Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey may have been the busiest man not involved in a presidential election over the past two days. Less than 24 hours after trading Bonzi Wells and Mike James to the New Orleans Hornets, Morey was at it again. In what can only be dubbed as a swap of malcontents, the Rockets shipped Kirk Snyder and a 2nd round draft pick off to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for......

The Houston Rockets are seemingly transitioning into the New York Giants of the National Basketball Association. No, they haven't just won a championship. No, they haven't defeated arguably the best team in league history. No, they haven't snapped an opponent's 18-game winning streak. OK, so maybe they're nothing like the NFL's Super Bowl winner. Save for the fact that the Rockets have turned into road warriors (as the Giants have been characterized this season), after......

Yao vs Yi failed to deliver in the NBA's world of one-name superstar marketing fashion. Hoping to follow in the footsteps of "Olajuwon vs Ewing" or "Shaq vs the Admiral" - David Stern had long been searching for the next big man rivalry to grace the National Basketball Association's hardwood. After the Milwaukee Bucks drafted China's Yi Jianlian last summer, the NBA found itself with two seven-foot Asian big men gracing its rosters - one......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • An HPD rookie officer was busted for selling 50 pounds of pot in an undercover sting. If convicted the officer could face two to twenty years in prison. • A frustrated Mom left her 10 year old daughter and 8 year old son at a Cy-Fair fire station Friday afternoon. According to fire station officials, the kids were told by the mother......

Man, this is getting repetitive. While the Rockets will never be mistaken for the 06-07 Cincinnati Bengals, this certainly has been a productive off season for law enforcement personnel when Rockets players are around. The latest player to run into trouble with Johnny Law is recently-acquired forward Justin Reed, who was arrested last night in Jackson, Mississippi for misdemeanor marijuana possession. Reed played for the Minnesota Timberwolves last season, and was brought to Houston in......

Eddie Griffin 25, died Friday in southeast Houston when his SUV smashed into an oncoming train. Officials stated that Griffin's SUV exploded on impact after he ignored all railroad warning lights and sirens as he drove around the railroad barrier as the train was crossing. His body was burned so beyond recognition that he wasn't identified until yesterday when dental records confirmed his identity. The Rockets thought so much of Griffin's talents that they......

We at the Gothamist network would like to express our heartfelt wishes to the people of Minnesota in the days after their tragic bridge collapse. We're not trying to discount the severity of the accident by making note of it in opposition to our usual -Ist lightheartedness – we just wanted to take a moment and recognize those affected last week. After the Minneapolis bridge collapse, Bostonist did a little research and found that Massachusetts......

The road to 3,000 hits the Bayou City starting today with a four-game set against the Colorado Rockies. And Craig Biggio is salivating at the opportunity to make history at home. Against the Rockies, Biggio owns a .347 average, the best of any opponent. On Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers, Biggio recorded career hit 2,997 against Claudio Vargas in the third inning; a single to left field. Biggio Fact of the Day: In 1987,......

A little Prairie Home Companion in Houston He has one of the most distinctive voices on radio, and after the success of last year’s movie A Prairie Home Companion, his voice and work is now known by more than just the NPR crowd. Author, humorist, satirist, and occasional musician Garrison Keillor brings his Lake Wobegon Days to the Wortham Center tonight. Keillor created the radio show A Prairie Home Companion in 1974. The show, which......

In an interesting example of public-private partnership, Target Corp. has offered to help pay for security cameras to be installed around Houston to help the officer-short HPD out. It seems a little odd at first glance, but it turns out Target is no stranger to the law-enforcement game: Turns out Target has one of the most advanced crime labs in the country at its headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was initially set up to deal......

Looks like former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling will have at least a bit longer at home before he has to report to a federal prison in Minnesota: Yesterday, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals postponed Skilling's report date while it considers his request for bail while he appeals his convictions on 19 charges of fraud, conspiracy and insider trading in connection with Enron's collapse. It's a short-term reprieve for Skilling, and it could point to......

On Sundays, Houstonist runs opinion pieces relevant to life in Houston. The opinions expressed below are entirely those of the author. Need to know just a little bit about something? Ask a dilettante. Dear Dilettante - A “new” Beatles album, the soundtrack for the latest freak show Cirque du Soleil has created for the discriminating palates of people visiting Las Vegas, was released a couple of weeks ago. This Friday is the 26th anniversary of......

Another former Enron executive learned his fate — at least his short-term fate — in court yesterday: Richard Causey, the company's ex-head accountant, was sentenced to five and a half years in prison for his role in helping maintain Enron's accounting fraud. The sentence is 18 months less than the seven-year maximum Causey agreed to serve last year when he pleaded guilty to securities fraud, but it's far less than he could have ended up......

We're just a little over two months away from Election Day 2006. (It’s on Nov. 7), which means we can expect to see a lot more of the candidates in the next few weeks. Today, independent gubernatorial candidate Kinky Kinky Friedman hits town in the midst of his college tour — he's making a stop today at the University of Houston, and then tonight, you can catch him at the Flying Saucer downtown. Nothing......

Tuesday For those who yearn for the days of the progressive rock of the 80’s and 90’s, Queensryche is back, touring on their new concept album Operation: Mindcrime II. We’re sure they’ll throw in their mainstream hit, “Silent Lucidity.” 8 p.m. at Verizon Wireless | tickets and info Wednesday And for those who like your rock a little more hardcore, Sparkle Motion will fill the void for you. Houston’s Born Liars open. Not a......

When you think about it, it's pretty amazing: Nearly halfway through their season, the Houston Astros are getting a Hall of Famer delivered to their doorstep. With the rumors, the endless courtship and the minor league stint behind him, Roger Clemens is set to make his first start of the 2006 campaign tonight against the Minnesota Twins. It couldn't come at a better time for the 'Stros, who are hovering just above .500 and looking......

Hello again, Houstonians! Fun abounds this week, so check out all these exciting events. Friday, June 16 94.5 The Buzz's preparty for Buzzfest XVII should be lots of fun (see if you can spot Houstonist Karah Leigh!) You'll have chances to win tickets, and band 10 Years will be performing. It'll run 7-midnight at Scout Bar (18307 Egret Bay Blvd. in Clear Lake) Saturday, June 17 There'll be no quiz at "The Lesson Part Won:......

Local health officials are keeping an eye on the outbreak of mumps that's hit six Midwestern states. It began in Iowa and spread to Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota and Oklahoma, affecting more than 1,150 people — and the CDC says it expects the mumps to spread. About two dozen cases of mumps are reported in Texas every year; so far this year, nine cases have been reported. None of them has been linked to the......

Make haste, young (Prairie Home Companion) lovers. Garrison Keillor will perform with the Houston Symphony tonight at 8 p.m. in the American Expressions series. The author, humorist and host of “A Prairie Home Companion” has performed with the Houston Symphony before, and the last time he did the show sold out quickly. Maybe, if you’re lucky, you can purchase a ticket on ebay. Seems you can buy almost anything else there. Keillor, a native......