Smith’s sixth block of the night denied Rutgers a go-ahead layup with 52 seconds to go, and Morsell grabbed the loose ball. Rutgers fouled Morsell on the play, and the junior hit one of two free throws. After a Rutgers turnover, the Scarlet Knights fouled to no avail, and Maryland secured a 56-51 win.

Morsell grabbed the rebound again on Rutgers’ missed three-pointer with 18 seconds to go. Morsell, a guard from Baltimore, bounced happily on the court, smiling because he knew the Terrapins would prevail.

“We kind of take playing at home personal,” Morsell said of the Terrapins who are undefeated at Xfinity Center this season. “We don’t feel like we should really lose at home. So when we came out, we knew we had to answer the calling.”

Anthony Cowan Jr. led the team with 17 points, including six made free throws in the final four minutes, but through much of the night, Rutgers did an admirable job defending Maryland’s senior guard.

Smith notched his fifth straight double-double (14 points and 15 rebounds), but when Coach Mark Turgeon assessed Smith’s performance, he said, “Stix was Stix.” These dominant displays that include game-altering defensive plays have become normal for the surging sophomore.

Smith and Morsell, former high school teammates, had already willed Maryland (18-4, 8-3 Big Ten) ahead when it seemed in jeopardy of suffering its first home loss.

Trailing early in the second half, the Terps jumped back ahead with a 12-2 run. All 12 of those points came from the pair of Baltimore natives. Morsell began that stretch with an emphatic dunk, jumping off the Big Ten logo just in front of the free throw line. Smith, a standout sophomore forward, capped the run with a thunderous slam of his own and then converted the three-point play.

Morsell struggled in the first half with 1-of-5 shooting and two turnovers. All that seemed to block his layups was the rim, Morsell said. At halftime, Morsell said Turgeon, assistant coach DeAndre Haynes and Cowan all challenged him to play better. In the second half, Turgeon said the junior “was just active instead of moping.” He drove to the rim more and improved his attitude.

Rutgers (16-7, 7-5) threatened late, but the Terps’ best players managed to prevent the upset and secure Maryland’s fifth straight win. Morsell likened the game to a “street fight.” Neither team ever led by more than eight points.

“I feel like Coach Turgeon trusted his veteran guys,” Morsell said. “Teammates trusted us. We just stepped up and made big plays.”

Maryland has won all eight games against Rutgers since the schools joined the Big Ten together in 2014-15. But this season’s Scarlet Knights are different than their predecessors. Rutgers slid into The Associated Press poll for the first time in 41 years, falling out of the Top 25 just before its trip to College Park. Rutgers has established itself as one of the conference’s top-tier teams, giving Tuesday night’s matchup more meaning than anticipated when the season began.

Smith hit three-pointers on his first two shots of the game, and the Terps had an eight-point lead at 12:49 when Turgeon called upon a lineup beyond his six best players. Chol Marial, Ricky Lindo Jr. and Serrel Smith Jr. entered the game together but prompted the start of a dismal stretch that continued even after Turgeon returned to his more dependable group.

The Terps endured a scoring drought of about three minutes after that substitution, then another that lasted more than seven minutes. Rutgers climbed ahead by as many seven points thanks to a 19-4 run. Maryland missed 11 straight shots during the final nine minutes of the first half. The Scarlet Knights, who didn’t score for the final five minutes of the half, still had a 25-20 advantage at halftime. Maryland had only scored fewer first-half points once this season, against Seton Hall (18).

The Terps needed a few minutes after halftime before they finally made a field goal, a Donta Scott layup. On the next possession, Morsell ignited the crowd with his dunk that sparked the Terps’ critical second-half run.

“We weren’t our best,” Turgeon said, “but when we had to be, we were good.”

Akwasi Yeboah led Rutgers with 13 points, and the Scarlet Knights’ solid defense frustrated the Terps, particularly early. Maryland shot only 24.1 percent in the first half. Jacob Young, who has scored 8.5 points per game off the bench for Rutgers, was suspended for the game following a driving while intoxicated arrest.

Maryland still lacks the contributions it needs from its bench. Wiggins has played well lately in a sixth-man role, but behind him, the Terps’ reserves only combined for four points in 14 minutes. Marial played after missing the previous three games dealing with minor injury issues, but his production was limited.

But Maryland’s best players did enough. The four-guard lineup that features Maryland’s best five players shared the court for the final eight minutes, weathering the Rutgers rally and delivering in critical moments. With the win, combined with Michigan State’s loss at home to Penn State, the Terps are tied with Illinois for first place in the Big Ten.

When asked after that game if that development was worth celebrating, Cowan said, “Not when you feel like you’ve been having the same type of year for four years. I feel like we’ve been here a lot.”

Because it’s still only February. And if anyone on this team understands the importance of what lies ahead, it’s Cowan.

With the signing of this agreement, both LaLiga and Dorna Sports reinforce their commitment to the fight to protect legal content distribution, from a global perspective and in collaboration with television operators and digital platforms.

As part of this partnership, LaLiga will use its own tools in order to monitor and eliminate illegal MotoGP™ and WorldSBK audio-visual content hosted on social networks, digital platforms and mobile apps.

Fake profiles that make fraudulent use of the logotype and name of Dorna Sports will also be monitored and eliminated, as well as those pertaining to Dorna’s Championships.

In addition, LaLiga’s human, technical and legal resources will be used to monitor and de-index those pages that use illegal Dorna Sports content from search engines. The tools created by the LaLiga Content Technology Protection team also allow the tracking, pursuit and compilation of legal evidence in order to fight illegal transmissions via IPTV and Cardsharing.

Javier Tebas, President of LaLiga: “With this alliance, LaLiga extends its commitment to fighting audiovisual piracy. Joining with Dorna Sports motivates us to keep working to protect competitions’ audiovisual value. Fighting against piracy is a top priority for LaLiga and we’ll continue to invest in technical tools and human resources to keep advancing in this field.”

Manel Arroyo, Managing Director of Dorna Sports: “The signing of this agreement between LaLiga and Dorna Sports shows our complete commitment to the fight against piracy. The protection of audio-visual rights is and always has been of utmost importance for us because, due to the exclusive and attractive nature of the content we produce, it suffers much more from the consequences of piracy. Both MotoGP and WorldSBK will greatly benefit from the tools created by LaLiga’s technological protection team, which is a global point of reference and therefore a guarantee of security for our Championships.”

It didn’t matter that the Golden State Warriors own the fewest wins in the league and have the NBA’s worst offensive rating. The Wizards still could not stop their visitors from scoring in bunches and piling on in a 125-117 Warriors win inside Capital One Arena.

Beal’s 43-point performance, in which he shot perfectly from the free throw line and efficiently everywhere else, turned out to be empty on yet another long night in this Wizards season of blah defensive basketball.

Six players for the Warriors (12-39) scored in double digits, and fans grabbed their coats and turned toward the exits after Glenn Robinson’s tip-in pushed Golden State’s lead to 10 with 46 seconds left. Beal, who spent the ensuing timeout leaning over and holding his knees, remained on the sideline and watched the Warriors make the last of their 15 three-pointers on their next possession.

During the postgame news conference, the first question posed to Coach Scott Brooks was about the defense. Brooks blew a raspberry into the microphone and tried to explain.

“It wasn’t there,” Brooks said. “We didn’t come out to play with the right mind-set, and [Golden State] plays hard. They’re a lot like us. They play hard. But tonight we didn’t have the right mind-set. I don’t know what we were thinking, but we weren’t thinking the right things.”

Beal has averaged 38.8 points per game since Jan. 22, which ranks behind only Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, the hottest player in the league, during that stretch. On Monday, Beal passed John Wall for third on the all-time franchise scoring list as he shot 15 for 30 and hit all 10 of his free throws. Only Elvin Hayes and Jeff Malone remain ahead of him. Still, the Wizards couldn’t make his night worthwhile and dropped to 17-32.

Hachimura returned from a seven-week absence necessitated by a groin injury suffered Dec. 16, and in 26 minutes he finished with 11 points and a team-best eight rebounds. That total, however, wasn’t nearly enough to keep Golden State off the glass, and the Warriors outrebounded the Wizards 44-35.

Wagner, who last played Dec. 10 because of an ankle injury, chipped in eight points and two rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench.

“It was fun,” Wagner said about playing for the first time in nearly two months. “I would have loved to win, but it felt good.”

The Warriors have also been set back by injuries this season but on a larger scale. Without their injured all-star backcourt – Klay Thompson has missed all 51 games with a torn ACL, and Steph Curry has sat out 46 with a broken hand – Golden State has gone from a perennial Finals participant to the league’s cellar.

Once known for its all-powerful starting lineup that included Kevin Durant (now with the Brooklyn Nets) and Draymond Green, Golden State has used 22 different starting lineups and earned 12 wins.

Against the Wizards, though, guys named Alec Burks (30 points) and Damion Lee (19 points) looked like the Splash Bros. Robinson added 22 points and seven assists. Eric Paschall turned into a one-man vortex for rebounds and finished with 10 off the bench, including four offensive boards on one possession. And Green, the last champion standing for the Warriors, played his role of all-around handyman, filling in the holes wherever necessary for 12 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

“We still got to go out and compete,” Beal said. “They’re almost like the Spurs, just plug-and-play. No matter who’s out there, they’re taking advantage of the opportunities that they’re given. You’ve got to tip your hat off to them.”

Over its previous two games, Washington had found defensive momentum in wins over the Charlotte Hornets and Brooklyn Nets. The improvement proved temporary when Washington allowed the Warriors, who were also without former all-star D’Angelo Russell because of a quad injury, to score 40 points in the first quarter. Burks played a little more than five minutes off the bench in the quarter but kept the scoreboard moving with 13 points.

To counter Golden State, Beal made four of his first six shots and continued the efficient shooting throughout the half (shooting 7 for 14 for 21 points at the break). One motivated scorer could not cover up the defensive breakdowns, but that didn’t stop Beal from trying.

Beal poured in eight points in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, and his personal scoring binge helped trim the Warriors’ lead. When Beal drilled his third three-pointer of the game with 4:23 remaining, Washington trailed only by five. But Golden State didn’t fold, and Beal’s big night turned into a dud.

“Brad obviously had a great game, but Rui came in [for his] first game in a couple of months, [and] I thought he played like you’re supposed to play,” Brooks said. “We didn’t have enough guys tonight. That was disappointing. Normally that has not been the case.”

At 19, Yu-Chiang, the younger of the Hou sisters, enters the prestigious championship as the highest ranked player in the field at number three on the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR).

The in-form Yu-Chiang finished runner-up at the start of the month in the Taiwan LPGA’s Hitachi Ladies Classic and has already won an impressive three professional titles including two on the TLPGA and one on the Chinese LPGA.

Following her elder sister into the University of Arizona Wildcats team, Yu-Chiang, also known as Vivian, was named Pac-12 Golfer of the Month in her first month of school last year.

“I am very excited about the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific and I am looking forward to having a good week in Pattaya,” said Yu-Chiang, who finished tied 29th in the inaugural WAAP in Singapore and tied 17th last year when championship was held in Japan.

“The WAAP is the biggest championship we play in the region and there are some excellent opportunities for the champion. I have always dreamed of playing in major championships and trying to get there through the WAAP is my goal.

“I feel like I am a much-improved player this year and I have a lot of confidence and belief in my own abilities. Obviously, we will be playing against some of the finest players in the Asia-Pacific region and I will have to produce my best effort to make my dream come true.”

Elder sister Yu-Sang, 20, also knows what it takes to win, having recorded victories last year in the American collegiate system as well as against the professionals on the Taiwan LPGA to be ranked 34th in the WAGR.

“It’s always great when we are playing the same tournament. We are able to help each other on the golf course,” said Yu-Sang, who finished tied 24th and tied 28th in the first two editions of WAAP.

“Yu-Chiang has a very good short game and I am pretty good off the tee, so we complement each other. And when we are off the golf course, it’s always good to have a fun company like her to relax with”.

Alongside the Hou sisters, the Taiwan will also be represented by 16-year-old Chia Yen Wu. The world number 32 created history in the 2017 US Women’s Amateur when she won her marathon quarter-final match against American Lauren Stephenson after 12 extra holes. On that day, Wu became the youngest semi-finalist and her quarter-final match became the longest in the championship’s history.

With three players inside the top-35 of the WAGR, Taiwan will have the strongest team in this year’s WAAP which has established itself as the region’s premier women’s amateur championship. It will also be represented by Ya-Chun Chang, Ting Yu Chen and Yu Tien Kuo.

The WAAP players will all be eyeing the incredible rewards lined up for the 2020 champion. The winner will earn starts in two major championships, the AIG Women’s British Open and The Evian Championship, as well as the Hana Financial Group Championship and a further three championships around the world.

The WAAP, developed by The R&A and the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) to unearth developing talent and provide a pathway for Asia’s elite women amateurs to emerge on the international stage, will be supported by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).

The championship is expected to feature 80 players from 19 Asia-Pacific countries with Thailand having the largest contingent of eight as the host nation, including world No 18 Jaravee Boonchant.

Entry to the tournament will be free of charge for fans.

The championship will be broadcast live on each of the four days. There will be nearly 600 hours of television coverage to more than 180 million household.

The iconic event is also set to enjoy an increased prize purse to KRW1.4 billion with the winner’s cheque worth KRW252 million (approximately US$218,000) when it is played at the Koma Country Club located at Nara Prefecture from September 10-13.

Designed by the legendary Gary Player and opened in 1980, the Koma Country Club is a 27-hole membership course and has hosted several events on the JGTO including the Japan PGA Championship and the Kansai Open.

More significantly, the construction and development of the Koma Country Club was overseen by Shinhan Financial Group’s founder Heui-keon Lee in the 80s.

Lee, together with several prominent Korean and Japanese entrepreneurs had envisioned a promising outlook for Korean golf and the Koma Country Club holds a special place in the Shinhan Financial Group’s history books.

Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Yong-byoung Cho said: “I ask for the understanding of the Korean customers and fans who have supported and visited Shinhan Donghae Open every year.

“I sincerely wish that this year’s tournament will a great opportunity for players to spread their wings in the world. Shinhan Financial Group will continue to carry out global brand marketing to become the leading financial group in Asia.”

Cho Minn Thant, Commissioner and CEO, Asian Tour said: ““The Asian Tour welcomes the Koma Country Club as the new host venue of the 36th Shinhan Donghae Open in September. Tradition and honour is integral to the game of golf and the decision by Shinhan Financial Group to pay homage to its founder Mr. Heui-keon Lee is a very noble gesture.

We will miss playing the event on Korean soil this year however we are confident that the Japanese galleries will be out in force and take this opportunity to watch our Asian Tour players alongside counterparts from the Japanese and Korean Tours in action as well as on television via our global television broadcast.

“Many notable winners have etched their names in the illustrious Shinhan Donghae Open history books and we can only look forward to another exciting week of high level golf in September.”

No sooner had the Chiefs dispatched the San Francisco 49ers than he tweeted: “Congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs on a great game and a fantastic comeback, under immense pressure. You represented the Great State of Kansas and, in fact, the entire USA, so very well. Our Country is PROUD OF YOU!”

His exuberance was understandable, given the exciting game, and Kansans are certainly proud of the Chiefs, but the team is based in and plays in Kansas City, Missouri, not Kansas. Residents of both states happily share the team, but are protective of their identities.

The tweet was quickly deleted and replaced with a corrected version of the same message.

“Congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs on a great game and a fantastic comeback under immense pressure,” it read. “We are proud of you and the Great State of Missouri. You are true Champions!”

The Chiefs came roaring back from a double-digit deficit in the second half and won, 31-20, marking their first NFL championship since Super Bowl IV in 1970. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who led the comeback, was named the game’s MVP.

On “Fox & Friends” Monday, host Steve Doocy defended Trump’s earlier tweet.

“Kansas City is in Kansas and it is also in Missouri,” he said. “It’s like the difference between – people call them the New York Giants, but they’re in New Jersey.”

Not quite, but we get the point. The whole idea of two Kansas Citys can be confusing. The Chiefs and Royals have venues (Arrowhead Stadium and Kauffman Stadium) in the Truman Sports Complex, which lies next to I-70 east of Kansas City and, as its name would seem to indicate, is near the Independence home of Harry S. Truman (also not in Kansas). The distance to the state line is just under 10 miles.

There is a misconception that the state line separates one big Kansas City and, while it’s true that the state line does separate them, Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas City, Kansas, are two separate entities, each with its own government, etc. The one in Missouri was incorporated in 1853, with some parts of the city (like the Westport area; go to Kelly’s and perhaps have a beer or two) settled even before that. Kansas City, Kansas, – known locally as KCK – was incorporated in 1872.

When it comes to the pro teams, though, the entire Kansas City area stakes its claim. Although there are divisions along the University of Missouri and Kansas University lines, there’s unanimity when it comes to the Royals and Chiefs; and much of the teams’ support comes from the Kansas suburbs that lie along the west side of State Line Road, which runs north and south along, you guessed it, the state line.

Becoming an NFL champion, however, will be worth much more to their quarterback, Patrick Mahomes. According to one advertising executive, the reigning NFL most valuable player will rake in as much as $7 million a year in additional endorsement income.

“He’s already a household name and face,” said Bob Dorfman, a sports marketing executive at Baker Street Advertising. “This Super Bowl ring easily makes Mahomes the most marketable player in the NFL.”

Mahomes finished 26-of-42 for 286 yards, including two touchdown passes and one rushing, and two interceptions during the Super Bowl. And he rallied the Chiefs to defeat the San Francisco 49ers, 31-20, at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium. It was Mahomes’ first appearance in the NFL championship game, which is historically the most-watched program of the year with a U.S. audience of around 100 million.

The 24-year-old Mahomes was named the game’s MVP, becoming the youngest player in NFL history to hold both league and Super Bowl MVP honors.

“I’ve been waiting my whole life to say this — I’m going to Disney World,” Mahomes said, reciting the line uttered annually by the game’s MVP under terms of a deal with the Walt Disney.

Mahomes already has a significant collection of endorsement partners, including State Farm, Adidas, Oakley and EA Sports. Earlier this season, he supplanted New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady — the holder of six Super Bowl rings — as the NFL’s top salesman. But Brady isn’t being totally nudged from the spotlight: He appeared in an advertisement for the Hulu streaming service during Fox’s coverage of the game.

Dorfman said the new partners that make sense for Mahomes are ones that can play off of his name — Home Depot, At Home, Amazon Home or Zillow.

If anyone knows the endorsement value of a Super Bowl, it’s Mahomes’ agent, Leigh Steinberg, whose quarterback clients have included former Super Bowl MVPs Troy Aikman and Steve Young.

“The Super Bowl is the premier branding and marketing event in American sports. The potential for those who win and play well is to dominate the celebrity machine we have – that’s the Today Show, the Tonight Show and magazine covers,” he said in an interview prior to the game. “People who win vault into the stratosphere of name recognition. When Troy Aikman won the MVP in 1992, he went from Troy Aikman, football player, to Troy Aikman, up in lights.”

The Chiefs trailed 20-10 heading into the fourth quarter, then stormed back with 21 consecutive points.

“It worked out well in the end,” he said.

At Anfield, the fabled stadium in Merseyside, a nervy and scoreless 45 minutes gave way to a dominant second half and a 4-0 victory over Southampton.

Sixteen consecutive victories, 25 matches without a defeat this season and 42 over two campaigns, a trophy in clear view.

Liverpool might never walk alone, but in this near-perfect season, the Reds are by themselves atop the Premier League standings, nary a challenger in sight. Manchester City, the reigning champion, is second, 22 points behind – the largest gap in league history.

“When we are rolling,” Manager Jürgen Klopp said, “it’s difficult to stop.”

Last year, the race came down to the final day and City finished a point ahead of Liverpool.

With 13 matches left this year, it is not a race; rather, it is a 3 1/2-month coronation before Liverpool is handed its first Premier League trophy since the circuit’s launch in 1992. Manchester United has won the title 13 times, Chelsea five and City four.

Even Blackburn Rovers, currently a struggling second-division side, has won the championship.

Liverpool’s last top-flight title came in 1990 in the old first division, the Premier League’s predecessor. Between 1973 and 1990, the Reds won 11 league crowns.

In the absence of Premier League success, Liverpool has enjoyed the riches in other competitions: three FA Cups and four League Cups the past 30 years, plus the 2004-05 and 2018-19 UEFA Champions League titles and 2000-01 UEFA Cup and 2019 FIFA Club World Cup trophies.

The league championship, however, has remained elusive until now. Klopp’s forces have claimed 73 of a possible 75 points, a remarkable total given the competitiveness in the world’s most popular sports league. The only slip came in late October at United, when Adam Lallana’s late goal avoided defeat and secured a 1-1 draw.

They have won 20 straight at home, tying a league milestone, and are riding a 37-0-5 wave, seven shy of Arsenal’s record (36-0-13 between May 2003 and October 2004). The last major hurdle is April 4 at Manchester City.

Over two seasons, Liverpool is 54-1-8, with the lone defeat coming at Manchester City 13 months ago.

The Reds have conceded one goal in the past 10 matches and 15 overall.

Among the biggest European leagues, no other front-runner is unbeaten, though Real Madrid has lost once (with seven draws) in Spain’s La Liga and Juventus has fallen twice (with three draws) in Italy’s Serie A.

Klopp, an energetic and engaging German who arrived from Borussia Dortmund in October 2015, continues to play down Liverpool’s excellence.

“We’re not even close to being perfect,” he said. “We just look to use our skills in the best possible way. The boys have done that for a while pretty good, and that’s why we have these numbers.”

On Saturday, Liverpool marched on without one-third of its sensational frontline: left wing Sadio Mane (hamstring injury). His replacement, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, cracked open the scoreless deadlock two minutes after intermission with a sensational strike from the edge of the penalty area.

That goal and two others were assisted by center forward Roberto Firmino. Midfielder Jordan Henderson scored in the 60th, and right wing Mohamed Salah added two late goals to raise his team-best total to 14 and help improve the club’s goal differential to plus-45.

“We started the second half well,” said Henderson, who set up Salah’s first goal with a gem of a pass, “and kicked on from there.”

Liverpool is balancing several championship pursuits. On Tuesday, the FA Cup resumes with a fourth-round replay at home against Shrewsbury Town.

On Jan. 26, using a young squad, the Reds squandered a two-goal, second-half lead on the road against the third-division opponent and settled for a 2-2 draw.

For the second meeting, Klopp will again rest his regulars.

In two weeks, attention returns to the Champions League as Atletico Madrid hosts the first leg of the round-of-16 encounter. Other heavyweights remain in contention: Barcelona and Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester City, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain.

Liverpool, though, shows no signs of relinquishing the European title or tossing away its mighty grip on the Premier League trophy.

Despite their prosperity, Klopp and his immaculate team are not content.

“I promise you, I don’t lie: We don’t feel it. We just don’t feel it,” he said. “The day before a game, my main feeling is, I’m concerned. I am a very optimistic person but not before a football game because I know long enough anything can happen. The ball rolls in different directions.”

Maybe so, but in this extraordinary season, everything has rolled in Liverpool’s direction.

“We have to use the skills of the boys. We have to use the character of the boys,” Klopp said. “We have to use the power of this club and especially of this stadium. It is our duty to win football games.”

Tyreek Hill sighed and slumped his shoulders. Mahomes had just thrown a pass behind the receiver, and San Francisco 49ers safety Tarvarius Moore intercepted it. It was Mahomes’s second pick of the night, his first multi-interception game since November 2018. The Chiefs trailed by 10.

Believe? Hill had lost faith.

“Man, how are we going to pull this off?” Hill recalled asking.

“You’ve got to believe, brother,” Mahomes insisted. “It’s going to happen, man. I can feel it.”

Looking back, it seems foolish that Hill had such doubt. In a rousing rally, Mahomes turned his most perplexing performance into his pluckiest in a 31-20 Kansas City victory before 62,417 at Hard Rock Stadium. In the Chiefs’ first Super Bowl appearance in 50 years, on a night when the NFL celebrated its 100th season by honoring its 100 greatest players, Mahomes cemented his legend as a phenom who could help define the next century. He proved he is more than the sport’s greatest entertainer. At this moment, he is its best active player, period, and now he has the championship, the signature comeback and all the requisite toughness and resilience to boot.

With the Chiefs trailing 20-10 midway through the fourth quarter, Mahomes bounced back and delivered the Lombardi Trophy to a long-suffering football town and to Andy Reid, his long-suffering coach.

He didn’t do it simply by believing. He had to recover, and he had to do so against the San Francisco defense, a force as mighty as the offense he directs so brilliantly. The 49ers were dragging Mahomes by the mohawk toward his ultimate humbling.

Then magic happened. Mahomes Magic, as they call it. On third down and 15, he connected with Hill for 44 yards. Man, how are we going to pull this off? Mahomes’s answer: Quickly. Marvelously. Emphatically.

Four plays after Hill’s catch ignited the offense, Mahomes hit all-pro tight end Travis Kelce for a one-yard touchdown. The deficit had been trimmed to three. After the Kansas City defense came through with a three-and-out, Mahomes went to work again. He needed only 2 minutes 26 seconds to drive 65 yards and take the lead. He and Sammy Watkins combined to burn San Francisco cornerback Richard Sherman on a 38-yard pass. Three plays after that, Mahomes found Damien Williams for a five-yard score. All of a sudden, the Chiefs led 24-20. They had broken a 49ers defense that seemingly broke them.

“It’s Magic Mahomes,” Kelce said. “It’s Showtime Mahomes. He’s going to be himself no matter what the scenario is, and you know what? I love him. He willed this team back into the game.”

And now Reid is a winner. The coach entered this game with 221 career regular season and postseason victories, the most in league history for any coach without a Super Bowl of NFL championship. After 21 NFL seasons as a head coach, we now know why it took so long for Reid to win the big one: He had to wait for Mahomes.

Mahomes might have been worth all the heartbreaking losses, all the criticisms of his clock management. Mahomes needed until nearly the last possible minute to find himself, but he finally did so. After that second interception, Mahomes completed 8 of 13 passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns to complete the most memorable of Kansas City’s three come-from-behind victories this postseason.

“I’m going to go get the biggest cheeseburger you’ve ever seen,” Reid joked. “And it might be a double.”

By the end, Mahomes’s numbers looked quite nice: He completed 26 of 42 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns. But to get there, he had to accept his toughest challenge. San Francisco had the most potent defense he has faced, and it had the perfect game plan to limit the Chiefs’ big plays, to keep Mahomes from improvising and to hit the quarterback enough to make him flustered.

For 3 1/2 quarters, the 49ers made the game look uglier for Mahomes than he has experienced as an NFL player. But in the end, it merely enabled him to show how great he truly is.

“I had the mind-set that I’m going to keep firing it,” Mahomes said.

He didn’t need another flawless performance full of highlights. Mahomes needed to show he can do it the hard way. He needed to overcome the opponent and himself. That he figured it out was an impressive way to take his rightful place as the new face of the NFL.

It’s a designation that Mahomes is too humble to claim.

“There are several guys that can be the face of the NFL,” he said. “Lamar Jackson was just the unanimous MVP and had one of the greatest seasons ever for a quarterback.”

Mahomes won the MVP a year ago at age 23 after throwing for 5,097 yards and 50 touchdowns. Now, at 24, he became the second-youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl. But he is a different animal when you compare him to some of the other 25-and-under Super Bowl-winning QBs. That list includes Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady and Russell Wilson, and it’s likely that all of them are headed to the Hall of Fame. But put Mahomes with those three, and here’s the difference: He is the only one who was asked to carry his team as a young quarterback. Roethlisberger, Brady and Wilson grew into their franchise-player responsibilities. Mahomes has been the franchise since he became a starter. And he is not just an extraordinary athlete with a gifted arm. He is a relentless competitor, too.

“Doesn’t matter the score,” Kelce said. “Doesn’t matter. We’ve got Pat Mahomes.”

And the Chiefs will never doubt what he is capable of again. The rest of us would be wise to join them.

After being introduced as one of the members of former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski’s “retirement crew,” Davis – in floral swim trunks and a white T-shirt – turned to the camera and smiled.

“That’s right! I’m retired,” he said, with Gronkowski and former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison on a couch beside him.

Davis played in the NFL for 14 seasons after being selected by the San Francisco 49ers out of Maryland with the sixth pick of the 2006 draft. He earned a reputation as one of the league’s iron men in San Francisco, appearing in 148 of 160 games in his first decade in pro football and starting in 140 of them. He was selected to two Pro Bowls, after the 2009 and 2013 seasons.

In 2015, he was traded to Denver and became a key late-season target for Peyton Manning as the Broncos won Super Bowl 50.

Davis came to Washington in the 2016 season and immediately became a fan favorite. He grew up in the District of Columbia.

In his first season with the Redskins, he caught 44 passes and scored two touchdowns, then signed a three-year contract to stay with the team. He provided veteran leadership and a voice of accountability for a team that struggled to contend and then went into full-blown rebuilding mode after moving from Kirk Cousins to Alex Smith to Case Keenum to Dwayne Haskins at quarterback.

Davis struggled with nagging injuries and appeared in four games in 2019, making one start. He had 10 catches and a touchdown reception.

Even before Davis announced his retirement, tight end was a position of need for Washington after Jordan Reed did not play at all during the 2019 regular season after suffering a concussion in the third preseason game. Washington also lists Jeremy Sprinkle, Hale Hentges and Caleb Wilson on its depth chart. Sprinkle and Hentges combined for 34 catches and two touchdowns in 2019. Wilson did not appear in a game.

Tight end Greg Olsen, who just parted ways with the Carolina Panthers, would consider reuniting with Coach Ron Rivera by signing with the Redskins, a person familiar with the situation told The Washington Post’s Mark Maske.