Sports
Patrick Willis reflects after being voted into Pro Football Hall of Fame: 'No one can take that away from me'
When San Francisco 49ers legend Patrick Willis opened his eyes after his sister, Ernicka, brought him to his front door, his bright smile immediately came to his face.
Willis stared at Pro Football Hall of Famer and fellow 49ers great Bryant Young, who was donning his gold jacket.
As a finalist for the Hall himself, Willis knew exactly what Young, the camera crew and everyone else present meant: He was voted into the Hall of Fame.
Patrick Willis during Super Bowl LVIII between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers at Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Perry Knotts/Getty Images)
After the smiles and laughs came the waterworks for Willis, who spoke to Fox News Digital after reflecting on that moment when he learned he was heading to Canton, Ohio.
“One thing I can say now: To be voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, no one can take that away from me,” Willis said while discussing his love for CoachTube.
This was the third year Willis became a finalist, and after missing out twice, the thought naturally creeps in the brain: Is what I did good enough?
HALL OF FAME CANDIDATE PATRICK WILLIS TALKS STEPPING AWAY FROM NFL IN HIS PRIME, WOULD DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN
Willis knows he was a great player during his career from 2007 as the 11th overall pick out of Ole Miss to San Fran. But he played eight seasons, ending his career surprisingly after the 2014 campaign.
He no longer needs to think about the what-ifs.
“We always used to say at the end of the year when you look up on the stat sheet and see how many sacks you have, or how many interceptions, or how many tackles, they don’t recall how you got them,” Willis explained. “They just see you got them. It’s kinda what this feels like to me now that I don’t have that feeling like, ‘Man, what else did I have to prove?’”
Willis told Fox News Digital prior to being voted into the Hall that he always played the game wanting “to be one of them,” referring to the legends that are forever enshrined in Canton with their gold busts.
“If one person could remember me, that would be awesome. It seems like a little bit more than one is remembering, so I’m grateful for that,” he said.
But walking away from the game at 30 years old was no easy task for Willis. He knew it was time, especially after playing just six games during the regular season in his final year.
Walking away from the game at 30 years old was no easy task for Patrick Willis. (Perry Knotts/Getty Images)
As he looks back, there’s still no regret.
“At the end of the day, for what it’s worth, you can always say what if, or you should have,” he explained. “But I was blessed to play the time I was given, and the results were what they were, and I’ll say judge me off those and not by what you think I could’ve done. If you’re going off those numbers, perhaps they’re good enough.
“At the end of the day, it’s up to those who are voting.”
The voters believes the 950 combined tackles, 733 of which were solo, 20.5 sacks, 16 forced fumbles and eight interceptions, two of which resulted in pick-sixes, were enough.
Willis admitted, “I don’t know what I’m going to say, or how I’m going to say it,” when he walks up on that podium at Hall of Fame Stadium later this year. He’s sure the emotions will be there, too.
Patrick Willis of the 49ers on the sideline against the Dallas Cowboys at Candlestick Park on Sept. 18, 2011, in San Francisco. (Tom Hauck/Getty Images)
But like Willis said, no matter what you may think about him walking away early in his career, he did enough to earn eternal greatness.
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Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo made NBA history on Tuesday night.
Adebayo scored 83 points, all while setting league marks for free throws made and attempted in a game for the Miami Heat in a 150-129 win over the Washington Wizards. It is the second-highest scoring game for a player ever, only to Wilt Chamberlain’s famed 100-point game.
“An absolutely surreal night,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters after the game.
Adebayo started with a 31-point first quarter. He was up to 43 at halftime, 62 by the end of the third quarter. And then came the fourth, when the milestones kept falling despite facing double-, triple- and what once appeared to be a quadruple-team from a Wizards defense that kept sending him to the foul line.
He finished 20 of 43 from the field, 36 of 43 from the foul line, 7 for 22 from 3-point range.
After the game, he was seen in tears while he hugged his mother, Marilyn Blount, before leaving the floor after the game.
“Welp won’t have the highest career high in the house anymore,” Adebayo’s girlfriend, four-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson, wrote on social media, “but at least it gives me something to go after.”
MAGIC’S ANTHONY BLACK MAKES INCREDIBLE DUNK OVER FOUR DEFENDERS IN HISTORIC NBA GAME
Bam Adebayo #13 of the Miami Heat celebrates during the fourth quarter of the game against the Washington Wizards at Kaseya Center on March 10, 2026, in Miami, Florida. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
The NBA’s previous best this season was 56, by Nikola Jokic for Denver against Minnesota on Christmas night. The last player to have 62 points through three quarters: one of Adebayo’s basketball heroes, Kobe Bryant, who had exactly that many through three quarters for the Los Angeles Lakers against Dallas on Dec. 20, 2005.
He wound up passing Bryant for single-game scoring as well. Bryant’s career-best was 81 — a game that was the second-best on the NBA scoring list for two decades.
Adebayo scored 31 points in the opening quarter against the Wizards, breaking the Heat record for points in any quarter — and tying the team record for points in a first half before the second quarter even started.
He finished the first half with 43 points, a team record for any half and two points better than his previous career high — for a full game, that is — of 41, set Jan. 23, 2021, against Brooklyn.
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Adebayo’s season high entering Tuesday was 32. He matched that with a free throw with 5:53 left in the second quarter, breaking the Heat first-half scoring record.
Adebayo’s 43-point first half was the NBA’s second-best in at least the last 30 seasons — going back to the start of the digital play-by-play era that began in the 1996-97 season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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BOSTON — Charlie McAvoy scored 39 seconds into overtime and Jeremy Swayman stopped 14 shots on Tuesday night to earn the Boston Bruins their 13th straight victory at home, 2-1 over the Kings.
Mason Lohrei scored midway through the third period to break a scoreless tie. But the Kings tied it five minutes later when Drew Doughty’s shot from the blue line deflected off the heel of Bruins forward Elias Lindholm and into the net.
It was the seventh straight time the teams had gone to overtime in Boston.
In the overtime, Mark Kastelic blocked a shot in the defensive zone and made a long pass to David Pastrnak, who waited for McAvoy to come into the zone. The Bruins’ defenseman and U.S. Olympian, who went to the locker room at the end of the second period after taking a puck off his mouth, skated in on Darcy Kuemper and went to his backhand for the winner.
Kuemper stopped 21 shots for the Kings, who entered the night one point out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The victory kept Boston in possession of the East’s second wild-card spot.
Swayman tied his career high with his 25th win of the season. The Bruins haven’t lost at the TD Garden since before Christmas.
After the game, Kings forward and future Hall of Famer Anze Kopitar stayed on the ice to shake hands with the Bruins after what is expected to be his last game in Boston.
Sports
Jon Jones requests UFC release after Dana White says legend was ‘never’ considered him for White House card
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Mixed martial arts legend Jon Jones ended his retirement from UFC simply because he wanted a spot on the “Freedom 250” fight card at the White House in June.
But, when UFC CEO Dana White announced the card during UFC 326 this past weekend, Jones wasn’t among the fighters. As a result, he has requested a release from his UFC contract.
White was candid when asked about Jones following the UFC 326 card.
Jon Jones of the United States of America reacts after his TKO victory against Stipe Miocic of the United States of America in the UFC heavyweight championship fight during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 16, 2024 in New York City. ((Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images))
“Never, ever, ever, which I told you guys a hundred thousands times, was Jon Jones ever even remotely in my mind to fight at the White House,” White explained, per CBS Sports. “Some guy with Meta Glasses filmed him talking about his hips – that his hips are so bad. And I don’t know if you guys saw that flag football game where he can barely run. Jon Jones retired because of his hips. He’s got arthritis in his hips. Apparently, doctors say he should have a hip replacement.”
White added that “the Jon Jones thing is bulls—,” saying that he texted the fighter’s lawyer saying he would never be on the White House card despite Jones saying he was in negotiations for it.
UFC ANNOUNCES CARD FOR WHITE HOUSE EVENT
The Meta Glasses incident White is referring to came from a viral video, where Jones, unaware he was being filmed, discussed issues with his hips to a fan.
On Monday, Jones composed a thorough response to White’s comments about him and the White House Card. He previously posted and deleted social media explanations, but Monday’s appeared to be his final statement on the matter.
UFC President Dana White speaks after UFC Fight Night at Toyota Center on Feb. 21, 2026. (Troy Taormina/Imagn Images)
“Yes, I have arthritis in my hip and it’s painful, but that doesn’t mean I can’t fight,” Jones, who retired a heavyweight champion in 2025, said. “So let me get this straight, if I had accepted the lowball offer, suddenly my hip would be fine and I’d be on the White House card? That doesn’t make sense. I even received stem cell treatment last week to get ready for the White House card, and training camp was scheduled to start today. I was preparing to be ready.
“I understand business deals fall through sometimes, but going out publicly and saying things that aren’t true isn’t right. After everything I’ve given to the UFC, the years, the title defenses, the fights, hearing that I’m ‘done’ is disappointing. Especially when as recently as Friday UFC was calling me trying to get me on that White House card for a much lower number.”
Jones finished his statement by saying he “respectfully” asks to be released from his UFC contract.
Jon Jones enters the ring before facing Stipe Miocic in the UFC heavyweight championship fight during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2024 in New York City, New York. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
“No more spins, no more games. Thank you to the real fans who know what’s up,” he wrote.
The UFC did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Fox News Digital.
Jones is considered one of the best UFC fighters of all time, owning a 28-1-1 record, which includes his last bout with Stipe Miocic, knocking him out to take the heavyweight title belt. He is also a two-time light heavyweight champion.
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