More stories

  • in

    When Titles Are Tarnished but Not Taken Away

    In years to come, this might be the week this age of sports came to be known as the “asterisk era.” During a decade that brought eye-in-the-sky cameras, rogue chemists, executives with malleable morals and Soviet-era spy craft, those two-fisted disrupters — science and technology — have given cheaters seemingly limitless tools to secure victory […] More

  • in

    Luke Kuechly Joins N.F.L.’s Under-30 Retirees Club

    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

  • in

    Back in A.F.C. Title Game, Patrick Mahomes Is Hungry for 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

  • in

    Back in A.F.C. Title Game, Patrick Mahomes Is Eager for 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

  • in

    What We Learned in the N.F.L.’s Divisional Round

    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

  • in

    How the Packers Beat the Seahawks to Advance to the N.F.C. Championship Game

    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