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CBS not rushing decision on Romo
NEW YORK -- CBS Sports president David Berson said Tuesday he does not have a timeline for a decision about Tony Romo's future.
Romo, the network's lead NFL analyst, is on leave following his arrest last month in Wisconsin on suspicion of operating a vehicle while under the influence.
Berson also told reporters the decision to place Romo on indefinite leave was intended to shift attention toward the games and away from his legal situation.
"We we had to consider the impact on our image and on our brand. That's very important to us. Whether the games, marketing, PR, social, the focus should and needs to be on our presentation and not on any other factors," he said.
Analyst JJ Watt will join play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz and sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson on CBS Sports' lead NFL team during Romo's absence. Their first game will be on Sept. 13, when the Minnesota Vikings host the Green Bay Packers.
Watt joined CBS in 2023. He was an analyst on "The NFL Today" for two seasons before teaming with Ian Eagle on the network's No. 2 crew beginning last season. Ross Tucker has been moved up to the No. 2 team. He has previously teamed with Eagle on radio broadcasts for Westwood One.
Romo, 46, has been the lead game analyst for CBS' NFL coverage since 2017 after making four Pro Bowl appearances during a playing career that ran from 2004-16 and was spent entirely with Dallas.
He was arrested July 23 after he was stopped while driving south on Interstate 43 in Wisconsin. According to the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office, Romo performed poorly on field sobriety tests before getting arrested, booked and released.
He has a court date set for Sept. 21.
Vikings name Murray starting QB
EAGAN, Minn. -- The Minnesota Vikings have chosen Kyler Murray as their starting quarterback over J.J. McCarthy, the widely expected conclusion to what coach Kevin O'Connell pledged was a true competition.
O'Connell made the announcement before practice on Tuesday afternoon, giving Murray a full month of full-time repetitions with the first-team offense before the regular season begins on Sept. 13. O'Connell and general manager Nolan Teasley met with both players in the morning to discuss the decision.
With 87 starts over seven years in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals, two Pro Bowl selections and a unique elusiveness that has fueled 3,193 career rushing yards, Murray was going to have to either get hurt or badly struggle with his grasp of O'Connell's offense for McCarthy to keep the job.
An earlier end to the audition was always going to be ideal for Murray, too, in the familiarization process with a layered playbook that asks more of the quarterback than most teams in the league.
Based purely on performance in open-to-the-public practices, this depth chart battle was more even than not. But the Vikings have clearly been cognizant of the downside to splitting turns considering the value to Murray of maximizing his preseason time running the offense.
Murray, who signed a one-year contract with the Vikings for the veteran minimum salary, will be the fourth starting quarterback in four season openers following McCarthy, Sam Darnold and Kirk Cousins.
Both Murray and McCarthy will play in the first exhibition game on Saturday against the New York Giants, O'Connell said. McCarthy will be the second stringer, followed by Carson Wentz, who started five games last season while McCarthy was injured. Max Brosmer, who made two starts, is the other quarterback in camp.
McCarthy, who was not immediately made available for comment, was the 10th overall pick in the 2024 draft. He tore the meniscus in his right knee during the first exhibition game and underwent surgery that kept him sidelined for his entire rookie year while Darnold helped the Vikings rack up 14 wins.
Fever top Liberty to stay hot
INDIANAPOLIS -- Kelsey Mitchell scored 20 of her 28 points in the first half, and Caitlin Clark added 22 points and 10 assists to lead the Indiana Fever to a 106-92 victory over the New York Liberty on Tuesday night.
Indiana has won seven of its last nine, and this one came after coach Stephanie White's 2 1/2-minute pregame outburst, defending herself while also calling out the sideshows she thinks have overshadowed the WNBA.
This time, it seemed to fuel the Fever, who shot 59% from the field and 79% from 3-point range as they took a 64-46 halftime lead against New York, which had gone 8-1 since losing by 20 to Indiana in mid-July. And this time, unlike last week against defending WNBA champion Las Vegas, they didn't allow a double-digit lead to slip away.
Mitchell was 11 of 16 from the field and she, like Clark and Sophie Cunningham, each made four 3s on a night Indiana finished with 16 on 25 attempts. Cunningham had 12 points, and Aliyah Boston added 19 points and seven rebounds.
Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu each had 19 points for the Liberty. Jonquel Jones finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Indiana took control with a 15-7 run late in the second quarter, extending the lead to 54-37.
When Indiana's 3s stopped falling in the third quarter, New York charged back quickly and cut the deficit to 66-57 with 6:51 to play. The Fever recovered and Mitchell's three-point play with and Cunningham's 3 in the final minute of the period made it 87-67.
Indiana never let the game get close again.
Astros' Altuve leaves game at Giants
SAN FRANCISCO -- Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve left the team's game at San Francisco on Tuesday night after getting hit on the left foot by a pitch.
The Astros said Altuve had a bruised foot.
Altuve was hit by an 82 mph slider from Giants starter Carson Whisenhunt in the top of the first. After getting looked at, he stayed in the game to run the bases.
He took the field for the bottom of the inning but left before going back out on defense in the third. He was replaced by Nick Allen.
Altuve is hitting .240 with 13 home runs and 35 RBIs in his 16th season in the majors. Houston went into the game in first place in the AL West.