We now know. We'll also be hearing about it ad nauseum for the next two weeks. It's the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII. The game will be in Las Vegas where sports betting has been legal for a long time, and the wagers are already flying.

As soon as the Niners completed their comeback from 17 points down to defeat the Detroit Lions on Sunday, they instantly became two-and-a-half point favorites to beat the Chiefs. When a lot of bettors realized they could put money on Patrick Mahomes, and almost a field goal, the line quickly went the other way. The game isn't until February 11, so expect more moves at the window before we see Mahomes and his moves on the field.

While the 49ers had to come back against Detroit to win the NFC, the Chiefs were on the road against Baltimore in the AFC. Mahomes found tight end Travis Kelce 11 times, including early in the end zone, built a lead, maintained it, and won it going away. This upcoming championship is one game where you can make a strong case either way, about which team will win and why.

Niners quarterback Brock Purdy is a story, but not the top story for San Francisco. Purdy was almost intercepted late, which could have meant a loss. He was the last player drafted in his class, but he has weapons. Running back Christian McCaffrey, wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, and tight end George Kittle. That's a lot for the Kansas City defense to worry about.

On the KC side, Mahomes not only has Kelce (aka Taylor Swift's boyfriend), but explosive runner Isiah Pacheco, and pass catchers Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Kadarius Toney. They also have a receiver named Rashee Rice, who is pretty good, even though he's not related to Hall of Famer Jerry Rice.

The Rice reference, though., was the lame connection to a man who knows a lot about both franchises. Joe Montana was at Sunday's Lions-Niners game, and if you ask him, he'll undoubtedly tell you he's rooting for the Niners in the big game. Montana, though, also played in Kansas City. He was getting older, and was kind of forced out of the Bay Area when the 49ers got a QB named Steve Young. Montana was traded to Kansas City in 1993, and played there for two seasons.

While it seems Joe's heart is in San Francisco, there are reasons he could be pulling for K-C in this one. In his first year, Montana and company went to the AFC Championship game and lost to the Buffalo Bills. The Chiefs beat Buffalo this year. A lot of younger fans, especially in California, know the name of Joe Montana, but may not have known he played for the Chiefs. Even many older fans may have forgotten. There will be tons of story lines between now and kickoff, but you have to figure Montana's will be one of the most popular. All these years later, the above picture of Montana in a Chiefs uniform is still weird. He wore number 19? Did you remember that? The San Francisco number 16 is still burned into most of our brains. Even for those who rooted against it, we can't forget Montana winning four Super Bowls. One in Kansas City turned out to be elusive.

Long shots: The Australian Open just concluded in Melbourne, and if you watched ESPN's coverage, you saw a lot of tennis. From the first round through the Round of 16, 27 percent of the men's singles matches (32 out of 120) went the maximum five sets, and nine of those were decided by tiebreaker. Sixteen matches lasted four hours or longer. The men's final also went the distance, with Jannik Sinner of Italy coming from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev of Russia. The women play best-of-three sets, and 39 percent of those (47 of 120) went the duration... During the telecasts, the flag of the player's home country appeared next to their name, unless that player was from Russia. The war with Ukraine was the reason, although it's kind of meaningless because tennis is an individual sport. There were a couple of times, though, where a Ukranian woman faced a Russian, and the two did not shake hands after the match... You may think that the Covid pandemic was over awhile ago, but this was the first year that ESPN covered the tournament in person since 2020. The announcers did the matches remotely in Connecticut, and only now returned 'Down Under'.

Reversals of fortune: When the puck was dropped to open the hockey season back in October, the Los Angeles Kings got off to a hot start, now they can't win a game even if you spot them three goals. The Kings set an NHL record by winning their first 11 road games, and were 20-7 plus four overtime losses by December 27. Since then, they have only won twice in their last 16 games (2-8-6) and have a losing overall record of 22-15-10. They would still make the post-season if the playoffs started today, but after every loss, you have to check the next morning to see if the coach has been fired. While the Kings have gone from great to horrible, the Lakers continue to excel at mediocrity. A loss in Houston tonight keeps them at .500 (24-24), which is a tie for ninth in the Western Conference.

Coming off the board: Baseball's big name free agents like Blake Snell, Cody Bellinger, and Matt Chapman are still available, but several others have agreed to deals since we named our all free-agent team last week. First baseman Rhys Hoskins agreed to terms with Milwaukee, left fielder Joc Pederson reportedly has a one-year deal with Arizona, and closer Hector Neris looks to be on his way to the Chicago Cubs. He wasn't out starter at second base, but the Royals have inked Adam Frazier to a one-year contract, and the Dodgers have finally announced the signing of pitcher James Paxton. Rumored today in the Angels are interested in super utility man Kike Hernandez.

Little support: Adrian Beltre, Joe Mauer, and Todd Helton won election this year to Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame, but there were some ballots where the voters had something different in mind. We don't have the writer's names to go with the votes, but it's always fun to see those baseball players that got some, but very little, consideration. If a player gets 75 percent of the vote, they are in. If a player gets five percent or less, they are removed from future ballots. Outfielder Matt Holliday got just four votes (289 is needed for induction, and former Dodger and Padre Adrian Gonzalez got three. Brandon Phillips picked up one vote, and Jose Reyes and James Shields didn't get any.

My heart goes out to a cousin of mine, Jackie Nagle, who recently lost her son Jason to cancer. Jason was only 34, and lived more than a year after his diagnosis. I never got to know Jason, but he was eulogized at a celebration of his life Saturday, as someone who always put others first, whether it was his brothers, friends, co-workers, or anyone close to him or his family. He leaves behind a wife and two young daughters. Jason and his family, and Jackie and her husband Robert, live only a few miles from me and I had no idea what they were going through, which makes me even sadder. Several hundred people were there to say goodbye to Jason, and I did feel I got to know him a little, even if it was too late.