NBA Central Division

Game Time: The Knicks And Tracy McGrady...Shortest Honeymoon Ever

​Those who know me know that I have an unhealthy fascination with Britney Spears, unhealthy to the point where I found myself strangely attracted to her even through her hefty "Xanax and Frappucino for breakfast" phase back in 2007. One of my favorite Britney stories ever was her "marriage" to boy ... More >>

A Horse With No Name: Livestock Songs Fit For The Glue Factory

​ At Rocks Off, there is no yin without yang, no Yahweh without Satan, and no Charles Barkley without Godzilla. And since we already presented you with an assortment of rockin' livestock songs (to get you in the mood for the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo), it's only fair that we offer a count ... More >>

Game Time: For Sale -- NBA Two Guard, 30 Y/O, Excellent Condition, Trades Accepted

​First, I want to thank everyone for their reaction, positive or otherwise, to my post yesterday which chronicled the high points of the era of Tracy McGrady's Expiring Contract I seem to learn something with every new post that I generate here on Hair Balls, and yesterday I learned that there are ... More >>

Game Time: Five Jobs The Rockets Can Give Tracy McGrady

​I'm all about people earning their money. From an accountant punching up debits and credits to a custodian cleaning the bathroom stalls to a CEO of a Fortune 500 corporation, every position in any company has an intrinsic financial value to it and as soon as the return on the investment in that ... More >>

Game Time: Woke Up This Morning, Got Myself LeBron

​Those of you who listen to my show know that I am fond of placing the "occasional" friendly wager. While handicapping the day-to-day and week-to-week ebb and flow of a football, basketball, or (if you're really sick) baseball season can be enjoyable and, at times, lucrative (especially when betti ... More >>

Being A Fan In Houston Basically Sucks, ESPN Reports

Photo by Bukowsky18ESPN has put together another one of its Best Fan Experience lists, where they rank ballparks, arenas and stadiums for atmosphere, convenience, team success, and other highly arbitrary and pseudo-scientific categories.Houston doesn't come out too well.The top three are the L ... More >>

Five Ways To Fake Your Way Through A Rockets Conversation

Photo by Keith Allison It's been a long time since the Rockets were of any interest to most of Houston, but now that they've actually advanced past the first round of the playoffs, the bandwagon is getting full.A Houstonian will now be expected to be able to talk confidently about the team in order ... More >>

Rockets Left To Wonder What Could Have Been

Photo by Keith Allison(Note: This was written by Ben DuBose.)The next time someone tells you that early-season games in sports like basketball and baseball don't matter, refer them to the case of the 2008-09 Houston Rockets.The No. 5-seeded Rockets were one game from having a dream path to the Weste ... More >>

Rockets-Pistons: Can Yao Be the Closer?

Photo by Wootang01 Remember the notion from earlier this week that the Rockets' late-game offense might be better off without Yao Ming? That didn't last long. With the Rockets trailing by four late and in the midst of yet another fourth-quarter funk, Yao snapped the Rockets out of it in a major wa ... More >>

Rockets-Pistons: Can Yao Be the Closer?

Photo by Wootang01 Remember the notion from earlier this week that the Rockets' late-game offense might be better off without Yao Ming? That didn't last long. With the Rockets trailing by four late and in the midst of yet another fourth-quarter funk, Yao snapped the Rockets out of it in a major wa ... More >>

Rockets-Cavaliers: Yao's Revenge

Photo by Wootang01 LeBron James has a lengthy history of poster-quality slam dunks. But on Thursday night, Yao Ming emphatically turned the tables on the Cleveland superstar. Yao overwhelmed James on two game-defining plays, sparking the Rockets to a 93-74 home victory over a Cleveland (44-12) tea ... More >>

Top Ten WTF Sports Moments of 2008

It's end of year time, which means it's time for stupid lists. And if there's anything you guys have learned about me, it's that I like stupid lists. So I present this year's Top Ten WTF Moments in Sports for 2008. 10. The Cleveland Browns suspended tight end Kellen Winslow, Jr. for conduct det ... More >>

One-Fifth of the Way In, Whither the Rockets?

With about 20 percent of the season concluded, the Rockets' 11-7 record appears at first blush to be maddeningly inconsistent. But I think it's a lot easier to explain than it may seem. One way to measure the future success of the team based on its current record is to look at "bad losses" - ... More >>

Whole Offense, Hole Defense: The Houston Rockets Preview

Celtics-Lakers: The Boston Conundrum

A Few Words for Brad Davies and Jose de Jesus Ortiz

Don’t Hate the Spurs, Hate the Celts

Trapped in the Closet No More

Rockets-Pacers: All Aboard the Chuck Wagon

Q&A with Daryl Morey: Talking Trades in the No Balls Association

Super Bowl TV: What to Watch Before the Big Game

Want an NBA Title? Head East, Young Man

Supersonics vs. Rockets: Live-blogging with Jason Friedman

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

Rockets vs. Magic: Hoping, Waiting, Wishing

Q&A with Daryl Morey: Riding the Rocket Roller Coaster

Jamaal Tinsley's Car Gets Shot Up in Indy

Rocket Science: Daryl Morey Brings Hard-Core Statistical Analysis to the NBA

Houston's pro basketball team pins (at least a part of ) its hopes on a brainiac GM

Jason Friedman's NBA Predictions: Mavs Beat the Jazz, the Suns, the Rockets and the Pistons, Take the Championship in '08

Stuff you need to know to avoid musical ostracism

Cred Sheet

Fix the NBA Finals (Just Don’t Forget the Super Bowl!)

We Love Our Boobie

Were You Watching, T-Mac?

The New Bad Boys? No Way

Where Do We Go from Here?

Which Texas Team Will Take Home the Title?

Downloading Music

Linking you to the best in legitimate, artist-approved exclusives

Hustle Time

Damon Jones has traveled from UH to all around the NBA chasing stardom and a sound bite

Glory Days

The return of the male strippers

Fire in the Belly

Rice's new basketball director reveals the secret of his fall from NBA stardom

Yin and Yang

The killing of Dimebag Darrell rains on Michael Haaga's Continental Club Plus and Minus Show parade

Paige Boy Returns

HISD's most aggressive marketer comes back to help

Off the Road Again

Jesse Dayton sans Road Kings

Stadia Watch

Hoopla. Will the Rockets relocate? Don't bet on it.

Alison Cook looks back at 1997: The Year That Bit

Forecast: Raining Stadiums

Forget the committee -- the city's sports future already is being negotiated by the mayor

Clutch City Consumption

Bootleg, legit, who cares? We gotta have it.

The Year of Living Anxiously

Are We Having Fun Yet? Or is it just the jangly buzz of advanced urban stress syndrome?

Hoop Dreams of Glory

A basketball documentary delves deep into the dangerous lure of the game

Wanna Buy a RoboDome?

The city's sports tycoons maneuver for inside position, and the questions mount: Who needs it? Why? At what cost?