A presidential first: Trump at the Super Bowl, latest chapter in a complicated legacy with football
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — As a student, Donald Trump played high school football. As a business baron, he owned a team in an upstart rival to the NFL and then sued the established league. As president, he denigrated pros who took a knee during the national anthem as part...
Eagles deny Chiefs a Super Bowl 3-peat with dominant defense
NEW ORLEANS — Cooper DeJean, Josh Sweat and the Philadelphia Eagles’ ferocious defense denied Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs a Super Bowl three-peat. It wasn’t even close. DeJean got a pick-6 on his 22nd birthday, Sweat tormented Mahomes and the Eagles routed the Chiefs, 40-22, on...
49ers receiver Deebo Samuel has permission to seek a trade
The San Francisco 49ers have given receiver Deebo Samuel permission to seek a trade, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not made it public. ESPN first reported that Samuel and his agent had permission to pursue a...
Farm towns rally around native Super Bowl son Cooper DeJean
ODEBOLT, Iowa — In the farm town where Cooper DeJean drew up football plays in elementary school and taught classmates to run them at recess, residents plan a huge party to watch the town’s native son in the Super Bowl. The Philadelphia Eagles defensive back has lifted spirits in Odebolt,...
Report: Jets tell Aaron Rodgers they’re moving on without him
NEW YORK — Aaron Rodgers’ tumultuous tenure with the Jets is reportedly coming to an end. The Jets informed the 41-year-old quarterback they plan to move on without him next season, according to Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer. Rodgers reportedly flew to New Jersey last week to discuss his future with...
Eagles’ path to the Super Bowl was paved by the prowess of offensive line
NEW ORLEANS — Travis Kelce is an unusual example of an offensive star who has a keen interest in his next opponent’s offensive line. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end won’t even be on the field at the same time as Philadelphia’s offensive front during Sunday’s Super Bowl, but it’s...
Trump at the Super Bowl, latest chapter in a complicated legacy with football
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — As a student, Donald Trump played high school football. As a business baron, he owned a team in an upstart rival to the NFL and then sued the established league. As president, he denigrated pros who took a knee during the national anthem as part...
Steelers fans pick sides for the Super Bowl
Steelers fan Joe Seneca of South Greensburg wants to see NFL history made Sunday, even if it overshadows those Super Steelers teams of the 1970s. “I like Kansas City. I want to see history made in my lifetime. I did not get to see it in the 1970s,” when the...
Chiefs think they have answer for Eagles’ vaunted tush push in Super BowlVideo
NEW ORLEANS — They are two of the more delightful — in Philadelphia — and detestable — to the rest of the league — words that have escalated into the fast-evolving NFL lexicon. Tush push. No team has taken advantage of the rugby-style scrum — deemed so unstoppable that the...
Chiefs QBs coach David Girardi, a New Kensington native, no stranger to big stage
One of the patriarchs of a football-coaching family, Frank Girardi has been so ingrained in football for so long that he isn’t necessarily subjected to a commonly shared parental experience of watching one of his sons during a game. Nervousness. “As a father, I really never had the butterflies that...
With K.C. win, South Fayette’s Justin Watson would be 1st to earn 4 Super Bowl rings in 5-year span
Justin Watson already boasts quite the collection of championship rings. If his Kansas City Chiefs win Sunday night, the South Fayette native can make a claim no player in the history of the game can top. Watson can be part of a Super Bowl-winning team for a fourth time in...
Chiefs face toughest challenge yet as they go for Super Bowl three-peat vs. EaglesVideo
NEW ORLEANS — Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs are pursuing history and a few of Taylor Swift’s records. Saquon Barkley, Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles stand in their way. The Chiefs (17-2) will try to become the first team to win three straight Super Bowls...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: The Eagles are who the Steelers want to be and more Super Bowl notes
Some random Super Bowl notes designed to distract from the fact that the Steelers won’t play in one anytime soon: • The Eagles are what the Steelers want to be but aren’t close to being: An outlier team that succeeds via running the ball, line play and physicality. • Two...
Arrests in luxury home burglaries targeting NFL, NBA players are the ‘tip of the iceberg’
For months, daring bands of thieves linked to South American gangs have been making off with piles of jewelry and cash from the homes of the biggest superstars in sports, targeting the likes of the NFL’s Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. Sophisticated pillagers have deployed drones and signal jamming devices,...
Longtime NFL player and coach Dick Jauron dies at 74
Longtime NFL player and coach Dick Jauron, who led the Chicago Bears to the playoffs and was voted AP coach of the year in 2001, died Saturday. He was 74. The Bears confirmed his death, which came one day before Philadelphia — where Jauron briefly served as an assistant to...
Why will Eagles win Super Bowl? Start with ‘super’ Saquon Barkley
NEW ORLEANS — Saquon Barkley hurdled backward into the highlight reel and ran straight toward the record book in his first season with the Philadelphia Eagles. He set the franchise season record for yards rushing. He’s the ninth 2,000-yard rusher in NFL history. He has seven (postseason included) touchdown runs...
Why are Chiefs favored to beat Philadelphia in Super Bowl? Start with winning pedigree
NEW ORLEANS — The Kansas City Chiefs spent the season winning games by the narrowest of margins: a field goal made or a field goal blocked, a last-second touchdown or a last-minute stand, each time shredding the nerves of general manager Brett Veach. But when the Chiefs faced a real...
Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill says he wants to stay in Miami, regrets comments
Tyreek Hill wants to stay in Miami and he regrets his comments after the Dolphins’ final game of the season that suggested he wanted out. The star receiver said he doesn’t want to play for another team when asked Friday on the “Up & Adams” show about his comments after...
Pawnbrokers raided in connection with Joe Burrow burglary denied bail days before the Super Bowl
NEW YORK — Two owners of a New York City pawnshop that was raided by the FBI in connection with an investigation into a burglary at the home of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow were denied bail Friday, with a federal judge saying it would be “ironic” to release the...
The revamped Superdome is set to host its 8th Super Bowl after half a century of memorable moments
NEW ORLEANS — NFL coach Sean Payton remains a fan of the nearly 50-year-old Superdome, where he paced the home sideline for 15 seasons. “I challenge any venue to age like this one has,” Payton, now with the Denver Broncos, said while visiting New Orleans for Super Bowl-related festivities this...
Aliens, sloths and silliness: Super Bowl ads offer laughs, celebs and surprises to win over viewers
NEW YORK — Eugene Levy’s trademark eyebrows fly off for Little Caesars. A tongue dances to Shania Twain to promote Nestle’s Coffee Mate Cold Foam. And Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal reunite at Katz’s Deli in an ad for Hellmann’s. A frenzied mix of silliness and celebrities is hitting the...
‘Never Missed a Super Bowl’ Harrison native set to attend 59th championship
No one has been to more Super Bowls than Tom Henschel — he’s been to every one. At 83, the Harrison native will break his own record by attending his 59th Super Bowl on Sunday in New Orleans, a milestone he shares with just two other men. More people have...
Bills’ Josh Allen wins AP NFL MVP over Ravens’ Lamar JacksonVideo
NEW ORLEANS — Josh Allen edged two-time winner Lamar Jackson for the AP NFL MVP award in the closest race since Matt Ryan beat out Tom Brady in 2016. Allen, who led Buffalo to a fifth straight AFC East title, got 27 first-place votes to Jackson’s 23 and finished with...
Who dat finding new life in Philly? It’s All-Pro Eagles LB Zack Baun
NEW ORLEANS — Jason Kelce stood on stage during a taping of his late-night talk show when he spotted his former boss and Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman hanging out in the balcony. Kelce turned the cameo into a Q&A and asked what every fan in Philadelphia — heck,...
Antonio Gates, Jared Allen, Eric Allen, Sterling Sharpe make Pro Football HOFVideo
NEW ORLEANS — Antonio Gates, Jared Allen, Eric Allen and Sterling Sharpe were voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the smallest induction class in 20 years after offseason rule changes meant to make it harder to get inducted. Sharpe got in as a seniors candidate in voting...
