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  • Philadelphia Rocky statue dressed in Redskins gear ahead of NFC title game between Eagles and Commanders

    Philadelphia Rocky statue dressed in Redskins gear ahead of NFC title game between Eagles and Commanders

    A rivalry has been renewed. 

    Philadelphia will host the NFC championship game between the Eagles and the visiting Washington Commanders Sunday. 

    Ahead of the game, the famous Rocky statue in downtown Philadelphia was dressed in gear representing the Commanders’ former identity, the Redskins. 

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    The culprit is unknown. 

    Dressing the statue in opposing teams’ gear has become a tradition in recent years ahead of big Eagles playoff games. Each time its happened, the Eagles have come away with wins. 

    In 2022, the statue was dressed in New York Giants gear ahead of their matchup against the Eagles in the divisional round. The Eagles won that game 38-7. The following week, the statue was dressed in San Francisco 49ers gear before Niners arrived in Philadelphia for the NFC championship game. The Eagles won that game, 31-7. 

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    When the Eagles won their first Super Bowl in the 2017 season, the statue was also dressed in opposing teams’ gear. 

    Ahead of that season’s NFC championship game between the Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings, the statue was draped in a Vikings jersey, and the Eagles won 38-7. Before the Super Bowl, someone placed a New England Patriots jersey on the statue, and the Eagles beat the Patriots 41-33 to claim their first Super Bowl title. 

    The vandalism became so frequent that Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce pleaded with his own fan base not to do dress the statue in any Chiefs gear ahead of the 2023 Super Bowl. The Chiefs won that game 38-35.

    “Chiefs, do not touch the f—ing Rocky memorial!” Kelce said during a February 2023 episode of his podcast, “New Heights.”  

    “Do not do that and definitely don’t put an No. 87 on it!”

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    Former Eagles center Jason Kelce, who played against Travis and the Chiefs in that game, theorized the culprit was an Eagles fan. 

    “I’m gonna be honest. I think somebody from Philadelphia is doing this now,” Jason Kelce said. 

    “I don’t think this is an opposing team thing at this point. There’s no way opposing teams continue to do this. I’m convinced there is a Philadelphia fan who is putting these shirts on the Rocky statue just to get everyone fired up, and it’s working tremendously. 

    “So, keep doing it. I guarantee it. There’s no way. Because it’s happened every single game. The Giants did it. The 49ers did it. There will probably be a Chiefs jersey on it this week.”

    Now, Washington is up, and will look to break the trend. 

    It will be the first time the rivals have met in a conference championship game and marks a high point for a rivalry that has been dormant in recent decades due to Washington’s inability to win in the playoffs since the 1990s. 

    The 2024 season was the first since 2005 that Washington won a playoff game, and the first since 1991 that the franchise reached the conference championship. 

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    Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He previously worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.

  • Patrick Mahomes’ grandfather in hospice just days before Chiefs’ AFC title game vs. Bills, his mother says

    Patrick Mahomes’ grandfather in hospice just days before Chiefs’ AFC title game vs. Bills, his mother says

    Patrick Mahomes’ mother, Randi Mahomes, announced on Instagram Friday that the quarterback’s grandfather is in hospice. 

    “My dad is in hospice and I’m lost for words,” the mother wrote in the post.

    Randi added to her post the bible verse Colossians 3:20, which in The Bible says “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.”

    Randi previously announced that her father was in the hospital in mid-September. 

    “Prayer warriors please pray for my daddy. He is in the hospital and is not well His name is Randy,” she wrote on X on Sept. 14. A few days later, she made an Instagram post that read, “This is how I fight my battles. If you are seeing this, take a moment, and PRAY for my dad now.” 

    Now, the news that Mahomes’ grandfather is in hospice comes just days before Mahomes is set to lead the Kansas City Chiefs against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship game, as the quarterback is looking to become the first in history to win three straight Super Bowls. 

    The news also comes just under two weeks after Mahomes and his wife Brittany welcomed his third child into the world, when daughter Golden Raye was born on Jan. 12. 

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    For Mahomes, a historic season has also been one of constant family chaos. His grandfather being placed in hospice shortly after the birth of his third child is only the latest unfortunate development for his family over the last year. 

    In March, his brother Jackson Mahomes was sentenced to six months probation for allegedly assaulting a woman. Jackson pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor count of battery. The sentencing came just months after prosecutors dismissed three felony charges for aggravated sexual battery related to accusations that he had grabbed a woman by the neck and kissed her against her will. 

    Then, in August, Brittany was thrust into the center of a national political controversy and faced a barrage of online attacks from liberals after she simply liked a post on President Donald Trump’s Instagram. Screenshots of her like went viral, and she faced so much backlash that she had to address the controversy multiple times in other Instagram posts. 

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    The controversy surrounding Brittany was elevated due to her widely publicized friendship with Taylor Swift, as Swift is a Democrat who endorsed Kamala Harris in the recent election. Swift was seen sitting separately from Brittany at Chiefs games this year after they were often seen sitting together last season, which only fueled the controversy and conversation over their political differences. 

    Trump himself thrust the Mahomes family further into the national political conversation ahead of the election when he acknowledged Brittany’s support and thanked her on social media and in a Fox & Friends interview on Sept. 11, as Mahomes was forced to field questions on the subject from reporters later that day. 

    Randi also engrossed herself in the controversy when she announced her support for Trump at the Chiefs’ game against the Buccaneers on Nov. 4, just one day before the election. Randi invited some criticism to her and the rest of the family by liberals on social media for her Trump support but never acknowledged the backlash like Brittany did. 

    Meanwhile, Mahomes’ father, Patrick Mahomes Sr., was dealt a jail sentence and five years probation in late September for driving under the influence of alcohol in February. He was sentenced to 10 days in jail, followed by a five-year probation period, and will be subject to “intense supervision” for the first year of his probation, according to KCTV in Kansas City. 

    He also had his driver’s license suspended for a year and is required to continue AA courses and will have a breathalyzer ignition device installed in his car.

    For the Chiefs quarterback, these distractions all took place in what was, statistically, the worst season of his NFL career as a starter. 

    Mahomes put up career-lows in passing yards and touchdowns while missing the Pro Bowl for the first time since taking over the starting job in 2018. 

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    FILE – Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes chews his mouth guard during warm-ups before an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024 in Kansas City, Mo.  (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann, File)

    However, this didn’t stop Mahomes from doing just enough to lead the Chiefs to the best record they’ve ever had in their history, with a staggering 15-2 regular season record. Despite struggling in the passing game, Mahomes did just enough every week to make sure his team won all but one game that he started, all while confronted by numerous family distractions.

    The one loss Mahomes suffered for the Chiefs this year came against the very team he will play on Sunday, when the Bills beat the Chiefs 30-21 on Nov. 17. The Chiefs’ second loss came in the final game of the regular season when Mahomes sat out to avoid injury with nothing to gain in the standings.

    Now, with his grandfather in hospice, Mahomes will take the field for a rematch against the Bills on Sunday with a chance to lead his team to a third straight Super Bowl, as he looks to cap off a turbulent but resilient year. 

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  • Former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer takes aim at ‘idiots on social media’ after Buckeyes win national title

    Former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer takes aim at ‘idiots on social media’ after Buckeyes win national title

    Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day was under considerable pressure entering the inaugural 12-team edition of the College Football Playoff. 

    Despite ending the regular season with a 10-2 record, Day was on the sideline in late November for a fourth consecutive loss at the hands of the Michigan Wolverines, the Buckeyes’ top rival.

    The disappointing end to an otherwise solid season prompted a contingent of Ohio State fans to question whether Day should be removed from his head coaching post. However, Day seemed to quiet most of those critics by guiding the team to an unblemished December and January. 

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    Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer laughs while answering a question during a press conference at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, on Dec. 4, 2018. At the press conference, Meyer announced his retirement and offensive coordinator Ryan Day was tapped as the next head coach. (Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)

    After knocking the Tennessee Volunteers out in the first round, the Buckeyes blew out the top-seeded Oregon Ducks in the quarterfinals. Ohio State then defeated the Texas Longhorns in the semifinal to advance to the national championship game in Atlanta, where they prevailed with a 34-23 victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

    Amid the Buckeye faithful’s national title celebration, Day’s predecessor called out fans who previously used social media to express their displeasure with the program’s current head coach. Urban Meyer, who served as Ohio State head coach from 2012-18, described the fans who previously criticized Day via social media as “idiots.”

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    “I coached a long time, and a lot has been made of it and Coach Day and the pressures of coaching at a place like Ohio State,” Meyer said during a recent appearance on the “Triple Option” podcast. “I made the comment that that’s not going to change. The thing that has got to change and has changed is the idiots on social media that don’t sign their name to stuff.”

    Ryan Day reacts after a game

    Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day looks on after defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the College Football Playoff championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Monday. (Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

    Reaction to the loss to Michigan prompted Day to hire security to protect his home. Meyer also said the reported poor treatment that Day’s children encountered as they attended school was a step “too far.”

    “When you start involving families, you’re pushing it too far,” Meyer added. “Booing because you don’t get first downs and you lose to the rival, that’s part of the game. That’s all fair. But you’ve got to keep the families out of it.”

    Meyer then compared Day’s situation to what he faced during his coaching stint at Florida.

    Urban Meyer looks on during an Ohio State game

    Urban Meyer looks on during the CFP National Championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Monday. (Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images)

    “When I first [went] to Florida, you know they wanted [Steve] Spurrier. I’d want Spurrier, too. He was a Heisman Trophy winner there, won the national championship,” Meyer said. “But it was Coach Spurrier went, I think, to the [Washington] Redskins, he got fired and left. He was available. The contingency wanted him back, and they hired me from Utah. 

    “I really didn’t understand the dynamic until I got there, and I got there and I’ll never forget — he goes to South Carolina — we lose to South Carolina, which you don’t do that at Florida. I walk in to do my radio show on a Thursday, and I am the most miserable human being. I’m a stranger in a strange land down South there, and I come walking in and they boo me. I’m 7-2, I think, at the time.”

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    Meyer and Day have history, with the latter serving as the offensive coordinator under the former from 2017-18. Meyer retired following the 2018 season, and Day was later introduced as Ohio State’s next head coach.

    Meyer coached the Buckeyes to the national title following the 2014 regular season, making Ohio State the winners of the inaugural College Football Playoff. A decade later, Day got them back to the mountaintop. 

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    Chantz Martin is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.