It appears that the Astros are set to sign Craig Biggio's heir apparent: Kaz Matusi. Matusi batted .288 for the NL Champion Colorado Rockies last year with 84 runs scored and 32 stolen bases. Along with Michael Bourn, the two speedsters should wreck havoc for opposing NL catchers. Though the Astros have yet to comment on this deal, the Daily Herald and the Houston Chronicle both report that sources close to the situation have......

While most of the baseball world was focused yesterday on the races for the final playoff spots, including the Mets historic collapse in the NL East, as usual, Craig Biggio was just doing his job, just like he's done for the past 20 years. But for the first time in 20 years, Biggio won't be going back to work today. For those of us who grew up in Houston, Biggio is just as much a......

Londonist are starting to think their city is getting just a little bit too expensive, when even Christian Slater can't afford to go out there. And there's no escaping, as local singer Lily Allen discovered when she was barred entry to the US. The British mapping agency caused further bad karma, by blocking a 3-D representation of London in Google Earth. But the smiles returned to Londonist's faces as they interviewed Baroness von Reichardt,......

Tomorrow is the trade deadline for Major League Baseball, which is pretty much like shopping on Christmas Eve, but with Eric Gagne playing the part of Tickle Me Elmo. The much-maligned Astros have already made one head-scratching trade leading up to the deadline, picking up exactly what they needed in 3B/2B/1B/OF Ty Wigginton: another clean-cut white guy who plays no position in particular. But what is next for GM Tim Purpura? Mark Loretta (who has......

Roger freakin' Clemens, y'all. Don't even get us started. But even if you want to call him a traitor, you gotta admit the man can pitch, and so can the guys up for the award named after him, the Clemens Award, which is presented annually to the top pitcher in college baseball. Three Rice students are on the official watch-list for the award this year. ESPN Top-100 prospect Joe Savery (with a record of 6-1......

With 4 days until Roy Oswalt and the Houston Astros start the 2007 season, we are holding back the “giddy.” While this spring had some highlights (Jason Lane, .260, 5HR’s & newbie Carlos Lee .370), concerns abound in the pitching department. With the loss of Andy Pettitte and presumably Roger Clemens, the Astros are looking for newly acquired veterans Jason Jennings and Woody Williams to shoulder the load. While its never the perfect indicator......

Let's take a look back at a week that raised this Zen koan: if Kevin Federline got into a wrestling ring with a wrestler, who would you root for? Austinist was in an entertainment state of mind as they covered the dickens out of the Austin Film Festival, depicted all the Big 12 football coaches as South Park characters, and interviewed Jose Gonzalez. Chicagoist talked about the passion as they bid adieu to Bell......

From this weekend's bizarre news file comes the story of Jeremy Barfield, the Klein High School baseball star who was drafted by the New York Mets — and was arrested Sunday morning after allegedly pushing his dad down a flight of stairs. It apparently started with an argument between Jeremy and his dad, Jesse Barfield, a former MLB All-Star and Astros coach: "(Jeremy) and his father had some kind of argument that apparently took place......

Londonist prepares a Happy Birthday bath for Buddah this week and then things get all cliched. A madman goes on a rampage while axe-wiedling and London's mayor warns an American diplomat to avoid the kitchen if the heat bothers him so much. LAist has finally come around to purchasing tickets for Clipper Train. Hyper local dating sites are spamming L.A. neighborhoods and the fascinating Dame Darcy talks with LAist about art, the city and earthquakes.......

LAist tracks an award-winning TV writer who worked on Good Times to a homeless shelter and sees a Little Old Lady get a jaywalking ticket because she can't get across fast enough (in the same post!). Poets invade Metro and an LAist contributor's new book asks WWJB. Gothamist gets down with the immigration rally and their readers want to be heard. The anniversary of the Mets' 1986 World Series is celebrated via a RBI Baseball......

You lose one World Series and things start going to pot. Just look at the Astros' negotiations with Roger Clemens, who said he won't decide until January whether he'll return to the team next year. So that leaves the 'Stros in a tough position: If they wait until January, they won't be able to re-sign Clemens until May 1 — after the season starts — but if they make a move and sign him or......