College Baseball

ESPN's Keith Law's Goes for the Jugular, Calls Rice's Wayne Graham a Pitcher Killer

Philip Humber was designated for assignment by the Astros yesterday. This came after his disastrous relief performance against the Rangers on Saturday night. And with that the feel good story about the Rice pitching star coming back to Houston to rejuvenate his career is over. Humber, one of the ac ... More >>

Top Five Things to Do in Houston Sports This Weekend: Depressed Aeros Edition

Well, it's official. The Houston Aeros is moving to...Iowa. I've been to Des Moines. It's a nice town. But, losing our only tie to professional hockey pretty much sucks. I'm depressed. But, I have to suck it up because there is lots more to do and I can't get bogged down in something like this. I me ... More >>

Top Five Things to Do in Houston Sports This Weekend: SHO, Astros and Croquet?

Hey, boys and girls, it's the weekend again. I bet you didn't think you'd make it here from Monday, did you? We assume the next few days are all filled up with plans for antiquing, buying groceries, working in the garden, eating sensibly and going to church for Easter. HA HA HA! We're kidding. But ... More >>

Stanford's Mark Appel Gets the Attention, But Rice Pitchers Get the Wins

Stanford's Mark Appel was the focus of Friday's pre-Rice/Stanford season opening talk. But while Appel showed some of the electric stuff that made him the number one choice of the Pittsburgh Pirates last summer, his thunder was stolen by the performance of the Rice Owls pitching staff. The Owls def ... More >>

What Does The Future Hold For The Rice Owls?

It's been a so-so year for Rice sports. The baseball team didn't make it past the NCAA Regionals. The men's basketball team self-destructed. And at one point the football team was 1-5. But then in mid-October the football team took off, and they won five of their six games to finish the season at 6- ... More >>

2012 College Football Media Days, From Best to Most All-Out Painful

A few years ago, ESPN anointed the various college football media days as the unofficial start to the season. We get it. Folks are starved for some mutha-effing football so placing an artificial start date on the season and posting previews and interviews is going to get media outlets a hell of a l ... More >>

Is This The Dawning of A Cougars Renaissance? Don't Be Too Sure

The Houston Chronicle's Sam Khan, Jr. had a good story on Houston Cougars athletics yesterday. It's called a story of a renaissance, and it looks back at the last 10 months of the program. It's told through the eyes of the football program, going through the incredible season the Coogs had as they m ... More >>

Rice Continues Dominating The Cougars in Baseball

It'd been 11 years since the Houston Cougars baseball team won the Silver Glove series against the Rice Owls. And coming into Friday's game, the Owls had won 16 straight games against the Cougars. The Cougars can now actually say they've won a game against the Owls, but it's now 12 years since the C ... More >>

The Top Moments In 2011 Rice Owls Sports

John RoyalRice's Anthony Rendon became a very rich baseball player this summer​It's that time of year. The time for end-of-year lists and bests of, etc. And I'm not immune to tossing off an easy post. So, without further ado, and in no particular order, here are the Top 25 Events in Rice Ow ... More >>

Owls Baseball Falling Prey To Injuries

John RoyalMichael Ratterree makes the throw to first for an early out on Saturday​The Rice Owls are not in a good place. One could sense that on Saturday afternoon when the Owls took the field only to find that day's scheduled DH, Shane Hoelscher, taking throws at third base instead of Anthon ... More >>

Owls Baseball: Pitching Is A Beautiful Thing

John RoyalShortstop Derek Hamilton charges in to make the play on Saturday afternoon​It's been a tough season for the Rice Owls baseball squad - far tougher than they bargained for. Anthony Rendon has spent much of the season at DH because of shoulder issues. Outfielder Michael Fuda has been ... More >>

College Baseball: Rice Sweeps the Trojans While UH Struggles Against the Rebs

John RoyalRice's Michael Ratterree tags out USC's Matt Foat trying to advance on a sac fly​In the first weekend of the college baseball season, it was the Houston Cougars pulling off the home sweep of UT-Arlington while the Rice Owls were losing two of three to visiting Stanford. The competit ... More >>

Cougars and Owls: Hey, What Do You Know? At Least Some Houston Teams Can Win Baseball Games

John RoyalHouston's Caleb Ramsey knocks a first-inning two-run triple on Friday night​The expectations for the Houston Cougars baseball team are almost nonexistent. Hustle. Stay competitive. Aim toward being better next season. The expectations for the Rice Owls are high. Win Conference U ... 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 >>

The Rice Owls Set Aim on Omaha

John RoyalHolt McNair tosses a pitch during practice​If Rice Owls athletics exceed at any one thing, it's producing an exceptional baseball squad year after year. Things are supposedly no different this year as the Owls are ranked in the top 25 of every one of the seemingly 5,000 college base ... More >>

Anthony Rendon Rescues The Year For Rice: 25 Items From The Owls' Sports Year

Tommy Lavergne, Rice University Anthony Rendon at bat​Continuing with my personal review on the sports year just past, here are my thoughts on the Rice Owls of 2010. 1. I got to watch Anthony Rendon play third base on a regular basis. He can hit, and he's a good fielder. If the Astros didn ... More >>

One Guy's Thoughts On The Sports Year: 25 Things To Remember

So with the end of the year fast approaching, I thought I would take some time to revisit some of the highlights, and lowlights, of this past sports year. Your list is probably different, but these are the things that caught my attention this year. maxim.com Thanks for everything, Jenn​1. ... More >>

HISD Payola

Kids get money for homework

Todd Whitting Takes The Reins As UH Baseball Coach

Whitting on the basepaths​The University of Houston baseball squad wasn't very good last season.There was some talent on the roster, but too often the team appeared dispirited and just didn't seem to be putting forth a full effort.Though Rayner Noble had been a successful coach, and had won ... More >>

Game Time: 2010 World Cup -- I Am Darth Soccer

"Luke!! I am your bad-luck charm!!"​If ever there were a sporting event that was tailor-made for watching in a sports bar with a room full of diehard fans, it's World Cup soccer.It's the one sporting event that takes a pretty easily graspable concept for the casual fan (put ball in goal -- and in ... More >>

Rayner Noble Gone After 16 Years As UH Baseball Coach; Who's Next?

UH is in the market for a baseball coach​When I wrote my wrap-up of the Houston Cougars baseball season last week, I had a change of heart and didn't write something that I actually believed. Instead I went with the conventional wisdom that coach Rayner Noble would return for another season ... More >>

UH Ends Dismal Season Dismally: Can Coach Rayner Noble Survive?

Rayner Noble, looking desperately for bullpen help​The Houston Cougars finished their baseball season last Friday, losing 10-6 to the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles team that won the C-USA Tournament championship on Saturday night. It was a game that didn't need to be played. The Cougars had l ... More >>

Rice, UH Battle Weather And C-USA Rivals As Tournament Looms

Photo courtesy UHCoogs are hoping for a miracle​The weather caused some major havoc to the Houston-area college baseball season this past weekend as both the Houston Cougars and Rice Owls, playing big series with important post-season implications, waited out rain-outs, delays, and bizarre game ti ... More >>

Rice Romps As It Starts To Make Its Move In C-USA

​It's hard to find fault with your baseball team when you win a game 23-1, and that game is called in the seventh-inning because of the so-called travel rule -- it actually appeared to be more of a mercy type thing, but called the game was.Yet leave it to Rice Owls coach Wayne Graham, the coach of ... More >>

Another Weekend, Another Team Sweeps The Coogs

Photo courtesy UH​It was not a good weekend, again, for Houston Cougars baseball. Just as they were swept by the Rice Owls over Easter weekend, this past weekend the Cougars were swept by the TCU Horned Frogs, one of the top-ranked teams in the country. And unlike the Rice games, where the Coug ... More >>

Longhorns Join The Undeserved-Victory Hall Of Fame

​The UT Longhorns will be playing in the BCS title game, thanks to a thoroughly undeserved win against Nebraska for the Big 12 championship, such as it is.How badly did the Horns play? Against a completely mediocre Cornhusker team, the vaunted Horns offense was utterly stymied. QB Colt McCoy threw ... More >>

Sports Things To Be Thankful For, And Not Thankful For

​It's that time of year when we start to look back at the events that have happened. And since it's Thanksgiving, I thought I would give a list of sports things for which I'm thankful, as well as listing a few of the turkeys of the year. So...1. I'm thankful for the MLB Network. The network and it ... More >>

Listen Up, People: The Top Ten Coaches In Houston History

​The Chron's Jerome Solomon has another of those endless lists we writers like to do, this one asking for input on the top 10 coaches in Houston college and pro sports history. And he helpfully provides us with some candidates for the list. So I thought I would help out and provide what I consider ... More >>

Sorry, UH Cougars. You Need to Go Down.

Top Five Beatdowns in Houston Sports

College Football Preview, Lisa Guerrero Edition

New Year's Resolutions

John Royal's Top Twenty Sports Moments of 2007, Part Two

John Royal’s Top Twenty Sports Moments of 2007, Part One

Pro Athlete Musicians

Athletes step off the field and into the studio

College Football Roundup

Jock Radio: No-Call List

What sports talk can do without

Miss Cleo Answers the Bell

Eyes on the Prize

Everyone's All-American Joe Savery and the top-ranked Rice Owls fight for college baseball glory

Paranoia Self Destroyer

A New Birth Brass Band set at the Volcano makes Racket long for a new and improved tinfoil hat

Catfight

TSU and Prairie View A&M claw it out at the Labor Day Classic

Christmas in July

Six dozen of Houston's finest bands for a mere $7

Out of the Park

Second Ward slugger Aaron Treviño scores a scholarship and prepares to leave the barrio behind

Love of the Game

A Valentine's weekend for college baseball fans

Year of the Yao Woo

The crazy times in 2002 — Kmart raids, Olympian losses, stadium mania and more —- now make sense. Houston was just mining Ming.

The Truth Is Out There...

A rogue mascot reveals secrets of the trade

Year of Living Dangerously

Sports palaces, city cell-phone shenanigans and subdivisions where Montrose once stood. Could any self-respecting survivalist leave the bunker behind?

News Hostage

Striking Out

Reid Ryan embarked on a new career as a team owner facing one big obstacle: voter approval of a new stadium. Then he called in a campaigner with the perfect pitch: a father named Nolan.