Weekend Hot Reads....

The N.Y. TIMES' Ken Belson writes Santa Clara Mayor Jamie Matthews may be the only mayor in the U.S. to "host the Super Bowl and yet have no interest in attending the game." Matthews "will use a media pass to visit Levi's Stadium" this morning before the game to thank the operations staff and meet NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, before heading home to "watch the game with his wife and children." Matthews said, "I know nothing about football, I don’t follow the teams, I don’t follow the players, and I have never been to a professional football game, after all this. I am focused completely on the economics of it."

The L.A. TIMES' Kevin Baxter writes EPL club Everton is "trying to become America's team ... playing up its rich history and a lineage of U.S.-born players." The club has "tried to sell itself to the public in a uniquely American way -- by appearing" in the movie "Creed." The club also "may soon have American owners" if a group led by former Padres Owner John Jay Moores "is successful with a bid to buy a controlling interest in the club."

Elsewhere:

• Editorial: The NFL's CTE problem is "steadily undermining the joy of the game."
• Are pols who attend Colts games for free "objective stewards of taxpayer money?"
• Future civilizations will look upon the Super Bowl with "revulsion," as we do gladiators.
• CBS' Evan Washburn had to "grind his way" into broadcasting after his lacrosse days.
• Can NRG Stadium, the site of Super Bowl LI, "keep up with new NFL stadiums?"
• Levi's Stadium's "mammoth presence is shifting the energy" of Santa Clara.
• LB Thomas Davis' return from injury is "in large part thanks to" a 3-D printing firm.