January 4, 2025 3:54 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Caesars Superdome may be the epicenter for the Super Bowl in New Orleans next month, but Verizon has a game plan to ensure the championship buzz stretches beyond the Big Easy. Verizon will transform stadiums and venues across 30 NFL markets into a massive coast-to-coast event called FanFest on Feb. 9, the company announced Friday. The celebration will feature on-field access, live music, local chefs and meet-and-greets at each location with NFL legends such as Marshall Faulk, Jason Witten, Tiki Barber and Derrick Brooks. Verizon customers can claim free tickets on a first-come, first-served basis by visiting VerizonFanFest.com, with an option to bring guests to the experience anticipated to draw around 150,000.
January 3, 2025 4:37 am
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Riley Leonard passed for a touchdown, Jayden Harrison returned a kickoff 98 yards for a score, and Notre Dame’s defense made it hold up in a 23-10 victory over No. 2 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl that sends the third-ranked Fighting Irish into the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. In a game that was delayed by a day because of a deadly terror attack in the host city, Notre Dame made enough big plays and got some help from a clever move by coach Marcus Freeman. He sent out the punt team deep in his own territory before running all 11 players off the field, and an offside penalty gave the Irish a critical first down.
January 3, 2025 4:35 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers will try to generate some positive momentum for the playoffs when they host Cincinnati in their regular-season finale. The Steelers have dropped three straight to lose their grip on the AFC North. Pittsburgh needs a win and an unlikely loss by Baltimore against struggling Cleveland to win the division title. The Bengals have ripped off four wins in a row to keep their flicking postseason hopes alive. Cincinnati needs to top the Steelers on Saturday night and then hope Denver and Miami lose on Sunday to reach the playoffs for the third time in four seasons.
January 3, 2025 4:32 am
Nine Baltimore Ravens, including two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry, were selected for the Pro Bowl Games. The Detroit Lions are next with seven players and the Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles each have six players on the NFC roster. Patrick Mahomes wasn’t selected to the AFC roster for the first time since becoming Kansas City’s starting quarterback in his second season. Mahomes, a three-time Super Bowl MVP and six-time Pro Bowl pick, wasn’t among five Chiefs chosen. Travis Kelce made it for the 10th time.
January 2, 2025 2:35 am
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Ohio State roared into the College Football Playoff semifinals with a 41-21 victory over top-seeded Oregon in the 111th Rose Bowl. Jeremiah Smith caught two of Will Howard’s three long touchdown passes while eighth-seeded Ohio State went ahead 34-0 in a sensational first half. Howard passed for 319 yards, Emeka Egbuka also caught a long TD pass and TreVeyon Henderson made a 66-yard touchdown run in a redemptive Rose Bowl for the Buckeyes, who emphatically blew out the CFP’s No. 1 seed. Ohio State is headed to the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10 to face No. 5 Texas for a berth in the national title game.
January 2, 2025 2:11 am
ATLANTA (AP) — Texas avoided the first big upset of the College Football Playoff, hitting a fourth-and-long touchdown pass to keep the game going and beating Arizona State 39-31 in double overtime when an interception by Andrew Mukuba finally ended a Peach Bowl quarterfinal classic. The teams traded touchdowns on their first overtime possessions, and Quinn Ewers put Texas ahead with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Gunnar Helms, followed by a 2-point conversion pass to Matthew Golden. The fifth-seeded Longhorns finally put No. 4 Arizona State away when Mukuba picked off Sam Leavitt’s pass at the 3 to end the game. The Sun Devils were two-touchdown underdogs.
January 2, 2025 2:35 am
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The College Football Playoff quarterfinal in New Orleans has been postponed a day after a truck plowed into a New Year’s crowd about a mile away from the site of the Sugar Bowl between Georgia and Notre Dame. Ten people were killed in the attack early Wednesday in the French Quarter. The game originally was scheduled for Wednesday night at the 70,000-seat Superdome. Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley says all parties agreed that it was in the best interest of public safety to push the game back 24 hours to Thursday night.
January 2, 2025 4:41 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers and their star-laden defense have struggled during a three-game slide that has them limping toward the playoffs. The Steelers are giving up more than 400 yards per game during their slide heading into the regular-season finale against Cincinnati. Several players, including safety DeShon Elliott and linebacker Alex Highsmith, have publicly expressed frustration over mental mistakes and a lack of “want to.” Coach Mike Tomlin downplayed their angst, saying it stems from their passion for the game. Either way, Pittsburgh will have to try and regain its confidence by slowing down the Bengals, who have won four straight to keep their postseason hopes alive.
January 2, 2025 4:39 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Saquon Barkley will sit out the Philadelphia Eagles final regular-season game Sunday, denying the running back his chance at breaking Eric Dickerson’s NFL single-season rushing record. Barkley will finish the season with 2,005 yards rushing, just 101 yards shy of breaking Dickerson’s record of 2,105 yards set with the the Los Angeles Rams in 1984. The Eagles clinched the NFC East and the No. 2 seed in the conference, leaving little to play for in Sunday’s home game against the New York Giants. Barkley also set the Eagles record for yards rushing in a single season and set a season franchise record for scrimmage yards.
January 1, 2025 3:54 am
DETROIT (AP) — J.T. Compher scored the go-ahead goal on the power play with 5:34 remaining and the Detroit Red Wings beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2. The win gave Todd McLellan his 600th head coaching victory. McLellan, who replaced Derek Lalonde last week, is now 2-1 as Detroit’s coach. Patrick Kane, who reached the 1,300-point mark against Washington on Sunday, also scored a power-play goal for the Red Wings. Jonatan Berggren and Dylan Larkin with an empty-netter also scored for Detroit while Alex Lyon made 23 saves. Drew O’Connor had the second multi-goal game of his career for Pittsburgh. Alex Nedeljkovic made 21 saves.
