PHOENIX – It may have been a meaningless spring training game, but for Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia, it meant everything.

He slowly walked to the mound Monday, listening to the crowd at Camelback Ranch give him a rousing ovation, took a deep breath, and with his heart pounding, proceeded to do what he does best.

Vesia pitched a 1-2-3 inning against the Seattle Mariners, and he walked off the mound, the cheering grew louder and louder. He patted his chest and looked to the crowd in appreciation. He reached the dugout, and every single one of his teammates stood up to hug him, shake his hand, or pump fists.

“It’s been hard,’’ Vesia said. “I guess it’s hard in a good way because I want to interact with all of the fans and stuff like that, but I have a job to do.

“Even on the backfields, first day, I walk out the doors and cheers and lots of love. So, yeah, it means a lot, not only for myself, but for [wife] Kayla, too.’’

This was the first time Vesia pitched in a game since he and Kayla lost their newborn daughter, Sterling Sol, on Oct. 26, just before the start of the World Series. He left the team, but watched every pitch of every game on TV, and celebrated when they won the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays.

He stayed home with his wife during the World Series parade, still in mourning, and after months of working out fanatically in the gym, and undergoing counseling with his wife, is back with the Dodgers, with life ever so slowly feeling as normal as could be in the aftermath of heartache and tragedy.

“Being around the guys, it’s really been comforting, you know,’’ Vesia said. “We’ve had multiple conversations and guys are asking me questions and just trying to, you know, feel for me. That’s honestly been a blessing. I do like talking about it with the guys and whatnot. I don’t want them to feel like they can’t. These guys are my brothers, man. I truly do love them all.’’

“It was a little overwhelming,’’ said Vesia, who was immediately praised by Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior and assistant Connor McGuiness. “I was just trying to take it all in. Definitely, it was nice.’’

Vesia’s teammates certainly showed their love right back by standing in the dugout when he came off the mound, making sure he understood what he means to them, too.

Vesia, 29, a key left-hander in the Dodgers bullpen, says he had been working out nonstop since the tragedy. He spent hours and hours in the gym, perhaps too much he says, but it was his haven to keep his mind temporarily free from reliving the nightmare of losing a child.

Now, being around his teammates, and playing baseball once again, it’s the therapy Vesia savors.

“Obviously, what Alex and Kayla went through,’’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “you don’t wish that upon anyone. They’re getting to the other side of things. And to see him getting back out here in a baseball game, and to have a clean inning and be received by the fans, I know it meant a lot to him. Obviously, his teammates feel for him and want to support him.’’

And, now, ever so slowly, day by day, life is starting to become routine again being in spring training.

“I think the main thing is getting back to normalcy,’’ Roberts said. “That’s something I know that he wants and to kind of move forward and focus on 2026. We obviously know what went on, and what they’ve been through, but I think the main thing is getting back to doing what he loves to do, and that’s playing baseball.

“He’s in a good place.’’

Says Vesia: “It’s going to be a fun year. I’m really excited. I think we’re going to do some really cool things this year.’’

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It’s looking like NBC won gold with their coverage of this year’s Winter Olympics.

The network averaged 23.5 million viewers throughout the two-plus week competition across all platforms, it announced in a press release on Feb. 23. The final numbers are still coming in but if they hold, that would make Milano Cortina the most-viewed Winter Games since 2014 in Sochi, and a 96% increase in viewership from 2022.

NBCUniversal’s figures come from Nielsen Big Data + Panel reach metrics through Feb. 19 and preliminary Nielsen and Adobe Analytics over final three days of competition. Final data will be available later in the week.

‘The Milan Cortina Olympics proved once again that the American audience will gather in large numbers over 17 days to experience this unmatched global competition,’ NBC Olympics president Gary Zenkel said in a statement. ‘These Winter Games — superbly hosted across northern Italy, and produced and distributed by a team of 2,700 — reached blockbuster U.S. audiences of more than 50 million viewers each day, continuing the media dominance we experienced less than two years ago at the Paris Olympics.

According to the network, the opening ceremony on Feb. 2 itself was the most watched in 12 years. All 15 competition days reached over 20 million viewers, and the total audience delivery (TAD) — a metric used to measure a total number of viewers across all platforms — of both the live U.S. daytime broadcast, ‘Milan Prime’ and primetime broadcast, ‘Primetime in Milan’ posted 3.3 million total viewers across Peacock and NBCU Digital platforms.

Milwaukee was the market with the highest ratings share throughout the Olympics. Minneapolis, Fort Myers (Florida), Pittsburgh and Dayton (Ohio) rounded out the top five.

‘We can’t wait for the return of the Olympics to the United States with the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028 and are ecstatic to be the U.S. media home of five Olympic Games over the next decade,” NBC wrote in its release.

The WNBA and WNBPA met Monday in a virtually, as the start to the 2026 season quickly approaches, two people with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they’re not authorized to speak publicly about ongoing negotiations.

The virtual meeting was the first meeting between the league and the players’ union since it met for nearly three hours on Feb 2. On the call were more than 50 WNBA players, including the entire WNBPA executive committee, along with league staff, the labor relations committee and owners as CBA negotiations continue.

The WNBA shared said a term sheet for a new CBA must be completed by March 10, one source said, to avoid a delay in the start of the 2026 season. Opening day is scheduled for May 8.

It’s worth noting even if an agreement is reached by the March 10 deadline, it could take several weeks to ratify the deal. Additionally, the expansion drafts for the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo need to be held along with free agency and the 2026 WNBA Draft before the season can start.

Revenue sharing for 2025 season

The latest CBA negotiations development comes on the heels of the WNBPA revealing, for the first time in league history, in 2025, the WNBA reportedly generated enough revenue to share it with its players. The union says the WNBA’s 13 teams are set to receive $8 million total from the league to share with players.

Last season, the players’ portion of shared revenue reportedly equaled $16 million. From that sum, $8 million is set to be paid to players who were active in 2025. The 2020 CBA mandates that the other $8 million is allocated to league marketing agreements. Per the report, it’s not immediately clear what amount of revenue was generated by the league or the financial number required to trigger the sharing.

The WNBPA also recently revealed that $9.25 million generated since 2020 will go to players from jersey sales, trading cards, video games and other merchandise.

Latest WNBA proposal on housing

The WNBPA’s revelation also comes just days after, on Feb. 20, the WNBA sent a counterproposal to the players’ union after receiving the WNBPA’s latest offer for a new collective bargaining agreement on Feb. 17, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they’re not authorized to speak publicly about ongoing negotiations.

In the Feb. 20 counter, the WNBA agreed to provide housing for all players in this first year of the agreement, this season. After 2026, players making the minimum salary and with zero years of service would get one-bedroom apartments in 2027 and 2028. Developmental players would be given studio apartments for the full six seasons of the deal, which would end in 2031.

WNBA teams have provided player housing since the first CBA in 1999. Teams could provide a one-bedroom apartment or stipend in the last CBA.

Revenue sharing and salary cap

While the two sides may be getting closer on the housing issue, salary cap and revenue sharing are still big issues. There have been ‘no movements’ from the league on either, the person with knowledge of the situation said. Additionally, there have also been ‘no movements’ on items such as the season start date, number of games, rookie scale contract length or salary protections.

On Feb. 17, the WNBPA requested 25% of gross revenue in the first year, increasing over the life of the agreement to an average of roughly 27.5%. The union also proposed a salary cap of less than $9.5 million. The WNBA is currently offering more than 70% of league and team net revenue and proposing a salary cap of $5.65 million per year, rising with league revenues.

The WNBA offer continues to include a maximum $1 million base salary, with a projected revenue-sharing component that raises players’ max total earnings to more than $1.3 million in 2026. The league’s maximum salary would grow to nearly $2 million over the life of the agreement, which would end in 2031. The minimum salary would be more than $250,000 and average salary more than $530,000.

A person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports there is a sense of urgency from the players’ union, but the WNBPA does not feel the WNBA is acting with urgency. According to the person, the latest proposal from the league felt ‘baffling,’ given comments from NBA commissioner Adam Silver.

‘What I would love to do is put pressure on everyone,’ Silver said during NBA All-Star Weekend.

‘I want to play whatever role would be most productive in getting a deal done. We need to now move toward the next level of sense of urgency and not lose momentum in terms of the amazing amount of progress we’ve seen in women’s basketball.’

Lindsey Vonn revealed she could have lost her leg as the result of her crash in the downhill at the Milano Cortina Olympics.

In an Instagram post Monday, Feb. 23, Vonn detailed injuries that were far more extensive than initially known. In addition to the complex tibial fracture in her left leg, Vonn said she had a tibial plateau fracture and fractured fibular head. She also broke her right ankle.

Vonn also had compartment syndrome, and said that was what posed the greatest threat.

‘Compartment syndrome is when you have so much trauma to one area of your body, that there’s too much blood, and it gets stuck, and it basically crushes everything in the compartment,’ Vonn said ‘All the muscle and nerves and tendons, it all kind of dies. And Dr. Tom Hackett saved my leg. He saved my leg from being amputated.’

Excessive pressure building up inside a muscle, either from bleeding or swelling, causes compartment syndrome. The pressure restricts blood flow and can lead to permanent injury if not treated quickly.

Vonn said Hackett, her longtime orthopedic surgeon, was in Cortina to watch her compete at her fifth Olympics. He conducted a fasciotomy to save her leg when she was hospitalized in Italy.

‘He filleted it open (and) let it breathe, and he saved me,’ she said.

Vonn also announced that she’s out of the hospital.

She was hospitalized in Italy for a little over a week before being transferred to a hospital in Colorado. She has had five surgeries since the Feb. 8 crash, including one last week after she returned to the United States that lasted more than six hours.

Vonn said she will focus on rehab and hopes to get on crutches in a few weeks. She said she will probably be on crutches for about two months, but it will take much longer before she is healed completely.

‘It will take around a year for all of the bones to heal,’ Vonn said, ‘and then I will decide if I want to take out all the metal or not, and then go back into surgery and finally fix my ACL.’

Vonn said all of the surgeries have caused an enormous amount of pain, and also required her to have a blood transfusion. She said Team USA’s performance at the 2026 Winter Olympics has helped bring her joy during this difficult time.

‘It’s been really hard … it was definitely not the way I wanted to end my Olympics,’ Vonn said. ‘But it’s been really inspiring to watch my teammates. Everyone’s just been incredible, and watching Team USA dominate has been really uplifting.

‘I always fight, I’ll keep going. No regrets. And, I just appreciate all the love and support. It’s been really amazing.’

What happened to Lindsey Vonn?

Vonn hooked the fourth gate with her right arm, which sent her spinning and hurtling into the hard, packed snow. She tumbled end over end several times before coming to a stop.

‘Things just happen so quick in this sport,’ U.S. teammate Bella Wright said after the race. ‘It looked like Lindsey had incredible speed out of that turn, and she hooked her arm and it’s just over just like that.’

The three-time Olympic medalist remained prone in the snow, and she could be heard wailing in pain. The gasps and groans from fans faded into shocked silence as medics worked on her. Vonn remained on the course for approximately 13 minutes before being loaded into a helicopter.

What is Lindsey Vonn’s injury?

In an Instagram post on Feb. 9, Vonn shared the devastating news that she suffered a complex tibia fracture that will require multiple surgeries. The 41-year-old updated fans Feb. 11 after a third surgery in Italy and included some gruesome photos of her progress. Upon returning to the United States on Feb. 17, Vonn shared that her injury was ‘a lot more severe than just a broken leg.’

‘I’m still wrapping my head around it, what it means and the road ahead,’ Vonn wrote. ‘But I’m going to give you more detail in the coming days.’

A tibia fracture is a break in the shin bone that is an emergency needing immediate treatment. ‘Your tibias are some of the strongest bones in your body. It usually takes a lot of force to break one,’ according to the Cleveland Clinic. ‘You probably won’t be able to stand, walk or put weight on your leg if you have a broken shin bone.’

A complex fracture involves multiple breaks in a bone and damaged soft tissue, according Yale Medicine. Symptoms include extreme pain, numbness and, sometimes, a bone that protrudes through the skin. Treatment involves stabilization and surgery.

Lindsey Vonn crash video

NBC broadcasts the Olympics and posted video of Vonn’s crash.

USA TODAY Sports’ Samantha Cardona-Norberg breaks down Linsdey Vonn’s crash just after it happened.

Fans went silent as soon as Vonn crash, reacting with shock, grief and later support as the helicopter lifted her into the sky. USA TODAY Sports talked to some fans after the crash.

Is Lindsey Vonn OK?

Vonn was in obvious pain after the crash, but she was moving her arms, head and neck.

About 18 minutes after the crash, the helicopter slowly began flying toward Cortina. ‘Let’s let Lindsey Vonn hear us!’ the American announcer said as the chopper flew away with her, and the crowd cheered and applauded.

Vonn’s sister Karin Kildow was at the course today for the downhill and spoke to NBC reporters during their live broadcast: ‘I mean that definitely was the last thing we wanted to see and it happened quick and when that happens, you’re just immediately hoping she’s OK. And it was scary because when you start to see the stretchers being put out, it’s not a good sign,’ Kildow said. ‘But she really … She just dared greatly and she put it all out there. So it’s really hard to see, but we just really hope she’s OK.

‘She does have all of her surgeons and her PT staff here and her doctors, so I’m sure they’ll give us a report and we’ll meet her at whatever hospital she’s at.’

Lindsey Vonn torn ACL

It was the second time in as many weeks Vonn left a mountaintop on a chopper. She fully ruptured her left ACL, sustaining meniscus damage and bone bruising, in a downhill crash on Jan. 30, in the final World Cup event prior to the start of the Olympics.

Vonn is also skiing with a partial replacement of her right knee. She had dominated the sport before the crash, making the podium in all five downhill races this season and winning two of them.

Despite the latest injury, Vonn was determined to race at her fifth and final Olympics. She said her knee felt stable and strong, and she had spent the last week doing intense rehab, pool workouts, weight lifting and plyometrics. She skied both training runs, posting the third-fastest time in the second run before it was canceled because of fog and snow.

Vonn is 41 and was skiing in her fifth Winter Olympics (2002, 2006, 2010, 2018, 2026). She has won three Olympic medals (1 gold, 2 bronze).

Another NHL player will miss some regular season time because of an injury that he suffered at the Olympics.

The Dallas Stars placed forward Mikko Rantanen on the injured list with a lower body injury, retroactive to Feb. 20. That means the earliest he could return is Feb. 27 and he will miss at least one game and possibly more.

Rantanen, the eighth-leading scorer in the NHL, sat out the bronze medal game at the Olympics, in which Finland beat Slovakia, 6-1, for its fifth medal in Winter Games involving NHL players. He was on the ice after the game for the medal ceremony and team photo.

Mikko Rantanen injury update

Mikko Rantanen was placed on the injured list by the Dallas Stars because of a lower-body injury he suffered at the Olympics with Team Finland.

Mikko Rantanen stats

Mikko Rantanen leads the Stars and is eighth in the NHL with 69 points in 54 games.

Other Olympians injury updates

Five NHL players were hurt in Milan, the most serious being Switzerland’s Kevin Fiala (broken leg), who will miss the rest of the regular season for the Los Angeles Kings.

Pittsburgh Penguins/Team Canada captain Sidney Crosby was hurt in the quarterfinals and missed the semifinals and gold-medal game. Coach Dan Muse said Monday that Crosby was traveling and they’d have to wait until doctors could see him before getting a clearer picture on whether he’ll miss time.

Winnipeg Jets/Canada defenseman Josh Morrissey didn’t play after being hurt in the opening game. Coach Scott Arniel said Morrissey would miss the team’s Feb. 25 game and ‘we’ll see where we go from there.’

Buffalo Sabres/USA forward Tage Thompson missed the third period after blocking a shot in the semifinals but played in the gold medal game.

There’s a change at the top once again in the USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll following a busy week of high-profile matchups.

Duke is now the No. 1 team. The Blue Devils received 27 of 31 first-place votes this week after upending previous No. 1 Michigan in one of those marquee clashes. The Blue Devils received 27 of 31 first-place votes. The lofty perch is not new for the Duke program, though this is the first No. 1 ranking of the current season for the Blue Devils.

Arizona claimed the remaining four No. 1 votes and is back up to second overall after a defeat of Houston. Michigan slips to No. 3, and Houston also slides two spots to No. 4. Iowa State moves up a spot to No. 5 as the Cyclones swap positions with Connecticut.

TOP 25: Complete USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball poll

Florida continues to climb the rankings after a rough non-conference start. The Gators move up four more places to check in at No. 7 this week, seemingly rounding into form in time to defend their NCAA title. Purdue, Gonzaga and Nebraska round out the top 10.

A pair of SEC contenders, No. 18 Alabama and No. 22 Tennessee, rejoin the poll this week. Clemson and Wisconsin drop out.

Johnny Gaudreau was at the Olympic gold medal hockey game on Sunday.

In spirit.

Gaudreau was on the ice when Jack Hughes scored the thrilling overtime goal to lift the Americans past favored Canada, 2-1.

In the hearts of all of the Team USA players.

Gaudreau, the speedy left wing from New Jersey who dreamed of playing in these Olympics, was there as the USA players carried the American flag and Johnny Hockey’s jersey while skating triumphantly around the ice. It was the most exciting and poignant moment since the Miracle on Ice in 1980.

At least he was there in the hearts of all Americans.

And, we suspect, all the people who watched the gold medal game around the world.

The epic victory was also tinged with great sadness. Gaudreau, who last played for the Columbus Blue Jackets, and his brother, Matthew, were killed while riding bikes and being struck by a suspected drunk driver in New Jersey in August 2024. Their memories live on, especially at the place where their hockey journeys took root, Gloucester Catholic High, a South Jersey school located just across the Walt Whitman Bridge from Philadelphia.

Both players were stars at Gloucester Catholic, and both made it to the pro ranks. Johnny became a seven-time NHL All-Star Game participant. Matthew became a minor league player and later coached at his high school. Both were outstanding people who volunteered countless hours at a special education school where their mom, Jane, has worked for 40-plus years.

Shows its character

Sunday, the proud American team brought memories of Johnny flowing with an incredible display of character and humility. They could have easily hogged the spotlight for the most momentous USA men’s hockey win in 46 years.

Instead, they put Johnny at the forefront.

That meant a lot to Tom Iacovone Jr., the principal at the little high school that the Gaudreau brothers attended.

‘There wasn’t a dry eye in my house. It was happy and sad tears,’ Iacovone, who watched the game with his wife and three children, said Sunday night. ‘I cannot speak highly enough about the U.S. hockey team for keeping Johnny’s memory alive, and for the tribute they gave him. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them, and to remember Johnny and bring his kids on the ice.

‘It took my breath away, and the number of Gloucester Catholic kids who texted and called me in that moment just (blew him away). It’s just amazing that in a moment like that, one that’s bigger than life for the U.S. hockey team, and they made the entire Gloucester Catholic family feel like they were a part of them.’

Iacovone said during the Olympics, there’s ‘been a ton of excitement’ around his school. The excitement grew as it became known that Team USA hung Gaudreau’s jersey in their dressing room before games.

Close-knit school

‘I teach U.S. History, I and I have a couple of students who are part of the Gloucester Catholic hockey team,’ Iacovone said. ‘And when we left school on Friday, I reminded them that if USA wins on Friday afternoon, it’s U.S. and Canada on Sunday morning, and everyone was so excited to watch it. We’ve been posting on our social media about Johnny’s jersey in the locker room, and having Guy and Jane and Meredith and the kids all go to the game.’

Guy and Jane are Johnny’s parents. Meredith is Johnny’s wife.

Katie Gaudreau-Joyce, who is Guy and Jane’s daughter, recently posted a photo on social media of Guy on the plane heading to Italy. Coincidentally, Katie is the dance instructor for Iacovone’s 7-year-old daughter, Nora. 

It seems like everyone from Gloucester Catholic, past, present and future, is connected, Iacovone said.

‘The Gloucester Catholic family is so close. After USA won, my daughter was wearing a USA scarf with a No. 13 on it,’ Iacovone said. ‘My wife took a picture and sent it to Katie. That’s the kind of community we have.’

Johnny and Matty Gaudreau are at the center of that community, and, thanks to Team USA, the whole world knows a little more today about Johnny’s hockey legacy.