Rams Acquire Stafford for Goff as N.F.L. Quarterback Market Warms

By BY BEN SHPIGEL from NYT Sports The Los Angeles Rams added a productive passer, Matthew Stafford, to a sagging offense, while the rebuilding Lions took on Jared Goff, a reclamation project with an onerous contract.https://nyti.ms/3ai5LDv

The Pop Star Wants to Be an Olympian

By BY KAREN CROUSE from NYT Sports Cody Simpson has been a singer, a dancer, an actor and an author. Now, with support from Michael Phelps and Ian Thorpe, he is resurrecting a childhood swimming dream.https://nyti.ms/3cA5Wwq

In Brazil, Risk and Reward, Side by Joyous Side

By BY VICTOR MORIYAMA AND RORY SMITH from NYT Sports The coronavirus kept Palmeiras fans far from their team when it played Santos in the Copa Libertadores final. A last-minute winner made everyone forget the distance, and the rules.https://nyti.ms/3aqcxqW

John Chaney’s Message Was Always Clear, in Support of Black Athletes

By BY BILLY WITZ from NYT Sports “He’d say, ‘I’m not going to stick a lollipop in your mouth, I’m going to coach you like a man,’” recalled one of Chaney’s former assistant coaches.https://nyti.ms/36s3sN0

Mets’ Cohen Deletes Twitter Account After Threats

By BY KEVIN DRAPER from NYT Sports The Mets owner said his family had been targeted on the social media service. The move comes after he was pulled into the stock-market tug of war over GameStop.https://nyti.ms/2YtZMWC

What Is Jon Cooper’s ‘Special Sauce?’

By BY GARY SANTANIELLO from NYT Sports Cooper, the Tampa Bay Lightning coach, won the 2020 Stanley Cup to add to his enviable trophy case. One key to his success, a former boss said, is that he keeps learning.https://nyti.ms/39C3SCB

How a Horrifying Cycling Crash Set Up a Battle Over Safety

By BY NICK BUSCA from NYT Sports A series of crashes in elite road racing has galvanized riders to demand more safety measures, while the sport’s governing body promises changes.https://nyti.ms/3taer7u

Hailed as a Trailblazer, Kim Ng Stands Alone

By BY JAMES WAGNER from NYT Sports Major League Baseball celebrated the hiring of a woman as a sign of progress on diversity in its executive ranks. Every comparable hire over the last two years has been a white man.https://nyti.ms/3t2klaC

John Chaney, Hall of Fame Temple Basketball Coach, Dies at 89

By BY RICHARD GOLDSTEIN from NYT Sports He won more than 500 games and six Atlantic 10 tournament championships with Temple, and he took his teams to the N.C.A.A. tournament’s regional finals five times.https://nyti.ms/3tj519U

Old Rivals, New Ideas and Why Some Clubs Are Reluctant to Try

By BY RORY SMITH from NYT Sports Rangers and Celtic are so focused on beating one another that they may have lost sight of the future. In Brazil, two rivals enter the Copa Libertadores final toying with a new concept: coaching stability.https://nyti.ms/3agDmgR

Professional Hockey Is Disrupted by Coronavirus

By BY SETH BERKMAN from NYT Sports The N.H.L. had its ninth postponement of the season on Thursday, and one of the six teams in the National Women’s Hockey League had to leave its two-week season early.https://nyti.ms/3cm28z6

Yankees’ Off-Season Yields a Few Gambles, and One Sure Thing

By BY TYLER KEPNER from NYT Sports D.J. LeMahieu is back for six more years of steady hitting, but his team is rolling the dice with a boom-or-bust starting rotation.https://nyti.ms/3otyxWO

Reeling Texans Set to Hire David Culley as Head Coach

By BY GILLIAN R. BRASSIL from NYT Sports Culley, who is Black, is one of only two nonwhite N.F.L. head coaches hired in this cycle. His task: leading a Houston franchise that has alienated its star players.https://nyti.ms/2Yrx8p7

A Tight Finish for a Round the World Race, 80 Days Later

By BY CHRIS MUSELER from NYT Sports The boat that crossed the finish line third in the Vendée Globe ended up as the winner. Its skipper was credited with time lost while rescuing another sailor.https://nyti.ms/3t4OHJC

Chad Wheeler Charged With Felony Assault in Domestic Attack Case

By BY KEN BELSON from NYT Sports The N.F.L. lineman was arrested Saturday after a violent assault on a woman in his home.https://nyti.ms/3cjU8hP

The Resurrection of American Magic

By BY SERENA SOLOMON from NYT Sports A dramatic crash left a hole in the hull of a high-tech America’s Cup yacht. But a round-the-clock repair effort has brought the boat back from the dead.https://nyti.ms/3pqu6x6

Tanaka Departs as Yankees’ Remade Rotation Takes Shape

By BY VICTOR MATHER from NYT Sports Masahiro Tanaka was not expected to return to the Bronx, and the Yankees made almost no effort to keep him. But his departure comes with risk for his old team.https://nyti.ms/3orx2Iv

Hunting Trips, Sex and Cash: How Grooming Biathlon’s Leader Paid Off for Russia

By BY TARIQ PANJA from NYT Sports An investigation accuses biathlon’s longtime president of accepting gifts from Russians and then doing the country’s bidding as a doping scandal swirled.https://nyti.ms/3prEV22

With Use of Only One Arm, a Snowboarder Speeds to Success

By BY SHAUNA FARNELL from NYT Sports Kiana Clay, who lost use of her dominant arm in an accident, is a fast-rising star who is pushing for inclusion in the 2022 Paralympics.https://nyti.ms/2M1NYbD

Is the Salary Cap a Myth?

By BY MIKE TANIER from NYT Sports A Super Bowl matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should not be fiscally possible on paper, but here we are.https://nyti.ms/2YoeUoy

George Springer Chose Toronto Because ‘This Team Is Built to Win’

By BY DAVID WALDSTEIN from NYT Sports Springer, 31, was part of a youth movement with the Houston Astros. The Blue Jays hope he will be the veteran leader the team needs.https://nyti.ms/3chzVcH

Zack Scott Elevated to Acting General Manager of the Mets

By BY JAMES WAGNER from NYT Sports On the same day the Mets settled their turbulent front office, the team’s former G.M., Brodie Van Wagenen, found a new home.https://nyti.ms/3pq3g8s

What More Do Voters Want? A History of Hall of Fame Snubs

By BY BENJAMIN HOFFMAN from NYT Sports For the ninth time since 1936, baseball writers failed to elect any Hall of Famers. The jilted players are in good company.https://nyti.ms/2YgdJHH

‘Thinking of You Today’: The Texts That Helped Me Grieve the Oklahoma State Crash

By BY JOSH CRUTCHMER from NYT Sports Reflecting on the 2001 plane crash that killed 10 people, including two players and six others associated with the men’s basketball program.https://nyti.ms/2YjTM2I

Harthorne Wingo, 1970s Knick With Much-Chanted Name, Dies at 73

By BY RICHARD SANDOMIR from NYT Sports The bench player with the unusual name became a favorite of the team’s fans, who filled Madison Square Garden with cries of “Wing-o! Wing-o!”https://nyti.ms/3pl9zdu

A Washington Coach Reaches a First for Black Women in the N.F.L.

By BY VICTOR MATHER AND BEN SHPIGEL from NYT Sports Washington promoted Jennifer King to assistant running backs coach, making her the first Black woman with a full-time N.F.L. coaching job, amid increasing scrutiny on the diversity of the league’s hiring.https://nyti.ms/3pmDdis

J.T. Realmuto of the Phillies Signs Record Deal for a Catcher

By BY JAMES WAGNER from NYT Sports Realmuto’s five-year, $115.5 million deal will surpass Joe Mauer’s record for the highest annual pay for a catcher.https://nyti.ms/3aalx3d

Hall of Fame Says No to Schilling, Bonds and Clemens — Again

By BY TYLER KEPNER from NYT Sports Baseball writers failed to elect a player to the Hall of Fame for the ninth time. History suggests several of this year’s finalists will eventually be inducted.https://nyti.ms/3po48Ky

Rick Pitino, Who Pushed to Delay College Basketball Season, Tested Positive for the Coronavirus

By BY ADAM ZAGORIA from NYT Sports The Hall of Fame coach, now at Iona College, had previously pushed for the season to be delayed.https://nyti.ms/3a4glOh

A Washington Coach Reaches a First for Black Women in the N.F.L.

By BY VICTOR MATHER AND BEN SHPIGEL from NYT Sports Washington promoted Jennifer King to assistant running backs coach, making her the first Black woman with a full-time N.F.L. coaching job, amid increasing scrutiny on the diversity of the league’s hiring.https://nyti.ms/36eWVoQ

‘Grief Comes Out the Clear Blue’: The Death of Kobe, the Father

By BY HARVEY ARATON from NYT Sports Diana Munson, the widow of the Yankees’ Thurman Munson, talks about raising children after the death of their celebrity father and her advice, as a mother, to Vanessa Bryant.https://nyti.ms/3a7JdVW

Could Tampa Bay Be the New Titletown?

By BY VICTOR MATHER from NYT Sports The success of the Buccaneers, Lightning and Rays — pro sports punch lines turned finals contestants — is a run that rivals past glory years in Boston, New York or Los Angeles.https://nyti.ms/3sVLSKN

After Leaving Trump Property, P.G.A. Championship Lands in Oklahoma

By BY BILL PENNINGTON from NYT Sports The major had been set to be played at Trump National Golf Course Bedminster, N.J. in 2022, until the P.G.A. of America pulled out, saying that holding it there would be “detrimental” to its brand.https://nyti.ms/3c8HiCX

They Played the Game: Hall of Fame Poll Lets Players Decide

By BY TYLER KEPNER from NYT Sports Results of an annual poll suggest players largely agree with writers on Baseball Hall of Fame voting. They differ on Curt Schilling, Todd Helton and performance-enhancing drugs.https://nyti.ms/3oqMODL

Spring Training Appears on Track, Even if Arizona Wants a Delay

By BY TYLER KEPNER from NYT Sports With just three weeks before pitchers and catcher report, a letter asked M.L.B. to delay spring training until the Covid-19 situation improved.https://nyti.ms/3pkw2XV

Jameson Taillon Is a Whole New Pitcher. He’s Ready to Prove It.

By BY DAVID WALDSTEIN from NYT Sports Frustrated by a second Tommy John surgery, the Yankees’ newest starter worked with a “village” of experts to revamp his delivery.https://nyti.ms/39iWzPQ

Think Americans Wouldn’t Wager on Russian Table Tennis? Care to Bet?

By BY ANDREW KEH from NYT Sports The obscure, low-tech competitions grew popular during the pandemic. Interest remains strong among gamblers.https://nyti.ms/3t3961V

Hammered by Pandemic, N.C.A.A. Revenue Falls by $600 Million

By BY ALAN BLINDER from NYT Sports Insurance helped the N.C.A.A. partly recover from the cancellation of its men’s basketball tournament — a decision that cost it more than $800 million.https://nyti.ms/2Ya4Cbm

Chelsea Fires Frank Lampard

By BY RORY SMITH AND TARIQ PANJA from NYT Sports Lampard, a title-winning player, failed to draw out the same type of success from his team as a manager. The German Thomas Tuchel is the favorite to replace him.https://nyti.ms/3iKwmgn

San Francisco 49ers Increase Leeds United Ownership Stake

By BY TARIQ PANJA from NYT Sports The N.F.L. team, a minority owner in Leeds since 2018, now will control 37 percent of the Premier League club.https://nyti.ms/3pinMaP

The Packers Kicked a Field Goal With 2:09 Left. Why?

By Unknown Author from NYT Sports Did the Green Bay Packers err when the team opted to kick a field goal instead of letting Aaron Rodgers try to score a touchdown?https://nyti.ms/39e5PVq

What We Learned from the N.F.L.’s Conference Championships

By BY BENJAMIN HOFFMAN from NYT Sports The Chiefs will try to defend their Super Bowl title against Tom Brady and the Buccaneers — who are playing at home.https://nyti.ms/2YcXLOg

Travis Kelce’s second touchdown ends the Chiefs’ clock-chewing drive.

By BY KEN BELSON from NYT Sports https://nyti.ms/3iLNAtM

Tom Brady Is Back in the Super Bowl, Because of Course He Is

By BY BEN SHPIGEL from NYT Sports At 43, Brady will be playing in his 10th Super Bowl, proving that he can still compete at the highest level after reinventing himself at Tampa Bay.https://nyti.ms/3iF9rD2

The Chiefs are getting creative to beat the Bills defense.

By BY KEN BELSON from NYT Sports https://nyti.ms/2NBEF2B

Patrick Mahomes has things under control through the first half.

By BY KEN BELSON from NYT Sports https://nyti.ms/39TcmUs

Edwards-Helaire’s run makes it three touchdowns on as many Chiefs’ possessions.

By BY KEN BELSON from NYT Sports https://nyti.ms/2M110Gb

Mecole Hardman’s 50-yard run sets up Chiefs touchdown.

By BY KEN BELSON from NYT Sports https://nyti.ms/3c7GA9h

The Chiefs clap back with a surgical touchdown drive.

By BY KEN BELSON from NYT Sports https://nyti.ms/39e5cv1

The Bills find the end zone first after a muffed punt.

By BY KEN BELSON from NYT Sports https://nyti.ms/3pjMMP6