Offtopic/fun » Houston in 2004 and

LeBron James began promoting Kyrie Irving as a future Most Valuable Player candidate last season. To hear James talk now, the future might be arriving sooner than expected. Asked if Irving is a viable MVP candidate this season when the race appears to be wide open, James responded, Why not?I think the skys the limit for the kid, hes only (24) years old, James said. He hasnt even gotten to his prime yet.As the Cavaliers prepare to host the Houston Rockets on Tuesday, its far too early to draw any conclusions. Irving, however, appears poised to lead the Cavs in scoring this season after he led them throughout most of the postseason until James overtook him with his magnificent close to the Finals.Why is that significant? James has led his team in scoring every year since entering the league. James was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week on Monday despite Irving leading the Cavs in scoring through the first three games.He doesnt have any weaknesses, especially offensively, James said of Irving. Hes been great so far. If guys take away his driving lanes, hes able to create off the dribble, make pull-up jumpers. He can shoot the 3-ball too, so, he doesnt have any weaknesses offensively so it doesnt matter.Its a good time to be a Cleveland sports fan. While the Cavaliers are the defending champions with two MVP candidates this season in James and Irving, the NBA agreed to move up the start of Tuesdays game to 6 p.m. EDT to minimize the conflict with the Cleveland Indians hosting Game 6 of the World Series.The Indians have the opportunity to close out the Chicago Cubs and give Cleveland its second championship in less than five months -- and the Cavs players want to be there to see it. They have already attended home playoff games in each of the first three rounds as a team and Irving said the players intend to walk across the plaza following their game Tuesday to watch the final innings of baseball at Progressive Field.Itll be an experience of a lifetime, Irving said. Game 6 of the World Series, hoo, thats big time. Im excited for them. I know the city is. Im happy our game got moved up. I dont mind moving it for the World Series at all. Itll be an exciting time. Hopefully we can get a suite and we can walk over there as a team and watch our home team go for a championship as well.The Rockets picked up options for the 2017-18 season on both Clint Capela and Sam Dekker on Monday. The team declined the option on guard Tyler Ennis, rendering him an unrestricted free agent after the season. The option exercised was for Capelas fourth season and Dekkers third.Houston has enjoyed success in recent years against Cleveland, winning each of the last four meetings at Quicken Loans Arena and seven of the last eight overall. James Harden is adjusting well to his role as point guard. Harden is one of three players in the league averaging at least 20 points and 10 assists. The other two, James and Russell Westbrook, were named players of the week.Rockets sharpshooter Ryan Anderson is off to a slow start from the 3-point line in his first season in Houston. Anderson is 3 of 10 from deep, although he is aware teams will be targeting him on the perimeter.Certain teams ... are going to try to eliminate my 3-point shot, he told the Houston Chronicle. I have to be super active. Just try to get myself going and my team going. Yeezy 700 V2 Geode Italia .ca. Hey Kerry, big fan of yours, just finished reading your book. 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The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. NEW YORK -- Aroldis Chapman and the rest of the New York Yankees dressed in their Sunday best for a flight to Houston following a 5-2 win over the San Francisco Giants that completed a 6-4 homestand.Who returns in 10 days is unclear.New York was discussing a trade that would send Chapman to the Chicago Cubs as part of a swap that would bring 19-year-old shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres to the Yankees, a person familiar with the discussions told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because talks were ongoing and New York owner Hal Steinbrenner had not made any final decision.Nathan Eovaldi (9-6) pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning, Carlos Beltran and Mark Teixeira hit early solo home runs of Jeff Samardzija (9-6) and Chad Green pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings.Were very much in this, Brett Gardner said. Theres no point in me sitting here campaigning for us to stay together.But the Yankees (50-48), who matched their season high of two games over .500, may have shown their management too little, too late to prevent a selloff of veterans ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline for trades without waivers. New York trails AL East-leading Baltimore by 7 1/2 games and is 4 1/2 games behind Toronto for the leagues second wild card, with the Astros and Detroit also ahead.Chapman has 20 saves in 21 chances and his fastball, at up to 105.1 mph, has entertained fans focusing on the scoreboard velocity of every pitch.Its tough. I feel comfortable here. I feel like part of the family here, he said through an interpreter, adding that the Yankees have been talking to his agent.Chapman has formed the Yankees No Runs DMC bullpen trio with Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller, which has 203 strikeouts in 123 2/3 innings. Chapman, pitcher Ivan Nova, Beltran and Teixeira are eligible for free agency at the end of the season; Miller, signed through 2018 at $9 million, also is of interest to contenders.We dont want to see him go, Teixeira said of Chapman. Were trying to win games, and hes a big part of that.Chapman maintained he could be dealt and still re-sign with the Yankees as a free agent during the offseason.Oh yeah, if theres a possibility, and God willing, yes, he said.Torres was scratched from the starting lineup of the Class A Myrtle Beach Pelicans on Sunday.Beltran hit his team-best 21st home run in the first and Teixeira douubled the lead on the second with his 200th home run for the Yankees, his sixth in 20 games since returning from the disabled list.dddddddddddd. Teixeira and Jacoby Ellsbury wore white Ken Griffey Jr. Nike Swingman spikes with gold soles as a tribute to Juniors induction Sunday into baseballs Hall of Fame.New York chased Samardzija in the sixth, when Ellsbury grounded into a run-scoring double play, Starlin Castro singled in a run and Didi Gregorius hit an RBI double.Making his second start following a brief bullpen banishment, Eovaldi used a new cutter for the second time in the homestand. He escaped bases-loaded, one-out trouble in a 33-pitch fourth inning when Mac Williamson fouled out and Ramiro Pena grounded out.Eovaldi left after Angel Pagans two-out double on his 118th pitch, two shy of his career high. With the No Runs DMC trio unavailable after two days of heavy use, Chasen Shreve came in and loaded the bases with a walk to Brandon Belt, and Buster Posey poked an opposite-field, two-run single to right against Green, who then retired Brandon Crawford on a groundout.After losing the first two games of the homestand to Boston, the Yankees won six of eight against the Red Sox, Orioles and Giants.Weve told our players, and it includes me, you have to stay away from the noise, what youre hearing and rumors and things that might be going on, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.Beltran, traded in midseason from Kansas City to Houston in 2004 and from the New York Mets to San Francisco in 2011, knows not to think too far ahead.Ive been in this situation before, the 39-year-old said. For me its day by day.WEB GEMNew York turned a spectacular 4-1-5 inning-ending double play in the eighth. Pena grounded past a diving Teixeira at first but Castro slid on his stomach to come up with the ball on the outfield grass between first and second, and from his knees threw to Green covering first. The pitcher made a one-hop throw to third, where Chase Headley tagged a sliding Williamson.Thats a play we work on a lot in spring training, Green said.UP NEXTYankees: RHP Michael Pineda (4-9) starts Monday and LHP Dallas Keuchel (6-9), the AL Cy Young Award winner, goes for the Astros. Opponents are hitting .181 in Pinedas last five starts. ' ' '