data-mm-id=”_o2iajywfw”>Super Bowl LIV on Sunday will mark the first time in 50 years — 18,284 days, to be exact — since the Kansas City Chiefs last participated in pro football's ultimate game. Their last appearance (and win) came in Super Bowl IV on January 11, 1970. Since then, the league has undergone a drastic transformation, with new rules, new teams, and old teams popping up in new places.1. The AFL-NFL Merger Hadn't Quite Happened YetThe first four Super Bowls were a World Series-type clash between the champions of the National Football League and the American Football League, dueling for pro football supremacy. The Green Bay Packers had claimed the first two Super Bowls for the NFL, before the New York Jets famously backed up Joe Namath's "guarantee" and won Super Bowl III for the honor of the AFL.Super Bowl IV was the final game before the AFL-NFL merger took effect the following season, and the Chiefs' 26-7 victory over the Vikings evened the "AFL-NFL Championship Game" era at two apiece.2. The Leagues Had a Combined 26 TeamsThe American Football League started out with eight teams in 1960, and while it came dangerously close to losing at least one in its early years, all eight soldiered on through the decade. The league eventually expanded with the Miami Dolphins in 1966 and the Cincinnati Bengals in 1968.By 1969, the NFL had reached 16 teams, adding a whopping four expansion teams (Cowboys, Vikings, Falcons, Saints) to counter the rise of the AFL. For the final three years of the pre-merger era, the league went to a bizarre four-division format with no geographical alignment whatsoever. All the divisions had in common were that their names started with the letter C (Capitol, Century, Coastal, Central). Think the NHL's old "divisions named after royalty" system. The Central featured the exact same structure as the modern-day NFC North, but the Coastal was the wildest of all, with Baltimore and Atlanta traveling cross-country to play Los Angeles and San Francisco.3. 1,000 Rushing Yards Was An AchievementThese days, even as the run has less and less of a place in the modern NFL offense, if your team's starting running back has fewer than 1,000 rushing yards and he receives the vast majority of carries, that raises multiple red flags. Before 1978, when teams only played 14 games and rules were looser on what defensive players could do, pro running backs had more to contend with to reach the 1,000-yard mark. In 1969, only one back — Chicago's Gale Sayers — crossed the threshold. He just barely did it, amassing 1,032 yards. The AFL's leading rusher was the Chargers' Dickie Post, who reached 873 yards.4. Goalposts Were On The End ZoneWatching early Super Bowl films, you might notice something peculiar about the goalposts. They were placed on the goal line, as opposed to the back of the end zone.In 1933, the NFL placed its goalposts on the goal line, in an effort to make field goals easier and reduce tie games. As you might imagine, the posts interfered with play many times, as players ran into the support structure and errant passes could sometimes strike the crossbar. This famously happened on a critical play late in Super Bowl VII which helped secure the win for the Dolphins. The NFL relented just before the 1974 season, moving the posts to the back of the end zone.5. At Least One News Outlet Questioned Pro Football's FutureIn hindsight, this was a major swing and a miss, but 50 years ago, it probably made sense. Just as pro football had broken through to mainstream dominance, overtaking both its college counterpart and Major League Baseball as America's top sport, a U.S. News and World Report article questioned the growth potential of the soon-to-be-merged NFL."Some [owners] see pro football approaching its ceilings, both in attendance and in TV markets," U.S. News said. "In television, week-ends already are crowded with football—college games on Saturday, doubleheaders in each professional league on Sunday. Monday-night telecasts are coming. How many more can be added?"Of course, today we know the answer. We now have pro football on Sunday afternoon, Sunday night, Monday night, Thursday night, and sometimes Saturday night. 19 of the 50 highest-rated telecasts of 2019 were NFL games. Apparently pro football found a way after all.
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The 19-year-old scored 27 goals in all competitions and eventually joined the likes of Neymar and Edinson Cavani at PSG – on an initial season-long loan – despite talks with Madrid, who he will come up against in the Champions League last 16.
It s true that we spoke, but I think that s now in the past for me and for Real Madrid, Mbappe told Marca.
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The left-back a member of Germany s silver medal-winning team at the 2016 Olympics has reportedly attracted the attention of a host of Premier League clubs, with Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool among those linked as potential suitors.
Max s attacking abilities in particular have made waves this season, with the 24-year-old supplying a remarkable 10 assists in 17 Bundesliga outings.
He is under contract at Augsburg until 2022 and told Sport Bild a January move is unlikely as things stand.
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that Diafra Sakho could be on his way out West Ham United at the end of the season.
The striker faces showdown talks with manager Slaven Bilic after he ruled himself out of Saturday’s 3-3 draw with Arsenal and then failed to attend the match.
He had trained as normal on Friday, then reported the injuy after discovering that he had not been selected in the Hammers’ starting XI.
The Senegal international moved to Upton Park from French side Metz in August 2014 and impressed in his first season with the club but has struggled with injury this term.
In total he has racked up forty-five appearances in all competitions, scoring eighteen goals but he has managed just four in the league this season.
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The champions travel to Arsenal on Wednesday, granting them an extra days two days rest when compared to some of their Premier League counterparts following a 5-0 weekend romp against Stoke City.
Jose Mourinho has regularly bemoaned Manchester United s schedule over the festive period, while Pep Guardiola said quick turnarounds in games were a disaster for his Manchester City players and others.
Earlier this season, Conte questioned the Premier League s scheduling of games against City and Liverpool being on Saturdays after Wednesday night Champions League away matches at Atletico Madrid and Qarabag respectively.
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Italy have been drawn alongside England, who they face in their opening game in Manaus on June 14, Uruguay and Costa Rica in what is arguably the toughest group of the competition.
The four-time winners failed to get into the knockout stages in South Africa four years ago, but responded well by reaching the final of the 2012 UEFA European Championships.
Milan midfielder Montolivo is well aware of the challenge facing Cesare Prandelli s men in Brazil and expects the group to be settled by the finest of margins.
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“His situation at Hamburg is currently not as we hoped,” De Visser told Eindhovens Dagblad.
“He is currently not a first choice with his coach. Bruma is a boy who needs to play week in week out.”
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Half of the derogatory tweets were targeted at just 12 players, with United s Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire receiving the most abuse.
Other players in the top 10 included Bruno Fernandes, Fred, David de Gea, Marcus Rashford, Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Harry Kane and Jack Grealish.
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Maya Yoshida thinks Japan s settled starting XI will see the defending Asian Cup champions improve again in the quarter-finals.
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Coach Javier Aguirre selected the same XI to begin each of Japan s three group matches and they completed a clean sweep on Tuesday with a 2-0 triumph over bogey team Jordan.
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Andre Schurrle has been hotly tipped to join Wolfsburg, but the Bundesliga club say a deal to sign the Chelsea forward is not done yet.
Wolfsburg have yet to agree a deal for Chelsea forward Andre Schurrle, with the club s sporting director stating that time is running out to complete the transfer.
Premier League leaders Chelsea are expected to confirm the signing of Fiorentina s Juan Cuadrado with Schurrle having been tipped to depart Stamford Bridge throughout the transfer window.
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There is no agreement at the moment, he told Wolfsburger Nachrichten.