Weekend news roundup 27/01: Oscars, Australian Open & NFL

Jonathan Victoria • 27 Jan 2025 News

A shorter yet heavier roundup this week.

Eagles & Chiefs set for Super Bowl rematch

The Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs will meet once again in the biggest game of the season after successfully taking their respective conference titles.

For the Eagles, this will be their fifth-ever Super Bowl appearance, aiming for just their second title. The Chiefs, on the other hand, will be making their fifth appearance in six years and are aiming for the first-ever three-peat in NFL history.

The defending champions have had a somewhat either path on their way to New Orleans, having earned the 1st seed in the conference and being given a bye week in the first round of the playoffs, meaning they’ve only had two opponents to get by on their path instead of the three that the Eagles had.

But it was the Eagles who impressed more heavily in the NFC Championship game, defeating fellow NFC East division side Washington Commanders 55-23, the 55 points scored being a record in a conference championship game.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts led the team with 246 passing yards, completing 20 of his 26 attempted passes and picking up one touchdown.

But while he ran in for three rushing touchdowns, it was fellow star Saquon Barkley who took home game MVP honours after his own three TD game. The addition of Barkley gave new life to the Eagles this season and will no doubt be a big threat to the Chiefs.

Speaking of the defending champions, they had a much harder time with the Buffalo Bills, squeezing past their opponents 32-29.

Chiefs star man Patrick Mahomes was awarded the game MVP after throwing for 245 yards and one touchdown plus two rushing touchdowns.

The Eagles and Chiefs are now set for a rematch of Super Bowl LVII, where the latter came away with a 38-35 victory. 

Super Bowl LIX will take place at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana on 9th February.

Sinner & Keys claim Australian Open titles

Jannik Sinner successfully defended his Australian Open title while Madison Keys claimed her first Grand Slam championship.

Sinner, the current world number one, showcased his ability on the hard court, a surface which he has not lost on since the fourth round of the US Open in 2023. Coincidentally, that loss came to his opponent across the net on Sunday, Alexander Zverev, although even before the match started the odds of a repeat looked slim.

With his back-to-back victory, the 23-year-old Italian becomes his nation's most successful player of all time between the men's and women's singles competitions.

For Keys, she claimed victory over the defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, who was aiming for a third consecutive AO title.

The American earned the title in a powerful fashion, taking down the world number two-ranked Iga Swiatek in the semi-final before fighting against the world number one Sabalenka, finally winning her first Grand Slam since turning pro back in 2009.

She previously had made just one Grand Slam final appearance in a losing effort during the 2017 US Open.

Oscar nominations and (potential) snubs

The Oscar nominations have been announced and as usual, there has been some backlash from many online who claim snubs for certain films.

Emilia Perez, a French-made, Spanish-language musical crime comedy film, leads the way with 13 nominations - the most ever in Oscars history for a film not in the English language.

Wicked and The Brutalist followed closely behind with 10 nominations, and while some were unhappy that the former didn’t earn more nods, the biggest outcry of unjust came for the Zendaya-led sports drama Challengers.

The film saw rave reviews from fans and critics alike and earned nods at various other award shows, including four nominations at the 82nd Golden Globes earlier in the month.

There were also snubs for certain roles, in particular Angelina Jolie being overlooked for Best Actress her portrayal of opera singer Maria Callas in Maria, Stanley Tucci not receiving a Best Supporting Actor for his role in Conclave, and Selena Gomez for Supporting Actress in Emilia Perez despite fellow co-star Zoe Saldana earning a nod for the award.

The 97th Academy Awards ceremony will take place Sunday 2nd March. Expect more surprises to come when the awards are officially handed out.