Chiefs comfortable when it’s close

The Chiefs have opened the season with three straight games that came down to the final minute. Two of them came down to the final play. They could easily be winless in the defense of their latest Super Bowl title. But their uncanny knack for winning games that come down to the wire — thanks to the ingenuity of Andy Reid on the sideline, Patrick Mahomes under center, or a combination of factors — instead has allowed them to start 3-0 and seize control of the AFC West once again. “I don’t think you get used to it,” Reid, above, mused Monday, less than 24 hours after Nick Bolton’s stop of Falcons running back Bijan Robinson on fourth down with 56 seconds left Sunday night preserved the Chiefs’ 22-17 victory in Atlanta. “You don’t want it to come down to that. But that’s how things go. The trust that the guys have in each other ... that becomes very important.” Especially when the games start to really matter. The Chiefs were just 4-4 in games decided by a TD or less during the 2023 regular season, but they were 3-0 when their three postseason games were decided by that margin.

Bush files suit vs. USC, NCAA, Pac-12

Former Southern California football star Reggie Bush filed a lawsuit against his school, the NCAA and the Pac-12 in a bid to recoup money made on his name, image and likeness during his career with the Trojans two decades ago. In a brief news release from Bush’s attorneys announcing the filing Monday, the Heisman Trophy-winning tailback’s representatives claim he should be paid “to address and rectify ongoing injustices stemming from the exploitation of Reggie Bush’s name, image, and likeness during his tenure as a USC football player.” Bush played at USC from 2003-05, winning two national titles and the Heisman. He went on to an 11-year NFL career. Bush forfeited his Heisman in 2010 after USC was hit with massive sanctions partly related to Bush’s dealings with two aspiring sports marketers. The Heisman Trust restored the honor earlier this year and returned the trophy to Bush, citing fundamental changes in the structure of college athletics over the last 14 years. Bush is still pursuing the separate defamation lawsuit he filed against the NCAA last year.

Nadal on Spain’s Davis Cup roster

Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz were named to Spain’s roster for the Davis Cup Finals on Monday, raising the possibility of a renewal of their “ Nadalcaraz ” doubles partnership from the Paris Olympics. Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion who’s 38, hasn’t competed anywhere since the Paris Games, where he lost in the second round of singles to longtime rival Novak Djokovic and paired with Alcaraz to get to the quarterfinals of men’s doubles before exiting against Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram. Nadal then withdrew from the U.S. Open and the Laver Cup while still dealing with health issues that have limited him to competing only sparingly over the last two seasons. Alcaraz earned the men’s singles titles at the French Open in June and Wimbledon in July to raise his career total to four at the age of 21. Spain will take on the Netherlands in the quarterfinal round of the Davis Cup Finals, an eight-team event Nov. 19-24 in Malaga, Spain. The other opening matchups are: defending champ Italy vs. Argentina; the U.S. vs. Australia; and Germany vs. Canada. —AP