SPORTS LINE
The Kansas City Chiefs squeaked in an overtime victory over the 49ers in the Super Bowl.
That’s probably not much in the way of news across the world this week, but the close nature of the game added even more interest, especially at the very end, than usual. Taylor Swift was there, and her fans let her know how much they love her. Her boyfriend, Travis Kelce exhibited his usual ‘over the top’ expressive fits of rage toward his coach and excitement toward the victorious fans. The kicker of the 49ers broke the long-standing record for field goals in a Superbowl, with a boot of 57 yards, which followed the great rookie kicker for the 49ers of 55 yards. It was that kind of a ball game. The Packers making it to that game would have made the whole thing a lot more interesting but if they had Taylor would probably have gone home with ash gray lipstick instead of the fire engine red stuff she currently parades around wearing. There’s no question, however, aside from the rather uninteresting game, that Taylor and her boyfriend made the event much more exciting if not entertaining.
The NBA trade deadline has come and gone.
The only move the Milwaukee Bucks made was to get Patrick Beverley from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Cam Payne and a 2027 second-round pick. One of the Bucks’ main issues still didn’t seem to be addressed via trade and that’s defense. Thanks to the deadline, the front office might have to let Bobby Portis and Pat Connaughton go due to the upcoming 2024-25 salary cap. Of the two, Portis is the more productive player. In his four seasons, the 6’10” big man averaged 13.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists a game. Connaughton has had a lesser role and still has two years left on his current contract, amounting to $18.8 million. Meanwhile, Portis also has two years left on his contract worth $26 million. Letting both Portis and Connaughton go seems the likely course of action, especially if Milwaukee wants to keep the All-Star duo of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard next season. This comes as the Bucks try to get accustomed to doing things differently on offense and defense with new head coach Doc Rivers.
While the Bucks were second place in the Eastern Conference, holding a 30-13 record before Adrian Griffin was dismissed in his first season as an NBA head coach, the organization felt as though it needed to make a change. Rivers has altered tactics on both ends in his first week with the team. And that has meant the Bucks have gone back to not only building the foundation of their strategy but doing so while playing every other night for a week. On the offensive end, Rivers has talked about how it has been difficult to try to pick up the team’s terminology in the middle of a season. Those gaps in language and terminology, as well as Rivers’ desire to install new plays and actions, have led to an offense that hasn’t run smoothly in his first week.
On the defensive end, things have been a little easier for Rivers because the new coaching staff has only been required to install a defensive game plan where it is about principles. Hopefully, the coaches and players can come together to bring home a championship. With significantly more losses than wins since he came aboard with the Bucs, however, it would be wise for Rivers to keep his options open. The former coach was 30 wins with 7 losses. The current one is 2 wins and 7 losses. Do the math.
