College Baseball

Astros, Cougars, Owls and Problems with Starting Pitching

It's always about the pitching. No matter how good the offense, no matter how good the defense, if the pitching lets down, a team will eventually start to lose. Because offenses will cool down and defenses will miss plays. But if the pitching is solid, a team can overcome the other deficiencies. Th ... More >>

Who Needs The Astros When You Have The Cougars And Owls?

Houston Astros owner Jim Crane is tired of fan complaints about the crappiness of the Houston Astros. Give him $10 million and he'll gladly listen, but otherwise, just pay the team's highly inflated prices for Opening Day and shut up. It's not a very fan-friendly approach to take, especially when he ... More >>

Foul Balls, Philosophy and Baseball Gods: Notes from the Houston College Classic

Six teams. Three days. Nine games. Seventy-one innings, give or take a couple here and there. So was The Astros Foundation 2013 College Classic. And after sitting through all nine games and three days, it's safe to say that this weekend was anything but a classic of college baseball. Most of the ga ... More >>

Crystal Ball Part Deux: Looking Ahead to 2013 Houston Sports, Astros/Dynamo/UH/Rice Edition

Yesterday, we took a look at the futures of the Texans and Rockets. Predictions were made. Accusations were tossed about. But no one is Carnac the Magnificent. All we can really do is guess...except when it comes to the Astros.

Houston Chronicle Sports Goes Bleacher Report

The Houston Chronicle sports page is a sad shadow of what it used to be. Tons of talented writers have been laid off the past several years, or they have departed on their own because they just couldn't take it anymore. Many of the reporters left are having to double up on beats, like Joseph Duarte ... More >>

Owls Coach Wayne Graham Reflects On His Career, Baseball and Lance Berkman

Rice Owls head coach Wayne Graham has been a college baseball coach since 1981. He coached San Jacinto from 1981 through 1991, then he took over the Rice program. In all of that time, he's never had a losing record. He was a five-time national coach of the year while heading up the San Jac squad, an ... More >>

Tyler Duffey, J.T. Chargois: The Minnesota Twins Hope The Rice Owls Can Save Them

It's been a tough month or so for Rice Owls pitcher Tyler Duffey. There's the disappointment that comes from the way the season ended, losing in the conference tournament and not making it past the NCAA Regionals this past weekend. And nothing can compare to what happened in late August when his mot ... More >>

The Owls Can Forget About Omaha for Another Year

The Rice Owls last advanced to Omaha and the College World Series in 2008. They last made the Super Regional in 2009. And after yesterday's 4-1 loss to Sam Houston State, it will be at least another year before the Owls can talk about going to Omaha for the College World Series. It's often said the ... More >>

Houston's Babies Play Vintage Baseball

There's no gloves or batting helmets when Larry Joe Miggins and the rest of the Houston Babies regularly travel back in time to play the game by its 1860 rules.

25 Positive Thoughts As The Astros Head off to Spring Training

Jed Lowrie could be the Astros' best all-around shortstop since Dickie Thon, if he stays healthy​Spring training begins for Major League Baseball next week, and that means the Astros will be reporting to camp in Florida and prepping for the upcoming season -- yes, despite whatever happened las ... More >>

20 Modest Fan Suggestions for Jim Crane

The word from on-high came earlier this week when the Houston Astros announced that Jim Crane had heard the voice of the fans and thus would not be changing the team's name. It's nice that Crane paid some attention to the people who buy tickets (though it does seem strange to see how many people co ... More >>

Turkeys of the Year 2011

We combed through an abundance of riches this year to bring you the best of the worst

Moneyball

Field of Statistically Knowable Dreams

For Vancouver: The Top 10 Sports Riots

twitpic/Chris WaltsNot bad, Vancouver, but you got some work to do​Oh, behave, Vancouver. Last night, a number of poor sports, distraught by the Canucks' loss to the Boston Bruins in game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals, went all kung fu on the British Columbia city. By past standards, Van ... More >>

Five Jobs for Fastow

Enron honcho needs work.

For Friday the 13th: Five of the Unluckiest Texans Ever

Investors held on too long.​Beginning with LaSalle, the French explorer who survived shipwrecks and cannibal Karankawa Indian attacks only to perish at the hands of his own men near Navasota, some people in Texas have had some pretty damned hard luck. You might lay some or all of the blame at ... More >>

Owls Soar Over The Cougars And Continue To Dominate Cross-Town Series

John RoyalHouston Cougar Ryan Still leaps high for an overthrown ball on a first inning Rice sacrifice bunt​The Houston Cougars (11-11) grabbed the 1-0 lead from the Rice Owls (15-9) in the top of the first inning last night. The Owls scored two runs in the bottom of the first, and the game w ... More >>

Looking Back at This Weekend's Houston College Classic

John RoyalRice's Michael Ratterree slides across the plate to score a run yesterday against Baylor​The 11th Houston College Classic was played at Minute Maid Park this weekend, and though it's only March, it's probably safe to say that the best baseball to be played in Minute Maid Park this se ... More >>

One Guy's Remaining Thoughts On 2010

Thanks to Tron: Legacy for Olivia Wilde in 3D​As we head into the New Year, I thought I would look back at some of the things in 2010 for which I'm thankful, sports, and non-sports. 1. ESPN's 30 For 30.  ESPN does a lot of things wrong, i.e. the Brett Favre lovefest, The Decision, Col ... More >>

The Five Most Overrated Houston Athletes

Nolan Ryan: Ks are nice, how about wins?​In Houston, we mostly love our athletes. It takes a lot to get on our bad side.Of course, sometimes we overlove our athletes. Not only do they hold a special place in our hearts, but we insist that they were much better than they actually were.So what athle ... More >>

GAME TIME: Texans-Saints -- 5 Winners, 5 Losers

Oh, what the hell...go ahead and panic.​I keep trying to tell myself that the results of the Texans' trip to New Orleans last week didn't really count. Texans fans everywhere (and my liver) seem to disagree. New Orleans is one of a handful of places on earth that embodies the "too much of a ... More >>

Houston's 10 Best Sports Moments*

*And the 5 most heartbreaking...

Houston's Top Ten Sports Moments: Another View

The bosses came out their Top 10 Greatest Houston Sports Moments today, so I thought I would share mine.1. September 25, 1986: The magic number for the Houston Astros to clinch the NL West is one game. The Astros are playing a midweek day game against the San Francisco Giants, the team that just ... More >>

Houston Texans: Shouldn't The Most Popular Team Win Something?

Most popular team in the city?​So the argument being made by Richard Justice and the Houston Chronicle is that Houston has once again become a football town. It's not really hard to argue with this, thanks to the Astros being so damn bad, and all. But that aside, the question needs to be asked, wh ... More >>

One Man's Entry For Five Worst Houston Sports Moments -- Where Are Yours?

A UH lowlight, an ND legend​I couldn't help but notice that the bosses are soliciting suggestions for the best and worst sports moments in Houston history.So I thought I would make a few suggestions.I'll do my top 10 moments when the issue comes out with the winners, but here are my five worst mom ... More >>

Doug Glanville: A Book That's Interesting But Superficial

He was there for the Steve Bartman game​Doug Glanville wasn't the greatest player to ever play major league baseball. He lasted just nine seasons in the majors, playing for three teams, and getting only 1,100 hits. He was never exactly a household name. But unlike most of the people in the majors, ... More >>

Longhorn Network: Death Knell Of The Big 12?

There was a rumor about a tumor...​Back in the 1950s, with the Dodgers relocated to Los Angeles and the Giants to San Francisco, New York City found itself with only one baseball team, the Yankees.And despite the so-called popularity of the sport, there were still only 16 major league teams. ... More >>

Rice's Anthony Rendon: Start Sucking Even Worse, Astros, In Order To Get This Guy

Photo courtesy RiceSoon to be a rich man​The Rice Owls were coasting to a pretty easy win Sunday afternoon, leading Louisiana-Lafayette 8-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning. But the Cajuns had two men on and two out when Matt Goulas sent a rocket down the third base line. Rice third baseman Anth ... More >>

Longhorns End Rice's Season

Damn you, Bevo​Rice Owls pitcher Mike Ojala had been lobbying coach Wayne Graham to let him pitch a complete game for four years. That lobbying had been excessively hard this season, since Ojala wanted to get at least one in his Rice career.But with his coming off off-season Tommy John surgery, ... More >>

Mike Ojala, Rice Get Ready For Post-Season Play

Photo courtesy Rice baseball Mike Ojala went out in style in his last Reckling Park game​The Rice Owls (35-20, 17-7 in conference) ended the regular season much in the same fashion as they began. At times over the final two games against UAB, the Owls pitching was un-hittable and the Rice h ... More >>

Rice Tops UH, But Both Teams Have Concerns For The Tournament

Photo courtesy UHRice takes the crosstown series as Coogs keep stumbling​In the ultimate scheme of things, Rice's 15-5 over Houston last night means absolutely nothing. Rice had already clinched the Silver Glove Series, again, which goes to the team that wins the season series between the two team ... More >>

Coogs Will Host C-USA Tournament, But Probably Won't Play In It

Photo courtesy UHUH's pitching continues to struggle​The University of Houston will be hosting the Conference-USA Baseball Tournament come the last week of May. But while it may be hosting the event, it's becoming ever more possible that it won't actually be playing in the tournament.Only six team ... More >>

Houston Is Under Attack

Bedbugs threaten our slumber.

Rice Plunders ECU's Pirates As They Surge in C-USA

​Walking from the Rice clubhouse to the Rice dugout, right past the trainer's room, you pass a dry erase board. There was a message on that board Saturday afternoon. A message reading "Plunder the Pirates. Go Owls." And if one word can be applied to describe what the Rice Owls did to C-USA foe ... 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 >>

Coogs Use Power of Dance to Clinch Memphis Series

​The Houston Cougars and Memphis Tigers were about an hour into a two hour 19 minute rain delay yesterday when Cougar infielder Jake Runte stepped out of the dugout, into the rain, and started dancing. Teammate David Murphy jumped out and slid around on the tarp, and the preteen batboys and th ... More >>

Game Time: Prediction Monday -- Men's Hoops Finals And The Astros' 2010 Season

​NCAA MEN'S HOOPS FINALS (Butler vs Duke, 8:21 PM tip-off)When I ranked the list of NCAA Finals permutations from "Most Compelling" to "Least Compelling" in this space last week, I had Butler vs Duke ranked as the most compelling. The figurative "Cinderella" (although let's not forget that Cinde ... More >>

Game Time: Texans Sign DeMeco Ryans, Their Dwight Shrute

​When a big sports news story breaks, my tendency is to spend about eight seconds internalizing it and wondering what it means to the subject of said news and what it means to me as a fan. From second number nine forward it's time to figure out other angles the news puts into play, what other pe ... More >>

Coog Baseball Gets Off To Rough Start

Photo courtesy UH​Teams never want to start 0-3 on the season, no matter the sport. And starting 0-3 for the season is definitely not something the Houston Cougars baseball team wanted to do, yet after being swept by Texas State in this season's opening series, that's exactly the hole the Cougars ... More >>

The Best Sports Palaces In Houston History, Ranked For Her Pleasure

Photo courtesy wikipedia​It's been a few years since Houston's most recent orgy of building new sports arenas for down-on-their-luck franchise owners. There's a new soccer stadium trying to get itself born, but other than that we probably won't be seeing any new facilities being built for a while. ... More >>

Rice's Joe Savery, Still On The Path To The Major Leagues

Photo by Daniel KramerA little over two years ago, we did a feature on Rice's Joe Savery, a linchpin of the school's elie baseball team, a guy who combined excellent power pitching with a terrific batting average.Savery is a complete local product, having played in Bellaire, at Lamar High and for Ri ... More >>

Rice Hosts NCAA Baseball Regional, Doesn't Get Top Seed

Photo by Daniel KramerYesterday saw the announcement of the NCAA's 64-team bracket for the College World Series, and it was a mixed bag for local fans.Good news: Seven Texas teams are in it.Bad news: Rice didn't get a top regional seeding, for the first time in three years, kind of a slap to the new ... More >>

A Chat With Hannah Storm Of ESPN (And Houston)

Photo courtesy ESPNESPN has been charged for years with having an East Coast bias. ESPN's morning SportsCenter anchor Hannah Storm somewhat agrees with that charge, though she says the charge doesn't apply to her show and says that to her, "it is a non-issue." And if she does have any bias, it's pro ... More >>

Top Ten Houston Sports Moments of 2008

10. I never really followed the Houston Comets, who folded several weeks ago. By the time they came on the scene I was getting pretty sick of professional basketball. So I never became invested in the team, and I can't feel any real loss behind their demise. Still, unlike the Rockets and Astros ... More >>

Top Ten Houston Sports Moments of 2008

10. I never really followed the Houston Comets, who folded several weeks ago. By the time they came on the scene I was getting pretty sick of professional basketball. So I never became invested in the team, and I can't feel any real loss behind their demise. Still, unlike the Rockets and Astros ... More >>

Top Ten Astrodome Sports Moments

Houston Sports, Hurricane Ike Update

The Five Biggest Choke Jobs in Houston Sports History

Spring Training: What a Glorious Place to Be, Unless Your Name Is Carlos Lee

New Year's Resolutions