Is Luka Doncic the best player to ever wear a Dallas Mavericks jersey?

Head coach Jason Kidd believes so. During an appearance on Dallas radio station 97.1 The Freak’s ‘The Downbeat’ on Tuesday, Kidd declared that Doncic is ‘better than Dirk’ Nowitzki.

‘Just to appreciate what this young man’s doing at the age of 24, (it) is something that Dallas has never seen,’ said Kidd, who played eight seasons for the Mavericks (1995-1997; 2008-2012) and was teammates with Nowitzki during the Mavericks’ 2011 NBA championship run. ‘I’ve said this internally: He is better than Dirk. He does things that Dirk could never do, and now is the opportunity of getting the right people around him to ultimately win a championship.’

LUKA DONCIC lights up Hawks for 73 points, tied for fourth-most in one game in NBA history

MOST POINTS SCORED IN NBA GAMES: Here’s your complete guide.

Kidd was hired as the head coach of the Mavericks in June 2021. From the two and a half seasons as Doncic’s coach, Kidd said he’s seen enough to know that the Slovenian superstar is ‘in the atmosphere of MJ, the best to ever do it, LeBron (James), Kobe (Bryant).’

‘This young man is 24 and is breaking all the records that stand in front of him,’ Kidd said. ‘He’s a winner, and his ultimate goal is to win a championship. And he will get there.’

Doncic is coming off an incredible three-game stretch, where he scored 73-points in the Mavericks’ 148-143 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, the fourth-most points scored in an NBA game. He followed that performance with 28 points in a loss to the Sacramento Kings on Saturday and a 45-point night on Monday in a win over the Orlando Magic.

Doncic is averaging 34.7 points, 8.6 rebounds and 9.6 assists this season, second in the league in scoring to Philadelphia 76ers reigning MVP Joel Embiid, but his list of career accolades is short of Nowitzki.

Nowitzki was named the Finals MVP after the Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat, four games to two, in the 2011 NBA Finals, in addition to the league MVP in 2007. The 14-time All-Star (2002-2012, 2014, 2015, 2019) was named All-NBA first-team four times (2005-2007, 2009) and was selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021. His No. 41 jersey was retired by the Mavericks in 2022 and he was induced into the Hall of Fame in 2023. He finished his career with 31,560 points — sixth on the NBA’s all-time leading scorer list — 11,489 rebounds, 3,651 assists, 1,210 steals and 1,281 blocks.

Doncic is a five-time NBA All-Star (2020-24) and was named All-NBA first-team four times (2020-2023). He was named rookie of the year (2019) and made the NBA All-Rookie first-team (2019), but Doncic has never guided his Mavericks out of the Western Conference and to an NBA Finals. The closest they made it was a Western Conference Finals appearance in 2022, where they lost to the eventual champion Golden State Warriors. The Mavericks didn’t qualify for the playoffs last season.

Kidd said it’s no question that Doncic will hoist the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy in his career. He added that he will ‘not just win one, but he will win multiple when it’s all said and done.’

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry had 37 points with eight 3-pointers, Jonathan Kuminga had 26 points and the Golden State Warriors beat the Philadelphia 76ers 119-107 on Tuesday night when guard Klay Thompson sat out with an illness.

Curry, who also had eight rebounds and seven assists, shot 12 for 17 in his third straight 30-point game. It was his third game in a row with six or more 3s and his sixth in a row with 25 or more points.

He hit consecutive 3-pointers midway through the third as Golden State went ahead 69-57 and he had 15 of his points in the period.

Tobias Harris had 26 points and 10 rebounds and Joel Embiid scored 14 points for the Sixers before limping to the locker room with 4:04 left to a standing ovation after Kuminga fell on his left knee. 76ers coach Nick Nurse told reporters after the game that Embiid will have an MRI done on his knee on Wednesday.

It was an important win for the Warriors to end their homestand following two straight one-point losses against 2023 playoff opponents — 145-144 to the Lakers in double overtime on Saturday night after a 134-133 loss to Sacramento on Thursday.

The 76ers dropped their fourth straight following a six-game winning streak. They hoped to have Tyrese Maxey return for the second night of a back-to-back but he sat out his third straight game with a sprained left ankle.

Andrew Wiggins added 23 points, five rebounds and four assists. He made his first five shots and scored in double figures for the sixth time in seven games as Golden State won for just the third time in nine games.

Kuminga extended his career-best streak of games with 20 or more points to seven. He has reached double figures in 24 consecutive games, also his most.

Brandin Podziemski replaced Thompson — the Warriors’ 16th different starting lineup this season — and scored 11 on the day he was named to the All-Star Weekend Rising Stars roster. He drew his 20th charge, second-most in the league.

Dario Saric dished out seven of Golden State’s 32 assists and Draymond Green had six to go with nine points and six rebounds.

Warriors guard Moses Moody is likely to return from injury during the upcoming road trip. He has been cleared to practice after straining his left calf Jan. 10. Chris Paul can begin light on-court individual workouts wearing a splint on his surgically repaired left hand that he injured Jan. 5. The Warriors said he would be re-evaluated again in two weeks.

UP NEXT

76ers: At Utah on Thursday night to conclude a four-game road trip.

Warriors: At Memphis on Friday night to begin a five-game trip that includes a rematch in Philadelphia on Feb. 7.

HONOLULU — A year ago, while covering the PGA Tour in Maui, I heard that former U.S. Open champion Scott Simpson not only had moved to Hawaii after his playing days had come to an end, but that he had become the men’s golf coach at University of Hawaii. Who knew!

So, I looked him up and met with the former seven-time PGA Tour winner the following week at the Sony Open for what resulted in an enjoyable two-part Q&A and a standalone story (Part I here; U.S. Open flash back here; partnering with Bill Murray at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am here). A few weeks ago, during my return trip to Oahu to cover the Sony Open, we sat down again for another solid hour and delved deeper into partnering with Bill Murray at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, coaching the modern golfer, why he supports a rollback of the ball and doesn’t like NIL or LIV as well as how Greg Norman turned into a jerk. All that and more. Enjoy.

Golfweek: How do you feel about the Tour having these Signature Events where there’s no cut, limited fields, guaranteed money and points?

Simpson: A few of them I guess are fine, but it just better not become too many. I always liked the fact that whatever you made on the Tour, you earned. That said, I kind of like the idea now that you can’t earn less than $500,000 (if you have a Tour card). My thought was always I shouldn’t lose money for the week. The idea being if I’m showing up on Monday or Tuesday and I’m signing autographs for the fans, I do a pro-am and entertain the people that are here, and then I go out and miss the cut by one and go home with nothing – I’m not like a socialist, but I never thought that was good. If you make a Major League Baseball team, you may not play at all, but you make a minimum salary. As far as the limited field, even in the old days, they always had Tournament of Champions and some invitationals.

I can’t stand what LIV has done to golf. I don’t know how you fight them. How do you fight someone that can lose $2 billion a year and don’t care? At least if they both had to make money, LIV would be bankrupt, like a USFL or something, because nobody is watching it. Nobody cares.

Why does LIV bother you?

Simpson: Because I love the PGA Tour, and when you make the Tour and you compete out there, you earn what you get. That was always what was so great about it. Tiger wasn’t guaranteed a cent. Neither was Nicklaus. They were the best players in the world. They start the next year, they’re even. Yeah, they make off-course money, sure, but the Tour, you’re not guaranteed anything, you have to earn it. I always thought that was just great.  

The other thing that bothers me is the Tour is what made (the LIV players) famous. The Tour is what made them millionaires. What are you complaining about? If you want to make it a little better, good. But I don’t know what they’re — they’re all mad at the Tour and stuff. Like geez, look what you have, it’s the PGA Tour is where you made it. If you want to go do something else, fine. But thank the Tour. That’s why LIV is paying you money, because you won on the PGA Tour.

What was your relationship like with Greg Norman?

Simpson: I liked him when he first came over from Australia, he was fun and hit it, especially for back then, long and straight. He was a great player. Played with him quite a bit. He was a nice guy and everything. But then the more he got successful and the more money he made, he got more miserable because he has to live up to — I’m so big, and I’m such a businessman. He got miserable on the course. It was just like, why are you out here? He was just grumpy and entitled. Just getting all that money, I think, kind of changed him and stuff.  Everybody liked his wife and then they got divorced. Nick Price named his son after Greg but by the end, yeah, they had no relationship. It was really weird. Norman just became kind of a jerk. Nobody liked him.

Back to the signature events. How do you feel about the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am becoming a non-cut, limited field event without the celebs?

Simpson: I’m glad they’re going to get a good field. But as far as changing it, I had so much fun playing with Bill Murray that I didn’t mind six-hour rounds. They could go eight hours as far as I was concerned. Don’t the amateurs only play like two days now?

Golfweek: Yeah, they’re going to play Thursday and Friday this year. There’s only 80 amateurs.

Simpson: Really? They’re not going to invite Bill back? Well, Bill always liked the Dunhill Cup I think more. He wishes he could have played in the Crosby. He loved the idea of the Crosby, too, where it was fun and you’d just go out there and have a great time, go to dinner afterwards. He wasn’t a big fan of the corporate side of it anyway. He called it the Crosby for a long time.

What are some of your fondest memories of playing with Bill Murray as your partner?

Simpson: We’d always play Wednesday at Cypress (Point). One of my favorite moments is the first year when he dragged a lady out from under the ropes and they’re dancing in the bunker and he lets her go. We were dying laughing, and then Bill falls down and does snow angels in the bunker.

So, we show up the next year, and a PGA Tour official, it was Duke Butler, he comes up to us on the first tee and goes, Scott, Bill, can I talk to you? He says, we’re going to be watching your group. We don’t want anything happening like last year, we don’t want you going under the ropes. Problem is, Bill hits half his shots out in the gallery.

Bill got so pissed because first of all, they did it to us kind of last minute, and he said, You’re going to do that to these pros? You’re going to put that in their mind while they’re trying to play golf? He was more concerned about us. So we get done, and he says to Duke, I want to see you after the round. I think we were playing Poppy Hills. So we meet at Pebble’s 18th and Bill, he’s really clever. He tore this guy apart, telling the guy, Do you even have balls? You’re not even a man, are you? He said, Beman tells you to do something and you just do it.

After a while, it was like, is Duke going to take a swing at him? Duke, to his credit, just said, Bill, I understand, but this is what we were told by Beman. We only watched you for a few holes, doing our duty, and then we didn’t bother you again. Duke was great. Bill was brutal. I wouldn’t have blamed Duke for taking a swing. Man, that was something.

We played with Mark Grace, the baseball player. We’re going to miss the cut so on the 18th hole at Pebble, Mark pitched him a baseball, Bill had a bat, and Bill hits a home run out into the ocean, ran all the way around the bases at the 18th green. I don’t think he slid. But he’s like, “This is my farewell. I will never play here again as long as that little Nazi Deane Beman is running the PGA Tour.” Three months later, Beman announced he’s retiring (in June after 20 years on the job). I called Bill and go, Wow, you’ve really got some friends. He quit. I don’t want to get on your bad side. Geez. So he kept playing. That was good.

You’re in your third season coaching men’s golf at Hawaii. What makes you want to still coach at this point in your life?

Simpson: Because if I didn’t, it would be boring. I’ve got to do something. I guess I’m not one to just sit around home and stuff.

Plus, I really like teaching and helping kids like that. The down side of coaching is that I don’t get to give as many lessons to juniors as I was starting to do. I really loved that. That was really fun. People say, oh, it’s nice you’re giving back. I’m getting a lot out of it. I wanted to see if I liked teaching or not. I mean, how do you know? I found out, man, I really love it, especially with these kids. I give an hour lesson, and my friends say, well, you’ve got to charge. I charge a hundred bucks, and give an hour lesson and most of the time they took an hour and a half, two hours, just having fun, well, let’s go putt. I told my wife, I’d do this for free, and she’d say, no, you’re not. Got to make a little money.

What sort of impact has NIL had on college golf? 

Simpson: Well, we’re a small program, so nothing for us. We’re at a college golf convention, and some of the big schools, I’ve heard about a junior getting offered like $50,000 and a car for golf. I know some of these football players are making millions.  

For golf, that was surprising to me. I think the kid must have turned it down because he went somewhere else. But I don’t like it. I always thought getting a scholarship was a huge deal. Getting my college paid for? That was fantastic. You get four years just to get better and see how you stack up. I’m not a big fan of it, but it’s the way the world is going, I guess. I don’t have to worry much about it. I’m not attracting the top-20 kids in the nation. 

What impresses you about the top juniors when you see them?

Simpson: Well, the guys I’m looking for are guys that are maybe not rated or ranked really high. I guess I’m getting players that are ranked like 1,000 in junior golf scoreboards, but they have good solid swings, so my thing is they haven’t quite made it yet, but they could. They have the potential to do it.  I’m looking for really good attitudes, good grades are important to me. That’s become more important to me.

How would you describe the level of play at the elite college level?

Simpson: It’s pretty amazing. I think it’s a combination of YouTube – you can watch swings and break it down and teachers put stuff up, and a lot of good teachers. The advantage to that is I think you can work on things and get better. The disadvantage is you have guys that go down the rabbit hole. Next thing they’re trying to get a perfect swing, and it just gets you frustrated, and you get worse and worse. Fine line.

Who helped you with your game as a player?

Simpson: I was self-taught growing up, and then on Tour at a certain point I thought, if I’m going to really be good, I should have a teacher, someone that can watch me and they’ll get to know my game and stuff, and I took some lessons with all the big guys at the time and I didn’t like any of them. I was with (David) Leadbetter for about a year. It started OK.  Really nice guy, but he was real technical and I played terrible. Then I worked with a friend of mine in San Diego Kip Puterbaugh. Kip was great.  

For the golf swing, it’s hard to beat Ben Hogan. I really liked his book. It’s simple fundamentals. Byron Nelson was kind of my hero and Sam Snead.  I don’t think we’ve changed a whole lot since those two. So I’m kind of old school, just simple.

I like studying about the swing, the technical part, but you can’t think about that while you’re playing, so you only want to do it while you practice, so it’s kind of a hard thing to figure out.

Anyone’s game today remind you of yours when you watch them play? 

Simpson: Hmm. Well, watching Chris Kirk (win The Sentry) kind of reminded me of me a little bit because I kind of had a pause at the top of the swing and just kept it in play and had a good short game. I was pretty calm most of the time.  Watching him play last week, I was like, that’s kind of the way I play.  

Who else? The game has changed so much. I was talking to (Larry) Mize, what would we do now?  I’m a big fan of the rollback of the ball, just because do we really want 8,000-yard courses? All these courses, they’re longer, and then they have all these long walks between greens and tees and they just take forever.  

We should have more courses like (Waialae). In 1982 the longest guy on Tour hit it 274 average, so it’s 50 yards difference. They talk about, oh, stronger and all this stuff. That’s a bunch of crap. Are there better athletes? Yes. But this is equipment. Because obviously they’ve always had good athletes.  Nicklaus was strong as could be. But you had to learn how to hit it straight because the ball curved more, too, and the harder you hit it, like the real long guys, they would put more spin on it so you had to almost learn how to hit it easier to take spin off of it. But now because of the equipment, you learn how to swing harder. That’s why you see the left foot is jumping out of the way and you’re starting to see more injuries.

Do you think it’s the ball or the driver?

Simpson: Oh, it’s both. Credit to the engineers. I mean, they come up with some amazing stuff.

I have in my office the wood I won the NCAA with (in 1976) and then the U.S. Open one (1987), and my guys will pick it up and be like my goodness, how do you hit this? Because it looks so small, the little wood head. Now with the big heads and the light shafts and stuff, and getting it dialed in the way they can now with the TrackMan to get the optimal launch and spin rate and that kind of thing, plus the ball doesn’t tend to curve as much, so you can hit it really hard without putting the extra spin on it.

Everything is just designed to go far, and it’s designed to go pretty straight. I mean, you might push and pull them, but it’s harder to do. The equipment allows you to make more aggressive, fast swings. So I think it’s a combination. They say, well, baseball — to me, baseball stadiums should be like almost twice as big now. Bigger, stronger athletes, right?  But they adjust, and they have to use wood bats. I don’t want the baseball stadiums to be bigger. They seem perfect. Those who object to a rollback say, what do you want to go back to gutta percha then? No, a 7,000-yard course seems like it should be a good test. You’d be able to go back to some classic designs, too. Now if you go to St. Andrews, which now plays super short, you walk off the first tee and you walk back to the second tee. It used to be you were right off the green, first green, walk over to the second tee. But now you walk back to almost every tee just to try to get it to 7,200 or 7,300 probably.

What’s an example of something that is tough for you to relate to coaching college kids at your age?

Simpson: I ask guys, do you watch golf? Nobody watches golf. They’re 20, 25 year olds, they don’t watch. They don’t have cable or anything. Everything is on either their phone or the laptop or something. They’ll watch YouTube and they’ll watch highlights and things but they don’t watch the golf tournaments. Like really?  It’s weird.  

I tell them you should watch it. You need to watch what the pros are doing if you want to be one. Go figure out why they’re so good. But yeah, they don’t seem to watch it as much. They’ll read about it or watch highlights. We’ll talk about it. Yeah, it’s different. When all the old folks die off that are used to watching TV, I don’t know. Of course, I used to get magazines and now I just read online all the time. Eamon Lynch cracks me up, especially about (Greg) Norman. He comes up with some funny things.

Living on Oahu isn’t a bad place to be coaching men’s golf, is it?

Simpson: I lived here in the ’90s for like four years, but I think it’s been about eight years since we moved back. Right around (age) 60, my wife and I moved over. This summer I was at the U.S. Open in LA, and I went to USC, my alma mater, and they fired the golf coach. I called my wife up, said, Hey, did you see the USC job opened up? I’d probably make six times my salary, have a big budget — maybe I should put my name in? She goes, Well, dogs and I will miss you.

It was just a joke because you couldn’t pay me enough to move back to LA.

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu are set to compete in a head-to-head 3-point contest, the NBA announced Tuesday.

The competition, billed as ‘Stephen vs. Sabrina,’ will be the first-ever NBA vs. WNBA 3-Point Challenge and will take place during State Farm All-Star Saturday Night on Feb. 17 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Both players are playing for charities, Curry’s Eat.Learn.Play and Ionescu’s SI20 Foundation will receive donations from the NBA and WNBA.  

Each made 3-pointer during the competition is valued at $1,000, the money ball is worth $2,000, and a 3-pointer called the ‘STARRY Range Ball’ − from 29 feet, nine inches away − is worth $3,000.

Curry, who has won the NBA 3-Point Contest championship twice, will shoot with NBA regulation basketballs from the league’s standard three-point line and Ionescu will shoot from the WNBA 3-point line with WNBA basketballs.

Ionescu posted on social media that she was ready to shoot from the NBA line.

Curry is the NBA record holder with 3,577 made 3-pointers and is a two-time NBA MVP and a four-time first-team All-NBA selection.

Last season, Ionescu averaged 17 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and made 44.8 percent of her three-pointers, helping the Liberty reach the WNBA Finals. She also hit 128 3-pointers, setting a WNBA record.

About NBA All-Star 2024

The 73rd NBA All-Star Game will take place on Sunday, Feb. 18 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, home to the Indiana Pacers, at 8 p.m. ET.  TNT will televise the All-Star Game for the 22nd consecutive year.

Gainbridge Fieldhouse will also host Panini Rising Stars on Friday, Feb. 16.  Lucas Oil Stadium will be home to the Ruffles All-Star Celebrity Game on Friday, Feb. 16 and State Farm All-Star Saturday Night on Saturday, Feb. 17.

Kristin Juszczyk, mastermind designer of Taylor Swift’s viral, custom-made puffer jacket, has reached a licensing deal with the NFL.

The new deal will allow Juszczyk, who is married to 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk, to use official NFL logos on her future designs, according to Sportico. Financial terms of the deal have not been released.

Juszczyk’s work first went viral when Swift wore a jacket inspired by boyfriend – and Chiefs tight end – Travis Kelce’s jersey to Kansas City’s first playoff game this year against the Dolphins. She has also designed custom jackets for Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ wife, Brittany, and Olympics gymnast Simone Biles, who is married to Packers safety Jonathan Owens.

The designer’s husband will square off against Swift’s boyfriend in Super Bowl 58 on Feb. 11.

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

Kristin Juszczyk’s past designs

Juszczyk’s designs have become one of the hottest items in sports apparel for a number of fans in the last month. Here are some of her most recent pieces.

Confusion reigned in the Olympic world Tuesday morning over how the International Skating Union, the figure skating federation charged with re-ordering the 2022 Olympic team skating medals after Kamila Valieva’s suspension and disqualification, selected Russia as the new bronze medalist rather than Canada.

Several hours after USA TODAY Sports broke the news that the United States would officially win the gold medal in the 2022 Olympic team figure skating competition, the ISU sent out a release announcing that the U.S. was first, Japan second and Russia third. 

But the ISU’s choices were immediately questioned by Skate Canada, the national governing body for figure skating, citing Rule 353(4)(a) of the ISU’s technical rules, which are in place at the Olympics: “Disqualified competitors will lose their placements and be officially noted in the intermediate and final results as disqualified (DSQ). Competitors having finished the competition and who initially placed lower than the disqualified competitor(s) will move up accordingly in their placement(s).”

If all the other women in the 2022 Olympic team competition moved up one spot due to Valieva’s disqualification and received two more total points (one in the short program and one in the long program), Canada would have one more total point than Russia and would move into third place. 

There are questions still unanswered about whether this rule applies only to men’s and women’s singles, pairs and ice dance — figure skating’s four traditional disciplines — or also to the team competition, which is a relatively new event.

But U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart told USA TODAY Sports Tuesday in a text message: “The Team Event is made up of all the disciplines and there is no specific Team Event rule on this issue that we are aware of, so the discipline rule should apply.”

Tygart added, “It’s nonsensical for Valieva to get four years and Russia keep Olympic bronze. The fair and just outcome is for the specific discipline rules to apply and Canada get the bronze.”

Four emails sent to ISU spokespeople over the past six hours have gone unanswered. Emails sent to an International Olympic Committee spokesman Tuesday morning also have not been answered.

A chart was included in the ISU medal re-ordering release showing that Valieva had been disqualified from both the short and long programs, each of which she won, garnering 10 points each for a total of 20 points.

On February 7, 2022 in Beijing, Russia won the gold medal with 74 points, followed by the United States with 65 and Japan with 63. Canada was fourth with 53. 

So the ISU subtracted Valieva’s points from the team’s score, dropping Russia from its original, gold-medal-winning team total of 74 to its new total of 54. 

That’s all the ISU did. 

However, using the rule Skate Canada highlighted, every woman who finished below Valieva in the Beijing Olympic team event — which is every single one of them — would then move up a spot in both the short and long programs. Each spot is worth one more point than the previous spot, i.e., second place is worth 9, third is worth 8, and so on. 

What that means is that the women who skated in the short and long programs would receive two more points for their teams. So that would mean the updated team score for the United States would be 67; for Japan, 65; and for Canada, 55. 

Canada’s 55 points would then beat Russia’s 54. 

Skate Canada said it “is extremely disappointed with the International Skating Union’s (ISU) position on the long-awaited awarding of medals for the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games Figure Skating Team competition. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that in addition to a four-year ban from competition, the ban includes ‘the disqualification (of) all competitive results’ achieved by Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva since the positive test. The ISU in its recent decision is not applying Rule 353 … Skate Canada strongly disagrees with the ISU’s position on this matter and will consider all options to appeal this decision.” 

NHL players Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers, Michael McLeod and Cal Foote of the New Jersey Devils and Dillon Dube of the Calgary Flames have been charged with sexual assault in connection with an alleged assault by several members of Canada’s 2018 world junior team.

Attorneys representing Hart, McLeod, Foote and Dube said Tuesday that each player has been charged with sexual assault by police in London, Ontario. They denied any wrongdoing on behalf of their clients.

Hart’s lawyers, Megan Savard and Riaz Sayani, said their client is facing one count of sexual assault, adding, “He is innocent and will provide a full response to this false accusation in the proper forum, a court of law.”

Legal teams representing McLeod and Dube said they would be pleading not guilty.

“(We) will vigorously defend the case,” McLeod’s attorneys, David Humphrey and Seth Weinstein, said in a statement. “We ask that the public respect Mr. McLeod’s privacy, and his family’s privacy. Because the matter is now before the court, we will not comment further at this time.”

Dube’s lawyers, Louis Strezos and Kayleigh Davidson, said he “maintains his innocence (and) will defend the allegations in court.”

Foote’s lawyer, Julianna Greenspan, said her client was “innocent of the charge and will defend himself against this allegation to clear his name.”

“What is most critical at this time is the presumption of innocence, and the right to a fair trial that everyone in Canada is entitled to,” Greenspan said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press. “As the matter is before the court, I ask that Cal’s and his family’s privacy be respected.”

Messages sent to the Flyers and Flames seeking comment were not immediately returned. A Devils spokesperson said the organization is aware of the reports and have been told to refer all inquiries to the league.

The NHL was not expected to address the situation Tuesday. Commissioner Gary Bettman is set to speak at the league’s upcoming All-Star Weekend.

The latest developments in the case come two days after former NHL player Alex Formenton surrendered to police to face charges. Attorney Daniel Brown said Formenton is innocent “and asks that people not rush to judgment without hearing all of the evidence.”

All five players have taken leave from their current clubs over the past 10 days. Their agents have not spoken publicly since.

London police have scheduled a news conference for Monday to address the situation. A spokesperson for police told The Associated Press by email no updates on the investigation will be provided before the news conference.

London police launched their investigation in 2022 after it was disclosed that Hockey Canada had settled a lawsuit with a woman who said she was sexually assaulted by eight members of that gold medal-winning team at a gala. London is approximately halfway between Toronto and Detroit.

The Flyers said Hart requested and was granted a leave of absence for personal reasons. General manager Daniel Briere declined to provide details when asked follow-up questions related to the 25-year-old No. 1 goaltender’s departure.

“We will respond appropriately when the outcomes of the investigations are made public,” Briere said.

The Devils did not give a reason when announcing McLeod and Foote were granted indefinite leaves of absence. McLeod, who turns 26 on Saturday, is in the middle of his fourth full season with the team, while Foote — son of former NHL player Adam Foote — has spent much of this season in the American Hockey League and appeared in four games for New Jersey.

NFL fans everywhere have taken to social media over the course of this season to lament about how tired they are of seeing Taylor Swift while watching football. But she actually may be helping grow the game.

When Swift started dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, there were plenty of takes and debates on whether her presence and connection to the team would be a distraction. On the surface, the conversation around the singer/songwriter and her NFL connection seems to have largely painted her in a negative light. However, many parents have shared stories of how Swift has helped their young daughters connect with them over watching football games.

Here are some of the most heartwarming tweets about how Swift has helped girls around the country fall in love with football.

Heartwarming tweets about Taylor Swift’s NFL connection

Super Bowl LVIII is a rematch of Super Bowl LIV as the Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers. This time though, the result might be different. The 49ers still boast a tremendous defense, with cornerstones Nick Bosa and Fred Warner leading the charge. However, their offense has taken a tremendous step forward since 2020. Gone is Jimmy Garoppolo, replaced by Brock Purdy, arguably the most divisive quarterback in the NFL. Gone is Emmanuel Sanders, replaced by second-team All-Pro Brandon Aiyuk. Gone is Joe Staley, replaced by future Hall of Famer Trent Williams. And of course, you can’t overlook Christian McCaffrey.

The Chiefs, meanwhile, may have lost Tyreek Hill, but upgraded several spots on their offensive line. Their defense is also much better than what it was four years ago. Chris Jones, L’Jarius Sneed, and Nick Bolton headline one of the best units in the NFL, the first time the Chiefs have had a top-ten defense since 2015, before Mahomes was drafted.

Although most NFL fans would have preferred the Baltimore Ravens against the Detroit Lions, this matchup should provide another classic that will either confirm the Chiefs’ dynasty or have a Mr. Irrelevant hoist the Lombardi Trophy. Here are our favorite player prop bets with less than two weeks to go until the game. Odds via BetMGM.

Best Super Bowl LVIII player prop bets

Rashee Rice OVER 6.5 receptions (-105)

The Kansas City Chiefs only really have two solid options in their passing attack: Travis Kelce and Rashee Rice. While Travis Kelce may have been the star in the AFC Championship against Baltimore, Rice still quietly put up eight receptions. Whether it’s quick screens to the outside, slants, or just someone that Mahomes can trust to come down with the ball, Rice is the man for the job.

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Rice has recorded seven or more receptions in six of the Chiefs’ last nine games. Even better, the Chiefs game plan against San Francisco will likely be very similar to their plan against Baltimore — control time of possession, take short yardage gains, keep Lamar Jackson and the Ravens’ offense off the field. With that strategy, Mahomes looked often to his guys in short yardage situations. Rice had eight receptions, but only for 46 yards.

In any situation – either the Chiefs are winning and trying to hold on, or the 49ers are winning and the Chiefs need to come back – Rice should be the recipient of several targets from Mahomes.

Brock Purdy OVER 12.5 rushing yards (-115)

Brock Prudy is fresh off a 48-yard rushing performance in the NFC championship game against Detroit. Some of the most pivotal plays in the game were made with his legs, but Purdy is not a mobile quarterback. He is not someone who can consistently make big plays with his legs. That’s why this line feels like a trap. Given everything we just saw, all signs point to Purdy being able to get at least 13 yards on the ground, right? Actually, yeah.

While a normal person might look at Purdy’s game-changing rushing plays and think the Chiefs will try to limit his impact on the ground, the Chiefs likely realize that Purdy averages over 21 rushing yards per game when the 49ers lose. Purdy only ever really takes off when his team is down, and that’s what the Chiefs want. With more than a week to prepare for the Super Bowl, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid should put together a master class coming out the gate. Reid is notoriously one of the best head coaches ever when coming off a bye.

If the Chiefs get the lead early, then Purdy will be in a position to run the ball more often, and that’s good for anyone looking for the over on Purdy rushing yards.

Christian McCaffrey Super Bowl MVP (+450)

As talented as Brock Purdy is, Christian McCaffrey is more likely to have a big day on the ground than Purdy is to dominate through the air. If the 49ers win the game, McCaffrey will likely have at least one touchdown on the day, potentially two or three, and more than 100 total yards.

The Chiefs have been a great rushing defense all season, but McCaffrey can do damage through the air as well. Given that the odds for Purdy (+220) and Mahomes (+125) are so high, McCaffrey seems like a steal as the obvious third option.

Sure, a running back hasn’t won Super Bowl MVP since 1998, but McCaffrey is more than a running back. He’s arguably the most talented running back to play in the Super Bowl since Marshawn Lynch, and you can bet Kyle Shanahan will hand McCaffrey the ball in crunch time should the game come down to it.

The Super Bowl — the NFL’s championship game — pits the winner of the American Football Conference against the winner of the National Football Conference, with the victor receiving the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

This year’s Super Bowl features the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 11, 2024. The 49ers are making their eighth Super Bowl appearance; the Chiefs a sixth. While the 49ers have five Super Bowl wins, the Chiefs have three.

The New England Patriots have made the most Super Bowl appearances (11) and are tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most Super Bowl wins (six). The 49ers can match the Patriots and Steelers for most Super Bowl victories by winning Super Bowl 58.

Seven franchises have won consecutive Super Bowls: Green Bay Packers (1966-67 seasons), Miami Dolphins (1972-73), Pittsburgh Steelers (1974-75, 1978-79), San Francisco 49ers (1988-89), Dallas Cowboys (1992-93), Denver Broncos (1997-98) and New England Patriots (2003-04). The Chiefs can join this exclusive list with a win in Super Bowl 58.

The Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars are the only teams to have never appeared in a Super Bowl.

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Here is a year-by-year list of every Super Bowl:

Super Bowl results

Super Bowl LVII: Kansas City Chiefs 38, Philadelphia Eagles 35

MVP: Patrick Mahomes | Location: State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Ariz. | Date: Feb. 12, 2023

Super Bowl LVI: Los Angeles Rams 23, Cincinnati Bengals 20

MVP: Cooper Kupp | Location: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, Calif. | Date: Feb. 13, 2022

Super Bowl LV: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31, Kansas City Chiefs 9

MVP: Tom Brady | Location: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa | Date: Feb. 7, 2021 

Super Bowl LIV: Kansas City Chiefs 31, San Francisco 49ers 20

MVP: Patrick Mahomes | Location: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami | Date: Feb. 2, 2020 

Super Bowl LIII: New England Patriots 13, Los Angeles Rams 3

MVP: Julian Edelman | Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta | Date: Feb. 3, 2019

Super Bowl LII: Philadelphia Eagles 41, New England Patriots 33

MVP: Nick Foles | Location: U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis | Date: Feb. 4, 2018

Super Bowl LI: New England Patriots 34, Atlanta Falcons 28

MVP: Tom Brady | Location: NRG Stadium, Houston | Date: Feb. 5, 2017

Super Bowl 50: Denver Broncos 24, Carolina Panthers 10

MVP: Von Miller | Location: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif. | Date: Feb. 7, 2016

Super Bowl XLIX: New England Patriots 28, Seattle Seahawks 24

MVP: Tom Brady | Location: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz. | Date: Feb. 1, 2015

Super Bowl XLVIII: Seattle Seahawks 43, Denver Broncos 8

MVP: Malcolm Smith | Location: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J. | Date: Feb. 2, 2014

Super Bowl XLVII: Baltimore Ravens 34, San Francisco 49ers 31

MVP: Joe Flacco | Location: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans | Date: Feb. 3, 2013

Super Bowl XLVI: New York Giants 21, New England Patriots 17

MVP: Eli Manning | Location: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis | Date: Feb. 5, 2012

Super Bowl XLV: Green Bay Packers 31, Pittsburgh Steelers 25

MVP: Aaron Rodgers | Location: Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas | Date: Feb. 6, 2011

Super Bowl XLIV: New Orleans Saints 31, Indianapolis Colts 17

MVP: Drew Brees | Location: Sun Life Stadium, Miami | Date: Feb. 7, 2010

Super Bowl XLIII: Pittsburgh Steelers 27, Arizona Cardinals 23

MVP: Santonio Holmes | Location: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa | Date: Feb. 1, 2009

Super Bowl XLII: New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14

MVP: Eli Manning | Location: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz. | Date: Feb. 3, 2008

Super Bowl XLI: Indianapolis Colts 29, Chicago Bears 17

MVP: Peyton Manning | Location: Dolphin Stadium, Miami | Date: Feb. 4, 2007

Super Bowl XL: Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Seattle Seahawks 10

MVP: Hines Ward | Location: Ford Field, Detroit | Date: Feb. 5, 2006

Super Bowl XXXIX: New England Patriots 24, Philadelphia Eagles 21

MVP: Deion Branch | Location: Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville | Date: Feb. 6, 2005

Super Bowl XXXVIII: New England Patriots 32, Carolina Panthers 29

MVP: Tom Brady | Location: Reliant Stadium, Houston | Date: Feb. 1, 2004

Super Bowl XXXVII: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48, Oakland Raiders 21

MVP: Dexter Jackson | Location: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego | Date: Jan. 26, 2003

Super Bowl XXXVI: New England Patriots 20, St. Louis Rams 17

MVP: Tom Brady | Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans | Date: Feb. 3, 2002

Super Bowl XXXV: Baltimore Ravens 34, New York Giants 7

MVP: Ray Lewis | Location: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa | Date: Jan. 28, 2001

Super Bowl XXXIV: St. Louis Rams 23, Tennessee Titans 16

MVP: Kurt Warner | Location: Georgia Dome, Atlanta | Date: Jan. 30, 2000

Super Bowl XXXIII: Denver Broncos 34, Atlanta Falcons 19

MVP: John Elway | Location: Pro Player Stadium, Miami | Date: Jan. 31, 1999

Super Bowl XXXII: Denver Broncos 31, Green Bay Packers 24

MVP: Terrell Davis | Location: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego | Date: Jan. 25, 1998

Super Bowl XXXI: Green Bay Packers 35, New England Patriots 21

MVP: Desmond Howard | Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans | Date: Jan. 26, 1997

Super Bowl XXX: Dallas Cowboys 27, Pittsburgh Steelers 17

MVP: Larry Brown | Location: Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Ariz. | Date: Jan. 28, 1996

Super Bowl XXIX: San Francisco 49ers 49, San Diego Chargers 26

MVP: Steve Young | Location: Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami | Date: Jan. 29, 1995

Super Bowl XXVIII: Dallas Cowboys 30, Buffalo Bills 13

MVP: Emmitt Smith | Location: Georgia Dome, Atlanta | Date: Jan. 30, 1994

Super Bowl XXVII: Dallas Cowboys 52, Buffalo Bills 17

MVP: Troy Aikman | Location: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif. | Date: Jan. 31, 1993

Super Bowl XXVI: Washington 37, Buffalo Bills 24

MVP: Mark Rypien | Location: Metrodome, Minneapolis | Date: Jan. 26, 1992

Super Bowl XXV: New York Giants 20, Buffalo Bills 19

MVP: Ottis Anderson | Location: Tampa Stadium, Tampa | Date: Jan. 27, 1991

Super Bowl XXIV: San Francisco 49ers 55, Denver Broncos 10

MVP: Joe Montana | Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans | Date: Jan. 28, 1990

Super Bowl XXIII: San Francisco 49ers 20, Cincinnati Bengals 16

MVP: Jerry Rice | Location: Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami | Date: Jan. 22, 1989

Super Bowl XXII: Washington 42, Denver Broncos 10

MVP: Doug Williams | Location: Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego | Date: Jan. 31, 1988

Super Bowl XXI: New York Giants 39, Denver Broncos 20

MVP: Phil Simms | Location: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif. | Date: Jan. 25, 1987

Super Bowl XX: Chicago Bears 46, New England Patriots 10

MVP: Richard Dent | Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans | Date: Jan. 26, 1986

Super Bowl XIX: San Francisco 49ers 38, Miami Dolphins 16

MVP: Joe Montana | Location: Stanford Stadium, Palo Alto, Calif. | Date: Jan. 20, 1985

Super Bowl XVIII: Los Angeles Raiders 38, Washington 9

MVP: Marcus Allen | Location: Tampa Stadium, Tampa | Date: Jan. 22, 1984

Super Bowl XVII: Washington 27, Miami Dolphins 17

MVP: John Riggins | Location: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif. | Date: Jan. 30, 1983

Super Bowl XVI: San Francisco 49ers 26, Cincinnati Bengals 21

MVP: Joe Montana | Location: Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Mich. | Date: Jan. 24, 1982

Super Bowl XV: Oakland Raiders 27, Philadelphia Eagles 10

MVP: Jim Plunkett | Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans | Date: Jan. 25, 1981

Super Bowl XIV: Pittsburgh Steelers 31, Los Angeles Rams 19

MVP: Terry Bradshaw | Location: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif. | Date: Jan. 20, 1980

Super Bowl XIII: Pittsburgh Steelers 35, Dallas Cowboys 31

MVP: Terry Bradshaw | Location: Orange Bowl, Miami | Date: Jan. 21, 1979

Super Bowl XII: Dallas Cowboys 27, Denver Broncos 10

MVPs: Harvey Martin, Randy White | Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans | Date: Jan. 15, 1978

Super Bowl XI: Oakland Raiders 32, Minnesota Vikings 14

MVP: Fred Biletnikoff | Location: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif. | Date: Jan. 9, 1977

Super Bowl X: Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Dallas Cowboys 17

MVP: Lynn Swann | Location: Orange Bowl, Miami | Date: Jan. 18, 1976

Super Bowl IX: Pittsburgh Steelers 16, Minnesota Vikings 6

MVP: Franco Harris | Location: Tulane Stadium, New Orleans | Date: Jan. 12, 1975

Super Bowl VIII: Miami Dolphins 24, Minnesota Vikings 7

MVP: Larry Csonka | Location: Rice Stadium, Houston | Date: Jan. 13, 1974

Super Bowl VII: Miami Dolphins 14, Washington 7

MVP: Jake Scott | Location: Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles | Date: Jan. 14, 1973

Super Bowl VI: Dallas Cowboys 24, Miami Dolphins 3

MVP: Roger Staubach | Location: Tulane Stadium, New Orleans | Date: Jan. 16, 1972

Super Bowl V: Baltimore Colts 16, Dallas Cowboys 13

MVP: Chuck Howley | Location: Orange Bowl, Miami | Date: Jan. 17, 1971

Super Bowl IV: Kansas City Chiefs 23, Minnesota Vikings 7

MVP: Len Dawson | Location: Tulane Stadium, New Orleans | Date: Jan. 11, 1970

Super Bowl III: New York Jets 16, Baltimore Colts 7

MVP: Joe Namath | Location: Orange Bowl, Miami | Date: Jan. 12, 1969

Super Bowl II: Green Bay Packers 33, Oakland Raiders 14

MVP: Bart Starr | Location: Orange Bowl, Miami | Date: Jan. 14, 1968

Super Bowl I: Green Bay Packers 35, Kansas City Chiefs 10

MVP: Bart Starr | Location: Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles | Date: Jan. 15, 1967

Pre-Super Bowl era league champions

1965: Green Bay Packers (NFL), Buffalo Bills (AFL)
1964: Cleveland Browns (NFL), Buffalo Bills (AFL)
1963: Chicago Bears (NFL), San Diego Chargers (AFL)
1962: Green Bay Packers (NFL), Dallas Texans (AFL)
1961: Green Bay Packers (NFL), Houston Oilers (AFL)
1960: Philadelphia Eagles (NFL), Houston Oilers (AFL)
1959: Baltimore Colts
1958: Baltimore Colts
1957: Detroit Lions
1956: New York Giants
1955: Cleveland Browns
1954: Cleveland Browns
1953: Detroit Lions
1952: Detroit Lions
1951: Los Angeles Rams
1950: Cleveland Browns
1949: Philadelphia Eagles (NFL), Cleveland Browns (AAFC)
1948: Philadelphia Eagles (NFL), Cleveland Browns (AAFC)
1947: Chicago Cardinals (NFL), Cleveland Browns (AAFC)
1946: Chicago Bears (NFL), Cleveland Browns (AAFC)
1945: Cleveland Rams
1944: Green Bay Packers
1943: Chicago Bears
1942: Washington
1941: Chicago Bears
1940: Chicago Bears
1939: Green Bay Packers
1938: New York Giants
1937: Washington
1936: Green Bay Packers
1935: Detroit Lions
1934: New York Giants
1933: Chicago Bears
1932: Chicago Bears
1931: Green Bay Packers
1930: Green Bay Packers
1929: Green Bay Packers
1928: Providence Steam Roller
1927: New York Giants
1926: Frankford Yellow Jackets
1925: Chicago Cardinals
1924: Cleveland Bulldogs
1923: Canton Bulldogs
1922: Canton Bulldogs
1921: Chicago Staleys
1920: Akron Pros