This Week in Off Season Sports

As any good sports fan will tell you, the end of the season is just the beginning of the fun. Here's what's going on with the Houston teams that aren't playing games right now:

Rockets

-Plenty of Rockets news this week, starting with the announcement of their 2007-08 schedule. Their home opener pits them against the Portland Trail Blazers and 74 year old rookie Greg Oden. Full schedule at the Rockets' website.

-Yao Ming is getting married this week in China. Yes, his wife-to-be is tall as well. No word on where the couple is registered, but you might want to buy some red and white hand towels at Bed Bath & Beyond anyway. The picture in this article bodes well for Rockets fans: if Yao has mastered the shell-shocked look of an American groom-to-be, then perhaps he'll be more aggressive in the post this year. Or something.

-"Point guard" Rafer Alston was arrested last night for public intoxication and assault. Not a lot of details available on this story yet, but if Alston approaches bar fights the way he plays, it was probably a shooting spree without many assists.

-Bonus Rockets commentary link: Remember the Horry/Cassel for Barkley trade? And how awful it was? ESPN's Bill Simmons certainly doesn't think so. In this article about the Kevin Garnett-to-Boston trade (for all their young, promising players), he makes this statement:

The question remains: If you're a Rockets fan, would you make that trade again? You had that Utah series tied 2-2 before blowing a nailbiter in Utah and losing Game 6 on a Stockton buzzer-beater. You were right there. Was it worth it? In my opinion, absolutely. The whole point of fielding an NBA team is to win a title -- if you have the chance, you have to try. Even if it means crossing your fingers with the likes of Matt Maloney.

Excuse me, but are you effing kidding, Simmons? Ask any Houston sports fan what the worst trades by any Houston franchise in the last 15 years are, and almost everyone will mention this trade. Simmons usually is spot-on about the NBA, but he's waaaaaaay off here.

High School Sports

Fantastic story this week in the Chron about Hakeem the Dream tutoring a high school basketball player from St. Pius High School. Like Hakeem, Dwight Miller emigrated to the U.S. with little formal basketball experience, but plenty of physical gifts. Hakeem has been living overseas for the most part since retiring from the NBA, so it's great to see him giving back to the Houston community.

Keep an eye on this space each week as we sum up the off-season shennanigans of your teams.

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Photo: flickr user kaibin.rao