For the first time in a long time, there's a reason to be optimistic about the Astros. Maybe the people in charge are starting to get it. Maybe they understand the need for a new blueprint, a fresh start.

You can read about the Roy Oswalt trade in detail elsewhere, so we begin with our annual chat with NFL Films president Steve Sabol, who is in his 48th season as TV's primary spinner of football lore and mythology.

Right around the All-Star break, Luke Myers began tracking box scores and pitching rotations to determine the perfect day he and his family and friends could visit Minute Maid Park to see his favorite pitcher, Roy Oswalt, start for his favorite team, the Astros.

With Roy Oswalt gone, the Astros' old guard is down to one, and that player saw his future become a little more complicated Thursday. Lance Berkman, the only player on the roster who has been with the team continuously since before the World Series season of 2005, was unfazed by the Astros' acquisition of first baseman Brett Wallace.

Other than a last-minute deal in 1998 that brought in Randy Johnson to bolster a playoff run, the Astros have largely shied away from trade deadline blockbusters in either direction during Drayton McLane's ownership.

Former NBA player Lorenzen Wright, whose body was found in the woods outside Memphis, was shot to death and the case is being investigated as a homicide, police said Thursday.

Titans quarterback Vince Young has been told the NFL will not suspend him over his tussle at a Dallas strip club in Dallas, The Associated Press has learned.

Rookie right-hander Stephen Strasburg has been placed on the 15-day disabled list by the Washington Nationals because of inflammation in his pitching shoulder.

The Astros have presented Roy Oswalt with a trade proposal that would have him going to the Philadelphia Phillies, and Oswalt now must decide whether to invoke or waive his no-trade clause.

Fresh off a two-home run outing in Wednesday's 8-1 win over the Cubs, Astros slugger Carlos Lee said he felt he was swinging the bat better and credited hitting coach Jeff Bagwell with helping him sort things out at the plate.

Kansas has a new coach in Turner Gill, and the former Nebraska quarterback and Buffalo head coach said his biggest career influence has been his old coach with the Cornhuskers, current Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne.

Several retired football players are suing the attorneys who won a $26 million settlement from the NFL Players Association on their behalf.

Considered the top pitcher on the trading block, Roy Oswalt said he wants some time to be able to decide whether to use his full no-trade clause to veto a trade presented to him by the Astros.

Michael Whitehead, who will be a senior at Rice in the fall, fired a bogey-free 67 to grab the first-round lead in the 36-hole tournament on Tuesday at The Woodlands Country Club.