HARRIS COUNTY - HSA INSIDER
A weekly look at all things Houston sports from the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority: City pursues women's Final 4
Patti Smith
Jan 19, 2018, 8:34 am
The women's Final 4 is a big event. NCAA.com
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Could the third time be the charm?
Houston hopes so.
The fourth-largest city in the country has hosted Men’s Final Fours, Super Bowls and World Championships and now it is a finalist to host one of the premier women’s events in the country – the Women’s Final Four.
The NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Committee announced Thursday that Houston was one of the eight finalist bid cities for the 2021-2024 Final Fours. Houston didn’t make the cut the first time it bid in 2011 and, in 2014, made the finals but did not get selected.
And now? Well, Houston has a pretty impressive pitch, which includes the downtown footprint used for both the 2016 Men’s Final Four and Super Bowl LI.
“We have the George R. Brown Convention Center, Discovery Green and Toyota Center,’’ said Holly Kesterson, Senior Events Manager for the Harris County – Houston Sports Authority. “We were able to utilize the convention center and Discovery Green for Men’s Final Four, but they played in NRG Arena. The women would get the whole downtown experience.’’
In addition, Houston has a strong women’s presence with groups around the city, including WISE (Women in Sports and Events). “We have a huge platform for women to come together,’’ Kesterson said.
The women’s event is smaller and more of an arena event than the men’s event, which means it is open to many more cities. This year, Columbus, OH, will host the 2018 Women’s Final Four.
In Toyota Center, Houston has a NBA facility and that, along with the hotels and event opportunities downtown could combine for an impressive event.
Kesterson and others have already met with NCAA officials and had numerous discussions. The final bid is due in April and the NCAA will conduct site visits in July or August to see the planning in person.
“We’ll have the chance to show the NCAA the depth of what we have,’’ Kesterson said.
The NCAA’s final decision will come in October.
Houston will partner with Texas A&M as a host institution, but all the local universities will also be a part of the event.
The other cities in the final eight are Cleveland, Dallas, Indianapolis, Kansas City (Missouri), Minneapolis, Nashville and San Antonio. Indianapolis has hosted three Women’s Final Fours (2005, 2011, 2016), while San Antonio has hosted two (2002, 2010). Dallas, which hosted the 2017 Women’s Final Four, joins Cleveland, Kansas City, Minneapolis and Nashville as cities that have all hosted one Women’s Final Four.
“We were encouraged by the number and quality of potential host cities for the Women’s Final Four,” said Rhonda Lundin Bennett, chair of the Division I Women’s Basketball Committee and senior associate athletics director and senior woman administrator at the University of Nevada.
“The Women’s Final Four selection process will ultimately identify those cities that have the enthusiasm and energy to continue to build the legacy of one of America’s premier women’s sporting events.”
Houston has certainly demonstrated the enthusiasm and energy in hosting previous events here and would love to show off that same commitment and #HoustonStrong attitude for a Women’s Final Four.
Will the third time be the charm for Houston? Stay tuned.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.