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SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Sam Darnold, Super Bowl championship quarterback.

Whatever other chapters that are yet to be written about Darnold's career — keep in mind, he's still just 28 years old — what happened in Super Bowl LX will be the biggest part of it. Not being called a bust with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers. Not even the year in which he was very good with the Minnesota Vikings but that was washed away due to two bad games to end an otherwise fantastic season.

We remember the quarterbacks who win Super Bowls. Darnold is in that club now after the Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots 29-13.

"Unbelievable story. I don't know if there's a quarterback in NFL history that's done what he's done. " Seahawks receiver Cooper Kupp said. "To go through the things he had to go through the first, whatever, five years. To believe in himself, to overcome everyone who told him he wasn't that guy anymore, to say he couldn't be a starter or productive quarterback, to come back to work and commit to his process, and then go out there in the biggest moments this year, over and over again, show up.

"It's an unbelievable story."

Darnold admittedly wasn't at his best on Sunday against the Patriots. He was just 19 of 38 for 202 yards. But he was good most of the season, including a 346-yard, three-touchdown game in the NFC championship game that helped Seattle get to the Super Bowl.

Afterthe long odds Darnold facedjust to be a regular starter again, much less a Super Bowl champion on his fifth team in just eight seasons, the white Super Bowl champions hat and black Super Bowl champions T-shirt he wore after the game fit just fine.

"The reason I'm here is because of my journey," Darnold said. "Because of the ups and downs, especially the downs I went through early on in my career. I learned so much about myself, about football.

"It's funny how it works."

Sam Darnold keeps believing

Darnold said after the Seahawks' win over the Patriots was done, he had an emotional moment with his parents and his fiancee.

"I think that's what got me a little bit," Darnold said. "Me and my dad don't cry very often."

Things were bleak for Darnold's career. Usually quarterbacks who fail in their first two stops and then hit the backup phase of their career don't rebound to have success stories. But Darnold said, in that moment after the game, he let his parents know how important they were to his comeback story.

"I'm here because of their belief in me," Darnold said. "They believed in me throughout my entire career, and that's why I was able to believe in myself. Some people called me crazy throughout for believing in myself so much and having so much confidence, but it was because of my parents."

Sunday wasn't Darnold's finest moment, and he admitted that. Neither team scored a touchdown until the fourth quarter, but his 16-yard touchdown to A.J. Barner gave the Seahawks a 19-0 lead. Darnold struggled to generate much offense, but he also didn't turn it over during a game in which the defense was stifling.

"Offense, I feel like we didn't play as good as we could have," Darnold said. "I certainly didn't play as good as I could have.

"I didn't have my best stuff but our team had my back."

Darnold joins a select list

The list of quarterbacks who have started and won a Super Bowl is fairly small and serious football fans remember every name. There have been some very good quarterbacks through the years who have been forgotten, but names like Trent Dilfer, Jeff Hostetler, Nick Foles, Doug Williams and Brad Johnson will always be associated with their Super Bowl championship teams.

That will be Darnold from now on, and he still has plenty of time to add to his legacy. And it's a pretty good Seahawks team he'll be associated with. The Seahawks went 14-3 in the regular season, with the losses by a combined nine points. They punctuated the season with a dominant performance over the Patriots. That win was driven by the defense, but don't diminish what Darnold meant to the Seahawks all season just because he didn't have a great Super Bowl.

"Put some respect on it! He's the best!" Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba said,cutting into a Darnold interview in the locker room. "We're not here without that guy."

Many of Darnold's teammates through the week and after Super Bowl LX talked about how easy he is to root for, understanding the adversity he went through.

"Everyone in that locker room believes in me," Darnold said.

Darnold has plenty of critics who won't let go of the reputation he built early in his career, after he didn't pan out as the third overall pick to the Jets. When this season is brought up they'll mention that he was carried by a great defense and in the Super Bowl he didn't have the type of performance we typically equate to the winning quarterback.

And, who cares? Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson haven't been to a Super Bowl yet. Neither has Justin Herbert or Dak Prescott. Joe Burrow hasn't won one. Some of the greatest quarterbacks ever, like Brett Favre, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers, only won one Super Bowl. Dan Marino, Jim Kelly and Dan Fouts are among the great quarterbacks to never win one.

Darnold has one. That'sall a legacy needs.

"I don't think it's really hit me yet," Darnold said. "But it's special."

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NEED TO KNOW

• Team USA won a gold medal at the figure skating team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Feb. 8

• Ilia Malinin, Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn, Madison Chock, Evan Bates, Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea all contributed to the win

• The medal comes after Team USA's gold medal in the same event in 2022, which was marred by scandal

Gold looks good on Team USA!

The American figure skaters jumped, spun and backflipped their way to a gold medal in the figure skating team event at the2026 Winter Olympicson Sunday, Feb. 8 at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

It was a group effort forIlia Malinin,Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn, Madison Chock, Evan Bates, Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, who all contributed to Team USA's winning score of 68 via four events: ice dance, pair skating, women single skating and men single skating.

Team USA previously won the same event at Beijing in 2022 — but only after a scandal involving Russian skater Kamila Valieva, who tested positive during the Games for a banned substance. After a lengthy investigation, her team's first-place finish was downgraded, and the U.S.'s second-place finish was bumped up to first. They eventually received their gold medals in Paris in 2024.

Joris Verwijst/BSR Agency/Getty

On the first of the two-night final, Chock, 33, and Bates, 36, kicked things off with a bang, notching the top spot on the ice dance leaderboard with 133.23 points.

Kam, 21, and O'Shea, 34, kept things moving the next night, earning a seventh-place finish (and seven team points) with 135.36. The two were overcome with emotion following their performance, with O'Shea yelling out with joy and Kam fighting tears.

Glenn, 26, was next, scoring 138.62, enough to earn her a third-place finish and eight team points. The athlete was visibly disappointed as she sat amongst her teammates and heard her score read aloud.

"I feel guilty. My team has done so well and my performance was lackluster," she told reporters, including PEOPLE, after her skate. "I scored lower than my median in what they were counting on, and I placed lower than what would have been expected... I made a few too many mistakes."

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All eyes were on Malinin, 21, known by fans as the "Quad God," heading into the men single skating round, as the U.S. and Japan were tied with 59 total team points each.

Though he stumbled toward the end of his routine, Mailin ultimately clinched the win for Team USA with help from his signature backflip, scoring 200.03.

"It's honestly just such an incredible, like raw feeling in this environment," he told reporters, including PEOPLE, after his qualifiers event on Feb. 7. "Once I do that backflip, everyone's like, screaming for joy and they're just out of control."

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Liu — who came out of retirement in 2024 — contributed, too, notching a second-place finish in the women single skating qualifier.

The medal marked the second of the Games for the U.S., following skierBreezy Johnson's first-place finishin women's downhill.

"We are always excited to take [to the] Olympic ice," Chock said after her and Bates' ice dance free dance on Feb. 7. "We knew what we had to do when we stepped on the ice and were prepared to do it."

O'Shea, meanwhile joked at a press conference that his strategy heading onto the ice was simply "to skate well."

To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, come topeople.comto check out ongoing coverage before, during and after the games. Watch the Milan Cortina Olympics and Paralympics, beginning Feb. 6, on NBC and Peacock.

Read the original article onPeople

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) —Lauren Bettshad 16 points, 16 rebounds, five assists and three blocks to helpNo. 2 UCLAhold off No. 8 Michigan for a 69-66 win on Sunday.

The Wolverines trailed by 11 points with less than two minutes left and with a chance to tie the game, Syla Swords shot an airball on a 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds left.

UCLA (23-1, 13-0 Big Ten) took a two-game lead over Michigan (20-4, 11-2) in the conference with its 17th straight victory sincelosing to No. 4 Texasin November.

The Bruins outscored Michigan by 14 over the second and third quarters, leading by as much as 13 points, and finished with theirNCAA-high ninth win over anAP Top 25team.

The Wolverines' school-record, nine-game winning streak in Big Ten games was snapped by a big and experienced team that plays stifling defense and is led by a 6-foot-7 preseason All-America center that does it all.

Betts was 8 of 17 from the field, grabbed rebounds at both ends of the court, set up teammates for shots after drawing double teams and used her size to block or alter shots.

Her surrounding cast is talented, too.

UCLA's Kiki Rice scored 20, Gabriela Jaquez had 13 and Gianna Kneepkens scored 12.

Michigan's Olivia Olson had 20 points, Mila Holloway had 15 and Te'Yala Delfosse added 10. Swords was limited to eight points, missing 10 of 13 shots.

The highly anticipated matchup drew a season-high 6,108 crowd to Crisler Center a few hours before the Super Bowl.

UCLA: At No. 12 Michigan State on Wednesday.

Michigan: At Northwestern on Thursday.

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign uphereandhere(AP News mobile app). AP women's college basketball:https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-pollandhttps://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketbal

Ahead of Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington, DC, this week, Israel has taken a series of sweeping steps to tighten its grip on the occupied West Bank.

On Sunday, Israel's security cabinet approved measures that expand the country's enforcement powers and allow the state to buy land for the expansion of settlements in a way that far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said would "fundamentally change the legal and civil reality" in the West Bank. The territory is held by the United Nations and the international community for a future Palestinian state.

The Israeli steps include expanding Israeli enforcement in Areas A and B of theWest Bank, which were designated under the Oslo Accords as areas that fall under Palestinian security control. The two areas together make up approximately 40% of the territory.

Israel will also restart its Land Acquisition Committee, which allows the state to proactively purchase lands in the West Bank for the expansion of settlements. Another measure grants the civil administration and the tiny Jewish settler minority in the city of Hebron building and municipal powers, allowing the settlement to expand without a need to consult with the Palestinian municipality of Hebron.

The security cabinet also approved measures that will make it easier for settlers to purchase land in the occupied West Bank, a move designed to expand settlement activity and entrench the Jewish population.

Smotrich, who has openly boasted of his efforts to kill the idea of a Palestinian state, said in a statement, "We are normalizing life in the territories, removing bureaucratic barriers, fighting for the land, and deepening our presence throughout the Land of Israel." Smotrich, who also serves as a minister in the Defense Ministry, has pushed for a rapid expansion of settlements, particularly under US President Donald Trump.

"We will continue to extinguish the idea of a Palestinian state," Smotrich said.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) condemned the latest measures, calling them "a continuation of the comprehensive war waged by the occupation government against the Palestinian people and an unprecedented escalation targeting the Palestinian presence and its national and historical rights across all Palestinian land."

In a statement, the presidency of the PA said it amounts to "the practical implementation of annexation and displacement plans."

Hazem Qassem, a spokesman for Hamas, said in a statement the decisions taken by Israel "confirm its colonial program aimed at swallowing all Palestinian land and displacing its indigenous people."

Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan in the 1967 war and subsequently began establishing Jewish settlements there, which are considered illegal under international law, the United Nations and by much of the international community. The UN also regards the West Bank and East Jerusalem as occupied territory, which the Palestinians seek for a future state.

In an interview with Time Magazine in October, Trumpsaid he would notallow Israel to annex the West Bank. "It won't happen because I gave my word to the Arab countries," he said. "Israel would lose all of its support from the United States if that happened." The Trump administration's 20-point Gaza ceasefire plan also speaks of a pathway to "Palestinian self-determination and statehood."

But Israel has pursued a policy that critics equate to de facto annexation, expanding Jewish settlements in the occupied territory and deepening the country's grip on the West Bank with the declared intent of making a Palestinian state impossible. Last May, Israel authorized the largest expansion of settlements in the West Bank in decades, approving the establishment of 22 new settlements.

In response to the latest measures, the anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now said, "Netanyahu promised to dismantle Hamas in Gaza, but in practice he chose to dismantle the Palestinian Authority, annul agreements Israel itself signed, and impose de facto annexation – in complete contradiction to the will of the people, Israel's national interest, and the clear position of President Trump."

Gershon Baskin, a peace activist who has played a crucial role in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations over the years, said in a blunt statement on social media, "The Israeli occupation is illegal and now the government of Israel is taking more steps against international law."

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MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — In a city long defined by conflict,Somalia's capital of Mogadishu now echoes with the crash of pins at the country's first modern bowling alley.

Somalia Bowling

It's the latest sign of revival in the once-thriving Indian Ocean port shaped by 35 years of civil war and militant bombings. Millions of people were forced to flee what became one of the world's most dangerous cities. Those who remained avoided public spaces as the al-Qaida-linked group al-Shabab waged an insurgency against the Somali state.

In recent years, improved security measures against al-Shabab, an expanded government presence and growing private investment have allowed daily life to re-emerge. Cafes line newly reopened streets, beaches draw evening crowds and traffic congestion, once unimaginable, now clogs key intersections.

The Feynuus Bowling Center opened last year and draws many locals and Somalis returning from the diaspora, who bring investment and business ideas after years of sending billions of dollars in remittances from abroad.

On a recent evening, young Somalis gathered in groups, laughing and filming each other on their phones while music played. Many from the diaspora are visiting Mogadishu for the first time in years, or the first time ever.

"I couldn't believe Mogadishu has this place," said Hudoon Abdi, a Somali-Canadian on holiday, as she prepared to take her turn to bowl.

"I'm enjoying it. Mogadishu is actually safe," she said, urging others to visit.

Mogadishu remains vulnerable to militant attacks, however, with security measures like checkpoints and heavily guarded zones part of daily life. Non-Somalis remain largely confined to a compound at the international airport.

But residents say the ability to gather for recreation signals an important psychological shift. Such venues provide a welcoming environment for a younger generation eager for safe spaces to socialize.

Abukar Hajji returned from the United Kingdom on holiday after many years away and found the difference between what he imagined and what he experienced eye-opening.

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"When I was flying from the U.K., I believed it was a scary place, like a war-torn country," he said. "Everyone told me, 'Good luck,' but when I came and saw it with my own eyes, I didn't want to leave."

Sadaq Abdurahman, the manager of the bowling center, said the idea for the business emerged from a growing demand among young people for recreational facilities.

"It has created employment opportunities for at least 40 youths," he said.

According to the Somali National Bureau of Statistics, Somalia's unemployment rate stands at 21.4%.

The bowling alley has private security guards, bag checks and surveillance cameras, reflecting the precautions common at public venues in Mogadishu.

Urban planners and economists say businesses like the bowling alley signal a broader shift in Mogadishu's recovery, as private sector growth increasingly complements international aid and government-led rebuilding efforts.

Ahmed Khadar Abdi Jama, a lecturer in economics at the University of Somalia, said innovative businesses are responding to the needs of diaspora returnees and the growing middle class, "which in turn adds to the expected increase in Somalia's GDP."

Outside the bowling alley, traffic hummed and neon signs flickered, other reminders of Mogadishu's fragile transformation.

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