Sports. And things

Who to root for when your home team stinks

A little bit about me that might explain some things — I am Texas Longhorn-centric in most everything, except when it involves the Texas Rangers and the Dallas Mavericks.

I don’t like Texas A&M and I like the oklahoma sooners even less. Yes, “oklahoma” and “sooners” have been intentionally written in lower case. If they can spell my state name backwards, upside down or add a hilarious extra “s” at the end, I can show similar disdain with poor capitalization. Very petty and silly, I know, but take that, sooners!

I watch everything — football, baseball, basketball, soccer when those other sports aren’t on, etc… — and I am usually rooting for someone, or against someone, even if it doesn’t involve one of my three teams. Sometimes I have to invent reasons to root for someone, or against someone, but I will do it. And away we go!

The NBA

I am a Dallas Mavericks fan, as noted above, and I wear it and claim it proudly, but they are out of the play-offs. A topic for another time that I will get to.

The pressing matter now is who do I root for now my team is out? I’m in the vetting process for a temporary team.

I don’t like the fact the San Antonio Spurs are shoved down my throat here in Austin, and as a (2011 World Champion) Mavericks fan, it infuriates me that I can’t watch them night in and night out at my house without paying extra for it.

I have to watch the Rangers on QVC some nights while the Houston Astros are on FSN, but I can at least watch them at home. I don’t like your rules, NBA. I am not in San Antonio or the greater San Antonio area, so why not give me all three Texas teams? Or at least the two good ones? Just a thought.

What was I talking about? Oh, yes, since Dallas is out, I need a team. But who? Neither LA team will do. At all. And I’ll root for Texas A&M and homework on the weekends before I root for Miami.

Philadelphia, Boston and Indiana are just a circles on a map to me (since towns are circles on a map), although former Texas Longhorn Avery Bradley is playing for the Celtics.

That means it’s down to Oklahoma City and San Antonio. As I said, I don’t like the fact the Spurs are shoved in my face in Austin, but is that their fault? Of course it is. Kevin Durant and Royal Ivey, also former Texas Longhorns, are in Oklahoma City. I love Durant and want nothing but the best for him personally. Ivey, too. The problem is they are playing for Oklahoma City, which is the heart of darkness for the oklahoma sooners, who I dislike more than anything on the earth. I don’t want their fans to be happy (athletically speaking only, of course) and winning will make them happy.

As a judgy, juvenile, petty, take-things-way-too-seriously big mouth, you see my dilemma. Do I choose the team that I am forced to watch but don’t want to, or the team with player I love in a city I do not? When it’s the close, I have to go home state and take the Spurs. Cory Joseph, another Longhorn, is a Spur.

I guess I answered my own question. Spurs it is, but I am not happy about it. Apologies to my wife, who is rooting for Durant and the Thunder. Well, not really. She was for the Thunder last year against Dallas. Don’t tell her I said that.

MLB

Is there anything more ridiculous in sports than grounding out into “The Shift?” If you don’t know what the shift is, it’s when the infield moves the entire defense to the right side of second base, adding two extra fielders where the hitter might hit it.

Here is a shot of the shift:

Easy to spot, right? The premise behind the shift is the hitter, a left-hander who pulls the ball, is going to hit the ball towards right field where up to five players are waiting to make a play as opposed to left field where only two players are.

Two players left of second. Two. You and I see the extra fielders on the right and the GIANT open space on the left, right? Look at the image again. If we can see it, you know the hitter can see that, right? Right???

Common sense tells you to hit the ball the other way, doesn’t it? I mean TWO GUYS on the left side of second? And if you do go the other way, won’t the defense have to remove the shift the next time you come up for fear of you going the other way, opening up the right side for you? That all makes sense to me, yet players continually pull the ball on the ground, into the shift, and get thrown out at first. Why? Some of it is arrogance on the part of the hitter, but I think a lot of it is the defense having no faith in the hitter’s ability to go the other way.

If that’s true, it’s the closest thing in professional sports to the sandlot taunts of “Move in! Easy out! Move in! He can’t hit it!” to the kid who never hits the ball. It’s actually the same thing. “Move to the right! He can’t hit left! Move to the right! Easy out!” Don’t be easy outs, fellas. Unless you play for a team I don’t like.

I’ll be back with some college and pro football next week.

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High Score

Austin named the nation's pickleball capital in industry report

Photo by Henry Selis Photo

Other Racquet Social Club is back after city woes.

It's no secret that Austinites love pickleball. A new study proves just how much by ranking Austin the No. 1 city for pickleball in the whole country. Dallas and Houston also made the top 10 at Nos. 3 and 8, respectively.

The report was published by TeachMe.To, an online marketplace for learning sports (and sometimes music) from private instructors. It used data from its own platform, USA Pickleball, Places2Play, local pickleball associations, and more. It also referred to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), which named pickleball the fastest-growing sport in America, with a growth rate of 223.5 percent over three years.

Similarly, TeachMe.To ranked Austin as the fastest-growing city for pickleball, and citing this as the main reason for the overall title of "the nation's pickleball capital."

It name-checked the Austin Metro Pickleball Association (AMPA) — with approximately 3,000-3,500 members — and the Austin Pickleball League (APL), estimating that overall, "15,000-20,000 people play pickleball at least occasionally in the greater Austin area." About half of those players — about 8,000-10,000 people — play at least twice a month.

The report did not include gender data on Austin, specifically, but it did note that not only are two-thirds of pickleball players female; women's involvement in the sport is also growing 50 percent faster than men's.

New courts everywhere
This probably isn't a surprise to people who have noticed the number of courts opened around Austin in recent years. By 2024, TeachMe.To's data shows 32 dedicated courts in Austin, and thanks to with a utility rate of 92 percent it doesn't look like that'll be slowing down.

In the summer of 2023, the online booking platform Swimply noticed how many pickleball courts there were in Austin compared to such great demand, and added courts to its service. In fall 2023 and summer 2024, at least two important developments expanded that availability: Other Racquet Social Club opened as a friendly, country club-like neighborhood option, and national chain The Picklr announced it's bringing five locations to Austin and Round Rock.

Perhaps because Austin is such a food-obsessed city, there seems to be some growing opportunity for food and beverage hospitality around pickleball, too. Other Racquet recently started hosting the Bill's Dips food truck, a spinoff of the popular downtown restaurant Bill's Oyster; and a pair of bars with pickleball courts, Drifters Social Coffee & Cocktails and The Pickle Pub, also opened in South Austin this year, with strong online ratings already.

The trend has even reached into real estate (see this cute house with its own pickleball court) and inspired athletes to introduce similar sports to the local market, as in the case of the padel club Paddle39. TeachMe.To's report also mentioned tech companies adding pickleball to their campuses.

Aside from growth, the study also considered lesson activity (including information about teacher availability and diversity of clinic offerings), infrastructure, community vitality, the tournament scene.

Austin had the highest concentration of all the cities of players under 40 (65 percent), as well as the highest share of national lesson bookings. At 16.90 percent, that means about one in six of the pickleball lessons contracted through this platform were in Austin. Lesson demand, the report says, is growing 125 percent year-over-year.

Elsewhere in Texas
Dallas was No. 3 thanks in part to its "central location" according to the report.

"The city's 45 dedicated courts and 85 [percent] public accessibility rate have fostered one of the most active competitive scenes in the country, with 8,500 registered league players," it says. "The combination of strong tournament presence, extensive infrastructure, and a 112% growth in lesson bookings solidifies Dallas as a powerhouse in the national pickleball landscape."

Houston made No. 8 with an emphasis on integrating pickleball with other sports.

"The city's 22 dedicated courts have seen a 92% increase in lesson bookings, driven by innovative programming that includes the nation's first corporate league system," it says. "Houston's success in integrating pickleball into existing sports infrastructure while maintaining 72% year-round utilization demonstrates a sustainable model for rapid growth."

Overall predictions
After laying out data about the top cities in pickleball, the report made some predictions. As the Austin newcomer mentioned above believes, the report also thinks padel is the next big thing. It also guesses more cities will act like Houston by focusing on hybrid facilities.

It also expects to see an expanded professional circuit and mainstream coverage, more technology used on the court, a rise in the prevalence of young players, and more opportunities in corporate wellness and real estate. "Dedicated pickleball facilities will become as common as swimming pools in luxury developments," it says. Texans will be the judge of that one.

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Austin named the nation's pickleball capital in industry report