Category: Sport

When Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese showed up to his NFL scouting combine media availability Wednesday morning, the nameplate at his podium said his first name was “Vell.”

That surprised him.

“No, no, no. You can stick with Arvell,” Reese said at the podium, via Chat Sports.

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What’s clear is that all NFL fans who don’t know Reese’s name will soon, and probably by the end of the week.

In an NFL Draft that has only one quarterback expected to go in the first few picks, Reese might end up as the second overall pick off the board after Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Reese’s athleticism, versatility and production are going to appeal to teams in the top five. Reese said Wednesday he has already met with the Jets, who have the second pick of the draft. Interviews at the combine do not tip off that a player will go to a certain team, but it also shouldn’t be a surprise that teams selecting in the first few picks of the draft want to get to know Reese better. He’s one of the most intriguing talents in the draft.

Reese played all over Ohio State’s front seven last season, and the Buckeyes’ defense led FBS by allowing only 9.3 points per game. Reese would play off-ball linebacker but also line up on the edge in pass-rushing situations. That’s similar to Micah Parsons’ role at Penn State. Reese has said he has been asked where he wants to play.

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“I’ll tell them outside linebacker or edge,” Reese said.

That makes sense, because edge rushers have a lot more value in the NFL. Reese said he was on the edge about 60% of the time last season, and he has room to grow as a full-time edge player. He had only 6.5 sacks last season, mostly because he wasn’t rushing all the time.

“I haven’t even scratched the surface of what really I can do pass rushing,” Reese said.

This week could be big for Reese. He talked about needing to get better at many parts of his game, but the athleticism is pretty easy to see on tape. Reese said he’s doing all the drills at the combine, including all edge drills and all linebacker drills, and while he doesn’t have a goal for his 40-yard dash time, “I just want to make sure I run fast.”

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He should do well during the drills and, if he does, he will be in the mix to be a top-three pick with other edge defenders like Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr. and Texas Tech’s David Bailey. While Reese’s versatility at Ohio State says a lot about him as a football player, there will be some projection for teams at the top of the draft because he wasn’t full time at any one position. But the raw ability should make for an easy transition, and a high spot in the draft.

“I think I have a lot to get better at, at outside linebacker and edge, as far as pass rushing and coverage, but I think I can adapt to it quick, for sure,” Reese said.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are returning to London … again. The NFL announced Wednesday the Jaguars and the Washington Commanders will take part in the London games in 2026.

Those teams won’t play each other, however. Instead, the NFL announced the Jaguars will take part in two of the London games and the Commanders will take part in the third London game. The league did not announce their opponents for those contests. That announcement will come by the time the full NFL schedule is released.

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Playing regular-season games in London has become commonplace for the Jaguars, who have played in 14 games in the city since 2013. Eleven of those games have been played at Wembley and three have been played at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Jaguars will play at both locations again in 2026.

In addition to the Jaguars getting two London games, the league confirmed the team will play those games in back-to-back weeks for the third straight season. The NFL, however, did not announce which weeks the Jaguars will play in London.

For the Commanders, it marks the second time the team will play a game in London. The Commanders don’t have a ton of international experience. The team took part in the Spain game last season, losing 16-13 to the Miami Dolphins. Prior to that, the team played the Cincinnati Bengals in London in 2016. That game ended 27-27.

The Commanders will play at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2026.

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The NFL is set to play a record nine international games in 2026 and has slowly revealed more information about those games ahead of the full schedule reveal. On Tuesday, the league announced the Detroit Lions would be one of the teams taking part in the 2026 Germany game.

Other than the Australia game, which will feature the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams, the NFL has not fully announced the matchups for any of the other eight international games in 2026.

Sidney Crosby will miss at least a month after being placed on injured reserve by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday. The team’s captain suffered a lower-body injury during Canada’s Olympic men’s quarterfinal win over Czechia last week.

The Penguins did not reveal any specifics on Crosby’s injury.

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Crosby, who did not play in Canada’s semifinal win over Finland or the gold-medal game loss to the United States, took multiple hits in the second period of the Czechia game. He eventually left the game after being seen shaking his right leg.

After undergoing an MRI, Crosby was not ruled out for the remainder of the tournament and was a game-time decision for Canada’s final two games. He finished the Olympics with two goals and six points in four games.

The 38-year-old Crosby leads the Penguins with 27 goals and 59 points through 56 games. As the NHL resumes play following the Olympic break, Pittsburgh sits second in the Metropolitan Division eight points behind the Carolina Hurricanes. The team has not made the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2022 and being tied for third-most points in the Eastern Conference at this point in the season has surprised many.

But the playoff race in the East is tight. Only seven points separate the Penguins from the 13th-place Philadelphia Flyers. Losing their captain for a large chunk of the remaining regular-season schedule is not ideal.

The Penguins begin their post-Olympic schedule Thursday at home against the New Jersey Devils. They will play 19 games in 34 nights with seven of those matchups coming against division rivals.

As we look ahead with the calendar about to flip to March, Week 19 will mean different things depending on where you are in your fantasy basketball league standings. Playing? Prepping? Still grinding? Three scenarios for next week, three different plans. Let’s go!

More Playoff Primers

Week 19 slate at a glance

To view the team matchups for each slate, check out Hashtag Basketball’s Advanced Schedule Grid.

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Are you trending toward a playoff spot?

Whether it’s accumulating more total points than your opponent or winning at least five categories, the moves you make (or don’t) determine the result of your matchup.

Quality meets quantity

There are 16 teams who play four games this week, 12 play three, and two play two. Of those 16 four-game teams, not all schedules are created equal — it’s not only about quantity, but it’s also about when those games fall.

• 4 games: BOS, CHA, DAL, DET, HOU, LAC, LAL, MIA, MIL, NOP, NYK, ORL, PHX, SAS, UTA, WAS

• 3 games: BKN, CHI, DEN, GSW, IND, MEM, MIN, OKC, PHI, POR, SAC, TOR

The teams I’m prioritizing for streaming are:

Three of their four games land on the lightest slates of the week — Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. The Clippers are the best of the three — all four of their games fall on lighter slates. Light slates mean they’re guaranteed to get into your lineup (unless they’re ruled out in advance).

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Players like Brook Lopez, Brice Sensabaugh, John Konchar, Kris Dunn, Kyle Filipowski, Ace Bailey, Jordan Miller and Cam Thomas are all worth targeting this week, specifically because of this schedule alignment. I’ll even throw Kyle Kuzma into the mix if Giannis Antetokounmpo isn’t back yet.

The Wizards are another early-week streaming target worth mentioning. The Wizards play three games in four nights from Monday to Thursday, starting with a Monday-Tuesday back-to-back. That’s a lot of production crammed into the first half of the week, and with this roster in full development mode, it could lead to some counting stats. Tristan Vukcevic, Tre Johnson and Bilal Coulibaly are widely available options on waivers.

Who to avoid — and when: The Hawks and Cavs are your obvious two-game teams to fade, but the timing of when other teams play matters just as much. The Hawks, Pacers, and Blazers don’t play until Wednesday — if you’re streaming them for early-week production, you’re leaving dead roster spots Monday and Tuesday when you could be getting streaming numbers elsewhere. The Cavs are a different kind of trap — they play Tuesday and then go dark until Sunday. That’s a five-day gap in the middle of your playoff week (or push). Don’t let a big Tuesday night from a Cavs player like Jaylon Tyson or Sam Merrill lull you into keeping them rostered for the rest of the week.

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Streaming plan: Start with a Wizards player on Monday since one pickup can net three games before Thursday. Or target the teams that play four games with automatic starts. Wednesday and Saturday follow the same logic. On Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, when 10-plus teams are playing? Trust your established guys.

Got a bye week? Now, stay one step ahead

You’re in the playoffs, so start planning and scouting.

• Look ahead to the Week 20 schedule outliers: Philadelphia could have a monster week ahead. In deeper leagues, Andre Drummond, Quentin Grimes and one of Dominic Barlow or Trendon Watford are worth considering in 9-cat leagues — Embiid is a near-lock to sit out at least one leg of each of the Sixers’ two back-to-back games, which means Drummond steps into starter minutes. You want him rostered before everyone else figures it out. The Pelicans play two games, so you can drop most of the Pelicans except Trey Murphy III and Zion Williamson.

• Study opponents in your bracket: For 9-cat leagues, pull your opponents’ last few matchups to see how they’re winning (or losing). For High Score, play the wire and see if any leaguemates got desperate and stress-dropped a good player.

• Audit yourself: What categories are you consistently losing? Don’t fix everything — pick one or two you can realistically flip. That’s your target for roster moves this week, or assessing any value that hits the wire to snatch up. If you can, make at least one or two spots at the back of your bench available for streaming. Things are already getting weird in silly season, so you have to be ready to scoop up those replacement-level guys who can potentially become league-winners.

What if your playoffs haven’t started yet?

You’ve got time — and the fantasy basketball trade deadline hasn’t closed yet. Do something!

• Make a move before March 5: Depending on whether your playoffs begin in Week 20 or Week 21 (the Yahoo Fantasy default), look at the schedule to offload players with an unfavorable slate of games or set up who haven’t looked at it. Move them for a four-game week contributor before the deadline shuts.

• Stream aggressively this week: Every win matters for seeding or getting in. Monday, Wednesday, Saturday — those are free production nights. Add the best available player on a four-game team and run with it. But also, give yourself some bandwidth to react to unforeseen circumstances.

• Scout the next two weeks: Whoever you’re playing in Round 1, start pulling their stats now. Same process as Scenario 2 — find their weakness, find yours and spend the next week building toward the matchup before it arrives.

The schedule is public. Everyone sees the same game counts. The only real edge is moving faster than the other managers. Get ready because Monday will be here before you know it. I’ll be running this column back next week for the fantasy managers whose playoffs begin in Week 20. Stay tuned.

I’ve played fantasy baseball for nearly 30 years, and I would be embarrassed to tell you how many drafts I have completed over that stretch. With so many under my belt, I sometimes like to play around with unusual strategies in an effort to find a better way to build a team. This is an especially good option for those who draft many teams, or for those who can try out these strategies without putting much (or any) money into the endeavor.

[Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league for the 2026 MLB season]

Here are six draft strategies that a restless or new drafter can try this season. They all have one thing in common — they narrow the player pool, which reduces confusion and allows the drafter to focus on a specific group of players.

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The ”Prime Years” strategy

We know that prospect development is rarely linear. We also know that time eventually catches up with all veteran players. Yet, we still automatically project improvement on our young players, and we sometimes express shock when a 35-year-old’s production suddenly falls off a cliff. To avoid having too much wish-casting on our teams, managers can limit themselves to players who are in their prime years. Defining those years is up for debate, but selecting players between ages 26-31 would give managers a large pool to choose from.

Those who use this strategy may want to widen their gap for closers or omit it entirely. After all, there are only a limited number of ninth-inning men to choose from, and the small workload required by their role allows them to often find success at an advanced age.

The ”Ascending” strategy

This is the opposite of the “Prime Years” team and is definitely more fun. Of course, it also has a higher likelihood of disaster. With this plan, the manager only selects players who are at an age where their arrow should still be pointing up. The specific age is up for debate, but managers could have a large group of young, exciting players by limiting themselves to those who are 26 or younger on Opening Day. The hope is that the manager can correctly predict the players who are on their way up and then ride those players to the top of the standings.

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Because of the slow development of pitchers, managers may need to loosen the criteria at that position to those who are under 30 years old.

The ”Bounce-back” strategy

This is one of my favorite strategies for those with enough guts to try it. The plan is simple — find last season’s biggest busts, and draft as many of them as you can. Recency bias is a real thing in fantasy sports, and we struggle to look past last year for those who otherwise have strong track records.

To properly execute this plan, managers will want to dismiss busts who still have injury concerns during Spring Training. Under this plan, players such as Kyle Tucker, Yordan Alvarez and Mookie Betts would be appealing early-round picks, with those such as Jackson Merrill and Dylan Cease being great picks in the subsequent rounds.

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The “OPS Floor” strategy

Although some skill sets are more cherished by fantasy managers than real-life organizations, there will always be a connection between those who thrive in our fake game and those who help their clubs rise up the MLB standings. Fantasy managers who are looking to avoid busts can consider setting an OPS floor for every player they draft. The OPS floor needs to slide throughout the draft, as the options become weaker. For example, players selected in the initial five rounds must have an .800 OPS, both in their career and last season. Those selected in the next five rounds must have an .800 OPS in either 2025 or across their career, and a .750 OPS in the other area. And those selected in Rounds 11-20 must have a .750 OPS in both their career and 2025.

Keeping these standards will ensure that managers only select those who are valuable in fantasy and in the majors. The players who are commonly left out in this plan include powerless speedsters, youngsters with small track records, and prospects. The eliminations would start early this year, as Elly De La Cruz and Julio Rodríguez are popular first-rounders who would miss the cut.

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The ”All Expected Stats” strategy

Although the expected stats generated by Statcast are not meant to be predictive, they still give context to the numbers generated in the past, which helps us to assess players. In general, those who have expected stats that are much better than their actual marks have not been appropriately rewarded for their efforts. Managers could choose to ignore 2025 stats and instead pick their team via expected data, such as xHR, xSLG, xBA and xERA.

With this plan, the likes of George Springer, Corey Seager, Ben Rice, Cole Ragans and Brandon Woodruff would be drafted ahead of their current ADP.

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The “All Position Scarcity” strategy

Last season, I neglected the third base position during one of my drafts. I didn’t like the options when it was my turn to pick, and I wound up settling for a late-round player while promising to address the position via the waiver wire. The plan didn’t work, as third base depth was virtually non-existent last year. I wound up with unproductive players at the position for most of the season, which put me at a disadvantage. To avoid this type of situation, a manager can opt to base their early-round picks around position scarcity, leaving the deepest positions for the second half of their draft. This manager would want to draft their catcher, second baseman and third baseman in the early rounds, while also mixing in some pitchers. They would then tackle first base, and later in the draft, they would load up on outfielders and pluck from a deep pool of shortstops.

With weaknesses at the deepest positions, they would hopefully have success upgrading via the waiver wire, especially in the outfield, given that major league teams have triple the starting outfielders in comparison to each infield spot.

Which NCAA football players will make it to the NFL in 2026? That will be determined, in part, at the NFL draft Combine, which begins this week at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. This year’s NFL Scouting Combine will feature over 300 athletes including Indiana’s Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, along with Alabama’s Ty Simpson, Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia, Miami’s Carson Beck, and many more. (A complete list of athletes invited to the combine is here.) Live coverage of the NFL Scouting Combine begins at 3 p.m. ET Thursday, Feb. 26 and lasts through Sunday, March 1.

Coverage of daily workouts, evaluations and press conferences from the combine will air on NFL Network and will stream on NFL+, and live results of the combine will be provided in real time on the NFL’s website. Here’s everything you need to know about how to watch the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine this week.

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How to watch the 2026 NFL Draft Combine:

Dates: Feb. 26 – March 1, 2026

TV channel: The NFL Network

Streaming: DirecTV, Fubo, NFL+, and more

What channel is the 2026 NFL draft combine on?

Comprehensive coverage of the NFL draft combine will air on the NFL Network. You can catch daily live shows like Good Morning Football all week long, but the scouting events begin at 3 p.m. ET Thursday, Feb. 26, and run through Sunday, March 1.

NFL draft combine schedule:

Daily live broadcast coverage of the combine takes place from Thursday, Feb. 26, through Sunday, March 1. Each day will feature commentary, along with the drills and analysis of different position groups on designated days. That daily schedule is as follows:

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Thursday, February 26

• Good Morning Football: 8 a.m. ET, Encores at 10 a.m. & 12 p.m. ET (NFL Network)

• NFL Combine Today: 2 p.m. ET (NFL Network)

• 2026 NFL Scouting Combine: Defensive Linemen & Linebackers: 3 p.m. ET, Encores at 8 p.m., 11 p.m., 2 a.m. & 5 a.m. ET (NFL Network)

Friday, February 27

• Good Morning Football, 8 a.m. ET, Encores at 10 a.m. & 12 p.m. ET (NFL Network)

• NFL Combine Today: 2 p.m. ET

• 2026 NFL Scouting Combine: Defensive Backs & Tight Ends: 3 p.m. ET, Encores at 8 p.m., 11 p.m., 2 a.m. & 5 a.m. ET (NFL Network)

Saturday, February 28

• 2026 NFL Scouting Combine: Defensive Linemen & Linebackers, Encore at 6 a.m. ET (NFL Network)

• 2026 NFL Scouting Combine: Defensive Backs & Tight Ends – Encore at 9 a.m. ET (NFL Network)

• NFL Combine Today: 12 p.m. ET (NFL Network)

• 2026 NFL Scouting Combine: Quarterbacks, Wide Receivers & Running Backs, 1 p.m. ET, Encores at 8 p.m., 11 p.m., 2 a.m. & 5 a.m. ET (NFL Network)

Sunday, March 1

• 2026 NFL Scouting Combine: Defensive Backs & Tight Ends – Encore at 6 a.m. ET (NFL Network)

• 2026 NFL Scouting Combine: Quarterbacks, Wide Receivers & Running Backs – Encore at 9 a.m. (NFL Network)

• NFL Combine Today, 12 p.m. ET (NFL Network)

• 2026 NFL Scouting Combine: Offensive Linemen, 1 p.m. ET, Encore at 5 p.m. ET (NFL Network)

How to watch the NFL Draft Combine:

You can stream every day of the combine’s NFL Network broadcast on platforms like DirecTV, Fubo TV and Hulu with Live TV, as well as on NFL+.

Subscribe to The Kevin O’Connor Show

Kevin O’Connor is joined by Jason Timpf to check in with unhappy fan bases across the NBA. They discuss whether the criticism of Karl Anthony-Towns is fair and offer solutions to the problems in New York. Then, they break down the root of Atlanta’s issues since the Trae Young trade. Plus, what’s going on in Los Angeles and can it even be fixed?

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Next, KOC shares why Collin Murray-Boyles could be the next Draymond Green and why the Celtics-Pistons matchup is the game of the week. Who should the Pistons target before the trade deadline? KOC gives his picks! Plus, is Ja Morant’s stock rising? Do the Timberwolves need to make a trade to find success this season?

Later, Justin Boone joins to discuss why the Buffalo Bills parted ways with Sean McDermott, recap the wild NFL divisional games and preview the upcoming championship weekend.

(0:15) Jason Timpf joins

(1:23) Unhappy fan bases: New York Knicks

(9:18) Unhappy fan bases: Atlanta Hawks

(15:49) Unhappy fan bases: Los Angeles Lakers

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(25:16)  Collin Murray-Boyles = Draymond Green

(29:13) Celtics vs. Pistons preview

(41:56) Is Ja Morant’s stock rising back up?

(49:19) Do Timberwolves need to make a trade?

(1:06:23) All-Star starters announced

(1:10:26) NFL 6 Points! with Justin Boone

🖥️ Watch this full episode on the Yahoo Sports NBA YouTube channel

Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family athttps://apple.co/3zEuTQj or atyahoosports.tv

Nate Tice & Matt Harmon react to the latest NFL coaching hire news before determining what went wrong for playoff losers and what each team can do to get further next season. The duo start with their thoughts on the latest coaching hires, including the Miami Dolphins hiring Jeff Hafley, the Tennessee Titans getting Robert Saleh, the Detroit Lions hiring OC Drew Petzing and the Kansas City Chiefs hiring OC Eric Bieniemy.

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Next, Nate & Matt deep dive on the four Divisional Round losers, determining what direction each team needs to take to retool and get even closer to a Super Bowl next season. The duo cover the post-Sean McDermott Buffalo Bills and their need to nail the next coaching hire, the Chicago Bears and how they can fix their defense, the Houston Texans and next steps to fix C.J. Stroud and the San Francisco 49ers, who are entering a sketchier offseason than you may realize.

(5:00) – Titans hire Robert Saleh

(14:10) – Dolphins hire Jeff Hafley

(20:30) – Key OC hires: Petzing to Lions & Bieniemy to Chiefs

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(41:00) – Bills deep dive

(1:00:45) – Bears deep dive

(1:06:45) – Texans deep dive

(1:20:15) – 49ers deep dive

🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube

Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts

Subscribe to Baseball Bar-B-Cast

The New York Mets struck big last year when they reeled in Juan Soto from the Bronx to headline an eventful winter. However, after a disappointing 2025 campaign, the Amazin’s have been on a mission to retool this offseason, and thanks to David Stearns, they’ll go into 2026 with plenty of new faces and hope for success.

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On this episode of Baseball Bar-B-Cast, Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman talk about the retooled lineup that the Mets have assembled, which includes signing Bo Bichette and trading for Luis Robert Jr. from the Chicago White Sox. In addition to the signings of Devin Williams and Jorge Polanco, the new-look Mets are looking forward to a redemption season in 2026.

Later, Jordan and Jake talk about Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, why the Houston Astros cheating scandal caused Beltrán to have to wait and the improbable climb for Jones to make it into the Hall. Then the guys discuss the Philadelphia Phillies bringing J.T. Realmuto back to the City of Brotherly Love, Elly De La Cruz rejecting a big contract extension from the Cincinnati Reds and take a look at the LIDOM Championship Series.

1:12 – The Opener: New-look Mets

22:09 – Luis Robert Jr. trade

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33:24 – Hall of Fame results

54:26 – Around the League: Phillies re-sign Realmuto

1:03:02 – Three-team trade

1:06:47 – Elly turns down extension

1:09:33 – LIDOM Championship Series

🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube

Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at yahoosports.tv

Team USA revealed its ski and snowboard roster for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympic Winter Games on Thursday.

Leading figures include Olympic veterans Lindsey Vonn, Mikaela Shiffrin and Chloe Kim. Vonn, who won gold in the downhill at the 2010 Winter Olympics, returned to the sport in 2024 after retirement and a partial knee replacement. Three-time Olympian and two-time gold medalist in snowboard slopestyle Jamie Anderson was not on the 97-person list.

Shiffrin, the most decorated Alpine skier, will compete in her fourth Olympics. Kim, a three-time Olympian, aims to be the first snowboarder to win a third straight gold in halfpipe.

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“In many ways, making this team is even harder than the Olympics themselves,” snowboard program director Rick Bower explained in a statement. “The depth of our field is incredible, and selection truly came down to the wire.”

On the men’s side, the U.S. team will be led by three-time Olympian and 2018 slopestyle gold medalist Red Gerard, snowboard cross racer Nick Baumgartner, and 17-year-old Alessandro Barbieri, who’s seen as a medal contender in halfpipe.

Four-time Olympian Nick Goepper will head the freeski halfpipe squad, which also includes two-time Olympic medalist Alex Ferreira, Birk Irving and first-time Olympian Hunter Hess. Irving’s sister, Svea Irving, qualified for the women’s freeski halfpipe. Defending Olympic freeski slopestyle champ Alex Hall is also set to compete in his third Olympics.

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Olympic champion and three-time cross-country skiing medalist Jesse Diggins will participate in her fourth and final Olympics. Chris Lillis is returning for the aerials team. He took gold at the 2022 Games.

At the 2022 Beijing Games, skiers and snowboarders earned 15 of the 25 medals for Team USA. For the 2026 Winter Olympics, they’ll make up nearly half of all the athletes representing the U.S.