minute maid magic

5 magical moments from the Houston Astros World Series win

Lance McCullers, Jr. Kara McCullers Ava World Series

Lance McCullers, Jr. shares a moment with wife Kara and daughter Ava.

Photo by Steven Devadanam

As the city settles into the warm afterglow of its second World Series title courtesy of the Houston Astros, we look back at some of the best moments of Game 6 on Saturday, November 5. Not surprisingly, some of the most magical memories came from the Astros we joined who also celebrated the first World Series title in 2017: José Altuve, Alex Bregman, and Lance McCullers, Jr.

Alex Bregman Tyler Straub world series Team Bregman poses on the mound.Photo by Steven Devadanam

The Bregman Family on-field

When CultureMap reminded third baseman and fan favorite Bregman that he predicted “big things ahead in 2022” — back in January, he grinned big at the mention, especially of his son, Knox. “Man,” he said as he stood on the mound after the game and posed for family photos, “we did it.”

“Moments like this when we win and when things go right, it’s the best thing ever to have him with us and celebrate with him,” his wife Reagan Bregman said about little Knox, whom she cradled on the field. “This is the best year of our lives.”

Reagan also shared the change in her husband since Knox came along. “He is just the most incredible father and it’s really cool to see how motivated he is on the field and at home.”

LMJ’s love for his teammates

McCullers, perhaps the official team spokesman, minced no words when asked to again state the impact of the new Astros. “I don’t think we’re here without those new guys,” he told us. “Some guys weren’t even in the organization, some guys were still in college, other guys like [pitcher Hector] Neris were on other teams. They’re the reason we’re here.”

Altuve’s big grin

$Jos\u00e9 Altuve World Series 2022 trophy$ Altuve grinned big as he held the trophy.Photo by Steven Devadanam

Hoisting the Commissioner’s Trophy after the win on the big stage, Altuve looked like less like an Astros legend and more like a kid with his first trophy. He knowingly smiled wide when we yelled “vamos!” at him.

Big Papi bear hugs Breggy

We followed Tyler Straub, Bregman's best friend and manager, as he watched Bregman on the Fox Sports post-game show. As Bregman stood behind the hosts, analyst and MLB legend David "Big Papi" Ortiz — who was totally rooting for the 'Stros — walked onto the set and lifted Bregman in a massive bear hug as fans cheered. The slugger-to-slugger moment was a pure, inside-baseball celebration.

“Ring the f*cking bell!”

Already giving Houston a legendary battle cry: “Bury me in The H,” McCullers dropped another memorable line in the clubhouse as he addressed his champion teammates, bellowing, “Ring the f*cking bell — because we’re the World Series champions!” Kudos to beloved and cagey manager Dusty Baker, who, standing behind McCullers, laughed and ducked as he prepared for the deluge of champagne that flooded the room as LMJ and the players started spraying.

Given McCullers' grit, pain, and the often painful comeback journey that he candidly shared with us, his line rang even louder — especially to all the haters and doubters.

H-Town rising

Houston leaps back into top 50 'World's Best Cities' list for 2025

Photo by Adrian Newell on Unsplash

Houston made a big leap back into the top 50, ranking No. 40, after previously plummeting into No. 72 last year.

Lively Houston has regained its rightful place among the top 50 best cities in the world, according to a prestigious new report by Resonance Consultancy.

The Canada-based real estate and tourism marketing advisors ranked Houston the 40th best city worldwide for 2025 in its annual "World's Best Cities" list.

The report quantifies the relative qualities of livability, "lovability," and prosperity for the world's top 100 cities with metropolitan populations of 1 million or more. New to the 10th anniversary edition, Resonance partnered with global market researchers Ipsos to include perception-based data into the rankings, surveying over 22,000 people in 30 countries worldwide to determine "the most desirable places to visit, live or work."

Houston made a major rebound after plummeting to No. 73 in last year's report. In 2022, Houston ranked No. 42.

Resonance refers to its previous "World's Best Cities" reports and its 2024 "America's Best Cities" list – which ranked Houston in the top 10 – when explaining the Bayou City's successes. The report praised Houston's vast cultural diversity and placed a great focus on its economic prosperity, even going so far as to suggest Houston residents make more money "and can sock more away."

"...[W]here America’s fourth-largest city truly takes off is in its economic heft and wealth, ranking No. 9 globally for GDP per Capita and No. 14 for Fortune 500 companies in town," the report said. "All that rolls up into an overall Prosperity index ranking of No. 36, which is even more impressive given the No. 14-ranked Price-to Income Ratio [of the city]."

Elsewhere in Texas, Austin and Dallas also earned spots on the World's Best Cities list for 2025, but only one made a similar rebound from the previous year's rankings. Dallas moved up from No. 66 in last year's report to its current rank as No. 55. Meanwhile, Austin took its first tumble out of the 43rd spot (which it had occupied for two years straight) and now ranks No. 53.

London held onto its crown as the No. 1 best city in the world for 2025, followed by New York (No. 2), Paris (No. 3), Tokyo (No. 4), and Singapore (No. 5).