Sports News Roundup: Leon Spinks, boxing's former heavyweight champion dead; No. 12 Illinois gets by No. 19 Wisconsin and more

Chiefs assistant coach will not make trip to Super Bowl after accident Kansas City Chiefs linebackers coach Britt Reid, son of head coach Andy Reid, will not make the trip to Tampa for Sunday's Super Bowl game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after being involved in a car accident, the team said on Saturday.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Leon Spinks, boxing's former heavyweight champion, dead at 67

Leon Spinks, the gap-toothed fighter from the St. Louis slums who pulled off one of the most stunning upsets in boxing history in 1978 by defeating Muhammad Ali to take the undisputed world heavyweight title, has died at the age of 67 after a long battle with cancer, a spokesman said on Saturday. Spinks passed away with only a few close friends and family present due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Top 25 roundup: No. 12 Illinois gets by No. 19 Wisconsin

Ayo Dosunmu had 21 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists to record the third triple-double in school history, and Kofi Cockburn had 23 points and 14 rebounds as No. 12 Illinois downed No. 19 Wisconsin 75-60 in a Big Ten game Saturday in Champaign, Ill. Dosunmu, who set a career high for assists, joins Mark Smith (1979) and Sergio McClain (2001) as the only players in Illinois history to post a triple-double. He and Cockburn paced the Illini (13-5, 9-3), who shot 52.8 percent from the field and played one of their best defensive games of the season to win their fourth straight after losing two in a row.

Australian Open ready to launch after pandemic palpitations

After a three-week delay, a massive logistical mission and a handful of health scares, a very different Australian Open gets underway on Monday with pandemic protocols providing a backdrop of caution to the action on court. Serena Williams begins her latest campaign to win a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title on Day One while Novak Djokovic is also in action, the Serb seeking a record-extending ninth Australian Open crown.

Chiefs fans wade into enemy waters for back-to-back Super Bowl bid

Kansas City red dotted a sea of Buccaneers burgundy in Tampa this week as intrepid Chiefs fans entered enemy waters ahead of Sunday's Super Bowl showdown. For just the fourth time in 20 years, a reigning Super Bowl winner will feature in a consecutive NFL championship game, a rare honor that this year came with no small amount of swagger for Chiefs fans, who watched their team hoist the Lombardi Trophy in Miami in 2020 after a five-decade drought.

No cheering, no parties: COVID-19 forces different Super Bowl Sunday for fans

Fans hoping to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday will face a much different reality this year, with the novel coronavirus restricting the celebration around one of America's unofficial holidays. Those who choose to gather at Super Bowl parties big and small in Tampa and across the country face dire warnings from public health officials to abide by basic health and safety protocols, amid the COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed more than 450,000 lives in the United States.

Injury cloud hangs over Nadal ahead of Australian Open

World number two Rafa Nadal is still struggling with the back injury that ruled him out of this week's ATP Cup but is hoping for some improvement before his first-round match at the Australian Open on Tuesday. The 20-times Grand Slam champion pulled out of Spain's ATP Cup tie against Australia on Tuesday with a lower back problem and said later in the week he was still far from the level required to play at the year's first Grand Slam.

Peyton Manning, Charles Woodson highlight eight-member HOF class

Peyton Manning, Charles Woodson and Calvin Johnson were among the eight players selected Saturday night for enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, headliners of the Class of 2021. They are joined by John Lynch, Alan Faneca, Drew Pearson, Tom Flores and Bill Nunn.

Mask-wearing slips in Tampa as fans celebrate Super Bowl weekend

As jovial football fans crowded the streets and bars of Tampa on Saturday with hours to go until Super Bowl LV, hundreds were walking without face coverings through areas where the mayor has issued a mask mandate to curb the spread of COVID-19. Until this weekend, fans attending the Super Bowl LV Experience theme park along the Tampa Riverwalk have mostly been able to stay socially distant and largely appeared to comply with the mask mandate.

Chiefs assistant coach will not make trip to Super Bowl after accident

Kansas City Chiefs linebackers coach Britt Reid, son of head coach Andy Reid, will not make the trip to Tampa for Sunday's Super Bowl game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after being involved in a car accident, the team said on Saturday. The Chiefs assistant coach was involved in a multi-vehicle pile-up in Missouri on Thursday that the team confirmed resulted in the injury of two young children.

'We're about to become title town,' says lifelong Tampa Bay super fan

To call Anne Copeland a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan would be an understatement. The Tampa, Florida, native has been cheering for the home team ever since the Bucs joined the National Football League (NFL) as an expansion franchise in 1976.