Sports News Roundup: USOC failed to protect athletes from sex abuse; Smith, Baines elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

USOC failed to protect athletes from sex abuse: report

The United States Olympics Committee failed to protect athletes from the threat of sexual abuse, according to a report released on Monday that showed some top executives took no action as the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal was unfolding. The report, which was commissioned by the USOC and carried out by law firm Ropes & Gray, offered details on what it called the "inaction" of former chief executive Scott Blackmun and former chief of sport performance Alan Ashley.

Patriots' Belichick: Loss 'starts with me'

Buffalo Bills: In Bills' history, just four players have rushed for 95 yards in three consecutive games: Fred Jackson, Hall of Famers Thurman Thomas and O.J. Simpson, and now rookie quarterback Josh Allen, according to The Buffalo News. He's also the leading rusher on the team this season with 490 after missing a month of the season. And head coach Sean McDermott said that isn't ideal. "We've got to be able to protect the quarterback and run the football," McDermott said Sunday. "I know when your quarterback is your leading rusher week in, and week out, it's not a healthy thing." Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins (7-6) are in a four-way tie with Baltimore, Indianapolis and Tennessee for the final AFC wild-card berth, and the oddsmakers have chimed in on their chances. The Dolphins' three remaining games are against Jacksonville at home and on the road against Minnesota and Buffalo. According to the Sun Sentinel, the website FiveThirtyEight put the chance at 20 percent for the Dolphins. The sports betting site Action Network said its simulations show a 13 percent chance. Before beating New England on Sunday, the chances were in the single digits. They still aren't mathematically eliminated from winning the AFC East: the sites put their chances at 1 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively.

Outlook of Henry's season changed with epic performance

Houston Texans: The team's nine-game winning streak is over and veteran cornerback Johnathan Joseph didn't necessarily see it as a bad development. "I hate to lose, but probably was the best thing for this team to lose that game," Joseph said of Sunday's 24-21 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. The way Joseph sees it, a long string of victories makes players forget the pain and torture of losing. "I think it's a learning experience," Joseph said. "Sometimes you think that winning is easy. I'm not saying that. That's what we were doing as a team, what I think, to go on a nine-game winning streak to make history. Sometimes you get that little lapse going on." Indianapolis Colts: Star receiver T.Y. Hilton had a season-best 199 receiving yards against the Texans to post his club-record 11th game of 150 or more receiving yards, snapping a tie with Hall of Fame member Marvin Harrison. Hilton made five first-down catches and caught nine of the 12 passes in which he was targeted by quarterback Andrew Luck. "T.Y. does some things very special. He does some things that not many other people can do," Luck told reporters. "So we saw some opportunities through film that we thought we could take advantage of. Once we got that first one, it was like 'Ok, yeah, here we go, let's get it.'" Hilton is 14 yards away from his fifth career 1,000-yard receiving season.

Pederson defends call not to go for 2

Dallas Cowboys: National reports Sunday said the Cowboys had tried to lure tight end-turned-broadcaster Jason Witten out of the "Monday Night Football" booth and back to the field at AT&T Stadium. On Monday, Witten said he's happy what he's doing and also that the Cowboys just don't need him. "There's nothing there," Witten told The Dallas Morning News. "Look, I'm enjoying where I'm at. Those guys are red-hot. They don't need to change a thing with the way they're playing and the way that defense is playing. They're in good shape and so am I." Head coach Jason Garrett denied the report Monday, saying, "There is no truth to that story." Witten retired in April to become the MNF analyst, following Jon Gruden's return to the NFL. New York Giants: As the Giants struggled to a 1-7 start this season, there were calls for the team to move on from Eli Manning as the starting quarterback and replace him with rookie Kyle Lauletta. The resurgent Giants, now 5-8, have enjoyed success with Manning the past few weeks, but in a blowout victory over Washington on Sunday, fans got a glimpse at Lauletta when he replaced Manning. He entered the game in the fourth quarter, threw an interception and finished the game 0-for-5 passing. What did head coach Pat Shurmur think? "I don't think there was enough there to evaluate how he did," Shurmur told reporters. "Would have liked to see him get a couple more completions and not throw that interception, certainly." Shurmur added: "I fielded enough questions regarding Kyle Lauletta, that those of you that were interested in seeing him, hopefully you got a chance to see what you were looking for."

Cardinals giving no thought to sitting Rosen

Arizona Cardinals: Despite a completely devastated offensive line and others going down with injuries right and left, the Cardinals do not intend to sit quarterback Josh Rosen. To the contrary, they want him to get as many reps as possible. "To sit him, I don't think it'd be advantageous to do that," head coach Steve Wilks said, adding that he doesn't see Rosen developing bad habits. "(Playing) is an opportunity for him to continue to grow." Wilks remains optimistic about what he's seen from the rookie. "You can see the potential and the things he is capable of doing," he said. "...He has the qualities and the skillset. The inconsistency is there, but a lot of it is not just him, it's the personnel and that falls back on us as coaches to put those guys in position to be successful." Los Angeles Rams: L.A.'s defense wasn't the problem in a 15-6 loss at Chicago on Sunday night, but NFL sack leader Aaron Donald was kept awfully quiet by the Bears. Donald had just one QB hit (his fewest in a game since Week 6) and went sackless for just the second time since Week 3. According to ESPN Analytics, Donald won on just 18 percent of his pass-rush snaps after entering the week having won on a league-high 43 percent of rushes this season. Despite the quiet night, though, Donald still leads the league in sacks (16.5) by three, tackles for loss (20) by three and quarterback hits (33) by six.

Chiefs' Reid marvels at Mahomes' no-look pass

Denver Broncos: After a crushing loss to the 49ers on Sunday, head coach Vance Joseph was critical of quarterback Case Keenum for not attacking downfield more often against San Francisco's zone-heavy defense. "Yesterday he was a little cautious with the ball," Joseph said. The bottom line is we got three weeks to play and he's got to make more plays, and sometimes taking some chances allows you to make more plays. ...I want Case to be more aggressive, especially down the seams over those Cover-3 defenses. That's where the soft spots are, so he's got to be aggressive down the seams and not worry about making mistakes." Kansas City Chiefs: After watching the film, head coach Andy Reid sounded even more impressed by Patrick Mahomes' no-look pass that had the NFL world buzzing on Sunday. "I've worked real hard with him on that," a deadpan Reid began before cracking a smile. "We build that right into the offense." Jokes aside, Reid praised Mahomes, noting he froze Ravens safety Chuck Clark with the look-off. "It's something to do in a practice, but then you start throwing it in a game, and a game against the No. 1 defense in the National Football League, that's a little different," Reid said. "You gotta have tremendous confidence in what you're doing there. ... I haven't seen a lotta guys do that. I was around (Brett) Favre, he did some amazing things that way, Donovan (McNabb) and those guys, but no... that umm... No, not quite like that."

Smith, Baines elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

Relief pitcher Lee Smith and outfielder/designated hitter Harold Baines and were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday by the entity's Today's Game Era Committee. Smith, a seven-time All-Star, was named on all 16 ballots. Baines, a six-time All-Star, was named on 12 of 16 ballots, meeting the 75 percent required for induction.

Rondo has fluid drained from hand, return delayed

Rajon Rondo's return to the Los Angeles Lakers has been delayed after he had his right hand drained Sunday, coach Luke Walton told reporters. "There's a little bit of swelling," Walton said Monday ahead of the Lakers' matchup against the Miami Heat. "We're going to shut him down for a few days then get back out after it again."

Jaguars' Marrone: Fan used racial slur at Fournette

Leonard Fournette's sideline spat with fans during Thursday night's loss to the Tennessee Titans in Nashville came after a fan yelled a racial slur at Fournette, Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone said Monday. A video released Monday morning by TMZ showed Fournette yelling at a fan, and Marrone said he asked Fournette about the exchange later Monday. Fournette told him a fan used a racial slur, Marrone said.

Warriors named SI Sportsperson of the Year

Sports Illustrated named the Golden State Warriors as Sportsperson of the Year. The 65th annual presentation of the honor goes to the full team, which will be given in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

(With inputs from Reuters)

(With inputs from agencies.)