AP Sports

Analysis: Bill Belichick was passed over this coaching cycle but don’t count his career over yet

Bill Belichick has won more Super Bowls than any coach and more games than everyone except Don Shula. Still, he didn’t land a new job. An iconic coach who built a two-decade dynasty in New England and teamed with Tom Brady to lead the Patriots to six championships somehow got shut out in a hiring cycle that started with eight openings. The last opening was filled Thursday when Washington turned to Dan Quinn, whose team blew a 28-3 lead against Belichick seven years ago as Brady led the Patriots to a 34-28 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in the greatest Super Bowl comeback in league history.

Patrick Mahomes and Brock Purdy are chasing greatness and the greatest in Tom Brady and Joe Montana

Patrick Mahomes is chasing Tom Brady. Brock Purdy is playing in the shadow of Joe Montana. Winning the Super Bowl would be another major step for either quarterback. Mahomes and the Chiefs seek to become the first team in 19 years to win back-to-back Super Bowls when they take on Purdy and the 49ers in Las Vegas on Feb. 11. For Mahomes, it’s an opportunity to win his third NFL championship in his sixth full season as a starter at age 28. For Purdy, it’s a chance to complete his journey from being the last player selected in the 2022 draft to leading a storied franchise to a record-tying sixth Super Bowl title.

Why Taylor Swift’s globe-trotting in private jets is getting scrutinized

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Scrutiny over Taylor Swift’s travel in private jets has been bubbling up online, with people pointing out the planet-warming emissions that are let off with each flight. The chatter heated up in the last few days after the Kansas City Chiefs, the team that Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce plays for, beat the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday to make the Super Bowl. To make the big game in Las Vegas on Feb. 11, Swift, who is on concert tour overseas, would have to fly thousands of miles. She’s the latest in a long list of celebrities, government officials and elite businesspeople to come under scrutiny about private jet travel.

Allegiant Stadium’s roll-out field, space station look to be center stage during Super Bowl in Vegas

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis called his new home the Death Star in 2020 and the name stuck. Allegiant Stadium with its black facade indeed resembles the ominous space station in the “Star Wars” movie series that was capable of destroying planets. That’s where the Super Bowl will be played on Feb. 11. The NFL is following its recent practice of awarding new stadiums with its marquee game. The stadium has some features that sets it apart from most others around the league.

Austin Reaves hits 7 3-pointers, Lakers stun Celtics 114-105 without LeBron James, Anthony Davis

BOSTON (AP) — Austin Reaves scored a season-high 32 points and hit a career-high seven 3-pointers to help a Los Angeles Lakers team missing LeBron James and Anthony Davis stun the Boston Celtics 114-105 on Thursday night. James sat out because of a left ankle injury and Davis was sidelined by an Achilles tendon issue and left hip spasms. Reaves was 7 of 10 from 3-point range. He also was fouled on one of the misses and made all three free throws. The Lakers hit 19 of 36 3-pointers, holding off the NBA-leading Celtics to end a two-game losing streak. D’Angelo Russell added 16 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds for the Lakers. Jaxon Hayes had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Jayson Tatum scored 23 points for Boston.

Lewis Hamilton’s departure was a ‘surprise’ at breakfast meeting, Mercedes team principal Wolff says

Lewis Hamilton surprised Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff when he broke the news over breakfast that he was leaving the Formula One team for Ferrari. Wolff said Friday he had heard rumors that Hamilton might leave but didn’t know for sure until the F1 great confirmed it in a meeting over breakfast on Wednesday at Wolff’s home in Oxford, England. Hamilton is leaving Mercedes at the end of the upcoming season to join Ferrari for 2025. Wolff said the fact Hamilton was seeking a new challenge wasn’t a surprise but the timing was. He suggested Hamilton might be “rolling the dice” as the 39-year-old Hamilton seeks another shot at what would be his eighth F1 title.

Hall of Fame tennis player Andre Agassi uncovers new passion with pickleball

Hall of Fame tennis player Andre Agassi can’t get enough of pickleball. It’s become his new passion. Agassi watches pickleball videos, goes to his club every other day for pickleball matches and even has a hand in designing pickleball paddles. He’s become driven with unlocking the best pickleball version of himself, just like he strived to do on the tennis court over a career that included eight Grand Slam singles titles. He will pair with his wife, Steffi Graf, to take on John McEnroe and Maria Sharapova in “Pickleball Slam 2” this weekend televised on ESPN.

Taylor Swift could make it to the Super Bowl from Tokyo. Finding private jet parking, that’s tricky.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — If Taylor Swift is jetting from her upcoming concert in Tokyo to Las Vegas to see boyfriend Travis Kelce play in the Super Bowl, she’d better already have a place to park her plane. Officials at Harry Reid International Airport and the FAA say space for aircraft parking in and around Las Vegas has been spoken for. Four airports in the area have a combined 475 parking spots. By comparison, the Phoenix area where the Super Bowl was played in 2023 had 1,100 and all sold out. Pilots flying into Las Vegas still might be able to drop passengers off and park at other airports in the region.

South Carolina, Paris joining Staley’s women in making the Gamecocks a basketball school

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — If you’re looking for stellar college basketball, there’s few places better right now than South Carolina. Along with Dawn Staley’s No. 1-ranked women’s team, second-year coach Lamont Paris has the men’s program off to its best start in eight years after Top-10 wins over Kentucky and Tennessee the past two weeks. The Gamecocks routed then-No. 6 Kentucky 79-62 on Jan. 23 and backed that up with a 63-59 victory at No. 5 Tennessee. The Gamecocks are poised for their first national ranking since making the Final Four in 2017.

1st-time All-Star Maxey scores career-high 51 points to help Embiid-less 76ers beat Jazz 127-124

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Tyrese Maxey scored a career-high 51 points hours after being selected to his first All-Star Game, helping the Philadelphia 76ers overcome star center Joel Embiid’s absence for a 127-124 victory over the Utah Jazz on Thursday night. After missing three games because of a sprained left ankle, Maxey topped his previous career high of 50 — set Nov. 12 at home against Indiana — with two free throws with 4.1 seconds left. Embiid has an injured lateral meniscus in his left knee. The 76ers finished 1-4 on their longest trip of the season. Maxey was 17 of 27 from the field, 7 of 9 on 3s and made 10 of 11 free throws. Lauri Markkanen scored 28 points for Utah.