Sports briefs 11/5
NFL
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson could be sidelined for Sunday’s game at New Orleans after being placed in the concussion protocol.
The 10-year veteran began experiencing symptoms Monday night after taking a helmet-to-helmet hit during last week’s 27-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. If Watson is unable to play, Shedeur Sanders would get his first start of the season.
• The Philadelphia Eagles are turning to Joe Milton as their starting quarterback Sunday against the New York Giants, making the move Wednesday after coach Nick Sirianni had said 48 hours earlier that Tanner McKee was their guy and a change at the position was not coming.
Milton, 26, has appeared in five NFL games in relief, including Dallas’ season finale at the Giants in January, when he was 7 of 13 for 73 yards and an interception.
• Doug Williams, who was MVP of Super Bowl 22, is among five contributor candidates for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Williams, the first Black quarterback to start in a Super Bowl, is joined by Patriots owner Robert Kraft, late Bears owner Virginia McCaskey, longtime NFL player, scout and personnel executive John Wooten and former Canton Bulldogs owner Ralph Hay.
• The Seattle Seahawks will be without starting quarterback Sam Darnold on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals because of a quad injury.
Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald announced Wednesday that backup Drew Lock will step in for Darnold. Lock started one game earlier this season against the Cardinals in Arizona and played most of the season opener against the New England Patriots after Darnold suffered a glute injury.
Baseball
Albert Pujols will interview to be the next Houston Astros manager, a person familiar with the scheduling told the Associated Press.
The three-time MVP and two-time World Series champion will be interviewed later this week, the person said. Former Astros catcher and current New York Yankees bench coach Brad Ausmus is also a candidate for the job, according to the person.
The team is looking for a replacement for Joe Espada, whose contract was not renewed after Houston went 81-81 in the regular season to win the AL West but was swept by the Chicago White Sox in the Wild Card Series.
The 46-year-old Pujols, who retired at the end of the 2022 after 22 big league seasons, interviewed to be the manager of the Los Angeles Angels and San Diego Padres last offseason.
NHL
Voters in a Dallas suburb have rejected a proposition that would have authorized new taxes related to a planned new arena for the NHL’s Stars.
Unofficial results from Tuesday’s vote in the city of Plano showed 54.6% of the more than 102,000 votes cast were against the single ballot proposal to authorize taxes on tickets, parking, car rentals, hotel rooms and the professional teams that would use the arena. Those taxes were to help the city pay off up to $700 million in bonds it has committed to the proposed $3 billion mixed-use development that would include the new arena.
The vote was about the proposed taxes, and not whether the $1 billion arena could be built as part of a large-scale redevelopment project.