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Q&A: Mina Kimes' 'Christmas gift' is talking NFL all day on Netflix — and hopefully no glitching

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Q&A: Mina Kimes' 'Christmas gift' is talking NFL all day on Netflix — and hopefully no glitching

Mina Kimes has a lot going on this week.

Like so many other people this time of the year, the analyst for ESPN’s “NFL Live” has been busy wrapping presents and preparing for the arrival of out-of-town guests for the holidays.

In addition to those typical holiday activities, however, Kimes also has to break down film and attend a Christmas Eve rehearsal ahead of her one-off gig as a studio analyst for the Kansas City Chiefs-Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens-Houston Texans games streaming live Christmas Day on Netflix.

“Yeah it’s been pretty crazy,” Kimes said Monday during a phone interview. “I’m just excited. I usually just do a studio show during the week that I absolutely love, but there’s a level of energy that comes with doing television right before kickoff and also during the game and after. … Like, in real time, let’s see how Joey Porter Jr. or George Pickens or any of the injured players look, and their availability and that kind of thing.

“And that adds a different element to it that I’m really personally super excited about. But I just love talking ball on television and just to have the opportunity to do this in front of this many people is quite a Christmas gift.”

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The last sporting event streamed live on Netflix was a massive success — an estimated 108 million live viewers in around 65 million households worldwide tuned in Nov. 15 to watch the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight — but also a huge headache for many consumers, who complained on social media about buffering issues and losing the feed altogether.

Netflix told The Times on Monday that it learned from the struggles it faced during the Tyson-Paul live stream and has optimized its systems to better handle live events since then. Kimes is hopeful that all such issues have been resolved ahead of the two NFL games, both of which will be key to AFC playoff seedings and one of which (Ravens-Texans) will feature a halftime show by Beyoncé.

“The technological aspect of this is above my pay grade, but everybody seems pretty confident about it,” she said. “Obviously it’s gonna be a bajillion eyeballs on these games, so my hope is that on our end when we’re on everything’s seamless, not just from a tech and streaming standpoint but from a production standpoint. And so far it seems like it will be, just a lot of experienced folks working on this.”

Netflix’s first foray into NFL games will feature a slew of talent from various other platforms. Kimes will be on the Los Angeles studio show, along with anchor Kay Adams (FanDuel TV) and fellow analysts Manti Te’o (NFL Network), Robert Griffin III (formerly of ESPN) and Drew Brees (formerly of NBC Sports). A studio show from Pittsburgh will feature Laura Rutledge (ESPN) as anchor and Devin McCourty (NBC Sports) and Jason McCourty (CBS Sports and ESPN) as analysts.

“It’s kind of like a Pro Bowl of sorts,” Kimes said. “That sounds self aggrandizing, but I guess I mean so far as I get to work with a lot of people who I don’t usually get to work with, which is kind of cool. It’s a lot of folks from a lot of different networks and that is also something that is kind of like unique about this.”

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Here’s more from Kimes’ conversation with The Times.

(The questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity)

How did this all come about for you?

I can’t remember when I first heard about the possibility — a few months ago or something? But whenever my agent told me about it I was really excited for a litany of reasons, one of which was just the opportunity to work on such massively significant games and obviously ones that are gonna have a lot of eyeballs. Really good games, too, by the way — which, I mean, good for Netflix but also great for me because it’s a lot more fun to talk about games like the ones we’re gonna be discussing on Christmas.

Was there any hesitation to do this during the holidays? I know you have a little one at home …

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Well, here’s the good news — he’s 14 months old, so I can just tell him Christmas is the next day and he won’t know the difference. I have family coming in actually today and even if I wasn’t on the show they would be watching it. They’re huge football fans. They would have Netflix on all day anyways, so I think they’re almost as excited by the idea of just sitting all day and watching me, probably more so than if I was spending time with them because they see a lot of me in person.

So your studio show is going to be on all day, before, during and after both games?

Yeah, that’s why everybody’s watching halftime, right? To watch our show. Like, ‘Come on, enough Beyonce. One song, let’s get back. I really gotta hear this analysis.’

This has been a busy month for you, after serving as a color commentator for “The Simpsons Funday Football” alternative broadcast of the Cincinnati Bengals-Dallas Cowboys game Dec. 9. How was that experience?

It was awesome. It was an absolute dream. I’m a crazy Simpsons fan and I think we realized early on — me, Drew [Carter] and Dan [Orlovsky] — just to lean all the way into all the Simpsons jokes and references. It seems like fans of the show really enjoyed that.

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You have made numerous appearances on ESPN’s “Around the Horn.” What was your reaction to learning that the show will be coming to an end next year?

That show has meant so much to my career. That’s how I really got my start in television at ESPN. I don’t think I’d be doing what I’m doing now if not for ‘Around the Horn.’ … So it really kind of made me reflect on I guess the role that the show has played [in] my career. I’m gonna miss doing it a lot because I’m an NFL analyst now, but for me it was one of those platforms [where] you could talk about other sports and topics and I always really, really enjoyed it. It’s a special show.

What are your predictions for the Christmas games?

It’s boring — I got both of the favorites winning, the Ravens and Chiefs. The Steelers’ defensive injuries are very concerning.

What about a Beyonce prediction? Any special guests you think might join her?

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I think you might see a special guest from Houston. Don’t know who that’s gonna be, but I predict that whatever it is, people will wish it was twice as long instead of having to listen to me talk.

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Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo makes NBA history with 83-point game

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Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo makes NBA history with 83-point game

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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.

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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

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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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Kings lose in overtime to the Boston Bruins

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Kings lose in overtime to the Boston Bruins

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.

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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.

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Jon Jones requests UFC release after Dana White says legend was ‘never’ considered him for White House card

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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. 

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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. 

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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.

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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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