UNDATED (AP) — Starting quarterback has been a position under fire in the Big 12. Whether due to injuries or coaching decisions, staying on the field has been a challenge for many of the league’s quarterbacks who started the season No. 1 for their programs. Injuries have knocked out starters at some point in the season Texas, Kansas, BYU, Baylor, Texas Tech, TCU and West Virginia. Oklahoma State’s quarterback carousel through the first few games had the Cowboys rotating three players before finally settling on Alan Bowman.
UNDATED (AP) — There are big games and plenty of heavy lifting to be done in Week 12 of the college football season. As has become tradition throughout the South, the weekend before Thanksgiving is a chance to take a little break. The Southeastern Conference invented the late-season cupcake game and some Atlantic Coast Conference schools have adopted it, too. No. 4 Florida State faces North Alabama on Saturday. No. 8 Alabama hosts Chattanooga, another FCS school. No breaks in the Pac-12, though: No. 5 Washington vs. No. 10 Oregon State is the week's most intriguing game.
UNDATED (AP) — Sports economist Andrew Zimbalist says the big contract buyouts paid to fired coaches will continue to grow until the college sports business model changes. Texas A&M will pay more than $75 million to fired football coach Jimbo Fisher. Other top coaches have buyouts that run into the tens of millions. Zimbalist says college athletics is run by stakeholders rather than stockholders and the bottom line is measured by victories rather than profits. He says there will be no end to these golden parachutes until the business model changes and significantly more revenue is redirected to the athletes.
UNDATED (AP) — Giving Deshaun Watson a fully guaranteed $230 million contract has turned into another disaster for the Cleveland Browns. It’s the biggest one yet for a franchise known for its failures. Watson will miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury that requires surgery, a devastating blow for a 6-3 team with a stingy defense and playoff hopes. The ramifications of the injury extend far beyond this season, too. Watson is owed $46 million each of the next three years with a cap hit of almost $64 million per season.
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers will have the final call on whether he plays again this season for the New York Jets if and when he gets medical clearance. Coach Robert Saleh said Wednesday the team will defer to the four-time NFL MVP, who’s rehabilitating from a torn left Achilles tendon four snaps into his debut with the Jets on Sept. 11. Rodgers turns 40 on Dec. 2 and has repeatedly said his goal is to return late this season. But Rodgers has also said the Jets would need to be in the playoff hunt at that point for him to come back.
NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA has suspended Golden State’s Draymond Green for five games for grabbing Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert around the neck “in an unsportsmanlike and dangerous manner.” Also penalized by the league for their roles in the incident, which happened early in Tuesday’s game between the Timberwolves and Warriors, were Gobert, his Minnesota teammate Jaden McDaniels and Golden State guard Klay Thompson — all fined $25,000 by the league. McDaniels and Thompson were both ejected from the game, as was Green. But Green will pay the biggest price, both in terms of games missed and money lost. The suspension will cause him to forfeit $769,704 in salary.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Major League Baseball owners are set to vote on the proposed relocation of the Oakland Athletics to Las Vegas at the end of their league-wide meeting Thursday. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred is presenting his recommendation to the 30 owners during the three-day meeting. It comes about six months after the A’s reached a tentative agreement for a new stadium in Las Vegas after being unable to reach a deal for one in Oakland. Any recommendation for a move would require a vote from at least 23 owners for approval. MLB hasn't had a team relocate since the Montreal Expos became the Washington Nationals in 2005.
NEW YORK (AP) — Gerrit Cole was a unanimous winner of his first American League Cy Young Award, and Blake Snell took the NL honor in becoming the seventh hurler to earn baseball’s top pitching prize in both leagues. After coming close several times before, Cole finally finished on top following an outstanding season for the New York Yankees. The ace right-hander received all 30 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. He became the sixth Yankees winner and first since Roger Clemens in 2001. Snell was the National League winner after leading the majors with a 2.25 ERA for the San Diego Padres. The free-agent lefty was picked first on 28 of 30 ballots.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Formula One has arrived in Las Vegas for a week of parties, concerts, celebrity-packed events and eventually Saturday night's race. F1's first trip to Las Vegas in 41 years promises to be nothing like any other race on the 24-event calendar. The casinos, clubs and restaurants have packaged fan experiences catered toward F1 for fans looking for something to do while waiting for the cars to hit the track late each night beginning Thursday. There's no shortage of F1-centric events and the drivers have been impressed by the opulence of the week.
WEDNESDAY GAMES
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (19)Texas 80 Rice 64
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Dallas 130 Washington 117
Final Boston 117 Philadelphia 107
Final Milwaukee 128 Toronto 112
Final New York 116 Atlanta 114
Final Orlando 96 Chicago 94
Final Phoenix 133 Minnesota 115
Final Cleveland 109 Portland 95
Final Sacramento 125 L.A. Lakers 110
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Philadelphia 3 Carolina 1
Final OT Edmonton 4 Seattle 3
Final Colorado 8 Anaheim 2
Final OT Vancouver 4 N-Y Islanders 3