Can the Texans finally win in Indianapolis?

Houston Texans seek their first win in nine tries in Indianapolis on Monday night when they face a Colts team trying to avoid an 0-3 start in the powerful AFC South this 2010 NFL football season.

The Houston Texans (4-2) improved to 2-15 all-time against Indianapolis (4-2) with a 34-24 victory Sept. 12 behind Arian Foster’s career highs of 33 carries, 231 yards rushing and three touchdowns – all in the second half – on the ground.

The Indianapolis Colts haven’t shown much improvement in their rushing defense since that game. They rank 26th against the run, allowing 137.3 yards per game while Foster is third in the league with an average of 105.8 yards. Peyton Manning has made a few uncharacteristic mistakes in the preseason but if there is one thing that we all know about him is that when the games count, he will be at his best. Manning is 4-1 in his last 5 Week 1 games.

The Texans have to feel they are getting closer to an elusive victory in Indianapolis after leading in the second halves of last two visits. Both teams enter off bye weeks, and the Colts received plenty of bad news. They will be without Pro Bowl tight end Dallas Clark and receiver Austin Collie, who both caught touchdown passes from Manning in Week 1.

Clark is out for the season with a wrist injury while Collie, who has a team-high six touchdown receptions, has an injured right thumb that could sideline him for several weeks. Rookie receiver Blair White is expected to get more snaps while Jacob Tamme, who has six career receptions and none this year, will replace Clark.

The Colts have won seven of nine AFC South titles, losing…

Because my money is on the Steelers tricking the Saints for some treats.

The world’s biggest Halloween party hits New Orleans as the last two Super Bowl champions meet on Sunday Night Football, with Drew Brees and the defending Super Bowl champion Saints face Ben Roethlisberger and the Super Bowl XLII champion Steelers in week 8 of the 2010 NFL football season.

It’s been anything but smooth sailing for the New Orleans Saints as they set out to defend their championship and while they returned nearly their entire roster, injuries and the target on their back the defending champions carry has taken its toll as they try and repeat.

Drew Brees has still put up big numbers completing nearly 70 percent of his passes for 2,029 yards with 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while being sacked 11 times. The Saints have had trouble in the backfield all season as injuries sidelined Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas has been dinged up. Bush is scheduled to return this week but without him in the lineup it’s been one less thing that defenses have needed to concern themselves with as Bush can hurt defenses so many ways, just his return should improve things all over the field for the offense.

Marques Colston has been Brees’ number one target…

Yeah, it seems Saints fans are determined to ruin Halloween.

What if you got all dressed up for Halloween and nobody was home — or pretended not to be? Or, even worse, what if your parents said: “Sorry, no trick-or-treating this year, we have other plans”?

That’s not so much a hypothetical situation as a distinct possibility this year, thanks to a New Orleans Saints scheduling quirk: The trick-or-treat witching hour on Oct. 31 coincides with the 7:20 p.m. kickoff of the Saints’ prime-time game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

That means 70,000 fans will be inside the Superdome for their Saints to watch them throw away the 2010 NFL football season instead of home passing out candy or making the rounds with their kids. And countless others will be home watching NBC with their porch lights off so they won’t be bothered while the game is on.

Rather than let Halloween become a Who Dat horror story, three local moms — Vaughn Downing, Stephanie Newell and Jenny Sundell, childhood friends who have dubbed themselves the Treat Dats — have begun a grass-roots movement to declare Oct. 30 as the unofficial trick-or-treating day in and around New Orleans.

“This would allow everyone to focus on our kids on Saturday night…”

Yeah, it sure looks like Favre’s Iron Man record is about to come to an end.

Brett Favre sure doesn’t look like a guy ready to play a game this weekend as the 2010 NFL football season continues, not with an oversized walking boot covering most of his left leg.

But who would bet against Minnesota’s 41-year-old quarterback? Whether it’s reckless pride, simple determination or an exceptional tolerance of pain, Brett Favre played through all kinds of pain—including a broken thumb in 2003 and a badly sprained foot in 2000—and never sat out.

His NFL-record streak is at 291 consecutive games started, 315 including the playoffs. Naturally, Favre is not ruling himself out of Sunday’s game when the Minnesota Vikings visit the New England Patriots despite two fractures in his left ankle.

“I would love to play, for no other reason but I’m in this, committed to this team,” Favre said. “I’d love to get this back on track and be a part of it, and more than anything function at a level that gives us a chance to win. That’s basically it.”

Favre said he won’t consider participating in any part of practice until Friday. He spent Wednesday in the training room, joining his teammates for their post-practice huddle and walking off the field wearing the boot, shorts, a sweatshirt and a Twins cap.

He’s always had a knack for healing quickly, which gives him hope he’ll be back when the Vikings (2-4) play the New England Patriots (5-1). If he can’t go, Tarvaris Jackson will take over. Coach Brad Childress kept the option open, too. “I wouldn’t put it past him. He’s going to make the push, like a lot of these guys do,” Childress said.

Favre insisted he’d put aside the streak for the sake of the team. “It probably should have ended a long time ago,” Favre said, adding: “Whether it ends this week or it ends at the end of the year, it ends, and I will always be proud of it.”

Childress, too, said he wouldn’t factor the ironman record as…

It’s the Rangers and the Giants baseball fans.

After eight grueling months we are down to two teams and ready to watch another history as the Texas Rangers slug it out against San Francisco Giants in the 2010 MLB World Series showdown.

Prior to the 2010 season neither team was considered a serious World Series contender, but here they are on the verge of taking home the World Series trophy. Both teams are obviously talented or they wouldn’t be in this position.

The road to the World Series the San Francisco Giants took started when they won National League West with 92-70 regular season record, second best in NL. They started the playoffs by beating the Atlanta Braves 3-1 in National League Division Series (NLDS) and then trumped the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 in National League Championship Series (NLCS).

On the other hand, the Texas Rangers got here when they won the American League West with a 90-72 regular season record, fourth best in AL. In the American League Division Series (ALDS), they beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 before beating the New York Yankees 4-2 in the American League Championship Series (ALCS).

After the National League ended a run of 13 All-Star Games without a win by beating the American League 3-1 in Anaheim, the NL champions from San Francisco will have home field advantage in the World Series, with four games at AT&T Park. The Rangers pitchers will find themselves in the unfamiliar role of batting in Games 1, 2, 6 and 7 under NL rules, while the Giants will be able to employ a designated hitter in Games 3, 4 and 5 under AL rules.

Game 1 will feature Tim Lincecum for the Giants as he got…

Touching another man’s balls, is that illegal?

The NFL delivered its message about heavier punishment for illegal hits this 2010 NFL football season, including suspensions, directly to the 32 teams last week with a video spelling out what to avoid.

NFL executive vice president of football operations Ray Anderson, a member of the NFL’s competition committee, said of the new policy: “These hits can have severe consequences for the player delivering the hit as well as for the player taking the blow. Using the head, forearm or shoulder to deliver the initial hit against a defenseless player will draw significant discipline.”

The National Hockey League tightened its rules against blows to the head with the start of the current season. The NHL defines an illegal check to the head as “a lateral or blind-side hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principle point of contact is not permitted.”

Players who violate the rule – which came about, in part, because of a hit last season by Matt Cooke of the Pittsburgh Penguins – are subject to penalties, suspensions and other discipline.

Both professional leagues are doing the right thing.

In the video, Anderson calls Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather’s helmet hit on Ravens tight end Todd Heap “inexcusable.” Meriweather was fined $50,000 for the hit in which he launched himself headfirst into Heap’s helmet.

Also on the video is James Harrison‘s hit on Browns receiver Mohamed Massaguoi that brought the Steelers linebacker a $75,000 fine, and the collision between Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson and Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson that gave both players concussions. Robinson was fined $50,000 for that tackle.

Other illegal tackles shown in the video include Carolina safety…

Yes, people really hate LeBron these days.

During an interview with CNN’s Soledad O’Brien last month, LeBron James was asked whether he felt race was a factor in the backlash he’s received since signing with the Miami Heat for the 2010 NBA basketball season.

“I think so at times. It’s always, you know, a race factor,” LeBron James replied. That short answer sparked a lot of discussion, including a great deal of criticism, from fans and media members alike.

After all, playing the “race card” seemed like a cop-out, especially for those whose criticism of James was directed at the manner in which he revealed his decision — a self-aggrandizing television special — than his actual decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat.

Complicating matters was the fact that James refused to clarify his comments the next day. “I’m not going to go back on my words,” James said. “People are looking too far into it. I said what I had to say and I’ll continue to move on.”

The RyanOutrich account from which the offensive tweet came from but has since been deleted, indicates the user is from Strongsville, a town 30 minutes south of Cleveland, Ohio, shows that the tweet cited above was just one of a barrage of racist — and overtly threatening — tweets directed at James. Included in the rant was this: “U have til the end of the day to RT me and if u dont….tomorrow u will not wake up happy…or al i ve”.

James followed his retweet with a message of his own…

Yes, we’re blaming LeBron for New York’s collapse against Texas.

What do the New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys have in common? Both have a miserable season as LeBron James is a big fan of these two franchises. And since everybody hates James heading to the 2010 NBA basketball season, he’s got to be cursed or something right?

“>As we all know, the New York Yankees were beaten by old nemesis Texas Rangers 6 -1 Friday night in Game 6 of the AL championship series.

Like so many young men before him, LeBron James has a budding romance with New York City. The newly acquired forward of Miami Heat readily admits that his favorite baseball team is the Yankees, and he’s partied with Alex Rodriguez and CC Sabathia.

He paid homage to the New York Yankees in 2008 by decking out his signature Nike sneakers in blue- and-white pinstripes. So when the Yanks won the World Series last year, Nike sent James a special pair of kicks commemorating the championship.

James brazenly sports Yankees hats off the court and drew the ire of many Ohioans when he wore one to Game 1 of the 2007 AL division series between the Indians and Yankees.

Off the court, James’ favorite rapper and close friend is “Empire State of Mind” star Jay-Z, the Brooklyn-born Tribeca resident who is married to Beyoncé Knowles. The trio has been spotted at city hot spots during the off-season, including Jay-Z’s 40-40 club.

For LeBron’s favorite NFL team, the Dallas Cowboys are having…

My money is still on Favre sending out more cock shots.

Coming off a much-needed victory against the Dallas Cowboys, the Minnesota Vikings are already focused on their next opponent, the Green Bay Packers as these two teams meet for the first time this 2010 NFL football season.

Despite a rough start to the 2010 season, the Minnesota Vikings are far from being out of the NFC North divisional race. Currently, the 4-2 Chicago Bears are leading the division. The Vikings have shown signs of life over the last month. Their loss to the Jets isn’t nearly as bad as it may seem. The interception return at the end by Dwight Lowery was allowed because the Vikings needed the ball back as soon as possible.

As for the Green Bay Packers, they are coming off back-to-back losses. In those two losses, the Packers took their opponents, the Redskins and Dolphins, into overtime. The Packers injuries seem to have caught up to them for right now. With Jermichael Finley being placed on injured reserve, Green Bay’s offense isn’t quite as dangerous as it was before.

Fortunately for them, they will soon have both Atari Bigby and Al Harris back from injury. This will obviously be a huge boost to the Packers’ secondary.

Although it’s still early into the season, Brett Favre has got to lead the Vikings leave Green Bay, Wisconsin with a victory. They need to prove to themselves, and the rest of the league, just how serious they are. Besides, Favre can use the good PR.

Besides, who knows the Packers better than anybody than…

The Cowboys desperately need to win this.

The New York Giants will be traveling to the great state of Texas for the Cowboys Stadium to do battle with the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football matchup. This is huge, especially for the Cowboys, who need to turn their 2010 NFL football season around, right now.

The New York Giants – Dallas Cowboys matchup is a classic NFC East showdown. The Giants are playing much better lately and the Cowboys continue to struggle. Dallas desperately needs to win this game to stay in the hunt but the Giants will keep it close.

The New York Giants enter NFL week 7 with a 4-2 record. Improving is exactly what the Giants have quietly done since starting the season 1-2. The defense has settled down under coordinator Perry Fewell to become one of the most dominating units in the league, especially against the run, where the Giants are holding opponents to 92.8 yards per game.

On offense, Eli Manning and company have dramatically cut down on the number of mistakes they have made. They have also done a much better job of protecting and moving the ball and have outscored their last three opponents 79-33. Moving forward, the Giants hope to continue to ride the wave of their three-game winning streak, their longest since they started last season 5-0, especially with the demanding part of their schedule looming on the horizon.

Two weeks ago in their loss against Tennessee, the Giants claimed that despite the final score, they had been the better team, and that if it weren’t for the mistakes that they had made, which cost them field position, the outcome of the game might very well have been different. They are ranked 12th overall in passing yards and 6th overall in rushing yards. The Giants 2010 team leaders include…