Sports
April 6, 2021
Texas’s Best (and Weirdest) Minor League Baseball Team Names, Ranked
We salute the Sugar Land Lightning Sloths, the Amarillo Sod Poodles, and their compatriots.
By Dan Solomon![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Sports
Vital analysis and news unpacking the world of Texas sports
Sports
April 5, 2021
Chris Beard Could Have Had a Statue in Lubbock, but He Chose UT Instead
Leaving a near-perfect situation at Texas Tech is an enormous risk for the once-beloved basketball coach, but Beard just might be good enough to succeed where other Longhorns coaches fell short.
Sports
April 2, 2021
Behind the Scenes of UT’s ‘The Eyes of Texas’ Controversy
In interviews with dozens of football coaches, athletic department officials, university administrators, and current and former Longhorn players, we found that the athletes were largely left to navigate the turmoil by themselves.
Sports
April 1, 2021
Sports Media Is Blowing the Coverage of Deshaun Watson
From local papers to national NFL media, reporting on the allegations against Watson reads like something from another generation.
By Dan Solomon![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Sports
April 1, 2021
Can New GM Chris Young Steer the Texas Rangers Back to the MLB Playoffs?
It's Opening Day, and the 6'10" journeyman pitcher and former Ranger has a tall task ahead of him as general manager.
Sports
April 1, 2021
“I Pray for Them to Lose”
Why some El Pasoans root for every Texas basketball team that isn’t UTEP to lose during March Madness.
Sports
March 25, 2021
“Some People Didn’t See This as a Championship Program”
Inside the University of Houston's basketball rebuild, as coach Kelvin Sampson and the Cougars prepare to face Syracuse in the Sweet 16.
Sports
March 25, 2021
Simone Biles on the Tokyo Olympics and the Outrageously Difficult Vault She Might Try There
She’s been practicing a Yurchenko double pike—a technique no woman has ever landed in competition.
Sports
March 23, 2021
2021 March Madness: Can Three Texas Teams Make the Women’s Final Four?
Texas, Texas A&M, and Baylor are still alive—and in separate regions—with a chance to make the national semifinals in San Antonio.
Sports
March 19, 2021
Meet All Seven Texas Teams in the 2021 Men’s NCAA Tournament
Can Baylor beat Gonzaga? Can UT or Houston make the Final Four? Will Abilene Christian or North Texas spring an upset?
Sports
March 15, 2021
Scott Drew Has Baylor Poised to Make Its First Final Four Since 1950
Despite Friday's loss to Oklahoma State, the Bears are still arguably the most experienced, versatile, and battle-tested team in the nation.
Sports
March 12, 2021
Believe It or Not, It’s Still College Football Season in Texas
FCS is the underdog division you should be following. Here's a handy guide.
Sports
March 12, 2021
How Austin FC Became Texas’s Most Popular Soccer Team—Before Ever Playing a Match
Sports fans in the capital city have long clamored for a pro team. Savvy marketing helped too.
Sports
March 10, 2021
The Texas Rangers Plan to Fill Their Stadium, Pandemic Be Damned
The team finished in last place in front of cardboard fans in 2020, but it’s the first in American pro sports to reopen to full capacity.
By Dan Solomon![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Sports
March 7, 2021
A University of Texas Report Will Find That ‘The Eyes of Texas’ Has “No Racist Intent”
Texas Monthly has learned that the report, to be released Tuesday morning, attempts to offer a nuanced history of the school’s alma mater, which some have criticized for its origins in a minstrel show.
Sports
February 3, 2021
Who Had the Better College Football Career, Sam Ehlinger or Kellen Mond?
The next time we’ll see the Longhorn and Aggie quarterbacks is at the NFL draft. How will fans remember them?
Sports
January 29, 2021
The Texans’ New Head Coach Deserves Better Than the Mess He’ll Inherit
David Culley’s arrival should inspire hope; instead, with a Deshaun Watson trade looming, there is no such thing as good news in Houston.
Sports
January 26, 2021
The Heck With Football, Texas Is a College Basketball State Now
With powerhouse teams in men’s and women’s hoops, maybe basketball is no longer just a way to pass time between fall and spring football.
Sports
January 21, 2021
Nobody Mattered to the Houston Astros Quite Like George Springer Did
The All-Star outfielder is headed to Toronto, and however the team tries to replace his production on the field, they won’t be able to replace Springer’s presence.
Sports
January 20, 2021
Broken Pelvises, Collapsed Lungs, and Decades of Winning: Barrel Racing’s Martha Josey Has Seen It All
Karnack’s “Queen of Sequins” brought style, success, and unprecedented longevity to her legendary rodeo career.
Sports
January 13, 2021
Houston Is America’s Saddest Sports City, Part Infinity
The curse of Houston is a curse of management, which makes it the saddest of all.
By Dan Solomon![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Sports
January 12, 2021
The Houston Texans Can’t Afford to Squander Another Year of Deshaun Watson’s Career
Maybe Deshaun Watson has had enough of the Houston Texans. Enough losing, enough playoff meltdowns, enough dumb trades, enough physical beatdowns. Maybe it’s as simple as that.He may see J.J. Watt as a cautionary tale, a great player who wasted his best years on losing teams, and Watson doesn’t want
Sports
January 7, 2021
Texas’s Newest Wrestling Venture Elevates Women Inside the Ring and Behind the Scenes
“We can sell. And we need to be respected.”
Sports
January 7, 2021
What Was the Point of UT Hiring Steve Sarkisian to Replace Head Football Coach Tom Herman?
Six questions to ponder about the Longhorns' coaching switcheroo, while we wait for Sarkisian to arrive in Austin.
Sports
January 5, 2021
The Texans Can Go Ahead and Retire J.J. Watt’s Number Now
The superstar defensive end has probably played his last game for the Houston Texans. They should remember him properly.
By Dan Solomon![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Sports
January 4, 2021
The Old Mack’s Still Got It
Mack Brown's UNC Tar Heels fell to Texas A&M in the Orange Bowl, but the former UT coach's personal touch remains strong as ever.
Sports
December 30, 2020
The Best and Worst Things in Texas College Football This Season
From Tom Herman to Houston Baptist to the Rose Bowl in North Texas, here's everything that made the 2020 season surprising and ridiculous.
Sports
December 29, 2020
Can the Texas Longhorns Still Be a National Football Powerhouse?
The Longhorns' disappointing 6–3 season closes against Colorado in tonight's Alamo Bowl; but is the program's future any brighter?
Sports
December 18, 2020
Here’s How Texas A&M Can Make the College Football Playoff
Even if it doesn’t happen, Jimbo Fisher’s Aggies are back in the national conversation for the first time since Johnny Manziel’s Heisman.
Sports
December 17, 2020
In ‘The Infinite Race,’ Indigenous Athletes Tell Their Own Stories
Inspired by a 2017 Texas Monthly feature, the new documentary for ESPN’s ‘30 for 30’ series is as spiritual as it is political.
Sports
December 11, 2020
If UT Gets a New Football Coach, We Have Ideas About Who it Might Be
From James Franklin and Matt Campbell to Urban Meyer to someone you may not have thought of, the season of coaching rumors is upon us.
Sports
December 10, 2020
This Texan Rhodes Scholar Says Boxing Taught Her “Grit and Resilience”
A nationally competitive boxer and Rowlett native, she’s one of three Texans to earn the elite scholarship this year.
Sports
December 9, 2020
Fred Akers, 1938–2020: A Remembrance
The former Texas Longhorns head coach was “one of those guys ... you realize that part of your lifestyle is based on things you learned from him."
Sports
December 7, 2020
Why Boxing’s Biggest Events Have Found Their Way to Texas During the Pandemic
The answer can be found in the large crowd that attended DeSoto native Errol Spence's win over Danny Garcia.
Best Thing In Texas
November 30, 2020
The Best Thing in Texas: Detroit Lions Fans Are Donating to Deshaun Watson’s Charity to Thank Him for the Whupping He Gave Their Team
The Lions have been mired in mediocrity—but Deshaun and the Texans may have helped break the fever.
By Dan Solomon![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Sports
November 20, 2020
A Brief History of Dallas Cowboys Quarterback Garrett Gilbert
From Lake Travis High School hype to UT and SMU to stints on seven NFL teams, Garrett Gilbert's winding road back to Dallas.
Books
November 20, 2020
The Thrills of Houston’s 1970s-Era Friday Night Wrestling Come Alive in a Stunning Photo Book
Nearly fifty years ago, photographer Geoff Winningham spent months documenting wrestlers, and the fans who cheered them on, for his book ‘Friday Night in the Coliseum.’
Sports
November 18, 2020
The Winding Saga of Austin’s MLS Team Now Includes Jerseys
The team’s uniforms are the latest milestone in the club’s journey to the state’s capital.
By Dan Solomon![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Sports
November 14, 2020
The San Antonio Spurs Finally Unveil a Longtime Fan Favorite: The Fiesta Jersey
For years, Spurs diehards have been begging for the classic colorway to come back. Now, the franchise is delivering.
By Cat Cardenas![Cat Cardenas's Profile Photo]()
Books
November 13, 2020
A Riveting New Photo Book Shares Vulnerable Portraits of the Football Team That Inspired ‘Friday Night Lights’
Thirty years after Buzz Bissinger’s bestseller chronicled the Permian Panthers’ 1988 season, these black and white photos are as compelling as ever.
Sports
November 12, 2020
Becky Hammon on the Spurs, the WNBA, and the Mural of Her Face in San Antonio
The NBA’s first female assistant coach is the star of a new 60-second documentary.
By Dan Solomon![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Film & TV
November 4, 2020
Olympic Protester Tommie Smith Reclaims His Legacy in a New Documentary
The Texan athlete, who famously raised his fist on the medal stand at the 1968 Olympics, is the subject of a new film premiering this week on Starz.
Sports
November 2, 2020
The Houston Roots of the Mastermind Behind the L.A. Dodgers’ World Series Win
Family, high-school coaches, and former teammates recall the autograph-hunting, base-stealing baseball youth of Andrew Friedman.
Music
October 23, 2020
Meet One of the Rangers Who Made It to the World Series—The Team’s DJ
This year, Michael Gruber learned to work Rangers games without fans. His new gig is a World Series without the Rangers.
Sports
October 16, 2020
Why UT’s Administration Is Digging in Its Heels on ‘The Eyes of Texas’
After the football team’s latest loss, the coach and most of his players are at odds with the athletics director and many fans and supporters over the university’s controversial spirit song.
By Dan Solomon![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Sports
October 15, 2020
Why the University of Texas Shouldn’t Fire Tom Herman
The eyes of Texas are upon him indeed, but yet another pricey coaching change won’t fix what ails the Longhorns.
Sports
October 13, 2020
Being a Houston Astros Fan in 2020 Is Complicated
As a longtime fan, I haven’t forgiven the team for cheating, but the Astros are bigger than a handful of players or a few seasons of baseball.
Sports
October 2, 2020
How High School Quarterbacks Prepared for the Strangest Season in Football History
They faced a shortened season filled with cancellations and uncertainty. It didn’t stop some of the state’s top athletes from finding new ways to keep working.
Books
September 28, 2020
‘Loving Sports When They Don’t Love You Back’ Is an Ethical Guide for Fans
Authors Jessica Luther and Kavitha A. Davidson say it's time for sports fans to grapple with the industry's systemic injustices.
Sports
September 24, 2020
It’s Not Too Late to Jump on the Dallas Stars Bandwagon: A Stanley Cup Final Guide
The Texas team is playing in the final for the first time in 20 years. Here’s a few things to know.