By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. and ANDREW DALTON

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Stars have been front-and-center at Super Bowl 60, from Chris Pratt and Jon Bon Jovi introducing the teams to a series of soaring pre-game performances.

Highlights from Levi’s Stadium include Blue Ivy Carter leaping in an end zone before the game and Green Day delivering a tribute to the NFL championship game’s 60th anniversary.

Brandi Carlile kept it sincere and simple for “America, the Beautiful,” Charlie Puth made “The Star-Spangled Banner” big and soulful and Coco Jones brought a bit of the elements of both to “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

Bad Bunny’s upcoming halftime performance is a highly anticipated moment to come.

Green Day brings Bay rock — and an f-bomb — to an MVP parade

San Francisco Bay Area punk-pop vets Green Day took the pre-game stage and performed a snippet of their song “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” to a parade of former Super Bowl MVPs.

Local heroes Steve Young, Joe Montana and Jerry Rice were among those who walked out during the song meant to celebrate 60 years of Super Bowls.

Billie Joe Armstong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool then blasted into the harder and less sentimental stuff, including “Holiday,” “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” and “American Idiot.”

Armstrong did not censor the f-word in the lyrics of “American Idiot.” The word was muted on the NBC telecast but drew loud cheers inside the stadium.

Carlile and Puth deliver patriotic moments ahead of kickoff

Singer-songwriter Charlie Puth delivered a sweeping and soulful rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

The 34-year-old from New Jersey stood at a Rhodes electric piano as he sang and was backed by a choir and horn section.

His delivery felt slow and deliberate but it took him 1 minute, 56 seconds to sing, which is slightly faster than average for a Super Bowl anthem.

Before that, Brandi Carlile gave an earnest acoustic rendition of “America, the Beautiful.”

The 44-year-old folk and country rocker wore a black suit and was backed by a violin and cello on the field at Levi Stadium.

The Grammy winner told the AP this week that she’d use no prerecorded tracks, saying “the people deserve to have you live.”

After the song Carlile, who is from Ravensdale, Washington, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) outside Seattle said she was “relieved, and so excited for the Seahawks baby let’s go!”

Coco Jones opens Super Bowl 60 performances with ‘Lift Every Voice’

Coco Jones, a 28-year-old singer-songwriter and actor from Columbia, South Carolina wore a white gown and was backed by a string octet as she performed “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a song that has become known as the unofficial Black national anthem.

“I feel really amazing, I hope that I did my ancestors proud, and I hope that I inspired the nation to come together,” Jones told the AP just after the song.

She FaceTimed with her mom on the sideline ater the performance while her fiance, Cleveland Cavaliers player Donovan Mitchell, held the phone.

Written by James Weldon Johnson, the song has been performed at the Super Bowl each year since 2021, the first Super Bowl after the protests surrounding the killing of George Floyd, when Black Lives Matter sentiment, and the song, became especially prominent.

Celebrities spotted at Super Bowl 60

Chris Pratt rocked a Seahawks jersey while attending the Super Bowl and gave a rousing introduction to the team before they ran out onto the field.

On the opposite side of the field, Jon Bon Jovi delivered the Patriots’ intro.

Stars including Travis Scott and Jay-Z were on the sidelines ahead of the game. Jay-Z’s daugther, Blue Ivy Carter, leaped in one of the end zones to take a photo.

Among those sitting in suites watching the game were Justin Bieber, Hailey Bieber and Adam Sandler.

Bad Bunny awaits his big moment

Bad Bunny will look to distill a 10-year career and a heavy load of cultural expectations into a 13-minute halftime show when he takes the stage at halftime.

The 31-year-old has been rising to every moment in a monumental year. A week ago he won the Grammy for album of the year for “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” a love letter to his native Puerto Rico that was the most streamed release of 2025.

Now, he takes on a performance that by its very existence is a landmark for Latino culture.

He said this week that fans didn’t need to learn Spanish to enjoy his set — but they should be prepared to dance.

___

Dalton reported from Los Angeles.

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Ever since its founder, Tyrone Guthrie, hung out his shingle in Minneapolis and launched the regional theater movement in the early 1960s, the works of William Shakespeare have been core repertoire for the Guthrie Theater. It’s a commitment that its current artistic director, Joseph Haj, doubled down on – or perhaps tripled down on – two years ago by presenting the Bard’s three “History Plays” in repertory, even making them available as an all-day, 13-hour event.

While that was indeed a very impressive trio of productions that deserved to be the destination theatrical event it was, it’s been several years since I’ve experienced an interpretation of a Shakespeare play as powerfully gripping as its current staging of “Macbeth.”

Haj’s predecessor as the company’s artistic director, Joe Dowling, has returned to the big blue venue to helm this production, and it’s an unimpeachable success, a moving meditation on the consequences of unbridled ambition and a sharply drawn investigation of how evil can take shape within a human heart.

Meghan Kreidler (Lady Macbeth), left, and Daniel Jose Molina (Macbeth) in the Guthrie Theater’s production of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” which marks the return of former Guthrie Artistic Director Joe Dowling to the director’s chair. The show runs through March 22, 2026 at the Minneapolis theater. (Dan Norman / Guthrie Theater)

Boasting well-sculpted characterizations throughout its cast of 17 – particularly from Daniel Jose Molina and Meghan Kreidler as the aspiring royals at its center – it’s a swiftly paced production that clips through Shakespeare’s text in a breathtaking, intermission-less 110 minutes. It also benefits from a design scheme that takes this tragedy’s darkness quite literally: Black is the core color of Riccardo Hernandez’s set, Judith Dolan’s costumes and Philip Rosenberg’s lighting, accented with scarlet splashes when the story’s many murders ensue.

If it’s grand scenery and flamboyant dress you desire in your Shakespeare, this isn’t the “Macbeth” for you, for the simplicity of its staging is a big part of what makes it so compelling. The Guthrie’s sprawling thrust stage acts as a blank canvas on which the actors deliver the play’s transporting poetry with precious little distraction.

That makes all the more compelling the monologues that give us entree into the troubled souls of the power-mad couple at the story’s center. It also throws into sharp relief the movement orchestrated by Joe Chvala (particularly when the chilling Weird Sisters spin their prophecies) and the climactic fight scenes devised by Annie Enneking.

I’ve never encountered a “Macbeth” that so skillfully captures the impressive economy of its text. There doesn’t seem a spare or superfluous word in this interpretation, every phrase seemingly propelling the tale relentlessly forward.

But don’t take that to mean that the pace keeps audiences from absorbing the poetry that emerges from the mouths of its conflicted characters. Molina’s Macbeth is an insecure and uncertain protagonist who’s seemingly second-guessing himself from the start, and his vulnerability may inspire your empathy for this mentally fragile murderer. And Kreidler admirably inhabits his determined and ultimately haunted wife, making a convincing transformation from confident architect of an assassination plot to a woman tortured by guilt.

While all the actors impress, John Catron is particularly affecting as Macduff, believably balancing his grief with his vengefulness. And kudos to David Michaeli for seizing upon this dark drama’s lone somewhat comic character, Macbeth’s armorer Seyton, and making him so arrestingly intriguing. But it’s to Dowling’s credit that he’s succeeded in convincing each actor to bring vivid layers to their portrayals. Such creative commitment is the chief force behind this powerful production.

‘Macbeth’

When: Through March 22

Where: Guthrie Theater, 818 Second St. S., Mpls.

Tickets: $94-$18, available at 612-377-2224 or guthrietheater.org

Capsule: A breathtakingly compelling descent into darkness.

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The Timberwolves look like a team in desperate need of the all-star break, and still two games to go to get there.

The impact of Julius Randle and Anthony Edwards is null and void. Minnesota’s shot-making has fallen off a cliff, and the defense looks like that of a tanking team.

The Timberwolves are now 12-12 since Christmas, just .500, and every game that looks more and more like who they may be. Though even an average team shouldn’t have been embarrassed to the degree Minnesota was at home in a nationally-televised affair Sunday against what’s left of the post-trade deadline Los Angeles Clippers, who ran away with a 115-96 victory.

It’s Minnesota’s third straight loss in games against sub-.500 teams, with a wild comeback in Toronto serving as the team’s only win in its last four contests.

“We don’t have a great spirit about us right now,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “We’ve got to pick it up. … Yeah, it’s apparent.”

The Timberwolves’ debut of Ayo Dosunmu wasn’t the spark Minnesota (32-22) likely hoped it would be. The Wolves lost his 26 minutes by 33 points. In fairness, no one else’s playing time went well, either, as Kawhi Leonard dominated the game for Los Angeles (25-27) from start to finish.

The all-star forward had 41 points and eight rebounds as he dictated the game’s terms.

Edwards scored 23 points, but his defensive effort left much to be desired while he struggled to shoot and committed five of Minnesota’s 21 turnovers. Randle was similarly ineffective, as the struggles with his jumper are proving prohibitive.

Only 17 of Minnesota’s 37 made buckets were assisted. The lack of connectivity on both ends is alarming.

Finch cited potential offensive fixes, noting the Wolves aren’t playing with the pace, which is impacting the ball movement that produces ample opportunities for all.

“We’ve lost our structure on offense,” Finch said. “We’re trying to play into a crowd the last few games.”

Rudy Gobert sounded the alarms after Minnesota’s loss to New Orleans on Friday, suggesting guys who don’t deliver the proper effort be benched by Finch.

Finch didn’t take a liking to those comments, noting the Wolves’ culture is steeped in accountability while noting he’d prefer such thoughts be kept in house while adding teams who achieve things of note don’t substitute their way out of issues.

But it’s difficult to blame anyone who’s frustrated and looking for answers at the moment. Because nothing Minnesota is doing looks like that of a championship-caliber team. The Timberwolves currently don’t defend, don’t share the ball and don’t execute at the level required of high-end teams.

They were thoroughly outplayed Sunday by a team that just decimated its roster in the past week, sending James Harden to Cleveland and Ivica Zubac to Indiana.

Something might need to change, whether it be rotations or approach. The all-star break will be a good time to re-evaluate it all. Until then, Minnesota must hunt for ways to scratch out a pair of home victories — Monday against Atlanta and Wednesday against Portland — to keep pace in a crowded Western Conference playoff picture.

“We’ve just got to stay positive. We know we’re a good team, we’ve just got to get back to playing good basketball,” Finch said. “I’m a big believer that you’ve got to bring good energy every day no matter what. But you’ve got to play well to prove it to yourself and get the juices flowing again.”

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu (13) goes up to shoot while Los Angeles Clippers center Yanic Konan Niederhauser (14) and guard Cam Christie (12) defend during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bailey Hillesheim)

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In the Land of 10,000 Sports Heartaches, who left to win a championship?

A weekend trip out east did little to slow the Minnesota women’s basketball team’s roll.

After trailing host Rutgers by three points at halftime, the Gophers exploded out of the break to triumph 63-52 on Sunday afternoon in Piscataway, N.J., running the team’s winning streak to six games.

Minnesota had three players score in double figures, led by Sophie Hart, who notched a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Tori McKinney added 16 points and Mara Braun helped out with 12 points.

The Gophers forced the Scarlet Knights (9-15 overall, 1-12 Big Ten) into 15 turnovers while committing only five themselves. Minnesota turned those takeaways into 15 points on the offensive end of the floor. Grace Grocholski led the way individually with three steals.

With the victory, the Gophers (18-6, 9-4) moved back into a fifth-place tie with No. 12 Michigan State (20-4, 9-4) in the Big Ten standings after the Spartans topped Penn State on Saturday.

Minnesota returns home on Thursday to take on Nebraska (16-8, 5-8) with tip-off set for 7 p.m. at Williams Arena. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.

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