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    The Kansas City Chiefs Waited 50 Years for This Super Bowl Date

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The inside of a typical N.F.L. stadium is inundated with pennants and banners celebrating landmark championships of all kinds. But at Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs, there is only one such decoration visible. Fluttering from a flagpole at the west end of the stadium’s upper deck, beneath an […] More

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    What We Learned in the N.F.L.’s Conference Championships

    The Tennessee Titans were lovable underdogs, but their luck ran out on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs, who beat them, 35-24. The Green Bay Packers found some balance on offense in their first season under Coach Matt LaFleur, but they were crushed by the San Francisco 49ers, 37-20, in a game that was nowhere […] More

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    Liverpool Races Away, Leaving United Grasping for Moral Victories

    LIVERPOOL, England — The smile that became so familiar in those first few months has long since disappeared. The sense of awe and wonder that he was allowed to be here, at the club that meant so much to him and in the job he never dared dream of holding, has gone, too, melting away […] More

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    Odell Beckham Jr. Won’t Face Battery Charge for Backside Slap

    A misdemeanor simple battery warrant for the Cleveland Browns wide receiver and former Louisiana State star Odell Beckham Jr. has been rescinded, the New Orleans Police Department confirmed on Saturday. The warrant was issued on Thursday as video posted on social media appeared to show Beckham swatting a security officer’s buttocks during L.S.U.’s locker room […] More

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    The Raiders Left Oakland. The 49ers Want to Take It.

    SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The timing couldn’t have been any better. After years of turmoil and losing, the San Francisco 49ers, who face the Green Bay Packers in the N.F.C. Championship game on Sunday, are one victory from returning to Super Bowl. There is no better way to drive demand for tickets, jerseys and support […] More

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    The Ballad of Danny Drinkwater

    Enjoying this newsletter every week? Forward it to a friend and tell them to sign up at nytimes.com/rory. A few hours after Danny Drinkwater joined Aston Villa in the first week of January, a friend asked if he wanted to go watch his new club in action. Aston Villa was playing at Leicester City in […] More

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    A Rival’s Advice Put the 49ers on a Super Bowl Path

    When he left a broadcasting career three years ago for his first job in an N.F.L. front office, with the San Francisco 49ers, John Lynch sought to model his partnership with Coach Kyle Shanahan on what he considered the paragon of general manager-coach alliances: Ozzie Newsome and John Harbaugh’s Super Bowl-winning work in Baltimore. And […] More

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    N.F.L. Playoff Predictions: Our Picks for the Conference Championships

    Back in Week 1, the Chiefs expected to be playing this weekend, and the Packers were certainly hoping to still be alive. The 49ers, however, did not start to feel like a real contender until they had strung quite a few wins together, and the Titans were still fighting for a playoff spot in Week […] More