🏈 Red & Gold Rematch

Good Morning! One football team gave up 27 points in the second half yesterday. Another football team gave up zero. What do they each have in common? They both lost. It was another dramatic Championship Sunday in the NFL, as the Lions and Ravens’ unforgettable rides ended in different styles of heartbreak, setting up a 2020 Super Bowl rematch between the 49ers and the Chiefs. At the Australian Open, a young Italian was serving up Sinner, Sinner, Chicken Dinners, while a Belarusian went back-to-back. On the other kind of court, we witnessed one of the best scoring performances in NBA history, plus more top-10 upsets in college hoops. And on the ice, the Oilers are one game shy from joining elite company. Let’s have a week!

WTF Stat: The Lions are the first team to blow a 17-point halftime lead in an NFL conference championship game - entering yesterday, teams leading by 17 or more points at halftime of a conference title game were 21-0.

🏈 Red & Gold Rematch!

NFL Championship Sunday Recap

AFC Championship

#3 Kansas City Chiefs (11-6) 17, #1 Baltimore Ravens (13-4) 10

• In a chippy slugfest on a rainy afternoon in Baltimore, Patrick Mahomes (30/39, 241 YDS, 1 TD) and Lamar Jackson (20/37, 272 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1 FUM / 8 CAR, 54 YDS) traded early blows with respective touchdown passes to Travis Kelce (11 REC, 116 YDS, 1 TD) and Zay Flowers (5 REC, 115 YDS, 1 TD, 1 FUM) in the 1st quarter, but Isiah Pacheco’s (24 CAR, 68 YDS, 1 TD) two-yard score and Harrison Butker’s (1/1 FG, 2/2 XP) last-second field goal in the 2nd quarter gave the Chiefs a 17-7 lead entering the break

• Baltimore’s defense buckled down in the second half to shut out Kansas City the rest of the way. However, the Ravens had two costly 4th-quarter turnovers in the red zone: first, a brutal fumble by Flowers while reaching for the goal line, which led to a touchback, and then a back-breaking interception from Jackson to Deon Bush with 6:45 left. And although Justin Tucker’s (1/1 FG, 1/1 XP) field goal made it a one-score game with 2:26 to play, Mahomes found Marquez Valdes-Scantling (2 REC, 38 YDS) for a massive first down on third-and-9 to ice the game, as the Chiefs edged out the top-seeded Ravens to claim their fourth AFC title in five years

• Quick Hits: With 11 catches, Kelce surpassed Jerry Rice (151) for the most career postseason receptions in NFL history (156). Kansas City won the turnover battle 3-0. The Ravens committed eight penalties for 95 yards compared to the Chiefs’ three penalties for 30 yards. The Chiefs are looking to become the first back-to-back Super Bowl champions since the 2003-04 Patriots.

NFC Championship

#1 San Francisco 49ers (12-5) 34, #3 Detroit Lions (12-5) 31

• In a tail of two halves from Santa Clara, Jared Goff (25/41, 273 YDS, 1 TD) and the Lions came roaring out of the gates as Jameson Williams (2 REC, 1 CAR, 67 TOT. YDS, 2 TDs), David Montgomery (15 CAR, 93 YDS, 1 TD), and Jahmyr Gibbs (12 CAR, 45 YDS, 1 TD) all found paydirt on the ground to help Detroit build a 24-7 lead at intermission. But then Brock Purdy (20/31, 267 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT) and the 49ers came alive…

• Up 24-10 in the 3rd quarter, the Lions turned it over on downs in San Francisco territory, and Brandon Aiyuk’s (3 REC, 68 YDS, 1 TD) six-yard touchdown grab cut the deficit to seven before Gibbs coughed it up on Detroit’s ensuing possession, setting up Christian McCaffrey’s (20 CAR, 4 REC, 132 TOT. YDS, 2 TDs) game-tying touchdown run to close a 17-0 quarter for San Francisco

• Following a second Jake Moody (2/3 FG, 4/4 XP) field goal, Detroit failed to convert another fourth down in 49ers territory, and Elijah Mitchell’s (4 CAR, 7 YDS, 1 TD) goal-line plunge gave the Niners a 10-point lead with 3:02 left, capping a 27-0 run to ultimately set up a Super Bowl 54 rematch against the Chiefs

• Quick Hits: Lions HC Dan Campbell says he does not regret his decisions to go for it. Purdy (5 CAR, 48 YDS) ran for some crucial first downs. Aiyuk set up his touchdown with a wild 51-yard grab that deflected off the face of Lions DB Kindle Vildor and changed the momentum of the game. The Lions failed to recover an onside kick with 56 seconds left to end it. Detroit has never won a road playoff game in the Super Bowl era (0-12).

See the full box scores here and the entire NFL playoff bracket here.

Super Bowl 58 (LVIII)

#3 Kansas City Chiefs (11-6) vs. #1 San Francisco 49ers (12-5)

• When: Sunday, Feb. 11, 6:30pm ET, CBS

• Where: Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV - home of the Raiders

• Opening Line: SF -1.5 (O/U 47.5)

ATP Australian Open - Singles Finals

• Men’s | #4 Jannik Sinner def. #3 Daniil Medvedev (3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3): In a thrilling final early Sunday morning, 22-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner, who knocked off Novak Djokovic on Thursday to win his first Grand Slam semifinal, seemed destined to lose in straight sets when Russia’s Daniil Medvedev quickly overwhelmed him to seize a two-set advantage. But all of a sudden, Sinner came alive and staged a vigorous rally to claim his first Grand Slam title in a marathon that lasted just under four hours - Medvedev, seeking his second Grand Slam title (2021 US Open), also blew a two-set lead to Rafael Nadal in the 2022 Australian Open final

• Women’s | #2 Aryna Sabalenka def. #12 Zheng Qinwen (6-3, 6-2): In just 75 minutes, Aryna Sabalenka steamrolled China’s Zeng Qinwen in straight sets to win back-to-back Australian Opens, capping a dominant title run for the 25-year-old Belarussian, who went a perfect 14-0 in sets and dropped just 31 games en route to her second career Grand Slam - Sabalenka’s power was simply too much for Qinwen, who had never reached a major semifinal until last week

See the full results here. See the men’s singles bracket here and the women’s singles bracket here.

NBA - Top Games

• Dallas Mavericks 148, Atlanta Hawks 143: On Friday — four years to the day of Kobe Bryant’s death — Luka Doncic (73 PTS, 25-33 FG, 10 REB, 7 AST) scored the most points in a game since Bryant’s legendary 81-point outing in 2006, dropping a franchise-record 73 to propel the Mavs to a win over Trae Young (30 PTS, 11 AST) and the Hawks in Dallas - Doncic’s 73 is tied for the fourth-most in NBA history and came only four days after 76ers C Joel Embiid scored a franchise-record 70 points, then the most in the NBA this season

• Los Angeles Lakers 145, Golden State Warriors 144 (2OT): In the game of the weekend, Stephen Curry (46 PTS, 9-21 3PT, 7 AST) nailed a go-ahead three with five seconds remaining to give the Warriors a one-point lead, but LeBron James (36 PTS, 20 REB, 12 AST) drew a foul on the ensuing possession and knocked down a pair of clutch free throws with one second left to lift the Lakers over Golden State on Saturday night - James’ 20 rebounds were a career-high, and Golden State went 23-of-58 from three

See the full NBA scoreboard here and the current standings here.

NHL - Top Games

• Edmonton Oilers 4, Nashville Predators 1: The Oilers are one win away from history! Connor McDavid (1 G, 3 A) had his hand in all four goals, and Edmonton won their 16th straight game on Saturday to move within one of tying the longest winning streak in NHL history, set by the 1992-93 Penguins - the Oilers will attempt to tie the record when they return from the All-Star break on Feb. 6 in a game against the Knights

• St. Louis Blues 4, Los Angeles Kings 3 (OT): The Kings’ Phillip Danault (1 G) tied the game at three with a late goal in the 2nd period, but after a scoreless 3rd, Blues captain Brayden Schenn (1 G) netted a laser for his second OT-winner in the past three games, notching St. Louis’ fifth win in a row - the Kings are 2-8-6 in their last 16 games after a 20-7-4 start to the season

See the full NHL scoreboard here and the current standings here.

College Basketball - Top Games

• NCAAM | #23 Iowa State 79, #7 Kansas 75: Tre King (21 PTS, 4-7 3PT, 9 REB) and Iowa State went 14-for-30 (46.7%) from beyond the arc, and the Cyclones never trailed in the second half to knock off Hunter Dickinson (20 PTS, 15 REB) and the Jayhawks at home on Saturday, marking Kansas’ third loss in six games

• NCAAM | Mississippi State 64, #8 Auburn 58: Things were all knotted up at 21 after 20 minutes of play, but Josh Hubbard (17 PTS, 3-9 3PT) had 15 of his game-high 17 points in the second half, and DJ Jeffries ( ) made three of four free throws in the final 11 seconds to hand Johni Broome (14 PTS, 7 REB) and the Tigers back-to-back losses following their 11-game heater

• NCAAW | Washington 85, #2 UCLA 82: Bella Murekatete (20 PTS, 7 REB) and the Cougars led nearly the entire way and staved off a late rally from Kiki Rice (25 PTS, 6 REB, 5 AST) and UCLA to stun the Bruins in their home building on Sunday

See the full men’s scoreboard here and the current rankings here. See the full women’s scoreboard here and the current rankings here.

English FA Cup - Fourth Round, Top Match

• Manchester United 4, Newport County 2: The Red Devils found themselves tied with fourth-tier Welsh side Newport County after blowing a two-nil lead, but Antony (68’) and Rasmus Hojlund (90’+4’) saved the day, and United survived on the road to advance to the fifth round - Man U will face the winner of Bristol City and Nottingham Forest, who play on Feb. 7

See the full international soccer scoreboard here.

🏈 Michigan hired OC Sherrone Moore as their new head coach on Friday following Jim Harbaugh’s departure for the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers - Moore, 37, has spent the past six years at Michigan and went 4-0 as the team’s interim head coach last season while Harbaugh was suspended

⛳️ Matthieu Pavon (-12) won the PGA’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines (La Jolla, CA) on Sunday to become the first Frenchman to win a PGA Tour event since World War II - Pavon rallied from four strokes down on Sunday to beat Nicolai Hojgaard by one stroke

⛳️ Nelly Korda (-11) beat Lydia Ko in a two-hole playoff to win the LPGA’s Drive On Championship at Bradenton CC (Bradenton, FL) on Sunday - it is Korda’s ninth LPGA Tour victory

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When was the last time the 49ers won the Super Bowl?

A. 1995

B. 1992

C. 1989

D. 1988

NBA

• Phoenix Suns @ Miami Heat 7:30pm ET, NBA TV

• Minnesota Timberwolves @ Oklahoma City Thunder 8:00pm ET, Local

• Philadelphia 76ers @ Portland Trail Blazers 10:00pm ET, NBA TV

NHL

• Nashville Predators @ Ottawa Senators 7:00pm ET, NHL Net

College Basketball

• NCAAM: #12 Duke @ Virginia Tech 7:00pm ET, ESPN

• NCAAM: #4 Houston @ Texas 9:00pm ET, ESPN

• NCAAM: Full Schedule

• NCAAW: #9 LSU @ Mississippi State 7:00pm ET, ESPN2

• NCAAW: Full Schedule

Grab $20 off tickets to your favorite games, concerts and events using code TORCH20 at Vivid Seats - Promo is for first-time buyers and orders over $200!

Trivia Time Answer

A. 1995. The 49ers’ last Super Bowl victory came in 1995 when QB Steve Young led them to a 59-26 win over the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl 29. It was the organization’s fifth title, having also won Super Bowls in the seasons of 1981, ‘84, ‘88, and ‘89. Since then, San Francisco has been to the Super Bowl twice (2013, 2020) but lost each time - this season will mark their eighth Super Bowl appearance in franchise history (5-2 record).

Thanks for reading, and see you tomorrow!