SANTA CLARA, Calif. – For the San Francisco 49ers, the numbers tell a painful story.

In 4 profession starts against the 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is 4-0, including 2-0 in the Super Bowl. Moreover, the Chiefs overcame double-digit deficits in each of their Super Bowl victories over the 49ers this decade.

It’s true that the 49ers and their fans aren’t the only ones tormented by Mahomes (the Buffalo Bills and their staunch supporters can attest to that). But considering Mahomes played a significant role in denying the 49ers two more Vince Lombardi trophies so as to add to their collection of 5, well, who could blame them in the event that they were concerned about the prospect of facing the Chiefs?

On Sunday at Levi’s Stadium, the 49ers can have a fifth opportunity to beat the Chiefs with Mahomes at quarterback. In one in all the most anticipated matchups of the regular season, the teams that faced one another in Super Bowl LIV and LVIII will meet again on the 49ers’ home field.

Mahomes has had this date circled on his calendar for a while.

“That means it’s as big a game as a regular-season game you could play in,” Mahomes told reporters in Kansas City, Missouri. “They’re a great football team. I all the time wish to compete with the best and that is exactly what we’ll be up against this week. … We understand that to win we can have to provide our all, so we just should be as focused as possible.

In the teams’ last meeting, the Chiefs cemented their place amongst the best teams in NFL history, repeating as Super Bowl champions and winning their third title this decade with a 25-22 additional time victory at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

On the first possession of additional time, San Francisco kicker Jake Moody hit a 27-yard field goal to provide the 49ers a 22-19 lead with 7:22 left. Mahomes, who was named Super Bowl MVP for the third time after gaining 399 all-purpose yards (333 passing, 66 rushing), two touchdowns and an interception, then drove the Chiefs 75 yards, capping the contest with a 3-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mecole Hardman and scored the winning rating.

As all the time, when Mahomes faced the 49ers, the Chiefs finished higher.

“The most important thing is that the guys just stepped up and played,” Mahomes, a two-time NFL MVP, told the Associated Press. “It wasn’t one guy, it was everyone. The guys just kept playing and doing what that they had to do. That’s what special teams do in football.

In 2020, the Chiefs outscored the 49ers 21-0 in the fourth quarter in a 31-20 victory at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami to win their first Super Bowl in 50 years. Mahomes threw 286 passing yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions en path to winning his first Super Bowl MVP award.

With five Super Bowl wins, the 49ers are ahead of the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers, who each have six. Mahomes played a leading role in stopping the 49ers from catching as much as the leaders.

He first faced the 49ers in Week 3 of the 2018-19 season. In the Chiefs’ 38-27 home victory, Mahomes accomplished 314 passing yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also had a masterful performance in Week 7 of the 2022–2023 season for the visiting Chiefs, rushing for 423 yards with three touchdowns and an interception in a 44–23 victory.

Recently, in an try to move forward, the 49ers have looked back.

“Everyone understands that we lost two Super Bowls to them. It might give you a little bit of post-traumatic stress when you start the tape,” San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters the other day.

“It’s human nature. You have to be careful not to get caught up in this. This game has nothing to do with previous games.”

Of course, from a psychological perspective, all of it adds up, the 49ers admitted.

“It’s definitely a little emotional,” 49ers linebacker Nick Bosa said. “We just have a look at the tape and attempt to learn something from it.

“Quite a lot of similarities from last 12 months, some recent guys, but really good defense and attack. They obviously have (Mahomes) there, so (they) are all the time dangerous.

Despite a variety of major losses on offense (top wide receivers Hollywood Brown and Rashee Rice are out for the season, and first-line point guard Isiah Pacheco is on injured reserve), the Chiefs (5-0), who’ve a bye this week, are one in all just two undefeated teams in the league (the Minnesota Vikings are also 5-0). The 49ers (3-3) are also missing several key players, including All-Pro guard Christian McCaffrey, who’s sidelined with an Achilles tendon injury.

In an effort to vary the narrative, the 49ers will once more face the Chiefs and Mahomes. They hope that this time the numbers will finally tell the story they like.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – When film director Spike Lee autographed Jayson Tatum’s green jersey to a young Boston Celtics fan, the famous New York Knicks superfan asked him, “Why didn’t he (Tatum) play in the Olympics?” Why did he sit down?”

Without hesitation, the young man asked Lee, “Why weren’t any Knicks playing in the Olympics?”

As NBA fans at the Basketball Hall of Fame store looked on and laughed, Lee smiled and said, “Hey, how old are you?”

A young Celtics fan said, “I’m 12.”

Lee, who wore a Knicks hat and an orange vest over a Knicks sweatshirt, said: “I hope you are there for the premiere, because regardless that you are raising the (NBA championship) banner, you are losing (to the Knicks).

Lee, actor and LA Clippers fan Billy Crystal, Philadelphia 76ers fan Alan Horwitz and actor and Los Angeles Lakers fan Jack Nicholson (who was not in attendance) were officially added to the James F. Goldstein SuperFan Hall on Sunday afternoon at the Hall of Fame. Knicks jersey with “Lee” and “No. 40” on the back and the Knicks player contract signed by Lee in 1990 were displayed in a large glass case in the SuperFan Gallery. A couple of hours later, the 2024 Basketball Hall of Fame class took place at the nearby Symphony Hall, headlined by Vince Carter and Chauncey Billups.

The SuperFan Gallery honors fans for his or her passion and love for basketball and recognizes their unique and well-known fandom. Lee won an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Peabody Awards. He won awards for his basketball film titled

“I didn’t even know such a thing existed,” Lee told Andscape. “So it was a big surprise. This year, everything is going according to plan… I also got two (special) Oscars, so that’s good.”

Lee, 67, attributes his love for the Knicks to his late father Bill, a renowned jazz bassist and composer.

The Lees attended Knickerbockers games together at the third Madison Square Garden before it was torn down in 1968 and the current Garden was built. Lee said he attended the decisive Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals – and missed one of his dad’s concert events – when the Knicks defeated the Los Angeles Lakers. He wears a necklace with the ring of 1973 NBA champion, former Knicks coach Red Holzman.

“My father was a Knicks fan and he would take me to the old Garden on 8th Avenue,” Lee said. “My father was a huge sports fan. I inherited my love for sports from my deceased father. My mother was a cinephile. This is where the issue of film comes into play. Music, sports and cinema. My father hated Hollywood movies.

Lee, who often wears Knicks gear in public, is one of America’s most recognizable sports fans, each at home and away.

Lee trash-talks opponents while standing excited during matches. He exudes passion when the Knicks win and shows pain once they lose. Lee also had a rivalry and ongoing feud with then-Indiana Pacers star and Hall of Famer Reggie Miller during six playoff bouts. Since 1973, the Knicks have only reached the NBA Finals twice, losing to the Houston Rockets in 1994 and the San Antonio Spurs in 1999.

When asked if it’s hard to be a devoted Knicks fan, Lee replied: “I don’t think it’s hard. Thanks to him, I am here in the Hall of Fame.”

While playing for the Toronto Raptors, Carter recalled playing against the Knicks in the playoffs and Lee sitting on the court talking trash.

“When you got into an argument with Spike Lee, you got it,” Carter said. “I played well in the regular season (against New York). At the starting of the first quarter at the Garden, I remember Spike saying, “Nah, man, this is New York!” This New York, kid. We won’t do this here. Is he talking to me? I argued with him a bit, especially the second time.

“We were fooled the first time. I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s talk about it next time. I just remember Spike Lee could get up and talk shit and you tell him to sit down and you do something. I got it right the second time. It’s cool to see him go (into the Hall of Fame).”

Toronto Raptors fan Nav Bhatia told Andscape that Lee once told him to maneuver from his seat at Madison Square Garden. Bhatia can be a member of SuperFan Gallery.

“I’m letting him into the SuperFan gallery,” Bhatia told Andscape. “He is obsessed with basketball. I remember in 2001, once we were in the playoffs in New York, he was there talking trash to my VC man (Carter). I used to be sitting behind them and he told them to maneuver my seat to the other side because I used to be talking nonsense too. And he didn’t prefer it. But we won that match.

– But he’s a good friend of mine now. Everything is high quality. I’m really enthusiastic about it.”

On Saturday evening, Lee attended the 2024 Enshrinement Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony and Reception about an hour away at the Mohegan Sun Casino. Among those honored was a television program hosted and produced by sports commentator Ahmad Rashad. After honoring the show, Lee was given the microphone and asked Rashad for his Knicks prediction for the upcoming season in front of Hall of Famers such as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Julius “Dr. J” Erving.

“The last time we won was in the 1972-73 season. Will we win? It’s been over 50 years. This year we have the team. Leon Rose is doing his thing, we have KAT (Karl-Anthony Towns), one of the best point guards in the league (Jalen Brunson), we have the defense. What will happen this year?” Lee asked.

Rashad said: “I think they will win the whole thing. I think this is the year.”

So why does Lee consider the Knicks will finally win the title this coming season, 52 years after the last one?

“I believe in it. (Knicks president) Leon Rose and (Knicks executive vice president) World Wide Wes (William Wesley) are doing their thing,” Lee said, pointing to his necklace. “This is Red Holzman’s world champion ring. That’s the last time we won. It’s been over 50 years. This is the 12 months.

Lee is thought to attend key Knicks road games. He attended the WNBA New York Liberty playoff games in Brooklyn, New York. But will Lee be there when the Knicks open the season on the road against the 2023 NBA champion Celtics?

“NO. I’m not going to Boston,” Lee said. “If it’s the playoffs, I’ll go. Regular season? Uh, uh.

CAMDEN, New Jersey – French forward Guerschon Yabusele’s dunk over NBA legend LeBron James within the gold medal game of the 2024 Paris Olympics was immortalized in a photograph hanging in his recent home outside Philadelphia. While the dunk wasn’t a part of host France’s game-winning victory over the U.S., it serves as a reminder of how Yabusele’s stellar play earned him a return to the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers.

“My advice is to just work hard, never give up and make your dreams come true. If you want it, you’re going to have to get it,” Yabusele told Andscape after practice on Oct. 9 on the Sixers’ practice facility.

The 76ers announced Yabusele’s signing to a one-year, $2.1 million contract on August 29, five years after he played within the NBA for the Boston Celtics. The signing of this contract also got here 19 days after the sharpshooter played within the gold medal match on the 2024 Paris Olympics. In six Olympics, he averaged 14 points in 23.3 minutes.

Yabusele got here to the Olympics with the dream of using it to land an NBA contract. And now that he’s back within the NBA with the Sixers, he “pinched himself a few times” in gratitude.

“We were driving through the city at night, and then I looked at my wife and said, ‘We’re going to be here all season,’” Yabusele said. “We won’t just be here for the summer (vacation). We will probably be there all season long. I play here. She was there after I was in Boston. We cannot consider it, but we be ok with it.

“I had quite a lot of moments (of gratitude). I remember feeling this sense after I got off the plane, going to training camp, going to the world for the primary time and customarily the entire atmosphere on the games. It’s just amazing to me.”

The Celtics chosen Yabusele with the sixteenth pick within the 2016 NBA Draft. A native of France, Dreux played the 2016–17 season in China for the Shanghai Sharks before joining the Celtics in 2017. He played sparingly for the Celtics in the course of the 2017–19 season, scoring a median 2.3 points in 74 games. Yabusele was best known on the time for making the bow and arrow gesture after scoring a three-pointer for Boston.

After failing to play a big role with the rising Celtics, Yabusele had no offer to return to the Celtics or another NBA team.

“I was able to take something away from all these experiences. The body of work. “Understand that you have to be ready,” Yabusele said. “The work ethic that I took from here has helped me a lot in my career up until this year.”

Yabusele then played for the Nanjing Monkey Kings in China before returning to France to play for NBA Hall of Famer Tony Parker’s ASVEL Basket in Lyon. The 6-foot-4, 265-pounder signed with Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid on July 21, 2021. He helped lead Real Madrid to 2 Liga ACB championships and a EuroLeague title in 2023.

Last season, Yabusele averaged 9.7 points and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 44.5% from three-point range in 64 games for Real Madrid. Although he had a sound contract with Real Madrid for the upcoming season, he had an NBA rest clause if he was offered a contract. Even though no NBA call-ups were received before the Olympics, Yabusele someway kept the religion.

“I always thought about it too,” Yabusele said of returning to the NBA. “I didn’t want to offer up. Of course, after five years, I assumed, “Damn, I feel like I did okay some of those years.” I assumed perhaps I could try it, nevertheless it didn’t occur. But I’ve all the time had this hope, and that is what drives me, too. It gives me a purpose to get all of it done (work). I used to be all the time pushing myself, attempting to get back. “

By making a preliminary Olympic appearance in Lille, France, the French men’s basketball team didn’t help Yabusele’s hopes of impressing NBA teams.

France needed a desperate four-point late play to force extra time before beating winless Japan on July 30. Germany also routed France 85-71 on August 2 to finish qualifying. Despite a 2-1 record, the French played poor basketball within the qualifying quarterfinals on August 8 in Paris against a Canadian team that included Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, RJ Barrett and Jamal Murray, amongst others.

After France played so poorly in Lille, Yabusele said there was a scarcity of belief within the team. However, he still believed in his team and said so during a team meeting at their hotel.

“I want to say so many things and nothing at the same time,” Yabusele said of France’s game in Lille. “We were just still finding our way. The coaches were also trying to grasp what to do. And I don’t need to say it badly, but we weren’t together as we wanted after the defeat against Germany. We still won two out of three games. All the media, fans, people in our federation, everyone felt that we’d play our last match against Canada. It reached us personally. I took it personally…

You cannot be afraid and say: “Damn, this is going to be a difficult match. Oh my God.’ You read the comments. You read the media. “Oh, they’re playing Canada. They have so many NBA players. It’s over. We were beaten by them last year, so we don’t expect anything. I remember talking to the guys, pardoning my language, and saying, “F– that.” We’re going there to Paris and we’re going to win. There is no other way around it. Let’s go. We are at home. We have our family there. We in Paris. Now that Lille is over. Let’s go there and do what we have to do. “

France, with a game-high 22 points from Yabusele, defeated Canada 82-73 on August 6 within the quarterfinals in Paris. In the semifinals against Germany, Les Bleus gained revenge and advanced to the gold medal game with a 73-69 victory on August 8, which included Yabusele’s game-high 17 points and 7 rebounds. Yabusele and France immediately went from funny to lovable from the natives by advancing to the gold medal game and facing the favored U.S. team with their NBA superstars.

It was Yabusele, not NBA stars Victor Wembanyama or Rudy Gobert, who led France to the gold medal game. However, Yabusele said he still had no offers from NBA teams at that time, although interest appeared to be growing.

“We had heart. We found what was missing. We found a way. We fought,” Yabusele said.

Yabusele and France’s hopes of winning a men’s basketball gold medal ended on August 10 with a 98-87 victory for the USA. Wembanyama scored a game-high 26 points for France, while Yabusele added 20 points. If it weren’t for Stephen Curry’s stunning three-pointer that sealed the gold for Team USA, Yabusele’s stunning dunk over James would have been the highlight of the sport. Yabusele also felt that the Paris crowd was supportive of Team USA, which included Curry and all the opposite NBA stars.

“They are from France, but they ended up rooting for Curry,” Yabusele, 28, said.

The day after the gold medal game, Yabusele’s dunk was published in a French sports newspaper. It will probably be remembered as one in all the long-lasting moments of the 2024 Olympics. Yabusele added that it was “payback” for Team USA forward Vince Carter’s famous dunk over the pinnacle of French center Frederic Weis in a 7-2 victory on the Sydney Games in 2000.

“I won’t lie. It was good at that point,” Yabusele said of the dunk on James. “I didn’t realize it will be this big. I told the blokes that I’ve made just a few posters (dunks) in my life and a few good ones. But dunking LeBron in front of all of the people, especially at the ultimate Olympics with the entire world watching, I didn’t realize how big it was on the time…

“He blocked me just a few plays earlier. Of course he spoke earlier. But it was LeBron. You either post it or he blocks it.

Yabusele’s dreams of returning to the NBA got here true as he was capable of use a clause in Real Madrid’s contract and sign with Philadelphia. Yabusele left his belongings in a warehouse in Madrid and claims that Real Madrid are concerned about him rejoining the club in the longer term.

Gobert, the Minnesota Timberwolves star, is not surprised by Yabusele’s return to the NBA.

“He has been ready to return to the league for several years now,” Gobert told Andscape via text message. “The Olympics gave him a chance to really show it to the world. I think he’s more mature now.”

Yabusele hopes his return to the NBA with the Sixers will result in something long-term. He said his role in Philadelphia is to “knock down boards, rebound and, of course, hit 3s.” He also hopes that his return to the NBA will motivate those that try to beat all odds to pursue their dreams.

“Just never give up. If you didn’t make your dream come true the first time, it doesn’t mean it’s over,” Yabusele said. “You can’t give up. You have to work harder. I never give up, even though it was hard for me to leave Boston.”