Eight years after John Shuster’s upstarts shocked PyeongChang, Team USA had a chance to add a second gold medal in curling but ultimately settled for silver in mixed doubles.
In a tight, back-and-forth battle that went all the way to the final stone, the team of Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse lost to Sweden’s brother-sister team of Rasmus and Isabella Wranå 6-5 in Tuesday’s final.
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The Americans, who didn’t take advantage of multiple opportunities early in the match, were up against it in the seventh end when Thiesse completely missed the house with her first throw when the U.S. used its power play to set up a potential two-point end.
Down 4-3 and knowing Sweden had the hammer in the eighth and final end, it took a clutch throw by Dropkin to clear out Sweden’s threat on the Americans’ fourth stone. That completely flipped the situation and allowed Thiesse to convert for a 5-4 lead, putting the pressure back on Sweden.
But in the eighth end, the Americans’ fourth throw by Dropkin was a touch too firm, running all the way through the house without knocking any Swedish guards away. That tiny mistake was compounded when Thiesse’s fifth and final stone did not do enough to clear out the house and left the door open for Isabella Wranå to win it with a routine takeout.
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“Obviously would have loved to come home with a gold medal, but Sweden earned that,” Dropkin said. “I’m so darn proud of us.”
After finishing third in the round-robin standings with a 6-3 record, the Americans edged Italy 9-8 in the semifinals to secure a medal. But they were thrust into the unexpected role as favorites when Sweden shocked the powerhouse British team in the other semi. They simply did not play their best in the final and had to settle for silver.
Still, it’s just the third Olympic medal for a U.S. curling team, joining the men’s bronze in 2006 and Team Shuster’s stunning gold medal run in 2018. Thiesse becomes the first American woman to get a curling medal.
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“It’s been a long time coming,” she said. “I’m really proud and honored to be standing up there and to use this to move women’s curling in the U.S. forward and do what we can as players and as mentors to hopefully see more women from the United States up on that podium some day.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has selected Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram to replace Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry in the 2026 NBA All-Star Game, the league announced Tuesday.
Ingram is now an All-Star for the second time in his 10-season career.
The 12-time All-Star point guard has missed the Warriors’ past four games, and Golden State head coach Steve Kerr told reporters on Monday before a 114-113 win over the Memphis Grizzlies that Curry will miss Wednesday’s matchup versus the San Antonio Spurs, as well as Sunday’s All-Star Game.
Curry is dealing with an injury the Warriors have been describing as “runner’s knee,” which, according to the National Institutes of Health, can be caused by exposure to “too much or too frequent strain” and features pain around the kneecap.
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Before his setback, Curry had been doing his thing. Even at 37, he’s averaging 27.2 points per game. Plus, he already has four 40-point outings under his belt.
Ingram will take Curry’s spot on USA Stripes, an eight-player team that looks like this:
Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
Brandon Ingram, Toronto Raptors
Kevin Durant, Houston Rockets
LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers
Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers
Norman Powell, Miami Heat
Ingram is averaging 22 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game while shooting 47.2% from the field in his first season playing for the Raptors. They traded for him last season, but he missed most of the 2024-25 campaign with an ankle injury.
Injuries have frequently disrupted Ingram’s career, as the former No. 2 overall pick from Duke hasn’t played more than 64 games in a season since his rookie year with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2016-17. That said, Ingram has played 52 of the Raptors’ 54 games this season.
Ingram is the leading scorer on a Toronto squad that’s 32-22 and fifth in the Eastern Conference standings. The Raptors are on track to end a three-season playoff drought this year.
They have an All-Star in Ingram, who’s earned that status for the first time since the 2019-20 season and has scored 30-plus points twice in the past five games.
Justin Verlander has agreed to a one-year, $13 million deal to return to the Detroit Tigers, the team announced Tuesday.
Of Verlander’s $13 million salary, $11 million will be deferred.
Verlander has not pitched for the Tigers since he was dealt to the Houston Astros at the 2017 trade deadline. During his time with the franchise, he was a six-time All-Star, the 2006 AL Rookie of the Year and the winner of the 2011 AL Cy Young and AL MVP awards.
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He responded to the news of his return with a social media video montage of his time with the Tigers captioned “Back where it all started.”
After his time with the Tigers, Verlander spend parts of five seasons with the Astros, winning two more Cy Youngs and two World Series titles.
He then moved on to the New York Mets to start 2023 before being traded back to the Astros at that season’s trade deadline. He also spent the 2024 season with Houston.
Verlander signed with the Giants in free agency before last season. The veteran right-hander went 4-11 with a 3.85 ERA and 1.362 WHIP in 152 innings with San Francisco.
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Verlander, who has 266 career wins, now joins a Tigers pitching staff that will also feature Framber Valdez, Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize and an apparently very excited Tarik Skubal.
The Tigers will look to benefit from Verlander’s postseason experience after reaching the ALDS each of the past two seasons. He has 226 playoff innings pitched, with a 1.12 WHIP and 244 strikeouts in 38 postseason appearances.
It’s rematch time for Team USA and Team Canada in the women’s ice hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Team Canada defeated the U.S. back during their gold medal game back in 2022, and they’ll face each other once again this Tuesday for a group stage game in Milan. The U.S. and Canada are the only countries to win gold since women’s ice hockey was added to the Olympics back in 1998, and you can catch the rivalry on the ice this Tuesday starting at 2:10 p.m. ET on Peacock and USA. The game will also re-air on USA at 11 p.m.
Read on for a complete schedule of every Team USA women’s hockey game at this year’s Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, a rundown of who is playing, and how to watch all the action. And if you 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 the Milan Cortina Games.
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How to watch the Team USA vs. Canada Women’s Ice Hockey game at the 2026 Winter Olympics
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 10
Time: 2:10 p.m. ET, re-air at 11 p.m.
Location: Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena
TV channel: USA
Streaming: Peacock, DirecTV, and more
Where can I stream Ice Hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics?
For $17 monthly you can upgrade to an ad-free subscription which includes live access to your local NBC affiliate (not just during designated sports and events) and the ability to download select titles to watch offline.
Where to watch Ice Hockey on TV:
The women’s ice hockey game between Team USA and Canada is airing live on Peacock and USA at 2:10 p.m this Tuesday, and it will re-air on USA again at 11 p.m. You can stream USA on DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV and more.
For $17 monthly you can upgrade to an ad-free subscription which includes live access to your local NBC affiliate (not just during designated sports and events) and the ability to download select titles to watch offline.
Who is on the Team USA women’s hockey team?
The athletes on Team USA’s women’s team are:
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Hilary Knight (Sun Valley, Idaho/Seattle Torrent)
Kendall Coyne Schofield (Palos Heights, Ill./Minnesota Frost)
Lee Stecklein (Roseville, Minn./Minnesota Frost)
Cayla Barnes (Eastvale, Calif./Seattle Torrent)
Alex Carpenter (North Reading, Mass./Seattle Torrent)
Megan Keller (Farmington Hills, Mich./Boston Fleet)
Kelly Pannek (Plymouth, Minn./Minnesota Frost)
Caroline Harvey (Salem, N.H./University of Wisconsin)
Abbey Murphy (Evergreen Park, Ill./University of Minnesota)
“Just get some time off. Time’s the best healer,” Maye told reporters on Tuesday. “Definitely just need time off. Nothing that needs anything to be done. Just some time away and time to get some rest and time away from football.”
Heading into the Super Bowl, Maye was limited in practice with a shoulder injury he suffered in the AFC championship game win over the Denver Broncos. On the team’s initial injury report, the 23-year-old quarterback was listed as questionable with a shoulder injury and an illness that caused him to miss a practice.
Despite being removed from the injury report and telling reporters he felt well heading into the game, Maye struggled against Seattle. He completed 27-of-43 passes for 295 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions and a fumble, with most of his passing yards coming in the fourth quarter. Maye’s second interception was returned for a touchdown and all but closed the game.
“I think it’s a case of having one hit in the AFC championship game that was just kind of unfortunate,” Maye said. “Unfortunate timing, the two weeks (before the Super Bowl) was great to have off to have a chance to be out there for my guys. You can’t blame things on injuries. Things happen like this all the time in the league. … You can’t (blame) it on one little thing, the shoulder. … I was feeling like I was able to make throws in the game and was myself.”
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Maye had a strong second NFL season, making his second Pro Bowl and being named a second-team All-Pro while also finishing second in the MVP race. The Patriots ended their three-season playoff drought and flipped their record from the 4-13 finishes from the past two seasons to 14-3 and AFC East champions in 2025.
The 2025 season just concluded, but Maye is already eager to begin preparing for 2026.
“Ten weeks until we’re back here,” Maye said in a final message to Patriots fans. “That don’t sound too far away. It turns around quickly on you. I’m looking forward to it.”
Ashley Farquharson made U.S. Olympic history on Tuesday with a bronze-medal run to secure the nation’s second medal in women’s luge.
She needed a dramatic comeback to make it happen.
Farquharson entered Tuesday’s competition in fifth pace after two of four runs on Monday in an event where the times of all four runs are combined to determine the standings.
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Germany’s Julia Taubitz and Merle Malou Fräbel were in control in first and second place as the country sought its eighth straight gold medal and fourth consecutive gold-silver finish in the event. But Fräbel had a rocky third run and dropped into eighth place, opening the door for other competitors to move onto the podium.
Farquharson took advantage. Latvia’s Elina Bota moved into silver-medal position from bronze with her third run, and Farquharson jumped from fifth place to bronze-medal position with her third, moving past Italy’s Verana Hofer in the process.
Farquharson entered her fourth and final run knowing she was in control of her place on the podium. When she crossed the finish line with a clean run and a time of 52.909, she knew that she’d secured at least a bronze medal ahead of Hofer, who finished in fourth place.
Bota held on for silver with her final run, while Taubitz earned Germany’s eighth straight gold medal in the event.
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Farquharson, meanwhile, was elated as she joined Erin Hamlin (bronze, Sochi 2014) as the only U.S. women to medal in the history of the event.
MILAN — Four weeks ago, Maxim Naumov sat on the rinkside couch in St. Louis, shoulders heaving as he gave into the weight of grief. He’d just finished one of the two routines that would soon send him to the 2026 Olympics in Milan. In his hand, he held a family picture of himself as a child, holding the hands of his parents. It was a poignant scene, because Max was the only one in that photo here to appreciate the moment.
Naumov’s parents, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, died a year ago in a plane crash, two of so many lost in an accident that devastated an entire sport. Max rededicated himself to his craft in the weeks after the crash, and he’ll carry the burden of the tragedy for the rest of his life … starting with these Olympics.
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One year later, the shock has subsided, but the pain persists. Every figure skater on the Olympic figure skating team carries the trauma of that terrible night, none more than Max Naumov.
A control tower is seen behind a memorial set up in memory of the victims of a midair collision between an American Airlines flight 5342 and an Army Black Hawk helicopter, near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on February 2, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)
(ROBERTO SCHMIDT via Getty Images)
The tragedy of Flight 5342
The details remain heartbreaking and horrifying even now.
Flying in and out of Reagan National, whose runways line the west bank of the Potomac River, is tricky and even treacherous on clear days. Pilots must navigate the restricted and crowded airspace around Washington, D.C., with aircraft from multiple airports in close proximity at all times. Coordinating so many aircraft in the same small space at the same time requires skill and precision from both pilots and air traffic control.
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On Jan. 29, 2025, American Airlines Flight 5342, bound from Wichita into Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., was on its final approach shortly before 9 p.m. The sun had gone down several hours before, and the lights of the city stretched as far as the pilots could see. But as the plane was approaching its runway from the southeast over the Potomac, a Black Hawk helicopter on an annual evaluation collided with the plane, sending both aircraft plunging into the Potomac nearly 300 feet below.
Twenty-eight members of the skating community were on Flight 5342, including several skaters, coaches and parents from the Washington Figure Skating Club and the Skating Club of Boston. The skaters were young and promising, talented amateurs who’d stayed in Wichita after the U.S. Figure Skating Championships for additional clinics.
Doug Zeghibe, CEO of the Skating Club of Boston, had gone to bed early that Wednesday night, because he was fighting off the flu. But he was soon awakened by the sound of his phone blowing up with calls, texts and messages. The club maintains a phone tree of management and members, and group texts sprang up as members tried to determine who exactly was on the flight.
Zeghibe remembers getting texts with messages like, I’m OK. And he would fire back, Great, you’re OK. Are you OK because you were on that flight, or are you OK because you weren’t on that flight?
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“It was a pretty anxiety-ridden night, I have to say,” Zeghibe told Yahoo Sports recently.
Slowly, the true horror of the night became clear, and the news was as bad as it could possibly be. All 64 passengers and crew aboard Flight 5342 died, as did all three crewmembers on the helicopter. The crash was the deadliest on American soil since November 2001, and the skating community suddenly had to reckon with devastating loss.
“They were family,” Zeghibe said. “These members and parents and coaches, they were with us six days a week, the coaches seven days a week.”
Members of the skating community gathered in Washington D.C., on March 2, 2025, to pay tribute to those lost onboard Flight 5342. (Roger Wimmer/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
(Roger Wimmer/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
‘They lit up the rink’
Figure skating clubs are skating’s grass-roots organizations, operating under the U.S. Figure Skating guidelines and bringing skating to youth and adults all over the country. The Skating Club of Boston dates back 115 years, and counts among its members illustrious alumni like Kenley Albright, who won a gold medal 70 years ago in Cortina. The Washington Figure Skating Club is the oldest and largest in the DMV (District-Maryland-Virginia) area, with over a thousand members.
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Zeghibe arrived at the Boston club’s headquarters to find local, national and international media, from the BBC to Brazil, gathered and looking to learn more about the six people connected to the club who had been on board the plane. “You suddenly realized then that it was more than just the personal impact of what had happened to our community,” he said. “This was a global news story.”
In the immediate aftermath of the crash, the Washington Figure Skating Club opened two of its rinks to skaters to process their grief on the ice. They set up small memorials for their lost members, and brought guest books where skaters could write their remembrances of their friends and teammates. The skaters who had been at the clinics had promising futures, and to see that future snuffed out simply crushed so many of their friends and coaches who hadn’t been on that flight.
“They just, you know … they kind of lit up the rink,” Washington club president Heather Nemier said recently. “They were always people you look forward to seeing skate.”
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In a tragic echo, the flight wasn’t even the first plane crash to devastate the figure skating community. The entire United States figure skating team, including many members from the Skating Club of Boston, died in a February 1961 plane crash near Brussels.
“You felt this heavy, dark cloud. You knew something horrible had happened that nobody was talking about,” he recalled. “Myself, and others who are older and lived through it and lost friends, we all made the group decision that this has to be talked about, that we can’t leave folks alone to mourn.”
In the days and weeks after the crash, U.S. Figure Skating and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee arranged for mental health support and grief counseling. The Washington skating club connected its skaters with therapists and provided therapy dogs to help its members through their trauma.
The skating community helped its own wherever it could. In March, dozens of skaters, including current Olympians Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn and Ilia Malinin, gathered in Washington, for “Legacy on Ice,” a benefit to aid families and first responder organizations. Tributes at this year’s 2026 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis included the Skaters’ Cookbook, a project planned in part to honor two sisters who died on Flight 5342.
(NTSB)
‘Systemic failures
An NTSB report released just days before the start of the Milano Cortina Olympics declared the crash was the result of “systemic failures in airspace design, safety oversight and risk management by the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Army.” The report indicated the problems in the D.C. airways which led to the crash were longstanding ones, including the pathways of helicopters and the depth and sufficiency of communication between ground controllers, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
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The NTSB also faulted air traffic control, noting “the high workload during a period of elevated traffic reduced air traffic control’s ability to monitor developing conflicts and provide safety alerts.” Only one flight controller was working both helicopter and plane traffic in the area.
The board issued dozens of safety recommendations to the FFA, the Army and several other government agencies. Most painfully, the NTSB determined the crash was 100 percent preventable, and a $400 GPS device could have given pilots nearly a full minute’s warning prior to the collision.
“It was just, it turns out,” Zeghibe said, “a needless and avoidable accident.”
Max Naumov poses for a portrait after being named to the 2026 United States Figure Skating Olympic team. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
(Jamie Squire via Getty Images)
Max Naumov’s triumph
In the year since the accident, the skating community has healed, but scars remain. “I think we have truly come together in ways that we never would have seen because of this, and it has become really a tight-knit community,” Nemier said. “They’re very supportive of each other, especially when they go to competitions, and it’s definitely been a bonding experience for us.”
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No skater has faced a harder journey back from the night of Jan. 29, 2025, than Max Naumov. One of his final conversations with his parents involved his chances for making the 2026 Olympic team, and in St. Louis, he put the finishing touches on a season that culminated in an Olympic berth.
“I find that in times of really difficult emotional stress, if you can just push yourself a little bit more and almost think, What if I can do it? What if, despite everything that happened to me, I can still go out there and do it?” he said in St. Louis. “That’s where you find strength, and that’s where you grow as a person. And that’s exactly what’s been getting me through every day.”
“Being able to see him push through even the thoughts of whether or not he wanted to continue skating, that was inspirational,” said fellow skater Jimmy Ma, who trains with Naumov in Boston. “I’m very proud of him.
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“Max has always been a hardworking kid, but you see him reapproach his training and his commitment to the Olympic team. … It was always about him and his parents working together for him to make the team. They were a unit. To watch Max continue that effort as a team, but with both of his parents having to be there with him in spirit and not physically, I’m just thrilled for him.”
He paused a moment and added one more thought. “I do wonder, is this like — I won’t even say a silver lining — is this a small silver string in this whole horrific year?”
On Tuesday, in his first moment on Olympic ice, skating to the somber melodies of Chopin’s Nocturne No. 20, his expression remained focused, resolute. He hit his marks — quad salchow, triple axel, triple lutz and more — and when he was done, he looked to the heavens and spoke as, all around him, the audience stood and applauded. His final score: 85.65, his best of the season and more than enough to qualify him for Friday’s free skate.
“I felt almost like a hand on my back pushing me forward, feeling my parents guiding me from one element to another, and just kind of keeping me grounded,” he said after. “Almost like a chess piece on a chess board, from one element to another. Unlike any other feeling I’ve ever felt before.”
With the World Cup just four months away, much of coach Mauricio Pochettino’s U.S. roster has fallen into place. Barring injury, it’s going to feature Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and the others who have formed the foundation through friendlies and tournaments the past six months.
Sure, questions remain about several of the 26 slots, but when the Group D opener against Paraguay kicks off June 12 at SoFi Stadium, a comforting familiarity will prevail.
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There is, though, an intriguing candidate without any senior international matches on his portfolio — a Hawaiian-born, German American teenager standing 6-foot-4 and starting at center back in the Bundesliga.
Noahkai Banks has been invited to exactly one U.S. training camp and been in uniform for one match. It’s not exactly World Cup material. But as Pochettino narrows his player pool, Banks is the apparent lone prospect (aside from those vying for third-string goalkeeper) without any national team game experience.
Pochettino will post his March roster in five weeks. Chris Richards and Tim Ream anchor the central defense corps, with Mark McKenzie, Miles Robinson and Auston Trusty deep in the mix. Will the 19-year-old Banks receive an invitation next month?
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Despite no caps to his name, he’s got a strong case. Each of his past 15 appearances for Augsburg has been as a starter, and he has played in 17 of 21 Bundesliga matches this season.
Pochettino has called him a “massive talent.”
Since his only call-up in September, Banks said “you’re always a bit in touch with the national team. It doesn’t have to be Pochettino in person, but the national team in general.”
Augsberg’s Noahkai Banks is starting weekly in Germany as the U.S. weighs its final World Cup roster options.
(picture alliance via Getty Images)
Pochettino’s effusive comments about Banks got back to the player.
“I’ve read it because my mom has sent it into the family group chat; she reads everything,” he said Tuesday during a video call with reporters. “It has been a great compliment, but I know I have to work a lot to get there. I know I’m not there yet.”
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With the March camp on the horizon — and the last chance to make a first-hand impression on Pochettino — Banks said he has not given much thought to a possible call-up.
“A lot of people always think that as players, we think about what’s happening there and there,” he said of international duty. “But for me, it’s really important to just focus on the games, because I know if I play well, the rest will come by itself. So it’s really about focusing on the next game for me and playing as good as possible, because the rest will follow.”
Beyond Banks’ capacity to help the U.S. right away, Pochettino must weigh another consideration: keeping Banks in a U.S. uniform. Even though he has played exclusively for U.S. youth teams, including the 2023 Under-17 World Cup squad, he remains eligible for Germany.
“I’ve been in touch with Germany before, to be honest,” Banks said. “You can’t tell what happens in the future, but at the moment, there’s not a thought of switching because I’m happy with the U.S.”
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He called the U-17 World Cup in Indonesia “one of the best experiences in my life.”
Banks’ only senior call-up came in September. He wasn’t in uniform against South Korea and was on the bench (but didn’t play) against Japan.
“I was pretty nervous when I got into camp, because I was 18 years old at the moment, so I thought maybe the older guys will think, ‘Who’s that? What is he doing here?’” Banks said. “But it was great, to be honest. It was incredible. Players like Pulisic, [Tim] Weah helped me a lot.”
Pochettino also provided guidance.
“Because he has been a center back back in the days, he knows the position very well, and he has helped me with small details like positioning and stuff like this — just the small things which make the difference at the highest level,” Banks said. “He gave me some tips, and I hope I can do what he told me in the future.”
Weeks after Banks’ first senior camp, his plans to play at the U-20 World Cup were dashed by Augsburg, which declined to release him because the tournament fell outside an official international window. With Banks still finding his way at Augsburg, Pochettino did not invite him to the October and November camps.
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Like many U.S. players over the years with multiple eligibility, Banks’ father is a former U.S. serviceman and his mother is German (and Spanish). They met when Banks’ mom, Nadine, came to the United States to attend college and play basketball. (“She tore her ACL three times,” he said.)
His father Cedric’s military commitments took him to Hawaii, where Noahkai was born. The family then lived in the Washington, D.C., area for a few years, and after his parents separated, Noahkai moved with his mother to Germany.
“I traveled to America a lot of times to visit my dad or my dad’s family side,” he said. “My dad was in the military for 25 years, and now he lives there [in Washington] and he helps kids from the street.”
He grew up in the Bavarian town of Dietmannsried, near the borders with both Austria and Switzerland, and at age 7, entered Augsburg’s youth system. His development carried him to the club’s under-19 squad and then the second team in the German fourth division.
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He idolized Germany’s Jérôme Boateng, a fellow center back. “Also [Lionel] Messi,” he said with a smile, “but he’s not in my position. That’s the most obvious answer, because he’s just the best player of all time.”
Banks’ first-team debut with Augsburg came in January 2025, and he finished the season with eight appearances, including three starts.
This season, Banks has worked his way into the starting lineup. He is sixth on the team in minutes played and ranks second or third in passing accuracy, long-ball accuracy and tackles per 90 minutes. (He’s also first in yellow cards, which resulted in a suspension for 13th-place Augsburg’s upset of first-place Bayern Munich recently.)
“It has been a great year so far, because I didn’t expect to play that much, to be absolutely honest,” Banks said. “The coaches have given me a lot of trust, a lot of minutes. From time to time, I got more confident with the team, with my teammates, with the players, with the tactics.”
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Augsburg has been in the Bundesliga since 2011-12 but hasn’t finished in the top 10 since 2014-15.
Banks said he balances his German and American backgrounds.
“I have both in me,” he said. “It’s a mix.”
He has a fondness for U.S. entertainment, particularly during these cold winter months.
“‘The Equalizer,’ ‘Man on Fire,’ because I love Denzel Washington,” he said. “He’s my favorite actor. Kevin Hart [too]. All kinds of movies. I’m watching a lot because the weather is just bad.”
The weather will be a lot warmer in the U.S. this summer, when the World Cup takes place. That, though, remains far back in his mind.
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“It’s not the right moment to think about the World Cup for me, because we have a lot of games left here [at Augsburg],” he said. “We want to win those games because we have goals for the season. So I really just focus — because a lot of players say it, but I really mean it — I really just focus on the games we have here.
“Then,” he added, “let’s see what happens in the summer.”
Boston Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum told reporters Tuesday he’s “feeling good” 39 weeks into his recovery from a torn Achilles that ended his 2024-25 campaign in heartbreaking fashion.
But he didn’t tip his hand whether he’d play for the Celtics this season.
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“I’m feeling good. It was good to be a part of practice yesterday with the Maine G-League guys. Today is 39 weeks, so it’s been a long journey,” Tatum said, per Celtics reporter Noa Dalzell.
Then he added: “And it’s just like the progression of rehab. … It doesn’t mean I’m coming back or not.”
Tatum’s comments followed a Sunday report from ESPN’s Shams Charania that the six-time All-Star had been participating in controlled 5-on-5 scrimmages with coaches.
The team briefly sent Tatum to their G League affiliate in Maine on Monday for part of a practice, too. After the practice, he headed back to Boston to continue his rehab.
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Tatum is still working his way back after suffering the Achilles injury last May during an Eastern Conference semifinals series with the New York Knicks. Tatum has more boxes to check during his recovery. NBA insider Chris Haynes reported on Jan. 29 that Tatum is considering sitting out for the entire 2025-26 season.
Charania reported Tatum wants to come back as close to 100% as possible. Last season, Tatum averaged 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 6 assists.
Part of Tatum’s reluctance to return has been how well the Celtics have played without him. At 34-19, the Celtics are neck-and-neck with the New York Knicks for second place in the Eastern Conference right now.
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“That’s something I contemplate every day,” Tatum said on the Pivot Podcast. “More so about the team, if or when I do come back this season, they would’ve played 50 some-odd games without me. So they have an identity this year or things that they felt have clicked for them, and it’s been successful, right, third or second team in the East up to this point. So there is a thought in my head that’s like, ‘How does that work or hows does that look with me integrating myself off an injury and 50-60 games into a season?’ There could obviously be some challenges, and it is a thought, like, ‘Damn? Do I come back or should I wait?’ It’s something that I honestly, recently in the last two weeks or so, just kind of contemplate every single day.”
Jaylen Brown is also in the midst of a career season. He’s averaging 29.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists. Brown was recently selected to his fifth All-Star Game.
The Washington Commanders left three seats open at Tuesday’s press conference as a way to pay homage to The Washington Post’s sports department, which was recently shut down.
The sports media world was shocked at the dismantling of The Post’s sports department last week. Local teams in the area are coming out to show their support for those staff members who lost their jobs.
Commanders head coach Dan Quinn took some time to show his appreciation for those who covered his team for the Post and mentioned how he was “absolutely bummed to hear about The Washington Post sports section.”
Washington Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni gave his own tribute to The Post during a video call with media members. Toboni talked about his own experience growing up in San Francisco and not being able to imagine access to the San Francisco Chronicle’s sports section suddenly being taken away.
Last week, shortly after the news broke about the shutdown of the sports department, Washington Capitals coach Spencer Carbery recognized Bailey Johnson, who covered the team and confirmed that she was one of the journalists being laid off by The Post.
“I would be remiss not to say something about Bailey not being here today,” Carbery said. “Getting to know her over the last 2 1/2 years, yeah, I’m just thinking about her. And also know wherever her next stop is, whether it’s in the DC area or somewhere else, know she’ll do a fantastic job. She’s an incredible person and really, really good at what she does.”
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For decades, The Washington Post’s sports department had been heralded for its level of journalistic integrity, and its closure has dealt a tough blow to sports media both locally and nationally.
