What a year: Texas sports fans had a lot to cheer in '05 

What a year: Texas sports fans had a lot to cheer in '05

Undated Here's a look at some 2005 highlights of sports across Texas:

-- In June, the San Antonio Spurs dethroned the reigning N-B-A champs and regained the title, their third in seven years.

-- Austin's Lance Armstrong finished his summer vacation the way he always does, with a victory in the Tour de France, a record seventh straight title.

-- The Houston Astros reached the World Series for the first time in their history, but ultimately losing to the Chicago White Sox.

-- The second-ranked Texas Longhorns went 12-and-0, earning a spot in the national championship game against top-ranked U-S-C in the Rose Bowl.

U-T quarterback Vince Young was a Heisman Trophy finalist.

-- Canton High football coach Gary Joe Kinne (kin-ee) in April was shot _ allegedly by a disgruntled parent.

Kinne recovered in time to guide the team to its best season (12 wins, three in the playoffs) and his son-quarterback, G.J., was named the top offensive player in Class 3-A.

-- The Dallas Cowboys went into their Christmas Eve game against Carolina still in the playoff hunt.

_ This was supposed to be the year the Houston Texans became playoff contenders.

Instead, the Texans won only two of their first 14 games.

_ Hurricane Katrina forced the New Orleans Saints out of the Superdome.

Team owner Tom Benson was happy to move the Saints to San Antonio for the rest of this season _ if not longer.

_ What does a 5-6 season represent to you?

At Texas A-and-M it's a huge disappointment for a club that began 2005 in the Cotton Bowl, but losing to Tennessee 38-to-7.

_ The Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets put on quite a show in the first round of the playoffs. The Rockets won the first two games in Dallas, then the Mavs won the next two in Houston. The series wound up going seven games, with Dallas winning the finale in a rout.

_ Waco coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson learned what it took to win a championship during her days as a feisty point guard at Louisiana Tech.

She later guided Baylor to the top of the league _ then past three number one seeds to win the N-C-A-A women's tournament.

_ The Astrodome in Houston and Reunion Arena in Dallas may have been abandoned by pro teams, but they became invaluable shelter -- for hurricane evacuees.