Well, the Streak is over, but the Rockets' chances of a top seed in the West are still intact. Will they be able to pull it out in the first round with all this momentum behind them? The Astros' rotation is almost set, but can Woody Williams find enough juice for one more season? Will the Texans' roster needs be met via free agency or next month's draft? All these questions (and a few answers)......

Pitchers and catchers report this week! Hell yes! Our long national nightmare is over! We'll take a look at the Astros roster in more detail later this week, but until then, here's what the blogs are saying about our local teams. Warning: not responsible for ball jokes about the Rockets. - So supposedly Roger Clemens is still in the news. Who knew? Rather than slog through all the syringes and attorney b.s., here's the Dugout's......

The Rockets kicked a truckload of ass last week before getting a wake-up call against the Hornets. Amazing that they did all of this without Tracy McGrady. Kinda makes you wonder if GM Daryl Morey should listen to all those trade rumors. The T-Mac rumors and more in this week's run-through of what the sports blogs are saying: - Every time we think we're done talking about Roger Clemens, he pulls us back in. It's......

Year end lists suck. Let's face it. It's a crutch for writers like us, giving us something to write about during the slow times; it's a trick for readers, giving y'all something to argue about over champagne and black-eyed peas tomorrow. But regardless, it's worthwhile to look back at the sports stories that dominated the headlines and our consciousness over the past year. So without further ado, or any ado at all really, here......

Yes, we know that this column usually runs on Mondays. But on Monday, we were dodging the crowds in search of a couple of final presents, and were still reeling from the woodshed beating the Texans received at the hands of the Colts. We saw beleaguered soccer moms parking their Suburbans at the mall with better timing and depth perception than some of Sage Rosenfels' passes on Sunday. Anyway, on to the links: - Chuck......

December already? Everything is reversed from the summer: back then, the Astros were dead in the water, the upcoming Texans season looked promising because of some new additions, and the Dynamo were gearing up to defend their MLS Cup title. Now, the Texans are DOA, the Astros are looking exciting next year, and the Dynamo, well, at least someone's consistent. Here's what's been going on this week in the Houston sports blogosphere: - The Dynamo......

The Dynamo are in a quandry. On the heels of winning their second consecutive MLS Cup, they're at the center of a dispute with the MLS. The Orange are owned by AEG, an entertainment conglomerate owned by Phil Anschutz. AEG used to own close to half of the teams in MLS, but are now down to just our all-conquering hometown boys, and the pretty boy-signing LA Galaxy. The MLS is ready for AEG to shed......

The tryptophan has worn off, we all trudge back to work, and sit down to surf the web. Between another crushing Texans loss, the Aggies poaching one of the Texans' coaches, and the Rockets finally getting their act together, it was a busy holiday season for Houston sports. Let Houstonist do the surfing for you and bring you up to speed on what the web is saying about our teams: - Ok, this is just......

Ok, it's officially time: skip a Sunday in front of the NFL, ignore Terry Bradshaw's fake hillbilly schtick and dozens of former players pretending that they're still relevant, and watch your Houston Dynamo take on the New England Revolution for the MLS Cup. Here's five reasons why the Dynamo game should take precedence over the NFL on Sunday: 1. In case you haven't noticed: Boston sports fans, once the loveable Charlie Brown-esque losers of the......

The Dynamo Dynasty? Yeah, that sounds pretty good. The Orange are headed for their second consecutive MLS Cup appearance after shutting out the Kansas City Wizards at Robertson Stadium on Saturday night. However, the win did not come without a high cost. Forward Brian Ching, who has been one of the cornerstones of the franchise since its arrival in Houston last year, went down with a calf strain in the 69th minute with the game......

This past week was a study in contrasts for Houston sports fans: the Texans were idle but the Rockets played host to the most-watched basketball game in the world; the Astros made a trade that ended the Houston career of one of our biggest anti-heroes while the Dynamo set the stage for what may be Houston's first championship dynasty since the Rockets' run in the 90's. Let's take a look at what the blogs were......

Your Houston Dynamo are now just two wins away from their second consecutive MLS Cup, but they first have to get through the Kansas City Wizards before facing the New England Revolution for the Cup. The teams have played each other twice this year already, with the Orange defeating the Wizards in KC and one tie in Houston as the results. The showdown will take place on Saturday at 7:30pm at Robertson Stadium. The Wizards......

Well, good news from the Texans, Cougars, and Dynamo camps. All three were winners this weekend. But there was a lot more going on in the Houston sports universe this week. Let's take a look at what people were saying: - Chronicle columnist Jose de Jesus Ortiz got called out for misdiagnosing the Astros offseason needs, and the commenter used complete sentences and no profanity. Intelligent comments on a sports blog (other than this one,......

The Dynamo's playoff run in defense of their MLS championship begins 7pm on Saturday against FC Dallas in Dallas, and while the Texans flounder and the Rockets are just getting warmed up, the Dynamo stand as Houston's last best chance for a successful team this year. The Orange start the playoffs as the second seed in the Western Conference, behind Chivas USA, but still one of the favorites for the MLS Cup. Now that......

The Dynamo won an ugly match in Salt Lake City last night to set up a showdown with MLS juggernaut Chivas USA in the last game of the regular season. In a game reminiscient of the Rockets' matchups against the eternally dirty Jazz, two players were ejected and several Dynamo players face suspensions for accumulated yellow cards. Defenders Ryan Cochrane and Eddie Robinson will miss the finale against Chivas but will be eligible for the......

With the wounds from the Texans' loss to the Jaguars still fresh this morning, let's browse the blog world and see if there's any good news to be found. - Here we go. Rick Adelman + Rafer Alston = BFF. OMG ROFL. ;) - The Chronicle picks up a new blogger/editiorial columnist. It's always amusing to watch a non-Houston native try to put their finger on the pulse of this city's schizophrenic sports fans. It's......

Everyone knows that the Dynamo plays their games at a college football stadium, but did you know that they actually encourage college students to attend the games? It's amazing, but true! In particular, tomorrow night's match against Real Salt Lake (not to be confused with Imitation Salt Lake, which tastes about the same but has less sodium) is College Night for the Dynamo. The game starts at 7:30PM, and admission is just ten bucks with......

Well, at least some new Mike Jones music came out this week. In spite of his oft-delayed second album, Adidas, MLS, and Jones teamed up to create an anthem for the Dynamo, entitled Houston Dynamo (Don't Play). The song is part of the "MLS Represent" album, which matches all 13 MLS teams with a local band or artist to create a fight song for the team. You can find the song here: you'll have to......

Today’s Photos of the Day comes from flickr users and Houstonist photo contributors Philosopher Queen, erci, cybertoad, mrp1001, presson_on, Jeff Balke, mx5tx and Graustark. These are all shots of local stadiums, ballparks and playing fields, all worthy of inclusion in todays collected Photo of the Day. Keep the sports related photos coming readers and contributors. Our Photo of the Day theme this week is sports. Submit your sports and Houston related images to our......