Thursday night at Las Almas Rotas (“The Broken Souls”) in Dallas’ Fair Park area, a bunch of current and former Dallas Morning News journalists gathered to celebrate one of those amazing periodistas. Alfredo “Freddy” Corchado, a remarkable reporter and brilliant storyteller, has covered immigration and U.S.-Mexico issues for The News since 1993. He will soon … More A phrase uttered more than once as we feted remarkable journalist Alfredo ‘Freddy’ Corchado: ‘The end of an era’

We love you, Dr. Gil Ratcliff. The venerable, cherished and revered longtime pediatrician/neonatologist in my birthplace of Huntington, West Virginia, joined his beloved Betsy in heaven on November 11, 2023. Gil put up a valiant fight against PSP, progressive supranuclear palsy, after his diagnosis in 2020. A remarkable man whom I’ve had the supreme honor … More Dr. Gil Ratcliff, a remarkable doctor and gracious and brilliant man, has joined his sweet Betsy in heaven

While waiting at a red light late this afternoon, I got out of the car and gave $20 to a homeless man sitting in the median on Sublett Road at the intersection of U.S. 287 in southwest Arlington not far from our home. A bit later after getting an oil change, I drove past him … More Random acts that help others in honor of a husband and father lost to brain cancer are what #dammkind is all about

Wednesday night while the Texas Rangers were shoving aside the Arizona Diamondbacks to win the first World Series championship in the franchise’s 63 years, I was watching that history unfold with a couple of Rangers diehards I’ve known for eight years. We didn’t finalize our plans until earlier that day, when Milt Collins invited Jeff … More Watching the Rangers earn their first title with friends who love this team like I love the Astros? Another winner

Often when men who leave an indelible mark on this earthly life pass away, people will say, “He was one of the good guys.” It’s an overused expression but generally true. Likewise, it’s often said about guys who are still here: “He’s one of the good guys.” We know there are countless good guys in … More My best friend Doug, who’s been gone for 21 years, wasn’t just ‘one of the good guys.’ He was the best.

It really was a gorgeous night for playoff baseball at Globe Life Field in Arlington on Thursday. For a second straight glorious game, this time with my friend Karl Bowman, I was thrilled to be in attendance at the Astros-Rangers American League Championship Series Lone Star showdown. The decision for Game 4 to be played … More With the roof open and the Astros scoring another big ALCS win, it was a cool night all the way around

Wednesday night’s Game 3 of the American League Championship Series in Arlington went down just the way my longtime friends John Reed, Randy Higgins and I hoped it would – with an 8-5 victory for the Houston Astros, the team we all grew up supporting as kids and cheering for in games with our families … More I’ve seen Astros, Rangers play many times, but this was special – and what a win for my team to save its season

When I moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth area in April 1987 for a newsroom position at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, I was a 26-year-old who loved sports and had just spent four years as a sports writer in the football hotbed of Odessa in West Texas. My team allegiances were pretty uncomplicated: Houston teams and … More A fan of the Astros forever and the Rangers for a while relishes these teams’ first-ever postseason meeting

Game 1 of the Astros-Twins AL Division Series was two days ago … and here I am just now posting about my trip to Houston to soak in all the thrills and magic of the baseball playoffs. All I can say is, if you’re a baseball fan – or even if you’re not – and … More Seeing an Astros playoff victory in person with a dear friend: Priceless. But our team has a lot more work to do.

Just call me old school, seeing as I’ve been a fan of the Houston Astros since I was a little boy, when this was their cool logo. At the time, in the late 1960s, we lived just 5 miles from that very same logo-dominating Astrodome in Southwest Houston. All my brother Isaac and I had … More If it’s October, it must be time for Astros playoff baseball again – and how lucky am I to get to be there for Game 1?