>>Patriots Down Steelers In AFC Championship Game
(Foxboro, MA) — The Patriots are going to Super Bowl 51 after beating the Steelers, 36-17, in the AFC Championship Game. Tom Brady threw for 384 yards and three touchdowns for the Pats, who are making their seventh trip to the Super Bowl since the 2001 season. Chris Hogan had nine catches for 180 yards and two scores in the victory.
>>Falcons Beat Packers To Advance To Super Bowl 51
(Atlanta, GA) — The Falcons are also moving on to Super Bowl 51 after pounding the Packers, 44-21, in the NFC Championship Game. Matt Ryan passed for 392 yards and four touchdowns for Atlanta, which is appearing in the NFL title game for the second time in franchise history.
>>Pats Favored In Super Bowl 51
(Las Vegas, NV) — The Patriots are the betting favorite in Super Bowl 51. New England opened as three-point favorites over the Falcons at the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas. The total opened at 58, making it the highest over/under in Super Bowl history.
>>Colts Part Ways With GM Grigson
(Indianapolis, IN) — Colts owner Jim Irsay is going in a new direction in the team’s front office after firing general manager Ryan Grigson on Saturday. He also stated head coach Chuck Pagano is safe for 2017. The Colts disappointed the past two seasons with 8-and-8 records after opening each year with Super Bowl aspirations. Irsay has already begun his search for a new GM but confirmed that Peyton Manning is not a candidate.
>>Blackhawks Turn Back Canucks
(Chicago, IL) — Jonathan Toews scored the go-ahead goal with 1:18 left in the third and the Blackhawks went on to beat the Canucks, 4-2, in Chicago. Richard Panik, Marian Hossa and Patrick Kane also lit the lamp for Chicago, which has won three straight. Corey Crawford made 26 saves. The ‘Hawks host the Lightning tomorrow.
>>Lakers Handed Worst Loss In Franchise History
(Dallas, TX) — The Lakers are coming off their worst loss in team history. Los Angeles was beaten 122-73 by the Mavericks in Dallas yesterday. The loss came on the 11-year anniversary of Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game.
>>Royals Pitcher Ventura Killed In Dominican Republic Crash
(Kansas City, MO) — The Royals are mourning the death of pitcher Yordano Ventura. The Royals confirmed that the 25-year-old Ventura was killed in an early morning crash in the Dominican Republic Sunday. Ventura won a World Series ring with the Royals in 2015.
>>Illinois Hosts Iowa Wednesday
(Champaign, IL) — Illinois will try to stop a three-game losing streak at home Wednesday against Iowa. The Fighting Illini fell 66-57 Saturday at Michigan. That followed losses to Maryland and Purdue, leaving Illinois 12-and-8 overall and 2-and-5 in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes come in at 11-and-9 overall.