Tom Brady was efficient and the Tampa Bay defense was devastating. The combination has led to the Buccaneers' second Super Bowl victory. Brady threw for three first-half touchdowns and the Buccaneers stifled Kansas City's offense in a 31-9 win over the Chiefs. Brady claimed Super Bowl MVP honors for the fifth time, throwing to Rob Gronkowski for the first two TDs and found Antonio Brown in the end zone with six seconds left in the first half. Brady was 21 of 29 for 201 yards and no interceptions in winning a Super Bowl ring for a record-extending seventh time. Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones II combined for 144 yards rushing, with Fournette scoring the game's final TD on a 27-yard run in the third quarter. Most of the Chiefs' 350 total yards came in the fourth quarter. Patrick Mahomes didn't go over 100 yards passing until the final minute of the third quarter. Mahomes was pressured throughout while completing just 26 of his 49 throws for 270 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. It's the first time Mahomes has been held under 10 points or lost by double digits since becoming a starter.
Meantime, Chiefs coach Andy Reid says his “heart bleeds” for those injured in a car accident involving his son, assistant coach Britt Reid, that left two children with injuries and one of them hospitalized in critical condition. The crash occurred Thursday night, two days before the Chiefs were due to leave for Tampa. Britt Reid did not travel to the game. Police are investigating whether the younger Reid was impaired before the accident.
NBA
Bam Adebayo had 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Heat in a 109-103 win over the Knicks. Jimmy Butler finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists as Miami won the opener of a home-and-home series. Julius Randle had 26 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for New York.
In other NBA action:
Mikal Bridges scored 19 points and the Suns won for the fifth time in six games by downing the Celtics, 100-91. Devin Booker delivered 18 points and 11 assists for the Suns, who built a 17-point lead midway through the third quarter. Booker hit a big jumper after the Celtics got within 94-91.
The Hornets cruised to a 119-97 win over the Wizards as Terry Rozier provided 26 points on five 3-pointers. LaMelo Ball finishing with 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists as the Hornets handed the Wizards their seventh loss in the last nine games. League scoring leader Bradley Beal paced Washington with 31 points, two below his season average.
The Utah Jazz remain red hot following a 103-95 win over the Pacers. Donovan Mitchell delivered 27 points and 11 assists for the Jazz, who won for the 15th time in 16 games and improved to 19-5. Mitchell's team shook off a slow start as the Jazz played their third game in four days. Former Pacer Bojan Bogdanovic chipped in 18 points, including a 3-point play midway through the fourth quarter to put Utah ahead to stay. Jordan Clarkson added 17 points off the bench, and Rudy Gobert had 16 points and 16 rebounds. Domantas Sabonis scored 20 for the Pacers, who have lost five of six.
The Kings have a four-game winning streak after a 113-110 victory over the Clippers. De'Aaron Fox poured in 36 points and Buddy Hield (heeld) added 22 as Sacramento improved to 7-1 since a 19-point drubbing by the Clippers on January 20. Fox hit a consecutive 3-pointers to put Sacramento ahead, 103-101.
In NBA news:
A person with knowledge of the details says the Knicks have agreed to acquire Derrick Rose from the Pistons for Dennis Smith Jr. and a second-round pick. The deal reunites Rose with coach Tom Thibodeau, his coach in Chicago when the guard became the youngest MVP in NBA history.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Larry Nance Jr. could miss six weeks with a broken left hand. Nance broke the fourth metacarpal in his hand during Saturday night's loss to Milwaukee. The loss is a large setback for the Cavs, who have been one of the NBA's biggest surprises this season but are in the midst of a challenging stretch. Cleveland has lost three straight, five of six and will begin a five-game road trip Monday in Phoenix.
Hawks forward De'Andre Hunter will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Monday and be sidelined for an extended period. Hunter is the Hawks' third-leading scorer at 17.2 points per game.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
In women’s college basketball, Binghamton bested UAlbany 64-52, Syracuse beat Pittsburgh 71-67, and Marist edged Rider 47-46.
In men's top-25 basketball:
Indiana has added to Iowa's recent basketball struggles. Armaan Franklin hit a 15-footer with 1.8 seconds left to give Indiana a 67-65 victory and a season sweep of eighth-ranked Iowa. Trayce Jackson-Davis finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Hoosiers, who stopped a two-game skid and handed the Hawkeyes their fourth loss in five games. Iowa opened the second half on a 14-2 run to take a 45-35 lead and was ahead 53-48 with 7:25 left. Race Thompson gave Indiana a 63-62 lead in the final minute and finished with 15 points and six boards. Luka Garza scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half for Iowa.
Third-ranked Villanova bounced back from Wednesday's loss to St. John's by downing Georgetown, 84-74. Jermaine Samuels had a career-high 32 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals. He shot 10-for-17 after scoring just two points in 25 minutes against the Red Storm.
Ben Krikke scored 15 points and Valparaiso handed No. 25 Drake its first loss of the season with a 74-57 romp. Drake fell to 18-1. The defeat left No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 2 Baylor as the only remaining major college teams still undefeated this season.
The Southeastern Conference has postponed two men's basketball games scheduled for Wednesday night. The league on Sunday announced the postponement of the Georgia-Texas A&M and Florida-Tennessee games, citing a combination of positive COVID-19 tests, contact tracing and subsequent quarantining of individuals within the Texas A&M and Florida programs. Makeup dates for the two games have not been determined.
NHL
The Philadelphia Flyers fell behind early Sunday afternoon before Alain Vigneault elected to tinker with his lines. It worked to perfection. Scott Laughton registered his first career hat trick and two other Flyers had 3-point games in a 7-4 comeback over the Capitals. Sean Couturier scored twice and had an assist in his first game back from a rib injury. Joel Farabee had three assists for Philadelphia, which trailed 2-0 early. James van Riemsdyk added a goal and an assist to run his point streak to seven games. The Capitals lost their third in a row despite Alex Ovechkin's two goals and two assists. Tom Wilson had a goal and three assists for the Caps, who haven't won since a 6-0-3 start.
In other NHL action:
The Red Wings ended an eight-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory at Florida. Givani Smith had a goal and an assist as Detroit handed the Panthers their first regulation loss of the season. Marc Staal scored for the first time with Detroit, and Thomas Greiss stopped 36 shots.
Six different Carolina players scored while James Reimer stopped 17 shots in the Hurricanes' 6-5 win over the Blue Jackets. Jordan Staal provided a goal and two assists in Carolina's sixth win in seven games. Dougie Hamilton, Brett Pesce and Vincent Trochek each had a goal and assist for the winners.
Chandler Stephenson scored twice and the Golden Knights grabbed a share of the West Division lead by topping the Kings, 4-3. Reilly Smith and Zach Whitecloud also tallied as Vegas moved to 7-1-1, tying St. Louis and Colorado with 15 points. Robin Lehner overcame a wild first period and made 29 saves, including all 11 he faced on four penalty kills.
The Blackhawks came away with a 2-1 win over the Stars as Alex DeBrincat scored both Chicago goals, including the winner 2:56 into overtime. DeBrincat has four goals and two assists in his three games since returning from a four-game absence because of COVID-19 protocols. Chicago had been winless in their previous four games that went past regulation, losing twice in overtime and twice more in shootouts.
In NHL news, six-time Stanley Cup winner Ralph Backstrom has died at 83. Backstrom won his six championships with Montreal, served as head coach of the University of Denver and founded the Colorado Eagles minor league franchise. He played in 1,336 career games in the NHL and the World Hockey Association, with 378 goals and 892 points.
GOLF
Brooks Koepka chipped in from 32 yards for eagle on the 17th hole and parred the last for a one-stroke victory in the PGA's Waste Management Phoenix Open. Five strokes behind Jordan Spieth and Xander Schauffele entering the round, Koepka shot a 6-under 65 to finish at 19-under. The four-time major champion also won in 2015 at TPC Scottsdale for the first of his eight PGA Tour titles. Schauffele birdied the par-4 18th for a 71 to tie for second with Kyoung-Hoon Lee, who fired a 68.
TENNIS
The crowds are noticeably thinner than usual on Day 1 at the Australian Open, with attendance for the year’s first Grand Slam tournament capped at 30,000 per day. Still, the players are happy to have any fans at a major — no fans were allowed at the U.S. Open, and only small crowds were allowed at the French Open. No. 2 Simona Halep, No. 3 Naomi Osaka, No. 10 Serena Williams, and Venus Williams are among Monday's Day 1 winners. On the men’s side, No. 1 Novak Djokovic bested Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-1, 6-2; No. 3 Dominic Thiem beat Mikhail Kukushkin 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-3; and No. 6 Alexander Zverev struggled at first, but ultimately defeated Marcos Giron 6-7 (8), 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2.
MLB
Pedro Gomez, a longtime baseball correspondent for ESPN who covered more than 25 World Series, has unexpectedly at age died. He was 58. No cause of death has been given. Gomez joined ESPN as a Phoenix-based reporter in 2003 after being a sports columnist and national baseball writer at The Arizona Republic since 1997. He was best known at the network for his coverage of Barry Bonds and his pursuit of the home-run record during the steroid controversy.
Also, outfielder Albert Almora has reportedly agreed to a contract with the Mets. Almora hit .167 with one RBI in 30 at-bats during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. That was down from a .236 average, a career-best 12 homers and 32 RBIs in 2019.
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