SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Matthew Tkachuk is under contract to the Florida Panthers for much of the next decade. So is fellow All-Star Aleksander Barkov. And right there are two compelling reasons why players might want to join the Panthers in the coming years. The last few days might have helped the recruiting pitch. It’s no secret that Florida is a fine place to spend some time during the winter. But showing All-Stars what hockey can be like in the Panthers’ market might be the long-term benefit of the team playing host to the league’s midseason showcase game.
In preparation for the Super Bowl:
DALLAS (AP) — Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts of Philadelphia are set for the first Super Bowl matchup of two Texas high school quarterbacks. The football-crazy Lone Star State was once much better known for running backs such as future Pro Football Hall of Famers Earl Campbell and Eric Dickerson. Retired Texas high school coach Todd Dodge was at the center of the start of the transformation of the passing game as a quarterback near Houston around 1980. Now Texas is guaranteed to be the prep home of four of the past six Super Bowl-winning QBs.
