Sam Darnold and the Seahawks win the Super Bowl
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From Gary Klein: Sam Darnold did not really know what to say.
So as the Seattle Seahawks quarterback stood on stage at Levi’s Stadium after becoming a Super Bowl champion, he made a few comments thanking teammates and fans before ultimately boiling it down to this:
“Just a job well done,” he said.
The words were simple. Concise. And captured the essence of a player who traveled a road filled with disappointments and setbacks but always believed in himself.
On Sunday, Darnold was far from spectacular. But the former San Clemente High and USC star played error-free, tossed a touchdown pass and let running back Kenneth Walker III, kicker Jason Myers and a dominating defense do the rest in a 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX.
It was the Seahawks second Super Bowl title, their first since 2014.
That Seahawks team featured the legendary “Legion of Boom” defense.
This year’s defense dubbed itself the “Dark Side.” All-Pros do not abound. Individual personalities lean more toward quietly confident rather than brash.
And on Sunday, it lit up the stadium by harassing Patriots quarterback Drake Maye into three turnovers and sacking him six times.
When and where will Super Bowl LXI be played in 2027?
How many Super Bowls have the Seattle Seahawks won?
Seattle kicker Jason Myers sets record with five field goals in Super Bowl LX
Drake Maye had a rough first half. It wasn’t the worst Super Bowl performance by a QB, though
What is the lowest halftime score in Super Bowl history?
Which NFL team has won the most Super Bowls?
Kawhi scores 41, Clippers rout Timberwolves
Kawhi Leonard had 41 points and eight rebounds and the Clippers beat the slumping Minnesota Timberwolves 115-96 on Sunday.
John Collins had 15 points on six-of-nine shooting, and Yanic Konan Niederhauser also scored 15 points. The Clippers took command with a 17-3 run closing out the third quarter.
Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 23 points, and Julius Randle had 17. The Timberwolves have lost three of their last four, all to sub-.500 opponents. Minnesota made just eight of 33 three-point attempts and committed 20 turnovers while being held under 100 points for just the second time this season.
UCLA women win behind Lauren Betts
Lauren Betts had 16 points, 16 rebounds, five assists and three blocks to help No. 2 UCLA hold off No. 8 Michigan for a 69-66 win on Sunday.
The Wolverines trailed by 11 points with less than two minutes left and ended the game with a chance to tie the score, Syla Swords shot an airball on a three-pointer with 2.2 seconds left.
UCLA (23-1, 13-0 Big Ten) took a two-game lead over Michigan (20-4, 11-2) in the conference with its 17th straight victory since losing to No. 4 Texas in November.
Alijah Arenas leads USC rally victory
Alijah Arenas scored 11 of his 24 points in the final four minutes, including the go-ahead basket with 0.7 seconds left, to help USC beat Penn State 77-75 on Sunday.
Freddie Dilione V made a layup for Penn State that tied it 75-75 with 12 seconds remaining. After USC called timeout to move the ball into the frontcourt, Arenas took the inbounds pass, worked his way to the right block and kissed a layup high off the glass to cap the scoring.
Kam Woods had 13 points, a season-high nine assists, five rebounds and four steals for USC (18-6, 7-6 Big Ten). Ezra Ausar added 13 points and Jacob Cofie had 10 points and seven rebounds.
USC women beat Illinois
Behind career-high performances from freshman Jazzy Davidson and sophomore Kennedy Smith, USC defeated Illinois, 70–62.
Davidson finished with a career-high 27 points, to go with eight rebounds and eight assists. Smith matched her career night with a career-high 20 points, while also posting a career-best six blocks.
With the win, the Trojans improve to 15-9 overall and 7-6 in Big Ten play.
This day in sports history
1912 — The U.S. Tennis Assn. amends the rules for the men’s singles championship play. The defending champion is required to play through the tournament instead of waiting for the tournament to produce a challenger.
1940 — Joe Louis beats Arturo Godoy with a split decision to defend his world heavyweight title at Madison Square Garden.
1966 — The NHL doubles in size — from six to 12 teams — when the Owners-Governors award franchises to Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and St. Louis.
1986 — Detroit’s Isiah Thomas scores 30 points and hands out 10 assists to lead the East to a 139-132 win in the All-Star Game in Dallas.
1988 — Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins scores a record six points — three goals and three assists — to lead the Wales Conference to a 6-5 victory over the Campbell Conference in the NHL All-Star game.
1991 — Terry Norris knocks down Sugar Ray Leonard twice and beats him up over 12 rounds in Leonard’s Madison Square Garden debut and final fight. Norris wins a unanimous decision.
1992 — Magic Johnson, playing for the first time since announcing his retirement on Nov. 7, scores a game-high 25 points and hands out nine assists to lead the West to a 153-113 win over the East in the NBA All-Star Game at the Orlando Arena.
1997 — Glen Rice breaks two scoring records in an MVP performance and Michael Jordan has the first triple-double in NBA All-Star game history. The East rallies to beat the West 132-120. Rice, who finishes with 26 points, sets records with 20 in the third quarter and 24 in the second half.
2009 — Lindsey Vonn wins the downhill for her second gold at the World Championships in Val D’isere, France. Vonn becomes the second American woman to win two golds at a worlds. Andrea Mead Lawrence won the slalom and giant slalom at the 1952 Oslo Olympics, which doubled as the worlds.
2013 — Cameron Biedscheid scores on a layup with 1:19 left in the fifth overtime, and Eric Atkins and Pat Connaugton add free throws in the final 19 seconds as No. 25 Notre Dame overcomes an eight-point deficit in regulation to beat No. 11 Louisville 104-101. The Cardinals led 56-48 with 51 seconds left in regulation. It’s the sixth time in the last eight meetings that a game between the Fighting Irish and the Cardinals goes into overtime.
2014 — Missouri All-American defensive end Michael Sam comes out to the nation. In interviews with ESPN, The New York Times and Outsports, Sam says he came out to all his teammates and coaches at Missouri in August.
2015 — San Antonio rallies from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit and gets an 18-foot baseline jumper from Marco Belinelli with 2.1 seconds left to give coach Greg Popovich 1,000 wins with a 95-93 victory at Indiana.
2018 — XXIII Olympic Winter Games open in PyeongChang, South Korea.
2025 — Philadelphia Eagles claim second title in franchise history with a 40-22 win over two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs. QB Jalen Hurts named game MVP.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time...
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