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The Houston Texans and Houston Astros are among the teams considering contingency plans as Hurricane Harvey approaches Texas. Harvey, forecast to be a Category 3 hurricane by the time it makes landfall around midnight Friday, is being called a "life-threatening storm" with winds topping 115 mph and the potential for up to 35 inches of rain in some areas.
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The Texans are in New Orleans for Saturday night's preseason game against the Saints and they could face a decision for next Thursday's preseason finale at home against the Dallas Cowboys.
"Let's see what happens," Texans coach Bill O'Brien told reporters Thursday about the Texans' plans to return home after Saturday's game. "Certainly if something does happen to that effect, we'll have to address it with our players. Family comes first. It's never football over family. It's football over a lot of things, but not family."
Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones confirmed Friday there have been conversations about moving the game from Houston's NRG Stadium to AT&T Stadium, if necessary.
The Astros are currently on the road for a weekend series against the Los Angeles Angels. They are scheduled to fly home Sunday night and have an off day Monday before hosting the Texas Rangers for a three-game series.
"Right now, we're in a holding pattern," Rangers traveling secretary Josh Shelton told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram of the team's plans to travel back to Houston. "We'll know more once it makes landfall."
Sam Houston State, which was scheduled to open its college football season against Richmond on Sunday night, postponed the game with Hurricane Harvey approaching the Texas coast.
Officials from Sam Houston and Richmond are in discussions about finding an appropriate date to play the game.
The Houston Dynamo postponed Saturday's MLS match against Sporting Kansas City. The game will be made up on Oct. 11 at BBVA Compass Stadium.
The Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks canceled both games of Friday's doubleheader against the Midland Rockhounds.
LSU, which opens its college football season against BYU in Houston at NRG Stadium on Sept. 2, said it will continue to monitor the storm.
"First and foremost, our thoughts and best wishes are with our neighbors in South Texas, and of course with our friends and family here in South Louisiana as Hurricane Harvey draws near," LSU said in a statement. "We know all too well the challenges of facing a storm of this magnitude and stand ready to assist in any way we can."
The Houston Cougars moved their football practices to Austin -- using the Texas Longhorns' indoor facility over the weekend -- and plan to stay out of town until Tuesday, if necessary. New Longhorns coach Tom Herman was the head coach of the Cougars the previous two seasons.
