Butler off to good start with Warriors

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FILE - Broadcaster Randy Moss sits on the sideline before an NFL football game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams, Monday, Nov. 15, 2021, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Scot Tucker, File)

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Jimmy Butler, left, displays his new Golden State Warriors jersey alongside general manager Mike Dunleavy at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Greg Beacham)

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Plymouth Argyle’s Ryan Hardie celebrates after scoring his side’s opening goal from the penalty spot during the English FA Cup fourth round soccer match between Plymouth Argyle and Liverpool at Home Park stadium in Plymouth, England, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

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Butler off to good start with Warriors

Jimmy Butler drew the familiar “oohs” and “aahs” from the Chicago crowd when he cut backdoor for an alley-oop dunk in the opening minute. He had enough left to take over during the Warriors’ decisive run with Stephen Curry on the sideline. If his debut with the Warriors is a sign of things to come, they sure will welcome it. Butler had 25 points and four assists in his first game since a trade-deadline deal following a messy split with the Heat, helping the Warriors beat the Bulls 132-111 on Saturday night. “He’s a lion out there,” coach Steve Kerr said. The 35-year-old Butler’s first game with the Warriors came in the city where he spent his first six seasons. On top of all that, the six-time All-Star hadn’t played since Jan. 2. The Heat suspended him three times last month, and he said he lost his joy for the game. “I knew I was going somewhere,” he said. “But I’m glad that it is here. I am grateful to be able to play basketball for a top organization like this one.” Butler is looking for his first championship after leading the Heat to two NBA Finals in six seasons.

Inspirational returns for Moss, Vitale

Hall of Famer Randy Moss made an emotional return to ESPN’s coverage of the Super Bowl on Sunday, two months after he took a leave from his job to get treated for cancer. Moss was back on ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown” before the Chiefs took on the Eagles in the Super Bowl. He was greeted with a video that included messages from Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, Justin Jefferson, Kevin Garnett and several other big names welcoming him back to ESPN’s set. Moss was moved to tears by the video before getting on with his job of analyzing the Super Bowl. “Guys it’s been hard, but I got a lot of love and a lot of people believing in me,” he said. “I’m happy to be here.” Moss, above, who turns 48 on Thursday, took a leave of absence from ESPN in early December after undergoing surgery for cancer. He’s also undergoing radiation and chemotherapy. On Saturday, ESPN’s Dick Vitale received a standing ovation at Clemson’s Littlejohn Coliseum in his first game back as a commentator since recovering from his fourth bout with cancer. Vitale, 85, hadn’t called a game for ESPN in two years.

Plymouth stuns Liverpool in FA Cup

Premier League leader Liverpool was knocked out of the FA Cup by second-tier struggler Plymouth after losing 1-0 in a stunning fourth-round upset on Sunday. It ended any hopes of a quadruple of major trophies for Liverpool, which leads the Premier League, finished top of the revamped first stage of the Champions League and has reached the English League Cup final. Ryan Hardie’s 53rd-minute penalty proved to be the winner for Plymouth, a club from the southwest of England which is in last place in the second-tier Championship and recently fired Wayne Rooney as its manager. “We all came here today with a dream,” Hardie said, “and we have done it.” Liverpool fielded a heavily rotated lineup, without stars like Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo and Virgil van Dijk who weren’t even on the bench, but still had established internationals like Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota on the field. Plymouth became the first club from outside the Premier League to beat a team that is leading the top flight since Wigan eliminated Manchester City in February 2018. —Associated Press