Sports
Houston has teams for nearly every major professional sport. The Houston Astros (MLB), Houston Texans (NFL), Houston Rockets (NBA), Houston Comets (WNBA), Houston Aeros (AHL), Houston Wranglers (WTT), Houston Takers (ABA) and Houston Dynamo (MLS) all call Houston home.
Minute Maid Park (home of the Astros) and Toyota Center (home of the Rockets, Comets, and Aeros) are located in a revived area of downtown. The city has the Reliant Astrodome, the first domed stadium in the world; it also holds the NFL's first retractable-roof stadium, Reliant Stadium. Other sports facilities in Houston include Hofheinz Pavilion and Robertson Stadium (both used for University of Houston collegiate sports), and Rice Stadium (home of the Rice University Owls football team). The infrequently used Reliant Astrodome hosted World Wrestling Entertainment's WrestleMania X-Seven on April 1, 2001, where an attendance record of 67,925 was set.
On October 19, 2005, The Houston Astros advanced to the World Series for the first time in the team's history, subsequently losing to the Chicago White Sox. In 2006, the Houston Dynamo won the MLS Cup in their first year, after moving from San Jose, California. The Houston Aeros have won four championships: in the WHA (1973, 1974), in the IHL (1999), and in the AHL (2003). The Houston Rockets won back-to-back NBA titles in 1994 and 1995. Houston has hosted major recent sporting events, including the 2004 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the 2000 IHL All-Star Game, the 2005 World Series, the 2005 Big 12 Conference football championship game, the 2006 NBA All-Star Game, the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships from 2001–2006, and the Tennis Masters Cup in 2003 and 2004, as well as the annual Shell Houston Open golf tournament. The city hosts the annual NCAA College Baseball Minute Maid Classic every February and NCAA football's Texas Bowl in December. Houston has hosted the Super Bowl championship game twice. Super Bowl VIII was played at Rice Stadium in 1974 and Super Bowl XXXVIII was played at Reliant Stadium in 2004. In early 2006, the Champ Car auto racing series returned to Houston for a yearly race, held on the streets of the Reliant Park complex.
(Source: Wikipedia.org)
