Super Bowl 58 once again pits Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid against San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan.

This is the fourth time that there’s been a head coach rematch in the Super Bowl.

There is also a Super Bowl trend that Shanahan would like to avoid if he wants to lead the 49ers to a record-tying sixth all-time Super Bowl triumph.

Of the three previous head coach rematches in Super Bowl history, the victorious coach in the first meeting also won the rematch.

Four years ago, Reid’s Chiefs scored 21 unanswered fourth-quarter points to rally past Shanahan’s 49ers and win Super Bowl 54. Since then, the Chiefs have appeared in two more Super Bowls, winning Super Bowl 57 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

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Here’s how the previous three head coaching rematches in the Super Bowl transpired:

Super Bowl 13: Chuck Noll vs. Tom Landry

Chuck Noll’s Pittsburgh Steelers and Tom Landry’s Dallas Cowboys clashed in a dramatic Super Bowl X — best known now for game MVP Lynn Swann’s acrobatic catches. The Steelers prevailed, 21-17, to collect a second straight Super Bowl win (and, at the time, become the third back-to-back Super Bowl winner).

Three years later, these two titans matched up again in a game dubbed the ‘Battle of Champions.’ A game that might have featured the most talent of any championship in NFL history included 17 players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, seven coaches and administrators in the Hall of Fame, not to mention Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy (then a Steelers player).

The Cowboys were the defending champions when they faced the Steelers in one of the best Super Bowls ever played. The Steelers outlasted the Cowboys, 35-31, in a game that featured myriad of big plays and infamous moments (‘bless his heart, he’s got to be the sickest man in America’).

The Steelers went on to repeat as Super Bowl champions, while the Cowboys waited another 14 years before another title.

Super Bowl 28: Jimmy Johnson vs. Marv Levy

During the 1990s, the Buffalo Bills played in four consecutive Super Bowls, a feat that not even the Tom Brady-led New England Patriots accomplished. However, the Bills lost all four of those Super Bowls. The final two came against the Cowboys, as the team rose under the guidance of head coach Jimmy Johnson from the depths of a 1-15 season in 1989 to title-winners during the 1992 and 1993 seasons – both of those coming at the expense of Marv Levy’s Bills.

The first matchup was a blowout, with the Cowboys winning 52-17. The follow-up title matchup was closer, but the Cowboys rebounded from a 13-6 halftime deficit to score 24 unanswered second-half points in a 30-13 win.

The Cowboys’ bid for the first Super Bowl three-peat fell short the next season, but the team (with Johnson unceremoniously replaced by Barry Switzer at head coach) won Super Bowl XXX against the Steelers in a rematch of those two teams’ epic 1970s clashes. The Cowboys have not even managed to play in the NFC championship game since then, while the Bills have played in just one conference championship game since Super Bowl 28 (a 38-24 loss to the Chiefs during the 2020 season).

Super Bowl 46: Tom Coughlin vs. Bill Belichick

During the height of the Brady and Bill Belichick era Patriots, the Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin-led New York Giants had their number in Super Bowls.

The first meeting was unforgettable, as the Patriots entered Super Bowl 42 with a perfect 18-0 record. The Giants spoiled the Patriots’ perfect season hopes, winning 17-14, thanks to a near-miraculous late-game catch by receiver David Tyree.

Four years later, the Giants defeated the Patriots again in a close game, 21-17. This game also featured an amazing catch. This time it was Mario Manningham making a clutch catch along the sideline that set up the game-winning score.

The Patriots rebounded – though it took a couple years. Between the 2014 and 2018 seasons, the Patriots played in four more Super Bowls, winning three.

When Taylor Swift said yes to Travis Kelce, it provided far more than a romantic diversion for the world’s biggest pop star and one of the greatest tight ends in football history.

Swift traffics in numbers beyond comprehension – a tour that generates $1 billion in domestic ticket sales, a clean sweep of Billboard’s Top 5, a 10-minute song topping the chart in an era of TikTok attention spans – but her greatest feat may arrive on Super Bowl Sunday.

She’ll give more than 115 million Americans something to talk about.

Forget the Thanksgiving dinner table. The Super Bowl party, the USA’s great secular gathering, might be the ultimate mélange of awkward connections, from the superfan annoyed they don’t have anyone with whom to talk Cover 2 or 12 Personnel, to the cultural wiseacre who somehow knows the backstory of every celebrity in every commercial, to the book club coordinator wondering why color of jersey doesn’t factor into the final score.

And then Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will drift back to pass, perhaps scramble out of trouble and sling the ball to No. 87 in red, and suddenly, everybody is in on the bit.

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See, Swift didn’t just collide her own brand into the cultural behemoth that is the NFL; she also dragged Kelce right into the country’s withering monoculture. And when the camera zooms in on an exultant Kelce and cuts to a cheering Swift in a private box (assuming she returns from a Tokyo tour date in time), the audience will be strangely united in a way no other player on the field or influencer in a commercial can do in the four hours surrounding that moment.

Everybody will know their names.

“She’s become a cultural touchstone, a kind of lingua franca topic that everybody can discuss safely and energetically,” says Brian Donovan, an associate chairperson of sociology at Kansas University who teaches The Sociology of Taylor Swift at the university in Kelce’s backyard. “I lived in Chicago in the 1990s during the height of the Bulls era, and I remember talking to complete strangers about them. The Bulls provided that cultural glue to everyone living in Chicago.

“I feel like Taylor Swift is doing the same thing – everybody has some kind of purchase on her celebrity. Everybody can talk about Taylor and Travis. It’s remarkable having not experienced this in decades.”

For America’s ultimate power couple, owning the Super Bowl stage will mark a high point – though perhaps not the apex – of their household recognition.

A steady climb into ‘the stratosphere’

It has been nearly two decades since Swift’s self-titled major-label debut was released in 2006, beginning an evolution from country singer to pop star to multi-generational global powerhouse. Kelce’s rise to notoriety was far more deliberate: On Sept. 12, 2009, he caught the only pass of his freshman season at the University of Cincinnati, a 3-yard reception against Southeast Missouri State.

One night later, Swift’s infamous imbroglio with Kanye West unfolded after the rapper stormed the stage at MTV’s VMAs while Swift accepted an award.

Kelce simply went merrily about his business, missing his sophomore season because of a marijuana suspension that fortuitously made him a tight end for life, reveling in nap time and growing into an unstoppable pass-catching force.

A decade later and Kelce – born in 1989, just like Swift – has scored 93 touchdowns for the Chiefs, 19 in the playoffs, more than any active player. The Chiefs are aiming for their third Super Bowl title in the past five years, and Kelce has already been a Madison Avenue smash.

He’s often playing Robin to Mahomes’ Batman, such as in spots for State Farm Insurance and Subway. Yet even before Swift stepped onto his stage, Kelce had grown into a leading man, hosting ‘Saturday Night Live’ last winter, appearing solo in ads for DirecTV and Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, while co-starring with brother Jason and mother Donna in a Campbell’s Soup campaign.

The Kelce family has resonated coast to coast, Travis often citing their modest Cleveland Heights upbringing and riffing relatably with Jason on their ‘New Heights’ podcast.

Nowadays, the podcast is practically de rigueur for elite or notorious athletes, from Tom Brady to Draymond Green to Mookie Betts. But Kelce has something else in his corner, and we’re only now experiencing the Swift effect on his celebrity.

According to Edison Podcast Metrics, ‘New Heights’ did not rank among the USA’s top 100 podcasts in the second quarter of 2023. By the fourth quarter – by which time Kelce and Swift had been shipped – it ranked No. 6 and was No. 1 and 2 last week on Apple and Spotify, respectively.

And Sunday’s Super Bowl may elevate Kelce beyond any old Gronk and project him permanently into our living room.

“I do think this takes it to a completely different level,” says Charles R. Taylor, professor of marketing at Villanova’s School of Business. “Even though there seem to be people out there who don’t like seeing Taylor Swift at the football games, nonetheless she’s an absolute megastar, the top music star of this generation.

“Linking to that level of attention and a different fan base than is traditionally associated with hardcore NFL fans – that level of intensity with which a lot of young female viewers watching Chiefs games is something different.

“I think this puts him into the stratosphere.”

 No matter who loses their minds along the way.

‘This is a love story’

Nobody knows if the “T&T” union will endure six more months, six years or six decades. If it is measured in years rather than months, the romance will have survived an initial trial by fire that has ranged from doubts about the relationship’s veracity to theories far less grounded in reality.

Sure, it seems a little convenient: A global star aligning with the NFL, her country’s most unstoppable entertainment entity (haven’t you seen the Nielsen ratings?), while canoodling with the sport’s dudeliest dude, an Everyman with a penchant to reach the end zone and the Super Bowl.

It is a significant coup for the NFL, which reported its strongest viewership among female fans – up 9% – since the league began tracking that metric in 2000. It has connected elusive Gen Z and millennial fans to the game, no small feat for a global behemoth that nonetheless is obsessed with “future-proofing” its industry.

When the symbiosis is too perfect, people will wonder.

“If you could draw the playbook of how to generate young female interest, this is what you would do,” says Kim Whitler, associate professor at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. “It just so happens to be a fortuitous situation for the NFL. For them to end up in the Super Bowl – what are the odds of that?

“This is a tailor-made way to drive affinity among young women. I tend not to think it was that manipulated. It just turned out that way.”

Veteran Swift watchers are convinced this thing is real.

Donovan, the Kansas professor who is writing a book tentatively titled ‘Swiftie: An Anatomy of Fandom,’ acknowledges that going steady with Swift “will catapult (Kelce) to a new level.” But he has observed the courtship and the romance from a close distance, beginning with Kelce’s attempts to get a friendship bracelet with his phone number to Swift when the Eras tour came to Kansas City, to their postgame dates around town, to the “TnT” tennis bracelets (surprisingly affordable!) they exchanged and that Swift wore to the AFC championship game.

Swift, believed to have reached billionaire status in recent months, could have spent Christmas and New Year’s Eve in any corner of the globe. Yet the Chiefs’ schedule had them playing home games on both occasions.

And so Swift was spotted not in New York or Rio or Milan for the holidays, but rather Arrowhead Stadium, with its picturesque view of 18-wheelers whizzing past on I-70 in Missouri.

“Little details like that make me think it’s a real relationship,” Donovan says. “This is a love story.”

It is a far simpler explanation than many kicking around various news ecosystems. That Taylor Swift is a psy-op. That a presidential endorsement is forthcoming. That the NFL is rigged. (If so, how much did they pay Buffalo Bills kicker Tyler Bass to push his game-tying field goal attempt wide right?)

It’s all a little extra, particularly given Swift’s relatively anodyne political stances. And it’s perhaps a little ironic, given that the Swift-Kelce pop singer/football star union would seem to be the heteronormative Super Bowl for a political faction keen on rolling back rights for the LGBTQ+ community.

“I think the right-wing political figures criticizing Taylor sound like the so-called ‘beta males’ they allegedly abhor,” Donovan says. “That the 25 seconds they show Taylor on TV is causing this meltdown that’s all out of proportion to the actual influence she has – on the game, the viewership.”

Stepping into this maelstrom is Kelce, who in addition to blocking out that exterior noise must also not run afoul of the Swifties, who are most protective of their idol. Kelce is faster than any linebacker and bigger than any defensive back yet would be powerless to get bodied in song should the Swift union dissolve poorly.

Yet the upsides certainly outweigh the risk of an ignoble exit.

Elusive fame

In any celebrity pairing, there’s almost always a power dynamic based on their relative fame. Whitler likens Swift-Kelce to the Tom Cruise-Nicole Kidman pairing, which bloomed out of their starring roles in 1990’s ‘Days of Thunder’ and subsequent marriage.

Though Kidman had a burgeoning and established acting career to that point – perhaps not fully analogous to Kelce’s NFL exploits – her decadelong marriage to Cruise certainly amplified her reach.

In this modern era, the Swift Effect on Kelce is more measurable – and eye-opening.

“What’s happened since September, when Taylor was first spotted at one of his games, has really shot him into a new stratosphere as a celebrity,” says Charles Rolston, senior consultant of client strategy at Navigate, a Chicago-based sports marketing firm.

As January turned to February, Rolston tracked a pair of 137-day time spans that we’ll call Before Swift and After Swift, marked by the time she first showed up at a Chiefs game:

Before Swift: Kelce had 2.7 million Instagram followers and averaged 3,000 mentions a day across all media – TV, radio, online and social.

After Swift: Kelce’s Instagram following more than doubled to 5.7 million, and he has averaged 35,000 mentions a day across media.

It also vaulted Kelce into an exclusive recognition rent district. A YouGov fourth-quarter survey placed Kelce’s fame – or percentage of people who had heard of him – at 72%. That trails only Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (77%) and teammate Mahomes (75%) among active NFL players and puts him just behind NBA superstars Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant (both 76%).

It’s a particularly impressive feat given that Kelce’s largest brand-building has occurred in the era of utter cultural stratification.

Remember Snooki and Mike, aka ‘The Situation,’ from the MTV hit ‘Jersey Shore’?

Rolston is quick to note that they haven’t been relevant in roughly a decade, yet The Situation equals Kelce’s 72% recognition rate, while Snooki’s 81% ranks higher than any active athlete besides LeBron James (94%) and Tiger Woods (93%). All trail Swift’s 96%.

Yep, it’s actually hard to be famous in the 21st century – but Kelce has a fighting chance.

“In reality, there’s still a long way to go to break through and get into that full A-list status. There’s a big difference between where Kelce’s at and where Taylor’s at,” Rolston says. “If he doesn’t hurt Taylor and in turn get the Swifties unleashing on him, I think he does have that cultural blank check.

“I think he’s done all the right things already.”

 Meanwhile, get ready to adjust those numbers. The Super Bowl will almost certainly surpass the record 115 million who watched the 2023 game. With the rest of the NFL in hibernation, Kelce will surpass more peers in recognition, what with the Eras Tour returning stateside, Swift’s new album due in April, and the tight end exchanging his red jersey for the red carpet.

And come fall, it will be even harder to get into Donovan’s class at Kansas, the pop star still not finding her ceiling – while raising it for the local hero.

“I think ambitious people find other ambitious people attractive,” he says, “and they are combining their joint cultural capital into something huge. And I think he is pondering life after the NFL.

“And having the world’s most famous person as your girlfriend can only help you in whatever career you decide to go into.”

LAS VEGAS – For most of one week in the fall of 2017, Brandon Aiyuk boycotted speaking to his head coach. Ben Noonan, the leader of the football team at Sierra College in Rocklin, California, took his Division I-bound, star receiver off special teams going into a game against Santa Rosa Junior College.

Aiyuk was nonplussed.

Noonan’s reasoning, he said, was that Aiyuk had carried, caught and corralled enough for the Wolverines that season already. The coach wanted to spare Aiyuk the additional hits that came with kickoff and punt returns.

Finally, Aiyuk broke his silence.

“He said, ‘Coach, I’ll change the game on the first kick return. I’ll change the game on the first punt return,’” Noonan told USA TODAY Sports.

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Noonan stared at Aiyuk, who was adamant.

“And thank God I listened to him,” Noonan said.

True to his word, Aiyuk took a kickoff to the house. He had a pair of punt returns for touchdowns, but both were negated by penalties. And for good measure, Aiyuk had two receiving scores.

More than six years since that prophetic performance, Aiyuk – a Reno, Nevada, native – is back in his home state as the leading receiver of the NFC champion San Francisco 49ers, who will face the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 58 Sunday.

With stars on offense such as running back Christian McCaffrey, tight end George Kittle, left tackle Trent Williams and fellow wideout Deebo Samuel, credit for the Niners’ success this year as an efficient and explosive team hasn’t been widely given to one of the figures largely responsible for the unit’s output: Aiyuk.

“I definitely think Brandon don’t get enough credit for all the things he’s done since he’s been in the league,” Samuel said.

From scrutinized to prized

Aiyuk finished seventh in the NFL in receiving yards (1,342) during the 2023 regular season, a career best by more than 300 yards. His 17.9 yards per reception was also tops of his four-year career, and he scored seven touchdowns.

Demonstrable improvement can be difficult to prove in a wide receiver, Niners coach Kyle Shanahan said in October, because a lot depends on their teammates: blocking by the offensive line, the proper routes from other receivers and favorable targets from the quarterback.

“It’s really cool when (Aiyuk) gets rewarded,” Shanahan said.

During the 2021 season, the relationship between Shanahan and Aiyuk made headlines in the receiver’s second season. Shanahan expressed publicly that he wanted more consistency from the 2020 first-round pick.  

“He was never in anyone’s doghouse,” Shanahan said. “We were just coaching him.”

Noonan said that Aiyuk has never said a bad thing about his time in San Francisco.

“I really think that was blown out of proportion. It’s hard for me to believe he wasn’t practicing up to their standard,” Noonan said.  

Talking about Aiyuk makes Noonan remember how consistent his former player was in practices at Sierra. He loved it, Noonan said. Aiyuk never missed one in two years despite the number of touches he received.

Aiyuk did not start the first three games of his freshman season. But by the fourth game, Noonan couldn’t take him off the field.

“When he wasn’t a starter, he practiced the same way he did when he was,” Noonan said.

Aiyuk also wasn’t the type of player to walk off the field once practice ended. He usually grabbed the quarterback for a dozen back-shoulder fades or another route that may not have been clicking during reps.

“That’s the one thing I always remember about him,” Noonan said.

What makes Brandon Aiyuk so good?

Noonan introduced Aiyuk and Draysean Hudson on the first day the two receivers reported for training camp at Sierra. To this day, they remain close friends.

“You know how dudes do,” Hudson told USA TODAY Sports about their first encounter, “just play fighting and wrestling and stuff.”

From then, Hudson has had a front row to Aiyuk’s football progression. Hudson said, at first, Aiyuk relied on his raw talent, which still provided plenty of “wow” plays. The ability always existed. Refinement was necessary.

“I just feel like it needed to get cleaned up and everything like that,” Hudson said.

Noonan coaches the quarterbacks at Sierra but is a former receiver and considers himself a difficult grader of the position. Aiyuk’s body control is unique. He also has a large catch radius thanks to an 80-inch wingspan – much bigger than what a 6-foot, 200-pound frame would typically provide. And his ability to catch the ball in traffic “sets him apart.”

Following his Sierra days, Aiyuk played his junior and senior seasons at Arizona State. He was first-team All-Pac 12 as a receiver and returner in 2019.

Niners cornerback Charvarius Ward rattled off a lengthy list of why Aiyuk has become a league-wide threat.

“He got a great release. Great routes. Great at the catch point. Great blocker. Great with the ball in his hands. He can do it all, man. He can do it all,” Ward said.

Hudson said Aiyuk doesn’t become caught up in individual statistics or accomplishments. When they’re speaking, Aiyuk is constantly talking about the run game. But that speaks to what type of player Aiyuk has been for San Francisco.

“Whatever it takes to win,” Hudson said. “He understands everyone has a role on the team.”

“It’s bigger to him. I feel like he understands that. That’s how he plays. And that’s why good things happen to him, like the season he just had.”

‘So many superstars’ and a young family man

Now in their mid-20s, Hudson, Aiyuk and the rest of their tight-knit crew can be found do the same as they were at 18: kicking it at someone’s house. Even after the Niners defeated the Detroit Lions in the NFC championship game, they stayed in.

“We can enjoy each other’s company,” Hudson said. “We don’t need to go out, party.”

Aiyuk is low-key like that. In the media, that can come across differently, Hudson said, and he can be portrayed as standoffish. That’s the wrong viewpoint, according to his friend.

“He’s a chill dude – good family dude,” Hudson said.

Aiyuk has a toddler son, Braylon, and Noonan said he is equally invested in being a father as he is being a football player.

“I’m proud of the family man he’s (become). … As quiet as he is, he’s got an incredible personality once you get to know him,” Noonan said. “He’s never really had a lot of media attention. And that can happen when you got so many superstars with the 49ers.”

MLB owners may have unanimously approved the Oakland Athletics’ move to Las Vegas, but that doesn’t mean the city’s government likes the idea.

Las Vegas mayor Carolyn Goodman told Front Office Sports that the A’s stadium plan at the Tropicana casino site on the Strip ‘doesn’t make sense’ in a ‘Front Office Sports Today’ podcast episode that aired on Tuesday.

Goodman explained that the city had initially showed A’s ownership a different location in Las Vegas – an open site with 60-100 acres of land (the Tropicana site is nine acres) in the ‘historic, old part of town.’ According to Goodman, the site was near ‘where all major interstate highways come together’ with seven different access points.

‘So when they said ‘no,’ I thought, ‘This doesn’t make sense. Here’s a great site, they get a great price on it because it’s owned by the city…” she said. ‘And yet, no they’re going to go out– want to get closer to the Strip, with all of the congestion and everything. And I thought, ‘This does not. Make. Sense. So why is it happening?’

HOT STOVE UPDATES: MLB free agency: Ranking and tracking the top players available.

Goodman believes the decision is one that indicates the team’s ownership is still holding out hope that they’ll stay in Oakland.

When Goodman was asked if she thinks the team’s move to Las Vegas is a good idea, she said, ‘I personally think they’ve got to figure out a way to stay in Oakland and make their dream come true.’

When are the A’s moving to Las Vegas?

The A’s have played at the Oakland Coliseum since 1968, but their lease with the stadium will end after the 2024 season. However, their new stadium at the site of the Tropicana on the Las Vegas Strip isn’t predicted to open until 2028.

In the interim period, according to USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale, they’re expected to play home games at the San Francisco Giants’ Oracle Park and at the stadium of their Triple-A affiliate – Las Vegas Aviators – in Summerlin, Nevada.

Sports are on the rise in Sin City

Over the last several years, Las Vegas has become one of the biggest up-and-coming sports towns in the United States. The A’s planned 2028 relocation to Sin City will mark the third major sports franchise the city has added in just over a decade.

The city added an NHL team (the Golden Knights) in 2017, a football team (the Raiders) in 2020 and hosted a Formula One race for the first time last year. On Sunday, it will host its first Super Bowl.

The NBA trade deadline can make or break a team’s season. And the clock is ticking.

The NBA trade deadline is Thursday at 3 p.m. ET, as Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James ominously pointed out with a social media post of an hourglass. Some teams are looking to add a missing piece that can take them from pretender to contender, while other teams are ready to throw the towel in on the season and salvage parts for future draft picks.

Either way, the next 48 hours could yield some serious wheeling and dealing.

Teams and players with the most to lose heading into the trade deadline:

2024 NBA TRADE DEADLINE: Your complete guide on what to expect in this year’s market

NBA TRADE DEADLINE TRACKER: Everything to know on latest trades, deals as deadline looms

LeBron James

The Lakers were able to band together to win the inaugural In-Season Tournament – where James won the Tournament MVP and was named to the All-Tournament team – but they have underachieved and gone 12-16 since. James has continued to play at an elite level, averaging 24.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.7 assists in his 21st season, but he won’t be able to hold off Father Time forever. (James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in November for the most career minutes played in the regular season and playoffs). If the Lakers want to capitalize on James’ remaining years, they need to get some scoring help.

Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks have made it clear they have championship aspirations. In August, Giannis Antetokounmpo said he wouldn’t sign an extension with the franchise until the Bucks proved they were willing to compete for a title. Since then, the Bucks acquired All-Star Damian Lillard, signed Antetokounmpo to an extension, fired first-year coach Adrian Griffin and hired veteran coach Doc Rivers. Yet, the team is still not a championship contender. The Bucks have the 19th-highest defensive rating in the league (116.4) and desperately need to improve defensively to contend.

Jordan Poole

Poole had a breakout season with the Golden State Warriors in 2021-22, where he won an NBA title and led the league in free-throw percentage (92.5%). An altercation with Draymond Green led to his eventual trade to the Washington Wizards in July 2023. The Wizards may be looking to move Poole ahead of the trade deadline, but his on-court antics are having an adverse effect on his trade value. He’s averaging a modest 16.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists, but Poole has more Shaqtin’ A Fool features this season than highlights. If he doesn’t start playing better, he will be stuck with the rebuilding Wizards.

Philadelphia 76ers

Reigning MVP Joel Embiid has continued his dominance this season, averaging a league-high 35.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists, but hasn’t been a mainstay in the lineup due to injuries. Embiid has missed 15 games this season and the Sixers have been 4-11 in his absence. Now that Embiid’s expected to miss extended time while recovering from a corrective procedure on the lateral meniscus in his left knee, the Sixers, who currently sit in fifth place, need help more than ever to stay afloat in the competitive Eastern conference. Tyrese Maxey is having a breakout season. Will the Sixers add another scorer?

Damian Lillard

Lillard got his wish and forced his way out of Portland and to a contender in the Milwaukee Bucks. Lillard has proved that he’s a bonafide scorer – he dropped a franchise-record 39 points in his debut with the Bucks in October – but there’s a lot of pressure on Lillard to prove that he can win when it matters. He’s only taken the Trailblazers as far as the Conference Finals once during his 11-year stint in Portland. It’s also worth noting that the Bucks gave up a key part of their defensive identity in Jrue Holiday to acquire Lillard.

Phoenix Suns

The Suns made it to the 2021 NBA Finals, but have struggled to replicate playoff success and were booted out of the Western Conference semifinals the past two seasons. The Suns acquired Kevin Durant last February and Bradley Beal in June to join Devin Booker to form a big three, but all three have dealt with various injuries throughout the season. And when Booker, Durant, Beal or the other starters are not scoring, the Suns rank dead last in the league in bench points per game (27.7). If Phoenix wants to make a deep playoff run, it needs to add depth to its bench.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are bringing Clayton Kershaw back to Chavez Ravine for another season. All is right with the world. Well, that’s not entirely true. Top MLB free agents are still wandering about without a team. Big names such as reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, 2023 Silver Slugger Cody Bellinger, and 2023 Gold Glove recipient Matt Chapman are all still looking for their next team.

Each of these players will cost their future teams a hefty price. However, their talents are undeniable, so it stands to reason that they will find someone to play for this season, even if we have to wait through spring training.

Hopefully, the Dodgers decision to re-sign Kershaw will kickstart the free agent rumor mill once again. It’s been a rather slow and uneventful free agency this year, but you can bet that the news we’ve been looking for will eventually be dropped. Here are the latest rumors surrounding the top remaining free agents.

Latest MLB rumors

Giants are in talks with Matt Chapman

Despite signing Jung Hoo Lee earlier this offseason, this free agency period has been a disappointment for the Giants, who lost out on nearly every big name in free agency. Even worse, they lost a few of them to their division rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

HOT STOVE UPDATES: MLB free agency: Ranking and tracking the top players available.

Still, with so many big names left to sign and so much money to spend, the Giants may have a big signing or two left in the tank. Most recently, it’s been revealed that the Giants are in talks with former Toronto and Oakland third baseman Matt Chapman.

MLB Insider Jon Heyman does not seem very confident that the Giants will sign Chapman, pointing out the Chicago Cubs and Seattle Mariners as potential suitors who still make sense for Chapman. That said, Heyman acknowledged that the Giants have the money, the market, and the need to sign someone with Chapman’s talents before the season starts.

The Giants are also reportedly in talks with slugger Jorge Soler. The Giants have the money to sign both, but should the Giants only sign Soler, this offseason would be labeled a massive disappointment for the franchise.

Blake Snell is nowhere closer to signing a deal

Heyman also talked about the market for Blake Snell during his appearance with Bleacher Report today. However, Heyman made no mention of any teams drawing interest from Snell or vice versa.

Heyman only mentioned that Snell is ‘waiting patiently.’ That indicates that Snell is happy with where he is currently in contract negotiations, which implies that Snell believes he will earn a big contract before the start of the 2024 season. Of course, with each passing day, there is a chance that teams get cold feet and back out of talks, but Snell’s status as a two-time Cy Young winner should ensure Snell a solid deal eventually.

Phillies could land a star free agent

Bob Nightengale reports that several executives believe the Philadelphia Phillies are a sleeper to land one of either pitcher Jordan Montgomery or outfielder Cody Bellinger.

The Phillies have been quiet this offseason with their only major move being the re-signing of Aaron Nola. Philadelphia has a desire to either balance their lineup with Bellinger or strengthen the middle of their rotation with Montgomery. But given the fact that neither player is currently wearing a Phillies uniform, it appears the Phillies will wait until either player’s price tag drops.

GM’s believe Guardians should be in the mix for J.D. Martinez, but might not be

Nightengale reports that a recent poll of MLB general managers claimed the best fit for designated hitter J.D. Martinez in free agency is the Cleveland Guardians. The Guardians have only spent $1.1 million this winter but have the tools necessary to make a run at an AL Central title, especially if they keep pitcher Shane Bieber amid rumors that he is on the trade block.

Despite this, there have been no reports that the Guardians are interested in signing Martinez this offseason. Teams that have been linked to Martinez include the New York Mets, Los Angeles Angels, Arizona Diamondbacks, and San Francisco Giants. That said, no new news of interested teams or players has emerged since early January. If the Guardians want to reach a deal with the 2023 All-Star, they’d better start soon. Martinez’s age, 36, could be a reason why more teams have not reached out.

A federal judge denied a requested temporary restraining order Tuesday, creating a speed bump for the states of Tennessee and Virginia in their quest to pause NCAA rules regarding name, image and likeness benefits for college athletes.

But Judge Clifton Corker also agreed with the states on several points, going as far as saying the case would ‘likely’ succeed on the merits under federal antitrust statutes and saying the rules in question ‘likely foster economic exploitation of student-athletes.’

The ruling leaves the current NIL rules in place for Wednesday, the start of the Division I football regular signing period, when recruits can sign a letter of intent with a university. The same judge will hear arguments for a lengthier preliminary injunction in a Greeneville courtroom Feb. 13.

That hearing could have seismic and long-term effects on college sports if the NCAA’s rules banning NIL recruiting inducements and pay-for-play deals are put on hold.

Tuesday’s order was issued in the Eastern Tennessee District of federal court in Greeneville, not far from the University of Tennessee, which is locked in a fierce fight with the NCAA over NIL rules.

A judge could grant after the Feb. 13 hearing a temporary injunction that would prohibit the NCAA from enforcing its NIL rules in Tennessee and Virginia until the lawsuit concludes. Ultimately, if the judge agrees with the attorneys general, it would spell the end of NCAA regulation of NIL in those states.

Tuesday’s decision has no bearing on whether the judge will agree to a temporary injunction or the case’s ultimate decision – legal experts caution against drawing conclusions from interim rulings like this one.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti interpreted Corker’s order as an indication of the suit’s ultimate success, despite the denial of the restraining order.

‘In today’s opinion, a federal judge said Tennessee and Virginia are likely to prevail in their antitrust suit against the NCAA,’ the attorney general’s office said in a news release. ‘Although the court declined to issue a temporary restraining order, the judge reasoned the NCAA can be held monetarily liable for any harms, thus negating the need for a (temporary restraining order).’

Previously, recruits could only sign NIL deals before enrolling in a university if their state laws permitted it. But the NCAA could view parts of those arrangements as recruiting inducements, which violates its rules.

That ambiguity remains, as does Tennessee’s place as the epicenter of a potential earthquake in college sports.

In a statement, the NCAA said these problems should be solved by member schools which adopt rules rather than in courtroom.

“The NCAA fully supports student-athletes profiting from their NIL rights, and the Association looks forward to discussing how member schools and conferences overwhelmingly support the current rules that prohibit tampering with student-athletes and unchecked recruiting contacts,’ the NCAA said. ‘There is ample opportunity for NCAA members to pursue rule changes through the policy-making process in which all 1,100 schools voluntarily participate.’

Judge wants Tennessee to show more

Corker agreed with the states on several points but also said ‘at this juncture’ they failed to prove there would be immediate, irreparable harm to student-athletes if the NIL rules remained intact.

To that end, failing to prove harm doomed the temporary restraining order.

Corker ruled the states failed to show there were likely to be anything other than monetary damages to athletes who operate under the NCAA’s NIL rules. 

The judge appeared to be interested in the states’ arguments related to evidence that NIL rules ‘harms competition,’ and he said it is similar to a ban on competitive bidding that the Supreme Court found to be anti-competitive when it ruled against the NCAA in 2021.

How Tennessee became ground zero for fight against NCAA

The rejected restraining order was part of the antitrust lawsuit filed by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, along with the state of Virginia, against the NCAA over its “NIL-recruiting ban.”

The suit is running parallel to the NCAA’s ongoing investigation into allegations that the University of Tennessee broke rules involving NIL of athletes.

The suit and the investigation are not directly linked. But the attorney general’s suit mentions the UT investigation as an example of the “unlawful restriction” of the NCAA’s NIL policy, and it immediately drew support from Gov. Bill Lee and other state officials.

An injunction from the court wouldn’t end the NCAA investigation into Tennessee athletics, but it would add a snag. The NCAA would then be trying to investigate and seek to punish the school over rules that it can not currently enforce.

In a declaration filed with Skrmetti’s original complaint, Tennessee athletic director Danny White encouraged the court to remove the NIL rules before signing day.

“After the February 7 regular signing period, these football players will not have any negotiating power and will be subject to marketing restraints at their selected schools … If schools were permitted to discuss NIL opportunities during the recruiting process, schools would be fiercely competing with other institutions to recruit the best athletes,’ he wrote.

Over the weekend the two sides exchanged fiery responses, with the NCAA, among other things, thumbing its nose at the state of Tennessee and saying the state failed to show the importance of a Feb. 7 deadline and failed to prove there would be irreparable harm to athletes.

The response pointed to the lone example given by Tennessee, Volunteers football player Jackson Lampley, who was not recruited during the NIL era but filed a declaration of his availability to testify.

The state’s reply was to the point.

‘The NCAA seemingly wants a testimonial from a current high schooler … That’s convenient, since the NCAA knows no current recruit would risk incurring the NCAA’s wrath by admitting he has (or would like to) violate its rules,” it said.

LAS VEGAS – Maybe Deebo Samuel, the dynamo receiver with so much swagger, can set the record straight about the condition of the practice fields the San Francisco 49ers are tasked to work on this week at UNLV.

After all, the reports have not been good on this ramp-up to Super Bowl 58.

‘Go ask Kyle,’ Samuel replied during the kickoff media session inside Allegiant Stadium on Monday night.

That would be Kyle Shanahan, the 49ers coach, who fielded a similar question at his podium several yards away.

‘Go ask Deebo,’ Shanahan said.

SUPER BOWL CENTRAL: Latest Super Bowl 58 news, stats, odds, matchups and more.

The questions seemed legit enough after a report from Jonathan Jones of CBS revealed that the 49ers were dissatisfied with the practice fields because they were not firm enough after the NFL installed two natural grass fields on top of the artificial turf fields. The 49ers logistics team, including members of the equipment staff and grounds crew, initially raised concerns during a visit last week to UNLV, which was followed by a visit from GM John Lynch. The 49ers had a light walkthrough session on the fields on Monday and will conduct a full practice on Wednesday – after the team apparently determined there is no feasible alternative.

By Monday night, the 49ers had essentially squashed the issue. We think.

‘No situation,’ Shanahan declared. ‘The players were good with it today and they will be good with it on Wednesday.’

Although NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell downplayed concerns during his news conference on Monday afternoon, maintaining that the fields were ‘very playable’ and had passed inspection that meets minimum standards, an alternative plan for the 49ers to practice at the Las Vegas Raiders headquarters – where the Kansas City Chiefs are practicing – was floated as a possibility.

Goodell, though, seemed to be having none of that. He vehemently defended the quality of the fields.

‘We’ve had 23 experts out there,’ Goodell said. ‘We’ve had the union out there. All of them think that’s a very playable surface. It’s softer than what they have practiced on, but that happens. It’s well within all of our testing standards. It is something that we think – all of our experts, as well as neutral field inspectors – have all said, unanimously, that it’s a playable field.’

An official for the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) contacted by USA TODAY Sports had no comment, maintaining that the union will address the issue publicly on Wednesday when its new executive director, Lloyd Howell Jr., will conduct his first news conference since succeeding DeMaurice Smith. The NFLPA in recent years has been adamant in raising concerns about the quality of fields and the risks to safety.

In this case, a year after criticism surfaced regarding the condition of the gameday field used for Super Bowl 57 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, the 49ers’ primary beef is apparently measurable. According to Jones’ report, the 49ers prefer a field with a firmness of 70g (units of gravity), while the practice fields installed at UNLV measured at 50g. Without a surface installed between the sod and the artificial turf, the fields were described as ‘spongey.’

Perhaps the solution comes with raising the standards. In any event, the 49ers are resigned to take it as is.

‘We’ll deal with what we’ve got,’ Shanahan said. ‘We’re good. We’re not going to change our schedule.’

Imagine the disruption that would have ensued if the 49ers had to revamp their practice schedule due to shoddy fields. Talk about the need to limit distractions. Switching practice sites at this point would have been a logistical nightmare.

The optics for the NFL would have been even worse. It would have been a huge embarrassment if one of the teams in the NFL’s signature event had to find an alternative practice site.

Just think: A league worth billions can’t even ensure that there are suitable practice fields for its showcase event?

It’s seemingly a hypothetical question now, in part because the 49ers have dropped the issue. It’s unknown whether the 49ers were pressured by the league to move on, but it seems clear that the NFL has avoided some embarrassing drama.   

Shanahan said that he’s ‘not worried at all’ about the conditions of the field. ‘It improves each day.’

Maybe George Kittle, the thoughtful and loquacious 49ers tight end, can provide the straight scoop.

Or, maybe there’s no headline there.

‘I’m playing football in February. I have nothing to complain about,’ Kittle said from his podium on Monday night. ‘I’m in Las Vegas, at the Super Bowl playing football with my teammates for an extra week. There’s only two teams doing it. I have nothing to complain about. No issues for me.’

Then again, where’s Allen Iverson when you really need him to talk about practice?

The hoodie and blazer combo has become known as ‘The Whitworth.’

Two-time All-Pro and Super Bowl 56 champion Andrew Whitworth wears his signature look as an analyst for Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football. But he didn’t rock the outfit to Radio Row at Super Bowl 58 on Tuesday. Instead, he wore a plain black T-shirt, dark blue jeans and white sneakers.

Whitworth sat down with For The Win’s Christian D’Andrea, who was wearing The Whitworth, and Whitworth gave some tips on how to pull off his new gameday look.

‘I either go heavy coat with a light hoodie, or I go heavy hoodie and a light coat,’ the former Los Angeles Rams tackle said. ‘You gotta know the right mixture.’

The attention surrounding his fashion choice surprised Whitworth. He said the decision to combine the hoodie and blazer was a ‘last-second decision’ and the social media feedback has ‘been awesome.’

SUPER BOWL CENTRAL: Latest Super Bowl 58 news, stats, odds, matchups and more.

‘I never knew people cared that much about what you’re wearing,’ he said. ‘It’s great. I always laugh. On different social media platforms, you’ll get the feedback every week. One person hates it, one person loves it. The majority of love, always. You never knew people cared that much about what you were wearing. It’s been really fun.’

Whitworth said that he does not have any help from a stylist or tailor, and he does indeed have 200 hoodies of ‘all different textures and styles, colors, you name it.’

‘No, no, no, no no. I do my own clothes. Nobody does my clothes for me,’ he said. ‘I’m not a big, ‘You do it for me’ guy. I do it myself. Obviously, you get to lean on them. They have somebody kind of gives you their advice, is kinda in charge of those things of what on-air wants to look like, whether it be colors or styles and things that they wanna do. You obviously have somebody for that and they do a great job. But for me, this is just my closet.’

A Pennsylvania man has been charged with illegally flying a drone over M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore during the AFC championship game between the Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs.

Television viewers may remember CBS Sports play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz mentioning the referees taking ‘an administrative timeout’ during the first quarter of the Jan. 28 game.

‘It was a drone apparently that was interfering too close to the play. It was not ours, we’re told,’ Nantz said.

Herbert told investigators he controlled the drone from his smartphone, taking six photos and possibly a video during its two-minute flight.

SUPER BOWL CENTRAL: Latest Super Bowl 58 news, stats, odds, matchups and more.

As is the case before any event where more than 30,000 people will be present, the Federal Aviation Administration had issued a temporary flight restriction in a three-mile radius around the stadium. The restrictions last from an hour before kickoff until an hour after the end of the game.

Herbert faces a maximum sentence of three years for knowingly operating an unregistered drone and and additional year for operating a drone in a restricted airspace.