"PUT SOME RESPECT ON OUR NAME." — @tkelce pic.twitter.com/CFBTbK7exT

— ESPN (@espn) February 13, 2023

On Thursday night, Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs won his second N.F.L. Most Valuable Player Award, cementing him as the most accomplished passer of a new crop of young quarterbacks dominating the league. Three days later, he added the second Super Bowl victory of his career, throwing for 182 yards and three touchdowns to beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-35.

The game concluded a tumultuous season for the N.F.L. in which Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field from a cardiac arrest during a game and high-profile hits to Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa renewed criticisms of how the league handles players’ health, especially concussions.

Mahomes fought through the playoffs with an injury of his own, a high ankle sprain sustained in the divisional round last month that was aggravated in the second quarter Sunday.

Philadelphia dominated the first half. Yet, with Kansas City facing a 10-point deficit to begin the third quarter, Mahomes marshaled a resilient performance in a game noteworthy for pitting him against another emergent passer, Jalen Hurts, in the first Super Bowl contested between two Black starting quarterbacks.

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Former Steelers running back Franco Harris, author of the most famous play in NFL history and one of the greatest players in franchise history, has died at 72.

Harris passed away just days before the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception and celebrations that were planned in his honor leading up to Saturday’s game against the Raiders at Acrisure Stadium, the team confirmed Wednesday.

Harris learned earlier this year the Steelers planned to retire his No. 32 jersey as part of the 50th anniversary celebration. He is only the third player in franchise history to have his number retired, joining legendary Steelers and Pro Football Hall of Famers “Mean Joe” Greene and Ernie Stautner.

“It is difficult to find the appropriate words to describe Franco Harris’ impact on the Pittsburgh Steelers, his teammates, the City of Pittsburgh and Steelers Nation,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a statement. “From his rookie season, which included the Immaculate Reception, through the next 50 years, Franco brought joy to people on and off the field. He never stopped giving back in so many ways. He touched so many, and he was loved by so many.”

Harris’ impact on the Steelers cannot be overstated. The Steelers were lovable losers before Harris arrived as a rookie first-round pick in 1972.

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The memorial honoring #FrancoHarris continues to grow. Coming up at 6, we will have how fans are remembering the Steelers legend. @KDKA pic.twitter.com/4cVAFloXKE

— Chris Hoffman (@NewsmanChris) December 21, 2022

It was a clash too good to be true, in real time. The first 60 minutes felt like a coronation. The second 60 minutes felt like holding on to the hood of a speeding car.

As for Messi and Mbappé: spectacular. As sports observers we harp so much on the failures and shortcomings of superstars—the great players who do not deliver in the biggest moments. It’s empty theater of scolding and schadenfreude, because it’s not what we actually want.

To see two of the greatest to ever do it—a 35-year-old generational superstar, and his 23-year-old successor—play at the height of their powers, is what we want, because it’s unadulterated joy.

Messi, seeking the first World Cup title, played with incandescent fury. Mbappé, well-defended and invisible early, burst back almost single-handedly to make it a match.

Messi was Messi, Mbappé was Mbappé. It was all you could ask for.

I haven’t even gotten to the scale of all this—how a World Cup is truly worldly, with the heart rates and birthrates of continents rising and falling with each shift in momentum. It all means so much more.

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“Epic” championships and superstars seldom deliver on pre-game hype. That was not the case at Sunday’s World Cup final, where Argentina, France, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé delivered a match that will be remembered forever. https://t.co/zRzFA1bEAc

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) December 18, 2022

World Champions 🏆🇦🇷#FIFAWorldCup | #Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/TGLbXxRFLc

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 18, 2022

Croatia take the #FIFAWorldCup 3rd spot! 🇭🇷🥉@adidasfootball | #Qatar2022

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 17, 2022

On this third Sunday of Advent, millions of Christians will be at church. But millions will also be glued to a screen, anxious to find out if the Argentinian GOAT will at long last claim a World Cup title. Though past his prime, the 35-year-old team captain Lionel Messi has been sublime in the competition, with five goals and three assists under his belt, and is leading the golden boot race in his fifth World Cup.

Although the reserved Messi, whose right arm bears a tattoo of Jesus crowned with thorns, has not expressed his faith openly beyond pointing to heaven after his goals, this World Cup has featured numerous heroics of confessing Christians.

Leading the freewheeling French attack against Argentina will be 36-year-old striker Olivier Giroud, who has Psalm 23’s “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want” tattooed in Latin on his right arm. During this World Cup, Giroud became the all-time top scorer for France with four magnificent goals.

While the team’s talisman Kylian Mbappé has lived up to the hype with his blistering speed and lethal shooting, Giroud has provided a reliable focal point in offense and his selfless play has created openings for his teammates. “I try to speak about my faith whenever I can,” he said after winning the World Cup in 2018. “I feel I have to use my media profile to talk about my commitment to Jesus Christ.”

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We celebrate the heroics and good works of athletes, coaches, and fans: https://t.co/Nf8JmztQrR

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) December 16, 2022

France are through to the final! 👊@adidasfootball | #FIFAWorldCup

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 14, 2022

Argentina are in the #FIFAWorldCup Final! 🔥@adidasfootball | #Qatar2022

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 13, 2022

This was a Diego Maradona performance from Lionel Messi. This was one man inspiring his team-mates through his goal, his assist, his genius. This was the Argentina captain running the show, even when seemingly inhibited from running at full pelt by a slight hamstring strain, driving his team to the World Cup final.

Even Luka Modric and his gutsy side who fear no one had to bow down before Messi. Even Croatia’s usually noisy supporters fell silent as they stared open-mouthed at Messi’s brilliance. He took his penalty unerringly, helped create Julian Álvarez’s first and then destroyed the new prince of European centre backs, Josko Gvardiol, by finally racing through the gears and setting up a simple finish for Álvarez.

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France overcome England to secure place in the Semi-finals!@adidasfootball | #FIFAWorldCup

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 10, 2022

A historic pride of Atlas Lions 🦁@EnMaroc | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/MU9FMIRaHo

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 10, 2022

Argentina are through to the Semi-finals!@adidasfootball | #FIFAWorldCup

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 9, 2022

🏆⚽ Croatia 🇭🇷1 – 1 Brazil 🇧🇷 (4-2 after penalty kicks)

Croatia advances to the World Cup semifinals, after defeating Brazil 4-2 on penalties at the World Cup in Qatar, Dec. 9, 2022. pic.twitter.com/EcYzB8JEVS

— Voice of America (@VOANews) December 9, 2022

Who’s gonna win the World Cup? 🏆👀 #Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/IdF9dooTDP

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 6, 2022

Eight great teams, four wonderful matches.

The Dutch, too, had spent the past four years resetting under a coach who plays the kind of soccer that Berhalter has always tried to emulate. The Netherlands manager, Louis van Gaal, is considered to be one of the finest tacticians in the world. And 10 minutes into the match, his team reminded the Americans why with a stunning buildup to its opening goal.

Memphis Depay’s strike came at the end of a 20-pass move that started with a gentle ball back from Van Dijk to his own goalkeeper and couldn’t have been more Dutch if it had been grown in a tulip field.

Over the course of 61 seconds, Van Gaal’s players eluded the American pressing game, dribbled away from tackles, and seemed to find a passing solution every time they looked up. Van Gaal’s Netherlands had been accused repeatedly of straying from Dutch soccer principles, but the players’ movement as they carved up the U.S. could have come straight from an orange textbook.

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Left it all out there. Proud of you, @USMNT. pic.twitter.com/4spE3FsNZT

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) December 3, 2022

…when [Gregg] Berhalter leads the U.S. team into its first World Cup knockout match in eight years on Saturday, he will be up against an opponent that has taught him practically everything he knows about soccer. Nearly every fundamental belief that Berhalter holds about how the game should be played was learned during the six years he spent as a player in Holland.

“A lot of my basic ideas of the game are formed around the Dutch style,” Berhalter has said. “That had a huge part of forming who I am.”

Berhalter’s self-styled immersion program started in Zwolle in the Dutch second tier, where he found, like all Americans who travel to the Netherlands, that everyone spoke surprisingly excellent English. When he had questions, there were actually people who could answer them. This would not have been the case in, say, Genoa.

“He was humble, but not shy—he wasn’t afraid to speak in the dressing room about mentality or about work,” says Marco Koorman, a teammate at Zwolle during Berhalter’s first season there. “But when it came to tactics, he was quiet and he listened.”

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U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter will manage his first ever World Cup knockout game on Saturday against the Netherlands, the country where he once spent six years learning how the game should be played https://t.co/C1VmbYXWKg

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) December 1, 2022

The U.S. Men’s National Team advanced to the knockout stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup with a 1-0 victory against IR Iran on an historic night for U.S. Soccer. Needing a victory to advance, forward Christian Pulisic scored the game-winner in the 38th minute off an assist from defender Sergiño Dest.

With the result, the USA finishes second in Group B with five points and will face Group A winner Netherlands in the Round of 16 on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 10 a.m. ET (FOX, Telemundo). England defeated Wales 3-0 in the other Group B match tonight to finish atop the group with seven points. The victory also ensured the USA’s advancement to the knockout round at five of the last seven World Cups in which the USMNT has participated.

It was fitting that Pulisic, the USMNT’s talisman for much of this four-year cycle, provided the difference maker in a crucial win-or-go-home match. Goalkeeper Matt Turner and the U.S. defense held strong against a spirited second half push by Iran to record a second clean sheet of the tournament, marking the first time that the USA has recorded multiple shutouts at the World Cup since 1930.

After putting plenty of pressure on the Iran defense for the majority of the first half, the USA’s breakthrough finally came in the 38th minute. Left back Antonee Robinson ran a ball down on the left wing deep in Iran territory. He played a bass back and centrally to Adams, who then played Weston McKennie and the U.S. midfielder spotted Dest making a run behind the defense into the right side of the penalty area. Dest ran under the perfectly chipped pass and sent a header bouncing through the middle to Pulisic who put his body on the line to smash home a half-volley from four yards out a second before enduring a heavy collision with the Iran goalkeeper, an incident that would cause Pulisic to be replaced at halftime due to an abdominal injury. The goal was the 22nd of his international career for Pulisic, who was replaced at halftime by Brenden Aaronson, and the young midfielder played a stellar second half.

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Yunus Musah – 20 years old
Tyler Adams – 23 years old
Weston McKennie – 24 years old

What a midfield the USMNT have 💫 pic.twitter.com/nZHKsgD3cp

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 29, 2022

“We used to be excited when one of our young players took the field against Chelsea, or Juventus or Milan,” said [Roger] Bennett. “Now we have talents that play for all of those teams and more. They have gained both the self-respect that comes with that, as well as the commercial opportunities.”

Stereotypes linger, especially overseas—the U.S. as plucky, undertalented overachievers from a country that doesn’t say football and can’t hang with the highest contenders. You could sense a little of this from the disappointed England fans who booed their homeland squad off the pitch following the draw with the U.S.

But that’s an old mindset. The U.S. team is in Qatar not to represent, but to win, the surest signal that the sport has evolved past any kind of existential debate about its future or perception around the world.

What does Tuesday’s game versus Iran mean for the United States? It means survival at the World Cup. That’s meaningful enough.

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Like every U.S. World Cup game, Tuesday’s match versus Iran is being presented as a referendum about the sport’s future in America. But that’s old thinking, writes columnist @jasongay, who says this confident and capable team is well past that point. https://t.co/BRqbh7SnEh

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) November 28, 2022

The United States was dominant in attack but could not find a way past England as it was held to a 0-0 draw in their second 2022 World Cup game on Friday.

The U.S. was the better side in a game lacking in clear cut chances. The closest threat came when Christian Pulisic rattled the crossbar with a ferocious effort midway through the first half, but neither side was able to break the deadlock.

The result leaves head coach Gregg Berhalter’s team third in Group B with two points from two games, needing a victory in their final group match against Iran on Tuesday to advance to the knockout stages. Meanwhile, England will qualify as long as it avoids a three-goal defeat in their match to Wales.

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The United States was dominant in attack but could not find a way past England as they were held to a 0-0 draw in their second 2022 World Cup game on Friday. https://t.co/WCjOHapRw2

— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) November 25, 2022

It’s hard to believe — mostly because it’s currently November and not June ¹ — but the 2022 World Cup kicks off at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar, on Nov. 20. The host nation will square off against Ecuador in the first World Cup match ever played in the Arab world. And the start of the tournament comes with plenty of questions about who might lift soccer’s most prestigious trophy.

Will it be Brazil, the betting favorite? Or could France become the first nation to repeat since 1962? Is Spain’s new golden generation — piloted by teenagers like Barcelona midfielders Gavi and Pedri — as good as its previous golden generation? ² Does Lionel Messi have enough left in the tank to lead Argentina to glory and further cement himself as the G.O.A.T.? Is football finally coming home?³ Which squads could shock the world? Is there any shine left on Belgium’s underachieving golden generation?

Last week, we used Elo ratings to measure historical Groups of Death at the World Cup, and also to see where this year’s groups rank — or if a Group of Death even exists this time around. (TL;DR: We’re not sure/it’s complicated.) Today, we’re back with our full-fledged World Cup forecast model to take a broader look at the field and try to answer who’ll be the last team standing on Dec. 18.

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The start of the tournament comes with plenty of questions about who might lift soccer’s most prestigious trophy. https://t.co/W5vE3GLiH3

— FiveThirtyEight (@FiveThirtyEight) November 18, 2022

Watch it all–used in the sermon yesterday morning by yours truly–KSH.

The American League has a new single-season home run king.

New York Yankees star Aaron Judge launched his 62nd home run of the season Tuesday night on the road against the Texas Rangers, breaking the AL record he shared with Roger Maris.

After depositing a Tim Mayza sinker into the Toronto Blue Jays bullpen to tie Maris’ mark last Wednesday, Judge went without a home run during the Yankees’ final regular-season homestand — a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles. Back on the road, Judge, who had gone 2-for-9 with two singles in two games against the Rangers through Game 1 of Tuesday’s doubleheader, took Texas pitcher Jesus Tinoco deep in the first inning of the nightcap to reach No. 62.

“It’s a big relief. I think that everyone can sit back down in their seats and watch the ballgame, you know? No, but it’s been a fun ride so far,” Judge said. “Getting a chance to do this, with the team we’ve got, the guys surrounding me, the constant support from my family whose been with me through this whole thing … it’s been a great honor.”

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CHASE CLOSED!#AaronJudge is your new AL single-season HR leader. 6️⃣2️⃣ #AllRise pic.twitter.com/3ipmhm6Cw4

— MLB (@MLB) October 5, 2022

The Man Behind the Red Bandana from Drew Gallagher on Vimeo.

Vin Scully, who was celebrated for his mastery of the graceful phrase and his gift for storytelling during the 67 summers he served as the announcer for Dodgers baseball games, first in Brooklyn and then in Los Angeles, died Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 94.

His death was announced by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

For all the Dodgers’ marquee players since World War II, Mr. Scully was the enduring face of the franchise. He was a national sports treasure as well, broadcasting for CBS and NBC. He called baseball’s Game of the Week, All-Star Games, the playoffs and more than two dozen World Series. In 2009, the American Sportscasters Association voted him No. 1 on its list of the “Top 50 Sportscasters of All Time.”

He began broadcasting at Ebbets Field in 1950, when he was a slender, red-haired 22-year-old graduate of Fordham University and a protégé of Red Barber. When the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in 1958, fans at the cavernous Coliseum brought along hand-held transistor radios, recently popularized in America, so Mr. Scully could guide them through the pioneering days of major league baseball on the West Coast.

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Breaking News: Vin Scully, the voice of Dodgers baseball games for 67 summers in Brooklyn and then Los Angeles, has died at 94. https://t.co/tno4XcR96O

— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 3, 2022

Even before the opening tipoff at Boston Celtics games, Bill Russell evoked domination. Other players ran onto the court for their introductions, but he walked on, slightly stooped.

“I’d look at everybody disdainfully, like a sleepy dragon who can’t be bothered to scare off another would-be hero,” he recalled. “I wanted my look to say, ‘Hey, the king’s here tonight.’ ”

Russell’s awesome rebounding triggered a Celtic fast break that overwhelmed the rest of the N.B.A. His quickness and his uncanny ability to block shots transformed the center position, once a spot for slow and hulking types, and changed the face of pro basketball.

Russell, who propelled the Celtics to 11 N.B.A. championships, the final two when he became the first Black head coach in a major American sports league, died on Sunday. He was 88….

When Russell was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1975, Red Auerbach, who orchestrated his arrival as a Celtic and coached him on nine championship teams, called him “the single most devastating force in the history of the game.”

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Just iconic, isn't it? 🥲 pic.twitter.com/NHK12b1bXR

— Lionesses (@Lionesses) August 1, 2022

Elena Rybakina rallies for first Grand Slam title at #Wimbledon #tennis #wimbledon2022 https://t.co/2xoJ5Z7nkm

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) July 9, 2022

WALES HAVE QUALIFIED FOR THE WORLD CUP. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Gareth Bale's deflected free-kick sees Wales beat Ukraine to qualify for the tournament for the first time in 64 years. pic.twitter.com/S2thiBThtR

— SPORTbible (@sportbible) June 5, 2022

The best love story 😍#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/gz7kwF7qvn

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 5, 2022

His 22nd Grand Slam title. Astounding.