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WALLY HALL: Mahomes, Greenlaw worth a Sunday watch

Patrick Mahomes is perhaps the most exciting player in this year's Super Bowl.

The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback can make every throw, and the San Francisco 49ers cannot afford to let him run.

The challenge facing the Chiefs is giving Mahomes the time to make plays, but he is elusive and fun to watch.

When he left Texas Tech -- where he also played baseball -- after his junior year, nine teams passed on drafting him before the Chiefs grabbed him with the 10th pick in 2017.

One of those teams was the San Francisco 49ers, who had the No. 2 pick but traded it to the Chicago Bears, who then drafted quarterback Mitchell Trubisky.

With the third pick, the 49ers took defensive end Solomon Thomas, making it three years in a row the team selected a defensive lineman in the first round.

Mahomes became a starter in his second season, and he has passed for 9,412 yards, 76 touchdowns and is 27-8 as a starter, including playoffs.

There are a lot of reasons to pull for the 49ers, with the best being former University of Arkansas player and Fayetteville graduate Dre Greenlaw becoming a force at linebacker.

Greenlaw was drafted in the fifth round with the 148th overall pick, but his intensity and hard hitting drew the attention of the 49ers.

Not having a dog in the fight, it will be a fun game to watch with two young guns ready to put on a show.

. . .

Greenlaw, a quiet guy who has a sterling reputation, caused a stir this season when he said he was from "The University of Ar-Kansas" during team introductions prior to Sunday Night Football.

What happened was he lost a bet with a buddy on the Arkansas-LSU game. If the Razorbacks had won, which obviously they did not, that player would have said he was from "LSWHO."

Greenlaw bleeds Razorback red. He was raised in Fayetteville and played his heart out for the Hogs during some tough times.

A man tweeted that Greenlaw once had saved his daughter at a college party when someone slipped something into her alcoholic beverage and a guy was going to leave with her. Greenlaw, who attended high school with her, stopped him and made sure she got back to her dorm room safely.

He's simply a good guy who earned his shot at this Super Bowl.

. . .

This came in an email, and it was amazing. A study has found that the average American will consume 10,821 calories on Super Bowl Sunday.

The study was done in Britain by LetsGetChecked, a direct-to-consumer at-home health testing and insights company that polled 1,000 Americans who plan to watch Sunday's Super Bowl.

Here's what the study claims on average will be eaten:; 2.7 portions of hot wings, 3.2 slices of pizza, 2.1 portions of fries, 3.4 bags of chips, 1.9 portions of chili, 2.4 burgers, 1.7 sliders, 2 hot dogs, 2.7 portions of nachos, 3 pieces of fried chicken, 1.8 ribs, 1.7 sausages, 1.6 slices of cake, 1.8 brownies, 1.8 bowls of ice cream, 2.3 portions of salad, 2.1 subs, 1.7 bags of sweets and 1.9 bars of chocolate.

Only one question: Are all these Americans drinking zero-calorie beer?

. . .

Coach Mike Krzyzewski lost his cool Tuesday night with the Cameron Crazies.

They were chanting at Pittsburgh Coach Jeff Capel, "Jeff Capel sit with us."

It is a tradition they have when a former player is in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Krzyzewski couldn't make out the words, but when he heard Capel's name he raced across the court and chastised the students.

When he learned what they were saying, he apologized.

The 72-year-old Krzyzewski has won 1,076 games and five national championships at Duke.

Capel played for him from 1993-1997.

Sports on 01/30/2020

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