Author: rb809rb

Former Athletics first baseman Mark McGwire is returning to the franchise as a special assistant to player development. McGwire spent 12 seasons with the Athletics from 1986-97.

McGwire got off to a fast start with the Athletics. He won the AL Rookie of the Year award in 1987 after hitting 49 home runs, which was a rookie record at the time. He also helped lead the A’s to three straight World Series appearances from 1988-90, winning it all in 1989. That was the last year the Athletics won the World Series.

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Big Mac finished with 363 home runs, 941 RBI and 1,1157 hits during his time with the A’s. McGwire was traded to St. Louis during the 1997 season. In his time there, he broke Roger Maris’ single-season home run record with 70 home runs, which was later topped by Barry Bonds’ 73 in 2001.

Despite being inducted into the A’s Hall of Fame in 2019, McGwire has been kept out of the MLB Hall of Fame after being tied to a steroid scandal.

After McGwire’s playing days ended, he had multiple stints on MLB staffs. He served as a bench coach for San Diego (2017-18) and as a hitting coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers (2013-15) and Cardinals (2010-12).

McGwire’s time with the Athletics in player development will look a lot different than his playing days. The A’s are about to play the second of at least three seasons at a Triple-A ballpark in West Sacramento, California. It’s the Athletics’ temporary home until their scheduled move to Vegas in 2028.

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The Athletics went 76-86 and have promising young players such as Nick Kurtz, Jacob Wilson, Tyler Soderstrom and Lawrence Butler. The Athletics also acquired Jeff McNeil from the New York Mets in a trade this offseason.

Micah Parsons to the Philadelphia Eagles? Jalen Carter with the Dallas Cowboys? It almost happened, according to Parsons.

During a live taping of his podcast from San Francisco, the All-Pro linebacker revealed to Eagles receiver A.J. Brown that they were nearly teammates this past season.

“So, to be honest with you, bro, it was very close,” Parsons said to Brown and Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young. “It was very close. Eagles before the Jaelan Phillips, before all of them, it was me. And I was really about to come.”

“But there was one person I had to play with and if he was gone, I didn’t want to be there and that was Jalen Carter,” he added. “They wanted a D-tackle. And they wanted to trade me, plus some picks. I don’t really care about the picks, but I’m going to play next to JC, you feel me? Yeah. Sorry Cowboys fans, it really almost happened. I feel like the trajectory would’ve changed.”

The full podcast can be seen here. Parsons’ remarks about the Eagles begin at the 6:15 mark.

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Parsons’ story certainly checks out. The Eagles were reportedly aggressive in pursuing the edge rusher before the Cowboys traded him to the Green Bay Packers in August. And Parsons, who grew up near Philadelphia and played college football at Penn State, wanted to play for the Eagles someday. But not without playing next to one of the team’s best players in Carter.

Yet Dallas was unlikely to deal its defensive star to an NFC East rival. The Cowboys also wanted to ensure the Packers wouldn’t somehow flip him to Philadelphia, as unlikely as that seemed, by including a provision in the terms of the trade. A condition of the deal was that Green Bay would have to trade its 2028 first-round pick to Dallas if Parsons was traded to an NFC East team before the end of the 2026 NFL season, according to ESPN.

The Cowboys showed they coveted a defensive tackle by acquiring Kenny Clark from the Packers in exchange for Parsons, along with first-round selections in 2026 and 2027. Dallas further tried to strengthen its interior defensive line at the trade deadline by adding Quinnen Williams from the New York Jets.

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Parsons referencing what could have been compels “what if” dreaming for Eagles fans and Cowboys fans.

With Parsons on its defense, would Philadelphia have surged toward a second consecutive Super Bowl title? (The Eagles finished 13th among NFL teams in total defense.) Could he have made the difference in the Eagles’ 23-19 playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers? Philadelphia ended up trading for edge rusher Jaelan Phillips at the deadline.

The three-time All-Pro suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during a Week 15 loss to the Denver Broncos. In 14 games, he tallied 12.5 sacks, 27 quarterback hits, 12 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles and 41 tackles in his first season with the Packers.

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And as Parsons acknowledged, the Cowboys would have benefited by adding Carter, named to his second Pro Bowl after compiling 33 tackles, 3 sacks, 5 tackles for loss, 12 QB hits and seven passes defended. Perhaps he could have helped Dallas reach the playoffs instead of finishing 7-9-1 and out of the postseason.

Creating an ice surface for curling isn’t as simple as flooding an area with water and allowing it to freeze. The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina features some of the best ice technicians in the sport, and there is a certain way they go about making the four sheets inside Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium.

Take a look for yourself as Great Britain’s Mark Callan, World Curling’s chief ice technician, demonstrates:

For curling ice, it’s not as cold as what you’ll find in an ice hockey rink and it is usually softer than a normal rink environment. The type of water is important. Just pulling out a hose and spraying isn’t enough to meet the standard. Curling water is run through a deionizing system that takes out minerals in order to have purer ice.

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Curlers play on a pebbled surface with the ice beads creating less friction resistance as the stones move toward the target area.

Ice technicians get a pebbled surface by spraying droplets of water that instantly freeze and create a texture that sets pockets of air below the stones.

The ice is then be scraped to even out the surface and allow the stones to glide.

Curling first appeared in the Winter Olympics in 1924, but was not on the recognized sport again until 1998 when a women’s competition was added to the men’s. In 2018, mixed doubles was introduced.

In all competitions, Canada is on top with six gold medals and 12 overall. Sweden is right behind them with four golds and 11 total medals. The United States have only won two medals in Olympic curling — one gold (2018) and one bronze (2006), achieved by men’s teams.

Team USA women’s ice hockey is hitting the rink this Saturday for a Group stage game against Finland, streaming live on Peacock at 10:40 a.m. ET. If you’re not able to catch the game live, you can tune in later in the day when it re-airs at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET on USA. Women’s ice hockey first appeared at the Games in 1998 and, somewhat impressively, Team USA has medaled at every Winter Olympics since then.

Read on for a complete schedule of every Team USA women’s hockey game at this year’s Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, a rundown of who is playing, and how to watch all the action. And if you want to learn even more about every event at this year’s Winter Games, here’s a guide to everything you need to know about the Milan Cortina Games.

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How to watch the Team USA vs. Finland Women’s Ice Hockey game at the 2026 Winter Olympics

Date: Saturday, Feb. 7

Time: 10:40 a.m. ET

Location: Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena

TV channel: re-air on USA at 6 p.m and 11 p.m.. ET

Streaming: Peacock, DirecTV, and more

Where can I stream Ice Hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics?

Parks and Recreation and The Office, every Bravo show and much more.

For $17 monthly you can upgrade to an ad-free subscription which includes live access to your local NBC affiliate (not just during designated sports and events) and the ability to download select titles to watch offline.

Where to watch Ice Hockey on TV:

The women’s ice hockey game between Team USA and Finland is only airing live on Peacock, but you can catch the encore presentations on USA at 6 p.m and 11 p.m.. ET on Friday, which you can stream on DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV and more.

How to watch Olympic Ice Hockey without cable:

Parks and Recreation and The Office, every Bravo show and much more.

For $17 monthly you can upgrade to an ad-free subscription which includes live access to your local NBC affiliate (not just during designated sports and events) and the ability to download select titles to watch offline.

Who is on the Team USA women’s hockey team?

The athletes on Team USA’s women’s team are:

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• Hilary Knight (Sun Valley, Idaho/Seattle Torrent)

• Kendall Coyne Schofield (Palos Heights, Ill./Minnesota Frost)

• Lee Stecklein (Roseville, Minn./Minnesota Frost)

• Cayla Barnes (Eastvale, Calif./Seattle Torrent)

• Alex Carpenter (North Reading, Mass./Seattle Torrent)

• Megan Keller (Farmington Hills, Mich./Boston Fleet)

• Kelly Pannek (Plymouth, Minn./Minnesota Frost)

• Caroline Harvey (Salem, N.H./University of Wisconsin)

• Abbey Murphy (Evergreen Park, Ill./University of Minnesota)

• Hayley Scamurra (Buffalo, N.Y./Montreal Victoire)

• Grace Zumwinkle (Excelsior, Minn./Minnesota Frost)

• Hannah Bilka (Coppell, Texas/Seattle Torrent)

• Britta Curl-Salemme (Bismarck, N.D./Minnesota Frost)

• Joy Dunne (O’Fallon, Mo./Ohio State University)

• Laila Edwards (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/University of Wisconsin)

• Aerin Frankel (Chappaqua, N.Y./Boston Fleet)

• Rory Guilday (Chanhassen, Minn./Ottawa Charge)

• Taylor Heise (Lake City, Minn./Minnesota Frost)

• Tessa Janecke (Orangeville, Ill./Penn State University)

• Ava McNaughton (Seven Fields, Pa./University of Wisconsin)

• Gwyneth Philips (Athens, Ohio/Ottawa Charge)

• Kirsten Simms (Plymouth, Mich./University of Wisconsin)

• Haley Winn (Rochester, N.Y./Boston Fleet)

2026 Team USA Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Schedule:

Thursday, February 5

• Group A: Team USA vs. Czechia: 10:40 a.m. (USA, Peacock), re-air at 5:30 p.m. (USA) and 10:30 a.m. (Feb 6) (USA)

Saturday, February 7

• Group A: Team USA vs. Finland: 10:40 a.m. (USA, Peacock), re-air at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. (USA)

Monday, February 9

• Group A: Team USA vs. Switzerland: 2:40 p.m. (USA, Peacock), re-air 11 p.m. (USA)

Tuesday, February 10

• Group A: Team USA vs. Canada: 2:10 p.m. (USA, Peacock), re-air at 11 p.m. (USA)

Friday, February 13

• Teams TBD – Women’s Quarterfinals

Monday, February 15

• Teams TBD – Women’s Semifinals

Thursday, February 19

• Teams TBD – Bronze Medal Game

• Teams TBD – Gold Medal Game

More ways to watch the 2026 Winter Olympics

February 22, 2026

MILAN — The only drama late in Saturday night’s U.S. women’s hockey victory had little to do with the final score.

All eyes were trained on Hilary Knight to see if the 36-year-old American star could make some more Olympic history.

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For a split second early in the third period of the U.S.’s 5-0 rout of Finland, it looked like Knight might tie and break the American record for goals scored at the Olympics all in the same game. Knight was camped out all alone to the left of the crease when teammate Alex Carpenter teed her up with a slick pass from just a few feet away.

Knight tried to direct the puck into the open half of the net … and came up empty. It was about the only thing that went wrong for the Americans on a night when they outshot Finland 49-11 and had five different players score goals.

One period earlier, Knight scored her 14th career Olympic goal, tying the American record held by Natalie Darwitz and Katie King. Knight did it in style too, taking a feed from teammate Laila Edwards and beating Finnish goalie Sanni Ahola short-side top corner.

It would be fitting if Knight is able to break the American record during what she has announced will be her final Winter Games. For 20 years, the five-time Olympian has been the heartbeat of U.S. women’s hockey, providing steady leadership and filling up the box score while also spearheading her sport’s growth.

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While Knight has announced this will be her final Olympics, she has demonstrated that this will not be a ceremonial farewell tour. She now has two goals in two games, having also scored in the U.S.’s 5-1 victory in its opening game of group play against Czechia on Thursday.

When asked if the U.S. team wanted to get Knight her record-breaking goal in the third period on Saturday, forward Taylor Heise admitted the answer was, “yes, 100%”

“But I don’t think that Hilary really cares,” Heise continued. “I just think she wants to win.”

There was concern entering Saturday that Finland might have to face the U.S. shorthanded, but the Finns had recovered from the norovirus outbreak that forced the postponement of their match against Canada two days earlier. They had a full complement of players available, not that it made much difference on the scoreboard.

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For a team that dominated on the scoreboard Saturday, the Americans did not come away fully satisfied with their performance. They were especially disappointed at having wasted a flurry of power-play opportunities.

When the U.S. has an extra player advantage, Heise often plays a game with her teammates on the bench.

“I’m usually guessing who the goal is going to come from,” she said.

On Saturday, the U.S. converted two power-play chances but failed to do so four other times.

“I’m really not happy with that at all,” Heise said. “I think we have to keep driving pucks. When we drive pucks and out-speed people, it’s honestly insane.”

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The U.S. will have a chance to right that wrong in two days against Switzerland. And Knight will have her next chance to break the goal-scoring record.

“It would definitely be special,” Carpenter said. “Especially since everyone will  be able to experience it with her.”

Team USA’s teen sensation Oliver Martin is just 17, but he’s one of the most exciting athletes on the slopes at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games. Martin is the youngest snowboarder to ever land a 2160 (that’s six spins) and the only snowboarder in the world who can throw a frontside and a backside 2160. (Meanwhile, my frontside and backside hurt just writing that.) If you want to catch Martin in action, he’ll be one of the competitors at the Men’s Big Air snowboarding final this Saturday, and you can catch all the action live on Peacock and USA starting at 1:30 p.m. ET. (A re-air will also be broadcast at 3:15 p.m. on NBC).

Read on for a complete schedule of every Team USA Snowboarding event at this year’s games, a rundown of who’s competing, and how to watch all the action. And if you want to learn even more about every event at this year’s Winter Games, here’s a guide to everything you need to know about the Milano Cortina Games.

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How to watch the Snowboarding Big Air Finals:

Date: Saturday, Feb. 7

Time: 1:30 p.m. (USA, Peacock), re-air at 3:15 p.m. (NBC)

Location: Livigno Snow Park

TV channels: NBC, USA

Streaming: Peacock, DirecTV, and more

Where can I stream Snowboarding at the 2026 Winter Olympics?

The Men’s Big Air snowboarding final will stream live at 1:30 p.m. ET on Peacock this Saturday, Feb. 7.

Parks and Recreation and The Office, every Bravo show and much more.

For $17 monthly you can upgrade to an ad-free subscription which includes live access to your local NBC affiliate (not just during designated sports and events) and the ability to download select titles to watch offline.

Where to watch the Big Air final on TV:

Men’s snowboarding coverage on Saturday will be split between NBC and USA, which you can stream on DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV and more. You can watch the Big Air final live on USA at 1:30 p.m., and a re-air at 3:15 p.m. ET on NBC.

How to watch Olympic Snowboarding without cable:

Parks and Recreation and The Office, every Bravo show and much more.

For $17 monthly you can upgrade to an ad-free subscription which includes live access to your local NBC affiliate (not just during designated sports and events) and the ability to download select titles to watch offline.

Who is on the Team USA Snowboarding team?

These are the athletes on Team USA’s snowboarding team:

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2026 Team USA Olympic Snowboarding Schedule:

Thursday, February 5

• Men’s Snowboard Big Air: Qualifying: 1:30 p.m. (Peacock, USA), re-air Feb. 6 at 12:30 p.m (USA)

Saturday, February 7

• Men’s Snowboard Big Air Final: 1:30 p.m. (USA, Peacock), re-air at 3:15 p.m. (NBC)

Sunday, February 8

• Men’s & Women’s Parallel Giant Slalom: Qualifying: 3 a.m. (USA, Peacock)

• Men’s & Women’s Parallel Giant Slalom: Finals: 7 a.m. (NBC, Peacock), re-air at 10:30 a.m. (USA)

• Men’s Snowboard Big Air Final (re-air): 7:30 a.m. (USA)

• Women’s Snowboard Big Air: Qualifying: 1:30 p.m. (Peacock), re-air at 6:30 p.m. (USA)

Monday, February 9

• Women’s Snowboard Big Air: Final: 1:30 p.m. (NBC, Peacock)

Wednesday, February 11

• Women’s Snowboard Halfpipe: Qualifying: 4:30 a.m. (Peacock, USA), re-air at 6:45 a.m. and 12:45 a.m. (USA)

• Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe: Qualifying: 1:30 p.m. (Peacock, NBC), re-air at 2:45 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. (USA)

Thursday, February 12

• Men’s Snowboard Cross: Qualifying: 4 a.m. (Peacock, USA)

• Men’s Snowboard Cross: Finals: 7:45 a.m. (Peacock), re-air at 8:35 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.(USA)

• Women’s Snowboard Halfpipe Finals: 1:30 p.m. (Peacock, NBC), re-air at 2 a.m. (USA)

Friday, February 13

• Women’s Snowboard Cross: Qualifying: 4 a.m. (Peacock)

• Women’s Snowboard Cross Finals: 7:30 a.m. (Peacock), re-air at 8;30 a.m. (USA) re-air at 1 p.m. (NBC)

• Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe Finals: 1:30 p.m. (Peacock, NBC), re-air Feb. 14 at 8:30 a.m.

Saturday, February 14

• Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe Finals (re-air): 8:30 a.m. (USA)

Sunday, February 15

• Mixed Team Snowboard Cross Finals: 7:45 a.m. (Peacock, USA), re-air at 8:30 a.m. (NBC), re-air at 1 p.m. (USA)

Monday, February 16

• Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle: Qualifying: 4:30 a.m. (Peacock, USA) re-air at 10 a.m. (NBC), re-air at 10 p.m. (USA)

• Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle: Qualifying: 8 a.m. (Peacock) re-air at 8:35 a.m. (USA), re-air at 10:30 p.m. (USA)

Tuesday, February 17

• Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle Final: 7 a.m. (Peacock, USA), re-air at 12:45 p.m. (NBC)

Wednesday, February 18

• Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle: Final: 6:30 a.m. (Peacock, USA), re-air at 2:15 p.m. (NBC), re-air 2:45 a.m. (USA)

More ways to watch the 2026 Winter Olympics

February 22, 2026

Terrance Gore, who played in two World Series with the Kansas City Royals (and was a member of their 2015 championship team), has died at the age of 34. The Royals announced the news Saturday.

Gore played eight MLB seasons, five of them with Kansas City. Primarily utilized as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement due to his speed, he batted .216/.310/.270 with 43 stolen bases in 112 career games.

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His best season was in 2019, batting .275/.362/.373 with 13 stolen bases, two doubles and a triple in 58 plate appearances. Gore also recorded double-digit steals in 2016, when he swiped 11 bags.

During his career, Gore also played for the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves and New York Mets. He also won World Series titles with the Dodgers and Braves. For the 2021 season, Gore only appeared in the postseason with Atlanta, entering Game 2 of the National League Division Series as a pinch-runner.

[Get more Royals news: Kansas City team feed]

In the postseason, Gore appeared in 11 games, compiling five stolen bases and scoring two runs. He did not record a hit and only made two plate appearances.

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Gore died due to complications from a medical procedure, according to the Kansas City Star. His wife, Britney, posted a message regarding her husband’s death on social media. The couple had two sons together.

Born in Macon, Georgia, Gore was a 20th-round selection in the 2011 MLB Draft out of Gulf Coast State College. He reached the major leagues in 2014 after advancing from high Single-A to Triple-A in the Royals’ minor league system.

LIVIGNO, Italy — Japan’s Kira Kimura won the men’s snowboard big air gold medal on Saturday, dethroning defending champion Yu Siming of China who could not cleanly land his final run.

Siming’s score of 80.25 on an audacious trick was enough to edge out 17-year-old American Ollie Martin for the bronze medal. Siming appeared to touch the ground on his landing, preventing him from a repeat gold medal.

Kimura vaulted into first place on his final run with a switch backside 1980 with a mute grab. He held on over his countryman Ryoma Kimata, who took silver.

The U.S mixed doubles curling team of Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin lost their two matches on Saturday, first falling to Great Britain’s Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat, 6-4, then taking a narrow defeat versus Kim Seonyeong and Jeong Yeongseok of South Korea in an extra end, 6-5.

Thiesse and Dropkin entered Saturday with a 4-0 record, but Dodds and Mouat were even better at 5-0 following their 7-5 morning win over Canada. However, the loss to South Korea was truly an upset as their team fell in its previous five matches.

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In the first match, the Americans fell behind 2-0 after the first end and Great Britain added two more to take a 4-1 lead halfway through the match. The fifth end saw Thiesse and Dropkin claw back, tying the match with a score of three.

Mouat and Dodds retook the lead in the sixth end and didn’t look back as the three-time World Mixed Doubles champions held on to improve to 7-0 and secure a spot in Monday’s semifinals.

Great Britain, who beat Canada 7-5 in earlier action on Saturday, is now 7-0. At 4-1, the U.S. squad sit second in the standings. The top four teams advance to the semifinals.

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South Korea came into its match with the U.S. having lost 9-4 to Czechia earlier in the day. Kim and Jeong had lost three of its previous five contests by five points or more. But they put Thiesse and Dropkin on their heels by taking a 2-0 lead through the first two ends.

South Korea held a 5-2 lead going into the eight end, but the U.S. rallied with three points force an extra end. Yet Thiesse and Dropkin struggled with their accuracy in the extra end and lost 1-0.

The U.S. will next face Estonia and Sweden in Round Robin sessions 11 and 12 on Sunday.

Both countries are seeking their first mixed doubles medal in the third Olympics since the event was added to the program.

Two days after Pat Spencer splashed a career-high six 3-pointers and scored a personal-best 20 points in a 101-97 comeback win on the road against the the Phoenix Suns, the Golden State Warriors converted the 29-year-old, two-way guard to a standard NBA contract for the second straight season.

The team made Spencer’s promotion official on Saturday, hours before a game in Los Angeles against the Lakers that could call for the former lacrosse star’s services, as Stephen Curry continues to recover from a right knee injury that forced him to exit a Jan. 30 loss to the Detroit Pistons in the third quarter.

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Golden State had two roster spots open after dealing Jonathan Kuminga, Buddy Hield and Trayce Jackson-Davis, and receiving Kristaps Porziņģis before the trade deadline.

While the Warriors converted Spencer to a standard contract last season as well, that was in March in the lead-up to the playoffs. This time, he’s a legitimate backup point guard and scoring option off the bench, and his contributions are finally making more headlines than his unconventional route to the league.

Spencer is posting 5.8 points, 2.9 assists and 2.2 rebounds in 14.4 minutes per game across 36 outings this season. In his five starts, he’s averaged 14.6 points, 5.4 assists, 5 rebounds and 1.4 steals while shooting 54.2% from deep.

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He’s been much more willing to pull from long range, and, at times, he’s taken over games. Perhaps most notably, during a Dec. 4 thriller against the Philadelphia 76ers, he announced himself as “that motherf***er” and then two days later started and scored 19 points in a road win over the Cleveland Cavaliers that had head coach Steve Kerr agreeing with the declaration.

Famously, Spencer established himself as a college lacrosse great at Loyola (Maryland), where he won the Tewaaraton, the sport’s most prestigious award, before using the last bit of his eligibility to play basketball at Northwestern. He went undrafted in 2020 and then played overseas and in the G League prior to making his NBA debut with the Warriors in 2024.

Since, he’s persistently carved out a small role for himself within the organization. It’s never been bigger than it has been this season, though.

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Now he has the contract to show for it, and the injury-riddled Warriors need his help.