Dec 27, 2020; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; A general view of a Kansas City Chiefs helmet before the game against the Atlanta Falcons at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Patrick Mahomes became the obvious MVP of Super Bowl LVIII when he led a game-winning drive in overtime, but there was one other Kansas City Chiefs player who deserved consideration.
Harrison Butker had easily one of the best games ever for a kicker in the Super Bowl. The veteran accounted for 13 of Kansas City’s 25 points. He converted 4-of-4 field goal attempts, including a 57-yarder that was the longest field goal in Super Bowl history.
The clutch performance in the Chiefs’ 25-22 win over the San Francisco 49ers capped off an insanely good season for Butker.
Butker also made a 29-yard field goal with 3 seconds remaining in regulation that sent the game to overtime. Had he gone on to make a game-winning kick in OT, there is a legitimate chance he would have been the first kicker to ever win a Super Bowl MVP.
Mahomes went 34/46 for 333 yards and 2 touchdowns, including the game-winner to Mecole Hardman in overtime. He also threw a bad interception early in the second half. Mahomes came through for the Chiefs when it mattered, as usual, but you can easily make the argument that Butker was just as clutch on Sunday.
Aug 26, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; Former NFL player Tom Brady on the field before the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Las Vegas Raiders at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Tom Brady will join FOX as the network’s lead NFL game analyst next season, and the former quarterback is hoping to be just as good at his new job as he was at his old one. It does not sound like he plans to stay with his new career for nearly as long, however.
Brady agreed to a 10-year, $375 million contract with FOX when he was still playing in 2022. According to Richard Deitsch of The Athletic, it is unlikely that Brady will come close to fulfilling his 10-year deal since the 46-year-old has so much going on in his life aside from broadcasting.
That leaves Greg Olsen in an interesting position. Olsen has been FOX’s lead analyst for the past two seasons. He reportedly makes $10 million per year, but his salary will likely be reduced significantly when Brady takes Olsen’s spot alongside play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt. Olsen could join Joe Davis on FOX’s No. 2 broadcast team next season, though he has not committed to doing that just yet.
There are no No. 1 analyst jobs currently available with other networks, so Olsen would probably be making a lateral move if he left FOX. There is a chance the former Pro Bowl tight end could explore coaching opportunities and then return to broadcasting in the future. Olsen is only 38 and has already established himself as one of the best game analysts in football, so there will be plenty of opportunities for him down the road.
Some wondered if Brady would ever actually wind up in the booth for FOX. Olsen may have had his doubts as well, but Brady has made it clear that he is working hard to prepare for the job. Olsen has a big decision to make this offseason.
The Kansas Jayhawks on Monday against Texas Tech suffered their worst defeat of the season. Kansas head coach Bill Self wasn’t there to see the ending.
Self was ejected with under six minutes left in what turned out to be a 79-50 blowout of Kansas courtesy of the Red Raiders at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas.
Self got tossed after contesting a foul call on the previous play that went against star Jayhawks center Hunter Dickinson. Texas Tech held a 16-point lead at that point, which further ballooned to 29 once Self was out of the game.
Nicolas Timberlake and Johnny Furphy paced Kansas in scoring with 13 apiece. Red Raiders guard Darrion Williams led all scorers with 30 points on a perfect 12/12 shooting clip.
Despite entering the night ranked sixth in the AP poll, Kansas never led against unranked Texas Tech. Their previous four losses had been by a margin of just 4-6 points.
Kansas won 13 of their first 14 games to start the season but have stumbled of late. They’ve gone a mediocre 6-5 since their hot start to the 2023-24 campaign.
It hasn’t been a great year for NBA referees this season. Add the ending of the New York Knicks-Houston Rockets matchup on Monday to the growing list of games that have left fans, players, and coaches alike frustrated.
Knicks star Jalen Brunson had just knotted the game up at 103 with 8.1 seconds left at Madison Square Garden in New York City, N.Y. With a second left on the clock, Brunson contested a potential game-winning shot from Rockets guard Aaron Holiday from the left wing.
Brunson appeared to fly by Holiday without making any significant contact. Holiday’s shot missed but referee Jacyn Goble called a shooting foul on Brunson. The Knicks had already used their coach’s challenge and couldn’t contest the play.
Holiday made two of the three free throws to seal a 105-103 Rockets win.
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau was furious after the game was officially ruled over. He had been drawing up a play with the hope of getting a few tenths of a second back on the clock after Holiday’s last free throw.
Knicks fans and even neutral observers later crushed the refs via social media over the bad call.
Even “Zoolander” star and known Knicks fan Ben Stiller was irate. He called for the referees to address the situation.
The pool report later confirmed that the call was indeed wrong and that no foul had been committed on the play.
The Knicks were called for seven more fouls (23-16) than the Rockets all game. The home team also shot just 12 free throws all game, much fewer than Houston’s 33 attempts from the stripe.
Thibodeau was surprisingly calm when asked about the officiating during his postgame press conference.
“It was great. Great,” said Thibodeau sarcastically.
Any Knicks fans hoping for a Darko Rajaković-esque rant from Thibodeau as a consolation prize were sorely disappointed.
The Kansas City Chiefs and their fans weren’t the only winners at Super Bowl LVIII. CBS Sports got themselves a pretty favorable result as well.
On Monday, CBS Sports’ PR account on X released the viewership numbers from the Chiefs’ 25-22 overtime win over the San Francisco 49ers at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev. The final tally classified the 58th Super Bowl as the most-viewed in history with 123.4 million viewers on average.
It certainly helped that the league’s biggest star in Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was playing in the contest against a big-market team in the 49ers. The contest also stayed close throughout and even went into overtime, which increased the game’s stakes as well as its total duration for more fans to tune in.
There’s also a legitimate case that the added interest was in part due to Taylor Swift’s appearance while supporting her boyfriend and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Usher taking his shirt off during the Super Bowl halftime show might have bumped up the numbers a bit as well.
While the Super Bowl obliterates all other sporting events in the U.S. market, its numbers still pale in comparison to the global viewership numbers for soccer events like the quadrennial FIFA World Cup and the annual UEFA Champions League Final.
MLB’s Opening Day is still more than a month away. But on Monday, Los Angeles Dodgers fans got a sneak preview of Shohei Ohtani’s hitting prowess for the first time in Dodger blue.
Ohtani took his first on-field swings since undergoing surgery in September to repair his injured elbow. The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya reported that the Dodgers slugger deposited several baseballs over the fence during the batting practice session.
Dodgers fans don’t have to daydream about what Ohtani’s BP looked like. The team’s official X account captured and posted footage of the session from an awesome angle behind home plate. Ohtani absolutely blasted several baseballs into the beautiful blue horizon. Some say those baseballs are still soaring in the air as of writing.
The two-way star will be limited to hitting in his first season with the Dodgers after his second Tommy John surgery ruled out any chance of him pitching in 2024. But if Ohtani can perform at the plate like he did last season, the man can still do some serious damage as the Dodgers’ DH.
Ohtani hit .304 in his last season with the LA Angels. His .412 on-base percentage was the highest in the American League, while his .654 slugging percentage and 1.066 OPS were tops in the majors.
Despite the superstar numbers and the massive $700 million contract to go along with them, Ohtani is reportedly isn’t acting like generational talent as he gets acclimated with his new Dodgers teammates.
Dodgers fans! Show everyone who runs LA with this great shirt. You can buy it here.
May 12, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; A detailed view of the Washington Nationals logo on a weighted bat during the seventh inning of the game between the Washington Nationals and the New York Mets at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports
The Washington Nationals are hoping one former All-Star can regain his form while wearing a Nats uniform.
The Nationals have signed outfielder Jesse Winker to a minor league deal, according to Andrew Golden of the Washington Post.
Winker was an All-Star for the Cincinnati Reds during the 2021 season. The Orlando native hit .305 with an OPS of .949 to go along with 24 home runs and 71 RBIs in 110 games played. Winker appeared to be on the cusp of stardom before he left Cincinnati following the 2021 campaign.
However, a lingering back injury has hampered Winker’s play over the past two seasons. In 2022, Winker hit .219 with 14 home runs and 53 RBIs in 136 games for the Seattle Mariners. Winker latched onto the Milwaukee Brewers last season and experiences his MLB career nadir: a batting average below the Mendoza Line at .199 with just and 1 home run and 23 RBIs in 61 games.
Signing Winker to a minor league deal projects to be a low-risk gamble for the Nationals. They could easily cut him if he doesn’t perform or bring him up to the main 25-man roster should he have a 2024 resurgence.
There’s nothing that captures the gravity of a massive American sports moment quite like listening to a non-English telecast. The Korean call of the ending of Super Bowl LVIII is a testament to that.
The Kansas City Chiefs secured their Super Bowl win over the San Francisco 49ers Sunday in dramatic fashion via a Patrick Mahomes touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman. The Chiefs wide receiver caught a short pass to seal a 25-22 overtime victory that sent Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev. into a frenzy.
The Korean telecast of Super Bowl LVIII’s decisive play was a frenzy in and of itself.
https://twitter.com/Royals_Jun/status/1756903090647941560
With all due respect to CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz and Tony Romo, the pure energy of the Korean call on Coupang Play was a different experience. The screams of jubilation after Hardman caught the game-winning pass must have echoed the sound in every sports bar in the United States.
The Spanish call of the final play on Univision wasn’t too shabby either.
Given that there will be no NFL action for the next few months, highlight reels and replays are all football fans will have for the foreseeable future. Mixing in some of the foreign telecasts is a fun way to spice things up.
Feb 8, 2020; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie (26) warms up against the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
Spencer Dinwiddie essentially had a choice of two teams once he was waived by the Toronto Raptors. He wound up choosing the Los Angeles Lakers over the Dallas Mavericks, and he did it for an interesting reason.
On Monday, Dinwiddie told reporters that signing with the Mavericks would have been the easier and more comfortable choice, but that he felt he needed the greater challenge of joining the Lakers.
“The two situations kind of felt like this: Let’s say you were a kid and you got your a– whupped by the bully,” Dinwiddie said, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “Dallas would’ve been like your momma being like, ‘It’s OK, baby. Don’t worry about it.’ Lakers are like your dad: ‘Nah, you better go out there and fight ’til you win.’ You feel me? And I just felt like that was what I needed at the time.”
It is easy to see why Dinwiddie’s ultimate choice will be viewed as the more difficult one. He had familiarity with Dallas, having played on the Mavericks team that made the Western Conference Finals in 2022. At one point, he even seemed to be leaning that way. In contrast, the Lakers have a worse record, fewer existing ties for Dinwiddie to lean on, and much higher expectations. That combination is apparently what the veteran guard wants right now, though it helps that he is a Los Angeles native and a childhood Laker fan.
Dinwiddie was averaging 12.6 points per game for the Brooklyn Nets this season before being shipped to Toronto for Dennis Schroder and ultimately waived.
Apr 5, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Dylan Cease (84) sits in the dugout before the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
After an entire offseason of trade rumors surrounding star pitcher Dylan Cease, the Chicago White Sox may be sending clear signals that no deal is coming after all.
On Monday, White Sox general manager Chris Getz sent a clear signal that Cease will remain with the team to at least the start of the season. Getz said his expectation was that Cease would serve as the team’s Opening Day starter.
As far back as November, there were reports saying that the White Sox were open to trading Cease for the right price. The price part appears to have been the sticking point, as teams indicated that Chicago’s asking price was simply too high. With Cease still under team control for two more seasons, it makes sense that the White Sox held the line and did not sell for less than they were looking for.
Cease rumors died down late in the offseason, although one new team was linked to him as recently as last month. For now, the likely outcome is that things stay the same, though Cease could still be shopped again closer to the trade deadline.
The 28-year-old Cease posted a 4.58 ERA last season, but was the runner-up in AL Cy Young voting in 2022.
