Author: rb809rb

MILAN — There is the august, solemn majesty of the Olympic Games, a dignified tradition of athletic excellence stretching back centuries. And then there was Saturday night at the Assago Ice Skating Arena, where Kung-Fu Panda fought Deadpool and Sub-Zero on ice as Tenacious D played overhead and Jackie Chan looked on from rinkside.

The Olympics truly contain multitudes.

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Saturday night, figure skating’s stars and medal winners gathered for one last time in Milan, bidding farewell to the Games in what’s become a beloved tradition: the Olympic Gala. Part performance, part celebration, it’s like figure skating’s version of the home run derby or the slam-dunk contest, a glorious exhibition of the world’s best at the peak of their powers. And, on occasion, it gets weird, too. That happens when you’re at the end of two of the most stressful, arduous, anxious weeks of your entire life.

The Gala was pure entertainment, mixing axels and loops and even a few backflips with exotic costumes — like the panda outfit gold medal winner Mikhail Shaidorov wore for his entire routine — and some very un-skatery songs, like Guns n’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle” and the Mortal Kombat theme song. For once, though, these skaters weren’t worried about pleasing grim, dour judges; they only wanted to enjoy themselves. To be, you know, human.

For some, like Alysa Liu, this was a moment to express pure joy, to revel in the happiness of a life-changing gold medal. For others, like Ilia Malinin and Amber Glenn — both of whom missed out on expected individual medals thanks to untimely miscues — the Gala offered a chance to exorcise some demons in front of the world.

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Glenn, her hair down and flowing, skated to Lady Gaga’s cover of “That’s Life” — a singularly appropriate song of acceptance, defiance and resolution. Malinin, covering his head in a baggy hoodie, skated — and backflipped — to NF’s “FEAR,” a song of desolation with a closing refrain of “Is this what you wanted?” repeated over and over. Whether this was a statement of purpose, or whether Malinin wanted his fans to think it was a statement of purpose, only he knows for sure. The overall effect for both skaters, though, was that of releasing ghosts, of leaving Milan in Milan.

The Gala closed with a spectacular finale — every single invited skater on the ice at once, skating in a community unbound by nationality. The women twirled, the pairs paralleled one another, the adventurous men backflipped while the comedians faked wipeouts. As an orchestral, uplifting version of “Viva La Vida” played, they gathered as one, posing for a once-in-a-lifetime, hold-this-moment selfie.

The Gala represented the very best of what skating can be, delirious happiness at the sheer pleasure of gliding over — and leaping above — the ice. Olympic skating has so many deep-rooted problems, from its still-controversial judging to many coaches’ undue influence on young skaters to the looming threat of the return of Russia … but on this night, for these 150 minutes, skaters and fans alike set aside those concerns and focused on the joy that brought them together in the first place.

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Widen the lens a bit, and you can see how this fits in the full Olympic picture. The Assago Ice Skating Arena is in a dull, nondescript area of South Milan, right next to a highway and near a mall and a gray office park. The building itself looks like the headquarters of a ‘70s-era Bond villain, all concrete and strangely shaped concourses. The majesty of the Duomo is a long way away. And even so, during these Games, there was transcendent beauty and grace within.

The Olympics have their own flaws — honestly, to call them “flaws” undersells them. Corruption, greed, strong-arming with one hand and cozying up to autocracies with the other … the Olympic movement is one that’s so deeply scarred and stained it’s fair to wonder whether the entire enterprise can be saved … or if it’s worth saving at all.

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And then you see something like Saturday night — not the Deadpool and Kung Fu Panda part, the unified finale part — and you realize that the Olympics bring together cultures and countries in a way that nothing else can today. You see fans from so many nations cheering skaters from so many nations, everyone side by side, and just for a moment, everything the Olympics claims to be, it truly is.

At their worst, the Olympics reflect our most base, greedy selves. But at their best, like on Saturday night … they fly.

LOS ANGELES — For a man who has yet to win on the PGA Tour, and now has to fend off Rory McIlroy on one of the premier courses on the calendar, Jacob Bridgeman appears completely unbothered by what’s in front of him.

Maybe that’s just his personality. But a massive six-shot lead doesn’t hurt there, either.

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“I’ve played great this whole week, so I don’t think it was a surprise to me that my game was the way it is [today],” he said confidently on Saturday night.

Bridgeman, a 26-year-old in just his third full season on Tour, posted a 7-under 64 on Saturday at Riviera Country Club. That puts him at 19-under for the week, well ahead of second-place McIlroy at 13-under and the rest of the field entering the final round of the Genesis Invitational.

His round on Saturday was just about perfect. Bridgeman birdied three times in his first four holes of the day to grab the solo lead after starting the day with a share of it in the final group, and then he broke it open completely at the turn. Bridgeman went 4-under in a three-hole stretch, thanks largely to a near-albatross at the par-5 11th. He stuck a 7-wood right next to the cup, and barely flinched in the fairway.

“It was fun and easy,” Bridgeman said of his round. “Kind of the best that the golf world ever gets.”

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McIlroy, who started the day a shot back of the lead, played just fine ahead of Bridgeman. He carded a 2-under 69, and made seven pars to close his round while missing several solid birdie looks along the way. A less than 5-footer for birdie at the 17th that he should have made went just past the cup instead, which left McIlroy staring at his ball exasperated, hands on his hips.

McIlroy admitted that he was “a little frustrated” with himself after the round, but he is going to be in the final group for the first time all season. That, he said, is going to at least let him “keep an eye on Jacob.”

“I wish I was a little bit closer to the lead, but Jacob went out there and just played three incredible rounds of golf,” McIlroy said. “It’s going to take something special from me or anyone else tomorrow to catch him.”

Bridgeman has come close to winning on Tour before. He finished in second at the Cognizant Classic last February, and finished third at the Valspar Championship about a month later. He has two top-10 finishes already this season, including a T8 finish last week at Pebble Beach — which launched him up to No. 52 in the Official World Golf Rankings.

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And thankfully for Bridgeman, he’s already played with McIlroy once before. The two were paired up in the FedExCup Playoffs last season, so he knows what to expect when playing with No. 2-ranked golfer in the world and perhaps the most popular active player in the sport.

“I think if it was my first time [with him] maybe it would be a little unsettling, but now I’m not worried about it,” he said.

While the smart thing to do, considering the lead he has and what’s at stake for him, might be to adjust the game plan a bit on Sunday, Bridgeman isn’t changing a thing. It’s working so far, and he described his game as “aggressively conservative.” Whenever he has the chance to go for it, he’s going to.

“I’m a competitor,” Bridgeman said. “I haven’t had a ton of chances to win yet in my career, but I’m hoping that I’ll have a chance, a good chance tomorrow all the way ‘till the end.

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“If I can get it done, I’d like to kind of start rolling and get a lot of these.”

On the penultimate day of the Milan Cortina Olympics, plenty of medals were up for grabs.

Saturday was another historic day for Team USA, which will leave Italy with its most Winter Olympics gold medals ever. Meanwhile, Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo became the GOAT of the Winter Games, a veteran U.S. Olympian finally became a first-time medalist and the Olympics Gala bid farewell to the Games with a spectacular showing of what the Olympics are all about.

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Here are five of the top stories from Day 15 of the Milan Cortina Olympics:

U.S. wins freestyle mixed aerials gold for second straight Winter Games

The U.S. team of Kaila Kuhn, Connor Curran and Christopher Lillis won gold in freestyle mixed aerials on Saturday, finishing atop the podium for the second consecutive Winter Olympics. The gold medal was also Team USA’s 11th of the Milan Cortina Games, more than the U.S. has ever won at a single Winter Games.

Lillis clinched gold for the U.S. by landing a back double-full-full-full, following strong jumps by Kuhn and Curran that gave Team USA a big lead. He needed 89 points on his final jump after China’s Li Tianma landed short, but earned 117.19 for a decisive team victory. Lillis was also on the mixed aerials team that won gold in 2022 at Beijing.

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Switzerland took silver and China earned bronze in the competition.

Team USA loses women’s curling bronze medal match to Canada

Team Peterson came oh-so-close to winning Team USA’s first medal in women’s curling, but fell short versus Canada in the bronze medal match. The U.S. had a 3-2 lead after five ends, but Canada won three points in the sixth when Tara Peterson missed the house with her shot and Tabitha Peterson couldn’t move a Canadian stone out of the paint.

The U.S. rallied to tie with a 2-0 score in the seventh, but Canada answered again with a 3-0 win in the eighth end. Team Peterson won the ninth 2-0 by knocking Canada’s stone out of the four-foot ring. However, the U.S. could not follow up with the steal it needed in the 10th and Canada earned a 10-7 win.

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Despite not medaling, the U.S. women advanced to the semifinals in curling for the first time since 2002.

Mia Manganello takes bronze in women’s speed skating mass start

Racing in her final Winter Games, speedskater Mia Manganello won her first individual Olympic medal, earning bronze in Saturday’s women’s mass start event.

Competing in her third Winter Games, Manganello finished third with a time of 8:35.39. Marijke Groenewoud of the Netherlands won gold at 8:34.70, while Canada’s Ivanie Blondin finished at 8:35.09.

Manganello, 36, also won bronze in the team pursuit event at the 2018 PyeongChang Games. Like Erin Jackson, she began competing in inline skating before moving to the ice. Manganello also competed in cycling between the 2010 and 2018 Winter Games.

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Klæbo wins sixth gold of Milan Cortina Games

Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo rules cross-country skiing like no other, earning his sixth gold medal of the 2026 Games in the men’s 50km mass start. Fellow Norwegians Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget and Emil Iversen took silver and bronze, respectively.

Those six gold medals are the most that any individual athlete has won during a single Winter Olympics. He also earned gold in the 10km freestyle, 20 km skiathlon, men’s individual sprint, 4 × 7.5 km relay and team sprint events.

Klæbo, 29, also added to his career total with his 11th gold medal, more than anyone in Winter Olympics history.

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Figure skating exhibition gala ends Olympics on a high note

It’s a tradition unlike any other, a chance for the Olympians to come together one final time on the ice before the Games conclude. Saturday’s exhibition gala was part performance, part celebration, wrote Yahoo Sports’ Jay Busbee: “It’s like figure skating’s version of the home run derby or the slam-dunk contest, a glorious exhibition of the world’s best at the peak of their powers.”

Amber Glenn and Ilia Malinin skated for some redemption, while Alysa Liu went for an encore following her gold medal on Thursday. Men’s gold medalist Mikhail Shaidorov, meanwhile, put together a performance that just has to be seen to be believed.

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Highlight of the day

You could say Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong’s husband was pretty excited about her win in the speed skating women’s 1500m.

One more thing

Team USA’s Kaillie Armbruster-Humphries and Jasmine Jones earned bronze in the two-woman bobsled event, maintaining their third-place standing through the fourth and final run of the competition.

For Armbruster-Humphries, this is her sixth Olympic medal, including two in Milan Cortina. The U.S. had two more pairs finish in the top 10, with Kaysha Love and Azaria Hill placing fifth, followed by Elana Meyers Taylor and Jadin O’Brien in seventh. Meyers Taylor won gold in monobob on Monday.

It was a good day for people who believe in omens and hate the New York Yankees.

A sewage leak seeped into the New York Yankees’ clubhouse bathroom and forced fans to walk around pools of stinking water during a spring training game at Steinbrenner Field on Saturday, according to The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty. Tampa’s Department of Public Works is reportedly aware of the problem.

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From The Athletic:

“It’s spring training for the toilets, too,” a Yankees spokesperson said.

Workers were reportedly tearing up part of the entrance to the stadium offices to access piping, while a security guard was directing people around the dirty water. The Yankees also closed the bottom floor of their two-floor team store, and some of the sewage reached outside of the clubhouse bathroom into carpeted areas.

The Yankees did their best to work around the problem, taking interviews in a hallway instead of the clubhouse. Their skipper’s analysis, via The Athletic:

“It’s not great. It’s all over the place,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Hopefully, we’ll get it cleaned up overnight and back in business tomorrow.”

“Life gets you sometimes,” he added. “We’ll get through it.”

Never let it be said that a little sewage will bother the Yankees, though, as they defeated the Detroit Tigers 20-3 behind a two-homer day from Aaron Judge.

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.