PRO FOOTBALL
HOUSTON (AP) - Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson sustained a season-ending knee injury in practice, two people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.
The rookie suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in one of his knees and will go on injured reserve. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because the team hadn’t announced the injury.
His injury is the latest blow to a team that lost three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt and linebacker Whitney Mercilus to season-ending injuries on Oct. 8.
The former Clemson standout had been a bright spot in a challenging season for the Texans (3-4). The 12th overall pick in this year’s draft was the AFC offensive player of the month after throwing for 1,171 yards with 16 touchdowns and running for 145 yards and another score.
NEW YORK (AP) - Midway through a season remembered for its protests by some players during the national anthem as much as bone-crunching hits, viewership for NFL football games is down 5 percent from last year.
The NFL has slowed a decline that was more pronounced in 2016, and the erosion is actually less than it is for other forms of television programming. Yet Wall Street analysts have noticed the trend and sports programmers are searching for reasons. The NFL’s aura of invincibility as an entertainment product has taken a hit.
“It’s certainly not cause for panic,” said Rick Gentile, a former CBS Sports executive and now a Seton Hall University professor, “but they like to keep going up.”
The average NFL game this season has attracted 14.8 million viewers, down from 15.6 million at the same point last year, the Nielsen company said. The decline was 14 percent between the 2015 and 2016 mid-seasons, although more people returned when election year politicking left the airwaves.
NEW YORK (AP) - The CEO of Papa John’s slammed the NFL’s leadership and blamed protests by football players for pizza sales going cold. A day later, rival Pizza Hut said it saw no such impact. So what’s going on?
Papa John’s is closely associated with the NFL, due to its sponsorship of the league. But experts say it is also facing more competition as other fast-food chains start to deliver burgers and fried chicken, taking a bite out of pizza sales. And there may be other issues in play: More people are cooking at home, and Papa John’s may have been too dependent on TV ads at a time when more people are spending time online.
The NFL also has fewer viewers than it used to. The average game this season has attracted 14.8 million viewers, down from 15.6 million at the same point last year.
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeled during the national anthem to protest what he said was police mistreatment of black males. More players started to kneel after President Donald Trump said in September that team owners should get rid of those who protest during the anthem.
HOCKEY
WASHINGTON (AP) - Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin says he isn’t trying to make a political statement by voicing his support for Vladimir Putin ahead of the Russian presidential election.
Ovechkin posted a message in Russian on his Instagram account saying that he’s starting “a social movement called Putin Team. Ovechkin added that he has never hidden his feelings about Putin and has “always supported him openly.”
On Thursday night, Ovechkin painted it as a show of support for Russia.
“I just support my country, you know?” Ovechkin said after the Capitals’ game against the New York Islanders. “That’s where I’m from, my parents live there, all my friends. Like every human from different countries, they support their president.”
Asked if it meant he supported Putin’s political beliefs, Ovechkin said, “It’s not about political stuff” and that he doesn’t try to be a political person. The Russian presidential election is scheduled for March 18.
BASEBALL
HOUSTON (AP) - Houston is gearing up to pay tribute to the Astros and their World Series triumph over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The new champs will be honored with a parade that starts at 2 p.m. Friday and travels through downtown Houston, culminating in a rally on the City Hall steps. Mayor Sylvester Turner will be the master of ceremonies.
The Astros took the series with a Game 7 win Wednesday in Los Angeles.
All classes in the Houston school district school have been canceled for the day.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Police say the home of Los Angeles Dodgers star Yasiel Puig was burglarized while his team was losing the World Series.
Police say officers answered a burglary alarm at the Encino, California, home Wednesday evening and found a smashed window with several items taken. There’s no word on the value of the items.
Puig was at Dodger Stadium, where the team lost Game 7 to Houston 5-1.
A neighbor, Zach Eliass, tells KABC-TV that Puig’s two German shepherds got out of an open gate. Eliass took them in until Puig returned home and calmly thanked him.
Puig bought the home about a month ago.
Earlier this year, burglars hit Puig’s Sherman Oaks, California, home and stole about $170,000 in jewelry and other items while he was at spring training in Arizona.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Houston Astros’ seven-game World Series win over the Los Angeles Dodgers averaged 18.9 million viewers on Fox, down 19 percent from the 23.4 million average for the Chicago Cubs’ seven-game victory over Cleveland last year for their first title since 1908.
The total audience on Fox’s three outlets averaged 19.56 million, the network said. That included an average of 476,000 viewers on Fox Deportes, up 34 percent from 355,000 last year, and a digital audience average of 183,000 on Fox Sports Go, an increase of 4 percent.
Viewers on Fox were up 37 percent from San Francisco’s seven-game win over Kansas City in 2014, which averaged 13.8 million on Fox.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.