Tom E. Curran shares his insight into what type of succession plan — if any — the Patriots have at head coach. He also explains why he believes Bill Belichick and the Kraft family are on the same page about the future.

The U.S. has little margin for a stumble at home in World Cup qualifying. With a victory over Honduras on Wednesday night in brutal cold at St. Paul, Minnesota, the Americans could be in position to clinch a return to soccer’s showcase if they beat Panama on March 27 at Orlando, Florida. “Our focus right now is finishing off the window with a win,” U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter said after Sunday’s 2-0 loss at Canada.

The Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams reserved spots in Super Bowl 56, held at SoFi Stadium in California, with victories in their respective conference championship games Sunday.

One year removed from Detroit and Matthew Stafford is in the Super Bowl. There are some hurt feelings around Michigan, but the scorn is for the franchise, not the QB.

Joe Theismann, a Washington franchise icon, endorsed a name he hopes “people talk about moving forward” two days before the reveal.

Kevin Porter Jr. had a strong game for the Rockets and hit big second-half shots, but it wasn’t enough versus the Warriors and Steph Curry, whose 21 fourth-quarter points were a career high.