting to look more and more like a lock for AL Rookie of the Year. Manager A.J. Hinch is almost a guarantee to win Manager of the Year. The Astros are winning at such a high rate and it is really a year ahead of schedule. …
It is hard to believe Friday’s no-hitter was the first in relatively short history of Minute Maid Park. If anyone has a guess or reason as to why the number of no hitters seems to be on the rises, see my email at the end of this column and let me know. …
The story of Tim Tebow looks like it will continue past the preseason with Chip Kelly and the Philadelphia Eagles. Kelly reportedly has been impressed with the former Florida Gators star, and if Tebow avoids major flaws the rest of the way, he will be on the roster when the regular season begins. Tebow, in his debut last Sunday, was 6 of 12 passing for 69 yards and rushed four times for 15 yards with a touchdown. …
How serious is Charlie Strong about turning around the culture in Austin? Strong and his staff have talked about more freshmen getting looks to start games in 2015. If position battles are at a tie, the freshman is likely to win out, according to reports out of Austin. Connor Williams at right tackle is one guy who is being talked about starting in his first year on campus. …
The latest depth chart out of Lamar has Joe Minden ahead of Carson Earp as the starting Cardinals quarterback. … Earp, by the way, is in fact a relative of OK Corral legend Wyatt Earp. Now “Tombstone” is far and away one of this writer’s favorite movies, but the fact Carson Earp can watch it and imagine it as a family documentary is amazing.
Gabriel Pruett is a sports writer at The News. He can be reached at gabe.pruett@panews.com and can be followed on Twitter at @PaNewsGabe.