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Analysis: Novak Djokovic clearly not done dominating tennis

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic clearly is not done dominating his sport. He says so. His coach says so. And also making that clear were his performances throughout a draining run to a record-extending 10th Australian Open championship and record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title that culminated with a straight-set victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final at Melbourne Park. And Djokovic will return to No. 1 in the ATP rankings on Monday. He says he can’t be sure how much longer he will play. But he is sure that he is motivated to keep winning the biggest trophies in tennis.

Chiefs top Bengals 23-20 on last-second kick for AFC title

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes scrambled for a first down on his badly sprained right ankle and then was shoved late out of bounds by Joseph Ossai, giving Harrison Butker a chance to kick a 45-yard field goal with 3 seconds left that gave the Kansas City Chiefs a 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC title game. The Chiefs finally beat the Bengals after three straight losses, including a three-point overtime defeat in last year’s conference championship game. They advanced to play the Philadelphia Eagles in their third Super Bowl in four years.

Hurts, Eagles soar into Super Bowl, rout 49ers for NFC title

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Hurts had one of Philadelphia’s four rushing touchdowns and the Eagles soared into the Super Bowl, forcing both of San Francisco’s quarterbacks out of the game with injuries and beating the wounded 49ers 31-7 in the NFC championship game. The Eagles won the Super Bowl five years ago with a different coach and quarterback. They’ll try to do it again behind the formidable duo of Hurts and Nick Sirianni. Philadelphia will play either the Cincinnati Bengals or former Eagles coach Andy Reid’s Kansas City Chiefs. Miles Sanders ran for two touchdowns and linebacker Haason Reddick made the hit that forced 49ers rookie quarterback Brock Purdy out of the game with an elbow injury.

Super Bowl 57: Chiefs, Eagles meet for title in Arizona

Patrick Mahomes finally got the best of Joe Burrow. All he needed was a little shove. Harrison Butker made a 45-yard field goal with 3 seconds left — after Cincinnati’s Joseph Ossai was flagged for a 15-yard penalty for shoving Mahomes after he was out of bounds — and the Chiefs beat the Bengals 23-20 in the AFC championship game to make it back to the Super Bowl. Kansas City will face the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl on Feb. 12 in Glendale, Arizona. The Eagles clobbered the Niners 31-7 in the NFC title game earlier Sunday. They’ve looked dominant in the playoffs so far, beating the New York Giants 38-7 in the divisional round.

Burrow comes up short of leading Bengals back to Super Bowl

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Joe Burrow couldn’t carry the Cincinnati Bengals to a second consecutive Super Bowl on Sunday night. The brilliant quarterback was sacked five times, threw two interceptions and was wobbly by the end of Cincinnati’s 23-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC title game. Burrow finished with 270 yards passing and a touchdown. But he also was hit with a costly intentional grounding penalty late in the fourth quarter, and he was sacked by Chris Jones with 41 seconds left, forcing Cincinnati to punt the ball back to the Chiefs. Harrison Butker kicked a field goal with 3 seconds left to win the game for Kansas City.

Brock Purdy, 49ers ousted by Eagles in NFC title game

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Brock Purdy’s magical run from last pick in the NFL draft to winning his first seven starts for the San Francisco 49ers ended when Haason Reddick knocked him out of the NFC championship game in the first quarter. Purdy was forced to return in the second half despite an elbow injury after Josh Johnson left with a concussion. But he threw only two passes and handed off the rest of the game. By that time, the 49ers already trailed the Eagles 21-7 and couldn’t get anything going. From Trey Lance to Jimmy Garoppolo to Purdy, the 49ers overcame quarterback injuries throughout the season, winning 12 straight games to reach their third conference title game in four years.

Rashada case in Florida highlights issues in NIL, recruiting

Using name, image and likeness compensation to recruit college athletes is still very much against NCAA rules. The recent de-commitment from Florida by blue chip quarterback Jaden Rashada shows that NIL is definitely a factor in decisions. Booster-funded collectives are taking on a big role in compensating athletes. Schools can only hope they are acting within the rules and in their best interest. Inserting a third-party in the recruiting process between coaches and recruits has only complicated things. Experts say the collectives should focus on athletes who are already on campus.

McIlroy overcomes Reed, wins Dubai Desert Classic by 1 shot

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Rory McIlroy overcame a final-round charge from Patrick Reed to win the Dubai Desert Classic in a tense Monday duel between players who were involved in a pre-tournament spat. The top-ranked McIlroy rolled in a birdie putt from around 15 feet for a 4-under 68 that left him a shot clear of Reed. Reed shot 65. McIlroy captured the title for the third time and has started a year with a win for the first time in his career. The Northern Irishman started the round with a three-shot lead and four ahead of Reed but was overtaken on the back nine by the American.

Paolo’s diary: The Magic are figuring out what it takes

Paolo Banchero says having a healthier roster has been a big reason why the Orlando Magic are winning some games. The No. 1 pick in last year’s NBA draft is providing a periodic diary of his rookie season to The Associated Press. He says the Magic are noticing that teams are starting to look at them a bit differently. He also knows that the team still has a long way to go.

Referees’ union says James was fouled on controversial play

The National Basketball Referees Association said Sunday that LeBron James was fouled on the last play of regulation in the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the Boston Celtics. The NBA office also confirmed for the second time that a foul should have been called. James was clearly fouled by Boston’s Jayson Tatum with about 1 second left in regulation of a tied game. No foul was called and the Celtics won in overtime.

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