En route to a 117-99 road victory over the Indiana Pacers, the Houston Rockets set a franchise record with their 16th straight win last night. Courtesy of a stellar first half from Tracy McGrady (23 points by intermission), the Rockets went on a 15-0 run in the second quarter and overcame a third quarter surge by the Pacers to cruise to victory. Though so-called pundits around the nation left the Rockets for dead after......

With All-Star center Yao Ming sidelined, the Houston Rockets found themselves on the wrong side of a 97-89 score against the Utah Jazz at the Toyota Center on Sunday night. The loss ended Houston’s four game winning streak and brought to light Houston’s season long free throw shooting woes. Yao, who sat out the game with an upper-respiratory infection, has been listed as “day-to-day” on the injury report. In his place, rookie Luis Scola scored......

En route to a fourth-straight victory, the Houston Rockets defeated the scorching hot Portland Trailblzers to the tune of 89-79 at the Rose Garden on Friday night. The Blazers entered the contest having won 12 consecutive home games, thanks to the heady play of such stars as guard Brandon Roy and former Texas Longhorn LaMarcus Aldridge. However, the game remained very much undecided until Houston coach Rick Adelman elected to infuse the starting lineup......

How sweet it is. They say revenge is sweet and the Rockets’ Tracy McGrady had a full helping of it last night with a 47 point performance against the Utah Jazz. The Jazz eliminated the Rockets in the 2007 playoffs in seven games and brought McGrady to tears after keeping him out of the second round once again. The Jazz had a lead as high as 12 points in the first quarter when they......

As any good sports fan will tell you, the end of the season is just the beginning of the fun. Here's what's going on with the Houston teams that aren't playing games right now: Rockets -Plenty of Rockets news this week, starting with the announcement of their 2007-08 schedule. Their home opener pits them against the Portland Trail Blazers and 74 year old rookie Greg Oden. Full schedule at the Rockets' website. -Yao Ming is......

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,......

Even as the TAKS could be on its way out, state education officials announced Monday that measures will be put in place next year to curb cheating on the standardized test. The anti-cheating measures come after allegations of cheating and concerns over students not graduating because they failed the test — and we can't help but think that those problems go hand in hand. "As the stakes surrounding testing have become higher, some have questioned......

In a much expected move, the Houston Rockets have announced the firing of head coach Jeff Van Gundy. The firing comes after the Rockets lost during the first round playoffs to the Utah Jazz. Van Gundy started with the Rockets in the 2003 and had an overall record of 182-146 with the team. Although some consider Van Gundy to be a great fit with the Rockets, he never managed to get the team past the......

|| Game Date: May 5, 2007 || Game Location: Houston || Playoff Round: One || Series Record: Rockets 3 - Utah 4 || Final Score: 103 UTAH - 99 HOU || Box Score: Utah @ Rockets Info from NBA.com ______________________________________________________ First Quarter - The first quarter of game seven started out with the score going back and forth and with Yao, TMac, Battier, Dikembe getting into scoring mode. Utah came out scoring and with......

|| Game Date: May 3, 2007 || Game Location: Utah || Playoff Round: One || Series Record: Rockets 3 - Utah 3 || Final Score: 94 UTAH - 82 HOU || Box Score: Rockets @ Utah Info from NBA.com ______________________________________________________ First Quarter - Yao started it off with a foul, but the Rockets didn't let that get them down. TMac and Yao hit a few early shots and the score would stay neck and......

|| Game Date: April 30, 2007 || Game Location: Houston || Playoff Round: One || Series Record: Rockets 3 - Utah 2 || Final Score: 96 HOU - 92 UTAH || Box Score: Rockets @ Utah Info from NBA.com ______________________________________________________ First Quarter - A half empty arena greeted the Rockets when the game started and with only 36% shooting it was a rough start for the team. Yao would shoot only one of nine......

|| Game Date: April 28, 2007 || Game Location: Utah || Playoff Round: One || Series Record: Rockets 2 - Utah 2 || Final Score: 98 UTAH - 85 HOU || Box Score: Rockets @ Utah Info from NBA.com ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ First Quarter - Needing to come out strong was an understatement. Yao had the first six points of the game and six points was all the Rockets got until 6:52 left in the......

|| Game Date: April 26, 2007 || Game Location: Utah || Playoff Round: One || Series Record: Rockets 2 - Utah 1 || Final Score: 81 UTAH - 67 HOU || Box Score: Rockets @ Utah Info from NBA.com ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ First Quarter - TMac started it off as if he had something to prove to Oscar Robertson, who called him out in this article from SLAM Magazine. TMac scored the first four points......

|| Game Date: April 23, 2007 || Game Location: Toyota Center, Houston || Playoff Round: One || Series Record: Rockets 2 - Utah 0 || Final Score: 98 HOU - 90 UTAH || Box Score: Utah @ Rockets Info from NBA.com ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ First Quarter: It was all Boozer. I never wanted someone to miss a shot so much in my life. Bozo, Boozer would not miss. Finally at about seven minutes into the......

|| Game Date: April 21, 2007 || Game Location: Toyota Center, Houston || Series Record: Rockets 1 - Utah 0 || Final Score: 84 HOU - 75 UTAH || Box Score: Utah @ Rockets Info from NBA.com ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ After a strong start and a give and take first quarter, the Rockets appeared to come out with a lack of gumption (or maybe it was nerves) and ended the first half down by nine,......

The Rockets are back in the playoffs and the fun starts tonight. It's hard to believe that it's been ten years since the Rockets have won a playoff series. Tonight they start their first round run against the Utah Jazz and to this day I still don't know why that team hasn't changed its name. Utah is just not synonymous with Jazz. Tonight is the first game in a best of seven series that......

The Houston Rockets dismantled the Philadelphia 76ers Sunday night in a 124-74 shellacking at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. Led by all-stars Tracy McGrady (21 points) and Yao Ming (24 points), the Rockets dominated in every facet of the game shooting 53.3% from the field compared to the 76ers 33.8%. Leading by 17 after the first quarter, the Rockets never looked back; relentlessly pounding the 76ers in the paint who had no answer for......

So now that Houston has passed its smoking ban, a lot of bar owners in the city are concerned that they'll lose customers to bars just outside Houston, where smoking is permitted. But they may not need to worry: If state Sen. Rodney Ellis has his way, the entire state of Texas will one day be a no-smoking zone ... so we won't die. “I mean look, there are a lot of things that will......

The Houston FBI office has put the daughter of a dead polygamist on its most wanted list, saying she is wanted in connection with four 1988 murders here and in Irving — killings that might have been related to a hit list her dad left when he died in 1981. Jacqueline Tarsa LeBaron, the wanted woman, is the daughter of Ervil Morrell LeBaron, who had 13 wives and led the Church of the Lamb of......

Did we say it was going to rain a lot yesterday? Well, depending on where you live, it did: It was just wet and icky inside the Loop, but things got pretty crazy on the west side, we hear. And it may not be over yet: Harris County and southeast Texas remain under a flood watch this morning, and if storms move slowly through the area, isolated areas could get another 6 to 8 inches.......

Now that the constitutional amendment has failed to pass proposing the prohibition of the desecration of the United States flag, should we be watchful for an onslaught of flag maculation and incineration? We hadn't noticed much of it before, unless you consider the countless number shirts, handkerchiefs, or faded stickers of Old Glory that defy flag etiquette. The amendment, sponsored by Utah's Orrin Hatch (R), was rejected by one vote - the vote needed......

If you didn't see Jeff Skilling's interview with The Wall Street Journal on Saturday, here's what you missed: He thought about killing himself, became resolved to live when federal prosecutors went after him, thinks he helped convict himself and maintains he's not guilty. "I've come to the conclusion that life is better than the alternative, which was not a conclusion that was real clear to me for a period of time," Skilling told the Journal.......

• Most of us weren't surprised that the No. 2 Texas Longhorns beat the Colorado Buffaloes in the Big 12 Championship game at Reliant Stadium on Saturday. What was a surprise was the score: 70-3. The decisive victory gives the 'Horns their first Big 12 title since 1996 and gives them a chance to earn their first undisputed national championship since 1969. But at this point, the 'Horns might want to think less about flashing......