In the video announcing his retirement on Tuesday, Luke Kuechly thanked his Carolina Panthers teammates and coaches, his parents and his two brothers, his girlfriend and all the fans who supported him as he became the best middle linebacker in the N.F.L. Left out of his speech were two men who almost certainly influenced his […] More
The summer before last, Barcelona made the sort of business decision that few — if any — outside the relatively niche world of sports merchandising would have noticed. Since 2001, Barcelona’s merchandising operation had been subcontracted out to Nike, the team’s jersey sponsor. Through a subsidiary company, Nike ran three official Barcelona stores and 15 […] More
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Late in the Kansas City Chiefs’ demolition of the Houston Texans on Sunday, the team posted a note on the video screen at Arrowhead Stadium telling fans that thanks to the Chiefs’ 51-point outburst, all the fireworks shot off after each score were gone. “Chiefs fans, we are sorry to report, […] More
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Late in the Chiefs’ demolition of the Houston Texans on Sunday, the team posted a note on the video screen at Arrowhead Stadium telling fans that thanks to Kansas City’s 51-point outburst, all the fireworks used to celebrate scores were gone. “Chiefs fans, we are sorry to report, but due to […] More
A week after three road teams advanced in the wild-card round, three home teams took care of business in the divisional round. The weekend featured one of the biggest upsets in recent memory — Tennessee’s 28-12 stunner over Baltimore — but otherwise stuck to the expected script. That is not to say it was boring, […] More
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Aaron Rodgers, the Packers quarterback, turned 36 last month, which has led him to speak openly of his inevitable athletic mortality. It has been nearly a decade since Rodgers and the Packers won a Super Bowl to ratify the 2010 season. Before Sunday’s 28-23, heart-in-the-throat playoff victory over the Seattle Seahawks, […] More
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There was no rematch with Tom Brady because the New England Patriots were knocked out in the wild-card round. There will be no marquee showdown with Lamar Jackson after the Baltimore Ravens were upset on Saturday. Instead, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes faced off against Deshaun Watson of the Houston […] More
BALTIMORE — The best player in the N.F.L. this season also has an 0-2 career playoff record. But nobody needed to explain that to Lamar Jackson in the wake of the startling upset loss by the Baltimore Ravens to the Tennessee Titans, 28-12, on Saturday night. Jackson knew he would face questions about that as […] More
