• Home
  • popular
  • EVENTS
  • submit-new-event
  • CHARITY GUIDE
  • Children
  • Education
  • Health
  • Veterans
  • Social Services
  • Arts + Culture
  • Animals
  • LGBTQ
  • New Charity
  • TRENDING NEWS
  • News
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Home + Design
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Innovation
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • subscribe
  • about
  • series
  • Embracing Your Inner Cowboy
  • Green Living
  • Summer Fun
  • Real Estate Confidential
  • RX In the City
  • State of the Arts
  • Fall For Fashion
  • Cai's Odyssey
  • Comforts of Home
  • Good Eats
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2010
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2
  • Good Eats 2
  • HMNS Pirates
  • The Future of Houston
  • We Heart Hou 2
  • Music Inspires
  • True Grit
  • Hoops City
  • Green Living 2011
  • Cruizin for a Cure
  • Summer Fun 2011
  • Just Beat It
  • Real Estate 2011
  • Shelby on the Seine
  • Rx in the City 2011
  • Entrepreneur Video Series
  • Going Wild Zoo
  • State of the Arts 2011
  • Fall for Fashion 2011
  • Elaine Turner 2011
  • Comforts of Home 2011
  • King Tut
  • Chevy Girls
  • Good Eats 2011
  • Ready to Jingle
  • Houston at 175
  • The Love Month
  • Clifford on The Catwalk Htx
  • Let's Go Rodeo 2012
  • King's Harbor
  • FotoFest 2012
  • City Centre
  • Hidden Houston
  • Green Living 2012
  • Summer Fun 2012
  • Bookmark
  • 1987: The year that changed Houston
  • Best of Everything 2012
  • Real Estate 2012
  • Rx in the City 2012
  • Lost Pines Road Trip Houston
  • London Dreams
  • State of the Arts 2012
  • HTX Fall For Fashion 2012
  • HTX Good Eats 2012
  • HTX Contemporary Arts 2012
  • HCC 2012
  • Dine to Donate
  • Tasting Room
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • Charming Charlie
  • Asia Society
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2012
  • HTX Mistletoe on the go
  • HTX Sun and Ski
  • HTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • HTX New Beginnings
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013
  • Zadok Sparkle into Spring
  • HTX Let's Go Rodeo 2013
  • HCC Passion for Fashion
  • BCAF 2013
  • HTX Best of 2013
  • HTX City Centre 2013
  • HTX Real Estate 2013
  • HTX France 2013
  • Driving in Style
  • HTX Island Time
  • HTX Super Season 2013
  • HTX Music Scene 2013
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013 2
  • HTX Baker Institute
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • Mothers Day Gift Guide 2021 Houston
  • Staying Ahead of the Game
  • Wrangler Houston
  • First-time Homebuyers Guide Houston 2021
  • Visit Frisco Houston
  • promoted
  • eventdetail
  • Greystar Novel River Oaks
  • Thirdhome Go Houston
  • Dogfish Head Houston
  • LovBe Houston
  • Claire St Amant podcast Houston
  • The Listing Firm Houston
  • South Padre Houston
  • NextGen Real Estate Houston
  • Pioneer Houston
  • Collaborative for Children
  • Decorum
  • Bold Rock Cider
  • Nasher Houston
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2021
  • CityNorth
  • Urban Office
  • Villa Cotton
  • Luck Springs Houston
  • EightyTwo
  • Rectanglo.com
  • Silver Eagle Karbach
  • Mirador Group
  • Nirmanz
  • Bandera Houston
  • Milan Laser
  • Lafayette Travel
  • Highland Park Village Houston
  • Proximo Spirits
  • Douglas Elliman Harris Benson
  • Original ChopShop
  • Bordeaux Houston
  • Strike Marketing
  • Rice Village Gift Guide 2021
  • Downtown District
  • Broadstone Memorial Park
  • Gift Guide
  • Music Lane
  • Blue Circle Foods
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2022
  • True Rest
  • Lone Star Sports
  • Silver Eagle Hard Soda
  • Modelo recipes
  • Modelo Fighting Spirit
  • Athletic Brewing
  • Rodeo Houston
  • Silver Eagle Bud Light Next
  • Waco CVB
  • EnerGenie
  • HLSR Wine Committee
  • All Hands
  • El Paso
  • Avenida Houston
  • Visit Lubbock Houston
  • JW Marriott San Antonio
  • Silver Eagle Tupps
  • Space Center Houston
  • Central Market Houston
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Travel Texas Houston
  • Alliantgroup
  • Golf Live
  • DC Partners
  • Under the Influencer
  • Blossom Hotel
  • San Marcos Houston
  • Photo Essay: Holiday Gift Guide 2009
  • We Heart Hou
  • Walker House
  • HTX Good Eats 2013
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2013
  • HTX Culture Motive
  • HTX Auto Awards
  • HTX Ski Magic
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2014
  • HTX Texas Traveler
  • HTX Cifford on the Catwalk 2014
  • HTX United Way 2014
  • HTX Up to Speed
  • HTX Rodeo 2014
  • HTX City Centre 2014
  • HTX Dos Equis
  • HTX Tastemakers 2014
  • HTX Reliant
  • HTX Houston Symphony
  • HTX Trailblazers
  • HTX_RealEstateConfidential_2014
  • HTX_IW_Marks_FashionSeries
  • HTX_Green_Street
  • Dating 101
  • HTX_Clifford_on_the_Catwalk_2014
  • FIVE CultureMap 5th Birthday Bash
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2014 TEST
  • HTX Texans
  • Bergner and Johnson
  • HTX Good Eats 2014
  • United Way 2014-15_Single Promoted Articles
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Houston
  • Where to Eat Houston
  • Copious Row Single Promoted Articles
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2014
  • htx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Zadok Swiss Watches
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2015
  • HTX Charity Challenge 2015
  • United Way Helpline Promoted Article
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Fusion Academy Promoted Article
  • Clifford on the Catwalk Fall 2015
  • United Way Book Power Promoted Article
  • Jameson HTX
  • Primavera 2015
  • Promenade Place
  • Hotel Galvez
  • Tremont House
  • HTX Tastemakers 2015
  • HTX Digital Graffiti/Alys Beach
  • MD Anderson Breast Cancer Promoted Article
  • HTX RealEstateConfidential 2015
  • HTX Vargos on the Lake
  • Omni Hotel HTX
  • Undies for Everyone
  • Reliant Bright Ideas Houston
  • 2015 Houston Stylemaker
  • HTX Renewable You
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • HTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Kyrie Massage
  • Red Bull Flying Bach
  • Hotze Health and Wellness
  • ReadFest 2015
  • Alzheimer's Promoted Article
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Professional Skin Treatments by NuMe Express

    McHale's Coaching Exposed

    Jeremy Lin mistreatment, bench blunder completely exposes Kevin McHale's coaching: Collapse no surprise

    Chris Baldwin
    Apr 24, 2014 | 4:24 am

    "Calm down! You need to calm down!" the gray-haired security guard pleads and screams. He's urging two Houston Rockets fans who knock into each other in the rush to flee the nightmare to stop pushing and sending killer glares one another's way as a small testosterone-heavy group of onlookers quickly gathers around to watch.

     

    "Fight! Fight!" one college-aged kid gleefully yells. "It's not worth it," the guard argues. He could just as easily be talking about the Rockets season.

     

    Down on the floor, Dwight Howard is walking toward the locker room with Hakeem Olajuwon talking in his ear. The Dream is still trying to whisper sweet championship lessons to the Rockets big man. It's hard to comprehend any of it now though.

     

    The Portland Trail Blazers have just followed up that Game 1 epic overtime thriller with an emphatic Game 2 brush back of a Rockets team that viewed them as nothing more than a first round speed bump. Well, the speed bump's turned into a potentially season-swallowing crater. LaMarcus Alridge and Co. almost make it look too easy.

     
     

      McHale never calls Harden out the way Scott Brooks held The Beard accountable in OKC. After two seasons of enabling, is it any wonder it's come to this? 

     
     

    It's all falling apart around Kevin McHale now. With eight minutes left in the fourth quarter of this lost Wednesday night, the murmur of discontent rippling through the crowd becomes downright vocal. Fans are screaming at James Harden, suddenly convinced they're watching an incredible shrinking superstar. They're screaming at the refs. They're screaming at each other.

     

    They should be yelling at McHale.

     

    He's been setting up this 112-105 Game 2 home loss, this shocking 0-2 series hole with a weekend in Portland beckoning, for months, unwittingly laying the foundation for disaster all along. Anyone who bothered to look closer could have seen this coming. Few wanted to acknowledge the hard truths shadowing these Rockets all season though. It was such a fun team to watch — no team proved to be more entertaining than the Rockets during the regular season — that many willingly, almost eagerly, blinded themselves.

     

    McHale's marginalizing of the one true point guard on his roster — Jeremy Lin — from day one doomed the Rockets to failure once the playoffs hit, the games became tight, and ball movement and precise spacing started trumping all. The false-ringing, supposed reasoning behind benching Lin for Patrick Beverley from the the first game of the season — the desire to create a powerhouse bench — is exposed (again) in a Game 2 that McHale and the Rockets absolutely needed to win.

     

    Coaching to have anything more than a long shot, wild puncher's chance in this series, perhaps coaching for his Rockets career, McHale completely abandons that bench principle.

     

    He only plays eight guys. Lin gets a mere 24 minutes of court time after his stand-out Game 1 finish. Omer Asik is also given 24 minutes. And Francisco Garica . . . he's on the court for all of four minutes and 19 seconds.

     

    McHale manages to let a Blazers team that's widely regarded to have the worst second unit among all 16 playoff teams dominate in bench production. Portland blitzes Houston 30-13 in bench points. That as much as Aldridge's supernatural star turn (43 points in Game 2 after 46 points and 18 rebounds in his epic Game 1) seals the Rockets doom.

     

    What happens to that deep bench that Daryl Morey built? What happens to Jordan Hamilton, Omri Casspi, Donatas Motiejunas and even late-season, feel-good sharp-shooter Troy Daniels?

     

    Kevin McHale happens. By panicking under playoff pressure, McHale manages to turn a Rockets strength into a glaring weakness. If the first commandment of coaching is Do No Harm, the Rockets head man broke it long ago.

     

    McHale is forever marginalizing players, heaping more and more pressure on his favored few.

     

     Terry Stotts Schools McHale

     

    Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts is perfectly suited to take advantage of McHale's bench blunders too. He served as Rick Carlisle's lead assistant on that flawed Dallas Mavericks team that somehow toppled LeBron James and the South Beach Big Three in the 2011 NBA Finals. In charge of Dallas' offense, Stotts coaxed career runs out of limited players like Jason Terry, Jose Barea and Deshawn Stevenson.

     

    Now, he's getting something out of even less against the Rockets — with forgotten vets Mo Williams and Dorell Wright combining for 28 points and even Thomas Robinson, the quick Daryl Morey Rockets discard and re-trade, contributing two big blocks inside.

     

     

      By panicking under pressure, McHale manages to turn a Rockets strength into a glaring weakness.  

     
     

    "We can't get no stops," Harden says during the televised part of his interesting postgame. ". . . We've got to figure something out soon."

     

    Harden seems to be figuring out the frustration of being on an out coached team. He gets into a silly argument with NBA.com reporter Fran Blinebury in the non televised portion of his postgame, punctuating it by calling Blinebury "a weirdo."

     

    It's an unbecoming moment for a would-be NBA superstar, but it's much too easy to blame Harden for everything on a night when he shoots 6 for 19. Just like LeBron took some unwarranted blame for Erik Spoelstra's early failings. Harden has little choice but to dominate the ball in the limited offense McHale's set up for him.

     

    McHale never calls Harden out the way Scott Brooks held The Beard accountable in Oklahoma City. After two seasons of enabling, is it any wonder it's come to this?

     

    The Rockets don't have a superstar problem as much as a coaching problem. Jeremy Lin — the team's third-most talented player — is reduced to standing around in the corner, waiting for the rare, fleeting chances he gets to flash his gifts (like the two near half court alley-oops he throws on a dime to Howard this night). Howard comes out breathing fire, starts the game with three straight dunks, sets a Rockets all-time franchise record with 19 points in the first quarter.

     

    But McHale cannot figure out a way to ensure Howard keeps getting the ball the way Stotts makes certain Aldridge gets good shot after good shot after good shot, quarter after quarter after quarter.

     

    "God blessed me with some skill because last game it was all inside and this game it was all outside," Aldridge says in his postgame dais moment.

     

    Portland's owner also blessed LaMarcus Aldridge with a great coach. That's something Lin, Harden and Howard don't have.

     

    "There'd better be," McHale shoots back in his postgame press conference when someone asks if there is still belief in the Rockets locker room.

     

    It's hard to imagine there being belief now. How could there be?

     

    Everyone's rushing out of Toyota Center. You have to wonder if this team will even make it back for another game next week. The empire's falling all around Kevin McHale, the foundation he cluelessly cracked finally crumbling in his very dirty hands.

    The Houston Rockets can't seem to believe what's happening. Even Dwight Howard has trouble lifting Patrick Beverley's head up.

    Dwight Howard Patrick Beverley upset
      
    Photo by Scott Halleran Getty Images
    The Houston Rockets can't seem to believe what's happening. Even Dwight Howard has trouble lifting Patrick Beverley's head up.
    unspecified
    news/sports

    16,000 amateur athletes coming to Houston for Junior Olympic Games

    Jef Rouner
    Jun 30, 2025 | 9:45 am
    A boy in a gi breaks a stack of boards in a sports arena
    Photo courtesy of Amateur Athletic Union (AAU)
    Taekwondo is just one of the events showcased at the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Junior Olympic Games

    The finest young athletes in the nation will be heading to Houston for 12 days of intense competition as the city hosts the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Junior Olympic Games for the fourth time.

    “We’re very excited to once again welcome the country’s best competitors and their families to Houston for the 2025 AAU Junior Olympic Games,” Harris County - Houston Sports Authority (HCHSA) CEO Ryan Walsh said in a statement. “The AAU has a long history of producing some of the most renowned athletes in the country, and we look forward to seeing the next generation of talent compete in this year’s events. It’s an honor to bring the AAU Junior Olympic Games back to our city.”

    Competition will take place July 22 - August 2.

    Founded in 1888, the AAU is the largest nonprofit youth multi-sports organization in the United States, and its Junior Olympic Games is the largest multi-sport youth event, featuring 16,000 athletes in this year's games. Previously, it was the primary feeder program for the International Olympic Games, and to this day many Olympic luminaries are AAU alumni. These include Houston's own gymnast Simone Biles, Dallas track star Sha’Carri Richardson, swimmer Katie Ledecky, and beach volleyball player Sara Hughes.

    The schedule for the AAU Junior Olympics is as follows..

    • Swimming: Tuesday, July 22 - Sunday, July 27 at the Cy-Fair Natatorium
    • Indoor Sports: Wednesday, July 23 - Wednesday, July 30 at the George R. Brown Convention Center
      • Baton Twirling, Dance, Cheerleading, Gymnastics, Jump Rope, Karate, Taekwondo, Trampoline & Tumbling, Sports Stacking and Wrestling
    • Flag Football: Thursday, July 24 - Sunday, July 27 at Rice Stadium
    • Track & Field/Multi-Events: Saturday, July 26 - Saturday, August 2 at Turner Stadium
    • Field Hockey: Monday, July 28 - Thursday, July 31 at Episcopal High School
    One notable aspect of Houston hosting is that the city is on track to be the second-most used home for the games. With Houston slated to also host in 2027 and 2031, the Bayou City will trail only Des Moines, IA.

    “We are so excited to bring our premier event back to Houston,” AAU President Jo Mirza said. “The AAU Junior Olympic Games bring together athletes from all corners of the country and all walks of life to showcase their skills on a national stage. Harris County Houston Sports Authority has been an invaluable partner in helping us create such a successful event for these athletes and attendees.”

    Tickets and more information can be found at HoustonSports.org.

    news/sports
    CULTUREMAP EMAILS ARE AWESOME
    Get Houston intel delivered daily.
    Loading...