After trying to buy the Rockets in 1993 – even going so far as to take Charlie Thomas to court to prevent the sale to Les Alexander – Tilman Fertitta finally got his wish with a record $2.2 billion purchase of the NBA franchise.

Fertitta is bold, aggressive and a risk taker, and his track record indicates he knows a good investment when he sees one.

Fertitta, who sat down with Jerome Solomon and Brian T. Smith for the inaugural Texas Sports Nation podcast on the day he was introduced as the Rockets' new owner, said he views the NBA as a better long-term investment than the NFL and MLB.

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"The NFL is scary ... (people) don't want their kids to play football anymore," he said. "Baseball has a whole other issue. It has lost a lot of its fan base. That is a fact.

"The NBA is where it's at."

Back to Gallery Listen: Rockets' Fertitta says NBA is better investment... 20 1 of 20 Photo: Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle 2 of 20 Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle 3 of 20 Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff 4 of 20 Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff 5 of 20 Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff 6 of 20 Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff 7 of 20 Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff 8 of 20 Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff 9 of 20 Photo: Brett Coomer, MBO 10 of 20 Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff 11 of 20 Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle 12 of 20 Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle 13 of 20 Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle 14 of 20 Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle 15 of 20 Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle 16 of 20 Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle 17 of 20 Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle 18 of 20 Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle 19 of 20 Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle 20 of 20 Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle







































As excited as he was about his new business and its possibilities, Fertitta was most passionate when discussing college athletics, and particularly the Big 12 Conference.

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Fertitta, chairman of the University of Houston's board of regents since 2009, is still rankled that the Big 12 shunned the Cougars after a claiming it was open to expansion and inviting a group of schools to Dallas to make presentations.

Fertitta described the event as a fake beauty contest.

"It was the biggest ramrod railroad ever," Fertitta said. "It was a PR stunt."

In Part II of the episode, Solomon and Smith have a spirited debate on how good the Rockets will be this season, and whether head coach Mike D'Antoni can lead the team deep into the playoffs.