With temperatures dipping and the winter chill beginning to bite up in the terraces, many clubs in the Premier League, LaLiga, Bundesliga and beyond have released their official Christmas sweaters to keep their fans cosy throughout the festive period.

Where once we were awash in a sea of cheap and cheerful acrylic, many (but by no means all) of Europe's biggest teams are putting a considerable amount of effort into their jumpers, with some producing an array of legitimately stylish designs.

Most designs are inspired by standard Christmas themes: Santa, reindeer, snowmen. However, some clubs have chosen to pay homage to their stadiums, city, badges and even their recent trophy hauls. Some have created chic knitwear that would be the toast of any Yuletide gathering, while others targeted the ironic ugly sweater market.

After scouring the club shops of the continent to peruse the full gamut of footballing Christmas knitwear available this year, we have picked out the best (and a few of the worst) of the bunch and signed each one off with a rating out of 10.

AC Milan

Firmly upholding Milan's reputation as the fashion capital of the world, this tartan-themed Yuletide offering from the Rossoneri is traditional and refined -- from the delicate knitted pattern to the gilded laurels of the club's commemorative 125th-anniversary crest. Stick a name and number on the back and the team could probably wear it during their pre-Christmas fixtures.

Rating: 9/10

Ajax

The Dutch club's latest festive sweater design features a fun cartoon that makes the wearer look a little bit like Santa Claus. Ideal if you urgently need to pretend to be the big guy at short notice but don't have access to a full costume.

Rating: 5.5/10

Arsenal

Arsenal have presented fans with a couple of alternatives when it comes to their Christmas catalogue. The first is a decent retro kit-themed jumper which is covered in snowflakes, trees and fleur-de-lis. But the other, more notable design is a tribute in 100% acrylic to the game's most charismatic prehistoric mascot; Gunnersaurus Rex. At least one dinosaur survived to celebrate Christmas.

Rating: 7/10

Atlético Madrid

Atleti have played it fairly straight this year by releasing a Fair Isle pattern in club colours with assorted pine trees, snowflakes and trimmings making up the design. It's unremarkable, and we're also knocking a point off for it being printed on a basic cotton sweatshirt rather than a traditional knitted sweater.

Rating: 5.5/10

Barcelona

Showing Atleti a thing or two about the importance of weft and weave, Barcelona have embraced the very chunkiest of knits. The Catalans have placed their crest at the heart of a nifty tricolour woven design and even given fans the chance to pull together a full winter ensemble by offering a matching hat and pair of socks.

Rating: 9/10

Bayer Leverkusen

Christmas came early for Leverkusen this year when they sealed a sensational domestic league and cup double without losing a single match. The angular architecture of the German club's BayArena home is included as part of an eye-catching pattern along with a silhouette of Santa and his prancing reindeer.

Rating: 8/10

Bayern Munich

Bayern are among the most reliable clubs when it comes to festive apparel. This year they have produced another absolutely top-notch Christmas sweater that comes in classy white and features a large wintery tableau of a cable car in silhouette scaling the snowy peaks of the Bavarian Alps. Stunning.

Rating: 9/10

Chelsea

If Cole Palmer ever gets too cold out there at the Bridge, then he could do worse than slipping on Chelsea's latest Christmas jumper design. It's actually a fairly standard Fair Isle design based on the club's rampant lion crest, but we're sure the ribbed pullover would be toasty enough to keep the shivers at bay -- at least until he scores and that trademark celebration gets wheeled out again.

Rating: 6/10

Inter Milan

The Nerazzurri have released a knowingly ugly sweater that bears the message "Happy [W]inter." While the pun is clumsy, the overall composition of the design is fun and colourful. What more do you need, really?

Rating: 7/10

Juventus

The Bianconeri have steadfastly refused to introduce any Christmassy colour and instead stuck to their famous monochrome palette with a Nordic design that has the club's name emblazoned across the front and "Happy Holidays" repeated through the pattern.

Rating: 6/10

Liverpool

In an approach that would be approved of by Ebenezer Scrooge, Liverpool have simply re-released last year's LFC Fair Isle design. A Premier League title tilt may well be ongoing at Anfield, but that is simply no excuse for complacency on the seasonal knitwear front. Bah! Humbug.

Rating: 3/10 (6/10 last year)

Manchester City

With their form faltering as they come bumbling into the seasonal schedule, City have chosen to issue a timely reminder that they are still four-time reigning Premier League champions. Given the current gap between themselves and the top of the table, it looks like they will have no need to update their design in time for next Christmas.

Rating: 6.5/10

Manchester United

These aren't the happiest of times at Old Trafford, but at least the Red Devils have found it within themselves to offer a little festive fun with their polar bear Christmas sweater design. The pun work is exquisite and the playful graphic makes a welcome change from the morass of boring Fair Isle prints out there this year.

Rating: 8/10

Newcastle United

Newcastle's festive knitwear is a feast for the eyes with black and white stripes, mini magpies, the city skyline and even a panel of text on the back that reads "Ho Ho Howay The Lads" -- a Santa-themed riff on local Geordie dialect. Purely belter, as the regulars at St James' Park might put it.

Rating: 8/10

Paris Saint-Germain

The lack of an actual knit is disappointing, but the design pf this PSG sweater is absolutely on point. The red zigzag offers a subtle nod to the French club's famous "Hechter" stripe and the club crest affixed to the chest ties the whole thing together nicely. You could wear this around the chic 8th arrondissement of the French capital and hold your head high.

Rating: 6.5/10

RB Leipzig

Excellent stuff here, with the German club drumming up a lovely tri-colour seasonal sweater that is positively begging to worn for a round of après-ski schnapps by the fire in a snowbound Alpine chalet. It's chunky knit, it's Nordic, and it even has a small leather tag stitched onto the lower hem for that extra designer label feel.

Rating: 9/10

Real Madrid

It's worth noting that Real Madrid are offering an impressively substantial range of nine Christmas jumpers this year, including a club crest pattern on sale in three different shades of club-appropriate white ("white," "off-white" and "ice white"). The standout design, though, is a light-hearted imager of a teddy bear who appears to be wheeling away in celebration after scoring Bear-nabéu.

Rating: 7/10

Roma

Roma can undoubtedly claim to have the most esoteric choices in their festive range this year, with the Italian side producing a super snazzy Giallorossi cardigan complete with patchwork panels and vintage leather-effect buttons. As if that wasn't funky enough, fans can also accessorise their Christmas knitwear with a set of matching suspenders.

Rating: 10/10

Tottenham Hotspur

Capitalising on the newfound fondness for retro kits, Spurs' Christmas sweater is a nostalgic ode to one of the club's most revered jerseys of yesteryear. The navy/purple jumper, based on the club's classic 1994 away shirt, is made festive by the inclusion of snowflakes and the tweaked "sponsor" logo. We can't imagine there are many items of clothing that could carry a seal of approval from both Santa Claus and Jurgen Klinsmann, but Spurs have cracked it here.

Rating: 8/10

Images courtesy of acmilan.com, ajax.nl, arsenal.com, atleticodemadrid.com, asroma.com, bayer04.de, chelseamegastore.com, fcbarcelona.com, fcbayern.com, inter.it, juventus.com, liverpoolfc.com, mancity.com, manutd.com, newcastleunited.com, psg.fr, realmadrid.com, redbullshop.com, tottenhamhotspur.com

One week after Doug Gottlieb referred to weaker potential opponents as "Nobody U," his Green Bay men's basketball team lost to Division-II Michigan Tech, 72-70, on Wednesday for its eighth consecutive defeat.

Green Bay took a double-digit lead into halftime and led by as many as 13 points in the second half before Michigan Tech came back to take the lead with just under eight minutes left. The two teams went back and forth until Michigan Tech's Marcus Tomashek hit a 3-pointer with 53 seconds left to give the Huskies a lead they didn't relinquish.

In a news conference last week after the Phoenix's loss to Milwaukee, Gottlieb explained his scheduling outlook and used the now-infamous "Nobody U" phrase.

"Part of the reason I want to play better teams is like, it's 2 degrees outside, it's snowing. I don't really like the idea of Nobody U coming in here," he said. "What do we learn playing a game where we win by 20? There's a methodology to it and I'm going to have to adjust moving forward.

"Every game on our schedule is a game that we can lose," Gottlieb continued. "And nobody else does that. Now you know why."

After Wednesday's loss, Gottlieb took to social media to respond to his viral news conference.

"Done with this crap," he wrote on X. "We scheduled up. Including Michigan Tech. No where ever, have I been critical of anyone on our schedule. Now, back to work."

Speaking to the media after the game, Gottlieb was asked about his off-court activities and focus on the job. He got into a back-and-forth on X earlier this week with ESPN's Adam Schefter and still hosts a daily radio show on Fox Sports Radio.

"Whatever I do is gonna draw a ton of attention," he said. "I have a certain tone sometimes to the way I speak and especially to the way I tweet, which can upset people. I promise you, even though it's in the negative now, it'll be in the positive soon. Keep all the receipts and we'll just keep doing our job."

Green Bay dropped to 2-11 this season after the loss to Michigan Tech. The Phoenix's past three Division-I defeats have come by an average of 20 points. Green Bay is 0-3 in Horizon League play and travels to face Drake, one of the four remaining undefeated teams in Division I, on Saturday.

"I'm as dedicated to this job as any human being has ever been," Gottlieb said. "And I'm going to see it through until we win a Horizon League championship. This is my dream job and I will not fall short of the 100% effort that's required."

Gottlieb was hired in May after being one of the final candidates for the Green Bay vacancy. He replaced Sundance Wicks, who led the Phoenix to an 18-14 record in his debut campaign and then left to become the head coach at Wyoming.

Gottlieb didn't have any college coaching experience, but was part of the staff for the United States team at the 2009 and 2017 Maccabiah Games, serving as the head coach in 2017 and as an assistant under Bruce Pearl in 2009.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Titans quarterback Will Levis found out Tuesday morning that he was getting reduced to a backup role this week. He was informed of his new role when he went to Titans coach Brian Callahan's office for their weekly meeting.

The decision comes after Levis' four turnovers landed him on the bench in last week's 37-27 loss to the Bengals. The second-year quarterback was obviously disappointed about the decision but admitted he could have played better. With three games left, Levis said his plan is to take a day-by-day approach.

That doesn't mean Levis feels the door is closed on his future with the Titans.

"I still believe that I can be the franchise quarterback for this team," Levis said Wednesday. "I have the utmost confidence in myself and my ability to lead any team in this league."

In the meantime, Levis plans to do his best to help Mason Rudolph as the starting quarterback. Rudolph referred to the switch as an easy dynamic because he and Levis have a good relationship. Both players said it doesn't change anything or make things difficult.

"Obviously I'm sympathetic," Rudolph said. "I know what it feels like for the switch to be made, but we've always had each other's backs. He's been supportive, and there's really been nothing weird about it."

Callahan said the decision to sit Levis was tough considering part of the first-year coach's job was maximizing the 2023 second-round pick's potential.

"I went back and watched a lot of things," Callahan said. "It wasn't for lack of coaching or pouring into, I mean we've given at every turn as much as we can to try to put Will in position to succeed, and he's shown improvement. There's a lot of things he has improved at, but there hasn't been enough consistency at this moment."

When asked about Levis' future, Callahan said his focus is more on preparing to go win this week's game. He vowed to make sure he continued to coach Levis hard because he believes in the young quarterback's ability to play the position and still feels he can have a future.

Levis said he saw a good example in how Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young bounced back after being benched earlier this season and reestablished himself as the team's future signal-caller.

"It happens to some of the best quarterbacks in the history of this game," Levis said. "I remember the last time I got benched, I came back with a fury and put the best ball in my life the year after. So, I best see a similar thing happening for me."

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Less than 24 hours after being benched, Kirk Cousins said he will do what he can to help new Atlanta Falcons starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

Falcons coach Raheem Morris on Tuesday made the decision to start Penix following the team's 15-9 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on "Monday Night Football." Cousins struggled in that game, was limited in the game plan and now has nine interceptions in his past five outings.

"It's pro football, and there's a standard that I have for myself, that the team has for me, that unfortunately I wasn't playing up to that standard consistently enough," Cousins said Wednesday in his first comments since the change. "And so, it is what it is, and you roll with it and now you still get ready -- 'one play away' kind of a thing -- and support Mike and just try to help our team be able to find a way to win these last three to get in the playoffs, and that's what it's all about."

Cousins said he spoke to Morris on the phone Tuesday evening and was informed that Penix would start moving forward. After that, Cousins said he called Penix.

"Just let him know I'd be in his corner and supporting him and trying to help him any way I can," Cousins said.

Why did he feel the need to make that phone call?

"I like to shoot elephants in the room, so I just wanted to shoot one," Cousins said.

The Falcons are 7-7 and sitting in second place in the NFC South. They own the tiebreaker over the first-place Tampa Bay Buccaneers and still have a 20% chance of making the playoffs, according to ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI) projections.

Atlanta hosts the two-win New York Giants on Sunday.

Morris said Wednesday that the biggest factor in benching Cousins was his turnovers. Cousins has a league-high 16 interceptions, and his 12 fumbles is tied for the most in the NFL with Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield.

Cousins, 36, said he agreed with Morris that turnovers are a killer in the NFL. He reiterated that, despite coming back from a torn Achilles in 2023, he is not injured.

"I think going back to the turnovers, I think that's more probably decision-making than anything, and that wouldn't have anything to do with any physical limitations," Cousins said.

Morris said that Cousins expressed to him that he'll be "the best No. 2 quarterback in the National Football League."

As far as the future beyond this season, Cousins said he will deal with that when the time comes.

When asked whether he still wanted to be a starter in the NFL, Cousins replied: "I didn't forget how to play quarterback. Certainly turnovers were not what you want, but I didn't forget how to play."

With three weeks left in the 2024 regular season, the NFL playoff picture is unusually settled. Seven teams have clinched postseason berths -- three in the NFC and four in the AFC -- leaving seven spots up for grabs.

Which teams will fill those spots? Based on 10,000 simulations using ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI) to simulate the finish to the season, there were 4,393 unique combinations of playoff teams and seeds. The focus below, however, is on one specific scenario: chalk.

The ESPN FPI model produced the precise set of teams and seeds most likely to occur. This scenario isn't all that likely as the exact seeds for the 14 teams below occurred in 73 simulations. That's less than 1% but is more likely than any other combination. Individually, the AFC seeds below have an 11% chance to occur, and the NFC seeds have a 6% chance.

From the set of simulations that yielded the chalk playoff field, I chose one at random to show how it all played out -- in the regular season and beyond. When I did this exercise a year ago, the simulation correctly identified the participants and result for both conference championship games and the Super Bowl.

Can this scenario match that? Welcome to simulation No. 812. This is how the rest of the 2024 NFL season could unfold:

Jump to:
Scores projections by week: 16 | 17 | 18
Final standings: AFC | NFC
The playoffs: Who will win Super Bowl LIX?

Projected Week 16 scores

DEN-LAC: Chargers 22, Broncos 20
HOU-KC: Chiefs 28, Texans 24
PIT-BAL: Steelers 30, Ravens 24
NYG-ATL: Falcons 33, Giants 30
NE-BUF: Bills 19, Patriots 8
DET-CHI: Lions 28, Bears 22
CLE-CIN: Browns 33, Bengals 30
TEN-IND: Colts 24, Titans 9
LAR-NYJ: Jets 16, Rams 13
PHI-WSH: Commanders 20, Eagles 17
ARI-CAR: Panthers 17, Cardinals 16
MIN-SEA: Seahawks 30, Vikings 20
JAX-LV: Jaguars 24, Raiders 16
SF-MIA: 49ers 24, Dolphins 14
TB-DAL: Buccaneers 21, Cowboys 14
NO-GB: Packers 27, Saints 24

What happened: The most crucial result in Week 16 came in the AFC North rivalry game between the Steelers and Ravens. Fresh off a loss to the Eagles, Pittsburgh got off the mat and took down Baltimore. Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson once again created explosive plays downfield, locking up the AFC North for Pittsburgh and relegating the Ravens to a wild-card berth.

In a battle between likely AFC wild-card teams, the Chargers narrowly topped the Broncos, giving Los Angeles the head-to-head tiebreaker over Denver. That could prove crucial in avoiding the Bills (or Chiefs) in the playoffs.

Elsewhere, the Commanders complicated the Eagles' quest for the NFC's No. 1 seed. That was part of a banner week for the Lions, who strengthened their hold on the top spot with a win over the Bears and the Vikings getting upset by the Seahawks. Seattle's win, coupled with a Rams loss to the Jets, put the Seahawks back in first place in the NFC West. Two more weeks to go.

Projected Week 17 scores

KC-PIT: Steelers 20, Chiefs 17
BAL-HOU: Texans 34, Ravens 14
SEA-CHI: Seahawks 24, Bears 17
NYJ-BUF: Bills 25, Jets 24
GB-MIN: Vikings 24, Packers 16
LV-NO: Raiders 24, Saints 7
CAR-TB: Buccaneers 23, Panthers 3
TEN-JAX: Jaguars 27, Titans 14
DAL-PHI: Cowboys 17, Eagles 10
DEN-CIN: Broncos 34, Bengals 20
ARI-LAR: Rams 17, Cardinals 10
LAC-NE: Patriots 45, Chargers 14
IND-NYG: Giants 31, Colts 14
ATL-WSH: Falcons 26, Commanders 15
MIA-CLE: Dolphins 21, Browns 13
DET-SF: Lions 38, 49ers 31

What happened: The Chiefs put their hold on the AFC's No. 1 seed at risk, losing to the Steelers while the Bills (barely) took care of business against the Jets. That put Buffalo within one game of Kansas City with the head-to-head tiebreaker in hand, meaning the Bills could snag the top seed in Week 18 with a win over the Patriots and a Kansas City loss to the Broncos.

The Falcons, led by new starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr., upset the Commanders to keep the pressure on the Buccaneers in the NFC South, but Tampa Bay responded with a dismantling of the Panthers.

And the Rams and Seahawks both won by a touchdown over the Cardinals and Bears, respectively, setting up a Week 18 showdown at SoFi Stadium for the NFC West crown.

Projected Week 18 scores

CAR-ATL: Panthers 31, Falcons 10
WSH-DAL: Commanders 27, Cowboys 24
KC-DEN: Chiefs 33, Broncos 27
MIN-DET: Lions 30, Vikings 21
CHI-GB: Packers 10, Bears 3
HOU-TEN: Titans 31, Texans 28
JAX-IND: Jaguars 20, Colts 9
LAC-LV: Chargers 34, Raiders 20
SEA-LAR: Rams 16, Seahawks 7
BUF-NE: Bills 45, Patriots 15
MIA-NYJ: Dolphins 30, Jets 17
NYG-PHI: Eagles 34, Giants 17
SF-ARI: 49ers 19, Cardinals 10
CIN-PIT: Bengals 23, Steelers 7
NO-TB: Buccaneers 27, Saints 13
CLE-BAL: Ravens 36, Browns 10

What happened: The Chiefs held on to the No. 1 seed ... by a thread. With the Bills obliterating the Patriots 45-15, Kansas City needed to beat Denver. It came down to the wire, with the ball in Bo Nix's hand down six points on the final drive. But the Chiefs got the stop they needed, holding on for a win to earn the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye.

The Bucs clinched the NFC South for the fourth season in a row, cruising to a victory over the Saints. They didn't need to win to capture the division title, though, as the Falcons lost to the Panthers in a surprise blowout to end Atlanta's playoff hopes.

In the battle for the NFC West title and the only playoff spot out of the division, the Rams beat the Seahawks in a defensive struggle. Los Angeles became the first team in NFL history to reach the postseason in back-to-back years despite being three games under .500 at one point, per ESPN Research.

Projecting the AFC

1. Kansas City Chiefs (15-2)
2. Buffalo Bills (14-3)
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (12-5)
4. Houston Texans (10-7)
5. Baltimore Ravens (10-7)
6. Los Angeles Chargers (10-7)
7. Denver Broncos (10-7)
---
8. Miami Dolphins (8-9)
9. Indianapolis Colts (7-10)
10. Cincinnati Bengals (7-10)
11. Jacksonville Jaguars (6-11)
12. New York Jets (5-12)
13. Tennessee Titans (4-13)
14. Cleveland Browns (4-13)
15. New England Patriots (4-13)
16. Las Vegas Raiders (3-14)

Chiefs hang on to No. 1 seed: Kansas City weathered the storm of a Patrick Mahomes ankle injury, a loss to the Steelers and a red-hot Bills team just behind them to clinch that crucial No. 1 seed. It turned out it took every one of those wild Chiefs finishes -- from Isaiah Likely's toe being barely out of bounds in Week 1 to the blocked field goal attempt against the Broncos in Week 10 to Aidan O'Connell's fumble in the final seconds on Black Friday -- to get that top spot.

Ravens recover to earn No. 5 seed: After the Steelers slammed the door shut on the Ravens in the AFC North, Baltimore had to set its sights on a No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup on wild-card weekend. But that became a real question once the Ravens lost to the Texans in Week 17. They recovered in Week 18, beating the Browns handily for a 10-win season and the 5-seed via head-to-head wins over the Chargers and Broncos. With that, the Ravens were set to face the weaker Texans (as opposed to the Bills or Steelers) in the playoffs and retained an outside shot at a home game down the line.

Chargers, Broncos round out AFC playoff field: In this scenario, the Chargers and Broncos both finished 10-7 (along with the Ravens), but the Chargers got the 6-seed via head-to-head tiebreaker by beating the Broncos twice. That sets up the Chargers to face the Steelers in the wild-card round, while the Broncos must travel to Buffalo.

Projecting the NFC

1. Detroit Lions (15-2)
2. Philadelphia Eagles (13-4)
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11-6)
4. Los Angeles Rams (10-7)
5. Minnesota Vikings (13-4)
6. Green Bay Packers (12-5)
7. Washington Commanders (11-6)
---
8. Seattle Seahawks (10-7)
9. Atlanta Falcons (9-8)
10. San Francisco 49ers (8-9)
11. Dallas Cowboys (7-10)
12. Arizona Cardinals (7-10)
13. New Orleans Saints (5-12)
14. Carolina Panthers (5-12)
15. Chicago Bears (4-13)
16. New York Giants (3-14)

Lions coast to No. 1 seed: Though it looks questionable right now because of injuries, Detroit's hold on the 1-seed quickly grew stronger in simulation No. 812, when it won in Week 16 while its two rivals for the top spot -- Minnesota and Philadelphia -- lost. The road to the Super Bowl in the NFC will run through Ford Field.

Buccaneers stay hot, win NFC South: The Baker Mayfield show rumbled on, with the Buccaneers closing out the regular season on a seven-game winning streak. The Falcons needed to win out and for the Bucs to drop a game, but neither happened.

Rams take NFC West in final game of regular season: With the Seahawks and Rams battling for a division title and the sole NFC West playoff spot, the league moved their Week 18 matchup into the Sunday night spot. The nation watched as Jared Verse, Kobie Turner and Braden Fiske got after Seattle quarterback Geno Smith, giving the Rams a win to keep their season alive thanks to the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Commanders earn wild-card berth: Outside the NFC West, most of the NFC field was settled heading into Week 16. The Commanders still had some business to take care of to secure their postseason spot, beating the Eagles and Cowboys in the final three weeks to finish with 11 wins and the 7-seed.

Giants earn No. 1 overall pick: Incredibly, all the top No. 1 pick contenders -- the Giants, Raiders, Patriots, Browns, Titans, Jaguars and Panthers -- won at least one of their final three games. That left the Giants and Raiders as the lone three-win teams. In this simulation, the Giants won the strength-of-schedule tiebreaker to land the top pick in the 2025 draft.

What to expect in the playoffs

Projected wild-card matchups:

Broncos (7) at Bills (2)
Chargers (6) at Steelers (3)
Ravens (5) at Texans (4)
Commanders (7) at Eagles (2)
Packers (6) at Buccaneers (3)
Vikings (5) at Rams (4)

Who goes all the way? Remember that this is a single simulation. The chalk part of this exercise ended at the regular season and from there, it's pure (weighted) randomness. I still wanted to know how it pans out, though, and I'm guessing you do, too.

In the AFC, the Bills and Steelers won their home wild-card games, but the Ravens went on the road and beat the Texans in a narrow 27-24 contest. The No. 5 seed also won in the NFC, with the Vikings beating the Rams. Elsewhere, the Buccaneers beat the Packers, and the Eagles barely got by the Commanders 30-28.

In the divisional round, favorites reigned ... with one exception. The Ravens beat the Chiefs at Arrowhead 27-7, ending Kansas City's hopes of a three-peat. The Eagles beat the Bucs by two touchdowns, and the Bills and Lions got past the Steelers and Vikings, respectively, in one-score games.

The AFC Championship Game was a tight, back-and-forth affair between the two MVP leaders, but Josh Allen and the Bills prevailed 24-23 to head to the Super Bowl for the first time in 31 years. In the NFC, the Lions' defense shut down A.J. Brown, Saquon Barkley and the Eagles in a 23-10 win to secure the franchise's first Super Bowl berth.

Projected Super Bowl LIX matchup: Buffalo (2) vs. Detroit (1)

Just like in the Week 15 showdown between the Bills and Lions, Buffalo got out to a two-score lead and never gave it up. Riding an incredible rushing performance from Allen and elite play from their secondary, the Bills beat the Lions 27-13 to win their first Super Bowl title.

ESPN's Hank Gargiulo contributed to this report.

Atlanta Hawks guard Kobe Bufkin will undergo season-ending surgery on his right shoulder, the team announced Wednesday.

The surgery to address "right shoulder instability" is scheduled for Jan. 7.

In October, the team announced Bufkin had partially dislocated his right shoulder for the second time. He had missed summer league due to a similar injury.

His first professional season after a promising Michigan career was also interrupted by injuries including a thumb fracture and a big toe sprain that kept him out of all but 17 games.

Bufkin, 20, was the 15th overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft. He averaged 5.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 10 games (zero starts) this season.

Milwaukee Bucks star Damian Lillard has agreed to a lifetime contract extension with Adidas, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.

As Lillard's deal with Adidas expired during last offseason, his representative, Aaron Goodwin of Goodwin Sports Management, has been negotiating a new deal with company officials.

Lillard starred alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo to help lead the Bucks to the NBA Cup championship on Tuesday night in Las Vegas. Lillard is averaging 25.7 points, 7.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.0 steal per game this season.

Lillard joins LeBron James and Kevin Durant (Nike) and Stephen Curry (Under Armour/Curry Brand) as active NBA players with lifetime shoe endorsement contracts. Goodwin also negotiated the initial Nike deals for James and Durant.

The 34-year-old now will exceed $600 million in career salaries from his on-court and shoe contracts.

A member of the NBA's Top 75 greatest list and an eight-time All-Star, Lillard has been a member of Adidas from the moment he entered the league in 2012. Lillard, who played his first 11 seasons with the Trail Blazers, has cemented himself as a staple in the Portland community, and through Adidas has many initiatives in his second home.

Adidas announced this year that it named the gymnasium court at the company's headquarters after Lillard.

The NBA All-Star Game's new format has been greeted with skepticism from some of the league's biggest stars -- most notably Kevin Durant.

"I hate it; I absolutely hate it," Durant said Tuesday, minutes after the league announced the changes to its midseason showcase.

This season's format is a four-team, three-game, one-night tournament that will feature three teams of eight All-Stars each, with the fourth team being the winner of the Rising Stars challenge for first- and second-year players. The winning team in all games will be the first to score 40 points.

The All-Star Game will take place Feb. 16 at the home of the Golden State Warriors. The Rising Stars event is there Feb. 14, headlining All-Star Friday.

"Terrible -- All-Star Game format changing, all the formats -- terrible in my opinion," Durant said. "We should just go back to East-West. Just play a game."

NBA commissioner Adam Silver has wanted a more competitive All-Star event for some time, and this change comes after the teams combined to score a record 397 points -- 211-186 was the final -- in last season's game at Indianapolis.

The teams combined to take 289 shots in that game, 94% of those being either inside the paint or beyond the 3-point line.

"I think we've been trying to bring that flare back somehow with All-Star Weekend, I think we just keep the tradition," Durant said. "We'll see how this one works. You never know, I might be wrong, I'm just another guy with an opinion, but we'll see how it works."

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander offered a more optimistic take Tuesday, acknowledging the "elephant in the room" of player effort during the All-Star Game.

"At the end of the day, it's going to come down to whether the players want to go at it, and I would love to see that," he said. "Love to be a part of that, for sure, and hopefully it happens."

Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant, however, seemed to agree with Durant when asked Wednesday about the new format.

"Same thing KD said," Morant said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

NEW YORK -- Max Fried may have commanded the richest contract for a left-handed pitcher in baseball history, but the New York Yankees believe there is room for improvement for the two-time All-Star.

"He's had a lot of success, but there's a level of improvability going forward, just with how the arsenal can be crafted and pulled apart, and there's some room to evolve with us," Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake said Wednesday. "We like that."

Fried was formally introduced at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday after agreeing to an eight-year, $218 million deal last week. He highlighted the organization's advancements in analytics and history with developing pitchers as a selling point in his decision to sign with New York.

"They've got a lot of success stories of making guys a lot better," Fried said. "And I think that just being able to take in the information and make some adjustments, as far as my pitch shapes and things to that extent, I think there's still a little bit in there for me to hopefully do better."

Fried, 30, gives the Yankees another front-line starter to pair with Gerrit Cole, another Southern California native, atop a rotation that was a team strength en route to the franchise's first World Series appearance since 2009.

And the Yankees might not be done adding top-tier starting pitching.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said club officials are scheduled to meet with Japanese star right-hander Roki Sasaki "soon" in California. Sasaki, 23, is expected to draw interest from most, if not all, clubs because he will be forced to sign at a steep discount.

Sasaki would certainly have commanded a nine-figure contract on the open market, but he is considered an international amateur free agent, a designation that suppresses his earning potential, because he is under the age of 25 and didn't play six seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball before posting.

As a result, Sasaki will be limited to signing a minor-league deal within a club's capped international bonus pool budget. Top bonus pools are around $7.5 million, though teams can trade for an additional 60% of its pool money.

Sasaki was posted by his Japanese club, Chiba Lotte, earlier this month, opening a 45-day window to sign with a team. He must wait to sign after the next international free agent signing period begins on Jan. 15 but can meet with teams before then. He has until Jan. 23 to sign with a team. If a deal is not reached, he would return to Chiba Lotte.

"He's extremely talented, no doubt about it, and he has a chance to be one of the world's greatest pitchers," Cashman said. "It'd be nice to be able to have Yankee Stadium be his home."

Fried chose the Yankees after posting a 3.07 ERA over parts of eight seasons with the Atlanta Braves to begin his major league career. He finished second in the NL Cy Young Award race in 2022 and won three Gold Glove Awards. He has pitched in the postseason in each of the past seven years despite various injuries limiting him to two seasons with at least 174 innings pitched.

He entered the offseason as one of the three top starting pitchers on the free agent market, alongside Blake Snell and Corbin Burnes. but he did not expect the Yankees to show genuine interest.

That changed during a Zoom call with team officials last month. A connection was forged over the easygoing 90-minute session. Questions and answers flowed between the two sides. The Yankees got the sense that Fried thirsted to play in New York, and Fried became convinced that the organization was a fit.

"You just kind of get a feel for, like, all right, his guard's down," Cashman said. "He's comfortable. He's sharing. He's not nervous. It was a good give-and-take. He was asking us questions about what makes us tick, how we go about our business. The takeaway was just that it was somebody easy to engage with, period, end of story. End of the day: good, genuine, authentic, honest individual who can really pitch."

But there was a caveat to the Yankees' pitch: They would only move forward with Fried if Juan Soto chose to sign elsewhere. Once Soto decided to join the New York Mets, the Yankees quickly pivoted to Fried, their No. 2 target in free agency.

"We're just trying to chase down a championship and we feel like we've added a championship piece," manager Aaron Boone said.

Fried was the first of three players added by the Yankees over the past week. The club also acquired reliever Devin Williams from the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday and first baseman/outfielder Cody Bellinger from the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday.

Boone on Wednesday confirmed Williams will be the team's closer next season. As for Bellinger, Cashman said that will depend on how the rest of the offseason plays out. For now, Bellinger -- who can play first base, center field and left field -- gives the Yankees flexibility in free agency and on the trade market as they seek to continue bolstering the roster after Soto's departure.

"We've done some heavy lifting with Max, with Devin Williams, with Bellinger," Cashman said. "But there's more lifting to do."

The Browns are hosting the world's most famous "footballer."

Lionel Messi, who was named MVP of MLS in his first season with Inter Miami CF, is expected to play in Cleveland on April 19 against the Columbus Crew in the Browns' 67,000-seat stadium, Huntington Bank Field.