Fairleigh Dickinson University did something on Friday that has only been done once before.
The Knights, who are a 16-seed, upset No. 1 Purdue University 63-58 to advance to the second round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
Down three points with less than ten seconds left, Purdue heaved up a three-point shot but missed the opportunity to tie. The Knights then made two free throws at the opposite end.
This is the second time in NCAA men’s tournament history that a No. 16 seed defeated a No. 1 seed. In 2018, the University of Maryland-Baltimore County became the first to complete the feat over the Virginia Cavaliers.
Knights head coach Tobin Anderson was speechless on the court following the win.
“We just have faith in what we do and our guys are so tough and competitive,” Anderson told the TNT broadcast. “I love our guys. They’re tough. They’re great. They played their tails off. That’s an unbelievable win. It’s unbelievable. We shocked the world.”
FDU players celebrated the historic feat together on the court. Purdue players and fans at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, looked on in complete shock.
Boilermakers big man Zach Edey, who was earlier named one of the semifinalists for the Naismith Player of the Year, finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds in the loss.
The Knights made the tournament this year after a turnaround season in which they finished with a 20-15 record. Last season, FDU finished with a measly 4-22 record.
The 15-win increase over last season was the second-best improvement in Division I men’s basketball, following Southern Mississippi.
The Knights are the second Northeast Conference school ever to advance to the second round in NCAA tournament history. Iona did it in 1980 – but the school’s victory was later vacated.
FDU will next play Sunday, facing the winner of the game between Memphis and Florida Atlantic.
Morocco is set to join Spain and Portugal in a bid to host the FIFA 2030 Men’s World Cup, apparently replacing Ukraine in a three-way alliance with the two European nations.
Ukraine said it would team up with Spain and Portugal in a joint bid last October,but Morocco’s announcement suggests it will no longer be part of the process. CNN has reached out to all the nations involved.
Morocco’s sport minister Chakib Benmoussa unveiled details of the North African nation’s bid Tuesday, citing a letter from Morocco’s King Mohammed VI.
“I would like to announce that the Kingdom of Morocco has decided, together with Spain and Portugal, to present a joint bid to host the 2030 World Cup,” he read from the letter, according to Reuters.
Speaking at the Confederation of African Football President’s Outstanding Achievement Awards in Kigali, Rwanda, Benmoussa called the bid “unprecedented in football history.”
It will “bring together Africa and Europe, the northern and southern Mediterranean, and the African, Arab and Euro-Mediterranean worlds,” he said. “It will also bring out the best in all of us – in effect a combination of genius, creativity, experience and means.”
The new alliance adds another transcontinental bid to the process, alongside a three-way deal between Greece, Saudi Arabia and Egypt and a separate joint bid from Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile.
Countries teaming up to hold the World Cup is not unprecedented, with Canada, America and Mexico due to co-host the World Cup in 2026. Japan also collaborated with South Korea in staging the 2002 chapter.
Morocco’s announcement comes on the heels of its historic performance at the 2022 World Cup.
The Atlas Lions, the nickname of Morocco’s national team, defeated both Spain and Portugal in the knockout stages in Qatar on their way to becoming the first African and first Arab country to ever reach a World Cup semifinal.
Everyone hates switching the clocks for Daylight Saving Time. So why is it so hard to get rid of?
CNN’s Harry Enten tells “Nightcap’s” Jon Sarlin why Americans switch the clocks back and forth twice a year, even though the time change is pretty universally hated. Plus, Los Angeles Times columnist LZ Granderson on how legal sports betting has changed March Madness. And CNN’s Clare Duffy explains why the FTC’s investigation of Twitter could be a real problem for Elon Musk. To get the day’s business headlines sent directly to your inbox, sign up for the Nightcap newsletter.
Editor’s Note: Onnie Willis Rogers is a former collegiate gymnastics champion at UCLA and a professor of psychology at Northwestern University whose research focuses on human development, diversity and equity and education. The opinions expressed here are her own. Read more opinion at CNN.
CNN
—
I’m one of just five Black women in history to win the NCAA individual all-around title in gymnastics. It was a tremendous accomplishment which, when I won it two decades ago, left me elated.
But it was a particular kind of joy, tinged with the frustration often felt by the Black athlete who excels in a sport where they are one of only a very few.
I grew up in the sport in the 1980s. I took my first gymnastics class at the age of 3 and finished my final competition at the age of 22. Throughout all of my years training in the sport, I was often the lone brown face in a gym filled with tumbling, somersaulting, hand-standing kids.
Before accepting a full ride sports scholarship to UCLA, I was an elite gymnast, a member of the National Team for USA Gymnastics (USAG). As a Black gymnast growing up, being one of few was normal. And as I progressed up the ranks, the sport seemed only to get whiter.
Even during my four years at UCLA, an urban school with a sizable Black population, I was the only Black female gymnast on my team. In 2001, the year I won my NCAA title, I could probably count the other Black women gymnasts at top-ranked schools we competed against on one hand.
But I’ve noticed something different about gymnasts today, and perhaps you have, as well. There are more Black and brown athletes in the sport than ever before. And they are turning out to be a force to be reckoned with.
This year marks 20 years since my last gymnastics competition, and a lot has changed in the sport — but perhaps nothing so much as the dramatic increase in racial and ethnic diversity. The change has been nothing short of astonishing — especially at last summer’s stunning National Championships, when African American women swept the podium.
I’d been involved in gymnastics my entire life, and I never saw it coming. The diversity — and the excellence — exhibited by the top-performing women of color in the sport has been something to behold.
There’s Simone Biles who, of course, needs no introduction. She’s a global icon who has earned seven Olympic medals and 25 world championship medals — more than anyone else in gymnastics — and is regarded as the GOAT in our sport. Some have even argued that she is the greatest athlete of all time, period. Before Biles, there was Gabby Douglas, who was crowned the 2012 Olympic all-around champion, becoming the first Black gymnast to capture that title.
To be honest, it’s hard to name all the women of color who have made it to the top ranks of the sport since I stopped competing. Laurie Hernandez, who is Puerto Rican, was the youngest gymnast to earn gold in Rio 2016. Jordan Chiles helped Team USA secure the gold at last year’s world championships. And there’s Sunisa Lee, a Hmong American who became the first Asian American to win the Olympic all-around title. The list goes on and on.
The standouts of color at the collegiate level have been no less impressive. Florida Gator Trinity Thomas holds a breathtaking record of perfection. UCLA’s Chae Campbell, Chiles and freshman standout Selena Harris continue to grab headlines in our sport, as does Jordan Rucker of the University of Utah and Haleigh Bryant of Louisiana State University — and, astonishingly, too many others to name.
These women of color are setting new records and breaking the internet with performances of exceptional style and athleticism. I can’t think of another major sport that has seen its ranks change so dramatically. Swimming? Golf? Tennis? No, not really. These predominantly White sports have seen a relative few breakthrough athletes of color, but overall the complexion of the sports haven’t changed much.
Over the years, structural racism has powerfully shaped access, opportunity and identity — all of which help explain why gymnastics was so White in the first place. The long arm of economic inequality touches every facet of life, including sport.
Sports where Black people have been represented have traditionally been those accessible through schools, such as football, basketball and track and field. Gymnastics is a very expensive sport, costing thousands of dollars and requiring long, intense training hours. High-quality instruction is only accessible in private clubs and at elite training facilities that are few and far between. Growing up, my family fundraised furiously, did extra jobs at my gymnastics club, and housed visiting gymnasts to offset the unreachable high cost of tuition.
There is no magic that has “created” gymnasts of color in the past decade. There have always been strong, talented Black and brown girls capable of excelling in the sport. Many of the first Black women in the sport, like Diane Dunham and Wendy Hilliard, simply were not acknowledged because our society has for so long refused to value or validate Black women. Instead, the sport favored a Nadia Comaneci-style waif, thin and childlike. That doubtless kept a lot of women who looked like me on the sidelines. Elite gymnastics did not always see them or make space for them.
Luckily for me, there were always exceptions, and these women became my inspirations. Betty Okino and Dominique Dawes were the trailblazers in my day. I watched them represent Team USA with their brown bodies and Black girl hair and I knew it was a little more possible for me.
I vividly remember being 16 years old laying belly down on the green shag carpet in my living room in Tacoma, Washington, captivated as UCLA — and even more significantly for me, Stella Umeh — clinched its first-ever NCAA Title.
On the floor, Umeh was Black, full-bodied and fierce; her hair was a close shave; the music for her floor routine was rhythmic and pulsating. She was unlike any gymnast I had ever seen. I attended UCLA after Umeh had graduated, but walked confidently and fully in her footsteps, not simply because she too was a Black woman, but because she remade the mold.
Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend the NCAA Metroplex Challenge gymnastics competition with my 11-year-old daughter and her gymnastics team. There were multiple Black gymnasts competing for every school on the floor.
As a developmental psychologist who studies youth identity development, I couldn’t ignore the significance of the moment. I couldn’t fail to register the awe in their eyes as they watched their possible future selves from their front row seats, a real image of who they may become. In short, identity and representation matter. How many Black girls even enter the sport in the future will be influenced by what they see as attainable or impossible.
Meanwhile, the breakthroughs in gymnastics just keep coming: This year, Fisk University is the first HBCU to have an NCAA gymnastics team — an entire team of Black and brown girls doing gymnastics. It’s radical. It’s transformative. And as Black History Month draws to a close, it’s a reminder of what is possible.
Australia won the Women’s T20 World Cup in brilliant fashion, defeating home side South Africa by 19 runs in front of a sold out Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town on Saturday
Victory once again underlined Australia’s dominance in the sport, as the team completed a repeat three-peat under captain Meg Lanning and won the tournament for the sixth time in seven editions.
“It is a pretty special effort from the group,” Lanning told Sky Sports afterwards.
“We felt we had a good score and felt confident if we could hit our areas. We set the tone in an excellent powerplay. We have a special group, not just the players but also the support staff.”
After Lanning won the toss and elected to bat first, the Australian openers, Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney, navigated their way through the first few overs as the home crowd urged on the South African attack.
Healy fell in the fifth over, caught by Nadine de Klerk off Marizanne Kapp’s bowling, but Mooney stayed at the crease for an impressive unbeaten 74 off just 53 balls.
She showcased her full range of shots during her innings, anchoring her side’s score, as frugal South African bowling largely restricted the Australians from posting a sizeable score.
Ash Gardner, who was named player of the tournament, contributed an important cameo of 29 off 21 balls while Mooney’s 11 runs in the last over helped Australia to a respectable 156-6.
It seemed an achievable, if tricky, target for South Africa to reach but a slow start left them 22/1 after six overs and with too much ground to claw back.
Although South Africa accelerated late on, led by Laura Wolvaardt’s 61 from 48 balls, accurate bowling and crisp fielding stifled any comeback and secured Australia’s victory.
It’s the evening of February 23, 2022. In Kyiv, the boss of a news site relaxes with a bath and candles. In Zaporizhzhia, a young woman goes to bed planning to celebrate her husband’s birthday in the morning. In Moscow, a journalist happens to postpone his travel plans to Kyiv.
Within hours, their lives are dramatically and radically transformed. The next day, Russian President Vladimir Putin launches his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
We asked seven people close to the conflict – from “fixers” in Ukraine, to commentators in Moscow – to reflect on the first anniversary of the invasion. The views expressed in this commentary are their own.
Opinion by Diliara Didenko
Diliara Didenko is a PhD candidate in sociology and a mother of two. She works in social media marketing.
Zaporizhzhia, February 23, 2022. I went to bed thinking that I would celebrate my husband’s birthday the next day. Our life was getting better. My husband was running his own business. Our daughter had started school and made friends there. We were lucky to have arranged support services and found a special needs nursery for our son. I finally had time to work. I felt happy.
Could I imagine that, 22 days later, I would be starting my life over in the Czech Republic, and my country would be set on fire?
Completely exhausted, crushed and scared, we had to brace ourselves and come to terms with our forced displacement. I will be forever grateful to all those who helped us come to Prague and adjust to a new life in a foreign land.
Thanks to the opportunities for Ukrainians provided by the Czech Republic, my husband got a job. I found special needs classes for my son. He now attends an adaptation group for Ukrainian children and has a learning support assistant. My daughter goes to a Czech school while studying in her Ukrainian school remotely.
We are trying to live in the here and now. But the truth is, we are heartbroken. While physically we are in Prague, our hearts have remained in Ukraine.
Opinion by Mikhail Zygar
Mikhail Zygar is a journalist and former editor in chief of the independent TV news channel Dozhd. He is the author of “All the Kremlin’s Men: Inside the Court of Vladimir Putin” and upcoming book “War and Punishment. Putin, Zelensky, and the Path to Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine.”
On February 24, 2022, I was supposed to be in Kyiv. But a few days before that, my husband broke his shoulder and we had to stay in Moscow. At 9:00 a.m. that day he had surgery.
That morning we woke up to learn that the invasion started. I wrote an open letter denouncing the war, which was co-signed by 12 Russian writers, directors and cultural figures. Soon it was published, and tens of thousands of Russian citizens added their signatures.
On the third day we, my husband and I, left Russia. I felt that it was some kind of moral obligation. I could no longer stay on the territory of the state that has become a fascist one.
We moved to Berlin. My husband went to work as a volunteer at the refugee camp next to the main railway station, where thousands of Ukrainians had been arriving every day. And I started writing a new book. It starts like this:
“This book is a confession. I am guilty for not reading the signs much earlier. I too am responsible for Russia’s war against Ukraine. As are my contemporaries and our forebears. Regrettably, Russian culture is also to blame for making all these horrors possible.”
I know that Russian people are infected with imperialism. We failed to spot just how deadly the very idea of Russia as a “great empire” was – now we have to come a long way, healing our nation from that disease.
Opinion by Michael Bociurkiw
Michael Bociurkiw is a global affairs analyst who in summer relocated from Canada to Ukraine. He is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and a former spokesperson for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Time and again since the Russian invasion started, I’m haunted by the darkness in my father’s eyes during the re-telling of chilling dinnertime stories of relatives shipped off to the Soviet gulag, never to return. Stories of millions of Ukrainians who starved to death in Stalin’s manmade famine of 1932-33.
What’s changed since Russian missiles first began falling on February 24, 2022? The fear felt by Ukrainians has been replaced with anger as they stand up to barrages of rockets and drones.
Whether it’s going through with a wedding in the aftermath of a rocket attack, pitching in to make Molotov cocktails, shifting classes to a Kyiv subway station as missiles fly or keeping a family business open against all odds, one thing Putin’s invasion has done is galvanize the Ukrainian people like never before.
It’s an unmistakable, irrepressible resilience that convinces me the arc of history will go anything but Putin’s way.
Opinion by Sasha Dovzhyk
Sasha Dovzhykis a special projects curator at the Ukrainian Institute London and associate lecturer in Ukrainian at the School of Slavonic and East-European Studies, University College London. She divides her time between London and Ukraine where she works as a “fixer“– a translator and producer for foreign journalists.
A year into the full-scale invasion, my passport is a novel in stamps. My life is split between London, where I teach Ukrainian literature, and Ukraine, where I get my lessons in courage.
My former classmates from Zaporizhzhia whom, based on our teenage habits, I expected to perish from addictions a long time ago, have volunteered to fight. My hairdresser, whom I expected to remain a sweet summer child, turned out to have fled on foot from the Russia-occupied town of Bucha through the forest with her mother, grandmother and five dogs.
My capital, which the Kremlin and the West expected to fall in three days, has withstood 12 months of Russia’s terrorist bombings and energy blackouts. These dark winter nights, one sees so many stars over Kyiv which the Russians have only managed to bring closer to eternity.
Ukrainians have learned that they are stronger than was expected of them. Have those who have underestimated them learned their lessons? Military aid has been enough for Ukraine to survive but not to crush the enemy.
For the outside world, the idea of a defeated Russia is still scarier than the sight of Ukraine half-ruined. Just like a year ago, Ukraine is calling on the rest of the world to find courage.
Opinion by Andrei Kolesnikov
Andrei Kolesnikov is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He is the author of several books on the political and social history of Russia, including “Five Five-Year Liberal Reforms.” Origins of Russian Modernization and Egor Gaidar’s Legacy.”
It seems that since February 2022 we have experienced several eras. The first was euphoric, when Putin suddenly, after a significant time of stagnant ratings, received more than 80% approval from the population.
It seemed to many at the time that the campaign would be short, like the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Then, beginning in late spring, came a period of apathy, when people tried not to pay attention to what was being done in Ukraine.
And in the fall, public demobilization was replaced by mobilization – Putin demanded that citizens share responsibility for the war with him with their bodies. This provoked unprecedented anxiety, but instead of serious protests, the bulk of the population again preferred adaptation.
Among Putin’s supporters there is also a group of aggressive conformists who have become supporters of total war.
But everyone experienced the shock of war differently. For millions of people in Russia, what happened was an absolute catastrophe: Putin not only destroyed all the achievements of previous life, he aborted the country’s history.
By aborting the past, he canceled the future. Those who were disoriented, preferred to support Putin: it is easier to live this way when your superiors decide everything for you, and you take for granted everything you are told by propaganda.
For me personally and my family, what happened was a catastrophe to which it is impossible to adapt. As an active commentator on the events, I was labeled by the authorities as a “foreign agent,” which increased personal risk and reinforced the impression of living in an Orwellian anti-utopia.
On the evening of February 23 I washed my dog, cleaned the house, took a bath and lit candles. I have a cozy, one-bedroom apartment in a northern district of Kyiv. I loved taking care of it. I loved the life I had. All of it – the small routines and the struggles. That night was the last time my life mattered.
The next morning my phone was buzzing from all the messages and missed calls. A red headline in all caps on the Kyiv Independent website read: “PUTIN DECLARES WAR ON UKRAINE.”
I remember talking to colleagues, trying to assemble and coordinate a small army of volunteers to strengthen the newsroom. And calling my parents to organize buying supplies.
We’d been expecting a battle for quite some time and knew it would be an uphill one. I had a solid plan, and it was working.
The life I knew started falling apart soon after, starting with the small things. It no longer mattered what cup I used to drink my morning tea, or how I dressed, or whether or not I took a shower. Life itself no longer mattered, only the battle did.
Just a few weeks into the full-scale invasion it was already hard to remember the struggles, sorrows and joyful moments of the pre-war era. I would remember being upset about my boyfriend, but I could no longer relate. My life didn’t change on February 24, it was stolen from me on that day.
And besides the obvious battles, there was another one to fight – trying to claim my life back. The life Russia stole from me and millions of Ukrainians.
Opinion by Anna Ryzhykova
Anna Ryzhykovais a Ukrainian track and field athlete, Olympic bronze medalist and multiple European Championships medalist.
By March, my initial shock and fear of the war turned into a desire to act through sports. Athletes could fight against Russian propaganda in the best way. We just had to tell the truth about the war and Ukrainians – how strong, kind and brave we are. How we have united to defend our country.
I was no longer concerned with my personal ambitions. Only the common goal was crucial – to raise our flag and show that we are fighting even under these circumstances.
I couldn’t enjoy my victories on the track. They were only possible because so many defenders had laid down their lives. But I got messages from soldiers on the frontline. They were so happy to follow our achievements, and it was my primary motivation to continue my career.
This whole year has been full of tears and worries. I read the news about people close to me killed by Russians – a teammate, the director of a sports school, or a friend’s parents.
After each attack, I call my family and friends to ensure they are alive. The seconds of waiting for their voices are excruciating.
Life values have changed. Like never before, I enjoy every opportunity to see or talk to relatives and friends. And like other Ukrainians, I believe in our victory and that all of us will return to our beloved country. But we need the world’s help.
Hall of Fame horse trainer Bob Baffert will miss the Kentucky Derby for a second straight year after a federal judge denied his request to have a two-year ban by Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI) overturned.
US District Court Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings ruled Friday that Baffert and his attorneys “failed to carry their burden to demonstrate that the Court should impose a preliminary injunction against CDI’s suspension.”
Baffert, 70, argued, among other things, that his suspension had a negative effect on his business and reputation. Baffert also argued that Churchill Downs would not be affected if he were allowed to compete at the Kentucky Derby in May.
Jennings noted his participation could impact the integrity of the race as he is the only trainer who has had horses test positive in consecutive marquee races on Churchill Downs Inc. tracks.
“Failing to punish trainers whose horses test positive in marquee races could harm CDI’s reputation and the integrity of their races,” Jennings wrote.
CNN has reached out to Baffert’s representation for comment. It is unclear if Baffert’s attorneys intend to appeal the federal judge’s decision.
“Churchill Downs is pleased that the Court denied Mr. Baffert’s demand for a preliminary injunction and granted our motion to dismiss on all but one claim, and on that claim, the Court held that Mr. Baffert did not establish a likelihood of success on the merits,” the company that runs the Louisville racetrack said Friday.
“Today’s opinion is a victory for the integrity of horseracing and we will continue to take action to protect the safety of our human and equine athletes.”
Baffert was banned from all three Triple Crown races last year after Medina Spirit’s victory at the 2021 Kentucky Derby was disqualified.
The Kentucky Derby winner, who died in December 2021, tested positive for betamethasone – an anti-inflammatory corticosteroid sometimes used to relieve joint pain – in a blood sample taken after crossing the finish line first. Kentucky horse racing rules don’t allow that and tell trainers to stop using the therapeutic 14 days before an event.
In February 2022, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission announced its decision to disqualify Medina Spirit and suspended Baffert for 90 days.
In total, Baffert received a two-year suspension from Churchill Downs, a one-year suspension from the New York Racing Association, and was suspended from the 147th running of the Preakness Stakes in Maryland.
A two-time winner of horse racing’s Triple Crown, Baffert is eligible to enter horses this year at the Preakness Stakes in May and at the Belmont Stakes in June. Baffert’s suspension from the Kentucky Derby expires after the 2023 race.
The French side has failed to progress beyond the round of 16 four times in the last six seasons and could be facing the same fate this year after a 1-0 first-leg defeat against Bayern Munich at the Parc des Princes.
Kingsley Coman, who also condemned PSG to a 1-0 defeat in the Champions League final two and a half years ago, scored the only goal of Tuesday’s game in the French capital, putting Bayern in control of the tie ahead of the second leg in Munich on March 8.
The German champion controlled possession for most of the contest and saw that dominance rewarded early in the second half when Coman, unmarked in the PSG box, volleyed Alphonso Davies’ cross under Gianluigi Donnarumma.
PSG responded by bringing on star striker Kylian Mbappé, who had been carrying a thigh injury ahead of the game.
Pushing for an equalizer, Mbappé, the top scorer in the Champions League this season, used his pace to get behind the Bayern defensive line but had a shot saved by the face of goalkeeper Yann Sommer.
He then had the ball in the net minutes later, only for the video assistant referee to rule that Nuno Mendes was offside in the build-up.
By now, PSG had started to come alive and Mendes was proving a lively presence on the left wing. With six minutes remaining, the Portuguese international evaded Serge Gnabry and Joshua Kimmich and found Lionel Messi free in the box, but a brilliant block from Benjamin Pavard denied the equalizer.
As the chances kept coming for PSG, Pavard was red carded after receiving a second yellow card for a late challenge on Messi. Although it made no difference to the scoreline, it does mean the defender will miss the second leg in Munich in three weeks’ time.
“We said we had to take the positives, it’s a two-legged tie,” Mbappé told reporters after the game. “We can’t change what happened in the first leg. We will go there to qualify. We know that there is a possibility. There is always a good possibility to qualify.”
While the defeat conjured up memories of PSG’s past shortcomings in the Champions League, fans did also get a glimpse into the future with Warren Zaïre-Emery becoming the youngest player to start a knockout stage game in the competition at the age of 16 years and 343 days.
The midfielder was born in 2006, more than a year after the 35-year-old Messi made his Champions League debut.
After defeats against Marseille and Monaco, PSG has now lost three matches in a row for the first time since 2020 and faces Lille in the league on Sunday in a bid to get its season back on track.
Bayern, meanwhile, has won all seven of its Champions League games this season and will feel confident about reaching the quarterfinals ahead of the second leg.
“Overall, we did a good job,” said manager Julian Nagelsmann. “We’ve taken the first step and want to follow it up by taking the second.”
In Tuesday’s other Champions League game, AC Milan defeated Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 at the San Siro thanks to Brahim Díaz’s early goal, giving the Italian side the advantage in its bid to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2011.
The Super Bowl presents a formidable challenge to advertisers, trying to justify the giant price tag for 30-second spots (as much as $7 million each, per Variety, for ads between kickoff and the final gun) by coming up with campaigns that feel as big as the game.
This year, the scales tipped heavily toward celebrity talent – in several cases, thrown together in incongruous bunches – in commercials that were loud but frequently didn’t make a whole lot of sense.
For starters, it helps when the talent has some kind of logical connection to the product, or at least figures into the creative in a way that advances that message. Being cute for its own sake can be fine, but it’s seldom particularly memorable.
Using that logic, bravo to Rakuten, a shopping site, for enlisting Alicia Silverstone to reprise her “Clueless” role as the shopping-obsessed Cher, which she slid into like an old private-school uniform; and thumbs down to a celebrity-studded spot for Michelob Ultra featuring Serena Williams, Brian Cox and a host of others in an odd tribute to “Caddyshack.”
Then again, this year’s crop of beer ads were mostly flat, especially given the high bar that Budweiser has customarily set for Super Bowls past. The main exception would be the Miller-Coors-Blue Moon spot, which was fun, if a little confusing.
As was noted before the game, crypto ads that sought to make a splash at Super Bowl LVI sat out this year’s showcase, a reminder that newer product categories brave entering the Super Bowl derby at their own peril.
Where were the other highlights, which were outnumbered (as usual) by the middling or low ones? Here’s a snap-decision breakdown of who scored and who fumbled on TV’s biggest stage. While this doesn’t include every spot that aired, if an ad featured four or more celebrities, assume it leaned toward the “loser” column.
Movies: The movie business hasn’t rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, but the number of ads for upcoming blockbusters (and hoped-for blockbusters) felt like a collective vote of confidence in theatrical movie-going. Hollywood will likely never completely bounce back in the streaming age, but the studios appeared to serve notice that they’re not giving up without a fight.
Of that roster of titles, give the nod to “The Flash,” which should stoke enormous interest in that Warner Bros. title (like CNN, a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery), and put the focus on the film instead of star Ezra Miller’s off-screen issues. Give honorable mention to “Indiana Jones” and “Creed” among the sequels, which also included pregame spots for “Transformers” and “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Also featured: “Air,” based on Michael Jordan’s Nike deal.
Ram: There were again several electric-car ads, but give Ram the gold medal for its cheeky double-entendre about “premature electrification.”
Rakuten: Would Silverstone waste this kind of opportunity to bask in a little of that “Clueless” nostalgia? As if.
T-Mobile: Bradley Cooper and his mother were pretty adorable, especially when she told him that while he’s been nominated for stuff, he hasn’t won anything. Much better, alas, than its John Travolta “Grease” homage.
Pepsi Zero Sugar: Steve Martin and Ben Stiller gave mini-classes on acting. So, do they really drink this stuff? Probably not, but it was fun to watch them pretend, and enhanced by the one-two punch of it.
PopCorners: Just the idea of a “Breaking Bad” reunion gets high marks (plus the line “We don’t eat our own supply”), even if the snack-food product might not have been the ideal vehicle for it.
Farmer’s Dog and Amazon: Two winners about our canine companions: Watching a dog’s life unfold, and thinking about losing one, served as one of the few genuine tearjerkers of the day; and on a lighter note, getting a destructive pooch a pal, via Amazon.
CrowdStrike: If only the cyber-security company had been around during the Trojan War. A great visual idea.
Google: Another spot that brought together unlikely celebrities – Amy Schumer, Doja Cat and NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo – but in a clever demonstration of how its pixel product can “fix” old photos.
Kia. If you forget your baby’s binky, this is definitely the car for you.
Disney: Marking its 100th anniversary, the studio ran a spot to demonstrate the sweeping depth of its content, and its intricate hold on childhood memories.
Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen: After the histrionics of Fox’s pregame show (never mind the issues with the sound being off), the announcers – handling their first Super Bowl – rose to the occasion, with a solid call that identified the problems with the field, debated a “game-altering penalty” at the end; didn’t get in the way of the action and reminded everyone this was, after all, a football game.
General Motors and Netflix: GM teamed with Netflix shows to push its EV cars, with Will Ferrell as the guide through shows like “Bridgerton” and “Stranger Things.” Not great, but at least it felt big and inventive.
Dunkin’: Ben Affleck (mostly) and Jennifer Lopez brought some celebrity sizzle to the idea of a star moonlighting at a donut store.
Paramount+: The advantage of featuring Sylvester Stallone in a streaming show, apparently, is one more star to help promote “Paramount Mountain.”
HeGetsUs.com. The ads for this evangelical campaign were certainly arresting in reminding people, say, that Jesus was a refugee, and to love everyone. Yet despite being one of the few ads about something that played Sunday, the goal of its message seemed muddled, a perception reinforced by details about the group behind it.
Workday: Rock stars differentiate between calling someone a rock star and actually being one. A fun idea, indifferently executed.
Etrade: Nobody ever went wrong with talking babies, but that said, talking babies is a pretty tired gimmick.
Weather Tech: A solid “Made in America” pitch.
Beer ads: Miles and Keleigh Sperry Teller seem like a cute couple to have a beer with. What the ad didn’t do is make a case for that being a Bud Light. Ditto for Budweiser connecting a six-pack of Bud to “Six Degrees of Separation” (or Kevin Bacon), which had the right vibe to it but felt like a bit of a stretch.
Booking.com: Hey, who couldn’t use a vacation? But why are we watching Melissa McCarthy sing about it?
Doritos: Jack Harlow, Missy Elliott and Elton John pushing triangles? Another case of trying to be too hip and just looking square.
Downy Unstoppables: Danny McBride likes it so much he’d change his name. But the whole thing was pretty McSilly.
DraftKings: Kevin Hart and a host of celebrities appeared, but will it be remembered as a great Super Bowl ad? Don’t bet on it.
Hellmann’s: Jon Hamm and Brie Larson in a refrigerator? Yes, mayonnaise goes with ham and Brie, but as Hamm said at the end, “That’s weird.”
Remy Martin: Serena Williams’ speech was stirring, but the product was a complete afterthought.
Planters: A Friars Club-style celebrity roast of Mr. Peanut felt like a weak attempt to butter up consumers.
Jeep: The “Freedom is electric” tag line worked. The CGI dancing animals, not so much.
Pringles: Another version of the hand stuck in the can campaign? That just feels like their creative is stuck in the ’90s.
Squarespace: Adam Driver is already pretty overexposed, but that commercial – featuring dozens of him – made him really overexposed.
Tubi: Someone should have talked the ad agency and marketing team out of going down that bizarre rabbit hole.
M&Ms: The only real comment to that Maya Rudolph spot was “???”
Limit/Break: Yes, saw the bar code. No, did not scan now.
Electric carmaker Tesla will face a hit on Super Bowl Sunday, when an ad will play showing the alleged dangers of its Full Self-Driving technology.
The commercial, which will be aired in Washington, DC, Austin, Tallahassee, Albany, Atlanta and Sacramento does not paint Tesla in the best light. The ad is part of a multimillion dollar advertising campaign by The Dawn Project. Its founder, Dan O’Dowd, is a California tech CEO who has dedicated millions of his own money (and a failed US Senate race) to the cause.
The ad cost $598,000, a Dawn Project spokesperson told CNN.
It shows a Tesla Model 3, which allegedly has the Full Self-Driving mode turned on, running over a child-sized dummy on a school crosswalk, and then a fake baby in a stroller, in a series of tests by the Dawn Project. In the ad, the car swerves into oncoming traffic, zooms past stopped school buses, and cruises through “do not enter” signs.
“Tesla’s Full Self-Driving is endangering the public,” the ad said. “With deceptive marketing and woefully inept engineering.”
The Dawn Project says it wants to make computer-controlled systems safer for humanity, shooting its own videos as tests of Tesla’s alleged design flaws. In August, O’Dowd published a video showing a Tesla plowing into child-sized mannequins. Some Tesla fans posted their own videos in defense, using their own dummies or even their own children – YouTube has taken down several test videos involving actual children, citing safety risks.
O’Dowd received a cease and desist letter from Tesla over the video, claiming he and the Dawn Project were “disparaging Tesla’s commercial interests and disseminating defamatory information to the public.”
O’Dowd responded to the cease-and-desist with a 1,736-word post in which he pushed back at the suggestion his posts were defamatory, defended his tests and returned barbs from Musk and some Tesla supporters.
O’Dowd, who sold software to the military, is undertaking a campaign of millions of dollars to ban Tesla’s Full Self-Driving feature. He is running national ads and posting online videos displaying the possible dangers of Musk’s technology. He also ran an unsuccessful one-issue campaign for the US Senate on the same message.
Though officially in beta mode, Full Self-Driving is available to any user in North America who wants to purchase the $15,000 feature.
Tesla did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment. Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” system is intended to someday work on city streets, but despite its wide rollout, is still officially in a developmental “beta” program. No car for sale on the market is yet able to drive itself.
Autopilot is a suite of driver-assist features, while Full Self-Driving steers the car on city streets, but could also stop for traffic signals and make turns.
Tesla contends it is not aware of any ongoing government investigation that has concluded any wrongdoing occurred, and said its Autopilot, with its automated steering designed to keep a car within a lane, is safer than normal driving.
“Tesla’s reckless deployment of Full Self-Driving software on public roads is a major threat to public safety. Elon Musk has released software that will run down children in school crosswalks, swerve into oncoming traffic and hit a baby in a stroller to all Tesla owners in North America,” O’Dowd said in a statement.
Tesla said it “has received requests from the Department of Justice for documents related to Tesla’s Autopilot and FSD features” in a January 31 public filing.
Federal investigators are looking into a Musk tweet about disabling driver alerts on Tesla’s “Full Self Driving” driver assist system, joining several other National Highway Traffic Safety Administration probes.
On December 31, Musk replied to a tweet by @WholeMarsBlog which said “users with more than 10,000 miles on FSD Beta should be given the option to turn off the steering wheel nag.”
“Agreed, update coming in Jan,” Musk replied.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced last summer it was escalating its Tesla probe to an “engineering analysis,” a step toward seeking a recall. NHTSA first investigated Tesla’s driver-assist technology after reports Autopilot-engaged vehicles were crashing into emergency vehicles stopped at the scene of earlier crashes.
O’Dowd is the founder and CEO of Green Hills Software. Some of Musk’s defenders claim O’Dowd has a conflict of interest as one of its customers is Intel-owned Mobileye, which makes a computer chip to run driver-assisted software, the Washington Post reported.
O’Dowd told the Washington Post Mobileye is one of his hundreds of customers and that his main motivation is safety.
By now, if you watch The Lead or State of the Union, you may have noticed my giant, obnoxious dark green Eagles mug.
Yes, I’m a long-suffering Philly sports fan, though truth be told we haven’t been suffering all that much recently.
My fandom (phan-dom?) first peaked in the early 1980s with the Phillies win in 1980 when I was 11, Eagles NFC Championship (then Super Bowl loss to the Raiders…) in 1981 and Sixers championship in 1983. The devotion my friends and I had to these teams at the time seemed sweet and innocent.
And then because of how apps made it easier to follow sports in the last five or so years, I have been brought back to that mindset: boyish, childlike, my happiness rising or falling depending upon a team’s performance beyond any rational thought. Right in time for these teams to achieve a convergence of excellence.
If you’re not from Philly, maybe you don’t care. Maybe, you don’t like us and find it all off-putting. As Eagles center Jason Kelce put it in 2018 after our glorious Super Bowl victory against the villainous Tom Brady-led Patriots, “No one likes us. We don’t care.”
That’s because historically for so many of us one thing has united all those franchises: pain. I know that if I bothered to follow the MLS, I’m sure I could induce even more of it by supporting the Philadelphia Union. There’s just something about Philadelphia that makes our teams frustratingly, maddeningly prone to delivering disappointment.
Even at the 2018 Super Bowl, I was in a state of more or less constant terror. Right up until the last seconds, when Brady dropped back in the pocket to fling that Hail Mary, I was convinced we were going to lose.
Partly that was because it was the Patriots – because that’s what they do to you – and partly because it was the Eagles, because that’s what we do to ourselves.
When that ball bounced limply into the end zone, I can honestly say that only the joy I experienced at my wedding and the birth of my two children came close.
We’re an odd lot, Philly sports fans. We know that. We experience it all together. We say goodbye by saying “Go birds” these days. It’s like the Hebrew word “Shalom,” which means hello and also goodbye and also peace. It has many meanings but all of them are positive. “What’s up, Jake? Go birds.” I get it, man.
After the Super Bowl LII win, we sank back into a state of dissatisfying sadness. We lost both our quarterbacks. Both of them! The whole team broke up very quickly.
It was weird to watch them so soon after that euphoria and see how many players I’d grown to love were no longer there. Personally, I would have stuck with Nick Foles, but of course, I didn’t know Jalen Hurts was waiting around the corner. The fact that our incredible new quarterback’s name is Hurts really says it all.
It’s a bit stupid; I’ve been to various major league sports events in Boston, New York, Chicago and elsewhere, and I promise we don’t have a monopoly on drunk, rude idiots. But I also don’t mind if opposing teams and their fans find the Linc or Citizens Bank Park or the Wells Fargo Center intimidating places to enter; for my money, that’s a good thing, especially if it helps us win.
Yes, the origins of the ‘No one likes us’ song come from the English soccer club, Millwall – no need to quote the sports version of Neil Kinnock and not footnote – but some argue their fans are way more horrible than Eagles fans.
There’s still a sense of fun about our horribleness, and still a sense of pain that unites us, even if this is our second Super Bowl in five years.
On Thursday, someone forwarded me a press release that an adult entertainment company sent out saying it was sending 1,500 gallons of cheese-flavored lube to grease the city’s light poles to stop our fans from climbing them. I’m not sure what to think of that, but at least people are thinking about the Eagles. Perhaps, our presidential politics may have turned out differently if the adult entertainment industry had been thinking as prophylactically on other matters.
So what about Sunday? I’m a professional skeptic and like many of my brothers and sisters in Phandom, I’m very superstitious. So I don’t even want to talk about this Sunday. I don’t want to jinx it.
In fact, if the Gods of Fate are reading this, let me acknowledge that I know I deserve nothing and am expecting only pain. That’s Philadelphia sports, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Nearly every year more people watch the Super Bowl than any other event and many like to watch with some skin in the game.
According to a survey done by the American Gaming Association, this year a record 50.4 million adults (20% of the population) in the US are expected to bet approximately $16 billion on the Super Bowl.
The expected number of bettors is up 61% from last year. That number is helped by Ohio, Maryland, Kansas and Massachusetts all legalizing sports gambling since last year’s Super Bowl.
The $16 billion sum is more than double last year’s estimates – it includes money bet online, at casinos, with a bookie, or just casually with friends (like buying a Super Bowl Square).
When it comes to the Super Bowl you can bet on almost anything that has to do with the game and even things that don’t have to do with it all.
Here’s a some of the most fun popular prop bets for Super Bowl LVII.
Under 2:07 +145 Over 2:07 -190 (Bovada) Grammy-winning country music artist Chris Stapleton has been tapped to sing the national anthem. You can bet on whether the anthem will come under 2:07 minutes or over 2:07 minutes.
Over is the favorite here and with good reason. Nine out of the past 16 anthems have gone over with three out of the last four country singers also going over the set time.
Demi Lovato was the last singer to go under at Super Bowl 54.
Heads -104
Tails -104
(Fan Duel)
You get a true 50-50 shot at winning this one but you still have to pay the juice – the amount the sportsbook takes for taking your bet.
Tails leads 29-27 historically but heads is making a comeback winning four out of the last five tosses.
Winning the coin toss has been serious bad luck for teams in the Super Bowl lately. The last eight teams to win the coin toss have lost the Super Bowl.
Yellow/Green +165
Orange +300
Blue +400
Red +450
Purple +750
Water +750
None +1200
(Draft Kings)
Blue has been the winning color in three of the past four years but yellow/green is the favorite this time.
That’s likely because in 2018 when the Philadelphia Eagles won yellow Gatorade was poured on then coach Doug Pederson. If you are wondering what color the Kansas City Chiefs used when they won in 2020 it was orange.
Yes +165
No -220
(Bovada)
After winning the Super Bowl in 2020, Chiefs coach Andy Reid said he was going to get the biggest cheeseburger you’ve ever seen to celebrate.
He has mentioned many times his affinity for cheeseburgers so good chance if they win, he brings them up again.
Doritos -150
M&Ms +115
(Bovada)
If you only watch the Super Bowl for the commercials rest easy – you can bet on which ad you will see first.
Black -110
Gold +600
Silver/gray +600
White +600
Green +700
Purple/pink +800
Red +850
Blue +1000
Brown +1400
Yellow +1400
Orange +1800
(Bovada) Black is the heavy favorite here … but that’s no fun. Rihanna always has fancy outfits and an underdog here could easily win.
Yes +1600
No +15000
(Bovada)
Super Bowl LVII is the 10-year anniversary of the power going out during the match between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers in New Orleans.
Will it happen again? Probably not. But you can bet on it.
Yes +2500
No -15000
(Bovada) Not sure why this is a prop … but someone parachuting the game ball in would be cool. Even cooler if it’s Tom Cruise.
Super Bowl LVI was the crypto world’s coming out party. Buzzy firms made bold pitcheslast year, and shelled out millions of dollars on ads encouraging viewers not to be afraid of this new-fangled digital investment — and for God’s sake don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity!
You can expect a lot less noise from Team Crypto during Super Bowl LVII next Sunday.
In the year since those celebrity-packed ads debuted, the entire crypto industry has been rattled by acollapse in digital asset values. Bankruptciesbegan to pile up over the summer.
Then the real pain started.
Of the four crypto or crypto-affiliated companies that advertised in the Super Bowl last year, one (FTX) has collapsed completely. The others (Coinbase, Crypto.com and eToro) have fought against industry headwinds. Shares of Coinbase, the only publicly traded company in the group, have fallen more than 60% since its “floating QR code” ad became one of the most talked-about spots.
Don’t expect any of those companies to be back this year. FTX is bankrupt and under criminal investigation by federal prosecutors. Etoro, a multi-asset trading platform, confirmed to CNN it would not be splurging on an ad this year, saying that while it continues to invest heavily in marketing, “we dial up or down specific channels based on many factors including market conditions.”
Coinbase declined to comment. Representatives for Crypto.com — the company behind the ad featuring LeBron James telling his younger self to “call your own shots” — didn’t respond to requests for comment.
But there will be at least one crypto-adjacent newcomer. Limit Break, a blockchain-based game developer, has secured a spot and intends to give away 40,000 NFTs, or non-fungible tokens (aka one-of-a-kind digital collectibles) to viewers who scan its QR code. Limit Break, founded in 2021, said it has already raised $200 million and expects to grow “a massive global audience.”
Despite what is being called a “crypto winter,” sports advertising remains a crucial avenue for the digital curency, marketing experts say, as their target demographics share significant overlap — sports fans and crypto traders tend to be mostly male and mostly young.
But turmoil in the crypto space means marketers are changing their tactics.
“The tone has shifted towards Web3-driven fan engagement over crypto-specific advertising,” said Silvia Lacayo, head of marketing at crypto exchange Bitstamp US. (Web3 refers to a future internet framework that is decentralized and gives consumers more control over their own data).
“Crypto firms are focusing less on crypto advertising and more on investing in better user experiences, products, and customer service,” Lacayo added.
Although we don’t yet know the final lineup of advertisers for the Super Bowl, the usual suspects — beer, snacks, cars — are on deck as usual.
“The fact that the crypto players are not going to be on the Super Bowl reflects the fact that that world has profoundly changed,” Calkins said. “Last year it was an exuberant time for crypto … This year, everything is different.”
A year ago, FTX fetched a private valuation of around $32 billion. Its Super Bowl ads featured Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen. Another FTX ad featured Larry David in a role that, a year later, appears prescient, with David sarcastically predicting that FTX won’t make it.
In November, nine months after the ad debuted, FTX filed for bankruptcy. Several former executives have been charged with wire fraud and conspiracy over allegations FTX misappropriated customer funds.
“It’s amazing how you can look back one year you realize we were in such a different place,” Calkins said. “Last year we had a Super Bowl advertiser saying, ‘fly me to the moon,’” he said, referencing the music in eToro’s ad, which many read as a nod to the meme-stock traders’ rally cry.
But a year of higher inflation, the end of pandemic-era stimulus and higher interest rates has put a damper on financial markets — not only crypto, but traditional markets as well.
That shift in mood will likely show up in the kinds of advertisers we see and in their messaging.
“Our economy’s in a strange place,” Calkins says. “So if you’re an advertiser, it’s hard to know — how do you play that?”
Less than six weeks after the national team’s remarkable performance at the World Cup, Morocco finds itself at the center of world soccer as it hosts the FIFA Club World Cup.
Since 2005 the Club World Cup has been held annually, featuring the six winners of each continent’s equivalent to Europe’s Champions League tournament, plus an additional club from the host nation.
Over the last decade, European teams have dominated the tournament, last losing a match when Brazilian club Corinthians beat Chelsea in the 2012 final. Fourteen-time European Cup winner Real Madrid will enter the 2023 competition as heavy favorites.
Unlike the World Cup where there is a group stage, the clubs play a straight knockout tournament with the caveat that various continents qualify for different stages of the tournament.
The champion of Oceania plays the host club in the first round. The winner is then drawn with the champions of Africa, Asia and North America in two knockout games. The winner of each game then plays the European and South American champions in the semifinals.
Because Wydad Casablanca is both the champion of Morocco and Africa, the role of “host” passes to Egyptian club Al Ahly who lost to the Moroccan team in the final of the African Champions League in May.
Wydad enters the tournament at the quarterfinal stage, playing against Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia with South American champion Flamengo waiting in the semifinals.
Hunting a record fifth title, Real Madrid also enters at the semifinal stage and will face either New Zealand club Auckland City, Al Ahly, or the Seattle Sounders – the first ever US club to play in the Club World Cup.
No African club has ever won the Club World Cup, but Wydad fan Mohamed Berrada is confident that in a tournament on home soil, the team can channel the success of its history-making national side – and perhaps even lift the trophy.
“We had a very good World Cup with the national team in Qatar,” Berrada tells CNN Sports. “Everybody is talking about us, and we know that we will be very followed in this Club World Cup.”
Expectations are high for the club with tickets for Wydad’s first match against Al Hilal selling out in under two hours as fans from Casablanca will make the one hour journey to Rabat’s 53,000 capacity Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.
Fans who regularly watch the English Premier League, La Liga, and the UEFA Champions League could be forgiven for asking the question: who cares about the Club World Cup? The European teams nearly always win, it adds extra fixtures to an already busy calendar, and fans have to watch their team play in far-flung countries.
That sentiment is shared by some players. Manchester United great Paul Scholes once said on BBC Radio Five Live that the Club World Cup was less important to him than his local badminton tournament.
But take a step outside Europe and the perception of the competition is very different.
Flamengo fan João Paulo still views his team’s 3-0 triumph over Liverpool in 1981 in the Intercontinental Cup – a precursor to the Club World Cup – as the greatest moment in the club’s history.
Despite Europe’s dominance in the tournament, it is still taken just as seriously in Brazil as it was 40 years ago.
In 1981 Paulo listened to the match against Liverpool on the radio; in 2019, he made the trip to Qatar where Flamengo lost against the same opponent, and this year he is one of thousands of Flamengo fans making the trip to Morocco.
“I believe that for us, for Brazilian and for South American supporters, winning the [Club] World Cup is something incredible. It’s amazing,” he tells CNN Sports.
“If we win this or if any team from South America can win this, this would be something that would change your life as a supporter.”
It’s a sentiment is not limited to South America.
Pitso Mosimane, who took Egyptian giants Al Ahly to back-to-back bronze medals in 2020 and 2021 and is arguably Africa’s greatest coach in the modern era, says the Club World Cup was the “highlight” of his career.
“It’s the pinnacle of any club coach,” he tells CNN Sport.s “What’s the biggest tournament you want to play? Some would say the Champions League, but the Champions League leads you to the Club World Cup.”
For Mosimane and others, the Club World Cup is the one chance that players, coaches, and fans get to test themselves against the very best.
And even in a format that Mosimane says loads the dice in favour of Europeans and South American teams by allowing them to enter at the semifinals, the Club World Cup is the opportunity for fans of the Sounders, Al Ahly, Wydad and even Auckland City to earn the respect that Real Madrid has by dint of its geography.
Those “loaded dice” are potentially on their last roll as Morocco’s tournament is the final Club World Cup to be held in its current format.
Perhaps lost amidst the hysteria of Lionel Messi winning his first World Cup title was the announcement made by FIFA president Gianni Infantino that the Club World Cup would be turned into a 32-team tournament played every four years, starting in 2025.
It is recognition from the head of world soccer that the tournament has not drawn the interest that the concept warrants.
With the tournament falling at the same time as the major leagues in Europe and just a few weeks ahead of the resumption of the Champions League, FIFA has recognized that it needs to both expand the tournament and find a time that does not clash with major club soccer.
Soccer’s global governing body has not provided any information on the format of the tournament beyond the number of participants, but the announcement has caused quite a stir, particularly in Europe.
The Premier League maintains its position that it is, “committed to preventing any radical changes to the post-2024 FIFA international match calendar that would adversely affect player welfare and threaten the competitiveness, calendar, structures and traditions of domestic football.”
FIFPRO, the global player’s union, said that the tournament could have “serious consequences for and aggravate pressure on the welfare and employment of players.”
However, Infantino’s idea has traction outside of Europe.
“We would love to see our team playing against more and more international teams,” says Berrada.
Moroccan journalist Amine El Amri agrees, bemoaning the “frustrating” model of the tournament now that gives the Europeans and South Americans an advantage over the other continents.
He tells CNN Sports: “I think it’s just so enchanting for the people of those countries to have their countries in a [Club] World Cup.”
Even in an expanded format, European clubs would arrive as heavy favorites and there are very real concerns about player welfare as the global soccer calendar mercilessly fills up.
But for those outside of Europe, an expanded Club World Cup, if organized properly, is a potential opportunity for those seen as second-class clubs to take their place alongside European clubs at the top table of world soccer.
The Kansas City Chiefs are advancing to Super Bowl LVII following a 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship game on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
After suffering a high ankle sprain last week in the Chiefs’ Divisional Round win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Patrick Mahomes led the team to a victory in a back-and-forth game.
Kansas City got out to a 6-0 lead after two field goals and before halftime, Mahomes found his favorite target – tight end Travis Kelce for a touchdown to take a 13-3 lead. Kelce was listed as questionable to play coming into the game due to a back injury.
Right before halftime, the Bengals drove down the field and kicked a field goal to cut the deficit to 13-6.
On the Bengals’ first offensive possession of the second half, quarterback Joe Burrow found wide receiver Tee Higgins for a 27-yard touchdown to tie up the game at 13. However, a clearly hobbled Mahomes and the Chiefs responded with a laser touchdown throw to Marquez Valdes-Scantling to take the lead right back.
The Chiefs defensive unit shut down the high-powered Bengals offense until the first play of the fourth quarter.
On fourth down, Burrow heaved the ball down the field and found Ja’Marr Chase for a 35-yard strike to move Cincinnati deep into Kansas City territory. Two plays later, the Bengals scored on a 2-yard touchdown run by running back Samaje Perine to tie the game yet again.
The Chiefs sacked Burrow on third down to give them the ball back with less than a minute left and the score tied at 20. Chiefs returner Skyy Moore returned the Bengals punt 29 yards to set the offense up with good field position. On third down, Mahomes scrambled and as he went out of bounds, Bengals defensive end Joseph Ossai pushed him and was called for a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty which put the Chiefs in field goal range.
Kansas City kicker Harrison Butker knocked down the 45-yard field goal to send the Chiefs back to the Super Bowl for the third time in four seasons.
The Eagles scored on their first possession and didn’t look back in the rout of the 49ers.
The 49ers were momentarily left without rookie starting quarterback Brock Purdy after he suffered a right elbow injury in the first quarter, on a hit by Eagles linebacker Haason Reddick that forced a fumble. Josh Johnson, who is the fourth string quarterback for San Francisco, filled in for Purdy until the third quarter before being ruled out of the game with a concussion.
Playing on the injured elbow, Purdy re-entered the game but the 49ers offense struggled to tally any points.
Meanwhile, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia run-game, ran all over the 49ers defense, notching 148 rushing yards and scoring all four touchdowns on the ground. With his rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter, Hurts (15) passed Cameron Newton (14) for most rushing touchdown’s in a single season by a QB in NFL history, including playoffs, according to NFL Research.
When Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney took control of lower league soccer club Wrexham AFC in 2021, it was widely assumed that it was the Hollywood stars who would be bringing the magic.
Two years on, however, this isn’t just a story about the A-listers generously sprinkling stardust – it’s more about the Hollywood duo getting to experience the enchantment of English football, notably the FA Cup.
“I think what a lot of people don’t understand about the sport of football is how much anxiety it creates more than any other sport,” McElhenney told CNN’s Don Riddell as he reflected on Wrexham’s remarkable 4-3 victory over Coventry City to reach the fourth round of the world’s oldest competition.
“That last 20 minutes was harrowing, it was amongst the greatest and worst 20 minutes of my entire life,” added McElhenney, as he relived how Wrexham nervously held on having led 4-1 at one stage of the match.
The world’s third-oldest football club, Wrexham has never played in the top-flight of English football, but the club has a proud record in the FA Cup, having previously reached the quarterfinals and famously beat Arsenal in the third round in 1992.
Currently playing in the National League – English soccer’s fifth tier – Wrexham was 60 places and three divisions below Coventry when the two teams met in the FA Cup third round.
McElhenney and Reynolds made headlines when they completed their takeover of the club in 2021, with ambitions of taking the Welsh club back to the top of soccer.
Wrexham is one of a number of Welsh teams that play in the English football league system due to the club being founded before the creation of the Welsh football league
At the time of the takeover by McElhenney and Reynolds, Wrexham had been languishing outside the top four divisions of English soccer, known as the Football League, for over a decade.
McElhenney and Reynolds have already delivered a TV series – “Welcome to Wrexham” – which documents their time at the club as its emerges from obscurity.
Second in the National league – behind leaders Notts County on goal difference, but having played a game less – if Wrexham wins promotion it will play in English football’s League Two next season.
Secure three more promotions and Wrexham will be playing in the Premier League.
And on Sunday, Wrexham hosts Sheffield United in the FA Cup’s fourth round.
United is second in the Championship – and on course to win promotion to the Premier League – and is likely to provide a much stiffer test than Coventry.
“I think, especially for Americans to see a tournament like this, we just don’t have really anything like this. So there’s something really, really special about this one,” McElhenney says.
The owners’ obvious passion for the club has won over the hearts of Wrexham fans and allowed McElhenney, a guy from Philadelphia, to connect with a community from rural Wales.
“I know those people, I grew up with those people, I am one of those people and to be welcomed into their community has been the ride of my life,” added McElhenney.
McElhenney’s love for soccer, like many in North America, is a new-found love.
The star of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” had been more of a NFL and hockey man, but that changed when he watched a soccer documentary about Diego Maradona.
“I was watching this tiny man who was a magician, I just never seen an athlete do what that man was able to do with the football,” McElhenney recalls of the man widely considered to be one of the world’s greatest ever players.
But it was Maradona’s successor – Lionel Messi – who consummated McElhenney’s love for the beautiful game.
“I had a friend say, ‘You think that guy’s magic? I know of another little man who’s playing right now, who is doing just what Madonna did, except he’s doing it at the highest level for a longer period of time.’
“Of course that was Messi.”
McElhenney began to take more of an interest in soccer, though admits he struggled with the concept of promotion and relegation.
“It’s amazing how many times I’ve had to explain the system over the last year and a half to wide-eyed, slack jawed Americans who had never heard anything like this, and to be fair, I was one of them.”
McElhenney loved the concept that a team could rise from nothing to the top of a sport through the merit of their performances.
“That was really the impetus for this entire thing,” says McElhenney on buying Wrexham.
“It just got my wheels turning insofar as what a great story, what a great opportunity to take a storied club with a rich history, who maybe hasn’t been succeeding at the level that they should be and to invest in them.
“Not only in them, but in the community itself and to see if we could bring them back to their glory in a way that you just could not do in American sports.”
A fourth-round FA Cup tie is not the only unexpected experience for McElhenney – in December, he and Reynolds met King Charles III and Camilla, the queen consort.
The British monarch visited Wrexham to commemorate the granting of “city status” as part of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations earlier in the year.
As part of the royal visit, Charles and Camilla visited the Racehorse Ground – the world’s oldest stadium according to Guinness World Records and the home of AFC Wrexham – and shared a moment with the two actors on the pitch.
“I didn’t plan to go in December, but when the king calls you come, you hop on a plane and you come,” McElhenney recalls.
“His majesty made a joke that I thought was really funny to me and her majesty, the queen consort, really inquisitive and curious about the ladies’ team, about what we were doing with the stadiums.
“We spoke for over an hour, and I just was not expecting that at all. It was, it was truly an honor and something I’ll cherish forever.”
McElhenney and Reynolds have clearly been on quite the journey. A second series of “Welcome to Wrexham” is due for release later this year and with an ambition to reach the Premier League, there is plenty more in store for the pair.
But first Sunday’s game against Sheffield United.
“I went to visit last summer and it’s a beautiful town full of wonderful people, they could not have been more welcoming,” smiles McElhenney.
“But they of course are now the enemy … I’m sharpening my blade for the Blades,” a reference to United’s nickname, which is a nod to Sheffield – once the steel-making capital of the world.
Elena Rybakina powered her way past two-time champion Victoria Azarenka to reach the Australian Open final, winning 7-6 6-3 in just over an hour on Thursday.
The huge-hitting Rybakina has now made two of the last three grand slam finals after her victorious Wimbledon run last summer and, at just 23 years of age, is likely to be a force on the WTA Tour for many years to come.
When everything clicks, Rybakina’s game is almost unstoppable and a marvel to watch. Her ferocious serve and booming groundstrokes allow her to dictate points with ease, so long as she can maintain the consistency to go with the power.
The momentum swung back and forth in the opening set and the more experienced Azarenka looked as though she had the upper hand going into the tie break, but Rybakina found her serve when she needed it most to take a crucial lead.
The second set was a somewhat more straightforward affair, as Rybakina broke Azarenka three times en route to securing a place in her second grand slam final.
“I’m super happy and proud, with my team also because without them it would be difficult to be here,” Rybakina said in her post-match interview. “And really thank you [the crowd] a lot because it’s an incredible atmosphere. I’m super happy to be in the final and play one more time here.
“I’ve got a little bit of experience from Wimbledon, and I want to come on court and enjoy the moment and atmosphere because it’s amazing to play in front of you guys. We’ll see how it’s going to go – for sure, I’ll try my best. I’ll fight and, hopefully, I’m going to win.”
It was yet another near-perfect display of tennis from the 35-year-old, as he continued his seemingly inevitable march towards a record-equaling 22nd grand slam with a 6-1 6-2 6-4 victory in just two hours and three minutes.
Djokovic is now playing arguably the best tennis of his career and has lost just 12 games over his last two matches, extending his winning run at the Australian Open to 26, tying Andre Agassi’s record.
The early signs were ominous for Rublev, who looked to still be feeling the effects of his five-set epic against Holger Rune, with the Russian broken in only his third service game.
It was a setback he never looked like recovering from, as Djokovic ran away with the match and took one step closer to winning a record-extending 10th Australian Open title.
“I would rank this win as No. 2 [this year], but very close to the performance of two nights ago,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview. “I could not be happier with my tennis. I’ve been playing very solid from the back of the court, I love playing in these conditions … this court, I’ve said it before, it’s the most special court for me.
“The scoreline in the first two sets doesn’t speak to the reality of the match, there were some close games we had. Andrey is a great opponent and great player, I have great respect for him. I knew what the gameplan was, but one thing is to imagine how you want to play and another thing is to execute on court. In the most important moments, I found my best tennis.
“I’ve tried about any bio feedback machine on this planet in order to get my leg ready, it worked and I’m going to keep going. I miss tennis on my days off, but it’s important to be smart and wise with the body in these particular circumstances where it’s more important to get ready for the next challenge.”
Djokovic will now face American Tommy Paul, playing in his first grand slam semifinal, for a place in Sunday’s Australian Open final.
“Obviously, he doesn’t have much to lose, first time in the semifinals of a grand slam,” Djokovic said. “He’s been playing some great tennis in the last 12 to 15 months … so I’ve got to be ready mentally, not approach it anyway differently to the last couple of matches.
“If I pay this way, I think I have a good chance to go through.”
And then there were none. Felix Auger-Aliassime’s fourth-round loss at the Australian Open means none of the stars of Netflix’s new tennis documentary ‘Break Point’ have made it through to the second week in Melbourne.
Such poor showing from the series’ stars has led to talk of a ‘Netflix curse’ as player after player crashed out of the tournament.
Canada’s Auger-Aliassime was the last one standing, but the sixth seed fell 6-4 3-6 6-7 (2-7) 6-7 (3-7) to the Czech underdog Jiri Lehecka.
The first five episodes of the documentary, which focuses on the next generation of tennis stars, was streamed earlier this month.
Its aim is to showcase the sport’s younger talent to the world, the ones tipped to step out of the shadows of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic (and, at the time of filming, Roger Federer and Serena Williams as they hadn’t yet retired).
Maria Sakkari, Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud, Matteo Berrettini, Ons Jabeur, Thanasi Kokkinakis have all been eliminated from the first grand slam of the year – which began on January 16 – while Nick Kyrgios, Ajla Tomljanovic and Paula Badosa withdrew before the start of the tournament because of injuries.
It means none of the show’s players, who have all featured in the world’s top 10 at some point in their careers, have made it to the quarterfinals.
Speaking earlier this week, Auger-Aliassime laughed off talk of a so-called curse.
“I thought it was funny,” he told reporters. “I don’t know; I don’t think it’s connected.
“Maybe the players that lost, maybe they do feel like it’s connected, somehow. I don’t think they do. I don’t think it’s connected, anyhow. It’s funny how things work out sometimes.”
The hashtag ‘NetflixCurse’ has been trending on Twitter, with many users writing that the “Netflix curse is now complete” following the Canadian’s exit.
Earlier this week, Netflix’s UK & Ireland Twitter account tweeted: “To clarify: this is purely a coincidence,” in response to a tweet about the so-called curse.
Women’s world No. 1 Iga Swiatek is out of the Australian Open, after losing in the fourth round on Sunday.
Elena Rybakina defeated the 21-year-old Polish tennis player in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 at Rod Laver Arena.
Światek had been favored heading into this year’s tournament after reaching the semifinals last year and winning eight titles in 2022, including two grand slams.
Rybakina, who was born in Russia but has represented Kazakhstan since 2018, won her maiden grand slam title at Wimbledon last year and the first for Kazakhstan.
She will now face the winner of American Coco Gauff and Latvian Jelena Ostapenko in the quarterfinal.
Gauff lost to Światek in the final of the French Open last year but finished 2022 ranked seventh and is considered a serious contender for all four grand slams this year.
The 2023 Australian Open runs through January 29 in Melbourne.
