Sport & Story Daily February 12, 2024

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February 12, 2024

Good morning! Do we call it a dynasty as Patrick Mahomes wins Super Bowl MVP for the 3rd time?

Patrick Mahomes Wins Super Bowl MVP for Third Time
As ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez writes, “Moments after leading a game-winning drive in overtime, Patrick Mahomes was named Super Bowl MVP on Sunday night.

Mahomes threw for 333 yards and ran for 66 more, leading the Kansas City Chiefs to a 25-22 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. It's the second Super Bowl title in a row for the Chiefs, and the third in the past five years. Mahomes has won the MVP honor in all three of those title wins.

"It means a ton," Mahomes said on CBS, after throwing the winning score, when asked what a third title means to him. "I'm proud of my guys, man, this is awesome. It's legendary."
^espn.com

Brock Purdy Has Come a Long Way From Perry High to the Super Bowl
As Sportico.com’s Barry M. Bloom writes, “It’s one current claim to fame is that San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy went to school and played football for the Pumas before barely being recruited by Iowa State and then drafted by the Niners as pick No. 262—dead last—in the 2022 NFL Draft.

For that act alone, Purdy became the next ‘Mr. Irrelevant.’ When it was suggested recently it might be time for a new nickname, Purdy demurred.

“Mr. Irrelevant is just fine with me,” he said in a recent interview.
^sportico.com

Where Will Super Bowl 2025 Be Played? The NFL is Headed Back to "The Big Easy."
Super Bowl 59 will be held in New Orleans and played at the Caesars Superdome, home of the New Orleans Saints. It marks the first time New Orleans will host the Super Bowl since 2013.
^usatoday.com

Amazon to Exclusively Stream a 2025 NFL Playoff Game
As Front Office Sports’ Alex Schiffer is reporting, Amazon is taking a page from NBC’s playbook. He writes, “After the Chiefs-Dolphins AFC playoff game was streamed exclusively on Peacock earlier this year, Amazon will now have its own exclusively streamed playoff game on its own platform in 2025, according to The Wall Street Journal. That Chiefs-Dolphins game drew both criticism for the decision and high viewership to the tune of 23 million, making it the most streamed U.S. event ever.”
^{frontofficesports.com}

The Latest 2024 NFL Mock Draft from Sports Illustrated Has Bo Nix to the Raiders
As USA Today’s Charles Curtis writes, “The Las Vegas Raiders need a quarterback of the future.

The problem: They’re pick No. 13 overall per the current NFL draft order, which means they’ll either have to trade up to grab one of the big names or they’ll settle for one the sleeper QBs. In our latest NFL mock draft from Christian D’Andrea, he has Vegas taking edge rusher ‘Chop’ Robinson out of Penn State. And in the latest Sports Illustrated mock, Luke Easterling has the Raiders grabbing Bo Nix out of Oregon.
_{ftw.usatoday.com}

Jason Kelce is Enjoying the Super Bowl and Meeting With TV Execs as He Considers Retirement
As the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Rob Tornoe writes, “As Jason Kelce considers retirement, he has at least one eye on a future in television.

While in Las Vegas this week ahead of the Super Bowl, the Eagles center met with executives at ESPN about a possible future broadcasting role, according to network sources. Talks were “very preliminary,” sources said, focused on a “big picture” look at the future.

Kelce also met with executives at Amazon and CBS for similar talks this week, according to network sources. Front Office Sports reported Kelce also met with Fox.
^espn.com

How Real is NIL? Anonymous Recruits in College Football's 2024 Class Dish on Collectives, Contracts and More
As 247Sports’ Chris Hummer writes, “How much do incoming recruits earn from name, image and likeness (NIL) deals? It’s among the most speculated topics in college football, with rumors far outpacing actual information and context. With more than 100 of the nation’s best players gathered in San Antonio earlier this year for the All-American Bowl, 247Sports asked more than two-dozen blue-chip recruits about a variety of topics, including the engine of the recent disruption in the sport: Money and how it’s distributed.”
^{247sports.com}

'Our Financial Plan is Working': Marshall Cuts Operating Deficit by $6 Million
“I’m pleased to tell you that our financial plan is working,” Smith said in a news release. “If we stay on the course and continue to execute well, we see a pathway to a strong and sustainable university.”

Marshall has reduced its operating deficit by $6 million, the university’s president announced Wednesday.

The university reduced its deficit from $28 million to $22 million, president Brad D. Smith said during a Marshall Board of Governors meeting.
^wchstv.com

Facing $6 Million Deficit, UNCA to ‘Curtail’ Adjunct Faculty, Lok at ‘Entire University Enterprise’
“We need to get our house in order financially,” Chancellor Kimberly van Noort, and promised to “look at the entire university enterprise,” including academic offerings. “Possible academic program curtailment is not off the table.”
^{avlwatchdog.com}

Tennessee Deploys Heupel To Enjoin NCAA NIL Restrictions
As Sportico’s Michael McCann and Daniel Libit report, “Having failed to get a temporary restraining order against the NCAA’s NIL restrictions on Tuesday, the attorneys general of Tennessee and Virginia are now hoping U.S. District Judge Clifton Corker will issue a preliminary injunction against those same rules next week.”
^sportico.com

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