If you're not familiar, The Athletic has built a blog network with professional writers (Rosenthal, Gammons) doing national coverage, and local writers providing more in-depth coverage. The "catch" is that it's paid only. It's not unreasonable (the current promo rate is less than $4/month), and there are no ads or clutter. No 12 page slideshows.
They're launching the Houston site now, and they've already grabbed Jake Kaplan and Steve Campbell from the Chron.
Site is up here.
I'm debating about whether the (cheap) cost ads any value compared to what I get for free from the Chron and McTaggart. But it's tempting.