Houston

HOUSTON, July 12 -- During the 87 games that constituted the first half of their season, the Washington Nationals performed combat on conventional wisdom. They found a way to do almost anything that hadn't been done before, so long as it didn't improve their chances to win. They found a starter who threw four wild pitches in one game. They lost on a night when they hit five homers. They sustained such a shoddy pace that their manager, after wrapping up the first half with a seven-game, six-loss road trip, said, "We have played already better over the...

HOUSTON — The Chicago White Sox have dropped 15 games by one run this season, including six of their last 10 losses. After their latest close defeat — 5-4 to Houston on Sunday — they were searching for reasons why they can't seem to do the little things it takes to win such games. It was their third straight one-run loss in this series. "When you lose by one run every game, you always go back to that one inning when we did not get things done," Chicago's Adam Dunn said.

GREENVILLE, N.C., Sept. 27 -- Case Keenum threw for 399 yards and three touchdowns, and Houston earned its first win against a ranked opponent in a dozen years by beating No. 23 East Carolina, 41-24, on Saturday. Patrick Edwards had 11 catches for 146 yards and a score for the Cougars (2-3, 1-0 Conference USA), who had no trouble moving the ball and finished with 621 total yards. Bryce Beall ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns, and Houston's defense didn't allow the Pirates to score an offensive touchdown until midway through the third...

HOUSTON — As of two games ago, Jason Castro had never hit a homer off a left-hander. Now Houston's left-handed hitting catcher has done it twice. Castro homered for the second straight game and Matt Dominguez hit a three-run double to help the Astros to their fourth straight win, 5-4 over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. Dominguez put Houston on top 3-0 with a double in the second inning, and Castro hit a two-run shot to make it 5-2 in the seventh. The left-handed Castro...

EL PASO, Texas -- Donald Buckram ran for a career-high 262 yards and four touchdowns to lead Texas-El Paso to a 58-41 upset of No. 12 Houston. The Cougars (3-1, 0-1 Conference USA) had earned their first ranking since 1991 and were hoping to become a BCS spoiler after two wins over Big 12 foes. Instead they watched UTEP fans storm the field seconds after the Miners (2-3, 1-0) beat a ranked team for the first time in 12 years. Houston lost despite a career night from Case Keenum, who threw for 536 yards and five touchdowns.

Houston isn't exactly what you'd call a "looker. " This is apparent as I enjoy my last lunch in the city seated on the patio at Revival Market, a cafe and gourmet grocer in the Heights, a residential neighborhood north of downtown. Across the street, Victorian houses and quaint Craftsman bungalows line a leafy boulevard with pedestrian-friendly sidewalks and grassy medians. Trees with thick trunks and broad branches shield joggers and walkers with baby strollers from the midday Texas sun. And...

Records: Washington 3-7, Houston 3-7. Where: Reliant Arena. When: Tonight, 8:30. TURNOVER TROUBLE: Tree Rollins exhaled and shook his head when the topic was broached after Monday's practice. Even after watching tape from Friday's 64-57 road win over Chicago, he still wasn't sure what exactly was at the root of the poor recognition that led to his team's 22 turnovers against the Sky. The Mystics have begun charting all turnovers committed during practices, down to the most minute drill.

HOUSTON, Sept. 16 -- For the past four days, since Hurricane Ike plowed across Houston, knocking down power lines and wreaking havoc, home for the Hawkins family has mostly been their Chevy Malibu in the parking lot. Their apartment, in a complex called Concord, has no electricity and is stifling in Houston's swampy heat. The place has water damage and a mildewy kind of smell. The family is starting to feel ill from the stink, and from taking cold showers. "This is horrible," said Chandra Hawkins, who was in the passenger seat...

-- Steady Houston has finished 8-8 in each of the last two seasons. With not much different heading into this year, a similar result could be in store.

HOUSTON, Oct. 12 -- Andre Johnson hung his head, furious at himself for fumbling near the goal line. Coaches urged the wide receiver to snap out of it. If Houston was going to win, they told him, he'd have to make a play. They were right. Johnson had an acrobatic 23-yard reception on fourth and 10 that kept the last drive alive and quarterback Matt Schaub ran for a three-yard touchdown with three seconds left to lead the Texans to their first win, a 29-28 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

HOUSTON — The Houston Astros overcame a dominate outing by Chris Sale by taking advantage of a pair of defensive miscues that helped them to a 2-1 win over the Chicago White Sox on Friday night. Erik Bedard pitched six solid innings, and Jose Altuve hit a go-ahead RBI single to help the Astros to the victory. Alexei Ramirez committed two errors in the fifth inning to help the Astros take the lead. The errors ruined a great outing by Sale (5-5), who allowed five hits and no...

PHOENIX — Authorities say a United Airlines flight from Houston to Los Angeles has been diverted to Phoenix after a strange odor was reported on board. Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport say the Boeing 757 landed without incident at about 2:45 p.m. Wednesday. There's no immediate word on the cause of the odor, and a call to United wasn't immediately returned. FAA and Sky Harbor officials didn't...

HOUSTON — It started out as a normal night where Ana Trujillo and her boyfriend went out to a local Houston bar they often frequented. They enjoyed a couple bottles of wine, and tossed back a few shots of tequila. But the evening soured, she told police, after another man approached her at the bar. He offered to buy her a drink, angering her boyfriend, Alf Stefan Andersson, a respected professor and researcher at the University of Houston. The two argued and left the...

HOUSTON — A former Houston police officer convicted Wednesday for his role in the 2010 beating of a teenage burglary suspect that was caught on surveillance video will avoid prison because of a last-minute agreement that places him on probation for two years. After deliberating over two days, a six-person jury convicted Drew Ryser of official oppression, a misdemeanor. But before the trial headed into the punishment phase, where the jury could have sentenced him to...

HOUSTON — The Southern Baptist Convention re-elected its first black president, the Rev. Fred Luter Jr., at its annual meeting Tuesday. Luter was first elected in 2012. His presidency comes at a time when the nation's largest Protestant denomination is trying to move beyond its traditional white Southern base. The Nashville-based Southern Baptist Convention claims 16 million members, but recently announced that membership declined in 2012 for the sixth straight year. ...

HOUSTON — Defense attorneys for an ex-Houston police officer accused of participating in the 2010 beating of a teenage burglary suspect told jurors on Tuesday their client was a "brave officer" who didn't mistreat anyone and that his conviction would hamstring how law enforcement arrests dangerous criminals. But prosecutors told jurors that Drew Ryser kicked a suspect who already had given up and that his acquittal would send a message that the community...

ORLANDO, FLA. -- No last-minute magic for Case Keenum and No. 13 Houston this time. Central Florida made sure of that. Brett Hodges held his own against the nation's most prolific passer and Brynn Harvey rushed for 139 yards and three touchdowns Saturday, leading UCF to a 37-32 upset that stopped a five-game winning streak Keenum had kept alive with a pair of last-minute rallies. Central Florida Coach George O'Leary motivated his team by showing them clips of a resilient Muhammad Ali at the height of his...

Houston at Indianapolis 1 p.m. The Colts, who have the league's worst rushing attack at 69.2 yards per game, extended their streak of games without a 100-yard rusher to 17 in Sunday's win over the Steelers. But now they get the Texans, who rank 23rd in the league in rushing defense (130.7 yards per game) and have allowed 14 rushing touchdowns (only the Rams have allowed more). In the past two games, Houston has allowed the Vikings' Adrian Peterson to rush for 139 yards and a touchdown and the Ravens'...

MECHANSVILLE, Va. — Six chimpanzees at a private zoo in Virginia will be sent to the Houston Zoo after the owner was denied permits to keep four of the animals. The chimps will remain together at the Houston Zoo's African Forest exhibit, the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago said. The Lincoln Park Zoo's Project ChimpCare worked with the owners, Curtis and Bea Shepperson of Mechanicsville, Va., find a new home for the chimps. The zoo said Monday in a news release that the chimps are expected to be...

HOUSTON — A prosecutor says a Houston woman accused of stabbing her boyfriend to death with her stiletto heel had been drinking tequila with him at a nightclub earlier. The Houston Chronicle (http://bit.ly/18tdGKL ) reports a judge decided Tuesday there was probable cause to hold 44-year-old Ana Lilia Trujillo (troo-HEE'-yoh) on a felony murder charge. She is jailed in Harris County on $100,000 bond. Fifty-nine-year-old Alf Stefan Andersson was fatally stabbed Sunday at...