Category: Sport

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

Thursday’s Olympic slate is action packed, featuring the Olympic debut of one sport and one of the Games’ most anticipated medal rounds.

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Ski mountaineering will make its first Olympics run early in day. On the ice, Canada and USA will play for women’s hockey gold. Jordan Stolz will compete for his third speedskating gold medal. And the women will compete in the free skate for coveted figure skating gold.

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

Ski mountaineering

Spain’s Oriol Cardona Coll and Marianne Fatton of Switzerland won the first-ever Olympic gold medals in ski mountaineering on Thursday.

Ski mountaineering, also known as skimo, made its debut at the Milan Cortina Olympics. The sport involves athletes skiing up part of a hill, then taking their skis off to hike up steep climbs — and then skiing down that same hill. There’s more to it, including specialized gear to give skis grip for the climb up. But that’s the gist of it.

It’s a grueling sport that push athletes to their cardiovascular limits.

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Men’s speed skating 1,500-meter final

Jordan Stolz took silver in the men’s 1500m final, finishing 0.77 behind China’s Ning Zhongyan. The 21-year-old won earlier in these Olympics with gold medal performances in the 500m and 1,000m.

He has one competition left in his debut Games, Saturday’s mass start event.

Women’s figure skating free skate (1 p.m. ET)

This is it. One of the marquee events of the Games will hand out some of the most coveted medals in Olympic competition when the women take the ice for their free skate.

USA entered Tuesday’s short program with dreams of a podium sweep behind “Blade Angels” Alysa Liu, Isabeau Levito and Amber Glenn. But Liu is the only skater of the three in medal position after a third-place finish in the short program.

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Levito enters the free skate in eighth place, and Glenn is in 13th after a short rotation on a jump in the short program plummeted her to 13th place, leaving her in tears after her skate.

Instead, it’s the Japanese team that’s in position for a potential podium sweep. Ami Nakai and Kaori Sakamoto enter the free skate in first and second place, and their teammate, Mone Chiba, isn’t far behind in fourth.

Will Liu contend for gold? Will Japan pull off the sweep? Will Levito and Glenn recover to get into medal contention? It all adds up to intrigue with Olympic hardware on the line.

Women’s ice hockey gold medal game (1:10 p.m. ET)

Gold will be awarded on hockey ice as well as USA and Canada square off in the gold medal match.

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The two teams entered the Games as co-favorites for gold, but USA will take the ice Thursday as the clear-cut favorite. USA has dominated Olympic competition, scoring five-plus goals in each of its games. And it hasn’t allowed a goal since its first game in group play.

The U.S. enters Thursday’s game with a 31-1 goal differential in six games, a record that includes a 5-0 win over Canada in group play. Gold is the expectation for USA, while Canada will look to deliver a stunning upset to its rival.

Sweden and Switzerland will play for bronze at 8:40 a.m. ET.

Olympics schedule for Thursday, Feb. 19 (Day 13)

Curling

Men’s round-robin

• 3:05 a.m.: Sweden vs. Czechia, Italy vs. Switzerland, China vs. Germany, Norway vs. Canada

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Women’s round-robin

• 8:05 a.m.: Switzerland vs. USA, Canada vs. South Korea, Japan vs. China, Great Britain vs. Italy

Men’s semifinals

• 1:05 p.m.: Teams TBD (One semifinal airs on CNBC at 5 p.m., the other airs on USA Network at 8 p.m.)

Ski Mountaineering

• 7:55 a.m. ET: Women’s Sprint finals: Finals (USA Network)

• 8:15 a.m. ET: Men’s Sprint finals (USA Network)

Figure Skating

• 1 p.m.: Women’s free skate (NBC)🏅

Halfpipe

• 4:30 a.m.: Men’s qualifying (airs on USA Network at 8:45 a.m.)

• 1:30 p.m.: Women’s qualifying (airs on USA Network at 4 p.m.)

Hockey

Women

• 8:40 a.m.: Bronze-medal game, Sweden vs. Switzerland (airs on USA Network 12 p.m.)🏅

• 1:10 p.m.: Gold-medal game, U.S. vs. Canada (USA Network) 🏅

Nordic Combined

Large hill

• 3 a.m.: Men’s team jump (airs on USA Network at 5 a.m.)🏅

• 8 a.m.: 2×7.5km cross-country ski relay (USA Network coverage begins at 8:20 a.m.)🏅

Ski Mountaineering

• 3:45 a.m.: Men’s and women’s sprint heats (USA Network)

• 6:55 a.m.: Men’s and women’s finals (USA Network)🏅

Speed Skating

1,500 meters

• 10:30 a.m.: Men’s final (USA Network)🏅

With the fresh fantasy baseball season approaching, it’s time to get you some tiered rankings from my Shuffle Up series. Use these for salary cap drafts, straight drafts, keeper decisions or merely a view of how the position ebbs and flows. Today, we complete the series with a look at relief pitchers.

Chasing saves is a key part of fantasy baseball, even as it’s frustrating at times. We always want to be mindful of both skills and roles. It’s possible for a mediocre reliever who’s trusted in the ninth to accrue more value than a wipeout reliever who doesn’t get the handshakes. It’s up to you to season to taste, considering your needs, league shape and the strategies of competitors.

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

In most leagues (especially in a standard mixed league), I think it’s unwise to spend a lot of draft capital (even late draft capital) on speculative relievers and presumed ratio-dominant monsters. There’s a high level of volatility with relief pitchers and I’d rather identify valuable non-closing relievers in-season, after we have some fresh data to work off. I guarantee you a bunch of relievers you know little to nothing about will work their way into your league, and we can usually identify them easily. Wait a few weeks and then do a free-agent search based on walks and strikeouts — consider adding the guy throwing 98 mph who has 17 Ks and just two walks. I promise you, these guys emerge every year and you can acquire them at the minimum cost.

The salaries below are unscientific in nature and meant to reflect where talent clusters and drops off. Assume a 5×5 scoring system, as usual, and away we go.

More Tiered Rankings

The Big Tickets

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The Dodgers have had a checkered closer history during the Dave Roberts era, so they decided to throw resources at the problem this year and get Díaz, one of the automatics at the position. Díaz’s velocity and strikeout rate have dropped slightly since the patellar injury that cost him the 2023 season, but he’s still popping the gun over 97 mph and striking out batters at an elite rate. Into his age-32 season, it’s too early to worry about skills declining.

The Athletics were wise to recognize that a closer is a luxury on a non-contending club, so it made sense to package Miller to the Padres last summer. And Miller’s spike in San Diego also made sense — he no longer had to negotiate the tiny Sacramento Park. Miller’s 0.77 ERA and 0.73 WHIP with the Padres is too good to be true, but there’s no reason why he can’t pitch to his career ratios of 2.81/0.96. The walks are a trifle high, but the zesty strikeout rate keeps the stress down.

Chapman is a tricky call coming off a stunning career year at age 37 (1.17 ERA, 0.70 WHIP). Generally, I think it’s misguided when modern relievers get Cy Young consideration, but Chapman’s seventh-place finish last year felt merited. I’ll take the prudent approach and bid on him based on three-year averages (2.68/1.097), which still makes him a top-of-fold option. The Red Sox should contend for another playoff spot, and the Boston rotation is the deepest it’s been in a while, which is good for Chapman.

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Proactive Picks

Megill sits in the first chair in Milwaukee, with Abner Uribe not far behind. A common theme in this Shuffle Up series is to trust the Brewers, a shrewd small-market franchise that’s won at least 86 games in eight straight seasons (if we logically exclude the truncated 2020 campaign). Milwaukee’s win-loss projection has slipped to 84.5, which feels like an overreaction to the Freddy Peralta trade. When you bet on the Brewers bullpen, you’re betting on the smartest team in baseball.

Pagán has typically battled a standard platoon disadvantage, but last year he found a way to dominate all batters — lefties had a .507 OPS against him, a ridiculous 472-point drop from 2024. All relievers work in small sample sizes and Pagán turns 35 in May, so we have to bake in some regression here. Nonetheless, he has Terry Francona’s trust from Day 1, and the Reds project to be competitive again.

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Some Plausible Upside

O’Brien and Romero will battle for the St. Louis closer gig and given their handedness (Romero is the lefty), it’s possible both make it to 10 saves. Just be mindful that the Cardinals are coming off a losing season and their current win projection is a scary 69.5 wins. Non-contending clubs can support a closer for fantasy purposes, but it needs to be an automatic button. This has committee written all over it.

Beeter probably gets the first shot in Washington and has electric stuff, though he still doesn’t know where it’s going much of the time (31.7% strikeout rate, 17.3% walk rate). There’s a reason we suggest you don’t watch your non-elite closers.

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Bargain Bin

Vest is probably the value pick in the Detroit bullpen, the youngest of the three right-handers and coming off a solid 23-save season (3.01/1.209). Granted, the team recruited over his head at the trade deadline, but that doesn’t mean Vest isn’t a part of the 2026 plans. Kenley Jansen was paid to handle the ninth and he’ll mostly do that, but the team will probably keep him from heavy usage — and Jansen hasn’t even made it to 60 innings the last three years.

Vodnik was surprisingly useful as the Colorado closer in the second half, but it’s extremely rare that any Rockies reliever gives us positive value two years in a row. You can’t bet against gravity.

Two more Georgia football players have been arrested for driving-related offenses.

Linebackers Chris Cole and Darren Ikinnagbon were booked Wednesday night within a half hour of each other on misdemeanor charges — Cole for speeding and reckless driving, according to On3, and Ikinnagbon for speeding, reckless driving and following too closely.

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The school said in a statement that it was aware of the charges and was “actively gathering additional information.”

Their arrests continue a trend that is not seeming to slow down in recent years for Georgia players. Over a dozen players have been arrested for driving offenses in the past three years since the death of offensive lineman Devin Willock.

[Get more Bulldogs news: Georgia team feed]

Willock and team staffer Chandler LeCroy were killed in a car crash on Jan. 15, 2023, following the Bulldogs’ national title parade. Police said that LeCroy was driving an SUV that was racing another SUV driven by current Eagles defensive lineman Jalen Carter.

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Carter pleaded no contest to charges of reckless driving for his role in the incident.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart has said his program has implemented efforts to curb the driving issues that have plagued it. In November, Nyier Daniels was dismissed from the team after he was charged with felonies for a police chase. Daniels and his mother were both arrested after he passed an officer who had pulled over his mother while going more than 100 mph in a 25 mph zone. Daniels then allegedly reached 150 mph with his younger siblings in the car while he was evading police.

Cole was fourth on the team with 59 tackles in 2025 while Ikinnagbon had two tackles.

Philadelphia Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson is returning for the 2026 season, his 14th in the NFL, The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane reported Thursday.

Johnson, 35, missed the final eight games of his injury-riddled 2025 campaign, including the Eagles’ wild-card playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers, because of a Lisfranc foot injury.

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The 2013 No. 4 overall pick is a six-time Pro Bowler and five-time All-Pro who has helped Philly reach three Super Bowls and win its first two rings in franchise history.

Johnson is a cornerstone of the Eagles’ offensive line and will offer valuable continuity up front as the team transitions to a new offense under 33-year-old coordinator Sean Mannion.

Longtime O-Line coach Jeff Stoutland resigned earlier this month, and Chris Kuper — a former Denver Broncos guard who most recently coached with the Minnesota Vikings — will serve as his replacement.

With the scheme expected to change, and a new voice in the O-Line room, Johnson coming back is significant, particularly during an offseason that’s also reportedly included 27-year-old left guard Landon Dickerson mulling retirement after weathering a slew of injuries in his young career.

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Johnson isn’t just a locker room pillar, but he’s likely a future Pro Football Hall of Famer as well.

Consistently one of the NFL’s best right tackles, Johnson has allowed just six total sacks since the start of the 2019 season, playoffs included, according to Pro Football Focus. He’s a force in the run-blocking department, too, and played a role in Eagles running backs LeSean McCoy (1,607 rushing yards) and Saquon Barkley (2,005 rushing yards) leading the league on the ground in 2013 and 2024, respectively.

Barkley, of course, became the ninth back in NFL history to pile up more than 2,000 rushing yards in a single season.

This past season, though, Philadelphia’s vaunted offensive line wasn’t as dominant as usual. Injuries were certainly a factor, and so was a predictable offense that then-OC Kevin Patullo called.

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Barkley averaged just 4.1 yards per carry — 1.7 fewer than the previous season — and the Eagles plummeted from second in the NFL in rushing yards per game (179.3) in 2024 to 18th (116.9 per game) in 2025.

Johnson sustained his Lisfranc injury during a Week 11 “Sunday Night Football” win over the Detroit Lions. In Week 10, he injured his ankle amid the Eagles’ “Monday Night Football” victory over the Green Bay Packers. All the way back in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Rams, he left the game with a stinger.

Johnson’s presence makes a difference.

The Eagles were 8-2 in games he played in last season and just 3-5 in his absence, according to The Athletic, which reported that, since 2016, Philadelphia is 96-41-1 with Johnson on the field and a mere 15-28 when he doesn’t play.

Team USA women’s curling entered Thursday with a simple task: Win, and you’re in. With a victory over Switzerland, the United States would guarantee itself a spot in the playoffs.

In the end, it wasn’t that simple, but Team USA secured its spot in the semifinals with a narrow 7-6 win over Switzerland that came down to a clutch hammer from Tabitha Peterson in an extra end. After giving up three points in the 10th end and missing on some early shots in the extra end, Peterson needed an expertly placed shot with the hammer to send the U.S. to the semifinals.

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It nearly came down to a measurement, but Peterson did it. Team USA picked up the walk-off win to advance.

While the match ended in dramatic fashion, things started slowly. Team USA opened the match with the hammer, and after an uneventful first end, decided to strategically clear the house so they could keep the hammer in the second end. No points were scored until the second end, when Peterson used the U.S.’s hammer to grab the first point of the game. Peterson didn’t have a large margin for error with her shot, and managed to land the stone almost directly on the button, grabbing a point and an early 1-0 lead for Team USA.

Switzerland used its first hammer in the third end to tie things up. They had a shot at two points in the end, but the hammer wasn’t thrown hard enough, and failed to knock Team USA’s stone far enough outside the house to net Switzerland two points. The Americans grabbed the lead back in the fourth end, as Peterson once again landed the hammer on the button to go up 2-1.

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The fifth end proved to be massive for Team USA. After placing a stone close to the button, the Americans decided to play defense, making it harder for Switzerland to score with the hammer. The tactic worked out, as Switzerland’s hammer made contact with one of Team USA’s defensively placed stones. That stopped the momentum of Switzerland’s hammer, allowing Team USA to steal a point in the end. That pushed Team USA’s lead to 3-1 after the fifth end.

Thanks to more strong defense, Team USA limited Switzerland to a point in the sixth end. Leading 3-2, and holding the hammer, Team USA needed multiple points in the seventh end to gain some breathing room. They made that happen, as Peterson’s hammer netted the U.S. two more points, giving them a 5-2 lead entering the eighth end.

Switzerland needed multiple points in the eighth end, but had to settle for just one. That made it 5-3, with the U.S. controlling the hammer in the ninth end. If Team USA could score multiple points in the end, they would hold a massive lead heading into the final end. It looked shaky with three U.S. stones left, but Peterson cleared out Switzerland’s stone on the second-to-last stone for Team USA. A strong shot by Switzerland’s Alina Paetz limited the U.S. to settling for just one point in the end, giving them a 6-3 lead heading into the 10th end.

Switzerland refused to go down quietly. Paetz executed on the hammer, grabbing three points to tie the match 6-6, sending it to an extra end.

While the momentum seemed to be slipping away from Team USA, it held the hammer in the extra end, a massive advantage.

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But the letdown in the 10th may have extended to the extra end for the Americans early on. Some missed shots made it stressful with just three stones to go. Team USA still had an opening as the match wound down, but it wasn’t going to be easy.

It all came down to the final stone. Peterson needed to navigate around three Switzerland stones to secure the victory for Team USA. She came up extremely clutch with her shot, getting it just around Switzerland’s stones, but not pushing it too far outside the house. It was a close finish, nearly coming down to a measurement. Ultimately, that wasn’t needed, and the U.S. picked up the narrowest of wins.

With the victory, Team USA women’s curling advances to the medal round for the first time since 2002. That team failed to medal after losing in the semifinals and the bronze-medal game.

This time around, Team USA’s opponent in the semifinals will be familiar, as the Americans will face off against Switzerland on Friday. The winner will move on to the gold-medal match. The loser will play for bronze.

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Sweden and Canada will meet in the other semifinal game Friday.

Team USA defeated both Switzerland and Canada in round-robin play, but lost 9-4 to Sweden during the round-robin session. Both wins over Switzerland and Canada came by just one point, which should lead to some more tense games for the Americans as they inch closer to earning a medal.

Love continues to be in the air for Olympians. Add Hilary Knight and Brittany Bowe to the list of athlete who have gotten engaged during the Milan Games.

Knight, a forward for the U.S. women’s hockey team, proposed to Bowe, a member of the American speedskating team, this week eight years after the couple met during the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.

“Olympics brought us together. This one made us forever,” Knight wrote in her social media caption.

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Knight and Bowe’s relationship began when they took nightly walks together in Pyeongchang as a way to relax following competition. A friendship blossomed into romance and now they are set to be married.

“It was just a really good way to get to know her, going for walks, getting out of our suites,” Knight told Olympics.com this week. “To have that human connection, even walking outside at a distance, it was really cool.”

As they got to know one another better, Bowe said that she knew “very quickly” that Knight would be a part of her life for a long time.

The feeling was mutual, according to Knight.

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“I knew immediately. I was like, ‘This person’s the one,’” she said.

Both Bowe and Knight have announced that the Milan Games are their last Olympics. Bowe owns two bronze medals from the 2018 team pursuit and 2022 1000m. Knight won gold in 2018 and also has three silver medals to her name.

“I thought what better moment than to do it at the Olympics where we met, where we’ve spent most of our lives prepping for and just owning the world stage,” Knight told reporters on Wednesday. “It’s just been so much fun to cheer her on through her races this week and I thought this might be a good place to have a full circle moment for us.”

They each can add another medal to their collections this week with Knight and the U.S. women’s hockey team facing Canada for gold on Thursday and Bowe taking part in the women’s 1500m race on Friday.

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Last week, U.S. downhill gold medalist Breezy Johnson got engaged to her boyfriend Connor Watkins at the finish line of the women’s super-G, moments after she crashed out of the event and did not finish. Also, figure skaters Olivia Smart and Jean-Luc Baker, competitors at the 2022 Olympics, got engaged on the streets of Milan on Valentine’s Day, and freestyle skier Kateryna Kotsar was proposed to by now-fiancé Bohdan Fashtryha following her qualification for the big air final.

Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball avoided injury in a car crash in Uptown Charlotte, according to Rod Boone of the Charlotte Observer. He was not on the Hornets’ injury report prior to Thursday night’s game against the Houston Rockets.

WSOC-TV has more details about the crash, as well as video. It reportedly occurred at the intersection of Tryon Street and Trade Street, with Ball’s custom Hummer hitting the front left wheel of a Kia sedan. The sedan’s driver was reportedly taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

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Ball was reportedly traveling west on Trade when he tried to turn left onto Tryon. Footage appears to show the Hummer trying to bail out of the turn but still colliding with the Kia with the front left section.

It has not been confirmed Ball was the one driving, but he was later seen exiting the Hummer from the driver’s seat and leaving in a Lamborghini after police arrived on the scene. Images from the scene show the Hummer missing its front left wheel.

It’s unclear if Ball will face any legal consequences from the crash. However, he seems to have built something of a reputation behind the wheel in his time in Charlotte, as you can see from a 2024 compilation of him allegedly making reckless turns and driving through red lights while exiting the Spectrum Center parking garage.

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Ball is in his sixth season with the Hornets and is currently playing a career low in minutes per game at 27.7, with his points (19.3) and assists (7.4) also representing his lowest numbers since his rookie year. However, he’s also on pace to crack 50 games played for the first time since the 2021-22 season.

He certainly wasn’t needed, but No. 8 Kansas was without star Darryn Peterson for much of the second half of their blowout win over Oklahoma State on Wednesday night.

Peterson, who has long been considered a favorite to go very early in the NBA Draft this summer, has struggled to stay on the court all season due to various injuries and illness. But on Wednesday night in Stillwater, Peterson looked like his old self. He dropped 23 points, 20 of which came in the first half, to give the Jayhawks an early double-digit lead.

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But Peterson simply didn’t last. After he drilled a 3-pointer on the wing, Peterson immediately turned to head coach Bill Self and asked to come out of the game. He didn’t return after that.

“I didn’t anticipate that tonight at all. I thought he was good to go,” Self said, via the Lawrence Journal-World’s Henry Greenstein. “But we only got 18 minutes out of him. That’s disappointing because he could have had a really good night.”

Peterson finished with 23 points and two assists in the win. He went 6-of-10 from behind the arc, too. His final 3-pointer put the Jayhawks up by 13 points at the time. They then led by double digits the rest of the way to grab the 81-69 win. In total, Peterson has averaged 19.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per game while shooting just shy of 48% from the field.

Peterson has missed 11 games so far this season and drawn plenty of criticism for it. He was a late scratch from Kansas’ win over then-top-ranked Arizona after going through pregame warmups due to flu-like symptoms. In total, Peterson has missed time due to a hamstring strain, a sprained ankle, a quad issue and cramping problems.

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The issue on Wednesday night was apparently due to cramping.

“One thing about it is [cramping] has happened enough that our guys have learned to play without him, even though that’s not the way we want to play,” Self said, via ESPN. “But that’s certainly something we’re not unaccustomed to right now.”

Despite the inconsistency from their star player, the Jayhawks still hold a 20-6 record and are third in the Big 12 standings. They will have to take on both No. 2 Houston and No. 4 Arizona before the end of the season — both of which would be easier matchups if Peterson is at full strength.

But clearly, Peterson still isn’t there yet. And with just five games left in the regular season before the Big 12 tournament — which should be the most competitive and top-heavy of the major conferences this March — he’s rapidly running out of time to get there.

As a busy offseason looms, many NFC teams enter with questions left unanswered. With changes coming in free agency, on draft day, and throughout the summer, analyst Joel Smyth goes over five key questions that can shape the 2026 fantasy football season.​ Smyth covered the AFC earlier in the week.

How will the 49ers offense shape up for 2026?

It was a tumultuous year for San Francisco. Injuries galore, including at quarterback, and yet, head coach Kyle Shanahan did his usual, leading the offense to the fourth-most fantasy points of 2025. It highlights the importance of coaching in fantasy football and opens the door for multiple breakout candidates in 2026. With George Kittle tearing his Achilles and the 49ers’ WR room being an open competition, the upside available later in August drafts will be key.

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Brock Purdy isn’t Tom Brady, but in a Shanahan offense, there are not many quarterbacks in the league better for fantasy. He led the position in catchable target rate to WRs and TEs, has the highest yards per attempt in the Super Bowl Era, and has reached an elite 7%+ TD per attempt in three of his four seasons. In a year without healthy receivers, Purdy ranked third in fantasy points per pass behind only Matthew Stafford and Drake Maye.

The question becomes, who besides Christian McCaffrey can benefit from the 49ers offense, especially as Kittle makes his way back from injury, and Jauan Jennings becomes a free agent?

Candidate No. 1 is Ricky Pearsall, who, before injury, averaged nearly 94 yards in his three healthy games, after recording 210 yards in his final two games of 2024. Just as likely to be fighting for the No. 1 WR spot is a receiver in free agency or from the NFL Draft. At the end of the day, rolling the dice on any of them late in drafts is a wise shot, as San Francisco has produced four top-15 fantasy receivers in the last five years, not including Kittle.

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Who will be the RB1 in Carolina?

For a short stint, Rico Dowdle looked to be a fantasy league-winner in the Panthers offense. His 130 rushing yards per game over a five-week stretch dwindled down to 43 the rest of the way with Chuba Hubbard in the fold. Money is a big factor this offseason. Dowdle, who makes next to nothing, is set to be a free agent in March, the same as last year. Carolina is unlikely to re-sign him while Hubbard has three years remaining on a four-year contract worth $33 million.

The issue then becomes, can Hubbard return to his 2024 self? This past season, he had zero explosive carries, not a single run of 15+ yards. Of 49 running backs, he ranked 49th in yards after contact per attempt. His potential will likely depend on the health and effectiveness of the young Jonathan Brooks, a second-round pick from 2024, who only has nine career carries due to injury. If multiple backs enter Week 1 with split playing time likely, I’d rather pass on the whole backfield.

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However, if Dave Canales has an RB similar to 2023 Rachaad White in his offense, the efficiency won’t matter if top-five RB volume potential is there.

Who becomes quarterback in Arizona?

Arizona has until March 15 to decide on whether Kyler Murray will stay a Cardinal in 2026 and earn his base salary, or head to free agency. It looks unlikely he will be Mike LaFleur’s starting quarterback in September as the new coaching staff is looking for answers at the position. Jacoby Brissett is the next option outside of the draft, but a 33-year-old who’s won two of his last 17 starts is not the future. With the lack of young options in free agency, the most likely scenario is Brissett starting the year, with a rookie waiting in the ranks.

After Fernando Mendoza, the QB position among NFL Draft hopefuls falls off fast. The third overall pick isn’t necessarily the answer, but it doesn’t mean the new regime in Arizona won’t get a QB on Day 2. Either Ty Simpson in Round 2 or Carson Beck in Round 3 gives LaFleur another option behind Brissett to give the future some glimmer of hope. For fantasy purposes, the best case scenario would be Brissett returning, and not only repeating his 2025 performance (rather than 2024), but staying the starter as long as possible, as I’d be far less confident in a Day 2 rookie QB to provide the same production for the Arizona pass catchers.

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Do the Giants, Commanders or Saints go WR in the top 10?

There have been plenty of receivers drafted inside the top 10 in recent years, with very few working out as rookies in fantasy football. Malik Nabers and Ja’Marr Chase have been the big hits as WR1s out of the gate, with a couple more, such as Jaylen Waddle and Tetairoa McMillan, finishing as WR2s in FPPG. The issue with being drafted top-10 is that you’re often not being selected by the greatest offense to shine right away.

Three key teams selecting early in the NFL Draft are looking to add a WR2 to an offense in a rare, high-potential spot:

NYG – The Giants are an interesting one. Nabers’ ACL recovery news has been shaky, making his Week 1 availability not guaranteed. Jaxson Dart wasn’t the most accurate QB in Year 1, but led an offense ranked 15th in scoring as a starter. With little competition, a top rookie WR has a chance for a fast start.

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WAS – Jayden Daniels’ injury completely derailed the Commanders’ season. Even after struggling in 2025, Daniels ranks 13th in yards per attempt over the last two seasons. With a new coaching staff, a rookie WR alongside Terry McLaurin can provide intriguing value in the later rounds of fantasy drafts, similar to how Deebo Samuel Sr. did in 2025.

NO – The Saints are my personal favorite, especially considering I believe they will be underestimated. Do I believe Tyler Shough is a top QB? No, but I do believe Kellen Moore’s offense makes up for it in fantasy football. Their fast pace, WR-friendly offense led Chris Olave to being the overall WR8 in FPPG, even with Spencer Rattler beginning the year as the starting QB. After ranking fourth in targets per game, Olave can co-exist with a rookie WR2 who can elevate this Saints offense that’s looking for more weapons for their young quarterback.

What will Kevin Stefanski do at QB?

Kirk Cousins is all but gone and Michael Penix Jr. is coming off a third torn ACL, adding to his never-ending list of injuries. Kevin Stefanski enters Atlanta with loads of talent, except for a glaring question mark at the quarterback position. Even when healthy, Penix struggled heavily in accuracy, shown by his NFL high in “off-target” throws. The issue for Atlanta is that its options are severely limited. It doesn’t have draft capital and the free agent list is slim. ​

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Because of last year’s trade on the first night of the NFL Draft, the Falcons will be without their first-round selection this season. The rumored options in free agency then become Russell Wilson, Joe Flacco or Carson Wentz, none of whom is providing much hope for the franchise.

As a result for fantasy managers, some of the best players in the NFL will come with extreme risk. Bijan Robinson, Drake London and even Kyle Pitts Sr. (if he’s re-signed) have a shaky situation with Penix, counting on there being no regression coming back from injury. And if he gets re-injured for the sixth time in nine years? The likelihood of a major bust increases drastically.

MILAN — On the night he won his second gold medal at these Olympics, speedskating phenom Jordan Stolz pondered an intriguing question.

Would he consider his Olympics a success if he accomplished nothing more? Could he return home to Wisconsin satisfied with having proven that he’s the fastest skater on the planet over 500 and 1,000 meters?

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Stolz’s answer offered a window into the mindset of an athlete in peak form, one with ambitions of achieving something truly historic in Milan. These Olympics would only be a “partial success,” according to Stolz, if he didn’t also check off taking gold in the 1,500 from his to-do list.

“I’ve been so good in that distance for so long,” Stolz said, “so I hope I can win that one too.”

Five days later, in front of a roaring crowd, Stolz fell short in his bid to become the first athlete in 46 years to complete speedskating’s sprint treble at an Olympics. Stolz finished a distant second behind China’s Ning Zhongyan in the 1,500 on Thursday, leaving him with two gold medals and a silver with one race still left to contest before he leaves Milan.

Since Stolz had the luxury of skating in the final pair of the competition, the 21-year-old knew the exact time that he needed to beat as he stood at the starting line. Two pairs earlier, Zhongyan — ranked third in the world at this distance — had completed the three-and-three-quarters-lap race in an Olympic record time of 1:41.98 and was hoping that his time might hold up.

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Stolz also had to worry about the Norwegian skating in the lane next him, one of the few skaters in the field who has experienced what it feels like to beat the American over 1,500 meters. Peder Kongshaug narrowly defeated Stolz at World Championships last year when Stolz was still recovering from strep throat and pneumonia.

Performing under the weight of colossal expectations Thursday, Stolz also bettered the previous Olympic record by nearly half a second, but still wasn’t quite his dominant self. He lost ground to Zhongyan during the first half of the race and couldn’t close hard enough to erase the gap.

When Stolz’s time flashed on the scoreboard — 1:42.75 — a teary-eyed Zhongyan pumped his fists and draped the Chinese flag over his shoulders. His margin of victory over Stolz was .77 seconds. Kjeld Nuis hung on for bronze, seven-hundredths of a second behind Stolz.

“I just didn’t quite have the legs,” Stolz said. “The beginning part was a little slow. I thought I could maybe get it back, but I was just beginning to die off.

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“Ning had the race of his life. I didn’t have one of my best, but I am still happy with silver. I have two golds and I was actually really happy that Ning was able to pull it off. I really like Ning.”

Had Stolz achieved the sprint treble on an Olympic stage, it would have been his most remarkable accomplishment yet on a journey that began with watching the charismatic Apolo Anton Ohno at the Vancouver Games 16 years ago. Stolz has chased Olympic glory ever since, going from learning to skate on his family’s backyard pond at age 5, to winning his first U.S. title at 16, to snapping at the heels of the world’s fastest speedskaters soon after that.

While Stolz hasn’t been as untouchable at 1,500 meters as he has been at 1,000, prior to Thursday he still had been very, very hard to beat at that distance. Stolz has raced the 1,500 at World Cup events 17 times since December 2023. He has won 14 of those races, including all five this season.

Stolz’s audacious pre-Olympics goal of four gold medals is now dead, but he still has a chance to add to his incredible haul. The final race that Stolz plans to contest is Saturday’s mass start, a chaotic, unpredictable event that he has referred to as just “a bonus” if he is able to win.

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The 1,500 was a different story. Stolz arrived at the speedskating arena on Thursday as the overwhelming favorite.

He did everything he could to win a third gold.

This was the rare day where speedskating’s fastest man wasn’t quite fast enough.