AMES, Iowa – In the attention economy, “What have you done lately?” has been largely replaced by, “What have you done right this second?” There’s no patience nor hardly any memory, but there certainly is an urgency bordering on frantic. 

That makes for a tough environment to appreciate what Iowa State basketball has done. The Cyclones (22-3, 9-3 Big 12) are ranked fourth nationally, so it’s not as though they’re being overlooked or undervalued, but they’ve mostly only been in the national college basketball consciousness for their failures since the calendar flipped to 2026.

Getting stomped at Kansas and then no-showing at Cincinnati that same week. Taking an upset just days ago at TCU. 

That 3-0 run through the Players Era Festival or that dismantling of Purdue on the road got their due at the time, but, heck, that was all the way back in 2025. That might as well be 1985 for the way we chew up and spit out takes on TikTok these days.  

Mowing down five-straight Big 12 teams after those back-to-back losses was nice, sure, but, like, whatever? You can only get so excited about blowouts against the unimpressive middle and bottom of the Big 12. 

Not only has it been two months since Iowa State beat the Boilermakers (and Iowa days after that), but it’s been two months since we’ve even seen the Cyclones play well against a high-level team. 

You can reset that clock to zero on that front, and put the Cyclones right at the front of the national college basketball conversation.

That happens after outplaying and overwhelming the country’s hottest team, No. 9 Kansas, 74-56, to snap the Jayhawks’ eight-game winning streak, get a measure of revenge for last month’s 21-point loss and reassert themselves as a Final Four contender. 

“I’d definitely say we made a statement,” Iowa State freshman Jamarion Batemon said. “This is a huge opportunity to bounce back and show that we’re one of the best teams, if not the best team, in the country.  

“It was a great opportunity, and I feel like we definitely made that impact.” 

How far the reverberations from that impact travel will no doubt be influenced by what the Cyclones do 48 hours later when No. 3 Houston comes to Hilton Coliseum for Big Monday. But for this weekend, at least, the Cyclones offered up a compelling case for just how damn good they are. 

Five days after Kansas became the first team to beat Arizona, the Jayhawks got bullied, beaten and, at times, embarrassed by the Cyclones. 

Iowa State’s ball pressure would have had Isaac Hayes singing falsetto.  

The Jayhawks were consistently on their heels, playing backward and even had a pair of backcourt violations as the Cyclones allowed them no quarter. Much of Iowa State’s issues in its trio of losses came from an inability to disrupt opponents, but their dialed-up intensity against the Jayhawks kept their visitors uncomfortable and unsuccessful all afternoon. 

“Our whole mindset was just to not let them be comfortable,” Tamin Lipsey said after a three-steal day. “We wanted to push them up the floor as much as we could.” 

Just as important as the harassment Iowa State doled out defensively was a whole-of-rotation effort that saw all eight Cyclones who played make real contributions to winning. 

Batemon, who by any measure is the last man in the rotation, set a tone with a level of aggression we haven’t seen from the freshman. His two 3-pointers and forceful drive and layup in the first half helped lift an offense that was struggling. Reserve center Dom Pleta’s offensive rebounding did much the same. Nate Heise had five boards and a steal in 26 minutes that also saw him provide a defensive presence on the perimeter. 

And those are just the reserves. 

It’s almost an afterthought that Joshua Jefferson had 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal, or that Lipsey had 11 points, three boards and four assists. Blake Buchanan? A cool 11 and six while going 5 of 6 from the floor. 

There was, though, no missing Milan Momcilovic. 

The country’s best 3-point shooter had 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-9 from deep. His fading-to-his-left, falling-to-the-floor, over-the-arm-of-6-10-Flory-Bidunga triple might be the best of his career and one of the more incredible makes Hilton Coliseum has seen in its half-century. 

“That was probably the craziest shot I’ve seen in person,” Lipsey said. 

It, simply, was a great game from a team whose greatness seemed to have been forgotten.

“I’m proud of our guys for how they worked this week,” said Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger, “and for the effort that they sustained for 40 minutes.  

“That’s not easy to do, and I felt like that was as complete of a 40 minutes as we’ve had this season.” 

If there was concern about the victory poisoning the Cyclones ahead of Monday’s huge matchup with Houston, well, they didn’t sound too impressed with themselves Saturday evening. 

“I feel like we could have beat (Kansas) by more,” Momcilovic said after the Cyclones toppled KU by the largest margin of victory ever at Hilton Coliseum in the series. “Our offense got a little stagnant in that little five-minute stretch in the second half. 

“I think it shows we’re still  really good, and we can beat anyone night in, night out.” 

If nothing else, the Cyclones have everyone’s attention. 

Despite an admission that he cheated on his now-former girlfriend before coming to the 2026 Winter Olympics, biathlete Sturla Holm Laegreid continues to prosper at the Milano Cortina Games.

The Norwegian won his third medal of the competition on Sunday, Feb. 15, taking second place in the men’s 12.5km biathlon pursuit behind gold medalist Martin Ponsiluoma of Sweden.

Laegreid went viral after finishing third in the men’s 20km biathlon just five days earlier when he revealed his infidelity during a post-race interview with a Norwegian television station. He emotionally described how it had affected him ahead of the Olympics and expressed his desire to restore the relationship.

He remained in the spotlight when he claimed another bronze medal in the men’s 10km sprint later in the week. He has so far declined to name the person he was discussing during the interview, though he revealed that he told her of his infidelity before he began competing in Milan.

‘I have tried not to be affected by it,’ Laegreid said after Friday’s race, according to Norway’s TV 2 and translated into English via Google Translate. ‘I am satisfied with what I have achieved today despite the conditions.’

Lægreid, 28, previously won a gold medal as part of Norway’s biathlon relay team at the 2022 Winter Olympics and is a six-time world champion in the sport.

INGLEWOOD, CA. — NBA All-Star Saturday came in facing some internal and external criticism about the overall state of the weekend and its viability for the future.

Between Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard winning the 3-Point Contest amid his recovery from a ruptured Achilles tendon and Keshad Johnson bringing infectious energy in the Slam Dunk Contest, there were certainly positive moments to be drawn from the night.

There were, however, plenty of points that deserve a more thorough examination.

But how did the All-Star Saturday fare on the whole?

Here are the winners and losers from Saturday of the 2026 NBA All-Star weekend.

WINNERS

Damian Lillard and his remarkable achievement

I don’t want this to be lost on the casual fan: Damian Lillard is nine-and-a-half months removed from a ruptured Achilles tendon. He’s 35. He had already won the 3-Point Contest two times, but his recovery and rehab had been so monotonous and removed him so far from basketball that he felt he needed to do it.

So he proceeded to score 56 points across both rounds, including 29 in the final round, tying Larry Bird and Craig Hodges as the only players in history to win the 3-Point Contest three times.

“I think this was necessary and was needed for the fans,” Lillard told reporters after the event. “… I wanted to be out there because that’s all I can do right now. It was an easy call.”

Keshad Johnson

He danced, he expressed joy and he delivered consistency in what was, frankly, an underwhelming event. But winning the Slam Dunk Contest is still a significant accomplishment, and it can act as a boost to a young player’s career.

Johnson has appeared in 21 games for the Heat and is averaging 3.1 points per game across 7.6 minutes per contest. Winning the event will not convince Erik Spoelstra and the Heat staff to play him more, nor should it. But it will raise Johnson’s profile. All to say: it presents an opportunity that he can seize if he continues to work on his game and improve his all-around skill set.

LOSERS

The Slam Dunk Contest

This is not meant to take away from the accomplishment of Johnson, who brought infectious energy and high-level difficulty dunks to his routine. And no disrespect intended to the field, overall, but fans have been deprived of the game’s biggest stars and most prolific dunkers from competing in this event.

Possibly, many tuning in across the country had never heard of most of the field, if not all four participants. The NBA, of course, cannot force players to compete in the Slam Dunk Contest, but it needs to increase the incentives so the league’s top dunkers are pushed to participate.

The last great Dunk Contest was already 10 years ago, in the battle between Aaron Gordon and eventual champion Zach LaVine.

Perhaps we simply have unrealistic expectations of Dunk Contests and we should be okay accepting that not every contest is going to be legendary. That might help some of the angst surrounding this event.

But, at a minimum, fans are entitled to creativity and should want to see things that push the expectations of what dunks can be. That shouldn’t be compromised.

Shooting Stars

It seems the NBA is trying to find a long-term replacement for the Skills Challenge, and this may be a case where less is more. The Slam Dunk Contest and 3-Point Contest are the marquee events of NBA All-Star Saturday, and that feels like it should be enough.

The Shooting Stars contest was actually pretty close and it did provide some mild excitement late, but, if we’re going to lean in on shooting challenges, I wonder if some form of H.O.R.S.E. might appeal more to the nostalgia fans have.

‘It is what it is at this point’

The messaging to come from some of the game’s brightest stars Saturday during NBA All-Star media day, frankly, was disappointing. And, yes, we acknowledge that All-Star exhibitions across all major North American sports are in peril of teetering toward irrelevance as athletes, understandably, tend to prefer time off and leisure during the middle of seasons that can be intense grinds.

But hearing Anthony Edwards, one of the most dynamic and exciting players in the world, essentially shrug his shoulders when asked about effort isn’t exactly the optics the NBA will want tied to the premier event of the weekend.

He wasn’t alone, and honesty in press conferences is very much appreciated. But it raises questions about whether there are better ways to honor All-Star players that keep and grow fan engagement.

INGLEWOOD, CA — NBA Commissioner Adam Silver took a forceful stand against tanking in his NBA All-Star Weekend press conference, talking at length about the hot-button topic that’s ‘been part of this league for a long time.’

Earlier this week, the league fined the Utah Jazz $500,000 and Indiana Pacers $100,000 for violations of its player participation policy and conduct detrimental to the league. They aren’t the only teams openly tanking, though, ahead of a 2026 draft that’s thought to be one of the strongest in recent years.

Silver’s response at the Intuit Dome on Saturday was just as blatant.

‘Are we seeing behavior that is worse this year than we’ve seen in recent memory? Yes, is my view,’ he said. ‘Which was what led to those fines, and not just those fines but to my statement that we’re going to be looking more closely at the totality of all the circumstances this season in terms of teams’ behavior, and very intentionally wanted teams to be on notice.’

In addition to more fines, Silver was asked if he would consider stripping draft picks from teams that continue to tank.

‘There is talk about every possible remedy now to stop this behavior,’ he said.

Silver also mentioned that the league has had economists look at the draft lottery system and point out how the incentives — the worst-performing teams receiving the best odds for a pick and the teams that just miss out on the playoffs being stuck in the middle of the road — are backwards.

‘I think there was a more classical view of that in the old days, where it was just sort of an understanding among partners in terms of behavior,’ Silver said. ‘I think what we’re seeing is modern analytics where it’s so clear that the incentives are misaligned. … The worst place to be, for example, is to be a middle-of-the-road team. Either be great or be bad, because then that will help you with the draft.

‘In many cases, you have fans of those teams — remember, it’s not what they want to pay for to see poor performance on the floor, but they’re actually rooting for their teams in some cases to be bad to improve their draft chances.’

Silver added that the league is focused on both the short-term response — fines and putting teams on notice about tanking — while also looking for a long-term solution to a problem that has been ever-evolving.

Former Commissioner David Stern introduced the draft lottery in 1985, which Silver said the league has made adjustments to ‘about five times.’ Some in the media have begun calling for the draft to be abolished entirely and, while that’s an extreme end of the spectrum, Silver admitted Saturday that it might be time — past time, even — for the league to reassess.

‘It’s a bit of a conundrum,’ Silver said. ‘The All-Star is 75 years old. The league is 80 years old. It’s time to take a fresh look at this to see to whether that’s an antiquated way of going about doing it. Ultimately, we need a system to fairly, I think, distribute players. I think it’s in the players’ interest as well as the teams that you have a level of parity around the league. There’s only so many jobs and so many cities.

‘… What we’re doing, what we’re seeing right now, is not working; there’s no question about it. Yes, is there more I can do? Have I attempted not only to respond to behavior we’ve seen but send a clear message that we’re going to be scrutinizing everything we see going forward? Absolutely.’

Adam Silver discusses prediction markets

With the news of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s recent investment in Kalshi, Silver took a moment to discuss where the league stands as far as prediction markets go.

‘We currently are looking at prediction markets essentially in the same way that we’re looking at sports betting markets or sports betting companies,’ Silver said. ‘We have a rule that was collectively bargained with the Players Association that players can make, I will call them, de minimis investments in sports betting companies, and we’re applying the same rule to prediction markets.’

The rule is that players cannot hold more than a 1% interest in sports betting — and now, by extension, prediction market — companies. To Silver’s knowledge, Antetokounmpo’s stake in Kalshi is ‘much smaller’ than that, so he is not in violation of any league rules.

But it’s still an issue that Silver is keeping a close eye on.

‘It’s rapidly evolving,’ he said. ‘Prediction markets have now come on the scene fairly recently as, I don’t know how else to say it, major sports betting marketplaces. Whether prediction markets are allowed to go forward in the form they’re in now will, I think, be ultimately an issue for the courts and for Congress.

‘But even if they go away, the league is now dealing with essentially 40 different jurisdictions that have legalized sports betting in the United States. Still a huge illegal market. I’d say one other category that I hardly ever hear people talk about is that the last I looked, there are probably 80 countries in the world outside of the United States that also have legalized betting on the NBA.’

MILAN — Jordan Stolz did more than reach the halfway point of his pursuit of four Olympic gold medals at the Winter Games.

He left the skating world agog Saturday, Feb. 14.

For the second race in a row, Stolz set a new Olympic record while holding off rival Jenning de Boo of the Netherlands. This time it came in the men’s 500 meters, three days after Stolz made Olympic history in the 1,000 meters.

“We just watched some special, historic skating,” said Cooper McLeod, the American speed skater, who finished 22nd in the 30-skater field. “We saw the Olympic record lowered by almost half a second today. That doesn’t happen.”

With two Olympic gold medals in hand, Stolz faces simple math if not a simple assignment. To get four golds, he must win his final two races: the 1,500 meters Thursday, Feb. 19 and the mass start Feb. 21.

Watch Winter Olympics on Peacock

“I think if I have a good 1,500 — it should turn out well — I’m hoping for gold in that,’’ Stolz said. “Mass start’s just kind of a toss up. It’s more like a bonus. It’s so hard to say what’s going to happen in that …”

What’s happened so far bodes well for the 21-year-old American from Wisconsin. Stolz has joined Eric Heiden as the only U.S. men to win the gold in the 500 and 1,000 at the same Olympics. American legendary speed skater Bonnie Blair did it twice.

It started Wednesday when he overtook de Boo down the stretch of the 1,000 meters while setting a new Olympic record. The rivals were paired up again in the 500 and both men beat the Olympic record. But it’s a record now held by Stolz witth a time of 33.77

‘He’s the man to beat right now,” de Boo said.

Pressure? What pressure?

After his victory in the 500, Stolz was asked a couple of times about how he’s dealing with the pressure. At which point it became clear he’s not feeling much, if any, pressure.

“I kind of felt in the beginning before the 1,000,” he said. “It’s something you just have to deal with and get out of your mind because if it’s going to affect your racing, you can’t be letting things like that affect you. And especially now you only have one chance to win. So it’s something you just have to put out your mind.’’

Apparently that’s easier said than done.

“I admire his discipline and his medals, of course, and also how he handles the pressure,” de Boo said of Stolz. “He’s been in a favorite role for a very long time and he’s been able to keep a steady pace and keep on winning. So yeah, a lot of respect for that.”

When it comes to handling pressure, Stolz wasn’t divulging any secrets about how he does it. Or maybe how doesn’t have any secrets.

“There’s nothing too specific,” he said when asked how he does it. “I just try and focus on the things that I can control. And in skating when I’m on the ice, it’s more about feeling. So there’s not too many things you can’t control outside of it.

“But yeah, I just try not to think about skating when I’m back at the rink as much.”

Historical context

Stolz is seeking to become only the third athlete to win four gold medals in a single Winter Olympics.

Ole Einar Bjørndalen of Norway did it in the biathlon in 2002 and Lidiya Skoblikova of Russian did it in speed skating in 1964.

American speed skater Eric Heiden in 1980 became the only person to win five gold medals at the Winter Olympics.

While Stolz can’t win five at these Games, he clearly is motivated by the chance to cement his status as a legendary speed skater right alongside Heiden. Heiden is widely regarded as the greatest speed skater ever.

But Laurent Dubreuil, a 33-year-old Canadian who won the bronze medal while finishing behind Stolz and de Boo, sees things differently.

“I think Jordan’s the greatest speed skater of all time,’’ he said.

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Athletes from more than 90 countries will compete for Winter Olympic medals in 116 events over 16 days, and USA TODAY is keeping a tally of every nation finishing on the podium. Here’s a look at the latest medal standings on the morning of Sunday, Feb. 15, as well as when each medal event will take place.

USA TODAY Sports has a team of more than a dozen journalists on the ground in Italy to bring you behind the scenes with Team USA and keep you up to date with every medal win, big moment and triumphant finish. Get our Chasing Gold newsletter in your inbox every morning and join our WhatsApp channel to get the latest updates right in your texts.

Broadcast coverage of the 2026 Milano Cortino Winter Olympics is airing exclusively airing across NBC’s suite of networks with many competitions airing live on its streaming service, Peacock, which you can sign up for here .

What is the medal count at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics?

All data accurate as of Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, at 7:45 a.m.

Meet Team USA 2026: Get to know the athletes behind the games

1. Norway: 22 Total (11 Gold, 34Silver, 7 Bronze)
2. Italy: 19 Total (6 Gold, 3 Silver, 10 Bronze)
3. United States: 17 Total (5 Gold, 8 Silver, 4 Bronze)
4. Japan: 15 Total (3 Gold, 4 Silver, 8 Bronze)
5. France: 14 Total (4 Gold, 7 Silver, 4 Bronze)
6. Austria: 13 Total (4 Gold, 6 Silver, 3 Bronze)
7. Germany: 13 Total (4 Gold, 5 Silver, 4 Bronze)
8. Sweden: 10 Total (5 Gold, 4 Silver, 1 Bronze)
9. Netherlands: 9 Total (4 Gold, 4 Silver, 1 Bronze)
10. Switzerland: 9 Total (4 Gold, 2 Silver, 3 Bronze)
11. Canada: 9 Total (1 Gold, 3 Silver, 5 Bronze)
12. South Korea: 5 Total (1 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze)
13. Australia: 5 Total (3 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze)
14. Czech Republic: 4 Total (2 Gold, 2 Silver, 0 Bronze)
15. China: 4 Total (0 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze)
16. Slovenia: 3 Total (2 Gold, 1 Silver, 0 Bronze)
17. Poland: 3 Total (0 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze)
18. Latvia: 2 Total (0 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze)
19. New Zealand: 2 Total (0 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze)
20. Bulgaria: 2 Total (0 Gold, 0 Silver, 2 Bronze)
21. Finland: 2 Total (0 Gold, 0 Silver, 2 Bronze)
22. Brazil: 1 Total (1 Gold, 0 Silver, 0 Bronze)
23. Great Britain: 1 Total (1 Gold, 0 Silver, 0 Bronze)
24. Kazakhstan: 1 Total (1 Gold, 0 Silver, 0 Bronze)
25. Belgium: 1 Total (0 Gold, 0 Silver, 1 Bronze)

2026 Winter Olympics upcoming medal events schedule

Feb. 15

BIATHLON: Men’s 12.5km Pursuit
FREESTYLE SKIING: Men’s Dual Moguls Final
CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING: Men’s 4×7.5km Relay
ALPINE SKIING: Women’s Giant Slalom
SNOWBOARDING: Mixed Team Cross Final
BIATHLON: Women’s 10km Pursuit
SPEED SKATING: Women’s 500m
SKELETON: Mixed Team
SKI JUMPING: Women’s Large Hill

Feb. 16

SHORT TRACK: Women’s 1000m
ALPINE SKIING: Men’s Slalom
FIGURE SKATING: Pair Skating Free Skate
FREESTYLE SKIING: Women’s Big Air Final
SKI JUMPING: Men’s Super Team Final Round
BOBSLED: Women’s Singles

Feb. 17

NORDIC COMBINED: Large Hill/10km: 10km
SNOWBOARDING: Women’s Slopestyle Final
BIATHLON: Men’s 4×7.5km Relay
SPEED SKATING: Men’s, Women’s Team Pursuit Finals
BOBSLED: Men’s Doubles

Feb. 18

CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING: Women’s, Men’s Team Sprint Free Final
FREESTYLE SKIING: Women’s Aerials Final
SNOWBOARDING: Men’s Slopestyle Final
ALPINE SKIING: Women’s Slalom
BIATHLON: Women’s 4x6km Relay
SHORT TRACK: Women’s 3000m Relay
SHORT TRACK: Men’s 500m

Feb. 19

FREESTYLE SKIING: Men’s Aerials Final
SKI MOUNTAINEERING: Women’s, Men’s Sprint
NORDIC COMBINED: Team Sprint/Large Hill 2×7.5km
ICE HOCKEY: Women’s Final
SPEED SKATING: Men’s 1500m
FIGURE SKATING: Women’s Free Skate

Feb. 20

FREESTYLE SKIING: Women’s Cross Final
BIATHLON: Men’s 15km Mass Start
SPEED SKATING: Women’s 1500m
CURLING: Men’s Bronze Medal Game
FREESTYLE SKIING: Men’s Halfpipe Final
SHORT TRACK: Men’s 5000m Relay Final
SHORT TRACK: Women’s 1500m Final

Feb. 21

CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING: Men’s 50km Mass Start Classic
FREESTYLE SKIING: Mixed Team Aerials Final
FREESTYLE SKIING: Men’s Cross Final
SKI MOUNTAINEERING: Mixed Relay
CURLING: Men’s Gold Medal Game, Women’s Bronze Medal Game
BIATHLON: Women’s 12.5km Mass Start
SPEED SKATING: Men’s, Women’s Mass Start
FREESTYLE SKIING: Women’s Halfpipe Final
ICE HOCKEY: Men’s Bronze Medal Game
BOBSLED: Women’s Doubles: Heat 4

Feb. 22

CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING: Women’s 50km Mass Start Classic
CURLING: Women’s Gold Medal Game
BOBSLED: Men’s Quads Final
ICE HOCKEY: Men’s Gold Medal Game

MILAN — For Ilia Malinin, a terrible night was followed by a wonderful postscript. 

The 21-year-old Quad God’s epic meltdown on the ice at the 2026 Winter Olympics has already been well documented. He fell twice, made mistakes on other jumps and finished a devastating eighth in the men’s figure skating competition. It was the worst performance by a gold-medal favorite in Olympic figure skating history. It was as bad as it gets for an athlete at the most crucial moment of a young career.

But what happened afterward? It was beautiful. 

Watching Winter Olympics on Peacock

Throughout sports over the years, in the aftermath of crushing defeat, athletes have reacted in different ways. Some keep it together. Others behave horribly. The names of those who have thrown helmets at lockers or destroyed tennis rackets or thrown golf clubs or berated reporters or just refused to talk at all number in the hundreds, perhaps thousands. 

But Ilia Malinin? After spending significant time hugging and speaking with the surprising gold medalist Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan, he walked purposely behind the curtains to the mixed zone interview area, where, just a couple of minutes after leaving the ice, he spoke calmly, politely and intelligently with NBC’s Andrea Joyce, fully answering the four questions she asked, including saying this: 

“I was not expecting that, I felt like going into this competition I was so ready … maybe I was too confident that it was going to go well. … I think it was definitely mental, just now finally experiencing that Olympic atmosphere, it’s crazy, it’s not like any other competition, it’s really different. I’m still so grateful that I was able to put in this work and effort to get to where I am, but of course that was not the skate that I wanted.”

And his first thought when his music ended? 

“I blew it, that’s honestly the first thing that came to my mind was there’s no way that just happened.” 

Joyce thanked him for the interview, and he thanked her back. 

Malinin then ran the gauntlet of the maze-like mixed zone, answering the same questions over and over again. When he reached the U.S. journalists, he answered everything again, but none of his answers sounded forced. He was patient and thoughtful. It was as if he was being asked about it all for the first time, offering new words and phrases to describe what he had just done. 

‘The pressure of the Olympics really gets you,” he said. “The pressure is unreal. It’s almost like I wasn’t aware of where I was in the program. Usually I have more time and more feeling of how it is, but this time, it all went by so fast. … It just felt so overwhelming. I didn’t really know how to handle it in that moment.”

Malinin always has been respectful of the writers and broadcasters who cover him, and Friday night, arguably the worst night of his life, was no different. 

His behavior was all the more remarkable when one considers how long it will be before Malinin gets another chance to compete on such a meaningful stage. Most athletes who have lost their temper after a defeat get to play another game or match in a few days or weeks. Even the Super Bowl loser has a chance to do it all again in 52 weeks.

But Malinin? He has to wait four years for another opportunity at the Olympic Games, making his performance after his on-ice performance so wonderfully memorable.

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It’s looking increasingly likely that rain could impact the 2026 Daytona 500, as the NASCAR’s Cup Series is set to get underway on Sunday.

The latest forecast shows a 55% chance of rain with the added possibility of thunderstorms creating the chance of a delay or even postponement of The Great American Race at Daytona International Speedway. NASCAR officials have already moved up the scheduled drop of the green flag by an hour to 1:30 p.m. ET.

In the past 15 years, the 500 has been moved to or finished on Monday because of inclement weather in 2012, 2020 and 2024. In 2021, the race was delayed six hours and didn’t finish until after midnight.

Kyle Busch – who has never won the Daytona 500 – is the pole sitter for the 68th edition of the historic competition. Chase Briscoe, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney round out the starting top five. The race will also feature seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson.

Buy your copy of our commemorative Dale Earnhardt book!

Daytona 500 weather forecast

Here’s the latest AccuWeather forecast for Daytona Beach, Florida:

Sunday, Feb. 15: Mostly breezy and cloudy. Morning showers in spots, then thunderstorms are possible in spots late in the afternoon. High temperature of 80 degrees and a low of 59. Chance of precipitation: 55%
Monday, Feb. 16: Passing showers are likely in the morning, with clouds giving way to some sun. Cooler and becoming breezy in the afternoon. High temperature of 65 degrees and a low of 53. Chance of precipitation: 55%.

When is the 2026 Daytona 500?

Date: Sunday, Feb. 15
Start time: 1:30 p.m. ET
Location: Daytona International Speedway (Daytona Beach, Florida)
TV: Fox
Streaming: Fubo (free trial), Sling
Defending champion: William Byron

Watch Daytona 500 on Fubo