The Vegas Golden Knights will try to prevent their longest losing streak in nearly three years when they face the New Jersey Devils on Thursday in Newark, N.J.
The Golden Knights, who are second in the Pacific Division behind the Edmonton Oilers, have lost four games in a row (0-2-2) for the second time this season and have dropped 11 of their last 14 games (3-8-3). Vegas has not lost five straight games since March 8-15, 2022, which was the only season in franchise history that the Golden Knights missed the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Vegas is playing the third game of a four-game eastern road trip and comes off a 2-1 loss to the New York Islanders on Tuesday. Despite allowing only 14 shots on goal—matching the fewest in franchise history—and putting 34 shots on Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin, the Golden Knights couldn’t secure a win.
“It’s tough,” defenseman Shea Theodore said. “I thought we played good. I think giving up 14 shots, throughout the season, a lot of times you’re going to be on the better end. We just didn’t get it inside enough. We whacked away, but it’s something we have to really focus on. We have two games left before the break and we have to be better.”
Brock Nelson scored the game-winner on a deflection of an Alexander Romanov shot midway through the third period.
Vegas has lost six of its last seven road games and scored just four goals in their last three games.
Vegas Golden Knights (NHL)
“All of these games are pretty tight, just got to find ways to bury more pucks,” center Nicolas Roy said. “You’re not going to win a lot of games on the road when you score one goal. We’ve got to find a way to score more goals.”
New Jersey, third in the Metropolitan Division, has won four of its last six games and comes off a 3-2 shootout victory against Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
Jack Hughes scored two goals, Timo Meier netted the winner in the seventh round of the shootout, and Nicolas Daws made 25 saves for the Devils, who are just two points behind second-place Carolina heading into Thursday’s game.
New Jersey led 2-0 midway through the second period but gave up goals to Rickard Rakell late in the second period and Kevin Hayes midway through the third, leading to the shootout.
“I liked our game and what we did to build the 2-0 lead to begin with,” Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe said. “It would have been nice to get the third one or not give up the one at the end of the second. Lots of resilience. Guys were battling, guys were tired, through overtime, through the shootout. … All in all, it’s a good two points.”
“We would have liked a different third period to secure us this win in regular time,” Meier said. “But at the end it doesn’t matter how you win. We got two points. Now we go back to New Jersey, we regroup after this game. We’ve got two more before the break, and we want to end those two games with a win.”
After failing to finish off one of the highest-scoring teams in the NHL, the struggling St. Louis Blues must now face another high-powered offense just two nights later.
The Blues will play the Florida Panthers on Thursday following their 3-2 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers at home on Tuesday.
“We’ve got to be able to close out games,” said Blues coach Jim Montgomery, whose team has a 1-4-1 record in its last six games.
At home, St. Louis had a 2-1 lead with just under three minutes remaining against the Oilers, but allowed a goal with Edmonton’s goalie off for an extra attacker.
Edmonton, averaging 3.28 goals per game, tied the game with Leon Draisaitl’s goal with 2:14 left in regulation and won in overtime with Connor McDavid assisting Connor Brown for the winner.
“We were more direct and harder to play against in the third,” said Blues captain Brayden Schenn. “At the end of the day, we had chances to make it 3-1 and didn’t capitalize, unfortunately, and gave some good players time and space.”
Now, the Blues face the Panthers, who score 3.27 goals per game. Forwards Matthew Tkachuk (four goals, three assists in four games) and Aleksander Barkov (two goals, seven assists in six games) have been leading the team.
Barkov provides strong play on both sides of the puck.
“A real powerful man, strong man,” said Panthers coach Paul Maurice. “Never goes down. Never quits on the play. He’s such an honest player. He’s hard to handle one-on-one.”
The Blues will be helped defensively by the return of Nick Leddy, who played on Tuesday after missing 49 games due to an injury.
St. Louis Blues (NHL)
With Leddy back, the Blues have one of the most experienced defensive groups in the NHL. St. Louis added Ryan Suter in the offseason and traded for Cam Fowler during the season to join veterans Colton Parayko and Justin Faulk.
“As a coach, it’s very comforting because all of them have played so much, and because they are good and have handled so many situations,” Montgomery said. “All of them have been top-pairing defensemen. All of them have been in situations where they’ve had to be shutdown pairings, and most of them have also been relied upon to run a No. 1 power play, four of them.”
The Panthers had a three-game winning streak broken by a 6-3 loss to the Washington Capitals. The game was tied 2-2 going into the third period, but the Panthers got caught pushing too hard offensively.
“I think we were pushing a little too hard for a goal and gave up too many odd-man rushes and good scoring chances, and they capitalized,” said Panthers forward Sam Bennett.
“We don’t turn over pucks in the offensive zone, and we did, and it’s in our net,” Maurice said. “The margin for error for two good teams is pretty tight.”
Florida beat St. Louis 2-1 in overtime on Dec. 20 at home. Barkov had an assist in regulation and scored the overtime winner. Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves.
Feb. 4 seemed to be a special day for William Nylander. The Toronto forward scored three goals on Tuesday, leading the Maple Leafs to a 6-3 win over the Calgary Flames.
This was Nylander’s second career hat trick, with his first coming on Feb. 4, 2017.
“It was nice,” Nylander said, capping off the feat with an empty-net goal with 44 seconds left. “I didn’t really expect that to happen maybe (Tuesday). I’ve had a lot of games where I scored twice and couldn’t get that third. It was nice that it finally went in.”
The Maple Leafs will continue their four-game Western road trip on Thursday night in Seattle. This will be the second and final regular-season game between the teams. Toronto won 4-1 against the Kraken on Oct. 31, with Nylander scoring twice.
Auston Matthews had three assists against Calgary, Matthew Knies scored a goal and had an assist, and goaltender Joseph Woll made 23 saves.
“We did a good job sticking to our structure and game plan,” Woll said. “There were a lot of penalties, and I think we have a solid structure to rely on, and then we let our playmakers make their plays.”
Woll wasn’t surprised when Nylander scored on an odd-man rush late in the second period to give Toronto a 4-2 lead.
“I was just laughing,” Woll said. “In practice yesterday, he scored on me every time he shot. So when he got the puck on the 2-on-1, I knew he was going to score. He’s a special player. He’s dangerous whenever the puck’s on his stick.”
The hat trick brought Nylander’s total to 33 goals for the season, second in the NHL behind Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl (37) through Tuesday.
The Maple Leafs played without forward Mitch Marner, who was a game-time decision with a lower-body injury. Marner leads Toronto with 70 points (16 goals, 54 assists) and is tied for fourth in the league through Tuesday.
Calgary Flames (NHL)
“I thought we did a great job,” Knies said. “Marner is a huge player, and it’s tough to not have him, but I think other guys stepped up, and we played really well.”
The Kraken came back from a two-goal deficit in the third period Tuesday, but lost 5-4 in a shootout to Detroit, which won its seventh straight game.
Shane Wright scored twice, and Joey Daccord made 36 saves for Seattle, which is 1-2-1 in its five-game homestand that ends Thursday.
“I’m really proud of our compete level,” Wright said. “To come back, score two in the third, and force overtime shows a lot of character. It’s not the result we wanted, but I’m proud of how we fought in the third.”
Matty Beniers also scored for the Kraken. Beniers was the second overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, and Wright was the fourth overall pick in 2022.
“They’re a big part of our team,” Kraken coach Dan Bylsma said. “It’s great to see how Matty’s grown in the last 20 games, and Shane continues to step up and score big goals, like his power-play goal a couple of games ago, and both his goals (Tuesday) were huge for us. It’s good to see our young guys contributing.”
With a trip to Super Bowl 59, Patrick Mahomes will have the opportunity to lead the Kansas City Chiefs to their first three-peat in the Super Bowl era. He would join quarterbacks who have four or more Super Bowl titles, including Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, and Tom Brady.
This has sparked a comparison between Mahomes and Michael Jordan. Could the Chiefs’ success be compared to the Chicago Bulls’ dominance in the 1990s, when Jordan led them to six NBA championships in eight years? Is Mahomes preventing other quarterbacks from winning titles the same way Jordan stopped other NBA players? Is Mahomes more loved or hated than Jordan?
“Everybody has to choose a team they go against or that they feel is getting help from someone,” DeAndre Hopkins said via The Score on Jan. 27. “Everybody has to choose a villain, and it’s easy to choose someone who’s winning as much as our guy is.”
How could Mahomes be considered a villain? Just like Tom Brady and Michael Jordan were. Why do people still talk about Jordan’s push-off (before making the game-winning shot over Bryon Russell in the 1997-98 NBA Finals) nearly 30 years later? Because Jordan was one of the best, and when he won his sixth, (some) people grew tired of his success.
Here’s a breakdown of Mahomes and Jordan’s postseason careers:
Patrick Mahomes Postseason Record
The Chiefs defeated the Bills 32-29 in the AFC Championship, and Mahomes improved to 17-3 in the playoffs with Kansas City. He has led the Chiefs to five Super Bowl appearances, and he now has the chance to lead them to their fourth Super Bowl title in six seasons. This is impressive, especially considering Mahomes is just 29 years old.
Michael Jordan Postseason Record
Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships in 13 seasons from 1984 to 1998. The Bulls were 30-7 in playoff series with Jordan and had a perfect 6-0 record in the NBA Finals during that time. Chicago won three straight NBA championships from 1991-93 and again from 1996-98.
Patrick Mahomes vs. AFC Quarterbacks
Here’s an eye-opening stat: Mahomes is 14-2 as a starter in AFC playoff games. The only two AFC quarterbacks who have beaten Mahomes in the postseason are Tom Brady, who led New England to a 37-31 victory against Kansas City in the 2018 AFC Championship, and Joe Burrow, who guided Cincinnati to a 27-24 win in the 2021 AFC Championship. Both games went into overtime.
Buffalo’s Josh Allen is the only quarterback to lose to the Chiefs multiple times in the playoffs with Mahomes under center. The Bills are 0-4 in playoff matchups with Mahomes and Allen facing off. Mahomes also led the Chiefs to AFC Championship victories against Lamar Jackson’s Baltimore in 2023 and Burrow’s Bengals in 2022. Allen, Jackson, and Burrow combined are 1-6 in the postseason against Mahomes.
Patrick Mahomes speaks in the news conference
Other AFC quarterbacks who have each lost one playoff start against Mahomes include Andrew Luck, Deshaun Watson, Ryan Tannehill, Baker Mayfield, Ben Roethlisberger, Trevor Lawrence, Tua Tagovailoa, and C.J. Stroud.
Michael Jordan vs. the Eastern Conference
It took Jordan a little while to dominate the Eastern Conference in the NBA. The Bulls lost in the first round to Milwaukee once and Boston twice between 1985 and 1987, and Jordan faced three straight losses to the Pistons from 1988-90. At that point, Chicago’s playoff series record with Jordan was 5-6.
This changed starting in 1990-91 when Chicago embarked on their six championship runs. After that, Jordan only lost one more playoff series — the 1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals against Orlando, during a season where Jordan returned from retirement. The Bulls won the other 25 playoff series from 1990-1998.
Chicago beat the New York Knicks in five playoff series with Jordan. New York had Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing, which is similar to how Allen and Buffalo are viewed in this comparison. The Knicks made the 1994 NBA Finals while Jordan was retired.
Jordan also dominated the Cleveland Cavaliers, winning four playoff series, and the Miami Heat, winning three. During the six championships, Chicago beat Detroit, Cleveland, New York, Orlando, Miami, and Indiana. The Pacers featured Reggie Miller, a Hall of Fame player who didn’t reach the NBA Finals until after Jordan’s retirement.
Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl
Mahomes is 3-1 in Super Bowls and won the Super Bowl MVP in all three victories. The Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 in Super Bowl 54 but lost to Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-9 in Super Bowl 55. Now, Mahomes has a chance to complete a three-peat.
The Chiefs defeated the Eagles 35-32 in Super Bowl 57 and the 49ers 25-22 in Super Bowl 58. Mahomes’ Super Bowl wins came against Jimmy Garoppolo, Jalen Hurts, and Brock Purdy. Hurts finished second in the NFL MVP voting in 2022.
Mahomes averages 267.8 passing yards per game with seven touchdowns and five interceptions in those Super Bowl appearances.
Michael Jordan in the NBA Finals
Jordan was 6-0 in NBA Finals and won six Finals MVP awards. In his first three-peat, the Bulls beat the Lakers, Trail Blazers, and Suns. The second three-peat included wins against the Sonics and back-to-back NBA Finals victories over the Jazz.
Jordan averaged 33.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game in the NBA Finals.
Michael Jordan watches from the pits in a NASCAR Cup Series
In this comparison, Malone and Stockton would be similar to Hurts and the Eagles. The Jazz had remarkable regular-season records, finishing 64-18 in 1996-97 and 62-20 in 1998. Yet, they lost to the Bulls in six games in both the 1997 and 1998 NBA Finals. Will Hurts change that by leading the Eagles to a win in Super Bowl 59?
Is the Michael Jordan-Patrick Mahomes Comparison Valid?
Any comparison to Michael Jordan is sure to get some pushback. We’ve seen this with LeBron James, who has four NBA championships and is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
However, the comparison is more about who they are stopping from winning. The best way to describe Jordan’s dominance during his era is by looking at the players who didn’t beat him in the NBA playoffs: Karl Malone, John Stockton, Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, Chris Mullin, and Clyde Drexler.
They were all part of the original Dream Team in the 1992 Summer Olympics. None of them beat Jordan, though Drexler went on to win two NBA championships with the Houston Rockets. Isiah Thomas and Larry Bird did manage to defeat Jordan’s Bulls with the Pistons and Celtics, but those teams were established before Jordan’s time in the NBA.
Other than losing to Brady, Mahomes has dominated the postseason in a similar way. Jackson might win a third NFL MVP this season. Allen has kept the Bills in playoff contention, and the Bengals have missed the postseason the last two years with Burrow.
These are all potential Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterbacks, yet they’re still trying to catch Mahomes in the most competitive playoff format in professional sports.
So yes, the comparison fits — even if Mahomes is chasing more than six championships. He’ll need seven to catch Brady.
The NBA is in chaos, and the trade deadline is tomorrow, so anything can happen. The Luka Doncic trade still confuses me. Seeing him make halfcourt shots in the Lakers’ practice gym and shoot next to LeBron James and Austin Reaves is beyond strange. It doesn’t seem real. If this is the end, maybe it’s a sign from above.
Doncic isn’t the only big-name player traded, though. The Spurs jumped at the chance to get De’Aaron Fox, and this led to Chicago sending Zach LaVine to Sacramento. LaVine will team up with DeMar DeRozan again after three months apart, but this time he’ll be on a solid team.
The Phoenix Suns are now interested in trading Kevin Durant, which could make this one of the most exciting trade deadlines ever. Phoenix really wants to add Jimmy Butler, but they can’t get rid of Bradley Beal’s contract, so trading Durant is probably the only way to get Butler. Durant is the better player, right?
There’s a complex argument for Butler filling a specific need for Phoenix’s offense — adding more rim pressure and creating more in the halfcourt — but we’re talking about Kevin Durant here. What are we even doing? Durant is 36 and has shown signs of slowing down, but so has 34-year-old Butler. Durant is still a 7-foot-tall scoring machine, an excellent defender, and has a shot no one can block.
The rumors about a Durant-Butler trade are real, and if the Suns really do consider sending Durant to the Miami Heat in exchange for Butler, they’ll need a trade package that makes sense. That’s what we’re looking at today.
The tricky part for Phoenix is that they’re hard-capped at the second tax apron, meaning they can’t combine salaries in a trade. The Suns’ front office needs to match Durant’s $51.2 million salary exactly, without going too far over it.
Jimmy Butler stands on the court in the 2nd half
Butler makes $48.8 million, so getting Butler along with some useful role players just isn’t possible unless the Suns can make a separate trade to create salary room, which seems unlikely.
Here’s what Miami can offer for Durant right now:
Jimmy Butler
Nikola Jovic
A 2029 first-round pick
A 2031 first-round pick
Is that enough for a 36-year-old Durant in the second-to-last year of his contract? The Suns are currently ninth in the West, with a record barely above .500. If their reasoning for the trade is “why not?” it’s hard to blame them.
Butler would change the offense, and Nikola Jovic is a solid long-term player with immediate value. If the Suns can get several first-round picks from Miami — especially from years far down the line — it might be worth considering. Butler is open to signing a new deal in Phoenix, and if it doesn’t work out, the Suns would at least have more future assets to work with.
This trade seems unlikely, but the Heat want Durant, and the Suns are eager to shake things up. Sometimes tough situations lead to surprising moves. A Durant-Butler swap could actually happen.
Eddie Howe said his Newcastle United team followed his game plan perfectly as they secured a 4-0 aggregate win over Arsenal to reach the League Cup final on Wednesday.
Having a 2-0 lead from the first leg in London, it would have been tempting for Newcastle to play defensively and protect their lead. But that was never Howe’s approach.
Instead, Newcastle’s aggressive pressing put pressure on Arsenal from the start, forcing players like Gabriel, William Saliba, and Declan Rice into several uncharacteristic errors.
Jacob Murphy added to Newcastle’s lead before the first half was halfway through, and Anthony Gordon capitalized on a mistake by Arsenal keeper David Raya, sparking celebrations at a lively St James’ Park.
“We wanted to get pressure on them (William Saliba and Gabriel) and in order to do that we had to get bodies in the right areas and press high — that is how we decided to do it,” Howe explained to Sky Sports.
“We were playing against elite players, and one mistake can make things difficult. We had to be ourselves, be front foot.”
Howe mentioned that the game plan started coming together only on Monday, but the team’s experience in the Champions League last season helped them adjust quickly.
Newcastle United v Arsenal
“The Champions League experience really helped us because that got us working with two-day turnarounds,” Howe said. “We can tweak things depending on the opposition and you could see today the change in our performance.”
Howe had led Newcastle to the League Cup final two years ago, but they fell short then, and their wait for a major trophy, which has now lasted 70 years, continues.
Newcastle fans might hope that Tottenham Hotspur can hold onto their 1-0 advantage in the second leg of the other semi-final against defending champions Liverpool on Thursday.
No matter who Newcastle faces in the final at Wembley next month, Howe believes his team will be in a better position to succeed.
“It is huge (to get back to Wembley),” Howe said. “The first appearance there was a bit unexpected, but the club we want to be we have to be there regularly, so it’s not a surprise.
“We are there on merit, our run has not been easy this year, we’ve faced four Premier League teams, so we have done the hard yards. Hopefully we can learn from the last experience and improve our performance.”
One reason conspiracy theories are so popular is that they attempt to explain things that don’t make sense. In sports, one of the most confusing topics right now is the Dallas Mavericks trading Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers.
After the surprising news broke that the Mavericks had traded their 25-year-old star, a five-time first-team All-NBA player, conspiracy theories quickly started circulating. The most common theory is that the NBA’s top leaders set up the trade to boost ratings, with one of the league’s brightest young stars now joining the most famous team.
Dwyane Wade suggested this move was the NBA owners’ way of taking control back from the players, while Bill Simmons speculated that the trade was a way to turn Mavericks fans against the team, possibly setting the stage to move the franchise to Las Vegas.
Despite his ability to analyze NBA transactions, Brian Windhorst isn’t buying into these theories. Instead, Windhorst, who is known for reading between the lines, says he’s doing something he doesn’t often do in his more than 20 years of covering the NBA — he’s believing what everyone involved has said about the deal.
“This is also uncharted territory, what I’m about to say,” Windhorst said on Wednesday’s Get Up. “I believe everything that everybody has said about this deal. Everything that LeBron [James] says, everything that Luka says, everything that Rob Pelinka and Nico Harrison, everything that Kyrie [Irving] said. I believe everybody is telling the truth.
I never believe that in the NBA when it comes to what they say in the media. In this case, from what I know, I think everybody is telling the truth.”
Luka Doncic speaks at the NBA basketball conference
Windhorst explained that the trade might not be as complicated as people think. He believes the Mavericks simply didn’t want to pay Dončić a $350 million supermax extension this summer. And even though the trade might be the first time in LeBron James’ career that he wasn’t consulted about a major move, acquiring a player like Dončić was a clear decision for the Lakers.
“Everything is just straight on the up and up,” Windhorst said. “It’s stunning. It’s shocking. It may be a massive mistake for the Dallas Mavericks. But everything that happened is straight on. I know it’s hard to accept because of the world we’re in today. But that is indeed what has gone on and that is my takeaway.”
“I know that there is QAnon, Illuminati, 4D chess theories, I reject all of them,” Windhorst said. “I think it is exactly as it seems on face value.” Although he usually thinks there’s always more to the story in the NBA, Windhorst believes the facts from the Mavericks, Lakers, players, and general managers involved all line up, even if the trade is still shocking.
The main reason this trade is so surprising is that it’s hard to understand why a team would give up on a player as talented and young as Dončić. But once you accept that this is what happened, even if you don’t agree with it, the rest of the details make sense.
Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly laughs during practice in Carson
Chip Kelly understands the challenge ahead of him, but as the Raiders’ offensive coordinator, he is excited about joining an AFC West filled with top-tier head coaches and quarterbacks.
“I heard that from some people, do you really want to go in that division?” Kelly said during a Zoom call on Wednesday.
“But I think if you’re a competitor, you do. And if you have a chance to win that division, then that means you beat the best, and the best that’s playing in football right now is the Chiefs.”
Kansas City, led by coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes, is aiming for a third straight Super Bowl title when it plays the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday in New Orleans.
The division also features coach-quarterback combinations like Jim Harbaugh and Justin Herbert with the Los Angeles Chargers, and Sean Payton and Bo Nix with the Denver Broncos.
All three teams made the playoffs last season, while Las Vegas finished with a 4-13 record and changed coaches, moving from Antonio Pierce to Pete Carroll. With Carroll’s arrival, every head coach in the division has appeared in the Super Bowl, though only Harbaugh has not won one yet.
Kelly mentioned that working with Carroll played a big role in his decision to take the job, and he had productive talks with owner Mark Davis, general manager John Spytek, and minority owner Tom Brady.
“The tradition of this program speaks for itself,” Kelly said. “To the catch phrases that I think everybody uses in everyday life, ’Just win, baby.’”
Kelly was the offensive coordinator for Ohio State’s national championship team last season after previously being the head coach at Oregon and UCLA, as well as the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers.
Tom Brady and Aidan Hutchinson before the game
In hiring Kelly, the Raiders hope to revive an offense that was one of the worst in the league last season, ranking fourth-worst with 303.2 yards per game and last in rushing with an average of 79.8 yards.
Addressing the quarterback position is a top priority, but Kelly says he is still getting to know the team and figuring out what players will be available through the draft or free agency. Las Vegas holds the No. 6 pick in the upcoming draft.
“So I think it’s really your evaluation of the personnel that’s available to you and then fitting them into that system,” Kelly said.
Kelly earned a reputation as an innovative offensive coach while at Oregon, first as offensive coordinator in 2007 and 2008, then as head coach for the following four seasons. He posted a 46-7 record, including an appearance in the Bowl Championship Series national championship game in the 2010 season, and finished in the top four of the AP poll in his last three years.
He then moved to Philadelphia, where he coached for three seasons, with a 10-6 record in each of his first two years. After a 6-9 record in 2015, he was let go. The 49ers hired Kelly, but he was fired after one season with a 2-14 record.
Kelly returned to college football in 2018 with UCLA but struggled early on, with losing records in his first three seasons. However, the Bruins went 25-13 in his last three years.
After the 2023 season, Kelly left UCLA to join Ohio State as their offensive coordinator. Under his guidance, the Buckeyes dominated the College Football Playoff, scoring 83 points in the first two rounds before beating Texas 28-14 in the semifinals and Notre Dame 34-23 in the championship game.
New Patriots coach Mike Vrabel’s coaching staff will feature many familiar faces from his time with the Tennessee Titans.
Of the 26 staff members announced by New England on Wednesday, 11 worked with Vrabel during his six years in Tennessee from 2018 to 2023.
Along with defensive coordinator Terrell Williams, who previously served as Vrabel’s defensive line coach with the Titans, three other staff members are getting new roles with the Patriots.
John Streicher is now the Patriots’ vice president of football operations and strategy, a position he held as director of football administration in Tennessee. New inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr was Vrabel’s assistant linebackers coach, and Clint McMillan, the Titans’ assistant defensive line coach, will now be the Patriots’ top defensive line coach.
Other former Titans assistants under Vrabel joining his new staff include receivers coach Todd Downing (who was the Titans’ offensive coordinator), assistant offensive line coach Jason Houghtaling, running backs coach Tony Dews, safeties coach Scott Booker, Justin Hamilton (cornerbacks coach, who was a defensive quality control coach in Tennessee in 2023), director of sports performance Frank Piraino, and assistant special teams coach Tom Quinn.
There are a few holdovers from former coach Jerod Mayo’s staff as well. Mayo’s brother and strength and conditioning coach Deron Mayo will stay in his position.
Mike Vrabel (NFL)
Assistant strength coach Brian McDonough, assistant offensive line coach Robert Kugler, and defensive assistant Vinny DePalma will remain, with Ben McAdoo, who worked as a senior offensive assistant under Mayo, now taking on a role as senior defensive assistant under Vrabel.
Former Patriots assistant Josh McDaniels has already been announced as Vrabel’s offensive coordinator, and special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer, who held the same role last season under Mayo, will stay in that position.
One other key hire is tight ends coach and passing game coordinator Thomas Brown. He interviewed for the offensive coordinator job that ultimately went to McDaniels. Brown began this past season as passing game coordinator for the Chicago Bears, was promoted to offensive coordinator midseason, and then became interim head coach for the final six games of the season.
Vrabel said in a statement that he wanted to “identify loyal, trustworthy coaches who are diverse in background, ideas, experiences, and systems.”
“We will be aligned in our vision to teach and develop our players with creativity, consistency, and attention to detail, with the major goal of developing relationships that stretch beyond the field and meeting rooms,” Vrabel added.
What can viewers expect from Kendrick Lamar’s highly anticipated Super Bowl halftime performance? So far, it’s confirmed that SZA will join him on stage, but more information may be shared on Thursday when the Grammy-winning artist speaks before Sunday’s game.
Apple Music’s Ebro Darden and Nadeska Alexis will interview Lamar and other pre-game performers starting at 10 a.m. Central time. The rap star takes the Super Bowl stage after winning two major Grammy awards — song and record of the year — for his diss track “Not Like Us.”
Apple Music will stream the interview on its platform and social media, including YouTube and Facebook.
This isn’t Lamar’s first time performing on the Super Bowl’s major musical stage. He’s excited to bring hip-hop back to the NFL’s championship game after performing as a guest with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent, and Eminem in 2022.
The pre-game media session might reveal some details about the performance, but headliners often keep some surprises. Rihanna did this in 2023 when she revealed she was pregnant with her second child during her Super Bowl performance.
Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl 59 Opening Night
The Super Bowl will take place on Sunday at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, where the Kansas City Chiefs, the defending champions, will face off against the Philadelphia Eagles in a rematch.
Who else is performing at the Super Bowl?
The pregame show will have a local touch, with Jon Batiste singing the national anthem. Trombone Shorty and Lauren Daigle are set to perform “America the Beautiful.”
Ledisi will perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as part of the pregame performances.
The national anthem and “America the Beautiful” will be performed by actor Stephanie Nogueras in American Sign Language. Otis Jones IV will sign “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” and Matt Maxey will sign the halftime show.
Even though Tom Brady’s performance in the Fox Sports booth won’t show up on the scoreboard during Sunday’s Super Bowl, he’s trying to take the same approach he did in his 10 previous Super Bowl appearances as a player.
Brady spoke about his transition to broadcasting and other topics on Wednesday during a conference call before Sunday’s game in New Orleans between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles.
This was the first time Brady had spoken to the media in this setting. He’s appeared frequently on Colin Cowherd’s show on FS1 during the season.
“There’s no scoreboard for us. Did we feel we approached the game the right way, and were we prepared? It comes down to two things: Was I confident in what I said, and did I enjoy myself? If the answer is yes, then we did a good job,” Brady said. “I’m very excited for what’s ahead.”
Brady has received as much attention as an analyst as he did throughout his 23 seasons as quarterback for the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he won seven Super Bowls.
While most people think his first year as a broadcaster hasn’t been as strong as Tony Romo’s debut with CBS in 2017, Brady hasn’t struggled as much as other former players and coaches who have tried broadcasting.
Kevin Burkhardt, who’s calling his second Super Bowl, said he’s noticed Brady’s comfort level grow as the season has gone on.
“I think there’s a reason that not everybody dives into this end of the pool because it’s hard to be on TV for 3 1/2 hours every week and not have an edit button and go back and hit the delete button,” Burkhardt said.
“The goal was for us as a team to improve and get better throughout the year. With anyone new, it takes time to build chemistry, whether they’re a TV veteran or not. It just takes time on task. I’m proud of where we are.”
Brady signed a 10-year, $375 million contract with Fox in May 2022 while still playing for Tampa Bay. He retired after that season and decided in February 2023 to take a year off before moving into broadcasting.
Burkhardt and Brady had plenty of practice during the season, but most of it took place on the Fox Sports lot in Los Angeles and wasn’t seen by millions. Brady knew the learning curve would be tough but was ready for the challenge.
Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels watches from the sideline during an NFL football game
“To use your voice and vision for a live television audience, there’s a lot of adrenaline in that, but it was very different from when I played. I would see all these things, but I didn’t have to say them,” Brady explained.
“I knew subconsciously what to do, and my body just took over because that’s how I trained it. When you embrace uncertainty, you work as hard as you can to prepare yourself, knowing you’ll want to redo some things. I’ve enjoyed the learning curve.
“I love the chance to take the viewer inside the way I see things. It’s simple in some ways, complicated in others. I feel like our crew is hitting our stride. We know each other better every week. Hopefully, this will be our best game yet.”
Brady said he has gotten feedback from Fox Sports and has heard from Tony Romo, NBC’s Cris Collinsworth, and Amazon Prime Video’s Al Michaels.
Along with his approach as an analyst, questions have arisen about his dual roles in calling games and being a 5% limited owner of the Las Vegas Raiders.
The NFL has set rules preventing Brady from taking part in Fox’s production meetings with teams — either in person or via Zoom — watching practices, or stepping foot in a team’s training facility.
Fox Sports president of production and operations/executive producer Brad Zager said last month that claims of a conflict of interest between Brady’s role as a broadcaster and his position with the Raiders are unfounded.
Brady will be allowed to attend production meetings with players and coaches from the Chiefs and Eagles this week, but he won’t be able to watch practices.
Brady said not attending production meetings hasn’t impacted his preparation for games, though there are some things he misses out on.
“I think the best part (of production meetings) is that genuine relationships are built over time, and it’s a shared experience with people on your own crew during calls and discussions,” he said.
“For research, I listen to press conferences all week. To me, there’s no difference in a media member asking a question in a Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday press conference than if I or the crew asked it.”
Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Jack Jones celebrates with teammates after an interception
Brady didn’t directly say how much of a role he played in the Raiders’ hiring of head coach Pete Carroll, general manager John Spytek, and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. Owner Mark Davis recently said Brady helped lead a committee that brought Carroll and Spytek to the Raiders.
“I’m there to support the team, the leadership, and the overall vision for success,” Brady said. “This approach as a broadcaster has been all-encompassing this year. Mark Davis is the owner of the Raiders, and I play a supportive, complementary role to the vision he sets. That will unfold in its own time.”
While Brady’s Patriots fell short of achieving three straight Super Bowls, he said he would be happy to see Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs become the first team in Super Bowl history to achieve that feat.
It would also be Mahomes’ fourth championship, bringing him closer to Brady’s title record, which many thought would never be surpassed when he retired.
“I love seeing others achieve great things, and for anyone to take away from what Patrick is doing, I don’t believe that takes away from what I accomplished in my career,” Brady said.
“The reality is we all have our journeys. Comparisons are fun for the media because they offer a different perspective and context that people can write and talk about. But as a competitor, I never saw it that way, and I still don’t today, even in the role I’m in now.”
The NHL Players’ Association announced on Wednesday that it has filed an appeal on behalf of Ryan Hartman after the Minnesota Wild forward was given a 10-game suspension for roughing.
Hartman had 48 hours from the league’s decision on Monday night to decide whether he would appeal the suspension for slamming an opponent’s head to the ice with his right forearm. This suspension is the longest for on-ice conduct in more than six years.
The first appeal will be reviewed by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, who usually supports the decisions made by the Department of Player Safety and its vice president, George Parros. If Bettman upholds the suspension, Hartman can take his appeal to a neutral arbitrator.
As part of his fifth career suspension and fourth since 2023, Hartman will lose $487,805 in salary. He will get back more than $48,000 for each game his suspension is reduced, if that happens.
In 2018, Washington’s Tom Wilson got back six games’ worth of salary when his suspension was reduced from 20 to 14 games after appealing to an arbitrator.
Calgary Flames defenseman Brayden Pachal and Minnesota Wild right wing Ryan Hartman (38) battle for the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game
Hartman, 30, was initially given a match penalty for roughing Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle late in the second period of Saturday’s game.
“Hartman argues that he was trying to use his hand to regain his balance by leaning on Stutzle, and that their fall to the ice was accidental. We disagree,” Player Safety said in a video explaining the suspension. “With Stutzle bent low and focused on winning the faceoff, Hartman intentionally takes advantage of the vulnerable player in an unacceptable way.
He uses his forearm and body weight to drive Stutzle’s head into the ice from a height, which makes this move both dangerous and unacceptable.”
