Last year we never would've thought that we'd end up talking so much about hockey, but lo and behold! We also preview the upcoming World Baseball Classic and give our Owls their flowers as Swim and Dive wins their second consecutive American Conference championship and the Rice women's basketball team wins their 20th game in a row headed into the final stretch of the season. Tune in next Saturday at 9 AM to KTRU 96.1 FM for another episode of Against the Grain!

We sure do! Whether it's ski jumping, curling, the NBA tankathon, or MJ and the alleged dollar hot dog night at Rice baseball, there's plenty to talk about this week on Against the Grain. As the final weekend of the Olympics approaches, we broke down the biggest storylines and results from sports you may not have even known existed. Rice Women's Basketball goes on the road looking for their 19th straight win, and resident hoops experts David, Garret, and Fox generate their best plan to save the NBA. Stay tuned every Saturday at 9 AM on KTRU 96.1 FM for more sports news from Rice, Houston, and the world!

Do your local Whataburger employees know your name? Here at Against the Grain, they absolutely do! Today, we break down an NBA trade deadline chock-full of moves. Are people sleeping on Jared McCain to the thunder? Should you be sound-asleep on the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade? Is Grand Theft Alvarado 6 going to drop this year? We answer all these questions and take guesses at who the absolute worst front office in the league is.

If you weren't aware, there is a football game happening this Sunday. We deep dive the Gatorade color that will be dumped on the winning coach and whether we'll see heads or tails in the coin toss. We also mention Drake "Drake Maye" Maye and the ginger to end all gingers, Sam Darnold. Tune in for another episode of Absolute Cinema!

Going forward, we'll still be airing live on KTRU 96.1 FM, but our time has moved to 9 AM. I repeat, we're broadcasting live every Saturday at 9 AM. There will be no episode next week due to midterm recess, but we will be back on February 21st! Follow us @KTRU.sports on Instagram to stay in the loop!

Chaos broke out in what we thought was going to be a slower sports week, though this week's episode was anything but slow. The Dodgers are ruining baseball, Arizona MBB cannot be stopped, Rice WBB cannot be stopped, and we talked about...wrestling? On an episode full of curveballs and a slower week inside the hedges we talk baseball, basketball, wrestling and Olympic hockey before rapid firing predictions because we ran out of time playing "Whose Take is it Anyway," a game we'll definitely have to bring back in the future. You don't wanna miss this week's episode at 7 AM Saturday on KTRU 96.1 FM!

After Bo Nix' ankle mysteriously snapped in half, resident Broncos fan Neil was left no choice but to defend Jarrett Stidham and the mile high crew as they battle Drake "Drake Maye" Maye (or in the words of Neil "Drake-Drake Maye-Maye") and the Patriots of New England. Jacob's hometown squad (the LA Rams) head to Lumen Field to take on the Seattle Seahawks for the NFC title led by arguable MVP Matthew Stafford and the muscle hamsters in the backfield (we're as confused as you are, I promise). KD is doing his best to put the Rockets on his back but who will step up to help him? Amen Thompson? Bluegrass Jesus? Against the Grain legend Tari Eason? We break it down - and we also attempt to make sense of the Eastern Conference, easier said than done. We play a new game that didn't really work, Jackson calls Mike McCarthy fat, Ian prays for a Nebrasketball tournament win come March, and Garret glazes Chipotle legend Curt Cignetti (rightfully so). You don't wanna miss this week's episode of Against the Grain on KTRU 96.1 FM!

2026 is here, and your Against The Grain hosts are prepared to tell you exactly what will happen in sports this year (just don't bet on it)! Rice Women's Basketball is flying through its conference schedule, and we break down the secret to its 9-game win streak. Outside the hedges, we're preparing for a classic CFP final (or another Indiana route). We discuss the biggest storylines from this year's electric CFP and reveal who we see raising the trophy! Lastly, we talk about the hottest thing in Houston right now. No, it's not Ian Kleppinger. Instead, we break down what your hometown Houston Texans must do to advance past the feared Drake "Drake Maye" Maye! Tune in for our best episode this year.

We're about to go on a hiatus for winter break (and many of us already have), but before we left we made sure to give y'all everything you could need watching sports in Houston over the next couple weeks. What should you look for in the upcoming Texans and Rockets schedules? As the Texans fight for a playoff spot and the Rockets go on the road trip to end all road trips there's never a dull moment as a loyal fan in H-Town. In other news, Tulane and James Madison are in the CFP and a lot of big name schools didn't quite make the cut, but who do we trust to keep their season alive come January? In a groundbreaking technological innovation on Against the Grain we figured out how to pipe a phone call into our sound board, so Jacob joined us from his home to talk baseball! Don't know when we'll have a good chance to do that again, so if that's your kind of Christmas cookie enjoy it while you've got it, and we'll see you in the big '26!

Why are your hosts so bad at sports betting? Why is Producer Ian not blessing my ears on Around the Hedges? Against the Grain has the answer to these questions and much more, as we dive into a week of nonstop action. Rice Volleyball makes the NCAA tournament once again, but how far can our owls fly? In international sports, resident soccer experts Julian Puerto and Andrew Fox give a full breakdown of the 2026 World Cup groups, showing some optimism for the boys in red, white, and blue. College football conference championships are this weekend, and the playoff implications are enormous. Who's in and who's out?