First things first: Lists like this are insipid wastes of resources and are, especially in this case, the (biased) take of a single writer. Second, the Houston Chronicle Top 10 "Houston Sports Power Rankings" are the dumbest thing to be written in the newspaper for a while. And that's saying a lot when talking about a newspaper whose specialty is writing insipid things.
And that's not even the meat of the problem. Neither is the faked outrage by Chron.columnists over the matter, or the fawning over a pocket dynamo who might go down as being the greatest female gymnast of all time. (If you haven't seen Biles perform, you should. She is truly great.)
The problem comes in the word "power". Because the Houston Chronicle doesn't seem to understand what it is or who really wields it.
'Power', in the sports sense, is not held by any individual athlete. In most sports, excepting the NBA, it resides primarily with the owners. But increasingly in big, metropolitan (progressive-governed) cities power lies, partially, in the hands of the politicians.
You want to know who has the most power and influence in Houston sports?
1. Bob McNair. - As the owner of the Houston Texans he controls not only the highest valued sports franchise in the area but the future of the Astrodome complex as well, primarily due to his right of first refusal for any hare-brained scheme Ed Emmett tries to pursue to keep his name from going down in history followed by "the man who tore down the Dome". How powerful is McNair? Try this on for size. He's raking in record profits despite being in control of a team with a lifetime winning percentage of .427 and he's managed to develop a rabid fan base despite possibly owning the 3rd worst overall franchise in the league. I don't care how you slice it, that's power.
Numbers two and three are Jim Crane and Les Alexander respectively. Then would come Ed Emmett (due to his de facto control of the Harris County Sports Authority) and J. Kent Friedman (Chairman of the Board for the Authority). After that I would have to include Cal McNair (Bob's son and the Vice chairman of the Texans) and then Daryl Morey (GM of the Rockets). At number eight I would slot in Astros GM Jeff Lunhow and then Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner at nine. Finally, at Number 10, I'd slot in Texans head coach Bill O'Brien. I put O'Brien at 10 because he clearly has the keys to the Texans' car right now which puts GM Mike Smith and Texans President Jamey Roots in support modes.
But that's power. What Chronicle tennis-beat writer Dale Robertson was trying to do here is was part generate controversy, part generate page-clicks (which, to be fair, since I'm writing about this he has succeeded, at least with me) and three poke some sticks in eyes of people he doesn't like.
What he was also attempting (poorly) to do is craft a "Top-10" most 'newsworthy' list and he even failed at that. What his list should have looked like, removing his bias, is something along the lines of this....
1. JJ Watt. - You cannot deny the stranglehold that Mr. Watt has on local media.
2. Brock Osweiler. - Yes, he hasn't done much yet, but he is the starting QB of the most prominent team in town.
3. James Harden. - He has the money, but many (including me) don't believe that James "Sixth man of the year" Harden has the skills and drive necessary to be a viable team leader.
4. Tom Herman. - You cannot deny that Mr. Herman has changed the game for Houston football. He has a (slim) chance of guiding the Cougars to the College Football Playoff this year which would be amazing. Next year he'll be on to bigger pastures of course but for now.....
5. Jose Altuve. - He was never 'supposed' to be the Astros' best player but he is. Now we all get to enjoy him.
6. Simone Biles. - If she stays healthy, and competes like she can, then she could go down as the greatest female gymnast of all time. And I'm including all of the big names you are thinking of.
7.Tilman Fertitta. - IF he succeeds in elevating Houston to Power 5 Conference status it would be huge for the Cougars. Dale Robertson is rooting against this of course (he still holds a grudge against Houston fans for turning on him when he was the Chronicle's beat writer for the Cougars several years prior.)
8. Carlos Correa. - Is starting to show signs of being the "next great thing" that he was hyped to be when drafted.
9. DeAndre Hopkins. - No, he won't be the 2nd coming of Andre Johnson, but he is the best Texan on the roster not named JJ Watt.
10. Bill O'Brien - He has a tough gig, trying to make a chicken salad out of the chicken-shit roster that's been crafted by GM Mike Smith. If he can succeed he might move up this list.
Honorable mentions go to: A.J Hinch (Astros manager), Mark D'Antoni (Rockets Coach), George Springer (the 3rd Astro in the new "trio") and UH President Dr. Renu Khator. (Her omission from even the honorable mentions of Robertson's list should be a fireable offense)
Of course, that list doesn't gin up any controversy so it's not something you'd see in a listicle, accompanied by a slide-show, on Chron.com these days so I go back to an old Houston Cougar saying from the Run n' Shoot days.......
"Don't be a Dale".
