Hall of Fame goaltender Ken Dryden, a key player in the Montreal Canadiens’ 1970s dynasty, has died at age 78.
Dryden won six Stanley Cups, five Vezina Trophies, and a Conn Smythe Trophy in just eight NHL seasons.
He retired at age 31 to pursue other interests, including law, writing, and politics.

Hall of Fame goaltender Ken Dryden, a six-time All-Star, six-time Stanley Cup winner and an integral part of Montreal’s dynasty of the 1970s, died Friday after a battle with cancer, the Canadiens announced. He was 78.

Known for his intellectual pursuits off the ice, Dryden played only eight seasons in the NHL before retiring in his prime at age 31. Along with the Cups, the Canada native won the Vezina Trophy – awarded to the league’s top goalie – five times.

‘Ken Dryden was an exceptional athlete, but he was also an exceptional man,’ Canadiens owner Geoff Molson said in a statement. ‘Behind the mask he was larger than life. We mourn today not only the loss of the cornerstone of one of hockey’s greatest dynasties, but also a family man, a thoughtful citizen, and a gentleman who deeply impacted our lives and communities across generations. He was one of the true legends that helped shape this club into what it is today.’

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said, ‘From the moment Ken Dryden joined the Montreal Canadiens as a 23-year-old rookie in 1971, he made an immediate and lasting impact on the NHL, the Canadiens franchise and the goaltending position. Ken’s love for his country was evident both on and off the ice.’

Dryden was born in Hamilton, Ontario, on Aug. 8, 1947. Drafted by the Boston Bruins in the third round in 1964, Dryden was traded to the Canadiens later that year. Rather than play for the Canadiens, however, Dryden opted to attend Cornell University to play hockey for the Big Red while attaining a bachelor’s degree in history.

After making his debut with the Canadiens on March 14, 1971, Dryden was named the club’s No. 1 goalie for the playoffs that season despite playing in only six-regular season games. All he did was go 12-8 in the postseason and take home the Conn Smythe Trophy for the most valuable player of the playoffs after Montreal beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 in the Stanley Cup Final.

The following year, Dryden went 39-8-15 – leading the league in games played, wins and ties – and picked up the Calder Trophy for the NHL’s rookie of the year (though the Canadiens fell in the first round of the playoffs).

He would win another Cup in 1973 before taking a year away from hockey to earn his law degree.

After returning to the Canadiens for the 1974-75 season and leading his team to the Stanley Cup semifinals, Dryden led Montreal to four straight Cups. But Dryden retired after the 1978-79 season to pursue numerous endeavors, including writing books, teaching, sports commentating and serving as president of the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1997-2003.

Among his off-the-ice highlights was serving as the color commentator with announced Al Michaels for the famous ‘Miracle on Ice’ broadcast in which the United States stunned the heavily favored Soviet Union in the semifinals of the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Dryden eventually made his way into politics, highlighted by his election to the Canadian House of Commons in 2004 and his re-election in 2006. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983 and was named to the NHL’s 100th Anniversary Team in 2017.

Despite playing in only 397 career games, Dryden sits 63rd all time with 258 wins and is tied for 35th with 46 shutouts.

Justin Herbert tabled persistent criticisms by lifting the Chargers to a win over the Chiefs in Brazil.
Patrick Mahomes did more than enough to spark the Chiefs, but Kansas City squandered the QB’s effort.
Quentin Johnston also came up big for the Bolts with two touchdowns, including one that helped put the game away.

It was only fitting that the NFL’s first international game of the 2025 season at times felt like it was being conveyed in a foreign language.

From well before kickoff, the showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers in São Paulo had a distinct flair. The setting itself was unique, with the NFL returning to South America – and its ultra-rare Friday night window – after last year’s foray into new territory. But the league also zagged from past precedent in partnering with YouTube for an exclusive, free stream of the game, marking the latest shift in an ever-moving broadcast landscape. Meanwhile, the matchup itself – featuring two divisional rivals and playoff teams from 2024 – wasn’t short on surprising wrinkles, including the Chiefs’ record 17-game win streak in one-score contests coming to an end with the Chargers’ 27-21 victory.

But who were the biggest winners and losers on the night overall? Here’s our breakdown:

WINNERS

Justin Herbert

Kudos to the Chargers gunslinger for quickly extinguishing one of the more inane offseason discourses with the repeated questioning of whether he can deliver in key spots. Yes, his (limited) playoff track record is subpar. But Herbert is 27, and games like this serve as a reminder of just how vital he is to the Chargers’ hopes of competing with the best. The sixth-year signal-caller finished with 318 passing yards and three touchdowns, and he cooked Kansas City’s defense from the very beginning with a slew of play-action shots and throws on the move. And when Patrick Mahomes threatened to mount yet another comeback, Herbert answered by completing all eight of his passes on the penultimate drive for 73 yards and a score to nearly wrap things up (his 19-yard scramble on third-and-14 late in the fourth officially sealed it). The postseason talk is sure to resurface later, but Herbert deserves his moment in the sun after this one.

Jim Harbaugh

Who’s got it better than him on Week 1? In NFL history, literally no one. The Chargers coach is now 6-0 in openers, tying him for the most wins of any coach without a loss. His Bolts appeared to be the far more composed and in command team, and the offense deftly navigated the season-long loss of standout left tackle Rashawn Slater. Long way to go to knock the Chiefs from their AFC West perch, but it’s always nice to get a win at ‘home’ – though maybe the sea of red helped recreate the SoFi Stadium experience.

Quentin Johnston

After Los Angeles selected Tre Harris in the second round and KeAndre Lambert-Smith in the fifth round in April and brought back Keenan Allen in August, Johnston seemed to be fading into the background of the receiving corps. In the season opener, however, he quickly reasserted his relevance. Johnston helped provide an early spark with a 33-yard catch-and-run on the opening drive, which he capped with a 5-yard touchdown snag. He bookended the night by breaking free for a 23-yard scoring connection with Herbert in the fourth quarter that helped put the game out of reach. Beyond just his stats, it spoke volumes that he and Allen remained fixtures in the lineup alongside Ladd McConkey. For a player who has struggled to establish a semblance of consistency through his first two seasons, his usage – and emergence at critical junctures – served as another important vote of confidence.

NFL’s international showcase

In the league’s inaugural game in São Paulo and the Southern Hemisphere last year, the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers were treated to a late-summer Slip-N-Slide with the field turf at Corinthians Arena, which is primarily a soccer stadium. Credit to the league for making a concerted effort to upgrade the surface by renewing the synthetic fibers this summer. In more ways than one, the groundwork has been laid for a successful expansion to Rio de Janeiro, which CBS Sports reported could be ahead in 2026.

YouTube

The unrelenting onslaught of influencer types was undoubtedly overkill, especially for anyone over 35. Rich Eisen also had a few hiccups, from misidentifying Tyler Conklin as Will Dissly to punctuating the Chiefs’ exhilarating emergency field goal before halftime by incorrectly stating the ensuing deficit. No matter how distasteful the whole display might have been to some, however, YouTube didn’t appear to have any major setbacks in its overall streaming experience. Pulling off the broadcast without stepping on any of the many land mines is unquestionably a victory as the league continues to mull changes in how viewers can and should consume games.

LOSERS

Patrick Mahomes

This is by no means intended as a slight to the Chiefs quarterback. Rather, Mahomes’ inclusion reflects how quickly even one of the league’s greatest players can become a victim of circumstance. After spending much of the offseason touting his belief in the re-emergence of Kansas City’s downfield passing attack, the signal-caller found himself without his top two wideouts in Rashee Rice – who is serving a six-game suspension – and Xavier Worthy, who was lost for the night with a shoulder injury sustained in a first-quarter collision with Travis Kelce.

At that point, the offensive regression appeared imminent. In the early going, Mahomes kept plugging away, missing two downfield deep shots to speedster Tyquan Thornton. But he eventually had to recalibrate, spraying the short area in the first half with a 2.15 second time to throw in the first half, according to Next Gen Stats, which would have been the lowest single-game total of his career. When the passer began ripping off long scrambles and lowering his shoulder into defenders, it was clear that he had fully activated the hero mode that has become all too commonplace. And he elevated things to another level in the second half, single-handedly extending and creating plays that otherwise seemed dead on arrival.

The three-time Super Bowl MVP wasn’t without fault, and he ultimately bears responsibility for an attack that went 5-of-14 on third down. But between this and last season’s slog that culminated in the Super Bowl unraveling, we might be witnessing Mahomes bumping his head against the ceiling of this go-it-alone dynamic. If Worthy returns in short order, maybe Kansas City can shake this all off. But the upcoming schedule – which includes visits from the Eagles, Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions in the next five weeks – doesn’t provide much margin for error.

Travis Kelce

To be fair, there might have been no better offseason winner than the 10-time Pro Bowl tight end, who got engaged to Taylor Swift a little more than a week before his 13th pro season began. But this shouldn’t be a satisfying output for Kelce in his team’s time of need. A 37-yard touchdown connection helped ignite a comeback bid that was eventually stamped out, but Kelce otherwise only had one catch for 10 yards on the night. On a second-and-goal late in the fourth, he and Mahomes couldn’t get on the same page on a look that could have led to a touchdown, leaving the Chiefs to settle for a field goal. There’s no cause for panic, but Kelce still has a long way to go to prove that the talk of his slimmed-down physique amounts to anything more than a summer trope.

Jawaan Taylor

The Chiefs’ right tackle has long drawn scrutiny for a technique that charitably could be described as overeager. Taylor once again found himself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons on Friday, but there was little debate as to the legality of his actions, which included two holding calls and two false starts. The flags appeared to take a toll on Kelce, who butted helmets with Taylor after one infraction in the third quarter. With free agent signing Jaylon Moore also in the mix at right tackle, Taylor might feel the heat if he doesn’t iron things out in short order.

Chiefs’ run game

Many fans’ last impression of the Chargers was their wild-card ouster, in which the Houston Texans racked up 168 rushing yards en route to a 32-12 win. With perpetually underrated run-stuffing defensive tackle Poona Ford departing for the Los Angeles Rams this offseason, the Chargers entered this season on particularly shaky ground up front. Yet Kansas City’s running backs netted just 41 yards on 10 carries, with Mahomes (57 yards) surpassing them on six rushes. Andy Reid largely waved off the matter in his postgame remarks, but this can’t stand for an entire season.

Chargers rookies

Los Angeles was widely projected to see an immediate impact from its top picks, but maybe some patience is required. Running back Omarion Hampton didn’t find many openings in rushing for 48 yards on 15 carries. His night, however, was likely defined by a blunder with less than a minute before halftime, when his move to run out of bounds on a third-down carry opened the door for Mahomes to get Harrison Butker in position for a 59-yard field goal that cut the deficit to 7 points. That decision drew the ire of Harbaugh, but the bell-cow back received some counseling from ballcarrier-turned-shutterbug Marshawn Lynch. Meanwhile, the youth movement in the receiving corps is on hold, with Harris notching just one catch and Lambert-Smith blanked.

The class of 2025 will be enshrined at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday, Sept. 6.

Former Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony highlights the class on the men’s side, with Dwight Howard, coach Billy Donovan, official Danny Crawford and the 2008 USA Men’s National Team also being enshrined.

On the women’s side, the names are far more notable, with legends Sue Bird, Sylvia Fowles and Maya Moore getting honored, and creating perhaps the greatest Hall of Fame class in the history of women’s basketball.

Anthony was a member of the storied NBA Draft class of 2003, when three Hall of Famers — Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh — were selected in the top 5 picks. The No. 1 overall selection that year, LeBron James, is certain to get inducted in his own right when he becomes eligible.

Known for a silky jumper and smooth offensive scoring prowess from all over the floor, Anthony reflected on his path from Baltimore, all the way to the Hall.

“Oh man, my legacy was done with such grace,” Anthony told reporters Friday. “A lot of humbleness, a lot of competitiveness. And I did it my way. I did it a way that a lot of people didn’t agree with. I did it a way that I went against the grain a lot of times, not disrespectfully, but just I have my own vision. I have my own way of doing things.”

Anthony, 41, played 19 seasons in the NBA and was a 10-time All-Star, a six-time All-NBA selection, the 2012-13 scoring champion (28.7 points per game) and a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary team.

The No. 3 overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, Anthony ranks 10th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, with 28,289 points. He’s also a four-time Olympic medalist, and three-time gold medalist.

But one of the things that separated Anthony from his peers was that he opted to forge his own path on his teams against the backdrop of an era where superstars routinely joined forces to create super teams.

“I have my own ways of approaching the game,” Anthony continued. “I have my own ways of preparing for the game and dealing with the game, and my own ways of dealing with being a professional athlete. I keep going back to being 19, being thrown the keys (to the Nuggets). That’s a lot of responsibility that you don’t know until you start to reflect back on.”

In an episode of “Podcast P with Paul George” that premiered Tuesday, July 22, Anthony opened up about the 2010 offseason, when James and Bosh joined Wade on the Miami Heat. Anthony said the plan was for Bosh and Wade to team up and James and Anthony to team up elsewhere, but Anthony said those plans broke down when they couldn’t find a destination.

“Imagine me at 23 years old, 24 years old, being the fourth option on the team when I’m leading my team every single year, like, I’m finding my way in this league,” Anthony said during the episode. “And you want me to leave that and go be a fourth option? I don’t know, mentally, how, I was going to do that. …

“So I was like, ‘Hell, no. I can’t be that fourth (option).’ That was always a what-if.”

Switching to the trio of women’s legends, Bird, Fowles and Moore have 10 combined WNBA championship titles and 11 Olympic gold medals, which is most for any class entering the Hall of Fame.

“I think it would be fair to say that they have the title of best class ever,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said, according to the Associated Press. “They are each Hall of Famers and are terrific in their own right to the extent they impacted their sport.”

The Hall of Fame Class enshrinement ceremony will take place Saturday, Sept. 6 at 7 p.m. ET at Symphony Hall in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Iowa and Iowa State football face off on Saturday, Sept. 6, in the latest version of the Cy-Hawk rivalry.

The in-state foes almost always provide a competitive game, regardless of where either program stands entering the nonconference matchup. Iowa State is looking for its second consecutive win against Iowa, and first at home since 2011.

Iowa has won seven of the past 10 matchups against the Cyclones, and has seen tremendous success in the past away from Iowa City, Iowa, in the game.

Iowa State needed a 54-yard field goal from Kyle Konrardy in the final seconds of the matchup last season to defeat its in-state rival. The 2025 game is shaping up to be another competitive affair.

Follow along here for live updates and highlights from Iowa State vs. Iowa in the 2025 Cy-Hawk rivalry:

Watch Iowa vs. Iowa State football live with Fubo (free trial)

Iowa vs Iowa State score

This section will be updated live.

Iowa vs Iowa State live updates

Iowa State fans pack Fox’s ‘Big Noon Kickoff’

Iowa State fans showed up in droves for Fox’s ‘Big Noon Kickoff’ pregame show:

Dave Portnoy also made an appearance on an Iowa State-themed fire truck wearing Cyclones gear.

Kirk Ferentz career record

Ferentz has a 205-124 record at Iowa, which is tied with Woody Hayes for the most wins by a Big Ten coach ever.

If Ferentz leads Iowa to a win over Iowa State in Cy-Hawk on Sept. 6, he’ll be the winningest coach in Big Ten history.

What time does Iowa vs Iowa State start?

Date: Saturday, Sept. 6
Time: Noon ET
Location: Jack Trice Stadium (Ames, Iowa)

Iowa-Iowa State is set for a noon ET kickoff on Saturday, Sept. 6, from Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa.

What TV channel is Iowa vs Iowa State on today?

TV channel: Fox
Streaming: Fox Sports app, Fubo (free trial)

Iowa-Iowa State will air live on Fox, with streaming options on the Fox Sports app or Fubo, which offers a free trial to potential subscribers.

Iowa vs Iowa State predictions

Chad Leistikow, Des Moines Register: Iowa 23, Iowa State 20.
Travis Hines, Des Moines Register: Iowa State 20, Iowa 10.

Hines writes Iowa State is the better team, while Leistikow, who picks Iowa, says the margin of error is slim for the Hawkeyes.

NEW YORK — Aryna Sabalenka, the world’s No. 1 player, will attempt on Saturday to become the first woman to defend her U.S. Open title in 11 years when she takes on American Amanda Anisimova.

Serena Williams was the tournament’s last back-to-back champion, accomplishing the feat in 2014, the last of her six titles here.

Sabalenka, who beat Jessica Pegula in the semifinals, is in the U.S. Open final for the third consecutive year, and her third Grand Slam final in 2025. She lost the previous two finals to Americans: Madison Keys at the Australian Open and Coco Gauff at Roland Garros.

Anisimova’s road to the finals at Flushing Meadows included an upset of Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals, avenging a 6-0, 6-0 beatdown six weeks ago in the Wimbledon final, and a three-set semifinal triumph over two-time U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka.

Anisimova, the No. 8 seed, has reached consecutive Grand Slam finals for the first time. She leads the head-to-head battle 5-3 against Sabalenka, including a semifinal victory at Wimbledon in July, which propelled her to the first Grand Slam final of her career. She will vault to a career No. 4 in the rankings regardless of Saturday’s result.

Sabalenka, the tournament’s top seed, must contend with Anisimova’s power game, which has resulted in a tournament-leading 177 winners. The New Jersey native has also been adept at converting break points, as evidenced by her 29 break points won through the first six matches.

Follow along for live coverage from the women’s final at the 2025 U.S. Open:

What time is US Open women’s final?

The 2025 U.S. Open women’s final between No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 8 Amanda Anisimova is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 6 at 4 p.m. ET.

What TV channel is US Open women’s final on?

ESPN is televising the 2025 US Open women’s final between Aryna Sabalenka and Amanda Anisimova at 4 p.m. ET.

How to stream US Open women’s final?

Aryna Sabalenka vs. Amanda Anisimova can be streamed on ESPN+ and Fubo (with a free trial).

Watch the US Open women’s final on Fubo

Odds to win 2025 US Open women’s final

All odds according to BetMGM.

Aryna Sabalenka: -200
Amanda Anisimova: +170

When tennis legend Venus Williams stepped onto Arthur Ashe Stadium at the USTA Billie King Tennis Center for her first-round matchup at the 2025 US Open, her white polo and matching pleated skirt was near identical to Althea Gibson’s signature outfit throughout her career. It was intentional on Williams’ part.

‘The most important part is that we are celebrating (Althea Gibson),’ said Williams, who donned a custom ERL tennis set in honor of Gibson in a 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 first-round loss to Karolína Muchová on Aug. 25. ‘Althea accomplished so much, and a lot of it has not been given the credit it deserves and the attention and the praise.’

Gibson became the first Black player to compete at the US Open (formerly known as the U.S. National Championships) in 1950. Seventy-five years later, the 2025 US Open is honoring Gibson breaking the color barrier in tennis by hosting “75 years of breaking barriers’ this year.

‘It’s amazing that she’s been able to create this path for so many Black females,’ said Hailey Baptiste, who dropped a second-round matchup to Naomi Osaka, who advanced to the semifinals. ‘From Venus (Williams) and Serena (Williams), to me, Coco Gauff.

‘There’s so many. Without that trailblazer, we wouldn’t be here today.’

Gibson may have been the first Black woman to win a Grand Slam, with the first of her five singles titles coming at the 1956 French Open, but she’s certainly not the last. Thirty-eight Black women have gone on to win a Grand Slam singles title since the Open Era began in 1968, including Serena Williams (23), Venus Williams (7), Naomi Osaka (4), Coco Gauff (2), Sloane Stephens (1) and Madison Keys (1).

‘I had an opportunity to feel proud of who I was and who I am because of people like Althea,’ Venus Williams said. ‘Of course, there’s different kinds of ways you’re perceived or sometimes treated because of the color your skin, but it never stopped me.’

Althea Gibson ‘accepted on her ability’

The brown hue of Gibson’s skin effectively barred her from entering prominent U.S. tournaments that not only favored pristine white tennis outfits, but white patrons as racial segregation and Jim Crow laws ran rampant. Inclusion had reached other sports, including boxing, football and baseball, where Jackie Robinson became the first Black player in MLB in 1947, but tennis was a step behind.

‘If tennis is a game for ladies and gentlemen, it’s also time we acted a little more like gentle-people and less like sanctimonious hypocrites,’ five-time Grand Slam champion Alice Marble wrote in a scathing open letter to the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association (now the United States Tennis Association) in July 1950. ‘(Gibson) has a much better chance on the courts than in the inner-sanctum of the committee, where a different kind of game is played.”

Gibson was granted entry into the 1950 U.S. National Championships in Forest Hills, New York, becoming the first Black player to receive an invitation. She recalled the moment in her 1960 autobiography, ‘I Always Wanted To Be Somebody,’ writing, ‘The president of the (USLTA) that year said that I was one of the fifty-two women whose entries had been accepted for the national championship tournament, and he added meaningfully, ‘Miss Gibson has been accepted on her ability.’ That was all I had ever asked.’

She defeated Great Britain’s Barbara Knapp 6-2, 6-2 in the first round on Court 14, the court furthest from the clubhouse that was typically used for practice sessions. Gibson faced three-time reigning Wimbledon champion Louise Brough in the second round and built an impressive 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 lead, needing one more game for the massive upset, before ‘the worst thing that could have happened’ did, Gibson wrote. A weather delay was called due to a thunderstorm, halting Gibson’s momentum.

A nervous Gibson went on to lose to the veteran, but the pivotal moment proved she belonged. Gibson went on to become the first Black player to win a Grand Slam at the 1956 French Open and the first Black player to be ranked No. 1 in the world after winning Wimbledon and the U.S. Nationals in 1957. She ended her career with 11 Grand Slams, including five singles, five doubles and one mixed doubles title. (In 1964, Gibson also became the first Black woman to join the LPGA Tour.)

‘She was ‘the’ trailblazer for African Americans in tennis,’ Ben Shelton said. ‘If it wasn’t for her… who knows if my dad is ever playing tennis as a Black kid in Alabama in the ’70s and ’80s.’

Who can be the next Althea Gibson?

Gibson and Billie Jean King are both tennis pioneers. Both used their talents to advocate for change and equality, but it was Gibson who inspired King’s path toward social justice.

‘At 12, I was at the Los Angeles Tennis Club … and I noticed everyone who played our sport wore white clothes and everyone who played was white. I asked myself, ‘Where is everyone else?’’ King wrote in a foreword for Gibson’s biography in 2022. ‘From that moment on I committed my life to a life of equality for everyone.’

In an interview with USA TODAY Sports last month, King said she’s ‘still thinking about how to change the sport’ and is ‘looking for players that can take our sport to another level in the next generation.’ King said she sees these traits in Gauff, 21, and Canadian teen sensation Victoria Mboko, 19, who possess the capability to transcend tennis. It’s a duty that Gauff does not take lightly.

“Win or lose, knowing that there’s, you know, at least one or two girls out there who look up to me,’ said Gauff, who was knocked out by Osaka in the Round of 16 (6-3, 6-2). ‘It makes me want to keep waking up and doing this every day and being the best version of myself.”

Art, comics, marching band: Althea Gibson tributes at US Open

Ahead of the women’s singles semifinal matchup between Osaka and Amanda Anisimova, Venus Williams announced the launch of the Williams Family Excellence Program with the USTA Foundation. Williams said the achievement wouldn’t be possible without Gibson forging a path for people of color, one of many tributes to Gibson during this year’s tournament.

Melissa Koby, the US Open’s first Black theme artist in tournament history, created a striking logo out of Gibson’s silhouette that has been prominently featured throughout the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

“When I was creating the piece, I thought of Althea as my ancestor, as a strong black female,’ Koby told the US Open. ‘She’s not my grandmother, but I thought of her as that, and I created it with the intention of making her proud to see that a little black girl created something to honor her.”

The Florida A&M University Marching 100 performed in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Aug. 27, just days after what would have been Gibson’s 98th birthday on August. 25. Gibson, who died in 2003, attended FAMU on a tennis scholarship. Other tributes include a Marvel comic book that features Gibson and the Fantastic Four.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

The NFL’s first game streamed on YouTube featured the Los Angeles Chargers defeating the Kansas City Chiefs in São Paulo, Brazil.
The main broadcast team included Rich Eisen and Kurt Warner, while an alternate stream featured internet personality ‘IShowSpeed.’
The NFL’s partnership with YouTube is part of a broader strategy to engage younger audiences and expand its global presence.

Hope you enjoyed the Mr. Beast show – excuse me – the Kansas City Chiefs taking on the Los Angeles Chargers on YouTube Friday evening on the device of your choosing. 

If you were lucky enough to be watching on YouTube TV, at least the option to rewind and fast-forward existed. For us mere mortals the pause button was the lone form of agency during the three-hour broadcast that ended with the Chargers victorious, 27-21, from São Paulo. 

As far as first tries go – even within the seeming absurdity of “The Shield” airing a game on YouTube and fully leaning into the content-brained shenanigans that comes with the territory of spotlighting creators with large followings on the platform – YouTube and parent company Google have to be pleased with how the proceedings went. 

The good news for YouTube/Google is that the basics were done well. The picture was clear. Nobody on social media reported outages or issues with the quality of the stream. The scorebug was simple without being minimalist (like FOX’s new one), although the characters of the team abbreviations seemed stretched and the font was sans-serif-adjacent. The camera work ahead of Patrick Mahomes’ miraculous fourth-down completion with three minutes left in the fourth quarter left something to be desired, but that’s not a YouTube-based issue. NBC Sports loaned production assistance for the show to give it a professional feel.

As far as the halftime show goes, shoutout Karol G. Some fans reported audio issues during her show. But it’s worth noting the halftime countdown clock inside the stadium was paused because the smoke from the performance wasn’t clearing in time for the second half to start. 

Rich Eisen isn’t my first choice to broadcast any football game, ever, no knock on his hosting abilities. But we might not have a better line from a booth all year than his ‘interestingly wide right” comment after Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker missed an extra point in the third quarter to keep the Chiefs behind 13-12. (If you don’t get it, well, you’re not gonna.) He and Kurt Warner have become the soundtrack of NFL international games and there are worse options. Also better ones. 

If the alt-cast with personality “IShowSpeed” – who actually did his day job instead of challenging professional athletes to races – was more your … speed … then more power to you. The host declared the Cincinnati Bengals as his favorite team and Lamar Jackson, of the Baltimore Ravens and an AFC North rival of his squad, his favorite player. Times certainly have changed. Marshawn Lynch being the best, however, carries over no matter the continent or viewing platform. 

The Los Angeles-based pregame set was distracting with the chairs and former NFL quarterback Derek Carr left a lot to be desired during his telestrator demonstration (the Jon Gruden impression was decent at least). Peter Overzet, a fantasy-centric creator, was a bright spot during the pregame show (his joke about being let out of his mom’s basement played well). 

What didn’t work was the emphasis on YouTube itself during the pregame show. Kay Adams is a pro, but when “Deestroying” and “Hayleyybaylee” joined her and Cam Newton on the desk, it all felt a little too self-promotional and contrived. The point of the debut should have been to familiarize NFL fans to a new platform, not trying to inject a brand and philosophy into the pregame show. Newton can hang out with Stephen A. Smith on ‘First Take,’ smoke his cigars on the podcast he posts on YouTube, but he probably should remain far, far away from the actual analysis-driven formats real fans desire.

Mr. Beast’s “challenge” between a Chiefs fan and Chargers fan who went viral a couple of years ago during another primetime broadcast felt contrived. The Chiefs fan being shot out of a cannon – they actually did this with the NFL’s blessing – was symbolic of the entire idea. Deestroying’s sideline report in the fourth quarter was just a meme, a “six seven” joke. 

It’s worth noting that I’m probably not the target demographic – “six seven” has been a thing for months and I still have absolutely no idea what it means – for this type of experiment and broadcast. But this is part of the NFL’s effort to appeal to younger fans and stay ahead of the curve. This is where sports on screens is going, eventually. Get used to it. Or don’t. And remain in the venn diagram of confused and blissfully ignorant. 

The NFL will cash the checks all the same while growing its global footprint on the way to world domination.

Chargers defensive tackle Teair Tart slapped Kelce on the front of his helmet following a two-yard run by Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt with a little over eight minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Referees quickly threw a flag and penalized Tart for unnecessary roughness.

The penalty moved the football to the Chargers’ 11-yard line. Patrick Mahomes reached the end zone on an 11-yard run on the ensuing play to cut Kansas City’s deficit to 13-12. Harrison Butker missed the game-tying an extra point.

Kelce had just one catch for 10 yards at the time of the penalty.