Author: rb809rb

Will Duke be the new No. 1 team in the AP Top 25?

Freshman Cameron Boozer shined once again as the No. 3 Blue Devils beat No. 1 Michigan 68-63 behind his 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

Michigan had a chance to get the game tied with a 3-pointer after Patrick Ngongba missed a shot in the lane inside 30 seconds to go. But Duke got the rebound and passed the ball around the perimeter before Michigan finally fouled with 14.6 seconds to go.

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But Michigan fouled Isaiah Evans, an 88% free throw shooter. He made it a two-possession game and effectively ended any chance Michigan had of getting the win.

The victory is Duke’s 11th over a team ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 in school history.

“I love games like this. Our team loves it, you can see them celebrating back there,” Boozer told ESPN after the game.

He had to sit out part of the second half after picking up his fourth foul, but he was the best player on the court even as Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg got off to a hot start with 16 points in the first half. Even though he was on the bench after that fourth foul, Boozer still played a team-high 34 minutes.

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Boozer, the massive favorite for the Wooden Award, took over in the second half as Duke was unfazed by Michigan’s frontcourt size. He finished 6-of-10 from the field. It was Boozer’s 19th game in Duke’s last 21 that he shot at least 50% from the field.

Aday Mara’s foul trouble and Michigan’s shooting woes

As Lendeborg singlehandedly powered Michigan at the start of the game, the Wolverines didn’t have big man Aday Mara for much of the first half. Mara went to the bench after picking up his second foul early in the first half but coach Dusty May put him back into the game before halftime.

The move backfired. Less than a minute after he returned to the court, Mara picked up his third foul and sat for the final eight minutes of the half. He played just 22 minutes but scored 10 points and had four rebounds.

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Michigan was +4 with Mara on the court. He had the best plus-minus of any Michigan player and only two other players — Elliot Cadeau and Will Tschetter — were above zero in that category.

The Wolverines also struggled to make a 3-point shot. Michigan was just 22-of-55 from the field and 6-of-25 from behind the arc. Michigan entered the game shooting 51% overall and 36% from behind the arc.

A big win for NCAA tournament seeding

Saturday’s game came hours after the NCAA tournament selection committee’s first midseason seeding reveal. As the committee released its early top 16, Michigan was the No. 1 overall seed and Duke was the No. 2 overall seed.

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It’s now easy to see how the teams will probably flip-flop after the Blue Devils’ win. The non-conference game was held at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C., an arena that is not so coincidentally the site of the East regional in the 2026 NCAA tournament.

Saturday’s win could end up getting the Blue Devils on the path to the Sweet 16 in Washington D.C. again. Remember, the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament gets its preferred region.

There’s still plenty of season to go, however. The Blue Devils have games against No. 14 Virginia and No. 16 North Carolina remaining before the ACC tournament. A win over Virginia on Feb. 28 will likely lock up the regular-season conference title for Duke, assuming it takes care of business against both Notre Dame and NC State.

Michigan, meanwhile, has a two-game lead in the Big Ten over Illinois and a three-game lead over Nebraska and Purdue. With games remaining against the No. 10 Illini and No. 15 Michigan State, convincing wins over both teams along with a Big Ten tournament victory can still get Michigan back to the No. 1 overall seed if Duke slips up.

Live coverage is over28 updates

• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 3:33 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 6:03 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

  Here’s the closing sequence of the game (and no, that dunk at the end didn’t count)
• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 5:52 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

  With No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 Houston going down today, it’s likely No. 3 Duke will leap ahead to the top spot in the AP Top 25.

  

• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 5:46 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

  Duke hangs on to take down No. 1 Michigan in a massive win.

  Cam Boozer led the way with 18 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists.
• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 5:44 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

  Michigan needed to get a stop to have a chance to tie, but Duke corralled a key offensive rebound and now the Wolverines are forced to foul and play the free throw game.

  Duke up 68-63 with 15 seconds to play.

• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 5:36 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

  Michigan went on a 7-0 run to close the Duke lead to 57-56 with under 4 minutes.

  Can the Wolverines rally all the way back?
• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 5:23 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

  Plenty of sports stars from the DC area showed up for Michigan vs. Duke.
• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 5:18 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

  The Wolverines are just 4 of 17 from the field in the second half and they haven’t made a bucket in nearly 4 minutes.

  Duke leads 53-48 with 7:47 to play
• 

  Sat, February 21, 2026 at 5:12 PM PST

  Nick Bromberg

  The Wolverines have been out of sorts lately — and it’s why Duke has its biggest lead of the game.

• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 5:02 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

  Boozer now has 11 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists
• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 4:56 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

  The scoring has slowed down a bit in the early minutes of the second half, but Cam Boozer is still making plays for Duke.

  Blue Devils lead 41-38.
• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 4:46 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

  The final half has begun. Who will prevail in this one?

• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 4:45 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

  Duke fans made the trip and filled out Capital One Arena for this one.
• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 4:33 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

  Cameron Boozer is doing it all for Duke, with a team-high 9 points to go with 3 rebounds and 4 assists.

  Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg leads all scorers with 16 points on 6 of 9 shooting.

  Click for Full box score
• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 4:28 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

  A silly foul by Michigan in the final second put Duke’s Patrick Ngongba II on the line, and he hit both free throws to give the Blue Devils the slight lead at the break.

• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 4:23 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

  Johnson hung in the air before throwing this one down for Michigan.
• 

  Sat, February 21, 2026 at 4:19 PM PST

  Nick Bromberg

  Not only is Mara on the bench with three fouls, so is Elliot Cadeau. He sustained a left forearm/elbow injury and his arm is currently wrapped as he has gotten treatment from trainers.

• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 4:09 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

  Mara, Michigan’s starting center, committed his third foul at the 7:08 mark of the first half. He’ll likely have to sit most of, if not all, the rest of the half.

  We’re tied at 26-26.

• 

  Sat, February 21, 2026 at 4:03 PM PST

  Nick Bromberg

  He’s been incredible so far — and has been keeping Michigan in this game.
• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 3:57 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

  Despite a hot start from Michigan, the Blue Devils have responded well and head into the under-12 timeout with a 22-21 lead. Caleb Foster leads the way with 8 points.
• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 3:50 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

  The Wolverines have hit 8 of 10 shots so far, including Yaxel Lendeborg’s 5 for 5 showing with 12 points.

Dillon Brooks’ breakout season has been one of the most surprising stories of the NBA season. That story is now on hold.

The Phoenix Suns star sustained a broken left hand seven minutes into Saturday’s 113-110 victory over the Orlando Magic, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. He reportedly does not yet have a timetable to return.

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Brooks scored five points and grabbed three rebounds in the Magic game before he went down.

It’s a rough development for the Suns, who also have Devin Booker out for at least one week with a right hip strain.

Brooks has made his presence felt since joining the Suns in an offseason trade that sent him and Jalen Green to the Suns, while Kevin Durant was sent to the Houston Rockets. Brooks, 30, has averaged a career-high 21.2 points per game, plus 3.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals on 44.1% shooting this season.

Brooks’ presence went beyond his numbers. He served as a stabilizer, enforcer, defensive presence and a veteran on a young team.

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The Suns have also been one of the most surprising teams in the NBA, currently holding a record of 33-24 after bringing in new head coach Jordan Ott this offseason and despite having both Devin Booker and Green miss portions of the season.

With Brooks out, the Suns can be expected to rely on Green, Grayson Allen and Collin Gillespie to pick up the scoring load. Green filled in for Brooks when Brooks missed Thursday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs. Allen scored 27 points against the Magic.

Brooks spent his first six years with the Memphis Grizzlies before playing with the Rockets for two seasons.

The Orlando Magic and Phoenix Suns’ double-overtime clash wasn’t so much a classic as a slog. Until the final five seconds.

A game in which the two teams shot a combined 38.1% from the field saw one of the wildest endings of the NBA season, with Jevon Carter making a game-tying 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left for the Magic and Jalen Green then making the game-winning buzzer-beater for the Suns, who won 113-110.

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With the Magic down 110-107 and 5.7 seconds left, Carter got the ball and had his first shot blocked at the perimeter by Grayson Allen. However, the ball ended up in the hands of Magic forward Tristan Da Silva, who passed it back to Carter and watched the veteran make the 3-pointer from the corner.

Only 1.1 seconds were left on the clock after Carter’s make, with triple overtime looming. The Suns advanced the ball and opted to go to Green, who was previously 5 of 26 from the field and 1 of 10 from 3-point range.

He finished the game 2 of 11 from deep.

It was a significant win for the Suns, who also lost breakout star Dillon Brooks to a broken hand in the first quarter. The win improves their record to 33-24, pushing them to two games back from the sixth-place Minnesota Timberwolves for the final guaranteed playoff spot in the Western Conference.

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With Brooks leaving early and Devin Booker out at least a week with a right hip strain, Grayson Allen led the Suns in scoring with 27 points on 8-of-22 shooting off the bench, plus 7 rebounds and 2 assists. Collin Gillespie also had 19 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds.

Desmond Bane led the Magic with 34 points, and Paolo Banchero also had a big game with 26 points, 14 rebounds and 8 assists.

Content warning: This story contains references to suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide and needs support now, call or text 988 or chat with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988lifeline.org.

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Rondale Moore died on Saturday in southern Indiana, the team announced. He was 25 years old.

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New Albany police chief Todd Bailey told reporters Moore was found in a garage with a gunshot wound suspected to be self-inflicted.

Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm, who coached Moore at Purdue, released a statement fondly remembering his former player.

“Rondale Moore was a complete joy to coach,” Brohm said in his statement. “The ultimate competitor that wouldn’t back down from any challenge. Rondale had a work ethic unmatched by anyone. A great teammate that would through in any situation. We all loved Rondale, we loved his smile and competitive edge that always wanted to please everyone he came in contact with.”

Vikings head coach Alex O’Connell released his own statement later:

I am devastated by the news of Rondale’s death. While Rondale had been a member of the Vikings for a short time, he was someone we came to know well and care about deeply. He was a humble, soft-spoken, and respectful young man who was proud of his Indiana roots.

As a player, he was disciplined, dedicated and resilient despite facing adversity multiple times as injuries sidelined him throughout his career. We are all heartbroken by the fact he won’t continue to live out his NFL dream and we won’t all have a chance to watch him flourish. My prayers are with Rondale’s family, friends, teammates and coaches as we all deal with this tragic news.

Moore was in his fifth year in the NFL, but he’ll be remembered more for the heights he reached in college with the Boilermakers.

It’s not hyperbolizing to say he found instant stardom as a freshman. A 5-foot-7 weapon, Moore scored a 32-yard receiving touchdown and a 76-yard rushing touchdown in his first quarter of college action. He finished the game with 313 all-purpose yards, a program record.

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Moore went on to post 2,048 all-purpose yards in 2018, earning him consensus All-American honors, the Paul Hornung Award for college football’s most versatile player, the Paul Warfield Trophy for the nation’s top wide receiver, the Big Ten Receiver of the Year award and the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award.

Injuries marred the rest of his college career, as he played a combined seven games in his sophomore and junior year. Still, his talent was obvious enough that he generated significant interest as an NFL prospect.

The Arizona Cardinals drafted him in the second round, 49th overall, in the 2021 NFL Draft, but injuries remained a persistent problem throughout his professional career. He stayed with Arizona for three seasons, posting 1,201 career receiving yards, then was traded to the Atlanta Falcons for Desmond Ridder.

Moore never played another game, as he missed the entire 2024 season with a knee injury. He joined the Vikings the next season on a one-year contract, but suffered another season-ending knee injury in preseason.

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NFL players mourn Rondale Moore

It will cost a lot to buy Los Angeles Lakers season tickets next season. The Lakers’ ticket prices will reportedly skyrocket next season, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

Online basketball personality Rob Perez revealed a 2026–2027 season-ticket invoice with a 14% price increase and a 3% “Admin Fee” if the price was not paid in full. Perez posted that the five-month and nine-month payment plans were available for the previous season without a percentage penalty.

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ESPN reported that a season ticket in the 300 level has increased from $5,494 in 2024-25 to $6,192 in 2025-26 to $9,035 for 2026-27. This is reportedly a 45.9% hike going into next season, compared with a 12.7% hike in the last renewal cycle.

The Lakers’ most notable change between now and last season was October’s approved sale of the team to new owner Mark Walter. The Lakers reportedly sent a statement saying the prices reflect today’s market and the demand to see the team.

The Lakers are also banking on the legacy of the franchise and its current players to justify the prices.

Walter, who also owns the Los Angeles Dodgers, saw that team set a franchise record in attendance during its second straight title run. The Lakers last won a championship in the 2020 bubble season.

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Right now, it is uncertain if LeBron James will still be with the Lakers next season. James will be an unrestricted free agent after this season, and next season will be his 24th if he decides to play. Austin Reaves has a player option and is reportedly expected to opt out of his $14.9 million player option for 2026-27 to pursue a long-term extension.

Currently, the Lakers have a record of 34-21 and are fifth in the Western Conference standings.

Entering Saturday, UCLA’s last two games had been lopsided losses to ranked teams. The Bruins managed something different against No. 10 Illinois.

Down 94-93 in overtime, UCLA point guard Donovan Dent went coast-to-coast for a buzzer beater to stun the Illini and put his program back in the win column. Even with the 7-foot-2 Zvonimir Ivisic waiting for him in the paint, Dent found the soft spot in the Illinois defense.

The game was shaping up as an Illinois blowout early, with the visitors taking a 33-10 lead in the first 11 minutes. As UCLA head coach Mick Cronin admitted after the game, the Bruins were rattled. He had a curious explanation for that:

“We did not run one thing we practiced the first 10 minutes, because we were rattled because they were making shots. I was worried before the game because everybody’s got all the answers behind the keyboard and these kids read all that stuff. I’m oblivious, but I didn’t like the look on their face before the game. It’s almost like they had lost confidence.”

That sure sounds like Cronin is blaming the furor over his ejecting of Steven Jamerson II from their previous game against No. 15 Michigan State for his team’s slow start. Cronin later apologized for the incident after a significant backlash.

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It’s also possible Cronin was just talking the Bruins’ run of games in general. UCLA lost to Michigan State 82-59 and got blown out 86-56 by No. 1 Michigan in the game before that. With four games left in the regular season, the program is squarely on the bubble.

What happened after that bad start will surely help. UCLA spent the rest of the first half sanding the deficit down to seven points, then had the game tied five minutes into the second half. A back-and-forth resulted in overtime, then Dent’s heroics.

Eric Dailey Jr. led the Bruins with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, while Dent had 14 points, 15 assists and 0 turnovers. All five UCLA starters scored in double digits, as did Xavier Booker off the bench.

The Winter Games are wrapping up in Italy. From the rink to the slopes, a new generation of stars has emerged to chase gold. We’ll keep you connected to all of the thrilling moments and top stories as we track the medal race each day of the Games.

It’s almost over at the 2026 Olympics. But the U.S. and Canada still have some friendly competition on the docket.

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Sunday will mark the end of the Milan Cortina Games, after two weeks of triumph, heartbreak, scandal and outright weirdness. A total of 111 gold medals have been handed out in Italy, and there are still five left to be decided.

Here are the top five things to watch on Sunday at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics:

1. Team USA vs. Canada (8:10 a.m. ET)

There’s not much to be explained here. It’s the United States against Canada in men’s hockey. The two most loaded rosters duking it out in the first Olympics with NHL talent since 2014. Canada has Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Macklin Celebrini and more. Team USA has Auston Matthews, Quinn Hughes, the Tkachuk brothers, Connor Hellebuyck and more.

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The Americans will be playing for their first Olympic gold since the Miracle on Ice in 1980. This wouldn’t be nearly as big an upset, but there’s a reason hockey fans have had Sunday circled on their calendars since before the Opening Ceremony.

2. Eileen Gu’s last chance at gold in Italy (4:40 a.m. ET)

Gu has been one of the most-followed athletes at the Winter Olympics, but has not achieved the success she found in Beijing. She came up with silver in both the big air and slopestyle, the former of which she won in 2022.

However, she still has her favorite event left. The women’s freestyle skiing halfpipe was postponed from Saturday due to a snowstorm and will now be decided on Sunday. She is the odds-on favorite, with Kate Gray and Svea Irving representing Team USA’s best chance at an upset.

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3. The final curling showdown (5:05 a.m. ET)

Our last taste of curling will be a Sweden-Switzerland showdown for the gold medal in the women’s event. Sweden led the pack in group play and defeated gold medal favorite Canada in the semifinal, while Switzerland beat the U.S. 7-4. Canada defeated the U.S. in the bronze medal match on Saturday.

The Swiss will be playing for their first gold medal in women’s curling and are already guaranteed their first medal since 2006, while Sweden has won three of the last five Olympic tournaments.

4. Closing Ceremony (2:30 p.m. ET)

It will all be over tomorrow evening. Women’s hockey star Hilary Knight and ice dancer Evan Bates will carry the flag for Team USA at the Closing Ceremony in Verona. We will get our first look at the next Winter Olympics host in the French Alps, with the Olympic flag formally handed over to the mayor of Nice.

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Compared to the longer and more-watched Opening Ceremony, the Closing Ceremony always has the feel of one big party, with hundreds of athletes coming together to celebrate the end of the Olympics.

Olympics schedule for Sunday, Feb. 22 (Day 16)

Bobsled

Four-man

• 4 a.m.: Runs 3, 4 (airs on USA Network at 6:30 a.m.; airs on NBC at 11 a.m.)🏅

Cross-Country Skiing

50 kilometer mass start

• 4 a.m.: Women’s final (USA Network; airs on NBC at 11:45 a.m.)🏅

Curling

Women’s

• 5:05 a.m.: Gold-medal game, Switzerland vs. Sweden (airs on NBC and USA Network at 7 a.m.) 🏅

Freestyle Skiing

Halfpipe

• 4:40 a.m.: Women’s final🏅

Hockey

Men’s

8:10 a.m.: Gold-medal game, USA vs. Canada (NBC)🏅

Closing Ceremony

• 2:30 p.m.: Verona Arena (NBC)

Peacock is home to all kinds of original content, from Emmy Award-winning reality series The Traitors to Poker Face and Twisted Metal. In addition to original content, the platform has an impressive library of shows from NBC and Bravo, thousands of movies, and live sports, including comprehensive 2026 Winter Olympics covrage.

While a regular Peacock subscription begins at $10.99 for a Premium Plan and goes up to $16.99 for the ad-free Premium Plus plan, you can get an ad-supported subscription for free if you’re a Walmart+ subscriber.

Walmart+ members actually get their choice between Paramount+ or Peacock included in their membership at no additional cost. A monthly subscription to Walmart+ costs $12.99, and an annual plan usually costs $98 — for free Peacock, and additional perks like five free months of Apple Music, discounts on Cinemark movie theater memberships, free shipping and delivery on Walmart purchases, discounts on gas, and much more.

Roughly 2,900 athletes are in Milan, competing across 16 sports in the Olympic Winter Games Milan Cortina 2026. Categories at this year’s games included figure skating, hockey, Alpine skiing, curling, biathlon, snowboarding, and ski jumping. Live coverage of every event will be available to stream on Peacock. Primetime replays and select live coverage will air on NBC. Here’s what else you need to know about watching the 2026 Winter Olympics.

How to watch the 2026 Winter Olympics:

Dates: Feb. 6 – Feb. 22

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TV channel: NBC

Streaming: Peacock

When are the 2026 Winter Olympics?

The Winter Olympics officially began with the Opening Ceremony on Feb. 6 (though some events started as early as Feb. 4). The Milano Cortina 2026 games will run through Feb. 22.

Where are the Winter Olympics this year?

The 2026 Winter Olympics will be held in Northern Italy, primarily in Milan and also the Alpine mountain resort town of Cortina d’Ampezzo.

What channel are the Olympics on?

The 2026 Winter Olympics will air on NBC and stream live on Peacock.

How to watch the 2026 Winter Olympics without cable:

Winter Olympics sports:

The 2026 Winter Games feature 16 sports: figure skating, hockey, luge, speed skating, Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, curling, freestyle skiing, bobsled, biathlon, skeleton, ski mountaineering, ski jumping, snowboarding, Nordic combined.

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Winter Olympics time difference:

This year’s Olympic Games are in Italy, which is 6 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time. Meaning that some events will start bright and early for U.S. viewers, and live coverage will likely wrap up around 4 p.m. ET each day. NBC will have primetime replays of the biggest moments each night.

2026 Winter Olympics TV/streaming schedule:

(All times Eastern)

Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026 (Day 16)

Bobsled

Four-man

• 4 a.m.: Runs 3, 4 (airs on USA Network at 6:30 a.m.; airs on NBC at 11 a.m.)🏅

Cross-Country Skiing

50 kilometer mass start

• 4 a.m.: Women’s final (USA Network; airs on NBC at 11:45 a.m.)🏅

Curling

Women’s

• 5:05 a.m.: Gold-medal game (airs on NBC and USA Network at 7 a.m.) 🏅

Hockey

Men’s

8:10 a.m.: Gold-medal game (NBC)🏅

Closing Ceremony

• 2:30 p.m.: Verona Arena (NBC)

More ways to watch the 2026 Winter Olympics on NBC:

LOS ANGELES — On a night when the visitors were seemingly the main attraction, the home team stepped up to defend its turf. Even though it wasn’t actually its home turf.

In what felt like the main event of Matchday 1 of the 2026 MLS season, LAFC upset reigning champion Inter Miami 3-0 in front of 75,673 fans inside Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. It was the second-highest attended MLS match ever.

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This was a very on-brand win over Inter Miami, because that’s what LAFC does. David Martínez scored the opener in the 38th minute, with Son Heung-min providing the assist that made it all feel so simple. As if winning was never in the cards for Inter Miami.

“We need to push [Martínez] in the field because he has strong quality, but now he has a changed mentality, too,” Denis Bouanga said postmatch. “Last year is not the same to this year, and he knows.”

Bouanga himself added another goal in the 73rd minute with a moment of sheer brilliance to double the lead. The Frenchman played a majestic Timothy Tillman pass from 50 yards out to perfection and headed it to himself over the head of Dayne St. Clair and into the net.

Then it was Nathan Ordaz who stepped up in stoppage time to pound in the dagger and send the visitors home deflated.

This wasn’t a normal LAFC home opener. MLS dragged the game out of LAFC’s cozy BMO Stadium and into a 100-year-old concrete monster just to contain the Messi effect. More than 75,000 showed up. Cameras everywhere. Pink shirts too, but fewer than expected. Son fans, meanwhile, showed out and basically won the night.

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The opener was supposed to be about the defending champs. The repeat talk. The gravity of Messi bending the league toward Miami.

And of course, Messi was Messi. Every touch got a reaction. Every drift inside felt like it might end someone’s evening. Inter Miami looked exactly like a team that knows the season is long and the World Cup clock is already ticking.

LAFC did not care.

“[Inter Miami] put us [under] a lot of pressure, but we defended really well,” LAFC head coach Marc Dos Santos said. “I don’t think we conceded big chances. There were these half-chances, but overall … I think that part of our game today, A+. The part of possession, B. We can be much better, and we want to be much better, but our guys were a team.”

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The Black and Gold proved it by staying compact. They stayed patient. And when the opening came, Son slipped Martínez through, and Martínez finished like the script wasn’t his responsibility. Bouanga met the moment with finesse before Ordaz unleashed a finishing move to cap the win.

LAFC did what it does: absorb, disrupt, frustrate. Miami had the ball. Messi had moments. The goals never came.

So the season began in a stadium that’s hosted Olympics, Super Bowls and just about everything else. But on this night, the league’s biggest attraction still got upstaged.

Welcome back, MLS.

Here’s how the action unfolded in real time:

Live coverage is over27 updates

• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 8:44 PM PST

  That’s a wrap from Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 8:40 PM PST

  Nathan Ordaz adds another one and this has turned into a rout. A clear cut win in every way for the home side.

• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 8:34 PM PST

  Attendance is 75,673, the most attended opening weekend match in MLS history and the second highest attendance of any match all time.

• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 8:33 PM PST

• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 8:23 PM PST

• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 8:21 PM PST

  Bouanga played a Tilman pass absolutely perfectly on the counterattack. With a quick flick over the head of St. Clair he rebounded his self-pass and directed the ball into the net for the two-goal lead. That could be it for the home team after a brilliant pass from Tilman and a finesse finish from the Frenchman.

• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 8:13 PM PST

• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 8:11 PM PST

  Berterame gets his best chance of the night with a wide open shot mere feet away from Lloris but sends it wide right instead.

• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 8:07 PM PST

  Depaul’s cross finds Berterame in the box, however, Porteous dives in front of it to send it out of bounds with a dangerous header.

• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 7:53 PM PST

  The second half is underway!

• 

  Sat, February 21, 2026 at 7:45 PM PST

  Armando Botello II

  The opener may have been meant to be about the reigning champs, the repeat talk, the gravity of Messi bending the league toward Miami. Instead, LAFC owned the first half. Not just with the goal, but with 10-3 total shots, 3 of which were on target with just 1 for Miami. An upset for the reigning champs is brewing. How will they respond?

• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 7:36 PM PST

  Messi nearly equalizes after being thrown to the ground. He quickly hopped up and found the ball in front of him 20 yards away from Lloris and sent it sailing.

• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 7:32 PM PST

  On nearly the exact same set up, Bouanga finds a streaking Martinez for a 1-on-1, only this time Martinez’s curler goes just wide of the far post. LAFC nearly took a two-goal lead into halftime.

• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 7:22 PM PST

• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 7:20 PM PST

• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 7:18 PM PST

  LAFC gets on the board first thanks to a mistake by Miami. Tilman forced the turnover, but it was Son who capitalized with an assist to Martinez. The young Venezuelan curled the ball past St. Clair and into the far left corner of the goal to put the home squad ahead.

• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 7:08 PM PST

  It’s Bouanga again sending in a stealth cross right in front of St. Clair, but Martinez can’t get his foot on it.

• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 7:03 PM PST

• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 6:59 PM PST

  Bouanga again slices through the Miami defense with a pass to Tilman inside the box. Tilman’s goal opportunity was quickly nixed, however, as Falcon slid in front of it and deflected it out.

• Sat, February 21, 2026 at 6:53 PM PST

  Berterame gets in on the action hoping to feed Messi near the box. Porteous is there to intercede and sends the incoming pass the other way,