Busch had the fastest time of qualifying overall in his first run with a 48.933. He was the only driver to break 49 seconds at all during qualifying; his eventual pole lap came in at a 49.006.

Busch will lead the field on Sunday. The two-time champion has never won the Daytona 500 and could add that feat to his storied Cup Series career. First, he led Duel 1 Thursday night to set the grid for the inside lane order for the Daytona 500.

Hours later, Briscoe led the way for the Duel 2 race to set the grid for the outside lane order in the race. Those two locked out the front row ahead of time and it was up to the other 43 drivers to sort out how things will look on Lap 1 on Sunday.

After the two Duel races Thursday night, here’s how the starting grid looks:

Daytona 500 starting grid

Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing
Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing
Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske
Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports
Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske
Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports
Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing
Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports
Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing
Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports
John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club
Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing
Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing
Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing
Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports
Casey Mears, No. 66 Garage 66
Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports
Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing
Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing
Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team
Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club
Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports
Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing
Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing
Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing
Corey Heim, No. 67 23XI Racing
Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports
Jimmie Johnson, No. 84 Legacy Motor Club
Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing
Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing
Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing
Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing
Anthony Alfredo, No. 62 Beard Motorsports
William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports
Justin Allgaier, No. 40 JR Motorsports
Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing

Chloe Kim earned a silver medal in the women’s halfpipe Olympic final, falling short of a third consecutive gold.
South Korea’s Gaon Choi, 17, won the gold medal with a score of 90.25 on her final run.
Kim competed with a dislocated shoulder that will likely require surgery after the Olympics.
Many competitors struggled with falls during the final, which took place in snowy conditions.

LIVIGNO, Italy – Chloe Kim stood at the top of the hill, staring down through the falling snow. At those United States flags. And the signs bearing her name. And Myles Garrett. And Snoop Dogg. And all the cameras and media there to document a special Olympic story. Her Olympic story.

For everyone else, this was a happening night.

For her, it was in that stare.

These were no longer the bright eyes of a fashion mogul or a global celebrity. This was the competitor, still there, showing up when the moment called for it. And, boy, this was that moment. It was about to produce snowboarding’s first back-to-back-to-back gold medalist. Or it wasn’t.

All the pressure was on Kim. She was in second place. Gaon Choi of South Korea had just posted a 90.25 to move ahead. So Kim’s coach told her she had two options. She could try to do her first run – a relatively safe one that earned an 88 – a little bit better. Or she could go for it.

“I said that I wanted to go for it,” Kim said, “because that’s what I do.”

Watch Winter Olympics on Peacock

In one sense, it was fitting that this snowy mess of a women’s halfpipe Olympic final, during which more runs seemingly resulted in scary falls instead of celebrations, ended with another fall.

But because of who it was, it didn’t seem fitting at all. Once Kim, one of the greatest snowboarders in history, didn’t come through, an odd quiet fell over Livigno Snow Park. Not disappointment, necessarily, as much as just a hollow shock. The collective, instinctive letdown when a sports venue – dotted with celebrity vibes – expects to see something special, only to suddenly realize that wouldn’t be the case.

That quiet seemed unfair to Choi, a 17-year-old who was tenacious on this evening, bouncing back from an especially scary fall on her first run to unearth a gem of a finale, forcing Kim to beat it.

And the quiet, truthfully, felt a bit unfair to Kim as well. Most athletes get to celebrate a silver medal.

It wasn’t bad result for Kim in these Olympics. Not really. Not considering the fact she’ll likely need surgery when she gets back to the United States, she said, to repair the dislocated shoulder that hindered her Olympic prep and keeps “popping out all the time.”

“There was a lot of conversation happening about the three-peat and what not,” Kim said, “and I was thinking about it, for sure. But I think the minute I injured myself, I was like ‘That doesn’t matter anymore. Let’s just get there and see how far we can go.’

“This feels like a win to me because a month ago it didn’t seem too possible.”

Lofty expectations for another gold medal, perhaps muted when Kim arrived in Livigno, amped back up again when she crushed it during qualifying on Feb. 11, posting the same 90.25 score that ended up earning the gold medal the next day.

For most of the final, it didn’t appear as if there was an equal to Kim. More so, this thing was turning into an exercise in attrition. There were just so many falls. Longshots. Contenders. It didn’t matter. Everyone was struggling to make it through a clean routine.

The conditions – thick snow was falling heavy most of the event – probably had something to do with that. Same, too, for the pressure of the moment, with an entire field thinking it had to gamble on difficult feats, pretty much just to be able to beat Kim.

“I wasn’t expecting that,” said Team USA’s Bea Kim (eighth place) of all the falls, “but I think it’s the Olympics, and everybody is feeling the energy and wants to throw down their biggest tricks and put on the greatest show and show everybody what they’ve been working on for the past four years. Heart goes out to all the girls who’ve kind of crashed a little bit and taken a beating.”

Among the 12 first runs in this competition, seven resulted in falls.

Chloe Kim’s wasn’t one of them, in part because she’d observed what happened to the others.

“I’ll admit I went pretty safe on it,” she said. “Didn’t go as big as I was in practice. Mainly because I was watching all these girls take slams, and I was like, ‘Let’s just get to the bottom.’”

That initial score of 88 was good enough to keep her in front until midway through the final stage, but it proved beatable. Choi finally was able to exceed it after Chloe Kim, too, fell on her second run.

Leaving that one final chance for one of snowboarding’s all-time greats.

“I couldn’t come through,” Chloe Kim said. “But all good.”

In this instance, both things can be true.

Reach sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@gannett.com and hang out with him on Bluesky @gentryestes.bsky.social

Commissioner Adam Silver and the NBA sent a forceful message on Thursday about tanking, hitting the Utah Jazz with a $500,000 fine and handing the Indiana Pacers a $100,000 fine for recent game management and roster decisions, the league announced.

Utah’s fine was related to a Feb. 7 game against the Orlando Magic and Feb. 9 game against the Miami Heat.

‘During those games, the Jazz removed two of the team’s top players, Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr., before the beginning of the fourth quarter and did not return them to the game, even though these players were otherwise able to continue to play and the outcomes of the games were thereafter in doubt,’ the NBA said.

Utah entered the fourth quarter of its Feb. 7 game with a 94-87 lead but scored just 23 points in the final frame and lost 120-117. It won the game against Miami, 115-111, and won Wednesday night against the Sacramento Kings to move to 18-37 on the season, third-worst in the West.

The Pacers, the second-worst team in the Eastern Conference at 15-40, were found to be in violation of the Player Participation Policy for a Feb. 3 game against the Jazz, per the league statement.

‘Following an investigation, including review by an independent physician, the NBA determined that Pascal Siakam, a star player under the Policy, and two other Pacers starters, neither of whom participated in the game, could have played under the medical standard in the Policy, including by playing reduced minutes. Alternatively, the team could have held the players out of other games in a way that would have better promoted compliance with the Policy,’ the NBA said.

The Pacers lost that game to the Jazz, 131-122.

The league’s statement on the fines was capped by a strong message directly from Silver.

‘Overt behavior like this that prioritizes draft position over winning undermines the foundation of NBA competition and we will respond accordingly to any further actions that compromise the integrity of our games,’ Silver said. ‘Additionally, we are working with our Competition Committee and Board of Governors to implement further measures to root out this type of conduct.’

 LeBron James continues to add his name to the NBA history books.

In his 23rd season, the 41-year-old became the oldest player to produce a triple-double.

James produced 28 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, leading his team in all three categories as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Dallas Mavericks, 124-104, at home on Thursday, Feb. 12.

It’s also his first triple-double of the season. James finished the 2024-25 season with 10.

He is fifth on the NBA’s all-time regular-season triple-doubles list with 123. He trails just Russell Westbrook (207), Nikola Jokic (184), Oscar Robertson (181) and Magic Johnson (138).

LeBron James stats vs. Mavericks

Points: 28
FG: 10-for-20 (2-for-7 3-point shooting)
Free Throws: 6-for-7
Rebounds: 10
Assists: 12
Steals: 0
Blocks: 1
Turnovers: 4
Fouls: 0
Minutes: 35

Lakers vs. Mavericks highlights

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Oklahoma City Thunder guard Nikola Topić made his NBA debut against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night, four months after he was diagnosed with cancer.

The 6-foot-6 Serbian had been unavailable after being diagnosed with testicular cancer in October and undergoing chemotherapy.

He received a standing ovation from the home crowd at Paycom Center after checking into the game with 1:55 left in the first quarter.

Topić was the 12th overall pick in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft by the Thunder. He played in just one preseason game before having surgery and undergoing chemotherapy.

Topić went 1-for-3 from the field, scoring his first official NBA points, in 12 minutes. He also had a rebound and an assist.

Thanks to Wednesday night’s pole qualifying, we know who will start on the front row for the 68th annual Daytona 500. Two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch will lead the field for Sunday’s 500-mile race at Daytona International Speedway.

Alongside Busch’s Richard Childress Motorsports Chevrolet will be Chase Briscoe in the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Briscoe missed out by less than two-hundredths of a second to Busch for pole position.

Thursday night in Daytona Beach it was all about sorting out the rest of the order.

Busch led the field in Duel 1 with the starting order for the inside lane on the line from Daytona International Speedway. Ford-powered cars quickly took the lead with Ryan Preece and Chris Buescher pacing the field.

But late contact between Noah Gragson and Casey Mears brought out a caution period, forcing an overtime finish. Another wreck started by Bubba Wallace’s spin meant a jumbled finish led by Joey Logano. The three-time Cup Series champion will line up behind Busch for Sunday’s race.

The second Duel at Daytona was far less eventful. Briscoe held the lead for most of the 60-lap race. The pit stops jumbled the order and Chase Elliott made a late charge past Carson Hocevar for the win. Elliott will start Sunday’s race behind Briscoe.

Here’s the final starting order – and a recap of what happened Thursday from Daytona.

Daytona 500 starting grid

Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing
Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing
Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske
Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports
Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske
Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports
Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing
Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports
Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing
Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports
John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club
Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing
Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing
Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing
Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports
Casey Mears, No. 66 Garage 66
Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports
Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing
Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing
Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team
Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club
Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports
Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing
Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing
Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing
Corey Heim, No. 67 23XI Racing
Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports
Jimmie Johnson, No. 84 Legacy Motor Club
Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing
Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing
Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing
Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing
Anthony Alfredo, No. 62 Beard Motorsports
William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports
Justin Allgaier, No. 40 JR Motorsports
Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing

Daytona Duel 2 update: Chase Elliott ekes out victory

The Hendrick Motorsports driver made it through the field and held the lead into the last lap over Carson Hocevar. Elliott managed to keep Hocevar at bay entering the final turns and didn’t let the Spire Motorsports driver get a run on him to end the race.

Daytona Duel 2 update: Hocevar leads entering final 10-lap stretch

Nine laps remain in Duel 2 at Daytona. After the field made its pit stops, Carson Hocevar emerged as the leader and paces the field from the front ahead of Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Michael McDowell and Tyler Reddick.

Daytona Duel 2 update: Briscoe holding lead ahead of pit stops

As we reach Lap 40, Briscoe continues to hold the lead out front. Hamlin’s dropped back slightly to fifth with Ty Dillon and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. as the main challengers to Briscoe at the front.

Daytona Duel 2 update: Briscoe, Hamlin leading the way

We are one-third of the way through the second Daytona Duel of the night and second-place qualifier Chase Briscoe continues to hold the lead. Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson round out the top five.

Daytona Duel 2: Chase Briscoe leads the green flag racing

The second Duel at Daytona is underway from Daytona International Speedway with Briscoe leading after qualifying second.

Daytona Duel 1 update: Joey Logano wins under caution

The Team Penske driver made his way to the front during the big wreck by Wallace and held on for his fourth Duel win. Logano will start from third position on Sunday’s race on the inside track behind polesitter Busch.

Ryan Blaney, Austin Dillon, John Hunter Nemechek and Brad Keselowski round out the top five of Duel 1. Casey Mears made a last-lap push during the Duel to make it into the Daytona 500 for Garage 66 Ford.

Daytona Duel 1 update: Race heads to overtime after big wreck

With less than 10 laps to go, Bubba Wallace got spun out in his 23XI Racing Toyota and collected multiple cars in the Duel 1 race. The running order looks much different but Fords remain in front with Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney pacing the field ahead of an overtime sprint to the finish.

Daytona Duel 1 update: Mears, Gragson contact brings out caution

Casey Mears and Noah Gragson decided to pit on Lap 46 and made contact entering pit road. Mears locked up his brakes and lost control, spinning into Gragson as the two went to take on fuel. The race is now under caution.

Daytona Duel 1 update: Fords continue to pace the field

Ryan Preece remains in the lead of Duel 1 on Lap 40 ahead of Chris Buescher, Corey LaJoie and Brad Keselowski with the lone pit stop of the race looming.

Daytona Duel 1 update: Preece, Buescher leading the way

A third of the way through the first Duel race, it’s a competition between Ford-powered drivers. Ryan Preece, winner of the Cook Out Clash, currently leads the way over Chris Buescher. Corey LaJoie, Brad Keselowski and John Hunter Nemechek round out the top five.

Daytona Duel 1: Green flag racing is on

The field is roaring around the Daytona International Speedway to determine half of the running order for Sunday’s race with Kyle Busch leading the way.

What are the Duels at Daytona? What to know about unique qualifying

For the biggest race of the year, the Daytona 500 uses a unique qualifying format. Things start off with the usual time-based format last night for pole qualifying. From there, everything changes.

The Duels at Daytona use two 60-lap races to set the grid. Duel 1, led by the pole winner from pole qualifying, features the odd-numbered finishers from qualifying. The finishing order from Duel 1 will determine the inside lane order for Sunday’s Daytona 500.

Duel 2, led by the second-fastest driver in pole qualifying, includes the even-numbered finishers from the qualifying session. This race’s finishing order determines the outside lane order for Sunday’s Daytona 500.

How to watch the Duels at Daytona: Time, TV channel, live stream

Date: Thursday, Feb. 12
Duel 1 Time: 7 p.m. ET
Duel 2 Time: 8:45 p.m. ET (approximate)
TV: FS1 (both duel races)
Streaming: Fubo, FoxSports.com and the Fox Sports app

Watch the 2026 Daytona Duels with Fubo

What time do the Duels at Daytona start?

Following an electric night at Daytona 500 qualifying, the Duels at Daytona will get started on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET. The Duel 2 race will kick off roughly at 8:45 p.m. ET.

Daytona 500 final qualifying round results

Wednesday night’s Daytona 500 final qualifying round results:

Kyle Busch (49.006)
Chase Briscoe (49.023)
Ryan Preece (49.061)
Denny Hamlin (49.100)
Corey Heim (49.148)
Alex Bowman (49.152)
Kyle Larson (49.158)
Chris Buescher (49.184)
Chase Elliott (49.220)
Joey Logano (49.275)

Daytona 500 odds

Ryan Blaney (+1200)
Joey Logano (+1200)
William Byron (+1400)
Denny Hamlin (+1400)
Austin Cindric, Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch at +1600

Justin Allgaier qualifies for Daytona 500 as open driver

Justin Allgaier locked in a spot for the 2026 Daytona 500 after finishing the first round of qualifying with a time of 49.201. He also bumped Corey LaJoie out of the top 10.

Allgaier was also bumped out of the top 10 moments later after Joey Logano (49.138) jumped into the top 10. Regardless of his placement at the end of the round, Allgaier secured a spot in the Daytona 500 as one of the two fastest non-chartered drivers along with Corey Heim.

Elroy Face, an All-Star pitcher with the Pittsburgh Pirates and World Series champion, has died at the age of 97, the Pirates announced on Feb. 12.

‘It is with heavy hearts and deep sadness that we mourn the passing of Pirates Hall of Famer Elroy Face, a beloved member of the Pirates family,’ Pirates chairman Bob Nutting said in a statement. “I was fortunate to get to know Elroy personally, and I will always be proud that we had the chance to honor him with his induction into the Pirates Hall of Fame.’

Nicknamed ‘The Baron of the Bullpen,’ Face was a groundbreaking pitcher, performing in a role that evolved into the modern-day closer. Face holds the National League record for wins in relief (96). Face also holds Pirates franchise records for appearances (802) and saves (188). His NL record for saves was not broken until 1982, when Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter surpassed Face’s total.

Face made All-Star Game appearances in three consecutive seasons from 1959-1961. The peak of his career coincided with the Pirates winning the 1960 World Series, a Fall Classic made famous by Bill Mazeroski’s walk-off Series-winning home run in Game 7. Face recorded three saves in that World Series win over the New York Yankees.

It was Face’s 1959 season that was his finest. He went 18-1 with a 2.70 ERA over 57 appearances, finishing seventh in NL MVP voting. During his career, he was a three-time league leader in saves and twice led the league in games pitched.

Face spent 15 seasons with the Pirates before pitching briefly with the Detroit Tigers and Montreal Expos to close out his storied career.

Following a hearing on Thursday, Feb. 12, Mississippi Judge Robert Whitwell granted Chambliss a temporary injunction against the NCAA, which makes the Mississippi star quarterback immediately eligible to compete for the Rebels for the 2026 season.

The NCAA will have the opportunity to appeal the decision.

‘The (NCAA) acted in bad faith to deny him an additional year of eligibility,’ Whitwell said during his ruling.

Should Thursday’s decision be upheld, Chambliss would receive a sixth season of eligibility after spending four seasons at Division II Ferris State and last season at Ole Miss.

The hearing was held at the Calhoun County Courthouse in Pittsboro, Mississippi, about 45 minutes from Ole Miss’ Oxford campus. Tom Mars, Chambliss’ lawyer, had said on social media that the case’s location gave them “a level playing field where Trinidad’s rights will be determined by the Mississippi judiciary instead of some bureaucrats in Indianapolis who couldn’t care less about the law or doing the right thing.”

Chambliss sued the NCAA in Lafayette County (Mississippi) Chancery Court on Jan. 16, seven days after the NCAA denied his eligibility waiver. Chambliss had appealed the NCAA’s initial decision, but the college sports governing body denied the appeal on Feb. 4.

In his waiver request, Chambliss sought to receive a retroactive medical redshirt for the 2022 season at Ferris State, when he was dealing with what he described in court documents as ‘recurrent throat infections, poor sleep quality, daytime fatigue and exercise-related discomfort” after a documented episode of infectious mononucleosis in 2020. Chambliss didn’t play a game for the Bulldogs during the 2022 season.

In Thursday’s hearing, NCAA attorney Taylor Askew said that Chambliss practiced during the 2022 season and that no records established in court noted that Chambliss missed football-related activities because of his tonsils.

During his testimony on Thursday, Chambliss said that Ferris State coach Tony Annese told him before the 2022 season that he’d receive a medical redshirt.

“Approval requires schools to submit medical documentation provided by a treating physician at the time of a student’s incapacitating injury or illness, which was not provided,” the NCAA said in a statement in its initial waiver denial. “The documents provided by Ole Miss and the student’s prior school include a physician’s note from a December 2022 visit, which stated the student-athlete was ‘doing very well’ since he was seen in August 2022. Additionally, the student-athlete’s prior school indicated it had no documentation on medical treatment, injury reports or medical conditions involving the student-athlete during that time frame and cited ‘developmental needs and our team’s competitive circumstances’ as its reason the student-athlete did not play in the 2022-23 season.”

Chambliss was one of the breakout stars of the 2025 college football season in his first season with Ole Miss after transferring in from Ferris State. 

He began the season as the Rebels’ backup, but assumed the starting role after quarterback Austin Simmons suffered an ankle injury in a Sept. 6 win at Kentucky. From there, he helped Ole Miss win a program-record 13 games and advance to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. He finished the season with 3,937 passing yards, 22 touchdowns and three interceptions, as well as 527 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. He finished eighth in Heisman Trophy voting.

The Grand Rapids, Michigan, native had previously led Ferris State to a Division II national championship in 2024 before transferring from the school.

Despite not receiving an invitation to the NFL draft combine, Chambliss is widely regarded as an NFL prospect. Most mock drafts have him going between the third and fifth rounds of the 2026 NFL Draft, should he end up in the draft.

With Chambliss’ future in limbo, Ole Miss first-year head coach Pete Golding secured commitments from Auburn transfer quarterback Deuce Knight and Louisiana transfer quarterback Walker Howard.