MILAN — They gathered on the ice, two dozen of the best hockey players the United States has ever produced, all of them with wide smiles on their faces and gold medals around their necks having just beaten Canada 2-1 in an overtime thriller. They carried the American flag with them, but they carried something else, too: a Team USA jersey emblazoned with the No. 13 on the back, the name of Johnny Gaudreau embroidered along the shoulders.
And then Matthew Tkachuk and Zach Werenski went to the stands and hoisted up Gaudreau’s two oldest children, Noa and Johnny Jr., and brought them out onto the ice. In that perfect moment, all of American hockey smiled through tears.
“To have Johnny and Noa out there,” Dylan Larkin said afterward, “it just felt right.”
Team USA pose for a team photo with Johnny Gaudreau’s children after beating Canada in the gold-medal game. (Andrea Branca/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
(Eurasia Sport Images via Getty Images)
Johnny Gaudreau was one of the best hockey players of his generation, a prolific scorer, seven-time All-Star and member of the NHL’s Quarter Century Team. On the night of Aug. 29, 2024, he and his brother Matthew were riding bikes near Oldmans Township, N.J. It had been a good day; they were in town for their sister Katie’s wedding the next day. But around 8:00 p.m., the two were struck by a car making an illegal pass. The brothers were pronounced dead at the scene, and the driver was charged with vehicular homicide.
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Gaudreau’s death devastated the hockey world, including so many members of Team USA. “We miss him on the ice dearly,” Brady Tkachuk said. “He would have been on this team.”
Throughout its international competitions over the past two years, Team USA has brought along a Gaudreau jersey as motivation, inspiration and comfort. The No. 13 jersey hung in American locker rooms during the 4 Nations Face-Off and the 2025 IIHF World Championships, a testament to Gaudreau’s love of international hockey.
Just prior to the start of the Olympics, Gaudreau’s family released a statement noting just how much he would have loved to be a part of these Games.
“In that final summer, John was training harder than ever, with his dad, pushing himself to be in the best shape of his life,” the family wrote in a statement. “He was determined to earn his spot on that Olympic roster. While it breaks our hearts that John won’t be there to live out that dream, we know he will be so very present with Team USA and all of his close friends competing throughout these games.”
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Larkin laughed that maybe the Gaudreau brothers were here in some way after all, helping Team USA on a spiritual level. “Somehow,” he said, “they put a spell around our net where the puck didn’t go in.”
Members of the Gaudreau family, including Johnny’s widow Meredith, parents Guy and Jane, and 10-month-old son Carter, have attended the last two United States hockey games. Cameras captured them in the crowd Sunday in tearful celebration.
“He’s touched everybody on the ice, everybody in Team USA’s lives,” Brady Tkachuk said. “We just wanted to show the Gaudreau family our support. He was so near and dear to a lot of us.”
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“We miss him and we love him and we love his family,” Larkin said. “We can’t wait to celebrate with them.”
Add in there: “He’s had a big impact on a lot of guys in our room. A lot of guys grew up with him, played with him, spent a lot of time with him,” said Team USA captain Auston Matthews said, adding that the jersey was “just a subtle reminder that him and his brother, they’re with us in spirit.”
Nothing will replace Johnny and Matt Goudreau in the lives of all who loved them. But thanks to Team USA, his children will have a treasured memory honoring their father. And thanks to the gold medal win, his memory will live on as long as there’s American hockey.
The countdown to Super Bowl LX continues, as the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots prepare for the big game, with kickoff set for Sunday, February 8, at 6:30 p.m. ET from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
The teams unveiled their Super Bowl uniforms on Thursday. While the Patriots will technically be the “home” team, they’ll be wearing white jerseys, just as they have in their past four Super Bowl appearances. New England will pair those road jerseys with white pants, a combination it hasn’t lost with this season. Seattle, meanwhile, is going all-navy.
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Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is listed as questionable in the team’s initial injury report for the Super Bowl on February 8. Maye did not participate in Friday’s practice because of an illness, one day after he was limited on Thursday with a right shoulder injury. Head coach Mike Vrabel told reporters that he’s not worried about Maye’s throwing shoulder.
“I’m feeling good,” Maye repeated at the time. “Going to get some extra rest. I really don’t think it was from the game, but just the build-up from throwing — this is, what, including training camp, 30 weeks straight of throwing, four days a week. It can add up. I got some extra rest, and I’m feeling good and ready to go for the Super Bowl.”
Meanwhile, the head-coaching searches for the Las Vegas Raiders and Arizona Cardinals are still going, with those teams now able to pursue additional interviews with candidates from the staffs of the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams, now that they’ve been eliminated from postseason contention. The Bills promoted offensive coordinator Joe Brady to head coach, while the Browns hired Todd Monken, previously the OC for the Baltimore Ravens.
Follow along with Yahoo Sports for the latest NFL news, injury updates and more leading up to Super Bowl 60.
Live coverage is over24 updates
Criss Partee
A 4.3-magnitude earthquake hit the San Francisco Bay Area at 7:01 a.m. on Monday. The quake was centered in San Ramon, California, which is in the East Bay and roughly 40 miles northeast of Santa Clara and Levi’s Stadium, where Super Bowl LX will be played on Sunday.
Criss Partee
On the ground as the New England Patriots arrive in the Bay Area for Super Bowl LX. The Patriots will be attempting to win the franchise’s seventh Lombardi trophy, which will break the current tie with Pittsburgh for the most in the NFL.
This matchup is also a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX, which New England won, 28-24.
Criss Partee
The Seattle Seahawks have taken head coach Mike MacDonald’s words and turned them into a t-shirt that players were wearing on their way to Santa Clara, California, for Super Bowl LX.
During the victory celebration on the field after winning the NFC championship, MacDonald’s response to being an afterthought was “we did not care,” and now the team is running with it.
Coming into the 2025 campaign and for much of it, most had overlooked the Seahawks in favor of the Rams and 49ers in the NFC West. Seattle proved everyone wrong and defeated both the Rams and the Niners in the postseason to advance to the Super Bowl. The Seahawks are on a nine-game winning streak entering the Super Bowl and have beaten the Rams and 49ers twice each during this run.
Tarohn Finley
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is listed as questionable in the team’s initial injury report for the Super Bowl on February 8. Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said Maye would’ve practiced today if he weren’t sick.
The missed practice comes one day after Maye was limited on Thursday because of a right shoulder injury.
“We’ve had a lot of guys over the last month, six weeks here, with illness,” Vrabel told reporters. “So, again, just trying to do what’s best for the player and the team. I’m trying to take care of guys — don’t spread anything.”
In his four seasons as GM, the Vikings made the playoffs twice, including last season when Sam Darnold led them to 14 wins. Believing in J.J. McCarthy, who was back after tearing his meniscus as a rookie, Minnesota let Darnold walk in free agency.
Darnold signed with the Seattle Seahawks and has them in the Super Bowl.
Longtime Vikings executive Rob Brzezinski will lead the team’s football operations through the 2026 NFL Draft.
All eyes are on Patriots quarterback Drake Maye — specifically his throwing shoulder.
He’s been listed as “limited” on New England’s past two injury reports. On Friday, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, the second-year signal-caller wasn’t present for the portion of practice open to the media.
That snippet of practice is just stretching and field-goal work, per Reiss.
Ian Casselberry
The Atlanta Falcons added to their revamped front office, hiring Ian Cunningham as their new general manager on Thursday, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports.
Cunningham, 40, previously interviewed for the Falcons’ president of football position. With his experience in college scouting and player personnel, his responsibilities alongside Matt Ryan, who was hired in that president role, and new head coach Kevin Stefanski, seem apparent.
For the past three years, Cunningham has been the Chicago Bears’ assistant general manager under Ryan Poles. His front office NFL career began in 2008 with the Baltimore Ravens, working as a personnel assistant before advancing to area scout during his eight years.
Mike Vrabel told reporters on Thursday that Williams’ treatment is going well, and that Williams will travel with the team to the Super Bowl, according to The Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed.
Linebackers coach Zak Kuhr has called defensive plays in Williams’ absence.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Chris Cwik
The Las Vegas Raiders are inching closer to making a decision on their next head coach. The team will reportedly interview Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak over the weekend, with one candidate believing Kubiak is the favorite to land the job, per ESPN.
Kubiak, 38, has interviewed with at least two NFL teams this offseason.
Kubiak is considered a strong head-coaching candidate after leading the Seahawks to a third-place finish in points scored in 2025. He’s also served as an offensive coordinator with the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints before joining the Seahawks in 2025.
If Kubiak is hired by the Raiders, he would likely get the chance to work with Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the presumptive No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Until that happens, Kubiak will focus on preparing the Seahawks to take on the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LIX.
Chris Cwik
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is still battling a foot issue following the team’s divisional round loss to the Denver Broncos.
Allen appeared at a team press conference Thursday, in which the Bills announced former offensive coordinator Joe Brady as its next head coach. Allen was spotted using crutches and wearing a walking boot on his foot.
At the team’s end-of-season presser in January, team president of football operations Brandon Beane mentioned that Allen could need surgery on his foot during the offseason. While it was initially unclear whether Allen underwent that surgery already, Beane hinted that was the case Thursday, mentioning Allen “had his foot fixed.”
Beane expressed optimism Allen would be ready by the start of OTAs, so it doesn’t appear the injury is a serious concern for now.
Ben Fawkes
The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook released its annual Super Bowl prop packet on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. PT, lighting up the odds screen with hundreds of ways to wager on the big game. Some of the sharpest prop bettors in the country line up for the chance to bet $2,000 a pop on a prop before moving to the back of the line and doing it all over again.
Yahoo Sports checked in with Casey Degnon, SuperBook risk manager, and he gave six prop bets that received some sharp action on opening night:
RB TreVeyon Henderon under 4.5 receiving yards (-110)
Total number of Seahawks with a rushing attempt: Over 4.5 (-110)
Will there be a 2-pt conversion attempt? No (-140)
RB Rhamondre Stevenson over 2.5 receptions (-140)
WR Jake Bob under 0.5 receiving yards (-140)
Distance of first field goal made over 36.5 yards (-110)
It’s early, but the betting public continues to wager on the Seahawks to cover in Super Bowl LX. In the biggest event of the year, bettors are pulling for the Seahawks while the book hopes for a low-scoring affair with minimal touchdowns,” Christian Cipollini, a BetMGM trading manager, said in a release. “While there’s still some time before the game, it looks like the game and futures market will be rewarding to bettors if the Seahawks cover the game and win outright.”
The Seattle Seahawks did not practice on Wednesday, but the NFL requires a practice/injury report starting today for the Super Bowl next week.
This is the projected report if they had practiced on Wednesday.
Linebacker Ernest Jones IV (chest) and tackle Amari Kight (knee) were the only two DNP’s for Wednesday.
Andy Backstrom
The New England Patriots didn’t have practice Wednesday, however, quarterback Drake Maye would have been limited with a “right shoulder” issue, according to the team’s projected injury report.
Maye hasn’t missed a game this season, his second in the NFL. There was speculation after the Patriots’ AFC title game victory that he suffered an injury during the conference championship, but Maye explained on Boston’s WEEI that his shoulder problem was really “just the buildup of throwing” over the course of the season, as reported by The Associated Press.
During that radio appearance, Maye maintained that he’ll be ready to go for the Super Bowl.
“I think it’s too early to say. Right now, feeling good and looking forward to getting out there and prepping for the Seahawks and prepping to get ready to go.”
Maye is believed to have hurt his right shoulder during the AFC title game on Sunday in Denver during a scramble play in the third quarter. A similar question was downplayed by head coach Mike Vrabel concerning Maye’s status.
Criss Partee
The New England Patriots beat the Denver Broncos in the AFC title game on Sunday to advance to Super Bowl LX. In that game, quarterback Drake Maye looked to have hurt his right shoulder in the third quarter on a scramble play where a Broncos defender fell on top of him.
Usually, when teams have a middle-of-the-road quarterback, they hold on no matter the cost despite knowing deep down that they can’t go to a Super Bowl with him. Those making decisions generally don’t have enough time to make a quarterback change and survive it if it doesn’t hit big right away. So they play it safe.
The Seattle Seahawks have made two bold moves at quarterback in the past few years. And they’re going to the Super Bowl because of it.
Legendary commentator Derek Rae joins Christian and Alexis for a wide-ranging conversation on soccer, culture, and storytelling. From his upbringing in Scotland to his deep connection with German football, Derek explains how his love for languages and history shaped his broadcasting career—and why getting players’ names right is about far more than phonetics. He shares a powerful story about the real impact correct pronunciation can have on players and their families.
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Derek also takes listeners behind the scenes of how he became the voice of EA FC, revealing what the audition process was like, how the opportunity came together, and what it means to be recognized worldwide through a video game. Along the way, he reflects on the evolution of soccer media, iconic broadcasting moments, and the responsibility that comes with being a trusted voice of the sport.
Finally, the conversation dives into the global game itself. Derek breaks down the cultural differences between MLS and European leagues, explains why Germany has become such fertile ground for American players, and offers thoughtful insight into the unique identity of soccer fandom in the United States. It’s a smart, funny, and deeply human conversation with one of the most respected voices in the game.
Timestamps:
(2:00) – Why pronouncing player names correctly is important to Derek Rae
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(10:45) – Derek Rae’s soccer origin story
(15:00) – How Europeans currently perceive MLS
(23:45) – Is Germany the best place for Americans to develop?
(35:00) – Is 2026 the year where the US becomes a real soccer country?
In a jam-packed Kevin O’Connor show, KOC analyzes the first trade of the deadline week and what it means for Keon Ellis, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Sacramento Kings. Then, he discusses updates in the Ja Morant trade market: is there a new interest in him coming out of Chicago?
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Next, Kyle Neubeck joins to talk Sixers: what’s up with the Paul George suspension? Is Joel Embiid back? Is a trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo without giving up VJ Edgecombe a possibility?
Later, KOC chats All-Star reserves before being joined by Kirk Henderson. They look back at the Luka Doncic to Los Angeles trade one year later, marvel at Cooper Flagg’s 2-game tear and ask the question: will Anthony Davis be traded this season?
Corey Tulaba then joins the pod for this week’s Draft Class to chat AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson, the future of Richie Saunders and the biggest college games to watch for this weekend.
(0:25) Cavs trade for Ellis & Schroder (6:31) Bulls interested in Ja Morant? (8:22) Kyle Neubeck talks 76ers (27:27) All-Star reserves announced (30:48) Kirk Henderson talks Mavericks (46:01) Hornets win 6 straight games (1:00:00) Draft Class with Corey Tulaba
PHOENIX, ARIZONA – JANUARY 02: Keon Ellis #23 of the Sacramento Kings dribbles the ball during the first half against the Phoenix Suns at Mortgage Matchup Center on January 02, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns defeated the Kings 129-102. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
On Tuesday, the NBA announced the lineups for this year’s All-Star Celebrity Game. Both teams are stocked with a cast of characters and even have some NBA talent involved with the game. One team will be coached by the Antetokounmpo brothers, Giannis, Alex and Thanasis, along with Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts. The opposing team will have the trio of Anthony Anderson, Instagram star Lethal Shooter and trainer Chris Brickley.
On the court for the Antetokounmpos, fans will see stars like Keegan-Michael Key, Shams Charania of ESPN — which could be quite interesting just days after the trade deadline — Jeremy Lin, rapper Glorilla and Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. Anderson’s team includes actor Simu Liu, renowned record producer Mustard, Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia, Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen and former NBA guard Jason Williams.
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An interesting cast of characters are on tap for the 2026 version of the Celebrity All-Star Game. One of the biggest characters, Giannis Antetokounmpo, could also be a main character this week as the trade deadline approaches. It’s been made clear that he is reportedly ready to move on from Milwaukee, so the timing of this exhibition couldn’t be more perfect.
Given the fact that the person (Shams) who is likely to break the news of any potential trade involving Antetokounmpo will be on the same team just days later, it could not have been set up any better by the NBA. It doesn’t seem like a coincidence that Shams and Giannis will be taking part in the game and forced to work together. This should be a fun way to kick off the weekend that runs through Sunday, ending with the actual All-Star Game.
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The 2026 NBA Celebrity All-Star Game tips off Friday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. ET, at the KIA Forum in Inglewood, California, and will air exclusively on ESPN.
The San Francisco Giants signed Luis Arráez to a one-year deal, with the hope that the three-time batting champion will be able to help solidify their offense after their blockbuster deal that brought Rafael Devers to the Bay last season. However, after finishing at 81–81, are the Giants doing enough to try and compete for a title?
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On this episode of Baseball Bar-B-Cast, Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman examine the questionable offseason that President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey has navigated for his Giants. While being in the same division as the Los Angeles Dodgers does present some difficulties, should the Giants be doing a bit more to show their commitment to winning? Could they still find a way to improve their rotation before the start of the season?
Later, Jordan and Jake talk about the trade that saw the St. Louis Cardinals trade Brendan Donovan in a three-team deal to the Seattle Mariners and why he is going to be a key player for them. They then discuss the Chicago White Sox’s active weekend, the Sacramento A’s signing Jacob Wilson to an extension, all before they get into the problem that insurance is causing with World Baseball Classic rosters.
2:29 – The Opener: A look at the Giants
29:58 – Around the League: Mariners trade for Donovan
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48:18 – Turbo Mode: Reds sign Eugenio Suárez
58:37 – Tarik Skubal vs. Detroit Tigers
1:01:44 – We Need to Talk About: WBC insurance
Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images AP Photo/Benjamin Fanjoy, File Photo by Andy Kuno/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images
(Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images AP Photo/Benjamin Fanjoy, File Photo by Andy Kuno/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images)
🇺🇸 America’s flag bearers: Speed skating gold medalist Erin Jackson and bobsledder Frank Del Duca will serve as flag bearers for Team USA at the Milan Cortina Opening Ceremony on Friday.
🏈 Kraft also denied: Patriots owner Robert Kraft has joined his longtime head coach Bill Belichick in getting denied entry to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year as a finalist. First nominated in 2013, the 84-year-old will have to wait at least another year to make it to Canton.
⛳️ LIV granted OWGR points: The Official World Golf Ranking will grant points to LIV Golf events this season, with a catch: Only the top 10 players will receive points, and they’ll receive fewer than in most PGA Tour events under the OWGR’s “small field tournaments” classification.
🏀 Meet the dunkers: Lakers center Jaxson Hayes, Spurs wing Carter Bryant and Pistons center Jalen Duren will compete in the Slam Dunk Contest during All-Star Weekend, leaving one spot still open. Three-time defending champion Mac McClung has already said he isn’t participating.
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⛷️ The star of the Olympics is now the hero, too
Lindsey Vonn speaks to the media on Tuesday in Cortina. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Despite a torn ACL, Lindsey Vonn insists she will be in the starting gate for the women’s downhill on Sunday. She was already one of the stars of these Olympics. Now she’s one of the heroes, too.
With one agonizing, heartbreaking wreck on a Swiss ski slope last Friday, all of Vonn’s work to get back to the Olympics — a knee replacement, lengthy rehab, retirement, then un-retirement followed by race after race to qualify for these Olympic Games — seemed to evaporate.
But this is Lindsey Vonn we’re talking about, one of the toughest, most determined, most relentless athletes America has ever produced. Vonn metaphorically tightened her straps and clicked back into her skis.
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“This is not, obviously, what I had hoped for,” she said. “I know there’s still a chance, and as long as there’s a chance, I will try.” Damn right. That is the true Olympic spirit.
For all the Olympics’ many sins — corruption, petty nationalism, doping controversies, political gamesmanship, endless grifting — there’s a deeper truth that surges above them all. The Olympics showcases the very best athletes in the world, and the finest elements of the human spirit, as well.
Vonn in action during a World Cup event last month. (Millo Moravski/Agence Zoom/Getty Images)
“Maybe I can’t do this with no ACL, but I still believe in myself, and that makes me smile. That makes me confident. That makes me happy,” Vonn said. “No matter what, I’m going to try my best, so what is there to be sad about? I’m still able to be here. I’m still skiing. I’m still living the dream at 41.”
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Vonn has nothing left to prove, no reason to go back up that hill other than the fact that she simply couldn’t imagine doing anything else. That’s how you go from being a darling of NBC’s Winter Olympic promos to a legitimate national hero, by embodying the best of what we all strive to be.
She will continue to test her knee before the downhill competition begins on Sunday. Regardless of how she feels leading up to then, regardless of what happens on the slopes of Cortina d’Ampezzo, she plans on being in that starting gate. She’ll push off. She’ll fire down the mountain for one more Olympic run.
She’ll have the eyes of the world on her, and the hearts of the world behind her. Who could ask for anything more?
The rosters are set for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game, which will feature three teams competing in a round-robin tournament with four 12-minute games.
Game 1: USA Stars vs. World
Game 2: USA Stripes vs. Game 1 winner
Game 3: USA Stripes vs. Game 1 loser
Game 4: Championship (top two teams from round-robin play)
Late addition: Commissioner Adam Silver named Kawhi Leonard an All-Star to bring the American player pool to 16, allowing for the creation of two 8-member teams.
📸 In photos: Olympic venues
The Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena opened last month, just in time for the Olympics. (Elena Di Vincenzo/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)
The Milan Cortina Olympics will be held across 15 venues in eight cities spanning 8,500 square miles, making these the most spread-out Games ever. With the Opening Ceremony just two days away, let’s meet the venues.
Milan: Italy’s second-most populous city is home to one-third of the venues: Milano Ice Skating Arena (figure skating, short track speed skating), San Siro (Opening Ceremony), Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena (hockey), Milano Speed Skating Stadium (speed skating) and Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena (hockey).
Team Romania runs a practice session at the Cortina Sliding Centre. (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Cortina d’Ampezzo: The co-host, which sits 250 miles northeast of Milan, has three of the 15 venues: Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre (alpine skiing), Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (curling) and Cortina Sliding Centre (bobsleigh, luge, skeleton).
An athlete does a practice jump on Monday at Livigno Snow Park. (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Livigno: The small ski town 150 miles due west of Cortina, and just a couple miles from the Swiss border, is the only other city with multiple venues: Livigno Snow Park (freestyle skiing, snowboard) and Livigno Aerials & Moguls Park (freestyle skiing).
An athlete trains by the Olympic rings on Tuesday at the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium. (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
The rest: Five other cities have one venue each: Tesero’s Cross-Country Skiing Stadium (cross-country skiing, nordic combined), Antholz-Anterselva’s Biathlon Arena (biathlon), Bormio’s Stelvio Ski Centre (alpine skiing, ski mountaineering), Predazzo’s Ski Jumping Stadium (nordic combined, ski jumping) and Verona’s Olympic Arena (Closing Ceremony).
Spring training is almost here, with pitchers and catchers beginning to report to camp early next week. So with America’s Pastime returning soon, here is one storyline to watch for all 30 teams, courtesy of Yahoo Sports’ Russell Dorsey.
AL East
Blue Jays (94-68 in 2025): The quest to return to the Fall Classic begins
Yankees (94-68): Similar team, similar results?
Red Sox (89-73): Roster construction problems
Rays (77-85): Getting Shane McClanahan back healthy
Orioles (75-87): The time is now
AL Central
Guardians (88-74): Travis Bazzana watch
Tigers (87-75): The Skubal saga*
Royals (82-80): A fresh start for Jac Caglianone
Twins (70-92): Star trade watch
White Sox (60-102): Fun times coming to the South Side
AL West
Mariners (90-72): Can they build on 2025?
Astros (87-75): The health of Yordan Alvarez
Rangers (81-81): Getting back to contention in the AL West
Athletics (76-86): What’s in store in Year 2 in Sacramento?
Angels (72-90): What will they get from Mike Trout?
NL East
Phillies (96-66): Keeping up in an improving National League
Mets (83-79): New-look roster makes its debut
Marlins (79-83): Taking another step
Braves (76-86): The core needs to bounce back
Nationals (66-96): CJ Abrams trade watch
NL Central
Brewers (97-65): The post-Freddy era begins
Cubs (92-70): The Alex Bregman effect
Reds (83-79): Who is this team?
Cardinals (78-84): The fire sale is complete
Pirates (71-91): Making the most of Paul Skenes
NL West
Dodgers (93-69): Embarrassment of riches on full display
Padres (90-72): Navigating new financial constraints
Giants (81-81): Avoiding mediocrity
Diamondbacks (80-82): Nolan in the desert
Rockies (43-119): The Paul DePodesta era begins
*What to watch: Skubal’s historic arbitration hearing, featuring an MLB-record $13 million gap between the player’s request ($32 million) and the team’s offer ($19 million), will take place today.
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📺 Watchlist: Wednesday, Feb. 4
Shai giving Wemby a taste of his own medicine in their last matchup. (Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)
It’s hard to imagine a much better doubleheader than this. The Knicks host the Nuggets at MSG to kick things off (7pm ET, ESPN), then it’s Thunder at Spurs (9pm, ESPN) in their fifth and final matchup of the regular season.
Just how good is tonight’s slate? It features four of the seven betting favorites to win the NBA title in OKC (+135 at BetMGM), Denver (+600), New York (+1400) and San Antonio (+1600).
The Opening Ceremony isn’t until Friday, but Winter Olympic competitions begin today with the round robin for curling’s mixed doubles event (1pm, Peacock).
Hometown heroes: The Italians are the defending mixed doubles champions. Can they secure another gold in front of the home crowd?
More to watch:
🏒 NHL: Bruins at Panthers (7pm, TNT); Blues at Stars (9:30pm, TNT) … The defending champion Panthers (28-24-3) are currently last in the Atlantic.
🏀 NCAAM: UCF at No. 8 Houston (7pm, FS1) … Can the Knights (17-4), coming off a win over then-No. 11 Texas Tech, pull off another upset?
🏀 NCAAW: No. 22 Maryland at No. 12 Michigan State (6:30pm, BTN+) … Two of seven ranked Big Ten teams.
⚽️ EFL Cup: Manchester City vs. Newcastle United (3pm, Paramount+) … City bring a 2-0 lead into the second leg of their semifinal against the reigning champs.
⛳️ LIV Golf: Riyadh (10am, FS1) … The breakaway tour’s fifth season opener is the first to feature 72 holes instead of 54.
🏁 NASCAR: The Clash (6pm, Fox) … The preseason exhibition at North Carolina’s Bowman Gray Stadium was postponed to Wednesday due to weather.
Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events happening in your city. Get tickets now!
🏈 Super Bowl trivia
Tom Brady celebrates after winning the Super Bowl in 2017. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images)
The Patriots will make their record-extending 12th Super Bowl appearance this weekend, four more than any other team.
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Question: Which four teams are tied for second, with eight appearances?
Hint: Two AFC, two NFC.
Answer at the bottom.
📸 Photo finish
LeBron James soars through the air for a dunk on Tuesday night in Brooklyn. (Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
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SAN JOSE, Calif. — The messages in NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s pre-Super Bowl news conference this week were subtle, but also solidly implied.
Asked about a potential ICE presence during Sunday’s game between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots, Goodell stayed clear of repeating the acronym for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday. Instead, he steered into a vague response, talking about layered, but nonspecific, government involvement from the local, state and federal level. He used the term “unique assets” to describe what he believes is a traditional high-end security detail on Super Bowl Sunday.
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He didn’t say ICE would be present. He didn’t say ICE wouldn’t be present.
And when it came to the league’s forthcoming Super Bowl halftime show featuring global reggaeton star Bad Bunny — who declared “ICE out” to begin a Grammy Awards acceptance speech the previous night — Goodell had a diplomatic but seemingly pointed response about the artist’s performance on the NFL’s biggest stage. Something along the lines of: That was the Grammy’s platform. This is the Super Bowl platform. Bad Bunny knows the difference.
Or as Goodell put it:
“Listen, Bad Bunny is — and I think that was demonstrated [at the Grammy Awards] — one of the great artists in the world, and that’s one of the reasons we chose him. But the other reason is he understood the platform he was on and that this [Super Bowl] platform is to use to unite people and to be able to bring people together with their creativity, with their talents, and to be able to use this moment to do that. I think artists in the past have done that. I think Bad Bunny understands that, and I think he’ll have a great performance.”
An advertisement for the Super Bowl halftime show featuring Bad Bunny is seen at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
(Chris Graythen via Getty Images)
He didn’t explicitly say Bad Bunny would stick to music. He didn’t explicitly say Bad Bunny wouldn’t stick to music.
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This is how you stay as neutral as possible if you’re Goodell — but it’s also partly a byproduct of the reality that the NFL doesn’t really know for sure what is going to happen Sunday. Nor do we as an audience. Sometimes we even watch more closely because we think something might happen. See Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” cut from last year’s halftime show, when he looked into the camera and spit out the dicey lyrical bar that could have easily been barred by the league: “Say Drake, I hear you like ‘em young …”
To this day, I’m not sure how “on board” the league was with that moment. But with some artists, that’s part of the halftime attraction. For a league that levitates between being buttoned up at times — but loose and edgy in others — the Super Bowl halftime has become a pursuit of trying to have it all. It’s partially why the NFL partnered with Jay-Z’s entertainment company, Roc Nation, in 2019 to collaborate on choosing halftime artists. To test boundaries — or at least give off the appearance of testing boundaries.
Even before that, the NFL hasn’t been able to control everything in halftime shows, whether the controversies or statements by artists were real or perceived. The infamous Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction in Super Bowl XXXVIII was clearly not league approved. Super Bowl XLVI, when artist M.I.A. flipped off the crowd in full view of the television audience? Not approved. Beyoncé’s rendition of “Formation” in Super Bowl 50 was approved and it still sparked a sizable backlash from a portion of viewership that believed it was pushing anti-American and/or anti-law enforcement themes. Even during last season’s Super Bowl, a supporting performer hoisted a flag with “Sudan” and “Gaza” on it, in an apparent protest to ongoing conflicts in those regions.
There have been other moments, too, but the point is the NFL has only limited control of what happens Sunday.
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Goodell knows this. And it’s part of why he has gotten fairly adept at keeping himself and the league out of corners when politics and the NFL intersect. He learned lessons from the first Donald Trump presidency, when the league navigated (often clumsily) through an anthem-kneeling controversy, the rise of social justice consciousness after the murder of George Floyd, and then a politically supercharged COVID-19 pandemic.
You learn to listen more closely, pick your battles more carefully, and to watch for corners that you can’t get out of easily. Perhaps most of all, when it comes to balancing a high-wire act between the league’s bottom line and politics, you lean toward the money until you absolutely can’t.
That’s what I thought of when I listened to Goodell on Monday. After months of culturally and politically charged denouncement of Bad Bunny as a Super Bowl halftime show — much of it driven by the Puerto Rican star’s Spanish-language music — the NFL’s reach for a larger imprint on global Latin American countries was going to test Goodell and the league’s team owners, especially at a time when detainment and deportation efforts from the current Trump administration against immigrants suspected of living in the country illegally have targeted Latin American communities inside the United States.
From the moment of Bad Bunny’s appointment as the centerpiece of the NFL’s halftime show, Goodell and the league’s franchise owners were stepping into a dispute with a segment of their own fan base. It would instantly be a political lightning rod in a country that has a mountain full of them. And it didn’t take long for Trump and leaders in Homeland Security to decry it as a halftime that promoted an anti-American agenda. Or for Turning Point USA to tap Kid Rock and other artists to create an alternative halftime show that, as Kid Rock put it this week, will “[P] lay great songs for folks who love America.”
You do that by embracing a halftime artist that has gotten arguably as much attention as the game itself. You do that by reaching out to a global Latin American audience that may not naturally overlap with your NFL audience, but suddenly feels drawn in by Sunday’s performance.
An artist who told a Grammy audience “ICE out” on the doorstep of Super Bowl week, but who followed that statement with this message:
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“We’re not savage. We’re not animals. We’re not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans. Also, I want to say to the people, I know it’s tough to, not to hate on these days. And I was thinking, sometimes we get contaminados [contaminated]. … The hate gets more powerful with more hate. The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love. So, please, we need to be different. If we fight, we have to do it with love. We don’t hate them. We love our people, we love our family, and that’s the way to do it. With love. Don’t forget that, please.”
The Los Angeles Clippers continued to make moves ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, reportedly trading starting center Ivica Zubac to the Indiana Pacers, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. The Pacers will reportedly be trading Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, two first-round picks and one second-round pick for Zubac and Kobe Brown.
The Clippers will reportedly be receiving a 2026 first-round pick from the Pacers (protected 1-4 and 10-30), plus a 2029 Pacers unprotected first-rounder. If the Pacers first-rounder this year falls outside of that 1-4/10-30 range, it converts to the Pacers’ 2031 unprotected first.
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The Pacers reportedly made a run at Jazz center Walker Kessler before pivoting to Zubac, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes. They reportedly offered two unprotected first-round picks before Utah declined.
Zubac has become a solid role player over the past few years for the Clippers. His stock rose even more after his breakthrough season last year, when he was a second-team NBA All-Defensive player for the first time. Zubac also averaged a career high of 16.8 points and 12.6 rebounds last season and finished sixth in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
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While Zubac’s numbers have dipped this season, he’s still averaging a double-double with 14.4 points and 11 rebounds per game. Zubac’s entire career has been spent in LA, as he was a second-round draft pick for the Lakers in 2016 before being traded to the Clippers in 2019.
Zubac will now be the Pacers’ center of the future after the team lost Myles Turner to the Milwaukee Bucks in free agency this offseason. He will also be paired up with Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton and forward Pascal Siakam.
The Pacers are 13-38 and last in the Eastern Conference, after a Finals appearance last season. The team has struggled to replace Haliburton, who is still recovering from a torn Achilles that he suffered in Game 7 of the 2025 Finals. Last season, Haliburton averaged 18.6 points, 9.2 assists and 3.5 rebounds.
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The Pacers have been led by Siakam, who has averaged 23.8 points, 6.8 and 4 assists in his third season with the team. Siakam was also recently selected for the World team in the NBA All-Star Game.
The Pacers also added Brown, who was a former first-round pick by the Clippers in 2023 and has averaged 2.9 points and 1.6 rebounds in limited minutes.
The Clippers added former Pacers first-round picks Mathurin and Jackson to their core of Kawhi Leonard and Garland. Mathurin is second on the Pacers in scoring, averaging 17.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Injuries have limited him to 28 games.
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Jackson has averaged 6.4 points and 5.6 rebounds on 58.2% shooting from the field. Jackson missed most of last season with a torn Achilles.
In the new world of college football there may be just as much action in the courtroom as there is on the field. The latest trend is if you want another season in college, after your eligibility is up, take it to the courtroom! The two most recent cases of that are Trinidad Chambliss and Joey Aguilar. Both of whom are waiting to see if they get an injunction that will allow them to play in the 2026 season. Andy Staples, Ross Dellenger and Steven Godfrey explain both of these cases and update everyone with where the cases are in the process. They also take a look at the schools these quarterbacks are looking to go back to. Both schools have 5-star QBs waiting in the wings, which leads to the question: in the transfer portal era, are 5-star QBs better off going to a smaller school where to play right away and transferring later?
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Then, the guys get into some more College Football Playoff conversation. The CFP released the 2026 & 2027 schedule for the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship game. In 2026, the playoff spans over 39 days. Andy, Ross and Godfrey discuss the ludicrous schedule. They also talk about a potential savior being the NFL. With the NFL now owning a stake in ESPN, will they help out college football’s scheduling to make it a better product?
Later, Andy shares the results of his homework assignment. Last episode, the guys discussed how weak Week 1 is to start the 2026 season. Andy shares his plan of how to move Oklahoma and Michigan to Week 1 to inject some energy into the opening weekend slate of games. The guys also close the show by discussing the Washington Post shutting down their sports division.
All of this and more on College Football Enquirer.
Tennessee’s Joey Aguilar Photo by Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images
(Photo by Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images)
0:00:00 – SEC QB’s suing for eligibility
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6:18 – Trinidad Chambliss’ case update
8:32 – Joey Aguilar case update
16:08 – What does the future of 5-star QB’s in college look like?
