The Tasered Texan

After reading an article released by the Associated Press, all I can do is shake my head in shame - and I'm not sure for whom. November 13, Texans offensive lineman, Fred Weary, filed suit against the city of Houston and two police officers that pulled him over, shot him with a taser, anf arrested him after a traffic stop.

The police officers, Margaret McGiven and Joe Vasquez, pulled the 300 lb, 6 foot 4 refrigerator over after they saw him "driving suspiciously" and without "a front license plate." Weary was "shot with a Taser after he [allegedly] pushed one of the officers away and then tried to come toward them after being told to put his hands on his vehicle," to which he claimed were false allegations.

Weary is also suing for defamation of character and racial profiling. On one hand, being a woman, even with a man, if a 300 pound man, no matter the race was getting aggressive with me, I'm going to need to either run and pray he is too big to catch up or fight dirty. However, on the other hand, I would not put it past some people that if they saw a black man driving a nice car, in a neighborhood that isn't so nice, like the one around the stadium, that there might be some suspicions on their part. Is it wrong? Yes. Can it be stopped? Unfortunately not.

It is just a shame that this societal tragedy has to take place so publicly. I'm embarrassed for both parties involved. Though I do need to give props to Weary, he claims that a portion of any earnings from the suit will be donated to a police charity.

He is seeking for "the city to review its policies regarding racial profiling and the use of Tasers," which I think should be reviewed - often. Putting that amount of power into that many people hands should be micro-managed to hopefully reduce incidents such as this one.

All I can do is shake my head.

Astrodomination - The Ball is in Whose Legal Court?

The battle rages on for the control of the Houston Astrodome. I have blogged previosly on the Astrodome, and this is a response to a recent article I read with an update in the damnation of the Astrodome.

According to Harris County Attorney Mike Stafford the Livestock Show and Rodeo and the Texans "have no legal basis" in their hissy fit over whether or not the Astrdome will be converted into a convention hotel provided "their concerns about parking access and food sales are addressed." However, the rodeo thinks they "could sue to prevent Astrodome Redevelopment Corp. from forging ahead with its proposed $450 million, 1,300-room hotel."

There has been no secret the the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has been(whining) opposed to the redevelopment of the Astrodome, and that the redevelopment would violate the "anti-competition provisions in their lease contracts with the county."

"We want to make it as easy as possible for our fans to get in and out of the parking lots on game days," Texans owner Bob McNair said this week. "We've invested close to as billion dollars, and our contract has been in place. There's no question that we ave the rights to control the property on game days. And the rodeo has the rights on heir dates."

However, Stafford replied that the rodeos and Texans' contracts require the county to only provide them with 22,000 - 25,000 parking spaces, which is interesting. There have been discussions about even building a parking garage, which would only open up that many more spaces. I really think that the concern is not directed towards the comfort of the fans, but really the dollars in the accounts. It is never enough with big business, is it?

One person commented on the article and made the valid points of: the Texans allow tail-gating before the games, but wants proceeds from the Astrdome's concessions, and that Astroworld was razed over. What is the city doing with that plot of land? How about a parking lot?

The answer is not to raze the Astrodome, and stop bickering like two girls in high school. The rest of us want to see the Astrodome return to its former glory.

While speaking at a Bay Area Chamber of Commerce meeting this week, [Harris County Judge Ed Emmett] asked how many people favored razing the Dome. "only four people out of a hundred raised their hands, and there were people who audibly hissed them," Emmett said. "Then, I asked, 'Who wants to save the Dome?' About everybody else raised their hands."

I don't think that anyone who grew up in this town wants to see this legacy fall, especially when it does not use public money.

It's the Support of the Idea, Not the Team

I would like to rebuke the critics who cannot see why the Houston Texans have a following. There are those who question the Texans fanbase due to the fact that they have such a losing streak. How can the Texans "rule all"?

I strongly believe that the Texans have such a fanbase because of the loyalty Houstonians have for their teams. Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States, and cities just as large have multiple football teams or baseball teams, yet Houston only remains to have one. Imagine what would happen if the NFL were to introduce a second team for Houston. It's almost impossible to imagine because of the loyalty Houston has for their teams - winning or losing. In Texas, Sunday is for football and not the Sabbath.

I don't think you can come in there and, in one season, say, "I've got the roster I want, " Kubiak said. Those things take time today, with the salary cap, free agency, all those things. It takes a few years to sit there and really say, "You know, this is the way I'd like this roster to look." I don't think that ever settles. That's a continuous battle.

This team is still in its infancy, but for Houstonians, we are just glad to have a team and winning or losing, we will support them and defend them against the harshest critics. We know that it will take time, so we support them now. For so long, we were praying for a team and now we have one. It is an unconditional love like a parent has for a child - no matter what that child does or how successful they are, you just thank God for them everyday.

Astrodome Might Be Astrodone

I cannot stand to watch “big business” get in the way of a legacy. It seems that this is what “institutions” such as the Houston Texans and Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo have been reduced to for fear of any type of competition. The Houston Astrodome is that legacy that is in jeopardy of just being reduced to a memory due to big business ways.

The shell of the former glory of the Astrodome still stands and has hopes of a $450 million renovation into a tourist attraction - a hotel with 1,300 rooms, food courts and amusement rides. Yet, two key players that need to sign off on the half-a-billion dollar deal are the less than glorious Houston Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

‘Not until we saw their plans recently did we realize that this project has the ability to cannibalize our operations,’ said Leroy Shafer, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo's chief operating officer. ‘Every dollar spent that is spent there is one that might not be spent at the rodeo.’

To “cannibalize [their] operations” that come around once-a-year? The mark up on their concessions and parking for that once-a -year event is enough to put them out of business? I never once thought that out of all the shady business deals that concessions and parking were going to become the monopoly. Forget media convergence and the FCC, this is what the focus needs to be shifted to – the back-door.

Yet a poll taken by County Judge Ed Emmett’s office said that 84 percent of county residents are against the razing of the Houston Astrodome. Can the Texans or the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo claim those type of numbers? I don't think so.

The Astrodome is a part of our history as individuals and as a city. There are millions of fans who have walked the circle that is the Astrodome and can still remember the first time they saw their hero take the field. Destroying it would be destroying a piece of every Houstonian that sat in one of those orange seats,