The @Spurs lost the NBA Finals last night. But as a brain physician, I see something else. The youngest starting five in conference finals history (average age 22 years, 346 days) just made a run in the NBA Finals. At 22, the brain is still under construction. 1/

Remember that our kids are watching how we react to loss. My daughter and I talked about what went wrong but we also talked about how we respond for the next game. Most importantly, I emphasized that it’s just a game and we’re watching our boys live their NBA dreams. #porvida

FINALS BOUND 🎉 @HEB | @Ledger

YOUR WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS CHAMPS 👏

For everyone who loved seeing the nuns cheering and praying for the Spurs, this is a pretty awesome thing I want to share. They do a ton of work helping local youth and apparently have an Amazon wishlist filled with very basic everyday needs. Honestly… how cool would it be if Spurs fans came together and completely cleared it out? 👀 amazon.com/registries/gl/gue…

I know Spurs fans are excited about an important game 4, but take some time today to remember the 21 lives lost at Robb Elementary, the survivors and the families who are still healing. May 24th is the worst day ever for so many families.

Life changing news for the pancreatic cancer community. My dad is (pending official approval) starting @RevMedicines’ KRAS G12V clinical trial in May, which is an even more targeted drug (for one of his particular genetic mutations) than daraxonrasib. Looking forward to the day these medications are available to every pancreatic cancer patient. nytimes.com/2026/05/01/busin…

Petition to change the city of Castle Hills to “Stephon Castle Hills” #Spurs #PorVida

Fifty-three years ago… Two kids. Thirteen and fourteen years old. A brand new team in a brand new city. We didn’t have much money, so we bought half-season tickets. Twenty-one games. Two dollars a seat. Way up in the nosebleeds… …until we stealthily made our way down to the lower level. Sometimes even the front row. Back then, the Spurs weren’t a dynasty. They were a dream. We’d get to Hemisfair Arena early, before the doors opened, just to sit outside where the players parked. And they noticed us. George Gervin. James Silas. @CoachKarl22 Rich Jones (my favorite Spur of all time). Swen Nater. Coby Dietrick. They knew us as those two kids. The ones who rode the bus from Methodist Hospital, just to be there. Believing something big had arrived in our sleepy little town. Fast forward 53 years… The arena has changed. The game has changed. The world has changed. And so many of the people from those early days… are no longer here. But somehow… We are. Steve “The Original Rock” DiRocco and me. Still side by side. Still watching the Spurs. This afternoon in a sports bar, surrounded by fans who weren’t even born when it all began. They don’t remember the ABA. They don’t remember empty seats. They don’t remember those nights when it felt like this team belonged to just a few of us. But we do. And that’s the beautiful thing about time… It takes so much away. But it leaves behind what matters most. The memories. The friendships. The feeling. Fifty-three years later… We’re still here. Still cheering. Still believing. Still hoping to see one more championship. And maybe… Just maybe… This is the year. Because somewhere deep down, we’re still those two kids… Riding the bus. Chasing a dream. And falling in love with a team that would stay with us for a lifetime. 🏀 #Spurs #SanAntonio #HemisfairArena #GoSpursGo #PorVida

🚨 GIVEAWAY 🚨 We’re giving away a FREE Victor Wembanyama autograph card 👀 To enter: • Like this post • Follow @Topps Bonus: • Retweet for an extra chance to win That’s it… good luck!

Celebrating 25 seasons as the oldest team in San Antonio, hosting Kickoff at their own school, building two robots, and expanding robotics across their district, Team 457 Grease Monkeys is proving that a rebuild year can spark something powerful. 🤖🔥 firstintexas.org/articles/te…

Harris County has the fourth largest Venezuelan population in the U.S., and a majority Latin American population. Our energy industry, with obvious ties to Venezuela, is a major part of our economy, jobs, and the stability of energy prices nationally. I know that folks in Harris County are watching President Trump’s actions regarding Venezuela this morning. Actions to help a people topple an illegitimate and ruinous dictator can be a good thing, and many are rightly celebrating the removal of the top leader of a truly terrible autocratic regime. Not only could this morning’s actions help improve the lives of Venezuelans, but on a numbers-and-cents basis, they could lead to better outcomes for our residents, our energy industry, and the nation. That said, Harris County residents and our industry only stand to gain from this morning’s actions if they lead to stability in Venezuela. That is not only obvious, but it is what I am hearing from community and industry leaders. A transition to democracy in Venezuela is our only hope for stability and for a true benefit to Americans and the American economy. A reconstitution of the Venezuelan oil industry is impossible without a reconstitution of the political system. And it is impossible for American forces to be that political system. As we have learned from intervening in other regions, only the legitimately elected Venezuelan leadership can engender a stable government and oil industry. The president and Congress have the opportunity and responsibility to leverage this moment to negotiate the exit of the entire Maduro regime and usher in a prompt transition to democracy. The logical answer is the installation of the internationally-recognized President-elect, Edmundo González Urrutia, along with the coalition around him, which is essentially led by Nobel Peace Prize recipient Maria Corina Machado. What is to come can look like democratic, prosperous, and valuable U.S. ally Panama, or it can look like tumultuous Libya or Iraq. The prosperity that comes from the arrest of Maduro can be a temporary sugar high, or it can be a long-term cause for celebration for Venezuelans, Harris County, and our nation. The outcome depends on whether or not there is a prompt and just transition to democracy. President Trump’s words so far on his plans to “take over” and “run Venezuela” indefinitely with “boots on the ground” do not bode well for U.S. interests or for Venezuela’s necessary future success. Neither do his threats to depose the duly elected presidents of Mexico and Colombia. As President Trump’s “takeover” proceeds, on behalf of community and economic interests in Harris County – the third largest county in the nation and home to a massive energy industry with national ramifications – I call for the President to usher in stability and success by ensuring a prompt democratic transition in Venezuela. And I call for Congress to reclaim its power and hold the President’s actions accountable, ensuring they bring about a prompt transition to the elected Venezuelan leadership and their winning coalition. This necessitates transparency and respect for the rule of law on the part of our federal leadership. I and my office remain in touch with industry leaders, diplomatic representatives, and federal partners as the situation unfolds.

Congrats to Head Coach Mitch Johnson on being named Western Conference Coach of the Month for December 🙌

There have been all-time greats in NBA history. Legends. Icons. But none of them have ever done what Victor Wembanyama did tonight in San Antonio. 👽

Friends- This is a tough note to write, but since a bunch of you have started to suspect something, I’ll cut to the chase: Last week I was diagnosed with metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer, and am gonna die. Advanced pancreatic is nasty stuff; it’s a death sentence. But I already had a death sentence before last week too — we all do. I’m blessed with amazing siblings and half-a-dozen buddies that are genuinely brothers. As one of them put it, “Sure, you’re on the clock, but we’re all on the clock.” Death is a wicked thief, and the bastard pursues us all. Still, I’ve got less time than I’d prefer. This is hard for someone wired to work and build, but harder still as a husband and a dad. I can’t begin to describe how great my people are. During the past year, as we’d temporarily stepped back from public life and built new family rhythms, Melissa and I have grown even closer — and that on top of three decades of the best friend a man could ever have. Seven months ago, Corrie was commissioned into the Air Force and she’s off at instrument and multi-engine rounds of flight school. Last week, Alex kicked butt graduating from college a semester early even while teaching gen chem, organic, and physics (she’s a freak). This summer, 14-year-old Breck started learning to drive. (Okay, we’ve been driving off-book for six years — but now we’ve got paper to make it street-legal.) I couldn’t be more grateful to constantly get to bear-hug this motley crew of sinners and saints. There’s not a good time to tell your peeps you’re now marching to the beat of a faster drummer — but the season of advent isn’t the worst. As a Christian, the weeks running up to Christmas are a time to orient our hearts toward the hope of what’s to come. Not an abstract hope in fanciful human goodness; not hope in vague hallmark-sappy spirituality; not a bootstrapped hope in our own strength (what foolishness is the evaporating-muscle I once prided myself in). Nope — often we lazily say “hope” when what we mean is “optimism.” To be clear, optimism is great, and it’s absolutely necessary, but it’s insufficient. It’s not the kinda thing that holds up when you tell your daughters you’re not going to walk them down the aisle. Nor telling your mom and pops they’re gonna bury their son. A well-lived life demands more reality — stiffer stuff. That’s why, during advent, even while still walking in darkness, we shout our hope — often properly with a gravelly voice soldiering through tears. Such is the calling of the pilgrim. Those who know ourselves to need a Physician should dang well look forward to enduring beauty and eventual fulfillment. That is, we hope in a real Deliverer — a rescuing God, born at a real time, in a real place. But the eternal city — with foundations and without cancer — is not yet. Remembering Isaiah’s prophecies of what’s to come doesn’t dull the pain of current sufferings. But it does put it in eternity’s perspective: “When we've been there 10,000 years…We've no less days to sing God's praise.” I’ll have more to say. I’m not going down without a fight. One sub-part of God’s grace is found in the jawdropping advances science has made the past few years in immunotherapy and more. Death and dying aren’t the same — the process of dying is still something to be lived. We’re zealously embracing a lot of gallows humor in our house, and I’ve pledged to do my part to run through the irreverent tape. But for now, as our family faces the reality of treatments, but more importantly as we celebrate Christmas, we wish you peace: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned….For to us a son is given” (Isaiah 9). With great gratitude, and with gravelly-but-hopeful voices, Ben — and the Sasses

Big Tech is paying millions to train teachers on AI, in a push to bring chatbots into classrooms apnews.com/article/artificia…

In Mexico, traditionally women did not inherit chinampas, island farms first built by the Aztecs thousands of years ago. The farming on such islands, which sit in Mexico City, has also traditionally been done by men. A collaboration with @mongabay

Our fall MACRI Cosecha is NEXT WEEK! MACRI will be scanning historical items & recording oral histories to be preserved in its archival collection. Join us! Saturday, September 13 | 1 PM - 4 PM 2123 Buena Vista Street, SATX Learn more & RSVP: buff.ly/NADl1ed

I drove six hours from Brownsville to Austin with one purpose: to make sure our communities are seen and heard.

The Tejano and conjunto music community is grieving the loss of one of its most beloved and pioneering figures, Flaco Jiménez, who passed away on July 31, 2025, at the age of 86. Known as a master of the accordion and a cultural ambassador for Mexican-American music, Flaco's impact stretched far beyond his San Antonio roots. His family shared the news with fans through a heartfelt statement, expressing gratitude for the outpouring of love and support, and emphasizing that his legacy will endure through the music and memories he gifted to the world. Born into a family rich with musical tradition, Flaco Jiménez carried forward the legacy of his father, Santiago Jiménez Sr., and elevated the conjunto genre to new artistic heights. From his early days performing with his father at age seven to achieving international acclaim, Flaco’s career spanned over seven decades and included collaborations with artists like Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Emmylou Harris, and the Texas Tornados. These cross-genre partnerships helped expose conjunto music to broader audiences and established Flaco as a musical bridge between cultures and generations. Throughout his storied career, Flaco received numerous accolades, including five Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and the National Heritage Fellowship. His influence can still be heard in modern Tejano, norteño, and folk music, where his signature accordion style remains a source of inspiration. As tributes pour in from across the globe, fans and fellow musicians remember not just the virtuosity of Flaco Jiménez, but the joy, pride, and cultural richness he brought to every note. His music lives on, forever woven into the fabric of American and Mexican musical heritage. Flaco was, and will forever be remembered as, a true legend of Texas Music. He will be greatly missed.