Category — Houston

I’ve been thinking a lot about basketball lately. (Mainly because I’ve been reading the amazing Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons. And partly because of my recent move to Los Angeles.) My girlfriend and I decided that we needed to see a Rocket’s game this season. No, it wasn’t me persuading her to let me go to a game…she’s  a Rocket’s fan and enjoys basketball games. I’ve got a great girlfriend, what can I say. We both disagreed on which game to go see. She wanted to see tonight’s game. The Lakers game. I was against giving my money to the Lakers and I wanted to see the dunking monster that is Blake Griffin. Obviously I won because we’re not at the game tonight. All this basketball talk and basketball reading got me excited and I started looking up all the Rockets rosters from ’93 to present. (I got a little depressed in the late nineties rosters.) And then I saw the glimmer of hope with the McGrady trade.

So I started thinking of T-Mac, who is now the starting point guard for the Pistons. I remembered that horrible bashing I gave him last season and the angry mob that would have torn him apart in 2009. I remember seeing him in like August of 2009 after bashing him so much and feeling bad. I was at work and I saw T Mac. He looked out of shape and humbled. He was sort of slouching, like he was trying to make himself smaller or hoping no one would notice him. I felt bad for demanding for him to shut up and leave Houston. I felt bad for all the crap I talked about him. I saw him for the first time as a person and not a basketball player. I’ve been lucky enough to run into T Mac a couple of times but this time was different. This time he was different–not just because he seemed out of shape. I wanted to run up to him and say, “Look man, I know you don’t know me but I’m sorry you’re going through crap.”

Now, I’m not excusing the man. What he did to the Rockets was wrong. He announced he was having surgery without consulting the team. He knew he was in pain, he knew his contract was expiring, and he knew that there were trade rumors. He knew that if he had surgery nobody would trade for him and he’d rehab on the Rockets dime and hopefully come back in time to be on a contender in the last year of his contract. The only thing is he came back and was not the same T Mac as before surgery and he was not in his old T Mac shape. He looked like old T Mac. And then he complained about his minutes. He wasn’t up to snuff to play good minutes. His body probably wasn’t capable of starters minutes and he complained. He was a distraction and he was only thinking of himself.

All of Houston turned against him. Almost everybody hated him. His antics made us all forget all of the great things that he had done in a Rockets jersey. 13 points in 33 seconds. 30-7-7 average in his first playoff series as a Rocket. Being part of the 22 game winning streak. Just to name a few.

It’s tough to see profession athletes as people sometimes. He constantly was attacked for never advancing past the first round of the playoffs. He put the Rockets on his shoulders and tried to win games, advance in the playoffs and it just never happened. He heard trade rumors and made some horrible decisions and then turned into one of the most hated men in Houston. We were always hard on T Mac. We expected a lot out of him and when I saw him in 2009 I didn’t see a jerk. I saw a man that looked beaten down.

Call me shallow, call me fat, call me whatever you want. Moving to LA will mean that part of my regular diet is going to be altered forever. (Just to clarify, that’s a joke. I don’t eat Whataburger that much.)

Sure I’ll have my Carl’s Jr, and my In-And-Out’s but it will never be able to fill the gaping hole in my stomach that Whataburger used to fill in the wee hours of the night. A lot of my college study sessions were fueled by Whataburger. LA is too far west for the reaches of the Texas based fast food chain. So one of the many things I will miss about Houston is the 24 hour dining option that is Whataburger.

There are so many things that I love about Houston that I thought I’d start listing them. Soon I’ll be in LA and I will be far away from the city I grew up in so I’d like to take some time to list amazing things from my hometown.

I’d like to start off with the incredible Mam’s House of Ice. I know that technically this is New Orleans style sno-cones but they are now a Houston entity in the Heights. On the corner of Rutland and 20th you can find a little blue shack on wheels. This is Mam’s. There are so many wonderful flavors to choose from and the people are friendly. Don’t be scared to be adventurous. I recommend Cajun Red Hot, Mojito or King Cake (I wasn’t a fan of Dill Pickle). On a hot Houston day there are few things better than getting a fluffy and sweet sno-cone from Mam’s.

Mam’s, I’ll miss you.

Come see me at the show tonight at 8pm. Then stick around for It’s A Wonderful Life: Unscripted!

Come my performance as Mr. Potter that people have described as, “almost worthy of being considered entertainment.”

Visit ComedySportz Houston for more details.

I tried to fit a third semi-colon into that title but the internet forbade it. Tonight come check out the coolest alternative to the typical holiday show. It’s A Wonderful Life: Unscripted is a long-form improv take on the classic story. Where your suggestions will inspire a whole new take on the quintessential holiday tale. I myself will not only be in attendance but will be Mr. Potter as well as other roles for the evening. Come see your favorite holiday movie live onstage and with a twist!

10:30 pm   901 Town & Country Blvd.  $12  713.868.1444