It seemed in doubt so many times, but we made it — the big game has arrived.
With Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs set to face Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV, Sportsnet’s expert panel is ready to weigh in on who will win the day, and who will walk away empty handed.
Donnovan Bennett The Pick: Kansas City Chiefs The Score: 34–22 Super Bowl MVP: Patrick Mahomes
The Breakdown: Eighteen years, 45 days. That’s the age difference between the starting quarterbacks in the Super Bowl, the largest discrepancy in NFL history.
Patrick Mahomes is looking for his second championship, and first since turning 26. Brady is looking for his seventh, and first since turning 40. Mahomes’ teams are averaging 34.1 points per game in his playoff starts, the highest ever with a minimum of five games played. Mahomes has won his last 12 starts going back to mid-October, and is 26-1 going back to Week 11 of last season.
Not only is the Baby Goat better than the GOAT at this point of their careers — his team is better also. The final passing of the torch to the Mahomes era will officially take place Sunday.
Mike Johnston The Pick: Kansas City Chiefs The Score: 30–26 Super Bowl MVP: Patrick Mahomes
The Breakdown: My 2021 Superb Owl pick is the Northern Hawk Owl, known for using its short and pointed wings to fly/glide close to the ground at high speeds… sort of like how Tyreek Hill manoeuvres his five-foot-10 frame around a field unlike anyone else in the sport.
That’s partly why my 2021 Super Bowl pick is the Chiefs. Hill can burn you by himself or can be used as the most effective decoy in football — either way, it’s to KC’s benefit.
Andy McNamara The Pick: Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Score: 32–28 Super Bowl MVP: Tom Brady
The Breakdown: Like Hulk Hogan versus The Rock at WrestleMania 18, this Super Bowl showdown is also a battle between the GOAT (Tom Brady) and current top star (Patrick Mahomes). The game is essentially a pick’em with Kansas City as a 3.0-point favourite, but I think Tom Brady has that immeasurable drive — the “it” factor to prove the world wrong — that will push him over the top.
Brady is a rhythm quarterback, which means timing is vital to the offence operating successfully. The last four games of the regular season and into the playoffs we saw Tampa Bay really gel.
Think about what TB12 had to overcome to get back to the dance: He had next to no off-season with his new teammates; his star receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin battled injuries early on; Antonio Brown and Rob Gronkowski had to shake off rust. The Bucs worked through it all to the tune of a 19-4 TD-INT ratio for Brady in his last seven outings.
Of course, Mahomes and his plethora of weapons are lethal against any defence, and it’ll be interesting to see how the Bucs try to pressure the reigning Super Bowl MVP as they lead the league in post-season sacks.
I would be shocked if SBLV was decided by more than a single score. In the end, Brady slaps Father Time in the mouth one more time and holds off the Chiefs’ emerging dynasty run.
Emily Sadler The Pick: Kansas City Chiefs The Score: 32–28 Super Bowl MVP: Patrick Mahomes
The Breakdown: A shootout in the first half between the GOAT and the heir to the NFL throne could put this matchup on pace to be the highest-scoring Super Bowl in history.
At least, that’s what we want to happen.
More likely, though, it might be a slow start for Mahomes & Co. — something we’ve seen from this club quite a bit this year and last. Up against a dangerous defence, the Chiefs’ offence could be forced to toil its way up the field and grind things out… until late in the game, when Mahomes exploits a tired Buccaneers front four and takes hold of this game like we all know he can.
The result will be a defensive battle that blossoms into an offensive affair late in the third quarter and a thrilling finish that sees the Chiefs defend their title against King Brady in his own castle.
Geoff Lowe The Pick: Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Score: 24–20 Super Bowl MVP: Tom Brady
The Breakdown: It’s hard to bet against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offence after the deadly display we all witnessed in the AFC title game against the Bills, but the Buccaneers have two things going for them that Buffalo did not: 1) Tom Brady under centre, and 2) a dominant defensive line that can take advantage of a Chiefs offensive line built mostly of backups.
Stopping Mahomes altogether is seemingly impossible, something Tampa knows all too well after losing to Kansas City earlier this season. Containing Mahomes, however, could build a path to victory for the Buccaneers if their defensive line is able to get the best of the banged-up Chiefs offensive line – something the Bucs were able to do against the Packers in the NFC title game that led to five sacks of Aaron Rodgers.
With that in mind, we set the scene for Sunday night:
Tampa’s defensive line does its job in limiting Kansas City to one of its lowest point totals of the entire season, and then it’s Brady’s time to shine.
Despite keeping Mahomes and the Chiefs offence largely in check, the Bucs face a three-point deficit as time winds down in the fourth quarter. Brady and Tampa’s offence get the ball down 20-17 with sights set on snatching victory from the hands of Mahomes. TB12 leads the Bucs down the field methodically, including a couple of tight third-down conversions, and with the game on the line and less than a minute on the clock, Brady finds – who else? – his old pal Rob Gronkowski in the back of the end zone to complete the game-winning drive, Brady’s seventh on the Super Bowl stage.
Another chapter is added to the legend of Tom Brady, as the GOAT wins his seventh Super Bowl title and first without Bill Belichick by his side.
Craig Battle The Pick: Kansas City Chiefs The Score: 34–23 Super Bowl MVP: Patrick Mahomes
The Breakdown: Tom Brady is an ageless wonder, and Tampa is a good team on a nice roll. But they caught every possible break in the NFC Championship Game — including a once-in-a-lifetime screwup by the Packers secondary at the end of the first half and a series of gaffes from the Green Bay coaching staff — and it still went down to the wire.
Meanwhile, Kansas City is a dynasty in the making. They’ve barely lost in the past two years, and just thoroughly outclassed a very strong Bills team two weeks back.
It’s one game, anything can happen, I wouldn’t be shocked if the ball bounced Tampa’s way, and I don’t like betting against Brady. But one of these teams is the best in football, and the other isn’t.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Lamar Jackson threw for 281 yards and five touchdowns, helping the Baltimore Ravens overcome an early double-digit deficit and extend their National Football League winning streak to five games with a 41-31 victory Monday night over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who lost their top two receivers to injuries.
The two-time NFL MVP improved to 23-1 against NFC teams, the best mark by a quarterback against an opposing conference in NFL history. He’s 3-0 against the Bucs (4-3), who faded after taking a 10-0 lead with help from the 100th TD reception of Mike Evans’ career.
Evans departed with a hamstring injury after Baker Mayfield tried to connect with him in the end zone again, and late in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach, leading Bucs receiver Chris Godwin was carted off the field with a left ankle injury. ESPN declined to show replays of Godwin’s injury, which appeared to be severe.
Jackson completed 17 of 22 passes without an interception, including TD throws of nine and four yards to Mark Andrews. He also tossed scoring passes of 49 yards to Rashod Bateman, 18 yards to Justice Hill and 11 yards to Derrick Henry, who rushed for 169 yards on 15 carries. Bateman had four catches for 121 yards.
The Ravens (5-2) rebounded from a slow start on defence, with cornerback Marlon Humphrey turning the game around with a pair of second-quarter interceptions — one of them in the Baltimore end zone. Jackson led a four-play, 80-yard TD drive after the first pick, and the second interception set up Justin Tucker’s 28-yard field goal for a 17-10 halftime lead.
Elsewhere in the NFL:
—
CARDINALS 17 CHARGERS 15
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Kyler Murray ran for a 44-yard touchdown and led the Cardinals on a drive that set up Chad Ryland’s 32-yard field goal as time expired, and Arizona rallied for a win over Los Angeles.
Cameron Dicker kicked his fifth field goal of the night — this one from 40 yards — to give the Chargers a 15-14 lead with 1:54 left. But the Cardinals (3-4) quickly moved into field goal range, aided by an unnecessary roughness call on Cam Hart that cost Los Angeles (3-3) 15 yards.
Arizona followed that with a bruising 33-yard run by James Conner, who finished with 101 yards on the ground. That eventually set up Ryland’s short field goal and a Cardinals celebration.
It was a frustrating night for the Chargers’ offence, which gained 395 yards but couldn’t find the end zone. Justin Herbert completed 27 of 39 passes for 349 yards.
Dicker booted field goals of 59, 50, 28, 47 and 40 yards, the first of which tied a franchise record for distance.
Murray ran for a spectacular touchdown early in the fourth quarter, rolling to his left before turning on the jets, beating safety Junior Colston to the sideline and then coasting into the end zone for a 14-9 lead.
It was Murray’s second long touchdown run in three weeks after he scored on a 50-yard sprint against San Francisco. It was also Murray’s 20th career game with a touchdown pass and run.
Murray completed 14 of 26 passes for 145 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps have been here before — literally and figuratively.
With the season hanging in the balance, the ‘Caps were dealt a blow last week when the club learned it wouldn’t be able to play a post-season wild-card game in its home stadium, B.C. Place, due to a scheduling conflict.
The Whitecaps ceded home field advantage to their regional rival, the Portland Timbers. The two clubs will battle for the final playoff spot in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference in Oregon on Wednesday.
The winner will face No. 1-seed Los Angeles FC in a best-of-three first-round series, starting Sunday.
An unforeseen hurdle like a change of venues is nothing new for the ‘Caps, said defender Ranko Veselinovic, who was part of the team that was forced to relocate first to Portland, then Utah during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It feels that always something happens for us, but it is what it is. So far, we’ve managed to always find solutions for those situations,” said the Serbian centre back. “But I hope this team can find it one more time, because we need it this time. And it will be a really nice feeling in those circumstances to go in, win and go face L.A. in the next round.”
Vancouver (13-13-8) heads into the post-season winless in its last seven MLS games and with losses in four straight after dropping a 2-1 road decision to Real Salt Lake on Saturday.
The skid followed a run that saw the club go 4-1-3 across all competitions between late August and late September.
There’s just one way to return to that level, said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini.
“The work is the only way to do it. Try to put the work in and try to put the team in a way that they’re going to regain the form and the way that they were in the past,” he said.
Despite the final score, Sartini has seen positives in the way his team played in its two most recent losses.
“I think already we turned the corner,” he said. “And we start from there to build and build and build.”
Facing challenges together can help a team build, whether it’s a winless skid or an unexpected hurdle, said Vancouver’s captain Ryan Gauld.
“When you’re going through adversity, that’s when people start to raise their voice a little bit. You get good when the problems arise, you get a lot of people coming together to make sure we get out of it,” said the Scottish attacking midfielder.
“And we’ve had a tough time the last few games, but everyone’s aware of the fact that we’re a much better team than we’ve shown, and we need to find a way to get back to doing what we’re good at.”
The ‘Caps face a familiar foe in the Timbers (12-11-11).
The two sides have already met three times this season, with each coming out of the series with a win, a loss and a draw.
Portland has also struggled in recent weeks and are winless in their last five MLS outings (0-1-4).
The Timbers boast one of the league’s top offensive units, though, with threats such as Evander. The Brazilian midfielder notched 15 goals and 19 assists during the regular season.
To earn a win on Wednesday, the Whitecaps must be solid defensively, Gauld said.
“They must be one of the best attacks in the league. They have a lot of good players, and they can hurt you if you switch off,” he said. “So just being concentrated from the first whistle, and just being hard to beat, being stuffy. Just being on it for the full 90 minutes.”
A victory in the wild-card match would guarantee Vancouver at least one home playoff game, a factor that Sartini said would be a big reward for his group.
The entire team relished the experience of playing post-season soccer in front of more than 30,000 fans last year, the coach said, and the desire to repeat the feat is high as the club heads to Portland.
“Everyone is happy to be in the playoffs. So we don’t have to be moody to be in the playoff. And we go in there, we’re play one of our rivals. So it’s gonna be a nice game to show up and to play our best game possible.”
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (13-13-8) AT PORTLAND TIMBERS (12-11-11)
Wednesday, Providence Park
HISTORY BOOKS: This will mark the seventh all-time post-season meeting between the Timbers and ‘Caps, dating back to 1975. The last time the two clubs squared off in a playoff game was during the Western Conference semifinal in 2015. Portland won the two-game aggregate series and went on to hoist the MLS Cup.
ROAD WARRIORS: The ‘Caps boasted a 7-6-4 record on the road during regular-season play — better than the 6-7-4 showing they posted at B.C. Place.
POST-SEASON PARTY: Wednesday will mark the first time the Timbers have hosted a post-season game since 2021.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Scotland conceived rugby sevens in the 1880s yet it will not feature in the scaled-back 2026 Commonwealth Games hosted by Glasgow.
Other sports that have also been dropped include field hockey, triathlon, badminton, Twenty20 cricket, squash, and diving.
The Games will have a 10-sport program in four venues. Athletics and swimming are compulsory while there will also be track cycling, gymnastics, netball, weightlifting, boxing, judo, bowls and 3×3 basketball.
There will also be integrated para events in six of those sports: Athletics, swimming, track cycling, weightlifting, bowls and basketball.
The Games will take place from July 23-Aug. 2 after Glasgow stepped in when the Australian state of Victoria withdrew last year because of rising costs.
It was not easy to decide which sports to include, Commonwealth Games Scotland chairman Ian Reid told the BBC on Tuesday.
“I think everybody recognises that these events need to be more affordable, lighter and we would have loved to have all of our sports and all of our athletes competing but unfortunately it’s just not deliverable or affordable for this time frame,” Reid said.
Athletes and support staff will be housed in hotels. Around 3,000 athletes are expected to compete from up to 74 Commonwealth nations and territories representing a combined total of 2.5 billion people, a third of the world’s entire population.
More than 500,000 tickets made available for spectators.
The Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive Katie Sadleir said: “The 2026 Games will be a bridge to the Commonwealth Games of tomorrow, an exciting first step in our journey to reset and redefine the Games as a truly collaborative, flexible and sustainable model for the future that minimises costs, reduces the environmental footprint, and enhances social impact. In doing so, increasing the scope of countries capable of hosting.”
Glasgow hosted the event in 2014 at a cost of more than 540 million pounds.
