We are the champions

Is Houston the top pro sports city in the nation? Noted expert weighs in

Is H-Town the best sports town?

Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images

It's a great time to be a Houston sports fan. Sure, there are always going to be teams and situations that could be better, like the Texans offensive line, but overall it could be a whole lot worse.

All three of H-Town's major sports properties are sitting pretty in their current situation. The Texans, Rockets, and Astros all currently stand as the reigning division winner in their given league, and all have a legitimate shot to compete for a championship. Okay, realistically two of them do, and the third has the makings of a playoff team that could get to that elite status if they draft properly and make a late addition or two.

Let's take a look at the squads in Space City and how they stack up with other metropolitan areas of the United States.

Astros
The Astros are the easiest team on this list to talk about. All they do is win in the last few years, including bringing the city its first-ever World Series title just two short years ago. The team never seems to rest on the success of the past and has loaded up and locked down key players to assure that they will be in the hunt for another title this October and be on the scene in the postseason for years to come. Jeff Luhnow and owner Jim Crane used savvy transactions and the financial commitment necessary to keep the good players they had, like George Springer, Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve, and Carlos Correa, and then went out and made moves to get big names, like Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, and Michael Brantley.

They also took chances and ran the risk of losing the luster on all their sparkling success by trading for a much-needed closer in Roberto Osuna, who was facing serious legal issues in Toronto. They did their due diligence and plenty of homework to believe he would be cleared of all charges eventually and made the surprising and controversial trade that helped to re-shape their bullpen. Along with Ryan Pressly, another late-season trade acquisition last season, the Astros quickly turned their biggest weakness into another position of strength. Houston, you have a world-class baseball team and the organization to keep it that way for years to come.

Rockets
The Rockets are a team that can never be questioned when it comes to going for it and chasing championships. When you think back on it, ever since the back-to-back championships in the mid-'90s, the team has always aggressively pursued big names like Clyde Drexler, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, Tracy McGrady, and Dwight Howard. It hasn't always worked out for them in terms of winning it all, but it always gave them a shot and made them a team to watch nationally.

When GM Daryl Morey traded for James Harden and later acquired Chris Paul, it assured the city that they would have one of the top teams in the NBA and a roster equipped to compete with the best in the league, mainly the Golden State Warriors. We all know that if Paul didn't pull a hamstring last season in the Western Conference Finals, we may very well be talking about another title team in our fair city. After a rough start and some missteps with the roster and replacing players lost in free agency, the team has re-tooled and most importantly is healthy heading into another playoff run. With Boogie Cousins going down for the Warriors, this could be the year that the Rockets take down the champs.

---

For more of this story, including what Blank has to say about the Texans, visit SportsMap.com.

houston-texans sports houston-astros

rock on

Native Houstonian brings Austin-based climbing gym to the East End

Photo courtesy of Crux Climbing Center

One of the many climbing walls at Crux.

Crux Climbing Center, one of Austin's best indoor bouldering and climbing gyms, opened its first Houston location in September and is hosting a grand opening celebration this weekend.

"As a native Houstonian, bringing Crux to the Bayou City has always been a part of the long-term vision," said native Houstonian, CEO, and co-founder Kevin Goradia. "Crux is a community-oriented climbing gym, and our decision to open our first out-of-market location at The Plant was largely inspired by Concept Neighborhood’s plans to create a walkable neighborhood that truly integrates the local community.”

Goradia — the son of Houston petrochemical billionaire Vijay Goradia — co-founded the first Crux in South Austin in 2016 after being dissatisfied with the offerings at other climbing gyms. Crux has almost everything a climber could want, including bouldering, training boards, a spray wall, strength training, fitness and yoga classes, saunas, locker rooms, a Kids Cave, lounge space and a retail shop.

The gym flourished in the post-COVID physical activity boom as more people looked for both exercise and social interaction following the lockdowns. The community aspect of Crux is very important to Goradia. When he was diagnosed with cancer in January 2023, he credits the support he had through the climbing scene in Austin as a major factor in his eventual recovery.

Now, he's bringing that to Houston, a city where indoor-climbing is booming. The exceptional flat city has few natural climbing spots, which would be arduous even if they existed thanks to the heat. Instead, the last twenty years have seen an explosion of massive, indoor facilities like inSPIRE, Momentum, and now Crux.

The grand opening event will take place at the 21,000-square-foot gym space located at The Plant (3100 Canal St.) on Saturday, October 10 from 2-8 pm. This is more than just a few grab bags and a chance to do some climbing. Native Houstonian, CEO, and co-founder, Kevin Goradia is pulling out all the stops with a full vendor fair offering art, jewelry, and vintage items.

The climbing will be a great way to work off the calories from some of the food partners. Cheaters Creamery and Sinfull Bakery will both be handing out treats, and Miguelitos Grill will be serving fresh-off-the-grill quesadillas that can be washed down with beer from St. Arnold's Brewery for the 21-and-up crowd. There will even be free tattoos from 13 Goats.

And, of course, there will be climbing. Throughout the event Crux is offering BOGO deals and raffles. The event itself is free, so this is a great opportunity to get a look at what made Crux stand out in Austin.