Super Mahomes, Hurricanes dazzle and a Curry homecoming in the sports moments of the week
It's not too early to start thinking about Patrick Mahomes' place among the all-time greats in every sport. Plus, Julius Peppers joins an exclusive club, J.J. Watt gets roasted and more!
Posted — UpdatedThe internet is a big place. Unless you're 100% plugged in all the time (and let's be clear, that is NOT recommended), you're going to miss some stuff.
Let us do that work. You can be a well-adjusted human being and still catch all the best sports moments of the week, with a quick review ...
Mahomes wills Chiefs to Super Bowl title (again)
The Super Bowl happened on Sunday. Did you hear about that?
Viewers were treated to a thrilling finish as Patrick Mahomes led a flawless touchdown drive in overtime, lifting the Chiefs to a 25-22 victory.
It's Kansas City's third title in five seasons with Mahomes at quarterback. They are the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowls since the New England Patriots in 2003 and 2004.
The same can't be said in quite the same way about Brady.
Now Mahomes is chasing the three-peat, just like MJ did in his hay-day. It's never been done before in the NFL, mostly because the rules dictate that it should be impossible.
But if there's one player out there that can overcome those odds, it's definitely Patrick Mahomes. He'll be back again next year.
Julius Peppers' call to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Speaking of football greatness, few defensive players have combined sheer impact with production quite like Julius Peppers.
Peppers played 17 years in the NFL, 10 of them for the Panthers in his home state of North Carolina.
On Thursday, he officially became a first-ballot inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame -- just the sixth defensive end ever to receive that honor.
Peppers will be joined by Devin Hester, Patrick Willis, Andre Johnson, Dwight Freeney, Steve McMichael and Randy Gradishar in the 2024 class.
A well-deserved honor for one of the all-time greats. See you in Canton, Pep!
Flashes of brilliance lift Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes are tightening their grip on a sixth straight playoff berth thanks to some top-notch performances this week.
Martin Necas made some history Thursday against the Colorado Avalanche, recording his first career hat trick in a 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche.
The game-opening "natty hatty" was just the second in Hurricanes/ Whalers franchise history. The only other player to accomplish it was Cory Stillman back in 2007.
Kochetkov was briefly pulled during the Colorado win after letting in a very soft goal, but after that, he's been sparkling.
The 24-year old now has six career shutouts in only 53 games. For reference, reigning Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark has seven career shutouts in *232* games. So there's that.
Goalies, man.
Duke tops UNC in OT thriller
It doesn't have to be men's hoops to enjoy a Duke-Carolina classic.
The Duke women's team fought their way to an epic comeback win over the hated Tar Heels on Sunday, 68-60 in overtime.
UNC seemed to be in control most of the game and built a commanding 14-point lead, but the Blue Devils leaned on their defense to get back in it.
Duke has held 22 out of their 23 opponents below their scoring average this season, and that trend continued as they forced Carolina into 2/15 shooting and five turnovers in the fourth quarter.
Kara Lawson's bunch is starting to get hot at the right time. Duke has won 9 straight at home and 3 in-a-row overall as they look to lock down an at-large bid in the big dance.
Curry comes home to Charlotte
There hasn't been a lot of good news around the Charlotte Hornets recently. They're a bad basketball team with a bottom four record in the NBA, ready to rebuild again for the umpteenth time in franchise history.
But even as the team was selling off Terry Rozier, Gordon Hayward and P.J. Washington at the trade deadline this week, they did manage to find a silver lining.
They traded for Seth Curry.
Seth played three years at Duke and went undrafted in 2013, but has since made a nice career for himself. The Hornets are his eighth NBA stop, and he's made himself right at home.
In truth, this probably won't be a long-term marriage since Seth is set to turn 34 in August and has no guarantees on his contract for next season.
But who cares about that? This is fun and the Hornets usually aren't. Enjoy the moment and welcome home, Seth!
Boom! Roasted!
If you happened to be watching the NFL Honors show on Thursday night, you bore witness to the Carolina Panthers catching an all-time stray from host Keegan-Michael Key.
Ouch.
Luckily for the Panthers, there was a new target of ridicule by Sunday... namely JJ Watt's hair.
The former Defensive Player of the Year joined CBS Sports as an analyst this year, and decided the Super Bowl would be a great time to try out a new look up top.
Just maybe go a little bit lighter on the pomade next season, huh buddy?
TAYLOR SWIFT WATCH
This is it!
We've reached the end of the NFL season and therefore the end of Taylor Swift watch ... I think ... unless she and Travis get engaged ... or do something really cute on her upcoming tour ...
Ok, maybe it's not the end of the Taylor Swift watch because these two are a content machine. Time will tell, I guess.
Vibes were much better after the win was secured.
The couple partied late into the night and even made their way on to Taylor's official TikTok feed. The clip features Travis for the first time on any of Taylor's social media accounts, as well as her parents who look hilariously out of place at the nightclub celebration.
Heck of a season for these two crazy kids. Let's hope everything goes well in the offseason.
We'll see you next week.
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