Morning Hangover

Texas against UCF in 2007. (Bill Ferrante)

The Morning Hangover gets you caught up on sports stories that pertain to the Austin area, every weekday morning. Because why do it yourself when someone else will do it for you?

• Cedric Golden of the Austin American-Statesman – “A calm has settled over our fair city, friends. There isn’t the nervous tension that accompanies a football team that’s playing as well as any in the country. Maybe it’s because this Texas team is a low-key one that prefers polite chest bumps to the locker room flow sessions Vince Young made famous. Or it could have something to do with Saturday’s opponent. Central Florida is coming to town. Yep, that Central Florida. The one in, uh, Central Florida. Not to disparage UCF, but the television bean counters threw us a real curveball when they flip-flopped this game — originally one of several non-conference eye rubbers — with the Texas Tech revenge matchup, which should have followed Texas’ first four Big 12 contests. This November mis-pairing doesn’t exactly match up with Alabama-LSU, but you wouldn’t know that after checking the mood at Monday’s interview session.”
• Eric Harper of the University Star – “Lamar and Sam Houston State handed the Bobcat volleyball team its first conference losses a month ago. The Bobcats will look to avenge those losses when they host Lamar Thursday and Sam Houston State Saturday at Strahan Coliseum. Mo Middleton, junior outside hitter, said the Bobcats remember the previous losses and trash talking from both Lamar and SHSU. ‘We are more pumped than ever,’ Middleton said. ‘We have lots of reasons to have a fire lit under us and we’re ready to come out and let it all go at home.’ The Bobcats are coming off a 3-0 sweep of Texas-Arlington on the road Tuesday. The Bobcats won the first and third sets by a wide margin but found themselves in a grind for set two. UTA served for set point at 24-23. However, the Bobcats were able to win the point and tie the set. The teams traded points, bringing the set to a tie at 39. Texas State took the next two points to win 41-39.”
• Jim Wyatt of The Tennesseean – “Then the unexpected happened. Vince Young lost his starting job with the Titans at the beginning of Year 3. The same thing happened to Alex Smith with the 49ers, though under different circumstances. Both quarterbacks — Smith the first overall pick in the 2005 draft, Young the third overall pick in ‘06 — were forced to sit back and watch for more than a year, waiting for a second chance. Now they’re running their respective teams again, trying to prove they’re much better suited for the job the second time around. They will square off on Sunday when the Titans visit the 49ers. ‘It is hard on a guy who played early to sit and watch someone else, because mentally you know you have the talent in your mind to be out there, and for whatever reason you are not,’ Titans quarterbacks coach Craig Johnson said. ‘But I think in both guys’ situations, and specifically in Vince’s, he learned a lot from it. Vince gets it and sees the big picture a whole lot better now, and sometimes watching and seeing how other guys do it helps.’ “
• Tom Osborne of the San Antonio Express-News – “Dallas Cowboys receiver Roy Williams said Wednesday his lack of production shouldn’t be viewed as proof he can’t be the team’s No. 1 wideout. ‘I’m the No. 1 receiver,’ Williams said. ‘But things are just going No. 2’s way.’ Through seven games, the “No. 2,” Miles Austin, has 26 receptions for a team-high 563 yards and six touchdowns. In his first three starts, Austin set an NFL record with 482 yards. In his 16 games with the Cowboys, Williams has 33 catches for 447 yards and three TDs. Williams worked tirelessly during the offseason to get on the same page with Tony Romo, but there’s been no payoff. Austin, meanwhile, has flourished. Williams suggested he would be doing the same if only Romo could deliver catchable balls. ‘He gets the ball thrown correctly his way,’ Williams said of Austin. ‘I’m stretching and falling and doing everything. Everybody who’s been here, (their) balls are there. Our footballs (thrown from Romo to Williams) are everywhere right now.’ “
• Laken Litman of The Daily Texan – “After 107 minutes of play, the Longhorns found their last inkling of energy to clinch a spot in round two of the Big 12 tournament. Although the win was a complete team effort, it was freshman Hannah Higgins who was at the bottom of the burnt orange celebratory dog pile at the end of the game. Higgins, who is one of the team leaders in scoring with four goals, scored the game-winner with 3:14 left in the second overtime against Colorado on Wednesday afternoon at Blossom Soccer Stadium in San Antonio. ‘It was an all-around relief,’ Higgins said of her goal. ‘Right before we went out for that second overtime, we talked about how we deserved this and no one wanted to go into [penalty kicks]. The whole team stepped up and found that motivation to keep going. We wanted this more than anything and didn’t want to end our season tonight.’ “