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INSIDER

DEION SANDERS

Super Bowl could be farewell for several pending free agents

Kansas City and Tampa Bay have several starters, including some notable pass catchers, scheduled to become free agents next month. So the Super Bowl between the Chiefs and Buccaneers will serve as a farewell for several players with their current team. Brown signed a one-year, $1.6 million contract with Tampa in late October and has been a model citizen since. He has 45 receptions for 623 yards and seven touchdowns after signing a one-year, $9 million deal. He turned 34 last month and might be willing to sign another one-year deal to stay in Tampa.

Lil Wayne, Kodak Black get clemency; Joe Exotic does not

President Donald Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of more than 140 people in a last-minute clemency flurry after midnight on Wednesday, a list that included rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black. — Rapper Lil Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., was given a full pardon. In the pardon, Lil Wayne was praised for his “commitment to a variety of charities, including donations to research hospitals and a host of foodbanks.” Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders backed the pardon. Lil Wayne is one of the seminal figures in rap in the last two decades, selling more than 20 million albums in the U.S. since releasing his debut in 1999. Supporters included Gucci Mane, Lil Pump, Lil Yachty, and athletes Lamar Jackson and Jack Brewer.

Frito-Lay plans three Super Bowl ads to highlight new products and football stars like the Manning brothers

Frito-Lay said it's planning three Super Bowl ads next month, including one highlighting NFL stars Peyton and Eli Manning, Troy Aikman and Deion Sanders. The PepsiCo subsidiary said one spot will highlight Doritos 3D Crunch, the '90s-era snack the company recently said it was reviving. The third spot will promote its Cheetos Crunch Pop Mix, which was introduced Monday and mixes Cheetos with its Cheetos Popcorn. Frito-Lay said snack consumption has seen a major gain during the Covid pandemic. Frito-Lay joins brands like M&M's, Pringles, Toyota and TurboTax, which have already said they'll be advertising during the game.

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Johnstone, 2-time WS champ and popular prankster, dies at 74

(AP Photo/File)LOS ANGELES – Jay Johnstone, who won World Series championships as a versatile outfielder with the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers while being baseball’s merry prankster, has died. In the 1981 World Series, Johnstone had a pinch-hit, two-run homer in Game 4 that rallied the Dodgers to an 8-7 win over the Yankees. That tied the series at two games apiece, and the Dodgers won the next two games to claim the title. The Dodgers, who won their last World Series in 1988, begin the playoffs on Wednesday. Besides his daughter, he is survived by his wife of 52 years, Mary Jayne Johnstone; sister Sandy Clairmont; and son-in-law Ryan Dudasik.

New Magnolia State coaches prepare for challenging debuts

FILE - In this Monday, Dec. 9, 2019, file photo, Lane Kiffin speaks to Mississippi fans after being announced as the new head football coach during a introductory press conference in Oxford, Miss. In attendance were his children, daughters Presley Kiffin, 13, left, Landry Kiffin, 15, second from left, and son Knox Kiffin, 10. Mississippi State's Mike Leach and Mississippi's Lane Kiffin brought big names and offensive pedigrees to the Magnolia State. But they drew huge challenges for their debuts, with the Bulldogs visiting defending national champion and No. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

New Magnolia State coaches prepare for challenging debuts

Mississippi State's Mike Leach and Mississippi's Lane Kiffin brought big names and offensive pedigrees to the Magnolia State. Mike Leach expected to start his first season at Mississippi State versus New Mexico. Instead, both coaches — and their respective offenses — will encounter stiffer challenges in their Magnolia State debuts. 5 Florida and ex-Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen as two-touchdown underdogs. Before Deion Sanders made a prime-time splash when he was hired by Jackson State on Monday; Leach and Kiffin were splashy hires in the state.

‘Match made in heaven’: Deion Sanders to coach Jackson State

Jackson State’s new football coach then stated “I believe” many times about what he envisions happening on and off the field. It’s a match made in heaven.”Currently the offensive coordinator at Trinity Christian School-Cedar Hill in Texas, Sanders is taking his first head coaching job. “Coach Prime” later opened a blue blazer lined with the JSU logo to much applause. Acting Jackson State President Thomas Hudson called the hiring “the grace of God” and cited the school's football history in landing Sanders. Sanders also played nine seasons with four clubs in Major League Baseball, appearing in the 1992 World Series with the Atlanta Braves.

Truex ends 2020 winless skid with victory at Martinsville

MARTINSVILLE, Va. Martin Truex Jr. cruised down the stretch and won his first NASCAR Cup race of the season on Wednesday night in the first race under the lights at Martinsville Speedway. Truex won the Martinsville grandfather clock on the paperclip-shaped track at just 0.526 miles. Already outspoken on social causes in NASCAR, Wallace denounced the flag and his message spread throughout sports. Boston tweeted questions about the race and seemed to enjoy the action at Martinsville: Do yall be pinned to the TV. Martinsville capped a stretch of seven straight Cup races since it resumed without fans at the track.