Athletic Awards

Johnny Manziel Officially Concocts The Most Creative First Pitch Ever At Padres Game

Cabo spring breaks, courtside NBA seats, luxury boxes at concerts, appearances on Letterman, rounds of golf at Pebble Beach, batting practice in Major League Baseball stadiums... I'm pretty sure that soon it will make more sense to just create a Johnny Manziel specific blog on HoustonPress.com to c ... More >>

LeBron James Is Your Non-Unanimous 2012-13 MVP, And I'm Fine With That

I am mesmerized by LeBron James. I'll admit, he's converted me. I am a fan. This is coming from someone who wrote four straight posts around the time of "The Decision" in July 2010 about what an asshole LeBron was. This is coming from someone who openly rooted against him every time he was on my ... More >>

Rockets Report Card: Handing Out the Grades With the Season Over

At the beginning of the season, even after the trade for James Harden, I was convinced this was not a playoff team. Right before the season started, I wrote this in a blog post, "With youth comes athleticism, energy and excitement. It also brings inexperience, inconsistency and the occasional train ... More >>

Move Over, Johnny Football! Kevin Sumlin To Be Named WWE World Champion On Sunday

2012 was an unbelievable whirlwind for Texas A&M head football coach Kevin Sumlin. After quickly making the transition from Houston to College Station last spring, Sumlin went to SEC Media Day in July and basically learned that the respect level from the rest of the SEC for his Aggies was practicall ... More >>

NBA All-Star Game: Your Prop Bets For This Weekend

Michael Jordan turns 50 this weekend, I'm not sure if you've heard. In case you missed the incessant career retrospective pieces that ran on Sportscenter or the story of MJ's renting the Museum of Fine Arts here in Houston for his birthday shindig this weekend, the most iconic team sport athlete o ... More >>

No MVP? Jacoby Jones Wuz Robbed!

The extremely disappointing ending to the Houston Texans' season, which saw them toss away games and play poorly after an impressive start to 2012, triggered some extreme reactions in fans. Some -- pushing for changes in the front office and head-coaching positions -- no doubt would have liked to h ... More >>

Grading the Texans Season: The Good, The Bad and The Seriously Ugly

Ultimately, the 2012-13 Houston Texans season will go down as a disappointment. An impressive 11-1 start gave way to a 1-3 finish, loss of home field advantage and second straight one win and out in the playoffs. Still, there were some bright spots for the team and some of the individual players thi ... More >>

Gordon Oehmig: Former St. Thomas High Wrestling Coach of the Year Nabbed For Child Porn

A former Prep Coach of the Year from St. Thomas High has been arrested after authorities found 1,500 digital images and 500 videos of child porn on his computers, court documents show. Gordon Daniel Oehmig, 29, is no longer at the school, but coached there from from 2009-12, when he won the coach o ... More >>

Which Houston Rapper Bet "Whatever" On the NBA Finals?

Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Each week, Rocks Off will have some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. This Week's Panel: Mac, Mug, Killa Kyleon, TroubleSum, Propain, hasHBrown, Yung Truth, O.N.E., Chingo Bling, more. Not Invited: Steve Francis and ... More >>

NBA Finals: Series Prediction and a Few Prop Bets

Finally, it's here! If you had allowed David Stern to sit in a room with all 16 playoff teams on the wall by conference, and allow him to pick his dream matchup for the NBA Finals, it's without a doubt the Miami-Oklahoma City matchup we're getting here. LeBron versus Durant, big market versus small ... More >>

Peyton Manning -- The Betting Window Is Open

It's official now, Peyton Manning will be a Denver Bronco after signing a five-year, $96 million contract that essentially boils down to being a series of one-year contracts over the next five years. No signing bonuses, no roster bonuses, plenty of protection in case Manning sustains injury again. ... More >>

The Five Oddest Pro Bowl MVPs

Feel the Pro Bowl excitement!! This year, to try to get anyone to watch the game, the NFL has moved it to the dead week between the conference championships and the Super Bowl. So knock yourself out watching it, people. The game has almost always been pointless -- football is a sport based on incr ... More >>

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly: The Year Just Past In Cougar Sports

John RoyalCase Keenum was the Man of the Year for the Cougars​Yes, it's that time of year. That time of year when I take a look back at the year just past. On Friday, I looked back at the sports year for the Rice Owls. Today, let's take a look at the top 25 events, in no particular order, f ... More >>

Who Needs Tim Tebow When You Have T.J. Yates (Or Just About Any Other NFL Quarterback)?

The only proper usage of Tebowing.​Vince Young was not who Jeff Fisher wanted to draft in 2006. His choice for the future quarterback of the Tennessee Titans was Jay Cutler. Bud Adams wanted Young, so Young became a Titan. Young was the 2006 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year as the Titans we ... More >>

Case Keenum: Preseason C-USA Offensive Player of the Year

C-USA coaches think he does​Case Keenum's big comeback attempt, which we chronicled as spring practice began in April, is apparently destined for success if the coaches of COnference USA are right. They chose the UH quarterback as pre-season Offensive Player of the Year as part of the media d ... More >>

Augie Busch Replaces the Late Mark Taylor as UH Swimming Coach

Courtesy of the University of Houston Athletic DepartmentAugie Busch becomes UH's fourth swim coach.​Late yesterday afternoon, the University of Houston announced the appointment of Augie Busch as its swimming coach. Busch, the son of USA swimming national team director Frank Busch (a six-time ... More >>

Famous Triple Doubles (NBA and Otherwise)

The Jim Rome triple double: He's Big O-esque​Ah, the triple double. The semi-elusive NBA statistic whereby an NBA player gets double figures in a game in three performance categories (points, rebounds, assists are usually the big three, but steals and blocked shots are sometimes allowed in the ... More >>

2011 NBA Slam Dunk Contest Video Recap

Justin Bieber, your All-Star MVP​Travel day today back from Phoenix, so I'm submitting the ultimate Cliffs Notes version of dominant performances during the NBA All Star weekend. (I'll be back at full blog strength tomorrow.) Here goes: - Justin Bieber was named most valuable player of the c ... More >>

Meet Anthony Rendon, Rice Baseball's Newest Whiz Kid

John RoyalMeet Anthony Rendon​His name is Anthony Rendon. You might have heard of him if you're a fan of Rice Owls baseball, or if you follow college baseball. You might also have heard of him if you're one of those people who follow Houston-area high school baseball. If you're a fan of the ... More >>

Andrew Luck and Jim Harbaugh -- What ISN'T Wrong With This Picture?

Andrew Luck pursues his architecture degree​As quarterback/head coach combinations go at the collegiate level, few have ever been as logical a fit and maximized that synergy like Houston's own Andrew Luck and Jim Harbaugh at Stanford in 2011. The head coach who on pure guts nearly willed th ... More >>

Jeff Bagwell Denied Entrance Into Hall of Fame

Bagwell won't be a Hall of Famer this year.​Rumors of steroid use likely prevented former Astro first baseman Jeff Bagwell from being elected into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame as voters denied him entrance today. This was Bagwell's first time on the ballot. Bagwell will remain eligi ... More >>

One Man's Votes For The Baseball Hall of Fame

The best second baseman of the `90s​The latest class to the Baseball Hall of Fame will be announced tomorrow. This is a special year for all Astros fans as this is the first year that Jeff Bagwell is on the ballot. There's a lot of talk among the voters (and non-voters) about Bagwell this se ... More >>

Game Time: The Oswalt Redemption

Lance Berkman -- next to go? -- at a Furry convention​"I guess it comes down to a simple choice really...get busy livin' or get busy dyin'." -- Andy DufresneIf you're a true competitor, at some point the front office ineptitude goes beyond constraining, and the losing becomes suffocating.For Roy ... More >>

Game Time: Kobe Bryant: One Down, One To Go (And Neither of Them Are You, LeBron)

You, Senator, are no Michael Jordan​ "I've got one more than Shaq." -- Kobe BryantThe accolades would seem to indicate that respect has not been an issue for Kobe Bryant -- the respect of fans, the respect of his peers, the respect of the media.In his career, Kobe Bryant has been selected to the A ... More >>

Game Time: A Follow-Up E-mail To Brian Cushing

Brian Cushing and Elton John: Soulmates​Brian: Let me get right down to business. I am actually sending this e-mail as a follow-up to my open letter to you on Monday of this week, and frankly, I'm kicking myself that I actually sent you an open letter. I mean, who the hell sends letters any ... More >>

Brian Cushing And the Department Of Bad Timing

A photo Cushing's PR person sent along today, before things went sour​Adventures in Public Relations:At 2:13 this afternoon, we got this e-mail: My name is Ryan Cole and I work for ESBL Sports management where we handle the PR for Houston Texans' Rookie of the Year and Pro Bowler Brian Cushing.I w ... More >>

Game Time: The Caballo Chronicles, Volume 2: A Look at MLB's 20 Biggest Contracts Ever

​This is my second go round living in Houston. Prior to moving back here in the summer of 2007, the last time I was an H-town resident was between 1994 and 2001. As an Astro fan, that means I was here when the Bagwell/Biggio nucleus finally broke through in 1997 and made the playoffs, I was he ... More >>

Game Time: Calipari Seeks His First Final Four....You Know, Because The Other Two Never Happened

The NCAA makes me chuckle sometimes. Forget about the laughable amount of time it takes them to investigate transgressions at schools where you may as well be investigating jaywalking outside Minute Maid Park on Texas Street after an Astros game. (For those of you who don't live in Houston, after ... More >>

Game Time: Matt Schaub Gets The Coolest Participation Ribbon Ever

​Let me preface the next several hundred words with this -- I am a Matt Schaub fan. I think the guy had a phenomenal 2009 season and deserved to be at the Pro Bowl this weekend long before Tom Brady and Phillip Rivers pulled out of the game with injuries to their respective bodily parts (and, like ... More >>

Game Time: Previewing College Football Awards Night

​Last night, the Rotary Lombardi Award for the top lineman in college football was given to Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. To anyone who watched him play this year, or even just watched him rag-doll and chokeslam the Texas offensive line in the Big XII championship game, Suh's winning th ... More >>

Game Time: Road Trip Edition, The Middle And The End

​(Cue cheesy announcer voice:) "When we last left our our venerable 1560 The Game crew of Pendergast, Nuno and Ramzanali, they were checking into the Norman, Oklahoma Days Inn at 2:30 in the morning, readying themselves for three days of free continental breakfast and lumpy mattresses. To read ab ... More >>

Why Notre Dame Will Win The BCS Title And Texas Won't: Part Nine

​We have documented weekly just how Notre Dame is moving inexorably towards a BCS championship while UT is deluding itself that it is doing so.Today, though, we discuss why ND's road may be harder.We have discovered, shockingly, that the pernicious influence of the KKK and other such anti-Catholic ... More >>

If There's A Watch List For QB Awards, UH's Case Keenum's On It

Photo courtesy UH​If the honor is in being nominated, then UH quarterback Case Keenum can just go ahead and shut it down before the season gets started. The junior QB, last season's Conference USA offensive player of the year, has had his name added to two more postseason watch lists, putting him ... More >>

This Season's MLB Predictions: The National League

With baseball season due to start next week, I thought I should put myself on the line and make some predictions. I made my American League predictions yesterday. Today I'm going to take a look at the National League, and on Monday, I'll take an in-depth look at the Astros as they prepare to open ... More >>

This Season's MLB Predictions: The National League

With baseball season due to start next week, I thought I should put myself on the line and make some predictions. I made my American League predictions yesterday. Today I'm going to take a look at the National League, and on Monday, I'll take an in-depth look at the Astros as they prepare to open ... More >>

This Season's MLB Predictions: The American League

With baseball season due to start next week, I thought I should put myself on the line and make some predictions. I'm going to do the American League today. I'll follow up with the National League and postseason picks tomorrow, and I'll give a more in-depth look at the Astros on Monday. So here' ... More >>

Madison High's Ray Seals Honored By NFL, As Vince Young Finally Does Something Right This Year

Seals and VYRay Seals, head coach at Madison High, has been chosen the 2008 National Football League High School Coach of the Year. Two of his former players, Vince Young of the Tennessee Titans and Moran Norris of the Detroit Lions, nominated Seals for the award.  In his essay, Norris called S ... More >>

John Royal's Forecast for the Astros in June: Not So Hot

The Five Best Trades in the History of Houston Sports

Giants Win. You’re Welcome.

Stuck with a Fork: Baseball Writers, Awards, Bonuses and Curt Schilling

Pro Athlete Musicians

Athletes step off the field and into the studio

John Royal’s MLB Awards: Why Wait for the World Series?

Which Texas Team Will Take Home the Title?

Best Comet

Play Ball

The greatest in the game come to Houston

Best Comet

Sheryl Swoopes

Janeth Arcain

Houston Comets guard

Best Houston Comet

Sheryl Swoopes

The Legend

Where the games are good, everybody knows the story of Dwayne Rogers, and everybody wonders: Why is he still an amateur?