Lori Locust and Maral Javadifar, Super Bowl champs. To their many fans in the NFL world and beyond, that’s got a real nice ring to it. Locust and Javadifar became the first female coaches on a team to win the Super Bowl, helping the Buccaneers beat the Chiefs 31-9 on Sunday night. The 30-year-old Javadifar is an assistant strength and conditioning coach, and the 56-year-old Locust is an assistant defensive line coach. “History was made tonight!” tennis great and social justice champion Billie Jean King tweeted. Locust and Javadifar have worked two seasons on the staff of coach Bruce Arians. Soon enough, they’ll get their Super Bowl rings, just like Tom Brady and the rest of the Bucs. “As far as the women, it was time,” Arians said last week. “It was time for that door to be knocked down and allow them because they’ve been putting in time, and they’re very, very qualified.” Last season, Katie Sowers became the first female to coach in a Super Bowl. She was an offensive assistant for the 49ers in their loss to the Chiefs. “Even though I have yet to win the big game, with these amazing women helping to lead the way ... tonight, I feel like we all won,” Sowers tweeted. Sarah Thomas also made history Sunday as the first woman to officiate a Super Bowl.

Pedro Gomez, a longtime baseball correspondent for ESPN who covered more than 25 World Series, died unexpectedly at home Sunday. He was 58. No cause of death was given. “Pedro was far more than a media personality. He was a Dad, loving husband, loyal friend, coach and mentor,” the Gomez family said in a statement. “He was our everything and his kids’ biggest believer.” Gomez joined ESPN in 2003 after being a sports columnist and national baseball writer at The Arizona Republic since 1997. Gomez was best known at the network for his coverage of Barry Bonds and his pursuit of the home-run record during the steroid controversy. He was a correspondent on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” and “Baseball Tonight,” among other shows. Gomez grew up in Miami and attended the University of Miami, majoring in journalism. His parents fled Cuba for the U.S. in 1962. Gomez was part of ESPN’s coverage in 2016 when the Rays faced the Cuban national team, and he shared the story of taking his father’s and brother’s ashes to Cuba.

Major League Soccer players ratified an amended collective bargaining agreement after the league and the union avoided a lockout by striking a deal that runs through the 2027 season. The MLS Board of Governors also approved the agreement Monday. “MLS players have made incredible sacrifices and overcome considerable challenges in the past year to continue doing their jobs during a difficult time for all of us,” the Major League Soccer Players Association said in a statement. “We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to our player leadership for continuing to guide us during these unprecedented times.” The agreement reached Friday night gives the players their full salaries this season and extends the current CBA for two seasons. The union had proposed a one-year extension through 2026. Starting in 2026, eligible free agents must be at least 24 years old with a minimum of four years of experience in the league, one year less than in the prior CBA. The amount that free agents can earn will also increase in the final two years of the agreement. The new CBA also includes overall raises for players in each of the two added years to the deal. MLS had warned its teams to prepare for a lockout if another deal wasn’t struck. — AP