MILAN — It’s official: Jutta Leerdam and Jordan Stolz have actually practiced together at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Well, more specially, they skated together for a few laps during a recent practice, said Leerdam, who is Jake Paul’s fiancée.  

Leerdam said her skating with Stolz was fiction — before it became fact.

“So it was just a made-up rumor and then we were just on the (stationary) bike,’ said Leerdam, the Dutch speed skating star, after winning the silver medal in the women’s 500 meters Sunday, Feb. 15. ‘We were like, ‘Well, maybe I should do some laps.’ He was like, ‘Yeah, perfect.”

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Leerdam has won a gold medal and a silver medal here while Stolz has won two golds in his first two races. Thanks to their success, they have drawn attention to themselves – and now to each other.

“He’s super good at skating, so I kind of understand his timing when you skate behind someone and it can always help,’ Leerdam said. “But yeah, my timing was already pretty set … and it was just for a few laps.

“I just did a few laps. But yeah, it was just interesting that it was all made up, and it ended up working pretty well.’

Leerdam, 27, won gold in the women’s 1,000 while setting an Olympic record in the race before winning the silver in the 500.

Stolz, 21, has won two golds and set Olympic records in his first two races – the men’s 1,000 meters and 500 meters.

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Middle America is looking mighty big these days.

The MAC, one of the preeminent non-Power Four conferences in college football, is on the cusp adding the West Coast’s Sacramento State as a football member in 2026, according to sources reported by ESPN. It’s a somewhat baffling move geographically, as Sacramento State would essentially occupy a spot previously held by the Northern Illinois Huskies, who moved to the Mountain West.

Of course, geography is a mere suggestion — and a tepid one at that — in the age of college football realignment. The most common example people point to is Cal and Stanford joining the ACC as literal Pacific Coast schools.

Per reports, Sacramento State is expected to pay $23 million to make the move. The Hornets will pay $18 million to the MAC and another $5 million to the NCAA to make the jump from the FCS level, where they have been since 1993. Sacramento State has been aggressively pursuing this move recently, having made four FCS playoff appearances since 2019. The Hornets made the postseason in 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023, with all of those appearances except 2023 coming as Big Sky conference champions.

The closest school to Sacramento State in the conference will be Western Michigan, 2,177 miles by car. Should Sacramento State make this jump, it would be ineligible for the postseason for two seasons.

Sacramento State went 7-5 (5-3 Big Sky) last season, and will have a new coach this year in Alonzo Carter. It joins Big Sky powerhouse North Dakota State as the most recent teams to move to new conferences for football, with the Bison moving up to the Mountain West.

What schools are in MAC for 2026-27 football season?

Akron
Ball State
Bowling Green
Buffalo
Central Michigan
Eastern Michigan
Kent State
Miami (Ohio)
Ohio
Sacramento State
Toledo
UMass
Western Michigan

Three have left via the transfer portal, while three have come in.

Western Carolina’s Taron Dickens is the latest addition to the Tar Heels’ quarterback room.

Dickens made national headlines last season, shattering the NCAA record for most consecutive passes completed in a single game with 46 in a row against Wofford on Oct. 4. Dickens finished the day 53-for-56 with 378 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Catamounts to a 23-21 win.

Dickens, a 5-11 junior-to-be out of Miami, passed for a school-record 3,508 passing yards this season, including four 400-yard games. He led the FCS with a 74.2% completion percentage and won the SoCon Offensive Player of the Year. He earned multiple FCS All-American honors and finished runner-up in the voting for the Walter Payton Award, given to FCS’ top offensive player in the nation.

Dickens will have the chance to compete with fellow newcomers Billy Edwards Jr. (Wisconsin) and Miles O’Neill (Texas A&M) to lead the Tar Heels offense under new coordinator Bobby Petrino.

Quarterbacks Gio Lopez (Wake Forest), Max Johnson (Georgia Southern) and Bryce Barker (Virginia Tech) all departed this offseason.

The Tar Heels finished 4-8 in Bill Belichick’s first season in Chapel Hill and ranked 131st in total offense among 136 FBS teams at the end of the regular season.

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Mikaela Shiffrin appears to be finding her Olympic groove.

Shiffrin finished 11th in the giant slalom on Sunday, Feb. 15 at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics but showed a comfort level she didn’t seem to have during her slalom run in the team combined event last week.

Her combined time in the two-run race was 2:14.42, 0.92 seconds behind Italy’s Frederica Brignone, who collected her second gold medal of these Olympics. But Shiffrin was only 0.30 off the podium, which saw Sweden’s Sara Hector and Norway’s Thea Louise Stjernesund tie for silver.

Shiffrin is still chasing her elusive fourth Olympic medal, which would tie Julia Mancuso for most by an American woman in Alpine skiing. Her best event, the slalom, is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 18.

‘I was pushing, trying to turn any nervous energy into more, sort of, intensity or taking the power from the course. … And it felt good to push,’ Shiffrin said after the seond run.

Shiffrin is arguably the greatest skier of all time. Her 108 World Cup wins are most by any skier, male or female, and she won three medals, two of them gold, at her first two Olympics.

But she is now 0-for-8 in her most recent Olympic races.

Sh had a disastrous performance in Beijing, skiing out of three races and finishing no better than ninth in an individual event. When she struggled in the slalom portion of the team combined, finishing 15th out of 18 skiers, the questions about whether she had an Olympic bloc began again.

This race, of all races, shows how formidable she remains.

Though one of Shiffrin’s Olympic golds is in GS (2018), she’s been trying to regain her form in the discipline since the scary November 2024 crash that left her with a puncture wound in her obliques and PTSD. Her third-place finish in the final GS race before the Olympics was her first podium in the discipline in two years. She has not won a GS race since December 2023.

‘For me, personally, after returning to racing after the injury last year, and then returning to GS racing, I was so far off,’ Shiffrin said. ‘And I felt like there was no hope to be faster. And then to be here now, just in touch of the fastest women, that’s huge for me. I’m proud of that. There were so many positives from today.’

She has said her giant slalom skiing is getting stronger and stronger, and she showed it on the Olimpia delle Tofane track. Shiffrin put herself in position to make the podium with a solid first run, finishing 0.56 seconds out of third place.

She showed none of the tentativeness she did in the team combined event Tuesday, Feb. 10. She picked up time along the curves of the course, which bodes well for slalom Wednesday. Feb. 18.

MILAN — This was not the plan for Erin Jackson at the 2026 Winter Olympics

With a chance to defend her Olympic title in the women’s 500 meters, Jackson instead finished fifth on Sunday, Feb. 15 at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium with a time of 37.32 seconds.

Dutch star Femke Kok won gold with a time of 36.49 seconds, an Olympic record. Fellow Dutch star Jutta Leerdam took silver (37.15 seconds). Japan’s Miho Takagi won bronze (37.27 seconds).

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Jackson and Kok were paired together and skated in the 15th and final slot. Kok holds the world record in the 500 with a time of 36.09, and now holds the Olympic record in the 500 meters. She won silver in the 1,000 here at the Milano Cortina Winter Games.

Jackson has not won the 500 during the 2025-26 season and has struggled with back problems.

At the 2022 Games in Beijing, Jackson became the first Black woman to win a medal in an individual event at the Winter Olympics. It set her up for golds in back-to-back Winter Olympics.

Earlier this week, Jackson posted her second-best time ever in the 1,000 meters while finishing sixth. The performance appeared to boost her confidence heading into the 500, but she fell short of her goal.

This story will be updated with more information.

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Federica Brignone is the embodiment of what the Olympics are about. Supposed to be about, anyway.

A crash 10 months ago during the Italian nationals left her with a shattered left leg. She had multiple broken bones, a torn ACL and a dislocated kneecap. The question wasn’t whether Brignone would ski again but whether she’d be able to walk again.

Even now, she still isn’t 100% healed – she put herself at maybe 80% before the 2026 Milano Cortino Games began – and pain is a constant companion.

Yet, she was so determined to ski at a home Olympics she endured multiple surgeries and months of agonizing rehab. Pushed through the doubts about whether this was worth it.

And now? Brignone will leave these Games as a two-time Olympic champion, her gold medals a reminder of the resilience of the human spirit and what is possible when we commit ourselves fully.

“If I was coming here to make gold medals, I would go home with no medals,” Brignone said after winning the giant slalom on Sunday, Feb. 15, three days after she won gold in the super-G.

“I came here and, already, it was a miracle to be here,” she said. “Not the gold medal. I didn’t care. I had medals, I had World Cups, I had everything that I wanted, even more, in my life. I came here just to enjoy and try my best and be grateful to be here, at a home Olympics.

“This is why I think I won.”

Sports has often acted as our great healer, and Lord knows we need that right now. The 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics had the potential to be that, a salve for the world’s collective psyche in much the same way the Paris Games were a reset from the isolation and fear of the COVID pandemic.

So far, though, these Olympics have only offered reminders of our divides.

American athletes are being told to shut up and ski (or skate or slide), as if wanting our country to live up to its promised ideals is somehow a betrayal of the uniform they wear. Russia’s war on Ukraine remains front and center because of the controversy surrounding a Ukrainian athlete’s attempt to honor the dead.

Curling, normally the most congenial of sports, is embroiled in a cheating scandal. A three-time medalist from Norway has become the poster boy for toxic relationships.

Brignone’s performance here harkens back to the original intent of the Olympics. Not only did she accomplish the impossible, she’s showing you can reach the top without leaving claw marks on the people you pass along the way.

“I cannot rave about her enough,” American Paula Moltzan said. “She’s the kindest, most genuine athlete on tour. She’s kind to everyone. She’s friendly to everyone. And this comeback, to have two gold medals at home – hands down, she’s clearly the best skier in the world right now.”

When Brignone skied into the finish area, she put her hands to her helmet and shook her head in shock. Sweden’s Sara Hector and Norway’s Thea Louise Stjernesund, who until that point had been sharing first place, rushed out to meet Brignone, dropping to the snow and bowing to her as the crowd roared.

It was a beautiful display of sportsmanship, the kind of moment that shows why the Olympics matter. Even with their crass commercialism, scandals and moral equivalency.

“She’s one of the strongest girls mentally I’ve ever met. And also so sympathetic and very nice,” Hector said.

“I really think she deserved this gold medal,” Hector added. “To see her get that was also a very cool moment here in Cortina.”

And beyond.

Brignone is brutally honest about the toll of her crash. Her left leg will never be like it once was. She does not know if she’ll be able to play tennis again. If you gave her the choice between her two Olympic gold medals and the crash never happening, she’d take the latter without hesitation.

But she cannot rewrite history.

“It happened,” Brignone said, “you have to accept it.”

You do not, however, have to give in. You keep fighting. You keep working. You keep hoping.

‘My mantra was tomorrow is better for sure,’ Brignone said.

That is the power of the Olympics, the reminder of that.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.

MILAN — U.S. goalkeeper Aerin Frankel is known as the ‘Green Monster,’ nicknamed after the iconic left field wall at Fenway Park because she’s just as solid in front of the net for the U.S women’s national hockey team.

But her nickname could also apply to her love of romaine lettuce.

Frankel is such a big fan of Caesar salads that she has an entire Instagram account dedicated to the leafy greens. She’s been posting photos and reviews on @painbyromaine since May 2024, but her passion project has landed in the limelight at the 2026 Winter Olympics as the U.S. women are set to play Sweden in the semifinals Monday.

Frankel said her Caesar salad account initially ‘started off as a joke’ after a friend suggested she document her loved of mixed greens since Frankel was ‘always ordering one for the table or to share,’ she said.

‘A few years back, I made this account (because) one of my friends has an espresso martini account where she rates espresso martinis,’ Frankel said. ‘She was like, ‘You should really do the same for Caesar salads. You eat them so much.”

Frankel has tried Ceasar salads all over the world, from Nova Scotia to Greece and New York City, so consider her a connoisseur. She said Mortadella Head has the best salad in Boston, where she resides as the starting goalkeeper of the PWHL’s Boston Fleet, while Sugo in Toronto holds the title for the best she’s ever had.

Frankel has already tried several Caesar salads in Milan so far, with her first review of the 2026 Winter Games dropping Saturday. She rated Mugs & Co. Cozy Cafe & Bakery a 7.8 out of 10, adding Italy has ‘seriously high quality meat & cheese here.’ One ingredient she’s getting used to — Italian Caesar dressing.

‘I would say that Caesar dressing is very different (in Italy) than I expected, so not knocking it, but it’s just not of that classic Caesar,’ Frankel said.

The American goalkeeper has only conceded one goal in three starts at the 2026 Winter Olympics, yet her incognito Caesar salad account has generated just as many headlines. She called the response ‘a bit shocking,’ but ‘kind of funny.’

Frankel added, ‘Honestly, it’s something that I do for fun in my free time, so I’m glad people are enjoying it.

She’s not the only Olympic athlete showcasing their love of a particular food. American figure skater Andrew Torgashev was dubbed ‘The Pizza King’ after eating pizza for 53 days in a row. He lists himself as a ‘Pizza Ambassador’ in his Instagram bio.

Follow Cydney Henderson on X at @CydHenderson

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Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez is free – at least from the confines of a state prison.

Velasquez, 43, was released on parole Sunday after nearly 11 months in Correctional Training Facility in Soledad, Calif. It’s unclear what the stipulations of his release are. The San Jose (Calif.) Mercury-News was among the outlets to report his release, which had been expected for Sunday.

In February 2025, Velasquez was sentenced to five years in prison with 1,283 days time served after he pleaded no contest to a litany of charges including attempted murder. Velasquez had been out on bail, under ankle monitoring since November 2022. Prior to that, he’d served a little under nine months behind bars.

Parole marks the near-end of years-long criminal legal battle for Velasquez, who was arrested after he pursued and shot at a car carrying Harry Goularte, a man accused of molesting Velasquez’s young son at a daycare. Velasquez chased Goularte and Goularte’s family while shooting a hand gun. A bullet from Velasquez struck Goularte’s stepfather Paul Bender, causing nonfatal injury.

Goularte is still undergoing court proceedings for a felony charge of lewd acts with a minor. He is out on bail, has pleaded not guilty, and is awaiting trial. There are also ongoing civil lawsuits in each direction.

Velasquez has since apologized for his actions, saying he is at peace and wishes no harm to anyone – even Goularte.