Lions move on

from Morton

ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — The Detroit Lions fired offensive coordinator John Morton on Tuesday.

The move was expected after the Lions missed the playoffs and coach Dan Campbell took over Morton’s play-calling duties midway through the season.

Campbell is now looking for his third offensive coordinator in three seasons. Former OC Ben Johnson left the Lions a little more than a year ago to lead the Chicago Bears and helped them win the NFC North.

The Lions (9-8) failed to make the postseason after winning that division the previous two seasons and earning top seeding in the NFC last year.

Morton has more than two decades of coaching experience with Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, the New York Jets, New Orleans and San Francisco. He was Denver’s passing game coordinator for two seasons before Campbell hired him to lead the Lions’ offense.

Former MSU

star apologizes

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Former Michigan State and NBA player Paul Davis apologized for verbally abusing an official at the Breslin Center and being removed from his seat during the 12th-ranked Spartans’ 80-51 victory over Southern California.

Davis addressed his actions with reporters and expressed remorse on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after an official pointed him out and asked him to be escorted away from his seat near the court.

“I’m up here to take accountability — to own it,” he told reporters before coach Tom Izzo’s news conference.

Davis said he apologized to official Jeffrey Anderson during a call on Tuesday.

The 41-year-old Davis played for Michigan State from 2002-06 and was a three-year starter. He had career averages of 13.2 points and seven rebounds, including 17.5 points and 9.1 rebounds his senior season.

Davis played in the NBA with the Los Angeles Clippers from 2006-09 and the Washington Wizards in 2009-10.

NFL sees 10%

viewership rise

(AP) — The NFL has averaged 18.7 million viewers per game this season, marking the second-highest average since 1988. This is a 10% increase from last season.

Nielsen’s new Big Data + Panel methodology, which includes out-of-home viewers and smart TV data, has contributed to this rise. All five weekly NFL packages saw viewer increases. Prime Video’s “Thursday Night Football” had the largest gain at 16%. CBS had the most-watched slate among the afternoon games, averaging 21.25 million viewers.

NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” averaged 23.5 million viewers, continuing its primetime dominance. Streaming platforms like Peacock and Paramount Plus also saw significant boosts.

Redick praises

LeBron James

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Lakers coach JJ Redick compares LeBron James at 41 years old to Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux at the end of his career. Redick says James doesn’t always have his best stuff, but usually has enough to win. James scored 30 points in a 111-103 victory in New Orleans on Tuesday night. It was James’ second 30-point game in his last three.

James missed the first 14 games of this season because of sciatica and says his playing status on the second of back-to-back games should always be considered “to be determined.” But he says he also appreciates every chance to play now more than when he was younger and knew his career still had many years left.