Sport sidelined on energetic media night
PHOENIX — Nick Sirianni answered questions about Rocky, Santa Claus and even which of his players on the Philadelphia Eagles he’d want to date his 5-year-old daughter when she grows up.
Welcome to Super Bowl opening night, where football talk gives way to the wild and wacky.
The circus atmosphere that kicks off the NFL’s biggest week returned Monday for the first time since 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic forced teams to meet the media on video conferences the past two seasons.
Sirianni and the Eagles took the stage first at Footprint Center, home of the Phoenix Suns. “Fly, Eagles, Fly” chants greeted players and coaches before they spent an hour answering wide-ranging questions from more than 2,000 media members.
Red-clad Chiefs fans took over the arena when Kansas City came out, turning it into an indoor version of Arrowhead Stadium.
It was a new experience for many of the Eagles, who have seven holdovers from the team that beat New England in the Super Bowl five years ago.
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs are here for the third time in four years so they already got a taste of this media extravaganza in Miami in 2020.
For the record, Sirianni loves the Rocky movies. He identifies with Sylvester Stallone’s fictional movie character, who is part of Philadelphia’s fabric as much as the cheesesteak.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid got numerous questions about his time in Philadelphia and food. The cheeseburger fanatic would not name his favorite city to eat outside of Kansas City, Green Bay and Philly.
“They won’t let you back in if I do,” he said.
Roster shaken up by injuries, returns
The Kansas City Chiefs activated running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire from injured reserve Monday and placed wide receiver Mecole Hardman on the list for the second time as they finalize their roster for the Super Bowl.
Edwards-Helaire, a 2020 first-round pick, has been out since sustaining a high ankle sprain during a win over the Chargers on Nov. 20.
Edwards-Helaire started the first six games of the season before ceding time to seventhround pick Isiah Pacheco, who has become one of the Chiefs’ breakout stars. Edwards-Helaire has run 71 times for 302 yards and three touchdowns and caught 17 passes for 151 yards and three more scores this season.
Hardman initially hurt his pelvis Nov. 6 during a game against the Titans. He was activated from IR on Jan. 4 but struggled to get healthy enough to appear in games.
He finally suited up for the AFC title game against the Bengals, and he ran a couple of jet sweeps while catching two passes for 10 yards. It was while getting tackled on his second reception that he reinjured the pelvis.
Additionally, Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed cleared concussion protocol after he was injured against the Bengals. The third-year corner was Kansas City’s second-leading tackler with 108 this season and had three interceptions.
Mahomes also is progressing from a high ankle sprain suffered against Jacksonville in the divisional round, though he still isn’t 100 percent.
Legalized gambling cues big betting surge
As legal sports gambling proliferates, the number of Americans betting on the Super Bowl and the total amount they’re wagering is surging — although most of the action is still off the books.
An estimated 1-in-5 American adults will make some sort of bet, laying out a whopping $16 billion, or twice as much as last year, according to an industry trade group.
Even as legal gambling has spread to two-thirds of U.S. states, independent analysts say only about $1 billion of the total being wagered on Sunday’s game will happen through casinos, racetracks or companies such as FanDuel and DraftKings.
The vast majority of people, in other words, are still betting with friends and family, participating in office pools or taking their chances with a bookie.
More than 50 million American adults are expected to bet on the national championship game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, according to the American Gaming Association. That’s an increase of 61 percent from last year.