Sports News Roundup: Texans aim for another upset; Brady in straight sets in Brisbane and more

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Take 5: Texans aim for another upset of Chiefs

The Houston Texans can be rightfully confident when they visit Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday, having overcome a 17-3 deficit to upset the Kansas City Chiefs 31-24 in October. But much has changed on both sides, and the Texans only narrowly reached the divisional round after surviving Buffalo at home in overtime last week.

Barty stunned by qualifier Brady in straight sets in Brisbane

World number one Ash Barty suffered a surprise 6-4 7-6(4) defeat on Thursday to American qualifier Jennifer Brady, who claimed the first top-10 win of her career to advance to the Brisbane International quarter-finals. With the tournament moving into the Pat Rafter Arena at the Queensland Tennis Centre following the end of the ATP Cup group stage, Brady had to contend with not only the Australian top seed, who was given a bye to the last-16, but also a vociferous home crowd.

NBA: James takes over lead in All-Star fan voting

LeBron James surpassed Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo to take the lead in fan voting for the 2020 All-Star Game. In the second fan returns released Thursday, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar had 82,001 more votes than Western Conference runner-up Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks and 100,488 more votes than the Eastern Conference leader Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks.

Golf: Dye, designer of famous island green hole, dead at 94

Golf course architect Pete Dye, best known for designing the famous island green par-three hole at the TPC Sawgress in Florida, died on Thursday aged 94, his company announced on Twitter. Dye designed more than 100 courses, including Whistling Straits in Wisconsin which will host this year's Ryder Cup, but it was the island green 17th hole at the course that hosts the Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach for which he was best known.

Keep politics out of 2020 Tokyo Games, says IOC's Bach

Politicians and athletes should keep politics out of this year's Tokyo Olympic Games to protect the event's neutrality and its status as a peaceful meeting place, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said on Thursday. The Games have seen both political protests by athletes in the past as well as boycotts of nations and Bach said any infusion of politics into the Games in Tokyo starting on July 24 would not be welcome.

Golf: No place like home for 2021 U.S. Solheim Cup captain Hurst

Six-times LPGA Tour winner Pat Hurst is the 2021 United States Solheim Cup captain and thinks home advantage should help her team avenge last year's surprise defeat by Europe. Hurst played in five Solheim Cups and was an assistant captain to Juli Inkster on the past three teams in the biennial event that uses the same matchplay format as the men's Ryder Cup.

Reports: NFL investigating if Bills violated reporting rules

A tweet by Buffalo Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes explaining that he played with torn ligaments in his wrist has the NFL looking into whether the team violated rules on reporting injuries, according to multiple reports. Hughes shared the injury news on social media this week in the wake of the Bills' 22-19 loss to the Houston Texans on Saturday in the AFC wild-card round.

Doping: WADA requests CAS ruling on Russia's ban

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) formally asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Thursday to rule on Russia's four-year ban for doping, after the agency handed down the punishment for manipulating laboratory data. The move was expected after the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) sent a letter to WADA last month formally disputing the punishment, which bars Russia from competing in this year's summer Olympics in Tokyo and the 2022 winter Games in Beijing.

Woods to take first stab at record 83rd victory at Farmers Insurance Open

Tiger Woods will have his first crack at securing a record-setting 83rd PGA Tour victory in two weeks in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego, the former world number one said on Thursday. Woods, who tied Sam Snead at the top of the all-time PGA Tour wins list when he triumphed at the Zozo Championship in Japan last October, has won eight times at Torrey Pines with his most recent triumph there coming at the 2008 U.S. Open.

F1 champion Hamilton donates $500,000 to Australian wildlife rescue

Six-times Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton said on Thursday he was donating $500,000 towards the rescue and care of wildlife caught in bushfires ravaging southeast Australia. The Briton, who has adopted a vegan lifestyle and become outspoken on the environment, posted a clip on social media of a scorched koala being tended to against a backdrop of smoke and flames.