HOUSTON - In just his second season, DeAndre Hopkins is establishing himself as the go-to receiver on a Houston team long led by Andre Johnson.Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for a franchise-record six touchdowns, and Hopkins had a career-best 238 yards receiving and two scores as the Texans set a team-record for points, rolling to a 45-21 win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.Hopkins, a first-round pick in 2013, leads the team with 1,041 yards receiving and six touchdowns.Im just happy to see the kid grow as a player, Johnson said. Comparing this year to last year, its amazing. Its fun to watch.Fitzpatrick started after being benched for two games for Ryan Mallett, who sustained a season-ending chest injury last week.Hopkins caught a 58-yard touchdown pass to extend Houstons lead to 24-0 just before halftime. The second score by Hopkins made it 31-14 later in the third quarter.He said learning from Johnson, a seven-time Pro Bowler, has helped his improvement this year.I develop from sitting there talking to him every day, Hopkins said.Fitzpatrick passed for 358 yards and came up one short of tying the NFL record by throwing touchdown passes of 8, 7, 58, 34, 4 yards to his receivers before ending his day with a 1-yard TD toss to J.J. Watt.The quarterback raved about Hopkins.He makes plays, Fitzpatrick said. He is a pretty special player. Weve got two great ones on the outside, so theyve got to figure out (Sunday) what the matchup was.Watt had his third touchdown reception, two sacks, forced and recovered a fumble for Houston (6-6).Tennessees Zach Mettenberger injured his right shoulder playing behind a makeshift offensive line missing three starters. Jake Locker took over in the third quarter and threw for 91 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions for the Titans (2-10), who have lost six straight.Here are five things to know about Houstons big win over its AFC South foe.METTENBERGER SHOULD BE OK: Mettenberger said he has a sprain and thinks he will be able to play next week, but that hell have an MRI on Monday.As minor as it seems right now well get it straightened out (Monday), he said. Hopefully I can put myself in a situation to play next week.The rookie finished with 184 yards passing with a touchdown and an interception to remain winless in five career starts.WATT FOR MVP?: After another big game from Watt, almost everyone from his teammates to the owner of the franchise was campaigning for the defensive end to be the first defensive MVP since Lawrence Taylor in 1986. Watt has 11 1/2 sacks and five touchdowns to make him the first player to have at least 10 sacks and three or more touchdowns in a season since 1982, when sacks became an official statistic.Hes just unbelievable and he continues to amaze all of us, Texans owner Bob McNair said. I think hes deserving of that kind of consideration, and I think that would be wonderful.THE WRIGHT STUFF: Tennessee receiver Kendall Wright was a bright spot in a dismal day for the Titans. He finished with seven catches for 132 yards and a touchdown. It was his third career 100-yard game and he has 51 receptions this season to make him just the second player in team history with at least 50 receptions in each of his first three NFL seasons.FOSTERS RETURN: Houston running back Arian Foster returned after missing the last two games with a groin injury and finished with 79 yards rushing and 26 yards receiving with a touchdown.He does a lot of things, coach Bill OBrien said. Obviously running the ball, but (also) blitz pickup, third down, catching the ball in the backfield. Hes done a lot for our football team this year, so its good to have him in there.LINE WOES: The Titans were missing rookie left tackle Taylor Lewan (ankle), centre Brian Schwenke (knee), who was placed on injured reserve on Tuesday, and right tackle Michael Oher (toe), who was active but didnt play on Sunday. Coach Ken Whisenhunt didnt provide an update on any of the injured linemen after the game and right guard Chance Warmacks status is unclear after he injured his ankle late in Sundays game.With new guys stepping in, weve got to pick it up on the line, left guard Andy Levitre said. Weve got to have more attention to detail, more focus. Weve got guys who have been here a long time and are fairly new to this offence so our attention to detail has to be that much greater.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFLPhil Jackson Knicks Jersey .com) - Virginia is for loving Latrell Scott. Willis Reed Jersey . The Canadian skicross racer appeared to have the bronze medal locked up in the mens final at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, only to wipe out while trying to make a pass in the biggest moment of his career. http://www.knickssale.com/kids-emmanuel-...cks-jersey/.com) - Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price is set to return Tuesday against Nashville after sitting out the past two games because of a minor upper body injury. Mark Jackson Jersey .Simon will work with head coach Gord Dineen and associate coach Derek King behind the bench of the Toronto Maple Leafs American Hockey League affiliate for the 2014-15 season. Allan Houston Knicks Jersey . -- Even as Chris Paul remained evasive about his future, he did what team leaders are expected to do.ATLANTA - Danny Ferry can only watch from afar, surely with plenty of satisfaction at the juggernaut he created, undoubtedly offset by a sense of melancholy that hes not along for the ride.Make no mistake, the Atlanta Hawks are Ferrys baby. He acquired nearly every player on a team that stunningly has the best record in the NBA.Even one of his harshest critics, who led the protests against Ferry after the general managers racially charged comments about Luol Deng, gives credit where credit is due.Clearly, Danny Ferry is largely responsible for putting together the winning team that we are enjoying here in the Atlanta community, the Rev. Markel Hutchins told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Friday.That said, there is essentially zero chance of Ferry returning to the team he created.Not this season.Not ever.I certainly hope that Danny Ferry gets a job as a general manager somewhere else, Hutchins said. He has expressed what I believe is sincere repentance off the court. Nobody should be condemned forever. He deserves restoration. But, he quickly added, that should not happen with the Atlanta Hawks.Ferry went on indefinite leave in September, just a few days after the scandal broke, and has been in limbo ever since. Hes apologized through public statements, met with civil rights leaders in private, and paid a huge price for repeating bigoted comments about Deng that someone else wrote in a scouting report.Now, nearly five months removed from the initial furor, Ferry has clearly suffered enough for his sin.I would welcome him with open arms, said Hawks forward DeMarre Carroll, one of many players Ferry brought to Atlanta. I dont feel hes a racist. I think he genuinely learned from his mistakes.The reality is, theres no impetus for the Hawks to bring Ferry back, not with the team holding a commanding lead in the Eastern Conference and extending its franchise-record winning streak to 18 in a row with a 105-99 victory over Portland on Friday night. His return would undoubtedly lead to renewed protests and create an unnecessary distraction. Besides, the Hawks are up for sale, so this can of worms will get kicked down the road to the next owner.Yet, in this greatest of seasons for the Hawks, thats the elephant in the room. There will be some huge decisions to make this summer, especially with free-agent-to-be Paul Millsap and what is expected to be plenty of salary cap flexibility.No one knows exactly who will be making those calls. Whoever it is, that person will face the enormous challenge of following in Ferry footsteps. He completely rebuilt the roster after taking over as general manager in 2012, while maintaining a competitive team that still went to the playoffs the lastt two seasons.ddddddddddddFerry defied the NBAs conventional logic, which held that major overhauls had to be accompanied by lots and lots of losses (see: Philadelphia 76ers).He did it a totally different way, said Kyle Korver, who bought into Ferrys vision right from the start. I think theres a whole lot of owners who would rather do it that way, rather than lose for five years and hope their draft picks turn out at the end of the day. Danny is going to have another job. Theres not any doubt about that.The only Atlanta holdovers from the pre-Ferry era are All-Stars Al Horford and Jeff Teague, and even Teague would have been out the door if Ferry had not matched a four-year, $32-million offer sheet from Milwaukee in 2013. Some wondered if Teague, who had been highly inconsistent to that point, was worth the money. Now, he looks underpaid.Hes not the only one. The Hawks have a lower payroll than all but four teams. Check out these bargains:— Millsap will be making his second straight All-Star appearance since signing a two-year, $19-million free-agent deal with the Hawks. Nondescript in Utah, hes now recognized as one of the NBAs best all-around players.— Korver, a backup most of his career, was acquired from Chicago for cash and a trade exception, then re-signed with the Hawks for four years at $24 million. Hes one of the best — if not the best — shooters in the league.— Carroll had bounced around to four teams until he landed in Atlanta for a two-year deal costing a mere $5 million. A defensive standout, hes improved offensively and hasnt met a loose ball he wasnt willing to dive for.Thanks to Ferry, the Hawks are also one of the leagues deepest teams. The draft produced Dennis Schroder and Mike Scott. Thabo Sefolosha and Kent Bazemore were below-the-radar free agents. Pero Antic was plucked out of Europe. Shelvin Mack initially came aboard on a 10-day deal.Almost as impressive was the list of players Ferry sent packing. Shortly after taking over as GM, he somehow persuaded Brooklyn to take Joe Johnsons max contract and Utah to accept the greatly overpaid Marvin Williams. In addition, Ferry didnt make much of an attempt to re-sign longtime Hawks stalwart Josh Smith, who was such a flop in Detroit that he got cut this season.And, of course, Ferry passed over better-known coaches to hire a little-known assistant from San Antonio.Mike Budenholzer could very well be the NBAs coach of the year.Under different circumstances, Ferry would be a lock for executive of the year.At the very least, he deserves another chance.It just wont be in Atlanta.___Paul Newberry is a national writer for The Associated Press. Write to him at pnewberry@ap.org or www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 ' ' '