The New York Mets have not had a team captain since David Wright retired in 2018. And that will continue as long as Steve Cohen owns the franchise, he said.
“As long as I’m owning the team, there will never be a team captain,” Cohen told reporters before the Mets’ first full-squad workout on Monday. “That was my decision. My view is the locker room is unique. Let the locker room sort it out year in, year out.”
Sentiment had been building toward shortstop Francisco Lindor being named captain going into his sixth season with the team. The Mets even appeared to indicate that by including him in a video honoring Wright when his number was retired last season. (The team deleted the video, but it can still be found online.)
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The topic was raised before last season, but Mets players such as outfielder Brandon Nimmo pointed out that several in the clubhouse — including Juan Soto, Pete Alonso and Sean Manaea — filled the role as team leader at various times.
The Mets have had four official team captains in franchise history. The first was Keith Hernandez, given the honor in 1987 after the team won the World Series. Hernandez shared the designation during the 1988 and ’89 seasons with Gary Carter. The team then went without a captain for 11 seasons until John Franco received the title.
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After Franco left New York as a free agent, the Mets again went without a captain for eight years until David Wright was named by the organization during the spring of 2013. No one in team history might embody a team captain more than Wright. He was given the nickname “Captain America” during the World Baseball Classic that year.
At the time, only two other MLB teams had designated captains: Paul Konerko with the Chicago White Sox and Derek Jeter with the New York Yankees.
Last season, three teams had captains: Salvador Perez with the Kansas City Royals, Marcus Semien with the Texas Rangers and Aaron Judge with the New York Yankees. Semien is now Lindor’s middle infield partner at second base after being acquired in exchange for Nimmo in November.
“My view is every year, the team’s different, and let the team kind of figure it out in the locker room rather than having a designation,” Cohen added, via MLB.com. “Having a captain in baseball doesn’t happen often. It’s actually unusual. Whatever previous ownership did, that was their way of doing things. I look at things differently.”
The importance of the team captain role for the Yankees is likely a reason Mets fans give the title some value. It could also be viewed as a reward for a longtime star, like Lindor has been for the Mets.
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During his five seasons in Queens, he has batted .261/.338/.462 with 148 doubles, 141 home runs, 445 RBI and 117 stolen bases. This year, he’ll tie the number of seasons he played with the Cleveland Guardians before being traded to the Mets before the 2021 campaign.
Cleveland Browns safety Ronnie Hickman was hospitalized after being assaulted Monday morning in New York, the team announced.
Per the Browns, Hickman sustained “minor injuries” in what the team called an “assault” and was released from a hospital later Monday.
“Safety Ronnie Hickman was a victim of assault early Monday morning at a New York City hotel,” a Browns statement reads. “Ronnie was treated for minor injuries at an area hospital after the incident, was later released, and is home resting with his family.”
The Browns didn’t release further details of the incident. Hickman did not release a statement.
The New York Post reported the alleged assault took place around 4:30 a.m. in the lobby of the Sixty Les Hotel in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Per the report, citing police sources, a group of four attackers assaulted Hickman after a dispute.
Hickman’s attackers fled the scene after assaulting him, according to the report. Hickman was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition, according to the report. No further details were reported as of Monday afternoon.
Hickman, 24, has played three NFL seasons, all of them with the Browns. He joined them as an undrafted free agent in 2023 and played as a part-time starter in his first two seasons. He became a full-time starter in 2025 and played in all 17 of Cleveland’s games.
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He finished third on the team with 103 combined tackles in addition to recording two interceptions, seven passes defended and one tackle for loss.
LIVIGNO, Italy — Eileen Gu’s second Winter Olympics isn’t going quite as well as her first, but by the way she celebrated winning the big air silver medal, she isn’t going to walk away disappointed.
Against a stronger field of freestyle skiers that executed bigger and better tricks than four years ago in Beijing, the American-born Gu, who now competes for China, was unable to defend her gold medal in this event but put together two good runs and simply got beat by outstanding tricks from Canada’s Megan Oldham. Italy’s Flora Tabanelli took the bronze.
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Gu had an excellent first run, scoring 90.00 with a double cork 1440, but a mediocre second run put her in a precarious position going into the final round.
Eileen Gu of China competes in the first run women’s freeski big air final. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
(Patrick Smith via Getty Images)
In big air, skiers get three attempts and are ranked by their two best scores combined.
Gu’s final run was spectacular — a perfectly-executed left side double cork 1260 that inspired her to throw her fists in the air as the 89.00 score came in, putting her into second place behind Oldham and holding that position until the end.
It was Gu’s second medal of these Olympics, joining the silver she won in slopestyle. She still has one more chance to bring hardware back to Stanford — where she’s re-enrolling as a junior after the Olympics — in the halfpipe where she’s also the defending gold medalist.
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The start of the big air final was delayed by 75 minutes as significant snow with wind gusts up to 18 miles an hour made the conditions too dangerous for a sport where competitors ski down a 15-story ramp, launch themselves into the air and perform their biggest trick.
Even though conditions improved, snow was still falling at the beginning of the final and picked up throughout. That didn’t stop the competitors from trying massive tricks, including Muir’s leftside double cork 1620 — 4½ full rotations with two off-axis flips and a Cindy grab — that scored a 93.0 and launched her into position to win if she could execute one more big trick on her final run.
Ironically, that’s the same audacious trick Gu landed on her third and final attempt in 2022 to win her second gold medal in Beijing. Trying to make something special happen again and repeat what Gu did four years ago, Muir went huge on her final run but did not land it.
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Both Swiss skiers, Anouk Andraska and Mathilde Gremaud, were forced to withdraw from the finals due to injuries suffered during training Monday before the final.
Gremaud, who edged out Gu for the slopestyle gold medal last week, injured her hip according to an official release from Swiss Ski and would have been a contender to hit the podium in big air. It’s unclear at this point whether the injury will take her out of the halfpipe competition scheduled for the end of the week.
Austria didn’t need its final jumps on Monday night to claim a gold medal in Predazzo, Italy.
The Austrians claimed the men’s super team large hill ski jump on Monday after the event was canceled early due to a large snowstorm that worked its way into the area. Conditions on the course got very bad out of nowhere during the third round of the competition, and officials ended up wiping the round altogether — as several teams had yet to make their third and final jumps.
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So, since Austria was in the lead after the second round, they took the gold medal. It marked the country’s second straight win in the event, following their gold-medal finish at the Beijing Olympics four years ago.
The Austrian duo of Jan Hörl and Stephan Embacher finished with 558.7 points to win, just more than 20 points ahead of Poland. Norway finished in third, less than a half-point ahead of Germany. The American pair of Kevin Bickner and Tate Frantz ended up in eighth with a score of 520.2.
Japan was widely considered the favorite to win, though it finished sixth after rough first jumps from Ren Nikaido and Ryoyu Kobayashi. Nikaido has already won three medals so far in Italy, and Kobayashi won gold on the normal hill in 2022. He won six World Cup events in the past year. While it would have taken a big third jump from each to move up in the standings and reach the podium, they didn’t end up getting the chance.
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While that’s undoubtedly frustrating for them, it’s hard to blame the officials considering the weather that dominated the region on Monday. It was not the only event impacted, either. The start of the women’s big air final was delayed by more than an hour on Monday due to snow and wind.
Tyreek Hill’s time with the Miami Dolphins is over.
The Dolphins released the longtime wide receiver on Monday, officially making him a free agent for the first time in his career. The eight-time Pro Bowler is currently recovering from a dislocated knee and torn ACL injury he suffered in Week 4 last season, so it is unclear when or if Hill will play next season.
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Hill would have had $11 million become fully guaranteed this month and his release will reportedly save the Dolphins $22.8 million.
The Dolphins were busy Monday. They also released wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and guard James Daniels. They are also reportedly releasing edge rusher Bradley Chubb.
The Dolphins could still reportedly look to move quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who was benched in favor of seventh-round rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers in Week 16 and already has $54 million fully guaranteed to him in 2026.
Hill originally joined the Dolphins in 2022, when the team acquired the wideout in a deal with the Kansas City Chiefs. The Dolphins promptly gave Hill a four-year, $120 million extension and watched as he torched defenders for 1,710 yards and seven touchdowns in his first season in Miami.
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His second year with the Dolphins was even better. Hill led the NFL with 1,799 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. Led by Hill and a healthy Tagovailoa, the Dolphins went 11-6 that season, but failed to advance past the wild-card round. Hill’s performance earned him a first-team All-Pro nod, a sixth-place finish in the MVP voting and a second-place finish in the Offensive Player of the Year award voting.
The following season proved to be the beginning of the end for both the Dolphins and Hill. Tagovailoa was injured two games into the 2024 season. He missed four games, and the Dolphins’ offense completely changed once Tagovailoa returned. Limited by the team’s refusal to throw deep and a wrist injury, Hill finished the year with just 959 yards and six scores. He posted his lowest catch and yardage total since 2019.
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In 54 games with the Dolphins, Hill had 340 receptions, 4,733 receiving yards, 28 touchdowns and was first team All-Pro in two seasons (2022, 2023).
Following offseason surgery, Hill entered 2025 looking to recapture his old form, but he tore his ACL four games into the season. Hill’s agent Drew Rosenhaus commented on the Dolphins releasing his client and whether he’d play in the NFL again coming off this latest injury.
Should Hill choose to return for season No. 11 in the NFL, he’d be 32 years old by the time the 2026 campaign begins.
NBA All-Star Weekend is always a fun time of year. Players and media alike get to let their hair down; fans get the opportunity to see — and sometimes interact with — the league’s best players in one spot. It’s a time for celebration and relaxation; a time for us to soak in and share a collective love for the league, and basketball as a whole.
I was fortunate enough to be on the scene for All-Star festivities this year. L.A. traffic aside (more on that later), I had a blast. Below, you’ll find my big-picture takeaways from the weekend, as well as some less consequential thoughts I wanted to share.
There I was, standing near the door of a crowded news conference room Saturday morning. All-Star media availabilities are happening, and a star is up front, on stage, fielding questions.
During one of his answers, the door pops open. In comes Anthony Edwards with a few other members of his crew. Edwards stands to the side for a moment, soaks in part of the answer being given and drops a bar — simultaneously to no one and everyone in that room.
“Man, none of them dudes can guard me.”
Anthony Edwards was named All-Star MVP after leading Team Stars to the tournament win. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
No matter the topic, Edwards had a quick quip ready to go, and did so with a seamless flair. It was the kind of showcase, if you want to call it that, one could use as evidence for Edwards as a worthy Face of the League candidate.
“Man, them folks got [Victor] Wembanyama,” he said. “That’s what they got goin’ on. They got Wembanyama; they’ll be all right!”
There’s a lot that could be said about Edwards’ weekend, but one thing I’ll give him is that he didn’t lie.
Nobody had fun trying to stay in front of Edwards, whether that was Wembanyama when he had that assignment, or Kevin Durant — someone that Edwards looked up to and, ironically, was the guy at the podium when Edwards walked in and proclaimed nobody could guard him.
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I mean …
Edwards got to the basket at will, dropped in a barrage of jumpers and made splash plays defensively. He even attempted (and failed) to win a jump ball against Wemby, whom he credited with setting the tone in their opening 37-35 win over Team World.
Ultimately, Edwards earned All-Star MVP honors for his performance, accumulating 32 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal in nearly 27 minutes of action.
Victor Wembanyama set the tone
As Edwards and others pointed out, Victor Wembanyama was ready to take on whatever challenge he needed to. While it wasn’t full-blown regular-season effort — nobody hit that bar consistently — it’s certainly fair to argue Wembanyama was the closest to that bar, both in approach and in responsibility.
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He was the game’s most active screener, often sprinting into position before pushing off and diving to the basket with juice. He showed no hesitation driving, whether that came via perimeter catches or grab-and-go opportunities after missed shots.
Any time a smaller player wound up on him, within the flow of action or due to transition cross-matching, you could expect to see Wembanyama’s hand in the air while working to seal that defender. He kept constant pressure on the defenses he faced — it was funny to see Team Stars experiment with some (late) doubles on some of his touches.
On top of that, Wembanyama remained a menace on the defensive end. Imagine my glee watching him direct traffic on the weak side, swapping places with whoever was in the opposite corner so he could stay lower on the floor — a hallmark of the Spurs’ defensive plan.
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While it was genuinely hilarious watching Wembanyama absolutely lose it after his team gave up a game-winning 3 in overtime, that level of care was so refreshing to witness.
The new All-Star Game format was a success — even if it’s not a replacement
There was understandable angst about the format — three teams of eight (kinda), round-robin style with a 12-minute sprint to determine the winner of each game — heading into Sunday’s action. Considering the first three games were decided by a combined seven points — we’ll set the final aside for now — you have to admit the shift was successful.
Players were naturally asked about how they felt about the format after the games were over, and the response was pretty firmly positive. There were players like Kawhi Leonard who expressed a desire to go back to the classic East-versus-West style in the future, but even that came after praising the current form.
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Of note: I got to ask Leonard, Jalen Johnson, Chet Holmgren about how the shorter games affected the way they warmed up and established (or maintained) a rhythm. Leonard and Holmgren acknowledged it was a different feel, but ultimately got used to it, while Johnson attributed his (and his team’s) youth to being able to get warm without much issue.
If this format returns next year, I wonder if the timing of the matchups will change at all.
The fans were put in a tough spot this weekend
If you’re reading this article, well, thank you, first of all.
Beyond that, if you’re online enough to read this, you’ve likely been online enough to see some of the unfortunate half-filled crowd shots of Intuit Dome during the weekend. That, combined with the conversation heading in — particularly how perilous the dunk contest and All-Star game felt — would make it easy to conclude that people simply didn’t care and the future of the weekend is in trouble.
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Do not fall into that trap. You’re within your right to hold that opinion, of course, but at least consider a few factors.
First, the combination of weekend festivities being held on the West Coast and NBC splitting coverage duties between that and the Olympics likely played a role in everything being earlier than usual. And without boring you with the actual logistics, let’s just say driving around Los Angeles (and surrounding areas) comes with its own hassles — that’s ramped up even more with a weekend like this.
Getting to the Rising Stars event on Friday for example, starting at 6 p.m. local time, means dealing with your usual rush hour traffic on top of all of the visitors. It becomes a little easier to understand why the building wasn’t full at the start. To that end, Saturday (also Valentine’s Day) and especially Sunday featured much fuller crowds and a better atmosphere overall.
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On a related note, I’d like to focus more on Saturday. I personally thought the events were well done. Damian Lillard shot the leather off the ball to capture his third 3-point contest crown; Team Knicks (Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Allan Houston) bombed away late to sneak past Team Cameron (Jalen Johnson, Kon Knueppel, Corey Maggette) in the Shooting Stars competition; Heat forward Keshad Johnson jumped and danced (and danced, and danced!) his way to a dunk contest win.
It became clear, at least in my social-media bubble, that not only were people unaware of the earlier-than-usual start time (2 p.m. local, 5 p.m. ET), they were also unaware at the order of events being shifted. The 3-point contest actually led the show on Saturday versus its usual slot sandwiched between the now-defunct (?) Skills Challenge (Shooting Stars this year) and the dunk contest.
The 3-point contest has been the premier event the last few seasons, so I’m not opposed to that going first moving forward; it just has to be communicated in a better, louder way so people don’t miss out.
Adam Silver really cares about tanking
NBA commissioner Adam Silver spent nearly an hour fielding questions ahead of Saturday’s events. Plenty of ground was covered — potential expansion or relocation (Silver said no on this front), the Clippers/Aspiration/Kawhi Leonard investigation, updates on NBA Europe and more — but tanking ruled the conversation.
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“We spend a lot of time at the league office going back and forth with teams on injury reports, on coaches’ decisions. It’s not a position [we] necessarily want to be in … it’s not what the fans want, at the end of the day,” Silver said.
“Although my caveat is, this is where teams are in a difficult place. Many of you in this room have written understandably about our teams that the worst place to be, for example, is to be a middle-of-the-road team. Either be great or be bad, because then that will help you with the draft.
“In many cases, you have fans of those teams — remember, it’s not what they want to pay for to see poor performance on the floor, but they’re actually rooting for their teams in some cases to be bad to improve their draft chances.
“I think we’re coming at it in two ways. One is, again, focusing on the here and now, the behavior we’re seeing from our teams and doing whatever we can to remind them of what their obligation is to the fans and to their partner teams. But No. 2, as I also said in that statement, the Competition Committee started earlier this year reexamining the whole approach to how the draft lottery works.”
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I appreciated Silver acknowledging the tightrope non-contending teams are trying to walk. Bad teams need a way to get better, and the draft currently serves as the best opportunity to do so — especially a draft class like this one. Being a team in the middle — too good to be in the lottery, but not nearly good enough to seriously compete for a title — is an area nobody should want to be in.
(I’ve already given my rant about one team this pertains to. I’ll be kind today.)
But Silver, fresh off of fining the Utah Jazz ($500,000) and Indiana Pacers ($100,000), was also clear in his displeasure with even the optics of rotational hijinks that could increase the odds of losing — and thus, increasing a team’s odds at landing one of the top picks in this year’s draft.
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I came away from his presser feeling like he’d consider pretty much anything short of abolishing the draft altogether — and maybe that isn’t as farfetched of an idea as it may have been, say, five years ago. This offseason is going to be an interesting one.
Other thoughts
Leonard’s 31-point performance in a win over Team World is one of the wildest shot-making displays we’ve ever gotten in an All-Star Game. It honestly served as an extension of what the last two-plus months have been like for him — he’s currently on track to have the best scoring season (27.9 points on 61.9 true shooting) of his career.
Speaking of the dunk contest, I stand on it being pretty good this year! I understand people want bigger names, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with that desire, but I think there were enough skillful dunks and showmanship (especially from Johnson) to where we can put off the “DUNK CONTEST IS DEAD” talks for another year.
Last thing, do we need to add a blue tent for this contest? Are we sure Jase Richardson didn’t hurt himself before ultimately nailing a 360? Talk about putting it all on the line.
Bobby Portis, your 3-point contest round will live on in infamy. The bar for bigs in the contest will likely skyrocket.
With all due respect to his comedic chops, I think I’ll be OK never seeing Druski on the court during an actual competition again. That brother was tasked with dishing out passes during the Shooting Stars competition (welcome back!) and somehow managed to toss a ball into Row G.
After months of what university president Luke Wood describes as “disruptive marketing,” Sacramento State has completed its yearslong goal of membership into the NCAA’s top football division, FBS.
But the Hornets’ five-year football-only agreement into the Mid-American Conference comes at a steep price — the steepest price, at least in cash, that we’ve seen from any conference expansion move in history.
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Sac State will pay an $18 million entry fee into the league ($6 million the first year) and $5 million in an NCAA FBS entry fee, as well as accepting zero conference distribution over that stretch and covering the air travel costs for all visiting MAC football teams (an additional $2-4 million over the five years).
The total price for the move (the entry fees and the travel costs) stands to exceed $25 million. All of this to compete in a division where Sac State’s budget will be dwarfed by power conference giants?
It’s left so many inside and outside of college athletics asking a question: Why?
“It is putting the university on the map,” Wood said in an interview Monday with Yahoo Sports.
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In short, Sacramento State views this promotion as a branding and marketing play for the university, where the FBS moniker, nationally televised MAC games and path to bowls and the College Football Playoff brings eyeballs that, Wood says, you just don’t get at the FCS level.
Wood, himself a Sacramento State alum, commissioned a consulting firm to generate the economic impact of five years in FBS. It produced a $975 million figure to the Sacramento area (roughly $250 million annually).
But perhaps the most significant impact of the move is related to the school’s enrollment. Wood says studies have shown that the value of a university degree increases with a move from FCS to FBS.
“Part of what we need to be able to do is market ourselves not just in-state but also out of state,” Wood said. “The lack of exposure in FCS does have an impact on recruiting students, especially out of state. You need out-of-state students to ensure your university is viable.”
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Though the university subsidizes a large percentage of Sac State’s athletic budget, Wood says most of the MAC and FBS entry fees will originate from the football program’s revenues, specifically the cash accrued from non-conference “buy games” against FBS and power league programs. Football will pay the fees for football’s move, he says.
There are other expenses beyond entry fees and compensating MAC teams for their travel. For instance, the school plans millions this offseason in modifications to its stadium to prepare it for FBS play, including the creation of a new visiting locker room, visiting suites for the opponent’s administration, additional end-zone seating and video boards. That doesn’t include millions in its own travel costs to ship its football team across the country at least four times a year for five years (likely at a cost of at least $150,000 a trip).
Is it all worth it?
“The whole point is to make sure Sacramento State is a flagship university,” Wood said. “We are a case study in disruptive marketing. People would say North Dakota State did it the right way. Well, we can’t wait around to win 10 national championships.
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“There were many who fought tooth and nail to make sure this didn’t happen. We had many people rooting against us. Despite all the odds, we did something that hasn’t been done in 57 years. It is historic.”
Wood is referring to Sacramento State becoming the first West Coast FCS program to move its football team to FBS since Fresno State and San Diego State made the move in 1969.
Nearly six decades later, the Hornets arrive, delivering the Mid-American Conference quite a windfall. The MAC distributes around $1.5-$2 million annually to its members in all-in conference distribution (this includes NCAA and bowl distributions). Sac State’s entry fee is expected to increase the annual distribution by about 15-20%.
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As one school administrator quipped, “That’s a big deal.”
The MAC gets money. Sac State gets the FBS brand.
And that includes the Hornets’ inclusion in EA’s College Football video game, too.
“I was talking to our players this morning,” Wood said. “You know what they are most excited about? Being in the video game.”
Since a two-goal performance for the U.S. national team in October, Haji Wright had labored mightily with his English team, Coventry City. At his lowest, the 27-year-old went 15 matches for club and country over three months without scoring — an eternity in the life of a striker.
On Monday, in a showdown between the top sides in the second-flight Championship, Wright roared back into scoring form with his third career hat trick as Coventry defeated visiting Middlesbrough 3-1 to reclaim first place after a prolonged rut.
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The Los Angeles native scored in the run of play in the 21st and 55th minutes before completing the hat trick with a 71st-minute penalty kick, increasing his total to 13 — two off the league lead.
“When you’re a striker, you want to score goals,” Wright told Paramount+. “I was hoping to get back into form, and tonight was a great opportunity for that. … It was a great night to come out and show what we can do.”
The uprising ended a difficult stretch for Wright, who is vying for a return to the World Cup squad after scoring against the Netherlands in the 2022 round of 16 in Qatar.
During the October international window, he scored twice in a 2-1 comeback victory over Australia in Commerce City, Colorado. And then the goals dried up, both for front-running Coventry and for the U.S. in November. He did score in consecutive Coventry matches last month before coming up empty in the subsequent three outings.
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Wright’s first goal came on a simple redirect at the edge of the 6-yard box. His second was an absolute gem. Goalkeeper Carl Rushworth punted a long ball. On the run, Wright fought off a defender and, as the ball bounced a second time, the American struck a left-footed half-volley from 9 yards into the far corner of the net for a 2-0 lead.
After Middlesbrough had halved the deficit, a handball led to Wright’s penalty kick and his first hat trick since March 2025 against Sunderland.
“I’m trying to be more consistent in my play,” Wright said, “so do what I do well and do it consistently and try to impose myself on the opposition. I’m a big frame, a big striker [6 foot 4], and I try to impose that on other players.”
With the hat trick, Wright surpassed last season’s goal total (12) and drew him within three of his Coventry debut campaign in 2023-24.
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Wright received a rousing ovation when he left Monday’s match in the 82nd minute. Coventry ended a three-game winless streak and leapt over Middlesbrough for the top spot on the 24-team circuit with 14 matches left.
The top two will earn automatic promotion to the Premier League, with Coventry now six points ahead of third-place Millwall. Teams that finish third through sixth will advance to a playoff for the final ticket to the top division.
Coventry has not played in the Premier League since 2001.
Midfielder Aidan Morris played all 90 minutes for Middlesbrough, which experienced its first loss after six consecutive league victories. It is seeking to return to the Premier League for the first time in nine years.
MILAN — There are two distinct kinds of happy Olympians in the moments after an event: those who are happy they medaled, and those who are happy to be there. The medalists go home with hardware and fame; the others take satisfaction in the fact they’ve accomplished their dreams. Even if they take, say, an extra 25 years to achieve.
At the pairs figure skating event on Monday night, Japan’s Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kiahara claimed gold, Georgia’s Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava won silver and Germany’s Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin earned bronze. Americans Emily Chan and Spencer Howe finished sixth while Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea finished eighth. They were all happy in their own ways, but none of them were quite happy in the way that Canada’s Deanna Stellato-Dudek was, because none of them have a story that can quite match hers.
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At age 42, Stellato-Dudek embodies persistence, stubbornness, hard-headedness … whatever you’d call the will to stick with your Olympic dreams even after a long retirement. A junior skater with substantial promise, including a silver medal in the 2000 World Junior Championships, she initially targeted the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics as her goal. But persistent injuries forced her into retirement in 2001, and for 16 years, that seemed like the end of her figure skating story.
Something nagged at her, though, some unfinished business deep inside. At a team-building exercise in her mid-30s, she surprised herself by answering the question, “What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?” with “I would win an Olympic gold medal.” She then decided she wanted to take one more run at the Olympics, she had to overcome doubts from virtually every corner. There aren’t many Olympians who start skating again in their mid-30s, after all.
On the suggestion of a U.S. Figure Skating official, she tried pairs, which better fit her skillset. She paired with 2014 Olympian Nathan Bartholomay until he was forced to retire in 2019 with persistent knee injuries. To keep her career going and her dreams alive, Stellato-Dudek opted to move to Canada and pair with Maxime Deschamps, eight years her junior. The duo decided to skate for Canada, reasoning that it would be easier to get Stellato-Dudek a Canadian passport in time for the 2026 Olympics than for Deschamps to get a U.S. one.
The pair won a surprise gold at the 2024 World Championships, and continued to push forward toward the 2026 Olympics even as the obstacles grew higher and higher, from tougher competition to lingering illness and injury. Still, they persisted, and in January were named to the Canadian Olympic team and slated to skate in the team event.
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But since nothing is ever easy for Stellato-Dudek, disaster again struck. Just days before the pair was scheduled to leave for Milan, days before she would finally achieve her Olympic dream … she hit her head in a training accident. Suddenly, everything she had worked for over the course of decades was in jeopardy.
Doctors finally cleared her to fly early last week, and the pair landed in Milan well after the Opening Ceremony had started. They had little time to get accustomed to the ice of Assago Ice Skating Arena, and struggled through their short program, finishing 14th of 19 teams after a late fall marred their routine.
“The potential was still there, but there was nothing I could do. It was an accident,” she said. “Stuff like that happens in life all the time, and I’m not young, so I’m aware of that.”
In one way, being so close to competing for a medal was surely maddening. In another, it didn’t really matter, not when you’ve waited your whole life — a life twice as long as some of your teammates — to be here at the Olympics.
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“We’ve been really busy, busier than normal, so I have not been able to enjoy much,” Stellato-Dudek said. “I look forward to having a great Olympic experience now that the ‘work’ is done. I’ll take the photo with Maxim in front of the rings and go get some of the free stuff. We’ve gotten nothing so far, so we look forward to doing that now.”
And after Milan? Who knows? Could she be a 46-year-old Olympian?
“I’m not certain that I’m done,” she said. “I think the only limits you have are the ones that you set on yourself. Even though everybody loves to try to put limits on me because I’m 42. I don’t believe in any of that. Only I can put limits on myself. So I might see you again in four years.”
Real Madrid are staring down a potentially humiliating Champions League exit — can they steady the ship against Benfica in the Round of 32? The boys break down what’s gone wrong, whether Madrid’s aura still carries weight in Europe, and give their official predictions for all Round of 32 matchups.
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Then we’re joined by the legendary Glenn Crooks, who gives incredible insight into how Emma Hayes developed into the elite manager she is today. Crooks also reflects on his own journey in soccer, shares thoughts on NYCFC’s upcoming season, discusses Pascal Jansen’s evolution as a coach, and weighs in on what the club’s new stadium means for the future of football in New York City.
To close it out, we react to Carlo Ancelotti being spotted at Carnival — is that a bad look for Brazil’s head coach given the national team’s current form? Plus, we discuss Tottenham’s new manager, Raheem Sterling’s move to Feyenoord, Pellegrino Matarazzo’s first La Liga loss, and Antoine Semenyo’s absolutely unhinged pizza opinion. Another packed episode full of insight, debate, and chaos.
