get that gear

Houston Astros extend Minute Maid Park's official team store hours for fans to score coveted gear

Houston Astros ALDS win Seattle 2022 team shot

Celebrate like the 'Stros with new hours at the Juice Box team store.

Houston Astros/Twitter

On Saturday October 15, die-hard Houston Astros fans sat riveted as they watched the team battle the Seattle Mariners in an 18-inning American League Division Series game that tied the Major League Baseball record for the longest playoff game in history.

Rising star shortstop Jeremy Peña ended that epic showdown with a home run blast, ending the Mariners playoff run and cementing the Astros’ sixth American League Championship Series (ALCS) berth in just 10 years in the American League.

(For those keeping score, the ‘Stros are just the second team in baseball history to pull off that feat.)

Now, the team can enjoy three days off before they open the ALCS at 6:37 pm Wednesday, October 19 at Minute Maid Park. The Astros will take on the winner of the New York Yankees-Cleveland Guardians series, which is tied 2-2; the teams play in the deciding game at 6:07 pm Monday, October 17 in New York. (We’d love an Astros-Yankees showdown to silence NYC haters — again.)

That means it’s time for fans to rally with coveted team gear. With that in mind, the team has extended shopping hours at the popular Union Station Team Store in the Juice Box, home to some of the best team swag available.

New hours are 9 am-7 pm Monday, October 17 and Tuesday, October 18, and 9 am to four hours before first pitch of Game 1 of the ALCS (Game 1 time TBD) on Wednesday, October 19 (cough-versus the Yankees-cough).

Consider this a chance to start collecting mementos on the way to what Astros fans are confident will be another return to the World Series — and a chance to send the guys in pinstripes packing, in the process.

Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”