Daily Archives: August 6, 2017

SEATTLE, WA - JUNE 24: Starter Lance McCullers Jr.

Houston Texans: Five Reasons why Deshaun Watson could be great or a bust by Kenneth Cline

The rainbow uniform design has continued to be one of my favorite Houston Astros uniform design pieces and its right up there with the Shooting Star design of the 1960s. The design of the uniform that I mention of lasted for 21 years from 1975-86 and it has truly stood the test of time.

Paul Lukas of ESPN.com wrote a spectacular piece in regard to the untold story of the uniforms and how one begotten design firm created something that was revolutionary in its own right. Although I wasnt alive when the unis debuted back in 1975, I do recall seeing them at games in the Astrodome before they were modified after the 1986 season, one of the best in team history.

Seeing greats like Nolan Ryan and guys like Mike Scott, Alan Ashby, Jim Deshaies and Billy Hatcher don those uniforms was nothing short of amazing.

I didnt get to go to many games in my early childhood as my family was growing at the time and all my parents resources were focused on keeping a roof over our head and plenty of food to eat. But there were many occasions where I got to go to games and Id just be in awe of the luminosity of the unis as well as the effervescence of our home field, fresh off multi-million dollar renovation where whole interior appeared to be a giant rainbow.

I want to let you read the piece itself but Gary Rollins, the director of Astros TV and radio network, was more in favor of the traditional design like the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers but was steered more in the direction of something more bold. The network was hemorrhaging money at the time and were on the verge of declaring bankruptcy. But it was the new look that staved off such a notion and were a big hit.

Heres a categorization of the evolution by uni expert Paul Lukas:

I do disagree with Lukas in regard to the notion of the 75 jerseys being the best. Im just not a fan of the number being encapsulated in a circle but Im more in favor of the final rehash that continued from 1977-86. Even former Astros president and general manager Tal Smith lobbied hard to get the circle removed.

There were also sorts of designs proposed from a white star on the front to a unique-looking A on the cap of the uniform as well as orange pants. Take a look of those pics None of those wouldve been a good idea because one needs the audacity of such a new concept but not the point of being too tacky. I think the Houston Astros found a perfect medium with the two, hence the design that many of us still wear to this day as a homage to a notable era in franchise history.

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It wouldve been an injustice had this story had not been told and Im glad that a fellow journalist went out to seek the truth and to report it as fully as possible. That is, of course, one of the guiding principles in this business. Lets hope this design continues to stand the test of time like it already has.

Go Astros.

Original post:

Houston Astros Report: The evolution of the rainbow uniform revealed - House of Houston

It took a quarter of a century. The Premier League had gone from an almost exclusively British affair to a cultural melting pot, a place where players and managers from across the footballing world congregated and combined. But it was not until its 25th year that anyone won the league playing with a back three.

It is an indication of what a revolutionary Antonio Conte has proved. When the season starts on Friday, the Premier League may look like Serie A: not in the pace of the game, but in the formations.

The back three, largely unfashionable apart from a spell in the 1990s when Roy Evans' Liverpool and Brian Little's Aston Villa championed it, was used by 18 clubs last season. Even Arsene Wenger, a devotee of the back four, has become a late convert. Even Jose Mourinho has experimented with it. And they had been more English than the English in their preference for a defensive quartet.

For the first half of its existence, the Premier League's dominant formation was the traditionally British 4-4-2. Arguably the division's greatest side, Manchester United's 1999 Treble winners, just played it better than everyone else, albeit with split strikers.

Wenger brought the first injection of Total Football principles to the system, players such as Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg exchanging positions within the shape. Arsenal had a striker who did not always lead the line, a genuine No. 10 and inverted wide midfielders, rather than wingers.

Mourinho also brought a sea change in thinking when he first arrived in 2004. He removed a striker for an extra midfielder, helped by Frank Lampard's ability to outscore most forwards, prioritising the control a specialist anchorman gave him and preferring 4-3-3.

The cautious, counter-attacking approach he and Rafa Benitez introduced was copied. Alex Ferguson also started to field a third central midfielder, valuing possession, particularly in Europe.

Wenger abandoned 4-4-2 when Patrick Vieira left and Cesc Fabregas emerged. English football became less fast and furious. Its teams acquired more nous, which was reflected in its golden age in the Champions League in the 2000s.

Its lesser lights had a similarly pragmatic blueprint, courtesy of Sam Allardyce. He fielded a solitary striker, concentrated on clean sheets and set-pieces and kept teams up.

Players evolved to suit the new systems. The default ploy became 4-2-3-1. The specialist predator became an endangered species, along with the impotent target man; forwards needed to be a hybrid. Attacking midfielders, inverted wingers and No. 10s began to flourish.

The 2010s brought a drop in standards, an increase in goals and a clash of competing ideas. The emphasis on defence declined. Three teams scored a century of goals; a policy of all-out attack mixed with extreme tactical experimenting almost won Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool the title, even if it was a formula few could copy.

After two throwback champions, Mourinho's Chelsea resembling the side of a decade earlier and Leicester's 4-4-2 addicts caring little for possession and offering reminders of the 1980s, came a new era. Perhaps Conte has won the battle of ideas, but in one respect Mauricio Pochettino and Jurgen Klopp have taken English football back to its roots, with gegenpressing a new term for high-tempo football.

In another, the degree of tactical flexibility is new and perhaps will be more prevalent in the future. Pep Guardiola, always liable to change shape, could be a pioneer while Klopp has something both familiar and alien, using a false nine and little width in attack. But history tends to be written by the winners, so for now, Conte seems the most influential innovative import.

More:

EPL at 25: An evolution to find the winning edge - The Straits Times

Today Im going to do something unusual: write a direct and explicit response to a Christian. Instead of doing this to another Patheos blogger I am instead going to write to a Christian pastor who publishes videos on YouTube. The pastorI am responding to is Pastor Hines.I encourage any readers of mine to view the video by Pastor Hines. His channel is named Toward a Biblical and Christian Worldview.

Pastor Hines seems to truly believe that he can reduce gun violence but provides no evidence to support this idea.

He claims teaching evolutionand natural selection to children will cause them to lash out and act like animals. He claims that teaching the extraterrestrial origin of life (which no one teaches in the United States as far as I know, at least not as the definitive origin of life on this planet) is child abuse. Pastor Hines claims that abortion is murder and that we celebrate sexual filth. Pastor Hines claims its abusive to indoctrinate children into lies. He also claims that he and those in his camp can understand the world in a way that we as evolutionists cannot. Pastor Hines also tries to claim in a roundabout way that there are no Christian school shooters. Not true.

There is no connection between belief in evolution and school shootings in or out of the United States. Thats a blunt statement but its one that can easily be shown to be true. In order to examine this thoroughly and actually see why Ive arrived at this conclusion lets look at Ballotpedias map of school shootings from 1990 to the present. If you look at it carefully youll notice the most religious area, the south, has the most school shootings. That alone is enough to rip apart the claim that a belief in evolution inherently leads to a population of students more likely to engage in school shootings. But if thats not enough to convince you think about this: theres an article on Quartz which compares school shootings in the United States with multiple victims to school shootings in 36 other countries with multiple victims, whose combined total population is around 3.8 billion people.

I do not want people to leave here thinking I believe belief in Christianity leads to an increased likelihood of a student shooting up a school. I dont believe that. I believe that there are a multitude of factors which influence the possibility that a student or outsider might shoot up a school. But the idea that belief in evolution somehow positively correlates with an increase risk of school shootings is unsupported by evidence.

Victims of school shootings are not playthings you can use to make nonsensical points about the importance of your religion. These are both living and dead victims of a tragedy and I cannot fathom how vile a human being Pastor Hines must be to think that this is an acceptable thing to do. I cannot imagine how despicable someone must be to consider this an appropriate action.

Christianity alone will not reduce school shootings or other instances of violence in and out of school. It just wont and pretending that your religion is a universal remedy for very real violence and ignorance is dangerous. We need to find a way to reduce gun violence but I dont believe for a second that encouraging people to convert to any single religion will actually cause a detectable dip in violence. This pastor wants to make his listeners believe that violence can be reduced due to his religious beliefs. It hasnt been.

One of the biggest issues with the claims of Pastor Hines is that he provides no evidence for them. He doesnt even try. He just boldly asserts what he believes the world ought to be like but almost religiously refuses to back his claims. He doesnt deserve a venue with which to make these ignorant claims if he cant even be bothered to pretend to research them.

Another response to Pastor Hines has been created by the excellent YouTuber Essence Of Thought:

We need to have conversations about this backed by evidence. Pastor Hines is not interested in having such a conversation and this can be determined by examining his remarkable focus on a single school shooting, even if its one of the most violent in living memory. If we actually want to prevent more school shootings we need to carefully look at and analyze various school shootings to come across commonalities, and not make ignorant assertions about what we believe the causes are of a single shooting. Pastors like Pastor Hines do not help us move closer to a world with less school shootings.

Read more:

School Shootings And Evolution: A Response To Pastor Hines - Patheos (blog)

Eddie Jones says England will need to be the "best prepared team in the world" to return from Japan victorious.

TWICKENHAM -- Fail to prepare, prepare to fail. That is the adage driving England on as Eddie Jones attempts to mastermind 2019 Rugby World Cup glory.

The tournament in Japan does not kick off for another 25 months, but with their Pool C opponents confirmed, England have already begun to plan for their assault on the Webb Ellis Cup.

Eddie Jones believes Manu Tuilagi can "demolish" the All Blacks and branded Leicester's wrecking-ball centre worth every ounce of effort poured into rebuilding his injury-hit England career.

Manu Tuilagi has returned to the England squad for their three-day preseason training session this weekend.

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Jones is constantly looking to improve his side -- both on and off the field -- and with that in mind he and members of his backroom staff have looked to sports as diverse as football, formula one, cycling and bobsleigh for inspiration.

"We need to be the best prepared team in the world because to win the World Cup is going to take an extraordinary performance," Jones told reporters at a media briefing Friday.

"And to have an extraordinary performance, we have to have an extraordinary preparation."

They will also, more than likely, need to beat New Zealand. Jones hinted that he had spotted a weakness in the back-to-back champions over the summer, suggesting the All Blacks are "experiencing problems with their depth" as squad players head to Europe.

England are not scheduled to play the All Blacks prior to the World Cup, but signs from their own June tour were encouraging as a side shorn of 15 British & Irish Lions players sealed a 2-0 series win in Argentina.

Jones is not one to get carried away, though, and he knows there is plenty of work to do if England are to return from Japan victorious. On Friday, he admitted he did not have any players at his disposal who would strike fear in opponents.

"We're developing players who are going to be like that," he said.

Billy Vunipola, back in the training squad announced Thursday as he continues to recover from the shoulder injury that ended his Lions tour before it had begun, is one who Jones predicts has the potential to become world class.

Then there are the nine debutants from Argentina retained for the camp on the outskirts of London, with Tom Curry and Sam Underhill both receiving praise. "They've got a range of skills, a range of toughness to set them up to play Test rugby."

The inclusion of the opensides hints at an evolution in the back row. James Haskell's performances under Jones mean he has credit in the bank but the fight for the No. 7 jersey is on.

And that is, perhaps, the secret to England's success over the last 18 months. Everyone from captain Dylan Hartley to the coaching staff knows that if their level drops then their place in the group is under threat.

"No one's set in stone apart from myself for the next game," Jones said. "Everyone's got to keep improving. That's the challenge ahead."

On the pitch Jones is determined to see an improvement in how well his side uses the ball. He believes pragmatic rugby, building through phases to put the opposition under pressure, is a thing of the past.

"You've got to be able to crack the opposition in the first three phases," he said. "Find the space, use the ball, keep the ball alive, and be accurate in your skill work.

"So, that would be what we'd like to see. But that's not going to happen overnight. It takes time, it takes effort, it takes application."

It is the type of rugby that sets the All Blacks apart from every other rugby playing nation, and Jones' desire to depose New Zealand as the world's No. 1 side is behind his willingness to gamble on the talent of Manu Tuilagi.

The Leicester centre is still some way short of a return to the Test arena, as Jones himself admitted, but he possesses an irresistible ability to break the gain line and put into practice the type of game plan that the England coach craves.

"I know the kid himself is working as hard as he can to get back on the field," Jones said. "At the moment everything looks pretty positive so we've just got to pray that this positivity keeps going and he has a period where he can be injury-free and show what he's capable of."

The memory might be fading but England fans are well aware what Tuilagi is capable of. In 2012 the centre capped a wonderful performance with a try as the All Blacks were beaten 38-21 at Twickenham.

It was a game Jones alluded to Friday as he said: "No one's ripped them [New Zealand] apart, apart from Manu."

Jones added: "He loves rugby and he wants to play for England. He loves playing for England.

"He's doing everything he can to get ready and I'm impressed by his dedication because he's had a tough time. The amount of injuries he's had would be enough to knock people away."

Originally posted here:

Evolution key as Eddie Jones plots England's path to World Cup glory - ESPN.co.uk