New York Yankees

A-Rod Might Be (Okay, Probably IS) Fibbing AGAIN (w/ Steroid Denial Video Montage)

Sports is big money, and for every $100 million contract where a team sees a return on their investment and then some, it feels like there's five where a team walks away with some serious buyer's remorse if not right after the signing, certainly by the time the contract has played itself out. Of th ... More >>

Pro Football's Birthday: The Oh-So-Manly Hupmobile, A Star Named "Pudge" And Drafting Off Baseball's Heat

For an incredibly high-profile operation like the NFL, the league's beginnings are somewhat murky. A loose collection of teams, players, schedules and shifting alliances, the early days of the league bear almost no resemblance to the streamlined corporate machine that dominates the current sports l ... More >>

The Best Ever Houston Free Agent Signings

So the Houston Rockets have signed turnover machine/point guard/free agent Jeremy Lin to a contract, and apparently, the city of Houston is going nuts. I'm not quite ready to buy into the hype, and I'm not going to be doing any stupid puns on his name. That said, good luck to the kid and the Rockets ... More >>

5 Fourth of July Sports Moments

Though only a few sports are in full swing in July, all sorts of marvelous, bizarre and messed up sports moments have occurred on America's Independence Day. Here are five of them.

Mike DiMuro: MLB Umpiring Is Barely One Level Up From WWE Refereeing (w/ VIDEO)

"Most _______ are actually pretty good at their job, it's a few bad ones that give all of the ________ a bad name." There are a number of different vocations that you can "Mad Lib" into that sentence above. Car salespeople, cable installation technicians, sports bloggers, and yes, Major League Base ... More >>

Yankee Fan Mule-Kicks Drunk Red Sox Fan (w/ VIDEO)

The Red Sox-Yankee rivalry is one of the fiercest in all of team sports, a true "throw out the won-loss record" hatred, if not between the teams then certainly between the respective fan bases. That acrimony was on full display this weekend. Strangely enough, the backdrop for what you're about to s ... More >>

In Which John Royal Predicts the Winner of the 2012 World Series

The major league baseball season officially started last week when the Oakland A's and Seattle Mariners played two games in Tokyo. Most of the other teams open on Thursday, and the Astros get started on Friday when they host the Colorado Rockies. Thus, here are my predictions for this season. NATI ... More >>

So How Much Do You Really Know About the Astros and the DH?

​There has been a strange uproar over the Astros' possible move to the American League. There's been whining over start times, bitching about Bud Selig, and much, much discussion about the designated hitter not being real baseball. And while people are upset, it needs to be noted that the As ... More >>

Christian Lopez, Overtaxed Yankee Fan, The Sequel (Where He Becomes A Charity)

Christian Lopez: Now sponsored by the champagne of bottled beers​That's it, you win, Christian Lopez. I give up. You all remember, Christian Lopez, right? (It's only been like 24 hours since I last wrote about him. Please tell me you remember.) Just in case, Lopez was the ample Yankee fan wh ... More >>

Yankee Fan Catches a $13,000 Tax Bill Off Derek Jeter's Bat

One of these guys is thrilled to pose with the other.​Growing up, the dream of many a young boy is to catch a significant souvenir baseball at a game. If you're a young lad who grew up watching the New York Yankees this past decade and a half, I would imagine that catching a ball, any ball, of ... More >>

Since When Is It Okay For Minute Maid Park To Be Fenway Park South?

Back in the day, even celebrities like Janine Turner couldn't be shown at Astros games if they were pulling for the opposing team​I started working with the Astrodome DiamondVision crew on opening day of the 1988 season. And I worked on that video crew, either at the Dome or at Enron Field, t ... More >>

Celebrating Women in Baseball While Forgetting Anita Martini

The Hall's Women in Baseball Exhibit ignores a very important woman.​While on the Houston Aeros beat a couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to travel to Binghamton, New York, for the Calder Cup Finals. There's not much to Binghamton, but about an hour and a half away, nestled amongst a beauti ... More >>

MLB Realignment -- I Want The Astros In The American League (And I'm Bright!)

"I'm smart! Not like everybody says... like dumb!"​Your Houston Astros lost 4-1 to the Atlanta Braves on Sunday afternoon to drop their record on the 2011 season to 24-42, the worst record in all of Major League Baseball. The Astros are a bad baseball team that is thoroughly uninteresting. As ... More >>

One Man's Predictions for This Baseball Season

​Believe it or not, it's time, yet again, for the Major League Baseball season to get underway. That's good news for those of us who enjoy watching the best players in baseball play the best sport ever created. That's bad news, however, for us Astros fans because, well, the Astros suck. But ... More >>

Why a Fire Gary Kubiak Rally is a Bad Idea

Image courtesy of John RonaldSome rallies just have a way of coming together.​Seems like a lot of folks are down right pissed at Gary Kubiak these days. Texans owner Bob McNair doesn't appear to be among them, but our latest Death Watch has the poor guy on his last legs here and fans on sports ... More >>

Stirred & Shaken: Polk Street Pub's Houston Tycoon

Troy Fields​It's a strange scene when you have groups of Houstonians at a bar experiencing collective joy at the success of a Dallas-area sports team, but that's the power of New York Yankee hatred. It's stronger than love and most kinds of sexual attraction, and it's definitely more compellin ... More >>

Brian Tuohy's The Fix Is In: Nothing In Sports Is As It Seems

OTOH, maybe the fix isn't in​As hard as it might be to believe, every Super Bowl since 1996 has been fixed. No, not fixed by gamblers or players trying to throw the game. But instead fixed by the NFL. Sure it sounds a bit far-fetched, but that's the allegation made by Brian Tuohy in his book, The ... More >>

Drayton McLane: Time To Open The Books

Do those cries of poverty add up?​Several things happened last week on the edges of the sports world that, while interesting on their own, are even more interesting when connections are made.For instance, early last week, the sports blog Deadspin published the financial documents  for several ... More >>

Face It, Fans: MLS Is A Minor League

What's that "M" stand for again?​I don't read Jerome Solomon of the Houston Chronicle often. I think of him as a kind of minor league Richard Justice. But I couldn't resist reading him the other day when he did one of my favorite things, piss off soccer fans. Last week, apparently, he made the mis ... More >>

Man U Fans Hate Houston (Or Maybe Just Us)

Take you stupidly shaped football and go home, Americans!​The MLS All-Star Game is only a day away, where the league's best will take on Manchester United, who are the New York Yankees, the Dallas Cowboys, the Notre Dame of soccer: You either love them or hate them.We decided to hate them, just be ... More >>

5 Ways Lady Gaga Could Spice Up The Astros' Season

Photo illustration by John Seaborn Gray​Last Friday night, Rocks Off's favorite pop star, Lady Gaga, bum-rushed her way around Yankee Stadium during the opening game of the New York Yankees three-game homestand against crosstown rivals the New York Mets. Somehow she talked her way past secur ... More >>

Game Time: A Follow-Up E-mail To Brian Cushing

Brian Cushing and Elton John: Soulmates​Brian: Let me get right down to business. I am actually sending this e-mail as a follow-up to my open letter to you on Monday of this week, and frankly, I'm kicking myself that I actually sent you an open letter. I mean, who the hell sends letters any ... More >>

For Opening Day: The Worst Pregame Renditions Of The National Anthem Ever

What so proudly we hailed... Can you pass the earplugs, please?​ You can be forgiven for not realizing Opening Day for baseball season was here already (yesterday, in fact). Maybe you've been too busy cursing the guy in your NCAA tournament pool that filled out his brackets using the coin-flip met ... More >>

If You Love Roy Oswalt, Set Him Free

​Ed. Note: We mistakenly stated that Brian McTaggart was with the Houston Chronicle, which has now been corrected. We regret the error. If you were watching the Astros lose on Wednesday night, then you probably recall that at one point, Albert Pujols hit a soft groundball right up the middle ... More >>

Hey Drayton: Stop Treating Astros Fans Like Idiots

Photo by Aaron M. SprecherThe Chron did a story yesterday on the concession policies of the Houston Astros. The important thing to emerge from the story is that the Astros are the only team in major league baseball that does not allow fans to bring in their own food or drinks. That's right, ou ... More >>

Astros Spring Training Not Without Its Ups and Downs

You might not realize this if you've only been watching ESPN or paying attention to the national sports media, but the New York Yankees aren't the only team with players reporting to spring training, and Alex Rodriguez isn't the only player in baseball. So I thought I would help out and fill you i ... More >>

Astros Spring Training Not Without Its Ups and Downs

You might not realize this if you've only been watching ESPN or paying attention to the national sports media, but the New York Yankees aren't the only team with players reporting to spring training, and Alex Rodriguez isn't the only player in baseball. So I thought I would help out and fill you i ... 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 >>

Wandy's Mediocrity Revealed in 9-5 Loss to Reds

Yo. You Live in Houston, Not Tennessee.

Astros-Dodgers: Extra Innings Not Enough

Astros-Orioles: Birds Win, Luke Scott Talks Smack

Astros-Brewers: The ‘Stros Hold onto First Place (in Homers Surrendered)

Race and Baseball: The Stories of Josh Hamilton and Darryl Strawberry

John Royal's Forecast for the Astros in June: Not So Hot

Astros-Cardinals: ‘Stros Lose Again, But It’s Not the Starting Pitching’s Fault

Spring Training: Draft Dennis Quaid!

Steroids and Roger Clemens: Drayton McLane Can’t Quit You

Trade Talk: Miguel Tejada, Jose Valverde, Chris Burke, Mark Prior and Lance Berkman

Jose de Jesus Ortiz Is a Turkey

Roger Clemens: So Not Worth It

John Royal’s MLB Awards: Why Wait for the World Series?

Going, Going, Gone: Craig Biggio Winds Down, the Playoff Chase Speeds Up

Getting Rogered

What a Relief

Progress Report

Game Four: A Bitter Sweep Ending

The Astros’ attempt to win without scoring somehow fails

Take Me Out...

...to the ball game. Lauding baseball-in-rock's finest moments.

Tuna Season

Watch our guys take on Bill Parcells and the hated Dallas Cowboys

Sage Advice

Tackling the team spirit