Dallas Cowboys

Monday Sports in Brief

Published Oct. 31, 2017 2:54 a.m. ET

NFL

NEW YORK (AP) A federal judge cleared the way Monday night for the NFL to enforce a six-game suspension of Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott over domestic violence allegations.

U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla denied the request for a preliminary injunction from players' union attorneys working for Elliott. Failla put the ruling on hold for 24 hours to give Elliott's legal team time to appeal, a likely move.

It's the second time a federal ruling has overturned a reprieve that kept Elliott on the field. Earlier this month, a federal appeals court threw out a Texas court's injunction and ordered the dismissal of Elliott's lawsuit there.

The NFL briefly enforced Commissioner Roger Goodell's suspension before a judge sitting in for Failla in the Southern District of New York issued a temporary restraining order that blocked the punishment for the second time.

If the suspension holds this time, Elliott will be out starting Sunday at home against Kansas City. He will be eligible to return Dec. 17 at Oakland.

BASEBALL

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Houston's 13-12, 10-inning victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers was the second-most watched World Series Game 5 since 2003, trailing only the Chicago Cubs' 3-2 win over Cleveland last year.

Fox said Sunday's game averaged 19.6 million on its three outlets, drawing 18,940,000 on the main Fox Network, 496,000 on Fox Deportes and 172,000 on the digital stream Fox Sports Go.

That was down 21 percent from 24.2 million for last year's Game 5: 23.6 million on Fox, 342,000 on Fox Deportes and 135,500 on Fox Sports Go, Last year drew the most viewers for a fifth game since the Florida Marlins beat Cleveland 8-7 in 1997.

Viewers on the main network peaked at 20,755,000 from 11:45 p.m. to midnight EDT, and the average from 1 a.m. until the last out at 1:39 a.m. EDT was 18,942,000.

The game drew a 32.8 rating and 52 share in the Los Angeles, the highest for baseball in the market since the Anaheim Angels beat San Francisco in Game 7 of the 2002 World Series. The Astros' win drew a 32.9/53 in Houston.

Fox's main network is averaging 16,397,000 through five games, down 15 percent from last year's 19,288,000 but up 12 percent from 14.7 million for Kansas City's win over the New York Mets.

The rating is the percentage of television households watching a broadcast, and the share is the percentage tuned in among those households with televisions on at the time.

GOLF

Tiger Woods is returning to competition at his holiday tournament in the Bahamas the week after Thanksgiving.

Woods has not played since he withdrew from the Dubai Desert Classic on Feb. 3 with back spams. Two months later, he had his fourth back surgery in just over two years.

Woods will be part of the 18-man field at the Hero World Challenge, which starts Nov. 30 at Albany Golf Club. Woods is eligible as the tournament host.

A year ago, Woods returned at this tournament after 15 months recovering from two back surgeries. He made 24 birdies, but finished 15th out of 18 players.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

VERMILLION, S.D. (AP) - Two University of South Dakota football players have been arrested on charges of second degree rape after an alleged assault earlier this month at an off-campus residence.

Police in Vermillion, South Dakota, say in a statement that Danny Rambo and Dale Williamson turned themselves in Monday evening.

School officials say they received a complaint last week about the Oct. 22 alleged attack and turned it over to law enforcement.

University president James W. Abbott says the accusations are ''very troubling'' and the school is cooperating with police.

Rambo is a junior defensive back from Texarkana, Texas, who was an honorable mention Missouri Valley Football Conference selection in 2016, according to the school's athletic website. Williamson, from Donalsonville, Georgia, is a sophomore defensive back who played in five games last year.

HORSE RACING

DEL MAR, Calif. (AP) - Gun Runner, the top older horse on the East Coast, is the slight 9/5 favorite for the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic on Saturday at Del Mar.

He breaks from the No. 5 post while defending champion Arrogate starts from the rail as the 2-1 second choice.

Del Mar is hosting the $28 million, 13-race Breeders' Cup for the first time. The season-ending championships open with four races on Friday followed by nine, including the Classic, on Saturday.

Gun Runner arrives on a three-race winning streak, all Grade 1 stakes, for trainer Steve Asmussen. The 4-year-old posted dominant victories in the Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs and the Whitney and Woodward Stakes at Saratoga. His last defeat was to Arrogate in Dubai.

Arrogate, the world's all-time leading money earner with $17.3 million, is one of four Classic runners trained by Bob Baffert. He also sends out Collected (6-1), Mubtaahij (12-1) and Travers winner West Coast (6-1) in the Classic, the richest race of the weekend.