Radio Row at the Super Bowl had a ton of visitors, and everyone had an opinion about Cam Ward and the Tennessee Titans.
One of the latest to voice his opinion was former Las Vegas Raiders general manager and talent evaluator Mike Mayock, who sees a potential breakout season for Ward on the horizon.
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“I saw a lot of Caleb Williams in what I saw of Cam Ward this year, in Year 1. Caleb Williams, Year 1.” Mayock said, “I think if he gets in a system with an infrastructure that protects him, where they can run the ball, they can play some defense, play action, get him on the move a little bit, get the most out of him where the fit is right.”
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Mayock is correct: the Titans must find a way to build a system that fits Ward’s skill set and add some talented playmakers around him to make it work. With the team having the most available salary cap space in the league heading into free agency and some prime draft capital, they should be able to add some weapons to help Ward and new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll build something that will take the Titans to another level in 2026.
If that happens, then Ward and the Titans could take the next step just like Williams and the Bears did in 2025.
Madonna Tottenham Hotspur Stadium WSL appearance drew attention on Sunday afternoon as the pop icon watched Tottenham Hotspur Women face Chelsea Women.
The 67-year-old pop icon sat in the stands wearing a black coat and sunglasses. Meanwhile, Chelsea secured the away win and continued their strong league form. Madonna attended the match in a private capacity and did not make a public appearance.
Earlier, she had visited the club for a different reason. The day before the WSL match, Madonna watched an under-14 Tottenham Hotspur academy game featuring her twin daughters, Estere and Stella. Both are part of Spurs’ youth setup.
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Madonna began her music career in 1979 and remains one of the most influential figures in pop history. Over the years, she has released multiple chart-topping albums and singles and won seven Grammy Awards.
The response from Wikki Tourists Football Club over the reported attack on the chairman of Katsina United is disappointing and troubling. Instead of taking clear responsibility and showing strong concern, the club released a statement that sounded like an attempt to excuse what happened.
In their statement, Wikki Tourists claimed they were not aware of the chairman’s presence because he did not announce himself before the match. This line of defence is shocking. It suggests that anyone who does not formally announce their presence does not deserve protection. That logic is dangerous and unacceptable in football.
Security at a stadium should protect everyone, not just those who sign a register. A chairman, official, fan or journalist should not be attacked under any circumstance. Football grounds must be safe for all, whether their names are announced or not.
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Wikki Tourists also said the chairman was seated on the reserve bench, an area meant for team officials. Even if that was true, it does not justify violence. At worst, he should have been guided to another seat, not assaulted. Blaming the victim for where he sat is a poor excuse.
The club further claimed that if his presence had been formally communicated, his situation would have been different. This statement is even more troubling. It indirectly admits that safety depends on protocol, not basic human protection. That is not how football should work.
Meanwhile, the abandoned twelve minutes of the match are currently being played, but the bigger issue is the violence and disorder that rocked the game. Football should never descend into chaos, and officials should never be attacked.
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The response from Wikki Tourists was lame. It lacked empathy, responsibility and seriousness. The Nigeria Premier Football League must act strongly on this matter. The hammer should fall, and it should fall hard. Violence has no place in Nigerian football, and clubs must be held accountable for what happens at their venues.
The chaotic Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) Matchday 25 clash between Wikki Tourists and Katsina United has finally been completed, ending in a thrilling 4-4 draw.
The match, which was earlier abandoned due to crowd trouble and alleged attacks on match officials and the Katsina United chairman, resumed on Monday morning to complete the remaining minutes.
Wikki Tourists started the game strongly, with Mairiga opening the scoring in the 5th minute. Katsina United responded through Uche Collins, who scored in the 20th minute. Jubrin restored Wikki Tourists’ lead from the penalty spot in the 27th minute, but Collins struck again in the 35th minute to make it 2-2.
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In the second half, Ibrahim put Wikki Tourists ahead again in the 53rd minute. Collins then completed his hat-trick in the 62nd minute to level the game at 3-3.
After the match resumed on Monday, Katsina United continued to push despite being a man down. The game ended in dramatic fashion, with an 89th-minute own goal giving Katsina United a vital point and making the final score 4-4.
Uche Collins was the standout player with a brilliant hat-trick, while both teams showed great fighting spirit in a match full of tension and drama.
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Following the result, Wikki Tourists remain in the lower half of the NPFL table, while Katsina United secured an important away point as the league season continues.
Mike Macdonald can call himself a Super Bowl champion head coach in only his second season on the sidelines for the Seattle Seahawks.
The Seahawks put on an impressive defensive display in the team’s Super Bowl LX win over the New England Patriots, 29-13. Macdonald celebrated with his team on the field at Levi’s Stadium and was asked by NBC’s Maria Taylor what the win meant to him.
Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald is hugged after a win over the New England Patriots in the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, California.(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
“I believe God called me to be a coach and I listened to Him and I think Him,” Macdonald said. “We are incredibly blessed to be Seahawks, to be 12s. And now, we’re world champions.”
Macdonald, somehow, engineered a defense to deter Patriots quarterback Drake Maye the entire night. He made one or two clutch throws, but it was far from enough as Seattle made him uncomfortable throughout the night.
Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald celebrates with the Lombardi Trophy after defeating the New England Patriots in the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, California.(AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
The Seahawks’ defense sacked Maye six times during the night. He threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. Seattle’s Uchenna Nwosu returned one of those interceptions for a touchdown to help slam the door on any hopes of a New England comeback.
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Seattle’s defense was a major sticking point throughout the 2025 season. The team was first in points allowed and sixth in yards allowed. The team finished 14-3 in the regular season, won the NFC West and won its first Super Bowl since the 2013 season.
Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald walks on the field after being doused following his team’s win in the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, California.(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
The Seattle Seahawks relied on a relentless defence to beat New England 29-13 in Super Bowl LX on Sunday, denying the Patriots an NFL-record seventh championship and avenging a heartbreaking loss to the same opponent in the title game 11 years ago.
Rosberg’s nascent career has featured daring positioning, something Cranbourne handler Clinton McDonald aims to sustain with a debut run in the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate.
Nevertheless, McDonald recognises the potential need to restart his exciting colt, who was third at Cranbourne’s jumpout Monday, in a same-age event that afternoon.
A rating of 75 from officials means the three-year-old would necessitate fewer than full runners in the 1100m $750,000 Oakleigh Plate weight-for-age to qualify, so the $200,000 Group 3 Zeditave Stakes (1200m) stands out as the realistic opener.
“He runs on the 21st (of February) here at Caulfield, there’s either the Zeditave or the Oakleigh Plate,” McDonald said.
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“It’s probably most likely we can’t get into the Oakleigh Plate, so it’ll be the Zeditave.”
This 1200m affair represents Rosberg’s third start overall and first post his poor showing in the Group 2 Danehill Stakes (1100m) last October 4, when he returned with injury.
His sole prior run saw him prevail by half a length in the Listed McKenzie Stakes (1200m) around Moonee Valley.
Deep Field’s progeny placed third in the trial, finishing two lengths behind Gee Gees Mistruth.
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The duo was separated by Spywire, as Pride Of Jenni also competed softly like Rosberg, winding up fifth and down five lengths.
Such aspirations from McDonald for Rosberg highlight his contentment with the colt, who dominated his January 26 heat and advanced considerably in downtime.
“He’s not such a kid, he’s a bit more mature now in the way that he behaves,” McDonald said.
“We can’t fault him and he’s done everything right.
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“He’s an impressive colt to look at, he’s got a big motor and we know what’s there, it’s just a matter of getting him 100 percent on raceday.”
For those eyeing the 2026 edition, the racing betting markets on the Oakleigh Plate are worth a look at leading sites.
I have the highest regard for Brandel Chamblee, as a golf person and person person. He is golf’s most engaging TV personality, and as a provocateur Brandel is world-class. Must you really lift your front heel off the ground, as Jones and Hogan and Nicklaus did, at the top of your swing to be enter the golfing pantheon? Recent history says no — but Brandel says yes! And he has the photographs and studies to support it.
If you’re gonna take on Brandel Chamblee, you’d better have your arguments in order.
I wouldn’t want to have to face this guy in a debate, though Paul McGinley, the former European Ryder Cup player and captain, does a superb job of it on Golf Channel. Weirdly, given what’s to follow here, McGinley once argued on live TV that the island-green 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass, annual March home of the Players Championship, is a superb test of golfing skill, even on freakishly windy days. Chamblee said it was too much. I’m guessing if a producer instructed the two gents to adopt the other’s view, they could have argued that side, too.
With Chamblee and McGinley in the air here, I do feel this next bit of commentary is overdue. Chamblee has often been praised, in this space and elsewhere and appropriately, for having the best (male division) hair in golf, with all due respect to Robert Rock (English pro), Neal Shipley (American pro) and Fred Ridley (American golf administrator). But why have the knots in McGinley’s ties not been given their due? There is nobody in golf who does the Full Windsor better than he. Ronald Reagan would be so pleased.
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OK, OK, the preamble is over. Brian Rolapp, newish CEO of the PGA Tour, has figured that the Tour does not own any of golf’s most valuable and vaunted events: the Masters, the Ryder Cup, the British Open, the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship. It does own the Players Championship, which some people still refer to as the TPC (Tournament Players Championship), first played in 1974 and since 1982 held on the Stadium Course, which some people still call TPC Sawgrass, its birth name. It would serve Tour interests well for a Players win to be as celebrated as, say, a U.S. Open win.
At the WM Phoenix Open this week, Chamblee said, “The Players, to me, stands alone and above the other four major championships as not just a major, it is in my estimation, the best major.” He’s been going down this road for years. We are all shaped, immeasurably, by our own experiences. Chamblee played in the event 12 times. He has covered it for Golf Channel every year since 2004. The Tour’s contractual relationship with Golf Channel is there for all to see, one that extends to 2030. The network is the Tour’s main Thursday-Friday broadcast partner. Of course Brandel wants to celebrate the Players every which way to Sunday. It’s not that he’s a, quote, company man. For more than two decades now, Chamblee has shown that he thinks for himself. But human nature is human nature.
Chamblee’s most recent Players commentary, new-and-improved for ’26, compliments a new Tour spot for the Players. As my colleague Dylan Dethier noted the other day, the Tour’s new 30-second promotional spot for the Players (March 12-15) concluded with this bit of all-caps poetic hype on your preferred screen: “MARCH IS GOING TO BE MAJOR.” The spot’s soundtrack is from the 2016 electronica club hit, “Can’t Get You Out of My Head,” a mindset that nobody associates with tournament golf, unless your name is Tiger Woods and you’re thinking about the weeks leading up to the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, a course that has figured significantly in his prodigy childhood. That’s part of what of what made his playoff win there over Rocco Mediate such an important moment in golf’s lore. You may not have known that, but it’s baked into every story about the event. What that tourney meant to Woods raised its importance to all of us. You want a metric for that? There is none. Sorry.
The PGA Tour player Michael S. Kim had a response (via X) to Dylan’s story about the Tour’s efforts to raise the profile of the Players: “I’d honestly be prouder of winning the Players over the PGA. (As if I get to choose. I know. Haha.)” (Periods inserted by the son of an English teacher.) I don’t doubt the sincerity of Kim’s claim for a second. For starters, last year’s winner of the Players (Rory McIlroy) took home $1 million more than last year’s winner (Scottie Scheffler) of the PGA Championship. But do you think Scheffler would trade titles with McIlroy? Absolutely not. He’s chasing history. Same for every other player you have spent your hard-earned emotion on: Rory; Tiger; Phil; Vijay; Ernie; Seve; Curtis; Watson I; Watson II; Jack; Arnold. Etc., etc.
Now, if you wanted to make the case that men’s pro golf has three Grand Slam events, have at it. (The Masters and the two Opens.) Nicklaus, on his way to the record 18 majors, won the PGA Championship five times, against fields that had 40 or more club pros in them. Woods, among his 15 majors, won four PGA titles, against much deeper fields and (arguably) more demanding golf courses. If you want to cut their PGA Championship titles from their grand totals, be my guest. Nicklaus goes from 18 to 13. Woods goes from 15 to 11. Tom Watson stays at eight — he never won the PGA Championship. Arnold stays pat, too. Seven major titles, no PGAs among them.
But you know why this new accounting, with the PGA off the list and (let’s just say) on the same level as the Players, would never happen? Because none of the previous winners would allow it to happen. Because of the PGA’s storied course history and the golfers who have won on them. Because of our connection to those winners (Hagen, Hogan, Nicklaus, Koepka) and those venues (Pebble, Olympic, Bethpage). I’ve said this before and one of these decades I do believe this idea will get traction: If the PGA wants to really separate itself from the other three majors, it might consider making greater Pebble Beach the event’s annual home: a 54-hole qualifier at Pebble, followed by a two-day 16-player weekend match play event at Cypress Point.
Discuss.
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In the meantime, I have one response to Brandel’s statement, that the Players is the first of the five majors:
Have you ever, sir, met a kid on a late summer day on a practice putting green, aim-pointing over a five-footer and saying, “This is for the Players!”
It looked like being another miserable trip to Anfield for Manchester City but they found a way to notch a huge win.
07:00, 09 Feb 2026
In the space of just nine minutes, the title race was turned on its head. From the brink of defeat and falling nine points behind Arsenal, Manchester City’s sensational comeback proved Pep Guardiola will fight until the bitter end.
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Dominik Szoboszlai had put Liverpool ahead and let’s not forget City’s terrible second half record in the Premier League since January 1. City had not scored in the second half before Anfield, they had dropped seven points from goals conceded in second halves and that talked to them fading.
But the way City roared back at Anfield spoke volumes for their determination to push Arsenal and not give up. It had to be Bernardo Silva equalising. What a leader and warrior he has been during City’s glory years. He knows what it takes.
Then Erling Haaland’s wild celebration after he scored from the penalty spot showed how much it meant to the City players. The officials and their ridiculous jobsworth attitude robbed City of a third goal when common sense should have let it stand. Instead, Szoboszlai was sent off and the goal was chalked off. No-one wanted that.
But this win was huge in the title race. If they had dropped nine points behind, the doubts would have crept in. You can be certain that Arsenal went from celebration to feeling flat because City had come back.
And you can also be sure that sent a message to Mikel Arteta that City will stay in the rearview mirror and will not give up. This is the team that has pipped Arsenal to the title in two of the last three seasons – and it feels like they have got the bit between their teeth again.
Marc Guehi was City’s standout player. He has brought a calmness and composure to City’s defence which really made a difference. He probably got very lucky when he pulled back Mohamed Salah and only got a yellow card rather than a red and that it was right on the edge of the penalty box.
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But other than that, Guehi was terrific and City’s first half display was superb, even if they did not create too many chances. They exposed Liverpool’s frailties and even when Arne Slot’s men went ahead and were the better team in the second half still City did not surrender.
Incredibly, that was City’s first double over Liverpool in 89 years and their first win at Anfield in the Premier League since 2021 when it was in Covid times. You have to go back to 2003 to find a City win at Anfield in front of a crowd.
A lot of people think Arsenal are the best coached, have the best squad and are still favourites because, after all, they are six points ahead. But this will feel like more than three points for City. More than just a standard win. Because the title-o-meter went from fading chance to closing the gap.
City and Arsenal both have 13 games left and Arsenal also have to go to the Etihad. There is a long way to go yet. And now City will feel they have momentum and have put the fear factor back in Mikel Arteta’s squad.
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City know what it takes. Arsenal know that City have done it before – and can do it again.
And that is why that crazy nine-minute turnaround felt so significant in this title race.
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The WM Phoenix Open almost always delivers maximum drama and this year’s edition at the Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale was no different.
Hideki Matsuyama entered Sunday’s final round with a one-shot lead over Si Woo Kim, Maverick McNealy, and Nicolai Hojgaard, with a pack of players including World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland not far behind.
Matsuyama didn’t find a fairway on the front nine on Sunday, but still managed to shoot a bogey-free, two-under 33 to maintain a one-shot lead over Kim and Michael Thorbjornsen as he entered the final nine.
Then, as things always do at TPC Scottsdale, things got wild.
Scheffler made birdies at 13, 14, 15 and 17 to get within one of Matsuyama. Chris Gotterup birdied 13, 14, 15, 17 and 18 to post 16 under. When Michael Thorbjornsen poured in an eagle putt at 15 he briefly pulled ahead of Matsuyama by one. But the tournament swung back in Matsuyama’s favor when he birdied 15 and Thorbjornsen bogeyed 16 ahead to fall one behind with two to play. Thorbjornsen dropped another shot at 17, which meant all Matsuyama had to do was par his way home for the final three holes to avoid a playoff with Gotterup.
But it wasn’t going to be that easy for Matsuyama. He hit his tee shot on 18 into the church pew bunkers and clipped the lip coming out. He was unable to get up and down from 43 yards, which meant for the seventh time in 11 years, the WM Phoenix Open was headed for a playoff. It was Matsuyama’s first bogey on the second nine for the entire week.
And that’s where the drama ended.
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Gotterup pumped his drive right but got a kick into the fairway. Matsuyama was not as lucky. He pulled his tee shot left toward the bunkers again, but the ball hit a pole holding a gallery rope and bounced backward into the water.
Ten minutes later, Gotterup poured in a lengthy birdie putt to clinch his second win of the season and first career WM Phoenix Open title.
Here’s how much everyone made in Phoenix this week.
2026 WM Phoenix Open payout for every player
WIN: Chris Gotterup, $1.728 million
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2. Hideki Matsuyama, $1.0464 million
T3. Scottie Scheffler, $439,480 Nicolai Hojgaard, $439,480 Akshay Bhatia, $439,480 Si Woo Kim, $439,480 Michael Thorbjornsen, $439,480
8. Jake Knapp, $300,000
9. Matt Fitzpatrick, $280,800
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T10. Viktor Hovland, $242,400 Ryo Hisatsune, $242,400 Pierceson Coody, $242,400
T13. Maverick McNealy, $188,000 Kevin Roy, $188,000 Zecheng Dou, $188,000
T16. Daniel Berger, $160,800 Jordan Smith, $160,800
T18. Rickie Fowler, $122,720 Michael Kim, $122,720 Jacob Bridgeman, $122,720 Sahith Theegala, $122,720 Sepp Straka, $122,720 Mac Meissner, $122,720
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T24. Ryan Fox, $82,320 Rico Hoey, $82,320 Kurt Kitayama, $82,320 Rasmus Hojgaard, $82,320
T28. Harris English, $62,948 Nick Taylor, $62,948 A.J. Ewart, $62,948 Ben Griffin, $62,948 Mackenzie Hughes, $62,948 Min Woo Lee, $62,948 Stephan Jaeger, $62,948
T35. Sam Stevens, $46,800 Wyndham Clark, $46,800 Alex Smalley, $46,800 Tom Kim, $46,800 J.T. Poston, $46,800 John Parry, $46,800
T41. Xander Schauffele, $34,080 Keith Mitchell, $34,080 Cameron Young, $34,080 Rasmus Neegaard-Petersen, $34,080 Johnny Keefer, $34,080 Sami Valimaki, $34,080 Kristoffer Retian, $34,080
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T48. Christo Lamprecht, $24,608 Chad Ramey, $24,608 Michael Brennan, $24,608 Max McGreevy, $24,608 Zach Bauchou, $24,608 S.T. Lee, $24,608
T54. Collin Morikawa, $22,272 S.H. Kim, $22,272 Joe Highsmith, $22,272 Brian Campbell, $22,272 Kensei Hirata, $22,272 Sudarshan Yellamaraju, $22,272
T60. Patrick Rodgers, $21,312 Adrien Saddier, $21,312 Takumi Kanaya, $21,312 John VanDerLaan, $21,312
T64. Gary Woodland, $20,736 Davis Thompson, $20,736
Two-thirds of the way into the season and Liverpool are closer to Brentford than Chelsea, nearer in terms of points to their neighbours Everton than their old enemies Manchester United. Still more damningly, they are further from league leaders Arsenal, 17 ahead of them, than West Ham, 16 behind them in the relegation zone.
It was an understatement to say their campaign was not supposed to go this way; not as defending champions, not with the £450m of spending that Arne Slot prefers to see referenced in terms of the £300m Liverpool have brought in during his reign.
Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike of Liverpool react after a late loss to Man City (Getty)
Last February, it was victory against Manchester City that, in effect, seemed to seal the title. It sent Liverpool 11 points clear with 11 games to play. A year on, defeat to Pep Guardiola’s team, in another game when Dominik Szoboszlai scored, left Liverpool with a very different equation. A loss at the Etihad Stadium in November had Slot conceding Liverpool could not talk about the title. As City completed a first league double over Liverpool since 1937, it leaves them as outsiders to qualify for the Champions League.
Arguably Liverpool have had worse results of late without losing – the home draws with Leeds and Burnley – but the context rendered this a terrible weekend. Chelsea won, Manchester United too. Liverpool are four points from fifth; and while fifth is almost certain to bring Champions League football, they are playing catch-up when short of players, without the benefit of form, and with an intimidating fixture list.
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Some 13 other teams have taken more points in 2026. Liverpool have 13 matches to go. But only six are at home. Their trips include Sunderland, the only team unbeaten at home, Everton, for the first derby at Hill Dickinson Stadium, United and Aston Villa. It is more an obstacle course than a fixture list.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot faces an uphill battle to qualify for next season’s Champions League (PA Wire)
The sands are shifting, and not in the direction Slot would want. “If you compare that to three or four months ago, you see so much improvement,” he said. “But the issue is you don’t see the improvement in the league table.” The broader picture may support his analysis. Liverpool had lost nine of 12 in all competitions. Now they have only been beaten twice in 17. Yet if those damaging draws could make the difference, other elements may be decisive.
Liverpool started the season as the specialists in late goals. Now, equalling a Premier League record, they have been condemned to defeat in injury time four times: at Crystal Palace, Chelsea, Bournemouth and now at home to City. “It’s every time a different goal, of course,” said Slot. The latest stemmed from a rare Alisson error, conceding the penalty Erling Haaland scored. Liverpool could still rue over-committing to attack at Stamford Bridge, which brought a three-point swing in Chelsea’s direction. Both Palace and Bournemouth’s late goals came from long throws: if set-pieces are a theme of Liverpool’s season, their expensive overhaul has seemed to leave them without enough height.
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Dominik Szoboszlai’s absence will highlight a weakness in Liverpool’s squad planning (REUTERS)
Or enough available defenders. Liverpool are unfortunate to have four defensive injuries, including season-ending ones to Giovanni Leoni and Conor Bradley, but even as they prioritised next season by arranging the summer signing of Jeremy Jacquet, they failed to address an immediate need on deadline day. Szoboszlai was only a stand-in right-back and now he is suspended. Jeremie Frimpong will not be back at Sunderland on Wednesday and Joe Gomez probably won’t. That may mean Curtis Jones or Wataru Endo is the next emergency right-back.
A lack of strength in depth is a wider problem, and perhaps a reason why they can concede late. They have been breached 12 times in the final 15 minutes of games – only Newcastle, Leeds and Bournemouth have let in more – and it could reflect a shortage of high-class substitutes. Which, given the outlay, might sound ridiculous, but Liverpool have seemed permanently stretched, Slot left short-staffed. Injuries are only part of the explanation for that. The decision-makers, Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards, who assume more responsibility for the transfer business, are partly culpable.
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Rayan Cherki’s presence off the bench exposed Liverpool’s shortcomings (Getty Images)
On Sunday, a substitute, Rayan Cherki, helped make the difference for City. It seemed indisputable that Guardiola had the stronger bench. Liverpool contrived to spend a fortune and yet look in need of several more signings.
That can come with a cost and Slot invariably talks of Liverpool’s self-sustaining model. Jurgen Klopp was equally aware of it, and of the financial significance of qualifying for the Champions League. He felt it was a priority every season even when outsiders assumed it would come automatically. Now the risk is that Liverpool’s income drops considerably next year.
For Slot, there is an added importance. He has the backing of the Liverpool hierarchy for now, even if not all of the fanbase are behind him. It may be harder to retain that support without Champions League qualification. And now it has started to look more likely that their European football will come on Thursday nights next season.
;)
;)
