Howdy, folks! Preseason game thread drops at 6:45pm on Sunday.

Random Anecdote Alert! Yesterday, while driving home after dinner, we saw a young, attractive woman driving a big truck with a sign on the side that said, “Free Testosterone Testing,” and my wife laughed really hard for like ten minutes.

On another note, Cal McNair did an AMA on Reddit last night. Here are a few selections…

Q: What’s the color scheme for the uniform redesign?
Cal: “Fans love Texans Deep Steel Blue, Battle Red and Liberty White. Maybe we’re working on a few surprises for y’all in 2024. We know so many of us love H-Town Blue. Although there are tons of rules around color usage and combinations in the NFL, we’re working hard to find a way to honor the 120 year history of H-Town Blue in our city… (then later in a separate post) …I see a lot of questions about an update on the new uniforms. Here is what I can tell you: Fan input drove the process as we surveyed over 10k fans and held over 50 focus groups with legends, current players, Houston celebrities, all kinds of fans and more. We feel really good about where we’re headed with it. Over our four new designs, we feel like we landed on something for everyone. We can’t wait to debut them in 2024.”

Q: “Will there be renovations coming to NRG stadium in the near future?”
Cal: “We’ll see what our future stadium plans could be but it’s definitely a priority for us. We are working in collaboration with the Rodeo and the county to find the best path forward for all. It’s about the fans for us.”

Q: “When was the decision made to trade up to get CJ and Will Anderson Jr? What was that conversation like with Nick and Demeco?”
Cal: “We were ready for all the different scenarios on draft night, so we were hopeful, but you don’t know until you’re on the clock. Nick and DeMeco worked together to make it happen. The draft is something our personnel staff spends the whole year preparing for. I definitely think Nick’s relationship with Monti helped make it happen too. It was such a fun night and Nick did a great job.”

Q: “Hey Cal, I remember reading somewhere that the Texans didn’t have any plans to retire jersey numbers. Can you elaborate on the decision?”
Cal: “We really like what we have with the Ring of Honor. We talked to Andre and J.J. about signing one-day contracts, but both sides agreed that it makes more sense to keep our Ring of Honor tradition going as is. With that said, you probably won’t be seeing any Texans wearing 99 or 80 any time soon.”

Q: “What do you believe the greatest play in Texans franchise history would be?”
Cal: “Two greatest — J.J.’s pick-six against the Bengals and Andre’s spike against Washington.”

Q: “Are the Texans ever getting their own Karbach beer?”
Cal: “That’s a great idea! I actually do have my own beer, Caltober. Hannah organized a tasting session and we smoked the hops to create it for my birthday in October. Maybe we can get Texans Twitter to post a photo.”

In honor of International Strange Music Day, what are some of the strangest bands/albums in your collection, that you listen to and enjoy unironically? I’ve got the Real McKenzies (punk rock with bagpipes), the Aquabats (a third-wave ska band that wears superhero costumes), Thank You Scientist (a progressive jazz-metal fusion band that includes horns and an electric violin), the Dr. Demento Christmas album, and a whole bunch of local Texas polka, which isn’t really my jam, but which we played at my in-laws 50th anniversary party.

On this day in 1991, the “World Wide Web” was first opened to the public. Thanks, Al Gore!

Also, here’s a real thing that actually happened…

Okay mofos, the Nic Cage Memorial League will begin again soon. It’s basically set up to auto-renew, so if you played last year, you’re already set up to play again this year. Feel free to go in and change your team name or whatever, and if you’re not interested in participating for some reason, let me know and I’ll delete your team (and try to find someone else to fill the spot). Also, I need to schedule our draft, so please recommend days and times in the comments, and I’ll try to pick something that works for most people.

Howdy, neighbors! The game thread drops at 2:45pm.

We’re taking the kids to see Blue Beetle this afternoon, so I’ll schedule an overflow thread for about 4:30pm.