As the Defender’s college and pro sports editor, 2024 was another exciting year. It was a pleasure to tell the stories of some of the biggest moments on the local sports scene.
We were there when, after some back-door maneuvering Texas Southern landed a football coach it could be proud of and excited about in former Houston Oilers defensive back Cris Dishman. But it didn’t end there. After being eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the past couple of years, former Texans receiver Andre Johnson finally got that knock at his door. And the Defender was there to tell the story through Johnson’s words as he celebrated being the first Texans player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
The Astros didn’t quite make it to chase another AL pennant which seemed to be our right under Dusty Baker, but they did rebound from a rough start to again qualify for the postseason. Speaking of playoffs, how exciting was it to see the Texans breakthrough years of mediocrity to win the AFC South and make the playoffs in Year 1 of DeMeco Ryans and quarterback C.J. Stroud? We are looking forward to the encore.
