LIVIGNO, Italy – With a banged-up shoulder and far less preparation that she’d have liked, was two-time gold medalist snowboarder Chloe Kim shaking off the rust when she dropped into the halfpipe at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics?

Please.

“I’ve been doing this for 22 years, OK,” she said with a laugh. “Muscle memory is a thing. I might be better at snowboarding then I am at walking.’

So, nah, ‘Didn’t feel rusty.’

Few could argue after watching Kim sail into the Olympic finals on Thursday, Feb. 12, by winning the morning halfpipe qualifying, on Wednesday, Feb. 11. Her showstopping, high-flying first run earned a 90.25 score, best among an Olympic field of 24 riders in the women’s halfpipe – who each got two runs.

It was a statement from Kim, an unmistakable indication that this is still her stage and her medal to lose. And that dislocating her shoulder last month won’t be an insurmountable obstacle in the 25-year-old American’s quest to become snowboarding’s first back-to-back-to-back Olympic gold medalist.

“My shoulder has been really good. She’s been very well-behaved, so I’m grateful for that,” Kim said afterward. “We haven’t had any hiccups. I’ve been working relentlessly on getting it as strong as possible, and obviously, the shoulder brace is really helpful.”

Team USA advanced three of its four women’s halfpipe entrants to the finals. Maddie Mastro (86.00) was third, looking every bit a legit medal contender, while Bea Kim (76.75) made it into the 12 finalists with a 10th-place finish.

Much of the attention, though, in this qualifying round was going to Chloe Kim, given her superstar status in the sports world and the recency of her shoulder injury. It reportedly wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but it was enough to sideline her from training during a time when Olympic snowboarders certainly don’t want to be idle.

“A little disappointing,” she said, “because, obviously, going to the Olympics, I want to be very, very ready and very prepared.”

So it wasn’t clear if she would be ready. Questions about just what to expect from Chloe Kim in this first Olympic run were fair given the circumstances.

Then she went out and crushed it.

She looked like, well, Chloe Kim. Such a rare talent on display. Few other competitors in this field would be able to match the height and amplitude Kim brings in the halfpipe.

It’s a breathtaking sight. It was again this time, expected or not.

“Anyone who has been tuned into snowboarding for as long as Chloe Kim has been around knows that she’s going to go all out, give everyone a show,” USA teammate Bea Kim said. “That’s what she did.”

What’s scary for the rest of this halfpipe finals field is Chloe Kim said she didn’t even throw her best stuff in this introductory Olympics performance. Maybe a couple of aspects were in there that’ll be in her planned finals run, she said, but much of what’s to come hasn’t been seen yet.

She also insisted that she isn’t feeling as much pressure this time around, “because I’m just happy to be here – truly” after the shoulder injury put her 2026 Olympics in question.

“I’m just so happy that I made it,” she said, “especially this time around. I honestly feel like I wasn’t as nervous as the previous ones.”

As for the possibility of producing snowboarding’s first Olympic three-peat?

“I guess it’s a cool title,” Chloe Kim said in understated fashion. “But I think even after Beijing (in 2022), I’m so satisfied with my career. If you asked me before (the) shoulder injury, I’d maybe have a different answer for you. But just because I’m coming back from an injury, (and) obviously didn’t get nearly the amount of reps I normally would get going into the Olympics, I’m just really proud of myself and proud that I’ve been able to push it as far I have.

“We’ll see how it goes down tomorrow night, but I feel confident.”

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

Just a few weeks remain in women’s college basketball’s regular season. Projections on the top of bracket are getting clearer as the same teams keep popping up.

Some shuffling will occur in the final weeks of February and in the Power 4 conference tournaments, but teams are beginning to solidify positioning for hosting rights as top 16 seeds.

Barring a wildly impressive run from LSU, Michigan or Vanderbilt, the top four is pretty much locked in with UConn, UCLA, South Carolina and Texas. And realistically, the Bruins are the only team capable of challenging the Huskies for the overall No. 1 seed simply because of the sheer amount of Quad 1 victories they will have if they continue to win in the Big Ten. Currently, UCLA has 13 Quad 1 victories while the Huskies have six. UCLA could have have triple the Quad 1 wins UConn has by the time the dust settles on conference tournaments.

Elsewhere in the top 16, Duke and Louisville are established as the best in the ACC. The only other team in the conference with a real chance of hosting is North Carolina, and it would likely require the Tar Heels beating the Blue Devils at least once, win the rest of their regular season games and make a significant run in the ACC Tournament.

In the Big 12, where there’s no clear frontrunner, TCU has the best resume for hosting rights at the moment, but the Horned Frogs have suffered recent losses to Texas Tech and Colorado. Two big games loom that will shape the Big 12’s NCAA Tournament picture, with TCU facing Baylor on Wednesday night and West Virginia on Sunday.

Here’s USA Today Sports’ projection of the top 16 seeds in the women’s NCAA Tournament as of Wednesday, Feb. 11:

1. UConn

2. UCLA

3. South Carolina

4. Texas

5. LSU

6. Michigan

7. Vanderbilt

8. Louisville

9. Duke

10. Ohio State

11. Iowa

12. Michigan State

13. Oklahoma

14. TCU

15. Maryland

16. Ole Miss

In the hunt: Kentucky, Baylor, West Virginia, North Carolina

Bubble Watch

Last Four Byes: Mississippi State, Syracuse, Villanova, Virginia

Last Four In: Richmond, Clemson, Virginia Tech, Utah

First Four Out: Stanford, Colorado, Fairfield, Arizona State

Next Four Out: South Dakota State, Indiana, Cal, Columbia

The path for the Big East to get more than two teams into the NCAA Tournament is getting increasingly narrow after Seton Hall lost back-to-back games to Creighton and St. John’s. The Pirates likely need to win their six remaining regular-season games and make a run to at least the semifinals of the Big East tournament to have a shot at cracking the field of 68 for the first time since 2016.

Elsewhere, hope is alive for mid-major teams to receive multiple bids. Both Richmond and Rhode Island out of the Atlantic-10 have at-large worthy resumes. If the Spiders and Rams keep stacking wins, and then if a team like George Mason or Davidson wins the conference tournament, a three-bid A-10 is still in play.

With multiple teams on the bubble, the ACC and Big 12 will be monitoring the conference tournaments of the Ivy League and the Summit League for bid-stealing scenarios. North Dakota State and Princeton both have at-large worthy resumes, so if the Bison and Tigers don’t win their conference tournaments, they would likely still get in and push teams like Virginia Tech or Utah to the wrong side of the bubble.

BORMIO, ITALY — The Stelvio Ski Centre hadn’t produced much joy for Americans during the men’s Alpine skiing events of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan.

Until now.

Ryan Cochran-Siegle won silver during the men’s super-G competition on Wednesday, Feb. 11, defending his silver medal in the same event at the 2022 Beijing Games. Cochran-Siegle’s victory comes on the 54th anniversary of his mother, Barbara Cochran, winning slalom gold at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo.

Cochran was in the stands for the race and proudly cheered on her son. She was spotted on the NBC broadcast recording a video of Cochran-Siegle as he was awarded silver during the medal ceremony. Cochran-Siegle said he felt ‘happy’ and ‘overwhelmed’ to share this moment with his family and teammates.

‘I’ve been able to draw inspiration from other Team USA athletes so far … seeing just how hard they’ve been skiing,’ Cochran-Siegle said, mentioning downhill Olympic champion Breezy Johnson and cross-country sprint silver-medalist Ben Ogden. ‘Seeing their performances, I think reinstilled the belief in myself and that inspiration was really key.’

Cochran-Siegle was the third overall racer down the mountain and slid into first place with a time of 1:25.45. However, it wasn’t enough of a lead to hold off Swiss sensation Franjo von Allmen.

Allmen moved into first place with a time of 1:25.32 — 13 hundredths of a second ahead of Cochran-Siegle — and held onto the top position to pick up his third Olympic gold medal of the Games. Allmen took gold in men’s downhill and team combined earlier in the week. He’s the third skier to win three Olympic golds in a single Games and first since France’s Jean-Claude Killy in 1968. 

Cochran-Siegle was able to hold off Marco Odermatt of Switzerland, who won bronze with a time of 1:25.60 despite entering the race as a heavy favorite. Odermatt leads the 2025-26 World Cup season standings in overall, super-G, downhill and giant slalom. He has won the last three super-G season titles.

The 33-year-old Vermont native had been considered Team USA’s best hope for a medal in men’s Alpine skiing. Reaching the podium is a bit of an upset in skiing circles, given he finished 18th in the men’s downhill four days before the super-G.

Cochran-Siegle revealed he was battling an illness throughout his ‘disappointing’ downhill result, adding he vomited in the ski gondola and again in the bathroom just hours ahead of pushing out of the starting gate.

‘It wasn’t my best day. Tough when you wake up feeling nauseous,’ Cochran-Siegle recalled. ‘I was really trying to focus on the race, but I was definitely dealing with a little bit of a stomach issue. … I tried to ski my hardest, definitely didn’t have it in my legs … a little sickness, really throws you off. And I think that was disappointing all the work that goes into it.’

Cochran-Siegle had fared well previously in Bormio, Italy, though.

On Feb. 4, three days before the downhill competition, Cochran-Siegle posted a top downhill training time of 1:56.08. That was 0.16 ahead of Italy’s Giovanni Franzoni and .40 faster than anyone else in the field.

He said he felt back to 90 percent on Tuesday and spent his day resting and hydrating to fully recoup for Wednesday’s super-G event. Cochran-Siegle said he ‘woke up feeling a lot better this morning.’

‘Just having energy in my legs too, I think was giving me confidence and that helped,’ Cochran-Siegle said. ‘When I’m coming off a tough race, sometimes it takes a little bit to kind of reset. So yeah, I just had to kind of move on. Sometimes it’s good to be a goldfish.’

Cochran-Siegle’s second-place finish is his best Super-G result since the 2022 Beijing Olympics, where he finished 0.04 of a second behind Austria’s Matthias Mayer to claim silver. Though Cochran-Siegle’s silver in Beijing was Team USA’s fourth in the super-G, no American had won the event since it debuted in 1988, with Norway and Austria splitting the past seven golds.

Ahead of the medal ceremony on Wednesday, Cochran-Siegle told his fellow medalists that being the runner-up was ‘easier’ this time around during a candid conversation caught on the NBC broadcast.

‘Today was easier because I was further behind you. I was four hundredths (of a second behind) last time,’ Cochran-Siegle told Allmen and Odermatt. ‘My mom won in ’72 by two hundredths of a second.’

Cochran-Siegle, who works in his family’s maple syrup shop, is from a skiing family and credits his mother for his success.

‘She taught me that a positive mindset can carry you through the toughest moments, and that even when the pressure is high, never forget to have fun,’ Cochran-Siegle said of his mom, according to Team USA’s website. ‘That joy is where the magic begins.’

Other Americans in the 2026 Super-G: Sam Morse (finished 23rd), Kyle Negomir (26th) and River Radamus (DNF). Super-G combines the speed of downhill with the precision of slalom. It features wider curves than the other two slalom races and is held on the same slope as downhill.

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LIVIGNO, Italy – Like a proud parent, young Alessandro Barbieri searched his phone, eager to show off his pride and joy.

“So many snowboard videos,” he said impatiently, scrolling through. “I want my cat.”

To know Barbieri, only 17 and nearing his Olympic debut for Team USA, is to know Bella.

She is a 3-year-old Maine Coon cat. Beautiful and expensive. Gray and white. A whopping 17 pounds, and tall enough to reach Barbieri’s waist when she stretches, he said.

Before long, Barbieri found Bella in his phone. He holds up a photo. Then another of her curled up, almost posing with her head upside down.

It makes him smile. Before competitions, in fact, Barbieri’s mother sends cat photos to him, wherever he might be, as a superstitious reminder of home.

“That’s why your nickname is ‘Kitty-Kitty, Meow-Meow,” said U.S. halfpipe teammate Chase Josey. True enough, said Barbieri, though he adjusted slightly: “Kitty-Cat, Meow-Meow.”

“Or you can use the Italian Stallion. That works as well.”

“No, no,” Josey replied. “Kitty-Kitty, Meow-Meow.”

In an odd way, it fits. Just because Barbieri is unique like that. Hailing from Portland, Oregon, he comes across as personable and endearing, impossible to view as a stranger for long and easy to remember.

The kid showed up to a pre-event press conference at Livigno Snow Park on Feb. 9 wearing sunglasses.

Beginning with the start of the men’s snowboarding halfpipe competition on Feb. 11, he will be an athlete to watch during these 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics. Quite possibly, Barbieri is America’s next great Olympic snowboarding talent.

Not me saying that. U.S. snowboarding legend Shaun White said it.

Being interviewed Feb. 5 on the Ralph Lauren Red Carpet at these Games, White said to “watch out for Alessandro,” earmarking Barbieri as a potential breakout star during these Olympics.

“He’s incredibly talented,” White said of Barbieri. “One of the last events, he landed two triples in his run, which I’ve maybe seen one person do before.”

Told of White’s comments, Barbieri beamed.

“Having Shaun say that about me, imagine your idol – like (Lionel) Messi – saying ‘Watch out for this kid,’” Barbieri said. “I grew up watching (White) and watching him dominate, and his mentality of winning at all costs. Just having him say that about me and believing in me that I’m kind of good at snowboarding is just crazy.”

While young, Barbieri is indeed a promising talent. He finished second in halfpipe at the Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2024. In February 2025, he finished third at a world cup event in Calgary. Multiple Olympics are likely in his future, but none set up more special than this one in Italy.

Because Barbieri’s parents are Italian. They immigrated to the U.S. from Italy in 2006, he said, two years before he was born. Barbieri said that he has been dreaming about this since he was much younger, having the chance to compete in an Olympics in Italy.

Lots of his family members are still in Italy, and many of them are planning to be on hand to watch him perform in Livigno.

“My parents, my uncles, my nieces, my cousins, my grandparents, it’s going to be like a big group of family,” he said. “So it’s going to be very cool.”

Sounds like it could be a lot of pressure, especially for a 17-year-old. Barbieri responded to that thought with a wave of the hand: “This might sound cocky, but I don’t get nervous.” He stressed that confidence was essential in the halfpipe, comparing it to driving a car or riding as a passenger in one. Meaning that if you are driving, you know your safety is in your hands.

As the press conference ended, Barbieri stood up, put the sunglasses back on and raised two fingers like a lead singer dropping the microphone after an encore.

“Kitty-cat, meow-meow: Out.”

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

The NHL is back at the Winter Olympics.

The league is sending its players for the first time since 2014. Though Finland is the defending champion after winning gold in Beijing in 2022, Canada is the star of the NHL era from 1998 to 2014.

The country won gold in 2002, 2010 and 2014, and Pittsburgh Penguins and Team Canada captain Sidney Crosby is looking to pick up his third gold medal. Sweden (2006) and the Czech Republic (1998) are the other winners in the NHL era.

So, who will skate off with a gold medal after the championship game on Feb. 22? USA TODAY asked for predictions for the gold, silver and bronze medal. Here is what our experts said:

Mike Brehm, USA TODAY

Gold: Canada

Silver: USA

Bronze: Czechia

Canada is the best of the best-on-best era. It hasn’t lost such a tournament since the 2006 Games, capturing two Olympics, the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off. Team Canada is oozing with talent, featuring the top three NHL scorers who are at the Olympics. If the Canadians can get decent goaltending, they will be the best again.

Jace Evans, USA TODAY

Gold: Canada

Silver: USA     

Bronze: Sweden

The Canada net leaves a lot to be desired but there’s three reasons I’m picking Canada to win this year’s tournament: Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Sidney Crosby – the two best forwards in the NHL and one of the greatest winners the sport has ever seen.

Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press

Gold: Canada

Silver: USA

Bronze: Sweden

USA has such a deep team, especially in goal, but Canada has Sidney Crosby, who can still take over a game and deliver in high-pressure situations.  

Ryan Kennedy, The Hockey News

Gold: Canada

Silver: USA

Bronze: Switzerland

Hockey is won down the middle and Canada has the best centers in the world. I can’t bet against a team featuring Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Sidney Crosby, especially with such high stakes.

Greg Sankey recently sided with the NCAA, at expense of Alabama, in a lawsuit over a player’s eligibility.
Sankey previously supported Alabama when it benefited the SEC’s brand, prestige and earnings.
An Alabama judge ultimately ruled against player Charles Bediako, upholding NCAA eligibility rules.

Down South, one big conspiracy theory has nothing to do with the moon or JFK.

Instead, the yearslong whopper that ran rampant within SEC terrain centered on conference commissioner Greg Sankey being an “Alabama homer.” A native New Yorker turned elephant backer. Secretly wrote all of his “A’s” in script handwriting.

Professional provocateur James Carville once alleged “collusion” between the SEC office and Alabama. Some might say the Ragin’ Cajun, an LSU alumnus, was the one suffering from bias, but I digress.

Here lately, Sankey sure is acting funny for a supposed “Alabama homer.” He must have forgotten his SEC office in Birmingham, aka East Tuscaloosa, operates as a Roll Tide cabal.

Or, maybe Sankey was just never the full-fledged Alabama homer some fans of rival teams made him out to be. Like most conspiracy theories, this one lacked sufficient proof.

Those old Alabama-SEC collusion claims shriveled last week. Sankey turned heel on Alabama and sided with the NCAA in a lawsuit to determine whether the Tide could continue playing former pro basketball player Charles Bediako in their march toward March.

Days after Sankey filed an affidavit supporting the NCAA, a judge in Alabama ruled against Bediako and in favor of the NCAA. This halted the NBA G League dropout’s days of dunking on college dudes.

Judge Daniel Pruet used legalese to explain his decision, language like Bediako “failed to establish that he would suffer irreparable harm” if he did not receive his desired ruling. He also cited NCAA bylaws.

NCAA “rules do not permit a student-athlete to participate in collegiate basketball, leave for the NBA, and return to the collegiate arena,” Pruet wrote. “All the evidence in the record indicates that the (NCAA) has consistently applied this specific rule.”

Left unwritten: The SEC commish casting his lot with the NCAA surely didn’t help Bediako.

Greg Sankey as ‘Alabama homer’ theory loses steam

So, what gives? Is Sankey an Alabama homer or a hater?

Neither.

He’s an SEC homer. That comes with the job. If Sankey and his office seemed like an Alabama homer before, maybe that’s because Nick Saban ruled college football. Saban’s high tides (and bountiful trophies) lifted the SEC’s boats.

If Sankey had to stump and maneuver a bit on behalf of Saban’s Alabama, well, that’s just good business.

Three years ago, Sankey summoned every ounce of propaganda he could muster while campaigning for the SEC’s champion, which wound up being Alabama, to get the final College Football Playoff spot, at the expense of undefeated Florida State.

Playoff rejection would have been costly to the SEC’s brand, ego, prestige and earnings. Anyway, what was good for Alabama also was good for the SEC, and it wasn’t particularly bad for college sports. It was just bad for Florida State and the ACC.

What Greg Sankey wrote in Charles Bediako affidavit

In this case, Bediako playing was fine for Alabama, but not especially beneficial to the SEC, on the whole. He didn’t even transform Alabama into a top national championship contender. He just made Alabama better than it was without him.

Bediako playing wasn’t ideal for Auburn when the former pro scored 12 points in Alabama’s 96-92 rivalry win, his final game before the judge’s ruling.

Other SEC teams aren’t playing guys who left college, declared for the NBA draft, played in the G League, and returned to college hoops years later, in violation of NCAA bylaws. As other teams follow the rules, Bediako and Alabama tried to sidestep them in court.

“Permitting former professional athletes to return to (college) competition creates a competitive disadvantage and fundamental unfairness for current student-athletes,” Sankey wrote in his affidavit in support of the NCAA.

Sankey has spent his career working within college sports. He worked in compliance on his way up the ladder. I suspect, at his core, he believes rules are good, a lack of rules is bad, rule-by-lawsuit is messy, and an ability to enforce eligibility rules is key to successful operation of any league.

Alabama coach Nate Oats and Bediako’s lawyer will point to the duplicity of the NCAA restricting Bediako from playing while permitting international players who previously played in foreign pro leagues or in the NBA G League, before later enrolling in college.

Hypocritical? Maybe.

Muddy? Absolutely.

Grounds for an injunction? Not according to an Alabama judge.

When Bediako left Alabama, declared for the draft and signed an NBA contract, NCAA rules said he wouldn’t be allowed to return to college ball. The rules still say that.

A healthy debate can be had about what it really means to be a pro athlete, when an NBA G Leaguer sues to get back in a college uniform, where he can earn more money. Amateurism is dead. Bediako wanted to leave one paycheck from the NBA G League for a better paycheck in college.

An Alabama homer would say, what’s the problem with that?

Sankey saw a problem. He’s no Alabama homer, after all.

Blake Toppmeyer is a columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

LINCOLN, Nebraska – Trey Kaufman-Renn and CJ Cox each left Pinnacle Bank Arena with war wounds.

Kaufman-Renn suffered a cut under his left eye. Cox had a noticeable laceration on his right cheek.

They embodied everything about the 45 minutes it took Purdue basketball to beat eighth-ranked Nebraska, 80-77, in overtime on Tuesday, Feb. 10.

The Boilermakers should’ve never been in an extra session, having surrendered a 22-point second-half lead and missing four free throws in the final minute of regulation with its best three foul shooters.

Purdue couldn’t worry about that in the moment.

With Big Ten title hopes dwindling, the Boilermakers — despite all that had happened leading up to the final minute of overtime — showed championship-level poise that had coach Matt Painter taking a more positive spin on his team’s grit than a negative tone with losing a large lead.

‘I thought our effort was great,’ Painter said. ‘I thought we did a pretty good job executing.’

Only 11 turnovers in 45 minutes, nearly outrebounding the opponent with just two players (Oscar Cluff and Kaufman-Renn combined for 33 rebounds) and holding an elite 3-point shooting team to 37.5% all were positive signs to back up Painter’s positivity.

Purdue’s nearly catastrophic collapse showed signs of a team still reeling. In the same realm, the Boilermakers showcased their composure when many teams would’ve folded under the pressure from a red sea of 15,185 screaming fans.

The play that ultimately won Purdue the game surprised even the team’s star player.

Fletcher Loyer drove right, got stuck, spun to his left, turned back to his right and delivered a wraparound pass by his defender to Cluff, who spun left and banked in a left-handed hook shot with 5.2 seconds left.

Braden Smith was certain Loyer was going to attempt a shot. But Loyer stayed on two feet and maintained a coolness when the pressure was highest.

‘We’ve got to be able to be even keel and keep our composure in those moments,’ Smith said.

You take a top-10 road win any way you can get it, especially when the Boilermakers can ill afford to take any more losses if they hope to compete for a conference crown.

‘Great win. Us as a team, we need to win all of the rest of the games to have a share or win the Big Ten,’ Cox said. ‘This away game against a top-10 team in the country was a crucial win.’

When Cluff intercepted a long inbounds after Gicarri Harris’ two free throws with 1.5 seconds left, the Boilermakers could finally exhale.

At the same time, Purdue perhaps inhaled new life ahead of its final seven regular season games, now with a statement victory for its third win in a row.

It wasn’t perfect, but in some ways it was.

‘Obviously, adrenaline is going crazy right now,’ Cluff said. ‘It’s just the beginning honestly. We’ve got a huge couple of games coming up. I think this is the start of something. We’re going to keep rolling all the way until April.’

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.

When Unrivaled’s 1-on-1 tournament begins Wednesday, Feb. 11, the level of competition will be high, but it will have a backyard basketball feel.

‘The best part about getting to compete is you’re just able to kind of do something different,’ Unrivaled co-founder and Mist forward Breanna Stewart told USA TODAY Sports. ‘Do something that you’ve done at the playground or at the gym and just kind of showcase your skill.

‘This time, it’s probably even better just because our pods are position based … I feel like it’ll just be better matchups.’

The Miami-based 3-on-3 women’s basketball league brought back its 1-on-1 tournament for a second season, dividing the 32-player bracket into four pods. The pods were ranked and voted on by fans, players, coaches and media members. Four top seeds were then selected from the pods. After the final vote, Hive guard Kelsey Mitchell is the top seed from Pod A, Breeze guard Paige Bueckers for Pod B, Mist guard Allisha Gray for Pod C and Stewart for Pod D.

The players in this season’s tournament will compete for a portion of the tournament’s $300,000 prize pool. The winner gets $200,000, runner-up $50,000 and $25,000 each goes to the other two semifinalists. Still, Gray says, this isn’t your run-of-the-mill competition.

‘Everybody here is a top [WNBA] player. In my mind, it’s just like, even if I lose, I’ve lost to a great player,’ Gray shared with USA TODAY. ‘So it’s just great being competitive and just ― that’s what makes it so much different than an average just one-on-one game.’

Stewart, Gray’s teammate, also revealed that Unrivaled’s 1-on-1 tournament is very different. It leaves room for possibilities.’What makes this different is literally, it’s all eyes on you, and you’re [in] the center and the person you’re playing against,’ Stewart said. ‘[It’s] a way to kind of showcase what you got in a short stint, but also when it’s one game, anybody can beat anybody. So you never know what’s gonna happen.’

To Stewart’s point, several upsets happened in last year’s first round, including Shakira Austin beating Chelsea Gray and Kahleah Copper moving past Aliyah Boston. What’s more, in a moment that sent shockwaves through the tournament, Aaliyah Edwards upset Stewart, 12-0. The Mist forward didn’t score a single basket. Stewart joked with USA TODAY that she planned to do things a lot differently this season. Step one: score a basket. Step two: win a game by taking it ‘one step at a time, literally.’

Gray, however, is approaching Unrivaled’s tournament a bit differently. The Mist guard is having a stellar second, currently sixth in the league in points per game (20.0) and fifth in made 3-point shots per game (2.3). She also has six matchups of 20 or more points, including 30 points against the Lunar Owls on January 17.

During 2025’s Unrivaled 1-on-1 tournament, Gray lost to Edwards in the quarterfinals, 12-6. Edwards would go on to lose to Unrivaled co-founder Napheesa Collier. Collier is out for the season after surgery on both ankles. Still, the Mist guard isn’t letting that slow her down.

‘No matter who you put in front of me, I think I can beat them,’ Gray said. ‘I don’t fear no player here. So, I’m just looking to be able to have a good and fun, competitive matchup and a good time.’

Unrivaled’s 1-on-1 tournament promises to be great, starting with the opening round. Stewart pointed out she’s looking forward to seeing several guard-on-guard matchups ― Laces’ Brittney Sykes versus Mist’s Arike Ogunbowale and Phantom’s Natasha Cloud versus Rose’s Chelsea Gray ― before playfully saying that she and Gray, her fellow No. 1 seed and Mist teammate, are ‘ gonna go right at it’ during their individual opening matchups.

Based on the bracket structure, if Stewart, Gray, Bueckers or Mitchell advance deep into the tournament, there is a possibility the No.1 seeds could play each other in the later rounds. Stewart says playing against top players like Gray, Bueckers and Mitchell can be difficult.'[It’s] just a person playing against other three-level scorers,’ Stewart said. ‘You’re gonna try to put them in the toughest position. You’re gonna try to make them have tough, contested shots, but one seeds are one seeds for a reason. They’re gonna show why.’

Gray respectfully declined to share with USA TODAY what she planned to do with the money if she wins. ‘I don’t tell my secrets,’ she jokingly said.

Stewart revealed she hadn’t thought about what she might do. After thinking about it for several seconds, she mentioned she recently launched a foundation where she plans to refurbish parks in Syracuse, New York, and help unhoused youth with resources and opportunities. Her money could go there. Still, the more Stewart pondered, the funnier her answer became.

‘I don’t know. Maybe I’ll buy a watch,’ she eventually said, laughing. ‘An [Audemars Piguet.]

‘Listen, $200,000? The world is my oyster.’

MILAN — NHL players are back in the Winter Olympics, and the competition gets underway today with two preliminary round games.

Finland takes on Slovakia in the early game at Santaguilia Ice Hockey Arena. In evening action, host Italy takes on Sweden.

Finland is the defending champion after winning the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Canada leads the NHL era (1998 to 2014) with gold medals in 2002, 2010 and 2014. Czechia won in 1998 (Nagano) and Sweden in 2006 (Torino).

The USA won silver medals in 2002 and 2010. It last won a gold medal in 1980 at the Lake Placid Olympics. The Americans begin their preliminary round Thursday against Latvia.

Here are scores from today as games wrap up.

Watch Olympics figure skating on Peacock

Olympic men’s hockey schedule today

All times Eastern.

10:40 a.m.: Slovakia vs. Finalnd
3:10 p.m.: Sweden vs. Italy

Where to watch Olympic men’s hockey

How the Olympics men’s hockey tournament works

The 12 teams are divided into three groups. They are:

Group A: Canada, Switzerland, Czechia, France
Group B: Finland, Sweden, Slovakia, Italy
Group C: USA, Germany, Latvia, Denmark

Teams play one game each against the other three teams in their group. Countries get three points for a regulation win, two for an overtime win, one for an overtime/shootout loss and zero for a regulation loss.

After the preliminary round is complete, teams are seeded 1 through 12 under the following criteria:

Higher position in the group
Higher number of points
Better goal difference
Higher number of goals scored for 
Better IIHF world ranking

Why are there no fights in Olympic hockey?

International Ice Hockey Federation prohibits fighting, and it could lead to an ejection and a suspension.

‘Fighting is not part of international ice hockey’s DNA,’ the organization states in Rule 46 of the IIHF rulebook.

‘Players who willingly, participate in a ‘brawl/fight’ so-called ‘willing combatants,’ shall be penalized accordingly by the referee(s) and may be ejected from the game,’ the rulebook says. ‘Further supplementary discipline may be imposed.’

How long is NHL Olympic break? Key remaining dates in 2025-26 season

The NHL will take a break from Feb. 6-24 for the 2026 Winter Olympics. There are seven games on the schedule on Feb. 5. No trades can take place during the Olympic break.

When is the Olympic men’s hockey tournament?

The tournament starts Feb. 11 with two games. The USA opens play Feb. 12 against Latvia. All teams will play three games during the round robin, which runs through Feb. 15. The top four teams get byes to the quarterfinals.

Playoff qualification games are on Feb. 17 for teams ranked fifth through 12th, quarterfinals are Feb. 18 and semifinals are Feb. 20.

The bronze medal game is Feb. 21 and the gold medal game is Sunday, Feb. 22.

The NHL is on an Olympic break, but prospects around the world are continuing to grow. 

Player development is an ongoing process. A player’s draft year is one of the most integral of their career because it so often shapes the perspectives of scouts, general managers and fans alike. Until these players reach the NHL, the picture they paint in their draft year is often the only one people will remember. 

With so many of the best prospects in the world entering the stretch run of their season, they have begun to showcase what kind of players they are. Let’s look at the picture the top prospects have painted to this point and what trait each of them is most going to be known for as we head toward June’s NHL draft.

Top 10 NHL draft players

1. Frolunda (Sweden) left wing Ivar Stenberg

Stenberg’s draft year will be remembered for his incredible scoring pace in the Swedish League, where he is on pace to break the league scoring record for a draft-eligible player. It will also be remembered for his impressive performance at the World Junior Championship, where he improved as the tournament went on, leading Sweden to a gold medal. Stenberg has painted a very complete picture. 

2. Penn State (NCAA) left wing Gavin McKenna

As much as McKenna has taken some strides on the ice since the world juniors, the most unfortunate thing that will be remembered about his draft year is the incident outside of a bar where he allegedly broke someone’s jaw and now faces three charges, none of which have been proven in court to this point. He’s painted some beautiful pictures on the ice with his elite-level skill and puck handling, but so much of that has been overshadowed by this off-ice incident. 

3. Boston University (NCAA) center Tynan Lawrence

Lawrence’s season will be remembered in two parts: his injury-filled yet dominant start to the USHL season and the process-driven yet underwhelming production at the NCAA level.  The process has been there. Lawrence has continued to showcase his speed, skill and intelligence away from the puck, and he’s generated very good underlying results. The production hasn’t followed, however.

4. North Dakota (NCAA) defenseman Keaton Verhoeff

Verhoeff’s growth at the NCAA level might be the defining factor of his season. He’s built upon his skill and IQ to play a strong two-way game. When he was at the World Junior Championship, he started outside of the lineup and ended up looking like one of their better all-around defenders. Verhoeff’s game has become more complete as the season has gone on, and that will be what people remember about his draft year. 

5. Jukurit (Finland) defenseman Alberts Smits

Without a doubt, Smits’ season will be remembered for skyrocketing up draft boards. He was outstanding at the world juniors, where he helped Latvia nearly upset Canada. He’s also participating in the Olympics with Latvia’s men’s team. On top of playing at the Liiga level in Finland, Smits has been outstanding. He’s a bit of a raw prospect, but he’s arguably the most intriguing defenseman in the class with all of the tools to be a top-tier defender. 

6. Djurgarden (Sweden) center Viggo Bjorck

Bjorck has consistently proved the doubters wrong this year. He played himself into a premier role in the Swedish League. On the Swedish world juniors roster, it wasn’t Anton Frondell who was tasked with taking the big faceoffs or playing in key defensive situations. It was Bjorck, the undersized center. He’s slowly proving he’ll be the exception to the rule of teams wanting big centers. Bjorck can play down the middle at the pro level. 

7. HV71 (Sweden) defenseman Malte Gustafsson

What we’ll remember from Gustafsson’s season is that when he took the step up to the SHL from Sweden’s junior level, his game improved across all three zones. Gustafsson added a physical element when playing against men instead of boys, which pairs well with his excellent mobility. He’s been a more confident puck-mover against men as well. It’s not often that a player gets better against stronger competition, but Gustafsson has done exactly that. 

8. Vancouver (WHL) left wing Mathis Preston

It’s been a year of underwhelming production and missed opportunities for Preston. He hasn’t quite scored at the rate everyone expected, and when Vancouver acquired him from Spokane, he was hurt and out of the lineup. Preston has all of the offensive skill, intellect, and pace-setting speed that you could want from a forward. He generates excellent scoring chances. He just hasn’t finished those chances as often as expected.

9. Tappara (Finland) center Oliver Suvanto 

The difficult part about choosing a defining moment or trait in Suvanto’s season is that his game as a whole is understated and defensively oriented. He’s a very steady center who understands his role is to support everyone across the ice. Suvanto has a good shot, and he plays a heavy game. His defining trait is that whoever drafts him will be pretty happy not to have to worry about his game.

10. Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL) defenseman Xavier Villeneuve

Villeneuve is the perfect example of how an undersized defender can be a difference-maker. With the puck, there isn’t a more dynamic blueliner in the NHL draft class. In his own end, he’s used his feet and stick to disrupt play. Once he gets the puck away from an opposing attacker, he instantly becomes an attacker himself. Villeneuve will be remembered for his dynamism and skill but also his growth as an overall player.