KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Norma Hunt, who as the wife of the late Kansas City Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt attended all 57 Super Bowl games, has died, the Hunt family announced in a statement released by the team.

She was 85 years old. No cause of death was given.

“Kind, generous and unfailingly positive, mom was one of a kind,” the Hunts said in their statement. “Her joy and zeal for life were infectious. She loved caring for others, and she always had an encouraging word. She was a loyal friend, the consummate hostess and she had a rare ability to make everyone she encountered feel valued and at ease.

“Mom was steadfastly devoted to her family and fiercely passionate about her family’s sports teams. She was by our father Lamar’s side every step of the way — from the merger of the AFL and the NFL to the formation of Major League Soccer, World Championship Tennis, the North American Soccer League, and their founding investment in the Chicago Bulls. She was the only person we knew who rivaled his love of sports. The two of them found such joy together, whether at home, or in stadium stands around the world.”

Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes expressed his condolences on Twitter.

Mrs. Norma was the best. Glad to be a part of this special organization she help build. She will be missed! Prayers to the entire Hunt family. ???

— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) June 4, 2023

In a statement released by the NFL, commissioner Roger Goodell said he had known Hunt for nearly 40 years and that he was always “struck by her warmth and grace.”

“Norma’s sense of family extended to the Chiefs’ organization which she greatly adored,” the statement read. “Norma was one of the most passionate fans of the Chiefs and the NFL, and understood and enjoyed every aspect of the game. She loved being around the team and referred to the players as ‘real-life superheroes.’ Norma attended every Super Bowl ever played, including the two recent Chiefs’ victories, and was the only woman to do so.”

Lamar Hunt died in 2006. Their son Clark has been chairman of the Chiefs ever since.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:

1. Mac’s fresh outlook: There was something noticeably different with quarterback Mac Jones last week.

He was at ease in his first news conference since the end of a disappointing 2022 season. A relaxed Jones revealed a humbled, vulnerable side that was more human and less robotic and cliché-filled than what usually unfolded in those Q&A’s through a trying second season in the NFL.

One of the more telling parts of his 10-minute media session on the edge of the Patriots’ practice fields came when he shared part of his offseason approach.

“There’s mental, physical, emotional, and I’ve addressed all that. You try to fill up each bucket the right way,” he said.

The 24-year-old Jones essentially acknowledged that he didn’t always do that in 2022.

“Sometimes the most confident people come from a year where they might not have been their best. I feel like that’s where I’m at,” he said. “Really great people are formed through ups and downs. Some of the learning experiences I had last year will really help. There’s a lot of things I can do better as a person, as a player.”

It had been almost six months since Jones last answered questions from reporters, in the aftermath of the team’s season-ending 35-23 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, New York, that knocked New England out of the playoffs.

On that day, Jones looked spent from one of his most adversity-filled years in football and said: “It wasn’t the progress any of us wanted to make. It starts with me.”

Jones’ work ethic to improve on the field this offseason was never in question; it’s something coach Bill Belichick has consistently mentioned and did so again last week when he said, “Mac works hard every day. He puts in a lot of time in the weight room, the classroom, on the field. His work ethic is really good and hasn’t changed.”

But there’s a lot more than on-field work for players, and Jones’ reference to filling his mental and emotional “buckets” highlights it.

Last season, he was fined twice for unnecessary roughness, and once for unsportsmanlike conduct. And while some teammates empathized with him for being put in a challenging position with a new offensive system and staff that had top coaches whose primary background was on defense or special teams, Jones still let his frustrations get the best of him at times on the sideline. It wasn’t always top-shelf leadership.

Perhaps that’s what he was thinking of when he said this past week: “I’m going to do everything I can to earn the respect of everybody in this building again.”

Jones, who joked with a reporter that he liked his golf bucket hat and how he couldn’t pull off the same look, talked about “starting fresh,” building trust, and his plan to “run my own race and look up at the end and see where I’m at … hopefully everybody will run right behind me.”

It probably wasn’t a coincidence that his first answer began this way: “I think every year is a great year to just stay positive.”

It’s easier to say that in early June. Nonetheless, the difference from last year stood out in Jones’ hopes to author a comeback story.

2. Tyquan’s goal: Wiry second-year receiver Tyquan Thornton, who missed the first four games of last season with a broken collarbone, said one of his goals this offseason has been to add strength and weight to help make it through the 17-game season. The 6-foot-2, 182-pound speedster also wants to be “more strategic with routes” with the idea of “selling every route like it’s a ‘go’ ball.” After an early dropped pass, he had one of the plays of the day Wednesday, getting behind the defense on a double move and hauling in a deep delivery from Jones that drew audible praise from the offensive coaching staff.

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