Houstonist was in attendance on Thursday night as the Houston Cougars overcame a 17-point halftime deficit to stun the Alabama-Birmingham Blazers with 42 unanswered second half points to win 45-20 in front of a national tv audience. The Cougars, (3-3, 2-0 C-USA) were absolutely dominated in the first half by the Blazers (1-6, 0-3 C-USA) who jumped to a 13-0 lead as quarterback Case Keenum and the offense struggled to find rhythm. Whatever was said......

This has to be the biggest loss in Texans history. Sage Rosenfels made an emergency start today because Matt Schaub was hospitalized overnight because of a viral infection. Rosenfels had his chance to shine and maybe even take over the quarterback position because of Schaub's mediocre start to the season. Rosenfels was amazing for 55 minutes, but then then the wheels fell off. Rosenfels made three blunder plays that cost the Houston Texans (0-4)......

Coming off an unexpected bye week because of Hurricane Ike, Matt Schaub and the Texans offense came out flat in a 31-12 loss at LP Field in Nashville against the Tennessee Titans. Schaub, who continues to struggle on the road, was a dismal 17-for-37 with 188 passing yards and no touchdowns with three interceptions. The Texans offense had its chances, but they couldn't capitalize as they could only muster one touchdown in six appearances......

What a way to start the season, a 38-17 beat down by the Pittsburgh Steelers. On the opening drive, Coach Gary Kubiak elected to go for a fourth and one in Steelers territory and after an official review, the Texans were short and the game was never the same for the Houston team. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and his offense had a field day with the Texans defense who seemed to mimic a scout......

After an outstanding stint at Yuba Community College where he was named a top-100 junior college basketball player in California; Rodney Hannah came to the University of Houston and contributed to the team during the 2004-05 season. But Hannah realized he missed football so he traded in dunks for touchdowns as he was part of the 2006 UH C-USA Championship football team. After the season, Hannah was told NFL scouts were interested in his......

Houstonist made the trip up to Irving, Texas on Friday to watch some pre-season action as the Houston Texans took on the Dallas Cowboys. With just over two minutes remaing in the game, the Texans had a chance to tie the game with a point-after touchdown, but Coach Gary Kubiak elected for the two-point conversion and failed as the Dallas Cowboys won 23-22 to claim the Govenor's Cup.......

As Houstonist anticipates this Friday's pre-season match-up in Irving, Texas between the Texans and Cowboys, Houstonist was wondering why it isn't an annual regular season game? Since November 10, 1991, The Dallas Cowboys and the Houston Oilers and Houston Texans have met for a total of four times in a regular season game. Yeah, Houstonist knows the crazy NFL scheduling that you play teams not in your division every four years and that the......

University of Houston legend Wilson Whitley was posthumously inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame this past Friday in South Bend, Indiana along with 12 other players which included stars such as Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie and Penn St. head coach Joe Paterno. Whitley was a wrecking machine while at UH from 1972-76. His senior season was the best of all and it still remains the standard for all UH defensive players.......

The Astros will always be our boys of summer, but this is football country and our eyes are beginning to look towards Reliant Stadium. With training camp beginning this week, some questions still hold heavy over our Houston Texans’ season. How will the defensive backfield perform? Dunta Robinson, the anchor of the defensive backfield, is likely out for most of the season. Showing a good deal of promise in his rookie season, will Fred......

All of the sports world is in envy of Boston fans today. Since October, the New England area has had the Red Sox (MLB), Patriots (NFL), Revolution (MLS) and Celtics (NBA) make their respective league championship game and two (Red Sox and Celtics) have won the title. It's rare and quite an impressive feat. Houstonist takes a look at Houston's sports teams and sizes up their chances at bringing home some hardware. Houston Astros:......

Houston native and Texan Southern alum, Michael Strahan, announced his retirement yesterday after 15 story book seasons in the NFL, all with the New York Giants. Strahan was born in Houston and attended Westbury High. After high school, Strahan played football at Texas Southern University where he became a star. Strahan was a two-time First Team All-SWAC (1991, 1992) and also a two-time SWAC Defensive Player of the Year (1991, 1992). After Strahan's junior......

The Astros' season is in full swing, and no one is swinging more than Hunter Pence. Good grief, Spaz, if you're going to be the number 2 hitter, you might want to be a little bit selective. We can't wait for Kaz Matsui to get off his aching butt and take over the job he was signed to do. Here's what the blogs are saying about our hometown teams and sporting events: - Apparently, there......

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)......

Top o' the afternoon to ya! We always have trouble with Irish accents; we always either end up sounding Scottish or like a pirate. But regardless, the Rockets' streak poses an interesting conundrum, especially if you plan on getting sauced tonight: do you talk about the streak (potentially jinxing it) or refuse to even acknowledge its existence (which makes you seem like kind of a jerk). The choice is yours. Here's what the blogs are......

Running a start-up business can be one of the most stressful things in the world; a crushing weight of expectations and hopes, the investments (both monetary and personal) that must be made worthwhile, all conspire to exert considerable pressure on the entrepenuer. Competition is always a serious issue, too: what if someone out there is already performing your job? What if they're better than you? How do you compete, and compete smart? What if your......

Former Houston Oilers linebacker John Grimsley was found dead in his Missouri City home this morning. After receiving a 911 emergency call from the Grimsley household, police rushed to the scene at 9:00am only to find a lifeless body. An autopsy is set to be performed by the Galveston County Medical Examiner’s Office, however initial reports claim that an accidental gunshot wound was the cause of the untimely death. Grimsley was a sixth round......

Darrell Green, a product of Houston's Jones High School, was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this past weekend. Green, who was selected No. 1 overall in 1983 by the Washington Redskins, played 20-years with the same team, an NFL co-record with the Rams' Jackie Slater. During his 20-year career, Green was arguably the greatest cornerback of his time. He intercepted 54 passes for 621 yards and returned six of them for......

It's an American tradition, just like representative democracy and childhood obesity: the Super Bowl. Even people who aren't football fans usually find a way to watch the game (or the commercials, depending on your priorities) and the die-hards view Sunday as some combination of Christmas, graduation, and the non-lame parts of the Olympics all rolled into one. If you don't have plans for the big game already, here are a few options around town: -......

After assistant head coach Mike Sherman left the Texans for College Station and the Texas A&M job, Texans head coach Gary Kubiak was tasked with finding a replacement for the architect of his offense. Though Kubes is himself a former offensive coordinator, he's made a practice of surrounding himself with other top-tier assistants ever since he took the Texans job. So when word leaked out earlier this week that the Texans were in discussions with......

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......

Tonight’s Texas Bowl is going to be a throwback to the days of the Southwest Conference with an exciting match-up between the University of Houston and Texas Christian University. From a football point of view, it’s a classic match-up of high powered offense (Houston) against a formidable defensive squad (TCU). It will be interesting to see how the Coogs respond in tonight’s game, their first without Art Briles who ran off to Waco to become......

As the Texans 2007 campaign draws to a close on Sunday against the Jaguars, putting a bow on top of the most improved season in franchise history, we can look back at the highlights and lowlights. Pros: Mario Williams, the rock solid consistency of healthy Andre Johnson, Mario Williams, rookies Fred Bennet and Abomi Okoye, Mario Williams, possible tradebait Sage Rosenfels, Mario Williams, the revived Ron Dayne, Mario Williams, DeMeco Ryans' appearance on the national......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • Metro complaints are up 28%. Rude bus operators, short schedules and unsafe driving tops the list of filed grievances. • Friends of 12 year old Traveon LeBlanc, who's mangled body was found on the Gulf Freeway, told a local news station that the boy and some friends would run across the freeway for fun. • A homeless man confessed to Conroe police......

This weekend, there's a movie coming out called Charlie Wilson's War; the eponymous Wilson was a congressman from Lufkin (actual motto: You'll Love Lufkin!) who funneled arms and money to the Afghan rebels fighting against the USSR in the waning years of the Cold War. Wilson took up the fight because the Afghans were underdogs and when they were pissed, they'd hurt the Commies in ways that red-blooded Americans of the time only wished they......

Al-Star games are a funny thing. Just like presidential elections, they're largely popularity contests based on name recognition and TV friendliness rather than real hard data. But that doesn't mean that good decisions aren't made from time to time; that the Texans' DeMeco Ryans will be the starting middle linebacker for the AFC in the 2008 Pro Bowl is one of those good decisions. DeMeco has anchored the Texans defense all year, even in spite......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • Two men were rescued from the Gulf of Mexico 130 miles southeast of Galveston when their helicopter crashed. • Deer Park resident and former Astros pitcher, Andy Pettitte, admitted to using a human growth hormone during his recovery from an elbow injury in 2002. • During future evacuations and before boarding public transportation criminal background checks will be standard operating procedure to......

For everyone from the suckers who went to the sports bars because they thought the game was only on the NFL Network, to the lucky souls who knew that the game was on Channel 20, the confused folks who mistook the Texans red-on-red uniforms for a horrible laundry error, and to Channel 20 itself (which no doubt got their highest ratings since they ceased to be a UPN affiliate), the Texans thumping of the Broncos......

After speculating about unearthing former head coach Jack Pardee, the University of Houston Cougars decided today to go with Oklahoma University assistant coach Kevin Sumlin as their replacement for the departed Art Briles. At OU, Sumlin rose to the rank of "co-offensive coordinator, passing game coordinator, and wide receivers coach", which has to be the damn longest job title in the world, short of Elizabeth II. He's been a journeyman, having coached at five other......

Football on a Thursday? Does this mean we have to skip 30 Rock? Damn, this is a hard decision. Gary Kubiak vs. Jack Donaghy. Sage Rosenfels vs. Judah Freidlander. Texans Cheerleaders vs. our completely defensible crush on Tina Fey. Tracy Jordan vs. Travis Henry's illegitmate children. Mike Shannahan's hair vs. the Sheinhart Wig Company. Who are we kidding? You can watch 30 Rock any time on NBC's website. It's like Tivo for poor people! The......

The question that has burned in men's minds since 2000, invading their slumber and disturbing their very ability to enjoy music, has finally been answered emphatically. It was Jerome Mathis, wideout and kick returner for the Texans, who let the dogs out. Mathis was given a citation by Brazoria County authorities on Saturday when four of his pit bulls were menacing neighbors near his home in Manvel. Animal control officers were able to intervene without......