Gotta blame someone. After pulling within striking distance of the NL Wild Card, the Astros have tanked three in a row, two of which were inexplicably played in Milwaukee, leading some ‘Stros fans to take out their anger, no , not on the anemic offense that was no-hit by Carlos Zambrano Sunday night and shut down by Chris Volstad (who?) last night, but on Bud Selig, everyone’s favorite mediator. He could’ve at least called the Cubs games ties and let everyone move on, right?

I’m bad at predictions, and I freely admit it. That’s why I’m showing you this, so you can know what you’re getting into before you read this. But, it’s the first big Cowboys game in a season in which I, among many, many others, think they’re going to win the big one (over the Steelers, for the record), so why not embarrass myself some more? In the spirit of “Hard Knocks,” here we go.

Tony Romo will throw two picks. Donovan McNabb will throw zero, but his receivers will drop at least five passes, leading Tony Kornheiser to remind us repeatedly that Donovan never made it to the Super Bowl without T.O. Then, T.O. will drop a pass and as Jaworski tries to re-focus the conversation on football, Kornheiser will see Jessica Simpson on the jumbotron and flip out again. The whole time, Tirico will be wishing it was March and he was sitting next to Hubie Brown at the Staples Center.

Anyway, back to football:

Brian Westbrook won’t run for 100 yards, Marion Barber will.

Pacman Jones will not be arrested tonight. Tank Johnson might.

The Cowboys will win, 31-24, and Donovan will blame Rush Limbaugh for the loss.

UPDATE: So maybe I should have shot for 61-54. It’s midway through the second, there are 48 points on the board and DeSaun Jackson just got away with one of dumbest plays in NFL history (yes, worse than Leon Lett’s infamous Super Bowl moment).

As Houston copes with the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, the Astros are getting ready to continue their annual late-season push for the Wild Card against the division-leading Cubs tonight in Milwaukee (?).

As Richard Justice writes in today’s Chron, baseball is far down the list of priorities right now. Still, there’s something to be said for the redemptive power of sports. The Astros completing an improbable run to the playoffs won’t erase the hurricane, but it might be able to provide a measure of healing. At the least, it’s a chance for a minor competitive distraction, which, in the end, is what sports is supposed to be all about. So, go ‘Stros.

While there were no surprises at the top of the Statesman’s Big 12 quarterback ratings today (Chase Daniel sits ahead of Sam Bradford, Graham Harrell and Colt McCoy), some Aggies might find it a little disconcerting that their helmsman Stephen McGee sat in eighth place.

And he that might not be the end of his descent. Fran’s biggest cheerleader is stuck in what appears to be a  good, old-fashioned quarterback controversy with sophomore Jerrod Johnson. Coach Mike Sherman refuses to acknowledge it, but when do they ever?

For my money, I say Johnson is the starter by the Miami game. It’s too bad. McGee was a gunslinger at Burnet before seeing his passing skills deteriorate in Fran’s anemic option offense. Now he’ll have to sit on the sideline and watch another gunslinger come of age in the pro-style offense he probably should have been running all along.

A few months back, I wrote about the Austin Ice Bats and how hockey still persists in corners of the state where minor league teams failed. For example, Lubbock, where the Red Raiders club team won the Big XII championship with 13 Texans, as well as students from as far away as Stockholm, Montreal and Philadelphia. Their existence is the reason why there’s still a sheet of ice in town.

Which is great for everyone who wants to use it, but still not necessarily a boffo business. The program is approximately $40,000 in debt, including a rent payment to Lubbock for the use of City Bank Coliseum and an overdue electric bill (think Pat Knight worries about electric bills?).

Thus, coach Paul Fioroni, well-known in the South Plains for his own charitable efforts, is soliciting donations for his program, which is a 501(c)(3) non-profit.

…we are running out of time and are very close to ceasing operations regarding the Tech Hockey program and all ice skating events and programs involved with us….Tech Hockey runs all hockey and ice skating at Texas Tech University and in the City of Lubbock and if we are not here, then its all gone and probably for good….

How can Odessa, Texas have a full time skating rink and Lubbock, Texas not? How can Oklahoma University have a full time skating facility with full support from their school and Texas Tech University not?

That’s right - we can’t let those Sooners be more forward-thinking than West Texans. Give them half a chance and they will get the jump on curling too!

NASCAR’s Pennsylvania 500, that is.

From SI.com’s Tom Bowles:

According to sources, Barack Obama’s campaign is in talks to become the primary sponsor of BAM Racing’s No. 49 Sprint Cup car for the Pocono race on August 3. Details of the agreement are expected to be worked out over the coming days….

Racing sources claim one of the options being considered would allow individual campaign donors to get their name on the race car for as little as $100….

Ken Schrader will drive the entry, a Toyota, at Pocono for BAM, which is outside the top 35 in owner points and must qualify for the race on speed.

Wouldn’t it be highly metaphorically embarassing if Schrader didn’t qualify?

I’m thinking John McCain might want to counter with a sponsorship for this.

“Mr. Jones,” if you’re nasty. Or, the Cowboy Formerly Known as Pacman Jones.

Second-generation Longhorns legend Huston Street is soooooo in trouble in with his wife. Come to think of it, what’s the statute of limitations for underage drinking? From Sports Illustrated :

On how he met his wife, Lacey
She doesn’t like me to say that we met on Sixth Street, but we met on Sixth Street, at a bar in Austin. She was 18, I was 20. Then she played hard to get. She didn’t return my calls for two months—literally. And I called a lot. Four times a week. Embarrassing, but it worked.

On how the Austin native got his name
My parents wanted a Texas-type name without naming me exactly after a city. There are actual Huston Streets out there. One of my favorite things is when people come up and say, “I live on Huston Street, in Georgia!” I’m like, “Awesome, man. I have nothing to do with it.”

The greatest - and only - Texas born NHLer is former New York Ranger Brian Leetch, who was born in Corpus Christi (his father worked for Shell) but moved to colder climes (Connecticut) soon after.

Katy native Tyler Myers, drafted 12th overall today by Buffalo, is more connected to the state. His family moved to Calgary when he was ten, but it started for him with the Houston Aeros.

Also heard the NHL draft commentators mention that Drew Doughty, the #2 pick, is named after Drew Pearson. Apparently his mother was a Pokes fan (does that make them Canada’s team?).

I shall keep my fingers crossed that Dallas youngster Cason Hohmann joins the Portland Winter Hawks and gives me a lifelong Texan to write about on this day in 2011.

They were impressed by Mr. Augustin in Portland:

One prevailing thought is that the Blazers intend to trade No. 13 in an effort to acquire a veteran. But [general manager Kevin] Pritchard has made it clear that should the right player come along, he wouldn’t hesitate to trade up and acquire him. If nothing else, Augustin on Wednesday offered Pritchard and the Blazers another appealing possibility, showing that he might be the best natural point guard in the draft outside of likely No. 1 pick Derrick Rose.

“You know what he is, he’s a pure point guard,” Pritchard said. “He’s crafty, he knows how to get in the paint and make the right decisions. And we were talking about it a little bit: The thing about D.J. is he thinks the game very fast. His ability to see the floor and react to the situation — which is what the great point guards do — he does that well. You can tell he’s been a point guard his whole life.”