Against the Grain

We sit down with Rice WBB senior Shelby Hayes to start off this week's episode of Against the Grain, where she gives us an inside look into the Owl squad that has now won a program record 22 straight games, a streak that dates all the way back to Thanksgiving. The crew also discusses if anyone can stop Arsenal in the Champions League, and if anyone can stop the big 3 powerhouses in college basketball: Michigan, Duke, and Arizona. Spoiler: the hometown Houston Cougars have as good a shot as anyone. Due to Rice University spring break we'll be gone for the next two weeks but will do our best to bring you a bonus March Madness preview sometime after Selection Sunday, so stay tuned for that.

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.

The 2026 NFL Wild Card Round has a lot of unpredictable matchups to help us ring in the New Year, and even as the experts we are we admit that some of those games are trickier to predict. In spite of this, we press on with a bonus episode to kick off the big '26 and attempt to give you everything you need to know about the 6 unique games on the gridiron this upcoming weekend. We recorded this one virtually so forgive the slight decline in audio quality, and stay tuned for our regular show on KTRU 96.1 FM coming back in the next week or two!

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?

The reigning Premier League champions entered this season with high expectations, following a summer spending spree of $565M(!!) on star names including Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak. A promising start in the standings masked numerous issues on the field that continue to loom over the club: new summer signings have massively underwhelmed and previously reliable club stars have become liabilities, both of which have been intensified by the lack of a clear tactical plan. The Reds have now won only 4 of their last 14 games (at the time of recording), and Head Coach Arne Slot seems to be hanging on by a thread as both supporting and rival fans clamor for his dismissal. Who’s to blame? Is it on the coach? Is it on the players? Is it just a matter of unfortunate circumstances? Join us on a BONUS episode of Against The Grain on KTRU 96.1 FM as we dissect the potential root causes of Liverpool’s poor run of form.

General Mills and his mighty men bring down the husband of Hailee Steinfeld. Does the Against the Grain team believe Money Mills is for real, and how far can the defense carry the Texans? Meanwhile, the Rockets are soaring, fresh off a win against the Cleveland Cavaliers. How has Reed Sheppard transformed his game, and who in the West can stand up to this Rockets squad? Jacob forgets to count syllables, but Seth can't get over 9. As the cherry on top, Julian gives everyone a geography lesson. Finally, tune in to the predictions to see what Garret believes Alperen Sengun will do to the poor Nuggets! All this and more on another episode of 96.1 FM's Against the Grain.

Now that the College Football Playoff Committee is releasing weekly rankings, our team weighs in. Who are the frauds? Who is for real? Who's bringing home the hardware come January? We are now both a hockey and poetry podcast, neither of which anyone saw coming. We spent some time arguing about athletes named Jalen (though not Jalen Green, which is a nice change of pace), and paid homage to both Max and Pat McAfee with the final game on the predictions segment. Enjoy the fact that ESPN is back on YouTubeTV and make sure not to miss us next Saturday at 7 AM on KTRU 96.1 FM in Houston.

After a brief schism about Jacob's fashion decisions and the usual trip Around the Hedges, the squad gives you an update on the NFL's midseason status as well as previews the upcoming seasons for Rice Men's and Women's Basketball. Garret talks the talk during the debut of a new trivia game we invented, but can he walk the walk? Jacob continues his case to be the show's Poet Laureate with yet another haiku, Julian walks the city of Houston through the five stages of grief, and we talk about both baseball and hockey in the same episode, so you can mark that one off your bingo card.

WE ARE BACK to give you a taste of the Lone Star State to get started with season 2 of our show for the 2025-26 school year. Unfortunately we don't mean BBQ, but we do catch you up to speed on Julian's hometown Houston Texans and all 3 Texas NBA franchises. Also, Jacob wrote a haiku.

We kick things off with Around the Hedges, going through postseason updates and AAC honors. Then it's time for Whose Take Is It Anyway?, where Juju, Brandon, David, and Jacob react to some of the semester’s wildest takes.Garret and Max host our first (and soon-to-be annual) Awards show—complete with speeches, music, and a buzzer to play people off. We wrap up with a predictions recap and a special farewell interview.

In today’s episode, we go Around the Hedges—shoutout to the Men’s Tennis team for winning the AAC! Then we dive into Round 1 of the NFL Draft, breaking down the biggest surprises and trades, including the Jaguars and Giants trading up to get their guys. Next, we cover early NBA Playoff results, surprises, and storylines. Then, we open up the mail and discuss if we are buying or selling the takes sent in to the show. We wrap up with quick hits and predictions for the UCL Semis and Nuggets-Clippers Game 4.

We are so excited to have NFL wide receiver and Rice alum Luke McCaffrey join the show! Ahead of the NFL Draft, Luke looks back on his own draft experience and what it was like stepping into the league alongside quarterback Jayden Daniels.We talk about his rookie season with the Commanders, the biggest takeaways heading into Year 2, and what he's focusing on this offseason. Luke also reflects on his time at Rice and shares how the team in Washington is building a new culture.

With both the NBA and NHL playoffs tipping off, the Around the Hedges crew is all in on postseason talk.We start with a trip Around the Hedges before diving into a full NBA Playoffs preview, breaking down the biggest storylines, matchups to watch, and bold predictions. Then, it's time for a Non-All-Star Playoff Draft, where we see if a squad of overlooked players could actually compete with real postseason teams.Next, we shift gears with a quick NHL Playoffs preview, followed by some quick hits from across the sports world. Finally, we wrap things up with our NBA playoff predictions as the postseason officially gets underway.

If you thought we were in the football offseason, think again — as we are in the midst of the Champions League quarter-finals (the real football). We break down all the first-leg action and preview what’s to come in the second legs. Then, it’s time for Is That a Minor League Baseball Mascot? as the crew tries to guess which names are legit and which ones Ian and Brandon made up. After that, we dive into the college basketball transfer portal and debate whether soccer-style transfer fees could help mid-majors hold on to their talent. We wrap up with predictions for the UCL champ, Warriors-Clippers, and this weekend’s UFC fight.