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STAFFORD LEADS LATE
COMEBACK AS RAMS WIN TITLE
Sunday, January 30: The Rams overcame a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the 49ers, 20-17, to winch NFC Championship game and returns o the Super Bowl for the second time in four seasons. Matthew Stafford led Los Angeles on three scoring drives — a touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp and two Matt Gay field goals — in an 11-minute span to take a lead with 1:46 remaining. The Rams defense, swarming throughout the last quarter, intercepted Jimmy Garoppolo on third down and the Rams took a knee the rest of the way to win the conference.
This is what the Rams envisioned when they moved on from Jared Goff and traded for Stafford in the offseason. Stafford threw an interception in the end zone on the team's first possession of the game and was held in check by a strong 49ers defense which pressured him the whole game, but he found his game when it mattered in the fourth quarter and will try to lead the franchise to its second Super Bowl win and its first based in Los Angeles.
The Rams were swept by San Francisco in the regular season and seemed in control through three quarters. Garoppolo managed to escape turnovers until that last possession, despite several throws which could have been intercepted. He did well managing the game in that respect, but finished just 16 of 30 for 232 yard and two touchdowns. The Rams did well in limiting the Niners' top weapons — Deebo Samuel did have a 44-yard touchdown catch-and-run but was held to 26 rushing yards and 72 receiving yards. Tight end George Kittle had just two catches for 27 yards, but one catch was for a touchdown.
The Rams get to stay home when they take on the Bengals, as Super Bowl LVI will be played at SoFi Stadium on February 13.
My take: Two of the league's top quarterbacks will do battle. Watching the Bengals against the Chiefs, I have no idea how they're going to manage Aaron Donald with that o-line — it will be critical to the outcome of that game. Both offenses are explosive. Cooper Kupp vs. Ja'Marr Chase. Each team lost its top tight end Sunday. Pretty even all around. I think it's going be a good game. — Bob
BURROW, DEFENSE LEAD
BENGALS TO SUPER BOWL
Sunday, January 30: Evan McPherson kicked a 31-yard field goal in overtime to beat the Chiefs, 27-24, and send the Bengals to their first Super Bowl in 34 years. The winning kick was set up after Cincinnati intercepted Patrick Mahomes on the first possession overtime and returned it to their own 40-yard line. A series of runs by Joe Mixon for 26 yards and two short completions from Joe Burrow to Tee Higgins got the ball down to the Chiefs 13-yard line.
Cincinnati trailed 21-10 in the third quarter, but a stout defensive effort on a good open-field tackle by cornerback Eli Apple on Tyreek Hill at the end of the second quarter forced the clock to run out on Kansas City at the Bengals' one-yard line, keeping the game within striking distance. After a Bengals field goal early in the third quarter, the defense responded again by intercepting Mahomes, giving Burrow and the offense possession at the Chiefs' 27. Five plays later, Burrow connected with Ja'Marr Chase on a two-yard touchdown pass, then connected with him again on the two-point conversion to tie the game. The fourth quarter had only three possessions — a quick Chiefs three-and-out, then two field-goals drives (one for each team) and each over six minutes long. The Chiefs had the ball first-and-goal at the Cincinnati 5 with 1:32 remaining and seemed assured of a go-ahead touchdown. But Mahomes took two sacks trying to extend plays, losing 20 yards and forcing a game-tying field goal.
Kansas City was attempting to reach its third consecutive Super Bowl, but now the road to the AFC title next year will run through Cincinnati.
My take: Burrow's a heck of a player and outplayed Mahomes in the second half — Mahomes was a hot mess in the final 30 minutes and overtime, no idea what happened but he tried to force a lot of balls into tight coverage and was not the difference-maker he was against the Bills last week; he was a difference maker, just not in a good way. I'm happy for the Bengals and hope they bring another Super Bowl to the AFC North, which would only leave the Brown's without one (ahem). Regardless, it would be nice to see a franchise win its first. — Bob
RAFA HITS 'BLACKJACK' IN
EPIC DUEL WITH MEDVEDEV
Sunday, January 30: Rafael Nadal now holds the record for most career men's Grand Slam titles, winning his 21st in an epic five-and-a-half hour match over Daniil Medvedev, 2-6, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 at the Australian Open Sunday at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, passing contemporaries Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer on the all-time list. Nadal had won the Australian Open only once before (2009) in five previous finals and has now completed the career Grand Slam a second time.
The chance to make history looked grim for the 35-year-old Spaniard as the 6-foot-6, lanky Medvedev, 10 years his junior, covered lots of ground and took the first set easily, then came back from 4-1 down in the second to force and win a tiebreaker.
A partisan crowd, fully behind Nadal, began to irritate Medvedev in the third and he began asking the chair umpire to control the shouting between first and second serves — Medvedev likes to play fast and often had to wait on his second serve while fans quieted down. The frustration seemed to take Medvedev off his game enough for Nadal to gain his footing and take the third set, and from there he won extremely tight fourth and fifth sets, getting broken while serving for the championship at 5-4, but breaking back then holding serve at love to win the title.
Nadal will now be the favorite to win major title No. 22 when the French Open is held on his best surface, clay, at the end of May. He has won the event 13 times, But he will have to unseat reigning champion Djokovic, who will attempt to tie Nadal in Grand Slam titles — Djokovic was not allowed play in the Australian Open after arriving in country because of controversy over his COVID-19 waiver. He is unvaccinated and was ultimately not granted permission to remain in Australia due to nationwide protocols.
My take: An instant classic. Kudos to Nadal, who is coming off injury and hadn't played much in six months. A true champ who summoned the will and won on guts and guile. Medvedev needs to figure out how to channel negative crowd energy into motivation. He lost this match between the ears. He has now made a permanent enemy of the Australians, referring to the crowd as "idiots," and will hear the jeers every match he plays there moving forward. — Bob
FLYERS END RECORD
SKID AGAINST KINGS
Saturday, January 29: Until Scott Laughton scored at 2:22 of overtime Saturday night to beat the Kings, 4-3, the Flyers had not won a game in 2022. In fact, their last win came on the 29th of December, a 13-game skid which set a franchise record for futility:
Scott Laughton pots the @trulyseltzer OT winner for the @NHLFlyers! 🛎 pic.twitter.com/5PW9NdHU0X
— NHL (@NHL) January 29, 2022
In that span, seven the losses were by one goal, two in overtime and one by shootout.
Philadelphia has a chance to string two wins together Tuesday night when they host the Jets, their last game before the All-Star break.
My take: It was bound to happen eventually, right? Gonna be a surly group of Kings entering PPG Paints Arena Sunday afternoon. No team likes to be that team, which gets beat to end another's misery. The Penguins best be ready to start fast. — Bob
IS BRADY ANNOUNCING RETIREMENT
AFTER 22 SEASONS, 10 SUPER BOWLS?
Saturday, January 29: According to an ESPN report, Tom Brady is announcing his retirement after one of the most storied careers in the history of the National Football League. However, a tweet by Bally Sports writes "Tom Brady contacted @Buccaneers GM Jason Licht and told him he has not yet made a final decision on retirement, disputing the ESPN report. Licht is respecting Brady's process and waiting for a definitive answer, whenever it comes, from the QB." Subsequently, Brady's father said his son has not retired and any reports to the contrary are erroneous.
Brady could be delaying the announcement until February 4. According to Spotrac, an online site that documents player salaries in all sports, Brady has millions of reasons to wait until that date: "$15M of Tom Brady’s $20M signing bonus from last March is set to be paid out February 4th, 2022. Seems like something a guy or gal would want to have process before making any life changing career decisions official." In essence, if Brady retired before February 4, he would forfeit the $15 million that he gets as a signing bonus on that date.
Considered by many to be the greatest quarterback to ever play, the statistics and the championships back that position. In 22 NFL seasons, Brady played in 10 Super Bowls and won seven, and was named MVP of the game five times (all NFL records). The 44-year-old won six Super Bowls in nine appearances with the Patriots in 20 seasons, then won last year's Super Bowl in his first season with the Buccaneers. Brady quarterbacked his team to division tiles 18 times. He holds the NFL record for most career regular-season wins (243), touchdown passes (624) and yards (84,250), along with league records in pass attempts, completions, and completions in one season; he owns every meaningful postseason passing record, including wins (35), starts (46), yards (12,170) and touchdowns (85 — Aaron Rodgers is second with 45).
His first NFL appearance was on November 23, 2000, a 34-9 loss to Charlie Batch and the Lions; his last was last week's Division Round playoff loss to the Rams (and former Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford). After the loss to the Rams, Brady first let it be known for the first time that he was considering retirement and that he would make an announcement after discussing the possibility with his wife and children.
Easily the most famous sixth-round pick ever — 199th overall by New England in 2000 — Brady was three times NFL MVP, voted to 15 Pro Bowls, selected First-Team All-Pro three times and was a unanimous selection to the Football Hall of Fame's All-Decade teams of the 2000s and 2010s.
My take: For me, hands down the best quarterback in NFL history. The man is a machine and did much to promote fitness and wellness in his ability to play to the age of 44 at the sport's most demanding position. Your turn. Thoughts on Brady's career? Is he going to hang I up? Is he objectively the best quarterback in NFL history? — Bob
BEIJING OLYMPICS MARRED BY
COVID RESTRICTIONS, POLITICS
Saturday, January 29: The XXIV Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, China, begin Friday, but there is little fanfare ahead of one of the world's premier sporting events.
NBC has tried to drum up excitement for the games, using actor and "America's Got Talent" host Terry Crews in a series of commercials highlighting prominent U.S. athletes, including skier Mikaela Shiffrin and figure skater Nathan Chen, but few print and online media outlets are providing advance coverage of the Games. Also, there will be no National Hockey League players in these games because of COVID protocols, which dilutes one of the top events.
This will be the second consecutive Olympics — Tokyo 2021 — without international fans and family, and the Chinese government has limited domestic attendance to certain individuals due to the ongoing pandemic. Additionally, the U.S. has announced a diplomatic boycott in lieu of alleged, documented human rights violations against China's Uyghur Muslim population in Xinjiang province.
The host nation has also come under extreme scrutiny for its handling of former Olympic tennis player and WTA member Peng Shuai, who accused a Chinese Communist Party official of rape in a Chinese social media app, then disappeared for two weeks after the app deleted the post. The government has limited media access to Peng, having her subsequently appear or be interviewed on only Chinese government-controlled media, including an interview in which Peng refuted she ever made the online allegation. In response until it can meet and talk independently with Peng, the WTA has cancelled over 20 events in China for the 2022 season.
My take: I'm not generally as enthused for the Winter Games to begin with — fewer nations, fewer events — and the lack of NHL player in the ice hockey tourney is a bummer. The women's side of that event is likely to lack all drama en route to a Canada-U.S. final. With all the other political stuff hovering over the event, I could really care less about it. How about you? Are you looking forward to these Winter Olympics? Any event in particular grabbing your interest? Or are you "meh" on the whole thing like I am? — Bob
ARNETTE ARRESTED ON GUN,
DRUG CHARGES IN LAS VEGAS
Saturday, January 29: Cornerback Damon Arnette was arrested on multiple felony gun and drug charges in Las Vegas early Saturday morning and has been released from his futures contract with the Chiefs. Kansas City signed Arnette to that contract for next season after he was released by the Raiders in November for making online death threats while brandishing firearms.
Specifics of the events leading to arrest have not been released, but Arnette was charged Saturday morning with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, carrying or concealing a gun without a permit, possession of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance. He also stands accused in civil suits stemming from a car accident in 2020.
Las Vegas selected Arnette 19th overall in the 2020 draft out of Ohio State. In 13 games (seven starts) over two seasons, he has 29 tackles and three pass defenses.
My take: Arnette is the third Raider or former Raider to be criminally charged this season, joining receiver Henry Ruggs (vehicular homicide, DUI, among several other charges) and Nate Hobbs (DUI). Yikes. No wonder the franchise had seen enough of Mike Mayock as GM (throw AB in the mix of personnel mistakes, too). Makes one wonder what the heck the Chiefs were thinking about signing Arnette to a futures deal — there's no real risk there on what's basically a tryout contract — but did they really want someone with those massive character red-flags in their organization? Two years in the league and the guy's on his third chance already. — Bob
BARTY BECOMES NATIONAL
HERO WITH HOME WIN IN OPEN
Saturday, January 29: World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty became the first Australian, woman or man, to win the Australian Open tennis tournament in 44 years, with a 6-2, 7-6 (2) victory over 27th-ranked American Danielle Collins, who was playing in her first Grand Slam final at age 28. The last Aussie to win the Australian Open was women's singles winner Chris O'Neil in 1978, which ended a string of dominance by Australians in their home event with compatriots Margaret Court, Yvonne Goolagong Cawley and Kerry Melville Reid winning 11 of the first 12 women's singles titles in the event.
Barty, 25, an Ipswich, Queensland native, now has wins in three Grand Slam tournaments and one on each surface — Wimbledon (grass); French open (clay) and the hardcourt at the Australian. She will seek the career Grands Slam this September at the U.S. Open.
An all-Australian men's doubles team of Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis won the Open title earlier Saturday, the first time that's happened since Todd and Mark Woodbridge accomplished the feat in 1997.
More history could be made in the men's final Sunday, when No. 6 Rafael Nadal looks to become the all-time leader in Grand Slam titles as he seeks his 21st against No. 2 Daniil Medvedev. Nadal is currently tied with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic with 20 titles each.
My take: Stayed up to watch the Barty-Collins match and Collins was no match for Barty in this one, though she put forth a great effort in her first major final — the stage wasn't too big for her but Barty's game was. It's unusual, with so many great Australian players over the last four decades that not one was able to win there, but whatever Aussie version of "The Curse of the Bambino" has been broken. If Nadal wins, great, and he's likely to have a huge advantage at the next Slam event — the French Open where he's won 13 times. But Djokovic will pass him on the Grand Slam titles list at some point. — Bob
RANGERS, STARS
HONOR LEGENDS
Friday, January 28: The Rangers retired goaltender Henrik Lundqvist's No. 30 in an on-ice ceremony Friday night, and the Stars did the same for Hall of Fame defenseman Sergei Zubov's No. 56.
Lundqvist, 39, played all 15 NHL seasons with the Rangers, finishing as the franchise's all-time leader in wins (459 — sixth all-time in NHL), save percentage (.918), and shutouts (64). He signed with the Capitals in free agency for the 2020 season but never played for the franchise, forced to retire after needing heart surgery for an aortic disruption. Lundqvist is the 11th Ranger to have this number retired, joining franchise goaltenders Ed Giacomin and Mike Richter.
Zubov, 51, played the last 13 of his 16 NHL seasons with Dallas, scoring 111 goals and 438 assists in 839 games. His 549 points is sixth all-time in Stars history, top among Dallas defensemen all-time, and 19th all-time in NHL history. More than half his career points (408 of 771) came on the power play. He joins Neal Broten, Bill Goldsworthy, Kari Lehtonen, Bill Masterson and Mike Modano as Dallas franchise players who have had their numbers retired. Zubov played one season for the Penguins in 1995-96, scoring 11 goals and posting 55 assists in 64 games — 31 of those points came on the power play.
My take: A well-deserved honor for each. Lundqvist will be joining Zubov in the Hall of Fame in 2023. I remember that one Penguins season with Zubov. What an electric skater and power-play specialist. — Bob
BILLS OC DABOLL TASKED
TO LEAD GIANTS
Friday, January 28: The Giants are hiring Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll to be their new head coach, replacing Joe Judge who was fired after two seasons. Daboll has never been a head coach at any level. The hiring is not a complete surprise; Daboll spent the last four years in Buffalo with new Giants general manager Joe Schoen, who was an assistant GM for the Bills.
Daboll, 46, has a diverse coaching resume. He's been the Bills' offensive coordinator for four seasons, helping develop Josh Allen into one of the premier quarterbacks in the National Football League. Daboll began his NFL career with the Patriots in 2000 as a defensive assistant, then moved to receivers coach in New England for five seasons before a two-year stint as quarterbacks coach with the Jets. He was offensive coordinator with the Browns, Dolphins and Chiefs, and then did a four-year stint as tight ends coach with the Patriots. He spent one season at Alabama as offensive coordinator before getting the Bills job.
Daboll beat out fellow Bills coach Leslie Frazier, former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores, Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo and Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.
My take: Interesting that the Giants took the only offensive assistant they interviewed. Daboll's young and had good success in Buffalo, but there's no Josh Allen in the Giants organization, though it still has hopes for Daniel Jones and must believe that Daboll is the right person to make that first-round investment in 2019 finally pay off. New York also has two top-10 picks in the draft, so they have a real chance to add impact players immediately. — Bob
YOTES SEEK DEAL WITH
ASU FOR THREE SEASONS
Thursday, January 27: The Arizona Coyotes are working towards an agreement with Arizona State University to use a new multi-purpose on-campus arena for three or four seasons, as the team's lease at the Gila River Arena in Glendale expires after the season. The Coyotes are in talks with the City of Tempe for a new arena but, if approved, would need an interim home while it is constructed.
The Coyotes have struggled to get support for a new arena in the Phoenix area and their relationship with the City of Glendale is strained — the city threatened to lock the team out of the facility earlier this season after it was revealed the team owed over $1 million in unpaid taxes and was behind on rent.
The new ASU arena in Tempe will only have a capacity of 5,000. Gila River Arena holds over 18,000 and the Coyotes, despite ranking near the bottom of average attendance in the National Hockey League, still average over 14,000 people per game.
My take: What a rotten situation. I could see this deal if the Coyotes had a deal in place for a new arena, but that hasn't happened yet. I'm not sure why the league would support this, losing tickets and concessions revenue from 10,000 people a game (410,000 a season). But what do I know. The NHL marches to the beat of its own drum. They'd rather that franchise play on a backyard rink than play in a city where people would actually want it. — Bob
EMBATTLED KANE INKS DEAL WITH
OILERS AFTER REINSTATEMENT
Thursday, January 27: Evander Kane was reinstated from suspension Thursday by the National Hockey League and promptly signed with the Oilers. General manager Ken Holland broached the possibility of signing Kane weeks ago and captain Connor McDavid addressed it briefly in a postgame interview shortly thereafter, but Kane was unavailable at the time, under investigation by the NHL for violating COVID-19 protocols by traveling to his Vancouver home from San Jose. The deal is a reported prorated deal of $2 million AAV and a $625,000 signing bonus with a no-move clause.
Kane's troubles are well documented with personal bankruptcy, allegations of betting on games and throwing games, allegations of sexual misconduct and assault, providing a fake vaccination card to the Sharks and then the protocol violation — all taking pace in the last calendar year.
The Oilers could use a boost on the ice and Holland apparently believes Kane can provide it. The Oilers are currently 20-16-2, sixth in the Pacific Division but only four points out of a wildcard spot in the conference.
My take: On the ice, the Oilers just got better. Off it? We'll see ... — Bob
BEARS, BRONCOS FILL
HEAD COACHING POSITIONS
Thursday, January 27: The Bears are hiring Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus to be their new head coach, and the Broncos have announced their intention to hire Packers offensive coordinate Nathaniel Hackett as their new head coach.
Eberflus has been a defensive coach in the National Football League since 2009, coaching linebackers for the Browns and Cowboys through 2017, then as defensive coordinator in Indianapolis since 2018. He has never been a head coach at any level.
Hackett, the son of former Pitt head coach Paul Hackett, was one of the front-runners for the Jaguars job — where he was once offensive coordinator — as is Byron Leftwich. He started as an NFL assistant in 2006 as an offensive quality control coach with the Buccaneers and Bills, then returned to the college ranks at Syracuse for three seasons before returning to the Bills as offe3nsive coordinator in 2013. Under new Bills management, he left to coach quarterbacks in Jacksonville in 2015, then was promoted to offensive coordinator there in 2016, until joining the Packers in the same capacity in 2019.
My take: Both coordinators have been talked about over the last couple seasons as potential head coaches, so now we'll see if they have what it takes. Hackett works well with quarterbacks, His hiring likely signals the Broncos taking a quarterback in the draft. — Bob
FLAMES SET FRANCHISE RECORD
FOR REGULATION SHOTS-ON-GOAL
Thursday, January 27: The Flames set a franchise record Wednesday night for shots on goal in a regulation game, putting 62 pucks on net against the Blue Jackets in a 6-0 win at Nationwide Arena, second most in National Hockey League history.
Center Mikael Backlund (one goal) led Calgary with 8 shots, while defenseman Rasmus Andersson had seven and forwards Matthew Tkachuk (two goals) and Johnny Gaudreau had six each, collectively accounting for nearly half the rubber Elvis Merzlikins attempted to stop. The Flames attempted 75 shots in the contest.
The NHL record for a regulation, 60-minute game is 65 by the Whalers against the Maple Leafs on March 15, 1984. The Penguins were involved in two games with 60+ shots against, setting the original second-place mark when they yielded 62 to the Blackhawks in March 1989, then had the Canadiens put 61 on net against them in February 1990.
My take: A shot a minute is very impressive, though maybe not so much when one considers the opponent. Still, it requires a ridiculous amount of possession to get that many on net. Kudos to Merzlikins for enduring the onslaught. Now he has something besides sheep to count when he attempts sleep tonight. — Bob
'BIG BEN GODSEND'
BANNER FOR SALE
Wednesday, January 26: If Michelangelo had lived in the Heinz Field era and been commissioned by the Rooney family to paint the ceiling of, say, the southwest rotunda, he might have come up with something akin to what Clarion County resident Fred Carrow created in Ben Roethlisberger's rookie season, referencing the iconic Sistine Chapel ceiling to depict the rookie quarterback on a large fabric banner as "Adam" reaching across to touch the hand of God and late owner Art Rooney Sr., both draped in a Terrible Towel. Now, you can own it.
Carrow is selling the poster on ebay and has showcased the 9 x 9 foot banner on multiple occasions over the years at Heinz field and other locations. He describes its current condition as "quite a bit of wear and tear over the past 18 years. It has numerous cracks in the oil paint and has been patched in places and the bottom white border was torn off. It definitely shows its age." How much is it? Well, the starting bid is $7,777 of course.
This isn't Carrow's first large Steelers poster. He has previously painted large banners of the 1995 Steelers defense, and individual ones of Chad Brown, Kordell Stewart, and Bill Cowher before getting to stick with Roethlisberger for the last 18 years.
KDKA once profiled Carrow after he made the Roethlisberger poster. You can view that on YouTube here.
My take: The very definition of a luxury item. It is, in its own way, singularly iconic of the Roethlisberger era and I'm sure someone in The Nation is going to have that hanging in a room among their other Steelers memorabilia in the near future. If you had a disposable eight grand, would you be in on the bid? — Bob
