It will cost a lot to buy Los Angeles Lakers season tickets next season. The Lakers’ ticket prices will reportedly skyrocket next season, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
Online basketball personality Rob Perez revealed a 2026–2027 season-ticket invoice with a 14% price increase and a 3% “Admin Fee” if the price was not paid in full. Perez posted that the five-month and nine-month payment plans were available for the previous season without a percentage penalty.
Advertisement
ESPN reported that a season ticket in the 300 level has increased from $5,494 in 2024-25 to $6,192 in 2025-26 to $9,035 for 2026-27. This is reportedly a 45.9% hike going into next season, compared with a 12.7% hike in the last renewal cycle.
The Lakers are also banking on the legacy of the franchise and its current players to justify the prices.
Walter, who also owns the Los Angeles Dodgers, saw that team set a franchise record in attendance during its second straight title run. The Lakers last won a championship in the 2020 bubble season.
Advertisement
Right now, it is uncertain if LeBron James will still be with the Lakers next season. James will be an unrestricted free agent after this season, and next season will be his 24th if he decides to play. Austin Reaves has a player option and is reportedly expected to opt out of his $14.9 million player option for 2026-27 to pursue a long-term extension.
Currently, the Lakers have a record of 34-21 and are fifth in the Western Conference standings.
Entering Saturday, UCLA’s last two games had been lopsided losses to ranked teams. The Bruins managed something different against No. 10 Illinois.
Down 94-93 in overtime, UCLA point guard Donovan Dent went coast-to-coast for a buzzer beater to stun the Illini and put his program back in the win column. Even with the 7-foot-2 Zvonimir Ivisic waiting for him in the paint, Dent found the soft spot in the Illinois defense.
The game was shaping up as an Illinois blowout early, with the visitors taking a 33-10 lead in the first 11 minutes. As UCLA head coach Mick Cronin admitted after the game, the Bruins were rattled. He had a curious explanation for that:
“We did not run one thing we practiced the first 10 minutes, because we were rattled because they were making shots. I was worried before the game because everybody’s got all the answers behind the keyboard and these kids read all that stuff. I’m oblivious, but I didn’t like the look on their face before the game. It’s almost like they had lost confidence.”
It’s also possible Cronin was just talking the Bruins’ run of games in general. UCLA lost to Michigan State 82-59 and got blown out 86-56 by No. 1 Michigan in the game before that. With four games left in the regular season, the program is squarely on the bubble.
What happened after that bad start will surely help. UCLA spent the rest of the first half sanding the deficit down to seven points, then had the game tied five minutes into the second half. A back-and-forth resulted in overtime, then Dent’s heroics.
Eric Dailey Jr. led the Bruins with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, while Dent had 14 points, 15 assists and 0 turnovers. All five UCLA starters scored in double digits, as did Xavier Booker off the bench.
The Winter Games are wrapping up 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.
It’s almost over at the 2026 Olympics. But the U.S. and Canada still have some friendly competition on the docket.
Advertisement
Sunday will mark the end of the Milan Cortina Games, after two weeks of triumph, heartbreak, scandal and outright weirdness. A total of 111 gold medals have been handed out in Italy, and there are still five left to be decided.
Here are the top five things to watch on Sunday at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics:
1. Team USA vs. Canada (8:10 a.m. ET)
There’s not much to be explained here. It’s the United States against Canada in men’s hockey. The two most loaded rosters duking it out in the first Olympics with NHL talent since 2014. Canada has Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Macklin Celebrini and more. Team USA has Auston Matthews, Quinn Hughes, the Tkachuk brothers, Connor Hellebuyck and more.
Advertisement
The Americans will be playing for their first Olympic gold since the Miracle on Ice in 1980. This wouldn’t be nearly as big an upset, but there’s a reason hockey fans have had Sunday circled on their calendars since before the Opening Ceremony.
2. Eileen Gu’s last chance at gold in Italy (4:40 a.m. ET)
The Swiss will be playing for their first gold medal in women’s curling and are already guaranteed their first medal since 2006, while Sweden has won three of the last five Olympic tournaments.
Compared to the longer and more-watched Opening Ceremony, the Closing Ceremony always has the feel of one big party, with hundreds of athletes coming together to celebrate the end of the Olympics.
Olympics schedule for Sunday, Feb. 22 (Day 16)
Bobsled
Four-man
4 a.m.: Runs 3, 4 (airs on USA Network at 6:30 a.m.; airs on NBC at 11 a.m.)🏅
Cross-Country Skiing
50 kilometer mass start
4 a.m.: Women’s final (USA Network; airs on NBC at 11:45 a.m.)🏅
Curling
Women’s
5:05 a.m.: Gold-medal game, Switzerland vs. Sweden (airs on NBC and USA Network at 7 a.m.) 🏅
Peacock is home to all kinds of original content, from Emmy Award-winning reality series The Traitors to Poker Face and Twisted Metal. In addition to original content, the platform has an impressive library of shows from NBC and Bravo, thousands of movies, and live sports, including comprehensive 2026 Winter Olympics covrage.
While a regular Peacock subscription begins at $10.99 for a Premium Plan and goes up to $16.99 for the ad-free Premium Plus plan, you can get an ad-supported subscription for free if you’re a Walmart+ subscriber.
Walmart+ members actually get their choice between Paramount+ or Peacock included in their membership at no additional cost. A monthly subscription to Walmart+ costs $12.99, and an annual plan usually costs $98 — for free Peacock, and additional perks like five free months of Apple Music, discounts on Cinemark movie theater memberships, free shipping and delivery on Walmart purchases, discounts on gas, and much more.
Roughly 2,900 athletes are in Milan, competing across 16 sports in the Olympic Winter Games Milan Cortina 2026. Categories at this year’s games included figure skating, hockey, Alpine skiing, curling, biathlon, snowboarding, and ski jumping. Live coverage of every event will be available to stream on Peacock. Primetime replays and select live coverage will air on NBC. Here’s what else you need to know about watching the 2026 Winter Olympics.
How to watch the 2026 Winter Olympics:
Dates: Feb. 6 – Feb. 22
Advertisement
TV channel: NBC
Streaming: Peacock
When are the 2026 Winter Olympics?
The Winter Olympics officially began with the Opening Ceremony on Feb. 6 (though some events started as early as Feb. 4). The Milano Cortina 2026 games will run through Feb. 22.
Where are the Winter Olympics this year?
The 2026 Winter Olympics will be held in Northern Italy, primarily in Milan and also the Alpine mountain resort town of Cortina d’Ampezzo.
What channel are the Olympics on?
The 2026 Winter Olympics will air on NBC and stream live on Peacock.
How to watch the 2026 Winter Olympics without cable:
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.
This year’s Olympic Games are in Italy, which is 6 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time. Meaning that some events will start bright and early for U.S. viewers, and live coverage will likely wrap up around 4 p.m. ET each day. NBC will have primetime replays of the biggest moments each night.
2026 Winter Olympics TV/streaming schedule:
(All times Eastern)
Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026 (Day 16)
Bobsled
Four-man
4 a.m.: Runs 3, 4 (airs on USA Network at 6:30 a.m.; airs on NBC at 11 a.m.)🏅
Cross-Country Skiing
50 kilometer mass start
4 a.m.: Women’s final (USA Network; airs on NBC at 11:45 a.m.)🏅
Curling
Women’s
5:05 a.m.: Gold-medal game (airs on NBC and USA Network at 7 a.m.) 🏅
Hockey
Men’s
8:10 a.m.: Gold-medal game (NBC)🏅
Closing Ceremony
2:30 p.m.: Verona Arena (NBC)
More ways to watch the 2026 Winter Olympics on NBC:
LOS ANGELES — On a night when the visitors were seemingly the main attraction, the home team stepped up to defend its turf. Even though it wasn’t actually its home turf.
In what felt like the main event of Matchday 1 of the 2026 MLS season, LAFC upset reigning champion Inter Miami 3-0 in front of 75,673 fans inside Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. It was the second-highest attended MLS match ever.
Advertisement
This was a very on-brand win over Inter Miami, because that’s what LAFC does. David Martínez scored the opener in the 38th minute, with Son Heung-min providing the assist that made it all feel so simple. As if winning was never in the cards for Inter Miami.
“We need to push [Martínez] in the field because he has strong quality, but now he has a changed mentality, too,” Denis Bouanga said postmatch. “Last year is not the same to this year, and he knows.”
Bouanga himself added another goal in the 73rd minute with a moment of sheer brilliance to double the lead. The Frenchman played a majestic Timothy Tillman pass from 50 yards out to perfection and headed it to himself over the head of Dayne St. Clair and into the net.
Then it was Nathan Ordaz who stepped up in stoppage time to pound in the dagger and send the visitors home deflated.
This wasn’t a normal LAFC home opener. MLS dragged the game out of LAFC’s cozy BMO Stadium and into a 100-year-old concrete monster just to contain the Messi effect. More than 75,000 showed up. Cameras everywhere. Pink shirts too, but fewer than expected. Son fans, meanwhile, showed out and basically won the night.
Advertisement
The opener was supposed to be about the defending champs. The repeat talk. The gravity of Messi bending the league toward Miami.
And of course, Messi was Messi. Every touch got a reaction. Every drift inside felt like it might end someone’s evening. Inter Miami looked exactly like a team that knows the season is long and the World Cup clock is already ticking.
LAFC did not care.
“[Inter Miami] put us [under] a lot of pressure, but we defended really well,” LAFC head coach Marc Dos Santos said. “I don’t think we conceded big chances. There were these half-chances, but overall … I think that part of our game today, A+. The part of possession, B. We can be much better, and we want to be much better, but our guys were a team.”
Advertisement
The Black and Gold proved it by staying compact. They stayed patient. And when the opening came, Son slipped Martínez through, and Martínez finished like the script wasn’t his responsibility. Bouanga met the moment with finesse before Ordaz unleashed a finishing move to cap the win.
LAFC did what it does: absorb, disrupt, frustrate. Miami had the ball. Messi had moments. The goals never came.
So the season began in a stadium that’s hosted Olympics, Super Bowls and just about everything else. But on this night, the league’s biggest attraction still got upstaged.
Welcome back, MLS.
Here’s how the action unfolded in real time:
Live coverage is over27 updates
That’s a wrap from Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Nathan Ordaz adds another one and this has turned into a rout. A clear cut win in every way for the home side.
Attendance is 75,673, the most attended opening weekend match in MLS history and the second highest attendance of any match all time.
Bouanga played a Tilman pass absolutely perfectly on the counterattack. With a quick flick over the head of St. Clair he rebounded his self-pass and directed the ball into the net for the two-goal lead. That could be it for the home team after a brilliant pass from Tilman and a finesse finish from the Frenchman.
Berterame gets his best chance of the night with a wide open shot mere feet away from Lloris but sends it wide right instead.
Depaul’s cross finds Berterame in the box, however, Porteous dives in front of it to send it out of bounds with a dangerous header.
The second half is underway!
Armando Botello II
The opener may have been meant to be about the reigning champs, the repeat talk, the gravity of Messi bending the league toward Miami. Instead, LAFC owned the first half. Not just with the goal, but with 10-3 total shots, 3 of which were on target with just 1 for Miami. An upset for the reigning champs is brewing. How will they respond?
Messi nearly equalizes after being thrown to the ground. He quickly hopped up and found the ball in front of him 20 yards away from Lloris and sent it sailing.
On nearly the exact same set up, Bouanga finds a streaking Martinez for a 1-on-1, only this time Martinez’s curler goes just wide of the far post. LAFC nearly took a two-goal lead into halftime.
LAFC gets on the board first thanks to a mistake by Miami. Tilman forced the turnover, but it was Son who capitalized with an assist to Martinez. The young Venezuelan curled the ball past St. Clair and into the far left corner of the goal to put the home squad ahead.
It’s Bouanga again sending in a stealth cross right in front of St. Clair, but Martinez can’t get his foot on it.
Bouanga again slices through the Miami defense with a pass to Tilman inside the box. Tilman’s goal opportunity was quickly nixed, however, as Falcon slid in front of it and deflected it out.
Berterame gets in on the action hoping to feed Messi near the box. Porteous is there to intercede and sends the incoming pass the other way,
The 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics are underway and run through Feb. 22, so mark your calendars or set your alarm for your favorite events with the competition schedule and applicable broadcast networks listed below.
Roughly 2,900 athletes competed across figure skating, hockey, luge, speed skating, curling, snowboarding, Nordic combined, and more winter sports for the 2026 Winter Olympics this month. Now, it’s time for the Winter Games to come to an end. Today’s Closing Ceremony is airing on NBC and streaming live on Peacock. Here are a few ways to watch free.
How to watch the 2026 Winter Olympics for free
Dates: Feb. 6 – Feb. 22
Advertisement
TV channel: NBC, USA
Streaming: Peacock
What channel are the Olympics on?
The 2026 Winter Olympics will primarily air on NBC. Every event will stream live on Peacock. Select coverage will also air on USA Network.
How to get Peacock for free
Don’t want to add another subscription to your roster for the month of February? Here’s a few ways to watch the Olympics on Peacock for free, plus some ways to grab NBC and USA coverage free.
The 2026 Winter Olympics will be held in Northern Italy, primarily in Milan and also the Alpine mountain resort town of Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Winter Olympics time difference
This year’s Olympic Games are in Italy, which is six hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time. This means that some events will start bright and early for U.S. viewers, and live coverage will likely wrap up around 4 p.m. ET each day. NBC will have primetime replays of the biggest moments each night.
2026 Winter Olympics TV/streaming schedule:
(All times Eastern)
Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026 (Day 16)
Bobsled
Four-man
4 a.m.: Runs 3, 4 (airs on USA Network at 6:30 a.m.; airs on NBC at 11 a.m.)🏅
Advertisement
Cross-Country Skiing
50 kilometer mass start
4 a.m.: Women’s final (USA Network; airs on NBC at 11:45 a.m.)🏅
Curling
Women’s
5:05 a.m.: Gold-medal game (airs on NBC and USA Network at 7 a.m.) 🏅
It feels like the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics just began, but here we are more than two weeks after the Opening Ceremony, and the flame is about to be extinguished. Literally. The Olympics Closing Ceremony, which features the ceremonial extinguishing of the Olympic flame, is this Sunday, Feb. 22, and you can watch the entire event live on Peacock and NBC at 2:30 p.m. ET. (A primetime version will also be broadcast on NBC at 9 p.m.).
Here’s a look at everything you need to know to watch the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics Closing Ceremony, including who will be there, what channel it’s on, and when to watch. And as we close out the Games, here’s a look at the final medal count, too.
Advertisement
How to watch the Closing Ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics
Date: Sunday, Feb. 22
Time: Airs live at 2:30 p.m. ET, primetime re-air at 9 p.m. ET
There are a couple ways to watch the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony on Sunday, Feb. 22. You can tune in live at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon, or catch the encore broadcast at 9 p.m. ET that night. Both broadcasts will air on NBC, which is available with DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV and more.
More ways to watch the Closing Ceremony in Milan without cable:
You can watch the Closing Ceremony live or on demand on Peacock as well as on NBC.com, NBCOlympics.com, and the NBC app.
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 performing at the 2026 Olympics Closing Ceremony?
Electronic musician Gabry Ponte is one of the headliners at the Closing Ceremony at the Winter Olympics. Other confirmed performers include Italian actress Benedetta Porcaroli and Italian ballet dancer Roberto Bolle. Expect to see another parade of athletes, the flag handover to the 2030 Olympic hosts from France, and the ceremonial extinguishing of the Olympic flame.
Where is the 2026 Olympics Closing Ceremony being held?
The 2026 Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony will be held at the Verona Arena in Verona, Italy.
Eileen Gu, the American-born freeskier who competes for China, has won her second consecutive Olympic gold medal in the women’s halfpipe. After pulling out on her first run, Gu bounced back with a 94.00 in Run 2 and a 94.75 in Run 3.
Both were good enough for gold.
Advertisement
China took the first two spots on the podium, with Gu’s teammate Li Fanghui earning silver with a 93.00 on her third run.
Great Britain’s Zoe Atkin, Gu’s classmate at Stanford, was on top after her first run, but couldn’t recover from missing a landing on her second, despite getting the most amplitude on her jumps among the competitors in the field.
She scored a 92.50 on her third run to finish behind Gu and Fanghui after placing first during qualifying.
Gu, 22, has earned six medals across two Winter Olympic Games, making her the most accomplished freestyle skier in Olympic history.
“Being able to lead the way and pioneer the sport is something I never imagined I’d be able to do,” Gu said after the halfpipe final. “But I’m really honored and proud that I have.”
Advertisement
In Milan Cortina, her gold in the halfpipe joins the silver medals she earned in slopestyle and big air. She was the only freestyle skier to compete in all three events, let alone earn medals in each of them. At the 2022 Beijing Games, Gu took gold in Halfpipe and big air, along with silver in slopestyle.
“The reason I love the records so much is that it’s not about man or woman,” Gu added. “I’m the most decorated freeskier of all time, male or female. I have the most gold medals ever, male or female. That’s a testament to competitive strength, it’s mental strength. It’s being able to perform under pressure.”
Beginning her Olympic career at such a young age, it appears more than likely that Gu will add to her impressive medal total in four years at the 2030 Winter Games in the French Alps.
Gu has also become a controversial figure over her choice to represent China, where her mother was born, despite herself being born in San Francisco. Being an accomplished athlete and photogenic star in both countries has allowed her to make millions of dollars, reportedly $23.1 million in 2025.
Advertisement
Team USA’s Kate Gray (66.50) and Svea Irving (22.50) finished 10th and 11th, respectively, in the competition. Irving landed hard on her right hip on her first run and did not complete her third.
Sunday’s event was delayed from Saturday due to heavy snow making the halfpipe course unsafe for competition.
