Watt raising the bar for aiding Texas flood victims
On a day when J.J. Watt helped to raise $500,000 — and counting — for victims of the disastrous flooding in the Upper Gulf Coast region of Texas, the NFL relocated Thursday’s pre-season game between the Houston Texans and Dallas Cowboys.
Instead of Houston’s NRG Stadium, as scheduled, the venue for the matchup of Texas’ two NFL teams now will be played at the Cowboys’ home, AT&T Stadium, some 390 km northwest.
The league announced the switch early Monday evening.
Large areas of Houston are under water as a result of nearly non-stop rain received since Hurricane Harvey reached land on Friday. Some 90-100 cm (35-40 inches) had fallen by late afternoon Monday, with 25-50 cm (10-20 inches) more forecast to fall by Thursday — shattering the region’s rainfall records.
The Texans never flew home following their third pre-season game in New Orleans on Saturday. Instead, they flew to Dallas.
On Monday the Texans thanked the Cowboys for allowing the team to practise this week at the Cowboys’ new practice facility in the northern suburb of Frisco.
The Texans club announced a $1-million donation to the United Way Relief Fund for flood victims, and the NFL matched that amount through its charitable foundation. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft on the weekend had pledged to match Red Cross donations up to $1 million.
But the efforts of one Texans player — the star defensive end, Watt -- proved even more impressive. Watt is leading a YouCaring flood relief fund that, in less than two days, raised more than half a million dollars.
On Sunday Watt personally pledged $100,000 and challenged his social-media followers and others to match it. They quickly did, and Watt raised the bar to $500,000. By midday Monday donations passed that amount, and Watt re-raised the goal to $1 million.
“To see so many people’s support, it’s incredible,” Watt said after Monday’s practice at Cowboys headquarters in Frisco. “It’s about coming together and helping to raise each other up, not only from the state of Texas, but the whole country. That’s what this country is all about. It’s about lifting each other up when we’re down. We’re at a time right now when the city of Houston and South Texas is down.”
Texans head coach Bill O’Brien said Monday the franchise is dedicating this season to the city of Houston.
“There are no guarantees in football, that’s not what I’m here to say,” O’Brien said. “But I will guarantee that this team will go out every Sunday, Monday, Thursday, whenever they ask us to play, and we’ll play our assess off for the city of Houston. I promise you that.”
EXTRA POINTS
The Buffalo Bills’ purge of previous regime draftees continues. The club Monday traded linebacker Reggie Ragland to the Kansas City Chiefs for a fourth-round 2018 draft pick. The Bills under then-GM
Doug Whaley traded up in April 2016 to make Ragland a second-round selection, but he missed the entire season after tearing an ACL in training camp. Ragland was demoted from second to third string halfway through this year’s camp. He is a 3-4 linebacker and the Bills now run a 4-3. He’ll fit better in the Chiefs’ 3-4 … Bills DL
Adolphus Washington was acquitted on a misdemeanour weapons charge in Ohio … The Baltimore Ravens extended head coach
John Harbaugh’s contract by a year … The NFL suspended backup New York Giants DE Owa Odighizuwa without pay for the first four games of the regular season, for a performance-enhancing drugs violation.