NFL

Boy from Sydney set to play in America's biggest game

On Monday (NZ time), the former rugby league player and church choirboy will perform on the NFL's biggest stage as the man tasked with protecting quarterback Jalen Hurts against the Kansas City Chiefs.

"I didn't understand how to play the game. I was just watching mostly for the half-time performances," the hulking 25-year-old said.

"I thought about singing in (a Super Bowl), but definitely not playing in it.

"No, I'm playing with you. I never thought about being here when I was watching it."

Tom Brady retires "for good"

Brady, 45, first announced his retirement on this day last year but reversed his decision six weeks later, claiming he had "unfinished business".

He won six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots and one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021.

Brady's final season ended in the Bucs' 31-14 play-off defeat last month.

"I'm retiring - for good," he said in an emotional video posted on social media. "I know the process was a pretty big deal last time, so when I woke up this morning I figured I'd just press record and let you guys know first.

Legendary NFL coach and commentator dies at 85

The league said he died unexpectedly and did not give a cause.

Madden led the then-Oakland Raiders to their first Super Bowl victory in 1977 and became a hugely popular television analyst after retiring from coaching.

He later became the face of Madden NFL Football, one of the most successful sports video games ever.

"Nobody loved football more than Coach," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.

"There will never be another John Madden, and we will forever be indebted to him for all he did to make football and the NFL what it is today."

How Aussie rugby league ‘wrecking ball’ Jordan Mailata went from operating table to $86m NFL dream

He likened it to being blindfolded, chasing a dream career in a sport that may as well have been a foreign language.

It is what makes Mailata’s rapid rise – a self-described “Hollywood movie” – all the more remarkable.

Earlier this month he was sharing the field with Tom Brady, who at 44 years old, is still breaking records and still redefining the quarterback age curve.

Mailata is doing some redefining of his own, shedding the rugby league identity of his past and forging a new one.

NFL player Phillip Adams killed five, then himself

Adams had been treated by the doctor, who lived near his parents' home in Rock Hill, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorised to speak publicly. He said Adams killed himself after midnight with a .45-caliber weapon.

The York County Sheriff's Office said they had searched for hours after Wednesday's mass shooting before finding the suspected gunman, whom they did not identify, in a nearby home.

From rugby league royalty to a jail cell: Jarryd Hayne

The dual Dally M Medallist, NSW State of Origin and Australian test star on Monday became a convicted rapist. Stints representing state and country, flying high in the NFL or chasing an Olympics rugby sevens dream in Fijian paradise faded from view.

A Sydney jury found the 33-year-old guilty of sexual intercourse without consent of a woman in her Newcastle home in 2018. It was the same night as the NRL grand final and Hayne had been at a buck's party.

He denied any criminality, but said he regretted what happened between the pair.

NFL star and three-time Super Bowl winner re-joins USA Sevens side ahead of Tokyo Olympics

The 32-year-old currently plays as a safety and special teamer for the New York Giants and won three Super Bowls during his seven-year spell with the New England Patriots between 2012 and 2019.

It was also during his time with the Patriots, where he lined up alongside the legendary Tom Brady, when he dabbled with rugby, a sport he had previously represented the United States in at U19 and U20 levels.

Former NFL standout Vincent Jackson found dead in hotel room

A cause of death has not yet been determined, but the sheriff's office said there were no signs of trauma.

News of the death of the former player, who turned 38 last month, hit hard in the Tampa area, where he was known for his off-the field works as well as his performances on the field, as well as San Diego, where he also played.

"We are all mourning the loss of our beloved Vincent," Allison Stokes Gorrell, a Jackson family spokesperson, told the Tampa Bay Times.

Jennifer King: NFL history for first black female full-time coach

Her promotion to assistant running backs coach was confirmed on Tuesday by Washington Football Team.

She spent the 2020 season as an intern under Washington head coach Ron Rivera, and running backs coach Randy Jordan.

"Coach King is well deserving of the promotion," said Rivera. "She earned this opportunity with her hard work. The sky is truly the limit for her."

NFL teams cancel training after positive Covid-19 tests

The Chicago Bears pushed back training from morning to the afternoon. Initial testing had revealed that nine players and staff members had tested positive but the results later turned out to be false positives, and the team put off training until the afternoon "out of an abundance of caution", the Chicago Tribune reported.

The NFL said the clubs were taking precautionary measures while working to either confirm or rule out the positive tests.