#historic-kicker-misses

#historic-kicker-misses

What I'm feeling goes beyond myself. It's for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown,

You won't find this in Cortina d'Ampezzo over the next few weeks, but for several decades of the Olympics' history, the contest awarded medals not just for sport but for art too. In the Summer Games from 1912 to 1948, musicians, painters, and plenty of other aesthetes went brain-to-brain in events such as lyric poetry and chamber music. "Town planning" was even contested one year under the umbrella of the architecture competition.

At leading prediction market Kalshi, more than $47 million has been staked this season on what are known as NFL announcer mention markets, where users trade on the probability of what the play-by-play broadcaster or color analyst will -- or will not -- say during games. Since September, the average amount risked on NFL announcer mention markets has grown more than seven times, from less than half a million per game at the start of the season to $3.55 million on the AFC and NFC championship games

The most revealing thing about the Super Bowl halftime show was not Bad Bunny, Kid Rock, or even Donald Trump deciding that this was a useful place to weigh in. It was how quickly millions of people volunteered to be furious on cue, as if anger were a civic duty rather than an emotional habit that has gotten wildly out of hand.

Instead, with the Seahawks trailing 28-24 and 26 seconds to play, offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell with the authorization of coach Pete Carroll called for a quick slant pass from quarterback Russell Wilson to wide receiver Ricardo Lockette. New England safety Malcolm Butler got there first with an interception at the 1. The Patriots (15-4) won their fourth of six Lombardi Trophies under coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady.

Vegas set the Over/Under at a staggering 57.5 points, officially the highest total in Super Bowl history. Why was the line so high? It was a collision of two offensive juggernauts. The Falcons arrived with the league's top-scoring offense, led by MVP Matt Ryan, while Tom Brady's Patriots ranked third in points scored. Throw in a fast track at the NRG Stadium dome in Houston, and bettors were practically tripping over themselves to hammer the Over.

With the Kansas City Chiefs failing to qualify, this year marks the first postseason without Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady or Peyton Manning since the 1998 campaign. Manning reached the playoffs in 1999, while Brady joined the ranks two years later. Mahomes had been in the playoffs each season since 2018, but he tore his ACL in a Week 15 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. The defeat eliminated Kansas City from postseason contention, and the Chiefs finished 6-11.

Look, Nix certainly wasn't perfect Saturday. Yeah, he was 26-for-46 for 279 yards and three touchdown passes. Yeah, he threw the go-ahead touchdown pass with 55 seconds left in regulation. And yeah, he made a couple of really pretty deep throws in overtime that were flagged for pass interference to set up Wil Lutz's game-winning field goal. But there were absolutely stretches of this game where it looked like Nix was a bigger part of the problem than the solution.

The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks faced off in Super Bowl XLIX in 2015, a memorable matchup the Patriots won 28-24. With a second-and-goal at New England's 1-yard-line late in the fourth quarter, Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson was intercepted by Malcolm Butler in one of the more shocking Super Bowl moments. The Seahawks did not reach the Super Bowl since that matchup until this season.

"If there's one person, two people that aren't executing to the best of their abilities, he's going to find that crease," Rams veteran linebacker Troy Reeder said. "And they have a unit as a whole that does a really good job of getting him started in his returns. ... You just want to contain this guy, and not let him make a play that could change the game."