Heisman Trophy

Tim Tebow Is So Not the Greatest

Longhorns Retire Kevin Durant’s Number? Really?

John Royal’s College Football Preview

Top Ten Astrodome Sports Moments

ABC to Premier Dancing With The Guards

Five of the Wackiest Saints in History

The Mt. Rushmore of Texas Sports

ESPN is about to start on one of those stupid SportsCenter promotion things that has helped to make SportsCenter virtually impossible to watch. But over here at Ballz, we like stupid things - I'm sure that many of you think anything I write is stupid and virtually impossible to read anyway. So I' ... More >>

The Mt. Rushmore of Texas Sports

ESPN is about to start on one of those stupid SportsCenter promotion things that has helped to make SportsCenter virtually impossible to watch. But over here at Ballz, we like stupid things - I'm sure that many of you think anything I write is stupid and virtually impossible to read anyway. So I' ... More >>

Cold Shot At The Hideaway

A guitar prodigy electrifies Richmond Strip tavern

Former Oiler Bo Eason Is Still The Runt of The Litter

Photo courtesy runtofthelitter.com​Eight years ago, we wrote of former Houston Oiler safety Bo Eason, who was premiering at Stages Theatre a searing autobiographical one-man play about his life and career.Runt of the Litter was a fascinating, well-written, nicely acted look at the dark forces that ... More >>

Halloween Countdown: How Best To Go For The `90s-Nostalgia Look

Halloween is coming, and that means many, many costuming mistakes will be made by normally sane adults. To help stop this scourge, each Thursday we will be offering tips and analysis of what to avoid, or possibly what to do. Check out past entries here and here. If VH1 has taught us nothing else, it ... More >>

Game Time: Weekend Review

​I hope everyone had a great weekend, and that you were all able to enjoy the nice weather by moving your television and recliner into your driveway to watch football on TV.  I'd like to start off by welcoming the Texans to this new thing for them called "November".  Boys, I know in ... 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 >>

UH's Case Keenum -- What's A Dude Got To Do To Get Some Heisman Love?

​The end of the college football season is fast approaching, and the rest of the nation is finally learning something that Houston Cougar fans have known all season. The best player in the country isn't Colt McCoy or Tim Tebow. The best player is Case Keenum.Several sites which poll Heisman vote ... 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: Five Biggest College Football Title Game Implosions

It's almost here. After wading through the sludge of bowl season, with just one more "go get me some popcorn" match left tonight between Troy and Central Michigan (Admit it, ninety percent of you reading this have no idea what state "Troy" is in), finally tomorrow Alabama and Texas will meet for a ... More >>

Game Time: NFL Conference Title Predictions...Channeling College Football

There's no two ways about it, my NFL playoff predictions have been terrible. As I outlined on Monday, I reached a point this past weekend, after going goose eggs on the first seven games, where I picked the Jets to beat the Chargers outright merely because every rational thought and shred of evide ... More >>

Game Time: New Pac-10 ALREADY Making Southwest Conference Look Like The Ivy League (...and revised PRS rankings!)

Welcome to the Big Ten!​The winds of change yesterday went from cool breeze to Hurricane Tom (as in Osborne, as in "adios", as in "How's that taste, Kansas?"), with Nebraska apparently accepting an invitation from the Big Ten to become its twelfth member.It remains to be seen if Nebraska is ... More >>

Game Time: LeBron James -- Seven Scenarios For Thursday Night

@dramaqueen​"Hello World, the Real King James is in the Building 'Finally'. My Brother @oneandonlycp3 gas'd me up to jump on board so I'm here. Haaaa" -- LeBron James (oh sorry...@KingJames on Twitter, and what is sadly his most interesting tweet thus far)I've always thought that when Twitte ... More >>

Cougar Football Opens With High Hopes For The...Defense?

Case Keenum, your Heisman Trophy is waiting​The Houston Cougars got their 2010 football season underway on Friday, meeting for photos and their first practice while the team held its annual media day. \ Despite a successful 2009 season, the Cougars come into this season wanting to forget las ... 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: College Football Week 1 -- Ain't No Party Like a Boise Party

Boise State is ready to rumble​Last night, as Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore gathered the Bronco offense in the huddle to concoct one final haymaker in their prize fight with Virginia Tech, guaranteeing we were going to see some sort of fantastic finish -- either a game-winning touchdown or ... More >>

Why Notre Dame Will Win The BCS And UT Won't, 2010 Edition: Part 3

Montana: He's back!! Kinda​Time for another of our weekly efforts at explaining to you benighted Longhorn fans why UT won't win the BCS this year, but Notre Dame will.It's going to be difficult to limit the discussion to just the traditional five reasons, but ND fans are all about tradition. So le ... More >>

UH Seems A Little Testy With The Reporting On Case Keenum

Case Keenum: Info is on a need-to-know basis​UH's Heisman trophy candidate, quarterback Case Keenum, suffered an injury in Friday night's victory against UTEP.What kind of injury? How bad? When will he be back? UH doesn't seem to want you to know.The Houston Chronicle's Cougar beat writer, Steve C ... More >>

Houston Cougars -- An Early Lock of the Century

That's a very big lock​I realize that my Best Bets for the weekend are usually a Friday thing, and rest assured after my fast start last week, no one is chomping harder at the bit to get back to the business of picking winners than me. (By the way, did ya see? 4-2, bitches! I know 6-0 and 5-1 are ... More >>

College Football & NFL -- This Weekend's Best Bets

Reggie Bush has always been a cheater​I'll get to the Best Bets of the weekend in a second, I promise, but first some venting.Reggie Bush is rapidly moving up my most hated list.Not because he chose to attend Southern Cal instead of Notre Dame. Not because the defining play of Notre Dame's decade ... More >>

Houston Texans Turn The Corner -- 5 Winners, 5 Losers

Neil Rackers -- He's no Kris Brown​I shouldn't enjoy carnage as much as I do, but I have to admit that a few hours after Neil Rackers' 35-yard field goal sailed through the uprights, sending the Houston Texans to an improbable 30-27 overtime win over the Washington Redskins yesterday afternoon, My ... More >>

UH Tries To Avoid Its History

Deja vu all over again​A long time ago, in a football universe far, far away, the Houston Cougars were a dominant offensive force. Their run-and-shoot offense was putting up huge numbers on college teams nationwide. The team was regularly ranked in the Top 20, and though they had been on a probati ... More >>

Houston Texans -- The Green Mile, 5 Winners and 5 Losers

Texans fans: Enjoy it today, resume griping tomorrow​The Texans beat the Chiefs on Sunday afternoon 35-31 to move to 4-2 for the first time in the history of the franchise, and I for one am going to enjoy it. Seriously, try to stop me. You can try and bring me down with your texts and tweets and ... More >>

NFL & College Football -- Weekend's Best Bets (Nepotism Edition)

Keeping it in the family​Okay, last week's Best Bets were centered around a random string of stories from around the internet, good enough for a 3-3 record, which means it's still yielding better results than 2009, but still not good enough for me. And damn sure not good enough for you. So ... More >>

Texas Bowl Gets Baylor! And, Ummm, Illinois

Texas Bowl 2010: The return of Art Briles​The 2010 Texas Bowl will give Houston a look at the surprisingly successful Baylor Bears, headed by former UH coach Art Briles. The good news: Baylor is breaking a 16-year bowl drought. The semi-bad news, in terms of the chances for a compelling footb ... 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 >>

Top Ten Houston Sports Stories in 2010 (Alternate Title: "Here Comes The Prozac")

Brian Cushing will bring a keg and Fear of Tumors to your party​Putting together a "Top 10 Sports Moments" list is not supposed to invoke these feelings of anger and depression. But then again, I live in Houston, so try as I might to make this a list that is uplifting and inspiring, I can't. ... 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 >>

BCS Title Game -- God Is Apparently an Auburn Fan

"It's just a God thing. You know I thank God every single day. I'm just his instrument and he's using me on a consistent basis daily. You know he's using me to extend his word. And I'm a prime example of how God can turn something bad into something very great." -- Cam Newton in the BCS title postg ... More >>

The Final Play

After traumatic knee injury, Case Keenum has one more season to prove his talents.

Cover Story: Case Keenum's Comeback Attempt

​The underdog role is a familiar one for Case Keenum. The University of Houston star quarterback won the 2004 Texas Class 3A Division I state championship, but only received barely-audible buzz from recruiters. Then, when he arrived at UH in 2006, he was buried deep on the depth chart behind ... More >>

Houston Doing Its Part To Destroy West Virginia Football

Dana Holgorsen: Part of a one-two Houston punch​The once-high-flying football program at West Virginia University seems to be imploding these days, and Houston is doing more than its fair share to move along the process. Two of the three main protagonists: a) newish athletic director Oliver L ... More >>

UH's Case Keenum Named To Maxwell Award Watch List

​UH's Case Keenum, once a leading candidate for a Heisman Award, has been named for the watch list of the Maxwell Award, given annually to college football's best offensive player. We profiled Keenum in the spring as he began a comeback from the injury that ended his Heisman-hopes season last ... More >>

Notre Dame License Plates: Texas Finally Does Something Right

​It's taken far too many years, but Texas has finally taken a baby step towards honoring the greatest football program in America. We note that the plate understandably doesn't have room to list all the national championships or Heisman winners on it -- something you could easily do with, say ... More >>

Six Questions I Would Ask Chip Kelly About Will Lyles

Chip Kelley back when he was answering questions​In the weeks leading up to the BCS Championship Game between Auburn and Oregon back in January, a lot of the game-related chit-chat centered on the controversy swirling around Auburn and the "pay for play" scheme that Cecil Newton, the father of ... More >>

Top 5 Best Big 12 Football Games of 2011 (With Predictions)

Boomer Sooner, Boomer Sooner, Boomer Sooner, etc., etc., etc.​Football-wise, the Big 12 (aka. Oklahoma and the nine others) is barely hanging on, now that Nebraska is in the Big Ten and Colorado bolted to the Pac-12. The 2011 season, which is just over a month away, marks the first time that ... More >>

College Football Week 1 Recap: 10 Things

Coming up roses, again​College football is back, and probably for the first time I can remember, the feeling that the return of football brought with it more than anything else was relief. Finally, we can stop obsessing over agents, runners, tattoos, memorabilia, and Nevin Shapiro. The games ... More >>

This Weekend in College Football: The Coogs Should Get the Easy Win While The Owls Look to Lose Again

The Pink Panther would probably provide tougher competition to UH than the Georgia State Panthers will​While the Rice Owls (1-1) struggle with the Baylor Bears this weekend, the Houston Cougars (3-0) will be struggling with themselves. It might seem that the Owls have the harder struggle, wha ... More >>

Best/Worst College Football QB Transfers: A List Inspired by Former Texas Main Man Garrett Gilbert

Garrett Gilbert will either shine or warm the bench at a program not named Texas​Obviously, Garrett Gilbert is no Colt McCoy. Or Case McCoy. Or David Ash. Earlier today, the Texas Longhorns announced that Gilbert -- who filled in admirably for the injured Colt McCoy during the Longhorns' lo ... More >>

Texans/Bucs -- 4 Winners, 4 Losers (The "Goddammit, NOT Schaub!" Edition)

Born under a bad sign.​So, I was thisclose to hitting "SEND" on a post that would have openly discussed the Texans going 13-3 and getting home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. And then this: Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub has a significant foot injury that will force him to mi ... More >>

5 Things You Shouldn't Do When ESPN's GameDay Visits UH

This stopped being funny 200-plus episodes ago. ​It's a big deal that ESPN's traveling college-football preview show GameDay is posting up at the University of Houston's Cullen Circle in advance of the Cougars' game against the SMU Mustangs. (Who saw this coming, especially after quarterback C ... More >>

A Very Special BCS Edition of 4 Winners, 4 Losers

Say what, Grampa?​For the first time in the history of my Texans fandom, their bye week left me with a palpable void. Sure, I love having NFL football in this city, even bad football is better than no football, so the bye week always feels a little weird. However, this season's team is a litt ... More >>

Auburn Offensive Coordinator Gus Malzahn's Wife Is Insane (w/ VIDEO)

Simultaneous with the push toward bowl season every year, we have the college football coaching carousel that begins spinning around Thanksgiving and doesn't stop until around the time the bowl games end (or until around spring practice if your quarterback is trading signed memorabilia for tattoos). ... More >>

Football! Baylor-UT, NFL: This Weekend's Best Bets

Let the Tebowing continue!​"College football is March Madness every week!" -- Bill Hancock, Executive Director of the Bowl Championship Series Ah, the battle cry of the BCS apologist. Specifically, the battle cry of the BCS executive director, Bill Hancock. It's what he and his minions tell ... More >>