Sarni's Scrolls: Las Vegas Super Bowl: 'It's Going To Be Insane'

New Jersey gets 2026 World Cup final

Las Vegas is hosting its first Super Bowl on Sunday. The pumped-up city hopes it's the first of many.

"It’s going to be like the Marvel Universe and the DC Universe coming together and it’s going to be insane,” Sam Joffray, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Super Bowl LVIII Host Committee, told Front Office Sports.

“We’re going to educate the world that, moving forward, if you’re not going to the Super Bowl, you’ll want to think about coming to Vegas."

The NFL once viewed Las Vegas as taboo, but the proliferation of gambling and the Raiders’ financial success have led to the league rapidly committing to the city in a way it has for few others. 

When Super Bowl LVIII kicks off between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, Las Vegas will become the first city to have hosted a Super Bowl, a Pro Bowl and the NFL Draft.

City officials project the economic impact will bring between $600 million and $700 million to the area.

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The Pro Bowl Games, in the second year of the flag-football format, was a fun watch.

Players without helmets and pads showed their personal sides.

The Orlando event grew increasingly competitive, from the flag football to the skills competitions. Points were accumulated throughout all events and calculated toward a total score.

The NFC, coached by Eli Manning, won with a cumulative 64-59 score, stopping the AFC, coached by Peyton Manning, on fourth-down at the 3-yard line with 4 seconds remaining.

Tampa Bay Bucs QB was the offensive MVP. New Orleans Saints LB was the defensive MVP.

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The 2026 World Cup final will be held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on July 19, FIFA announced on Sunday.

The U.S. men's national team opens in Los Angeles, playing its first group-stage game at SoFi Stadium on June 12. The Americans will play all of their group-stage matches on the West Coast, with the next two games in Seattle and back in Los Angeles.

The opening match of the tournament -- hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada -- will be held in Mexico City, with Mexico playing a yet-to-be determined opponent in its group and the remainder of its matches on home soil.

Canada will host its first-ever men's World Cup match on June 12 when it starts group play in Toronto, followed by a pair of games in Vancouver.

The semifinals will be played on July 14 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and the following day at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Quarterfinals will be at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on July 9, at SoFi Stadium the following day, and at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, and Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on July 11. The third-place game will be at Hard Rock on July 18.

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NHL players will participate in the Olympics in 2026 and 2030, and no one is more excited than Oilers superstar Connor McDavid, who has never been able to represent Canada in the Olympics or the World Cup of Hockey.

"Obviously, I've been vocal about this," McDavid said. "I feel like it's important for hockey as we continue to try to grow the game internationally and at home. I think it's a great thing. It's an exciting schedule, something that people can look forward to."

The NHL will hold the 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face-Off instead of the All-Star Game next season, with Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States competing in one Canadian and one U.S. city from February 12-20.

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Grammy Awards: Big Four... all won by women.

■ Album of the Year: "Midnights," Taylor Swift  (Record 4th time)

■ Record of the Year: "Flowers," Miley Cyrus

■ Song of the Year: "What Was I Made For?", Billie Eilish 

■ New Artist: Victoria Monet

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ETC.

■ For the third time in six years, the Pebble Beach Pro-Am will finish on a Monday. 8 a.m. PT, Golf Channel.

■ Joaquin Niemann outlasted Sergio Garcia on the fourth extra hole to win LIV Golf Mayakoba. Jon Rahm finished tied for third in his LIV debut.

■ Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf defeated John McEnroe and Maria Sharapova to win Pickleball Slam 2.

■ The Chiefs and 49ers kick off the week on "Super Bowl Opening Night," 8 p.m. ET, NFL Network, CBSSN... NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is holding his annual Super Bowl press conference for the first time on Monday inside the home team locker room at Allegiant Stadium.

■ President Biden has declined a Super Bowl interview for the second straight year.

■ The men’s Beanpot begins Monday: Harvard vs. Northeastern at 5 p.m. ET,; No. 3 BU vs. No. 1 BC at 8 p.m. ET. NESN, ESPN+

■ SpongeBob SquarePants will recreate his "Sweet Victory" performance to kick off Nickelodeon's Super Bowl telecast.

■ Lewis Hamilton shocked F1 with the news he will leave Mercedes after 11 years and join Ferrari in 2025 "to fulfill another childhood dream."

■ Las Vegas' landmark Tropicana hotel will be demolished to make way for a baseball stadium.

■ LeBron James has joined DraftKings, where he will share his NFL picks.

■ Steph Curry has the NBA's best-selling jersey. The Los Angeles Lakers have the most team merchandise sales.

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■ Fox debuted its Caitlin Clark ISO camera on Tik Tok on Saturday's Iowa-Maryland game... Gus Johnson called the telecast the "Caitlin Clark Experience."... Iowa's next game: Thursday vs. Penn St., 9 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network. Clark is 66 points from the scoring record.

■ Jon Wertheim investigated the growing and often addictive hold online sports betting has on young men on "60 Minutes" Sunday.

■ Bill Walton revealed that the character of Chewbacca in the Star Wars franchise was modeled after him. The ESPN analyst and Hall of Famer said he auditioned for the role.

■ Adidas is naming a company location after an athlete for the first time... the Damian Lillard Court in Portland.

■ Joey Votto took to Instagram to document his quest to take a selfie with all 32 NHL mascots at Saturday's All-Star Game in Toronto.

■ Odds on NBA All-Star Weekend 3-point competion: Steph Curry (-280) vs. Sabrina Ionescu (+200).

■ Former Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein has joined the Fenway Sports Group as a part-owner and advisor.

■ Senior Bowl players wore parrot stickers on the back of their helmets as a tribute to Jimmy Buffett, who spent his formative years in Mobile, Ala.

■ The Travis Kelce hairdo is a thing.

■ Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh wants to live out of a RV -- "Jim Rockford it" -- for the next couple of months until the team moves to its new training facility in El Segundo.

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■ Ayo Edebiri killed it on "SNL." "The Bear" has great comedy chops.

■ Canadian pop star Tate McRae gave a sensational halftime show at the NHL All-Star Game. "This will be better than Usher at Super Bowl," one fan tweeted.

■ The second annual Great American Rescue Bowl, a mix of kittens and puppies, takes place on Super Sunday (noon, Great American Family Channel). Hosted by Beth Stern. Best names: Brock Purrdy, Cattis Kelce, Pat Mybelly, Ron Groncatski, Christian McCattery, Meowshawn Lynch, Saquan Barks, Cooper Pupp.

■ HBO announced a new thriller series based on Gillian Flynn's "Dark Places."

■ A Chuck E. Cheese game show is in the works.

■ A "Wizards of Waverly Place" sequel series is coming to the Disney Channel.

■ Jodie Foster said she turned down the role of Princess Leia.

■ Malia Obama, the 25-year-old daughter of the former President, wrote and directed "The Heart," which was shown at Sundance.

■ Read: "Outofshapeworthlessloser: A Memoir of Figure Skating, F---ing Up, and Figuring It Out" by Gracie Gold.

■ Fisher-Price is restocking baby "Stanley Cup" toys after parents bought out the inventory.

■ Influential publisher Simon & Schuster is celebrating its 100th birthday this year.

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THEY SAID IT 

■ "When he walked into that room and I saw him for the first time, I saw greatness, but I didn't realize how great. I never could have accomplished what we did with Rocky without him. He was absolutely brilliant. His voice, his size, his power, his athletic ability, but more importantly his heart and his soul." -- Sylvester Stallone on Carl Weathers, who played Apollo Creed in the first four "Rocky" movies. Weathers passed away at 76 last Friday.