Sports

May 7, 2021

Why Team Canada’s Under-18 Hockey Coach Can’t Seem to Quit Texas

From the Dallas Stars to the Houston Aeros to this week's world title with Team Canada, the Toronto native can't quit our state.

Jaylen Waddle poses with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell onstage after being selected with the sixth pick by the Miami Dolphins during round one of the 2021 NFL Draft at the Great Lakes Science Center on April 29, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio.

May 4, 2021

From a Private Harris County High School, Three Players Appear to Be NFL-Bound

From 1983 to 2020, Houston’s Episcopal High School produced just two NFL players. In 2021, Jaylen Waddle, Walker Little, and Marvin Wilson are all on their way to NFL careers.

Sam Houston State University playing against McNeese State on April 10.

April 30, 2021

Texas’s Biggest College Football Game of the Season Is Sunday in Huntsville

The Sam Houston Bearkats are hosting the defending FCS champions from North Dakota State in the national quarterfinals.

Mavrello, the new mascot of the Mavericks.

April 29, 2021

Is That a Rejected Pixar Character on a Three-Day Bender? No, It’s Mavrello, the Dallas Mavericks’ New Mascot!

Meet Mavrello, the NBA franchise's latest attempt to engage Gen Z fans and inspire a million memes along the way.

Jerry LeVias with Bob Hope, Homecoming 1968.

April 29, 2021

A New Sports History Book Shows How Texas Athletes Have Always Fought for Equality

In ‘The Sports Revolution,’ Frank Guridy revisits the 1960s and ’70s, when Black, Latino, and female athletes pushed for change.

April 29, 2021

Where Did All the NFL Draft Prospects From Texas Schools Go?

With only TCU's Trevon Moehrig projected to go in the first round, Thursday's draft won't bring much home-state pride to fans.

Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey talks with guard Trinity Oliver (3) during an NCAA college basketball game against Iowa State, Sunday, March 8, 2020, in Ames, Iowa.

April 26, 2021

Kim Mulkey Made Texas Fall in Love With Women’s College Hoops

After 21 years in Waco, the coach who led Baylor to three NCAA titles is headed to her home state of Louisiana to take over at LSU.

Sam Ehlinger during a game against Louisiana Tech in Austin on August 31, 2019.

April 23, 2021

“You Can’t Fake the Real”

An interview with the outgoing Longhorns quarterback touches on playing through the pandemic and learning to be vulnerable with teammates.

Jerry Jones at a news conference in Frisco on March 10, 2021.

April 19, 2021

The Dallas Cowboys NFL Draft Mantra: ‘Jerry Is Going to Get it Right This Year …’

It's a tradition unlike any other: rookies, free-agent signings, and convincing football fans their team is on the upswing.

April 13, 2021

Texas Amateurs Shake Off Ring Rust at USA Boxing National Championships

El Paso’s Kayla Gomez and Houston’s Jarvis Winn returned to the ring after COVID-19 upended amateur boxing for nearly all of last year.

By Rachel Fairbank

Fans pose with a sign against the Houston Astros during the game with the Oakland Athletics at RingCentral Coliseum on April 02, 2021 in Oakland, California.

April 12, 2021

Hey, Astros: Get Ready for a Full Season of Raining Trash Cans and “Houston Asterisks” Signs

From tossing trash cans to renaming the Astros the “Houston Asterisks,” baseball fans won’t let Houston forget the 2017 cheating scandal.

Boban Marjanović, #51 of the Dallas Mavericks, warms up before a game on February 25, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

April 8, 2021

Look at How Many Fishy Crackers Boban Can Hold in His Hand

The cracker company’s new promotion determined that the 7’4” NBA player can hold 301 Goldfish in one handful.

Head coach Scott Drew and the Baylor Bears after winning the National Championship game of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament on April 05, 2021.

April 7, 2021

A Player on Scott Drew’s First Baylor Team Watches the Bears Win It All

Matt Sayman reflects on Baylor’s challenging 2003–04 season, and how it helped lead to the school’s NCAA Championship win Monday night.

By Matt Sayman

Texas minor league baseball: Amarillo Sod Poodles vs. Midland Rockhounds.

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.

Chris Beard at a Texas Tech NCAA National Championship game in 2019

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.

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.

By Joe Levin and Ivan Maisel

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) looks on in action during a game between the Chicago Bears and the Houston Texans on December 13, 2020, at Soldier Field in Chicago, IL.

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.

Chris Young #49 of the Texas Rangers pitches against the Oakland Athletics during an MLB game at McAfee Coliseum on May 3, 2005 in Oakland, California.

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.

By Roberto José Andrade Franco

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.

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.

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.

By Dvora Meyers

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.

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?

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.

Sam Houston State Bearkats quarterback Mike Dare (10) passes during a game between the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks and Sam Houston State Bearkats in Huntsville on September 15, 2018.

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.

Practice for La Murga de Austin, the Austin FC band, in the stadium parking lot on March 9.

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.

By Bryan C. Parker

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.

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.

By Joe Levin and Ivan Maisel

Sam Ehlinger and Kellen Mond Texas Football

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?

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.

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.

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.

Martha Josey hugs her horse Cutter at Josey Ranch, in Marshall, on December 17, 2020.

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.

By Laura Beil

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.

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