After 12 long, sometimes torturous years, through several eras of Rockets basketball and the whole of Yao Ming’s career, the Rockets had to end the torment of their first-round misery.Wow that's tough prose to read.
With the second round tauntingly in their sights again on Thursday night, they would leave no doubt, waste no time and savor every moment of the success that had eluded them for so long.
Still, congrats to the Rockets on finally breaking through to the second round.
Hits aren't coming, strikeouts mount for Berkman. [Jose de Jesus Ortiz, Chron.com]
Because of his witty personality and candor when putting baseball in perspective with the rest of life, Berkman at times has appeared like a player who couldn’t care less about the game. Yet this latest slump has caused sleepless nights and testy exchanges on the home front.Houston's reporting answer to Stuart Smalley strikes again.
He realizes some fans assume he doesn’t care as much as they do about his troubles at the plate.
“That couldn’t be any further from the truth,” he said. “You wish that those people could experience just one of the sleepless nights where you lay awake and think about every one of your at-bats and what you could have done differently.
Slumps happen to everyone. With Berkman's big swing they're likely to happen once per season.
The Astros will be .500 in a week. [Brian McTaggart, Chron.com]
The Astros enter play Tuesday at 8-12 (which is their same record after 20 games last year) and looking for three wins in a row for the first time this year. They have seven games remaining on this road trip, but I see them coming together this week. The Astros always play well in Cincinnati, they can beat Atlanta and then it's two against Washington, which is the worst team in baseball.He says about the team that couldn't win a series against the Pirates, who lost to Manatee Jr. College....
It's going to be a really long Summer if local writers persist with the meme that every two-game plus winning streak is a 'sign' that the team is turning the corner.
Man United too forgiving in win. [Bernardo Fallas, Chron.com]
Sure, Manchester United beat Arsenal 1-0 on Wednesday in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal series.This is why Minor League Soccer beat writers shouldn't spend much time commenting on the goings-on of the major leagues.
But will the one-goal advantage prove enough next week, when the Red Devils visit the Gunners at Emirates Stadium?
Unlike MLS (where 4-2 games are commonplace) the Premiership and other Major Leagues are places where goals are at a premium. What Arsenal (full disclosure: I'm a huge Arsenal fan) have to do now is win at home by two or more goals to advance. If Man U scores at Emirates then the Gunners need to score 3 goals to move forward. I can assure you that Man U fans are very content with that prospect.
The Maggard Memo: A vison for UH's future.[Steve Campbell, Chron.com]
One of the things Dave Maggard has been kicking around lately is a five-year plan for the Houston Cougars athletic program. Not long before Maggard decided to step down as the UH athletic director, he sent a memo to school president Renu Khator outlining his vision for the future.People who know the UH beat understand that announcing this memo to the public against Khator's will was what caused Unca' Dave to step down. Campbell? Not a peep.
Firing Mike Murphy set back the Chron's UH coverage 15 years.