Author: rb809rb

The final of the 2026 Winter Olympics’ big air snowboarding event saw defending gold medalist Su Yiming of China try the most daring trick of the competition in an attempt to leapfrog Japan’s Kira Kimura and Kimata Ryoma, only for him to fall and create a scoring controversy for the bronze medal.

NBC broadcaster Todd Richards apparently wasn’t moved, as lingering viewers learned via hot mic after the competition ended.

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“That was boring. That was so boring. The qualifier was way more exciting,” Richards said before the Peacock feed switched to a figure skating promo.

Richards apparently knew what happened immediately after stepping away from the mic, as he soon posted a reel on Instagram saying his phone was getting flooded with DMs. He proceeded to stand by his opinion, arguing the final was much less exciting than the qualifiers, especially when it came to the diversity of tricks.

However, he conditionally apologized if anyone believed he was criticizing the athletes involved:

“I said ‘That was boring. That was so boring. I thought the qualifiers were better.’ And I did. I did think the qualifiers were more exciting. This had nothing to do with the athletes. It had everything to do with the drama that went down in the qualifiers. We had Val Guseli getting the call-up four hours before the event went. He didn’t even know he was going to be in it and came and threw down. We had all kinds of different tricks being done. Butters off the lip, different kinds of axis of rotation, all these riders trying to get it by doing creative spins.

“And the final, a lot of people fell. And a lot of people truly did the same trick. It was a backside 1980 and a switchback-side 1980 the entire time, pretty much by the entire field. It has nothing to do with what these athletes do, because the riders come down here and they throw down. I have the utmost respect for them. It really just lent itself to the format. And I thought the qualifier had a lot more excitement.

“So I apologize if anyone took that as I was calling out any of the riders here, because it truly wasn’t about that. These guys are my heroes, they are my friends, they are my colleagues and they are all rippers.”

It’s a straightforward enough explanation, though the Winter Olympics still hardly needs its own broadcasters complaining about the entertainment value of some events. And yes, much worse has been caught on hot mics in the world of sports.

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Richards competed in the 1998 Olympics in the snowboarding halfpipe for Team USA, finishing 16th. He also won two Winter X Games halfpipe titles, including the inaugural Winter X Games in 1997. This is the sixth Winter Olympics he’s worked as a snowboarding analyst at NBC.

Hilary Knight had a record-tying performance in Team USA’s 5-0 victory over Finland. Lindsey Vonn practiced for the second straight day and ended all doubts about her performing in Sunday’s Olympic women’s downhill competition. U.S. figure skaters Madison Chock and Evan Bates had another strong performance as the Americans took the lead in the figure skating team event, while American curlers Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin struggled. Plus, new faces emerged for Team USA ahead of Monday’s freeski slopestyle final.

Here are the top five stories of the day:

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1. Hilary Knight’s record-tying performance

In the United States’ 5-0 victory over Finland, Hilary Knight tied the Olympic record for the most goals in women’s hockey history, with 14. Knight, 36, is now tied with Natalie Darwitz and Katie King.

It was an all-around balanced scoring night for the U.S. Alex Carpenter, Megan Keller, Abbey Murphy and Taylor Heise also scored. This was their second straight game where they have scored five goals, after their 5-1 victory over Czechia on Thursday.

2. Lindsey Vonn still looks great in training

Lindsey Vonn ended any speculation that she would not be able to compete in Sunday’s Olympic women’s downhill competition. After rupturing her left ACL in last week’s upper section of the World Cup downhill race in Switzerland, Vonn completed her second straight day of training Saturday in Italy.

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In Saturday’s training run she finished with a time of 1:38.28, more than 2 seconds faster than her Friday time. At 41 and after a six-year absence, Vonn is continuing to defy odds.

3. Back-to-back losses end undefeated start for U.S. curling team

It was a rough day for the U.S. curling team. After a record-setting 4-0 undefeated start, Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin suffered back-to-back losses to undefeated Great Britain and the previously winless South Korea. Team USA is now 4-2.

Great Britain’s Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat are perfect so far in Italy with a 7-0 record and bound for the medal round. South Korea is now 1-5 after the upset win over the Americans.

The U.S. team will look to bounce back against Estonia and Sweden on Sunday.

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4. Madison Chock and Evan Bates dominate free dance

Three-time world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates put on a masterclass to finish first in the team event free dance. Chock and Bates scored 133.23 points.

Team USA has a five-point lead with 44 points heading into Sunday’s team event finale. Japan is second with 39 points and Italy third with 37.

5. Avery Krumme, Mac Forehand, Alex Hall and Konnor Ralph qualify for freeski slopestyle final

17-year-old Avery Krumme qualified for Monday’s women’s freeski slopestyle final. Krumme was born in Canada and switched her nationality to represent the United States in 2024.

USA’s Mac Forehand, Alex Hall and Konnor Ralph will also represent the men’s side in the freeski slopestyle final.

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Highlight of the day

How did she do this?

One more thing

Look at Erin Jackson’s family’s reaction after seeing her represent the U.S. as a flag bearer at Friday’s Opening Ceremony.

The Dallas Cowboys have no plans to let George Pickens hit free agency this offseason.

The team is expected to place the franchise tag on the Pro Bowl wide receiver, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, which would lock him in for next season on a one-year contract worth roughly $28 million. The tag can be officially applied anytime between Feb. 17 and March 3.

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The decision is hardly a surprise. Playing alongside All-Pro CeeDee Lamb, Pickens enjoyed the best season of his career in 2025 after being traded to Dallas from the Pittsburgh Steelers, with 93 catches, 1,429 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns on 137 targets.

Both Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and his son, team COO Stephen Jones, have said they want Pickens back long-term, with Jerry saying he expects a long-term extension to get done:

“I’m talking to George all the time by virtue of my excitement for him,” Jones said when asked if contract extension talks have begun with Pickens. “He’s better than, as far as what he contributed to our team, showing the potential that he could contribute. I’m looking forward to getting things worked out so George can be a Cowboy a long time.”

The franchise tag ensures that however negotiations go, the Cowboys can plan for Pickens to be in the fold for the 2026-27 season.

Hitting Pickens with the franchise tag does mean the Cowboys would have the NFL’s second-most expensive receiver duo next season between him and Lamb, who is currently on a four-year, $136 million deal. Combined with the average annual value of that contract, Dallas will be paying the pair $62 million, behind only the $69 million AAV currently going to the Cincinnati Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.

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Pickens is one of several notable Cowboys to be hitting free agency this offseason. Starters Javonte Williams, Jadeveon Clowney and Donovan Wilson are all unrestricted free agents, while All-Pro kicker Brandon Aubrey is a restricted free agent and is likely seeking the richest kicker deal in NFL history.

Signing Pickens to an extension instead of the tag would free up a significant amount of money for this upcoming offseason, in addition to retaining a star at a premium position for years to come.

We’re in the final hours before the Super Bowl, and both teams appear to be in good health ahead of Sunday’s showdown.

The Seahawks appeared loose and energetic in their final 44-minute walk-through on Saturday afternoon at San Jose State, according to a pool report.

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“Guys are in good spirits,” Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said. “You can hear them. Finally. It’s taken a while to get here. But it’s here. It’s awesome.”

The Patriots opted for an even more laid-back approach on Saturday at Stanford Stadium, where the team took photos and spent time with their families.

Both quarterbacks are healthy and good to go, as Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (shoulder) and Seahawks QB Sam Darnold (oblique) were full participants in Friday’s practice reports.

On the other side of the ball, Seahawks rookie safety Nick Emmanwori was a full participant in practice and has no injury designation for Sunday. Emmanwori went down with an ankle injury in practice Wednesday and was held out of Thursday’s session.

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For the Patriots, linebacker Harold Landry was limited Friday after missing Thursday’s practice, while fellow LB Robert Spillane was a limited participant for the second straight day.

And on Thursday night, at NFL Honors, the top awards for the 2025 season were handed out.

MVP — Matthew Stafford, Rams QB

Offensive Player of the Year — Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seahawks WR

Defensive Player of the Year — Myles Garrett, Browns DE

Offensive Rookie of the Year — Tetairoa McMillan, Panthers WR

Defensive Rookie of the Year — Carson Schwesinger, Browns LB

Protector of the Year — Joe Thuney, Bears OG

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Comeback Player of the Year — Christian McCaffrey, 49ers RB

Coach of the Year — Mike Vrabel, Patriots

The night also included the announcement of the five-man 2026 Hall of Fame Class: Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Kuechly, Adam Vinatieri and Roger Craig. As previously reported, legendary Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and owner Robert Kraft failed to make the list.

Follow along with Yahoo Sports for the latest NFL news and injury updates leading up to Super Bowl LX:

Live coverage is over117 updates

• 

  Sat, February 7, 2026 at 4:17 PM PST

  Andy Backstrom

  The Dallas Cowboys are expected to place their franchise tag on wide receiver George Pickens, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

  Pickens is coming off his first season in Dallas, a breakout campaign in which he caught 93 passes for 1,429 yards.

  The tag is projected to cost approximately $28 million, per Schefter, and it’s thought to be the placeholder for long-term contract negotiations.

• 

  Sat, February 7, 2026 at 1:40 PM PST

  Ian Casselberry

  The Seattle Seahawks are adding two running backs to their active roster for Super Bowl LX. Cam Akers and Velus Jones were elevated from the practice squad on Saturday.

  Akers, 26, appeared in three games this season for the Seahawks with no carries or receptions, This will be his second Super Bowl, after appearing with the Los Angeles Rams in 2021. He has also played for the Minnesota Vikings and Houston Texans in his six-year NFL career.

  Jones, 28, also played in three regular-season games, rushing for 32 yards on four carries. In four NFL seasons, he has also played with the Chicago Bears, Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints.

• 

  Sat, February 7, 2026 at 1:19 PM PST

  Andy Backstrom

  The Atlanta Falcons are expected to release quarterback Kirk Cousins before the start of the new league year in March, giving him the chance to choose where he wants to play in 2026, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

  That is, if Cousins does in fact decide to keep playing. He’s spent 14 seasons in the league: six in Washington, six in Minnesota and two in Atlanta.
• 

  Sat, February 7, 2026 at 1:06 PM PST

  Andy Backstrom

  Both running back D’Ernest Johnson and defensive lineman Leonard Taylor III will be on the active roster for the New England Patriots during Super Bowl LX.

  Johnson carried the ball just 13 times for 25 yards this season, whereas Taylor scattered 11 total tackles — first with the New York Jets and then with the Patriots — in his limited action.
• 

  Sat, February 7, 2026 at 8:06 AM PST

  Tarohn Finley

  The New England Patriots didn’t have to wait until the Super Bowl to listen to artist Bad Bunny. To simulate Super Bowl conditions, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel sent his team to the locker room for 14 minutes while blaring Bad Bunny on the speakers before bringing them back.

  Bad Bunny will be performing at halftime of Super Bowl LX.
• Fri, February 6, 2026 at 6:42 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

  The safety has no injury designation after fully participating in Friday’s practice.

  It’s an almost entirely clean final injury report for Seattle, other than FB Robbie Ouzts, who is questionable with a neck injury.
• Fri, February 6, 2026 at 2:58 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

  DL Joshua Farmer, LB Harold Landry and LB Robert Spillane were all questionable after Friday’s practice.
• 

  Fri, February 6, 2026 at 7:29 AM PST

  Frank Schwab

  When the New England Patriots went 4-13 in consecutive seasons, plenty of NFL fans were good with it.

  They won too much over two decades with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. People were ready to be done with them (though they just shifted their hate to the Kansas City Chiefs). When the Patriots bottomed out at the end of the Belichick era, and then again for Jerod Mayo’s one season as head coach, the dynasty wasn’t just dead but it was deep into the rearview mirror.

  Well, guess what? The Patriots are back in the Super Bowl. And it is possible this isn’t their last one of this era.

  Read more here.

• 

  Fri, February 6, 2026 at 4:41 AM PST

  Andy Backstrom

  With the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame class complete, eyes are already on who could make up the 2027 class, including first-time eligible candidates.

  The list is stacked.

  Among those candidates are former New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski, Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger and Minnesota Vikings RB Adrian Peterson.
• Thu, February 5, 2026 at 8:02 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

  NFL Honors concludes with Commanders LB Bobby Wagner winning the award for philanthropy and community impact.
• Thu, February 5, 2026 at 7:54 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff
• Thu, February 5, 2026 at 7:51 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

  Stafford narrowly beat out the Patriots QB, with 24 first-place votes to Maye’s 23.

  Josh Allen was the only other candidate to get any first-place votes, with 2.
• Thu, February 5, 2026 at 7:47 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

  Stafford beats out Patriots QB Drake Maye for the NFL’s top honor of the 2025 season.
• Thu, February 5, 2026 at 7:40 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

  The Seahawks receiver takes home the award, but of course he’s not in person to accept it as his team is preparing for a pretty big game on Sunday.
• Thu, February 5, 2026 at 7:29 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

  The second-round draft pick out of UCLA became an important centerpiece of Cleveland’s dominant defense.
• Thu, February 5, 2026 at 7:24 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

  Caleb Williams’ overtime-winning touchdown pass to DJ Moore to help the Bears beat the Packers and eventually win the NFC North title was voted top moment this season.
• Thu, February 5, 2026 at 7:17 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

  As previously reported, the notable names missing from this class: Patriots legends Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft, who were both first-time finalists this year.
• Thu, February 5, 2026 at 7:11 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

  Drew Brees

  Larry Fitzgerald

  Luke Kuechly

  Adam Vinatieri

  Roger Craig
• Thu, February 5, 2026 at 6:51 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

  Vrabel beat out Super Bowl counterpart Mike Macdonald of the Seahawks. Will Sunday’s outcome be difference?
• Thu, February 5, 2026 at 6:47 PM PST

  Yahoo Sports Staff

  As expected, the Patriots head coach wins the award after leading the team to the Super Bowl in his first year on the job.

Stephen Curry has missed three games for the Golden State Warriors with a knee injury. It sounds like he will be missing at least two more.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr indicated to reporters Saturday that Curry is likely to sit out until after the upcoming All-Star break. At the very least, he was out for that night’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers and is considered doubtful for a clash with the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.

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“I think there’s a good chance he doesn’t play until after the break,” Kerr said. “We’re just going to take it day-by-day, but [Monday], he’s doubtful.

The Grizzlies game is one of two games the Warriors have before the All-Star break, with the other being a home game against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday. Golden State’s first game of the second half is Feb. 19 against the Boston Celtics.

That means the Warriors will have to continue proceeding heavily shorthanded. Jimmy Butler remains out for the season with a torn ACL, while past contributors Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield are now members of the Atlanta Hawks. They were dealt at the trade deadline in exchange for big man Kristaps Porzingis, who has been out since early January with an Achilles injury.

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Kerr said Porzingis will remain out until after the All-Star break.

“He got a workout in today with Rick so we’ll see where it goes from here,” Kerr said. “I think the plan is he’ll be in the Bay all of All-Star break and he’ll play after All-Star break.”

The Warriors entered Saturday in eighth place in the Western Conference at 28-24.

With the game tied and less than a minute to go Saturday night in the Dean Smith Center, Duke forward Cameron Boozer knocked the ball loose from a driving Seth Trimble.

Boozer didn’t take advantage, missing a layup on the other end.

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And Trimble, a senior North Carolina captain who broke a bone in his left forearm during a weight room accident earlier this season, got one more chance for a defining moment in a historic regional matchup that had been split evenly over its past 120 iterations.

The guard swished a go-ahead, last-second 3-pointer that caused bedlam.

Fans stormed the court, only to find out there were actually 0.4 seconds remaining in the game.

All of them had to return to their seats, and equipment staff anxiously cleared the hardwood of debris — except the Blue Devils’ ensuing inbound heave didn’t change the 71-68 outcome, the largest comeback win for UNC over Duke in the last 25 years.

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The No. 14 Tar Heels (19-4, 7-3 ACC) trailed by as many as 13 points, and their faithful celebrated the come-from-behind victory again after the buzzer sounded a second time.

Jon Scheyer said afterward that Duke staff members were punched in the face during the game-ending frenzy.

A motivated Caleb Wilson, who revealed to Andscape in the lead-up to the rivalry showdown that Duke stopped talking to him in the highly touted forward’s recruitment, logged 17 of UNC’s 29 first-half points and finished with 23. Boozer, another top-five NBA Draft prospect, totaled 24 points and 11 rebounds.

Trimble, the hero who gave the Tar Heels their first lead of the night with less than a second left, collected 16 points.

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No. 4 Duke (21-2, 10-1) was in the driver’s seat for most of the game.

It sliced through UNC’s defense with well-timed cuts in the opening minutes. One of those helped fuel a 10-0 Blue Devils run that staked them to an 18-5 lead, as center Patrick Ngongba II whipped a pass to wing Dame Sarr, who then dunked.

Wilson didn’t get many touches early, and he didn’t score until the 13:18 mark in the first half. But his drought-ending turnaround jumper set up a pretty up-and-under that gave the Tar Heels a shot in the arm.

UNC doubled Boozer early and often. His first points, and shot, came on a tip-in close to 8:30 into the game.

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After Wilson scored eight straight points for the Tar Heels, wing Jonathan Powell drilled a 3-pointer to pull his team back within six points of the Blue Devils, making it a 22-16 game.

Wilson tacked on another UNC triple, and, following two quick fouls, Boozer took a seat on the bench with 9:33 left before intermission and the Tar Heels building what would be a 9-0 surge.

He sat for less than two minutes, though, and Duke held onto its lead down the stretch of the first half, even restoring a double-digit advantage, first with a 3 from Boozer and then with another from his twin brother, Cayden Boozer.

Having shot a mere 9 of 27, or 33%, from the floor and accounting for just 11 of the game’s 33 rebounds across the first 20 minutes of action, UNC found itself down 41-29 at the break. Center Henri Veesaar came in averaging 16.8 points and nine rebounds per game yet went scoreless with two rebounds in the first half.

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To start the second half, Wilson picked up where he left off, knocking down a tough jumper over Cameron Boozer, whom Wilson notably swatted for a highlight-reel block in the first half.

Then Wilson used a jab step to set the stage for a left-handed layup. While his clinic continued, so did Duke’s lead, as Caleb Foster and, later, Sarr poured in 3-pointers.

But Veesaar’s first points, followed by Jarin Stevenson’s second 3-pointer of the second half, decreased the Tar Heels’ deficit to five. That sequence jumpstarted a flurry of offense on both ends.

UNC and Duke traded buckets up until the half’s second media timeout, with the Tar Heels’ effort level noticeably higher than it was at the beginning of the game.

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The scoring slowed in the subsequent minutes. Isaiah Evans blocked Wilson, and Boozer netted his second triple, putting the Blue Devils up 62-53.

UNC didn’t go away. Derek Dixon sank a 3 that ignited the arena.

He made one more less than four minutes later, and Veesaar followed to tie the game at 68.

Veesaar bounced back from a quiet first half with 13 second-half points and the defense that shut down Boozer on his potential game-winning drive.

Then Trimble etched his name in UNC lore.

No. 14 North Carolina came back from 13 points down, and Seth Trimble drilled the 3-pointer of his life to defeat No. 4 Duke 71-68 on Saturday night in the Dean Smith Center.

What followed was mayhem: two court storms, one when Tar Heels fans thought the game was over, and the second after the final 0.4 seconds ticked off the clock.

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For UNC, it was joyous.

For Duke, it was painful — emotionally and, according to Jon Scheyer, physically, too.

The Blue Devils’ head coach told reporters after the loss that Duke staff members were punched in the face during the game-ending frenzy.

“[But] I got staff members that got punched in the face. My family pushing people away, trying to not get trampled. That’s not what this game is about. You give them all the credit in the world. It’s not about the game, but obviously that was a scary ending — and this rivalry is not about that.”

UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham publicly apologized and said that he personally apologized to Scheyer after the game.

“When they rushed the court, a number of people got knocked over,” Cunningham said, per The Fayetteville Observer’s Rodd Baxley. “But then we had to clear the court again. So when we normally have something like just rushing the court and the game is over, we do have a line by the benches to get people off safely.

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“… Obviously, if somebody got injured, that’s just really, really disappointing. We’ll do the best we can to make sure that doesn’t happen, but, again, my apologies to Duke for that.”

This isn’t the first time the 38-year-old Scheyer has been outspoken about a court storming.

In fact, he called for the celebration’s ban just about two years ago.

At the time, Scheyer was in the second season of his now-four-season tenure as the head coach of his alma mater, which he helped win a national title for as a guard in 2010.

Duke had just been upset by Wake Forest, and star forward Kyle Filipowski injured his knee amid the court storming chaos.

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“When are we going to ban court stormings?” Scheyer said postgame on Feb. 24, 2024.

“When I played, at least it was 10 seconds and then they would run on the floor,” he added. “Now, the buzzer doesn’t even go off and they’re running on the floor. This has happened to us a bunch this year.”

Scheyer was asked Saturday night if he still feels like court storming should be banned.

“I think court storming is fine, I don’t have any issue with court storming,” he said, per The Associated Press. “Just shouldn’t have people getting punched in the face. Shouldn’t put our players in position where they’re face-to-face with people who can do anything at that time. It just takes one reaction. Even today, I had to push people away just to try to protect our players.”

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Scheyer added, according to the AP: “They won, they should celebrate. “They want to court storm, court storm. But just let’s get our guys off safely, that’s it. That’s where I’m at with that.”

While Saturday’s double court storm caught the public’s eye, given the grand stage Duke-UNC provides, it’s happened before.

Actually, just last week, UCF’s court storm took tries. The first time, fans were herded back to their seats after officials determined that then-No. 11 Texas Tech was due two free throws because of a last-second foul.

After those attempts, the buzzer sounded once more, and the pandemonium resumed.

The James Harden era of the Cleveland Cavaliers began with a close win over one of the worst teams in the NBA on Saturday.

The Cavaliers came back to beat the Sacramento Kings, in Harden’s debut with the team after a trade deadline move from the Los Angeles Clippers. Harden finished the game with 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting, with 15 of those points coming in the fourth quarter.

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Harden made his mark when Cleveland was down 121-116 with fewer than four minutes to go. He made 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to put his team ahead, and also made four free throws in the final 30 seconds to put the game away.

It had been previously shaping up to be a rough debut for the 11-time All-Star. The Cavaliers’ defense in particular looked like it needed work with Harden getting his first minutes in the system, but big nights from Donovan Mitchell (35 points) and Jarrett Allen (29 points) helped offset those struggles.

Travis Scott was excited, at least.

Harden’s time with the Clippers ended abruptly last week, when the team sent him to Cleveland in exchange for fellow All-Star guard Darius Garland. Harden spent two and a half seasons in Los Angeles, but a disappointing first half of the season led the Clippers to revamping the supporting cast around Kawhi Leonard.

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In Cleveland, Harden joined a franchise currently in playoff position, but a step behind their 64-win season last year. He brings a lengthy history as one of the NBA’s top offensive engines and forms a dynamic backcourt with Mitchell, though with some overlapping skill sets (an issue with Garland as well).

The real question is if Harden can overcome a track record of underperformance come playoff time. That answer is months away, so all he can do for now is focus on getting up to speed with his sixth NBA team.

41-year-old Lindsey Vonn was already making headlines when she decided to come out of retirement to compete at the 2026 Winter Games in Milan Cortina, Italy, but she’s making even bigger news now that she’ll be competing with a torn ACL. Vonn was injured in a crash while training in Switzerland last week, but despite her injury, she’s dead-set on remaining in the competition. Vonn will take to the slopes this Sunday, Feb. 8, for the women’s downhill race, the event that earned her a gold medal at the 2010 Olympics. Assuming Vonn is healthy, she’s also scheduled to compete in the women’s Super-G race on Feb. 12.

Here’s how to watch Lindsey Vonn compete in women’s downhill at this year’s games, along with competition schedules for the rest of Team USA. While every race will stream on Peacock, some will also be broadcast on NBC and USA Network. (To see specific air times, check out the official NBC Olympics broadcast schedule and toggle your search to “TV Only.”) Here’s a rundown of how to watch every Alpine skiing event at the 2026 Winter Games.

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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 Milan Cortina 2026.

How to watch Lindsey Vonn compete in the women’s downhill race at the 2026 Winter Olympics

Dates Sunday, Feb. 8

Times: 5:30 a.m. ET (live on Peacock and USA), re-air at 9:20 a.m. and 10:45 p.m. (on NBC)

Location: Tofane Ski Centre, Cortina d’Ampezzo

TV channels: NBC, USA

Streaming: Peacock, DirecTV, and more

Where can I stream Alpine skiing at the 2026 Winter Olympics?

Lindsay Vonn’s race will stream live at 5:30 a.m. ET this Sunday on Peacock.

Where to watch Alpine skiing on TV

Lindsay Vonn’s downhill race coverage will air live on USA and re-airs later on NBC at 9:20 a.m. and again after the Super Bowl at 10:45 p.m. You can stream USA and NBC on DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV and more. For specific live broadcast times, make sure to check out the official NBC Olympics broadcast schedule and toggle your search to “TV Only.”

LIVIGNO, Italy — It was devastating to watch, even more brutal to hear.

For a nation that had become enraptured in Lindsey Vonn’s comeback story and the norm-defying attempt to win an Olympic medal without an ACL in her left knee, the helpless cries of pain as she lay on her back and as the mountain fell silent will be hard to erase from memory.

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Downhill skiing is often breathtaking. It is sometimes gruesome. And for the second time in nine days, the images of an American sports heroine being strapped to a board and lifted into a helicopter churned the stomach.

But that’s skiing down a mountain at 80 miles per hour. That’s the risk Vonn signed up for when she decided to compete in an Olympics nine days after an ACL tear during a different competition in Switzerland. That’s what happens sometimes when you go for it.

And that’s exactly what Vonn did.

We may never know for sure, but Vonn’s knee may not have even been the culprit for crashing just 13 seconds into her run. If anything, the chain of events that led to her breakdown Sunday started by taking a highly aggressive line into a curve with all her weight shifted to the right — not the injured left leg. Instead, it was her right pole getting tangled with the gate that threw her off balance, launching her into the air, onto her stomach as she hit the snow and then onto her back as she slid several more feet.

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Just like that, it was over. And awful.

Like clockwork, there will undoubtedly be detractors who say Vonn shouldn’t have tried something so dangerous, so audacious.

But Vonn, 41, has lived her entire life audaciously. She also knows more about what can happen on a ski slope, for better and worse, than the rest of us put together.

She understood what could happen. She deserved the chance. And now, only she can answer whether the consequences for her body were worth it.

It’s not our business.

Was it sickening to see play out in real time? Of course. But when we turn on a sporting event, especially in the Winter Olympics, we are not guaranteed an experience free of discomfort.

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Many of these sports are dangerous. Usually, the athletes make them look easy. Sometimes we take for granted their tolerance for risk.

But this one slaps us all in the face — not just because it’s one of the most accomplished winter sport athletes in the world but because her pain, as it played out on television for millions of people, connects deeply to our own sense of fear and mortality.

Yes, this injury will cast a pall over these Olympics. How can it not? What we watched Sunday wasn’t just sports, it was a microcosm of life. At some point, no matter how invincible we might feel, it can all change in an instant.

Vonn had no doubt she could do it. Her training runs were fine. She spent part of Saturday beefing with detractors on social media, oozing the kind of confidence that made you realize she wasn’t just there to glide down a hill.

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She was all-in. Maybe to her detriment.

Some will say it was all a delusion, that doctors shouldn’t have given her the green light, that she should have given her spot in the field to a younger, healthier American.

Stop.

Are you really going to tell one of the legends of the sport, someone who came out of retirement and almost immediately re-established herself one of the best in the world, that she can’t have this chance? Please.

I asked downhill ski racer Bryan Bennett about that notion Saturday after his final Olympic run.

“She’s won Cortina I don’t know how many times,” he said.  “She understands that downhill. Her equipment’s obviously been in a good place. If she can just hold it together for one run … I don’t think she has to risk incredibly. It’s not like she has to do anything crazy special.”

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Perhaps one day, after the injuries heal, Vonn will tell us whether that’s what cost her. For now, we can only go off what we saw on television — and what it looked like was an all-time skiing talent trying desperately, maybe too desperately, to win a race the rest of us just wanted her to finish.

But our feelings don’t matter.

Vonn has crashed before, blown out her knee before, felt pain few of us can fathom before. She knew it could happen again and tried anyway.

She went for it. Who are we to second-guess?