John Royal

(UPDATED) New Astros Logo & Uniforms Leaked Early by MLB!

Word was, VIP ticketholders were going to get the first look at the Astros' new uniforms, logos and mascot attire. Friday was supposed to be the day. But Major League Baseball beat the home team to it, pretty much well undermining at least the planned unveiling at Minute Maid Park on November 2. U ... More >>

Rice Owls Reach the Rarified Air of Basketball Success

Something a little magical happened at Rice's Tudor Fieldhouse Wednesday night. Something that basketball fans don't see too often. Something Rice fans have never seen. It wasn't just that the Owls (16-12, 7-6 in conference) came back from a 15-point first half deficit to defeat the UCF Knights ... More >>

Meet Chris Clackson, Hockey Player, App Developer

It's been a strange season for the Aeros. They shot off to a quick start, having the best record in the league for the first month or so. Then the injury bug hit the parent club, and key player after key player got the call to join the Wild, leaving the Aeros depleted and relying on young players ... More >>

Aeros Soar into All-Star Break

The no doubt about it leader of the Houston Aeros is Jon DiSalvatore, the 30-year-old captain in his third season with the team. He's the go-to-go guy for information after the game. He's the unquestioned locker room leader. He's the team's leading scorer, and he's the one constant on a squad tha ... More >>

Matt Kassian Does More Than Play Hockey, He's A Twitter Star

John RoyalMeet Matt Kassian, Twitter superstar​Following athletes on Twitter can be boring. Most of the stuff they tweet is dull because they're afraid of offending any followers or making their coaches and/or teammates angry. Others use it primarily as a medium to promote themselves and wha ... More >>

And In The End, The Aeros Lose To The Best Team In The AHL

John RoyalPatrick O'Sullivan feels the weight of the world​In the end, it wasn't about the officiating. Or about whether Binghamton had tested the hockey gods by releasing the victory parade route plans hours before game six had even started. In the end, it probably wasn't even about the Aer ... More >>

Senators And Bad Officiating Have Aeros On The Edge Of Defeat

John RoyalJean-Michel Daoust about to tie Saturday's game at 1-1​The Houston Aeros play in hockey's top minor league. The players take the game as seriously as those who play in the NHL. And the stakes can be just as important, what with promotions and careers riding on each shift a guy take ... More >>

Aeros Defeat Bulldogs, Advance to Calder Cup Finals

John RoyalThe Aeros surround Jon DiSalvatore after his game-winning goal.​The Houston Aeros don't believe in doing things the easy way. They battled to make the playoffs, after being near last place toward the end of December. They struggled throughout the playoffs, going to a game seven aga ... More >>

Aeros Bombard Milwaukee, Move on to Next Playoff Round

John RoyalRobbie Earl and Casey Wellman celebrate Wellman's game-winning goal.​There were less than two minutes in the game. The scored was tied 2-2. The Admirals were bunched around the Aeros' net, trying to punch in shot attempt after shot attempt. Houston goalie Matt Hackett flailed abou ... More >>

Admirals Sink Aeros to Take Series to Game Seven

John RoyalThe Aeros celebrate as they take the lead.​The Houston Aeros were five minutes away. Five minutes away from pulling off the 4-3 win over the Milwaukee Admirals and advancing to the next round of the Calder Cup playoffs. Five minutes away from winning a game that, midway through the ... More >>

Aeros Torpedo Admirals In OT, Tie Series At 2-2

John RoyalCarson McMillan reacts to his game-winning shot​There's nothing more exciting in professional sports than playoff hockey. And there's nothing more exciting than playoff hockey that goes into overtime. Such was the case at Toyota Center last night when the Houston Aeros and Milwauke ... More >>

Aeros Implode, Fall Behind 2-1 in Playoff Round Two

John RoyalJared Spurgeon briefly gives the Aeros something to celebrate.​The Houston Aeros had plenty of chances to make things right last night. Like taking the early 1-0 lead off of a power play goal. Or, down 4-2 in the third, having the refs confer and change a no-goal call to goal. Or ... More >>

Aeros Sweep Peoria, Show Houston What A Winning Playoff Team Looks Like

John RoyalPatrick O'Sullivan with the game winning goal​The Houston Aeros are like a Timex watch: they take a licking, but they keep on ticking. And last night, with the Peoria Rivermen down three games to nil in their best of seven opening round playoff series, the Aeros had to endure quite ... More >>

Aeros Ice Peoria, Win Game One in the Playoffs

John RoyalJed Ortmeyer relaxes on the bench.​Houston's only playoff team, the Aeros, started action last night. And at about the same time that Wandy Rodriguez was getting pounded by the Chicago Cubs just down the street from the Toyota Center, the Aeros found themselves trailing 1-0 to the P ... More >>

Rice Thunders Past Marshall, Sweeps the Herd

John RoyalRice pitcher Austin Kubitza with another dominating performance on Friday.​The Final Four dominated the attention of the sports media this weekend, rightly or wrongly. But while that whole NCAA exercise, especially UConn and Kentucky, was making a mockery of the concept of amateur a ... More >>

Final Four: Ethics, And How Empty Will Reliant be Monday?

John RoyalUConn's Jim Calhoun, the Don Corleone of the Final Four coaches​UConn coach Jim Calhoun went the bizarre route on Friday afternoon, comparing him and this group of Final Four coaches to the old 1960s sitcom My Three Sons, with Calhoun of course, assuming the role of Fred MacMurray, t ... 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 >>

Aeros Rush Past Rampage, Make Final Playoff Push

John RoyalDrew Bagnall is pushed away as the action gets dirty on Saturday​The Aeros could feel it Saturday night. It's been a long season. They've been in a tough playoff race, playing playoff-caliber hockey since Christmas. Nightly they've been facing off against the other teams in their ... More >>

Houston Aeros and The Twin Twins

John RoyalSay hello to Kristen and Kirsten, or is it Kirsten and Kristen?​The Houston Aeros have 10 games remaining in the regular season. As of today, they are one point out of first place. However, they're just five points out of fifth place, and finishing in fifth could mean they miss out ... More >>

Aeros Hope the System Will Save Them

John RoyalThe Aeros' Pascal Morency goes for a little spin​This is a tough time for the Houston Aeros. They've been playing playoff caliber hockey since right after Christmas. They've gone 19-10-0-2 since then, and they've made a steady climb up to the top of the AHL West Division standings ... More >>

Owls Soar and Coogs Plunge As the Regular Season Ends

John RoyalThe Cougars and Owls tip off to begin Saturday's game​Maurice McNeil made a lay-up 34 seconds into Houston's Saturday game against the Rice Owls. This shot put the Cougars up 2-0. The Cougars never again led in the game, and except for one brief shining moment when they tied the ga ... More >>

Rice Basketball: Farce? Fiasco? Either Way, the Owls Lose Another

John RoyalThe malfunctioning shot clock displays Rice's chances of advancing to the NCAA Tournament​What if they played a basketball game and nobody cared? What if it was senior night, but the school was on spring break and not even the band or cheerleaders could be bothered to make even a to ... More >>

The Aeros Get Healthy, Prep For The End

John RoyalCasey Wellman reacts to his game winning goal on Friday​It's the homestretch for the Houston Aeros. Just over a month left and 17 games. If they survive this patch they're in the playoffs. But surviving this patch, getting through these 17 games, that may be the tough part. A hoc ... More >>

UH and Rice Attempt to Salvage Their Seasons This Weekend

John RoyalMaurice McNeil hopes to lead the Cougars out to three more wins​The Houston Cougars and Rice Owls looked to be moving in different directions as the men's basketball season got underway. The Cougars had a new head coach, James Dickey, who hadn't been a head coach since the 1990s. T ... More >>

James Dickey Offers Up an Apology As SMU Smacks Down the Coogs

John RoyalThe Cougar Dolls were about the only things worth cheering at Hofheinz Pavilion last night​James Dickey was not a happy man last night. He prowled the Houston Cougars sidelines like a caged animal, scowling, barking commands, pleading to his players. Shouting out at them to play de ... 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 >>

UTEP Mines Another Win Against the Owls

John RoyalBen Braun argues a call made against the Owls on Saturday​It's becoming a rather common story for the Rice Owls. Fall behind. Make a big comeback. Fall short in the closing minutes. Lose the game. It's one that happened again on Saturday as the Owls lost to the UTEP Miners by th ... More >>

Cougars Come Close, But Close Isn't Good Enough

John RoyalZamal Nixon looks for the open guy in the first half​Basketball teams don't win games they let the opponent shoot 50 percent from the floor. They also don't win basketball games when they miss 12 of 31 free throw shots. Or take ill-advised three-point shots when hanging on to a one ... More >>

Egypt & Rice Basketball: You Say You Want a Revolution

John RoyalExcuse Omar Oraby if his mind is on something other than basketball​It's easy to forget that basketball is just a game. Particularly on the college level where, for the most part, it's played mostly by kids who are a long way from home. And as much as fans might want the team to wi ... More >>

Owls Basketball: Given the Second Chance, Owls Soar Over the Cougars

John RoyalRice guard Connor Frizzelle awaits a pass in the first half​The Houston Cougars were 11-6 and tied for first place in Conference USA this time last week. The Rice Owls were 8-10 and floundering in last place in C-USA. What a difference a week makes. Now it's the Cougars who are fl ... More >>

Aeros Hockey: Fourth Place, No First Place, No Fouth Place (Or Second Place, Maybe)

John RoyalWhat would a hockey game be without a fight, eh?​For one brief shining moment this weekend, the Houston Aeros were tied for first place. They're no longer in first place, not after another brutal travel weekend that found them playing a game in Houston, then Cleveland, then Toronto ... More >>

Houston Cougars Blow Away the Golden Hurricane

John RoyalKirk Van Slyke tips off against Tulsa to start the game​James Dickey preaches the importance of defense to his players. If the Houston Cougars can't score, the thinking goes, they can still win the game by shutting down the offense of the other team. So when the Tulsa Golden Hurric ... More >>

The Final Four Is Coming to Town

John RoyalThe NCAA is coming to town​The NCAA Final Four is coming to town in April. So get ready for the hype. Get ready for the out-of-towners bitching about what a crappy city Houston is. Get ready for complaints from people having to stay in hotels out in The Woodlands. And get ready f ... More >>

Cougar Basketball: Happy Birthday, Mr. Nixon

John Royal Maurice McNeil goes strong to the bucket​Have you ever had one of those moments? A flash that this is your day, your time, and that nothing can change that? Houston Cougar point guard Zamal Nixon had one of those moments on Saturday. And when he had that flash, he just knew that ... More >>

Aeros Hockey: Welcome to the Spotlight, Matt Hackett

John RoyalMatt Hackett basks in the spotlight​Matt Hackett asked just one thing of his coach yesterday afternoon. That one thing was for Mike Yeo to let him play in the game against San Antonio, just hours away. This was a rather brave move for the Aeros' rookie net minder as just the night bef ... More >>

Rice Owls De-Horn The Frogs, Prepare For C-USA

John Royal Trey Stanton with a big first half shot block​The Rice Owls won eight basketball games all of last season. But things change, and yesterday, after defeating the TCU Horned Frogs 70-61, the Rice Owls have win number eight and they've yet to reach conference play. The game didn't p ... More >>

The Houston Aeros Present Leggy Blondes In Red Bikinis

John Royal Ladies and Gentlemen, meet the newest Ms. Aeros​It may have been a leggy blonde in a red bikini that grabbed the attention of most of the 10,552 fans that attended Saturday's Houston Aeros game versus the San Antonio Rampage. And the new Ms. Aero was very worthy of the attention. ... More >>

Rice-Baylor: Lightning Dulls Owls' Thunder

Photo by John Royal A nearly empty Rice Stadium as the rain descended​The Rice Owl fans must have sniffed something in the air. There can really be no other explanation.The score was only 7-3, Baylor over Rice, when the football game was delayed due to lightning in the area. It wasn't raini ... More >>

Game Time: Kentucky Derby 2010 Infield Olympics (Includes Mud-Wrestling Videos)

We guess Hunter S. Thompson was right -- the Kentucky Derby really is vile and depraved​I'm not sure what it says about the type of summer we're going to have here in Houston when an embedded video of 30 hornets wrecking a shop and mass-murdering 30,000 bees in a blog post about the Kentucky Derby ... More >>

Ten Other Instances of "Sloppy Seconds"

Sean Avery of the NHL's Dallas Stars was suspended for an indefinite period by the NHL on Tuesday for comments he made in Calgary on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters, he made a comment about several players dating his "sloppy seconds." And I know most of you in Houston would rather talk high school fo ... More >>

Krys Kolanos Is Awesome. The Rest of the Aeros (and the Uniforms), Not So Much.

Photo by Fred Trask It's been about a month since I've seen the Houston Aeros play a game - they've been on the road and I've been on vacation. So I'm not really sure about what's going on with this team. They leapt out to a 5-0-0-0 start, which was the second best in team history. The 2008-09 Ae ... More >>

Jason Friedman Signs Off

Gettin’ Miggy With It: Astros Buy First Class Ticket to Loserville

Even Cal Ripken Sat His Ass Down Eventually…

Sports Columnist Smackdown: John Royal Writes Back

Mean Joe Greene Meets Avril Lavigne: Texans-Cowboys from the Press Box

It's Time for Mario Williams to Shine. Or Else.

Mail Call

Monkey Business

Breaking the Mold

Plus: Bias -- By Whom?, No Alternative, South Park Fallout