After losing a court fight to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and serving a four-game ban to start the season, New England quarterback Tom Brady on Monday accepted something else from Goodell — the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player trophy.
The final touch for the 2016-2017 NFL campaign came when Brady and Patriots coach Bill Belichick spoke after New England’s 34-28 overtime triumph over the Atlanta Falcons at Super Bowl 51 in Houston, Texas.
“It’s a great honor for us, for me personally, to have both of these guys this morning,” Goodell said. “Tom, come on up and get your trophy.”
Photo: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY
Brady earned the award by sparking the Patriots to the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history, rallying New England from a 28-3 deficit to force overtime and then driving the Patriots for the winning touchdown in extra time, a Super Bowl first.
“It’s an honor to be here and to have the commissioner give me this award,” Brady said. “It took a miraculous effort. The lows of not playing great, then the highs of playing better and then at the end. It’s just a night I’ll never forget. It’s a great win for our team.”
Brady was to have missed the first four games of the 2015 season after “Deflategate,” when the Patriots were found to have used underinflated balls in a playoff win on their way to a 2015 Super Bowl triumph.
Goodell ruled that Brady had to have known about the underinflation.
Brady went to court and had the ban overturned, but an appeals judge reinstituted the ban and Brady dropped the fight, instead sitting out the first four games this season, when New England went 3-1 on the way to an NFL-best 14-2 record.
Belichick, asked if Brady might have been motivated by vengeance this season, dismissed the notion that Deflategate played any role.
“I think it’s really inappropriate to suggest that, in Tom’s career, he has been anything other than a great teammate, a great worker, and has given us every single ounce of effort, blood, sweat and tears that he has in him,” Belichick said.
“To insinuate that this year is somehow different, that he competed harder or did anything to a higher degree than he ever has in the past is insulting,” he said.
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Shohei Ohtani on Thursday delivered his first two-homer game of the season and had six RBIs as the Los Angeles Dodgers poured it on with five long balls in a 19-2 victory over the visiting Athletics. Max Muncy, Andy Pages and James Outman also hit home runs for the Dodgers, who left no doubt by taking a 13-2 lead following a seven-run third inning. Muncy and Kim Hye-seong each had three hits for Los Angeles. Dodgers right-hander Matt Sauer led off a bullpen game by allowing two runs in four innings. Left-hander Justin Wrobleski (1-1) finished with four scoreless innings after he
RSS