New York Knicks

Hey Carmelo, Don't Mess with Jeff!

Hey Carmelo, Don't Mess with Jeff!

Wooing Lord Voldemort

The New Bad Boys? No Way

It's Gotta Be the Shoes: Stephon Marbury Talks about Going Global

The Year of Living Anxiously

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

Whole Offense, Hole Defense: The Houston Rockets Preview

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

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 >>

Rockets Mania

As the Rockets fought for the title, Houstonians fought -- and failed -- to keep their sanity

Rockets Redux

That championship season makes its way to video

,,, And Don't Talk to Barkley

Pinched for fat. Put in their place. The Rockets Power Dancers don't care, just as long as they're given a chance to make their moves.

Greed Head

There's a darkness at the edge of Clutch City, but one thing is clear: Les Alexander will get his. And maybe yours, too.

The Houston Rockets vs. the L.A. Lakers

It’s the new and improved Rockets (we hope!)

New Strings

Moral Minority gets a fresh start

Hustle Time

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

Maynard Ferguson and His Big Bop Nouveau Band

Saturday, February 25, Conroe High School, 3200 West Davis, 936-538-7613

Best Sports Hairdo

Saturday, February 25, Conroe High School, 3200 West Davis, 936-538-7613

Hudson Hawked

Kate gets the hard sell in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

A Taste of the Hellhole

Justice plans to "reinvest" in the community with a sampler of local bands

Where Does Sunday's Rockets Victory Rank? It'll Have To Top These To Make The Top Five

Where does yesterday's deceptively close 99-87 shellacking of the Lakers rank in the annals of great Rockets victories? It's too soon to tell. If they build on that win by taking this series and then slip into their fifth NBA finals, minus not just Yao but also his geriatric Congolese understudy, no ... More >>

The Top Five Christmas Day Sports Moments

As you've probably figured our by now, Christmas Day is not just for opening presents and spreading the love. It's also about parking yourself in front of a television and watching sports. It's part of what it makes the day so unique, especially for men -- they get to do something they rarely experi ... More >>

Why Wait On Prospects? Morey Opts For Star As Rockets Acquire K-Mart

​Daryl Morey, as always, had us all fooled.We assumed the Rockets' general manager had little on the table for the dead carcass of Tracy McGrady, save the Bulls' and Knicks' offers centered around future draft picks that could later be used as assets to trade for a star. The offers weren't bad ... More >>

Game Time: Jedi Master Obi Wan Morey Strikes Again

At some point, other NBA general managers are going to just stop taking Daryl Morey's calls. Nobody enjoys being made a fool of, no one aspires to be the target of an atomic wedgie on the playground, and no one wants to be the Imperial Stormtrooper that gets snowed by Obi-Wan Kenobi on the way into ... More >>

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 >>

Don't Believe the Hype

Houston's Most Overrated Attractions

GAME TIME: NBA Draft: 8 Winners and 8 Losers

As in most things in life, Calipari is both a winner and loser​"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 2010 NBA Draft..." -- David SternI'm not going to lie, those words give me a tingly feeling every year that I hear them. It never gets old -- like reruns of The Sopanos or seeing that Bree Ol ... More >>

Game Time: NBA Free Agency -- Watch Me Compare Daryl Morey to Bobby Baccala

Like Baccala, Morey's got an unpopped cherry​Okay, let me get this out of the way... Daryl Morey knows what he's doing. In Daryl we trust! In Morey we trust! Daryl Morey is the NBA GM version of William Wallace with an undergrad degree from the Jedi academy and a PhD in ninja skills! I love Da ... 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 >>

Game Time: LeBron-athon -- Five Backstabbings That Will Get You Ready For Tonight

Anakin Skywalker: Thanks for nothing, kid​In anticipation of LeBron James' decision as to where he will ply his trade for the next few years, shares of MSG stock rose 6 percent yesterday for a period of time before settling back to where they were earlier in the day. The reason for the brief bump ... More >>

Sports Illustrated's 10 Strangest Covers Of The `60s

We all know Sports Illustrated, for decades the leading athletic magazine around. Even in its heyday, though, editors felt the need to be hip and edgy.Sometimes.Or maybe they just did a lot of drugs in the Time-Life offices, and occasionally the boss who was supposed to stop terrible cover ideas was ... More >>

Game Time: Tracy McGrady Has Unfinished Business (And Water Is Wet)

T-Mac is growling​"I have unfinished business...." -- Tracy McGrady, via Twitter on SaturdayYeah, I got that doozy on my Tweetdeck on Saturday and had to laugh. I wondered if maybe the Twitter universe had started up one of its viral bandwagon topics, where people start hurling their contribution ... 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 >>

NBA Rumors: Carmelo Anthony Is Interested In Bringing His Talents To Houston

'Melo is eyeing up the Rockets​Carmelo Anthony is interested in coming here? To Houston? To play for the Rockets? Don't be messing with us, Sports Illustrated.Supposedly it's so.SI reported that the Rockets are on a short list of teams Anthony would be interested in joining if he and his current e ... More >>

Tracy McGrady And His Tired Legs

Tip: Don't play in "tired legs" mode​"I have been working hard all summer to get ready for the upcoming season an am thankful that I landed in Detroit. I'm doing my workouts with my trainer Ben, and I am now able to finish full workouts that I wasn't able to do for the past two years. I do feel tr ... More >>

NBA 2010-2011 Preview -- Reconstructing LeBron

Please, no more operations on Yao Ming​"What should I do?" -- LeBron James, over and over and over again his new Nike spot The fact that LeBron James is posing the question in his new Nike spot perhaps tells us that he is not completely devoid of self-awareness, as he appeared to be last summer. ... More >>

NFL, College Football, Twitter, Pancake Bites and Bestiality -- Weekend's Best Bets

A regular Paul the Octopus​So last season I did these Best Bets posts on Fridays and made every attempt to conduct myself like an actual handicapper, coming up with reams of statistics and subjective observations to lead to a conclusion that I hoped made reasonable sense. End result? A predic ... More >>

Thanksgiving 2010: The Post Where We Get All "Thanky"

Thank you. Thank you very much.​As we prepare to gorge ourselves today on turkey (Cajun fried is the choice here), stuffing, pumpkin bread, and perhaps something green (maaaaybe, but probably not), I want to first thank all of you who stop in and read the stuff on the blog here, not just my st ... More >>

The Nine Most Annoying Types of Sports Radio Callers

Send in the Clones.​Hair Balls likes to listen to sports radio. We aren't exactly sure why, but we do. We've got a bunch of stations to choose from in Houston, which gives us lots of opportunities to hear interviews, analysis and banter, some good, some bad, about all things sports. As syndic ... More >>

The NBA's Top-Selling Jerseys List (And Seven Things It Tells Us)

NBA jerseys: We CAN just all get along!!​I'll admit, I don't own any sports jerseys. I'm not a jersey-wearing guy, partially because the fit and feel of an authentic professional sports shirt are not optimal, but mostly because I'm over the age of 14. Full disclosure, I don't buy many jersey ... More >>

Is Ashley Judd Really Sorry For What She Said About Rap?

The hip-hop world is a less than sensible place - lots of times, you're even required to clarify when bad means bad and when bad means good - so once a week we're going to get with a rapper and ask them to explain things. Something you always wanted to ask a rapper? Email introducingliston@gmail.com ... More >>

NBA Draft Rewind -- 1986, The Worst Draft Ever

Plus the shorts sucked​As much as those who construct teams in sports would like to think that they have a formula and a blueprint that they can go execute with any team in any market and be successful, the fact of the matter is that even for the best personnel men in the best-run organization ... More >>

2011 NBA Draft -- The Live Blog

Keep coming back for the latest​The overwhelming consensus on the 2011 NBA Draft is that it's, by and large, a pretty underwhelming group of players, and it may quite possibly be completely devoid of future All-Stars. So why am I so excited about tonight's festivities? Because of all the thin ... More >>

2011 NBA Draft -- 4 Winners, 4 Losers

Tough night for Dick Vitale​My fingers are still recovering from the lengthy (eight printed pages!) live blog I did last night here on Hair Balls, but the day after the draft necessitates some post-draft analysis. I've now had a day to sleep on it, and without further ado, a few post-draft tho ... More >>

NBA Training Camps Canceled -- Five Things Players Can Do During This Time Off

Eat enough and NBA players could look like this!​The NBA officially canceled all training camps and portions of the preseason due to the continuing lockout imposed by owners. While there have been a few rumblings over the past week or so that there might be some cause for optimism with behind ... More >>

NBA Purgatory

Neither the best nor the worst, the Rockets remain stuck in professional basketball's great midsection.

Shhhhh, Don't Tell Anyone, but the Rockets Are Playing Really Well

Photo by groovehouse​While everyone was cheering on the Texans and fretting about whether or not Jim Crane would go completely nuts and change the Astros to the Craniums, a funny thing was happening at Toyota Center. The Rockets were winning. They have won their last seven games and are 8-2 i ... More >>

One Man's NBA All-Star Reserve Selections

NBA All-Star time already?​Go ahead and chalk up the NBA All-Star Game taking place in a few weeks (Sunday, February 26, to be exact) in Orlando's Amway Center as the next "feels weird" moment of the NBA season. It feels like the season just tipped off a few weeks ago and yet here we are, abou ... More >>

Linsanity: Little-Known Jeremy Lin Helping Knicks Hurt the Rockets

WikiepediaJeremy Lin​Daryl Morey's incessant shuffling of second-rate players over the past few seasons, constantly tweaking and tinkering looking for "assets," came to an almost comical head last week when a player the Rockets cut in the offseason to make room for Jonny Flynn, who they acquir ... More >>