New England is close to luring former offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia out of retirement, according to ESPN. MORE: Best Patriots of all time | Patriots among favorites to win Super Bowl LI Scarnecchia, who will be 68 on Sunday, spent 30 of 32 seasons as an NFL assistant with the Patriots, serving as the team’s offensive line coach from 1999 until his retirement after the 2013 season. The Patriots’ line had a rough year in 2015 while dealing with a plethora of injuries....

Coach Bill Belichick is sticking with Cam Newton at quarterback as he tries to keep getting the better of Adam Gase. The Jets are set again to turn to backup Joe Flacco with Sam Darnold dealing with an aggravation of his right shoulder injury. The Patriots, meanwhile, will continue to be without their best defensive player, cornerback Stephon Gilmore, missing a second straight game with a knee injury. Newton also will be without his two best wide receivers, N’Keal Harry and Julian Edelman....

Linebacker Malcolm Smith received Super Bowl MVP honors last year despite playing fewer snaps than most key contributors. Kam Chancellor turned in an MVP-worthy performance after going into the game hovering around 70-to-1 betting odds for the award. For now, let’s look past the frontrunners like Tom Brady (3-to-2), Marshawn Lynch (15/4) and Russell Wilson (15/4) to peruse some dark-horse candidates, via Bovada’s player props as of Jan. 19....

Where are you? I’m in Philly. So it’s cold. Uh-huh. I love it like this. You do? I love snow. I love rain. I love dark days. I don’t like sun. I don’t like water or sand. You must love snow because you look good in a coat. I like my coats. I don’t want PETA to get mad at me, but I love chinchilla. It’s so soft. I love cashmere....

While longtime broadcaster Brent Musburger will call the game on ESPN, Finebaum, famous for his longtime radio show, will be live on the SEC Network for a second broadcast of the game, according to Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch. MORE: Top rivalry games | Heisman Watch | Best of the week Yes, this means that Paul’s notoriously zany callers like “Phyllis from Mulga” will be able to call up and be heard while the game is being aired on the SEC Network....

Well, he made a huge misstep on Thursday when he sent out a tweet in support of Ray Rice, an NFL player who punched his wife in the face in a hotel elevator. Rice, who was released from the Ravens and suspended indefinitely, somehow elicited the sympathy of George. MORE: Bird calls George tweet ’thoughtless’ | NFL had video | Rice speaks George sent out a tweet stating that, based on the video evidence, Rice made a mistake but didn’t look like a repeat domestic abuser....

George showed up to the Indiana Pacers’ media day without a boot on his injured right foot. George, who suffered a compound fracture to his leg, has sported a boot for quite a while, even wearing it to the lake for boating trips and to the gym for late night workouts. MORE: LeBron’s hair disappearing | Wall’s signature shoe | Small forward rankings George suffered the injury in August and was expected to miss the entire season....

Payet engineered a £25million move back to the Stade Velodrome having only left to join West Ham in 2015, his departure from London Stadium coming in acrimonious circumstances. Mignolet has last laugh against Chelsea The deal was completed on Sunday and the 2016 Ballon d’Or nominee was named among Rudi Garcia’s substitutes for the visit of Lyon. Supporters chanted Payet’s name before kick-off, and within 24 minutes they had another reason to cheer when Rod Fanni headed in Maxime Lopez’s free-kick....

Marseille complete £25m Payet signing “I have a situation with a player," the Croat sternly admitted, later confessing feelings of anger and disappointment. “It is Dimitri Payet. He wants to leave. The switch to England was one that the player was never truly comfortable in making. Right up until he had signed the terms to take him to Upton Park, where West Ham were still based at the time, he held out the hope that Marseille would show him the appreciation – and money – he desired....

My view on this is, I think it’s great that student athletes have an opportunity to be compensated. I also think there are a lot of concerns that we haven’t taken into account. This is something that’s going to largely benefit student athletes who were going to be paid anyway—the top 1 percent—and where you have student athletes that are not in those—what we refer to as revenue-generating sports, men’s basketball and football—by and large, they’re left out of this....

Despite the widespread popularity of PDE5 inhibitors, there are limitations and risks associated with their use. Though the drugs all work similarly, there are differences that may make some more suitable for you than others. Uses PDE5 inhibitors are used to overcome erectile dysfunction, also referred to as impotence. They can help males achieve and sustain an erection, especially if the underlying cause is physiological. They may even help if the cause is psychological by providing a placebo effect....

Players are set in foursomes that include two non-Tour members of differing forms of notoriety. Among them: actors Bill Murray, Chris O’Donnell and Don Cheadle; hockey great Wayne Gretzky, musicians Huey Lewis, Michael Bolton and Kenny G; baseball players Matt Cain and Buster Posey; and comedians Ray Romano and Larry the Cable Guy. Bill Murray (Getty Images) Take that for what it’s worth. Here’s a full list of non-Tour participants....

Automakers could tie mattresses to car bumpers, but they’d prefer something more discreet. “There will be no striking differences visible from outside,” insists Alfredo Filippone, spokesman for the European automakers group ACEA. “But from a technical point of view, the changes will be substantial.” To prevent the most common leg injury–broken tibia–engineers are looking at energy-absorbent materials for bumpers. Protecting against pedestrian head injuries is tougher. Engineers are considering a hood that pops up in an accident, putting padding under the hood and installing exterior airbags....

To ensure safety for students and staff, the organization recommends taking a “layered approach,” which includes vaccination for students aged 12 and above, universal mask use, ventilation, testing, and more. “We need to prioritize getting children back into schools alongside their friends and their teachers – and we all play a role in making sure it happens safely,” Sonja O’Leary, MD, FAAP, chair of the AAP Council on School Health, said in a statement....

Ultimately, New York couldn’t find it. Houston beat the Yankees 6-5 in Game 4 thanks to a game-winning Alex Bregman single to earn the sweep and a World Series matchup against the Phillies. And one of the 2004 Red Sox used that defeat as an opportunity to take a shot at the Yankees. FAGAN: Ranking the best free-agent fits for Aaron Judge after 62 homer season Pedro Martinez, one of the dual aces on Boston’s staff in 2004, appeared on the TBS postgame show following the Astros’ win....

The 29-year-old player inked a two-year, $14.25 million deal in July, but the Pelicans announced Thursday that he underwent surgery to repair a ruptured right Achilles tendon. Miller suffered the injury playing 3-on-3 basketball and while New Orleans didn’t give an expected timetable for his return, ESPN reports he should miss seven to eight months of the season and be back practicing in five to six months. He averaged a career-high 8....

Pelosi’s trip made headlines and stirred international tensions for nearly a month before it began, as media leaks revealed she was planning to make a stop in Taiwan, a self-ruling island claimed by China. The White House declined to endorse the trip, and Beijing repeatedly promised a severe reaction, which is now playing out in the form of live-fire exercises by the People’s Liberation Army surrounding Taiwan, as Pelosi makes her exit from the region....

Ronaldo back in the groove - but Morata must start ahead of Benzema The Portugal international converted one penalty, missed another and netted twice again for good measure to mark a hat trick against the Basques. But just how many goals, exactly, does the star actually score courtesy of the penalty spot? Exactly 20 percent of all his La Liga goals have come from 12 yards, with Ronaldo netting 53 of his 265 Madrid league efforts with penalties....