All results / Stories / Brian Barefield
All Good Things Must Come to An End
Colts defeat the Texans 24 - 21 to break the 9-game winning streak
I will never forget my senior year on the varsity football team. We won our first three games of the season and we were on a natural high. After ten years of being bad, our high school was finally seeing success on the football field. And then it happened. In the fourth game of the season, we were finally brought back to earth. We lost, but I will never forget the first words uttered by my coach. “All good things must come to an end,” said our coach as he gazed into the eyes of young men who just had their hearts broken.
Great Run Comes to an End
Prairie View A&M loses to Fairleigh Dickinson in the first game of the 2019 NCAA tournament
As I stepped on the illustrious campus of Prairie View A&M University in the fall of 1997, I will never forget that sense of pride and family atmosphere I felt run through my body. It was like the spirits of the “Unknown 8” (The first known class of the Alta Vista Agriculture & Mechanical College for Colored Youth who enrolled and began their studies March 11, 1878) was walking with me. Until you have been on the first state supported college in Texas for African Americans and the second oldest public institution of higher education in the state, you won’t know the jubilation of screaming out, “Who Ya Rooting For” at all sporting events.
Astros open up Grapefruit League with fans in the stands for the first time in over a year
For the Houston Astros, Sunday’s Grapefruit League opener against the Miami Marlins was more than just a spring training game. It was a chance to get back to some sort of normalcy. The team had not played in front of fans since March 11, 2020 in a game against the Washington Nationals.
Hostile Crowd Fuels Astros Victory
The Astros were able to block out all the distractions including inflatable trash cans, beer cans, and even foul balls being thrown on the field, to defeat the Dodgers 3-0 behind a brilliant game pitched by Lance McCullers Jr. who allowed only four hits and struck out nine batters on the night to get the win.
Bye Bye
Bye week comes just in time for the Texans to get healthy.
The Houston Texans sit atop of the AFC South with a 6-3 record after going “Across the Pond” to defeat their divisional foe in the Jacksonville Jaguars 26-3. Houston is on a bye this week and it comes at a time when they need it most with all the injuries they have on both sides of the ball.
Houston Astros Begin Defense Of World Series Title On Opening Day At Minute Maid Park
“I am not really concentrating or thinking about last year,” said Astros manager Dusty Baker when asked about the emotions on Opening Day after finishing the season as the champions. “You have to go on from there because you have new heights to climb. This is the start of the “Great Race,” and it is a long race.
Gurriel Continues Hot Streak At The Plate In 10-4 Victory Over Blue Jays
First baseman Yuli Gurriel tied a career high by going 4-for-4 at the plate while also driving in four runs. He has been a very steady bat in the lineup for the Astros this year as he leads the team in batting average (.342) hits (39) and RBIs (24).
Rocky Mountain High
Astros use a season high in runs and hits to defeat the Rockies
Sometimes all that is needed to get you going is a little fresh air. At least that’s what it took for the Houston Astros dangerous hitting lineup to get ignited. The Astros (14-10) had an offensive outburst to the tune of 13 runs and 20 hits at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado to defeat the Rockies (13-11) by a score of 13-6 for its seventh straight win and third win in as many days against Colorado.
Unresponsive
Astros lose ALCS Game 1 to the Yankees
When the weatherman predicted there would be a cold front in Houston on Saturday, he meant the temperature, not the Astros bats. Houston (0-1) was limited to three hits tonight as they lost Game 1 of the ALCS 7-0 to the New York Yankees (1-0).
Some Habits Are Worth Keeping
For the ninth consecutive time, the Astros won their opener which ties the longest streak in the modern era joining the St. Louis Browns, Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners and New York Mets who have all done it since the 1900’s. Houston (1-0) defeated the reigning American League West Champions Oakland A’s (0-1) 8-1. It was the second year in a row that the Astros put eight runs on the board to start the season.
Houston Texans Organization Forgot To Read The Instructions
Maybe it is time for the Houston Texans organization to read the instruction manual on how to assemble a good team. During this bye-week, the team and its upper management need to figure out what they want their identity to be going forward.
Heartbreaker: Houston Texans Lose Whitney Mercilus and J.J. Watt to Injuries in Loss to Kansas City Chiefs
American poet Maya Angelou once wrote, “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”
Starting Over
Astros stay hot at home defeating the Angels to open 10-game homestand
One day after losing another heartbreaker in San Diego. The Houston Astros (16-13) bounced back to take game 1 of the four-game series against the Los Angeles Angels (9-21) at Minute Maid Park. Super phenom outfielder Kyle Tucker second inning 404-ft homerun got the Astros hit parade started and they never looked back after that.
A Very Mean Underdog
Astros face the A’s in the Best-Of-Five American League Division Series
I don’t think Major League Baseball could have scripted the American League Division Series matchup between the Houston Astros and the Oakland A’s even if they tried as hard as they could. No matter what the schedule looked like towards the end of the season, this matchup was not in the cards. But it’s definitely something that the MLB will promote as much as they can to baseball fans to build the postseason drama.
Almost Doesn’t Count: Texans Fall to 0-3 After Another Slow Start Against the New York Giants
There is an old cliché’ that says, “Slow and steady wins the race.” Although it’s a great cliché if you are running long distance, it does not work in the National Football League. The Houston Texans got off to a terrible first half start and it cost them the game. They lost to the New York Giants 27 – 22 to fall to 0-3 on the season and have a tough divisional opponent next week in the Indianapolis Colts. This is not the way they envisioned their season starting, but they can only take it one game at a time.
Repeat Performance
Texans drop season opener to the Chiefs
For at least four hours on Thursday night, America felt normal again because the NFL was back. In spite of everything this country has been through with the COVID-19 global pandemic, football is something that can help mentally take away all of the disastrous events that has happened this year. Unfortunately for the Houston Texans their woes continued as their 2020 NFL season began the same way their 2019 season ended with a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Rockets must dig deep to stave off elimination in Game 5 against the Lakers
The Houston Rockets will be in a familiar place in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals on Saturday inside the bubble at Disney Orlando as they face the Los Angeles Lakers down 3-1 in the best-of-seven series. They faced elimination late last month against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round and was able to come away victorious in Game 7 thanks to a huge defensive effort by superstar James Harden.
Running Back David Johnson Holds First Press Conference As A Houston Texan
Newly acquired running back David Johnson met the Houston sports media for the first time on Friday. Just like head coach Bill O’Brien did a day earlier, Johnson talked to reporters via the Zoom app from his home.
Black History Lesson: Rockets Head Coach Discusses African American NBA Pioneers
The first of February begins Black History Month and on Monday Houston Rockets head coach Stephen Silas took it upon himself to talk to his team about some of the African Americans who paved the way for them to be able to play in the NBA.
Postseason Atmosphere Lead Astros To Victory Over Blue Jays
HOUSTON - - On Wednesday, something seemed slightly different at Minute Maid Park. Another type of energy and vibe had the ballpark buzzing with liveliness before the first pitch was thrown in front of the 40,545 people in attendance, which was the fourth home sellout of the season.
