From Evil Empire to Super Bowl underdogs: is it OK to like the Patriots now?

Under Tom Brady and Bill Belichick New England were ruthless winners. But new head coach Mike Vrabel has transformed the narrative around the team

There used to be a simple rule: Anybody but the New England Patriots.

From 2001 through 2019, the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick dynasty totaled six Super Bowl titles, 13 conference championship appearances and 17 divisional crowns. They were the Evil Empire, constant contenders in a league designed for parity. It didn’t matter who you were; the Patriots were the final boss.

Published: February 4, 2026, 10:00 am

Doberman named Penny takes Westminster’s best in show as Catherine O’Hara honored

• Penny the Doberman pinscher named America’s top dog

• Linton lands second best in show nearly four decades on

• Westminster honors Catherine O’Hara with video tribute

A Doberman pinscher named Penny is America’s top canine after earning the title of best in show on Tuesday night at the 150th Westminster Kennel Club dog show in New York.

Judge David Fitzpatrick tapped the four-year-old female with the mirror-sheen black-and-rust coat from Ontario, Canada, over a field of six other group champions, among them a Chesapeake Bay retriever named Cota, who was awarded reserve best in show to roars of approval from the crowd. Also making the final lineup were an Afghan hound named Zaida, a Lhasa Apso named JJ, a Maltese named Cookie, a smooth fox terrier named Wager and a popular old English sheepdog named Graham.

Published: February 4, 2026, 12:09 pm

Cool Runnings 2.0: Jamaica’s bobsleigh crew want their own Hollywood ending

Chris Stokes, part of the 1988 team that inspired a film, is setting lofty goals as head of Jamaica’s bobsleigh federation

It did not make so much as a ripple outside of its minor sporting niche, but something particularly unusual occurred in the bobsleigh world earlier this year. Upon turning up in the New York outpost of Lake Placid for their final Winter Olympics warm-up competition, Jamaica’s four-man bobsleigh team were informed they were not allowed to take part. A hat-trick of gold medals over the preceding few weeks had seen them rise too high in the world rankings to take their customary place on the second-tier North American Cup circuit. They had simply become too good.

In the overwhelming majority of countries, the Winter Olympics is an assortment of sporting oddities held in an alternative climate that might pique attention every four years. Rarely does it break through to the mainstream, which is what makes Jamaican bobsleigh such a curious exception.

Published: February 4, 2026, 12:00 pm

Ten athletes from Team USA to watch at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics

With the Winter Olympics set to begin in proper on Friday, here’s a look at 10 Americans worth keeping an eye on

Mikaela Shiffrin has surpassed Vonn’s record haul of World Cup wins and staked her claim as the GOAT. But Vonn has a solid claim to be the best ever in the speed events (downhill, super-G), and she has been racing exclusively in those disciplines since returning from retirement, surging to the top of the World Cup downhill standings at age 41. She has a score to settle with the sport’s biggest stage – her lifetime total of three Olympic medals (one gold) would probably be higher if not for a horror crash in practice in 2006 and injuries that either limited or outright excluded her from other Games. After some selection drama in the team combined event in last year’s world championships, it seems inconceivable that Vonn and Shiffrin, both of whom have had some misfortune in the Olympics, would not be paired up to form Alpine skiing’s equivalent of the 1992 basketball Dream Team. Vonn was in a nasty crash last weekend but it seems that she will be fit to take part in Italy.

Published: February 4, 2026, 11:00 am

Quadruple-chasing Arsenal can dream a micromanaged dream | Barney Ronay

After prevailing in a gristly physical ballet with Chelsea, Arsenal’s season has now reached a point of pre-ignition

Zamina mina. Waka, waka, hé-hé. By the end of this gruelling, bruising, deep tissue ache of a football match, it felt as though the opening 96 minutes had been staged simply as an extended tease for a startlingly carefree final 30 seconds.

Up to that point Arsenal and Chelsea had produced something that felt like the football equivalent of having your eyes descaled with a wire brush. This was a dense, gristly kind of physical ballet. Johan Cruyff once said that in football the clock is never your friend. It’s either moving too fast or too slowly. Here the clock didn’t really seem to move at all, or to be going backwards. The clock hated everyone.

Published: February 3, 2026, 11:55 pm

Outspoken Cristian Romero brings his own form of leadership to Tottenham

The Spurs captain is driven by an internal fire and is unafraid of dropping truth bombs on the club’s ownership

Cristian Romero had been named as the Tottenham captain, a symbol of a new era, of fresh direction and hope. It was last September, the eve of the club’s Champions League return against Villarreal and it was time for him to speak to the English media. A rare appointment but one that could not be sidestepped given his rise in status.

There had to be a few nerves at Spurs because Romero was not exactly the diplomat over the course of the previous season, dropping his truth bombs, the shrapnel flying at the board and ownership, in particular. It would be a bit awkward in parts but Romero got through it. There were no unwanted headlines.

Published: February 4, 2026, 8:00 am

Butler did it: 11 years on, was the NFL’s most criticized call actually the right decision?

The last time the Seahawks and Patriots met in a Super Bowl, a dramatic interception by an undrafted rookie changed the history of both franchises

When the New England Patriots faced off against the Denver Broncos in this season’s AFC championship, Malcolm Butler was at home in Houston. He had considered attending the game in Denver or watching on TV in a No 21 Patriots jersey, which he wore in Foxboro for four seasons through the mid-to-late 2010s, but feared he might jinx the outcome. In the end, it was just him and his nerves for company.

Just as Butler was feeling somewhat at peace with that setup, and the Patriots’ prospects, a bad omen intruded: His wifi glitched, delaying the broadcast as the Patriots clung on to a three-point lead in the fourth-quarter. “I was lagging bad,” Butler tells the Guardian. “But I did get the wifi back working. And as soon as I did my phone was ringing like crazy, so I knew something was going right. It’s crazy that we’re back.”

Published: February 3, 2026, 10:00 am

Are the Whitecaps about to die? Vancouver sound alarm bells amid difficult sale process

Scheduling and financial impasses at Vancouver’s World Cup stadium are leading down a road the league hasn’t traveled in over a decade

On the surface, Vancouver Whitecaps CEO Axel Schuster’s press conference last week would have felt familiar to almost any North American sports fan. Once again, a team was agitating for more money or a better stadium. Once again, local governments were at least partially to blame.

Some of his comments, though, felt more alien, and raised a question that seemed unfathomable just a couple of months ago: are the Vancouver Whitecaps about to die?

Published: February 3, 2026, 5:52 pm

Hall of Fame reportedly snubs Patriots owner Kraft alongside former coach Belichick

• New England have won six Super Bowl titles

• 2026 class will be announced later this week

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has reportedly joined his team’s former head coach Bill Belichick in missing out on this year’s Hall of Fame class.

ESPN cited several league sources, who said that Kraft did not receive the necessary number of votes to enter the Hall. The new members of the Hall of Fame will be revealed on Thursday night, in the run-up to this weekend’s Super Bowl.

Published: February 3, 2026, 1:29 pm

Transfer window verdict: how every Women’s Super League club fared

After impressive work by Manchester United and Liverpool and disappointment for Chelsea, we assess every team’s business

With so many senior players’ contracts expiring in June, Arsenal’s focus was on preparing for the summer, when they are expected to go through a major rebuild. Therefore their quiet window was no surprise, but they will be relatively pleased to have brought in a star of the future, Smilla Holmberg, at right-back and to have fulfilled their need for a backup goalkeeper, with Barbora Votíkova’s deadline-day loan. Much more significant, though, is the positive progress they are understood to have made in their attempt to sign Georgia Stanway on a free at the end of the season, and big decisions such as not seeking to extend Katie McCabe’s stay, as they prepare to refresh the team.

Published: February 4, 2026, 1:00 pm

Celebrating the most remarkable almost-one-club players in football | The Knowledge

Plus: footballers’ weddings on live television, the most successful fictional teams, and more

• Mail us with your questions and answers

“Ian Muir played 95% of his games for Tranmere,” writes Robert Abushal. “One-club players aside, who’s the closest to 100% without being 100%?”

One-club men and women are among football’s more celebrated groups, the players who dedicated their entire career to one particular cause. Athletic Club give out the One Club Man and One Club Woman awards each year; the list of recipients include Paolo Maldini, Matthew Le Tissier and Malin Moström.

We haven’t included non-league teams, which rules out Paul Scholes (three games for Royton) and Le Tissier (Eastleigh) among others. We’ve also excluded Hamburg legend Uwe Seeler, whose one appearance for Cork Celtic was in a sponsored event.

Data on appearances for individual players can vary from source to source, particularly for older players. We made a judgment call in each case, so the figures may only be 99.82% correct. But that’s appropriate for this question, right? Right?

Published: February 4, 2026, 8:00 am

Everton sack Brian Sørensen with club languishing near bottom of WSL table

• Dane leaves after almost four years as manager

• Form at Goodison Park has been poor this season

Everton have sacked women’s team manager Brian Sørensen with the club ninth in the Women’s Super League. The club claimed their first home victory of the season on Sunday to move four points clear of relegation danger but it has not been enough to keep the 45-year-old Dane, who has been in charge since 2022, in his role.

The club’s chief executive, Angus Kinnear, said: “Sunday’s first win of the season at Goodison Park was important, but it has become evident that a change of direction is necessary to ensure the progression on the pitch we are all striving for.”

Published: February 4, 2026, 10:30 am

‘People are dying, you have to help’: Guardiola decries wars in Sudan, Ukraine and Palestine

• Manchester City manager opens up on global conflicts

• UN reports UAE have backed Sudan paramilitary group

Pep Guardiola has spoken out against killings across the world, including in Sudan, where a paramilitary group backed by the United Arab Emirates, which in effect owns Manchester City, is embroiled in a civil war that has cost more than 150,000 lives.

Guardiola named Sudan when talking about conflicts where innocent people were dying. War crimes are said to have been carried out by both sides in the conflict. The vice‑president of the UAE, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, owns City, where Guardiola is the manager.

Published: February 3, 2026, 10:30 pm

Cristiano Ronaldo’s no-show leaves Saudi Pro League facing awkward questions

League’s star said to be unhappy over his club’s transfer dealings and Karim Benzema’s move. Now he could face his first backlash

Jurassic Park sounded great given the spectacular beasts on display, but there was chaos after they started to do their own thing. When Cristiano Ronaldo, surely the T rex, and Karim Benzema, perhaps a velociraptor, are scoring in spectacular fashion there are headlines around the world, but the Saudi Pro League is finding out that when they start to flex their muscles off the pitch, there is even more interest and, it turns out, a real problem for the competition.

What happened on a manic Monday in the SPL should have been about what unfolded on the pitch. Al-Hilal, in first, drew with third-placed Al-Ahli. Al-Nassr won, to stay second, closing to within a point of the leaders. If Brendan Rodgers, having a whale of a time with Al-Qadsiah, wins his game in hand then four points will separate the top four with just over a third of the season remaining. It is the kind of title race most leagues would love.

Published: February 3, 2026, 5:17 pm

Hearts’ title hopes hit by late St Mirren winner after Halkett’s costly red card

Craig Halkett’s first-half red card proved costly for the Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts as they lost 1-0 at St Mirren after a late header from Miguel Freckleton. The centre-back was dismissed in the 29th minute for denying the Saints debutant Jacob Devaney a goalscoring opportunity.

It was the third time in five league games that Hearts had been reduced to 10 men. Unlike the previous two occasions, however, they were unable to grind out a result in Paisley as Freckleton’s 88th-minute header consigned them to a third defeat of the season. The result leaves Hearts six points ahead of Celtic and Rangers, both of whom play their games in hand on Wednesday.

Published: February 3, 2026, 10:58 pm

Championship roundup: managerless Watford and Blackburn pick up points

• Watford hold Hull, Blackburn sink Sheffield Wednesday

• Sheffield United fight back to beat Oxford 3-1

Charlie Daniels praised Watford’s players for the way they secured a point and pushed for more in the goalless draw at the promotion-chasing Hull just days after Javi Gracia’s abrupt exit.

The Spaniard ended his second spell at Vicarage Road on Sunday, having called for talks with the owner, Gino Pozzo, the previous day after overseeing a 2-0 home defeat by Swansea.

Published: February 3, 2026, 11:40 pm

Moguls duo Jakara Anthony and Matt Graham to carry flag during Winter Olympics ceremony

• Anthony attempts to successfully defend Olympics title

• Graham competing for second medal at fourth Games

Jakara Anthony, the defending Olympic champion, and fellow moguls medallist Matt Graham will lead the Australian team as the flag bearers during the Winter Olympics opening ceremony at Milan’s San Siro Olympic Stadium.

For the first time, the opening event will be spread across four locations with the moguls duo to lead the Australian contingent marching in Livigno, a northern Italian town in the alps near the Swiss border. As well as freestyle skiers, which includes aerialists and freeski competitors, the snowboarders are also competing in Livigno.

Published: February 4, 2026, 12:30 pm

Winter Olympics results from Milano Cortina 2026

The Winter Olympics returns to Italy for the first time in two decades. From the fashion capital of Milan to the dramatic peaks of Cortina d’Ampezzo, the Milano Cortina Games – the first to be co-hosted by two cities – will stretch across northern Italy blending world-class winter sport with a strong sense of history and ambition.

Sixteen sports and more than 110 gold medals await, from the raw speed of alpine skiing and bobsleigh to the tactical endurance of biathlon and cross-country. Alpine fans will once again be drawn to Mikaela Shiffrin, still redefining excellence across the technical disciplines.

Published: February 4, 2026, 12:00 pm

Winter Olympics: full schedule for Milano Cortina 2026

Keep abreast of every event at the Winter Olympics with our day-by-day and sport-by-sport schedules

The Winter Olympics returns to Italy for the first time in two decades. From the fashion capital of Milan to the dramatic peaks of Cortina d’Ampezzo, the Milano Cortina Games – the first to be co-hosted by two cities – will stretch across northern Italy blending world-class winter sport with a strong sense of history and ambition.

Sixteen sports and more than 110 gold medals await, from the raw speed of alpine skiing and bobsleigh to the tactical endurance of biathlon and cross-country. Alpine fans will once again be drawn to Mikaela Shiffrin, still redefining excellence across the technical disciplines.

Published: February 4, 2026, 12:00 pm

Winter Olympics 2026: latest medal table for Milano Cortina

The Winter Olympics returns to Italy for the first time in two decades. From the fashion capital of Milan to the dramatic peaks of Cortina d’Ampezzo, the Milano Cortina Games – the first to be co-hosted by two cities – will stretch across northern Italy blending world-class winter sport with a strong sense of history and ambition.

The medal table prioritises the number of gold medals won. If countries have the same number of gold medals, the order is then dictated by which has the most silvers, and finally bronze if the numbers are still identical. Sixteen sports and more than 110 gold medals await, from the raw speed of alpine skiing and bobsleigh to the tactical endurance of biathlon and cross-country. Alpine fans will once again be drawn to Mikaela Shiffrin, still redefining excellence across the technical disciplines.

Published: February 4, 2026, 12:00 pm

ITV to screen in-game ad breaks for first time during rugby’s Six Nations

• Twenty-second adverts to fill right half of screens

• Broadcaster mulling over repeating move for World Cup

ITV will screen in-game commercials for the first time during Thursday’s Six Nations Championship opener between France and Ireland at Stade de France. The broadcaster’s new rights deal includes the option to air two split-screen adverts before a scrum is set in each half of every match of the Six Nations, the Guardian has learned.

ITV is understood to have agreed in-game advertising deals with two major brands, with the screen to be divided in two so viewers do not miss any commentary or live action. The commercials will fill the right half of the screen and last around 20 seconds, with live pictures continuing on the left.

Published: February 4, 2026, 11:00 am

McCullum insists England ‘not a loose ship’ but Brook has ‘work to do’ off the field

• Head coach speaks for first time since nightclub incident

• ‘I find it annoying that we keep going on and on about it’

Brendon McCullum insists he is not running a “loose ship” as England’s head coach and, while praising Harry Brook’s on-field leadership, believes the white-ball captain has “work to do off the field”.

McCullum was speaking to the media for the first time since the news emerged of Brook’s clash with a nightclub bouncer on the eve of the third one-day international against New Zealand last year. Brook initially told the press that no teammates were with him during the incident before it was reported that Josh Tongue and Jacob Bethell had also been fined by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

Published: February 4, 2026, 10:49 am

John Virgo, former snooker player and broadcaster, dies aged 79

Virgo, who won the UK Championship in 1979, enjoyed a long playing career but was best known for his TV work

The much-loved snooker player and commentator John Virgo has died at the age of 79, World Snooker has announced.

Virgo, who won the UK Championship in 1979, enjoyed a successful playing career but was best known for his broadcasting.

Published: February 4, 2026, 9:35 am

Lindsey Vonn confident she can compete at Olympics despite ‘completely ruptured’ ACL

• Vonn confident despite ACL rupture before Olympics

• Will decide after testing knee at race speeds soon

• Olympic downhill scheduled for Sunday at Cortina

Lindsey Vonn said she is “confident” she can compete at the Milano Cortina Winter Games despite revealing she has been managing a ruptured ACL, maintaining that her Olympic comeback remains on track after a crash last week raised fresh doubts over her participation.

Speaking on Tuesday, the 41-year-old American said she was approaching the final decision cautiously but remained focused on lining up for the downhill at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina d’Ampezzo, where the Olympic women’s alpine programme opens Sunday.

Published: February 3, 2026, 3:28 pm

ITV heads to New York for World Cup coverage while BBC stays in Salford

• ITV Sport opts for studio in Brooklyn

• BBC will stay in UK until at least quarter-finals

ITV has gained an early advantage over the BBC before their ratings battle at this summer’s World Cup by securing a studio in Brooklyn with views of the Manhattan skyline and Brooklyn Bridge. ITV Sport will be basing all of its World Cup coverage, to be presented by Mark Pougatch and Laura Woods, from its New York studio, whereas the BBC team of Mark Chapman, Gabby Logan and Kelly Cates will be in Salford until at least the quarter-finals.

The BBC’s decision to stay in the United Kingdom was based on a combination of financial and environmental factors, with the corporation committed to limiting air travel in an attempt to reduce its carbon footprint.

Published: February 3, 2026, 1:04 pm