Blogging stuff

Need Tickets For The Rockets Home Stretch?

by Tom Martin on Jan 25, 2012 4:14 PM CST in Blogging stuff

The Rockets have a favorable schedule coming up. They've got four home games between now and Monday. So, why not go support them?

Houston hosts Brandon Jennings' Milwaukee Bucks, John Wall's Washington Wizards, Melo's New York Knicks and Kevin Love's Timberwolves. The Wizards game might be a bit of a blowout, but at least you'll see a win. The others, however, should prove very competitive (though if the Rockets lose at home to an awful road team in the Bucks, I'll be concerned).

In addition to our own specific deals with the Rockets, SB Nation partners with TiqIQ. They can help you find the very best deals available. Here's a graphic for ticket averages on the upcoming homestand:

All the best deals on Rockets tickets can be found within the blog, here. Make sure to keep an eye on the sidebar button as well. Check back here for more deals throughout the year.

1 comment | Tweet

Who Is The Rockets' Core Player? (Plus: Snapdragon Giveaway)

by Tom Martin on Dec 22, 2011 9:00 AM CST in Blogging stuff

For eleven days beginning on December 18, Qualcomm Stadium, football home of the San Diego Chargers and San Diego State Aztecs, will carry a temporary new moniker: Snapdragon Stadium. Snapdragon processors by Qualcomm are the digital brains inside mobile devices made by top manufacturers like Samsung, LG, Nokia, and HTC. Snapdragon Stadium will host the Chargers-Ravens game on December 18, the Poinsettia Bowl on December 21, and the Holiday Bowl on December 28.

Clearly, we're coming to you (LIVE, Brent Musberger) in the form of a sponsored post, but take a second to think this over: Who is Houston's core player? We can think of three quite easily. They are Luis Scola, Kyle Lowry and Kevin Martin. They're the three core amigos, but alas, there can only be one core amigo.

I'm tempted to go with Scola since he's been here the longest. He's also the most consistently productive player on Houston's roster over the last three years. Plus, it's Luis. He's the Ice Cream Man, the Argentinian Slayer. We all love Luis, and Luis loves us.

Thing is, as much as I want to bite, I don't consider Scola to be the Rockets' core player.

Continue reading this post »

23 comments | Tweet

Previewing The Season That Likely Won't Happen

by Tom Martin on Nov 11, 2011 4:02 PM CST in Blogging stuff

So, to update you on the news wires: The owners made an offer. It sounds a little silly and has some lousy concessions. The players don't like it. But they have no leverage and that's not going to change, so you might as well kiss the season goodbye.

(Repeat this like, twenty times).

Since the NBA probably WON'T have a season, we at SB Nation figured you should at least have previews for the UnSeason, just to piss everyone off. But hey, why not take a look and see what could have been?

Southwest

Southeast

Pacific

Northwest

Central

Atlantic

5 comments | Tweet

No Joke, SB Nation Has A Sweet New iPhone App

by Tom Martin on Oct 24, 2011 12:22 AM CDT in Blogging stuff

Peeps. The SB Nation iPhone app v1.1 is now available in the App Store. The new app has a ton of new changes, basically based 100% on feedback from those who found gripes with the original.

To keep you up to date, version 1.1 includes:

Faster loading comments.
Vastly improved comment experience including the ability to jump to the next unread comment, mark comments as read and reply in-line.
FanPosts
Blog colors
An in-app browser
Compatibility with iOS 5

Here's what The Dream Shake's page looks like. Pretty simple. If you ask me, the app is better suited for the main SBNation.com due to the StoryStream feature, but either way, it's a great setup.

Here's how to get it:

Go to the App Store on your iPhone and search for "SB Nation"

-- OR --

Go here and click "Download Now"

FAQ

1. The SB Nation Android app will be out by the holidays and include all of the functionality and features of the iPhone app

2. The app is still free

3. SB Nation is far from finished making updates to the app and will continue to add new features and content in the future, including FanShots and push notifications.

(Note: Sorry for the prolonged absence. Wish I had Rockets stuff to talk about. You can find the best lockout commentary elsewhere, from folks like Adrian Wojnarowski and Ken Berger to even blogtypes like Tim Donahue and Tom Ziller and OUR VERY OWN BD34. You don't need me for that type of stuff.

Until basketball begins, folks.)

0 comments | Tweet

We Need Your Help: Take This SB Nation Survey

by Tom Martin on Oct 4, 2011 4:17 PM CDT in Blogging stuff

Hey everyone. SB Nation would very much like to hear your opinions and feedback on the user experience on this site. We are always trying to improve user experiences, navigation and brand integrations and your feedback is valuable in this process. All responses will be kept confidential and the entire process will only take a few minutes. Also, as incentive to participate, for the 3 SB Nation sites with the highest percentage of completed surveys, SB Nation will make a $500 donation to the charity of our choice, in our name. Do it for the kids (ESPECIALLY HOUSTON KIDS)...

To take the survey, click here:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MWM6363

7 comments | Tweet

VOTE: The Dream Shake For Houston's Best Sports Blog

by Tom Martin on Aug 19, 2011 9:46 PM CDT in Blogging stuff

VOTE HERE

Great news guys: sports blogging awards exist. They also exist in Houston and not just in D.C. Guess which fun-loving Rockets blog that rhymes with Ream Hake snuck into the running?

Yup, the Dream Shake is a finalist. A real, legitimate, not-just-my-mom-pranking-me finalist. We're under the category for best sports blog in Houston, though I was hoping to snag an additional spot as one of six nominees on the Health/Fitness/Medical list. Surely, the Houston Rockets could yield enough injury posts to at least make people consider it.

Major kudos to whoever nominated us, and thank you for the kind words. I'm telling you, considering the company we're with on that list, it means a lot.

If we win this, I somewhat promise that all of your wildest dreams will come true. Heck, all of my wildest dreams will come true, because my dreams are sort of lame.

OR VOTE HERE.

We're quickly approaching 3 million visitors and 6 million page views. So if all of you would like to come back and vote, that would be just fantastic.

16 comments | Tweet

NBA Nation Tour Hits Houston

by Tom Martin on Apr 29, 2011 2:32 PM CDT in Blogging stuff

Take a look at this press release, Shakers. I'm not one to try to promote too often, but this looks like something that most, if not all of you would be interested in. It's also for a good cause.

WHERE: Houston International Festival, East Side of Bagby Street, between Dallas and Lamar Streets

WHAT: Participate in fun basketball events for a good cause & get the chance to meet Kyle Lowry, Luis Scola and Clyde Drexler.

Press Release:

The NBA's largest mobile basketball playground, NBA Nation presented by T-Mobile USA will roll into Houston and tip off its fifth summertime tour on Saturday, April 30 at the "Houston International Festival."

Special NBA Nation guest appearing in Houston is Legend Darryl Dawkins, who will serve as the official tour ambassador visiting cities throughout the tour to greet fans, sign autographs and serve as a special judge for select competitions. Along with presenting partner T-Mobile, NBA Nation features associate partners Kia Motors, Sprite and Dribble to Stop Diabetes (an NBA/WNBA/D-League FIT campaign supported by sanofi-aventis U.S. and the American Diabetes Association). The tour provides fans of all ages a variety of free interactive basketball activities on the NBA Nation Center Court and T-Mobile 4G Half Court.

Other NBA Nation special guests appearing in Houston include:

Continue reading this post »

1 comment | Tweet