Noooooooooooooooooooo!

1984 NBA Draft
1. Houston Rockets: Hakeem Olajuwon, C, Houston
2. Portland Trailblazers: Sam Bowie, C, Kentucky
3. Chicago Bulls: Michael Jordan, SG, North Carolina

2006 NFL Draft
1. Houston Texans: Mario Williams, DE, North Carolina State
2. New Orleans Saints: Reggie Bush, RB, USC
3. Tennessee Titans: Vince Young, QB, University of Texas

In 1984 the Houston Rockets won the coin toss for the first pick in the draft, and chose between Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon. Both became Hall of Fame players and led their teams to multiple championships. Sam Bowie had already missed two seasons in college when Portland picked him No. 2. Bowie played just 511 games in 10 NBA seasons, averaging 10.9 points and 7.5 rebounds.

Now the Houston Texans have had a choice between two of the most celebrated players in the last decade of NFL drafts and have taken a third alternative. Granted they just signed former first pick David Carr to a three-year contract, but the Houston Rockets had taken Ralph Sampson as the first pick in the 1983 draft and made it work. History has shown that when you have a Michael Jordan (or a Hakeen Olajuwon) on the board, you don't pass him up. And you don't pass up the second best player in the draft, either. Mario Williams would have been available at a lower pick than #1 overall, and the Texans should have traded down if they didn't want Michael Jordan on their team.

I'm not saying that Vince Young or Reggie Bush are the NFL equivalent to Michael Jordan, that's for history to decide, but NFL experts have said that they are two of the most special players in this generation. I'm also not saying that Mario Williams is the NFL equivalent of Sam Bowie. He's been a great player, has great physical skills, and is certainly the best defensive lineman in the draft. And he hasn't had the injury problems that Sam Bowie had in college.

The Texans will watch Reggie Bush's progress in the Big Easy, just down I-10 from Houston, and will have Reggie in Reliant Stadium once every 10 years for regular season matchups, most likely only once in the young running back's career. But the Texans will have the pleasure of seeing Vince Young's progress twice a year for a franchise that should be the ultimate rivalry, the franchise that left Houston for Nashville, the owner least interested in the fans short of Bill Bidwell in Bud Adams.