HARRIS COUNTY - HSA INSIDER
Harris County-Houston Sports Authority: Houston’s Olympic Day
Patti Smith
Jun 1, 2018, 2:25 pm
Houston's Olympic Day will take place on June 23. Courtesy Harris County-Houston Sports Authority
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Nia Abdallah had always loved to watch Marion Jones run and admits she was an unabashed fan.
So imagine Abdallah’s surprise when she was struggling to finish a bit of work at the track one day during the 2004 Olympic Games and happened on Jones stretching. Jones looked up knew what Abdallah was thinking—she was tired and ready to pack it in.
Jones told her to keep going.
That was the moment Abdallah realized the power of Jones’ words; the power of what just a passing comment from an Olympian can do for a younger athlete.
Abdallah, who graduated from Aldine Carver, kept running that day and went on to win the silver medal in Taekwando at those Games, making her the first woman to win an Olympic medal in that event.
Today the 34-year-old smiles as she remembers that day and how it led to another.
Fast forward to the 2012 Olympic Trials when Paige McPherson beat Abdallah out for a spot on the team. McPherson had been a timid kid a few years before, wanting Abdallah’s autograph and just wanting to be around her. McPherson went on to win the bronze in London.
“It’s cool to see,’’ Abdallah said. “It’s nice to see it come full circle.’’
That’s the thing about Olympians. They share, they pass it on. It’s not just about showing off your medal in a seminar; not just telling a young kid what to do. Instead, Olympians like Abdallah reach out and touch those kids and inspire them, like Jones did for her and she did for McPherson.
About a dozen former Olympians got together Thursday night, in part, to kick off awareness for Olympic Day June 23.
The event is an international day when Olympians from 160 countries celebrate by holding events around the world to celebrate the birth of the modern Games and introduce kids to Olympic sports.
Houston’s Olympic chapter will host its event at Moody Community Center that day from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. and more than 20 Olympians will be there to demonstrate their sports to more than 300 children.
“With Olympians, it’s not just about the sport, but about the passion,’’ said former sprinter and University of Houston track coach Leroy Burrell, who won gold in the 4X100-meter relay at 1992 Games. “Olympians get one moment every four years to shine.’’
Burrell is married to former sprinter Michelle Finn Burrell, who won gold in the women’s 4X100 in 1992, too. Their son Cameron, a UH sprinter, is a budding Olympian.
That passion is what those Olympians impart to the kids on Olympic Day. Abdallah, who is a coach and motivational speaker, has participated in every Houston Olympic Day and is amazed at the incredible power of a group of Olympians talking about their sports.
Houston’s list of participants in the June 23 event include Abdallah, the Burrells, Houston Olympians and Para Olympians chapter president Jackie Washington, Olympic bobsledders Seun Adigun and Sam McGuffie, Zina Garrison (tennis) and Jonathan Horton (gymnastics).
Adigun, who competed at UH, is the first athlete to compete in both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. The Nigerian-American competed for Nigeria in the 2012 Summer Games in the 100-meter hurdles, then formed the Bobsled and Skeleton Foundation of Nigeria and competed in the bobsled in the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang in February.
If you are interested in participating or helping sponsor Houston’s Olympic Day, contact Meredith Pardue at mpardue@houstonsports.org.
What looked like a minor blip after an emotional series win in Los Angeles has turned into something more concerning for the Houston Astros.
Swept at home by a Guardians team that came in riding a 10-game losing streak, the Astros were left looking exposed. Not exhausted, as injuries, underperformance, and questionable decision-making converged to hand Houston one of its most frustrating series losses of the year.
Depth finally runs dry
It would be easy to point to a “Dodger hangover” as the culprit, the emotional peak of an 18-1 win at Chavez Ravine followed by a mental lull. But that’s not the story here.
Houston’s energy was still evident, especially in the first two games of the series, where the offense scored five or more runs each time. Including those, the Astros had reached that mark in eight of their last 10 games heading into Wednesday’s finale.
But scoring isn’t everything, not when a lineup held together by duct tape and desperation is missing Christian Walker and Jake Meyers and getting critical at-bats from Cooper Hummel, Zack Short, and other journeymen.
The lack of depth finally showed. The Astros, for three days, looked more like a Triple-A squad with Jose Altuve and a couple big-league regulars sprinkled in.
Cracks in the pitching core
And the thing that had been keeping this team afloat, elite pitching, finally buckled.
Hunter Brown and Josh Hader, both dominant all season, finally cracked. Brown gave up six runs in six innings, raising his pristine 1.82 ERA to 2.21. Hader wasn’t spared either, coughing up a game-losing grand slam in extra innings that inflated his ERA from 1.80 to 2.38 in one night.
But the struggles weren’t isolated. Bennett Sousa, Kaleb Ort, and Steven Okert each gave up runs at critical moments. The bullpen’s collective fade could not have come at a worse time for a team already walking a tightrope.
Injury handling under fire
Houston’s injury management is also drawing heat, and rightfully so. Jake Meyers, who had been nursing a calf strain, started Wednesday’s finale. He didn’t even make it through one pitch before aggravating the injury and needing to be helped off the field.
No imaging before playing him. No cautionary rest despite the All-Star break looming. Just a rushed return in a banged-up lineup, and it backfired immediately.
Second-guessing has turned to outright criticism of the Astros’ medical staff, as fans and analysts alike wonder whether these mounting injuries are being made worse by how the club is handling them.
Pressure mounts on Dana Brown
All eyes now turn to Astros GM Dana Brown. The Astros are limping into the break with no clear reinforcements on the immediate horizon. Only Chas McCormick is currently rehabbing in Sugar Land. Everyone else? Still sidelined.
Brown will need to act — and soon.
At a minimum, calling up top prospect Brice Matthews makes sense. He’s been mashing in Triple-A (.283/.400/.476, 10 HR, .876 OPS) and could play second base while Jose Altuve shifts to left field more regularly. With Mauricio Dubón stretched thin between shortstop and center, injecting Matthews’ upside into the infield is a logical step.
*Editor's note: The Astros must be listening, Matthews was called up Thursday afternoon!
The Astros are calling up Brice Matthews, their top prospect on @MLBPipeline
via @brianmctaggart pic.twitter.com/K91cGKkcx6
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 10, 2025
There’s also trade chatter, most notably about Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins, but excitement has been tepid. His numbers don’t jump off the page, but compared to who the Astros are fielding now, Mullins would be a clear upgrade and a much-needed big-league presence.
A final test before the break
Before the All-Star reset, Houston gets one last chance to stabilize the ship, and it comes in the form of a rivalry series against the Texas Rangers. The Astros will send their top trio — Lance McCullers Jr., Framber Valdez, and Hunter Brown — to the mound for a three-game set that will test their resolve, their health, and perhaps their postseason aspirations.
The Silver Boot is up for grabs. So is momentum. And maybe, clarity on just how far this version of the Astros can go.
There's so much more to discuss! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday.
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*ChatGPT assisted.
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