Somewhere, in the sea of hype surrounding Reggie Bush and Vince Young, Mario Williams has emerged as the strongest impact-player in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft. Sure, Vince had a Pro Bowl appearance his first year, Reggie has the endorsements, and Joseph Addai and Laurence Moroney are key components of already-strong teams, but Super Mario has delivered on the promise that made Charley Casserly risk his job to pick him first overall.......

Before you get all "wait, I was told there wouldn't be any math", there is some significance to the number above. It's Vince Young's QB Rating, largely the result of a 5/13 touchdown/interception ratio. By way of comparison, Matt Schaub has a decent 87.3 rating, and former Steelers phenom Kordell Stewart finished his career with a 70.7 rating. Perhaps the Madden cover jinx doesn't mean that you blow out your knee or get arrested for......

In case you weren't familiar, there's a large university in Austin, with orange and white for their colors, and a big, drugged cow for a mascot. You may have also heard that their football team is usually pretty good, and that a couple years ago, they actually won a national championship in football. Their quarterback that year kinda flew under the radar, so you may not have heard about him, either: regardless, he was......

Thursday night saw the Texans fall in their final preseason warm up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31-24. The defense was harried, but the much-maligned Mario Williams turned in a good performance, with 3 unassisted tackles and a sack. (Which, for you stat-heads, was one more sack than either Vince Young or Reggie Bush recorded last week. So there.) The first-string only saw limited playing time as head coach Gary Kubiak made evaluations leading up......

Houston's hometown hero (and shoulda,woulda, coulda been Texan) Vince Young popped up on the NFL wire for being caught in an altercation during yesterday's training camp practice. The build up to the showdown occurred at Baptist Sports Park in Nashville, TN when S Donnie Nickey knocked down WR Joel Filani after the wideout ran the wrong route. Trainers were forced to assist Filani, and on the subsequent play Nickey threw WR Courtney Roby to......

So, did you hear about Andre Agassi being in town over the weekend and raising about $300,000 for Simms Elementary school in La Marque? It was part of an Oprah Winfrey-sponsored reality show, The Big Give, in which participants compete to find the most creative ways to taken given amounts of money and multiply them so they can be given away to help others — in Houston, Agassi was competing against Tony Hawk, who held......

The Houston Texans needed to do something to improve their offensive production. It's no secret that David Carr's tenure as Texans quarterback was growing short. Yesterday, the Texans inked a deal with Matt Schaub and ended speculation about the quarterback situation. Signing Schaub, second fiddle to The Vick in Atlanta, completed the trade terms and effectively placed Carr on the trading block. Texans GM, Rick Smith, left little doubt as to their intentions during the......

Sunday. Usually, a quiet, contemplative day in the Blogosphere. But not here in the Ist-a-Verse. Nonono! Just look below and see all of the wild and crazy stuff our staffs are up to. In Austin, bands are beginning to confirm for SXSW and the rumor mill is up and running. Good thing, too, because we all know how much Austinites love live performances. Austin also found itself in the national spotlight, with Longhorn Legend......

The NFL apparently came to the conclusion that some of us had nothing better to do then watch a glut of preseason games. Well, they were right, at least in our case. So for those of you out and about on Saturday night, perhaps at your favorite watering hole or at the Texans game with the Chiefs, here are completely random thoughts on last weekend’s games. Houston 24, Kansas City 14 At times the Texans......

Vince Young on being passed over by the Texans: 'If I get picked to play for a team that's going to be playing them, it's going to be pretty rough on them' Kirby Drive was closed between Westheimer and Fairview this afternoon after a construction crew broke a gas line Houston plastic surgeon Mark Gilliland began serving two years in jail today for the 2005 Galleria-area hit-and-run accident that severely injured two British television producers......

Texans General Manager Charley Casserly announced today the team will pass on former UT quarterback Vince Young in the draft Saturday, going instead for USC running back and Heisman winner Reggie Bush or NC State defensive end Mario Williams. Casserly said the team doesn't need a quarterback right now — we have one of those, don't we, with no one to help him out? — but he said the pressure from fans to take Young......

Happy San Jacinto Day! Celebrate all you want, but you can't visit the San Jacinto Monument yet According to Forbes.com, the Astros are worth $416 million — the 10th most valuable franchise in baseball Roderick Fountain, the father of missing 3-year-old Kendick Jackson, has been charged with illegal possession of a firearm In northeast Harris County today, a toddler was killed when his mother's car ran over him in their driveway In Galveston, the Surfenburg......

"Grow beards, wear big hats, boots and spurs. Let's put a little touch of the Wild West into this thing." Those are the first quoted words to establish what can only be described as the "flavor" of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. In their honor, tomorrow — Friday, Feb. 24 — is the day that we celebrate Texan pride and spirit. Go Texan Day was established in 1954 and we see no need to......

Although it’s not a surprise, the Texan’s announced today that they’ve extended David Carr’s contract and will give him an $8 million option bonus. Of course, this doesn’t answer the big question still in people’s head: Will Kubiak and the franchise draft Vince Young or Reggie Bush? Here’s a few comments from fans on the Chronicle’s sports forum: “The Texans will polarize two of the largest groups of Texas football fans against them if they......

This interview comes to us courtesy of Austinist Co-Editor Matthew Odam. As you are probably aware, Longhorn football great and friend of Austinist Major Applewhite recently moved back to Texas to take over as the Offensive Coordinator for the Rice University Owls. He has been busting his tail recruiting and helping to put in place a new offense that coaches hope will make Rice a very competitive team in the upcoming years. With national signing......

A 42-year-old man has been charged with murder after a gunfight erupted over a disagreement over appliances Sunday morning The Texas Transportation Commission will vote on a proposal to offer paid permits for the Bolivar and Port Aransas ferries that would allow morotists to bypass lines waiting to board the ferries Don't seek vengeance, the judge in the Ken Lay/Jeff Skilling trial told potential jurors today A teenaged girl who claimed she was kidnapped and......

The day after rival black heritage groups held Houston's first joint Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in years, the race was on again to get separate parade permits from the city. Ovide Duncantell, director of the Black Heritage Society, filed for a permit for a 2007 MLK Day parade and said he was sure MLK Grande Parade Foundation President Charles Stamps would do the same. "Whoever has the permit has the parade," Duncantell said.......

First-day individual sales for the Rodeo were up this year, with George Strait's opening-night performance the hottest seller Thousands of people turned out downtown today to see Vince Young in a parade — oh, and to remember MLK, too Gexa Energy's lack of recognition for MLK Day is prompting calls for a boycott against the electricity provider A northeast Harris County woman ran over her granddaughter and another little girl who were playing in her......

The state law that required a Houston firefighter to take a promotion exam 12 hours after she gave birth may violate federal law, a UH law prof says In 2005, home sales and the median price of single-family homes broke local records even as other housing markets around the country slowed Houston airports will begin accepting EZ Tags for parking payment this summer Several witnesses testified today in a hearing on whether millionaire Robert Durst,......

The Houston school board didn't spend all its time yesterday visiting with Vince Young and approving a new merit pay plan — it also adopted a $5.3 million cafeteria automation system that will let parents monitor their kids' meals online. Parent advocates said they're thrilled at the prospect of being able to keep a closer eye on both what their children are eating and what the district is serving. "This is going to lead to......

We here at Houstonist love a good celeb sighting, but we don't always get away from the computer long enough to make any. That's where you come in. Did you catch David Carr ordering a taco at Mission Burrito? Did Bill White help you fix a flat? Spy Vince Young walking across water … or at least the Water Wall? Catch ultra-anchor Dominique Sachse and her husband snogging in a public place (maybe it’s just......

HISD will give annual bonuses to teachers whose students test well under an incentive pay program the school board adopted yesterday — one of the most aggresive such plans in the country. The bonuses could end up being over $3,000 for teachers whose students do exceptionally well on state and national standardized tests. "The eyes of the nation are upon us," Saavedra said after the vote, which followed a visit from University of Texas quarterback......

Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush announced today he will enter the NFL draft, setting up the possibility of his coming to the Texans Jeff Bagwell: The Astros are trying to make me retire An HFD employee had to take a promotion test 12 hours after she gave birth — and she passed The principal of Harper School has been reassigned based on a student's complaint that he was strip-searched during a drug investigation In a......

Anyone can make a list that looks back at the best of 2005. That’s easy. Houstonist is going to take this art to a next level and predict which Houstonians to look out for in 2006. These individuals became famous or infamous in 2005 and face possible glory, or possible defeat, in the coming months. Vince Young: In Vince We Trust. As sad as we are that he’s leaving the Forty Acres, we’re looking forward......

It’s funny how one game can change everything. We let our friends to our northwest revel in their Rose Bowl victory, but over the weekend, the news came out that UT’s quarterback Vince Young will enter the NFL draft this year. At the beginning of last week, Texans’ fans were chanting “Bush!,” but now all we here is “Young!” "He has the blessing of God, the pastor and his family," said Yolanda Lezine, Young's godmother......

A large grass fire is burning near Rosharon, but there's no word yet on whether structures are in danger Charles Victor Thompson didn't get the handcuff key that helped him escape from jail from inside, authorities say FEMA will give a $1.5 million grant to help repair the Lake Conroe Dam, which was damaged during Hurricane Rita Police are looking for a man in a U-Haul truck who is suspected of stabbing his former roommate......

With the Texans' and the Rice Owls' seasons in the basement and the UH Cougars possibly headed to a baby bowl, it looks like the most football excitement in Houston this weekend is the Big 12 Championship. Though the game itself is sold out, there'll be plenty of events in town for you Longhorn and Buffalo fans — and everyone else: The Big 12 Championship Fan Fest kicks off at noon today and 9 a.m.......

In the natural world, longhorns and buffalo are distant cousins. In college football, they're very, very, very distant. Since the Big 12 Championship game is all that stands between the Texas Longhorns and a change for all the marbles, in the end, they will be even farther. The 'Horns line up against a Colorado Buffaloes team representing the Big 12 North Division for a second straight year. Unfortunately for the Buffs, who's on the opposing......