The 2026 Sports Power Brunch: Celebrating the Most Powerful Women in Sports awards will take place in San Francisco, California, on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, during the week of Super Bowl 60. Emmy award-winning host and NBC Sports broadcaster Maria Taylor tops the list of women slated to be honored.

Taylor has hosted NBC’s ‘Football Night in America’ since 2022 and is the network’s lead studio host for its NBA and WNBA coverage. As one of the most dynamic women in sports, she has also handled hosting duties for several high-profile events, including the Olympics, the Super Bowl, Roland-Garros and the Met Gala. Taylor will be recognized as one of the driving forces in sports at the seventh annual Sports Power Brunch.

‘You work really hard in an industry that’s dominated by men. You never know when you’re gonna have an opportunity to be celebrated in a way that makes you feel good,’ Taylor shared with USA TODAY about being a 2026 honoree. ‘It means everything.’

This year’s event, hosted by ESPN’s Elle Duncan (with Monica McNutt on purple carpet duties), will celebrate women who continue to break barriers and lead with vision, purpose and power. Through the theme, ‘Power Shift: Women’s Economic Impact on Sports’, the Sports Power Brunch will shed light on the transformative influence of women and how they are redefining the business of sports in everything from leadership to media to innovation.

NFL senior vice president of global brand and consumer marketing Marissa Solis, Athletes Unlimited Softball League commissioner Kim Ng, San Francisco 49ers chief people officer Harpreet Basran, Golden State Warriors senior vice president of marketing Amanda Chin and Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon, will also receive awards.

Over the last decade, women’s sports have blossomed with increasing viewership numbers and more investment. Taylor gave the example that just four years ago, the NCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament could not use the March Madness branding. Though that has since changed, the NBC Sports host noted that this was one of the first major shifts in steps toward gender equity and valuing a special and unique product. Investment in gender equality has continued to extend into other areas, including television, where there are more women as directors and producers or in front of the camera.

‘You can’t be ignored. That’s where I think we’re getting to,’ she said. ‘It’s so spectacular, phenomenal ― you can’t ignore it anymore. You can’t ignore the excellence that women bring to sports.’

‘We’re seeing it on so many different levels that girls can wake up, turn left, and be like, ‘I would like to work in football,’ and there’s a role. You can turn right and be like, ‘I would like to play in the WNBA,’ and you know that is a viable option. Not only that, it can be fiscally responsible for you, too. You’re not just being like ‘I want to play for the love of the game.’ You can play because you’re gonna get paid and have health insurance and maternity leave and all of these things.’

Taylor believes that as the business landscape of sports changes and more women are fighting for what they are worth, it isn’t just about existing; the goal should be growing. Taylor has been keeping a pulse on the ongoing WNBA CBA negotiations, one of the biggest stories in women’s sports this year. She says the women who are negotiating right now have the right mindset.

In her opinion, the things they are asking of league leadership and seeking in negotiations, ‘says that women hold the power.’ Taylor said it’s seemingly one of the first times in the history of women’s sports where that’s is the case. She says they have to do ‘whatever it takes to hold on tight.’ In that same vein, as women’s sports continue to grow, Taylor said it’s important to stay true to the history of the space.

‘One thing that I think we have in men’s sports, you know who Red Auerbach is … You’re gonna know who Dr. J is and all those. I hope that our Dr. J’s and Sheryl Swoopes’ and Lisa Leslie’s ― all the people that we didn’t have the time or bandwidth or capacity to pay attention to when they were in their prime, that we just remember them as we move forward and just continue to honor them.’

International Ice Hockey Federation officials insist a slightly shorter rink will not compromise safety at the 2026 Winter Games in Italy. However, NHL players set to compete in the games next February are more concerned about the potential quality of the ice.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told reporters Monday, Dec. 8 at the league’s board of governors meetings in Colorado Springs that if players don’t feel the quality of the ice is safe, ‘then we’re not going to play.’

The Athletic reported last week that the size of the surface rink had fueled concerns as elite NHL players return to the Olympics for the first time since 2014. Meanwhile, building delays at the Santagiulia Arena in Milan have pushed its completion date back to Feb. 2, just three days before the women’s tournament is scheduled to begin.

The men’s tournament starts on Feb. 11.

Daly told NHL owners he didn’t believe the construction issues were ‘insurmountable,’ but said the league was upping its efforts to make sure the games are safe and the ice is playable.

The quality of the ice is also a concern with multiple games each day being played over the course of three weeks. A test event is scheduled for the main rink from Jan. 9-11.

‘While these dimensions differ slightly from a typical NHL rink, they are consistent with IIHF regulations, match the rink size used at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games and are fully consistent with the dimensions the NHL requires as part of its Global Series Game arena specifications,’ the federation said in a statement released by the Milano Cortina Foundation.

The IIHF approved a 60-meter (196.85 foot) by 26-meter surface in Milan, which is more than three feet shorter than the 200-foot length required by the NHL. Daly said the league just found out about the dimensions last week, but he remains ‘cautiously optimistic’ all issues will be resolved.

The dimensions of the Olympic rink will be the same as the rink in Stockholm, Sweden, where the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators played last month in the NHL Global Series.

Attorneys for the Los Angeles Angels aimed to paint a longer arc of drug and alcohol abuse by Tyler Skaggs as the late pitcher’s wife and mother testified in the wrongful-death lawsuit against the club Monday, Dec. 8.

Skaggs died in July 2019 after ingesting an Oxycodone pill laced with Fentanyl provided by former Angels communications director Eric Kay, who is serving a 22-year sentence after a criminal trial in Texas. Skaggs’ 2013 Percocet addiction and use of opioids were well-established, but attorneys for the franchise attempted to establish that Skaggs’ use preceded that period.

The left-hander was in the Arizona Diamondbacks system before a trade to the Angels and a former Diamondbacks minor leaguer, Eric Smith, testified that Skaggs took opioids recreationally as early as 2011, according to The Athletic.

The defense produced a 2011 text exchange between Skaggs and former major league infielder Mike Olt in which the pitcher asked, ‘Yo what’s good its Skaggs I know Smitty (Eric Smith) texted but I ran out of pain pills you know anyone with them.’

Texts from Skaggs to Carli, along with his wedding groomsmen, were also displayed, with Skaggs texting his groomsmen after the wedding, ‘I blacked hard,’ according to The Athletic. When Angels attorney Stephen Ladsous asked Carli if that was appropriate behavior, she replied, ‘He deserved to have a good time at his wedding.’

On the night Skaggs died after drinking alcohol – his blood-alcohol content was measured between .12 and .14 – and ingesting the pill, Carli texted him, ‘you have a drinking problem’ after he didn’t respond to several texts.

‘It was me saying something I didn’t mean,’ she said under direct examination.

Skaggs’ mother, Debbie Hetman, who had warned doctors of Skaggs’ struggles with opioids before 2014 elbow surgery, responded to photos of Skaggs drinking by noting the focus was on avoiding pills, not liquor.

‘If he wants to hang out with his friends, so long as he’s staying clean and off Percocet, and not drinking and driving and getting overindulged, I’m good,’ Hetman testified, according to The Athletic.

The Skaggs family is seeking $118 million in lost wages as well as punitive damages. The trial is scheduled to conclude by the end of this week, with closing arguments and deliberations scheduled to begin Dec. 15.

The NBA Cup has reached the knockout rounds. This marks the third season of the NBA Cup, formerly known as the In-Season Tournament.

The East quarterfinals take place Tuesday, Dec. 9, when the Miami Heat take on the Orlando Magic (6 p.m. ET tip on Amazon Prime Video) and the New York Knicks travel north to face the Toronto Raptors (8:30 p.m. ET tip on Amazon Prime Video).

These have been four of the top teams in the conference thus far in 2025-26 regular season, as each sits in the top six in the East, through Sunday’s games.

Here’s everything you need to know about the NBA Cup East quarterfinals:

Miami Heat at Orlando Magic

The interesting thing about this matchup is that both squads are tied at 14-10, both play in the same division and both battled less than a week ago. Despite that, these teams will look significantly different from the last time they met up.

For one, the Magic announced Monday, Dec. 8 that forward Franz Wagner will be out indefinitely with a high-ankle sprain. Wagner dropped 32 points in Orlando’s 106-105 victory Friday, Dec. 5 over Miami – a game Heat star guard Tyler Herro missed because of a toe injury.

Herro underwent an MRI that revealed a right, big toe contusion, but Miami is listing him as probable for Tuesday’s NBA Cup quarterfinal game. That gives the Heat something of an advantage, as Miami has not had Herro for either of its two games against the Magic this season, both losses.

The Heat continue to lead the NBA in pace (105.42 possessions per 48 minutes), but teams have been throwing more zone and full-court pressure to try to slow the Heat down; it has worked.

Miami is averaging just 115.9 points per game over its last seven games, compared to its November average of 122.9. Expect Orlando to do much of the same, as Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and his staff need to develop a counter, if Miami is to remain competitive this season.

This matchup will come down to the offense that cracks through the opposing defense with more efficiency. Orlando and Miami are tied for fifth in the NBA in defensive rating (111.8).

Without Wagner’s offense, the Magic will need Desmond Bane and Jalen Suggs to step up. Even if they do, however, the trio of Herro, Bam Adebayo and Norman Powell might be too much to overcome.

∎ Prediction: Heat win, 107-101

Stream the NBA Cup quarterfinals on Amazon Prime Video

New York Knicks at Toronto Raptors

The Knicks appear to be finding their rhythm, especially now that versatile forward OG Anunoby has returned from a left hamstring strain that sidelined him for nine games. New York has won seven of its last eight, including a 116-94 victory Sunday, Nov. 30 over the Raptors.

The Knicks are doing it on offense, and they’ve started to get more contributions from players other than Jalen Brunson.

Anunoby was key with his 21 points and seven rebounds in New York’s most recent win, 106-100 over the Magic on Sunday, Dec. 7. In a loss last week against the Celtics, Mikal Bridges dropped 35 points on 8-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc.

Knicks forward-center Karl-Anthony Towns may be limited, if he plays at all. New York is listing Towns as questionable with left calf tightness, an issue that forced him to miss the team’s last game.

Whereas the Knicks are leading with their offense – they rank third in the NBA with a rating of 121.7 – the Raptors have been one of the big surprises of the season, and it has been their eighth-ranked defense (112.8) that has shined.

Forwards Brandon Ingram and Scottie Barnes have excelled for Toronto as guard RJ Barrett continues to be out with a right knee sprain. The Raptors said Monday that Barrett was given a platelet-rich plasma injection and that he’s at least a week away from returning to practice.

But Toronto is more than just Ingram and Barnes; the Raptors have embraced efficiency and are spreading the ball. Seven players are averaging double figures in scoring, Toronto is shooting 48.6% from the field (sixth in the NBA) and is tied for third in assists per game (29.5).

The Raptors, though, have regressed to the mean without Barrett. Toronto has lost five of its last six, making an upset against the Knicks seem unlikely.

∎ Prediction: Knicks win, 122-119

NBA cup odds, spread moneyline, over/under for tomorrow’s games

The latest NBA Cup betting info can be found below. Odds provided by FanDuel.

Miami Heat at Orlando Magic

Spread: Heat -1
Moneyline: Heat -116; Magic -102
Total: 232.5

New York Knicks at Toronto Raptors

Spread: Knicks -4
Moneyline: Knicks -178; Raptors +150
Total: 227.5

The Indianapolis Colts are apparently considering drastic measures to salvage their suddenly spiraling 2025 season.

After losing starting quarterback Daniel Jones to an Achilles injury during Sunday’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Indy brought Philip Rivers in for a workout on Monday night and ‘threw the ball well,’ according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. The parties are now evaluating subsequent steps, the Colts’ battered quarterback room − beyond Jones even − serving as a backdrop of the club’s current state of desperation.

Rivers, who turned 44 on Monday, hasn’t played since 2020 − which seemed like the last of his 17 seasons in the league and the only one he spent in Indianapolis after 16 years with the San Diego and Los Angeles Chargers. That 2020 campaign, widely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, also marks the last time the Colts reached the postseason.

Rivers, who became eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year and is currently a semifinalist, was voted to eight Pro Bowls. His 63,440 career passing yards rank seventh in league history, and his 421 touchdown passes are sixth all-time. He led the Chargers to four AFC West titles and two other playoff appearances, guiding them as far as the AFC title game in 2007, but never to a Super Bowl. Including the postseason, Rivers won 139 of his 252 professional starts, including an 11-6 mark in Indianapolis.

Originally selected fourth overall out of North Carolina State by the New York Giants in the 2004 draft, Rivers’ rights were traded almost immediately to the Chargers in a draft day deal for Eli Manning, whom the Bolts chose No. 1 overall. Manning had no intention of going to San Diego, but the Chargers got Rivers and a package of picks, including a 2005 first-rounder − which would be used on Pro Bowl pass rusher Shawne Merriman − for their trouble. Rivers owns most of the franchise’s significant passing records.

Colts coach Shane Steichen spent nine years as an assistant with the Bolts, including seven on the offensive side of the ball, where he served as Rivers’ interim offensive coordinator in 2019.

Rookie Riley Leonard finished the loss at Jacksonville but is now nursing a knee injury. The team is hoping he’ll be able to go for Week 15’s game at Seattle against the Seahawks, whose 10-3 record is tied for the best in the NFC. Former Colts QB1 Anthony Richardson is on injured reserve with an orbital bone fracture. After a surprising 7-1 start to its season, thanks in large part to revitalized Jones, Indianapolis has lost four of five and fell out of the AFC’s projected playoff field Sunday.

Since retiring after the 2020 season, Rivers has coached football at St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope, Alabama. He is the father of 10 children and has a grandchild as well.

Colts depth quarterback chart

Daniel Jones (injured)

Anthony Richardson (injured)

Riley Leonard

Brett Rypien (practice squad)

CLEVELAND – Talk to any girl or woman who’s played hockey, and she’ll have a story about trying to make her equipment fit because the gear has always been made with a male body in mind.

Kendall Coyne Schofield would use a hair tie to cinch a jersey she’d otherwise swim in. Taylor Heise would cut out pieces of her shoulder pads so they wouldn’t pop out from beneath her jersey when she got hit. Even as an adult, two-time Canadian Olympic gold medalist Catherine Ward would use gear made for boys.

And don’t even start on the yards and yards of tape every player has used trying to make her elbow pads or shin guards fit. Or kind of, sort of fit.

“This has been my whole life,” said Coyne Schofield, an Olympic gold medalist and seven-time world champion with the U.S. women. “No one’s ever asked or cared to develop gear that actually fits the woman’s body, that fits the woman’s anatomy, whether it comes to the shoulder pads, the shin guards, the hockey skates.”

Until now.

CCM this year released JetSpeed FTW, the first head-to-toe equipment line made specifically for women. Helmets, pads, pants, skates, gloves, even sticks — all designed with input from female players and scientific data about what would best fit their bodies while offering appropriate protection.

“When this FTW stuff came out, I was a little skeptical. You’ve had people that are like, `Oh, here, this is made for you.’ And you’re like, `It’s most definitely not.’ But this stuff is,” said Heise, a two-time world champion with the U.S. women and MVP of the 2022 world championships.

“It’s been very exciting to be a part of.”

Hockey tends to be more conservative than, say, basketball or soccer and, let’s be honest, is viewed through a men’s lens. Creating gear for women wasn’t thought of because why would they? Why should women need something different than what works just fine for boys and men?

But women’s bodies are built differently. Elbow and shin pads made for male players are way too big for women’s smaller frames. Same for gloves. Skates are never a good fit because a woman’s heel is narrower and her arches often higher.

Even pants. Besides men’s pants being bulkier and shapeless, female players often hike their pants up, which means the spine protector ends up being higher than where it should be to protect the lower back.

“Even when it’s the right amount of protection, it’s where it sits. If it’s not sitting in the right spot, even on the shoulder pad, there’s risk of injuries,” said Ward, now vice president of product innovation and commercialization at CCM.

“The game is evolving a lot, getting more physical. It just made a lot of sense from all the aspects that we were looking at,” Ward added. “Not just fit, but making sure that it allows for the right protection, prevent injury, comfort level. So really performing at their best.”

Natural evolution with more women playing

The argument against making equipment specifically for women used to be the return on investment. Would there be a big enough market to justify the research and development? But women’s hockey is growing — and at a faster pace than among men.

According to USA Hockey, 98,394 girls and women played hockey in 2024-25, a 5.11% increase from the previous year. The increase of boys and men playing was less than 2%. Over the last 10 years, the participation rate for girls and women increased by a whopping 36% while male participation increased by a little over 2%.

That growth figures to continue with the PWHL, now in its third season.

“There’s a lot more boys and men who play hockey than women,’ said Audrey Malka, who leads the FTW line as a business unit manager at CCM. ‘But I think especially now, when you look at the registration numbers and the women’s game is growing significantly faster than the boys game, there is a lot of just needing to be able to have (gender-specific equipment) available.”

CCM began developing female-specific products around 2017, starting with pants and shoulder pads. But about five years ago, when it came time to update those pieces, CCM decided to see if the line should be expanded.

The company did not want to simply “shrink it and pink it,” which is what too often happens when there’s a call for gear for women. Instead, it started with a global survey, asking players of all ages and levels about every piece of their gear. What worked. What didn’t. What they actually wanted. What they really needed.

CCM then went to its research team to get scientific data on the physiological differences between male and female players, and how equipment should be modified so women would get the same level of protection.

“We decided that we needed a full set of gear. We needed not just the shoulder pad,” Malka said.

The FTW shoulder pads have smaller shoulder caps for less bulk and chest panels that can be adjusted for width, length and bust size. The helmet was designed for the female head, which is smaller, and alleviates the pain points on the side of the head that players had complained about with traditional helmets. It also has a groove in the back to accommodate a ponytail.

The fingers of the gloves are thinner and tapered. The shin guards are longer while the elbow pads are shorter and have a closer fit. The skates are snugger. The sticks have the length and flex players requested.

“To wear it, I just had a moment where I’m like, `Is this really how it’s supposed to feel? This is so nice!’” Coyne Schofield said. “I am in my 30s and experiencing this for the first time.”

Said Heise, “We’ve been masking all of the not feel goods with, `OK, I’ll just go out there and play because there’s nothing for me.’ I think it’s pretty amazing.”

Benefits of gender-specific fit

It also could help keep girls in the game longer.

Studies have shown that girls’ participation in sports drops off around puberty, in part because of social stigmas and body image issues. The FTW line will offer girls equipment that not only fits their bodies, it lets them know they’re wanted in the sport.

“If you look around (a store) and don’t recognize anything for girls, it doesn’t talk to you,” Ward said. “If you already have a foot a little bit out the door, you’re like, `Well, this is a man’s sport. It’s not meant for me.’ It helps convince you that maybe you should stop now.”

And because the FTW line has a black-and-green color scheme, it doesn’t call added, often unwanted, attention to girls who just want to be part of a team.

“It’s changing, but girls have had to play in boys’ locker rooms and they’re playing on teams with boys, so they don’t want to look different,” Malka said. “So it’s not come out with something that has flowers and hearts on it. Keep it hockey, no pink. That was a huge message.”

There were some retailers that were initially hesitant to stock the FTW line. Again, hockey is a conservative sport. But the reception has been overwhelmingly positive.

Heise said she hears from players who are envious of her equipment, and thinks it will push other manufacturers to follow CCM’s lead. While CCM doesn’t release sales figures, Malka said retailers are replenishing their stock and requesting more.

CCM is also already talking about how to expand the line, she said.

“We’re so proud to be a part of this and to set that pace, because it’s a long time coming,” Malka said. “And it should have been done a long time ago.”

With five turnovers on ‘Monday Night Football,’ Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts helped sink his team during a 19-16 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Chargers – and he fell short of matching an NFL record.

Well, short.

Sept. 24, 1950 was an excruciating day for Jim Hardy, then quarterback for the Chicago Cardinals. He threw eight interceptions and lost two fumbles in the Cardinals’ 45-7 loss to the Eagles, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Stan Grosshandler, a late sports historian who wrote about Hardy’s calamitous game. A box score published by Pro Football Reference also shows Hardy had eight interceptions.

But others quarterbacks suffered through brutal days, too.

Ty Detmer, former quarterback for the Detroit Lions, threw seven interceptions on Sept. 23, 2001 against the Cleveland Browns in the Lions’ 24-14 loss. He is not alone.

Other quarterbacks who threw seven interceptions in a game include: Steve DeBerg in 1986 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Ken Stabler in 1977 with the Oakland Raiders, Tommy Wade in 1965 with the PIttsburgh Steelers and Zeke Bratkowski in 1960 with the Chicago Bears.

The pain of six turnovers was experienced by the likes of Peyton Manning and Kurt Warner. And Hurts almost joined the six-turnover club in excruciating fashion.

Hurts even accomplished the rare feat of fumbling twice on one play. His final turnover, an interception, came off a tipped pass at the 1-yard line and ended the game in overtime.

The final tally: four interceptions, one lost fumble and turnover trauma for a lifetime.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones recently had a five-turnover game in a 27-20 loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 9.