Morning Edition |
March 15, 2025 |
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The Chiefs’ decade-long postseason run is officially over, Patrick Mahomes is injured, and a once-promising Christmas Day game for Amazon has lost its luster.
—Eric Fisher
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Amazon just got a lump of coal for Christmas, courtesy of the Chiefs.
Kansas City, now 6–8, was officially eliminated from the 2025 National Football League playoffs after falling Sunday to the Chargers, 16–13, its fifth loss in the last six games. The Chiefs will be out of the postseason for the first time since 2014, a dynasty-level run that has included three Super Bowl wins, two other conference titles, and seven straight trips to the American Football Conference championship game. The playoff run was the second-longest in modern league history behind the 2009–19 Patriots.
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Additionally, star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who arrived in Kansas City two years after the playoff run began, tore an anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee late in the Chargers game. He is done for the rest of this season, and much of the 2026 campaign is also potentially in doubt. The Chiefs said late Sunday that they and Mahomes are exploring surgical options.
“Don’t know why this had to happen,” Mahomes said. “And not going to lie it hurts. But all we can do now is trust in God and attack every single day over and over again. Thank you Chiefs Kingdom for always supporting me and for everyone who has reached out and sent prayers. I will be back stronger than ever.”
For more on how the Chiefs’ collapse—and Patrick Mahomes’ injury—reshaped the NFL’s Christmas slate and streaming plans, read the full story here.
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The University of Michigan has initiated an investigation to uncover the full depth of potential issues within its athletic department.
The embattled school has hired Jenner & Block, a large, Chicago-based law firm, to lead the probe into the athletic department’s culture and practices, including how various scandals developed and were handled.
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Michigan’s move to open the investigation closely follows the dismissal and arrest last week of head football coach Sherrone Moore. The firing happened after Moore had an improper relationship with a staff member, and then he was charged Friday with felony home invasion by prosecutors in Washtenaw County, Mich., describing a deeply troubling situation in which Moore broke into the staffer’s house and threatened to kill himself after the firing.
The Wolverines, however, have grappled with a far larger set of issues, particularly during the nine-year tenure of current athletic director Warde Manuel, including coaches fighting and mistreating staffers, a computer-hacking scandal involving a former football co-offensive coordinator, and recruiting violations.
For more on Michigan’s widening athletics probe, the Sherrone Moore case, and the broader pattern of scandals now under scrutiny, read the full story here.
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Soccer fans are flocking to buy tickets for the FIFA 2026 men’s World Cup, despite eye-popping prices and rising complaints from around the world over those costs.
FIFA said that it received 5 million ticket requests during its third phase of ticket sales for the upcoming tournament, with the latest deluge happening just in the first 24 hours after this part of the sales process began Thursday. That figure adds to the nearly 2 million tickets sold during the two prior phases, and further showcases the demand for the global event, to be held next June and July in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
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That demand, however, arrives as ticket prices have increased about fivefold compared to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, according to data from Football Supporters Europe. Prices for the final match, to be held at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, begin at $4,000, and FSE said it would cost at least $6,900 for a fan to follow their team from the start of group-stage play to the final.
FIFA has additionally implemented dynamic pricing for much of the event’s ticketing, further amplifying both the costs and confusion around the upcoming World Cup.
For more on the surge in World Cup ticket demand, soaring prices, and the backlash facing FIFA’s sales strategy, read the full story here.
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The return of a basketball phenom helped dethrone the reigning NBA superpower and reshape the final of Tuesday’s NBA Cup.
The Spurs reached the tournament final, thanks to a standout performance from star center Victor Wembanyama, beating the defending league champion Thunder, 111–109. The loss was just the second of the season for Oklahoma City, but Wembanyama returned from missing 12 games with a left calf strain, spanning nearly a month, by scoring 22 points and grabbing nine rebounds in just 21 minutes of play off the bench.
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“This is not a typical regular-season game,” Wembanyama said. “We knew that if we lose, we’re out. You know, some people are built for these moments. Some aren’t. But we definitely are, and it shows.”
For more on Wembanyama’s return, the Thunder’s upset, and how it reshaped the NBA Cup final, read the full story here.
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 | The Cadillac Championship will be played in the spring of 2026.
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 | The Mets owner and Hard Rock receive a New York gaming license.
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 | The season-ending injury adds to one for Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
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