The NFC Championship game features two Hall of Fame quarterbacks at different stages of their career, but there's massive intrigue outside of this QB showdown, too.
Bam and Kyrie's jersey exchange had to be broken up by Heat security.
Dana White offered a blunt prediction for the upcoming exhibition between Logan Paul and Floyd Mayweather.
What fantasy hockey dividends will be paid by the Patrik Laine trade?
The AFC's two best teams have arrived on a collision course in the championship game.
Social media detectives remain undefeated, and polarizing Rangers defenseman Tony DeAngelo may have just met their wrath.
Matthew Stafford has likely played his last snap in a Lions uniform.
After Duke dropped its third straight game, Coach K belittled a student reporter for asking a totally reasonable question.
Raptors centre Chris Boucher is putting up some extraordinary offensive numbers, reminiscent of Pascal Siakam's breakout 2018-19 season.
Watson reportedly wanted the Texans to interview the new Jets head coach. That didn't happen.
Hornets coach James Borrego thinks differently.
There were a number of significant developments this week, both good and bad for fantasy hockey managers.
Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse disagreed with the idea that his team is a veteran squad. He also discusses how disappointed he was with his team’s effort last game and why it’s important to show up for every game in the NBA.
Greg Olsen spent the majority of his career with the Carolina Panthers, but the final season with the Seahawks.
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. won’t play in Sunday’s NFC championship game against the Green Bay Packers because of an ankle injury. Winfield didn’t practice Friday and had been listed as questionable on that day’s injury report. This will be the first game the rookie second-round pick from Minnesota has missed all season. While the Bucs (13-5) will be missing one of their starting defensive backs, the Packers (14-3) had better news regarding their secondary. Green Bay starting cornerback Kevin King is active for Sunday’s game after missing practice Friday with a back injury that had left him questionable. The Packers had prepared for the possibility King might not be available by promoting cornerbacks Tramon Williams and KeiVarae Russell from the practice squad to the active roster for the NFC championship game. Green Bay signed the 37-year-old Williams after the Baltimore Ravens released him on Monday. He previously played for the Packers from 2007-14 and 2018-19. Other inactive players for the Bucs include quarterback Ryan Griffin, running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn, wide receiver Antonio Brown, tight end Anthony Auclair and defensive linemen Jeremiah Ledbetter ad Khalil Davis. The Bucs had already announced Friday that Brown wouldn’t be available because of a knee injury. Inactive players for Green Bay include quarterback Jordan Love, cornerback Ka’Dar Hollman, safety Vernon Scott, cornerback Josh Jackson, outside linebacker Jonathan Garvin, tight end Jace Sternberger and defensive lineman Kingsley Keke. Keke is missing his third straight game because of a concussion. ___ More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL Steve Megargee, The Associated Press
The Pirates continue to get rid of any players you've heard of before, sending Jameson Taillon to the Yankees.
PHILADELPHIA — Three days after choosing Nick Sirianni to be their new coach, the Philadelphia Eagles made it official. The team announced Sirianni's hiring on Sunday, posting on Twitter a photo of Sirianni wearing an Eagles visor and the caption: “Copped ourselves a head coach.” Sirianni was the offensive co-ordinator for the Indianapolis Colts the past three seasons. He worked under coach Frank Reich, who was offensive co-ordinator in Philadelphia when the Eagles won the Super Bowl three years ago. The 39-year-old Sirianni previously served as an assistant coach with the Chiefs and Chargers. The Eagles fired Doug Pederson following a 4-11-1 season, less than three years after he led the team to the franchise’s only Super Bowl title. Sirianni worked with Andrew Luck, Jacoby Brissett and Philip Rivers in Indianapolis and coached Rivers in San Diego and Matt Cassel in Kansas City. Now he’s tasked with figuring out how to get Carson Wentz back to his 2017 form. Wentz finished third in NFL MVP voting that season and helped the Eagles earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC. He tore two knee ligaments in Week 14 and watched Nick Foles lead the team to victory over New England and earn Super Bowl MVP honours. Wentz is coming off the worst season of his five-year career and was benched for rookie Jalen Hurts for the final four games. Wentz’s $128 million, four-year contract kicks in this year, making it difficult for the Eagles to trade him. Sirianni’s top priority has to be solving the quarterback dilemma. Sirianni began his NFL coaching career as offensive quality control coach in Kansas City in 2009. He also served as an assistant quarterbacks coach and wide receivers coach during four seasons with the Chiefs. Sirianni held the same positions during five seasons with the Chargers from 2013-17. He joined the Colts when Reich left Philadelphia to take over as head coach in 2018. The Colts finished in the top 10 in points and yards in two of Sirianni’s three seasons as offensive co-ordinator. They were top 10 in rushing offence the other season. ___ More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL Rob Maaddi, The Associated Press
Jake Paul got some laughs at McGregor's expense and said he's lowering his offer.
LONDON — Tammy Abraham scored three times as Chelsea beat Luton 3-1 while Leicester had to rally against another second-tier club before ousting Brentford by the same score to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup on Sunday. Abraham scored twice in a seven-minute span in the first half. Jordan Clark profited from the struggling Kepa Arrizabalaga’s latest goalkeeping error to reduce the deficit to 2-1 on the half-hour before Abraham struck again in the 74th minute, his 11th of the season. Timo Werner missed a late penalty in a frustrating end to his afternoon. Chelsea will play another lower-league club, Barnsley, in the round of 16. This victory was crucial for under-pressure manager Frank Lampard after five losses in the past eight Premier League games. LEICESTER COMEBACK Brentford, which beat four Premier League teams on its way to this season’s League Cup semifinals, threatened another shock when it took the lead through Mads Bech Sorensen’s sixth-minute goal against Leicester. But Leicester turned it around within six minutes at the start of the second half. James Maddison weaved through the Brentford defence to the edge of the area before teeing up Cengiz Under, who powerfully fired in the equalizer. Youri Tielemans was tripped in the area by Tariqe Fosu and the Belgium midfielder netted from the penalty spot. Maddison killed it off in the 71st minute when he tapped in the rebound after Harvey Barnes’ shot was saved. BURNLEY ADVANCES Jay Rodriguez struck twice for Burnley in a 3-0 win at Fulham — the 31-year-old striker's first goals since July. With just under 10 minutes left on the clock, Rodriguez turned provider for Kevin Long for the third. A week after they drew in the Premier League, Manchester United and Liverpool meet again in the FA Cup with Jürgen Klopp’s side struggling in its Premier League title defence. ___ More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports The Associated Press
TORONTO — George Armstrong, who captained the Toronto Maple Leafs to four Stanley Cups in the '60s and wore the blue and white his entire career, has died. He was 90. The Maple Leafs confirmed the death Sunday on Twitter. Armstrong played a record 1,187 games with 296 goals and 417 assists over 21 seasons for the Leafs, including 13 seasons as team captain. The right-winger added another 26 goals and 34 assists in 110 playoff games. Known as the Chief, Armstrong was one of the first players of Indigenous descent to play professional hockey. Armstrong was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1975. Some 41 years later, Armstrong was voted No. 12 on the franchise's list of 100 greatest Maple Leafs in its centennial season. "George is part of the very fabric of the Toronto Maple Leaf organization and will be deeply missed," Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan said in a statement. "A proud yet humble man, he loved being a Maple Leaf but never sought the spotlight even though no player played more games for Toronto or captained the team longer. Always one to celebrate his teammates rather than himself, George couldn't even bring himself to deliver his speech the day he was immortalized on Legends Row." A young Armstrong met Syl Apps when the Maple Leafs star came to his bantam team's annual banquet. Armstrong would go on to wear No. 10, the first Leaf to do so after the retirement of talismanic Cup-winning captain Apps. Armstrong would also become one of a select number of Leafs honoured with a banner at Scotiabank Arena and his number was officially retired in October 2016 at the team's centennial anniversary home opener. In 2015, Armstrong and Apps were added to the Leafs' Legends Row. The Leafs released a statement on Sunday with the words from Armstrong's unread speech that night. "Hockey is a great game and I love it. I am part of a fading generation that you will never have again. Every one of us is one of a kind, that will never be repeated. To all of my friends and acquaintances, thank you for your advice and direction, that helped make me who I am today … a very, very happy person." NHL commissioner Gary Bettman also paid tribute Sunday to the former Leafs' captain. "The National Hockey League family is saddened to learn of the passing of George Armstrong,” Bettman said in a statement. “For 70 years, he represented his beloved Maple Leafs and the entire NHL with class and distinction as a player, coach, executive and ambassador. "A humble man and revered leader, Armstrong captained the Leafs for 12 seasons – including to three straight Stanley Cups in 1962, 1963 and 1964 and the stunning 1967 title – and scored the final goal of the Original Six Era in Game Six of the ’67 Final. “Our game will miss him dearly. The NHL extends its deepest sympathies to George’s wife Betty, their children, grandchildren and the entire Armstrong family.” After hanging up his skates in 1971, Armstrong coached the Toronto Marlboros to Memorial Cup victories in 1972-73 and 1974-75 before accepting a scouting position with the Quebec Nordiques in 1978. He spent nine years with Quebec before returning to the Toronto fold as assistant general manager and scout in 1988. Armstrong served as interim coach for the final 47 games of the 1988-89 season after John Brophy was fired after an 11-20-2 start. The next year, Armstrong returned to his role as a scout for the Leafs. Armstrong scored 20 goals four times during his career but was better known for his leadership and work ethic, helping restore the franchise's winning touch. A smart player and talented backchecker, he worked the angles to get the best shot at his opponent and formed a formidable penalty-killing tandem with Dave Keon. A humble man, Armstrong was quick to deflect praise. He credited his players for his Memorial Cup wins as coach. "It wasn't because I was a great coach, it was because I had some great players," he said in a 1989 interview, listing off the likes of the Howe brothers, John Tonelli, Mark Napier and Mike Palmateer. And he offered a typical response when inducted into the Leaside Sports Hall of Fame in 2015. "I don't know whether I deserve it or not but I sure am happy to get it," said Armstrong, who lived in several areas of the city before making Leaside his Toronto home. Born in Bowland’s Bay, Ont., to an Irish father and an Iroquois mother, a young Armstrong honed his hockey skills in Falconbridge near the Sudbury nickel mines where his father worked. The Boston Bruins were interested but Armstrong waited until the Leafs put him on their protected list while he was playing with the Copper Cliff Jr. Redmen of the NOHA in 1946-47. After winning the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as the OHA's leading scorer with Stratford next season, the Leafs sent him to their main junior affiliate, the Toronto Marlboros. He was elevated to the senior Marlies for the 1949 Allan Cup playoffs and helped the team win the title over Calgary the next year. It was during the Allan Cup tournament, specifically a visit to the Stoney Indian Reserve in Alberta, that he got his nickname. When the band heard of Armstrong's ancestral background, they made him an honorary member with the name "Chief Shoot-the-Puck" and presented him with a ceremonial headdress. It was a different era and "The Chief" nickname stuck. Armstrong, who was proud of his mother's heritage, would become the first player of Indigenous descent to score in the NHL. He spent most of two seasons in Pittsburgh with the Leafs' American Hockey League farm team before making the big league. He made his NHL debut in December 1949 and became a full-time member of the Leafs in time for the start of the 1952-53 season. "It looks as if he's going to be here for quite a long time the way he handled that puck," legendary broadcaster Foster Hewitt said after Armstrong scored his first NHL goal in a 3-2 win over Montreal. Taking a pass from future Hall of Famer Max Bentley, Armstrong beat defenceman Butch Bouchard and beat goaltender Gerry McNeil. "I did a little war dance that night and I think everybody in Maple Leaf Gardens was pretty happy about it as well," Armstrong recalled 15 years later. Toronto owner and GM Conn Smythe named Armstrong his captain before the 1957-58 season. Smythe would later call Armstrong "the best captain, as a captain, the Leafs have ever had." The Leafs won the Stanley Cup in 1962, the first of three straight championships. Armstrong was 36 when the veteran Leafs won the franchise's last championship in 1967. His insurance empty-net goal with 47 seconds remaining in the clinching 3-1 Game 6 win proved to be the final goal of the Original Six era. The six-foot-one, 204-pounder played a few more seasons, but suffered a knee injury during the 1969-70 campaign that forced him to retire. Armstrong was convinced to come back for the 1970-71 season before quitting for good at age 40. At the time, Armstrong had played more seasons and more games as a Maple Leaf than any other player, and was second in career points. Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 24, 2021. Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
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