The Winter Games have begun 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.
The United States is up to 14 total medals so far in Italy, and will have several opportunities to add to that count in Day 7 of the 2026 Winter Olympics.
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Here are the top five things to watch on Friday at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics:
1. Ilia Malinin goes for ascension — and a quad axel (1 p.m. ET)
Malinin holds a five-point lead going into the free skate and is virtually guaranteed a gold medal if he lands all of the major parts of his routine. He’s also poised to become the first skater to successfully land a quad axel in the history of the Olympics, if he pulls off figure skating’s most difficult jump. He landed it just fine in practice Thursday.
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A win would make him and Nathan Chen the first Americans to win the event back-to-back since Scott Hamilton and Brian Boitano did it in 1984 and 1988.
2. Team USA enters women’s hockey knockout round (3:10 p.m. ET)
The first challenge of the playoffs will be against the host country, Italy, which isn’t seen as a medal threat here. It’s widely assumed every game in this event is just a warm-up for the USA-Canada gold medal game, but teams like this deserve to be appreciated.
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3. 17-year-old Alessandro Barbieri tries to shock world in men’s snowboard halfpipe (1:30 p.m. ET)
In a stacked men’s halfpipe field featuring defending gold medalist Ayumu Hirano of Japan and four-time world champion Scotty James of Australia, 17-year-old Alessandro Barbieri looms as Team USA’s best chance at a medal. He had the fourth-best score in qualifying, but will need something even better in the final.
4. The chaos of women’s snowboard cross (7:30 a.m. ET)
Lindsey Jacobellis’ breakthrough win after 16 years of crushing disappointment was one of the best stories of the 2022 Olympics. She’ll be in the broadcast booth for this one, with a wide-open field in a sport prone to chaos.
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Stacy Gaskill is the top-ranked American in the field, while reigning world champion Michela Moioli of Italy will be trying to keep another gold in the host country.
5. Contenders face off in men’s hockey (10 a.m. ET)
Canada and Team USA are the co-favorites in men’s hockey, but Sweden and Finland are the two other countries to most benefit from the reintroduction of NHL players, and they’re about to take each other on in group play. This could be a bronze medal match preview, or even more if they can take down one of the top teams.
Friday, Feb. 13, 2026 (Day 7)
All times ET.
Biathlon
10 kilometer sprint
8 a.m.: Men’s final (airs on USA Network at 11 a.m.)🏅
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Cross-Country Skiing
10 kilometer
5:45 a.m.: Men’s final (USA Network coverage begins at 6 a.m.; airs on NBC at 12 p.m.)🏅
Curling
Men’s round-robin
3:05 a.m.: Canada vs. USA (USA Network), Great Britain vs. Italy, China vs. Norway, Switzerland vs. Czechia
1:05 p.m.: Switzerland vs. China, Czechia vs. Norway, Germany vs. Italy, Canada vs. Sweden (airs at 9:30 p.m. on USA Network)
Women’s round robin
8:05 a.m.: Denmark vs. Sweden, China vs. Switzerland, USA vs. Canada (airs at 5 p.m. on CNBC), Great Britain vs. South Korea
Figure Skating
Free skate
1 p.m.: Men’s final (USA Network; NBC coverage begins at 3 p.m.)🏅
Hockey
Men’s pool play
6:10 a.m.: Finland vs. Sweden (USA Network), Italy vs. Slovakia
10:40 a.m.: France-Czechia
3:10 p.m.: Canada-Switzerland (airs at 12:30 a.m. Saturday on USA Network)
Women’s quarterfinals
10:40 a.m.: Czechia vs. Sweden (airs at 8 p.m. on USA Network)
3:10 p.m.: USA vs. Italy (USA Network)
Skeleton
10 a.m.: Women’s runs 1, 2 (USA Network)
1:25 p.m.: Men’s runs 3, 4 (airs on USA Network at 5:30 p.m.)🏅
Snowboarding
Snowboard cross
4 a.m.: Women’s qualifying (4 a.m.)
7:30 a.m.: Women’s final (airs at 8:30 a.m. on USA Network and 1 p.m. on NBC) 🏅
Halfpipe
1:30 p.m.: Men’s final (NBC)🏅
Speed Skating
10,000 meters
10 a.m.: Men’s final (airs at 10:30 a.m. on USA Network)🏅
One day, the NBA record books will be safe from LeBron James. But not Thursday.
The Los Angeles Lakers star recorded 28 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds in a 124-104 win over the Dallas Mavericks, making him the oldest player in NBA history to record a triple-double at 41 years and 44 days. Karl Malone was the previous record-holder at 40 years and 127 days.
It was also James’ first triple-double since Feb. 1, 2025, breaking the longest drought of his career. He now has 123 total in the regular season, placing him fifth all-time behind Russell Westbrook, Nikola Jokić, Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson.
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As for the oldest triple-double leaderboard, here’s how that looks now:
LeBron James (41 years, 44 days)
Karl Malone (40 years, 127 days)
LeBron James (40 years, 33 days)
LeBron James (40 years, 22 days)
LeBron James (39 years, 359 days)
LeBron James (39 years, 342 days)
LeBron James (39 years, 333 days)
LeBron James (39 years, 321 days)
LeBron James (39 years, 319 days)
LeBron James (39 years, 316 days)
LeBron James (39 years, 314 days)
LeBron James (39 years, 301 days)
LeBron James (39 years, 106 days)
LeBron James (39 years, 88 days)
LeBron James (39 years, 28 days)
LeBron James (38 years, 353 days)
LeBron James (38 years, 320 days)
James has spent the past few years shredding every idea we have of what is possible this late in a player’s career, and the above list is certainly one way he’s doing that. Thursday was also James’ fourth straight game with double-digit assists, breaking John Stockton’s record for the longest such streak by a player 40 or older.
So there’s something else Malone and Stockton share.
The Lakers were still missing Luka Dončić, who remains out with a hamstring injury, but had no trouble with a limited Mavericks roster down one Cooper Flagg. The game was still close early in the third quarter, but a late run gave the Lakers a double-digit lead and Dallas never get within striking distance in the fourth quarter.
That hasn’t been a popular result in the U.S., and Chock and Bates acknowledged the controversy on Thursday while speaking with USA Today. While they didn’t go as far as some of their fans, they did acknowledge this episode hasn’t been the best look for figure skating:
“Any time the public is confused by results, it does a disservice to our sport,” Chock said on Thursday.
“It’s hard to retain fans when it’s difficult to understand what is happening on the ice. I think there needs to be a lot more clarity for the skaters, for the coaches and for the audience, in order to just have a solid fan base moving forward. People need to understand what they’re cheering for and be able to feel confident in the sport that they’re supporting.”
At issue is a scoring system in which the majority of the judges favored the Americans, but gave the French the win.
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When reviewing the individual judges’ scores in the free dance, the French judge sticks out with their compatriots’ second highest score and the lowest score Chock and Bates received, with a delta of nearly eight points. By comparison, the American judge favored Chock and Bates by about four points.
“We haven’t actually seen it, we’ve just heard about it, but it means a lot that people are voicing their opinions on our behalf,” Bates said. “I think the way that we skated and the way we’ve approached chasing these goals hopefully has resonated with people at home, and even in our response I think hopefully that too can reflect the Olympic spirit.”
“It is normal for there to be a range of scores given by different judges in any panel and a number of mechanisms are used to mitigate these variations. The ISU has full confidence in the scores given and remains completely committed to fairness.”
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Together, Chock and Bates have won the last three ice dance world titles and hold a pair of Olympic gold medals as part of the U.S.’ wins in the team event in 2022 and 2026. They have been skating together since 2011 and married in 2024.
They declined to tell USA Today if they would go for a fourth straight world title in March, but said they “have plans to remain on the ice” for now.
LIVIGNO, Italy — If you could snap your fingers and remove officiating mistakes in every sport, would we have the same Super Bowl winners, NCAA champions and Olympic gold medalists that show up in the history books?
It’s an impossible question to answer. But it’s one former Olympic skier and football player Jeremy Bloom wishes we didn’t have to ask.
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“Teams and individuals lose well-deserved winning moments because of human error,” Bloom told Yahoo Sports. “Being an athlete, understanding how hard it is to climb that mountain, I think everybody — literally everybody — should be united on a front of ‘we can’t make mistakes.’ These moments are too big. That’s the problem I think all of us that care about these athletes and these sports should be trying to solve.”
Owl AI, the company Bloom founded, might be part of the answer.
It involves ice dance, where a French judge’s scorecard showed a larger gap between a French team and American team than other judges in one of the components. The Americans, Madison Chock and Evan Bates, settled for second while the French team won gold.
“Any time the public is confused by results, it does a disservice to our sport,” Chock told USA Today on Thursday. “… I think there needs to be a lot more clarity for the skaters, for the coaches and for the audience, in order to just have a solid fan base moving forward. People need to understand what they’re cheering for and be able to feel confident in the sport that they’re supporting.”
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Though there’s been no formal accusation of wrongdoing, the controversy has echoes of a scandal from the 2002 Games involving a French judge who allegedly agreed to boost the Russian team in pairs figure skating in exchange for judging help with a French team in a different event.
At the beginning of these Olympics, there were also questions surrounding the score given to Chinese snowboarder Su Yiming, a former gold medalist, who did not perfectly execute his trick in Big Air but was scored high enough to knock American Ollie Martin off the podium.
In many ways, these controversies are inherent to judged sports like figure skating, snowboarding and freestyle skiing. Subjectivity and unconscious biases come into play. The pressure on judges to deliver scores quickly can lead to mistakes.
What if the answer to all that is artificial intelligence? Bloom, who has raised $11 million in seed funding for Owl AI, is on a mission to figure out what’s possible. And as the CEO of the X Games, Bloom is already putting the product to work on a limited scale with bigger plans for the future.
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“What we’ve found today is, it’s an incredible judge,” Bloom said. “It’s showing — it’s got to be proven — but it’s showing objectivity. I think we’re just continuing to throw everything at the technology to see where it’s good and where it’s not.”
It’s unclear, ultimately, how important AI will be — and how important humans want it to be — in officiating sports.
Professional tennis has already replaced line judges at most tournaments with a form of AI that instantly calls shots in or out. Some fans and players like the objective nature of the system; others don’t trust the technology to be 100-percent accurate and believe a layer of drama has been lost with players no longer having the ability to challenge calls they feel were incorrect.
The next level of possibility is more complex — and controversial. Imagine a world where you’re watching an NFL game and a computer immediately flashes a graphic on your television screen whether a pass interference penalty should be called. Or perhaps an NBA game where there’s no need for a coach’s challenge on a controversial block-charge call because AI instantly gives us the final word.
There have been growing questions about the juding in the ice dance competition that awarded the gold to Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron of France (right) over Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Getty Images)
(Tim Clayton via Getty Images)
Would it be a fairer system for the athletes? Probably. Would it be as enjoyable to watch without the controversy and human element? That’s in the eye of the beholder.
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But the impact of AI isn’t going away, and in many ways Olympic sports are an ideal canvas for experimentation — even if some competitors have reservations about what it could mean down the road.
“Our sport, and judged sports in particular, there’s a level of artistry that I don’t think an AI could really judge — or at least that anybody would feel good about,” said Nick Goepper, a freestyle skier with medals from the last three Olympics. “There’s some intangible factors you have to put into play like, ‘Has this ever happened before? How does a new trick affect the sport and culture as a whole?’ There are some of those audibles that a human judge can throw when you really understand the larger scope of things and connect to the sport on an emotional level.”
At their most fundamental level, though, sports like snowboarding and freestyle skiing face a judging conundrum. Each year, competitors continue to advance and push boundaries, executing harder tricks with more mid-air rotations and subtle stylistic elements that can be difficult to pick up. A winning routine at one Olympics is likely to be considered passé by the next.
In a sport like big air, where competitors jump off a ramp and get scored from 0 to 100 on one trick, judges are expected to identify and score a variety of elements including amplitude, rotations, inversions, grabs and landing. And even though they have instant replay available, asking judges to deliver scores quickly on these complex tricks — usually within about 90 seconds to two minutes — is in some ways unfair to them, not to mention the competitors.
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“It’s tough because a lot of the judges have never performed the tricks we have done,” freestyle skier Alex Ferreira said. “The level is so high they’ve really had to lock in and pay more attention. In a perfect world there would be more time. In the moment, the weight and the pressure is so heavy to get the score out that it can probably lead to some mistakes. But for the most part they’re doing the best they can. I would hate to be a judge.”
A properly trained AI could, theoretically, both identify all the technical elements of a trick and give some context to degree of difficulty without bias or giving benefit of the doubt to more famous competitors. Whatever unquantifiable judging advantage Shaun White might have had in the Olympic halfpipe simply by virtue of being Shaun White goes away when AI is making the call.
So far, Bloom has been blown away by the results.
“Our judges have been part of this process,” he said. “We had to teach it what good style looks like. That was a fun challenge, and it turns out good style is just good economy of motion in the air. Is the rider on axis or do they throw up a hand because they missed the take off and they need to get back on axis? What is a good landing and what is a great landing? What is a good grab and what is a great grab?”
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For now, AI replacing a judging panel seems like a bridge too far. But under Bloom’s leadership, X Games has been integrating it into the experience since last year.
At last month’s X Games Aspen, Owl AI was used not only to project scores as soon as riders completed their runs [the AI scores were not factored into the outcome this time], a human voice predicted winners based on the AI’s evaluation of practice runs and translated commentary into various languages for YouTube viewers around the world.
Also, for the first time, judges were given the AI breakdown of what occurred during a trick to help them with their scores.
Jeremy Bloom has gone from the Olympics to the NFL to entrepreneur trying to eliminate human error in sport officiating. (Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Fast Company)
(Eugene Gologursky via Getty Images)
“Providing real time superpowers to human judges is part of the strategy,” Bloom said. “Was that a tail grab or a mute grab? How many rotations was it? What was the amplitude — 12 or 13 feet. I think in a perfect world today, it sits amongst the humans for sure, not replaces humans.”
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As these sports keep progressing, often faster than the evolution of the judging, it could become a necessary tool. But some athletes fear that a critical element of what makes their sports compelling will be lost if AI is allowed in the door. After all, AI is only as good as what it’s taught, which might stifle artistic expression if athletes are trained to perform for what the AI values and not a more malleable, emotional human experience.
“What is correct technique? There’s not necessarily one correct way,” figure skater Amber Glenn said. “It is an artistic sport. There’s always going to be an opinion.”
Here’s another issue: In many of these high-leverage competitions like the Olympics, competitors will debut something completely new that the sport has never seen before. That’s what won freestyle skier Alex Hall the gold medal four years ago in slopestyle when he executed a “double cork 1080 bring back,” which became known as the pretzel because it required him to stop his rotation mid-air and almost defy physics by pulling back the opposite direction.
In other words, while the raw number of rotations is often the separator in these events, Hall impressed the judges with creativity. He’s dubious about AI being able to account for that.
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“It’s so niche and there’s an element of execution style that’s so subjective,” Hall said. “I’m not doubting it. I think it could work at some point. But I kind of like the human nature of it, and it’s slightly imperfect in a way. I know it’s not great for a competition but anyone who’s in freestyle skiing gets that and is OK with the chance of it not being perfect.”
There’s no way to predict where all this leads. Could we see a future Olympics where AI is utilized either as a tool to help judges or to provide some component of scoring? It’s far too soon to say.
But there’s no doubt it has potential to disrupt longstanding officiating and judging practices across an array of sports as the technology is refined and gradually implemented into events like the X Games.
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“It’ll never solve pass interference because that’s a subjective call, but if this technology can call it the same whether it’s the fourth quarter or the first quarter, whether it’s a superstar or someone you’ve never heard of and create a level of consistency around that call, that’s the goal and objective,” Bloom said. “Whether it’s a $5 billion or a $100 million [company] matters a lot less than us trying to figure out how we can make sports more fair so that nobody is sitting on the sidelines when they should be hoisting the trophy. It’s not an easy mission at all, but it’s an important mission.”
Quad God Ilia Malinin is entering the men’s free skate competition at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in first place after the men’s short program, though there are just a few points separating him from his closest competitors, Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama and France’s Adam Siao Him Fa. The final results and medals will be decided Friday, and you can watch the whole thing live. The men’s free skate will start at 12:45 p.m. with live coverage on Peacock and USA. At 3 p.m., coverage will continue on Peacock and NBC.
For a complete schedule of every figure skating event at this year’s games, a rundown of who is on Team USA, and how to watch, keep scrolling. And if you want to learn even more about every event at this year’s Winter Games, here’s a guide to everything you need to know about the Milan Cortina Games.
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How to watch the men’s free skate at the 2026 Olympics
Where can I stream the men’s free skate final at the 2026 Winter Olympics?
Peacock will stream the entire men’s free skate, a medal competition, on Friday, Feb. 13, starting at 12:45 p.m. ET. You can also watch the warmups before the competition; they will air on Peacock starting at 10:45 a.m. ET.
What is the daily schedule for the men’s free skate program?
Where to watch the men’s figure skating free skate on TV:
Olympic Figure Skating coverage for the men’s free skate will be split between NBC and USA, which you can stream on DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV and more. You can start watching on USA from 12:45 p.m. until 3 p.m. when coverage will switch to NBC. There will also be a re-air at 2 a.m. on USA.
How to watch Olympic Figure Skating without cable:
Who is on the Team USA Figure Skating team?
These are the sixteen skaters on Team USA’s figure skating team:
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Amber Glenn (Women’s Singles)
Isabeau Levito (Women’s Singles)
Alysa Liu (Women’s Singles)
Ilia Malinin (Men’s Singles)
Maxim Naumov (Men’s Singles)
Andrew Torgashev (Men’s Singles)
Madison Chock and Evan Bates (Ice Dance)
Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko (Ice Dance)
DirecTV’s Entertainment tier gets you access to loads of channels where you can tune in to college and pro sports, the Winter Olympics, and more. Channels include ESPN, TNT, ACC Network, Big Ten Network, CBS Sports Network, and, depending on where you live, local affiliates for ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC.
Whichever package you choose, you’ll get unlimited Cloud DVR storage and access to ESPN+’s new streaming tier, ESPN Unlimited.
DirecTV’s Entertainment tier package is $49.99 for your first month. But you can also try all this out for free for 5 days. If you’re interested in trying out a live-TV streaming service for football season but aren’t ready to commit, we recommend starting with DirecTV.
The sliding sport of skeleton, where a single rider lies face-down while speeding down the icy track, is one of the shorter events at the 2026 Winter Games, with the competition lasting just a few days. After racing their first two heats on Feb. 12, the men’s 3rd and 4th heats will take place on Friday, Feb. 13.
You can catch all of Team USA’s skeleton races live on Peacock, and below is the complete schedule of all Team USA’s skeleton events at this year’s games, along with a rundown of who is competing. While every race will stream on Peacock, some will also be broadcast on NBC and USA. (To see specific air times, check out the official NBC Olympics broadcast schedule and toggle your search to “TV Only.”) Here’s a rundown of how to watch every skeleton event at the 2026 Winter Games.
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And if you want to learn even more about this year’s Winter Games, here’s a guide to everything you need to know about Milan Cortina 2026.
How to watch the men’s skeleton finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics
Where can I stream skeleton at the 2026 Winter Olympics?
You can stream the final two heats of the men’s skeleton competition live on Peacock. Heat 3 will begin at 1:30 p.m. ET, and the final heat will be at 3:05 p.m. ET.
Where to watch the men’s skeleton final on TV
Men’s skeleton final coverage will air later in the day, at 5:30 p.m. on USA, which you can stream on DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV and more. NBC will only air select coverage live; for specific times, make sure to check the official NBC Olympics broadcast schedule and toggle your search to “TV Only.”
How to watch Olympic skeleton free without cable:
Who is on the Team USA skeleton team?
These are the athletes on Team USA’s skeleton team:
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Dan Barefoot, 35, Johnstown, Pa.
Kelly Curtis, 37, Princeton, N.J.
Austin Florian, 31, Southington, Conn.
Mystique Ro, 31, Nokesville, Va.
2026 Team USA Skeleton TV schedule
All times Eastern
All events will stream on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com. NBC will only be airing select coverage live. For specific times on NBC, make sure to check the official NBC Olympics broadcast schedule and toggle your search to “TV Only.”
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo tied a Winter Olympic record on Friday by winning his eighth career gold medal. The Norwegian cross-country skier was victorious in the men’s 10km freestyle race, finishing 4.9 seconds ahead of Mathis Desloges to earn his third gold medal at the Milan Cortina Games.
The 29-year-old Klæbo already claimed gold in the 20km skiathlon and the individual sprint. His first three career gold medals came in the individual sprint, 4x10km relay and the team sprint at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang. He added to his total with two more golds in Beijing in 2022 in the individual and team sprints, while also taking home silver in the 4x10km relay and bronze in the 15km classical.
Klæbo’s achievement puts him in a tie with fellow Norwegians Bjørn Dæhlie, Marit Bjørgen and Ole Einar Bjørndalen. He could separate himself from that group before he leaves Italy as he is scheduled to also compete in the 4×7.5km relay, men’s team sprint and 50km mass start.
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Before he tied Olympic history, Klæbo had already made a name for himself among those who may not closely follow cross-country skiing. Video of his uphill sprint on the way to his second gold medal of these Olympics went viral as his sub-six-minute mile pace amazed social media, garnering over 15 million views on X.
“I like to go to every race thinking that it’s a race for the win,” said American Ben Ogden, who took home silver behind Klæbo in the individual sprint. “But these days, a lot of the time it’s a race for second.”
U.S. speed skater Eric Heiden holds the record with five gold medals won in a single Winter Olympics. Klæbo will have a chance to make more history over the final week of the Milan Games.
Chase Elliott and Joey Logano won the two Daytona Duel races ahead of the Daytona 500.
Logano won the first Duel while Elliott got the checkered flag in the second race. Casey Mears got into the Daytona 500 on the final lap after Corey LaJoie and Chandler Smith were each caught in late passes.
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With 39 of the 45 drivers attempting the race locked in via charters (36 drivers), qualifying speed Wednesday night in pole qualifying (Justin Allgaier and Corey Heim) and a NASCAR-issued provisional for well-known drivers (Jimmie Johnson), Mears was racing against LaJoie and Smith for one of the two remaining spots.
Smith was involved in a crash with five laps to go that effectively ended his chances at a win. Mears, meanwhile, caused the first caution of the race when he spun into Noah Gragson when they were pitting under green.
LaJoie was in an incredibly advantageous spot on the final lap, but he got pushed by Daniel Suarez and as he got pinched up to his Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing teammate Brad Keselowski, LaJoie lost control.
Mears floored it from the back of the pack and even ran into Suarez. But he crossed the finish line comfortably ahead of Smith as LaJoie’s car was crashed out of the race in the infield inside Turns 3 and 4.
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LaJoie was the second car on the inside line at the time of the crash.
The second race was far less eventful. Elliott will start fourth in the Daytona 500 while Logano will start third. Anthony Alfredo made it into Sunday’s race ahead of BJ McLeod and JJ Yeley in Duel No. 2, however, Alfredo was disqualified after the race when his car failed technical inspection. McLeod will make the race in his place.
Here’s the full starting lineup for the race. The first race decided the odd-numbered starting spots while race No. 2 decided the even-numbered spots.
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🚨 Headlines
🥇 Olympics highlights: Chloe Kim settled for silver in the halfpipe behind South Korean teenager Gaon Choi; the U.S. men’s hockey team crushed Latvia, 5-1, in their group stage opener; cross-country legend Jessie Diggins, nursing bruised ribs, took bronze in the 10km freestyle for her fourth career medal in her final Games.
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🏀 Fined for tanking: The NBA fined the Jazz ($500,000) and Pacers ($100,000) for “overt” tanking behavior that “prioritizes draft position over winning,” as both have held players out of (or removed players from) games without good reason.
📺 Olympics viewership way up: The first five days of the Winter Games averaged 26.5 million viewers across NBC’s platforms, a 93% increase over a comparable point in the Beijing Olympics four years ago.
⚾️ Pitch-stealing crackdown: MLB owners have voted to enforce a rule that prevents first- and third-base coaches from leaving their boxes until after a pitch is thrown. The goal: curb the practice of those coaches seeing, and then relaying to hitters, what pitch is coming next.
🏀 LeBron makes history: LeBron James had 28 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists in the Lakers’ win over the Mavericks, becoming the oldest player in NBA history to record a triple-double (41 years, 44 days). Karl Malone previously held the record at 40 years, 127 days.
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🎓 The NCAA’s eligibility crisis
(Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Trinidad Chambliss’ push for an extra year of eligibility has paid off. After being denied twice by the NCAA, the Ole Miss QB was granted an injunction in Mississippi state court on Thursday that allows him to play for the Rebels in 2026.
From Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger:
For years now, I’ve searched for a simple way to explain the current state of college athletics to those unfamiliar. How do you best help people understand the instability of a structure and system so profitable and popular?
“Everything seems to be going well. What’s all the hubbub about?” they’ll say. Perhaps they are right. Perhaps the cries of chaos from stakeholders are only necessary growing pains for an entity evolving from amateur to professional. Perhaps that’s OK.
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But on Thursday afternoon, for a few fleeting moments, a realtime snapshot existed that, more than anything, highlights the absurd state of the industry.
Within a county courthouse, situated in the tiniest of towns in the most rural of areas in north Mississippi, a 23-year-old’s collegiate eligibility — his Heisman Trophy hopes, his team’s championship aspirations, his more than $5 million in promised compensation — hinged on a decision from a 70-plus-year-old chancery court judge who just so happens to hold a law degree from the school, Ole Miss, that stands to benefit most from his ruling.
This is less than ideal. Set aside your feelings on the decision from Judge Robert Q. Whitwell to grant Trinidad Chambliss an extra year of eligibility. Remove the names and school logos. Put away your inherent bias and partiality. Look at the whole.
Is it healthy for college sports to have the eligibility of athletes determined within courtrooms across America?
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In fact, as Whitwell, his Southern accent thick enough to peel paint, completed the 90-minute reading of his order and subsequent decision, the judge grew emotional, unable to keep within the joyous feelings of being the man who permitted Chambliss another year of collegiate eligibility, another chance to chase dreams, to earn millions.
It was a scene ripped from the pages of a novel from famed Mississippi-reared author John Grisham.
The NCAA’s corporate headquarters in Indianapolis. (Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Zoom out: Since Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia successfully sued the NCAA in December of 2024, Chambliss is the 11th player to receive an injunction for extended eligibility in 55 lawsuits filed.
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Seven of those 11 successful injunctions have come in state court from a local judge — a new way that attorneys have found to reach a decision that most benefits their clients, moving away from filing federally.
About a dozen cases are still pending, including one coming Friday, when Tennessee QB Joey Aguilar and attorneys plan to argue for an eighth year of eligibility before, yes, a Tennessee judge.
In its statement in reaction to the Chambliss news, the NCAA says the decision illustrates the “impossible situation” created from differing court decisions in lawsuits supported by its member schools attacking the very rules that they created.
These “conflicting court decisions,” the statement read, make “partnering with Congress essential to provide stability” — another plea to lawmakers to adopt federal legislation to govern the industry.
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At the very least, all of this has provided something personally useful: I’ve found a simple way to explain the current state of college athletics to those unfamiliar.
A courthouse. Congress. And an infinity of billable hours.
What does Ilia Malinin have in store for his finale skate of the 2026 Olympics? (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
🥇 Olympics
The second weekend of the Milan Cortina Games is upon us, with 29 medal events from now through Monday night of this long holiday weekend. Here’s a brief look at some of Team USA’s biggest storylines:
Ilia goes for gold: Ilia Malinin still hasn’t pulled off his patented quadruple axel, but he has landed three backflips and enters today’s free skate (12:45pm ET, USA) in first place after a dominant performance in the short program.
Hockey continues: The U.S. women face Italy today in the quarterfinals (3:10pm, USA) ahead of Monday’s semifinals, while the men play Denmark (Sat. 3:10pm, USA) and Germany (Sun. 3:10pm, USA) in the group stage.
Plus: 17-year-old Alessandro Barbieri goes for gold in the snowboard halfpipe final (Fri. 1:30pm, NBC); speed skating phenom Jordan Stolz continues his pursuit of four golds in the 500m final (Sat. 11am, NBC); five-time Olympians Kaillie Humphries and Elana Meyers Taylor compete in the monobob (Sun-Mon, Peacock) four years after taking gold and silver in Beijing.
Shaun White didn’t just build a business empire on the back of Olympic medals, he practically built the entire sport of halfpipe into a worldwide phenomenon. But when he retired from competitive snowboarding four years ago, there was one thing he hadn’t built: a bench of American stars ready to take his place. We’re about to find out if that’s on the verge of changing.
The 75th NBA All-Star Game is this weekend at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. The action begins with tonight’s Celebrity Game (7pm, ESPN) and Rising Stars (9pm, Peacock), continues with All-Star Saturday (5pm, NBC) and ends with Sunday’s new-look main event (5pm, NBC).
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USA vs. World: All-Stars have been split into three teams: two made up of American players and one made up of international players. Those teams will play a three-game round-robin, with the top two advancing to the championship. Each game is 12 minutes.
USA Stars: Scottie Barnes (TOR), Devin Booker (PHX), Cade Cunningham (DET), Jalen Duren (DET), Anthony Edwards (MIN), Chet Holmgren (OKC), Jalen Johnson (ATL), Tyrese Maxey (PHI)
USA Stripes: LeBron James (LAL), Kevin Durant (HOU), Kawhi Leonard (LAC), Jaylen Brown (BOS), Jalen Brunson (NYK), Donovan Mitchell (CLE), Brandon Ingram* (TOR), De’Aaron Fox* (SAS)
Team World: Nikola Jokić (DEN), Luka Dončić (LAL), Victor Wembanyama (SAS), Karl-Anthony Towns (NYK), Jamal Murray (DEN), Pascal Siakam (IND), Alperen Şengün* (HOU), Deni Avdija (POR), Norman Powell (MIA)
Will basketball fans come away from the festivities waxing poetic about the avalanche of talent from all over the world currently on display in the NBA game? Or, will a weekend that seemingly remains tilted toward content creation, influencers and marketing partnerships leave fans wondering whether something that’s seemed broken for years might not actually be able to reset and heal.
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🏁 Daytona 500
The NASCAR season begins on Sunday in central Florida (2:30pm, Fox), where 41 drivers will compete for a record $31 million purse at Daytona International Speedway.
Busch seeks first win: Kyle Busch’s quest for his maiden Daytona 500 victory (0-for-20) will start from the pole position after he earned the top spot.
Byron chases history: William Byron, one of five drivers to win back-to-back Daytona 500s, will try to become the first to make it three straight.
Weather forecast: The last two editions of the Daytona 500 were delayed by rain. The same thing could happen again this year with rain (and possible thunderstorms) expected on Sunday.
25 years after his sudden, shocking death on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, Earnhardt remains as vital to NASCAR as ever. No other driver has ever come close to matching The Intimidator’s impact. And given the way that NASCAR, and American culture, have trended in the years since his death, it’s likely no one ever will.
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More to watch:
🏀 NCAAM: No. 20 Clemson at No. 4 Duke (Sat. 12pm, ESPN); No. 9 Kansas at No. 5 Iowa State (Sat. 1pm, ABC); No. 25 Kentucky at No. 14 Florida (Sat. 3pm, ABC); No. 16 Texas Tech at No. 1 Arizona (Sat. 6:30pm, ESPN)
🏀 NCAAW: No. 3 South Carolina at No. 6 LSU (Sat. 8:30pm, ABC); No. 21 UNC at No. 11 Duke (Sun. 1pm, ABC); No. 13 Michigan State at No. 7 Michigan (Sun. 4pm, FS1) … Three of eight ranked matchups.
⛳️ PGA: Pebble Beach Pro-Am (Fri-Sun, ESPN+/Golf/CBS) … Ryo Hisatsune (-10) leads after Round 1, with Sam Burns (-9) and Keegan Bradley (-9) just behind.
⚾️ NCAA Baseball: Opening Weekend (Fri-Sun, ESPN+) … No. 2 LSU, the reigning national champs, lead a stacked SEC that features 11 teams in the top 25.
🏉 Six Nations: Week 2 of 5 (Sat-Sun, Peacock) … The annual rugby tournament featuring England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Italy and France.
🥍 NCAA Lacrosse: No. 1 Maryland at No. 2 Syracuse (Fri. 6pm, ACC) … The Terrapins (1-0) have won eight straight against the Orange (2-0).
Got plans this weekend? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events happening in your city. Get tickets now!
💯 Big numbers
(Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
🏀 40-13
The Eastern Conference-leading Pistons enter the NBA All-Star break with the best record in the league (40-13, .755), just ahead of the Western-Conference leading Thunder (42-13, .750).
As a reminder: Two years ago, the Pistons were 8-46 entering the All-Star break and finished 14-68, which was not only the worst record in the NBA that season but one of the worst in league history. Quite the turnaround in Detroit.
The others: At age 52, Joseph Savage was part of the duo that finished seventh in the pairs figure skating competition at the 1932 Lake Placid Olympics. 16 years later, Mac MacCarthy, then 51, competed in skeleton at the 1948 Games in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
Darryn Peterson (L) and AJ Dybantsa chase down a loose ball. (Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
🏀 7 freshmen
Seven freshmen are among the 20 players named to the men’s Wooden Award late midseason watchlist. Cameron Boozer (Duke) is the perceived favorite, and he’s joined by AJ Dybantsa (BYU), Darryn Peterson (Kansas), Caleb Wilson (UNC), Kingston Flemings (Houston), Darius Acuff Jr. (Arkansas) and Keaton Wagler (Illinois). The rest of the list: four sophomores, three juniors, four seniors and two grad students.
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Meanwhile, for the women: Aaliyah Chavez (Oklahoma) is the lone freshman in the Top 20, which features five sophomores, six juniors, five seniors and three grad students.
🏈 9th year
Montana linebacker Solomon Tuliaupupu will return for the 2026 season after being granted a ninth year of eligibility (!!!) by the NCAA. The California native, who turns 26 next month, is entering his second season at Montana after seven years at USC, where he suffered multiple season-ending injuries.
Consider this: Tuliaupupu was in the same recruiting class as Micah Parsons, who just completed his fifth NFL season.
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🏁 NASCAR trivia
(Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
The NASCAR season opens this weekend with the 68th running of the Daytona 500.
Question: The Daytona 500 is also known as ______.
(A) “The Stock Car World Series”
(B) “The Great American Race”
(C) “The Pinnacle of Motorsports”
(D) “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing”
Answer at the bottom.
📸 Photo finish
Norwegian ski jumper Einar Luraas Oftebro flies through the air. (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
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