Sports News Roundup: COVID-19 Super Bowl has the look of a quarterbacking classic; Halep back on the job at Melbourne Park and more

COVID-19 Super Bowl has look of a quarterbacking classic America's biggest sporting spectacle will play out in a mostly empty stadium in Tampa, Florida, on Sunday with more cardboard-cutout fans than real ones taking in the Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the hometown Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

NFL: Chiefs' assistant coach Britt Reid involved in car accident

Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid, the son of head coach Andy Reid, has been involved in a multi-car accident, the team said on Friday. Two young children were injured in the crash, one seriously, according to television station KSHB in Kansas City, Missouri.

COVID-19 Super Bowl has look of a quarterbacking classic

America's biggest sporting spectacle will play out in a mostly empty stadium in Tampa, Florida, on Sunday with more cardboard-cutout fans than real ones taking in the Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the hometown Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With COVID-19 restrictions limiting attendance to 25,000 living, breathing spectators sprinkled among 30,000 happy-faced cutouts, the atmosphere inside Raymond James Stadium - which has a capacity of 70,000 - will be largely manufactured.

Halep back on the job at Melbourne Park

Simona Halep has come close to winning the Australian Open on a couple of occasions and although she does not want to dwell too much on what might have been, it does encourage her to believe that she can go deep in the tournament again. Halep, who boasts French Open and Wimbledon titles in her Grand Slam collection, lost the 2018 Australian Open final to Caroline Wozniacki and fell at the penultimate hurdle last year with a semi-final loss to Garbine Muguruza.

Australian Open regrets all banished, says Thiem

Dominic Thiem spent weeks in lockdown haunted by his near-miss at last year's Australian Open but all those regrets were banished after his U.S. Open breakthrough, the Austrian said on Saturday. Thiem pushed Novak Djokovic to five sets in last year's final at Melbourne Park before the season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nets' Durant removed from game due to COVID-19 protocols

Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant was pulled from Friday's game against the Toronto Raptors during the third quarter due to the NBA's health and safety protocols, the league said. Durant was omitted from Brooklyn's starting lineup after coming into contact with an individual believed to have been exposed to the novel coronavirus.

Serena shrugs off shoulder issue, 'relaxed' about Slam record bid

Serena Williams is "super confident" her injured shoulder will hold up for the Australian Open and says she feels more relaxed about the "burden" of bidding for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title. Williams, a seven-times champion at Melbourne Park, pulled out of the warmup Yarra Valley Classic on Friday, robbing the tournament of a marquee semi-final with world number one and home hero Ash Barty.

Super Bowl fans wait hours for glimpse of glistening trophy

As anticipation builds in Tampa, Florida, before Sunday's Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the hometown Buccaneers, all eyes are on the Vince Lombardi trophy - unless, of course, you refuse to stand hours in line to see it. Fans visiting the free Super Bowl LV Experience theme park along the Tampa Riverwalk were waiting up to four hours this week to get close to the 22-inch (56-cm), 7-lb (3-kg) glistening block of silver carved into the shape of a regulation size football atop a kicking tee, which will be hoisted by the 2021 National Football League champions.

Osaka strives for consistency, not No. 1 ranking Naomi Osaka is no longer focused on reclaiming the world No. 1 ranking and says she just wants to become more consistent and play every match as hard as she can. Three-times Grand Slam champion Osaka rose to the top of the rankings following her 2019 Australian Open triumph but is currently third behind Ash Barty and Simona Halep.

MLS, players' union reach agreement on new CBA Major League Soccer and its players' union have reached a tentative agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the league said on Friday. MLS had avoided a lockout in June when the players ratified a CBA that included a 5% pay cut to player salaries but in December the league invoked a clause to renegotiate the agreement with the union (MLSPA).

A-listers stay home as health crisis dims Super Bowl celebrity spotlight in Tampa The Super Bowl's annual celebrity circuit has all but gone quiet in Tampa, Florida, this year, as the COVID-19 pandemic keeps A-listers and party-hungry fans at home. With a limited crowd allowed to watch the hometown Buccaneers take on the Kansas City Chiefs, Tampa can expect far less revenue - and socializing - than in years past when the rich and famous would descend on private jets to promote epic bashes ahead of American sport's biggest game.