Geographist

James Harden Born: August 26, 1989 Sport: Basketball (All-American, 3-time scoring champ, 11-time All-Star, 8-time All-NBA, MVP, Olympic Gold Medalist) It's been a few months since we took a look at a player that is still active, but a few factors played into my decision to look at James Harden.  First, it's the anniversary of a consistency mark that allowed him to pass the greatest of all time - on this date seven years ago, he passed Michael Jordan for second all-time in consecutive 30-point games.  Second, the city of Houston is currently experiencing a weather-related shutdown, and Harden had experience dealing with climate drama during his time in town.  And while I hope everyone out there is finding a way to stay warm and out of the frigid air, here is a brief spotlight on another significant Houston sports figure to help you pass the time until things return to normal. Toyota Center, home to the Houston Rockets when James Harden arrived in 2012 Born and raised in C...

Moses Malone Born: March 23, 1955 Sport: Basketball (13-time All-Star, ABA All-Time Team, 8-time All-NBA, 3-time MVP, Hall of Fame)  Professional football season ended today in Houston, as our local team once again failed to advance beyond the second round of the playoffs.  There are three weeks before the Olympics begin and a few more after that until baseball's spring training gets going, which means basketball has the city's undivided attention for a little while.  Fortunately our local team is doing fairly well, competing hard with some of the best teams in the league while holding their record on a trajectory to be relevant once the postseason arrives.  Houston has a history of having some of the very best big men to ever play the game, so this week we'll look at the story of a dominant center who played a good chunk of his legendary career for the Rockets - Moses Malone.  The Summit was the home of the Rockets during Moses Malone's time with Houston The ch...

Guy V. Lewis Born: March 19, 1922 Sport: Basketball (592-279 coaching record, 2-time AP Coach of the Year, Hall of Fame)  Last week I considered him, and today I'm pulling the trigger.  Yesterday I was watching the University of Houston Cougars take apart a conference opponent and remembered how the team earned the nickname "Phi Slama Jama" in January, 1983 (coincidentally the year I was born).  That team boasted a number of Hall of Fame players, but for some reason their head coach took a long time to finally earn the same recognition.  Fortunately it did finally happen before he passed away in 2015, as the Hall of Fame corrected one of its most glaring omissions in 2013.  So this week let's do the same and not omit Guy V. Lewis from this blog, recognizing the contributions of a man who called UH home through five different decades.  Guy V. Lewis coached most of his career at the Hofheinz Pavilion on the UH campus The son of an oil wildcatter, also named G...

Vince Young Born: May 18, 1983 Sport: Football (All-American, Rookie of the Year, 2-time Pro Bowl) I was wrestling with a few different ideas about who should get the spotlight this week.  On the sports landscape, it is the final week of the NFL season so I thought about focusing on a member of the Texans since they wrapped up their season with a victory over Indianapolis.  Both the professional and college basketball teams have also been doing well in their seasons as well, so that caught my attention.  And then I found out that yesterday was the anniversary of the groundbreaking ceremony for the Houston Astrodome, so at least one figure from that event stood out in my mind.  It's also the anniversary of the first use of the term "Phi Slama Jama" to reference the high-flying style of the UH Cougars basketball team of the early 1980s.  But I finally settled on a local Houston product that cemented his legacy on this day 20 years ago when the University of Texas ...