Today's Updates, 1/21/2019

Today's UPDATES

I'm completely exhausted after yesterday, Championship Sunday ended in two Overtime games where the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and Arrowhead Stadium were as loud as they had ever been. Yet somehow, somewhat, it was the visiting teams who were able to overcome so much noise than the crowd noise and stunned everybody in sights, on this Martin Luther King Day, it's a Max Sports recap on both the NFC Championship game and the AFC Championship game which lead us to a Super Bowl rematch like no other. This is a recap so big, it has be broken down in several parts.

The Los Angeles Rams were the underdogs against the New Orleans Saints who had been nothing sort than perfect in the Superdome and were about to get a taste of their own medicine. The Saints were leading 13-0 in the first quarter, then a fake punt early in the second quarter by Los Angeles would turn the table on the home team, as you as well remember, the Saints were 13-0 in the first quarter against the Eagles and faked punt in order to win in the Divisional Round. Greg Zuerlein's 36-yard field goal and Todd Gurley's 6-yard Touchdown run made it 13-10 Saints heading into halftime. Drew Brees was 26-40 in this game with 249 yards under his belt and he threw a 5-yard TD pass to Garrett Griffin in the first quarter and a 2-yard pass to Taysom Hill in the third quarter. Jared Goff was 25-40 with 267 yards and a one yard touchdown pass to Tyler Higbee, he was intercepted early in the first quarter but was un-phased by it. The game went into the fourth quarter with the score 20-17 Saints, Greg Zuerlein would tie it with a 24-yard field goal, but things would change for the Saints after an egregious mistake by the officials in which LA cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman committed a blatant interference penalty with a helmet-to-helmet hit on Tommylee Lewis well before a pass arrived inside the 5, forcing the Saints to settle for Wil Lutz's 31-yard field goal that made it 23-20 with 1:41 left in regulation. The no-call led to Jared Goff having enough time to lead the Rams down the field so that Zuerlein would tie the score at 23-23 with a 48-yard FG with 15 seconds remaining. To overtime we go, Saints won the coin toss and got the ball first, Rams' Dante Fowler Jr. would get in the face and of Drew Brees, strike him on his arm and caused him to fluttered up a pass that was picked off by John Johnson III, who hung on to the interception while stumbling backward. I knew then that it was all Rams to at this point and Greg Zuerlein hit a Rams playoff-record 57-yard field goal to send the Rams to the Super Bowl after 26-23 OT victory.

The Kansas City Chiefs had really high hopes to beat the New England Patriots in front of their home crowd, but the Pats came out of the gate on a fiery start. Tom Brady was 30-46, had 2 interceptions and threw a 29-yard TD pass to Phillip Dorsett in the second quarter, but before that Sony Michel had a 1-yard run in the first quarter. The Pats were leading 14-0 before halftime and it was only until the third that the Chiefs would show them what they got in their playbook, MVP candidate Patrick Mahomes was excellent despite being 16-31 and gaining 295 yards. His first of three touchdown passes started with Travis Kelce for 12-yards, but Stephen Gostkowski got a 47-Yd FG as the Pats were leading 17-7 after three quarters. Mahomes made back-to-back TD passes to Damien Williams, allowing the Chiefs to go up 21-17. The second Williams touchdown came after an apparent muff by Julian Edelman on a fourth-quarter punt return which was overturned by a lengthy video review, but Edelman definitely touched his next try when Brady's pass deflected off his hands directly to Chiefs safety Daniel Sorensen. Sony Michel and Rex Buekhead each made successful TD runs for the Pats, so the Chiefs would get a touchdown run from Damien Williams and a 39-yard Field Goal from Harrison Butker to send the game into overtime with a tie score of 31-31. Some will say the Chiefs would have won on a interception had it not been for one of their linebacker Dee Ford getting called for an offside penalty, it would later come back to bite the Chiefs once the Pats won the coin toss in OT and Rex Burkhead would score a game-winning 2-yard TD run for the Pats who won 37-31.

We'll have a complete Super Bowl preview between the Pats and Rams tomorrow, I will say this for now, it will be matchup seventeen years in the making. But for right now, let's allow the fanbases of both teams to enjoy this moment of the NFL Playoffs, and we'll look at what else happened in sports yesterday.

NFL Playoffs
Conference Championships
NFC Championship: Los Angeles Rams 26, New Orleans Saints 23 in Overtime
AFC Championship: New England Patriots 37, Kansas City Chiefs 31 in Overtime
Super Bowl LIII
New England Patriots vs Los Angeles Rams, February 3rd from Atlanta at 6:30PM on CBS

NBA

Last Night

Pacers 120, Hornets 95

Timberwolves 116, Suns 114

Clippers 103, Spurs 95

Today

Thunder vs Knicks at 12:30PM on NBATV

Bulls vs Cavaliers at 1PM

Pistons vs Wizards at 2PM

Mavericks vs Bucks at 2PM

Magic vs Hawks at 3PM on NBATV

Kings vs Nets at 3:30PM

Pelicans vs Grizzlies at 5:30PM on TNT

Heat vs Celtics at 6PM

Rockets vs 76ers at 8PM on TNT

Trail Blazers vs Jazz at 9PM

Warriors vs Lakers at 10:30PM on TNT

NHL

Yesterday

Blackhawks 8, Captials 5

Islanders 3, Ducks 0

Canucks 3, Red Wings 2

Coyotes 4, Maple Leafs 2

Hurricanes 7, Oilers 4

Today

Predators vs Avalanche at 3PM on ESPN+

Blues vs Kings at 4PM on NBCSN

Wild vs Golden Knights at 5PM

Sharks vs Panthers at 7PM

WWE

NXT TakeOver: Phoenix match card

- Tommaso Ciampa vs Aleister Black for the NXT Championship

- Shayna Baszler vs Bianca Belair for the NXT Women's Championship
- The Undisputed Era vs War Raiders for the NXT Tag Team Championship
- Ricochet vs Johnny Gargano for the NXT North American Championship
- Matt Riddle vs Kassius Ohno

Royal Rumble match card

- 30-man Royal Rumble match for a world championship match at WrestleMania 35

- 30-woman Royal Rumble match for a women's championship match at WrestleMania 35

- Brock Lesnar vs Finn Bálor for the WWE Universal Championship

- Daniel Bryan vs AJ Styles for the WWE Championship

- Ronda Rousey vs Sasha Banks for the WWE Raw Women's Championship

- Asuka vs Becky Lynch for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship

- The Bar vs The Miz and Shane McMahon for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship

- Buddy Murphy vs Akira Tozawa vs Kalisto vs Hideo Itami in a Fatal 4-Way match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship

- Rusev vs Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE United States Championship

Some people celebrate life, memory, and accomplishments of Martin Luther King Jr. in many different fashions, and I would be cruel if I did not mention what he truly meant to me. Without him, my parents would not have been able to come to America and give birth to my sister and me, and I would not be here today and for the past couple of years to bring you this blog which has allowed me to share my thoughts on certain topics on the internet. Without Dr. MLK, we would not have the first Black President in American History, Barack Obama made history ten years ago when he was elected into office, and fast forward into today, Democratic Senator Kamala Harris said on Good Morning America that she’s running in 2020, aiming to be the country’s second Black president and the first woman to hold the office. That is going to be a tall order for the Senator of California, and for more on her candidacy, take a closer look with these new political #TwitterTrend and Web Choice playlist that I have personally whipped up.

ABC News @ABC

EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Kamala Harris announces she will run for president in 2020.

“I love my country," she tells @GMA. "And this is a moment in time that I feel a sense of responsibility to stand up and fight for the best of who we are.” abcn.ws/2FPRhx8

Vox @voxdotcom

Sen. Kamala Harris is the latest Democrat to enter the crowded race for the 2020 presidential nomination.

vox.com/2019/1/21/1817

Steadman™ @AsteadWesley

NEW STORY: Kamala Harris is running for president. Her slogan: "Kamala Harris For The People." First event: In South Carolina this Friday -- not Iowa or NH. My story on one of -- if not the -- most viable presidential campaigns by a black woman in history

Steadman™ @AsteadWesley

Will thread info on Harris' announcement here, including staff hires and background info. Obviously it's heavy on symbolism: not only MLK Day announcement, but comes 47 years to the day as Shirley Chisholm's 1972 campaign kickoff. Even Harris' logo was meant as a nod to Chisholm

Steadman™ @AsteadWesley

Harris will travel to SC Friday -- not Iowa -- to headline gathering of AKA's in Columbia, a nod to how she sees her nomination path. Will also have a kickoff rally in Oakland on Sunday and take Qs from reporters today in Washington. Campaign HQ in Bmore

Steadman™ @AsteadWesley

Undeniable interest in Harris among Dems, but she's still largely undefined. Interesting Qs in next couple months: 1) Does she center economic policy 2) how can she square prosecutor record w/ "woke" campaign 3) can she pull off obama-esque Iowa appeal

Steadman™ @AsteadWesley

As we noted in our story, not how Harris' announcement video borrows from "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing," the black national anthem. Read more here: nytimes.com/2019/01/21/us/

Greg Bluestein @bluestein

Kamala Harris launches campaign for president, will run her campaign from Baltimore after considering Atlanta #gapol https://t.co/JVBqruE8Gz

TicToc by Bloomberg @tictoc

BREAKING: California Senator Kamala Harris says she is running for president

TicToc by Bloomberg @tictoc

Here's what you need to know about @KamalaHarris, who just announced her presidential bid

The Wall Street Journal @WSJ

Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris says she is running for president in 2020, joining a crowded primary field https://t.co/25zo31Hq0Y

Ben Pershing @benpershing

@KamalaHarris is basing her WH campaign in Baltimore. Makes sense: Not “DC” but close enough and an easy train ride, cheaper office space, and close to a big airport (BWI).