foggy nights and baseball by slight clutter Slight Clutter has captured this wonderful foggy scene from Minute Maid Park. Houstonist would like to remind you that today at noon at Minute Maid Park, the Astros will be retiring Craig Biggio's #7. The retirement ceremony starts at noon and the game versus the Diamondbacks starts at 1:05pm. The ceremony will also be broadcast live on Fox Sports Net and replayed again later today at 5:30pm.......

Five in a row. Eight straight home wins. 12 wins in their last 16 games. If you haven't been out to Minute Maid Park recently, then you're missing quite a show. The surging Houston Astros are one of the hottest teams in baseball and their being led by some clutch hitting by a mean sandwich called B.L.T. (Berkman, Lee and Tejada). Lance Berkman, also known as Big Puma, 'cause he's agile and fast like......

Wandy Rodriguez's home dominance continued on a beautiful day at Minute Maid Park on Sunday as he pitched seven strong innings while giving up only one earned run and leading the Astros past the Marlins 5-1. Rodriguez (1-0, 2.33) breezed through the Florida Marlins line-up with his only hiccup being a Josh Willingham home run in the fourth inning. In two home starts at Minute Maid Park this year, Wandy has given up only......

The Astros' season is in full swing, and no one is swinging more than Hunter Pence. Good grief, Spaz, if you're going to be the number 2 hitter, you might want to be a little bit selective. We can't wait for Kaz Matsui to get off his aching butt and take over the job he was signed to do. Here's what the blogs are saying about our hometown teams and sporting events: - Apparently, there......

Annie Savoy said, "...I've tried all the major religions, and most of the minor ones...I've tried 'em all, I really have, and the only church that truly feeds the soul, day in, day out, is the Church of Baseball." Well, Annie, our church officially opens for business today when the St. Louis Cardinals pay a visit to our Houston Astros for Opening Day for the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Wandy E. Rodriguez......

What's that you say? Opening Day was yesterday? The Astros lost to the Padres? Pssh. In our world, the Astros' season doesn't begin until the boys in red win a game. Which could mean that "Opening Day" may not happen until mid-month. Regardless, Houston is pretty much a baseball town, even when the Astros are facing a rough season ahead. Assuming that you want to keep track of the ups-and-downs of the hometown boys in......

The Astros' spring training schedule in Florida wraps up today with a game against the Toronto Blue Jays, and then the team returns to Houston to play a weekend series against the Detroit Tigers before Opening Day on Monday in San Diego. The weekend's festivities will include the annual Fan Fest, which will feature autograph sessions, a baseball card & memorabilia show, and a bunch of opportunities to get up close and personal with the......

Well, the Streak is over, but the Rockets' chances of a top seed in the West are still intact. Will they be able to pull it out in the first round with all this momentum behind them? The Astros' rotation is almost set, but can Woody Williams find enough juice for one more season? Will the Texans' roster needs be met via free agency or next month's draft? All these questions (and a few answers)......

Top o' the afternoon to ya! We always have trouble with Irish accents; we always either end up sounding Scottish or like a pirate. But regardless, the Rockets' streak poses an interesting conundrum, especially if you plan on getting sauced tonight: do you talk about the streak (potentially jinxing it) or refuse to even acknowledge its existence (which makes you seem like kind of a jerk). The choice is yours. Here's what the blogs are......

:: Stages presents Old Stories, a musical by Larry Dierker :: Yep. A musical. By Larry Dierker. Double take? Yeah, us, too. For the second night in a row tonight, Stages Repertory Theatre hosts a concert reading of Old Stories, a new musical by former Astros pitcher, broadcaster and manager Larry Dierker with music by Paul English. Old Stories is written by Larry Dierker, former pitcher, broadcaster and manager for the Houston Astros, a......

Spring Training is half over, the Rockets may never lose another game, ever, and the Texans have one less competitor to worry about. All this and more plus musical dramatic guest Roger Clemens in this week's roundup! Read on to see what the Web is saying about Houston's teams: - The Rockets' streak continues unabated, even without Yao. The Dream Shake is getting used to the gangly teenaged Streak. - Seen the billboards around town......

>> Wintry mix blasts Panhandle, North Texas with sleet, snow: They came from the north and helped freeze your tootsies. Yep, those darn north winds are to blame for the uber chill around town today writes Meteorologist Tim Heller on the Houston Weather Blog. The same system that blanketed North Texas with nine inches of snow and caused Dallas-Ft. Worth airport to cancel 200 flights will share its chill with Houston. "This type of......

After a week off for prayer and fasting in the hope that Roger Clemens would finally appear in the media again, our supplications were heard and we feel up to posting this roundup again. For those of you who are new around these parts, this is where we take a look at what the blogs and other media are saying about our hometown sports teams each week. - On the heels (rimshot) of Yao Ming's......

>> Poll shows split over Clemens, McNamee: The court of public opinion currently stands divided in Harris County regarding the Roger Clemens steroid scandal according to a poll by The Chronicle. According to the results published yesterday by David Barron, 35.5 percent said believed McNamee; 32.8 percent sided with The Rocket; and, 31.7 percent did not respond. The margin of error is listed at 4.1 percent. These numbers may prove initially encouraging for Clemens......

Happy bissextile day, Houston. If you're reading this from jail — we're actually not even sure if you can use the Internet in jail — well, don't feel alone: According to a new report from the Pew Center on the States, 1 of every 100 American adults are behind bars today. Good lord. The good news: Texas is one of the states that has tried to slow the growth of its inmate population through......

As the Astros start their Spring Training schedule today in Osceola County, the college baseball season has been underway for a couple of weeks now. The annual Houston College Classic returns to Minute Maid Park this weekend as one of the premier regional showcases of top-level NCAA baseball. Starting on Friday and continuing through Sunday, the Juice Box will be host to an almost non-stop flow of games. The teams participating in the tourney are:......

Good morning, Houston. When it comes to politics, we suppose there's a lot to be said for the shock factor — which is why Brian Klock, a candidate for Congressional District 22, is getting some attention. Klock, one of 10 people vying for the Republican nomination for CD 22, has put up a billboard showing downtown Houston being destroyed by a huge explosion. "The Threat Is Real," the billboard reads. "Ask Brian Klock." And......

Spring Training is the time for all things to be made new, for minor league farmhands to have their shot at the big league club, for mid-career players to reinvent themselves, and veterans to try to hang on for one more year. As the Astros assemble the position players who will come off the bench in 2008, there are some familiar faces, one very home town name, and a lot of unknowns. As we did......

A week after the pitchers and catchers arrived, the Astros' position players are due in Kissimmee today. Some, including Hunter Pence, Michael Bourn, and Kaz Matsui, have already arrived to get a jump on the rest of the team. Others, like focal point Miguel Tejada, arrived on time today. Like we did with the pitchers and catchers, we'll take a look at the guys out in the field and see where things lie. We'll start......

Houston Astros starting right fielder Hunter Pence suffered a freak accident last night when he somehow tumbled through a sliding glass door. Pence suffered lacerations on both hands and a knee. According to Astros officials, Pence spent last night in an emergency room and he will be checked out today by the team physician. More information on Pence's accident will be released later today. Pence was called up in late April of 2007 and......

On this lazy, semi-holiday, it feels like the perfect opportunity to browse around the 'net and find out what's been going on with our local teams. Only the Rockets are actually playing games right now, though the Astros are gearing up for theirs in Florida right now. The Texans continue to be a topic of discussion even though the NFL draft is yet two months away. With that in mind, let's take a look at......

Yesterday, we took at look at the Astros starting rotation as spring training starts. Today, we'll move on to the rest of the players who are currently in camp: the relief pitchers and the catchers. Last year, the Astros bullpen often had the look of Brad Pitt at the end of Seven, and reacted about as predictably, too. Despite some really talented arms, the overall effect was less than satisfactory. Fortunately, new Astros GM Ed......

The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and on a day like today, a young person's heart turns, naturally, to baseball. The baseball season is almost upon us, with the evaluation period known as spring training beginning in earnest today. The Astros major league camp starts today, with just the pitchers and catchers in camp. The position players will arrive later, but for today we'll take a look at everyone who's currently at the......

Pitchers and catchers report this week! Hell yes! Our long national nightmare is over! We'll take a look at the Astros roster in more detail later this week, but until then, here's what the blogs are saying about our local teams. Warning: not responsible for ball jokes about the Rockets. - So supposedly Roger Clemens is still in the news. Who knew? Rather than slog through all the syringes and attorney b.s., here's the Dugout's......

Nolan Ryan, Astros franchise icon and co-owner of two of the team's minor league franchises, today exited his personal services contract a year early to assume the team president position offered by the Texas Rangers. Ryan will oversee the daily operations of the floundering Arlington-based team, working with mercurial owner Tom Hicks. The fate of his owner's stake in the minor league affiliates is up for debate, but the assumption is that they will remain......

It's a struggle not to talk about how awesome the Super Bowl was last night, but since we're here to talk about Houston teams first and foremost, we'll have to stick to our mission. But how 'bout those commercials, huh? We went and looked at the GoDaddy.com Danica Patrick one online; who knew that she could put both legs behind her head while playing "Smoke On The Water" on kazoo? Here's what the blogosphere has......

The Super Bowl is on Sunday, and naturally we'll be watching the game (and the commericals), but the real news around town is the up-and-down season the Rockets are having. They win with T-Mac, they win without T-mac, they definitely lose without Yao. If Rick Adelman can get everyone on the same page,they could still be formidable in the playoffs. Otherwise, we're looking at another five-and-out in the first round. On to the links: -......

Three day weekends are a beast. You end the previous week by slacking in some fashion on Friday, since you're planning all the shennanigans you'll be committing over the weekend. Then you pick things up after the weekend with the realization that you've got to fit five days of work into four. Plus, it's cold and depressing (like a Packers fan on Monday) and that pretty much explains why a Monday feature is appearing on......

The Rockets kicked a truckload of ass last week before getting a wake-up call against the Hornets. Amazing that they did all of this without Tracy McGrady. Kinda makes you wonder if GM Daryl Morey should listen to all those trade rumors. The T-Mac rumors and more in this week's run-through of what the sports blogs are saying: - Every time we think we're done talking about Roger Clemens, he pulls us back in. It's......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • The parents of missing Rice student, Matthew Wilson have added $10,000 of their own money to the reward for information leading to his whereabouts. The total reward amount is now $25,000. This includes $5000 from Crime Stoppers and $10,000 from Rice University. If you have information, please contact Crime Stoppers at 713.222.TIPS • A man was ejected from his car and killed......