Good evening!

In a result many sports pundits failed to predict, the Kansas City Chiefs were well and truly outmuscled today by the Philadelphia Eagles. Victory for the Eagles means that the Chiefs fell one Super Bowl short of a three-peat — something no team has done in the Super Bowl era, which began in 1966.

Interestingly, the actual term ‘three-peat’ (which means to win something three times in a row) is trademarked by former Los Angeles Lakers coach Pat Riley.

Now, whenever a professional sports team in the U.S. achieves a three-peat, Riley’s company collects royalties from apparel makers of any hats or shirts made to commemorate the achievement.

Unfortunately for Riley, as demonstrated today, three-peats in professional sports are exceedingly rare.

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Stat of the day

6
Alex de Minaur’s new world ranking after he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the Rotterdam Open. The win marked Alcaraz’s first indoor ATP title and 17th overall. It’s the second year in a row where de Minaur has finished as runner-up, after he lost to Jannik Sinner in last year’s final.

Quote of the day

“For a place that is so tough — everything on land, in the water can kill you –— you have the biggest p***ies I have seen in the media in my life.”
UFC President Dana White in a press conference on Sunday. White was responding to criticism of NSW Premier Chris Minns’ appearance with him on a podcast last week to promote UFC 312, which was held on Sunday. The NSW Government has a contract with UFC to host three events in the state, one of which remains.

Random fact of the day

American football and baseball players sometimes paint black lines under their eyes to reduce glare. The paint is used by players in brightly lit stadiums or arenas who are trying to track balls at high speeds. 

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In case you missed it…

⛵ Great Britain won the Sydney SailGP on Sunday, overcoming Canada in a thrilling finish on Sydney Harbour. The Aussies finished in third place. Australian captain Tom Slingsby said: “We've been sailing so well as a team and have a lot to be proud of, I'm just sorry to the fans. I think everyone thought we were a shoo-in, but it didn’t quite go our way, and that's sport.” Great Britain lead the overall table on 27 points with Australia in a close second on 24. The next event will be in Los Angeles in March. 

🏏 Australia beat Sri Lanka by nine wickets in the second and final Test of the series. With only 75 runs to chase on Day Four, Australia were steered home by Usman Khawaja (27) and Marnus Labushagne (26) after Travis Head was dismissed for 20 runs. The series win was Australia’s first in Sri Lanka since 2011. Stand-in captain Steve Smith was named the Player of the Series.

⚽ Pressure continues to mount on Tottenham Hotspurs coach Ange Postecoglou after his side was eliminated from the FA Cup. The Spurs lost 2-1 to Aston Villa in the fourth round of the domestic knockout competition. Last week, the Spurs were eliminated from the Carabao Cup following a 4-0 loss to Liverpool. The Spurs sit in 14th on the Premier League table.

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Eagles dominate to deny Chiefs a third straight Super Bowl

The Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl LIX, beating the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22. Eagles offensive lineman Jordan Mailata is now the first Australian to play in a Super Bowl and win.

What happened

The Eagles dominated the Chiefs defensively, keeping the two-time defending champions scoreless for the entire first half. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was sacked (tackled while he had the ball behind the scrimmage) six times, the most in his career.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who passed for two touchdowns and scored one himself, won the Super Bowl MVP award.

The victory was sweet revenge for the Eagles, who lost to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl two years ago.

The half-time show by rapper Kendrick Lamar featured actor Samuel L. Jackson as Uncle Sam, a performance by SZA, and retired tennis legend Serena Williams crip-walking under a street light.

What they said

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said: “This is the ultimate team game. You can’t be great without the greatness of others. Great performance by everybody — offense, defense, special teams. We didn’t really ever care what anyone thought about how we won, or their opinions. All we want to do is win.”

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Three Aussie athletes who are taking on the world

Three Australian athletes made their mark on the world stage over the weekend. Cross-country skiier Rosie Fordham achieved an Australian first, middle-distance runner Cameron Myers broke a world record, and veteran surfer Tyler Wright returned to the winner’s circle.

Rosie Fordham

Rosie Fordham has become the first Australian to win an international medal in cross-country skiing. The 22-year-old claimed a silver medal in the 10km interval skating event at the U23 World Ski Championships in Italy.

Fordham, whose previous best finish at the U23 World Championships was 19th, said: "I can't believe that just happened, I was hoping for a top-10 on a good day. I was hearing the splits and I was like, 'no way'. I can't believe it.”

Cameron Myers

18-year-old middle distance athlete Cameron Myers has beaten his world record for the under-20 indoor mile by almost six seconds. At the Wanmaker Mile in New York this weekend, Myers ran 3:47.48. The feat comes a week after he set an Australian indoor record for the 3000m.  

Despite the record-breaking time, Myers was third in the race. The winner, Yared Nuguse, set a new world record of 3:46.63.

Myers said after the race: "My coach told me I'm good enough to hang with anyone in the world for 1,400 metres so I tried to do that and I managed to have a little bit left at the end.”

Tyler Wright

Surfer Tyler Wright became the first woman to win the Pipe Pro for a second time, beating defending world champion Caitlin Simmers on Sunday (AEDT). 30-year-old Wright, a two-time world champion, secured her first event win since April 2023.

After battling with injury last season, Wright said of her victory: “It’s so special, this is such a special win. It means so much.”

In the men’s event, Hawaiian Barron Mamiya won the Pipe Pro for the second consecutive year, beating Italy’s Leo Fioravantia in the final.

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Looking back…

Looking forward…(All times are AEDT)

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