AV’s H -Town Sports Minute: Astros, NFL, And More.

Astros Beat Giants In 10 Innings

(San Francisco, CA)  —  The Astros scored three runs in the 10th inning to beat the Giants 6-3 in San Francisco.  Cam Smith plated the tying run in the ninth before Jeremy Pena drove in the go-ahead run in the 10th.  Isaac Paredes added a two-run double for insurance as the Astros snapped a two-game skid.  Josh Hader earned the win in relief.  Drew Gilbert and Jung Hoo Lee homered for the Giants, who have lost three straight.  Jason Foley took the loss.

Week One NFL Preseason Preview

(Undated)  —  Week One of the NFL preseason is here.  Six games are on the slate for Thursday, including the Texans battling the Chargers at home.  Elsewhere, the Broncos visit the Falcons on Friday while the Cowboys are in Seattle on Saturday.

Texans Rookie TE Marlin Klein Is From Germany Originally

(Houston, TX)  —  Texans rookie tight end Marlin Klein came all the way from Germany to fulfill his lifelong dream of playing in the NFL.  When he started high school in Atlanta in 2019, he couldn’t speak English.  He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines, where he was a team captain and earned honorable-mention All-Big Ten honors.  Klein came to Houston as the 59th overall pick in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft.

Cardinals To Celebrate New HOF’er Fitzgerald

(Glendale, AZ) — The Arizona Cardinals are preparing to honor newly-enshrined Pro Football Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald.  The team announced today that the longtime star wideout will be inducted into its ring of honor and have his number 11 retired during the Week Seven game against the Denver Broncos.  Fitzgerald rewrote Arizona’s record books during his 17-year career, catching more than 14-hundred passes for over 17-thousand yards.

Packers’ Parsons Calls Cowboys Return “Optimistic”

(Green Bay, WI)  —  Green Bay Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons isn’t ruling out a return from a torn ACL in time to face his former team.  Parsons told NFL Network today that getting back to game action for Week Six versus the Dallas Cowboys is the “most optimistic” timeline, barring any setbacks while getting into football shape.  The 27-year-old says it’s more important to be as good a player as he was before the injury than it is to be back as soon as possible.

Report: Cowboys Extend Quinnen Williams

(Arlington, TX)  —  The Cowboys are locking down one of their top defensive linemen.  ESPN reports Quinnen Williams agreed to a three-year extension worth more than 105-million dollars on Monday.  Almost all of the contract is fully-guaranteed.  Williams is now the second-highest paid tackle in the league behind Philadelphia’s Jalen Carter.  The 28-year-old joined Dallas in a trade with the Jets at last year’s deadline.

Chiefs OC Returns After Wife’s Shooting

(St. Joseph, MO) — Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy is back at training camp after caring for his wife.  The 56-year-old returned to the practice field yesterday after a couple weeks of virtual meetings.  Bieniemy left the team to be with his wife in Virginia following last month’s incident at the couple’s home.  Their son is accused of allegedly opening fire.  Kansas City will open the preseason on Saturday against the Los Angeles Rams.

Giants QB Dart Learning To Slide

(East Rutherford, NJ)  —  The Giants’ starting signal caller appears to be learning in his second training camp.  Jaxson Dart drew a reaction from the Giants’ defense during Monday’s practice after choosing to slide following a third-down run.  Head coach John Harbaugh said he applauded after watching Dart make the decision to slide near the sideline, something he was unlikely to do in his rookie season.  Dart was examined for a concussion on five different occasions last year.

Lions Center To Miss Time With Wrist Injury

(Allen Park, MI) — One of the Detroit Lions’ critical offseason additions won’t be able to immediately help the team this season.  Head coach Dan Campbell says center Cade Mays will miss “significant” time with a wrist injury suffered during training camp.  NFL Network reports the 27-year-old is expected to miss eight-to-ten weeks.  Meantime, Lions’ running back Isiah Pacheco is nursing a sprained knee, but the team expects him to be ready for Week One.

Patriots TE Inks Two-Year Extension

(Foxboro, MA) — New England Patriots tight end Hunter Henry will continue to be one of Drake Maye’s favorite targets after this season.  The 31-year-old signed a two-year contract extension worth up to 20-million-dollars yesterday.  Henry was entering the final year of his contract after recording a career-high 768 receiving yards last season.

Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic Has Offer From Greek Basketball Team

(Denver, CO)  —  One of the NBA’s biggest stars is being courted by an overseas team.  Panathinaikos [[ pan-uh-thin-EYE-kuh ]] Basketball Club made a proposal to Nuggets’ three-time MVP Nikola Jokic [[ ni-KOLA  yo-kitch ]] to join the Greek side next season.  Officials attempted to buy out the current contract Jokic is on, which has two years left at almost 122-million dollars in total value.  The 31-year-old declined to sign a max extension with Denver earlier this offseason.

NCAA Partners With FBI To Stop Sexploitation

(Undated) — The NCAA and FBI are teaming up to stop a rash of crimes against student-athletes.  They announced a partnership today to educate athletes about keeping their private images safe online and avoid becoming victims of sexploitation.  The feds say strong social media presences and Name Image Likeness money are making student-athletes targets of bad actors who steal the images and then demand money to keep them from going public.