Who ever thought the small school out on South Main would ever develop a sports dynasty? Rice's best athletic days were thought to be mere nostalgia, but that's changed big time, thanks to coach Wayne Graham. College baseball has evolved into a sport for rich white kids (players who are poor and/or minority tend to head to the minor leagues out of high school), and Rice, with its reputation for academic excellence, is tailor-made for that demographic. Graham, a crusty old-timer who once played for Casey Stengel, is just as good a fit when it comes to coaching those guys. He's led the Owls to a slew of appearances in the College World Series, winning it all in 2003. He can be a bit hard on his pitchers — some of whom have had a hard time in the pros because of injuries — but what other coach in town is regularly expected to be competing for the championship each year?

Forward Tina Thompson was the first-ever draft pick for the WNBA, and she's been proving why ever since. Part of the 2004 gold-medal-winning Olympic team, the 6-foot-2-inch Thompson was key to the Comets' sweep of the first four WNBA Championships (1997-2000). Thompson has earned a slew of MVP and All-Star nods, including MVP for the 2000 All-Star game. She holds the record for the highest percentage of team points scored by a single player in WNBA history: a career-high 35 points that was 56.5 percent of Houston's total points in a game against the New York Liberty. She was the second player in the league to score more than 3,000 points and once hit 13 of 13 free throws in one game.

The sports commentator ­doesn't give the facts. He fills in the lines that connect the facts. He helps the fans, serious and casual, understand what's happening in the game, and why it's happening. No one in Houston does this better than Jim Deshaies. The former Astros pitcher latched onto the Astros broadcast crew after retiring, and he's never looked back. He knows that baseball is just a game, and while he wants everyone to understand this game that these big boys are playing, he wants everyone to have fun. The stadium is Deshaies's living room, and you're watching the game on his big screen. He fills in the blanks, gives a few laughs. He does his job. So the Astros might lose, but at least you'll know why.

Last year's winner returns victorious! To its credit, it is a darn fine dog park; to the city's shame, it's not like there are a bunch of great, centrally located dog parks to choose from. This is quite a hike for Inner Loopers, but if you want to give Fido a really sweet treat, this is the place. Its 13 acres include dog ponds and showers, walking paths and benches so you can rest your barkin' dogs while your dog is playin'. See what we did there? Well, all we're saying is that this dog park is worth the trip.

While Brian Ching was away representing the USA during the World Cup, Dwayne De Rosario proved why he should have been there, too. Of course, the Canadian native would have to play for his own country's team, but still, he should have been there. Instead, the six-year MLS veteran gave a terrific show during nearly every game of the season: He was ejected during a Kansas City game, forcing him to miss the following game against D.C.; he was a finalist for Goal of the Year for his perfect shot midfield against Chicago on August 30; and he was nominated for the 2006 MLS MVP. Oh, and he was a crucial part of the victory against the New England Revolution at the MLS Cup.

Texans love to blow up stuff, and we take serious pride in doing it. Naturally, then, it's important to us to have the best facilities. And when Houstonians feel the need to start shooting, there's no better place to do it than American Shooting Centers. This 563-acre adult playground of a gun range is like Pebble Beach for NRA members and other gun lovers. You can buy a brand-new piece in their pro shop, take lessons on how to use it and, when you're done, take courses to get your concealed handgun license. That way, you can carry your gun like a good red-blooded Texan.

It's fun to stay at the YMCA. It's fun to stay at the YMCA. It's also fun to exercise there, in the no-nonsense weight-machine area downstairs and the austere classroom areas upstairs. This isn't the place to see and be seen. It's a place to work out for real. You can even toss around a medicine ball if you want (and if you actually know what the heck you're supposed to do with one). Young man, take a walk up the street. It's a place there called the YMCA. They can start you back on your way.

DeMeco Ryans was the Texans' second pick in the 2006 NFL draft. If that's news to you, chances are you never got over the team's bizarre decision not to pick Vince Young or Reggie Bush in the first round. Ryans, a linebacker, averaged almost ten tackles a game and wound up as the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year, taking the heat off a certain defensive end we'll spare from naming. (Okay, it was Mario Williams, a.k.a. The Guy Picked Instead of Vince or Reggie.) This Alabama native truly was a shining star in what otherwise was a black hole of a season.

Yes, you can still get hot dogs, Frito pie and snow cones at West U Little League's concession stand, but there are also a few more upscale items on the menu. Let's see...How about Thai Spice spring rolls? Check. Beef and chicken fajitas from Skeeter's? Got them too. And yes, there's pizza, and not that DiGiorno fake delivery stuff either — we're talking several varieties of Collina's pie. What's more, the stand is manned by West U parents, which keeps both the prices low and the service delightfully amateurish. What ­Valhalla is to cheap beer, the West U Little-League concession stand is to inexpensive eats.

Houston's best playgrounds — Fire Truck Park and Karl E. Young Park — are set less than two miles apart. Both have the requisite slides, swings, monkey bars and sandpits. But Fire Truck Park, located in Southside Place, has the edge thanks in part to its ultracool, kid-friendly 1935 fire truck. And it boasts an abundance of a certain something that is somehow missing from so many other local kid parks: shade. Sweet, blessed shade.