Sports briefs 11/12
College volleyball
Washington & Jefferson closed out the 2026 campaign with a 3-1 loss to No. 1-seeded Hiram in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Game scores were 25-12, 25-19, 22-25, 25-23.
Sophomore Cali Dagen led the Presidents with 17 kills. Senior Brielle Moorhouse led with 21 assists. Sophomore Isabella Bottiglieri finished the match with 18 assists. Sydney Allen theled W&J on the defensive end with 20 digs.
NFL
Deshaun Watson wasn’t losing his starting job as Cleveland’s quarterback because of an injury or Shedeur Sanders.
Strangely, and perhaps suspiciously, it took first-year Browns coach Todd Monken a few days to make that clear.
Watson will start on Sunday against the Houston Texans – his former team – after missing last week’s game at New Orleans with a concussion and watching from the sideline as Sanders nearly rallied the Browns (5-4) to a win.
Monken wouldn’t address his QB situation during a Zoom call with reporters on Monday, insisting he wanted to speak with his staff first. He waited until Wednesday to formally announce that he’s sticking with Watson over Sanders, who had some nice moments in Sunday’s 23-22 overtime loss to the Saints.
“I had no intention of Deshaun not being our starter,” said Monken, dismissing the idea he would make a change midseason.
• The Miami Dolphins are hopeful quarterback Malik Willis’ stint on injured reserve will not be an extended one, and coach Jeff Hafley said when and if he returns, he will be Miami’s starter.
Willis went on injured reserve Tuesday after an MRI Monday revealed he had a core muscle injury. Willis had been dealing with a groin injury that significantly limited his mobility against Detroit in Week 9, and Hafley said doctors determined it had progressed to the point of needing rest.
It’s not yet clear if Willis will play again this season. If and when that happens, Hafley shut down any notion of a quarterback controversy as backup Kyle McCord takes over.
• After trading two starters including safety Jessie Bates, a team captain, before the trade deadline, the Atlanta Falcons have cut another captain.
The Falcons released kicker Nick Folk and signed Jake Moody off Baltimore’s practice squad.
Baseball
Brad Ausmus was named manager of the Houston Astros on Wednesday. New general manager Randy Flores made the announcement, which brings Ausmus back to the place where he spent 10 years of his playing career.
Ausmus replaces Joe Espada, whose contract wasn’t renewed after the Astros were swept by the Chicago White Sox in a Wild Card series.
This is the third managerial job for Ausmus, who managed the Angels in 2019 and spent 2014-17 leading the Tigers. He most recently worked as the bench coach for the Yankees from 2024 through last season.
• Outfielder Jacob Young and the Washington Nationals finalized a $23 million, four-year contract on Wednesday, a deal that includes a $6 million signing bonus shielded from a lockout.
Young’s signing bonus is payable in $1.5 million annual installment each Dec. 1 from 2026-29.
He gets salaries of $1 million next season, $5 million each in 2028 and 2029, and $6 million in 2030.
Washington has an $8 million team option for 2031 with no buyout.
Young, who turned 27 in late July, set a career high with 10 home runs and 50 RBI this year while batting .252. He entered the season with five home runs in 1,006 big league plate appearances.
College football
The University of Mississippi has been fined $250,000 by the Southeastern Conference after fans threw trash on the field and delayed the game during the first half of a blowout home loss to Georgia over the weekend.
In announcing the fine, the SEC said the objects thrown on the field during the second quarter interrupted competitive play and endangered participants. The penalty was assessed under the conference’s sportsmanship, game management and alcohol availability policies.
“The actions taken by the Conference are consistent with SEC bylaws and commissioner’s regulations related to the availability of alcoholic beverages at athletics events which state, ‘If cans or plastic bottles are used as projectiles or otherwise cause game management issues, the institution is subject to an immediate fine and suspension of the alcohol sales privilege,'” the statement said.
Ole Miss is not having alcohol sales banned for home games at this point, though the SEC reserves the right to do so in the future.
NBA
Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen will miss at least a month with two nondisplaced fractures in his right hand.
Markkanen suffered the injury during Utah’s game against the Dallas Mavericks on Nov. 6 and will be reevaluated in four weeks, the Jazz announced Wednesday.
Markkanen is averaging 18.0 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists in eight games this season.