Joe Starkey: Which Hall of Fame is a bigger joke — baseball or football?
STARK RAVING Just when it didn’t seem possible any Hall of Fame could be a bigger farce than baseball’s, the Pro Football Hall of Fame stepped up and said, “Hold my Belichick.” Bill Belichick reportedly won’t be a first-ballot Hall of Famer? Hahahahahahahahahahahaha. Oh well, at least Shedeur Sanders made...
Bill Belichick snubbed by Pro Football Hall of Fame in first year of eligibility, report says
Six-time Super Bowl champion head coach Bill Belichick didn’t get voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, according to a report from ESPN. Citing four unidentified sources, ESPN reported Tuesday that Belichick didn’t receive the necessary 40 votes from the 50-person panel of...
Tough coaching helped Patriots’ Drake Maye flourish in 2nd season
Drake Maye got the tough coaching he wanted and thrived. The 23-year-old is one victory away from being the youngest quarterback in NFL history to win a Super Bowl. He is grateful to have coach Mike Vrabel and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels in New England. The Patriots went from 4-13...
TV Talk: Lady Gaga channels Mister Rogers in Super Bowl adVideo
Pop music star Lady Gaga covers the “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” theme song, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”, in a commercial for Redfin / Rocket that will air during Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8. It will be first Super Bowl ad for Redfin, an online real estate brokerage recently purchased...
Bills promote offensive coordinator Joe Brady to take over as head coach
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills stayed in-house by promoting offensive coordinator Joe Brady as their new head coach on Tuesday, in a move that provides continuity to a Josh Allen-led perennial winner that has accomplished everything short of reaching a Super Bowl. The team announced Brady agreed to...
Sam Darnold beats fellow 2018 draft QBs Jackson, Allen to Super Bowl
Sam Darnold will be starting in the Super Bowl before Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen and the rest of the NFL’s Class of 2018 quarterbacks. It took Darnold five teams and eight seasons to get here. Darnold led the Seattle Seahawks to a 14-3 record, a division title, the No. 1...
Sean Payton has second thoughts about passing up easy field goal in Broncos’ AFC title game loss
DENVER — Sean Payton conceded he will have second thoughts about his decision to pass up an easy field goal, as well as the play he called instead. The Denver Broncos and their fans now have the entire offseason to argue over which part of that critical fourth-and-1 play was...
Rams’ Sean McVay, Matthew Stafford lament missed opportunities as they fall short of Super Bowl
SEATTLE — Sean McVay had zero interest in discussing whether Matthew Stafford, his soon-to-be 38-year-old quarterback, will be back for the Los Angeles Rams next year. McVay had a bit more to say about how his team came up short against the Seattle Seahawks yet again on Sunday, losing 31-27...
Super Bowl 60 is set and it’s a rematch from 11 years ago: Patriots vs. Seahawks
Drake Maye vs. Sam Darnold. Two stingy defenses. A second-year head coach vs. a veteran coach in his second act. Super Bowl 60 is set, and it’s a rematch: The New England Patriots vs. the Seattle Seahawks. The Patriots will seek their NFL-record seventh Super Bowl victory when they face...
Sam Darnold, Seahawks advance to Super Bowl with thrilling win over Rams in NFC title game
SEATTLE — Sam Darnold threw for three touchdowns, the Seahawks’ “Dark Side” defense came up with a critical fourth-down stop and Seattle advanced to the Super Bowl, beating the Los Angeles Rams, 31-27, in an electrifying NFC Championship game Sunday. Led by second-year coach Mike Macdonald and Darnold — an...
Patriots punch ticket to 12th Super Bowl with gritty 10-7 win over Broncos in snowy Denver
DENVER — Drake Maye handled the sloppy, snowy conditions better than the home team and he scored New England’s only touchdown on a 6-yard keeper, propelling the Patriots to their 12th Super Bowl with a 10-7 win over the Denver Broncos in the AFC championship game Sunday. Maye threw for...
Seahawks, Rams meet for 3rd time this season, this time with Super Bowl berth on line
RENTON, Wash. — To some extent, Seahawks defensive lineman Leonard Williams was anticipating the NFC championship game would shake out this way, with Seattle facing the division rival Los Angeles Rams for a third time this season. Williams, a key contributor on the league’s top-ranked scoring defense, has seen firsthand...
Broncos backup Jarrett Stidham steps in to face ex-team, Patriots, in AFC Championship
DENVER — If any opponent is familiar with Denver Broncos fill-in quarterback Jarrett Stidham, it’s the New England Patriots, who drafted him in 2019 to serve as Tom Brady’s backup. When Josh McDaniels took the Las Vegas Raiders’ head coaching job, he traded for Stidham, who backed up Derek Carr...
Packers offensive tackle Rasheed Walker arrested on gun possession charge at LaGuardia Airport
NEW YORK — Green Bay Packers offensive tackle Rasheed Walker has been arrested after police say he presented a firearm for inspection without proper credentials at LaGuardia Airport. Port Authority police said Walker was arrested Friday morning after they responded to a request for a firearms check at LaGuardia’s Terminal...
After applying pressure all season, Broncos produce turnovers in playoffs
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Finally, all that pressure paid off for pass rusher Nik Bonitto and the Denver defense. Finally, the Broncos produced what’s been missing much of the season — takeaways. It’s been a long time coming for a defense that’s been one of the best in the NFL. The...
Defensive coordinators are 3 of first 5 NFL coaching hires
Jesse Minter, Robert Saleh and Jeff Hafley earned their head coaching opportunities on the defensive side of the ball. Three of the five new hires this coaching cycle are former defensive coordinators. There are five openings still remaining and a few more defensive coaches could get a job, including Sean...
Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski gets 2nd interview for Browns’ head coach opening
CLEVELAND — Grant Udinski completed his second interview with the Cleveland Browns for their head coaching vacancy Friday. The 30-year old Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator had his first interview with the team Jan. 17. Udinski just completed his first season with the Jaguars. Even though coach Liam Coen called the...
Former 49ers quarterback John Brodie, an NFL MVP and a prolific passer, dies at 90
John Brodie, who won an MVP award and was one of the NFL’s most prolific passers during a 17-year career with the San Francisco 49ers, has died. He was 90. The 49ers said Brodie’s family said he died Friday. Brodie had a stroke on Oct. 24, 2000. “The 49ers family...
Cooper Kupp invaluable to Seahawks ahead of NFC Championship against former team
RENTON, Wash. — Perhaps it was because of his ever-growing playoff beard that veteran wide receiver Cooper Kupp felt inclined to comment on how hot it was inside the Seattle Seahawks’ meeting room Thursday. On a balmy January day in the Emerald City, Kupp stood before a gaggle of reporters...
Buffalo Bills interview Philip Rivers for head coaching job
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Philip Rivers interviewed with the Buffalo Bills for their head coaching job Friday, the latest twist in a busy couple of months for one of the most prolific passers in NFL history. The 44-year-old Rivers has no previous NFL coaching experience, having worked since his initial...
Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza officially declares for the NFL draft and could be the No. 1 pick
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The Las Vegas Raiders are on the clock, and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza is officially available. Mendoza formally declared for the NFL Draft on Friday and could be headed to the Raiders with the No. 1 pick in April. Mendoza led Indiana to a 16-0 season...
Former NFL player Kevin Johnson killed at homeless encampment, medical examiner says
LOS ANGELES — Former Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Kevin Johnson died from “blunt head trauma and stab wounds” at a homeless encampment, according to the medical examiner. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said Johnson, 55, was pronounced dead Wednesday morning after being found unconscious. His death was ruled a...
Colts confirm FBI has opened investigation into death of former owner Jim Irsay
The FBI has opened an investigation into the death of former Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, team officials confirmed Friday. When Irsay died in May, the team issued a statement saying he died “peacefully in his sleep.” But in late August, The Washington Post reported Irsay continued to battle a...
New Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley slept in office as Pitt assistant: ‘I’d say it worked’
Newly hired Miami Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley can sleep comfortably in South Florida nowadays, but some overnight stays in Pitt’s football facility helped him get there. Hafley, 46, spent five seasons as an assistant at Pitt under coach Dave Wannstedt from 2006-10. He was coaching defensive backs at Albany before...
Jeff Hafley took the hard road toward coaching Dolphins — including a stop at Pitt
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Jeff Hafley was a football coach before he was a football coach. The new coach of the Miami Dolphins played his college football at Siena, with home games before small crowds at a decaying minor-league baseball field in a suburb of Albany, N.Y. Hafley dealt with...
