Former NFL star lineman Dobler dies at 72
Conrad Dobler, one of the NFL's top offensive linemen and fiercest players in the 1970s, has died. He was 72.
The Arizona Cardinals announced Dobler died Monday in Pueblo, Colorado. No cause of death was given.
Dobler played left guard on an offensive line that included Hall of Famer Dan Dierdorf for a St. Louis team that became known as the “Cardiac Cardinals.”
Dobler also was known for his dirty play and even titled his autobiography “They Call Me Dirty” after 10 years of eye gouging, leg whipping and finger biting in the trenches of the 1970s NFL. He also embraced his troublemaking persona in a 1987 Miller Lite commercial in which he riled up fans, getting them to argue the beer's “Tastes great/Less filling” tag line.
“Our hearts go out to the family, friends and former teammates of Conrad Dobler,” Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill said in a statement. “He was the kind of tough, physical and fierce player that you love to line up with as a teammate and hate to line up against as an opponent. On the field, Conrad was a big reason for the success of the Cardiac Cards of the 1970s. Away from it, he brought authentic joy and caring to everyone who had the privilege of being his friend.”
Dobler earned three consecutive Pro Bowl appearances from 197577 while playing under Hall of Fame coach Don Coryell. The 1975 offensive set what was then an NFL record by allowing just eight sacks. He played for the Cardinals from 1972-77 before moving on to play two seasons each with New Orleans and Buffalo.
Dobler was a fifth-round pick out of Wyoming in the 1972 NFL draft.
• Ted Lerner, the billionaire real estate developer whose family bought the Washington Nationals in 2006, has died. He was 97.
A Nationals spokesperson said Lerner died Sunday of complications from pneumonia at his home in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
Lerner's group purchased the Nationals from Major League Baseball in 2006 for $450 million after the team was moved to the U.S. capital from Montreal. He was managing principal owner until ceding that role to son Mark in 2018.
Under the Lerners' ownership, the Nationals went from one of baseball's worst teams in their first several seasons in Washington to World Series champions in 2019.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Founding Managing Principal Owner Theodore
N. Lerner,” the team said in a statement. “The crowning achievement of his family business was bringing baseball back to the city he loved — and with it, bringing a championship home for the first time since 1924. He cherished the franchise and what it brought to his beloved hometown.”
Lerner was born in 1925, the year after the Washington Senators beat the New York Giants in the World Series. That franchise left the city in 1960 to become the Minnesota Twins, and its expansion replacement lasted a decade before moving to Texas as the Rangers.
Washington did not have a baseball team again until MLB assumed control of the Expos and moved them there from Montreal in 2005. The group led by the Lerners was chosen as the winning bidder.
Super Bowl a ratings bonanza
Fox was hoping the matchup of two top teams in the Super Bowl and a close game would lead to a record night.
Even though Sunday's game between the Chiefs and Eagles came down to a field goal with 8 seconds remaining, Fox fell just short of its goal.
The Chiefs' rally to win 38-35 is on pace to become the third mostwatched television show in history, with an estimated 113 million people watching, according to preliminary numbers released Monday.
Fox said the audience estimate includes the broadcasts on Fox and Fox Deportes as well as streaming on Fox and the NFL's digital sites. The figures are via Nielsen's Fast National data and Adobe Analytics.
The 2015 game between New England and Seattle on NBC holds the record at 114,442,000 viewers (not including streaming), followed by Super Bowl LI in 2017 on Fox between Atlanta and New England (113,668,000).
This was Fox's 10th Super Bowl since it began airing NFL games in 1994 and the second most-watched program in Fox Sports history.
It would also be a slight increase over the 112.3 million average for last year's Super Bowl. The Rams' win over the Cincinnati Bengals was broadcast by NBC and Telemundo and streamed on Peacock and NFL digital sites.
According to Adobe Analytics, this year's digital feed averaged a Super Bowl-record 7 million streams, an 18% increase over last year (6 million) and more than double Fox's last Super Bowl in 2020 (3.4 million).
Alabama hires coordinators
Alabama coach Nick Saban has hired Kevin Steele as defensive coordinator and Tommy Rees as offensive coordinator.
Steele, a 39-year coaching veteran who ran Miami's defense last season, will start his third stint on the Alabama staff. He was defensive coordinator in 2007, Saban's first season in Tuscaloosa, and head defensive coach the following season before returning in an off-the-field role in 2013.
He replaces Pete Golding, who left for the same position at Mississippi. Steele has also run the defenses at Clemson, LSU and Auburn and is a former Baylor head coach.
Rees spent the past three seasons as Notre Dame's offensive coordinator and the past six as its quarterbacks coach. He replaces Bill O'Brien, who left to join Bill Belichick's staff with the New England Patriots.
Czech star comes out as gay
Czech Republic midfielder Jakub Jankto posted a video on social media saying he is gay, making him one of the most high-profile male soccer players to come out.
Jankto posted a video on Twitter saying: “I'm homosexual. And I no longer want to hide myself.”
The 27-year-old Jankto is playing for Sparta Prague this season on loan from Spanish club Getafe. He has previously played for Italian clubs Sampdoria and Udinese and has made 45 appearances for the Czech national team, scoring four goals.
“Like everyone else, I want to live my life with freedom, without fear, without violence, without prejudice, but with love,” Jankto says in the video.
Sparta Prague's official Twitter account retweeted the video and said “you have our support. Live your life, Jakub.”
The Czech national team said “nothing is changing for us.”