Rewind 03/29/2026 - MLB, UT Basketball, WNBA

accurate!

Been a minute since we checked in.  

Jamie's Birthday

It was Jamie's birthday.  We have done nothing for it.  We're 51 now.  It is not exciting.  We'll have dinner with the parents tonight, and dinner with Steanso's family on Tuesday.

Baseball Starts

It's opening weekend for Major League Baseball.  Cubs have a really good lineup, and despite Opening Day jitters and a loss to the Nationals, I'm enthusiastic about our chances - especially as we bounced back and beat them 10-2 in the second game.  Bats are looking good, fielding shouldn't be a problem, and then it's up to the pitcher rotation.  

It looks like The Cubs org is also not being weird, and went ahead and locked up two favorites with 6 year contracts - Centerfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and 2nd Baseman Nico Hoerner.  Both produce on defense and at-bat, and are fan favorites, so its nice to not worry about contract nonsense through the season on two key players.  

I expect Happ will also retire a Cub one way or another, and I'd love to see Suzuki remain a Cub as long as he's playing the US.  

In addition to baseball, it's good to have my imaginary friends back for the post-game show.  Cliff, Elise and Cole.  And Anthony Rizzo seems to be living part time in Chicago, so I imagine he'll be on with other analysts like Dexter Fowler and Ryan Dempster.

  

Texas Basketball

Both Longhorn Basketball squads made it into the tournament this year!  Hooray!

The men's team played really well, but lost to Purdue after a close game, going down by two points in the last seconds.  No shame at all.  I'm excited about UT men's basketball for the first time since high school.

UT Women, however, have progressed to the Elite 8.  So far they beat Missouri State 87-45, Oregon 100-58 and Kentucky (who I thought of as a really good team this season) 76-54.  

This team is really, really good - and what's nuts is that as good as our seniors are, things look equally (or more) bright for next year based on our lower classmen and recruits.  

While we have our stars in Rori Harmon, Madison Booker, Kyla Oldacre, et al...  Sarah Graves is UT's secret weapon as someone who doesn't just ride the pine.  She's maybe the most enthusiastic player and has become an avatar of the positive vibes of the UT team - leading the bench in enthusiasm for her teammates.  Plus, when she comes off the bench it's a sign from coach Schaefer we have this locked up.  To top it off, Graves has scored multiple times in the tournament after coming in.  

 

WNBA

Sounds like the Connecticut Sun has been purchased as an organization and is headed to Houston.  Houston did have a team years ago, and it sounds like the Sun will reclaim that old team name - The Houston Comets.  No other word on what this means, but I am excited as the trip to Houston is easier than heading to Dallas.  

The contract negotiations are done, the players and WNBA both getting something, and I think it looks like the WNBA players will finally have real pro-athlete pay.  It's now tough to look back at the women who played in the league the past 30 years and know what they did so all of this was possible, but looking forward, it's going to be better for both players and the league. And maybe mean a longer season.

Venezuela WBC Champs, 2026 / UT men in the NCAA Tournament

Venezuela Takes Gold

Well, after many, many hours of watching baseball, Tuesday night I saw Venezuela beat the USA in the World Baseball Championship Final.  And, to be honest, I was kind of rooting for Venezuela.  It clearly meant something to them that it didn't to our squad.

Look, Venezuela was playing like their lives depended on it, and with joy.  The US was playing like they had to knock this out and get back to Spring Training.  If there had been a sense of fun to what they were doing, after the loss to Italy, the US had sort of lost the plot.  

Texas Woman's Basketball Wins the SEC Tournament

On Sunday, March the 8th, Texas Women's Basketball won the SEC Tournament.  

It's been a rip-roaring season, and we still have a whole Bracket to get through in the NCAA tournament - but this is huge.  The Longhorns beat Ol' Miss and Dawn Staley's mighty South Carolina to take the trophy.  

It's funny - I have different circles of people I talk to about different sports.  Jamie is there for all but soccer, Jill I text during WNBA games.  I have a group chat for UT football. But JAL is who I text during women's college basketball games.  And other times, my mom - who does not miss a minute of UT Women's Basketball.  And my cousin Sue will chime in sometimes.  

We had a birthday lunch for The Karebear today, and I think we were both looking at our watches to make sure we were out of there for a 2:00ish tip off.  

Jamie decided it was too stressful at halftime and went and sat on the porch with Emmylou.  

Anyway, just wanted to drop a note here and celebrate a huge win!  Texas didn't just win, they won decisively.  An astounding effort by everyone.  Longhorns played with so much heart, as they say, it was astounding to watch.  

Unrivaled (3-on-3 Basketall) Season Ends - Mist Doesn't Miss

The night of March 4th saw the finale of the second season of Unrivaled Basketball, the 3-on-3 women's basketball league. 

If I can be candid - I think they're really onto something.  I don't think it should replace the WNBA, I still like 5-person teams.  But it's like snack-sized basketball in a format that's easily consumable and makes a lot of sense - and is designed by actual WNBA players, not nerds beholden to interests off the court.  

Our champions were Mist who narrowly defeated Phantom, after narrowly defeating The Vinyl.  And that's the kind of spirit it takes to be a Championship team.  Because the season is so short, the bracket was played in single-elimination rounds, so no "best of seven".  If you don't win the game, you go home.

Weekly Rewind - Week of 01/18/2026: Symphony, Pal Check In, Unrivaled Basketball, Reality TV

Jamie works on a puzzle while Emmylou watches over us both

Jamie is working on a puzzle I got her months ago - a 1000 piece picture of Wrigley Field from the press booth, I believe.  Emmylou has been less than thrilled that it means Jamie is not on the sofa with her.  She has made a nest on a different sofa to keep an eye on the world.

A Night at the Symphony

WNBA Finals: Las Vegas Aces Sweep in Four

Well, that was fun.

I mean, the whole thing.  Deciding to put down the money for the WNBA package on YouTube/ YouTubeTV, trying to pick a team, failing to do so, learning about the WNBA, figuring out the hype about A'ja Wilson was not just hype.  Figuring out who the stars were.  Figuring out who the villains were, Alyssa Thomas.  

On October 10th, 2025, the Las Vegas Aces swept the Phoenix Mercury in four games to win the 2025 WNBA Finals.

TL;DR: WNBA, The Fever's Insane Season and Collier Calls Out the Commish

Collier ponders coming for the Queen

Growing up, I watched mostly NBA basketball.  It was the era of The Lakers and Celtics when I started.  The Pistons were my team for a couple of years just to annoy Lakers fans, but I loved the Lakers (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was my favorite player), and eventually the Spurs and Suns.  I also watched the NFL on and off there for a while.  

But over the years, I've been more than happy to get into different sports.  I came very late to baseball, and y'all know I now watch a considerable amount of Cubs. I've watched Major League Soccer and National Women's Soccer League, and very much wish Austin had a women's NWLS team.

I recall the early days on the WNBA and feeling it was generally a great idea. Austin was a town where women's collegiate basketball was more important than men's as the University of Texas women's team generally did very well, and everyone likes a winner.  And I always thought it was dumb that American players had no pro league (of their own).

Flash forward to the 00's when we lived in Phoenix, and I liked going to see The Mercury.  It was inexpensive, the fans were nuts, and the play was solid.  I was there when Taurasi showed up to much fanfare, and then showed why Phoenix was so excited to get her.

But...  TV coverage of WNBA has always been spotty at best.  And when something isn't easily accessible, you kind of lose track of it.  And WNBA got back-burnered by ESPN.  You might be flipping channels on a weekend afternoon and see a game, but not much else.  And it never got mixed in with the Sports Center level coverage.  Because why talk about a whole league when you can make up stories about what's happening in football in the off-season.

WNBA, NWSL and Cubs - Summertime Sports

Kayla Thornton of the Golden State Valkyries

I don't really think of myself as a "sports guy", but it is true that I watch *a lot* of sports.  Apparently I am that guy, in my way.

Cubs Baseball

PCA bringing the Mariah Carey magic

The Chicago Cubs have had a good spring, and as we roll into summer, if injuries don't diminish the roster too much, we could be quite good this season.  While acquired talent like the Astros' Kyle Tucker have been huge boons to the team, our returning roster is looking better and happier than the past two or three seasons.  Pete Crow-Armstrong in Center Field is batting like crazy, Seiya Suzuki is batting a reliable .262 and has at least 13 home runs.  Both of our catchers, Miguel Amaya and Carson Kelly, can hit, so it doesn't matter who is in on any given game day. Seiya also looks to be the lead for .RBI's across MLB at the moment.

I know the season is a grind, but it's fun while it's fun.