She ran away to Texas to keep away the excess.

Yes, I found an excuse to use this picture again.

No matter what, everybody’s always in it for the money.  I don’t want to hear your points that differ.  They matter not.  In my world anything that happens without my first-hand knowledge doesn’t exist.  How does the saying go?  Ignorance is bliss?

We don’t write this sports blog “for free.”  Sure, Fourth and Fifty is kind of a public trust, but I give the authors Monopoly money and coupons that I swipe from those annoying automatic dispensers in Kroger as a kind of compensation.  That ain’t free, my friend.  Somebody paid for that somewhere down the line.  Pipez, TRG, Reginald Blackstone and Wanks contribute to this mighty publication at the expense of the Trix Rabbit’s wealthy image.

The road of the NFL’s somehow “legal” antitrust (come on UFL, we’re all hoping you can make it) may be in for it’s first major pothole.  Apparently, the DirectTV contract for NFL Ticket couldn’t bring down the fat cat owners, but beanies may be their undoing.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of American Needle Inc v. NFL for agreeing to an exclusivity agreement to provide the NFL players with clean hypodermic needles for their everyday steroid use contract with Reebok for licensing rights for hats and other headgear.  ANI (I’m lazy, please accept my initialism acronym) claims that through the NFL/Reebok agreement violates monopoly laws by “unlawful restraint of trade and monopolizing the team products licensing, manufacturing and wholesale markets by violating antitrust laws by working too closely together” [NYTimes].

I guess the NFL agrees with orphaned manufacturer ANI because they are urging the Court (capitalized to show importance of highest court) to hear the case.  Oh, wait… They’re just trying to make an example of out of them.  This could end badly.  The NFL are literally setting up ANI to split the seams of the antitrust case.  But, if ANI does succeed, consider the floodgates opened and each major sporting league to be the subject of such lawsuits.

On to you Houston sports updates:

ASTROS – The Astros were in San Diego last night to start a four-game series against the Padres.  They walked out of Petco field with a 3-1 win against the PaPas (fritas?).  Carlos Lee, Geoff Blum and Pudge accounted for the RBI in the game that saw Roy Oswalt pitch a complete game for his 4th win of the season.  Meanwhile back on Drayton’s Ranch… Brandon Backe threw a little hissy fit, stomped his feet and kicked the dirt at the notion that he be sent to Triple-A Round Rock and was instead placed on waivers.  Not bad, if he stays in baseball purgatory long enough to become a free agent he gets his full contract.

ROCKETS – O, woe is me!  Can’t you see?  He’s built like a tree.  The stress on his feet.  (More on this later)

TEXANS – Anybody know if Owen Daniels is still throwing his Backe-like fit?  Because that’s about as newsy as I can get right now.  Nothing’s happening.  This is probably a good thing.

DYNAMO – Houston finally saw it’s MLS unbeaten streak come to an end on Sunday night.  The LA Galaxy beat the Dynamo 1-0, a game that was on way too late to watch for those of us with a reasonable bed-time.  Todd Dunivant had the only goal of the game.  I can honestly say, “that will be the first and last time you ever read Todd Dunivant’s name on Fourth and Fifty.”  The next unbeaten streak starts on the road against Kansas City on the 4th of July (in the biz that’s called a prediction).

RICE UNIVERSITY – I forgot to add something this morning… The Youth Impact Program is making it’s debut at Rice University.  YIP is a program for “at risk” kids between the ages of 9 and 12 that live below the poverty line.  Started by former 49er Riki Ellison (three-time Super Bowl champion, mind you), YIP has been held at Tulane until their expansion to Rice and USF this year.  Read the press release for more details about how you might be able to get involved or at least attempt to buy out some of those sins you keep committing by making a donation to this good cause.  I can’t wait to see how TRG manages to be subversive about Riki Ellison and his do-gooders.

- Septimus Rex