Friday Morning Sports Hangover

 

Minor League Baseball

Round Rock Express 4 – Omaha Royals 1

“Round Rock’s pitching staff held Omaha to a single run for the second straight game, and the Express scored three runs in the ninth for a 4-1 victory Thursday night. Omaha has dropped the first three meetings in this four-game Pacific Coast League series, and the Royals have failed to score more than two runs in any game.”

 

Golf

18th hole tougher at this year’s Triton Financial Classic

“After six years with a downhill, downwind par-5 as its finale, the 54-hole Champions Tour tournament ends on a par-3 that ranks among the most difficult holes at The Hills Country Club. The bronze boot trophy could rest on 178 yards over a churning waterfall and creek below. ‘It’s a potential disaster,’ said Champions Tour pro Peter Jacobsen. ‘You can’t fake it. There’s some finality to it. I think that’s pretty cool.’”

The Statesman sports staff makes their picks

“Fred Funk: The most accurate driver on the Champions Tour found something last week in West Des Moines, Iowa, where he shot 68-69-66, tied for ninth in putts per round for the week and tied for 16th in greens in regulation. Scott Hoch: He won in 2007. He tied for second in 2008. Every round he’s played at The Hills has been under par. In just two tournaments, Hoch has discovered the secrets of how to play the course unlike anyone else in the field.”

 

Pro Soccer

Austin Aztex take on Charleston Battery on national television on Friday night

“This weekend the Aztex begin a stretch of the season that looked daunting when the schedule first came out. Now that it’s here, the next four weeks will be a true test of endurance for the expansion franchise with an additional game now added as a part of U.S. Open Cup action, coupled with the fact that all but one of the upcoming USL-1 opponents sits in the top four of the table. It all starts on Friday when the Aztex (2-2-3, 9 points) face the league’s last undefeated team, Charleston (5-0-4, 19 points). Following Friday’s matchup, which will be Austin’s second nationally televised home broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel (Time Warner Cable Ch. 440), the two teams battle again on Sunday.”

 

Cycling

Lance Armstrong: Announced birth of his son via Twitter

“This was one special tweet for Lance Armstrong. Armstrong, who won the Tour de France seven straight years after overcoming testicular cancer, announced the birth of his son on the social-networking site Twitter late Thursday night. The proud papa even posted a picture of the newborn, playfully sticking his tongue out at the camera. ‘Wassup, world? My name is Max Armstrong and I just arrived. My Mommy is healthy and so am I!’ Armstrong posted to his account at about 11:15 p.m. EDT.”

 

College Football

Texas State football looks to build on their 2008 season

“Texas State surpassed expectations, finishing 8-4 and winning the Southland Conference title outright. The team advanced to the first round of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, where its road ended. ‘You sit back and realize that it’s the first outright conference championship in 25 years,’ (Head Coach Brad) Wright said. ‘You really don’t have that much time to enjoy it because the next thing you know, the guys were gone. We had the shirts made (with the 2008 SLC Champions on the sleeves), but it’s not good after the season starts.’”