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NCAA women’s hockey power rankings: This player made a dazzling assist

The NCAA’s top programs were all in action this week as all 15 nationally ranked women’s college hockey teams played. 

For Northeastern, Boston University, Harvard and Boston College, it was also a final chance to tune up ahead of the 2026 Beanpot tournament that begins Tuesday, with the finals next week at Boston’s TD Garden.

For the first time, programs like Yale, Clarkson and Colgate showed they might soon move into these national power rankings as well.

While familiar squads lead the top three, Penn State and Minnesota-Duluth swapped places in the top 10 from last week.

Here’s a look at the top 10 NCAA women’s hockey programs this week:

Women’s college hockey power rankings

1. University of Wisconsin (WCHA)

After returning a week later than other programs in 2026, Wisconsin stumbled out of the gate, tying Minnesota-Duluth 1-1 and losing in the shootout. They looked more like themselves in Game 2 of the weekend series as stars Laila Edwards, Caroline Harvey, Kirsten Simms, Kelly Gorbatenko and Adela Sapovalivova found the back of the net in a balanced 5-1 win. Wisconsin has been so consistent this season that it was bound for a blip.

2. Ohio State University (WCHA)

Kaia Malachino has added another threat to Ohio State’s forward group. Coach Nadine Muzerall seemingly gets a contribution from someone new each game as they had nine different goal-scorers across their 4-0 and 5-1 sweep of WCHA conference rival St. Cloud State. Rookie Hilda Svensson continues to lead the Buckeyes in scoring and sits third nationally behind only American Olympians Abbey Murphy (Minnesota) and Caroline Harvey (Wisconsin).

3. University of Minnesota (WCHA)

Can anybody stop Minnesota captain Abbey Murphy? She pushed her nation-leading goal and point totals to 28 goals and 50 points in 22 games after scoring four goals and seven points in a sweep over conference rival Minnesota State this weekend. While she recorded a hat trick, it was her highlight-reel, lacrosse-style assist that drew attention.

4. University of Minnesota-Duluth (WCHA)

After a troublesome trip to Northern Ireland for the Bulldogs, they answered in a big way, beating Wisconsin in a shootout to open their weekend before falling 5-1 on Saturday. Eve Gascon made 38 saves and stopped all shootout attempts on Friday’s shootout win, and she did it only hours after finding out she had been cut from Canada’s Olympic team. The response from their team, and one of the top goalies in the nation, was strong. 

5. Quinnipiac (ECAC)

The Quinnipiac Bobcats continued to roll this past weekend, beating RPI and Union by identical 5-1 margins after returning from a positive showing at the Friendship Series in Belfast. Forwards Kahlen Lamarche and Emerson Jarvis continued to power Quinnipiac’s offense. No goaltender in NCAA hockey has played more than Felicia Frank, and few have played as well as she sits third in the nation in goals-against average (1.38) and save percentage (.943).

6. Penn State (Atlantic Hockey America)

Mercyhurst has been a thorn in Penn State’s side recently. That continued last weekend as Penn State shut out the Lakers 3-0 before falling 4-3 in overtime. It’s just not an outcome the Nittany Lions can accept if they want to prove they can compete with the best programs from ECAC and the WCHA. The program is set to lose Tessa Janecke, Kendall Butze, Maddy Christian, Katie DeSa, Katelyn Roberts and Leah Stecker after this season.

7. Cornell (ECAC)

Cornell tied Clarkson but won the shootout and beat St. Lawrence. What was promising about the results was that the typically offensively starved Big Red scored 10 goals in two games. Their tie against Clarkson coincided with an uncharacteristic off-night from netminder Annelies Bergmann, who has been one of college hockey’s most consistent goaltenders for three seasons.

8. Princeton (ECAC)

Issy Wunder had five goals in two games as Princeton beat Union and RPI. They’ve got another tune-up week against a pair of Ivy League schools this week before they return to matchups against nationally ranked programs.

9. Northeastern (Hockey East)

After being shut out by Yale in a mid-week game, Northeastern bounced back, beating Providence 5-2. Rookie Stryker Zablocki led the way with her second hat trick of the season. Providence, however, outshot Northeastern. They won’t dip far in the national rankings, but they powered down this week, not up.

10. Connecticut (Hockey East)

UConn swept Maine, but it wasn’t convincing. Maine outshot them on the weekend, and UConn narrowly held on for 2-1 and 4-3 wins. After Yale posted back-to-back shutouts over Northeastern and Dartmouth, UConn will need a stronger showing this week against Merrimack to stay in the top 10.

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Aaron Rodgers defends job futures of Mike Tomlin, Matt LaFleur

Aaron Rodgers believes the idea of firing coaches like Mike Tomlin or Matt LaFleur would have been unthinkable earlier in his career.
Rodgers criticized the influence of social media and TV experts on NFL coaching decisions, calling it a ‘joke.’
He stated that when a team has the right coach and culture, changes should not be considered despite outside pressure.

PITTSBURGH – Back in Aaron Rodgers’ day, aka the 2000s, the idea of firing either the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mike Tomlin, or the Green Bay Packers’ Matt LaFleur would be considered asinine, the 42-year-old quarterback believes. 

Rodgers acknowledged that bias, since he played for both of the coaches, played a part in his stance. But he knows how he’d run things if it were his call to make. 

“This league has changed a lot in my 21 years,” Rodgers said following the Steelers’ wild-card loss to the Houston Texans, 30-6, on Jan. 12. “You know, when you hear conversation about the Mike Tomlins of the world, Matt LaFleurs of the world – those are just two that I’ve played for – when I first got in the league, there wouldn’t be (a) conversation about whether those guys were on the hot seat.”

The way in which the NFL is covered now, Rodgers said, and the “snap decisions” that are made in accordance with the larger discourse is an issue. 

“The validity given to the Twitter experts and all the experts on TV now who make it seem like they know what the hell they’re talking about, to me, that’s an absolute joke,” Rodgers said. “For either of those two guys to be on the hot seat is really apropos of where we’re at as a society and as a league.” 

LaFleur’s season ended Saturday when his Packers collapsed in the second half against the Chicago Bears and lost. Despite a NFL Media report from the end of the regular season saying a contract extension could be in the works, which was mirrored by an ESPN report Monday that LaFleur’s job was safe, speculation spread that Green Bay could be looking to move on from the seventh-year head coach. 

Tomlin, meanwhile, lost his seventh straight playoff game June 12 with Rodgers as his quarterback to wrap up the duo’s first – and perhaps only – season as a coach-QB duo. 

“Obviously, Matt has done a lot of great things in Green Bay, and we had a lot of success,” said Rodgers, who won his third and fourth MVPs while being coached by LaFleur. “‘Mike T.’ has had more success than damn near anybody in the league for the last 19, 20 years. 

“More than that, though, when you have the right guy and the culture is right, you don’t think about making a change. But there’s a lot of pressure that comes from the outside, and obviously that sways decisions from time to time. But that’s not how I would do things and not how the league used to be.” 

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Will Aaron Rodgers’ last NFL pass be a pick-six?

On Jan. 12, the future Hall of Fame QB’s final pass against the Houston Texans ended in a touchdown – for the opposing team.

Texans defensive back Calen Bullock returned Rodgers’ final pass of the wild-card matchup in Pittsburgh for a pick-six, sealing Houston’s eventual 30-6 win.

Rodgers didn’t return for the Steelers’ final drive, begging the question, is this the last pass of his storied career?

While that question, along with many more surrounding the future of the Steelers, will be answered in the offseason, Rodgers’ final game of the 2025 season was a disappointment by any standard. The Steelers’ most recent playoff loss of the Mike Tomlin era saw Rodgers finish 17-of-33 passing for 146 yards, one interception and zero touchdowns.

Rodgers was sacked four times, fumbled twice, and posted a passer rating of 50.8.

The image of Rodgers walking off the field in defeat is a far cry from the highs of his years with the Green Bay Packers. Will it be the last fans see of him on an NFL field? Only time will tell.

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Watch: Aaron Rodgers demolished on strip-sack

Aaron Rodgers is taking a beating.

The four-time NFL MVP is playing in what might be the final game of his career on ‘Monday Night Football’ in the wild-card round against the Houston Texans. It’s safe to the say the visitors are trying to crash the Pittsburgh Steelers’ party at Acrisure Stadium.

Rodgers has been under pressure all night long and in the fourth quarter, the Texans finally got the turnover they were looking for.

Facing a third-and-12 with over 11 minutes left down by four, Rodgers dropped back to pass. He was promptly met by multiple Texans, mainly Will Anderson Jr., who led the charge.

The 42-year-old quarterback was devoured by the pass rush and coughed up the ball, which Sheldon Rankins returned for a Houston touchdown.

It extended the Texans’ lead to 11 with 11 minutes to go, a seemingly insurmountable deficit for the offensively-challenged Steelers against arguably the league’s best defense.

The four-seeded Steelers backed into the playoffs thanks to a missed field goal by the Baltimore Ravens’ Tyler Loop in the final game of the regular season.

If it wasn’t for that, Rodgers and co. would’ve been home watching their rivals in this contest.

Instead, it’s the Steelers that are getting clobbered by a lethal pass rush.

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Iran protests spark regime survival question as exiled dissident says it feels like a ‘revolution’

As protests spread across Iran and the government responds with lethal force, amid increasing reports claiming thousands have been killed, a growing question is being debated by analysts and Iranians alike: Is the Islamic Republic facing its most serious threat since the 1979 revolution, or does it still retain enough coercive power to survive?

For Mehdi Ghadimi, an Iranian journalist who spent decades protesting the regime before being forced to leave the country, this moment feels fundamentally different from anything that came before.

‘From 1999, when I was about fifteen, until 2024, when I was forced to leave Iran, I took part in every street protest against the Islamic Republic,’ Ghadimi told Fox News Digital. ‘For roughly half of those years, I supported the reformist movement. But after 2010, we became certain that the Islamic Republic is not reformable, that changing its factions is a fiction.’

According to Ghadimi, that realization gradually spread across Iranian society, culminating in what he describes as a decisive shift in the current unrest.

‘For the first time in the 47 years of struggle by the Iranian people against the Islamic Republic, the idea of returning to the period before January 1979 became the sole demand and the central point of unity among the people,’ he said. ‘As a result, we witnessed the most widespread presence of people from all cities and villages of Iran in the streets, on a scale unprecedented in any previous protests.’

Ghadimi claimed the chants on the streets reflected that shift. Instead of demanding economic relief or changes to dress codes, protesters openly called for the fall of the Islamic Republic and the return of the Pahlavi dynasty.

‘At that point, it no longer seemed that we were merely protesting,’ he said. ‘We were, in fact, carrying out a revolution.’

Still, Ghadimi was clear about what he believes is preventing the regime’s collapse.

‘The answer is very clear,’ he said. ‘The government sets no limit for itself when it comes to killing its own people.’

He added that Tehran appears reassured by the lack of consequences for its actions. ‘It has also been reassured by the behavior of other countries that if it manages to survive, it will not be punished for these blatant crimes against humanity,’ he said. ‘The doors of diplomacy will always remain open to them, even if their hands are stained with blood.’

Ghadimi described how the regime cut off internet access to disrupt coordination between protesters and opposition leadership abroad. He said that once connectivity was severed, the reach of video messages from the exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi dropped dramatically.

While Iranian voices describe a revolutionary moment, security and policy experts caution that structural realities still favor the regime.

Javed Ali, an associate professor at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, said the Islamic Republic is facing far more serious threats to its grip on power than in years past, driven by a convergence of military, regional, economic and diplomatic pressures.

‘The IRGC is in a much weaker position following the 12-day war with Israel last summer,’ Ali said, citing ‘leadership removals, ballistic missile and drone capabilities that were used or damaged, and an air and radar defense network that has been significantly degraded.’

Ali said Iran’s regional deterrence has also eroded sharply. ‘The so-called Axis of Resistance has been significantly weakened across the region,’ he said, pointing to setbacks suffered by Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and Shiite militias allied with Tehran.

Internally, Ali said demographic pressure is intensifying the challenge. ‘Iran’s younger population is even more frustrated than before with deteriorating economic conditions, ongoing social and cultural restrictions and repeated violent crackdowns on dissent,’ he said.

Ali also pointed to shifting external dynamics that are limiting Tehran’s room to maneuver, including what he described as a stronger U.S.-Israel relationship tied to the Netanyahu-Trump alliance. He added that there are ‘possible joint operations already underway to support the protest movement inside Iran.’

Israeli security sources, speaking on background, said Israel has no such interest in intervening in a way that would allow Tehran to redirect domestic unrest outward.

‘Everyone understands it is better to sit and wait quietly and not attract the fire toward Israel,’ one source said. ‘The regime would like to make this about Israel and the Zionist enemy and start another war to repress internal protests.’

‘It is not Israel against Iran,’ the source added. ‘We recognize that the regime has an interest in provoking us, and we do not want to contribute to that.’

The source said a collapse of the Islamic Republic would have far-reaching consequences. ‘If the regime falls, it will affect the entire Middle East,’ the official said. ‘It could open a new era.’

Ali said Iran is increasingly isolated diplomatically. ‘There is growing isolation from Gulf monarchies, the fall of Assad in Syria and only muted support from China and Russia,’ he said.

Despite those pressures, Ali cautioned that Iran’s coercive institutions remain loyal.

‘I think the IRGC, including Basiji paramilitary elements, along with the Ministry of Intelligence, are still loyal to the regime out of a mix of ideology, religion, and self-interest,’ he said, citing ‘power, money and influence.’

Whether fear of collapse could drive insiders to defect remains unclear. ‘Whether there are insiders willing to flip because of a sense of imminent collapse of the clerical structure is hard to know,’ Ali said.

He placed the probability of an internal regime collapse at ‘25% or less,’ calling it ‘possible, but far less probable.’

For now, Iran appears caught between two realities: a population increasingly unified around the rejection of the Islamic Republic, and a security apparatus still willing to use overwhelming force to preserve it.

As Ali noted, pressure alone does not bring regimes down. The decisive moment comes only when those ordered to enforce repression decide it is no longer in their interest to do so.

Despite the scale of unrest, Ghadimi cautioned that the outcome remains uncertain.

‘After these four hellish days, without even knowing the fate of our friends and loved ones who went into the streets, or whether they were alive or not, it is truly difficult for me to give you a clear assessment and say whether our revolution is now moving toward victory or not,’ he said.

He recalled a message he heard repeatedly before leaving Iran, across cities and social classes.

‘The only thing I consistently heard was this: ‘We have nothing left to lose, and even at the cost of our lives, we will not retreat one step from our demand for the fall of the Islamic Republic,’’ Ghadimi said. ‘They asked me to promise that now that I am outside Iran, I would be their voice.’

‘That spirit is what still gives my heart hope for victory,’ he added. ‘But my mind tells me that when mass killing carries no punishment, and when the government possesses enough bullets, guns and determination to suppress it, even if it means killing millions, then victory would require a miracle.’

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Bill Clinton scheduled to appear before Oversight Committee as contempt of Congress threat looms

Former President Bill Clinton has been summoned to appear on Capitol Hill Tuesday morning, as Republicans threaten a possible criminal referral if the ex-commander-in-chief skips out.

He and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have both been subpoenaed to appear before the House Oversight Committee for separate closed-door depositions for the panel’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.

Clinton was scheduled to appear Tuesday morning at 10 a.m., but it’s not clear whether he will do so. The deposition is expected to move forward regardless.

A spokeswoman for the committee told Fox News Digital on Friday that neither had confirmed their scheduled dates at that point.

‘The Clintons have not confirmed their appearances for their subpoenaed depositions. They are obligated under the law to appear, and we expect them to do so. If the Clintons do not appear at their depositions, the House Oversight Committee will initiate contempt of Congress proceedings,’ the spokeswoman said.

Both Clintons were originally scheduled to appear before the committee in October, but their deposition dates were postponed while the panel was in talks with their attorneys.

Their deposition dates were delayed again when House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., was informed the former first couple would be attending a funeral.

‘They’re saying now that he’s going to a funeral on that day, so we’ve been going back and forth with the lawyer,’ Comer told Fox News Digital in December. ‘We’re going to hold him in contempt if he doesn’t show up for his deposition.’

The House Oversight Committee would need to advance a contempt resolution before it’s considered by the entire chamber. If a simple majority votes to hold someone in contempt of Congress, a criminal referral is then traditionally made to the Department of Justice.

A criminal contempt of Congress charge is a misdemeanor that carries a punishment of up to one year in jail and a maximum $100,000 fine if convicted.

In the absence of mutually agreed-upon new dates, new subpoenas were issued for Bill and Hillary Clinton to appear on Jan. 13 and Jan. 14, respectively.

They were two of 10 people who Comer initially subpoenaed in the House’s Epstein investigation after a unanimous bipartisan vote directed him to do so last year.

Clinton was known to be friendly with the late pedophile before his federal charges but was never implicated in any wrongdoing related to him.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Clintons’ lawyer and Bill Clinton’s spokesperson to ask whether he would appear Tuesday, but did not receive a response.

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Watch: Aaron Rodgers walks off field for potentially final time

It’s decision time for Aaron Rodgers.

The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback saw his team’s season come to an end on ‘Monday Night Football’ in the wild-card round, losing to the Houston Texans in blowout fashion, 30-6.

That signals the beginning of another offseason of uncertainty for Rodgers, who has toyed with the idea of retirement for multiple seasons now. He ultimately opted to come back for a 21st season to play for the Steelers, with the idea of potentially winning his second Super Bowl.

That dream never came to fruition for Rodgers, who instead walked off the field for potentially the final time on Jan. 12. Take a look:

The final moment came with a hug from Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who was a teammate of Rodgers’ with the Green Bay Packers. It was a striking parallel to Rodgers walking off the field with Randall Cobb following his final game with the Packers.

Only Rodgers knows in his heart what the future holds.

Prior to the 2025 season, he said it would likely be his last. Weeks ago, the quarterback wasn’t ready to close the book just yet. Retirement talk has continued to swirl around Rodgers, who quickly faced those questions again after the game.

‘I’m not gonna make any emotional decisions,’ Rodgers said after the game. ‘Disappointed, you know, obviously, such a fun year. A lot of adversity, but a lot of fun. Been a great year overall in my life in the last year, and this is a really good part of that, being a part of this team. So it’s disappointing to be sitting here.’

Rodgers, who has spoken glowingly of his experience with the Steelers didn’t want to talk about whether he wanted to remain in Pittsburgh if he chose to keep playing.

‘Every game could be my final game,’ he added.

If this was the final game for Rodgers, he goes into retirement as one of the most accomplished quarterbacks to ever play the sport.

He is a four-time NFL MVP, four-time first-team All-Pro and a 10-time Pro Bowl player. He is a Super Bowl champion and Super Bowl MVP. He will eventually be in the Hall of Fame. For now, let the offseason of speculation begin.

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Bipartisan lawmakers propose bill to block military action against NATO members amid threats to take Greenland

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is introducing a bill aimed at restricting any unauthorized military action by President Donald Trump, amid growing debate over his comments about acquiring Greenland ‘one way or the other.’

Rep. Bill Keating, D-Mass., is leading the legislation along with Reps. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., and Don Bacon, R-Neb., according to POLITICO.

‘This is about our fundamental shared goals and our fundamental security, not just in Europe, but in the United States itself,’ Keating said in a statement to the outlet.

The group involved in the effort is soliciting broader support for the legislation and say they hope additional Republicans will back the effort to restrict funding for any unauthorized military action against U.S. allies.

In a letter to colleagues, Keating said ‘this legislation takes a clear stand against such action and further supports NATO allies and partners,’ according to POLITICO.

While the measure does not specifically name any specific countries, it is clearly in response to Trump’s repeated threats against Greenland.

Keating said the decision to omit Greenland’s name was meant to broaden the legislation’s focus. He said he met with the Danish Ambassador and the head of Greenland representation.

‘This isn’t just about Greenland. This is about our security,’ Keating said.

Keating also said he believes slashing funding is the most impactful way to disincentivize Trump administration officials from taking action.

‘War powers are important, but we’ve seen with Democratic and Republican presidents that that’s not as effective,’ he said. ‘It’s hard to get around having no funds or not allowing personnel to do it.’

This comes after the Senate advanced a bipartisan resolution last week that would limit Trump’s ability to conduct further attacks against Venezuela after the U.S. military’s recent move to strike the country and capture its president, Nicolás Maduro. The Upper Chamber could pass the measure later this week, although its future in the House remains uncertain despite some support from Republicans.

On Greenland, administration officials are openly weighing options such as military force to take the Danish territory, a move that would violate NATO’s Article V, which states that an attack on one member is an attack on all of them and could end the alliance of more than 75 years.

‘We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not,’ Trump said on Friday. ‘Because if we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor.’

Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and four party leaders reaffirmed last week that the self-governing island has no interest in becoming part of the U.S.

‘We don’t want to be Americans, we don’t want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders,’ the leaders said, adding that Greenland’s ‘future must be decided by the Greenlandic people.’

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as well as the leaders of Italy, Spain and Poland, also signed a letter stating: ‘Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland.’

The chance of expanding U.S. control over Greenland has drawn mixed reactions from Congress. While most Democrats have opposed the idea, some Republicans have voiced support for pursuing closer ties with the territory.

Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., who introduced legislation to make it the 51st U.S. state, although he said the best way to acquire Greenland is voluntarily.

‘I think it is in the world’s interest for the United States to exert sovereignty over Greenland,’ Fine told Fox News Digital.

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NASCAR announces new championship format for 2026, return of The Chase

NASCAR announced Monday, Jan. 12, its new championship format for the 2026 season and beyond, bringing back the Chase for the Championship and emphasizing winning with a return to a full-regular season points system.

NASCAR utilized the Chase format from 2004 to 2013 when it first introduced a postseason. During this time, Jimmie Johnson won six of his seven championships.

The top racing series in the United States is looking to get past a turbulent offseason that culminated in a nasty federal antitrust trial that ultimately settled, but the company was accused of being a family-owner bully and ruffled feathers when a former commissioner’s emails disparaging long-term owners were discovered during the trial.

In the new Cup Series format, there will be a 10-race Chase – nine races for the O’Reilly Series (formerly the Xfinity Series) and seven for the Craftsman Truck series – with 16 drivers based on points. (The O’Reilly Series Chase field will be set at 12 drivers, while the truck field will be 10.) No driver will earn an automatic entry into the Chase – as was the case in previous playoff editions with the ‘win and you’re in’ – and there are no driver eliminations every three races in the postseason.

Also, NASCAR will no longer use the terms ‘playoffs’ or ‘regular-season champion.’

Race winners will receive 55 points for any victory across the season – up from 40 – and stage points will still be awarded.

Another change is the elimination of playoff points, which will be reset at the beginning of the Chase. The top driver will start with 2,100 points in the Chase, and have a 25-point lead over second and a 35-point lead over third. Five points will separate the rest of the drivers from fourth to 16th.

The driver with the most points after the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 8 will be crowned the champion.

“As NASCAR transitions to a revised championship model, the focus is on rewarding driver and team performance each and every race,” NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell said. “At the same time, we want to honor NASCAR’s storied history and the traditions that have made the sport so special. Our fans are at the heart of everything we do, and this format is designed to honor their passion every single race weekend.”

In 2014, NASCAR announced it would adopt a four-round, 10-race elimination-style playoff, with the top 16 drivers advancing to the postseason based on points, but putting the emphasis on actually winning races, where a win in a regular-season race would automatically secure a playoff berth. The round of 16 would feature three races, and at the end, the field would be cut to 12, then to eight, with the final four competing for the title in the last race of the season – with the highest finisher taking home the series championship.

From 1948 until 2014, the sport had no playoffs, relying on a points system to determine the overall season winner.

The new changes followed a study by industry leaders, drivers and broadcast partners, among others, as fans grew more and more discontent about how a champion was crowned, especially after last season when Denny Hamlin led 208 of the 319 laps at the season-finale at Phoenix, only to be undone by a caution with three laps to go, forcing the race into overtime. Kyle Larson ultimately won the title, finishing third in the race, while Hamlin came in sixth behind race winner Ryan Blaney.

Monday’s press conference was attended by former drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin, and current drivers Blaney, Chase Briscoe and Chase Elliott, all of whom applauded the changes.

‘What I believe it does is it makes it simpler for our fans to follow,’ Earnhardt Jr. said. ‘I’m a fan of the sport, and now I’m compelled to plug in every single week because I know there’s a long-form objective for my driver to accomplish to be able to give himself the opportunity to win the championship.

‘Every single race, every single lap will have more importance. I think it’s fun for the drivers to have a more clear objective for how to get to the championship and easier for our fans to follow.’

The 10-race Chase will be broadcast on NBC and Peacock for three races and USA Network for the seven other races. The 2026 season starts with the Daytona 500 on Feb. 15 which will be broadcast by FOX.

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Texans star wide receiver carted off after concussion check

The Houston Texans offense has a problem.

It has been a struggle on offense for Houston in their wild-card weekend matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers on ‘Monday Night Football,’ who only managed seven points through three quarters. The Texans defense has done the rest, holding Pittsburgh to only six points in that same time.

Yet the inefficiency of C.J. Stroud has been the headline. Now he’ll have to move forward without Nico Collins, who was carted to the locker room to be evaluated for a concussion.

The receiver hit his head on the field after trying to collect a pass from the quarterback over the middle of the field.

Collins exited with just three catches for 21 yards, despite receiving seven targets.

Here’s the latest on Collins.

Nico Collins injury update

Collins was carted off the field after being evaluated for a concussion.

The receiver landed hard on his head trying to haul in a pass from Stroud and remained down after the play was over. He walked off under his own power, but was being escorted by trainers.

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