Super Sound Bites

Super Bowl LV media week has arrived, and there were no shortage of sound bites on Day 1...

BY JEFF YODER
FEB. 02, 2021 | SUBSCRIBE | BROWSER VIEW

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Good Morning,

It’s Super Bowl LV media week, which means story time with Rob Gronkowski. This year’s opening sound bite won’t make the Tampa Bay coaching staff happy.

Letter Rip!

NFL

The Kickoff to Super Bowl Week

Photo: Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images

Media Week for Super Bowl LV Goes Virtual

Super Bowl week has finally arrived, but you might not know it because of the virtual approach to the biggest media week in American sports. Normally, 106 players and a few dozen coaches navigate the media labyrinth that comes with the lead-up to the big game, and Monday’s open-mic session always brings the laughs. Things will get more serious by the weekend, but interviews and sound bites galore were the talk of yesterday. Here are the best storylines from opening night of Super Bowl LV media week:

Top-5 Moments From Day 1

The Brady-Mahomes Chat: Both star quarterbacks shared a zoom call and talked about their mutual respect before SBLV.

Nantz & Romo Preview: The CBS Sports crew of Jim Nantz and Tony Romo discussed their takes and predictions for the big game.

How Gronk Tricked the Bucs: Bucs TE Rob Gronkowski shared a story about hacking his virtual workouts with Tampa Bay back in the spring.

Brady Speaks on Belichick: Tom Brady will make his first Super Bowl appearance without Bill Belichick this week, but TB12 still had to give credit to his former coach for his first six rings.

A Double for Big Red: Chiefs head coach Andy Reid went viral last year for saying he’d celebrate a Super Bowl win with a cheeseburger. If they repeat? Big Red has his order ready.

Additional Storylines

ESPN: Tom Brady Says He Will ‘Definitely Consider’ Playing Past Age 45

MAQB: Super Bowl X-Factors to Watch on Both Defenses

NCAA

Rankings Update: New Challengers?

Photo: John E. Moore III / Getty Images

Men’s Basketball: Oklahoma Headlines New Top-10 After Giant-Slaying Run

Welcome to the Top-10, OU! The Oklahoma Sooners are the latest rankings climbers in this week’s AP Poll after taking down three consecutive top-10 teams in the last 10 days — #9 Kansas, #5 Texas and #9 Alabama. They jumped 15 spots this week. Ohio State also made a big leap, but undefeated Gonzaga and Baylor still reside at No. 1 and 2.

Men’s Top-10

1. Gonzaga (17-0) | —

2. Baylor (16-0) | —

3. Villanova (11-1) | —

4. Michigan (13-1) | —

5. Houston (15-1) | ↑1

6. Texas (11-3) | ↓1

7. Ohio State (14-4) | ↑6

8. Iowa (12-4) | ↓1

9. Oklahoma (11-4) | ↑15

10. Alabama (14-4) | ↓1

Full Men’s AP Top-25

Women’s Basketball: South Carolina Surges to No. 2, Likely No. 1 Next Week After Louisville Loss

The Gamecocks are back where they belong. South Carolina dropped from the top of the rankings with an early-season loss, but they’ve strung together 11 straight wins to surge back to No. 2. And after #4 NC State handed #1 Louisville its first loss of the season last night (74-60), South Carolina should be No. 1 again next week.

Women’s Top-10

1. Louisville (16-1) | —

2. S. Carolina (14-1) | ↑2

3. UConn (11-1) | —

4. NC State (12-1) | ↓2

5. UCLA (10-2) | —

6. Stanford (15-2) | —

7. Texas A&M (16-1) | ↑1

8. Baylor (12-2) | ↑1

9. Arizona (11-2) | ↑1

10. Maryland (10-2) | ↓3

Full Women’s AP Top-25

Additional Storylines

SI: Oklahoma Leaps Into Top-10 After 3 Straight Wins Against Top-10 Teams

NCAA: No. 4 NC State Gives No. 1 Louisville Their First Loss of the Season

NBA

Big Shot Booker 👀

Photo: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images

Devin Booker Lifts Suns With Game-Winner, Gives Mavs 6th Straight Loss

That’s three in a row for the Phoenix Suns! Chris Paul had a monster night with a near triple-double (34-9-9), but it was Devin Booker on a Paul assist that made the difference. Similar to his big shot in last year’s NBA Playoffs, Booker sunk a fadeaway 3-pointer to lift Phoenix to victory. He had 24 points, and the Suns gave the Mavericks their sixth consecutive loss (109-108). Big shot Booker comes up clutch again.

Watch: Devin Booker’s Game-Winner

Other NBA Highlights

The Fox on Fire: De’Aaron Fox gets the game ball for Monday night’s best performance with 38 points and 12 assists in a Kings’ win over the Pelicans (118-109).

Grizzlies Win 7th Straight: The Memphis Grizzlies are riding a seven-game streak despite six postponed games in January. Monday night’s latest win was a 31-point drumming of the Spurs (133-102); the second-largest win against San Antonio in the Greg Poppovich era.

Hornets Halt the Heat: Not a single team in the NBA’s weak southeast division has a winning record, including the 2020 runner-ups from Miami. The Heat fell to the Hornets last night (129-121), and they’ve now lost six of their last seven. Meanwhile, Charlotte has won three straight.

SOCCER

Closing the Transfer Window

Photo: Andrew Powell / Getty Images

Here Are the Players Making Moves as Europe’s Transfer Window Closes

The transfer window is now closed in most of the European soccer leagues. A few big names are on the move just before the deadline, including a big pull by Liverpool, as well as some young up-and-coming American stars. Here are five of the most notable deadline-day transfers:

Notable Deadline Day Transfers

Ben Davies → Liverpool
DeAndre Yedlin → Galatasaray
Brian Reynolds → AS Roma
Sami Khedira → Hertha Berlin
Moises Caicedo → Brighton & Hove Albion

Additional Storylines

CBS Sports: Transfer Deadline Day Winners & Losers

ESPN: Liverpool Bolsters Defense With Signing of Ben Davies & Ozan Kabak

THE STORYLINES

⚾️ MLB: Rescued From the Rockies

It’s hard to blame Nolan Arenado for wanting out of Colorado. The Rockies signed just one major league free agent in the past three years. Arenado was unhappy. And now, he can adjust to life away from Coors Field. (Sports Illustrated)

🏈 NFL: Offers the Lions Turned Down

Quantity over quality. That was part of the Detroit Lions’ thinking when it came to deciding between trade offers for quarterback Matthew Stafford. The Lions received trade offers from the Panthers, Colts, Washington, 49ers, Broncos and Patriots, and some were priced to move. (USA Today)

🏀 NBA: The Latest NBA Power Rankings

With most teams near the 20-game mark, there is beginning to be some separation in the Western Conference as the top three teams pull away from the pack. The Eastern Conference is a different story with seeds one through six separated by four games. (Bleacher Report)

📰 THE HEADLINES

MLBPA Rejects League’s Proposed Delayed Start, Plans to Begin Season on Time

(ESPN)

Diana Taurasi Agrees to Multiyear Contract to Stay With Phoenix Mercury

(Bleacher Report)

3-Time Red Sox Champion Dustin Pedroia Announces Retirement From MLB

(Yahoo! Sports)

Padres’ Shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. Lands Cover Spot on MLB The Show 21

(USA Today)

Chiefs Place 2 Players on Reserve/COVID-19 List Before Super Bowl

(Sports Illustrated)

Magic’s Aaron Gordon to Miss 4-6 Weeks With Ankle Sprain

(CBS Sports)

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