Houston’s stingy defense knocked Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers out of the NFL playoffs, sending the Texans to the divisional round to complete wild-card weekend. The Texans sacked Rodgers four times, scored two defensive touchdowns and held Pittsburgh to 175 yards in a 30-6 victory on Monday night. It was Houston’s 10th straight win and the franchise’s first on the road in the playoffs. Houston will face New England on the road next Sunday. Buffalo will play at Denver in the other AFC divisional game. In the NFC, Seattle hosts San Francisco and Chicago hosts the Los Angeles Rams.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Houston Texans have secured their first road playoff win in franchise history, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-6. The Texans held Pittsburgh to 175 yards of offense and scored a pair of defensive touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Houston stretched its winning streak to 10 games and advances to play New England in the division round. Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud endured a shaky night, turning it over three times, though he did throw a touchdown pass to Christian Kirk. Aaron Rodgers passed for 146 yards and threw a pick-6 on what could be the final throw of his 21-year career.
Belgian biathlete Maya Cloetens is concerned about the future of winter sports in a warming world. Training in Grenoble, France, in the hopes of competing in next month's Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy, she's noticed shorter, milder winters with less consistent heavy snow. She's not alone. This raises questions about which locations can host winter sports as Earth warms. Grenoble, once a Winter Games site, is no longer considered "climate reliable" by experts. The International Olympic Committee is considering rotating the Games among locations with sufficient snow and infrastructure. The reliance on manufactured snow is increasing, but it has limits. The IOC is planning sustainable practices to protect winter sports for future generations.
HONOLULU (AP) — Brooks Koepka is back on the PGA Tour five weeks after leaving LIV Golf. He’s agreed to a $5 million charitable donation. He also will have no access to the PGA Tour’s equity program for five years and cannot get FedEx Cup bonus money in 2026. The tour puts that value at upward of $50 million depending on Koepka’s performance. Koepka plans to return at Torrey Pines in two weeks. Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith could also return the way Koepka did. PGA Tour chief Brian Rolapp says this isn't a precedent and might not be available again.
TANGIER, Morocco (AP) — Senegal and Ivory Coast fans who want to support their teams at the World Cup this summer have had their plans upended because of a travel ban imposed by the Trump administration. The two west African countries were added in December to the list of countries with “partial restrictions” on entry to tournament co-host United States, barring those on tourist visas as the supporters would be if they were to follow their teams. Some fans suggested the U.S. – which is hosting the 48-team event with Canada and Mexico – should be stripped of the tournament if it doesn’t allow all participating teams their supporters. Ivory Coast coach Emerse Faé is optimistic a solution will be found.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is hearing arguments over state laws barring transgender girls and women from playing on school athletic teams. The culture war cases being argued Tuesday come from Idaho and West Virginia, among the first of the more than two dozen Republican-led states that have banned transgender athletes from girls' and women’s teams. The justices are evaluating claims of sex discrimination lodged by transgender people versus the need for fair competition for women and girls, the main argument made by the states. Lower courts ruled for the transgender athletes who challenged the state bans, but the conservative-dominated Supreme Court might not follow suit.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — James Harden has passed Shaquille O’Neal for ninth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. The Los Angeles Clippers guard made a 3-pointer early in the third quarter on Monday night against the Charlotte Hornets. That pushed his career total to 28,598 points in his 1,187th regular season game. O’Neal had 28,596 points in 1,207 games over 19 years. Harden, who began the night 14 points behind O’Neal, finished with 32 points in the Clippers’ 117-109 win against the Hornets. He increased his scoring total to 28,614. Harden entered the night averaging 25.6 points per game for his highest average since the 2019-20 season when he won the last of three straight league scoring titles. Wilt Chamberlain is eighth with 31,419 points in 1,045 games over 14 years.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Columbus Blue Jackets have fired coach Dean Evason and named Rick Bowness as his replacement. Evason is the first NHL coach fired this season. General manager Don Waddell announced the abrupt change Monday with his team sitting in last place in the Eastern Conference 45 games in. Bowness turns 71 on Jan. 25. Evason was just past the midway point of his second season in charge of the Blue Jackets. Waddell's first order of business upon becoming GM was to fire then-coach Pascal Vincent and put Evason behind the bench.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR has announced a return to its original championship format, known as "The Chase," starting in 2026. The new system will feature a 10-race format with the top 16 drivers, without eliminations every three races. The driver with the most points at the finale in Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 8th will be the champion. This change comes after fan complaints about the current system, which included eliminations and a winner-take-all finale. NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell says the new format aims to reward performance and honor the sport's history. The focus is on consistency and aggressive racing.
MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid has replaced coach Xabi Alonso with B team manager Álvaro Arbeloa to no surprise. They were teammates at Madrid, Liverpool and Spain. Madrid says Alonso left by mutual agreement capping a tumultuous stint that lasted less than eight months. The midfield great arrived in May under high expectations as Carlo Ancelotti’s replacement. The announcement comes a day after Madrid lost to Barcelona 3-2 in the final of the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.
Finals
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Seattle 4 N-Y Rangers 2
Final Florida 4 Buffalo 3
Final Tampa Bay 5 Philadelphia 1
Final Montreal 6 Vancouver 3
Final OT Detroit 4 Carolina 3
Final New Jersey 5 Minnesota 2
Final Edmonton 4 Chicago 1
Final Dallas 3 Los Angeles 1
Final OT Toronto 4 Colorado 3
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final Houston 30 Pittsburgh 6