Chuck Hayes

NBA Purgatory

Neither the best nor the worst, the Rockets remain stuck in professional basketball's great midsection.

NBA Season Win Totals and My Rockets Prediction

Bet the over on wins​Last add on my post from yesterday about Kris Kardashian Humphries re-signing with the Nets: For those of you who think I was a little too hard on Big Humph (and by my count, there were exactly none of you who felt that way), just know that according to results of a rece ... 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 >>

2010-2011 Houston Rockets Report Card

Photo by GroovehouseSad Rocket fan​Hello everyone! Welcome to my blog post for today, also known as "Day Four of the Jim Rome Smack-Off Recap Hostage Crisis." That's right, based on feedback on my Twitter feed and the monster hits that our rogue "Smack-Off On A Mobile" have been getting, I k ... More >>

Final Four Watch Parties, Team by Team

Brittanie SheyHotel Derek, all gaudied up.​Judging by traffic, alumni from the schools playing in this weekend's Final Four are already swarming town, and if you want to get some of the sweet team-pride action, we've compiled a list of the official and unofficial watch parties happening this w ... More >>

KGOW'S KAPOW KAPOW

1560AM weaves pop culture, locker-room humor and irreverence into sports-talk radio.

Rockets Playing Well Under the Radar

Photo by Jeff BalkeFinally, the Red Rowdies have something to actually cheer about.​Houston's three major sports franchises have spent the last few seasons in the equivalent of purgatory. None have been good enough to contend for a title, but none have been horrid enough to elicit the types of ... More >>

Houston Rockets -- Chuck Hayes Needs To Ease Up

Chuck Hayes, ripping off the dunk-seeking consumer​"He is as good as any defender in this league in the low post. I'm going to start talking to the coaches at the end of the year when they have the (All-NBA) defensive team. If he's not on one of the defensive teams, there's something wrong. . ... More >>

Patrick Patterson & The NBA Draft: Pass The (Trade) Chips, Mr. Morey

Photo by Daniel KramerThe dealing has begun, as Van Morrison almost sang​The Rockets had what most analysts considered a strong draft on Thursday, but its true genius may take another week or two to see.No, former Kentucky forward Patrick Patterson isn't likely to go to Toronto in any long-awaited ... More >>

Why Wait On Prospects? Morey Opts For Star As Rockets Acquire K-Mart

​Daryl Morey, as always, had us all fooled.We assumed the Rockets' general manager had little on the table for the dead carcass of Tracy McGrady, save the Bulls' and Knicks' offers centered around future draft picks that could later be used as assets to trade for a star. The offers weren't bad ... More >>

As Losses Mount, Rockets' Battier Looks To Power Of The 'Stache

​In many sports, the growing of facial hair is symbolic of success. It's a frequent routine of playoff teams in baseball, for example, including the Astros' franchise-best seasons of 2004 and 2005.But Shane Battier of the struggling Rockets (24-20) has a different idea. On a dare, he's growing ... More >>

Game Time: Rockets Midseason Report Card

​I grew up as the oldest child in a family with three boys. There was me, two years behind me was my brother Kevin, and then six years behind him was my brother Ryan. While all three of us were, and for the most part still are, pretty intelligent fellows, report card time meant different things to ... More >>

The H-Town Countdown: We Interrupt This Countdown to Bring You Some Basketball/Rap Metaphors

Roughly 84,000 rap albums have been released in Houston since 1989. We're counting down the 25 best of all time every Thursday. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email it to sheaserrano@gmail.com.​You know how at the end of each American Idol season they drag the fin ... More >>

The Top Ten Rockets Moments Of The Decade, For Better Or Worse

Photo by Daniel Kramer​For the Rockets, the decade of the 2000s began with Hall of Fame legend Hakeem Olajuwon starting at center. It finished with 6-foot-6 Chuck Hayes, the shortest listed starting center in NBA history.It started with promising rookie sensation and No. 2 pick Steve Francis at po ... More >>

Game Time: The Week In Tweets

​Maybe I'm biased because I use it all the time, but I'm going to make the bold statement that Twitter has surpassed "fad" status and that it's here to stay. Even at this point, people who don't use Twitter recognize kinda sorta how it works, and even recognize a Tweet when they see it -- "it's go ... More >>

Game Time: The Dysfunctional Macs

​I'm sure if all of you have heard, but Tracy McGrady has set a target date to return from microfracture surgery, and that date is November 18. What he's going to do once he comes back or whether he's even ready to come back are secondary issues, because chances are if you heard this news when it ... More >>

In Make-Or-Break Year, Rockets' Landry Looks To Fill Low-Post Void

Photo by Jeff Balke​There's a popular belief in NBA circles that the third year is when a player makes the transition to stardom, if he's going to make it. Among point guards, that worked for Chris Paul and Deron Williams, and much has been said about Aaron Brooks making a similar - though sma ... More >>

The Red Nation Manifesto, Honored Mostly In The Breach

Photos by Monica Fuentes​The Houston Rockets hosted a party last night at Hotel Icon to celebrate the team's new Red Nation marketing campaign. Other than "alternative jerseys" for this year, the team -- as part of the campaign -- has developed a Bill of Red, "a document passed down from high and ... More >>

Oh, The Lakers Will Learn All About Ron Artest

On the way to his fourth championship, Kobe Bryant was guarded by Mickael Pietrus, Hedo Turkoglu, Courtney Lee, Dahntay Jones, Carmelo Anthony, Shane Battier, and all of the Jazz players whose names Jerry Sloan could remember. None of them had the combination of speed, size, and advanced weaponry ne ... More >>

Despite Loss, These Aren't Same Old Rockets

Photo by Katharine ShilcuttThe ending was all too familiar, but the ride was so, so different. Sure, history will show another Rockets season concluded without a title, this time on an 89-70 second-round, Game 7 loss to the Lakers on Sunday afternoon at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. And ... More >>

No Matter Game 7 Outcome, These Rockets Have Heart Of Champions

Photo: Jeff BalkeScrapper Chuck HayesThirty-seven million of the Rockets' approximately $70 million payroll sits on the bench in luxury suits instead of basketball uniforms. With Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady sidelined, the Rockets counter the Lakers' top scoring option -- only one of the best players ... More >>

No Yao, No T-Mac, No Problem: Hayes Sets Tone As Rockets Tie Series

Photo byJeff BalkeThe opening to the Rockets' player introductions sounded as unlikely and frightening as the task of defeating the vaunted Lakers without Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. Somehow, "a 6-foot-6 center out of Kentucky" didn't deliver the same punch and energy as the booming "7-foot-6 ... More >>

Do You Believe In Miracles? Rockets Advance

May 17, 1997.Aaron Brooks and Von Wafer were in sixth grade. The Oilers were only a year removed from their Houston existence. The Texans were still more than five years from their birth. The Astros had yet to make the playoffs in the Biggio-Bagwell era. Then-President Bill Clinton was still eight m ... More >>

Rockets-Portland Game 4: Hayes Takes One For The Team

In a gritty comeback effort that epitomized a team win, it seemed only fitting that the game-winner came from a Rocket whose only contribution to the box score was a personal foul.With the Rockets clinging to a two-point lead with under 15 seconds left, Chuck Hayes read Brandon Roy's drive to the bu ... More >>

Rockets Playoff Preview: Yao, Rockets May Have Finally Landed Favorable First-Round Matchup

At least for now, the Rockets' stunning collapse might not be all bad.The negatives to the Rockets blowing a 14-point, second-half lead at Dallas on Wednesday night, coupled with New Orleans' meltdown in San Antonio, are of course falling from the No. 2 seed, losing home court advantage in the first ... More >>

Rockets Fast Break: Adelman Stresses Consistency at Point

To Rockets coach Rick Adelman, consistency trumps contrast. When fans initially heard the Rafer Alston trade Thursday afternoon, much of the immediate reaction was negative. In addition to questioning the team going forward without an experienced starting point guard, many wondered why the team w ... More >>

Rockets Fast Break: Adelman Stresses Consistency at Point

To Rockets coach Rick Adelman, consistency trumps contrast. When fans initially heard the Rafer Alston trade Thursday afternoon, much of the immediate reaction was negative. In addition to questioning the team going forward without an experienced starting point guard, many wondered why the team w ... More >>

Rockets-Jazz Game Five: Return of the Streakers

Rockets-Sonics: Face to Face with Inevitability

Rockets-Lakers: McGrady and the Miracles

Batman Forever: Battier Gets His Due

Rockets-Nets: Just Another Step Along the Road to Redemption

Rockets-Pacers: All Aboard the Chuck Wagon

Rockets-Wizards: The Show Goes On

Rockets-Kings: Steve Novak and The Shot

Supersonics vs. Rockets: Live-blogging with Jason Friedman

Rockets vs. Magic: Hoping, Waiting, Wishing

Rockets vs. Grizzlies: Just a Little Patience…

Q&A with Daryl Morey: Surprise! Rockets Need Better Point Guard Play

Feeling a Draft

Game Seven: T-Mac’s Biggest Test

Blast Off

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