No Texans player cracked the top 10 of the NFL Network annual list of top 100 players, but DeAndre Hopkins and J.J. Watt came close.

Hopkins is ranked 11th and Watt is ranked 12th, respectively, on the list voted on by players.

A two-time All-Pro, Hopkins caught 111 passes for 1,572 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. He ranked 13th on the list last year.

A three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Watt came back from injuries last year and recorded 16 sacks and seven forced fumbles for the AFC South champions. Watt ranked first on the list in 2015.

The top 10 players, with an order to be announced Wednesday night, will be comprised of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, Oakland Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown, Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones, Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley, Denver Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey today announced that the team has acquired guard Russell Westbrook from the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for guard Chris Paul, two protected first round picks, and other draft considerations.

Westbrook (6-3, 200) was originally the fourth overall pick by Oklahoma City in the 2008 NBA Draft. In 821 career games with 804 starts, he has averaged 23.0 points, 8.4 assists, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.76 steals. 

In addition to being named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 2016-17, Westbrook is an eight-time All-Star, two-time All-Star Game MVP, eight-time All-NBA selection (First Team twice, Second Team five times, Third Team once), and he won an Olympic gold medal with Team USA in 2012.  He has led the league in assists in each of the past two seasons and is a two-time scoring champion. 

Over the past five seasons, Westbrook joins James Harden and LeBron James as the only players to have averaged at least 25.0 points, 8.0 assists, and 6.0 rebounds. Harden and Westbrook were teammates with the Thunder during Harden’s first three seasons from 2009-10 through 2011-12.  They last played together during the 2012 NBA Finals.

Harden and Westbrook have both finished in the top-10 for MVP voting in each of the past five seasons, with both placing in the top-five in the same season three times over that span.

A late goal by defender DaMarcus Beasley gave the Houston Dynamo a 1-1 draw with reigning Mexican champions Club América tonight at BBVA Stadium in the quarterfinal of the inaugural Leagues Cup, but Las Aguilas prevailed 6-5 on penalties to move on to the semifinals.

Beasley scored his second goal of the year for the club – both in international competition – when he joined the attack in the 85th minute and ran onto a pass from defender Kevin Garcia inside the penalty area to the left of goal. The American soccer legend took a touch before firing a rocket into the upper right corner of the net, giving América goalkeeper Agustín Marchesín no chance.

Midfielder Nicolás Benedetti gave Club América the lead in the 73rd minute after he controlled a ball from forward Nicolás Castillo at the edge of the box. Benedetti poked the ball past an onrushing effort from Dynamo goalkeeper Joe Willis at the near post to break the gridlock.

In the penalty shootout, Marchesín saved Houston’s first penalty attempt to give América the early advantage and the teams each converted their second, third and fourth kicks. In the fifth round, América forward Roger Martinez’s effort was off target and Houston’s Eric Bird converted to send the shootout into extra frames. Both teams made their sixth attempt and América forward Giovani dos Santos made his shot in Round 7. Houston defender Sam Junqua’s shot went over the bar to give the visitors the victory.

The Dynamo outshot América 12-9 in the game and had a number of chances to take the lead prior to Benedetti’s goal, but the hosts were unable to find the opening they needed. Forward Michael Salazar led all players on the night with five shots while fellow striker Alberth Elis had three, but each time the América defense was able to do just enough or Marchesín was there for a save to deny the forwards.

Willis was called into action in the eighth minute after Club América forward Roger Martinez cut to his outside foot to create space for a shot that was saved at the near post. He came up big once again in the 67th minute after Dynamo defender Alejandro Fuenmayor conceded a free kick at the edge of the penalty box. Castillo took the free kick and his effort went over the wall but was palmed away by the Dynamo shot stopper at the goal line.

Earlier this month, Astros pitcher Justin Verlander had a sitdown conversation with Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan — his idol and an executive assistant in Houston’s front office — to discuss a variety of topics that included pitching styles, how to prepare between starts and longevity in the game.

Ryan, who pitched 27 seasons and struck out more batters than any pitcher in Major League history, told Verlander how he developed a changeup later in his career, despite having two dominant pitches in his 100-mph fastball and hard-bending curveball.

Verlander took the conversation to heart and relied heavily on his secondary pitches, including his work-in-progress changeup, to dominate on Tuesday night at Progressive Field. He struck out 13 while allowing two hits and no walks in seven innings to send the streaking Astros to their 10th win in their past 12 games, 2-0, over the Indians.

“It was pretty cool to sit there and have a conversation like that with my idol,” Verlander said. “Pretty special. He had some really good insights on some stuff that I hadn’t really thought of, and I took it out there and pretty much right away started having some better results.”

Verlander (14-4) improved to 4-0 with a 1.44 ERA in his last four starts while lowering his Major League-best WHIP to 0.81. He retired 21 of the 23 batters he faced, allowing leadoff singles to Roberto Perez in the third inning and Greg Allen in the sixth. Only one batter reached second base against Verlander, who posted his third consecutive double-digit strikeout game and is 98 K’s away from 3,000 in his career.

“He’s really good, and he showcased it all tonight,” Astros manager AJ Hinch said. “I don’t know if it was his determination to pitch well in this ballpark or matching up with [Shane] Bieber, which is a really incredible matchup, or his creativity, his secondary stuff. This is probably the most secondary stuff he’s thrown in his career in a game. He pitched to some areas that he got some punchouts, soft contact. They hit a couple of balls hard, but really he controlled the entire game from the beginning.”

Verlander snapped a six-game winless start streak at Progressive Field, winning for the first time in Cleveland since June 21, 2014. He was 0-5 with a 6.88 ERA in his previous six starts on the road against the Indians.

“I exorcised some demons here today,” Verlander said. “It hadn’t been too great for me here in this ballpark. I didn’t pitch here last year, but the years before that with the Tigers, [I did]. So it was nice to come in and be able to execute, especially in a tight ballgame and against a great pitcher in Bieber and keep those runs off the board and allow our guys to go out and scratch across a couple, and Will [Harris] and [Roberto] Osuna came in and did the job in the eighth and ninth. It’s hard to script it much better than that.”

Veteran catcher Robinson Chirinos, who’s caught all 23 of Verlander’s starts this year, found himself hitting ninth Tuesday when the Astros trotted out a deep, dangerous and healthy lineup that for the first time included rookie Yordan Alvarez and former All-Stars George Springer, Jose Altuve, Michael Brantley, Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa, as well as potential American League Player of the Month for July, Yuli Gurriel.

Despite all that star power, it was Chirinos who broke the ice with a fifth-inning homer off Bieber. Brantley, returning to play in Cleveland for the first time in the regular season since signing with Houston, added an RBI single later in the inning for a 2-0 lead. The homer was the first for Chirinos since June 24 (89 at-bats).

“He gets lost a little bit in this dynamic lineup we have,” Verlander said. “For God sakes, the guy’s hitting ninth. He’s a special player and I think he should get some more credit.”

Chirinos, who followed a 7-for-53 funk by hitting .375 in his past 11 games, said he’s been working on his mechanics and staying behind the ball more to allow him to drive the baseball where it’s pitched.

“Me hitting ninth, I contributed to the win tonight,” Chirinos said. “There’s no break for the guys on the other side facing our lineup.”

Normally, Altuve hitting .300 at the end of July wouldn’t be a reason for him to celebrate. A three-time batting champion, Altuve came off the injured list June 19 after missing 35 games and was hitting just .243. In the 33 games since, he’s hitting .357, including going 3-for-4 on Tuesday to reach .300 for the first time since the opening series of the season.

“It means a lot, especially on this team,” Altuve said. “I’ve been working really hard every day to get to this point. I just want to be part of this process. I know we have a great opportunity and we have to go out there and make it happen. I want to be part of it.”

“The number’s big for him and everybody’s used to it, but Jose Altuve is a really good player,” Hinch said. “That’s not really breaking news around July 31.”