Tag Archives: basketball

The NBA tries to look forward

Posted on April 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Hope + uncertainty = where we are right now. While expressing a hope that bordered on determination that the NBA would be able to salvage its season in some form, commissioner Adam Silver also said the unknowns in the COVID-19 … Continue reading →

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Congratulations, Rudy T!

Posted on April 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Long overdue. 2-Time NBA Champion First place medal Gold Medalist Medium star 5-Time NBA All Star A HALL OF FAMER! — Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) 11:37 AM – 04 April 2020 At last, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame no longer … Continue reading →

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The conditions under which baseball can return

Posted on March 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

If coronavirus cooperates. Cross your fingers and hope for the best. Major League Baseball owners have approved a plan to address salary and service-time issues amid the indefinite delay to the start of the regular season, according to ESPN and … Continue reading →

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Further delay for Opening Day

Posted on March 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Mid-May at the most optimistic, and that’s very likely too soon. Major League Baseball pushed back opening day until mid-May at the earliest on Monday because of the new coronavirus after the federal government recommended restricting events of more than … Continue reading →

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In which I agree with Ted Cruz: Shame on the NBA

Posted on October 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

When he’s right, he’s right. Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey has the support of some lawmakers in D.C., even as the Rockets and NBA have apologized for his comments supporting pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. Morey over the weekend tweeted … Continue reading →

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Bring back the Comets

Posted on September 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Jenny Dial Creech would like to see one more professional sports team in Houston. As [Tina] Thompson — the league’s first No. 1 overall draft pick — was inducted into the [Naismith Basketball] Hall of Fame, we were all reminded … Continue reading →

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Final Four returns to Houston

Posted on July 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Mark your calendars. The NCAA announced Monday that Houston and NRG Stadium will host the 2023 men’s Final Four. College basketball’s marquee event will be held April 1 and 3. It will mark the fourth time the event will be … Continue reading →

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Tina Thompson

Posted on April 1, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Congratulations to original Houston Comet Tina Thompson for her selection to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Tina Thompson was honored for her stellar college, professional and Olympic career when she was named to the 2018 Class of the Naismith Memorial … Continue reading →

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Tilman Fertitta buys the Rockets

Posted on September 6, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Meet the new boss. Houston billionaire Tillman Fertitta has reached an agreement to purchase the Houston Rockets from Leslie Alexander. The $2.2 billion sale price to break the NBA record sale of $2 billion from when the Clippers were sold … Continue reading →

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Rockets for sale

Posted on July 18, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The end of an era. Rockets owner Leslie Alexander, among the longest-tenured owners in North American professional sports, has put the franchise up for sale, team president Tad Brown announced Monday in a stunning, hastily-called news conference after Alexander reached … Continue reading →

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Athletes against SB6

Posted on March 17, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From Athlete Ally: Dear Texas, The love of sport is in part what makes Texas great. The passion and competitive spirit that reverberates throughout the Texas athletic community is hard to match across the United States. It’s that passion – … Continue reading →

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The NBA is keeping an eye on SB6, too

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I’d be shocked if they weren’t. While lauding the work of New Orleans to take on the NBA All-Star game after the league pulled its events from Charlotte because of House Bill 2, which limited anti-discrimination protections for lesbian, gay … Continue reading →

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Again, there is no such thing as an acceptable bathroom bill

Posted on February 17, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The current strategy for Dan Patrick in trying to round up support for, or at least blunt opposition to, his bathroom bill is to claim that it will contain exceptions for sports venues, so no one needs to worry about … Continue reading →

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Super Bowl or bathroom bill?

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Choose one or the other. Texas’ next trip to the Super Bowl may hit a roadblock in Austin, where conservative lawmakers are pushing a bill to ban transgender people from the public bathrooms they feel most comfortable using. “If a … Continue reading →

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More on the cost of a bathroom bill

Posted on December 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Whatever one thinks of the Texas Association of Business, you have to hand it to them for their lobbying focus on the great potty issue. With the legislative session just weeks ahead, the Texas business community is digging in its … Continue reading →

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Business owners tell Dan Patrick to back off on bathrooms

Posted on October 27, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

More like this, please. Saying Texas Republican leaders are threatening jobs and the economy, more than 200 small-business owners issued an open letter Tuesday urging legislators to abandon plans for a state law targeting transgender bathrooms. The letter described “a … Continue reading →

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ACC makes it three

Posted on September 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

So long, North Carolina. Just two days after the NCAA announced they were moving scheduled tournaments out of North Carolina in protest of the state’s anti-LGBTQ House Bill 2, the Atlantic Coast Conference—which includes North Carolina’s biggest Division I programs … Continue reading →

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NCAA removes all championship games for 2016 and 2017 from North Carolina

Posted on September 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Actions, they have consequences. Based on the NCAA’s commitment to fairness and inclusion, the Association will relocate all seven previously awarded championship events from North Carolina during the 2016-17 academic year. The NCAA Board of Governors made this decision because of the cumulative actions taken … Continue reading →

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NCAA lays down a marker on anti-LGBT legislation

Posted on August 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Hope the Lege is paying attention, because they can’t say they haven’t been warned. The NBA and NCAA may have just dealt a preemptive, one-two knockout punch to anti-LGBT bills in the upcoming Texas Legislature, which convenes in January. First, … Continue reading →

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NBA pulls 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte

Posted on July 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Bam! The NBA issued the following statement Thursday regarding the 2017 NBA All-Star Game: “The NBA has decided to relocate the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte with the hope of rescheduling for 2019. “Since March, when North Carolina enacted HB2 … Continue reading →

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What will the NBA do with Charlotte?

Posted on July 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We are still waiting to see if NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will follow through with a threat to move the NBA All-Star Game out of Charlotte after North Carolina passed its odious anti-LGBT law HB2. Houston’s 2015 defeat of Proposition … Continue reading →

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Tim Duncan retires

Posted on July 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

He will be missed. San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan today announced that he will retire after 19 seasons with the organization. Since drafting Duncan, the Spurs won five championships and posted a 1,072-438 regular season record, giving the team … Continue reading →

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No athlete should go to the Olympics if they don’t want to

Posted on July 2, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Spare me. It’s like a Draymond Green kick straight to your special place. The world’s grandest athletic stage, providing a public platform for the greatest basketball stars alive to unite for a single cause. Cherished history and untouchable names – … Continue reading →

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The dry run for the Super Bowl

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It went pretty well. In less than a year, the Super Bowl is expected to draw almost twice as many as the 70,000 out-of-towners who flocked here for the Final Four. More than 1 million are expected to come downtown … Continue reading →

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Sheryl Swoopes elected to Basketball Hall of Fame

Posted on April 9, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Congratulations! Swoopes, who contributed to the Comets’ memorable run of four WNBA championships after the league was established in 1997, winning three league MVP awards, and who played on three Olympic gold medal-winning teams, said she was proud to be … Continue reading →

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Lots of people took the train to the games

Posted on April 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. After handling more than a quarter-million rail trips over the four-day NCAA Final Four period, Metro is calling it a slam dunk. “These are numbers are fantastic for us,” spokesman Jerome Gray said. Metro said 255,700 rail boardings occurred … Continue reading →

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Final Four weekend was pretty good for Houston

Posted on April 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll take it. Beyond the basketball court, the Houston economy appears to be the big winner of the Final Four. Across the city, several restaurants, bars and hotels reported big boosts in customers and cash flow, as an estimated 70,000 … Continue reading →

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Yao Ming elected to Basketball Hall of Fame

Posted on April 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Congratulations! Ground-breaking former Rockets center Yao Ming has been elected for inductions in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, a person with knowledge of the voting confirmed on Wednesday. Yao, the first player taken in the 2002 draft who became … Continue reading →

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The Dream takes on The Donald

Posted on January 30, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

You tell ’em, Hakeem. Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon, a devout Muslim splitting his time between homes in Houston and outside London, England, on Saturday called the proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States “not worthy of a president.” … Continue reading →

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Losing our sports history

Posted on February 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This is sad. The original championship banners for the Rockets and the WNBA’s defunct Comets remain on display at Toyota Center, as do banners saluting both teams’ representatives in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. After that, Houston’s legacy … Continue reading →

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Darsh Preet Singh

Posted on March 30, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Very cool. Basketball courts didn’t care that Darsh Preet Singh wore a turban. Or that he is Sikh. Hardwood is a great equalizer. The court’s 10-foot-high rim does not discriminate. If you can handle the rock, you’ve got a place. … Continue reading →

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Can we really measure the economic impact of sports events?

Posted on March 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know, but they’re going to give it a try in Dallas. Spending in the region on mega sporting events since the Dallas Cowboys moved to Arlington could top $1 billion when next month’s Final Four and next year’s … Continue reading →

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Anyone remember the Comets?

Posted on September 21, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Not much to remember them by. Five years ago Sunday, the Comets played their final game. There were no balloons, no confetti, no celebration. There weren’t even fans. The final game the WNBA team played was at Strahan Coliseum in … Continue reading →

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Sebastien De La Cruz

Posted on June 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

You da man, Sebastien. A soft-spoken boy with a big voice isn’t about to let obnoxious online remarks bring him down — especially when he has so many positive ones in his virtual corner. Fans of Sebastien De La Cruz … Continue reading →

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