Best Thing In Texas
November 2, 2022
CrossFit Star Dani Speegle Handles 215-Pound Logs Like Pick-Up Sticks
The CrossFit athlete and #GirlsWhoEat impresario stole the show at the annual Rogue Invitational in Round Rock.
Sports
Vital analysis and news unpacking the world of Texas sports
Sports
November 2, 2022
Aggies Never Lose, But Will Jimbo Fisher Run Out of Time?
Texas A&M is riding its worst losing streak since 2005, and the only thing protecting Jimbo Fisher’s job is his huge guaranteed contract.
Sports
October 31, 2022
Meet the Astros Fans Willing to Spend $80,000 on Custom Baseball Caps
Thanks to a memorabilia boom and another Astros World Series trip, Houston has become a hotbed for rare hat collectors.
Sports
October 26, 2022
I Watched Two Episodes of ‘Drive to Survive’ and Then Covered Formula 1
Gridlock, brand activations, and Austrian funnel cake ruled the weekend’s U.S. Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas.
Sports
October 17, 2022
Yordan Álvarez Is Striking Barry Bonds Levels of Fear in Opposing Teams
With a historic performance last week, the slugger led the Houston Astros to their sixth straight American League Championship Series.
Best Thing In Texas
October 10, 2022
Coach Pop, Manu, and the San Antonio Spurs Bring Smiles to Uvalde
Spurs legends past and present reminded residents that they haven't been forgotten in the months since the shooting at Robb Elementary.
By
Dan Solomon
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Sports
October 10, 2022
Is Quinn Ewers Texas’s Best Big-Game Quarterback Since Vince Young?
In his return from injury, Quinn Ewers and his burnt-orange mullet led UT to a 49–0 blowout win over the Oklahoma Sooners.
Sports
October 10, 2022
Meet Jak Crawford, the 17-Year-Old Texan Gunning for a Seat in Formula 1
The teenager grew up in the Houston suburbs, where he started driving go-karts when he was six. He now races with some of the best drivers in the world.
Sports
October 7, 2022
The 2022 Houston Astros Have Been a Homegrown Masterpiece
Another 100-win season in the books, a chance to return to the World Series for the fourth time in six years—this franchise is special.
Sports
October 5, 2022
Sonny Dykes Has TCU Football Back in the Mix for a Big 12 Title
With a high-powered offense and a 4–0 start, why can’t the Horned Frogs bag their first conference title since 2014?
Sports
September 29, 2022
Joey McGuire Is Riding High in His First Season at Texas Tech
The Red Raiders coach said he received hundreds of congratulatory text messages after beating Texas, and he's just getting started.
Sports
September 20, 2022
Jimbo Fisher and Texas A&M Staved Off Disaster—but for How Long?
The Aggies saved their season by beating Miami, but after the team’s dreadful start, every game will feel like a referendum on its coach.
Texas Country Reporter
September 14, 2022
This Houston Nun Waited Decades to Root for Her Home Team
In 2007, Texas Country Reporter met Sister Damian, the Houston Astros’ most patient and faithful baseball fan.
Sports
September 12, 2022
Texas Shouldn’t Feel Too Satisfied Over Its Near-Upset of Alabama
A one-point loss to the top team in the country is a promising sign for the Longhorns, but they can still improve on Saturday’s performance.
Sports
September 7, 2022
The Manu, the Myth, the Legend
As San Antonio Spurs great Manu Ginóbili enters the Basketball Hall of Fame, let’s relive every joyous moment of his daredevil career.
Sports
September 1, 2022
Can Houston Football Figure Out a Way to Fill Seats?
The Cougars are nationally ranked and receive millions in university support—so why does UH consistently play in a half-empty home stadium?
Sports
August 30, 2022
The Night the Astrodome Got Rained Out
As rains fall across Texas, remember the 1976 Houston deluge that improbably shut down an Astros game at the famed “weather-proof” Astrodome.
Sports
August 18, 2022
With Chris Woodward and Jon Daniels Gone, the Texas Rangers Bet Their Future on Chris Young’s Thin Résumé
Now that the Rangers have fired their manager and president of baseball ops, their future is in the hands of relative front-office newcomer Chris Young.
Sports
August 16, 2022
For Once, the College Football Hype Train Misses Texas
While the Longhorns were left out of the preseason Top 25 for the first time since 2016, it’s time for number six Texas A&M to put up or shut up.
Sports
August 15, 2022
Sex, Scandal, and Sisterhood: Fifty Years of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
They’re global icons who have left a lasting imprint on American culture. But do recent controversies threaten the squad’s future?
Best Thing In Texas
August 10, 2022
At the Little League World Series, Texas and Oklahoma Hug and Make Up
There was crying in baseball after a Pearland pitcher beaned a Tulsa batter on Tuesday. What happened next might restore one’s faith in humanity.
By
Dan Solomon
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Sports
August 9, 2022
The Real Dill: Powerful Texans Are Betting on Pickleball
Why a host of Texas notables, from Steve Kuhn to Brené Brown, are investing heavily in the popular sport.
Sports
August 4, 2022
How to Decode College Football’s Summer of Greed? Look to Impish Booster Buddy Garrity of ‘Friday Night Lights.’
The beloved TV character, full of flaws and moral compromises, reminds us that big-time football has always been about excess.
Sports
July 28, 2022
The Night That Grasshoppers Killed Texas League Baseball
Fifty years ago, a minor league game in Midland was postponed for the rarest of reasons—a swarm of grasshoppers biblical in its proportions.
Sports
July 19, 2022
Making Sense of the Rangers’ Draft Day Shocker, Kumar Rocker
The franchise stunned the baseball world by selecting Rocker, a talented pitcher with a murky injury history, third overall.
Sports
July 15, 2022
The State’s Winningest HS Football Coach Might Forget All His Victories
Dementia forced Phil Danaher off the sidelines. Now the legendary coach at Corpus Christi’s Calallen High School faces life after football.
Sports
July 7, 2022
NCAA Conference Realignment Got You Down? Blame Texas.
How UT sparked the chain reaction that killed traditional rivalries and created a college sports landscape dominated by super conferences.
Sports
June 27, 2022
The Rise and Rise of Texas-Based BMX Superstar Brad Simms
When early pandemic lockdowns led to empty streets, Simms, a leader among Black BMX riders, catapulted himself to social media fame.
Sports
June 24, 2022
Arch Manning Might Be Good Enough to Save Texas Football From Itself
No team does less with more quite like the Longhorns do, but even UT shouldn’t be able to spoil the next great Manning quarterback.
Sports
June 22, 2022
This Nolan Ryan Documentary Is a Love Story (and a Home Run)
'Facing Nolan' has all the high heat and bench-clearing brawls that MLB fans expect. But deep down, the film is about a beautiful marriage.
Sports
June 21, 2022
Have Racket, Will Travel: Seven Top Texas Tennis Resorts
From luxury spas to grueling drills, our state offers something for players of every persuasion.
Sports
June 21, 2022
Kayak Polo Is the Most Joyful, Adrenaline-Fueled, Raucous Sport You’ve Never Tried
Marco who? This is the ultimate water game.
By
Ben Rowen
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Sports
June 16, 2022
Meet the “Not Smart” Texans Who’ve Run a Marathon in All Fifty States
From chronic injuries to botched courses, members of the Texas-based 50 States Marathon Club go the distance to go the distance.
Sports
June 13, 2022
At 88, Poker Legend Doyle Brunson Is Still Bluffing. Or Is He?
The Texas gambler has been winning at poker for seventy years—long enough to become an icon and watch an outlaw’s game become an industry.
Sports
June 8, 2022
Texas Softball Looks to Beat the Odds One More Time
Their coach’s obscene gesture helped turn around their season, and now the Longhorns are two wins away from NCAA softball glory.
Best Thing In Texas
June 3, 2022
Texas’s Run of National Spelling Bee Dominance Continues
Harini Logan claimed the top spot last night, making her the seventh Texan spelling bee champ in the last ten years. T-E-X-A-S!
By
Dan Solomon
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Sports
May 19, 2022
Jimbo Fisher and Nick Saban Are Bickering Over Who Cheats Most
The Texas A&M football coach denied Saban’s claim that the Aggies “bought” all their players and called the accusation “despicable.”
By
Dan Solomon
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Sports
May 18, 2022
Luka Dončić and the Mavericks Are Ready for Their Close-up
For Dallas fans with "Cowboys fatigue," the Mavs' NBA playoff run to the Western Conference finals is a welcome antidote.
Best Thing In Texas
May 16, 2022
How ’Bout Them Mavs?
An all-time-great game seven offers a hint of how high Luka Dončić and the Dallas Mavericks can fly in the 2022 NBA playoffs.
By
Dan Solomon
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Sports
May 10, 2022
Austin FC and Los Verdes Preserve Latinidad in the Gentrified Capital
In a city famous for its transplants, Austin’s Major League Soccer team has created a space where longtime residents can feel at home.
Sports
May 6, 2022
Why Are the Spurs Playing Footsie With Austin?
The team's request to play more "home" games away from the AT&T Center raised familiar fears that San Antonio could lose its NBA franchise.
Sports
May 2, 2022
How an Insurance Salesman Wound Up Playing Goalie Against the Dallas Stars
“By the way, what’s the score?” asked NHL emergency backup goalie Thomas Hodges just before taking the ice.
Sports
May 2, 2022
A Day at the Races in Presidio
The quiet border town hosts amateur drag races at the Presidio International Raceway, featuring anything from souped-up muscle cars to pickup trucks.
Texas Country Reporter
April 29, 2022
After a Paralyzing Accident, This Texan Gets Back in the Race
Chris Morris broke his back during motocross practice, but that didn’t stop him from finding a new source of adrenaline and drive.
Sports
April 22, 2022
SMU Turned Eric Dickerson’s Gold Trans Am Into a Recruiting Image
Long a symbol of SMU football’s 1980s rule-breaking, the flashy car has become an edgy marketing strategy, and Dickerson loves it.
Sports
April 19, 2022
Will the Longhorns “Chase Money” in 2022, or Will They Chase Wins?
Amid an otherwise stellar off-season for UT football, a team leader’s public criticism has raised familiar questions about the program.
Sports
April 15, 2022
The 1950s Louisiana Law That Stalled Racial Progress in Texas Baseball
A decade after Jackie Robinson integrated MLB, Black Texas League players found themselves banned from competing at road games in Shreveport.
Sports
April 11, 2022
Scottie Scheffler Stays Hotter Than a Fur Coat in Marfa
The 25-year-old UT grad has won four of his last six PGA Tour events—and Sunday’s win wasn’t any old victory, it was the Masters.
Sports
April 7, 2022
Did the Rangers Splurge on Free Agents to Boost Their “Entertainment District”?
A former MLB front-office insider breaks down the business and baseball reasons behind the Texas Rangers' record-breaking off-season spending.
Sports
April 6, 2022
The Dream of an All-Texas MLB Rivalry Remains Distant
Even after a historic free-agency binge, the Texas Rangers have a long way to go before they catch up with the Houston Astros.