MILAN — Sunday, Feb. 15 at the 2026 Winter Olympics was another exciting day of competition for these Milano Cortina Games.

A pair of American stars had disappointing results in their events. Defending speed skating gold medalist Erin Jackson finished fifth in the women’s 500 meters. And skier Mikaela Shiffrin was one of three Americans competing in the women’s giant slalom but did not make the podium.

Mac Forehand also finished the qualifying round for the freestyle big air skiing event in first place, advancing to the final round along with fellow Americans Troy Podmilsak (10th) and Konnor Ralph (12th).

The U.S. men’s curling team scored a pair of victories over Sweden and Norway to improve to 4-2 in the round robin stage, before Team USA hockey defeated Germany 5-1 to earn a first-round bye after the preliminary stage.

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.

Here’s how Sunday at the Olympics unfolded:

U.S. defeats Germany 5-1 in hockey

The United States defeat Germany 5-1 to finish 3-0 in the preliminary round. Team USA also earns a first-round bye and will face the winner of Sweden and Latvia in the tournament stage. – Austin Curtright

Team USA curling defeats Norway 10-8

The United States improved to 4-2 in the preliminary round robin after defeating Norway 10-8 in its second win of the day after also taking down Sweden 8-5.

The U.S. has the third-best record so far in the round robin, tied with Great Britain and behind Switzerland and Canada, who both defeated the Americans. – Austin Curtright

USA’s Mac Forehand in first place after freestyle skiing big air qualifying

LIVIGNO, Italy – Mac Forehand of United States won qualifying for the freestyle skiing big air on a chilly Feb. 15 evening. Two other Americans will join him in the final, as Troy Podmilsak (10th) and Konnor Ralph (12th) each finished in the top 12 to advance.Alex Hall, a two-time Olympic medalist in slopestyle, fell on his final run in big air and failed to advance. – Gentry Estes

United States vs Germany hockey underway

The United States’ final preliminary round hockey game is underway, as the Americans are looking to secure a first-round bye with a win over Germany.

Follow along here for live updates of the game. – Austin Curtright

Ilia Malinin to skate in Olympic exhibition gala

Ilia Malinin will skate in the Olympic exhibition gala on Feb. 21 despite not winning a medal, according to USA TODAY’s Christine Brennan. The gala is the last of the skating events at each Olympics, and he was chosen to compete due to his popularity although he surprisingly didn’t podium in the free skate.

Malinin is also set to defend his world title at the 2026 world championships next month in Prague, Czech Republic. – Austin Curtright

Team USA’s Alex Hall looking to qualify for freestyle skiing big air final

LIVIGNO, Italy — American Alex Hall responded with a clean jump on his second run to keep his hopes alive in the freestyle skiing big air qualifying.

Hall, the slopestyle silver-medalist in these Games, scored an 84 on his second jump (after a 43.25 on his opening one).

In big air qualifying, each of the 29 competitors make just three runs, and the best two scores count. The top 12 advance to the Olympics final.

This has been a good showing so far for Team USA. Mac Forehand and Troy Podmilsak each appear to be in solid shape entering the third run. Forehand opened with a 93.25 and added an 89.75, putting him currently in first place with about half the field yet to take a second run.

Podmilsak put an 85 in his second attempt with an opening 89 and is in sixth place.

Konnor Ralph couldn’t quite hold his landing on his second run, so he’ll need a good third jump to go along with his opening 86.75. – Gentry Estes

Team USA’s Mac Forehand in 2nd place of freestyle skiing big air qualifying after first run

LIVIGNO, Italy – The first of three runs in the men’s freestyle skiing big air qualifying is complete, and Mac Forehand of the United States is in second place.

Forehand posted a 93.25 in his opening jump, which was bested only by a 95.25 from Matias Roche of France.

In big air qualifying, each of the 29 competitors just three runs, and the best two scores count. The top 12 advance to the Olympics final.

American teammates Troy Podmilsak (89.00, 8th place) and Konnor Ralph (86.75, 10th) each posted solid opening scores. The surprise was a 43.25 score for Alex Hall, who won silver in the freeski slopestyle earlier in these Games. Hall landed his jump cleanly but evidently fell shy on difficulty because of a lack of rotation.

Finland’s Elias Lajunen suffered a scary fall when he failed to land his first jump, falling instead on his back. The competition continued after a brief delay while medical personnel attended to him. – Gentry Estes

Team USA finishes 7th, 10th in mixed skeleton team event

Team USA finished 7th and 10th in the mixed skeleton team event at the Cortina Sliding Center Sunday night. Mystique Ro and Austin Florian clocked in at 2:00.39, setting a track record before two sliders from Italy bested them by 0.39 seconds. Kelly Curtis and Dan Barefoot finished with a combined time of 2:01.43.

Team Britain won gold, with Tabitha Stoecker and men’s gold medalist Matt Weston combining for a total track-record time of 1:59.36. Team Germany earned silver and bronze. Susanne Kreher (women’s silver medalist) and Axel Jungk combined for a total time of 1:59.53, with Jacqueline Pfeifer (women’s bronze medalist) and Christopher Grotheer just behind at 1:59.54. – Payton Titus

No appeal for Chock and Bates in ice dancing controversy

U.S. Figure Skating has chosen not to appeal the controversial finish to the ice dance competition involving Team USA’s Madison Chock and Evan Bates and France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, a USFS official told USA TODAY Sports.

‘There has been a lot of thoughtful, and at times emotional, discussion about the ice dance competition in Milan,’ USFS CEO Matt Farrell said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports. ‘Working together with Madi and Evan after the Games, we will have thoughtful and intentional discussions about the best way to support them and the future of the sport.’

The statement comes after public scrutiny and calls to challenge the results of the ice dance competition, which many believe was scored incorrectly. − Jordan Mendoza and Christine Brennan

Femke Kok dominates 500m speed skating; Erin Jackson 5th

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 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). − Josh Peter

US rallies to beat China in women’s curling

The U.S. women’s curling team stole points in the final two ends to pull off a stunning 6-5 comeback over China in round-robin play. Despite the Chinese having the hammer in the ninth and 10th, the American squad of Tabitha Peterson, Tara Peterson, Taylor Anderson-Heide and mixed doubles silver medalist Cory Thiesse was able to get the key steals that led to victory.

Team USA iimproves to 4-1 during the preliminary round in Cortina.

American teen snowboarders reach slopestyle finals

Call the U.S. women’s snowboard slopestyle team the comeback kids.

Kids, because the two who qualified for finals — Jessica Perlmutter and Lily Dhawronvej — are 16 years old. But “comeback” because of how they put down solid second runs after frustrating first ones to keep their Olympic dreams alive.

Dhawronvej and Perlmutter qualified 10th and 11th, respectively, for Tuesday’s finals. The top 12 of 30 riders advanced to finals. − Chris Bumbaca

Has Mikaela Shiffrin turned a corner? We’ll find out Wednesday

Shiffrin finished 11th in the giant slalom, but she 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.

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 coming up on Wednesday.

‘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 the 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. − Nancy Armour and Payton Titus

Erin Jackson set to defend gold in 500m speed skating

Erin Jackson, the U.S. speed skater, looks to defend her Olympic title in the women’s 500 meters with a sign she’s primed for the task at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

This week she posted her second-best time ever in the women’s 1,000 meters and finished sixth. It left her sounding optimistic as she prepared for signature race, which gets underway at 11 a.m. ET.

Jackson, the 33-year-old American, will take on a 30-skater field that includes Jutta Leerdam, who this week won the gold in the women’s 1,000 meters.

Paired with Femke Kok of Netherlands, Jackson will skate in the 15th and final slot. Kok holds the world record in the 500 with a time of 36.09 and she won silver in the 1,000 here at the Milano Cortina Winter Games. − Josh Peter

Biathlete Deedra Irwin finishes 35th in women’s 10km pursuit

Team USA’s 66-year biathlon drought continues.

American biathlete Deedra Irwin finished in 35th place in the women’s 10km pursuit with a time of 33:51.5. Lisa Vittozzi of Italy won the gold.

The U.S. has medaled in every Winter Olympic sport, except biathlon, which combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. — Cydney Henderson

Switzerland earns OT win in men’s hockey

Switzerland defeated Czechia 4-3 as the 2026 Winter Olympics men’s hockey tournament made its first foray into overtime. Dean Kukan scored 1:49 into the extra period on a two-on-two, firing the puck up and over the right shoulder of Czechia netminder Lukas Dostal to clinch second place for the Swiss in the Group A standings. 

Switzerland now awaits the outcome of the other matches on the last day of round-robin action to find out where they will be seeded going into the qualifying matches on Tuesday. 

Filip Chlapik put the Czechs on the scoreboard at at 15:19 of the first period, but Roman Josi and Timo Meier put the Swiss in the lead in the second period. The Swiss were without one of their top players, Kevin Fiala, who suffered a lower-body injury in a game against Canada. − Helene St. James

Italian skiing star wins second gold, Mikaela Shiffrin 11th in giant slalom

Less than 10 months after shattering her left leg in a crash, Italy’s Federica Brignone now has a second gold medal of these Olympics.

Just two days after winning gold in the super-G, Brignone posted the top time in the first run and won the women’s giant slalom with ease. The Italian star’s combined time of 2:13.50 put her 0.62 seconds ahead Sweden’s Sara Hector and Norway’s Thea Louise Stjernesund, who tied for silver.

When Brignone crossed the finish line, she put her hands on her helmet, which had the image of a tiger on it. Her fellow competitors heard her roar, indeed, falling to their knees and bowing down to her.

The USA’s Mikaela Shiffrin finished 11th in the giant slalom, while Paula Moltzan was 15th. Nina O’Brien jumped up to 20th, thanks to the fastest time in the second run. − Nancy Armour

Red Gerard endures ‘awful’ wait in slopestyle qualifying

Snowboarder Red Gerard is still alive in his pursuit of a second Olympic gold medal in the men’s slopestyle.

But as for the ordeal he’d just endured? ‘It was awful,’ he said.

Out of 12 riders to advance out of the 30-man qualifying field at Livigno Snow Park, Gerard finished 11th. Despite two relatively clean runs without an obvious stumble, his high score on the second (70.00) put him squarely on the bubble with more than 20 riders to go after him. 

Yet Gerard, just barely, held a strong enough position to qualify for the finals on Feb. 18.

‘Slopestyle is in this point right now where there’s 30 riders in here, and all 30 of those riders can win the contest,’ Gerard said. ‘It’s just such a heavy game. So you’re sitting there just nervous as all heck.’ − Gentry Estes

Aerin Frankel racking up saves, salads in Milan

U.S. goaltender Aerin Frankel is known as the ‘Green Monster,’ nicknamed after the iconic left field wall at Boston’s 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 has already tried several Caesar salads in Milan so far, with her first review of the 2026 Winter Games dropping Saturday. − Cydney Henderson

US teams eliminated in mixed snowboardcross relay

The U.S. mixed snowboardcross team of Nick Baumgartner and Faye Thelen was eliminated from the relay. Baumgartner started slow and never recovered, which put Thelen in an insurmountable position for her race.

The U.S. team of Stacy Gaskill and Nathan Pare also did not place in the top two of four teams in their heat. Pare finished second but Gaskill struggled and fell in her comeback attempt. − Chris Bumbaca

Norwegian skier breaks record for most golds at Winter Olympics

Hoesflot Klaebo said winning his ninth Olympic gold medal in the men’s 4 x 7.5km relay was the “perfect way” to break the all-time Winter Games record.

“We were disappointed in Beijing when we got the silver (in 2022), so now we are back on to the top again,” Klaebo said. “For me, to win my ninth (Olympic gold medal) here with the team, it’s unbelievable.”

Klaebo has won gold in all the men’s cross-country skiing events so far, with two more to go. When asked if he can win gold in the remaining events, Klaebo  said, “We’ll see, I’m going to try again on Wednesday. We’ll see where we end up.”

Klaebo is the all-time winningest Winter Olympian. When you include the Summer and Winter Games, Klaebo is tied for second on the list of all-time Olympic gold medalists with Russian gymnast Larisa Latynina, American swimmers Katie Ledecky, Mark Spitz and Caeleb Dressel, in addition to track-and-field athletes Paavo Nurmi of Finland and American Carl Lewis.

American swimmer Michael Phelps leads them all with 23 gold medals. − Cydney Henderson

US in great medal position in women’s monobob

After two runs in women’s monobob at the Cortina Sliding Center, Team USA has all three sleds in the top five.Elana Meyers Taylor is second with a time of 1:59.24, just 0.22 seconds off leader Laura Nolte of Germany. Defending Olympic champion Kaillie Armbruster Humphries is 0.31 seconds back in third. Kaysha Love is fifth with a two-run time of 2:00.01.The final two heats of women’s monobob will be held tomorrow. − Payton Titus

US relay team 6th in cross-country skiing

Team USA finished sixth in the men’s 4 x 7.5km relay at the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium. The American squad — made up of Ben Ogden, Gus Schumacher, John Steel Hagenbuch and Zak Ketterson — posted a time of 1:06:11.8.

Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo led Team Norway to a gold medal with a time of 1:04:24.5. It marks Klaebo’s fourth gold of the 2026 Games and the ninth of his career to make him the winningest athlete in Winter Olympic history. France won silver and Italy took bronze in front of the home crowd.

Ogden kicked off the race for the Americans in classic style and put up a total time of 16:15.7 to put Team USA in second place at the first exchange, only 0.6 seconds off the top Norwegian team. Ogden tagged in Schumacher for another classic ski. He finished with a time of 16:46.7, slipping to fourth position behind Norway, France and Italy.

Hagenbuch skied the third leg of the relay in freestyle without any sleeves and put up a time of 16:29.4, slipping to sixth position by 1:19.9 seconds heading into the final leg. Ketterson skied the anchor leg and turned in a time of 1:06:11.8. — Cydney Henderson

Snowboard: Red Gerard breathes sigh of relief in men’s slopestyle

It had some stress to it, but former Olympic gold-medalist Red Gerard of the USA barely made it through qualifying of the men’s slopestyle.Gerard’s top score of 70.00 on two runs put him on the bubble to advance as one of top 12 riders in the 30-man field. He waited out about half the field and eventually ended up 11th as two riders down the stretch were given scores just shy of 70.Among the Americans, Ollie Martin (78.30) and Jake Canter (70.53) finished ahead of Gerard and will join him in the Olympic finals.The fourth Team USA member of the field, Sean Fitzsimons, was unable to put together a clean run to advance. — Gentry Estes

Men’s curling: USA 8, Sweden 5

Team USA stole momentum in the seventh end by stealing a point and taking a 6-3 lead. Then they went into defense mode and Danny Casper forced Sweden to concede when his final stone cleared Sweden’s lone stole in scoring position.

Casper’s squad improves its record to 3-2, which is in fifth place, and it will take on Norway later Sunday (1:05pm ET). Norway is currently tied with Canada for third place with a 3-1 record.

Mikaela Shiffrin 7th after first run in women’s giant slalom

We are in for a wild second run of the women’s giant slalom.

Italian star Federica Brignone, the newly minted Olympic super-G champion, has a 0.34-second lead after the first run, but there are five women within a second of her, including Germany’s Lena Duerr, who sits in second.

Sofia Goggia, the Italian star who picked up the bronze medal in the downhill last week, is third, 0.46 seconds back. Then comes 2022 Olympic gold medalist Sara Hector of Sweden, Albania’s Lara Colturi and Norway’s Thea Louise Stjernesund, who are in a three-way tie for fourth.

A win might be too big an ask for Mikaela Shiffrin, who is currently 1.02 seconds behind Brignone in seventh. But she’s about a half-second – 0.56 seconds, to be exact – out of third.

The second run is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. ET (1:30 p.m. local). — Nancy Armour

USA’s Campbell Wright 8th in men’s 12.5km biathlon pursuit

American biathlete Campbell Wright finished eighth in the men’s 12.5km biathlon pursuit on Sunday. He recorded a total time of 32:25.4, just 1:13.5 behind Olympic champion Martin Ponsiluoma of Sweden.

Wright, 23, represented New Zealand at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics before joining Team USA in October 2023. Wright became the first U.S biathlete to win two medals in a single world championship when he won back-to-back silver medals in sprint and pursuit in 2025. He’s the first American to win a world championship medal since Susan Dunklee in 2020 and the first American male since Lowell Bailey’s gold in the 20 km in 2017. — Cydney Henderson

Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury wins inaugural men’s dual moguls

Gold for Canada, finally, at the 2026 Winter Olympics. And a gold for the men’s mogul GOAT on his way out.

Mikael Kingsbury won the inaugural men’s dual moguls competition after a heartbreaking silver in the singles moguls competition in which he fell to second on a tiebreaker.

Kingsbury said after that competition his retirement would be sooner rather than later. — Chris Bumbaca

Ollie Martin completes strong second qualifying run in slopestyle

USA’s Ollie Martin, 17, put together a strong second run in men’s slopestyle qualification. His score of 78.30 moved him into fourth place. About two-thirds of the 30-man field has yet to take a second run, but Martin looks to be in good shape for finishing in the top 12 to reach the Olympic finals.The upcoming wait could be more tense for Americans Jake Canter (70.53) and Red Gerard (70.00). Both are through their second runs and currently holding ninth and 10th place, respectively. — Gentry Estes

Chaos for Nick Page; Dylan Walczyk advances in dual moguls

The best new event of these Olympics keeps living up to the hype.

But dual moguls was not as successful for the U.S. men compared to the women’s team.

Nick Page’s Round of 16 race was pure chaos. He stumbled and went outside of the boundary gate, while Ikuma Horishima passed the center line, fell and crossed the finish line backward. Because that is the irony of duals moguls – sometimes you just have to make it down the mountain.

Dylan Walczyk advanced to the quarterfinals of the knockout-style tournament in which two skiers are competing at the same time (the event still comes down to judging and is not a race).

USA’s Charlie Mickel earned his bit of glory by pulling off an upset of gold-medalist Charlie Woods in the Round of 16. But a different Australian, Matt Graham, knocked him out in the quarterfinals. — Chris Bumbaca

USA’s Red Gerard looking for better second qualifying run in slopestyle

Former Olympic gold medalist Red Gerard may need to pick it up in his second qualifying run in Livigno to ensure he’ll reach the finals in snowboard slopestyle this time.

Gerald scored a 57.32 in his opening run through the slopestyle course at Livigno Snow Park, leaving him third among the four Americans in the field. Jake Canter opened with a 70.53, while Ollie Martin scored 66.51. Sean Fitzsimons sat down on one of his landings, resulting in a 26.50.

They’ll all get one more crack at it.

Each competitor in the 30-man field gets two runs with the best score counting toward qualification. The top 12 riders advance.

Outside of Fitzsimons, none of the Americans suffered any glaring falls in opening runs, but judges rewarded others for executing in a bit sharper fashion.

New Zealand’s Dane Menzies currently leads qualifying with a 86.06 score. Canadian Mark McMorris, slopestyle bronze medalist in each of the past three Olympics, opened with an impressive 81.81 after returning from an injury leading up to the big air competition earlier in these Games.

Olympic fields in big air and slopestyle are largely the same, as those two events are combined.

Gerard won gold in slopestyle in Pyeongchang in 2018 and has been critical of the format that lumps together competitors in big air and slopestyle.

The Olympic slopestyle qualifying for men and women was moved up one day on the schedule because of poor weather in the forecast for Feb. 16 in Livigno. — Gentry Estes

Mikaela Shiffrin has clean first run

Mikaela Shiffrin is keeping herself in the mix. Shiffrin skied a solid run, showing none of the tentativeness she did in the combined, and was 0.28 seconds behind clubhouse leader Sara Hector of Sweden. Lot of skiers to go, but this is a positive performance from Shiffrin.

Hector was the gold medalist in this event four years ago. — Nancy Armour

Where to watch Olympics today

Watch all 2026 Winter Olympics events on NBC and Peacock.

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Olympics schedule today

All times Eastern and accurate as of Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, at 6:52 p.m.

3 a.m. – Nordic Combined: Large Hill Official Training 2, Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium (Val di Fiemme)
3:05 a.m. – Curling: Men’s Round Robin – USA vs. SWE, Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
3:05 a.m. – Curling: Men’s Round Robin – GER vs. GBR, Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
3:05 a.m. – Curling: Men’s Round Robin – NOR vs. ITA, Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
4 a.m. – Alpine Skiing: Women’s Giant Slalom Run 1 & 2 – medal event, Stelvio Ski Centre (Bormio, Valtellina)
4 a.m. – Bobsleigh: Women’s Monobob Heat 1 & 2, Cortina Sliding Centre (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
4:30 a.m. – Freestyle Skiing: Men’s Dual Moguls Quarters, Semis, Finals – medal event, Livigno Snow Park (Livigno, Valtellina)
5:15 a.m. – Biathlon: Men’s 12.5km Sprint – medal event, Anterselva Biathlon Arena (Antholz)
6 a.m. – Cross-Country Skiing: Men’s 4 x 7.5km Relay – medal event, Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium (Val di Fiemme)
6:10 a.m. – Ice Hockey: Men’s Preliminary (SUI vs. CZE), Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena
7:30 a.m. – Snowboard: Mixed Team Snowboard Cross Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Final – medal event, Livigno Snow Park (Livigno, Valtellina)
8:05 a.m. – Curling: Women’s Round Robin – JPN vs. KOR, Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
8:05 a.m. – Curling: Women’s Round Robin – DEN vs. ITA, Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
8:05 a.m. – Curling: Women’s Round Robin – GBR vs. SWE, Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
8:05 a.m. – Curling: Women’s Round Robin – USA vs. CHN, Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
8:45 a.m. – Biathlon: Women’s 10km Sprint Pursuit – medal event, Anterselva Biathlon Arena (Antholz)
10 a.m. – Speed Skating: Men’s Team Pursuit Quarterfinals, Milano Speed Skating Stadium (Rho, Milan)
10:40 a.m. – Ice Hockey: Men’s Preliminary (CAN vs. FRA), Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena
11:03 a.m. – Speed Skating: Women’s 500m – medal event, Milano Speed Skating Stadium (Rho, Milan)
11:35 a.m. – Ski Jumping: Women’s Large Hill Trial Round, 1st Round, Final – medal event, Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium (Val di Fiemme)
12 p.m. – Skeleton: Mixed Team – medal event, Cortina Sliding Centre (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
1:05 p.m. – Curling: Men’s Round Robin – USA vs. NOR, Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
1:05 p.m. – Curling: Men’s Round Robin – CHN vs. CAN, Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
1:05 p.m. – Curling: Men’s Round Robin – CZE vs. ITA, Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
1:05 p.m. – Curling: Men’s Round Robin – GBR vs. SUI, Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
1:10 p.m. – Ice Hockey: Men’s Preliminary (DEN vs. LAT), Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena
1:30 p.m. – Freestyle Skiing: Men’s Freeski Big Air Qualification Runs 1, 2, 3, Livigno Snow Park (Livigno, Valtellina)
1:45 p.m. – Figure Skating: Pair Skating – Short Program, Milano Ice Skating Arena (Milan)
3:10 p.m. – Ice Hockey: Men’s Preliminary (USA vs. GER), Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena

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Fighting is prohibited in Olympic hockey, but there was one in Sunday’s Canada-France game.

It wasn’t much of a fight, more of a wrestling match with no one punches thrown. But the International Ice Hockey Federation rules say a fighting penalty can be called if ‘players wrestle in such a manner as to make it difficult for the linespersons to intervene and separate the combatants.’

That’s what happened in the third period when Canada’s Tom Wilson went after Pierre Crinon, who several minutes earlier was called for interference for a hit on Nathan MacKinnon.

Both Wilson and Crinon were ejected under IIHF rules. Both received two minutes for roughing, five for fighting and a game misconduct. That gave Wilson a Gordie Howe hat trick (goal, assist and fight).

“Obviously fighting isn’t a big thing in this tournament, but when a guy takes a run at one of our big guys, that’s what Willy does,” Canada defenseman Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings said after the game. “I mean, he does a lot more than that, but it was great to see him step up.”

A fight can lead to a suspension, but Sportsnet reported that neither player will be. They will be eligible for their next games: Wilson in the quarterfinals and Crinon in the qualifying round.

“We didn’t like the hit: felt like it was late and high,” Canada’s Connor McDavid told reporters. “Willy just finishes a check and the guy jumps him, and Willy’s just protecting himself. That’s all he can do. That’s the type of guy he is, type of teammate he is. Nothing but respect for him.”

PEORIA, AZ — San Diego Padres All-Star third baseman Manny Machado, having watched the bitter rival Los Angeles Dodgers dominate the NL West – and enter the season with a payroll exceeding $400 million – not only declined to criticize the Dodgers’ expenditures, but praised the organization.

“I (expletive) love it,’ Machado said Sunday morning. “I think every team should be doing it. They’re figured out a way to do it, and the (stuff) is (expletive) great for the game honestly. I think every team has the ability to do it. So, I hope all 30 teams could learn from it.’

The Dodgers will enter the season with a payroll nearly twice as much as the Padres’ payroll of about $220 million, but Machado believes that a salary cap will hurt the game.

“I think our game is very good at what we’re doing,’ Machado said. “There’s a lot of money being made. Look at what’s going on with the game. The last five years, it’s been great.

“So, I think a lot of teams have the ability to do what the Dodgers are doing. We started it a few years ago with [late owner] Peter [Seidler], so everyone could do it. It’s just a matter if they want to or not.’

INGLEWOOD, CA. — The NBA All-Star Game features the best the sport has to offer taking center stage. The question remains as to whether this beloved event still works as the league switches to a new format on Sunday.

The NBA will give it another go to see whether the competition and entertainment can reach a new level with the US vs. World format.

Three teams, comprising two U.S. rosters and one international roster, will compete in a round-robin tournament. From there, we will see who the best of the best is and whether the NBA has a successful format that will last into future seasons.

USA TODAY Sports has everything you need to enjoy the NBA All-Star Game, including updates, highlights and results for the event:

How to watch the NBA All-Star Game

When: Sunday, Feb. 15, 5 p.m. ET
Where: Intuit Dome (Inglewood, California)
Channel: NBC
Streaming: Peacock

Watch NBA All-Star Slam Dunk and 3-Point events on Peacock

Still plenty of empty seats inside the Intuit Dome

Now that we’re getting pretty close to tip-off, less than 15 minutes from now, fans are starting to trickle into their seats at the Intuit Dome. Yet, there are plenty of empty seats in both the upper and lower bowl as we near the first game of the event.

The NBA has faced criticism over the long-term viability of the All-Star Game, as a lack of competitiveness has characterized the event over recent seasons.

Stephen Curry gets up some shots

He may not be playing in the actual game because of a right knee injury, but he still made his presence known before the game.

After players had completed their on-court warmups, Curry spent around 10 minutes putting up shots in a relaxed and leisurely way. Wearing NBA All-Star sweats, Curry didn’t appear hampered by the injury and seemed to make the best of the situation, going over to dap up Spike Lee after he was done.

NBA All-Star Saturday results and recap

Damian Lillard — even as he’s recovering from an Achilles tear — made history and Heat forward Keshad Johnson danced his way to the Slam Dunk Contest title. Click here for a recap and highlights from NBA All-Star Saturday.

What is the new NBA All-Star format?

Each team will be divided into three teams with at least eight players each. Two of the teams will be made up of players from the United States (USA Stars and USA Stripes), and the third will feature international players. (Team World).

Games will be 12 minutes long, and each team will play every other team in the elimination rounds. If all teams end up with 1-1 records, teams with the highest point differential will play for the championship

Game 1: Team A vs. Team B
Game 2: Team C vs. Game 1 Winner
Game 3: Team C vs. Game 1 Loser
Game 4: Championship

NBA All-Star teams

USA STRIPES

Jaylen Brown, Boston
Jalen Brunson, New York
Kevin Durant, Houston
De’Aaron Fox, San Antonio
Brandon Ingram, Toronto
LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers
Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland

USA STARS

Scottie Barnes, Toronto
Devin Booker, Phoenix
Cade Cunningham, Detroit
Jalen Duren, Detroit
Anthony Edwards, Minnesota
Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City
Jalen Johnson, Atlanta
Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia

TEAM WORLD

Deni Avdij, Portland
Luka Dončić, Los Angeles Lakers
Nikola Jokić, Denver
Jamal Murray, Denver
Norman Powell, Miami 
Alperen Şengün, Houston
Pascal Siakam, Indiana
Karl-Anthony Towns, New York
Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio

Stephen Curry (Golden State), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee), and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City) are injured and will not play in the game.

After a 79-75 win over Georgetown on Feb. 14, Hurley and Hoyas coach Ed Cooley were surprised by the lack of enthusiasm in Storrs.

‘Very tough place to play. Honestly, I was surprised there was empty seats up in the section,’ Cooley told reporters after the game. ‘I mean, you’ve got a national championship team. This place should be sold out every day. That actually shocked me … This place should’ve been bouncing off the wall on a Saturday night with a team that’s out there like that. That’s just what I saw.’

Hurley had no interest in disabusing Cooley of that notion. He also called out the UConn faithful for its showing on Valentine’s Day in a lengthy response.

‘I’ve kind of given up on [hyping up the crowd],’ Hurley said when he was asked about Cooley’s comments. ‘I’ve done that. I don’t get the same response.’ He added UConn is the self-appointed ‘Basketball Capital of the World’ and it doesn’t reflect that.

After rattling off his impressive resume with UConn, Hurley mentioned a few places that do live up to their crowd billings. ‘The section behind our basket was empty,’ he said. ‘It should be a madhouse when we play here at the ‘Basketball Capital of the World’ for our games … Xavier’s a madhouse when we go there. Creighton is a madhouse. When we play St. John’s now in the Big East road game, that’s not Storrs South no more. That environment that we played in was a serious, serious nasty environment. Intense environment. We were at a major disadvantage in terms of the atmosphere. I could go to Kansas and some of these different places that we play.’

Hurley signed off by saying he doesn’t question his own standing.

‘I got some [expletive] equity,’ he said. ‘I got two national championships here in the last three years. And we’ve given you the season that there’s a lot of programs across the country that’s fans wish they had going. So I’m not doing that anymore. I ask the players to try to do it. You don’t come to watch the game, it’s not a [expletive] social event … It needs to be a madhouse.’

MILAN — Even though Ilia Malinin did not win a medal in the men’s Olympic figure skating competition, he will perform in the popular skating gala, the last of the Olympic figure skating events, on Saturday, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

Watch the Olympics on Peacock

It is almost unheard of for an eighth-place skater in any of the four Olympic disciplines to be invited to skate in the closing gala, a show-style exhibition in which skaters are not judged and are simply performing for the audience. Usually only the Olympic medalists perform, with the occasional fourth-place finisher or skater from the host nation included. 

But Malinin, known as the ‘Quad God,” is so popular in the sport that organizers decided to include him despite his poor performance in the men’s long program Friday night, in which he fell twice and made mistakes on other jumps to finish a devastating eighth. It was the worst performance by a gold-medal favorite in Olympic figure skating history.

Malinin, 21, has won the last four U.S. championships and the past two world championships, and will be favored to win a third in Prague despite not winning a medal in Milan. 

USA TODAY at the Milano Cortina Games

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The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics are off and running with 16 sports taking over 25 different venues. The games are exclusively airing across NBC’s suite of networks with many events airing live on its streaming service, Peacock, which you can sign up for here .

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Regardless of where Mikaela Shiffrin finished, her team got a win in the giant slalom.

On Sunday, Feb. 15, Shiffrin’s coach, Karin Harjo, became the first woman to set a course for an Olympic Alpine skiing event. Harjo set the course for the second run of the GS at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics.

The person who sets the course determines its profile: Where the gates are and how they’re spaced, whether a course is straighter or more winding. Because a coach can set a course to suit his or her skier’s strengths, it’s a coveted assignment, one that is doled out on a rotating basis.

“This is for your daughter’s daughters,” Harjo said in a release from U.S. Ski and Snowboard. “We’re in 2026 and it’s the first time, but the reason is because of Mikaela. She set out to lift up women in sport, whether it’s competitors, coaches, workers. Through her greatness, she’s providing the opportunity for women to rise and pave a path for everybody behind us.”

Shiffrin finished 11th in the GS but was just 0.30 seconds from the podium. Paula Moltzan, the Olympic bronze medalist in the team combined with Jackie Wiles, was 15th while Nina O’Brien jumped up to 20th with the fastest time in the second run.

This isn’t the first time Harjo has broken barriers. She was the first woman to set a World Cup giant slalom course, last March, and also was the first woman to set a World Cup slalom course, in 2016.

‘Karin is an exceptional human being, leader and coach,’ Shiffrin said in a message to USA TODAY Sports. ‘I’m so inspired by the work she does. I’m confident it will also inspire the next generation of athletes and coaches.’

Shiffrin hired Harjo away from Canada, where she was only the second woman to be head coach of a national team, before the 2023-24 season. She did so because of Harjo’s skills – the two had worked together when Harjo was a U.S. assistant – but also because she wanted to put a spotlight on women in the sport.

“Sometimes there’s this unspoken question. Not something bad, but people will go, ‘Can she do it?’ It’s not about gender necessarily. But it does answer that question, yes, we can do it,” Harjo told USA TODAY Sports in March 2025, ahead of setting the World Cup GS course.

“Then it becomes a norm. Then you have other women coming in to lead teams, whether it’s for a discipline or a country. And that change becomes the norm.”