AP Sports Summary for February 13th, 2024.
Super Bowl thriller was the most-watched program ever, averaging 123.4 million viewers
The longest Super Bowl game will also go down as the most-watched program in television history. According to Nielsen and Adobe Analytics, Kansas City's 25-22 overtime victory over San Francisco averaged 123.4 million viewers across television and streaming platforms. That shattered last year's mark of 115.1 million for Kansas City's last-play victory over Philadelphia and is a 7% increase. The game was televised by CBS, Nickelodeon and Univision and streamed on Paramount+ as well as the NFL's digital platforms. Some of the increase can be attributed to a change in the way viewers are counted, with out-of-home viewers from all 50 states included for the first time.
The Chiefs have achieved dynasty status with their third Super Bowl title in five years
LAS VEGAS (AP) — This was supposed to be the year the Kansas City Chiefs were beatable. They had holes in their roster, they played poorly midway through the season, they had to go on the road for the playoffs and navigated perhaps the toughest road to the Super Bowl in history. Yet they won anyway. And with their third Lombardi Trophy in four trips over a five-year span, the Chiefs made it difficult to argue that they are anything but a modern NFL dynasty. They are the first repeat Super Bowl champions in two decades, and the first team ever to win consecutive titles as underdogs.
Victor Wembanyama has a triple-double with blocked shots for the Spurs rookie's latest highlight
TORONTO (AP) — Victor Wembanyama has his second triple-double — and his first with blocks. The San Antonio rookie blocked a shot by Toronto's Gradey Dick with 6:32 left in the fourth quarter on Monday night, giving him the NBA's first triple-double with blocked shots as one of the categories in more than three years. It was the first triple-double with blocks since Clint Capela had 13 points, 19 rebounds and 10 blocks for Atlanta against Minnesota on Jan. 22, 2021. That had also been the last time anyone in the NBA blocked 10 shots in a game.
Spring training preview: The Dodgers won the offseason. Will it buy them a championship?
PHOENIX (AP) — Money can buy lots of things, including Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a pair of Japanese superstars that set the Los Angeles Dodgers back more than $1 billion. Now the journey begins to see if it'll buy them a championship. Major League Baseball's spring training opens for 28 of 30 teams over the next few days, with pitchers and catchers reporting to sites in Arizona and Florida. The Dodgers and San Diego Padres are already in camp, getting a head start because they'll open the regular season on March 20 in Seoul, South Korea.
Jen Pawol on verge of becoming first MLB woman umpire, gets full-time spring training assignment
NEW YORK (AP) — Jen Pawol is on the verge of becoming Major League Baseball's first woman umpire. The 47-year-old from New Jersey was among 24 umpires selected to work a full-time big league spring training schedule this year. That put her on track to become the first woman to umpire a regular-season big league baseball game. A 47-year-old from New Jersey, Pawol is set to work her first major league exhibition game on Feb. 24 when Houston plays Washington at West Palm Beach, Florida. She also was promoted to a minor league crew chief.
Tiger Woods draws opinions from fashion world after unveiling of his Sun Day Red apparel line
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tiger Woods might still be donning his familiar red polo shirt, but the iconic golfer has taken a bold leap forward with a new logo and clothing line partnering alongside a different company that could elevate his fashion identity. Woods introduced his lifestyle brand Sun Day Red on Monday evening the day after Super Bowl and during the middle of Hollywood's awards season. He's transitioning to the next phase of his career with TaylorMade Golf after he parted ways with Nike after 27 years. Some in the fashion community believe Woods can survive without sporting Nike's popular swoosh on chest.
DeShaun Foster is named UCLA football coach after Chip Kelly's move to Ohio State
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former UCLA great DeShaun Foster was named head coach to take over the Bruins' football program after Chip Kelly left to become offensive coordinator at Ohio State. Foster has been a Bruins assistant the past seven years but left last month to become the Las Vegas Raiders' running backs coach. This will be Foster's first head coaching job after 11 years of being an assistant in college, including 10 at UCLA. He was the running backs coach at Texas Tech in 2016.
Cowboys and Mike Zimmer agree on a reunion as defensive coordinator
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys have settled on a coaching reunion by deciding to bring back Mike Zimmer as defensive coordinator to replace Dan Quinn. Zimmer is rejoining the Cowboys 18 years after serving in the same role with Dallas. He had an eight-year stint as head coach in Minnesota. The Cowboys and Zimmer came to an agreement Monday. The Cowboys had an opening after Quinn accepted the head coaching job in Washington. Mike McCarthy will be the fifth Cowboys coach that Zimmer will work for with Dallas.
Towns, Edwards help Timberwolves rally in second half for 121-100 victory over Clippers
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns scored 24 points, Anthony Edwards added 23 and the Minnesota Timberwolves pulled away in the second half for a 121-100 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in a matchup of two of the top teams in the Western Conference. Rudy Gobert had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Timberwolves (37-16) remained atop the Western Conference with their third win in the last four games. Paul George and Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 18 points apiece and James Harden added 17. George became the Clippers career 3-point leader with 7:23 remaining in the third quarter with his 739th to surpass Eric Piatkowski.
Chiefs fans are hoping for a Taylor Swift appearance at victory parade. But her schedule is tight
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City will be turning red on Valentine's Day as the Chiefs celebrate their come-from-behind overtime Super Bowl win over the San Francisco 49ers with a parade. School cancellation announcements began just minutes after Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Chiefs became the first team since the New England Patriots with Tom Brady two decades ago to successfully defend their title. Parades are becoming commonplace in Kansas City with the Chiefs winning their third Super Bowl in five seasons. But this time, people are wondering if pop superstar Taylor Swift will attend with her boyfriend, Kelce. Swift has a concert in Australia on Friday.
AP-Scorecard
Here are the scores from yesterday's sports events:
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Charlotte 111 Indiana 102
Final Philadelphia 123 Cleveland 121
Final San Antonio 122 Toronto 99
Final Chicago 136 Atlanta 126
Final Milwaukee 112 Denver 95
Final Houston 105 New York 103
Final Dallas 112 Washington 104
Final Golden State 129 Utah 107
Final Minnesota 121 L.A. Clippers 100
Final New Orleans 96 Memphis 87
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final New Jersey 3 Seattle 1
Final N-Y Rangers 2 Calgary 0
Final Philadelphia 5 Arizona 3
Final Minnesota 5 Vegas 3
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TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final Texas Tech 79 (6)Kansas 50
Final (9)Duke 77 Wake Forest 69
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TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Boston at Brooklyn 7:30 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Orlando 7:30 p.m.
Miami at Milwaukee 8 p.m.
Minnesota at Portland 10 p.m.
Sacramento at Phoenix 10 p.m.
Detroit at L.A. Lakers 10:30 p.m.
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Anaheim at Montreal 7 p.m.
Colorado at Washington 7 p.m.
Columbus at Ottawa 7 p.m.
Los Angeles at Buffalo 7 p.m.
St. Louis at Toronto 7 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Boston 7 p.m.
Seattle at N-Y Islanders 7:30 p.m.
Carolina at Dallas 8 p.m.
New Jersey at Nashville 8 p.m.
Vancouver at Chicago 8:30 p.m.
Detroit at Edmonton 9 p.m.
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TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
(4)Marquette at Butler 6:30 p.m.
(7)North Carolina at Syracuse 7 p.m.
(10)Iowa St. at Cincinnati 7 p.m.
(25)Oklahoma at (12)Baylor 9 p.m.
Michigan at (14)Illinois 7 p.m.
Duquesne at (16)Dayton 7 p.m.
Georgetown at (17)Creighton 8:30 p.m.
UCF at (19)BYU 9 p.m.
Ohio St. at (20)Wisconsin 9 p.m.
Pittsburgh at (21)Virginia 7 p.m.
Mississippi at (22)Kentucky 9 p.m.
Illinois St. at (23)Indiana St. 7 p.m.