Four Days

October 16, 2005

These last few days have been a roller coaster ride of emotions for me. Wednesday, October 12, I attended Ashley Howard's funeral. Ashley, 19, was killed in a automobile accident. Ashley was a "ball kid" for the Houston Comets; so, she was a part of the "family" of teams I cover.

Friday, October 14, was the start of college basketball practice for NCAA Division I schools; so, that was a good day for me because I attended the practices for the Houston Cougars and the Rice Owls.

Saturday, October 15, I attended the practices for the Houston Lady Cougars and the Rice Lady Owls. As the lone media person at practice I felt good watching the two teams; however, when I left Rice, I heard the sad news about former Rockets' center Jason Collier's dying earlier Saturday morning. Jason was 28 years old.

My life may be difficult right now; but, it definitely does not lack for moments.

But, I digress.

The Houston Roundball Review will turn 11 next month. I still feel privileged to receive a media credential from a team and I enjoy attending practices and games because I realize teams do not have to issue me a credential.

The HRR was started in order to provide basketball information the local newspaper did not provide. Eleven years ago, the Internet was not as ubiquitous as it is today which made work more difficult; but, it also allowed The HRR room to grow as a unique source for basketball info. Today, however, the Internet allows basketball fans to share news, info, and rumors in the blink of an eye. Consequently, I'm constantly trying to adjust The HRR's coverage and focus in order to avoid being redundant and still remain a unique source of hoops news.

In the city of Houston, one of the best sports which allows The HRR to remain unique is women's basketball. Women's basketball is an unknown commodity in Houston. Despite the success of the WNBA's Houston Comets, women's basketball on the professional and college level is a mere blip on the local sports radar screen. The sports media outlets don't spend much time on women's hoops because they don't deem it very newsworthy. Quite frankly, based on the amount of support and promotion provided by the university administrations and the Comets' front office, the media is correct.

The lack of coverage and support forms a complete circle. Fans complain about the lack of coverage given to the Comets; but, those same fans no longer attend the Comets games because they don't like head coach Van Chancellor. In addition, those same Comets fans hardly support the Houston area women's college teams. The university administrators will say, "Women's basketball is not a money making sport. We cannot afford to spend much money promoting a sport which does not generate much revenue." I'm not going to dispute that statement; but, I will mention this: How can fans be expected to support your team if they do not know when the team plays its games? or which players are even on the team?

Case in point: the Houston Lady Cougars October 15th practice was open to the public. The school hardly promoted the practice (if at all). Practice began at 10 a.m. I arrived on campus at 10:15; and, the parking lots were already staffed with security personnel for the 4 p.m. Houston Cougars football game. After parking across the street and walking to Hofheinz, to confound matters even more, when I got to Hofheinz Pavilion, the doors were locked! Fortunately, I found an open side door; so, I was, ultimately, able to watch the Lady Coogs' practice. Keep in mind the practice was "open to the public". When I entered Hofheinz, a total of eight people were present. Eight people! Two of the eight were a recruit and her father. One was the wife of one of the assistant coaches. The other five people were friends of the coaching staff.

Oh well; so much for being open to the public.

Before, I watched the UH and Rice men' teams practice, I called Cynthia Cooper to ask her when the Prairie View Lady Panthers would begin practicing. Coop answered her phone, "What's up, Kris?!" She told me their first practice would be at 11:30 Friday night. In addition to speaking with Coop, I spoke with three women's basketball players I used to cover when they were in college and / or playing in the National Women's Basketball League. I hadn't spoken with any of them for quite a while. I enjoy covering women's basketball; and, I try to promote the Houston area teams as much as I possibly can. In fact, I'd like to do more promoting; but, word of mouth is the best I can do right now.

Personally, basketball is basketball. However, I have learned that business is business. The Rockets are the hot basketball ticket in Houston right now; and, I've spent more time covering them this preseason than I've done in a long time. The Houston Cougars are ranked number 24 in an ESPN.com preseason basketball poll; so, coach Tom Penders' team should be poised for a more exciting and successful season than last year's surprising turnaround season which could generate more recognition and support from the media, alumni, and fans this season. Hopefully, the UH marketing department will do a great job this season and effectively promote the team. Marketing is key. Communication is key. UH cannot assume fans know about the team. It's up to the University of Houston to tell the fans about the men's team and the women's team, too.