‘The best feeling’: Michael Dickson becomes second Australian NFL player to win a Super Bowl
Michael Dickson may be the toast of Seattle, sitting on the throne of American sport, but Australia’s second Super Bowl champion still has one craving the USA cannot satisfy: chips with chicken salt.The king of Australia’s NFL punting expats starred for the Seattle Seahawks in their suffocating 29-13 Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots in Santa Clara, California.“I love my family, I love my friends, I love Australia,” Dickson told ESPN on the field after the match.“I can’t wait to get home, get some chips with some chicken salt, I’m craving that, and a parmi [chicken parmigiana].That’d be nice.
”The 30-year-old helped pin the Pats near their endzone for much of the night, and became the second Australian to play in a Super Bowl win, following the success of Jordan Mailata for Philadelphia last year.Dickson said he had no doubt he and his teammates would win.“I have big dreams so I knew we were going to get here and I knew we were going to get it done and we did, so I’m very lucky and very happy,” he said.“It’s nice to know that I can play in these type of games, and if you ever feel any nerves you just look at your guys next to you and everyone’s having fun and making plays, so I mean, it’s the best feeling.”Mailata appeared on ESPN midway through the match as the coverage counted down a contest that was increasingly one-sided following the Seahawks’ 9-0 half-time lead.
The Eagles offensive tackle said it would be “awesome” to have another countryman with a ring.“I hope he does man, kudos to more from Australia.”Dickson was impressive in his seven punts, which averaged almost 48 yards.One precise kick in the second quarter left New England starting possession off their own line, and the Australian delivered two other late highlights including a punt that came to rest one yard from the endzone.The former Sydney Swans academy member has been recognised before, including being named in All-Pro first and second-teams across his eight NFL seasons.
The four-year contract he penned with the Seahawks last year, at almost $6m per year, made him the NFL’s highest-paid punter.But his performance at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara represented his career peak.American commentators raved about his performance, one describing him as “maybe the best punter in the sport”, and the NFL’s social media accounts posted two of Dickson’s punts.He was also the holder for placekicker Jason Myers’s five field goals.Special teams wizardry right here.
Super Bowl LX on NBCStream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic,twitter,com/7WBlZbRO4oSome social media users declared Dickson’s performance warranted the match’s MVP award,Though largely tongue-in-cheek, the suggestion was not out of the question given the Australian was MVP for the Texas Bowl in 2017 while playing in college,The MVP award was ultimately given to Seattle running back Kenneth Walker, but Dickson’s success marks the high point for Australia’s long tradition of NFL punters since ex-AFL player Darren Bennett was a standout for the San Diego Chargers.
Australian punters are increasingly common in college ranks, and many have found NFL success in recent years including Mitch Wishnowsky who made his name in San Francisco before moving to Buffalo this season and helping the Bills to the playoffs,In addition to Mailata and Dickson’s triumphs, Jesse Williams also has a Super Bowl ring from the Seahawks’ other title 12 years ago, but didn’t play a match in the season,
Ilia Malinin holds off resurgent Japan to seal repeat US team figure skating gold
The United States held off a late charge from Japan to retain the Olympic team figure skating title on Sunday, with Ilia Malinin delivering in the men’s free skate to secure gold after three days of competition. Japan finished with silver, while host nation Italy claimed bronze.The United States survived a final-day surge from Japan to retain the Olympic team figure skating title on Sunday night, with Ilia Malinin delivering under intense pressure in the men’s free skate to secure gold at the Milano Cortina Games. Japan finished one point behind in silver, while host nation Italy claimed bronze after three days of tightly contested competition.The final standings – 69 points for the United States, 68 for Japan and 60 for Italy – reflected just how narrow the margin was in one of the most dramatic Olympic team events since the format was introduced in 2014
Breezy Johnson embraces the beauty and madness of downhill to win Olympic gold
The 30-year-old from Wyoming has labored in the shadow of household names like Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin. On Sunday, she made history of her ownFor years, Breezy Johnson was the other American alpine skier. The one with the near-misses, the injuries, the suspension and the unfortunate timing to exist in the same stable at the same time as Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin. On Sunday, three weeks after her 30th birthday in the shadow of the Dolomites above Cortina d’Ampezzo, she became an Olympic champion.Johnson crossed first in the women’s downhill at the Milano Cortina Games by four-hundredths of a second – the slightest winning margin in the event’s Olympic history outside the dead heat in 2014 – to become just the second American woman to win the sport’s most prestigious title
Team GB dreams of Magic Monday and a hat-trick of Olympic medals
High in the Italian Alps, where the thin air and oxygen deprivation often does strange things to the brain, British accents have started whispering about the possibility of Magic Monday – and Team GB winning three medals in one day at these Winter Olympics.And the craziest thing of all? It’s not entirely out of the question.Late on Sunday evening, Mia Brookes, the 19-year-old British snowboarding superstar, dug herself out of a hole with the help of Metallica, Megadeth, Pantera and Judas Priest to qualify third for the Big Air final on Monday.Before then, Team GB’s mixed curling team of Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds will play in their semi-final in the afternoon, knowing they are odds‑on favourites with the bookies having lost just one game, against Switzerland, in the group stages. Win their last-four encounter and they will guarantee a medal
Olympic figure skating music dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan resolved after ISU review
A politically charged dispute between the Olympic delegations of Azerbaijan and Armenia over figure skating music has been resolved after skating and IOC authorities reviewed the matter and the official program listing was amended.The International Skating Union (ISU) said in a statement to the Guardian on Sunday that it had examined the matter with relevant stakeholders. “The situation has been reviewed with all parties involved,” the ISU said. “The official names of the tracks that will be used are listed on the ISU website.”The change follows a complaint from Azerbaijan’s National Olympic Committee, which said it had raised concerns with the IOC over the Armenian pair of Karina Akopova and Nikita Rakhmanin’s planned short program to Artsakh, a composition by musician Ara Gevorgyan, who was born Yerevan, the capital of Armenia
Winter Olympics 2026: Vonn ‘stable’ after crash; luge, speed skating and more – as it happened
And that is me done for the night. Thanks for joining today and see you tomorrow for another packed day of Winter Olympics action! Leaving you on a bit of a cliff hanger with Team GB’s Mia Brookes yet to complete her final run in the women’s big air qualifiers. Fingers crossed!Lindsey Vonn was airlifted to hospital but is stable after crashing in the early stages of her women’s downhill run. The 41-year-old damaged her ACL when falling in a World Cup contest at Crans-Montana just over a week ago, but was determined to compete today. Starting as the 13th skier, Vonn clipped a gate and somersaulted off the course just seconds into her run
Trump calls Hunter Hess ‘a real loser’ for skier’s ambivalence about representing US
Donald Trump responded to Hunter Hess on Truth Social on Sunday, calling the Olympian a “real loser” and criticizing comments the US freestyle skier made in a press conference days earlier.Hess was asked in a press conference on Wednesday what it was like to represent the US in the Olympics given the current situation in the country, which has included ICE raids in Minnesota and a number of geopolitical crises. Hess said representing the US at the 2026 Winter Olympics brought up “mixed emotions” and that it was “a little hard.”“There’s obviously a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of, and I think a lot of people aren’t,” he said. “I think for me it’s more I’m representing my friends and family back home, the people that represented it before me, all the things that I believe are good about the US … Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the US
Spice up your life! 17 soups with a kick – from chicken curry laksa to roast pumpkin
Helen Goh’s recipe for Valentine’s chocolate pots de creme for two | The sweet spot
Craft beer has gone stale: let’s hear it for age-old favourites | Richard Godwin
What a four-year-old taught us about the magic of baking a chocolate cake
Rachel Roddy’s recipe for pork ragu with herbs (for gnocchi or pasta) | A kitchen in Rome
Rich plums and ripe tomatoes: Australia’s best-value fruit and veg for February