HARRIS COUNTY-HOUSTON SPORTS AUTHORITY INSIDER
UH's Oliver adds to Houston's long, glorious history with Sports Illustrated cover shots
Aug 10, 2018, 6:40 am
Who can forget the 2014 SI Cover? Courtesy photo
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There’s a new cover boy in town.
Yes, Houston Cougar junior defensive tackle Ed Oliver, one of the best players in the game and potential No. 1 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, graces one of the four regional Sports Illustrated College Football Preview issues this week. The Big Boss, as the headline says, is the second Cougar in three years to land on the SI preview cover. Greg Ward, Jr., made it in 2016.
All of which got us to thinking. Not about those dreaded cover jinxes. Just about SI covers period.
Specifically, we started pondering Houstonians who have graced the cover of SI’s wide range of imprints over the years. So we dug a little deeper into the subject, casting a wide #HoustonStrong net across the Internet to encompass players, teams, athletes who trained in Houston and Houston natives. We also counted those athletes when they played in college or when they were with other professional teams.
Plus we counted covers from all the SI publications we could find, including SI for Kids, Where Are They Now and other specialty imprints. We also added those covers where someone shared the cover.
What we found on our probably imperfect search might surprise you. At the very least, it will give you a few interesting tidbits to toss around with your friends.
The first cover that came to mind was a no-brainer. SI predicted back in 2014 – with George Springer on the cover – that our Houston Astros would win the 2017 World Series. They did it and wound up not only with a celebration cover, but also one with Series MVP Springer and likely – at the time – AL MVP Jose Altuve on another cover.
It got better a few months later when Altuve shared a #HoustonStrong Sportsperson of the Year cover with Texans defensive end J.J. Watt.
But you knew about those.
What you might not know? Here goes. . .
* The Houstonian with the most combined covers? Vince Young with nine. Eight of those covers of the Madison High grad came in a University of Texas uniform; one as a Tennessee Titan.
* No. 2? Nolan Ryan with eight. None of them came in an Astros uniform.
* Boxer George Foreman and Roger Clemens are tied with seven each (only one of Clemens’ covers was in an Astros uniform) and the legendary A.J. Foyt and Carl Lewis were each on covers six times.
* Earl Campbell and Watt come in with five each, followed by Hakeem Olajuwon, James Harden, Justin Verlander, Deshaun Watson and Yao Ming. Altuve has three; Michael Strahan has two.
* Who could forget Mary Lou Retton’s “Only You, Mary Lou” cover from the 1984 Olympic Games? She shared the Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year cover with Edwin Moses later that year. Simone Biles and UH quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware were also on two covers.
* Houston Comets Sheryl Swoopes (three) and Cynthia Cooper (two) were both on covers, too.
* In the summer of 2015, SI did something different, giving each member of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team her own cover, including then-Houston Dash stars Carli Lloyd, Meghan Klingenberg and Morgan Brian.
* The first Houston cover we could find was Foyt on June 1, 1964, followed by Oilers QB Don Trull on the August 17, 1964 cover. Yes, Jackie Burke won the Masters in 1956, but the cover that week went to another golfer -- Curtis Cup star Barbara Romack.
* The first Houston Astros cover? Future Hall of Famer/second baseman Joe Morgan and shortstop Sonny Jackson were featured with the headline – “Astros in Orbit” – on the June 5, 1966 cover.
* We can’t forget the January 29, 1968 cover from the Game of the Century where UH’s Elvin Hayes shoots over UCLA’s Lew Alcindor/ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Houston’s 71-69 win. Headline was “Big EEEE over Big Lew.”
Some other Houston stars with at least one SI cover moment? Clyde Drexler, Fred Couples, Warren Moon, Dan Pastorini (he was being sacked by Pittsburgh’s L.C. Greenwood), Ralph Sampson, Thurman Thomas and David Klingler.
* And, while she’s not a Houston athlete, model Kate Upton is Mrs. Justin Verlander. She has been on three SI swimsuit covers and one regular cover with then-Atlanta Braves B.J. and Justin Upton.
Finally, we leave you with one more tidbit. Just so you know, the top four athletes with the most SI (only) covers are Michael Jordan (50), Muhammad Ali (40), LeBron James (25) and Tiger Woods (24). And if you add the times those four were on the other imprints too? We’ll leave that up to you. We’re out of time – and space.
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NFL insiders hint at eye-opening future for Houston Texans offense
Dec 7, 2024, 2:38 pm
C.J. Stroud faced criticism in Houston's last few games as the Texans hit a rough patch after losing just two of their first eight games.
But the second-year quarterback remained confident and his strong performance last Sunday helped the Texans (8-5) to a 23-20 win over the Jaguars to enter their bye with a two-game lead atop the AFC South.
“When he is leading and playing the way he is playing, our entire team feeds off of him,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “I am excited for his second year. I think he is showing a ton of growth, he is in a really great spot for us physically, mentally. I really love where he is and I am excited to see how he comes back after the break.”
Stroud threw for 242 yards and a touchdown against Jacksonville to leave him ranked fourth in the NFL with 3,117 yards passing this season. That game came after he threw two interceptions in a 32-27 loss to Tennessee a week before for the team’s third loss in four games.
Those two interceptions brought his season total to nine, which are four more than he threw in 15 games a rookie. But the Texans aren’t worried about that statistic and believe he has grown in his second year.
“He’s made a lot of progress,” general manager Nick Caserio said. “There are some plays, like all of our players, that we probably wish he could have back, but happy he’s our quarterback, happy with what he brings to the table. ... Wouldn’t want anyone else leading this team.”
The Texans are in position to win their division for a second straight season despite dealing with several significant injuries on offense. Running back Joe Mixon missed three games early with an ankle injury and leading receiver Nico Collins was sidelined for five games with a hamstring injury.
They also lost four-time Pro Bowler Stefon Diggs for the season when tore an ACL in Week 8.
Mixon leads the team with 887 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns and has added four touchdown receptions. His work in his first season in Houston after a trade from Cincinnati has helped the team deal with those significant injuries to the receiving corps.
Mixon ranks third in the NFL by averaging 88.7 yards rushing a game and has had at least 100 yards rushing in seven games.
Stroud has continually raved about Mixon’s contributions on and off the field.
“He’s a servant, a helper,” Stroud said. “That’s ultimately what I want to be as well. Who can I serve and how can I help? That’s ultimately what the game of football is.”
While Mixon has been the team’s most important new acquisition on offense, Danielle Hunter has been Houston’s new defensive star. The defensive end spent his first eight seasons in Minnesota before joining the Texans this year.
He has helped Houston lead the NFL with 84 tackles for loss after piling up 15 this season, which is tied for third most in the league. He also leads the Texans with 10½ sacks to help them rank second with 42.
Hunter been a great addition to a team that already had defensive end Will Anderson Jr., last year’s AP Defensive Rookie of the Year. Anderson ranks second to Hunter on the team with 13 tackles for loss and 9½ sacks.
Ryans said this week’s break is much needed for a team that opened the preseason on Aug. 1 in the Hall of Fame game.
“It’s here and we’re going to take advantage of it,” he said. “We’ve been going at it for a long time.”
The Texans need to recharge this week with a brutal stretch of three games in 10 days when they return from their bye. Houston hosts Miami on Dec. 15 before a trip to Kansas City on Dec. 21 and a visit from the Ravens on Christmas Day.
“It’s Christmas and all that, but we can’t worry about that. All we can do is focus on Miami,” Caserio said. “And then when we get through the Miami game, then we kind of turn the page to the next. ... We’re either going to earn it or we’re not. Not to oversimplify it, but that’s the truth.”
The Texans will play those game without starting linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair after he received a three-game suspension for his violent hit to the head of Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence, which led to a concussion.
Al-Shaair will be eligible to return for Houston’s regular-season finale against Tennessee.