Wrigley Field

Astros Dismantling Continues As Color Man Deshaies Leaves for Chicago

Since 1997, the television voices of the Houston Astros, Bill Brown and Jim Deshaies, have been about as good as you can possibly get in baseball, or any sport, for that matter. Brown's dry delivery made the perfect set-up man for Deshaies's wit and insight. They pair was a match made in broadcast h ... More >>

The Rocks Off 100: Bill Fool, Punk Lifer, Dad, Good Guy to Know

"Bill Fool was born in Chicago, Illinois and spent his entire youth living near Wrigley Field and really never left that particular area as a kid, ever..." says local luminary and punk lifer Bill Fool in an email. What follows is a short primer on this beloved curmudgeon. Mr. Fool has been a part ... More >>

Sir Paul McCartney, Rihanna Houston Bound

Rewind: Dear Paul McCartney: Please Come Play Houston Two pretty big concert announcements this Friday morning. First, Rihanna, last seen missing most of her hair at Thursday night's VMAs, is bringing her just-announced Rihanna Diamonds World Tour to Toyota Center April 15, according to Live Nati ... More >>

Suggested Baseball Fan Behavior: An Ode to Detroit's Comerica Park

Last week, the Press' Margaret Downing, in Detroit for the Association of Alternative Newsmedia convention, took in a Tigers game at Comerica Park. She brought a souvenir back to the office: A full-color, 60-page "A-Z Guest Guide," which basically breaks down how to be a fan in verbose and silly l ... More >>

Seven People Nearly Killed by Runaway Cart at Cowboys Stadium (w/ CRAZY Video)

Rise of the machine.​There are certain buildings in sports that are seemingly jinxed. Since the Red Sox finally got off the World Series schneid a few years back, Wrigley Field immediately comes to mind as the current titleholder for "bad luck mecca" as the Cubs haven't made a World Series in ... More >>

Football! Weekend's Best Bets (No, Really!)

I realized something in the last 48 hours. I am a big fan of the Boston Red Sox, which means by sports fan definition, I should be on suicide watch right now. I mean, "my team" just pulled off the biggest September choke in MLB history with a soul-crushing ninth inning loss. The thing is, I'm not e ... More >>

Six Horrible Ceremonial First Pitches -- A Video Anthology

When a wookie outthrows you.....​I preface this post, a post where I'm about to ridicule people for making awful ceremonial first pitches at professional baseball games, by saying that I would dread throwing out a first pitch at a baseball game. I would be a nervous wreck all day long leading ... More >>

Out Today: My Morning Jacket Back In Form, Vedder's Ukulele Slays

​This week brings a new My Morning Jacket album, an Eddie Vedder ukulele outing, the umpteenth Dave Matthews Band live collection, and Ozzy's past barks at the moon. We are just now hitting the busy summer release period, so these blogs in the next few weeks will be getting jam-packed. In th ... More >>

Top 5 Sporting Events in Memorial Day History

Ernie Banks' immortal words used to mean something each Memorial Day.​A month from now (hell, even a second after it concludes), nobody is going to remember and/or care about the Houston Astros' Memorial Day clash with the Chicago Cubs in Wrigley Field. Overall, it's a pretty lame sports day ... More >>

For Friday the 13th: Five of the Unluckiest Texans Ever

Investors held on too long.​Beginning with LaSalle, the French explorer who survived shipwrecks and cannibal Karankawa Indian attacks only to perish at the hands of his own men near Navasota, some people in Texas have had some pretty damned hard luck. You might lay some or all of the blame at ... More >>

The Drayton and Milo Show: Somewhere, Two Villages Are Missing Their Idiots

​Drayton McLane visited with Milo Hamilton during Saturday's game against the San Diego Padres. As is usual whenever Milo's in the booth, it was already impossible to know what was actually happening during the game because Milo doesn't believe in talking about the events occurring on the fie ... More >>

Comment of the Day: The Astrodome Ain't No Wrigley Field

​We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it's time we paid some damn attention to them. So we'll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day's work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula involv ... More >>

NFL & College Football -- Weekend's Best Bets (with Tales of Deceit, Adultery and Ron Artest)

We see....FAIL in Ron Artest's future​Drayton McLane apparently has plans to sell the Astros. This comes as no surprise, those rumors have been swirling for some time. Now I don't know if he'll get his $800 million asking price, but I did call Drayton and make an offer and we now know that $9 ... More >>

Geoff Blum Joins Baseball's Stupid-Injury List: Here Are 11 Others

If only someone warned this rookie about dress shirts​Astros utility player Geoff Blum popped his elbow putting on his shirt last week.Yes, that's right, putting on his shirt. Not his jersey. Not during the game. But his shirt. After the game. He's currently on the disabled list, and he might end ... More >>

Game Time: Jose Lima, 1972-2010

"I was born for this, I love baseball, and remember guys, it's still Lima Time, and it's always Lima Time. You gotta believe that." -- Jose Lima, 2009 as a member of the Long Beach Armada in the independent Golden Baseball League Much like the man behind the movement, "Lima Time" is simultaneousl ... More >>

The Astros Win a Series! The Astros Win a Series!

​While sitting through the rain delay at Cougar Field on Sunday, I was following the Astros game on MLB.com and on Twitter. One thing I couldn't miss, besides the Astros losing again, were the number of tweets coming from the Astros beat writers about what was happening with Lance Berkman on h ... More >>

Game Time: Whose Overpaid Left Fielder Situation is Worse? Astros or Cubs?

​Baseball gods, I have to give you credit. You tried as hard as you could on Saturday to keep me from writing about it on Monday. You gave us Ubaldo Jimenez throwing the first no-hitter in Colorado Rockies' history. That was cool. Even cooler than that, you gave us the Mets and the Cardinals i ... More >>

Are The Astros Worth What Drayton Is Asking?

Photo by verndogs​So Drayton McLane has made it known that he's really, really willing to sell the Houston Astros. And as his price, he's asking for $650 million.I'm sure the potential buyers are putting every aspect of Drayton's baseball empire under the microscope, but I thought I would pr ... More >>

Five Things To Change About Baseball

​Chron.com's Anna-Megan Raley had a posting last week dealing with what five changes you would make to baseball were you to become the commissioner. Then she lists the changes that would be made by Roy Oswalt, and Oswalt provided a somewhat decent list: decrease interdivisional matchups, shorten s ... More >>

Despite What ESPN Says, Here Are 25 Things To (Sorta) Like About Minute Maid Park

Photo by astromark2007ESPN doesn't think much of the fan experience in Houston, especially for the Astros fans, which ESPN ranks at number 68. This ranking is based on things like ownership, coaching, players, bang for the buck, fan relations, stadium experience, affordability, and something called ... More >>

Astros Suck At Everything But Texting Anonymous Criticism Of Their Boss

Photo by Aaron M. SprecherI've got an admission to make. Baseball is my true love. My favorite sport. Yet I haven't really been following the Astros these past couple of weeks because I've found myself busy with the Houston Aeros. I know a little of how the team's been doing, and that Cecil Cooper o ... More >>

What About the Camera Crew, People?

Rivercrest, CityPass and BARC

Did the Rivercrest richies get their way?

Spring Training: Roger Clemens, Bill Murray and Bill James

Comparing Drayton McLane to George Steinbrenner Is Completely Unfair. To Steinbrenner.

Minute Maid Park Is Not Wrigley Field South. Oh, and the Astros Still Suck.

Perchance to Dream

Take Me Out...

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

San Francisco Treat

Catching up with League City's Greg Ashley in that other city by the bay

Center of Gravity?

Tal's Hill at Minute Maid takes on an uprising

Jungle Safari

Houston's hard-core drum-and-bass fans try to bring breakbeat out of backroom ghettos

Local Music News

Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fashion

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.

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