Category Archives: Other sports

Texas needs more refs

Posted on June 10, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe you have what it takes to be one. The Texas Association of Sports Officials has been around since the late 1970s. The organization has seen a decrease in its numbers in recent years. At the same time, more and … Continue reading →

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Super Bowl economic impact was about what we expected

Posted on June 4, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Not too bad. The receipts are in, and February’s Super Bowl LI appears to have been a substantial boon for Houston — albeit with slightly less spending than expected. Gross spending during the nine days of Super Bowl programming, minus … Continue reading →

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Major League Rugby in Houston

Posted on March 26, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Meet the Houston Strikers. A group of rugby supporters are kicking around plans to build a rugby stadium in the area. The ownership group behind the new Major League Rugby franchise the Houston Strikers is finalizing plans to develop a … Continue reading →

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Tom Brady’s jersey recovered

Posted on March 21, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Our long national nightmare is finally over. On Monday morning, the NFL and Houston’s police chief reported [Tom Brady’s Super Bowl] jersey was located and will be returned to the Patriots. Investigators with the Houston Police Department’s Major Offenders Division … Continue reading →

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More on Mack Beggs

Posted on March 7, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I like this kid. In the wake of winning a controversial Texas state girls’ wrestling title over the weekend, Mack Beggs, a 17-year-old transgender wrestler, spoke to the need to “stay strong” while also calling on state policymakers to “change … Continue reading →

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Mack Beggs

Posted on February 27, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I guarantee, we have never paid as much attention to the Texas high school wrestling championships as we did this past weekend. If the fervor over Euless Trinity transgender wrestler Mack Beggs during the last week could be swelled into … Continue reading →

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The Super Bowl economic impact calculators have figured out it’s all a game

Posted on January 16, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

They’ve adjusted their methods in anticipation of your criticisms. With less than a month to go before the big day, let no one say that Super Bowl LI — as an economic event, not a football game — has been inadequately forecast. … Continue reading →

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Time once again to talk about the Super Bowl and its economic impact

Posted on November 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We’re less than 100 days out from Super Bowl LI here in Houston. I don’t know how much people who are not directly involved in the planning and execution of it are thinking about that. The economic benefits of hosting … Continue reading →

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Big XII declines to expand

Posted on October 19, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry, UH. The University of Houston’s campaign to join the Big 12 Conference was crushed Monday by the league’s presidents, who ruled out expansion without discussing the merits of any individual applicants, including the confident, fast-rising Cougars. Bob Bowlsby, the … Continue reading →

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“The only game in college sports history whose the final outcome was decided after the game”

Posted on September 21, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

If you follow sports, you have probably heard about this: In one of the more improbable finishes to a football game, Central Michigan wide receiver Corey Willis grabbed a lateral from fellow receiver Jesse Kroll at the 12-yard line after … Continue reading →

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The MOB and Baylor

Posted on September 19, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

So you’ve probably heard about this by now. If it’s possible for a band to steal headlines away from a football game, Rice’s Marching Owl Band found a way. While Rice made strides but ultimately fell against No. 21 Baylor … 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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UT will not push UIL on transgender athletes

Posted on July 31, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Unfortunate. Despite objections from LGBT advocates, UIL’s longstanding informal policy is set to become official August 1 — when it takes effect as an amendment to the league’s constitution. The amendment, initially approved by UIL’s Legislative Council last year, wasoverwhelmingly ratified … 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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UIL punts again on transgender athletes

Posted on June 19, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I say again, please reconsider this. The debate over the University Interscholastic League’s policy for transgender athletes continues after the organization’s legislative council took no action during Tuesday’s meeting in Round Rock. The UIL rule stating a student’s gender is … Continue reading →

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Baylor fires Art Briles

Posted on May 27, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

About time. Baylor University, in response to allegations of sexual assaults made against students — including by several football players — announced Thursday that football coach Art Briles has been suspended with intent to terminate, and Kenneth Starr will no … 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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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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Pasadena seeks hockey team

Posted on March 27, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I wish them luck. Pasadena city officials and a group of developers recently discussed working together on a $357 million sports and entertainment resort development to be built in the convention center area. The focal point of the proposed 200-acre … Continue reading →

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More on the UIL ban of transgender athletes

Posted on March 4, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From ThinkProgress: Transgender rights in Texas took another step backward last month, when public school superintendents voted 586-32 in favor of a rule that requires schools to use birth certificates to determine the gender of student-athletes. This law is seen … Continue reading →

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School districts vote to approve new UIL policy restricting transgender athletes

Posted on February 27, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Unfortunate. Despite strong opposition from LGBT advocates, representatives from Texas school districts have overwhelmingly endorsed a proposal aimed at barring transgender boys and girls from participating in athletics alongside their cisgender peers. District superintendents and athletic directors voted 409-25 in … Continue reading →

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Got some free time next January?

Posted on February 27, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Houston Super Bowl Committee wants you. As Houston prepares to host the Super Bowl next year, the Super Bowl host committee is seeking volunteers to pitch in for the big game. The committee seeks up to 10,000 volunteers and … Continue reading →

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Meet the woman in charge of prepping Houston for Super Bowl LI

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The countdown is on, and the spotlight is already ours. When Sallie Sargent applied to take charge of Houston’s preparations for next year’s Super Bowl, she faced a rather daunting audition: find 11 major sponsors to finish a $25 million … Continue reading →

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Pro softball returns to Houston

Posted on November 22, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Didn’t know we had pro softball here, but it’s cool that we do. The new sports franchise debuting here this summer is appropriately named: the Houston Scrap Yard Dawgs. After an eight-year absence, professional women’s fastpitch softball is coming back … Continue reading →

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Please rethink this, UIL

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Bad idea. The governing body for Texas high school sports decided Monday to ask superintendents to determine whether to formalize a policy that uses student-athletes’ birth certificates to determine their gender. Such a policy already is informally used by the … Continue reading →

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Quidditch, Texas-style

Posted on May 24, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We are a hotbed of quality Quidditch in this state. As cars drove by the soccer fields at Texas State University on a gray Sunday afternoon this past February, they slowed down to take in a strange scene: a dozen … Continue reading →

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The NFL would like us to spruce things up for the Super Bowl

Posted on March 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s only $50 million. What else do we have to spend it on? Before Houston hosts Super Bowl LI in 2017, NRG Stadium needs upgrades, including Wi-Fi installation and improvements to suites and club seats, according to Peter O’Reilly, the … 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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The first college football playoff

Posted on December 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

How about that committee selection process? As it turns out, it wasn’t a case of Baylor or TCU in the collective mind of the College Football Playoff committee after all. It was neither, and the joke’s on both. TCU wins … Continue reading →

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