• 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

    Difference Makers

    With Andre Johnson likely out till at least Week 12, the Texans turn to the besttight ends in football

    Chris Baldwin
    Nov 6, 2011 | 2:02 am
    • Joel Dreessen has turned into a red zone weapon for the Texans.
    • Owen Daniels
    • Joel Dreessen knows he'd better go get the ball if he wants to keep playing inthis star-packed Texans offense.

    NFL coaches are notorious for breaking down the regular season into four different four-game blocks. It's a way to cut up a long year into segments — and create mini goals along the way. Somehow, four sets of four games doesn't seem as daunting as 16.

    This common exercise carries extra meaning for the 2011 Houston Texans though — because of one achy right leg.

    The Texans went 3-1 in their first block with all-everything wide receiver Andre Johnson in the lineup. Gary Kubiak's team went 2-2 without Johnson in the second block. And now the Texans enter block three with no sign that Johnson will return anytime soon. He's out for this Sunday afternoon's home game against the 3-4 Cleveland Browns for sure.

    And your last name has to be Kubiak if you think he's going to return before Week 12 now. The Texans play at Tampa Bay next week and then have their bye week, meaning Johnson could get two more weeks of recovery time while only missing one additional game. The Nov. 27 Thanksgiving weekend game at Jacksonville looks more and more like the real target return date.

    Johnson sounds more uncertain than ever about his return, having shifted to talking about trying to "stay positive."

    "Owen Daniels is the clutchest player I've ever been around," Joel Dreessen says.

    That means life without Andre continues — which makes life with the best tight ends in football even more important.

    Oh, individually, the Texans tight ends cannot compare to players like New Orleans rookie Jimmy Graham — a third round pick who is Sports Illustrated influencer Peter King's tight end pick for his midseason all-pro team — or the Dallas Cowboys Jason Witten on the stat sheet. But together, Owen Daniels and Joel Dreessen are helping to carry the Texans' passing game sans Johnson. They're arguably the best duo of tight ends in league (as much as the New England Patriots might take umbrage).

    Daniels is as dangerous as any tight end in the league, an athletic 6-foot-3 target with go-get-it hands. With Johnson out, smart defensive teams have taken to often doubling Daniels, recognizing he's now Houston's biggest threat in the passing game.

    Yet, Daniels has still managed to make maybe the two biggest catches of the Texans season — on third-and-6 late in the fourth quarter in a win over the now 6-2 Pittsburgh Steelers, on third-and-5 late in last week's win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Both of those catches came on low throws from quarterback Matt Schaub, on balls near Daniels' shoelaces.

    The one against Jacksonville included the added element of difficulty of a referee almost completely blocking Daniels' view of the football until the last possible moment.

    "Owen Daniels is the clutchest player I've ever been around," Dreessen says. "He makes plays that win games."

    Wearing his typical off-the-field blue jeans and a flannel shirt after the Jaguars game, Daniels explains it terms of responsibility rather than some mysterious, ice-veined skill set.

    Andre Johnson sounds more uncertain than ever about his return, having shifted to talking about trying to "stay positive."

    "I think everyone wants the chance to make those type of plays for the team," Daniels says. "When the game's tight and you need to make a play, you want the ball to come your way.

    "That's how I've always been. You want to be the guy to step up and help the team."

    Dreessen's stepping up in the red zone, scoring two touchdowns inside the 20 — a sometime trouble zone for these Texans — in the last two weeks. He only caught four balls all together in those two games, but one of those was a Dwight Clark-worthy number where he sky-ed high to pluck the ball away from a Jaguars defensive back in the end zone. Dreessen is an even slighter taller (6-foot-4) target than Daniels and he's making the most of his reach in the scoring zone when the field can feel compacted for even the best of offenses.

    "You have to go get the football," says Dreessen, a sixth-round draft pick who's lasted six seasons in the NFL (and counting). "If you have a chance in this offense, you'd better go get it and make sure you make that catch. If you don't the ball's going to be headed somewhere else because we've got a lot of weapons."

    It's a testament to Daniels' talent, Dreessen's determination and Kubiak's creativity that the Texans' tight end duo has become such a reliable two-headed weapon with Johnson out. Who knows when Johnson will return?

    For now, the Texans can only sit tight as they move into another block.

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

    pucker up

    Growing pickleball franchise smashes into Houston with 2 locations

    Jef Rouner
    Apr 29, 2025 | 5:30 pm
    Two men play pickleball on a Picklr court.
    Photo courtesy of The Picklr
    A Picklr court campus similar to the ones soon to open in Houston.

    Pickleball is one of the hottest sports sweeping the nation, and one of the biggest names in the game is setting up two new facilities in Houston. Picklr is scheduled to open indoor sports campuses in Cypress and The Woodlands in the coming months.

    “Bringing a pickleball facility to Cypress will not only provide a fun and engaging recreational outlet for residents of all ages, but will also foster a sense of community and promote a healthy and active lifestyle,” said Steve Nguyen, owner of The Picklr Cypress.“This facility will serve as a vibrant hub for social interaction, skill development, and friendly/competitive competition, enhancing community bonds and offering a welcoming space for everyone to enjoy.”

    Although the game is approximately 60 years old, pickleball saw a massive spike in popularity following the pandemic when people were looking for fun group activities with easy points of entry. Though a racket sport like tennis, it is far easier and slower thanks to using perforated balls, smaller courts, and lighter paddles. This means the game is open to players of all ages, and was originally most popular with retirees. Now, there are roughly 5 million players across America, with players under 24 making up the majority. Houston even has its own professional team, the Hammers (not the Texas Hammer; that's this guy).

    The court in Cypress will be located in the old ASI Gymnastics building at 8920 Barker Cypress. It's a relatively modest facility with only six courts including a practice court. By contrast, The Woodlands location will be much more opulent. At 66,517 square feet, it will have 20 courts, 4 private event spaces (one with an exclusive viewing area), as well as a shower, changing room, dry bar, and kitchenette. Picklr The Woodlands will be located at 16590 Interstate I-45 South.

    These locations are the first for Picklr in Houston. They have twelve locations all throughout Texas, including in Round Rock and McKinney, and many more nationwide. Picklr locations operate on a membership model similar to a gym. Memberships run $159 a month for adults and $89 for minors, with unlimited access to open play, league play, and tournaments , as well as four free clinics a month. Additional coaching is available.

    There is currently no set opening date for the two Houston-area Picklrs. Players interested in learning more may sign up for updates at ThePicklr.com.

    pickleballopenings
    news/sports
    Loading...