Kansas City Chiefs' strategy to expand UK fandom: cultural connections and mascot diplomacy
They're getting input from the locals, and there's good news.
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Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Bears will play their starters in the final preseason game
The Bears will play their starters in the preseason finale Friday night against the Chiefs. Bears coach Ben Johnson told Kay Adams on Up & Adams that Caleb Williams and the rest of the team's healthy starters will play. "We'll go ahead, and we'll play," Johnson said. "We'll see how long it is. We're going to get through a couple days here of practice, and we'll determine for how long, but we need to go through this.' Johnson hinted earlier this week that he would play the starters this week. Chiefs coach Andy Reid announced Monday that his starters would play some against the Bears. "They'll start it off, for sure, and then we'll see how it goes from there,' Reid said. The Bears opened Sunday night's game against the Bills with their starters on the field. Williams and receivers Rome Odunze and DJ Moore each played 14 snaps. Williams was 6-of-10 for 107 yards and a touchdown.
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Dillon Danis, Warren Spencer erupt over Misfits title bout: 'You're going to be taken out on a stretcher!'
Misfits Boxing is getting into the MMA game for its Aug. 30 event in Manchester, England. Before the headlining boxing bouts featuring ex-UFC stars Luke Rockhold, Darren Till and Tony Ferguson, Dillon Danis will return to action against Warren Spencer in a battle for the inaugural Misfits light heavyweight MMA title. It's been nearly two full years since Danis last competed in combat sports, coming up short in a boxing match against Logan Paul in October 2023, which ended a four-year hiatus from combat competition for the former Bellator MMA prospect. Danis went 2-0 in Bellator from 2018-19, however his upcoming match against Spencer marks his return to the sport for the first time in six years. Spencer, on the other hand, makes his MMA debut on Aug. 30 after starting his pro boxing career with a win in April. Calling in through Zoom to confront Danis on Tuesday's edition of "The Ariel Helwani Show," Warren revealed that he has no intentions of playing on the ground with the jiu-jitsu specialist. "I'd be stupid not to think that Dillon wasn't going to come and dive for my legs," Spencer said. "I think he's going to dive for my legs, I really do. I'm going to hit him with a big fresh one-two [combination] down the middle. He's going to go, 'Oh s***, this is real power,' and then he's going to dive for my legs and try and sniff my balls and tap me out. I'm not going to let him. I'm not going to let myself get my leg ripped off on live television or get strangled on live television. I'm tapping. "We're fighting for real. Punches, kicks, knees, elbows, flying dragon kick, or I'm tapping. ... You've shown the world now that when you've got nothing left — look at the Logan Paul fight, when there's nothing left, you die. You shoot for the legs and you die. When you know you've lost, you die." Never one to shy away from a verbal exchange, Danis quickly bantered back and forth with his upcoming opponent. Danis scored first-round submissions in his lone two MMA fights and advised Warren not to follow the footsteps of his previous foes. "I hope you tap quick because it's going to be a bad night," Danis responded. "You're not going to be able to walk. You're going to be taken out on a stretcher when your knees are mangled. "I'd fight you right now in this f***ing room, and I would whoop your ass 10 times out of 10. You don't understand it." Obviously, keeping the fight on the feet is the best path to victory for Spencer, as he admitted and desires. The Brit took it a step further, praising Danis and stating that there was no point in wasting his time learning jiu-jitsu ahead of the match. Before this fight came together, Danis was lined up to take on the aforementioned UFC veteran Ferguson in the now-defunct Global Fight League (GFL). Thanks to his brash, outspoken personality, Danis has previously found himself linked to much more experienced fighters than Spencer, and "The Mechanic" is aware of that. Therefore, he insists he's only trying to help Danis, to an extent. "I want to see Dillon come out and show everybody he's a well-rounded fighter," Spencer said. "He's calling out Jon Jones, all these big, crazy names. Look, you've got to get through 'The Mechanic' first. If you want to show everyone you're a well-rounded fighter and you want to show you can strike, then do it. "I'm going to make you richer. I'm going to give you a stepping stone to be a UFC legend, so you have to like me. Dillon's like my little stepson. What kind of father would I be if I wouldn't support my son?" Ultimately, Danis wasn't overly amused by Spencer's overtures and promised their upcoming fight would be his own return to the win column, while also keeping Danis undefeated in MMA. "It's going to be f***ed up when your stepson takes you down and puts you on your ass," Danis said.
San Francisco Chronicle
21 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Kyle Shanahan touts 49ers' new vibe. Here's what threatens those good feelings
Could not making the playoffs in the 2024 season be the best thing that ever happened to the 2025 San Francisco 49ers? Maybe, at least when it comes to training camp vibes, to hear Kyle Shanahan tell it. 'Last year, you lose a Super Bowl like that in overtime and everything, and you're bringing back a lot of your team and that's all anyone can think about,' Shanahan said. 'You're obsessive about it. That's a different vibe at camp. '(This year) is definitely different energy.' Shanahan can be brutally honest, particularly for an NFL head coach. And as the 49ers season unraveled last year, he — in a moment of unvarnished truth — noted that he had been uneasy about the state of the team from training camp onward. 'I just knew we weren't where I wanted to be,' Shanahan said toward the end of the season, adding that things had felt off, 'from the beginning to the end, the way we started out, the way we felt in training camp, throughout the whole year.' 'I love the way we're going, I love the way we're working,' he said. 'Obviously, the number of injuries we've had, I'm not always enjoying that. But it's such a different deal than last year.' Shanahan pointed out that this is a very different year. The 49ers knew they were turning over a lot of the team, through free agency and the draft. Not only is the Super Bowl heartbreak now a year further removed, most of the players never experienced it. With youth comes a different energy. 'It's not like I get on our veterans to do more in practice — they go as hard as they can,' he said. 'But vets are vets. It's a little more fake and false enthusiasm than anything else. They're not really excited about camp. So we have young guys out there making plays … they're the loud ones. Those are the ones who inspire the vets. That's what I've been a lot more excited about this year.' But excitement and youthful energy in training camp doesn't necessarily add up to wins. And, even with the page turned from last year's 6-11 misery, the 49ers have plenty to be concerned about. Particularly the rash of injuries that Shanahan is not enjoying for a second straight season; they have put a dent in the good vibes surrounding camp and created concerns about roster depth. Shanahan ran through his weekly triage list. Running back Patrick Taylor Jr. fractured his shoulder and is lost for the season. Offensive lineman Dominick Puni may miss the opener due to a sprained knee. Backup quarterback Mac Jones hurt his knee and the team signed former 49er Nate Sudfield to fill in. Top draft pick Mykel Williams is still out with a knee. Wide receiver Jauan Jennings is also still out, nursing a calf and perhaps a contract issue. The injury list is deep, particularly at defensive end, a position the 49ers desperately need to shore up to keep Nick Bosa from being triple-teamed. Many of the injured players are newcomers, who are missing critical reps in the evaluation and preparation process. All that youthful energy will melt away if the young players aren't ready to play. 'People need to practice,' Shanahan said. 'They need to get ready to play an NFL season or you end up getting hurt. … The less you practice football, the harder it is to play football throughout the year.' The extensive injuries also muddle the 49ers' process in making roster cuts, with just two days of practice and one final exhibition game remaining for evaluation. 'It's a really complicated thing that we can't talk about enough because it's always changing each day,' Shanahan said. 'And it will be all the way up to when we make that decision.' Despite the injury cloud hanging over training camp the 49ers have plenty to feel good about. Their star players are so far (knock wood) healthy. The return of Robert Saleh not only brings all that Saleh energy but solves the defensive coordinator headache that has plagued Shanahan for two years. The ugly 6-11 finish bequeathed them the easiest schedule (on paper) in football. And it also freed them from obsessing over a brutal Super Bowl — or any kind of playoff — loss. That put some pep in their step. Does Shanahan really feel great about the way things are going in camp? In five months, we'll find out.
