Super Bowl 60: Pats vs. Seahawks and a history of Super Bowl rematches

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🚨 Headlines

🏀 Harden trade talks: In the days leading up to Thursday’s trade deadline, the Clippers have engaged in discussions surrounding James Harden, sources tell Yahoo Sports. The Cavaliers are at the forefront of teams expressing interest.

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🇫🇷 NFL in France: The Saints will play a game in Paris next season, marking the league’s first regular-season game in France and one of at least eight taking place abroad, which is the most ever. The others announced include Australia, Brazil, Germany, Spain and three in the U.K.

⚾️ Three-team trade: The Mariners are acquiring All-Star Brendan Donovan from the Cardinals in a three-team trade with the Rays, adding the former Gold Glover to a roster that came a win away from reaching the World Series last fall.

🏒 Saban, the owner: Predators minority owner Nick Saban, who purchased a stake in the franchise in December, will assist in Nashville’s search for a new GM after Barry Trotz retired from the role on Monday.

🏀 CBA talks continue: The WNBA and members of the players’ union held an in-person meeting in New York on Monday as they continue negotiations for a new CBA in the midst of a busy offseason that includes a two-team expansion draft.

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🏈 Pats vs. Seahawks: The sequel

Super Bowl 60 isn’t just another championship game. It’s a sequel.

Running it back: When the Patriots and Seahawks face off on Sunday, it will mark the 10th time that the same two franchises have met in multiple Super Bowls — and the first time these two have crossed paths on this stage since one of the most famous endings in league history.

Super Bowl rematches:

1. Steelers vs. Cowboys: Pittsburgh won their first two meetings (1976, 1979) behind MVPs Lynn Swann and Terry Bradshaw. Dallas got revenge 17 years later (1996) in what remains their most recent Super Bowl appearance.

2. Dolphins vs. Redskins: Miami nearly pitched a shutout to complete their perfect season (1973). A decade later, Washington evened the score behind MVP John “The Diesel” Riggins (1983).

3. 49ers vs. Bengals: San Francisco beat Cincinnati the first time behind MVP Joe Montana (1982), and the second time behind MVP Jerry Rice (1989) in what was head coach Bill Walsh’s final game.

4. Cowboys vs. Bills: Dallas destroyed Buffalo at the Rose Bowl (1993), then beat them again the following year at the Georgia Dome (1994) in the only back-to-back Super Bowl rematch.

5. Patriots vs. Giants: The Helmet Catch ruined New England’s perfect season (2008). Four years later, Eli Manning and the G-Men took down the dynastic Pats for a second time (2012).

6. Patriots vs. Eagles: New England won the first meeting behind surprise MVP Deion Branch (2005). 13 years later, Philly got revenge behind their own surprise MVP, Nick Foles (2018).

7. Patriots vs. Rams: The Pats stunned “The Greatest Show on Turf” to launch their dynasty (2002). 17 years and one relocation later, the Rams came up short against Tom Brady again (2019).

8. Chiefs vs. 49ers: Kansas City scored 21 unanswered points to defeat San Francisco on the eve of the pandemic (2020). Four years later, they beat them again in Las Vegas (2024).

9. Chiefs vs. Eagles: Kansas City won a thriller in their first meeting (2023) before Philly dominated the rematch two years later (2025) to deny Patrick Mahomes a historic three-peat.

10. Patriots vs. Seahawks: New England won the first meeting (2015) thanks to Malcolm Butler’s game-sealing interception in the end zone. What does Round 2 have in store?

Super Bowl Week: Players took the stage on Monday in San Jose, while Roger Goodell addressed Steve Tisch’s Epstein ties, the lack of minority head coaching hires and other topics in his state of the league address.

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❤️ Why we love sports

John J. (Columbus, Ohio native) writes:

It was the summer of 1962, and my father and I were attending a Columbus Jets game as we often did. The Jets were the Pirates AAA farm team, and I was a big fan and an amateur baseball aficionado.

The star of the team was Donn Clendenon, an all-tool athlete who was my favorite player. Early in the game I caught a foul ball and decided I wanted to ask Clendenon to sign it. So after the game I went to the parking lot exit near the Jets locker room and waited and waited for him to walk by. Many players did, but not Clendenon.

Finally, a player walked out and asked if I wanted him to sign my ball. I told him I was waiting for Donn Clendenon. He replied that Clendenon had already left, so reluctantly I handed him the ball.

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After that I met dad in the parking lot and he asked, “Did you get his autograph?” I quietly replied no, but I got someone else’s. “Do you know who Willie Stargell is?”

Editor’s note: For those who don’t know, Willie Stargell went on to become a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He spent 21 seasons with the Pirates, helping them win two World Series. Clendenon was no Stargell, but he did win World Series MVP in 1969 with the Miracle Mets.

✍️ Submit your story: Do you have a fondest sports memory? Or an example of sports having a profound impact on your life? If you’d like to share, email me at kendall.baker@yahooinc.com. We’ll keep sharing your stories until they run out!

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💯 Big numbers

🏀 4 Ja(y)lens

20 of the 24 NBA All-Stars have unique names. The only name found more than once? Ja(y)len, shared by four Eastern Conference All-Stars in New York’s Jalen Brunson, Boston’s Jaylen Brown, Detroit’s Jalen Duren and Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson. That’s 33% of the team!

The Jalen generation: Jalen Rose, whose name is a combination of his father’s (James) and his uncle’s (Leonard), was one of the first Jalens born in the U.S., and his popularity has spawned a generation of athletes with his name, or a variant thereof.

⚾️ 11 of 50

After slugger Eugenio Suárez signed with the Reds and three-time batting champion Luis Arráez signed with the Giants, just 11 of our top 50 free agents remain unsigned.

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Who’s left? LHP Framber Valdez (No. 8) leads the way, followed by RHP Zac Gallen (12), RHP Lucas Giolito (21), RHP Zack Littell (39), RHP Griffin Canning (40), OF Max Kepler (41), OF/DH Miguel Andújar (42), RHP Chris Bassitt (46), LHP Jose Quintana (47), RHP Justin Verlander (48) and DH Marcell Ozuna (49).

🏈 74.5% return rate

Could we see a kickoff returned for a touchdown this weekend in the Super Bowl? The chances are certainly the highest they’ve been in a while after the NFL’s new touchback rule led to 74.5% of kickoffs being returned this season, up from just 32.8% in 2024.

Take it to the house: There have been 10 kickoff return touchdowns in Super Bowl history, most recently in 2014 by Seattle’s Percy Harvin in Super Bowl XLVIII. The other nine: Jacoby Jones, BAL (2013); Devin Hester, CHI (2007); Ron Dixon, NYG (2001); Jermaine Lewis, BAL (2001); Tim Dwight, ATL (1999); Desmond Howard, GB (1997); Andre Coleman, SD (1995); Stanford Jennings, CIN (1989); Fulton Walker, MIA (1983).

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⛳️ 72 made cuts

Xander Schauffele’s run of 72 consecutive made cuts — the longest active streak on the PGA Tour — finally ended at the Farmers Insurance Open, marking the first time in 1,391 days that he failed to make it to the weekend. The new active leader is Scottie Scheffler, with 65 in a row. Of course.

All-time streaks: Schauffele is tied with Dow Finsterwald for the fifth-longest streak in PGA Tour history behind Tiger Woods (142), Byron Nelson (113), Jack Nicklaus (105) and Hale Irwin (86).

🏀 Jalen Brunson was built for New York

In the latest Boardroom Cover Story, Knicks superstar Jalen Brunson reflects on leadership, fatherhood and the journey from underdog to franchise cornerstone.

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From Boardroom’s Rich Kleiman:

Jalen Brunson is exactly where he’s supposed to be. The Knicks All-Star point guard is sitting in White Plains, just minutes from the team’s practice facility, on a cold winter afternoon during what he calls “the dog days” of the NBA season.

His team is fighting through injuries, inconsistency, and the inevitable January grind that separates contenders from pretenders. But if you’re looking for panic or frustration, you won’t find it here.

Brunson carries himself with the quiet confidence of someone who has already proven doubters wrong his entire life — from being drafted 33rd overall to becoming the face of basketball’s most demanding franchise.

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“Everything that is going wrong is controllable,” he says. It’s the kind of statement that reveals everything about how Brunson operates: accountable, measured, and utterly certain that hard work is the only solution.

This isn’t bravado. This is the ethos of a player who was raised in NBA locker rooms, who learned leadership from his father, and who has turned perceived limitations into fuel for one of the league’s most unlikely ascensions.

Now, as he enters Year 4 of his Knicks tenure, Brunson is navigating the most delicate phase of his journey: evolving from underdog to franchise cornerstone while maintaining the hunger that got him here.

Keep reading.

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📺 Watchlist: Tuesday, Feb. 3

🏀 NBA on NBC

The scuffling Mavericks host the surging Celtics in the first game of tonight’s doubleheader (8pm ET), followed by Suns at Trail Blazers in the nightcap (11pm).

Brighter days ahead: Dallas (19-30) isn’t yet a contender, but a year after losing Luka Dončić, their future looks bright thanks to the rapid ascendance of Cooper Flagg, writes Yahoo Sports’ Kelly Iko.

In Dallas or Portland? Use Gametime to grab tickets to tonight’s games at the American Airlines Center and Moda Center.

🏈 Pro Bowl

The new-look (again) Pro Bowl is tonight in San Francisco (8pm, ESPN), where the AFC and NFC will face off in a flag football game on a temporary field built inside a convention center. The idea is to append this struggling event to the Super Bowl, which is hosting its weeklong pregame festivities at the same convention center.

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More to watch:

• 🏒 NHL: Penguins at Islanders (7:30pm, TNT); Kraken at Ducks (10pm, TNT) … Divisional clashes between current playoff teams in the Metro and Pacific.

• ⚽️ EFL Cup: Arsenal vs. Chelsea(3pm, Paramount+) … The Gunners lead 3-2 entering the second leg of the semifinal.

Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events happening in your city. Get tickets now!

🏈 Super Bowl trivia

Seahawks WR Cooper Kupp is set to become just the sixth former Super Bowl MVP (Rams, 2022) to play in a Super Bowl with another team.

Question: Can you name the other five?

Hint: They won Super Bowl MVPs with the 49ers, Rams, Patriots, Colts and Broncos.

Answer at the bottom.

📸 Photo finish

Spot the golfer.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Trivia answer: Jerry Rice (49ers, then Raiders); Kurt Warner (Rams, then Cardinals); Tom Brady (Patriots, then Buccaneers); Peyton Manning (Colts, then Broncos); Von Miller (Broncos, then Rams)

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