Texas Rangers

Re: Behind the Scenes of a Conference Call

That Hunter Pence Sure Is Dreamy. Too Bad the Game Was a Nightmare.

What a Weekend

This Could Be One Serious Tuesday. Let's Hope Purpura Doesn't Do Something Stupid.

Spring Training: At Least the ‘Stros Aren’t the Rangers

Astros-Rangers: What Happens When Two Teams on a Roll Run into Each Other?

Astros-Cubs: So That’s What a Good Team Looks Like…

Astros-Rays: Houston Falls Into and Then Crawls Out of Last Place

Astros-Rangers: Houston Wins, Barely, and Somehow Manages to Outclass Atlanta

Astros-Rangers: Shawn Chacon Is Suspended, Carlos Lee Is Fat

Astros-Rangers: Arlington Gets the Silver Boot. Now We Just Need a Texas Team to Actually Win the World Series.

John Royal’s Mid-Season MLB Progress Report and Predictions

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 >>

Bush's Big Score

Bank on it: The Rangers sale will haunt the governor's run for president in 2000

Striking Out

Reid Ryan embarked on a new career as a team owner facing one big obstacle: voter approval of a new stadium. Then he called in a campaigner with the perfect pitch: a father named Nolan.

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 >>

Hard Economic Times Coming To Sports Franchises

The NHL doesn't have a team in Houston, so I'm pretty confident that most of you don't follow the league, and don't have any idea about some of the severe financial problems facing many of the southern teams.  The NHL has intervened in Phoenix in an attempt to find new ownership for the club.&n ... More >>

He's Ours, Dammit!

The NHL doesn't have a team in Houston, so I'm pretty confident that most of you don't follow the league, and don't have any idea about some of the severe financial problems facing many of the southern teams.  The NHL has intervened in Phoenix in an attempt to find new ownership for the club.&n ... More >>

High Times

How to throw a no-hitter on acid, and other lessons from the career of baseball legend Dock Ellis

Cheap Shots

A new film exposes the ugly deeds of legendary Texas heroes

Messin' with Texas

The Alamo gets what it always needed: a happy ending

Rewriting

The Alamo gets what it always needed: a happy ending

Out of the Park

The Houston Press discusses our national pastime with Lance Berkman.

Please Come Home, Nolan Ryan: All Is Forgiven, For God's Sake

There's not much discussion of the Texas Rangers down in these parts -- except for when they're beating the asses of the Houston Astros, which they seem to do quite often. So Tom Hicks announcing now that he's willing to sell a majority interest in the franchise normally wouldn't generate much inter ... More >>

Five Songs to Send Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Back to Arlington

Aaron Sprecher​Future Hall Of Fame catcher Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez, signed to a quick one-year contract by the dis-Astros at the end of spring training in April, was dealt to the Texas Rangers yesterday for two mid-level minor leaguers. The Rangers are deep into a playoff race (remember those?) and ... More >>

Pudge Ends His Career As An Astro, Chron Readers Learn Eventually

Photo by Aaron M. Sprecher​At noon yesterday, the long rumored and speculated-on demise of the Houston Astros baseball season was officially confirmed. Not so surprisingly, approximately five hours later, the long rumored and speculated on demise of the Houston Chronicle as a news-gathering or ... More >>

Five Songs to Send Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez Back to Arlington

Aaron Sprecher​Future Hall Of Fame catcher Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez, signed to a quick one-year contract by the dis-Astros at the end of spring training in April, was dealt to the Texas Rangers yesterday for two mid-level minor leaguers. The Rangers are deep into a playoff race (remember those?) an ... More >>

The Texas Rangers, A Klein High Kid And Richard Justice

​Richard Justice is a columnist, not a reporter. And as part of his job, he's supposed to give his opinions, no matter how wrong I think they usually are. But that said, when he's writing an opinion piece trashing Klein High School's Matthew Purke for turning down a $4-million-a-year contract ... More >>

Drayton Sells Astros, Almost

​Hey kids, guess what? Drayton McLane is a liar.I'm not shocked by that. I used to work for the guy. But apparently people at the Houston Chronicle are surprised that Drayton lied to them about trying to sell the team after the 2008 season. A local businessman, Jim Crane, even entered into a hands ... More >>

Game Time: The Caballo Chronicles, Volume 2: A Look at MLB's 20 Biggest Contracts Ever

​This is my second go round living in Houston. Prior to moving back here in the summer of 2007, the last time I was an H-town resident was between 1994 and 2001. As an Astro fan, that means I was here when the Bagwell/Biggio nucleus finally broke through in 1997 and made the playoffs, I was he ... More >>

Nolan Ryan: Abandon The Rangers And Run The Astros, Please

We'll take sloppy seconds if that Rangers deal falls through​The news is that Drayton McLane is still attempting to sell the Houston Astros. After the laughingstock that he turned this franchise into, I can't say that I blame him for wanting to dump the club on anybody who will meet his financial ... More >>

25 Ways You Know The Astros' Season Has Become Really, Really Bad

The new t-shirt at Minute Maid​You know the Houston Astros are a bad team when...1.  ...the only thing the team is first at is having the first pitcher in the majors to lose 10 games. Congratulations, Wandy.2.  ...Geoff Blum not only gets consistent playing time at third base, but also s ... More >>

Please, Let Mark Cuban Buy The Rangers, For The Astros' Sake

Help us, Obi-Wan KenNolan, you're our only hope​Don't despair, Houston Astros fans. I know you're tired of bad baseball. I know you're a tired of good ol' boy Drayton and his bumbling sidekick Ed. I know you're tired of laggards like Carlos Lee and contracts wasted on the likes of Pedro Feliz. I k ... More >>

Mark Cuban: With Nolan Ryan Out, It's Now Up To You To Save The Astros

Mark Cuban: Houston needs you, desperately​My dream for the Houston Astros was destroyed very, very early on Thursday morning when Nolan Ryan and his business partner, Chuck Greenberg, won the bankruptcy bidding for the Texas Rangers. I've written before that I was hoping Ryan's bid would lose, an ... More >>

Dear Drayton: Be Like Nolan Ryan And Lower Some Prices

This could be you, Drayton​Dear Drayton,I know that you probably don't pay any attention to anything that I say. If you did, Ed Wade would be on the unemployment line, Carlos Lee would be playing rancher fulltime, and Pedro Feliz would be playing baseball in some independent league where he belong ... More >>

DPS Tells Falcon Lake Jet-Skiers To Stay On The U.S. Side If They Value Their Lives

There be pirates on the border​The Texas Department of Public Safety has issued a warning telling people who jet-ski on Falcon Lake, which is divided by the U.S.-Mexico border, to stay the hell on the American side.David Michael Hartley, 30, was shot yesterday afternoon and is believed to be dead. ... More >>

Texas Rangers: Five Things To Know About Them As They Begin The ALCS

Thanks for the Iraq War, Rangers​If you're an Astros fan, you might be surprised to learn that the baseball season did not end back in July -- that was just when the Astros season was deemed over. Baseball has continued to be played and, for the first time ever, the Texas Rangers are within a step ... More >>

Texas Rangers vs Yankees: Who The Hell Can You Root For?

W vs. Rudy? That's no help​The American League Championship Series, also known as the Reminder That Some Texas MLB Teams Are Still Playing, continues on.We've tried, but we can't figure out who to root for in this thing. We know who to root against -- the Rangers, and the Yankees -- but that seems ... 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 >>

Dear Drayton, Just Say No to Michael Young

Michael Young wants to be on the Astros?​I understand that the Texas Rangers' third baseman, Michael Young, has requested a trade. I also understand that one of the teams for whom Young has approved a trade is the Houston Astros. In years past I would most strongly approve of a trade for M ... 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 >>

Happy Hour Scene: Expanding our Horizons at Pub Fiction

​The Place: Pub Fiction 2303 Smith 713-400-8400 www.pubfiction.com The Deals: $2 domestics, $3 select imports, $4 vodka drinks. Food specials vary. The Hours: 4 to 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays The Scene: Pub Fiction is a clean bar. Which isn't to say that filthy things don't happen there, ... More >>

Rio Grande River Shoot-Out: Texas Officers, Mexican Drug Cartel Trade Fire

Guns along the river​A dramatic firefight broke out on the Rio Grande River early this morning when federal drug agents attempting to intercept two boats traded shots with cartel members on the Mexican side, the Department of Public Safety says. "A suspicious vehicle on the U. S. side of the ... More >>

Nolan Ryan Hospitalized In Houston

Nolan Ryan, hospitalized​Nolan Ryan, the pride of Alvin, has been hospitalized in Houston for chest pains, the Texas Rangers have announced. "Ryan was resting comfortably and reported he was feeling better," said the Rangers, where Ryan is the CEO.. The Hall of Fame pitcher started experien ... More >>

Nolan Ryan Out of Hospital

Nolan Ryan is a free man again.​Baseball great Nolan Ryan has been released from the hospital after a health scare, the Texas Rangers have announced. Ryan, 64, entered a Houston hospital yesterday after experiencing discomfort in areas that a man who has had heart bypass surgery doesn't want ... More >>

Worst Sports Night Ever? Texans Lose, Cards & Rangers to the Series

You'll have to put up with Tony LaRussa's mug for awhile.​Our Houston Texans analysis will be coming later, due to some unforeseen circumstances, but in its place let us ponder how the sporting gods have toyed with us. Sure, beating the Ravens in Baltimore would have been a big upset. But the ... More >>

20 Ways the Astros Are Still Losing Even Though They're Not Playing

Yep, Ed Wade's even a fool in the movies.​This past season was a painful one to watch and endure for Houston Astros fans. But even in the off-season the painful hits just keep on coming. 20. The owner of the Texas Rangers, Nolan Ryan, is getting plenty of airtime from Fox and TBS every nigh ... More >>

Mosquitoes: A Tiny, Highly Annoying Musical History

​The Texans are in first place (for now), the Texas Rangers may become the Lone Star State's first-ever World Series champions tomorrow (ouch), and early voting for the November 8 mayoral/City Council election started Monday. The Houston Press Music Awards showcase is less than three weeks awa ... More >>

Nolan Ryan....Or Old Man Potter From It's A Wonderful Life?

​Watching the terrific ending of Game Six last night, we kept getting shown shots of Rangers president Nolan Ryan looking extremely annoyed in the stands. Something about it felt familiar. And then we realized: