The Seawanhaka Sports Rundown is a weekly roundup of five stories that examine developments in sports news at the local, state, national, and international levels.
BY: VINCENT MENDOZA / STAFF WRITER
Kansas City Chiefs win SB LVIII
On Sunday, February 11, we witnessed a rematch of the SB LVIII in 2020 between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs. This game featured many star players such as Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Christian McCaffrey, Brock Purdy, Nick Bosa, and many others.
This matchup was predicted to produce a high-scoring game featuring one of the most high-powered offenses in football, and another team with the most talented quarterback in NFL history. It ended up being quite the opposite, featuring two of the best defenses in football. Neither team could score more than 10 points in any of the four quarters. Late in the fourth quarter with 1:54 left, 49ers’ kicker Jake Moody made a 53-yard field goal to take a 19-16 lead on the Chiefs. Unfortunately for the 49ers, this would be followed up by a 64-yard drive led by none other than the dynamic duo of Mahomes and Kelce. This led to a 29-yard chip shot field goal for Harrison Butker to send the game into overtime.
This is only the second Super Bowl to go into overtime since its creation in 1967. The only other Super Bowl to go into overtime was when Tom Brady and the New England Patriots had a historical 28-3 against the Atlanta Falcons in SBLI in 2017. What’s ironic about this is that Kyle Shanahan, current head coach for the 49ers, was the offensive coordinator for the Falcons in 2017.
In overtime, the 49ers couldn’t convert on 3rd & 4 at the Chiefs’ eight-yard line, which resulted in Jake Moody kicking a 27-yard field goal, making it a 22-19. The Chiefs capitalized on the opportunity the 49ers gave them, scoring a three-yard touchdown from Patrick Mahomes to wide receiver Mecole Hardman to win SBLVIII 25-22.
This is the Chiefs’ third championship in five years, and another accolade in the books for two all-time great players in Mahomes and Kelce, who are arguably the greatest to ever play in their respective positions. If there were any doubters before Sunday’s game, there shouldn’t be any more.
Knicks Protest Loss vs Houston Rockets
Monday, February 12, featured a controversial game between the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets. In the final minute of action, the Knicks found themselves down 99-103. Knicks’ All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson hit two clutch mid-range jump shots to tie the game 103-103.
During the final possession of the game, Rockets shooting guard Jalen Green passed the ball to point guard Aaron Holiday who attempted a long three-pointer. Although Holiday missed the shot, referee Jacyn Noble called a shooting foul with 0.3 seconds remaining on Jalen Brunson who contested the shot. Holiday ended up making two out of three free throws, and the Rockets secured a 105-103 victory at home.
According to a USA Today article written by Jeff Zillgitt, crew chief referee Ed Molloy acknowledged that the call made by Noble was incorrect. The Last Two Minute Report by the NBA agreed with Molloy’s statement that the call was incorrect and that the game should’ve gone into overtime.
Yesterday, Tuesday, February 13th, the Knicks filed a protest against the NBA to dispute the loss on Monday night. The last time a team filed a protest and won resulting in a replay was on March 8, 2008 between the Miami Heat and the Atlanta Hawks. The final 51.9 seconds of overtime was replayed, and the Hawks came out victorious, edging the Heat 114-111.
Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen
Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen faced off this past weekend in a battle for the top of the league which led to Bayern Munich’s 3-0 defeat. This loss places Munich five points behind Leverkusen for first place in the Bundesliga and puts Bayern Munich’s 11 consecutive Bundesliga title streak in jeopardy. Bayern Munich losing the season will also continue Harry Kane’s career-long struggle to get a trophy.
Bayer Leverkusen is attempting to go undefeated in Bundesliga play, not losing a single game of their 21 played so far this season. This effort has been headlined by the managerial prowess of Xabi Alonso. Alonso, due to his successes this season, is rumored to move on to a new club with primary suitors being a plethora of Alonso’s former clubs including Bayern Munich, Liverpool, and Real Madrid.
LIU Men’s Basketball defeats Sacred Heart
After a heartbreaking 82-79 overtime loss on Thursday night against Merrimack, the Long Island Sharks looked to bounce back against the Sacred Heart Pioneers on Saturday night at the Steinberg Wellness Center. In their initial matchup earlier in the season, Sacred Heart dominated, winning 89-55 at home.
The first half was a back-and-forth battle between the two teams that would end up in a tied game (33-33) going into halftime.
Coming back from the break, both teams got off to a good start, but the Sharks smelled blood in the water. With 12:21 left in the second half, LIU went on a 13-4 run sparked by great play on both sides of the court to take a 61-48 lead with 9:25 to go.
From there, Long Island continued to keep their feet on the gas winning by 17 points with the final score being 58-75. Tana Kopa led all scorers with 20 points, shooting 4-8 from three and 6-13 from the field, as well as shooting a perfect 4-4 from the line. Starting point guard Tai Strickland finished with 16 points on 6-11 shooting, as well as grabbing 9 rebounds. Off the bench, guard Terell Strickland ended with 7 points and dished out a team-high 7 assists.
Sacred Heart guard Kyle McGee put up 16 points and 5 rebounds. Forward Alex Sobel and Nico Galette also had 11 points each. On Thursday night, the Pioneers will face off against Wagner at home, and the Sharks will look to cap off their four-game home stand against Fairleigh Dickinson.
LIU Softball is Back
This past weekend, LIU Softball went down to Fort Myers, Florida to compete in 5 games at the FGCU Kickoff Classic.
Overall, the Sharks finished with a 2-3 record, losing to Louisville and Boston College on Friday, and Georgetown on Sunday. However, much success was found on Saturday when they went undefeated. LIU had a dominant bounceback 9-1 victory against Boston College, as well as beating FGCU 3-1.
Against Boston College, seven players scored, with Devon Medina and NEC Player of the Week Kaylee Clarkson scoring two runs each. Clarkson put up another impressive performance in the win vs FGCU, finishing with two hits and one RBI. Gabby Padilla, Alyssa Polemeni, and Priscilla Gillies each had one run, with Polemeni also having two RBIs.
This weekend, the Sharks travel to the West Coast to play in five games at the San Diego Classic.