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LOS ANGELES — The NFL is marking the 60th anniversary of the Super Bowl with a hometown opening act.

Green Day will kick off the big game with an opening ceremony Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, the league announced Sunday. The performance will celebrate six decades of the championship’s history, with the band helping usher generations of Super Bowl MVPs onto the field.

The trio, formed in the East Bay and made up of Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool, is expected to perform a selection of their best-known anthems as part of the tribute.

“We are super-hyped to open Super Bowl 60 right in our backyard!” lead singer Armstrong said. “We are honored to welcome the MVPs who’ve shaped the game and open the night for fans all over the world. Let’s have fun! Let’s get loud!”

The ceremony airs live at 3 p.m. Pacific on NBC, Telemundo, Peacock and Universo.

“Celebrating 60 years of Super Bowl history with Green Day as a hometown band, while honoring the NFL legends who’ve helped define this sport, is an incredibly powerful way to kick off Super Bowl LX,” said Tim Tubito, the league’s senior director of event and game presentation. “As we work alongside NBC Sports for this opening ceremony, we look forward to creating a collective celebration for fans in the stadium and around the world.”

The opening ceremony will take place ahead of the pregame entertainment, during which Charlie Puth is to perform the national anthem, Brandi Carlile will sing “America the Beautiful,” and Coco Jones will deliver “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

Jonathan Landrum Jr. writes for the Associated Press.

CHICAGO — We’ve seen these movies before, or at least most of them.

With the NFL’s conference championship games set — the Rams at Seattle following New England at Denver — three of the four possible Super Bowl permutations are rematches.

Rams-Patriots? There have been two of those, at the end of the 2001 and 2018 seasons.

And Seattle has played both combinations, beating the Broncos in the 2013 season and losing to the Patriots a year later.

Of the four possibilities, the only one that hasn’t happened is Rams-Broncos.

There are strong ownership ties binding those two franchises. Among his many sports holdings, Rams owner Stan Kroenke also owns the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche. Although he built his empire with real estate and as a developer, he’s married to Ann Walton Kroenke — of the Walmart family — who is a first cousin of Rob Walton, who led the group that purchased the Broncos in 2022.

The Broncos last won the Super Bowl 10 years ago, weeks after the Rams were approved to move back to Los Angeles, and it happened at Levi’s Stadium, site of this year’s game. That was when Peyton Manning won his second ring, with his second franchise, then called it a career.

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Gary Klein breaks down what went right for the Rams in their 20-17 overtime victory against the Chicago Bears in the NFC divisional playoffs at Soldier Field.

There’s a possibility that Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford could follow that blueprint. He’s on his second team, having spent the first part of his career with Detroit, and he already has one ring. But whereas Manning was clearly in the sunset of his storied career, Stafford remains at the top of his game, and likely will be this season’s NFL Most Valuable Player.

Still, Stafford will turn 38 the day before the Super Bowl, and it wouldn’t be much of a curveball if that were his last game, especially if the Rams were to win.

Rams tight end Terrance Ferguson is from Littleton, Colo., a suburb of Denver, and Broncos general manager George Paton is from La Cañada and played football at Loyola High and UCLA.

If the Seahawks were to win the NFC — and oddsmakers have them as 2½-point favorites — they would look to repeat against Denver or atone for that painful loss to New England.

It was at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, remember, that Seattle rolled over Manning and the Broncos, 43-8, behind a smothering defense. Pete Carroll’s team looked unbeatable.

A year later in Arizona, one of the most excruciating moments in Seattle sports history.

With 20 seconds left and the Seahawks a yard away from the go-ahead touchdown, Patriots rookie Malcom Butler picked off a goal-line pass by Russell Wilson. Seattle inexplicably decided to throw instead of handing off to battering ram Marshawn Lynch, who was all but automatic in short-yardage situations.

Analysis by BBC NFL reporter Ben Collins

McDermott ended an 18-year play-off drought in his first season with Buffalo and helped them become post-season regulars, but the Kansas City Chiefs proved to be his nemesis.

The Chiefs have knocked the Bills out of the play-offs in four of the past five seasons, on the way to establishing a dynasty that produced three Super Bowl wins.

With the Chiefs failing to make this season’s play-offs – along with AFC rivals Baltimore and Cincinnati – the path was supposedly clear for McDermott to lead the Bills to their first Super Bowl since losing four straight from 1991 to 1994.

But while this was McDermott’s best chance yet, the Bills’ roster was their weakest since Allen was drafted in 2018, and it was relying too much on the NFL’s reigning Most Valuable Player to keep producing moments of individual magic.

The re-emergence of New England meant the Bills relinquished the AFC East title so had to settle for a wildcard spot and go on the road in the play-offs.

And despite winning at Jacksonville on Wildcard Weekend, they came unstuck in the Divisional Round at Denver.

Buffalo became just the fourth team to win a play-off game in six straight seasons. A telling fact for McDermott is that the other three teams all claimed three Super Bowl wins during those runs.

He and Allen, on the other hand, have the unwanted records of winning the most play-off games by a head coach and quarterback (eight) without reaching the NFL’s title decider.

At 29, time is still on Allen’s side. The Bills are about to move into a new stadium and some high-profile coaches have come available in the latest hiring cycle.

So the team felt that by acting now, it allows a new coach to rebuild the roster and gives Allen the best chance of leading Buffalo into a new era that finally delivers a Super Bowl win.

In two years at Seattle, Durde and head coach Mike Macdonald have transformed the Seahawks’ defence.

It is the first time Durde has worked with Macdonald – also a defensive coach – so his first season was “a year of real growth, understanding and adapting” in which the new coaching regime “built a foundation, we got on the right path”.

Seattle finished the 2024 season with a 10-7 record and missed out on the play-offs on a tie-breaker. In hindsight, it may have been a blessing in disguise, giving them an extra year to build.

“I’m not going to lie, we wanted to get in,” said Durde. “But once the season’s over, you self-scout, work out how you improve, and we went through that process.”

In 2023, Seattle’s defence was ranked second-worst against the run game and third-worst overall. In Macdonald and Durde’s first season they climbed to mid-table in both.

This season the Seahawks’ defence is ranked third-best against the run and has conceded the fewest points (17.2 per game).

“There’s a lot of defences that are middle of the table in the run game and still play excellent defence, they still stop points,” said Durde.

“But if you’re really trying to create an identity, a style of play, and you want to make it hard for everything [your opponents] do, it all starts with stopping the run.

“That’s been a focus point since we got here, and it’s been a stacking process as we go through.”

SACRAMENTO — LeBron James wore a patch on his jersey for the first time Tuesday commemorating his unprecedented 23rd NBA season in the city where he played his first NBA game. It features a silhouette of his pregame chalk toss and three colored stripes that represents the three franchises he has played on — the Lakers, Cavaliers and Heat.

James, who scored 22 points in the Lakers’ 124-112 loss to the Sacramento Kings, will wear the patch for the remainder of the season. After each game, the patch will be removed from his jersey for that game, dated and shipped to a Topps’ production facility to be authenticated and inserted into a pack of trading cards.

“Super cool. Super surreal. Super humbled, blessed,” James said. “I walked in here and saw it for the first time. It was like an emotional moment as well. Just think about the journey thus far and have an opportunity to be here where it kind of all started obviously, but in this city.

“And it’s been a heck of a journey and people have followed my career and my fans have followed my career to get an opportunity to be a part of it.”

Lakers fans might not get the chance to see James and his patch up close on Tuesday night against the Atlanta Hawks. There’s a good chance he will not play in the second game of a back-to-back.

“We’ll see how he feels in the morning,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.

Raphinha scores twice as Barcelona beat Real Madrid for a second year running in the Spanish Super Cup with a 3-2 win.

Barcelona have retained the Spanish Super Cup with a thrilling 3-2 El Clasico win over Real Madrid in Saudi Arabia.

Raphinha struck twice for the Catalans on Sunday, with Robert Lewandowski also on target as they beat Xabi Alonso’s team for a record-extending 16th triumph, despite Frenkie de Jong’s late red card.

After Raphinha sent Barcelona ahead, Vinicius Junior pulled Madrid level with a fine individual goal to kick-start a frenetic end to the first half in Jeddah.

Lewandowski chipped Barca back in front, but Gonzalo Garcia struck deep in stoppage time to send the teams level at the break.

The battle was decided by a deflected Raphinha effort after 73 minutes, as Barca claimed the fourth trophy of coach Hansi Flick’s reign.

His Madrid counterpart, Xabi Alonso, began with French superstar Kylian Mbappe on the bench after he missed the semifinal win over Atletico with a knee sprain.

Hansi Flick, who led Barca to four Clasico wins over Madrid last season in four clashes, opted for Lewandowski up front over Ferran Torres and brought teenage star Lamine Yamal back in on the right wing.

It was a scrappy start in the Saudi Arabian evening heat, with Barcelona keeping the ball and Madrid sitting deep to resist them while looking to find Vinicius Junior on the counter.

The Brazilian had not scored in his previous 16 matches, but offered a potent threat, flying down the left and forcing Joan Garcia into the first save.

Raphinha also sprinted back to slide in on his compatriot as Vinicius tried to break through.

Barca began to turn up the heat on Madrid, and Raphinha found a breakthrough after 36 minutes.

Moments after the winger fired a fine chance badly wide, he made up for it with a low, early strike from just inside the area, across Thibaut Courtois and into the bottom corner.

Madrid pulled level with a superb Vinicius strike, floating in from the left, nutmegging Jules Kounde and tucking past Garcia.

Barcelona went back ahead four minutes into first-half stoppage time, with Lewandowski dinking home after being played in by Pedri.

However, Madrid rapidly hit back just before the interval through Gonzalo Garcia, who finished well while falling after Dean Huijsen’s header bounced back to him off the crossbar.

Slowing down

The second half was a calmer affair, with fewer chances as the teams slowed down.

Garcia saved from Rodrygo Goes’s low effort, while Courtois beat away a Yamal strike.

Mbappe was warming up on the sideline when Barcelona nosed ahead, with Raphinha’s shot from outside the box deflecting in off Raul Asencio to leave Courtois with no chance.

The Brazilian is in superb form, and it was his seventh goal in his last five matches across all competitions.

Alonso sent on Mbappe for the last 15 minutes, trying to find a third goal and force a penalty shootout.

The French forward could not get sight of the goal, but Barca midfielder De Jong was sent off for a high lunge on him.

Despite Madrid’s numerical advantage, Barca had the best chance in stoppage time, with Marcus Rashford firing wide when through on goal.

Asencio might have grabbed an equaliser at the death, but headed straight at Garcia.

The last four winners of the Spanish Super Cup have gone on to claim La Liga, and Barcelona will be hoping it proves a platform for success once again.

Tyler Higbee has played in 12 NFL playoff games during his 10-year career, so the veteran tight end knows, better than perhaps any other Rams player, what lies ahead.

Higbee was part of two teams that advanced to the Super Bowl.

“Don’t listen to the outside noise,” Higbee said when asked to describe the formula for a Super Bowl run. “You don’t look at the ifs, the what-could-be’s. You just come in, work, and take it a day at time. … Keep peaking week after week.”

The Rams, seeded No. 5 in the NFC, begin the playoffs on Saturday against the No. 4 Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.

Higbee, who returned from injured reserve and starred in last Sunday’s season-finale victory over the Arizona Cardinals, figures to be a key player as the Rams attempt to avenge a Week 13 loss to the Panthers.

Higbee was scheduled to play limited snaps against the Cardinals, but with rookie tight end Terrance Ferguson a late scratch because of a hamstring issue, Higbee played 48 snaps and caught five passes for 91 yards and a touchdown in a 37-20 victory.

“I was just excited the ball found me,” he said. “Glad I could contribute to help us get a win.”

Coach Sean McVay was happy to have Higbee back.

“You could just see there’s a swag,” McVay said, “there’s a confidence.”

Higbee, 33, was a fourth-round draft pick in 2016 and has been an integral part of the offense ever since McVay was hired in 2017. Higbee and right tackle Rob Havenstein, an 11-year veteran who is on injured reserve, were members of McVay’s first team that have been on the roster for all seven playoff appearances under the ninth-year coach. Long snapper Jake McQuaide, a 15th-year pro who was part of McVay’s first four seasons, was signed at midseason.

Higbee has 386 career catches, 27 for touchdowns.

But Higbee’s value to the Rams goes beyond production.

“It’s just the human being too,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “The human being that celebrates for everybody.”

Midway through this season, the Rams evolved from an offense that primarily utilized one tight end to a scheme that utilizes as many as three at a time.

“Everybody has their own flavor,” Higbee said, “their own things that they’re great at.”

In 10 games, Higbee has 25 catches, three for touchdowns.

Colby Parkinson has 43 catches, eight for touchdowns, both career bests. Davis Allen has 24 catches, three for touchdowns, and Ferguson has 11 catches, three for touchdowns.

“We’re all very selfless,” Parkinson said. “No one is out there looking for individual success. We’re out there looking for team success.”

With Stafford at the controls, a receiver corps that includes stars Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, the running back duo of Kyren Williams and Blake Corum, and four productive tight ends bolstering the offensive line, the Rams averaged a league-best 30.5 points and 394.6 yards per game.

“This is the deepest tight end room I’ve ever been a part of,” Higbee said. “We’ve got the guys to do it, and we’ve shown that we can do it and the offense can go while we do it.

“And that will just present more opportunities.”

Higbee has 31 postseason receptions for 302 yards and two touchdowns, including one against the Philadelphia Eagles in last season’s divisional-round defeat.

Higbee did not play in the 31-28 loss to the Panthers on Nov. 30 because of the ankle injury suffered two weeks before against the Seattle Seahawks. So he is looking forward to making an impact any way that he can on Saturday for a team stocked with players that he said play for each other.

“At this level,” he said, “the more you can get guys that want to play for each other rather than just their families and the name on their back, makes a tighter team and in my opinion makes for a better team.”

Barcelona begin the defence of their Spanish Super Cup crown against Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia.

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said that retaining the Spanish Super Cup this week would be a boost for his team’s other ambitions this season.

The record 15-time champions face Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday in a semifinal clash at the King Abdullah Sports City stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Barca won the competition last season as the first part of a domestic treble, the first triumph of Flick’s reign, followed by triumphs in La Liga and the Copa del Rey.

“This tournament is a little bit different [to the equivalent competition] in Germany, but I like it,” said former Bayern Munich coach Flick.

“For us to win the Super Cup [last season] gave us a lot of energy for the rest of the season, and this is also what we want this year.”

Even though significant questions remain about their defending, Barcelona are the favourites to win the Super Cup and lead La Liga after nine consecutive top flight victories.

Despite being outplayed by neighbours Espanyol in a tense derby clash on Saturday, late goals and a sensational performance from stopper Joan Garcia helped the Catalans claim a 2-0 victory.

Flick insisted his team had to perform better at the back if they were to succeed in the sixth edition of the tournament in Saudi Arabia.

“It will not be an easy match [if] we make the same mistakes as on Saturday; it will not be easy, so we have to work on our things,” continued Flick.

“We have to play much better in the defence; we have to play connected as one team, and this is what I missed on Saturday, so we have to make things much better.”

Barcelona target Cancelo could be on the move from Saudi Arabia

Central defender Ronald Araujo could return to action this week after an extended mental health break.

The Uruguayan was granted leave for about a month following a red card in Barcelona’s 3-0 Champions League defeat by Chelsea in November.

“We will see this training [session] today, and I will also want to speak with him, so we have not decided how to do it tomorrow,” said Flick.

“I think it takes time, so if he feels ready for tomorrow, maybe we will change something, but at the moment, it’s not our plan to do this.”

Flick confirmed that Barcelona were close to signing Joao Cancelo from Al-Hilal, who is on loan until the end of the season, but the deal has not been completed.

“With Joao, maybe he can give us more options also as full-back, both sides in the offence, good quality, but [as far as] I know, it’s not done,” said Flick.

Cancelo spent the 2023-24 season on loan at Barcelona from Manchester City.

Athletic, eighth in La Liga, last won the Super Cup in 2021, beating Barcelona in the final, and have lifted the trophy on three occasions.

Only the Catalans and Real Madrid, with 13 triumphs, have a better record. On Thursday, Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid face city rivals Atletico Madrid in the other Super Cup semifinal.

Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe is out of Sunday’s Real Betis clash in La Liga, but could be fast tracked for return in Atletico Super Cup derby.

Real Madrid forward Kylian ‌Mbappe will miss Sunday’s La Liga home game against Real Betis due ‍to a knee ‍injury but is pushing to be available for next week’s Spanish Super Cup semifinal against Atletico Madrid, manager Xabi Alonso has said.

The 27-year-old France captain, who equalled Cristiano Ronaldo’s club record of 59 ⁠goals in a calendar year for Real in their 2-0 La Liga win over Sevilla ​on December 20, has a sprain in his left knee.

The initial assumption was that such an injury would mean a spell of at least three weeks on the sidelines.

“We’ll ‍definitely miss Kylian,” Alonso told reporters on Saturday. “We have to have a lot of faith in those who are going to play tomorrow.

“Now we’ll see. We have to wait and see how things ‍develop, and ⁠we’ll do everything we can to get him back as soon as possible.

“We’re going to be pushing the deadlines; it’s very much a matter of feelings. When is as soon as possible? That’s the question. I don’t know. The Super Cup? We hope.”

Alonso’s men were five points clear at the top before their form took a downturn in November. They ​drew three league games in a row before suffering ‌a shock loss to Celta Vigo at home in December, allowing defending champions Barcelona to surge four points ahead in the title race.

Real’s dip in form has coincided with a goalless run ‌for forward Vinicius Jr. The 25-year-old Brazilian winger, who scored 22 goals last season, has struck just five times ‌across all competitions this term and has not ⁠found the net since October.

When asked how Vinicius is doing after being booed by a section of fans in their last match against Sevilla at the Bernabeu, Alonso said: “Vini looks fine to me, ‌cheerful and smiling. The break has been good for all of us to recharge our batteries.

“Tomorrow, we are the ones who have to give in order to ‍receive, to spread that enthusiasm and rhythm that we need. If that flows in both directions, we will enjoy ourselves.”

ATLANTA — The Rams already knew they will be on the road for the playoffs, a difficult assignment for any team.

It’s trending toward becoming one especially tough for the Rams, who only a few weeks ago appeared to be the class of the NFC, if not the NFL.

Not anymore.

On Monday night, the Rams for much of their game against the Atlanta Falcons, looked like a team on the road to nowhere. Or one more interested in limping through the end of the regular season before turning it on for the playoffs.

They overcame a 21-point deficit to tie the score, but Zane Gonzalez’s 51-yard field goal with 21 seconds left sent the Rams to a 27-24 defeat at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

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Gary Klein breaks down what went wrong for the Rams in their 27-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night.

It was the Rams’ second loss in a row, both coming on the road.

“Here we are again in a disappointing situation,” coach Sean McVay said.

The loss dropped the Rams to 11-5 going into Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Arizona Cardinals at SoFi Stadium.

On Saturday, the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers will play for the NFC West title and the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The Rams are seeded No. 6. If the Seahawks defeat the 49ers, and the Rams beat the Cardinals, the Rams could move up to No. 5.

McVay said starters would play against the Cardinals rather than rest for the playoffs.

“They were going to play anyways,” McVay said. “We need to play better football.”

Way better.

Defensive lineman Kobie Turner said McVay told the team that if they play in the wild-card round like they did on Monday night, they were going to be sitting on their couches watching the rest of the postseason.

“It’s the reality of the situation,” Turner said, adding, “I back him. … That’s not where we want to be.”

The Rams have no choice about where they will begin their postseason as they attempt to earn a Super Bowl berth for the third time in McVay’s nine seasons.

They will not be at SoFi Stadium, where they have lost only once this season. The Rams’ other losses — to Philadelphia, Carolina, Seattle and Atlanta — came on the road.

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford tries to avoid diving Atlanta Falcons linebacker Khalid Kareem during the second half of the Rams’ 27-24 loss Monday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

(Brynn Anderson / Associated Press)

Monday’s defeat by the Falcons (7-9), coming on the heels of their 38-37 overtime loss in Seattle on Dec. 18, gave the Rams consecutive road games defeats for the first time since the start of the 2024 season, when they lost their opener in overtime at Detroit and then got routed at Arizona.

Players could not explain Monday night’s first-half malaise.

“It’s a little embarrassing because we preach about the things we want to get done, and we know how good we can be,” offensive lineman Steve Avila said. “And today was probably the worst we’ve ever shown.”

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford moved past Ben Roethlisberger into sixth place on the NFL’s all-time passing yards list, but there was not much to be happy about on a night that had set up as a possible MVP-clinching stage.

Stafford completed 22 of 38 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns but had three passes intercepted, including one that was returned for a touchdown.

“I obviously didn’t play well enough,” he said. “That’s what it is.”

Rams coach Sean McVay speaks with quarterback Matthew Stafford in the fourth quarter Monday against the Falcons.

(Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)

The first half was a nightmare for Stafford, who went into the game with a league-leading 40 touchdown passes and only five interceptions.

The Falcons built a 21-0 halftime lead on Bijan Robinson’s touchdown catch, Jessie Bates III’s interception return for a touchdown and Robinson’s 93-yard touchdown run, which came one play after Xavier Watts got the first of his two interceptions.

Robinson finished with 195 yards rushing and also caught a touchdown pass.

If there was a bright spot for the Rams, it was special teams. Just over a week after McVay elevated Ben Kotwica to replace fired special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn, Jared Verse blocked a field-goal attempt and returned it 76 yards for a touchdown that cut the Falcons’ lead to 24-17 with less than a minute left in the third quarter.

The Rams’ chances for a comeback appeared to end when Watts intercepted another pass with just more than nine minutes left.

But Stafford’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Puka Nacua tied the score with 2:46 left.

Gonzalez’s field goal put the Falcons ahead by three.

Stafford got the ball one last time, but he missed a wide-open Xavier Smith on a route, and Tutu Atwell and Nacua could not come up with deep passes. With five seconds left, Stafford’s fourth-down pass to Nacua fell incomplete.

So instead of resting for the playoffs, starters will try to get the Rams back on track in the season finale.

“We don’t need rest right now,” Turner said. “We need momentum.”