More Tank Dell on where he is in his injury comeback and the Texans' support: "There's light at the end of the tunnel. So I'm almost there. "It means the most. . . The belief I have from the organization. From (GM) Nick (Caserio) on to the bottom. To (Coach) DeMeco (Ryans) to my receiver coach to training staff and everybody in training staff. It's been a great ride, a great journey. "They held me down from the jump. Anything I needed, I could go in there and talk to them. Especially DeMeco. His No. 1 rule is his door's always open. You can talk to him about anything." @PaperCityMag

Why This World Cup Moment Means Even More To Houston Than Dallas — Fighting For Its Rightful Spot On the Global Stage With Welcoming Kindness papercitymag.com/culture/why…

Kelvin Sampson's University of Houston team will play Arizona, Colorado and Texas Tech twice (home and away) in the Big 12's just released basketball schedule matrix. The Cougars play BYU, Iowa State, Kansas Oklahoma State, TCU and Utah only once at home in the still 18-game 2026-27 conference season. UH gets Arizona State, Baylor, UCF, Cincinnati, Kansas State and West Virginia only once on the road. The Big 12 away schedule is more forgiving for Houston than last season when Sampson's team faced that gauntlet of Iowa State, Kansas, Texas Tech and BYU on the road. This is the first time that Houston plays Baylor only once in a season since 2023-24. 📷 @fcarters

Houston Rockets big game changer Vernon Maxwell tells @PaperCityMag he's touched by the fans who came out to see him 32 years after his unforgettable run for the 1994 championship team: "For the fans to still love Old Max like they used to. Back in the... shit, it's been over 30 years. Still to have the love like I still play here right now. It's just a blessing, man. "This is what Houston's all about. The fan base. We have great fans around Houston. I know I say a lot of crazy stuff. "But we do have one of the best fan bases in the NBA, Major League Baseball and football. Kudos to Houston." Maxwell appeared at the Rockets' pop-up shop at George R. Brown for their new uniforms launch and return to the ketchup and mustard colors that Mad Max played in. Shop runs till 8 pm and is an easy walk before the Astros' game.

University of Houston coach Kelvin Sampson on the first week of summer work, early impressions of his revamped team: "I know that (Top 10 freshman guard recruit) Ikenna Alozie is pretty good. Chase (McCarty) has improved. "I could go down the list and tell you something about every one of them, but that's a comma. That's not a period. You don't draw conclusions on anything in the offseason. Coach said this guy was this. That's a comma. He may take a step back next week. "So don't take anything and run with it and act like it's fact. It's just an early observation."

The Best New TV Shows to Stream Right Now — Must-Watch Dark Comedies and Sci-Fi Mysteries papercitymag.com/culture/bes…

Houston’s Own Wes Anderson and Richard Linklater Jump Into the Fight to Save the City’s Historic Garden Oaks Theater — a @PaperCityMag Exclusive papercitymag.com/culture/gar…

Taking a closer look at the Houston Rockets' new uniforms with the ketchup and mustard of the championship teams returning, the Dunkstronaut on the waistband and quasar space stripes rather than straight pinstripes. Lower case t also returns in a modern way.

University of Houston assistant Kellen Sampson tells @PaperCityMag that UH point guard Kingston Flemings is a fit for any team in the NBA: "People say that Jerry West couldn't play today. Heck yeah, he could. Jerry West would have been awesome in any era. Larry Bird would have been incredible in any era. Great players defy generations. Kingston was fantastic in college. And he's going to be a fantastic pro. "Not necessarily because of stylistically. Because Kingston Flemings is an awesome basketball player. People say who's a good fit for him? All of them. "He's got 30 good fits in the NBA. There's not a bad fit for Kingston in the NBA. Just tickled to death that he chose Houston. And we got a chance to be part of his journey."

University of Houston assistant coach Kellen Sampson to @PaperCityMag on a remade roster that's sort of old school Cougars basketball: "College basketball got old school. As you look at the landscape of college basketball, and what you're going to have to do to kind of go where you want to go, we certainly wanted to upgrade our front court a little bit. And target a certain body type and skill set along with it. "I feel like that's what we did. . . It was time for us to pivot and kind of get back to the roots of us a little bit. And it was well received in the recruiting landscape. We were able to target I think guys we'll certainly feel really comfortable coaching." Kelvin Sampson's 2026-27 team is having its first official team meeting tonight with summer conditioning set to begin early Monday morning.

The kickoff time for University of Houston football's game at Colorado has been set for 9:15 pm CST on November 13, UH announced. It's Friday night football on ESPN between Willie Fritz and Deion Sanders' squads. Another high-profile TV window for the Cougars in this much-anticipated season.

Why Alex Bregman Thinks Will Davis Is a Home Run Hire For University of Houston Baseball. More from @PaperCityMag's exclusive one-on-one interview with Bregman, the story of Davis and Bregman's quick bond at LSU and a congratulations call between buddies. papercitymag.com/culture/ale…

Alex Bregman to @PaperCityMag on new University of Houston baseball coach Will Davis, who coached and recruited Bregman at LSU: "He's great at what he does. . . Extremely prepared. Confident. He loves the game. He wants to be the best and win at the highest level." Bregman talked to PaperCity on the phone from Pittsburgh where the Cubs are playing a series against the Pirates. More to come.

University of Houston senior deputy athletics director David Williams to @PaperCityMag on UH hiring Will Davis as its new baseball coach: "The recruiting success he's had going back to his LSU days with people like Alex Bregman to what he's done at Lamar to get his current team to the NCAA Regional, competing against Texas A&M this weekend, it was huge. The adaptation to today's recruiting — meaning how do you balance transfer portal with high school recruiting to junior college recruiting — understanding those facets are only things you can learn in the last couple of years." Williams talked to PaperCity because athletic director Eddie Nuñez was on a flight to Dallas for the Big 12 meetings. papercitymag.com/culture/wil…

The University of Houston is hiring Will Davis of Lamar to be its new baseball coach and will announce it shortly. UH athletic director Eddie Nuñez lands his targeted choice to bring the Cougars' baseball program back after an eight-year NCAA Tournament drought. @KendallRogers first reported that Davis was expected to be hired this morning. Davis was offered the job and accepted it Monday night, PaperCity is told. @PaperCityMag first reported back on May 20 that UH contacted Davis and he was one of the first candidates Nuñez interviewed during the search process. The 41-year-old Davis led Lamar to the NCAA Regionals for the first time in 16 years this season. He brings a 289-231 head coaching record to Houston, all in his 10 seasons at Lamar. Davis and Nuñez worked together at LSU where Davis established himself as one of the rising young coaches in the game after his playing career for the Tigers ended. Now he takes on the UH baseball challenge.

Inside the University of Houston Baseball Coaching Search — The Small List of Candidates, Entering Phase Two and Pro Baseball Reach Outs @PaperCityMag papercitymag.com/culture/ins…

Houston athletic director Eddie Nuñez tells @PaperCityMag that he's reached out to coaches in professional baseball in his search for UH's next baseball coach. "We've talked to some coaches, some assistant coaches, some coaches outside of the business , some coaches in the professional game," Nuñez says. "But it's really a small number." That small number refers to the actual serious candidates for the job. "It's really a very small number that we're focusing on," Nuñez says.

Houston athletic director Eddie Nuñez to @PaperCityMag on search for new baseball coach: "The one thing I've learned in my life and my career, from people that have had much more success than me in making decisions like this, is you've got to go after people with high character and high integrity. "If you start the process with that than you're going to know the person you're bringing in is going to understand. Then after that, it's about what experiences, what vision, what opportunity they have to help move the needle. Do they have that fire in their gut." Nuñez's time on the NCAA Baseball Selection Committee while at New Mexico allowed him to make connections and get to know a number of coaches within the game. And identify some people he'd be interested in hiring and some he would not.

University of Houston baseball coach Todd Whitting expects he'll meet with AD Eddie Nunez soon, possibly as early as today, as his future is decided. Whitting to @PaperCityMag on if he's thought that this could be it, that this game could have been his last as UH's coach: "Till I'm not the head baseball coach here, I am. I love this university. I love the people in it. "Those guys on the field. The coaching staff. All those people sitting up in the stands. It's a great place. It's a great university. It has great leadership. I look forward to seeing what's ahead at the University of Houston."

Rockets alternate governor Patrick Fertitta on his family's drive to bring Houston Comets back, which became a WNBA record $300 million purchase price: "We do feel as though it's a lot more than a team, or a business. It's a responsibility and an obligation as Houstonians to not just operate at a high level. But to bring back a brand like the Comets to this town so we can celebrate and enjoy it as a community. "Yes there is a lot of passion. And it does go far beyond maybe just a traditional investment or business."