If you are a hardcore Texan fan, you can never get enough information and analysis about your favorite team.  Often you can get basic news, but places to get good analysis--what does this news mean--is lacking.

So I figured I would share some of my favorite Texan websites:

1. HT.com and Chron.com:  The Texans official website, HoustonTexans.com has really improved in the amount of information they provide.  My favorite things over there are the press conferences.  Sometimes when you read quotes in their entirety versus excerpts, it gives you a better feel for what is going on.

The Chron.com Texans page has scattershot information from their different columnists, reporters and fanblogger.  So it takes a bit to find what you are looking for.  Out of all the people over there, I think the best football analysis can be found in Lance Zierlein's blog.  FanBlogger Thomas Hilton encourages Texans-only conversation on his blog. (Archives of my old writing can be found there in May 2006 to January 2007.  I don't write there any more because it started feeling like a job instead of a hobby, a job I didn't get paid for.  Your hobbies should never feel like a job).

2. Texans Message Boards:  Thoughtful message boards can be a great place to find good information about the team.  The best for the Texans are the official Texans MB (click the link above) and TexansTalk.com.  The official board now has someone who writes for the Texans, Nick Scurfield, who answers fan questions about the team.  It's a great way for the team to address just plain old MB gossip.

TexansTalk.com is the old official board that the Texans organization was gracious enough to pass that history to interested fans who were willing to take it over.  (Yet another illustration of how nice the Texans organization can be).  There are some very educated and knowledgeable fans who post there, and it is relatively mature for a sports message board.  (Actually, both MBs take a dim view of trolling, which means that it is more fun reading actual football posts).

3.  Blogs:  It has been really encouraging to see the proliferation of new blogs that focus on the Texans.  Here's a list of a few I frequent.  If I leave some out, please leave a comment so we can find you.

* AJ's Voice of The Fan.  AJ was the long time writer of the "Voice of the Fan" column for HT.com.  If you miss his old columns, he is still writing, but you can find him at his new Voice of the Fan website.  AJ knows the team, knows its history and does a great job of writing informed analysis about the team.

* Battle Red Blog. Even very informed Texans fans can learn new things from Battle Red Blog.  It's a great one stop shop for Texans news and analysis.

* Houston DieHards.. Like BRB, lots of great Houston sports and Texans analysis at Houston DieHards

* Texans TailGate. Even more Texans discussion at Texans Tail Gate. YAY for more Texans blogs.

* DGDB&D.  DGDB&D stands for Da Good, Da Bad and DeMeco.  This is where you find your Texans news with er, maybe a little rawer, sometimes hilarious edge.  Sort of a Kissing Suzy Kolber for Texans fans, though with a lot more straight up football talk.  The language is not for those who are offended by people who cuss.  If you have been a Texan fan since the beginning of the franchise, I am guessing you have probably cussed a few times though.

* TexansBullPen.com.  TexansBullPen.com is not really a blog, but in some ways is like a photo blog.  They have the most comprehensive organized pictures of Texans history.  This website should be considered a treasure to the organization and to the Texans fan base.  Many events that may have been lost to history are preserved in picture form. 

* Texans FanHouse.  I am one of the writers for AOL Sports' FanHouse, currently the #1 Sports Blog, and #5 Blog overall in the US.  Originally the site started with the NFL FanHouse, but now they have writers for just about every sport that is out there that you might be interested in.

You can find our Texans FanHouse stuff here, our AFC South stuff here, and my writing in general here.  I enjoy writing for FanHouse because I like the writers there, and so often the national view of the Texans is inaccurate or incomplete, and I like having a way of talking Texans to an audience that may not know very much about the team. 

I like the writing there because there's good analysis, it's often silly and funny, and they point you to things in the world of sports that are worth checking out.  I find that I often read things there first, and then see it in the sports page days and days later.

Other sites?  I've probably left some good sites out.  If so, put them in the comments. 

And I think it is great that the Texans are hosting fanblogs here.  If you have something that you think other fans would be interested in reading, please blog about it.  A blog is just a medium for communication, and you can make it what you want it to be.

In conclusion, I have to mention that I truly miss HoustonProFootball.com.  Their website is suspended, and the writers are figuring out exactly what they want to do with their information.  They wrote amazing stuff for free, for the love of the game.  Running such a website for no money can get a little expensive, and can wear on you.  I miss the quality of writing there, and the wonderful archives of the history of Houston football.

(UPDATE: Bad News and Good News.  The bad news is that I can't find AJ's blog any more.  The Good News, Keith Weiland from HPF.com has a new site called http://inthebullseye.com/ .  All his good salary cap information is over there. Nice!)