Geographist

Yao Ming Born: September 12, 1980 Sport: Basketball (8-time NBA All-Star, 4-time FIBA Asia Cup Champion, Hall of Fame) Since my last post a few things have happened.  Each team in baseball has reached its 50th game, hockey and men's basketball have both progressed to their conference championships, women's basketball season has officially begun, and football has continued to be present in daily sports shows for reasons that continue to baffle me.  But not to be overlooked is the draft lottery held by the NBA, where the Dallas Mavericks won the right to have the first pick in the next draft despite only having a 1.8% chance of the ping pong ball numbers going their way.  This event reminded me of the last time Houston found themselves with the first overall pick, back in 2002.  Although the odds weren't quite as long that year, they still turned a 8.9% longshot chance into a player that took Rockets basketball literally around the world.  That year, they took Yao...

I've been traveling with my oldest daughter over the past weekend, so there won't be a new post until next Sunday.  Have a terrific week until we meet again! 

Cynthia Cooper-Dyke Born: April 14, 1963 Sport: Basketball (2-time MVP, 3-time All-Star, 4-time WNBA Champion, 2-time NCAA Champion, 2-time Olympic medalist - Gold in 1988 and Bronze in 1992, Hall of Fame) Happy Mother's Day!  This week I thought it would be nice to focus on a player who is not only a mother herself, but was significantly impacted by her own mother's journey.  As a kid playing competitive basketball throughout the 90s, I enjoyed watching my local NBA team win titles twice, as the Houston Rockets were victorious in 1994 and 1995.  After a one-year gap, the newly-formed WNBA was launched and I saw that my city's women's team was dominant, with the Houston Comets winning the league's first four championships from 1997-2000.  An integral part of that team, and now recognized as one of the greatest women to ever play the game, was Cynthia Cooper. The Summit, home to the Houston Comets upon Cooper's arrival in 1997 Although she was born in Chicago, Il...

Phil Garner Born: April 30, 1949 Sport: Baseball (All-American, 3-time All-Star, 985-1,054 managerial record, 2005 NL Pennant) I had a few options to go with this week, but eventually decided to go with the birthday boy, former Astros manager Phil Garner.  He had a big week even without blowing out his candles, as the most successful team for "Scrap Iron" to manage celebrated a milestone, and many of his former players made a point of showing up to participate and support him.  While not the most decorated player or coach in Houston history, he nevertheless made a big impact and has certainly earned his spot in this list of memorable figures in the athletic history of Space City. Minute Maid Park, home of Phil Garner's NL Champion Houston Astros in 2005 Born in eastern Tennessee, Phil Garner grew up in the greater Knoxville area as the son of a Baptist minister.  After he had made it through one year attending a high school that didn't include a robust athletic progra...