I’m a foreignor visiting Houston for a week and I have some dumb questions

Hello all, I am from Australia and I'll be going to Houston for a week in April.

I was just wondering, is it possible to rent a car and drive to other cities or even states?

I will be going to some NBA games but currently I'm a little light on other things to do. Are there any other sports or events on? I'm not sure what else I can do there. I like nature and history a lot.