Houston Comets sign Tamecka Dixon

The Comets have signed former LA Sparks guard Tamecka Dixon to a contract. She was introduced to the Toyota Center crowd during the fourth quarter of the Rockets loss to Phoenix Monday night.

Tamecka was sitting with Comets head coach Van Chancellor and assistant head coach Karleen Thompson during the game. The signing will become official once the paperwork is received and approved by the WNBA.

To the Yao Ming Haters...

Houston Rockets center Yao Ming will never please everyone; but, all of the criticism he receives is, I believe, unjust and asinine. The "haters" want Yao Ming to be the next Hakeem Olajuwon or be a brute force like Shaq. Newsflash!!! He's not going to be like Dream; and, he's not Shaquille O'Neal...He's Yao Ming!

All of the haters should ask the Golden State Warriors their thoughts on Yao Ming after his 22 points and 21 rebounds Friday night in the Rockets 91 to 88 home win. That's right 22 and 21 from Yao Ming. Let me know the last time Shawn Bradley (7'6); Manute Bol (7'7); and Gheorghe Muresan (7'7) posted those big-time numbers in an NBA basketball game. That's what I thought.

Here's a thought for everyone sippin' the Yo Ming "Hatorade"; after last night's gameYao Ming was talking about having some 30 rebound ball games in his future. Sip on that...

Now, to Warriors' head coach Mike Montgomery. What were you thinking in the fourth qurter last night? Your player, Jason Richardson, began the fourth period involved in all 10 of his team's points (two three-point shots; a fast break dunk; and an assist for a lay-up) in the first 1:31 of the fourth period. The 10-zip run put the Warriors ahead of the Rockets 78 to 76 in the blink of an eye. The Rockets had absolutely no answer for J-Rich.

So, what did Coach Montgomery do with 9:45 left in the quarter? He took Richardson out ofthe game. Huh?!

While J-Rich sat on the bench, the Warriors did push their lead to 82-76 with 7:33 left; but, that was due mainly to the ineptitude of the Rockets' offense. Golden State missed five shots and committed one turnover while Richardson sat on the bench. Golden State scored six points the rest of the game. Guess who scored those six points? Yep. Jason Richardson.

Way to go, Coach Montgomery.

Rockets edge Clips; Zeke does it again

First things first, what in the hell is Isiah Thomas doing with the Knicks. Acquiring Steve Francis and teaming him with Stephon Marbury seems like a disaster waiting to happen. To compound the problem, Francis' salary just adds dollars to the Knicks already bloated payroll. The Orlando Magic have to be thrilled to get rid of Steve's huge contract in exchange for Penny Hardaway's expiring contract. Great job, Isiah!

Wednesday night's 106-102 win by the Rockets over the Clippers was solid; but, I believe the Clips blew their chance to win the ball game in the second quarter. Houston outscored LA 31 to 18 in the second period; and, during that period, it seemed the Clippers had no idea what team ball was all about. Basically, it appeared the Clippers took the second quarter off. After the game, Sam Cassell, Elton Brand, Cuttino Mobley, and rookie Daniel Ewing each told me they have to stop playing for just 24 or 36 minutes and get back to playing good ball for a full 48 minutes. Five straight losses by the Clips is just killing Cuttino. While he was with the Rockets, Cat was devastated after each loss. His mood was similar last night. He really hates to lose.

Thanks

I've had to get a day job in order to help pay bills; but, I want to take time to thank the businesses that are HRR sponsors:

Academy Sports & Outdoors
Down Home Barbecue
Yvonda Lewis, ERA Bogany Properties, The People's Realtor
Everyones Internet
The Houston Comets and the Houston Rockets
Italian Ice Hut
Kashmere Pharmacy
The Matrix Financial Group
The Satellite Man, Trence Hicks
Elvin Franklin, State Farm Insurance Agent
RCS Sports
Stevenson Barbecue
and
Uncle Buddys Used Cars

Next, I want to thank HRR business partner, the Gay & Lesbian Yellow Pages.

I'm well short of my goal of obtaining at least 100 sponsors; but, the businesses that have committed to the HRR are very important to me.

Lastly, without naming all of their names, I also want to thank the (30 to 40) people who are subscribers to the HRR's "Members Section". Your support is greatly appreciated.

I had a goal to reach 2,000 subscribers; so, I'm far from reaching that goal.

Houston Defender 75th Anniversary

This Thursday, February 9, two of my mentors (and now colleagues), Mr. Ralph Cooper and Mr. Darrell Ardison will be honored. The event will take place at the Fox Sports Grill (5775 Westheimer) from 5 to 9 p.m.

"Join us for an evening of sports memories as the Defender, Houston's Leading Black Newspaper, honors Sports Editors Ralph Cooper and Darrell Ardison. It's a party to celebrate the contributions of these fantastic sports writers. The event sponsors are the Houston Texasn, Astros, Rockets, and ABC Ch. 13. The $10 admission will benefit the Ralph Cooper Stars of the Future and the Worthing High School Bseball team."

In addition, the Ryan Middle School boys basketball team will be honored for winning the 23rd Annual "Stars of the Future" basketball tournament which took place November 19 at Chavez High School. Ryan defeated Welch 77 to 59 behind the hot hand of Brandon Peters who had 26 points and Darius Gardner who chipped in 20.

2006 WNBA Draft to be in Boston

The WNBA announced today the 2006 WNBA Draft will take place in Boston, Mass.

League President Donna Orender participated in a media teleconference to discuss the announcement. I asked her a couple of questions during the teleconference.

Here are the mp3s of her answers to my questions:

WNBA Pres. Donna Orender:
"...will carry the Draft..."
"...40 players..."