Texans get 8 sacks and Calen Bullock forces 3 turnovers in Houston's 23-19 win over Bills
HOUSTON (AP) — Houston’s dominant defense sacked Josh Allen eight times and Calen Bullock forced three turnovers, with his second interception sealing the Texans’ 23-19 win over the Buffalo Bills. After Allen took consecutive sacks on the Bills’ final possession, they faced fourth-and-27 but gained 44 yards on a short pass from Allen to Josh Palmer, who tossed a lateral to Khalil Shakir. But on another fourth down, Bullock picked off Allen at the Houston 9 with 24 seconds left. Davis Mills threw for 153 yards with two first-half TD passes to help the Texans to their third straight victory with C.J. Stroud sidelined by a concussion. Houston moved above .500 for the first time this season.
Chiefs assistant Dave Toub: President Trump 'doesn't even know what he's looking at' on NFL kickoffs
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub doesn't care much about President Donald Trump's opinion of the NFL's new kickoff rules. Trump attended a game earlier this month and criticized the rules on “The Pat McAfee Show.” The rules, made permanent this year, require the ball to be kicked from the 35-yard line, with players waiting at the 40 until the ball is touched or lands. Trump called the rules demeaning and unsafe. Toub, who has coached special teams for over two decades, pointedly dismissed Trump's comments on Thursday.
Baylor AD Mack Rhoades resigns, a week after taking leave for personal reasons
WACO, Texas (AP) — Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades has resigned, a week after he took a leave of absence for personal reasons. He also stepped down last week from his role as chairman of the College Football Playoff selection committee. School president Linda Livingston said in a letter Thursday that Rhoades informed her of his decision to step away, effective immediately. The school had been investigating unspecified allegations against him, but the status of that investigation is now unclear. The school said last week that the allegations did not involve Title IX, student-athlete welfare, NCAA rules violations, or the football program. Rhoades had been Baylor’s athletic director since July 2016.
Lakers fire Joey Buss, Jesse Buss from front office positions after ownership change
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Joey Buss and Jesse Buss are no longer working in the Los Angeles Lakers’ front office after the franchise’s recent ownership change. That's according to a person with knowledge of the move who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because the Lakers didn’t publicly announce the firings. The brothers are children of longtime Lakers owner Jerry Buss, who died in 2013. The Lakers are also overhauling the scouting staff that worked with the brothers, who will retain their inherited minority ownership stakes. Jesse Buss was an assistant general manager, while Joey Buss was the Lakers’ alternate governor and vice president of research and development.
Ovechkin has 33rd hat trick and an assist in Montreal romp to move to No. 10 on points list
MONTREAL (AP) — Alex Ovechkin padded his NHL goals record and moved up a couple other big lists in the Washington Capitals’ 8-4 romp over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night. Ovechkin had his 33rd career hat trick to tie Brett Hull for fourth in NHL history and added an assist as he moved past Joe Sakic into 10th on the points list. Ovechkin has 10 goals in 21 games this season to push his NHL-record to 907. The 40-year-old Russian has 1,643 points, two more than Sakic. Ovechkin opened the scoring on a power play a minute into the first period, had an assist in the second and scored twice late in the third, the second into an empty net from his own zone.
Capitals' Strome learns during game that wife gave birth to daughter
MONTREAL (AP) — Washington Capitals center Dylan Strome learned during the first intermission Thursday night against the Montreal Canadiens that wife Tayler had given birth to their third daughter. Strome said his wife “felt it” two hours before the 7 p.m. puck drop and gave birth at 7:30 p.m. He said there was no way to get back in time and emphasized the sacrifices Tayler makes while he spends so much time on the road. The couple named the girl Sutton Kimberley. He had three assists in the Capitals 8-4 victory.
Italy has to beat Northern Ireland then Wales or Bosnia to return to the World Cup
ZURICH (AP) — Italy will first host Northern Ireland in a World Cup qualifying playoff in March but then would go on the road to reach its first tournament after back-to-back failures at this stage. FIFA made the playoffs draw Friday that will send the winner between four-time champion Italy and the Northern Irish on March 26 to travel to face either Wales or Bosnia-Herzegovina five days later with a place at the first 48-team finals tournament in north America at stake. Iraq will have to beat Bolivia or Suriname in a one-game playoff. Congo will play the winner of a single-game semifinal between New Caledonia and Jamaica.
NBA sees highest opening-month viewership in more than decade, record social media engagement
The NBA has announced that national games on NBC/Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, or ESPN have drawn over 60 million viewers in the first month of the regular season. This marks the highest opening total in 15 years. The league is in the first year of an 11-year, $76 billion deal with its broadcast partners. NBA content has also reached more than 30 billion views on social media, setting a record for this point in a season. Merchandise sales on NBAStore.com are up over 20%, driven by "next generation stars." NBA League Pass subscriptions have increased by 10%, and in-arena attendance is strong, with 10 teams selling out every home game so far.
Michigan board publicly declares opposition to proposed $2.4 billion outside investment in Big Ten
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — The University of Michigan governing board publicly declared its opposition on Thursday to the possibility of giving up a stake of the Big Ten in exchange for $2.4 billion in private investment. The Big Ten Conference pushed back earlier in the week when the chair of University of Michigan Board of Regents claimed that Commissioner Tony Petitti threatened to penalize the school if it refuses to support the proposal. The Big Ten disputed the allegation that any school is being forced to back the plan.
The SEC move to 9-game conference slate puts cupcake games on notice amid coach concerns
In the final weeks of the college football season, some SEC teams are enjoying a breather with easier matchups before rivalry week. Texas A&M, Georgia and Alabama are hosting non-conference teams with losing records. The SEC plans to switch to nine conference games in 2026. Coaches are concerned about the impact on playoff chances. The change is intended to improve a team's chances of reaching the College Football Playoff. However, some coaches worry about the strength of schedule not being properly rewarded.
