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🚨 Headlines
💔 Tragedy in Kenya: Marathon world record holder Kelvin Kiptum and his coach, Gervais Hakizimana, died in a car accident on Sunday night in Kenya. Kiptum was 24, Hakizimana was 36.
🏈 NFL in Spain: The NFL will make its regular-season debut in Spain in 2025, playing a game at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, home of Real Madrid.
⚽️ Brazil to miss Paris: Two-time defending gold medalists Brazil will miss the Paris Olympics after losing 1-0 to rival Argentina in Sunday’s qualifier. It’s the first time since 2004 they’ll be absent from the Games.
🏈 Kelly to Ohio State: UCLA head coach Chip Kelly is leaving Los Angeles to become the new offensive coordinator at Ohio State in a real gut punch loss for the Bruins.
🏒 Canada 4, USA 3: The Canadian women’s hockey team beat Team USA, 6-1, on Sunday in the decisive seventh game of their annual rivalry series. It was quite a comeback for Canada, which dropped the first three games before winning the final four.
🏀 Kentucky’s home woes: Unranked Gonzaga beat No. 17 Kentucky on Saturday for the Wildcats’ third straight loss at Rupp Arena, their longest home losing streak since 1966.
🏆 Mahomes, Chiefs cement their legacy
Super Bowl LVIII got off to a slow start before delivering a memorable finish, with the Chiefs beating the 49ers, 25-22 (OT), in the seventh-longest game in NFL history.
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MVP Patrick Mahomes (34-46, 333 yards, 2 TD, INT; team-best 66 rush yards) led his second game-winning Super Bowl drive in as many years, hitting Mecole Hardman for a three-yard TD in the waning seconds of the first overtime period.
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For the 49ers, it’s their second consecutive Super Bowl defeat to the Chiefs after leading both games by double digits. They were up 20-10 in Super Bowl LIV four years ago and led 10-3 in the third quarter on Sunday.
The dynasty: The Chiefs join the 1970s Steelers, 1990s Cowboys, 2000s Patriots and 2010s Patriots as the only teams to win three Super Bowls in a five-year span, and they are the first to win back-to-back titles in 20 years (2003-04 Patriots).
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“Is it a dynasty now?” Tracy Wolfson asked Mahomes postgame. “Yeah, it’s the start of one, but we’re not done,” he said. “We’ve got a young team, we’re gonna keep this thing going.”
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Travis Kelce and Andy Reid both confirmed they’ll be back next season as Kansas City tries to become the NFL’s first three-peat champs.
Kelce: “I love these guys right here. Family forever, baby. I couldn’t be prouder of these guys. And how about it? We get a chance to do it three times in a row.”
The legend: “It’s clear to anyone with eyes: At just 28 years old, Mahomes has established himself as one of the greatest QBs in NFL history with plenty of time to add more to what he has,” writes Yahoo Sports’ Charles McDonald.
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In his six seasons as a starter, Mahomes has won six AFC West titles, never finished worse than the AFC title game, won 83% of his playoff games, and won three Super Bowls.
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He’s started 114 games for the Chiefs (including playoffs), and they’ve lost just four of those games by more than one score.
Mahomes vs. Brady: Playoff stats before turning 30 (and Mahomes is still just 28)…
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Mahomes: 5,135 pass yards, 41 TD, 8 INT, 3 Super Bowl titles, 3 Super Bowl MVPs
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Brady: 3,217 pass yards, 20 TD, 9 INT, 3 Super Bowl titles, 2 Super Bowl MVPs
Stat of the day: Mahomes is the first NFL player to win three championships and two MVPs in their first seven seasons, and he’s just the seventh to do so in major North American sports, joining Larry Bird, Bill Russell, Stan Musial, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Guy LaFleur.
Key plays:
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Kicking clinic: There were seven field goals of 50+ yards through the first 57 Super Bowls. There were three on Sunday alone, including the two longest ever: 55 yards and 57 yards.
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Trick play TD: The 49ers scored the first TD of the game on a trick play that saw WR Jauan Jennings complete a pass to RB Christian McCaffrey, who took it to the house.
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Muffed punt: The momentum swung late in the third quarter when the Chiefs recovered a muffed punt and immediately scored to take their first lead of the game.
Further reading: Should Kyle Shanahan have chosen to take the ball second in OT?
🏆 In photos: Super Bowl LVIII
Taylor Swift’s rookie season was a rousing success, helping Travis Kelce and the Chiefs to a Super Bowl victory in her lucky No. 13th appearance. Their final record in games she attended? 10-3. Guess she wasn’t such a distraction after all.
After Patrick Mahomes found Mecole Hardman for the game-winning score, he had to remind him they’d just won the Super Bowl. “Can I tell a quick funny story?” Mahomes said after the game with his arm around Hardman, who’d forgotten the NFL’s new playoff overtime rules. “I threw a touchdown to this dude to end the game, and he had no idea.”
Usher’s halftime show was a star-studded affair filled with choreography and theatrics befitting Las Vegas. The 13-minute performance featured 14 songs, a wildly impressive roller skating segment and numerous guest appearances, including Alicia Keys, Ludacris and Lil Jon.
🌎 The world in photos
Scottsdale, Arizona — Canada’s Nick Taylor won an especially rowdy Waste Management Phoenix Open in dramatic fashion, beating American Charley Hoffman on the second playoff hole for his fourth PGA Tour victory.
Ebimpé, Ivory Coast — Ivory Coast beat Nigeria, 2-1, on Sunday to complete an epic run through the Africa Cup of Nations and win the country’s third AFCON title.
San Francisco — Stephen Curry’s game-winning three with 0.7 seconds left lifted the Warriors past the Suns, 113-112, on Saturday. It was the fifth time in his last eight games that Curry made 8+ threes.
Miami — Tiburones de la Guaira (Venezuela) won their first Caribbean Series championship on Friday with a 3-0 victory over Tigres del Licey (Dominican Republic).
📆 Feb. 12, 2000: The birth of Vinsanity
24 years ago today, Vince Carter stole the show at the NBA Dunk Contest, cementing him as a bona fide superstar and giving rise to the legend of “Vinsanity,” Jeff writes.
What he’s saying: “That kicked off who I became,” Carter recalled nearly 20 years later. “That night, holding that trophy up … it turned me into a different person.”
*Went out with a bang: Seven months later, “The Captain” delivered a vintage performance in his final game at Yankee Stadiumhitting an RBI double in the first inning and a walk-off single in the ninth.
📺 Watchlist: Best in the West
Tonight’s doubleheader on NBA TV features three of the four best teams in the West and an East contender looking to emerge from its slump, Jeff writes.
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Nuggets at Bucks (8pm ET): Denver (36-17) visits Milwaukee (34-19), which has gone 2-5 since Doc Rivers’ debut.
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Timberwolves at Clippers (10:30pm): Minnesota (36-16) and Los Angeles (35-16) sit atop the Western Conference.
More to watch:
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🏀 NCAAM: Wake Forest at No. 9 Duke (7pm, ESPN); No. 4 Kansas at No. 23 Texas Tech (9pm, ESPN)
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🏀 NCAAW: Arizona at No. 10 USC* (9pm, ESPN2)
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🏒 NHL: Flames at Rangers (7pm, ESPN+)
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⚽️ Premier League: Crystal Palace vs. Chelsea (3pm, USA)
*JuJu’s on fire: USC freshman phenom JuJu Watkins is averaging 37-7-4 over her last three games.
🏆 Super Bowl trivia
Andy Reid is the fifth NFL head coach to win three Super Bowls.
Answer at the bottom.
🍩 Dress like the DunKings!
Ben Affleck, Tom Brady and Matt Damon broke the internet with their “DunKings” Super Bowl commercial, and Dunkin’ is selling their tracksuits starting today at 12pm ET. The jacket and pants will cost $60 each.
Grading the commercials: Best and worst
Trivia answer: Bill Belichick, Patriots (6); Chuck Noll, Steelers (4); Bill Walsh, 49ers (3); Joe Gibbs, Redskins (3)
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