Sam Darnold and the Seahawks look to rebound against struggling Titans
The Seattle Seahawks visit the woeful Tennessee Titans trying to hold onto the second spot in the NFC West. Seattle is 3-0 against the AFC this season and 4-1 on the road. Tennessee has lost five straight since Mike McCoy took over as interim coach. The Titans also have lost nine consecutive home games with their most recent win more than a year ago on Nov. 3, 2024. Sam Darnold has thrown 17 touchdown passes and is seventh in the NFL with a 105 passer rating. Darnold is coming off a four-interception game. Jaxon Smith-Njigba leads the NFL with 1,146 yards receiving.
Chiefs assistant Dave Toub: President Trump ‘doesn’t even know what he’s looking at’ on NFL kickoffs
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub doesn’t care much about President Donald Trump’s opinion of the NFL’s new kickoff rules. Trump attended a game earlier this month and criticized the rules on “The Pat McAfee Show.” The rules, made permanent this year, require the ball to be kicked from the 35-yard line, with players waiting at the 40 until the ball is touched or lands. Trump called the rules demeaning and unsafe. Toub, who has coached special teams for over two decades, pointedly dismissed Trump’s comments on Thursday.
Baylor AD Mack Rhoades resigns, a week after taking leave for personal reasons
WACO, Texas (AP) — Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades has resigned, a week after he took a leave of absence for personal reasons. He also stepped down last week from his role as chairman of the College Football Playoff selection committee. School president Linda Livingston said in a letter Thursday that Rhoades informed her of his decision to step away, effective immediately. The school had been investigating unspecified allegations against him, but the status of that investigation is now unclear. The school said last week that the allegations did not involve Title IX, student-athlete welfare, NCAA rules violations, or the football program. Rhoades had been Baylor’s athletic director since July 2016.
Lakers fire Joey Buss, Jesse Buss from front office positions after ownership change
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Joey Buss and Jesse Buss are no longer working in the Los Angeles Lakers’ front office after the franchise’s recent ownership change. That’s according to a person with knowledge of the move who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because the Lakers didn’t publicly announce the firings. The brothers are children of longtime Lakers owner Jerry Buss, who died in 2013. The Lakers are also overhauling the scouting staff that worked with the brothers, who will retain their inherited minority ownership stakes. Jesse Buss was an assistant general manager, while Joey Buss was the Lakers’ alternate governor and vice president of research and development.
Ovechkin has 33rd hat trick and an assist in Montreal romp to move to No. 10 on points list
MONTREAL (AP) — Alex Ovechkin padded his NHL goals record and moved up a couple other big lists in the Washington Capitals’ 8-4 romp over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night. Ovechkin had his 33rd career hat trick to tie Brett Hull for fourth in NHL history and added an assist as he moved past Joe Sakic into 10th on the points list. Ovechkin has 10 goals in 21 games this season to push his NHL-record to 907. The 40-year-old Russian has 1,643 points, two more than Sakic. Ovechkin opened the scoring on a power play a minute into the first period, had an assist in the second and scored twice late in the third, the second into an empty net from his own zone.
Capitals’ Strome learns during game that wife gave birth to daughter
MONTREAL (AP) — Washington Capitals center Dylan Strome learned during the first intermission Thursday night against the Montreal Canadiens that wife Tayler had given birth to their third daughter. Strome said his wife “felt it” two hours before the 7 p.m. puck drop and gave birth at 7:30 p.m. He said there was no way to get back in time and emphasized the sacrifices Tayler makes while he spends so much time on the road. The couple named the girl Sutton Kimberley. He had three assists in the Capitals 8-4 victory.
76ers’ hard-working Tyrese Maxey joins exclusive fraternity with 54-point, nine-assist performance
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey arguably is the NBA’s hardest-working player this season. His heavy workload sure isn’t hindering his production so far. Maxey already was averaging an NBA-leading 40.3 minutes per game this season before he collected a career-high 54 points and nine assists over 46 ½ minutes in a 123-114 overtime victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday. Maxey and Wilt Chamberlain are the only 76ers ever to have at least 50 points and nine assists in a single game.
Italy has to beat Northern Ireland then Wales or Bosnia to return to the World Cup
ZURICH (AP) — Italy will first host Northern Ireland in a World Cup qualifying playoff in March but then would go on the road to reach its first tournament after back-to-back failures at this stage. FIFA made the playoffs draw Friday that will send the winner between four-time champion Italy and the Northern Irish on March 26 to travel to face either Wales or Bosnia-Herzegovina five days later with a place at the first 48-team finals tournament in north America at stake. Iraq will have to beat Bolivia or Suriname in a one-game playoff. Congo will play the winner of a single-game semifinal between New Caledonia and Jamaica.
NBA sees highest opening-month viewership in more than decade, record social media engagement
The NBA has announced that national games on NBC/Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, or ESPN have drawn over 60 million viewers in the first month of the regular season. This marks the highest opening total in 15 years. The league is in the first year of an 11-year, $76 billion deal with its broadcast partners. NBA content has also reached more than 30 billion views on social media, setting a record for this point in a season. Merchandise sales on NBAStore.com are up over 20%, driven by “next generation stars.” NBA League Pass subscriptions have increased by 10%, and in-arena attendance is strong, with 10 teams selling out every home game so far.