MLS Cup 2011-Let's Go Dynamo!

The MLS Cup 2011 title match will kick off at 8 PM CST and pits my MLS Eastern Conference champion Houston Dynamo against the star studded Western Conference champion LA Galaxy.


No one in the international soccer media and MLS watchers are giving my local football franchise a chance against the Galaxy.  They won the Supporter's Shield for having the best regular season record in MLS, are playing in their home stadium, are appearing in their MLS record seventh final and despite both squads ironically being owned by the same company in Anschutz Entertainment Group, the Galaxy have a combined payroll that dwarfs the Dynamo's $2.91 million one. 

They have David Beckham, Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane and are the glam team in Major League Soccer.  But what people forget is that championships aren't won on paper, or because you spent the most money or have the most superstars in your lineup.  You have to play the games.

The Dominic Kinnear coached Houston Dynamo won back to back MLS titles themselves in 2006 and 2007 and are on a two month nine game unbeaten streak that has powered them through the playoffs and goalkeeper Tally Hall has only given up one goal since the playoffs started.

They are 90 minutes away from bringing a third MLS championship trophy back to Houston but will have to do it without MLS MVP candidate Brad Davis.  

The Dynamo lost him in the Eastern Conference finals to a severe quad injury early in the first half of their 2-0 win over Sporting Kansas City.

It will be interesting to see how this MLS Cup 2011 plays out and I would love to be attending another championship rally on the steps of City Hall. 

Let's go Dynamo!

\n"; document.getElementById('resselect').value=zoomres; } -->

Tona's TDOR Thoughts

From Tona's video blog.  Her thoughts about TDOR.

Prayer For TDOR

Heavenly Father,

Today is the Transgender Day of Remembrance.  We humbly ask that you lift up the people who are mourning the loss of a friend, a loved one, or a family member to anti-trans violence on this day.  Give us the strength and determination to make this world better than when we first encountered it for your trans children.  

Help society, our own trans people, our rainbow community and the world to see that transpeople are part of the diverse mosaic of human life.  

Continue to lift us transpeople up in love and truth and help us realize that we are your beautifully made children. Give us the strength to make it through this day and every other subsequent one that we are blessed with and never forget the people who died just for being their true selves.

Bless our friends and those inside and outside our community who curse us.  Move their hearts so that justice and peace will reign and we can live the lives and the exalted name that you promised us we would have if we kept your commandments.   

Give us the fortitude and strength to create a better world for your transgender children and all who dwell in it.

We ask this in Jesus' name,  Amen.

2011 Texans Watch-The Texans Have A Bye Week

My fave first place NFL team will be chilling and watching everybody else play football before they start their preparation week for their AFC South divisional rematch with the Jacksonville Jaguars and attempt to stretch their win streak to five games..   

While the Texans will be welcoming Andre Johnson back into the lineup after being out since the Pittsburgh Steeler game with a hamstring pull, quarterback Matt Schaub injured the Lisfranc joint in his right foot in the 37-9 win against Tampa Bay and there's a possibility he'll miss the rest of the season.

Matt Leinart will replace him in the lineup and not only will have two weeks to get ready for the Jaguars, he has the help of the NFL's third best rushing attack and the NFL's number one defense to ease his transition into the starting lineup during this stretch drive for the Texans first AFC South division title and NFL playoff berth

It also doesn't hurt that the teams on the Texans schedule are a combined 21-34 and they'll going against three rookie quarterbacks in Jacksonville's Blaine Gabbert, Cincinnati's Andy Dalton and Carolina 's Cam Newton.  

Get healthy Texans and enjoy the Sunday off.

Here's hoping y'all pick up where you left off in terms of playing that winning brand of smash mouth football y'all we're playing that had the Jaguars crying when y'all beat them down at Reliant.

Let Each Name...

TransGriot Note:  This is Sass Rogando Sasot's speech to the 2011 Transgender Day of Remembrance event that happened in Amsterdam.

By Sass Rogando Sasot. Speech during the 2011 Amsterdam Transgender Day of Remembrance (Transgender Gedenkdag 2011) on 19 November 2011, 16.00-19.00, Homomonument.

As we recite the names of all those who we have lost to the violent hearts and hands of our fellow human beings, may we remember that these names don’t just represent another statistic in the growing number of people who lost the grace of their lives to the indignity of transphobia. These names represent lives, real lives of people who lived, walked, cried, smiled, and loved among us. These names represent lives that deserved to be treated with nothing less than dignity.

These names don’t just mean that we are losing people to transphobia in different regions of the world, in different countries of different cultures, and in different communities. More than a loss of lives, these names mean that countries, cultures, and communities are letting the darkness of transphobia reign over the light of compassion, care, and everyday kindness.

These names represent lives that matter and they should matter, for these names represent people who were somebody’s children, partners, friends, siblings, students, teachers, workers, citizens! So as we recite these names, we are calling on all institutions – from the families to schools to religions to governments, from Amsterdam to Ankara, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe - we are calling on everyone, everywhere to reclaim compassion from hate, to reclaim care from apathy, and to reclaim everyday kindness from transphobia.

Some of you here might feel the sting of hopelessness as you recite these names. But friends, I invite you to let that sting of hopelessness be transformed into a platform for a desire for change that cannot be tamed!

Let each name be our light and guide. Let each name be the wings of our hope that shall carry us to the Promise Land of a world that is more inclusive, respectful, and kind.

Let each name fortify the strength of our faith. Our faith that when we are united by the clarity of our voices and the urgency of our desire for change, we will prevail!

Let each name be a pressing reminder that we should use our lives to make a difference and live our lives as living testaments that one day the fierceness of our determination can triumph over the force of oppression.

Let each name be a monument of courage! Let this courage stir a restless defiance in our hearts – a restless defiance that would urge us to stand up for justice and dignity for everyone, everywhere! Let this restless defiance keep on awakening our enormous strength to face our fears about this world. And let’s keep on awakening this enormous strength so we can keep on touching the hearts and spirits of those who are afraid to understand and accept difference; so we can keep on expanding the field of social inclusion and acceptance; so we can keep on inspiring the minds and hearts that matter to craft social policies that are designed to facilitate the fulfillment of happiness!

And most importantly, let each name remind us to never ever forget that we have the right to be here and that we have the responsibility to express, claim, and reclaim, and to fight for this right every time, everywhere, for everyone! Thank you!

2011 UH Cougar Watch-Coogs Beat SMU

It was Senior Day at The Rob as a special and historic BCS busting football season continues at my alma mater.

The senior class who helped lead the 11th ranked Cougars back to national relevance and the cusp of elite football status played their last regular season home game against C-USA West Division foe SMU.   It was also a week that included a first time visit to the city and our campus by the ESPN GameDay crew and heightened sports media attention about what happening with UH Cougars athletics.  

And oh yeah, don't look now Texas, but you have an emerging problem on the hardwood too. The UH men's ballers beat Arkansas 87-78 in North Little Rock, AR to go to 3-0 to open the season for the first time since 2006. 



So Rick Barnes, when are your chicken Horns gonna play us?

But back to focusing on Senior Day.   In front of a record crowd at the Rob, the UH Cougar football team fought an upset minded SMU squad to take a 37-7 win over the Mustangs.  . 

UH Coach Kevin Sumlin talks about the seniors in the post-game press conference.



They moved to 11-0 on the season (7-0 in C-USA West) and set up the showdown in Tulsa on Friday with the Golden Hurricane for the C-USA West Division title, a spot in the C-USA championship game on December 3 and a potential BCS bowl game for the first time since 1985. 

UH ESPN GameDay Notes: Corso Picked The Coogs!

 But not so fast my friend, Corso dropped the f-bomb in doing so and had to apologize for it later. 



Still doesn't detract from the fact he knows his football.

2011 Houston TDOR Later Today

The traffic from the UH-SMU battle at Robertson Stadium should be clear by the time that we get the 2011 edition of the local TDOR underway here in Houston .

Once again it will be held on the University of Houston's campus, but this time in the Stephen Power Farish Hall on Saturday November 19.   The TDOR will take place in Farish Hall's KIVA Room from 7:00-9:30 PM CST and will be hosted by the UH LGBT Resource Center.  

Closest lot to Farish Hall is Lot 13A on the Cullen Blvd side of the UH campus.  Closest buildings are McElhinney Hall to the west, and Heyne and Roy Cullen to the south.

Hope to see y'all there.

ESPN College GameDay On Campus

The ESPN College GameDay crew is on the University of Houston campus for the first time ever, and UH Cougar Nation, the campus, alums and the city is hyped because of it.

As the Vice President would characterize it, it is a BFD to us longsuffering UH football fans.

The stage has been set up in Cullen Center and the 300 person standing room only area behind the stage opened at 6 AM CST for the broadcast that will be cranking up at 8 AM CST in advance of today's 2:30  PM kickoff against the SMU Mustangs.

Today's game also happens to be Senior Day and it's sold out.    

I'll be on the UH campus later this evening for more serious business, but definitely will be getting up a little earlier than I normally do on a Saturday to watch the fun transpiring on my alma mater's campus..