MARCH MADNESS
Here's the driving force behind the spectacular rebirth of a storied Houston program
Mar 16, 2022, 11:12 am
The Cougars face off against University of Alabama-Birmingham on Friday. Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images.
To borrow from Charles Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities, last Sunday was the best of times and the worst of times for Houston basketball fans.
That same day, the University of Houston Cougars breezed 71-53 past the Memphis Tigers and won the American Athletic Conference tournament. That same day the Houston Rockets got plastered 130-105 by the New Orleans Pelicans and thudded to the worst record in the NBA.
You know what that makes the City of Houston, right? We’re Even Steven. One team is sky-high and is headed to March Madness, the other can’t sink any lower and is praying for a lucky ping-pong ball.
Let’s accentuate the positive. It’s sort of hard to believe, but this is the first time since 1992 that the Cougars won both their conference regular season title and year-end tournament. Despite losing four players from their Final Four team of 2021 and missing two of their best returnees, guards Marcus Sasser and Tramon Mark, to injury, the Cougars finished 29-5, their second-highest win total ever, surpassed only by the 33-4 team from 2018-19.
The 5-seed Cougars start their road back to the Final Four against USA Conference champs University of Alabama-Birmingham at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. It’s a perilous 5-12 matchup, but the Cougars have talent and experience on their side. UAB is making its first Madness appearance since 2015. The Coogs are favored by 8.5 points. The game will be televised on TNT starting at 8:20 p.m. Friday. If Houston wins they will play the winner of No. 4 Illinois vs. No. 13 Chattanooga on Sunday.
Kelvin Sampson was hired as UH’s head basketball coach in 2014. Let’s see how it’s worked out. The Cougars have won 196 games and lost 69 times. They’ve won at least 21 games each season since 2015, averaging 26 victories. In 2018, they finished in the national Top 25 rankings for the first time since Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler drove UH to Final Fours in the early ‘80s. In 2019 UH won a school record 33 games.
During Sampson’s tenure, UH has built a $25 million practice facility and spent $60 million renovating Hofheinz Pavilion, now called the Fertitta Center for obvious reasons. When it comes to renaming an athletic arena, nothing is more obvious than a big fat donation.
Kelvin Sampson has restored UH’s basketball glimmer and glory, the Cougars are a national powerhouse, prepared for their promotion to the Big 12 as soon as next year.
Maybe it’s time to erect a statue of Sampson outside the Fertitta Center. He represents the honor of UH athletics and the soul of our city.
There’s so much to like about the guy. His son Kellen is an assistant coach of UH basketball. Daughter Lauren is UH’s Director of Basketball Operations. Wife Karen bakes chocolate chip cookies for the players. The night before a home game, Sampson invites the team to his house for dinner and camaraderie.
Not that you need any more reasons to like and respect Sampson, but here’s my No. 1. He loves dogs. In fact …
I met Sampson in 2016 when someone tipped me, “Kelvin Sampson has a dog named Fajita who’s 20 years old and there’s no stronger love on Earth than those two.” I contacted the tough, rough, no-nonsense coach.
"Fajita has my heart," Sampson said. "I love his unconditional love. He has grown up with Lauren and Kellen and so many of my teams. He is such a loyal and loving friend. My whole family loves him as much as I do. I have a hard time envisioning life without him. Twenty-plus years is a long time. He has been a great friend.
"I named him Fajita because that's my favorite Mexican food - and he's a Mexican Chihuahua. Fajita has appeared with me and my family on College Game Day. The crew - Jay Bilas, Sean McDonough and Bill Raftery - all made a big fuss over Fajita at my house. In the early 2000s, Whitey Herzog, manager of the St. Louis Cardinals would come over and watch basketball games. Fajita sat with us and watched the games, too."
Kellen always knew his ranking on the Sampson family depth chart.
"Fajita's well-being and quality of life has been his primary concern for a long time. Hearing him refer to Fajita as 'my boy' always let me know exactly where I stand,” Kellen said
Fajita passed away a year later. Sampson was devastated and didn’t know if he could adopt another dog to replace Fajita.
He could and he did.
“My parents did get a new dog! Her name is Roxie!” Lauren Sampson reported.
Poor Kellen, knocked down another peg. It’s nothing another Final Four appearance wouldn’t soothe, though.
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How latest Astros events highlight serious concerns around core philosophies
May 22, 2025, 12:59 pm
Two seasons ago the Astros were oddly feeble at home and warriors on the road. Now, this season is headed nowhere if they can't pick it up away from Daikin Park. In the first week of April, the Astros won their initial road series of the season. It will be June before they win another. Well, presumably June. Approaching seven weeks since they took a series at Minnesota, it's now seven consecutive road stops without a series victory. In six straight three-game road series the Astros have lost two out of three, including at the laughingstock White Sox. They did split the four-game set in Arlington against the Rangers last weekend. The Astros’ road record is 10-15.
Now they're home for 10 in a row, starting with four versus the team the Astros look up at in the American League West standings. The Seattle Mariners hit town three and a half games ahead of the Astros. Last June, the Astros trailed the Mariners by 10 games and wound up winning the division. Expecting a sequel as good as an original usually is not a good idea. Winning this series is certainly not a necessity given the season still only reaches its one-third completed mark this coming Tuesday. Still, at least getting a split is advised, or the Astros are looking at falling five and half games off the lead should the Mariners win three out of four, seven and a half back should Seattle sweep. But flip the script. If the Astros sweep, they go to bed Sunday night leading the division. Taking three out four would be just fine, and have the Astros within a game and a half of first.
The Astros are carrying a payroll roughly 75 million dollars larger than that of the Mariners. The M’s have a farm system (currently one of the highest rated among the franchises) vastly superior to what the Astros have (one of the worst systems in the sport). So if Mariners’ ownership opted to loosen the purse strings in pursuit of in season talent infusions, the M’s are way better positioned to make an impact move than are the Astros. Just remember, even if the Mariners are going to pull away, the wild card picture does not have three teams that are obviously ultimately better than the Astros.
Positive vibes only
If you're into good luck charms, dig up a four-leaf clover or find a rabbit's foot, then cross your fingers where Ronel Blanco is concerned. It is quite an ominous sign that the Astros sent Blanco back to Houston a day early after he reported soreness in his pitching elbow. I mean, who would be surprised to hear that Blanco is done for the season a la Hayden Wesneski. It's increasingly essential that Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez hold up physically and qualitatively the rest of the way. That Brown had his worst start of the season Wednesday in Tampa is no big deal. It's called being human. The Rays torching him for three home runs and five runs in five innings spiked Brown's earned run average all the way up to 2.04. Ooooh. Brown has been fantastic.
The Astros underestimated how long Spencer Arrighetti would be out. Shocking! Some boost from him seems necessary. There is only so much the Astros can reasonably hope for out of Lance McCullers, and the likes of Colton Gordon and Brandon Walter. That either Cristian Javier or Luis Garcia makes it back by, say, August is a best-case scenario. Then it would be hope about level of performance. The Astros hold no monopoly on serial pitching injuries. The Mariners have lost three-fifths of their stout starting rotation. George Kirby making his first 2025 start Thursday is a boost for them. Logan Gilbert and Bryce Miller are both still out.
Heart of the matter
Among the core frustrations for Astros’ fans are the continued crummy overall performances of Jose Altuve, Christian Walker, and Yainer Diaz. If it turns out that the 35-year-old Altuve has truly fallen over the hill as opposed to just enduring an extended deep slump that would be an obvious bummer. The same with the 34-year-old Walker though there is no emotional tug for Astros’ fans with Walker as there is with Altuve. Yainer Diaz is just 26. His regression is troubling, perhaps low-lighted by his one walk in his last 33 games played, four walks for the season in 170 plate appearances. That’s pathetic. Yainer, Victor Caratini, and Astros’ pitchers have collectively done a brutal job at dealing with opposition running games. The Astros have given up 62 stolen bases in 67 attempts, with one of the five caught stealings a pickoff, another a botched double steal.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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