UNDATED-Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs are heading to Las Vegas with a chance for a rare repeat while facing the San Francisco 49ers in a Super Bowl rematch from four years ago. The Chiefs beat Lamar Jackson and the No. 1-seeded Baltimore Ravens 17-10 in the AFC championship game Sunday to advance to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in five years. Brock Purdy later rallied the No. 1-seeded 49ers to a 34-31 victory over Detroit in the NFC title game. The Chiefs will try to become the first back-to-back champions since New England during the 2003-04 seasons. The 49ers seek a record-tying sixth Super Bowl title in their eighth appearance.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Tickets on at least one secondary-market site are the most expensive in Super Bowl history. The prices underscore the anticipation of the game’s Las Vegas debut between the defending champion and what likely is the most popular team in the West. As well as the possibility Taylor Swift will be on hand when the Kansas City Chiefs play the San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 11. The average purchase price on TickPick was $9,815 on Monday morning. That is nearly double the final average price of $5,795 for last year’s game between the Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles in Glendale, Arizona. Current prices could decline before the game.
UNDATED-Adam Silver works for the NBA’s owners, who have seen their franchise values soar over the last decade. He doesn’t work for the players, but they seem to be rather enjoying how their bank accounts are getting stuffed as well. It’s a win-win. And that means keeping him around is seemingly a no-brainer. Silver and the league’s owners agreeing on an extension for him to remain as commissioner of the NBA for years to come makes sense on every possible level. Owners are making money. Players are making money. Fans are happily spending lots of money, as proven by the league setting attendance records.
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — The Baltimore Ravens head into the offseason lamenting an opportunity that got away. Baltimore finished with the best record and best point differential in the NFL and beat other top teams in surprisingly convincing fashion down the stretch. But in their most important test last weekend, the Ravens still couldn’t completely break through against the team that’s dominated the AFC of late. Baltimore didn’t seem outclassed in its 17-10 loss to Kansas City, but the Ravens were way too mistake-prone after falling behind early.
UNDATED-The highest court in sports sanctioned Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva for doping violations at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. The ruling means U.S. skaters will receive gold medals after they finished second behind Valieva and her teammates in the team competition. The case rocked the Olympics when, about 24 hours after she led Russia to the victory in the team event, details about a sample taken six weeks earlier at Russia’s national championships revealed there was a banned heart medication in her system. More than a half-dozen proceedings and appeals have taken place over the ensuing 23 months, culminating in the decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sports.
DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic spoiled Doc Rivers' debut as Milwaukee coach by recording his 14th triple-double of the season in the Denver Nuggets' 113-107 victory over the Bucks. Jokic finished with 25 points, 16 rebounds and 12 assists. Jamal Murray scored 35 for the Nuggets, who gained separation with a late 8-0 run. The game was a chance for Rivers to size up his built-to-win-now squad. Rivers was lured out of his role as an analyst to take over for first-year Bucks coach Adrian Griffin, who was fired after 43 games and a 30-13 record. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 29 points and 12 rebounds as the Bucks began a five-game trip.
UNDATED-UConn remained No. 1 in the AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll as the top five stayed the same from last week. The Huskies did pick up four more first-place votes and had 48 of the 63 from the national media panel. Purdue stayed at No. 2. North Carolina is No. 3, Houston is fourth and Tennessee is fifth. Wisconsin moved up seven spots to sixth and Duke climbed five to No. 7, while Iowa State made the biggest jump from No. 23 to No. 12. Alabama and TCU are back in the poll. Memphis and Colorado State dropped out.
UNDATED- South Carolina remains the clear No. 1 team in the country and No. Kansas State matched its best ranking ever after a chaotic week that saw nearly half of the AP Top 25 lose at least one game. Five of last week's top 10 teams lost. Overall, a dozen ranked teams had at least one defeat. Kansas State has its highest ranking since 2002. Iowa is back up to third as Caitlin Clark nears the all-time scoring record in women's basketball. Stanford and North Carolina State round out the top five.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 27 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 107-101 in a matchup of teams that entered the night tied atop the Western Conference standings. Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Rudy Gobert added 12 points and 17 rebounds for Minnesota, which had lost three of five. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 37 points and Jalen Williams added 20 for the Thunder, who lost their second straight after a five-game win streak. The teams split their four meetings this season.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — J’Wan Roberts made a tiebreaking layup with 37 seconds left in overtime and Emanuel Sharp’s four free throws over the final 10 seconds sent No. 4 Houston to a 76-72 win over Texas. Jamal Shead led all scorers with 25 points for Houston. Shead’s consecutive 3-pointers in the second half came in a 9-0 run that helped the Cougars regain the lead after Texas had rallied from 11 points down. The Big 12’s best defensive team held the Longhorns to a single basket in overtime. Max Abmas scored 20 for Texas, but missed a wild layup with a chance to tie before the rebound fell to Sharp, setting up two free throws for a four-point Cougars lead.