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That damned ESPN the Magazine article.

A little while back, the Mag published a story about Houston Astros ace Roy Oswalt. You know, the fire-armed, ice-in-his-veins Roy O. That guy. The story was called "Oswalt's 10-Year Plan." In the piece Roy O allows that he could basically walk away from pro baseball after a decade. As much as he loves the MLB and the bulldozer that Drayton McLane bought him, he loves his hometown of Weir, Mississippi more.

Fair enough, but reading it, you couldn't help but wonder if the story was foreshadowing — at least for Astros fans. Was Roy planting a seed? Could our most reliable slinger be leaving before his ten-year anniversary?

Surely not, we all thought. But then came the reports on Sports Radio 610 this morning that the Astros were dangling Oswalt in trade talks with the Mets.

Our Roy O? Better be for Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran, right?

Oh, no. It's for Lastings Milledge.

[Cue tumbleweeds.]

Milledge is a hotshot Mets prospect. Thing is, everyone in NYC is a hotshot prospect, namely because they're in NYC. The Astros have plenty of prospects. What we need is scoring now. Roy O for a prospect makes no sense.

All we can say is, as 610's morning guys John Granato and Lance Zierlein pointed out, something must really be up with Roy and the 'Stros contract-wise. As of this afternoon, Oswalt is off the blocks, according to GM Tim Purpura. That should be a relief, except that there's the whole question as to why the hell he was on the block in the first place.

Meanwhile, reports are that oft-cursed closer Brad Lidge is on the block in deals involving Miguel Tejada or Alfonso Soriano. That would seem to make a little more sense. The Astros have less than five minutes to pull off a deal before the trading deadline.

If they do, let's hope it makes sense. -- Steven Devadanam

The Texas Quarter Horse Yearling Sale is a minefield for anyone who likes to gesture with his hands or has Tourette's syndrome. The movement of a finger on a thigh can signal a $1,000 bid. But if you could control yourself this past weekend, the Pavilion at Sam Houston Race Park was a great place to see horse buyers trying to hold onto the racing industry in Texas. Lots came up from South Texas and Mexico, where the quarter horse racing industry is considered a very big deal.

Yearlings are babies -- big ones, to be sure. Less than a year old, horses sold at this sale are eligible to come back same time next year to run in the TQHA Sale Futurity at Sam Houston. Some were pretty well behaved, but most were antsy as they were wheeled out in front of the crowd with the auctioneer called out their numbers behind them. There were 320 horses sold, for a total of more than $3.2 million, and the No. 1 draft pick, Tailgunner Tom, went for $110,000. The average price was $9,500, meaning some of the horses who didn't get even close to that were bought back by their sellers when the bid price didn't rise to the money they'd already invested in them.

Rob Wertsler, TQHA director of racing, said prospective buyers are checked out ahead of time and have to present letters of credit from their banks. So as fun as you might think it would be to run a prank, raise your hand and scoot, don't. If they don't know you, they don't do business with you.

It's a big gamble for the buyers, looking at a one-year-old and trying to figure out if this one can run. But then you look at someone like trainer Leon Bard of Bryan who won the Futurity last year with Silver Gol. They paid $16,000 the year before for the horse as a yearling. So far he's made $280,000. Which is, of course, a lot better than most bettors do at the track. -- Margaret Downing

We have to give mad props to Madison High School's Vince Young, who, as you may have heard, today agreed to a five-year deal, with $25.7 million guaranteed and an overall value that could reach $58 million — with the Tennessee Titans. It's proof positive that Bud Adams ain't as stupid as he looks, tho' we still can't figure out the whole Steve McNair thing. But hey, why would VY need a mentor?

The deal makes it certain that fans will see #10 on the field this season. It's just a matter of time before Titans QB Billy Volek is holding a clipboard. Hey Billy, Steve says the Baltimore's a good place to be. Just sayin'.

This should make excellent fodder for Vince's upcoming reality show on BET. We can't wait to see the scene with Vince celebrating with his mom and his crew.

Speaking of his moms, VY told me recently that he'll buy "Whatever my mom wants, man" when he signed his contract. We've got some suggestions, ma'am.

And hey, speaking of pigskin, the Texans are officially in training camp today. We'll be stopping by from time to time to talk to players, so stay tuned. Man, it's almost time to start my Madden season sim. — Steven Devadanam

While Allison and Ryan were getting the boot on So You Think You Can Dance (Allison, America? Allison? Did you misdial? While Heidi and her tortured grin go on and on?) another group of stalwart athletes and their fans in Houston were getting an upclose look at dancing with fame in the United States.

Oliver Luck, president of the Dynamo, Houston's own professional soccer team, hosted a get-together at the Angelika Film Center inviting friends of the team to come and watch the documentary Once in a Lifetime, which shows, as Luck would have it, that there was an era in soccer before our present one and that the New York Cosmos were the It boys of their time. The Cosmos, who hired Pele to jack up their attendance figures, were members of the North American Soccer League. It all ultimately crashed and burned, but was an exciting blip in American sports in the 1970s.

Out in the front hallway, hoping to be more than just blips, were Dynamo players Kevin Goldthwaite, Zach Wells, Ryan Cochrane and Stuart Holden (who scored his first professional goal the night before in Colorado), signing autographs for the kids and adults. Wells said all of them had volunteered and were looking forward to the movie.

Which had to be a pretty sobering experience. Here were the Cosmos who at one time filled Giants Stadium in New York, drawing crowds of 77,000 and more, and they went belly up? The Dynamo, needless to say, have never approached those numbers.

By the way, if you're thinking of taking young kids to this movie, forget it. The scenes of actual soccer highlights will be too few to satisfy, and the petty squabbling and backstabbing that is detailed about the management of the Cosmos will leave them yawning. About the only thing that got them laughing over and over again were shots of a bare-assed Shep Messing, the Cosmos goalkeeper, who posed naked for a magazine to earn some extra cash on the side when he was with the team.

Meanwhile, tickets are selling fast for the August 9 double header at Reliant Stadium. The Dynamo play the Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer. But the big draw (sorry, Dynamo) is the second part of the bill: Spain's FC Barcelona faces off against Mexico's Club America. The lower bowl at Reliant Stadium has already sold out, according to Luck. -- Margaret Downing

It's not the edgiest sports coverage we can offer up, sure, but dangit, this is just cute.

If you were at Minute Maid Park last night, you know that the Astros lost to the Cincinnati Reds. But the real winners were the first 30,000 fans, who nabbed gift certificates for a free Chick-fil-A sammich.

The free grub was part of the new Chick-fil-A "Fowl Poles," which now hang off both yellow left-field and right-field poles. The poles feature those badass Chick-fil-A cows, whose message is "Eat Mor Fowl." (We're not sure, but we think they misspelled "Eat.")

Anytime one of the 'Stros dings the poles, fans win chicken sandwiches. Anytime an opposing player hits them, well, we'll just hold our breath. After Aubrey Huff and Preston Wilson, this is the best acquisition the Astros have made so far this season. — Steven Devadanam

Just about every college-football analyst with brain cells is declaring Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn as the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy. If he gets injured, then it's Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson.

If AP goes down again — or somehow fails to meet the exacting academic standards of OU — who's in the running? According to some Houstonians, it's UH's own QB Kevin Kolb.

Kolb has a few things going against him. He pronounces his name "Cobb," so voters checking out their ballots won't know who the hell this guy Kolb is. Second, he plays for UH, which is part of Conference USA, whose teams are known by most fans only because of their willingness to play any day of the week and time of day that they're asked to by ESPN. Or any outlet with a camera.

What Kolb has going for him is his snazzy new official Web site.

A review: The home page features highlights backed by a cover version of Joe Jackson's "Got the Time." Having a 27-year-old song is somewhat appropriate, since that was about the last time UH was any good. (The embarrassing John Jenkins years, where they'd pile up 95 points on hapless opponents like Eastern Washington, don't count.)

The highlights consist of Kolb bombs, which tend to nestle in a Cougar receiver's hands only after sailing past acres and acres of empty seats. (Coog Fever — Catch It!)

Kolb shows himself to be a master of blogging. He has only one entry, but when you offer an attention-grabbing intro like this: "Hey Coogs, it has been a pretty slow week for me" — you know good things are coming. And he delivers, with this finish: "Everything else seems pretty peachy, so no excuses why we won't be conference champs!"

On an "Under the Helmet" questionnaire, we learn that, to Kolb, the Most Embarrassing Thing that Happened to Me was "I was misquoted in a TV interview." Which seems pretty tough to do, really — you could have one of your quotes taken out of context, maybe, but it's kind of hard to misquote someone being shown in a video clip.

At any rate, should Quinn, Peterson and a half-dozen others fall, Kolb is ready to accept the Heisman. We wish him the best of luck. -- Richard Connelly

It's safe to say that last night's game between the Houston Astros and the Chicago Cubs was one for the ages. For baseball fans, watching two 300-game winners go head to head — our Roger Clemens versus Cubs slinger Greg Maddux — is like watching Muhammad Ali take on Joe Frazier.

But given our home team's recent performance anxiety (Roger dealing with weak bats), it was hard to blame fans for wondering who -- if anyone -- other than the Rocket would show up for this one.

It turned out to be a night for H-town diamond legends. When Craig Biggio blasted a leadoff homer off of Maddux's second pitch, you knew this contest was gonna be a hot one (and not just because it was 3,000 degrees outside, either). Clemens picked off Chicago sluggers, dropping six shutout innings on Harry Carey's Cubbies.

Hitters Preston Wilson and newcomer Aubrey Huff — who I just knew was gonna be a solid contributor — also came up big. Wilson's two-run double made it 3-0, and Huff's ability to get on base kept things moving offensively.

The kicker: Closer Brad Lidge, who has been coming dangerously close to becoming the next Rick Ankiel, came up with his 22nd save in 26 efforts.

Last night's 4-2 win gave the Rocket his 343rd victory, putting him eighth overall on the all-time list. I'm sure there have been more rewarding 4-2 regular season contests in 'Stros history, but damned if I can come up with one. — Steven Devadanam

Sports talk radio was all abuzz this morning with news that the Houston Astros had a "major announcement" at a 9:30 a.m. press conference at Minute Maid Park. Over at Sports Radio 610, Morning hosts John Granato and Lance Zierlein wondered what the rest of us did: Could the Astros finally have landed a real bat? Maybe (gasp!) Miguel Tejada?

Then came a rumor that the team was just going to announce a contract extension with All-Star slinger Roy Oswalt. Sure, signing Roy-O to an extension is crucial (and needed to be done, like, last year). But was that "major announcement"-worthy?

Finally, around 9:40 a.m. (gotta love the drama), team general manager Tim Purpura actually announced the major announcement: the 'stros acquired outfielder Aubrey Huff and $1.625 million in cash considerations from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. To nab Huff, the Astros parted ways with minor league right-handed pitcher Mitch Talbot and minor league infielder Ben Zobrist.

Who the hell is Aubrey Huff? Quite the hoss, actually. Huff gives the Astros a serious left-handed hitter. The acquisition helps solidify the outfield, which should hopefully now feature Preston Wilson left, Willie Taveras and Chris Burke in the middle and Huff on the right. Fan favorite and All-Star Fat Elvis should get to move to first base. And Huff is extremely versatile, a quality that should make Phil Garner, who yesterday got punked by Ozzie Guillen, very happy.

The coolest part of the trade? The Astros now have a guy named Preston and a guy named Aubrey in the OF.

The Astros held a conference call for Huff this afternoon. The new Astro was nothing but a stand up guy, offering up team-first statements like "...whatever it takes to get the best possible lineup on the field" when asked about his role on his new team. (We think it'll take another $11 million in payroll to get the best possible lineup on the field, but whatev.)

Well, there was one cryptic comment. When Huff, who grew up in Fort Worth and is a big fan of country music, was asked whether he was excited about coming to Houston (where presumably he'd be in a cowboy town), he noted that Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston are "totally different places." Good point, Aubrey. You'll soon note what makes us so "different." We're "better." — Steven Devadanam

Where were the fireworks? It's tough to get people to come out for local pro soccer when it's running at the same time as the World Cup (won Sunday by Italy in overtime penalty kicks after Frances's Zinedine Zidane, apparently gagging on all the adulation from TV announcers, decided a head butt was a good way to step off the world stage). At UH's Robertson Stadium fans get to sit on (stick to) aluminum benches without cover from sun or rain. World Cup viewing at home or in a bar is generally more comfortable with a better choice of alcoholic beverages.

It didn't help any that the July 4 night game match of the Dynamo versus the Columbus Crew from Ohio was flat. It started out auspiciously enough. Skydivers dropped into the stadium pre-game. Two steel gray jets flashed through overhead. Brian Ching, in his first at home game since his visit to World Cup land, scored within the first five minutes. The Texian relentless boosters went off — this time at the right moment. Then it all sort of settled out into endless touches, bobbled passes and "missed opportunities" -- that wonderful euphemism for pissing a game away. The Dynamo let not-so-hot Columbus catch up with a penalty shot and that was pretty much it. The crowd was a just under 8,500 for the match — not stellar for a holiday, but as the Houston Chronicle explained, there had been that threat of bad weather that night. Another disappointment: no fireworks at the end, but since they were missing from the game, probably appropriate.

Best play: the two teams of U13 Kingwood boys who took to the field at halftime showing hustle and some good foot skills as they battled each other. Note to club: Someone needs to tell the Texians to stop beating their drums while the stadium is playing something else (the Digimon music soundtrack this time) to urge on the kids' halftime showcase game. Fan of the night: the idiot sitting four rows back who methodically yelled "cheaters" or "you cheaters" every five minutes or so throughout the game. At least work on a little variety.