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      N.F.L. Sunday Ticket Verdict Is Thrown Out by Judge

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      The decision, five weeks after a jury awarded $4.7 billion in damages in an antitrust case, is a reprieve for the league.The $4.7 billion verdict against the National Football League for colluding to raise prices for its Sunday Ticket television package was overturned late Thursday by a federal judge, who disqualified expert testimony used by the jury to determine damages.The judge, Philip Gutierrez of U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, ruled a day after lawyers for the N.F.L. had asked him to exclude testimony from key witnesses for plaintiffs representing thousands of customers who bought Sunday Ticket, a season-long package that showed all out-of-town games and was sold by DirecTV.The jury’s verdict five weeks ago in favor of those plaintiffs threatened to upend the league’s strategy of selling exclusive television packages to broadcasters.In his 16-page decision, Judge Gutierrez said the plaintiffs’ two economic witnesses had used flawed methodology in their attempts to show that the league overcharged Sunday Ticket customers. The jury’s calculations of damages were thrown out because they were based on the witnesses’ testimony, which included comparisons to how college games are broadcast and unsubstantiated speculation on how the N.F.L. might sell games individually, the judge said.“The court finds that the jury’s damages awards were not based on the ‘evidence and reasonable inferences’ but instead were more akin to ‘guesswork or speculation,’” he wrote.Judge Gutierrez also said the jury had not followed his instructions for calculating damages, which in antitrust cases like this one are tripled and would have led to a $14.1 billion verdict against the league.“We are grateful for today’s ruling in the Sunday Ticket class action lawsuit,” the league said in a statement. “We believe that the N.F.L.’s media distribution model provides our fans with an array of options to follow the game they love, including local broadcasts of every single game on free over-the-air television.”Calls and text messages to Bill Carmody, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, were not immediately returned.Before the judge’s decision, the N.F.L. said it was prepared to appeal the jury’s verdict. The plaintiffs can potentially appeal the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.The monthlong trial featured testimony from the N.F.L.’s commissioner, Roger Goodell; Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys; and Sean McManus, who recently retired as the chairman of CBS Sports.Last season, the N.F.L. ended its relationship with DirecTV and sold the rights to the Sunday Ticket package to YouTube for as much as $2.5 billion annually. More

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      Biden Dons Kansas City Helmet to Celebrate Its Super Bowl Victory

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      Taylor Swift was not at the White House to celebrate with her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, but kicker Harrison Butker, who recently drew controversy for a commencement speech, attended.On Friday, President Biden urgently called for an end to the war in Gaza. He solemnly discussed the rule of law after former President Donald J. Trump’s criminal conviction. And he donned a shiny red helmet to the whoops and cheers of a pack of football players and fans.The visit to the White House by the Kansas City Chiefs to celebrate their second straight Super Bowl win gave the president a few moments of frivolity in a week replete with sobering events.“Winning back-to-back — I kind of like that,” Mr. Biden said, hinting at the tough re-election bid he faces in his rematch with Mr. Trump. He added, “When the doubters question if you can pull it off again, believe me, I know what that feels like.”The South Lawn celebration was a blip on the president’s schedule, squeezed between a meeting with the prime minister of Belgium and his weekend plans in Rehoboth Beach, Del., during a month with an endless string of campaign events. Yet, with some of the National Football League’s most famous names, it carried a certain celebrity wattage.Still, the spotlight was far dimmer than it could have been. Taylor Swift did not make the trip with her boyfriend, the star tight end Travis Kelce, as she was touring in Europe and had performed in Madrid on Thursday night.The White House had previously said it was up to the Chiefs whether to extend an invitation to the star musician, who has largely avoided embroiling herself in politics. She endorsed Mr. Biden in 2020, leading to speculation about whether she would do so again.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Kansas City’s Harrison Butker Draws Intense Criticism for Graduation Speech

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      Kansas City’s Harrison Butker quoted Taylor Swift lyrics while telling men to be “unapologetic in your masculinity” and women to focus on being homemakers.Harrison Butker of the Kansas City Chiefs is one of the best place-kickers in the N.F.L. That is enough to make him somewhat famous in the football world, but players of his position aren’t typically known by more casual observers — unless they do something especially great or terrible on the field.Last weekend, with the N.F.L. solidly in its off-season, Mr. Butker found himself at the center of a great deal of vitriol on social media, and it had nothing to do with his job.On Saturday, Mr. Butker delivered a 20-minute commencement address to the graduates of Benedictine College, a conservative Catholic school in Atchison, Kan., about 50 miles northwest of Kansas City. He packed his speech full of conservative political discourse, railing against “degenerative cultural values and media.” He rebuked President Joe Biden for his stance as a Catholic who supports abortion rights, and urged women to forgo careers so that they could support their husbands.“I can tell you that my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would be the first to say that her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother,” Mr. Butker said. “I’m on this stage today and able to be the man I am because I have a wife who leans into her vocation.”He added: “It cannot be overstated that all of my success is made possible because a girl I met in band class back in middle school would convert to the faith, become my wife and embrace one of the most important titles of all: homemaker.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Roman Gabriel, Star Quarterback of the 1960s and ’70s, Dies at 83

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      In 16 seasons with the Los Angeles Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles, he played in four Pro Bowl games and reached the postseason twice.Roman Gabriel, one of the leading pro football passers of his time, who complemented his rocket arm with an imposing physique over 16 seasons beginning in 1962, died on Saturday at his home in Little River, S.C. He was 83. His death was confirmed by his son, Roman Gabriel III, who did not specify a cause.Playing for 11 seasons with the Los Angeles Rams and five with the Philadelphia Eagles, Gabriel, who stood 6-foot-2 and weighed about 235 pounds — hefty for a quarterback in that era — had a build akin to that of many of the linebackers he faced.He was voted the N.F.L.’s Most Valuable Player when he led the N.F.L. in touchdown passes, with 24, in a 14-game season with the 1969 Rams.He was also named the comeback player of the year by pro football writers in 1973, his first season with the Eagles. Coming off knee problems and a sore arm, he led the N.F.L. in touchdown passes (23), completions (270) and passing yardage (3,219) that season.He played in four Pro Bowl games, three with the Rams in the late 1960s and another with the Eagles in 1973. But he reached the postseason only twice, and his Rams were eliminated in the first round both times.Roman Ildonzo Gabriel Jr., was born on Aug. 5, 1940, in Wilmington, N.C. His father, a native of the Philippines, a railroad waiter and cook, had settled in North Carolina with his wife, Edna (Wyatt) Gabriel, who was Irish American.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      They Loved Taylor Swift. They Loved Football. Then Their Worlds Collided.

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      The Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce romance has brought together two of the internet’s most engaged fan bases. What happens when you’re already in both?Emily Calhoun remembers the moment she realized her worlds were colliding. It was in the early days of the 2023 N.F.L. season, and suddenly her phone was buzzing nonstop.“Twelve people called me,” she said. “‘Are you seeing this?!’”Ms. Calhoun, who was raised on Denver Broncos football, sure was. It was impossible to miss the seismic overlap. Her love of football was fusing with her fandom of another pop culture phenomenon: a onetime country singer whom Ms. Calhoun, 38, had come to love in the early 2000s.We’re talking, of course, about one of the most consequential mergers of our time, one that united two of the world’s most rabid fan bases in unholy internet matrimony: Taylor Swift and the N.F.L., via her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.For the sliver of fans like Ms. Calhoun, it’s been a joyful, and complicated, overlap of identities and algorithms. They have been in fantasy drafts and in the Ticketmaster queues. They’re in the same stadiums for the Eras Tour as they are on a Sunday in September. They’re probably even in your football groupchats, the middle section of the Venn diagram that has animated American sports for the last year: Swifties who grew up football die-hards.“It was like two elemental forces that shouldn’t be allowed to touch,” Prof. Galen Clavio, who studies sports and social media at Indiana University, said of the collision.In the months since the Swift-Kelce relationship started, a considerable amount of ink has been spilled on the dynamics of their romance. There was the outrage over the pop star supposedly usurping substantial camera time during N.F.L. broadcasts (she really wasn’t), the navel-gazing over whether the relationship was a publicity stunt, and then, finally, the spiral into conspiracy, with some right-wing commenters speculating that the relationship was somehow a scheme to support President Biden in the 2024 election. We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Kansas City Players Post Messages of Support After Shooting

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      After several people were shot during a celebration for Kansas City’s latest Super Bowl title, quarterback Patrick Mahomes wrote on social media that he was “praying for Kansas City,” while other players shared similar messages of support to the community that had gathered downtown to honor the Chiefs at a victory parade and rally.Guard Trey Smith thanked the emergency personnel “who ran towards the sound of danger,” and linebacker Drue Tranquill recognized the efforts of doctors caring for the people who had been shot. Marquez Valdes-Scantling, a receiver who caught a touchdown in Sunday’s Super Bowl, sought to connect with the children who were being treated at a local children’s hospital for injuries suffered during the incident, to offer them support “any way I can.”Tight end Travis Kelce wrote on social media that he was “heartbroken,” adding, “KC, you mean the world to me,” while safety Justin Reid urged people to find answers to gun violence today and not leave it for future generations.“I pray our leaders enact real solutions so our kids’ kids won’t know this violence,” he wrote on social media.All Chiefs players, coaches, staff and their families are safe and accounted for, the team said in a statement. Team members and their families had been enjoying a celebratory day with fans that started with a parade and ended with a rally at the landmark Union Station. They bused back to the team’s stadium as the event concluded.“We are truly saddened by the senseless act of violence that occurred outside of Union Station,” the team said. “Our hearts go out to the victims, their families and all of Kansas City.”Staff from the league-owned N.F.L. Network and N.F.L. Films who were on site to cover the event are also safe, according to a league spokesman. The N.F.L. said in a statement that it was “deeply saddened by the senseless shooting” and thanked law enforcement and emergency personnel for a “quick and thorough response.”The shooting occurred less than a week after the Players Coalition, a nonprofit group founded by the former N.F.L. stars Anquan Boldin and Malcolm Jenkins, announced before the Super Bowl that it would donate $100,000 each to two groups focused on curbing gun violence. The advocacy organizations, Community Justice and Equal Justice USA, work in communities with survivors, policymakers and public health experts.The Baltimore Ravens, the team that Kansas City defeated in the conference championship last month to reach the Super Bowl, issued a statement of support.“Our hearts are with Chiefs Kingdom following the tragic events and shocking violence that occurred during today’s parade in Kansas City,” the team said. “On a day meant for uniting people in joy and celebrating love, we send our full support to every citizen of the region and each member of the Chiefs organization who has been affected by this senseless tragedy.”Ken Belson More

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      Super Bowl Viewership Rose to 123.4 Million, a Record High

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      The figure easily exceeded last year’s 115.1 million, capping off a big year for N.F.L. ratings.Sunday night’s overtime Super Bowl shattered ratings records.An audience of 123.4 million watched the Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers, according to preliminary figures from Nielsen and CBS, which broadcast the game. That figure easily eclipsed last year’s record high of 115.1 million, when Kansas City defeated the Philadelphia Eagles. Final Nielsen ratings for the Super Bowl will be issued on Tuesday,The figure is the total who watched on CBS, the Paramount+ streaming app, the Spanish-language channel Univision, N.F.L. digital channels or Nickelodeon, which aired a child-friendly telecast. The vast majority watched the game on CBS, which recorded 120 million viewers, according to Nielsen. The game had a lot going for it. It went into overtime, concluded with a game-winning touchdown pass (for a 25-22 final score) and featured an elite Kansas City team with a superstar quarterback, Patrick Mahomes. Travis Kelce, Kansas City’s starting tight end, also happens to be dating a megastar in Taylor Swift, who attended the game in Las Vegas.At a moment when traditional television ratings have been in free fall, the N.F.L., particularly the Super Bowl, has stood immune to massive viewership changes affecting the rest of the media world. Thirteen of the last 15 Super Bowls have drawn more than 100 million viewers, according to Nielsen, a bigger audience than in earlier decades.Sunday’s performance also capped off a big year for N.F.L. ratings.Viewership was up 7 percent, according to Nielsen, falling just shy of the record set in 2015. Several playoff games set ratings records, including the A.F.C. championship game on CBS, which scored more than 55 million viewers, and an A.F.C. divisional playoff game that drew more than 50 million. The N.F.C. championship game was a little short of a record.League officials have pointed to numerous close games this season — along with a playoff hunt that still included several teams toward the end — as big reasons that ratings jumped. (It’s less clear how much Ms. Swift helped boost viewership.)We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Taylor Swift, Usher and a Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl Win in Las Vegas

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      Take America’s biggest game, add Taylor Swift and Usher, and put it all in Las Vegas, and Kansas City’s repeat as Super Bowl champion makes perfect sense.At some point, the Super Bowl stopped being entirely about football and evolved — or is it devolved — into a corporate carnival with lavish parties, halftime extravaganzas and commercials whose budgets seemed to rival a blockbuster movie.The apex of that transformation arrived with the N.F.L. planting this year’s event in Las Vegas, where the prevailing ethos might well be that a bellyful of anything is barely enough.But Super Bowl LVIII, with its attendant flash — and America’s favorite football fan, Taylor Swift, chugging a beer in a private box — demonstrated on Sunday night how sports stands apart from other types of entertainment.If the Kansas City Chiefs’ 25-22 overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers was as tightly scripted as Usher’s elaborate choreography, the teams might have been pelted with rotten tomatoes or booed off the stage by halftime. It was mostly an evening of stumbles and bumbles: two fumbles, an interception, a muffed punt, a blocked extra point, a raft of untimely penalties — and for the 49ers enough regrets to last a lifetime.But all the mistakes and all those field goals — seven in all — would eventually be subsumed by the tension that unfolded in the fourth quarter and continued on into overtime of what became the longest game in Super Bowl history.Kansas City receiver Mecole Hardman caught the winning touchdown with three seconds left in the first overtime period.Bridget Bennett for The New York TimesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More