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......

Fresh off the heels of winning a second consecutive MLS Cup championship, the Houston Dynamo are preparing to fill out their cheerleading squad this month. With preliminary auditions set to take place on February 16 from 9am-6pm, the Dynamo Girls are looking for a few good women. Houstonist caught up with Team Director Marilu Harman to find out just what it takes to be a Dynamo Girl, whether the squad members spend any time with......

The Super Bowl is on Sunday, and naturally we'll be watching the game (and the commericals), but the real news around town is the up-and-down season the Rockets are having. They win with T-Mac, they win without T-mac, they definitely lose without Yao. If Rick Adelman can get everyone on the same page,they could still be formidable in the playoffs. Otherwise, we're looking at another five-and-out in the first round. On to the links: -......

Good morning, Houston. So you say you're a Dynamo fan, eh? Well, here's your chance to prove it: The back-to-back MLS champs are auctioning off a chance to get close to the team's two MLS cups — literally. If you win the auction, the cups will be dropped off at your house on Christmas Eve and picked up Dec. 26; in between, you can do whatever you want with 'em (within reason, of course).......

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......

::Houston Dynamo MLS Championship Rally at City Hall:: Help welcome our team home today as they return from DC after defeating the New England Revolution for the second year in a row. Yikes, Reis, let another one slip past ya?! By defeating the Revs, the Dynamo become only the second team in the history of Major League Soccer to conquer back-to-back championships. Glenn Davis will serve as the event's Master of Ceremonies. Other speakers include......

It was a good weekend for football in Houston, whether that means the one with the pads or the one with the round ball. But there were things happening in the Houston sports scene outside of RFK and Reliant Stadiums. As we do every week, here's a recap of what the blogs are saying about your hometown teams: - The Dynamo are the big news today, so here's a fantastic live blog of the game......

The Houston Dynamo came from behind against the New England Revoloution to claim their second MLS Cup Title in as many years and becoming the first back-to-back MLS champions in 10-years. After being down 1-0 at halftime, Houston made the necessary adjustments to attack New England's defense. In the 61st minute, Joseph Ngwenya tied the game at 1-1 when he jetted a five-yard goal past New England goal keeper Matt Reis. In the 74th......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • 28 miles per hour seems to be the magic speed when cruising downtown. • Insurance regulators approved a 10% hike in coastal wind insurance rates, that's an increase of about $84. • Rice University has transplanted over a dozen oak trees, including some over 100 years old, in order to make way for new dorms. • The Dynamo take on DC United......

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......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • There's an Amber Alert for a missing teenager from Fort Bend Co. • Houston Dynamo knock off FC Dallas to advance in MLS Western Conference Playoffs • Local authorities have released artist renderings of Baby Grace • An HPD office was hurt overnight in an accident on the Gulf Freeway. • The Museum of Fine Arts has raised over 3 million dollars......

Houston vs. Dallas. Does anything else need to be said? Robertson Stadium, which is located on the campus of the University of Houston, will be hosting two different versions of this great Texas rivalry. Tonight, the 2006 MLS Champion Houston Dynamo will take on FC Dallas in the second game of this home-and-home Western Conference semi-final playoff game. In the first game, which FC Dallas hosted, the Hoops took game 1 of this aggregate-scoring......

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 baseball season firmly packed into the history books, at least as far as the Astros and the rest of the NL Central are concerned (hi Cubs fans!), and basketball season around the corner, there's plenty of blog fodder out there this week. Here's what bloggers are saying about our sports teams: - The Rockets are hemorrhaging point guards. Even though the word on the street is that Rafer Alston is on the trading block,......

Good morning, Dynamo fans. Ready to see the Orange in the MLS playoffs again? Well, playoff tickets will go on sale at 10 this morning. Depending on where the Dynamo finish in the standings, the team will play in the Western Conference semifinal match at Robertson Stadium either Oct. 27 or Nov. 3; pick your tickets up at Ticketmaster or the Dynamo's website. >> The scandal effect: TSU's enrollment has fallen to its lowest......

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......

Did you protest the taxes on your home this past year? If so, we hope you did your research on your neighbors’ appraisals already. If you didn’t, you’re out of luck. Thanks to a new law passed by the state, the Harris County Appraisal District (HCAD) was forced to pull their property appraisal database from their website this week. Don't get out your walking shoes yet – the information can't be obtained from the county......

As part of a way to get some international exposure (and perhaps credibility), the MLS has introduced the North American SuperLiga Tournament this year. This is a competition between 4 MLS teams and 4 teams in Mexico’s Primera División. The 4 MLS teams were selected by invitation this year, but in the future tournaments they will be selected based on the top 4 teams during regular season play. The Houston Dynamo, along with DC United......

Remember back in May, when news broke about the possibility of building a new stadium for the Houston Dynamo downtown? Back then, everyone said negotiations between the city and the Dynamo would wrap in in -mid-July — but now that we're actually in the middle of July, that's changed. The new target for an announcement, the Chronicle reports, is September — but that doesn't mean talks are breaking down, apparently. "We believe we've made some......

If you are a fan of Dynamo soccer, July is going to be an exciting month. Coming off of an undefeated six game streak, the Dynamo are set to play 7 games this month (not including the MLS all star game). If that weren’t enough, the team’s lineup has changed slightly with 1) the recent return of Ching and De Rosario (among others) from international play, 2) the unknown fate of mid-fielder Brad Davis who......

Okay not really…except kind of…well, yes. Let’s explain. So as you know 4 Houston Dynamo players are out due to national team play in the CONCACAF gold cup. Pat Onstad and Dwayne De Rosario are playing for Canada while Brian Ching and Ricardo Clark are playing for the U.S. team. Both teams have advanced to the semi-finals and are set to play each other tonight at 6pm. This should be an excellent match as both......

If you happen to be wondering where Dynamo star-forward, Brian Ching, was for Thursday night's Dynamo win over the Colorado Rapids, he was supporting the US Men's National Team in a win over Trinadad and Tabago. Not only did the National Team chalk one up with a W, Ching scored his fifth international goal in the 29th minute off a long pass from Justin Mapp. Eddie Johnson doubled the lead in the 54th, scoring his......

Astros trying fail to stand on rockie ground There is no denying that the Astro’s have hit (what we hope is) their low this season. On Tuesday, both Lance Berkman and manager Phil Garner were ejected from the game after Carlos Lee was intentionally appeared to be hit by a pitch from the Colorado Rockies Manuel Corpas. Luckily the Astros managed a 2 run ninth inning rally to win that game and end a......