Even though the New England Patriots defense has struggled for much of the season, former BYU linebacker Kyle Van Noy has been putting up big tackle numbers.

Thursday night was no different for Van Noy in a Patriots 19-14 road win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He finished second on the team with seven total tackles (five solo) and a half a sack as the defense came up big to shut down Jameis Winston and the potent Tampa Bay offense.

Van Noy has 35 tackles and 1.5 sacks on the season thru five games.

On the hardwood

Charles Abouo had his second straight terrific performance in the Paris Leaders Cup as Fos-sur-Mer came away with a 65-64 win over Aix-Maurienne. Abouo earned game MVP honors for his efficient play in 19 minutes. He totaled 13 points on 4 of 7 shooting from inside the arc and 5 of 5 from the foul line. He also contributed four rebounds and an assist in the key win.

Brandon Davies also had a solid outing in his latest game as Zalgiris Kaunas crushed Juventus 88-66 on Thursday. He finished with eight points on 3-for-6 shooting from the field and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. He added a team-high five rebounds, an assist and a block in 16:48.

On the season, he is averaging 7.8 points on 50 percent shooting with 5.4 rebounds in 15.2 minutes a night.

The Shanghai Sharks were also in action on Thursday night as they returned to Houston to face off with the Rockets for the second year in a row. But without the services of reigning CBA International MVP, Jimmer Fredette, the Sharks got crushed 144-82.

On the diamond

While Jacob Hannemann struggled at the plate after his call-up to the Seattle Mariners he did collect his first major-league home run before the regular season came to an end. The blast came in the fifth inning of Saturday’s 6-4 win over the Los Angeles Angels off of Ricky Nolasco.

In 11 games with the Mariners he collected three hits in 20 at bats with a home run and a run batted in.

In 114 games in the minors, he hit .240 with six home runs and 32 runs batted in while collecting 32 stolen bases.

Taylor Cole also finished out his season in the big leagues as he landed back on the Toronto Blue Jays on Sept. 29.

It was his second stint with the Blue Jays on the season after a one-game appearance in August where he got knocked around before injuring a toe.

He made nine minor league appearances on the season before his call up where he had an ERA of 0.00 in 12.2 innings while allowing just six hits and striking out 12.