Matt Weston wearing the previous design. The new, illegal, helmet has not yet been seen in public - STEFANO RELLANDINI/ Getty Images
The British Winter Olympics team have failed with an attempt to debut a state-of-the-art new helmet in the skeleton bobsleigh next week.
Despite an emergency appeal from Team GB, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the the new hi-tech design remains illegal – upholding an earlier ruling by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation.
Team GB’s Matt Weston and Marcus Wyatt have dominated the men’s skeleton World Cup season in the previous design but, after extensively modelling the new helmet in a wind tunnel in Manchester before testing last week in St Moritz, they had hoped to unveil their new secret weapon in Cortina next week.
“The helmet departs from the standard shape and reflects a novel design specifically developed to enhance aerodynamic performance,” Cas said in its ruling. Team GB argued that the new helmet offered enhanced safety and met guidelines.
Teams often save their best technological advances for the Olympics, with the British team anticipating a potentially significant innovation from their German rivals who also have a multi-million pound budget at their disposal.
UK Sport has made huge investment into research and innovation in sliding sports. Skeleton bobsleigh, where Team GB have only a short starter track and flight simulator on which to practice while in the UK, have received almost £6 million during this Olympic cycle to support their elite performance programme.
Nat Dunman, the executive performance director for British Bobsleigh and British Skeleton Association, had attended the Cas hearing in person in Milan before the skeleton Olympic finals which will take place between next Friday and Sunday.
“Based on the strength of the case we put forward, naturally we are disappointed in today’s decision,” said Dunman. “However, this does not affect our final preparations and nor has the discourse affected the athletes’ focus or optimism going into the Games. Our athletes have been winning medals all season and throughout the Olympic cycle in their current helmets and we remain in a strong position to continue that trend.”
Team GB downplaying ruling fools nobody
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Having failed to gain approval for their new super aerodynamic skeleton bobsleigh helmet, it was no surprise that Team GB should move to quickly play down the significance of the ruling.
Gold-medal favourite Matt Weston emphasised how he could still use “the equipment” that has served him well in dominating this winter’s World Cup while performance director Nat Dunman was adamant that final preparations were unaffected.
But would this appeal really have been so urgently brought to the Court of Arbitration for Sport if they thought it was only a minor issue?
This new helmet design had clearly been long worked upon by Team GB’s backroom team of scientists who can now test every potential modification or advantage in their own bespoke wind tunnel in Manchester. Described by Cas as “petruding significantly” at the rear, it is understood to have resembled the aerodynamic helmets that cyclists use to minimise “drag” while also racing alone against the clock in a time trial.
Significant money would have gone into a process that was sufficiently advanced for the helmets to have already been manufactured. By waiting until the Olympic Games to competitively unveil what Cas called a “novel design specifically developed to enhance aerodynamic performance”, Team GB surely also wanted to give their opponents minimal opportunity to attempt something similar.
The wider question now is whether arch rivals Germany, who have a multimillion-pound research and innovation team themselves, have their own secret new piece of kit that has won approval from the sport’s governing body. If so, the comfort that is being drawn from knowing that the British team can still use what has worked so well this season, will be rather mitigated.
There will surely also be questions inside the team. Yes, British Bobsleigh and British Skeleton Association can point to new rules from next season which they think their “safer” new helmet will meet, but the £5.7m they received over the past four years from UK Sport was not really awarded with the 2026-27 World Cup season in mind. It was done for the Winter Olympics that are upon us in Italy – and for which the new helmets must stay in the kit bag.
Two-time Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin looks to return to the podium in Italy after failing to medal at the 2022 Beijing Games (Stefano RELLANDINI)
Mikaela Shiffrin said Saturday she has learned from the mistakes which cost her Olympic medals four years ago as the in-form ski star prepares for her first race at the Milan-Cortina Games.
American Shiffrin comes into the Winter Olympics off the back of an incredible season in which she has already won the World Cup slalom title for a record-breaking ninth time and is on course to claim the overall crystal globe.
But she arrives in Cortina d'Ampezzo with tough memories of her disastrous last Olympics in Beijing where the most successful skier of all time failed to claim a single medal.
"Skiing is hard because when you've done something technically, like you've made a technical error maybe you know what you need to do to fix it and you know the steps you need to take in order to get there," Shiffrin told reporters.
"But it's still so precise and there's so many variables. It's definitely hard to do that and like do it right all the time.
"In Beijing, all these kind of pieces that came together and all the different factors that played a role, we've assessed them all and I continue to assess them, including my own role to play."
Shiffrin won slalom gold in Sochi 2014 and the giant slalom title in Pyeongchang 2018 where she also claimed silver in the combined event.
But she failed to finish three of the six races at the 2022 Games, and she blamed both her failures in China and her horror crash in Killington, Vermont in 2024 on the same technical error.
"I would like be more committed to my outside ski... the outside ski is the boss. Like if you're on your outside ski, you're in the driver's seat.
"That has been an ongoing task for me because it's also one of the things that played a role in my crash in Killington and I will tell you, I would take Beijing any day over crashing in Killington and getting a puncture wound to the abdomen.
"How it's made me better is you learn from mistakes and you just try to be cleaner and more precise."
Shiffrin is set to make her Cortina bow in the team combined on Tuesday, and will follow that up with giant slalom on February 15 and the slalom -- her specialist event -- three days later.
In the meantime Shiffrin will watch her teammate Lindsey Vonn try to defy a ruptured knee ligament and claim a fourth Olympic gold in Sunday's downhill.
"I'm so excited to watch. I think we all are," said Shiffrin.
"Her tenacity and grit and what she's showing with this Olympics and staying true to her own values, that's just, that's straight up beautiful.
"I trained today and I actually have a recovery day tomorrow, so like I will be cheering and ripping it to the TV. I have like 100 percent belief that anything is possible."
An exhausted Emma Raducanu was powerless to prevent Sorana Cirstea from claiming a straight-sets victory in Cluj - NurPhoto/Getty Imagesb''
A weary, out-of-sorts Emma Raducanu never looked like making a fight of her first final in five years as she went down to a rapid defeat against Romanian veteran Sorana Cirstea.
This week has had plenty of encouraging moments for Raducanu, who rediscovered some momentum after a dismal showing at the Australian Open. But it is difficult to see how she can add to the single trophy in her cabinet unless she improves her stamina.
The doctor came on to take Raducanu’s blood pressure at the first changeover of the second set, by which point she already trailed 6-0, 2-1. From there, she managed to score one more game – her first and only service hold of the match – before double-faulting to conclude a limp 6-0, 6-2 defeat.
Emma Raducanu has her blood pressure checked during a medical timeout at the start of the second set - Sky Sports
Raducanu was clearly showing the effects of playing five matches in a week for the first time in five years. As soon as she became embroiled in a third set against Oleksandra Oliynykova on Friday, her prospects of lifting this title had taken a significant hit.
Cirstea may be 12 years older but she also had burned through her semi-final in 56 minutes. Raducanu, meanwhile, was on court for close to three hours. She was moving like a woman in a weighted jacket throughout this final, and any rally that lasted 10 shots or more was inevitably heading Cirstea’s way.
Anyone who listened to Raducanu’s post-match press conference on Friday night must have tempted to pile a few quid on Cirstea. “I feel pretty tired,” she acknowledged. “Playing four matches in a row it’s not something that I’ve done much … to be feeling the pain, I guess, of the sweet rewards of being in the final, I think it makes it worth it.”
Emma Raducanu suffers a heavy defeat to Sorana Cîrstea in the Transylvania Open Final 🚨 pic.twitter.com/QzviTBWwy3
Cirstea has not dropped a set all tournament and clearly felt comfortable in front of her home fans. At 35, she is supposed to be playing her final year on tour, but with two WTA titles to her name since Wimbledon, she might find herself wondering whether she has more still to give.
Full report to follow...
03:49pm
Next stop: Doha
Raducanu is scheduled to play the first WTA 1000 of the season in Qatar which gets under way tomorrow.
The Briton has been drawn against Colombia’s Camila Osorio in the first round.
Hopefully she can play following her good run here in Cluj-Napoca.
03:44pm
Cirstea wins in straight sets – 6-0, 6-2
Raducanu, serving to stay in the final, falls 0-30 behind before getting on the board with a forehand winner to move the score to 15-30.
Cirstea moves to championship point at 15-40 and the Romanian takes it as Raducanu double-faults.
Emma Raducanu suffers a heavy defeat to Sorana Cîrstea in the Transylvania Open Final 🚨 pic.twitter.com/QzviTBWwy3
An easy love-hold moves the score to 5-2 as Cirstea closes in on the title in her home country.
03:38pm
Raducanu* 0-6, 2-4 Cirstea
Cirstea races to a 0-40 lead before Raducanu gets on the board with a forehand winner. A good return from Cirstea then sees Raducanu net a backhand to concede another game, as the Romanian breaks again to take control of the second set.
03:35pm
Raducanu feeling effects of a strenuous week
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Raducanu is showing the effects of playing five matches in a week for the first time in five years. As soon as she became embroiled in a third set against Oleksandra Oliynykova on Friday, her prospects of lifting this title took a significant hit.
Cirstea may be 12 years older but she also burned through her semi-final in 56 minutes, while Raducanu was on court for two hours and 48. She’s been moving like a woman in a weighted jacket, and any rally that goes past 10 shots is heading Cirstea’s way.
03:33pm
Raducanu 0-6, 2-3 Cirstea*
Cirstea wins the opening point on serve before Raducanu levels at 15-15 with a backhand volley winner. At 30-15, Raducanu takes a second serve early to get on the front foot before seeing a Cirstea forehand clip the back of the baseline.
The Romanian then throws down a double fault to move the score to deuce. Raducanu, who looked in control of the rally, sees a forehand fly wide before Cirstea holds to move ahead in the second set.
03:27pm
Raducanu* 0-6, 2-2 Cirstea
After receiving medical attention, Raducanu comes out to hold to 30 and level things up in this second set.
03:23pm
Trainer out for Raducanu
Raducanu is receiving medical attention and is having her blood pressure taken. The Briton has not looked 100 per cent to be fair.
Emma Raducanu receives medical attention in Cluj
03:20pm
Raducanu 0-6, 1-2 Cirstea*
Cirstea, looking to back up the break, falls 0-40 behind giving Raducanu a look at three break points. The Briton takes it on the first opportunity.
03:18pm
Raducanu* 0-6, 0-2 Cirstea
Another slow start from Raducanu sees the Briton fall 0-30 behind before getting on the board at 15-30. A nice serve-plus-one play gets Raducanu to 30-30 but another double-fault gives Cirstea break point. The Briton saves it after drawing an error from Cirstea but the Romanian shows great footspeed as she wins the next point with a backhand volley.
After an extended rally, Raducanu sees a forehand go long as Cirstea continues to tear through these games.
03:13pm
Second set: Raducanu 0-6, 0-1 Cirstea*
Cirstea, racing through the points, gets to 40-0 before holding to love to get this second set started.
The Romanian is playing with so much confidence.
03:09pm
Cirstea wins the first set 6-0
Raducanu, serving to stay in the first set, wins the opening point. The Briton then goes long with a forehand down the line and then sees Cirstea net a backhand return to move 30-15 ahead. Another good spot serve gets Raducanu to 40-15 before Cirstea crushes a backhand return for a clean winner off a second serve.
The Briton double-faults to concede the first set 6-0.
Following the theme of the opening set, Cirstea wins the opening two points on serve before a volley from the Romanian finds the net. Raducanu then goes long with a forehand to give Cirstea two game points and the Romanian seals the game.
Raducanu is 5-0 down in the first set for the second time this week.
03:00pm
Raducanu* 0-4 Cirstea
After exchanging the first couple of points, Raducanu moves the score to 30-15 after dictating from the back of the court and finishing with a drive-forehand-volley winner. A deep Cirstea return gets the Romanian to advantage and Raducanu saves it.
The Briton then sees a backhand winner fly past her before double-faulting to gift Cirstea the game.
02:53pm
Raducanu 0-3 Cirstea*
Good passing shot from Raducanu sees the Briton register the first point on Cirstea’s serve. The Romanian then throws down a strong T-serve to get to 15-15 and then a good serve out wide to move to 30-15. Raducanu goes long from the baseline to give Cirstea two game points. Raducanu saves the first and the second as she goes aggressive on the return.
A forehand error from Raducanu gives Cirstea advantage and the Romanian holds to move 3-0 ahead.
02:49pm
Raducanu* 0-2 Cirstea
Carrying on from where she left off in the opening game, Cirstea gets to 0-40 on Raducanu’s serve. The Romanian then sees a backhand return land in the tramlines, as Raducanu gets on the board for the first time.
Raducanu then moves the score to deuce after a couple of good spot serves. A netted backhand gives Cirstea advantage. Raducanu saves it after hanging in a long rally. Cirstea then comes out on top following another extended baseline exchange.
Cirstea breaks as Raducanu goes wide with a forehand.
02:41pm
First set: Emma Raducanu 0-1 Sorana Cirstea*
Confident start from Cirstea as she races to a 40-0 lead.
The Romanian threw down an ace in that opening service game that she wraps up in two minutes.
02:33pm
Coin toss
Cirstea won the toss and has elected to serve first.
02:32pm
Players are on court
Emma Raducanu is on court first followed by Sorana Cirstea.
02:25pm
First final since 2021
Good afternoon and welcome to coverage of the Transylvania Open final featuring top seed Emma Raducanu and third seed Sorana Cirstea.
Raducanu is contesting her first final since 2021, when she made that fairytale run to the championship match and US Open title after coming through qualifying.
The British No 1 has played some great tennis this week, coming back from a 5-0 deficit against Kaja Juvan in the second round and making lightwork of Greet Minnen and Maja Chwalinska in between. In her semi-final, Raducanu dropped her first set of the week against Oleksandra Oliynykova, coming through 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.
The British No 1 was pleased with how she fought through in the three-set tussle: “I’m most proud of how I competed, came back in the third set, I don’t know if I could’ve done it without everyone’s support,” she said during her on court interview afterwards. “I really feel like I’m at home here, thank you so much everyone.”
Her opponent Cirstea is a home favourite who Raducanu has met once before – at Wimbledon in 2021 where Raducanu came out on top in straight sets. Cirstea, 35, will be retiring at the end of this season and will be looking to make happy memories at her home tournament.
Over in the Czech Republic, British No 4 Katie Boulter is taking on world No 124 Tamara Korpatsch in the Ostrava Open final.
MotoGP staged its second-ever season launch event in Kuala Lumpur this weekend, less than a month before the opening round of the year in Thailand.
After breaking new ground with a similar joint event in Bangkok last year, MotoGP brought all teams and riders together to the heart of Malaysia’s capital for a special event marking the unofficial start of the 2026 campaign.
Although Dorna had originally zeroed in at Singapore as the venue for this year’s launch, logistical challenges caused by the short gap between the Sepang test on 3-5 February and the event itself prompted the championship to opt for Kuala Lumpur instead.
The city has always been a popular destination for MotoGP, with several teams historically choosing the city for their individual bike reveals. The celebrations for the 2026 season launch kicked off on Friday, just a day after the MotoGP grid completed the first pre-season test at the Sepang International Circuit.
All 2026 bikes were placed on display at some of the most familiar landmarks in Kuala Lumpur, including in front of the 421m-tall Kuala Lumpur Tower, which has been a defining feature of the city’s skyline since 1991.
Later that evening, all riders gathered atop the Permata Sapura Tower for a photo opportunity, with the iconic Petronas Towers serving as the backdrop for the shoot.
MotoGP riders group photo
MotoGP riders group photo
The main event began on Saturday evening, as MotoGP transformed the city centre into a street circuit. Dedicated garages for all 11 teams were set up in the vicinity of the Petronas Towers, along with a makeshift pitlane to allow riders to enter and exit the track.
After nightfall, the riders took to the streets of Kuala Lumpur, performing wheelies and stoppies on a closed-off stretch of road in front of the Petronas Towers. Running in reverse order of last year’s standings, Pramac and LCR were first out on track, with Ducati closing the show.
Only 2021 champion Fabio Quartararo and MotoGP sophomore Fermin Aldeguer were missing from the showrun, with even Jorge Martin returning to the Aprilia RS-GP after missing the Sepang test to recover from surgery. Yamaha drafted in Augusto Fernandez to replace the injured Quartararo, while Gresini elected to run solo with last year’s runner-up Alex Marquez.
After each run, riders made their way up a specifically constructed stage in front of Suriya KLCC, a large shopping mall located on the foot of the Petronas Tower. All 20 riders addressed the crowd individually before stopping to interact with fans and pose for photographs.
MotoGP also conducted interviews with several team bosses, with newly-appointed Tech3 team co-owner Guenther Steiner among those in attendance.
In terms of entertainment, local band DOLLA and international stars PAWSA and The Script took to the stage to perform in front of the audience. The event concluded with all riders returning to the stage for a final group photo next to their 2026 bikes.
Notably, MotoGP was the only major championship to hold a collective launch event this year, with Formula 1 - also owned by Liberty Media - choosing against a follow-up to its 2025 London event due to the introduction of new technical regulations.
Franjo von Allmen produced a brilliant performance in the men's downhill to win the first gold medal of the 2026 Winter Olympics (Dimitar DILKOFF)
Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen claimed the first gold medal of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics as he blasted to victory in the men's downhill on Saturday, hours after the Games opened.
After a glittering ceremony in Milan and in venues across the Italian Alps on Friday, all eyes were trained on the most prestigious of all the alpine skiing events in Bormio.
In bright sunshine, reigning world champion Von Allmen mastered the fearsome Stelvio course while Marco Odermatt, his Swiss teammate and the pre-race favourite, could only finish fourth.
Von Allmen, 24, denied the host nation by finishing 0.20sec ahead of Italian Giovanni Franzoni and another Italian Dominik Paris, who took bronze.
"At the moment I can't tell you in words what it means to me, at the moment it feels like a movie," a grinning Von Allmen said.
Lindsey Vonn's dream of Olympic medal glory remains intact after the American ski star again defied a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament to complete her second training run in the women's downhill.
Vonn, 41, will go for an unlikely gold medal in Sunday's final.
After the Italian disappointment in the men's downhill, speed skater Francesca Lollobrigida won an emotional first gold medal of these Games for the hosts.
Lollobrigida, who is distantly related to the late Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida, secured the title by smashing the Olympic record in the women's 3,000 metres event, clocking 3min 54.28sec.
Once her victory was confirmed, the 35-year-old Italian ran off the ice to gather her young son Tommaso in her arms after a volunteer had sprinted the length of the arena to deliver him to her.
- 'Wake up!' -
In Livigno, China's freeski superstar Eileen Gu survived a scare to reach Monday's final of the women's slopestyle as defending Olympic champion Mathilde Gremaud topped the qualifiers.
Double Olympic champion Gu lost her balance on the first rail during her initial run, putting her under intense pressure, with only the top 12 competitors progressing based on the better of their two runs.
But Gu rescued herself in her second run, scoring 75.30 to climb into second place.
She revealed afterwards her mother had fed her snacks and told her to "wake up and get it together".
US figure skating star Ilia Malinin takes to the ice for the first time in these Olympics to spearhead his nation's bid to retain the team event title when he performs in the men's singles short programme section.
The Americans are leading after the first day of action thanks to a strong performance from world champion ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates. They compete in the free dance on Saturday.
The team competition concludes on Sunday after the free skating finals.
- 'Fair play' -
Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee said it hoped for "fair play" after US Vice President JD Vance was booed at the opening ceremony.
The boos and whistles came when Vance and his wife Usha were shown on a large screen at the San Siro stadium, both applauding and waving flags as the US athletes filed past in the parade. The US team itself was loudly applauded.
IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said: "I was in the stadium last night and we're largely a sports organisation and seeing the US team cheered as they were by the audience, fair play, that was fantastic.
"In general, I would say at sporting events, we like to see fair play."
Demonstrators and police clashed following a march through Milan in protest at the Winter Olympics and its environmental impact.
Police dispersed them with water cannons following an otherwise peaceful protest.
US Vice President JD Vance was booed at the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics (Susana Vera)
The International Olympic Committee said on Saturday it hoped for "fair play" after US Vice President JD Vance was booed at the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
There were audible boos at the San Siro stadium in Milan when Vance, who was attending Friday's ceremony with his wife Usha, appeared on a big screen.
The US team itself was loudly applauded.
"With the vice president, what I would say is that with the next Games coming up in Los Angeles we are super happy that the US administration is so engaged with the Games here and obviously going forward that's a great thing for the Olympic movement," IOC communications director Mark Adams told a news conference.
"I was in the stadium last night and we're largely a sports organisation and seeing the US team cheered as they were by the audience, fair play, that was fantastic," he added.
"In general, I would say at sporting events, we like to see fair play but in terms of having a good relationship with the administration, that is only good news for us."
IOC chief Kirsty Coventry, the former Zimbabwean swimmer and sports minister, met Vance for the first time before the ceremony to discuss preparations for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
Adams said the meeting "went incredibly well" and that they had "very good chemistry" but said he could give no further details of the content of their discussions.
Hundreds protested in Milan on Friday against Vance's visit and the presence of some agents from the US immigration enforcement agency ICE who are in Italy to help protect the American delegation.
The Israeli team also received a smattering of boos when it entered the stadium for the athletes' parade.
Adams said: "Whatever background they're from, I don't think you want to see any booing there.
"If you want to get philosophical about it, one of the ideas is that the athletes shouldn't be punished for whatever their country has done."
American ski star Lindsey Vonn completed her second training run for the Milan-Cortina Olympics women's downhill despite a serious knee injury (François-Xavier MARIT)
Lindsey Vonn's dream of Olympic medal glory is alive after the American ski star again defied a serious knee injury to complete her second training run for the Milan-Cortina women's downhill on Saturday.
A ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee did not stop Vonn from clocking a time of one minute and 38.28 seconds in a confident run down the Olimpia delle Tofane piste in Cortina d'Ampezzo, which will host the women's alpine skiing starting with the downhill final on Sunday morning.
The 41-year-old Vonn -- Olympic downhill champion in 2010 -- would have been among those tipped for gold in her favoured discipline had she not suffered a shocking injury a week before the official start of the 2026 Winter Games.
Vonn's presence at these Olympics was already a huge achievement before her injury as she roared back from retirement in November 2024 to re-establish herself as the premier woman downhill skier in her early 40s.
For context, Vonn is the oldest woman to win an Olympic medal in her sport, a record she established with bronze in the downhill at her last Winter Games in Pyeongchang eight years ago.
Her rivals and coach Aksel Lund Svindal, himself a two-time Olympic gold winner, have lauded Vonn's iron will which is allowing her to not just compete but aim for a fourth medal at the Winter Games with an injury that would have taken out most athletes.
A brace is helping to stabilise Vonn's left knee which also suffered bone bruising -- she claimed the meniscus damage could have already been there -- during a heavy crash in the last World Cup downhill race in Switzerland before the world's top women alpine skiers decamped to Cortina in the Italian Dolomites.
Local favourite Sofia Goggia, who won gold and silver in the downhill at the last two Olympics, was 0.49sec behind Vonn after a bumpy run in which at one point she had to recover while powering down the slope on one ski.
Germany's rising star Emma Aicher, who at 22 years old has blossomed into a leading medal contender at the 2026 Games, timed 1:38.75.
This time last year all-rounder Aicher had never claimed a World Cup podium, but she has since taken eight in three disciplines -- downhill, super-G and slalom.
In 2026 she has five podiums and two wins in Tarvisio (super-G) and St.Moritz (downhill), both ahead of Vonn in second.
Darron Lee during his time with the Chiefs in 2019. Photograph: Wesley Hitt/Getty Images
Former New York Jets linebacker Darron Lee has been charged with murder on Thursday after the death of his girlfriend.
Lee was arrested and taken into custody in Hamilton County, Tennessee, after deputies were called to a medical emergency where first responders were giving a woman CPR. The medics were unable to save her.
The name of the woman, who was Lee’s girlfriend, has not been released and local police said her death was being treated as a homicide. Lee was also charged with tampering with evidence.
“Due to the condition of the victim and the residence, HCSO Criminal Investigative Services Detectives responded. Preliminary findings indicate the victim’s death was the result of a homicide,” the Hamilton County sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Lee was one of the most best college players in the country during his time at Ohio State, and the Jets selected him with the 20th overall pick in the 2016 draft. The Jets signed him to a four-year contract that includes $7.9m guaranteed but after disciplinary problems and poor play he left the Jets in 2019.
Lee was a part of the Kansas City Chiefs roster that won the Super Bowl in February 2020, although he did not play in the game itself. His final NFL appearance came in November 2020 for the Buffalo Bills.
Detroit's Daniss Jenkins celebrates a basket during the Pistons' NBA victory over the New York Knicks (Nic Antaya)
The Detroit Pistons ended the New York Knicks' eight-game NBA winning streak on Friday, routing the Knicks 118-80 in a top of the table Eastern Conference clash.
Daniss Jenkins scored 18 points off the bench while Tobias Harris and Isaiah Stewart added 15 points apiece for East leaders Detroit.
The Pistons, coming off an embarrassing loss to the lowly Washington Wizards on Thursday, took control in the first quarter and never trailed over the final three periods.
They pushed their lead to as many as 43 points against a Knicks team playing without injured Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby.
Mikal Bridges led the Knicks with 19 points as Jalen Brunson was held to 12 on four-of-20 shooting.
The Knicks' win streak had seen them pull level with Boston for second place in the East, but they slipped to third as the Celtics erased a 22-point deficit to beat the Miami Heat 98-96.
Jaylen Brown scored 29 points and Payton Pritchard added 24 off the bench for the Celtics, who trailed by 21 at halftime but out-scored Miami 36-15 in the third quarter to tie it up and set the stage for a tense final period.
Derrick White's three-pointer with 1:31 remaining put the Celtics up for good. He finished with 21 points and a crucial block in the final minute.
Nikola Vucevic had a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds in his first game with the Celtics since he was acquired at this week's trade deadline from Chicago.
Andrew Wiggins led the Heat with 26 points. Norman Powell chipped in 24 but Davion Mitchell missed a potential game-winner with 2.7 seconds remaining.
In Milwaukee, Kevin Porter Jr. scored 23 points to lead the Bucks to a 105-99 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
Ryan Rollins added 22 points and Bobby Portis returned from a two-game injury absence to score 21 for the Bucks, who shook off days of trade rumors surrounding star Giannis Antetokounmpo to notch a third straight win.
Thursday's trade deadline passed with Antetokounmpo still on Milwaukee's roster, but the Bucks talisman was again unavailable as he continues to recover from a calf strain.
- Giannis nears return -
Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers was delighted to have the deadline drama behind them.
"It feels great," he said before the game. "It bothered me because the talk was almost like people trying to manifest him out of Milwaukee."
Rivers also said Antetokounmpo was nearing a return.
"He's going to play when he's healthy," Rivers said. "He's getting close. He's working out. So I would say hopefully sooner than later."
Andrew Nembhard led Indiana with 22 points. Pascal Siakam scored 19 for the Pacers, who used a 15-0 fourth-quarter scoring run to pull within four points with less than five minutes to go but could get no closer.
In Minneapolis, 35 points from Minnesota star Anthony Edwards wasn't enough as the Timberwolves fell 119-115 to the New Orleans Pelicans.
Saddiq Bey scored 30 points and Zion Williamson added 29 for the Pelicans, who trailed by 18 early in the third quarter.
Minnesota's Rudy Gobert came up with a steal and hit two free throws to tie it at 112-112 with 1:31 remaining.
But Williamson converted a three-point play to put New Orleans up for good with 35.5 seconds left and Bey sealed the win with a pair of free throws.
Gavin McKenna during the Penn State Nittany Lions game against the Michigan State Spartans at Beaver Stadium on January 31 in State College, Pennsylvania. - Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images
Penn State hockey forward Gavin McKenna will not face a felony aggravated assault charge after it was dropped by the Centre County District Attorney’s Office on Friday.
On Wednesday, 18-year-old McKenna was charged with four counts by the State College Police Department after an altercation on January 31, according to court documents. The incident came hours after the No. 6 ranked Nittany Lions lost in overtime to No. 2 Michigan State in an outdoor game at Beaver Stadium in College Park, Pennsylvania.
While the felony charge has been dropped, prosecution will go ahead with the misdemeanor simple assault and other summary charges as “they relate to the serious injuries suffered by the victim,” the District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
According to the State College Police Department, McKenna was involved in an altercation at approximately 8:45 p.m ET on January 31. He allegedly struck a 21-year-old male in the face, causing injuries that required corrective surgery.
According to police, McKenna was involved in an altercation at approximately 8:45 p.m ET on Saturday. He allegedly struck a 21-year-old male in the face, causing injuries that required corrective surgery.
A follow up by police confirmed that the victim “suffered two fractures to one side of his jaw, as opposed to both sides of his jaw, and that he is not missing a tooth.” The victim had surgery and is now recovering, the statement said.
According to the District Attorney’s release, probable cause for a felony charge of aggravated assault would have to show McKenna “acted with the intent to cause serious bodily injury or acted recklessly under circumstances showing an extreme indifference to the value of human life.”
After the District Attorney’s Office and State College police reviewed video footage of the incident, both came to the conclusion that a charge of aggravated assault was not supported by the evidence, the statement said.
CNN has reached out to Penn State hockey and McKenna’s representation for comment.
A preliminary hearing, originally scheduled for February 11, has been rescheduled for March 11.
A freshman forward from Whitehorse, Yukon, McKenna has 11 goals and 21 assists in 24 games this season while leading Penn State to an 18-8-0 record. Hockey experts have referred to the Canadian as a generational talent who could likely hear his name called first at June’s player draft in Buffalo, New York.
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All the ways to watch Winter Olympics cross-country skiing 2026 live streams for FREE, as the world's best skiers try to stop Norway from dominating the podium.
Cristiano Ronaldo has missed his second consecutive game for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League (SPL) amid reports he’s unhappy with the club’s majority owner over the lack of transfer activity.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was not in the squad when Al-Nassr faced defending champions Al-Ittihad at home on Friday.
The Portuguese superstar also missed their 1-0 win over Al-Riyadh on Monday, which raised questions over his long-term future at the club.
Ronaldo has been unhappy with how Al-Nassr is being managed by the country’s Public Investment Fund, Portuguese outlet A Bola reported this week.
The 38-year-old was said to be upset with the club’s lack of action in the January transfer window while watching rivals Al-Hilal sign Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, a former Real Madrid teammate.
Without naming Ronaldo, the SPL issued a statement on Thursday emphasising that no player was bigger than the league.
“The Saudi Pro League is structured around a simple principle: Every club operates independently under the same rules,” the league said.
“Clubs have their own boards, executives and football leadership. Decisions on recruitment, spending and strategy rest with those clubs, within a financial framework designed to ensure sustainability and competitive balance. That framework applies equally across the league.”
Meanwhile, Al-Nassr CEO Jose Semedo has declined to comment on Ronaldo’s absence.
Ronaldo is not injured, ill or out of favour with Jesus, ESPN reported. Neither does he intend to leave Al-Nassr, who signed him to a lucrative two-year contract extension in June 2025.
According to CBS Sports, senior club officials understand Ronaldo’s vexation with the PIF, the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund that owns Al-Nassr, Al – Hilal and two other Pro League sides.
Ronaldo has scored 17 goals for the club this season.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella says that the Barcelona shakedown has proven that the MCL40's largest improvements will come from learning how to exploit the power unit as well as the active aero introduced this year.
The Woking outfit approached its testing at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya with the understanding that it would be its first sense of reality of a new set of regulations. Now, after a total of 291 laps driven by its drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, the Papaya-coloured team has a strong baseline, albeit one it will need to rapidly develop.
But Stella isn't afraid of the fact that overall performance will be dictated by how quickly teams and drivers can understand the "toolbox" of features these new regulations offer.
"It was a very useful three days," he said in an interview within the team. "We were able to collect a large amount of data and begin to understand how the new generation of single-seaters behave in reality on track and no longer solely on simulators."
The Italian was keen to add that the car reacted how they expected and in line with their simulations. This comes maybe as a breath of fresh air after the correlation issues experienced by several teams during the ground effect era.
"What we saw on the track was in line with expectations and, above all, with the simulations. What emerged clearly is that the learning curve is very steep for everyone – drivers and teams alike – which means that every lap teaches you something useful in terms of performance.
Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Oscar Piastri, McLaren
"After all, it was natural to expect such a scenario, considering that these cars are totally new, from A to Z. We know that the MCL40 is a good starting point, but now we have to work hard to develop it and, through our knowledge of the car, improve the overall performance of the package, both for the immediate future and to further define the development lines during the season."
He continued: "Although these are very preliminary indications, I believe that one of the areas where there is great room for improvement is in exploiting the new power unit and all the options available to the driver.
"There is also a lot of potential to be extracted in terms of managing the variable aerodynamic configuration, referring to the alternation between Corner and Straight Mode.
"That said, it is obvious that this generation of single-seaters is at a very early stage of development: four years ago, when ground effect cars made their debut, we were in different circumstances because the power unit and tyres were essentially unchanged from the previous year."
Reigning Formula 1 champion Lando Norris has played down his chances of grabbing the 2026 title, joking that the bookmakers are right to peg Mercedes driver George Russell as the favourite.
Norris achieved his maiden championship win last season after McLaren delivered a potent machine for both him and team-mate Oscar Piastri. While this season follows two consecutive constructors' championship wins for McLaren, Mercedes is expected to lead the development race this year as new regulations welcome several substantial changes to the power unit.
Russell, leading his team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli in experience by six years, is expected to be able to turn this potential into something more tangible.
Norris's beloved self-deprecating humour could be seen as a sign of self-confidence as he discussed this coming season with Sky Sports F1's Craig Slater.
“He is the massive favourite, to be honest with you," Norris laughed when asked about Russell leading the books. "I completely agree with the bookmakers."
While Mercedes has already shown strong promise in what little we could learn from testing in Barcelona, McLaren shares the same power unit with the Brixworth outfit being its engine supplier.
"HPP [Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains] have done an incredible job with getting the engine ready. It's a big task - like when you see what goes into making a car, it's the same level for an engine, or even more.
George Russell, Mercedes
George Russell, Mercedes
"They’ve been working on this for years already,” he continued. “There’s stuff that they’re gonna be learning. There’s stuff that we are gonna learn, but we’re still part of the same family, the same engine supplier.”
Mercedes finished second in the constructors' standings with Russell collecting 319 points for his team, leaving him in fourth place. Antonelli, in his rookie year, finished seventh with 150 points. McLaren outpaced the Silver Arrows, despite using its powertrain.
"We work together as a unity," Norris added. "We have the pleasure to work with them and that'll continue for many more years."
The pecking order of performance will only become clear as the Australian Grand Prix begins on 8 March.
Who: India vs United States What: 2026 ICC T20 World Cup Where: Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, India When: Saturday, February 7, at 7pm (13:30 GMT)
The 2026 edition of the ICC T20 World Cup begins in India and Sri Lanka on Saturday, with holders and favourites India among the main attractions on the opening day.
Pakistan play Nepal in the first match of the day in Colombo, before attention turns to Mumbai as the co-hosts face the United States in a repeat of the group stage match at the 2024 edition.
The final game of the opening day pits the West Indies against Scotland, the team that replaced Bangladesh following their controversial expulsion from the tournament.
The eyes of the cricketing world will be on India, though, with their remarkable run of form, and whether they will lay down an early marker or whether the US team can provide what would surely be the competition’s greatest upset.
Al Jazeera Sport takes a closer look at the game.
What have India said before the T20 World Cup opener?
India captain Suryakumar Yadav admitted “there will be nerves” when India open their T20 World Cup campaign in front of more than 30,000 fanatical home supporters in Mumbai, but pledged to give them “entertainment”.
Suryakumar is only too aware that India, the top-ranked T20 team in the world, are overwhelming favourites to retain their title.
But he said his team will try to feed off the positive vibes from a billion-plus home supporters and not be crushed by the huge weight of expectation.
“When you’re playing at home, there is always an added pressure. I’m not running away from the fact,” Suryakumar told reporters in advance of India’s final training session on Friday.
“To be honest, there will be nerves, there will be pressure, but if you see the positive side of it, there’ll be a lot of cheer around.
“There’s so many people coming to watch in the stadiums, I’ve told my boys the same thing, 30,000-35,000 people coming and so many watching at home.
“Let’s give them a good time. Let’s give them entertainment.”
What is India’s record in T20 World Cup cricket?
Not only are India the defending champions, following their victory against South Africa at the 2024 edition, but they are also the joint-record winners of the T20 World Cup.
The Indian side won their inaugural event in 2007, beating Pakistan in the final, but that made for a long wait for the second win at the last edition.
England and the West Indies have both also recorded two tournament wins.
(Al Jazeera)
What is the US record in T20 World Cup cricket?
The US cricket team made their debut at an ICC World Cup when they co-hosted the 2024 edition with the West Indies.
It led to the greatest cricketing upset of all time, when they beat Pakistan in the group stage with a stunning super over victory.
What have India said about the US?
India know that their opening opponents are a rising force in cricket, and Suryakumar said no team would be taken lightly.
“I don’t see any weak teams in the competition. All 20 teams are very much capable of playing some good cricket,” he said.
“In this format, one or two batters can make a difference. Or it takes one or two bowlers to have a good 24 balls on any given day.
“So we will have to play the same way as we’ve been playing against all the teams.”
What makes India’s T20 form so remarkable?
India’s batters are smashing out the runs in the shortest format, with the side not dropping below 215 in each of their last three matches (two against New Zealand and one against South Africa).
In the fifth and final match of New Zealand’s tour of India, they hit 271-5, before hitting the South Africans for 240-5 in their final warm-up game in advance of the T20 World Cup.
Suryakumar’s side have won seven of their last nine completed T20 matches.
India team news
The captain said there were fitness doubts over fast bowler Harshit Rana, who was injured in a warm-up game on Wednesday.
Rana bowled just one over before leaving the field clutching his knee.
“Harshit Rana has not been ruled out yet; the physios are assessing him, but it does not look good,” said Suryakumar, fearing that the paceman’s World Cup could be over before it starts.
“If we miss him, we will definitely miss him.”
US team news
The US team will be shorn of one of its biggest names, with Aaron Jones suspended due to multiple corruption charges.
The 31-year-old, who was born in Barbados, will miss the entire tournament following the news of five alleged breaches.
All the ways to watch T20 World Cup 2026 live streams online from anywhere for FREE, with Pakistan, South Africa and England looking to dethrone India.
Haas driver Oliver Bearman described the energy management needed by 2026 Formula 1 cars as “annoying” and “sad”, with Esteban Ocon explaining the new machinery requires lifting early on straights.
F1 is introducing new power units featuring a near-50:50 split between combustion and electric energy, with extra power provided by Overtake Mode (functioning like DRS) and Boost Mode (which can be used anywhere on the track).
Most importantly, there will be greater emphasis on energy management as cars harvest energy under deceleration, meaning drivers will lift the throttle or even downshift before the braking point – even in qualifying. They may run out of electric deployment on longer straights anyway, a phenomenon known as clipping.
“The annoying thing is definitely the energy management, the clipping and all of these things,” Bearman said. “It's definitely more than what we've been used to, but that's a given, considering the reliance on electrical as opposed to the previous generation. To be expected, but actually feeling it in reality for the first time is a little bit sad. One of those things.”
Lifting and coasting might seem counter-intuitive to drivers, especially in qualifying – it’s nothing unprecedented in races – but Ocon doesn’t view it as negatively as his young team-mate.
“On quali-style runs, we are doing like lift-and-coast and stuff,” the Frenchman commented. “That's a very new thing to do. But, you know, honestly, from the simulator, it took me one run to do it. It's actually quite odd now to not do it.
Oliver Bearman, Haas
Oliver Bearman, Haas
“It makes sense with the car, because if you stay full throttle, you are basically losing a lot of, you're basically putting the handbrake at the end of the straight, and if you lift and coast, it's not that much. So you feel quicker if you lift off. So it feels quite natural because it's the fastest we are driving.
“Obviously, it's very different to normal, but I felt that was quite natural by the end – obviously, in Barcelona, let's see another track.”
Still, the new power units have their perks; Ocon was impressed with the new machinery’s acceleration and top speed – courtesy of the electric deployment and trimmed-down drag.
Asked by Motorsport what surprised him the most from the Barcelona test, Ocon said: “The way the speed climbs in the straight.
“You know, I never thought I would get to 350km/h that fast. We had an inconsistent deployment in one of the runs that we did, and I had like full deployment into the straight, and I arrived at, I don't know, 355km/h in Turn 1 in Barcelona, so the braking was very different to the laps before.
“The way it climbs and the way you feel, you know, the speed climbing, it's something insane, honestly. It's something I've never felt in Formula 1 or that I've never felt in any cars driving prior to that. That was definitely crazy. And the acceleration and the power on exit as well, it's instant, it's much more than I've ever felt. So I think those are the things that surprised me the most.”
Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito pose for a portrait last month after being named to the 2026 US Olympic figure skating team.Photograph: Jamie Squire/Getty Images
On Friday morning inside the Milano Ice Skating Arena, the United States will launch their defense of the Olympic figure skating team title carrying something rare in a sport usually defined by individual brilliance: overwhelming depth. Which raises a question that, until recently, would have sounded almost absurd in figure skating.
Is the new USA Dream Team a group of figure skaters?
Not only because they could leave Milan with a medal haul worthy of comparison to the 1984 US boxing team or the 1996 US women’s track and field squad. But because of something more: the chance this group could push figure skating beyond its traditional audience and back into the center of the sporting conversation, much like the US men’s basketball team did at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
The Olympic figure skating program opens on Friday with the team event, a competition uniquely designed to test exactly that kind of collective strength. Staged across two days, it brings together the sport’s four disciplines – men’s singles, women’s singles, pairs and ice dance – into a single medal contest. Unlike the 1992 basketball Dream Team, the United States are unlikely to dog-walk the field, meaning success will depend as much on depth and consistency as on individual star power.
Ten nations compete in the opening short programs and rhythm dance before five advance to the free skate and free dance finals. The format forces federations into calculated decisions: how much to push medal favorites early in the Games, and how much energy to preserve for individual events still to come next week. Since its debut in 2014, the team event has become one of skating’s most emotionally and strategically complex stages, capable of setting the tone for an entire Olympics. A strong performance can build momentum across a delegation, while a mistake can linger for days.
The United States arrive in Milan as defending champions, having been elevated to gold after the messy fallout from the Beijing 2022 competition. The medal ceremony they were denied in China – delayed by the Russian doping investigation – did not take place until the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. Once again, they enter as one of the deepest teams in the field.
Boasting the largest roster of figure skaters at these Olympics, the Americans are anchored by a powerhouse trio of reigning world champions – Ilia Malinin, Alysa Liu and ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates – alongside three-time national champion Amber Glenn and world silver medalist Isabeau Levito.
But what makes this group unusual, even by US skating standards, is not just how much they win but how they operate.
After securing her third straight US title last month, Glenn’s first celebration came with her arms wrapped around Liu and Levito. The trio has settled on a collective nickname – the “Blade Angels” – reflecting a generation of American women skaters who are as publicly supportive of one another as they are competitive. More than a slogan, the nickname has come to signal something closer to sisterhood: athletes at different stages of their careers who have grown up navigating the same pressure, the same scrutiny and the same narrow expectations of what women’s skating is supposed to look like. Their success is individual, but their survival in the sport has often been shared. After a prolonged downturn for the US women’s program, it is a stark contrast to the rivalry-driven eras that once fueled the sport’s popularity.
At the same time, Malinin – the only skater in history to land a quadruple Axel in competition, an achievement that has earned him the nickname “Quad God” – has spoken openly about wanting to push skating into the mainstream sports conversation, not just dominate within it. Chock and Bates, through fashion, media projects and their Netflix docuseries, are expanding the sport’s cultural footprint beyond the rink.
If Olympic dominance is usually framed through basketball dynasties or relay teams, this American group invites a different kind of comparison. Not because they skate the same way, but because together they embody nearly every version of what modern figure skating has become.
* * *
The face of the future
The quadruple Axel is figure skating’s most difficult element because skaters face forward as they launch, requiring them to complete an additional half revolution. The jump has been landed only 10 times in competition, all of them by Malinin, who first pulled it off at the US Classic when he was 17.
Malinin does not compete against other skaters so much as he competes against possibility.
At 21, the reigning world champion has already redrawn the technical limits of men’s skating, building programs around jump combinations once treated as theoretical. His ideal performance – what he calls his “perfect layout” – includes seven quadruple jumps, a level of difficulty no rival currently attempts. He’s also added a newly sanctioned backflip while flirting with the once-fathomable quint.
Malinin does not hide the intent behind it. He has described himself as a “gamechanger”, someone trying not just to win competitions but to expand what the sport itself can be.
The dynamic is familiar to Olympic gymnastics fans. Like Simone Biles at her peak, Malinin’s only consistent rival is his perfection itself. When he wins, the conversation is rarely about the podium. It is about whether he has reached the limit of what he believes is possible.
Raised in the northern Virginia suburbs by former Olympian parents and immersed in elite skating culture from childhood, he learned early to trust preparation: repetition, muscle memory, instinct once the music begins. Even his Olympic path reflects that arc. In 2022, he arrived as an alternate. Four years later, he arrives as one of the defining athletes of these Games.
The Olympic gold medal is the last major prize missing from his résumé. But even that exists inside a larger ambition: not just to win, but to show how far figure skating can still go.
* * *
The comeback prodigy
Liu’s career has already contained more reinvention than most skaters experience in a lifetime.
Once defined as a child prodigy – the youngest US women’s champion in history at 13 – Liu stepped away from the sport entirely after the 2022 Olympic cycle, burned out by a life that had revolved around skating for as long as she could remember.
The 20-year-old from Clovis, California, has never framed that decision as a mistake. She has described both leaving and returning as equally right choices: different decisions that led her to the same place.
At the time, she said she felt trapped by the identity of being a figure skater. Stepping away allowed her to discover who she was outside it. She traveled, studied at UCLA, and rediscovered something simpler: joy in movement.
Now she approaches skating less like a prodigy chasing results and more like an artist building performance. Expectations matter less than expression. The timeline belongs to her.
In an era that still fetishizes teenage perfection, Liu represents something newer: an elite athlete willing to step away, reset and return on her own terms, then somehow become better than ever. Were she to win a medal of any color in Milan, Liu would become the first American woman to reach the Olympic podium since Sasha Cohen won silver in 2006. Before that, it was Sarah Hughes’ gold and Michelle Kwan’s bronze in Salt Lake City in 2002.
If Malinin represents the outer limits of what the sport can physically become, Liu represents something just as modern: an athlete who refuses to let the sport define her entirely.
* * *
The late-career breakthrough
Glenn’s path to the Olympics has never followed figure skating’s traditional script.
At 26 – an age she jokingly calls “a dinosaur” in women’s skating – she arrives in Milan as a three-time US champion and first-time Olympian. Her longevity is rooted as much in identity as performance.
Next week, when she takes the ice for her individual short program to Madonna’s Like a Prayer, the moment will carry meaning beyond the standings. The program – part gospel swell, part pop anthem, part quiet defiance – reflects how she now sees skating: something to be interpreted, not prescribed.
For years, Glenn felt she didn’t fit the sport’s traditional mold, describing herself as too rough, too muscular, too different from what women’s skating was supposed to look like. Only when she stopped trying to reshape herself did her results begin to match her potential.
That shift extended beyond the ice. When she came out publicly, Glenn understood the risks of being openly LGBTQ in a sport still shaped by aesthetics and perception. She has since framed representation less as symbolism than honesty: existing openly for the next generation watching.
Her path has never been linear. As a teenager, she stepped away during a mental health crisis, unsure if she would return. When she did, it was on her own terms, rebuilding both her skating and her relationship with the sport. Freedom changed her skating. In 2021 she landed a triple Axel in competition, becoming the first openly queer woman to do so – a technical milestone and a quiet statement about who gets to take up space in the sport.
In an era long defined by teenage prodigies and brief competitive windows, Glenn represents something rarer: an elite career built through persistence, self-definition and time.
* * *
The veterans chasing history
If Malinin and Liu represent skating’s future, Chock and Bates represent its center of gravity.
Their fourth Olympics together will also be their first as a married couple, capping a partnership that began in 2011 and has since produced world titles, seven US championships and Olympic team gold. The only thing missing is individual Olympic gold – a gap that now reads less like pressure than unfinished narrative.
Their longevity is built on something rarer than technical consistency: stability. Through rule changes, Olympic cycles and evolving judging trends, Chock and Bates have simply adapted.
That evolution now extends beyond the ice. Chock designs not only their costumes but those of competitors around the world, shaping the sport’s visual identity alongside its competitive direction. Their programs are built as characters as much as athletic performances.
Off the ice, their story has reached wider audiences through documentary storytelling and sponsorship visibility – exposure they have embraced only on their own terms, prioritizing authenticity over manufactured drama.
After more than a decade together, they are not chasing reinvention. Nearly unbeatable since finishing fourth in the individual ice competition in Beijing, they are chasing a long-sought Olympic gold in their final chapter of a partnership that has helped define an era of American skating.
* * *
The quiet technician
For Levito, figure skating has never been something she discovered. It has always been something she was.
The 18-year-old from Mount Holly, New Jersey, first stepped onto the ice at three years old and has spent nearly every year since building a relationship with the sport defined less by reinvention than by continuity. Where some athletes leave and return, Levito has always experienced skating as part of her identity.
That continuity was tested last season when a foot injury forced her out of key competitions and briefly put her Olympic trajectory in doubt. The recovery reshaped her perspective, deepening her gratitude for competition and sharpening her focus on simply being able to perform at full strength.
Her competitive mindset reflects that calmness. Before events, she leans into routine: familiar music, comfort shows, quiet preparation. The less she overthinks, the better she skates.
There is confidence there, too – the quiet kind. Even before qualifying, Levito spoke about the Olympics less as a dream than as a destination built through years of steady results and technical reliability, from a world junior title to senior world podium finishes.
In Milan, the stage carries personal resonance. With family ties to Italy and programs built around Italian cinematic themes – including a Sophia Loren tribute short and a Cinema Paradiso-inspired free skate – the Olympic setting feels less like a distant goal and more like a natural outcome.
If others represent change, Levito represents continuity: the technical and artistic tradition that has long defined American figure skating.
* * *
Put them all together and the comparison begins to make sense.
Malinin pushes the outer edge of what is physically possible in the sport. Liu represents a generation of athletes defining success on their own terms. Glenn shows that longevity and identity can coexist in a discipline that rarely rewards either. Chock and Bates provide the institutional memory of American skating — proof that partnership, trust and evolution can outlast Olympic cycles. Levito carries forward the technical and artistic tradition that has anchored the sport for decades.
Individually, each would make the United States a contender. Together, they form something rarer: a roster built not around a single dominant personality, but around complementary strengths.
The Olympic team event was designed to reward depth, consistency and federation strength. In Milan, it may reveal something more: what it looks like when a country arrives with athletes whose stories map both the sport’s past and its future.
For casual viewers tuning in once every four years, the appeal is simple: this is a group capable of winning. Inside the sport, the significance runs deeper. This team reflects the modern reality of figure skating – technical escalation, artistic evolution, cultural change and athlete autonomy existing all at once.
Starting Friday, they step onto Olympic ice not just as individual medal contenders, but as something closer to a collective statement. If Olympic history is written in dynasties, the United States may be building one not around a single star, but around an idea of what the sport can become.
San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama shoots over Max Christie in the Spurs' NBA victory over the Dallas Mavericks (Ron Jenkins)
The Los Angeles Lakers shook off the early exit of injured star Luka Doncic on Thursday, rallying without him in the second half for a 119-115 NBA victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Austin Reaves, again coming off the bench in his second game back from a 19-game injury absence, scored 13 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter, drilling a pair of back-to-back three-pointers to give the Lakers their first lead of the game early in the final frame.
"Losing Luka, you know nothing's going to be easy after that because he does so much for us," said Reaves, who connected on 12 of 17 shots, including five three-pointers.
"But we bonded together."
LeBron James scored 17 points and handed out 10 assists for Los Angeles, who halted the 76ers' five-game winning streak.
The Lakers withstood a 35-point performance from Sixers center Joel Embiid. Tyrese Maxey added 26 points and 13 assists for Philadelphia.
Doncic, who came into the contest leading the league in scoring with 33.4 points per game, exited late in the second quarter with what Lakers coach JJ Redick later confirmed was a sore left hamstring.
The Lakers were down by nine when Doncic departed, rubbing the back of his left thigh and grimacing in discomfort and clear frustration.
With Doncic absent, the 76ers opened the third quarter on a 6-0 scoring run to push their lead to 14.
"We didn't break," Reaves said. "We continue to play hard on every possession and good things happen."
The short-handed Washington Wizards pulled off a 126-117 upset of the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons.
The struggling Wizards landed a big name at the NBA trade deadline this week in acquiring Anthony Davis from Dallas.
But with new arrivals yet to be available, the Wizards had just 10 players in uniform, and that proved enough as Will Riley scored 20 points and Sharife Cooper added 18 to lead six Washington players to score in double figures.
The Wizards drilled 18 three-pointers as the Pistons, who had won five of their prior six games, made just eight.
Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Duncan Robinson added 21 points for Detroit, who saw All-Star Jalen Duren depart early with a sore right knee.
Charlotte rookie Kon Knueppel scored 24 points to lead the Hornets to an eighth straight victory, 109-99 over the Rockets in Houston.
LaMelo Ball added 20 points for the Hornets, who took a 16-point lead into the fourth quarter and pushed the advantage to as many as 22.
Kevin Durant scored 31 points for Houston, who slumped to another defeat one night after a lopsided loss to the Boston Celtics.
- Spurs top Mavs -
San Antonio superstar Victor Wembanyama scored 29 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to propel the Spurs to a 135-123 victory over the Mavericks in Dallas.
Wembanyama added six assists, two steals and three blocked shots, connecting on nine of 14 shots, including five three-pointers.
Sensational Dallas rookie Cooper Flagg scored 32 points for his fourth straight game of 30 or more. Naji Marshall also scored 32, but the Mavs never led in the second half.
Golden State's Pat Spencer scored a career-high 20 points and Gui Santos chipped in 18 to help the short-handed Warriors rally from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit for a 101-97 victory over the Suns in Phoenix.
Dillon Brooks led the Suns with 24 points but missed a potential go-ahead basket in the waning seconds as the Warriors, with star Stephen Curry sidelined by a sore knee, escaped with the win.
All the ways to watch Winter Olympics Figure Skating 2026 live streams for FREE, with Ilia Malinin, Alysa Liu and Kaori Sakamoto headlining the action.
Quarterbacks Sam Darnold and Drake Maye will face off at Super Bowl LX (Thearon W. Henderson)
The New England Patriots will seek a record seventh Super Bowl against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday in a wide-open clash between two teams nobody expected to reach American football's biggest stage.
A franchise once so dominant they were dubbed the "Evil Empire," New England have floundered since the departure in 2020 of Tom Brady, who is widely considered the NFL's greatest ever player.
But they defied all expectations with a spectacular season. Drake Maye led the resurgent Patriots to a league-best 17 wins, including playoffs, and at 23 would be the youngest quarterback to win the coveted Lombardi Trophy.
Capping a season remarkable for upsets and under-performing giants, they face a Seahawks side led by journeyman quarterback Sam Darnold, who passed through four NFL clubs before a revitalized debut year in Seattle.
The Seahawks proved themselves by topping the ultra-tough NFC West, and possess the NFL's tightest defense. They are the marginal bookmakers' favorites for Sunday's showdown at the 75,000-capacity Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara.
Away from the sporting contest, all eyes will be on a historic half-time performance from Bad Bunny, the Grammy-winning Puerto Rican superstar. He is expected to deliver the first-ever Super Bowl set entirely in Spanish.
One of the world's biggest artists, Bad Bunny has been a vocal critic of Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. The US president has claimed the performance will "sow hatred" and is notably skipping this year's game, which kicks off at 3.30pm local time (2330 GMT).
- 'Historic' -
The game itself, meanwhile, is the unlikeliest Super Bowl match-up of modern times, according to the bookmakers. Both teams began the season with odds of 60-1 or worse to go all the way.
The Patriots were among the NFL's weakest teams in the 2023 and 2024 seasons, winning just four games in each.
The appointment last March of Mike Vrabel -- a tough, blue-collar, no-nonsense head coach who played alongside Brady in the glory years -- has been transformative.
A win Sunday would make the Patriots the most decorated NFL team of the modern era, with seven Super Bowls. They are currently tied on six with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"It would be historic," said Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss.
"No one wanted us to be here. No one expected us to be here."
To do so they will rely heavily on the dual threat of Maye, a prodigious ball-carrying runner who is also the league's best at throwing long-range passes.
But Maye also gets sacked more than almost any other quarterback. He comes up against a Seattle defense that loves to swarm the opposing signal-caller, and has yielded the fewest points in the league.
The Seahawks have just one Super Bowl in their trophy cabinet, and their most recent appearance came in a 2015 loss to Brady's Patriots.
For Seattle to get revenge in Sunday's rematch, quarterback Darnold must shed his long-standing reputation for wilting under pressure.
He has already silenced some doubters this post-season by throwing four touchdowns with no interceptions.
"He's a resilient dude and a competitor. A winner," Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald told AFP.
- 'Huge party' -
The game is being played out against the backdrop of Trump's divisive and brutal immigration crackdown. Anger has soared over the killing of two US citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis last month.
NFL security chiefs this week scotched media reports that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers would have a role at the Super Bowl in Santa Clara, California.
But politics may not be entirely absent. Bad Bunny used the Grammys stage last weekend to condemn Trump's immigration crackdown.
It has fueled anticipation that he could double down on those comments, in a show watched by 125 million Americans.
Bad Bunny has pledged Puerto Rican culture will feature in "a huge party," but further details are under wraps.
"The world is gonna be happy this Sunday," he promised.
American Chris Gotterup acknowledges the crowd on the 16th green on the way to the first-round lead in the US PGA Tour Phoenix Open (Justin Edmonds)
Chris Gotterup is off to another hot start in his bid to claim a second US PGA Tour title of 2026 at the Phoenix Open, where frustrated world number one Scottie Scheffler was 10 shots off the pace.
Gotterup, winner of the Sony Open in Hawaii last month, rode a red-hot putter to an eight-under-par 63 that featured an eagle and six birdies.
He teed off on 10 at TPC Scottsdale and kickstarted his round with a 27-foot eagle putt from off the green at the 13th.
Gotterup added birdies at 14, 15 and 16 before rolling in a 24-foot birdie at 18, picking up a stroke at the third before a final 27-foot birdie putt at the seventh.
"I feel like I'm doing things well and thinking through things well, and I think that's the most important thing," Gotterup said. "I wouldn't say today I drove it my best. I putted great today, but I just was in the right spot when I needed to be."
The 26-year-old from Maryland played alongside Scheffler, who was visibly frustrated by a string of uncharacteristic errors in a two-over-par 73 that has left his streak of 65 straight made cuts in jeopardy.
Scheffler's opening birdie was followed by a bogey at 11, where he was in the water off the tee. A birdie at 13 was followed by another bogey a 14, where he again pulled his tee shot.
Scheffler, a two-time Phoenix winner who won his first start of 2026 at La Quinta last month, was looking steadier after birdies at 15 and 17.
But a botched chip that rolled back to his feet for a birdie at 18 had him rapping his club against his thighs in irritation.
A three-putt bogey at the first was followed by a double-bogey at the second, where he was unable to recover from a poor lie in a fairway bunker.
He clawed back a shot at the third but saw another poor chip spin back to him for a bogey at the eighth.
After his first over-par round since June Scheffler headed straight for the practice range.
Gotterup was two strokes clear of England's Matthew Fitzpatrick, whose "scrappy" start didn't stop him from scoring well early on the way to a six-under-par 65.
Fitzpatrick opened with back-to-back birdies at 10 and 11 and strung together five birdies in a row from the 13th through the 17th.
He reached eight-under with a birdie at the third before closing with back-to-back bogeys.
"It's disappointing," Fitzpatrick admitted of the bogey-bogey finish. "I guess the way you've got to look at it is if I started bogey-bogey and you finish six-under you come off feeling like the greatest player in the world.
"You've got to try and reframe it there," added Fitzpatrick, who was one stroke in front of a group of four players sharing third on five-under.
Five-time major-winner Brooks Koepka, playing his second tournament since returning to the PGA Tour from the breakaway LIV Golf league, had a tough day, carding five bogeys and one birdie in his four-over 75.
The months of waiting came to an end as Arrow McLaren opened the doors to its new home, the McLaren Racing Center, on Wednesday evening in Indianapolis.
Formerly the home of Andretti Global, the team acquired the building in June 2025. Through a fast-paced renovation, the building was expanded and received an immersive lobby, extended the second-floor mezzanine and introduced a state-of-the-art fitness and recovery center.
"We’re very excited to be operating out of the McLaren Racing Center with the space, technology and infrastructure we need all under one roof,” said Tony Kanaan, Arrow McLaren Team Principal.
“Our focus hasn’t changed: continued growth, winning the Indy 500 and fighting for the championship remain the standard as we move forward in our new home. We set the bar high in 2025, and we are only looking higher this season. We’ve got the team in place to keep fighting.”
The McLaren Racing Center, nearly tripling the team’s previous operational footprint, will serve as McLaren Racing’s base of operations in North America. The opening also saw the team unveil the three liveries for its full-time entries, driven by Pato O’Ward, Christian Lundgaard, and Nolan Siegel.
"This event marked a significant milestone and the start of a new chapter for Arrow McLaren,” said Kevin Thimjon, President of Arrow McLaren. “The McLaren Racing Center reflects the legacy our racing teams have built since Bruce paved the way in 1963. We wanted the design to scream McLaren and be a state-of-the-art home for the organization in North America. We are proud to share this moment with our partners and guests.”
The Audi Formula 1 team will back Emma Felbermayr in the upcoming 2026 F1 Academy season.
The Austrian driver joins the Audi Development Driver Programme as she continues in the all-female racing series for her second and final year in the championship. She will join Ella Lloyd and Ella Stevens at Rodin Motorsport.
“Continuing in F1 ACADEMY and to now do so as an official Audi Revolut F1 Team driver is a huge honour,” Felbermayr said. “To be associated with a brand that has such an incredible motorsport history, and one that supported icons like Michèle Mouton and Rahel Frey, is truly inspiring.
“I am grateful for the trust being placed in me and can't wait to sport the Audi colours on the grid, as I continue my journey in the series with Rodin Motorsport. My goal is to represent the brand with pride, build on what I learned last season, and fight for strong results."
📢 BREAKING: Emma Felbermayr will drive for Audi in the 2026 F1 Academy season, piloting the Rodin Motorsport operated car.
Allan McNish, director of the Audi Driver Development Programme, added: “We are delighted to officially welcome Emma Felbermayr to the Audi Revolut F1 Team family. Her performance and dedication in her debut F1 ACADEMY season were impressive, and we see great potential for her future.
“Supporting female talent is a key priority for our F1 operations, and it is a source of pride for us to continue the legacy of strong female drivers who have succeeded with the Four Rings. We look forward to seeing Emma carry our colours on the grid in 2026."
The 19-year-old driver finished the 2025 season in 10th in the drivers' standings, collecting six points-scoring finishes and her maiden F1 Academy win in Montreal.
Felbermayr also has experience racing in the Spanish Formula 4 and the Eurocup-4 Winter Championship, both of which she also competed in with Rodin Motorsport.
As eight of the world's best players head to Newcastle, here's how to watch PDC Premier League Darts Night 1 live streams online from anywhere in the world.
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