LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
“ Sports are the great unifier . They enable people of all walks of life to communicate , commiserate and celebrate ,” Camden CEO ( and Houston Super Bowl chairman ) Ric Campo told us in the January issue .
And he ’ s right . I ’ ve never see our writers and photographers more excited about their assignments ; and on a personal note , I have to admit it ’ s pretty cool to hang out in the Astros dugout or shoot the breeze with a Texans player about what books he ’ s been reading while we set up a shot at the public library . In turbulent times , which these seem to continue to be , we look to our sports heroes and teams to give us something to cheer for , and something to cheer for together . It doesn ’ t hurt that it ’ s also an escape that takes our minds off other things for a few hours at a time .
So , yes , this is the Sports Issue of LOCAL Houston magazine . If you thought we exhausted the subject with our Super Bowl issue , think again . You ’ ll meet Astros pitcher Lance McCullers , get a few words from Texans DE Christian Covington , be
entertained by Natalie Alvarado of the Houston Rockets and – wait , what ’ s this ? – an Oilers reunion ? Yes , we ’ ve got it , and I ’ m fairly certain you ’ re only going to read
about it here . Because that ’ s what we do at LOCAL – we tell the stories of the city that others don ’ t .
Back as always are our scribes Janice Schindeler , Brian Tagtmeier , Mike Cook , Sarah Gish , Lindsay McClelland and photogs Kennon Evett , Max Burkhalter , Cody Bess , Carl Fehres , Anthony Rathbun , Jenn Duncan – and newcomer ( and cover shooter ) Brian Styles . And I ’ ve got to acknowledge copy editor Victoria Bartlett , who is a sports super-fan . If I made her happy , I knew I was getting it right . Thank you all for being such good sports ( get it ?) every month . We couldn ’ t do any of this without you .
Photography by Cody Bess
Oh , one more thing . Check out our new feature " TABLESCAPE " on page 28 . Each month , we ' ll do a photo essay on the favorite dishes at Houston restaurants .
I hope you enjoy reading the issue as much as we did creating it .
Tim
Tim Moloney editor-in-chief
BEHIND THE COVER
What fan wouldn ’ t be thrilled to be on the field at Minute Maid Park , let alone in the Astros dugout ? The Houston Astros were kind enough to let us it as a shooting location for our cover feature with pitcher Lance McCullers , Jr . — and also kind enough to provide us with official team equipment for props . Photographer Brian Styles captured the calm , cool essence of this young player who ’ s ready to get back in the game .
4 LOCAL | march 17