NEW YORK — To no one’s surprise, Round One between UConn and St. John’s men’s basketball lived up to all the expectations on Friday night at Madison Square Garden.

The Red Storm did so by doing something the Huskies excelled at heading into the game, something that makes them a national championship contender once again: by getting defensive stops down the stretch.

It was an entertaining contest that showed St. John’s can go a full 40 minutes and grind out a win against a top-tier team like UConn. It also showed the Huskies are legit contenders once again, seeking a third national title in four years — even if their offense is still a work in progress.

‘As hard a game as we’ve had to play all year,’ UConn coach Dan Hurley said.

For St. John’s, it’s the highest-ranked win since 2021 against Villanova, and the highest-ranked win at The Garden for the Red Storm since they took down No. 3 Duke on Jan. 30, 2011. It’s also the first three-game winning streak against UConn since the 1999-2000 season, when St. John’s swept the regular season series and won the Big East championship game.

The Red Storm’s statement win, which puts them within a half-game of first place in the Big East standings, ended an 18-game win streak for the Huskies. It’s the first loss for UConn since it fell 71-67 to then-No. 4 Arizona on Nov. 19, and it’s just the second overall loss of the year for the Huskies.

‘We work too hard to play like that and just lose,’ UConn forward Alex Karaban said. ‘We invested too much time to lose, and it’s a hard feeling. It’s not an easy feeling to sit with right now.’

The Red Storm had to fight for their fourth Quad 1 win of the season after an even first half.

That fight began with a 16-6 run to begin the second half to claim a 10-point lead after Bryce Hopkins drilled a 3-pointer at the 13:03 mark. The Huskies allowed the Red Storm to stay in the game — and then grow a double-digit lead — with self-inflicted wounds (like four turnovers in more than six minutes) and by falling into foul trouble.

St. John’s turned 15 UConn turnovers, nine of which came from Huskies point guard Silas Demary Jr., into 20 points. The nine turnovers were a season high for Demary, who has otherwise been a home run find out of the transfer portal for the Huskies this season.

‘You’ve got to be in great shape to do what they do,’ Hurley said of the St. John’s defense and the disruption it created for the Huskies’ offense. ‘It disrupts your ability to get into what you want to do offensively.

‘I don’t think that we turned it over because of their pressure. We turned it over because we lost our (expletive) mind a little bit and they have great defense. That’s a top 20 defense, easy. They’re hard to beat.’

That fight then continued with the St. John’s response to UConn’s 16-9 run midway through the second half, where it saw its 11-point lead sliced to a single point after Demary hit a 3-pointer from the corner of the Huskies’ bench.

A second-chance, tipped-in jumper from Dillon Mitchell off a missed 3-pointer and a 3-pointer from Dylan Darling turned the energy in The Garden back the Johnnies’ way, and they closed on a 12-7 run. St. John’s physicality around the rim led to 16 second-chance points on nine offensive rebounds.

‘We made a lot of big plays tonight, a lot of big plays,’ Pitino said. ‘I’m proud of our guys for not panicking one bit at any point in the game.’

Zuby Ejiofer was also a difference maker for St. John’s across his 34 minutes of action, as he stuffed the stat sheet with 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting, 10 rebounds, seven assists, three blocks and two steals.

‘You know you’re going to make me retire because I’m not living life without you,’ Pitino said of the preseason Big East Player of the Year.

It’s the fourth game this season in which Ejiofor finished with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. His 21 points were a key driver of the 50 points the Red Storm received from their frontcourt, (Mitchell had 15 points and Hopkins 14).

‘They’re grown-ass men,’ Hurley said of the St. John’s frontcourt. ‘… They are built for Big East games.’

St. John’s physicality also helped it earn its first top-25 win of the season. The Red Storm outscored the Huskies 42-22 inside the paint, and got to the line 31 times compared to UConn’s 12 free-throw attempts.

Those reasons, and growing guard play, could make Pitino’s squad a real tough out in the NCAA Tournament. The Red Storm entered the night on the 5-seed line in projections, but after Friday’s win, they should see a bump to a 4-seed.

For UConn, the Huskies miss out on adding a second Quad 1 win in Big East play on the season. Hurley’s squad shouldn’t see a drop in their projections, as a combined 13-3 Quad 1 and Quad 2 record, which features a win over Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse, is a fine resume to keep them at the 1-seed line.

But for now, St. John’s shifts its focus to Xavier at The Garden on Monday night with Round Two against the Huskies not that far in the distance on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford, Connecticut. It will likely be a fight for the No. 1 seed in next month’s Big East tournament back at The Garden.

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HARTFORD, CT — The No. 1-ranked UConn women’s basketball team will look to keep its 60-game winning streak in Big East Conference play alive on Saturday at PeoplesBank Arena.

UConn (24-0, 13-0 Big East) is the lone remaining undefeated team in Division I. Sophomore sensation Sarah Strong is leading UConn with 19.2 points, 8 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.4 steals a game. Senior Azzi Fudd is averaging 17.5 points a game.

The Huskies haven’t lost a conference game in nearly three years. The Big East has not been competitive this season and could be left out of at-large bids in the NCAA Tournament.

Butler (9-14, 3-10 Big East) lost to the Huskies, 94-47, in late December and has not beaten UConn in 40 tries. Saniya Jackson (9.7 points per game) and Mallory Miller (9.6 ppg) are the Bulldogs’ leading scorers.

What time is UConn vs. Butler?

The UConn Huskies play host to the Butler Bulldogs at Noon ET on Saturday, Feb. 7 at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford, Connecticut.

UConn vs. Butler: TV, streaming

Date: Saturday, Feb. 7
Time: Noon ET (9 a.m. PT)
Location: PeoplesBank Arena (Hartford, Connecticut)
TV: FS1
Stream: Fubo

WATCH: UConn vs. Butler women’s basketball

The New England Patriots will wear their white jerseys for Super Bowl 60 against the Seattle Seahawks.
New England is undefeated in their white jerseys this season, while Seattle’s only Super Bowl win was in white.
Players from both teams expressed a desire to wear their popular throwback uniforms, which is not permitted by the NFL.

SANTA CLARA, CA – “Look good, feel good. Feel good, play good. Play good, they pay good.”

It’s a pithy pearl of wisdom issued from Deion Sanders years ago, when he was a dual-sport star in professional football and baseball. Now? It might be time for the NFL to heed the advice of “Prime Time.”

Super Bowl 60 will be staged Sunday between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots. And while it will doubtless be a slick, high-definition, good-looking product from nearly every angle, could it look … better than good?

Despite being the designated home team, the Patriots opted to wear their white jerseys – maybe not a surprise given New England is the first team in league history to go 9-0 on the road in a single season (playoffs included). The Pats are also 6-0 in the white jerseys during the 2025 season, including their win at Denver for the AFC championship game.

“We had to pick blue or white, and we went with white. I guess the blue would have been a good idea. As long as we’ve got a uniform on. … I try not to get too involved with it. We’re the home team. We get to choose. Guys like the white uniforms,” said Vrabel, who said the team’s leadership group settled on white.

Told the team was undefeated in that look this season, Vrabel cracked: “There we go. I hope the tooth fairy comes tonight, too. We’ll be real excited.”

Seahawks fans might be less excited to see their team in the blue jerseys they’ve worn since 2012. Seattle is 1-2 to date in the Super Bowl, its only win coming in white during its Super Bowl 48 blowout of Peyton Manning’s Denver Broncos. The following year, the ‘Hawks were in blue and the Tom Brady-led Patriots in white – though a different style of jersey than the more understated one New England wears now – during Seattle’s infamous Super Bowl 49 loss.

(Fun fact: This will be the first Super Bowl in which both teams wear monochromatic uniforms.)

Sadly, the teams didn’t have the option of wearing their highly popular throwback jerseys, though players almost universally agreed they would have leaped at the alternative.

“I mean, if that was an option, I would love to wear the throwbacks. I love throwbacks. I’m a vintage dude when it comes to clothing. I like old, vintage things. The all white is clean – that’s like a step out, going to the club and everything,” Patriots receiver DeMario ‘Pop’ Douglas told USA TODAY Sports.

“The throwback is just clean and classy.”

He’s referring to the team’s red jersey and white helmet with the “Pat Patriot” logo, the cartoonish-looking minuteman poised to snap the ball, whom the franchise first adopted in 1961, its second year of existence. New England did feature that look in Super Bowl 20 … when the Patriots got whacked 46-10 by the ’85 Bears.

“I definitely love the throwbacks,” Pats outside linebacker Harold Landry III said. “You should be able to pick whatever jersey you want.”

Similarly, Seattle players would have loved to wear their retro blue jerseys and silver helmets, which the team brought back in 2023 after the league relaxed its rules and allowed clubs to utilize multiple helmet shells.

“Throwbacks, all day long – they’re unbeatable,” Seahawks Pro Bowl cornerback Devon Witherspoon told USA TODAY Sports.

Seattle has never worn the jerseys it sported for most of the 1980s and ‘90s in the Super Bowl. The Seahawks made their Super Sunday debut 20 years ago, when they wore (ugly) precursors to their current threads in a 21-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl 40.

Said Seattle linebacker Patrick O’Connell: “I think it’d be really cool – either the throwbacks or the ‘Rivalries’ since we (the Seahawks and Patriots) were both part of that this year. … I think it would be good for the NFL. Fans love it, they would buy all the jerseys.”

And you’d think an organization that prints money like the NFL does would be happy to mint more. Yet the league has been reluctant to permit throwbacks in its showcase event. The Los Angeles Rams received an exception to use their classic alternates seven years ago when they were in the midst of a wonky transition from their St. Louis-era uniforms but before they unveiled the current ones in conjunction with their move into SoFi Stadium in 2020.

Maybe it’s just as well that the teams’ glorious duds won’t be sullied. The Seahawks and Patriots will already resemble European football clubs, obligated to wear the Super Bowl LX logo and a patch commemorating America’s 250th year of existence. Seattle will also continue wearing a shoulder emblem celebrating the franchise’s 50th season.

It should also be noted that quite a few Patriots are happy in the slimming whites. Other players are completely unmoved by football fashion.

“I don’t really care what we’re wearing – we could wear leather helmets out there,” Seahawks Pro Bowl D-lineman Leonard Williams told USA TODAY Sports.

But they were generally in the minority of those I polled.

“I would like to wear the throwbacks,” Patriots guard Michael Onwenu told USA TODAY Sports.

“I think when we get an opportunity to wear new threads, new jerseys – or a different set of jerseys – it allows us to feel ourselves. You look good, you play good.”

Sanders couldn’t have said it better.

MILAN — Team USA entered Friday’s opening ceremony at San Siro Stadium on a chilly night in Milan to mark the symbolic start of the 2026 Winter Olympics. But unlike the weather, the Americans received a warm welcome.

As U.S. Olympians walked into the stadium in matching Ralph Lauren ensembles during the Parade of Nations, choruses of cheers rang out across the crowd of spectators, until U.S. Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Second Lady Usha Vance, were shown on the stadium’s Jumbotron. At the sight of Vance waving miniature American flags from the San Siro grandstand, the crowd booed loudly.

The U.S. was the third-to-last country to enter, preceding France, host of the 2030 Winter Games in the French Alps, and host country Italy, which traditionally ends the Parade of Nations. The U.S. team was led by speed skater Erin Jackson, who proudly waved the American flag on a stage situated under gold Olympic rings.

The Parade of Nations was simultaneously held across four locations, with American athletes entering separate venues across Livigno, Predazzo and Cortina, depending on which venue hosted the athlete’s event. Bobsledder Frank Del Duca served as the American flag bearer in Cortina.

Vance received verbal jeers as the country’s political turmoil under the Trump administration plays out across global headlines. Ahead of the opening ceremony on Friday, staged protests against U.S. immigration’s reported presence in Italy were held in Milan. A U.S. Olympic official confirmed that ICE agents weren’t part of the country’s delegation on Thursday, but the official couldn’t confirm if agents were assisting the U.S. embassy’s security plan.

President Donald Trump has frequented domestic sporting events, including the College Football Playoff National Championship Game in Miami last month and Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans last year, but he was absent from the 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony. Instead, Vance led a U.S. delegation that included Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Tom Fertitta, the U.S. ambassador to Italy.

Vance was seated next to the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, and President of the International Olympic, Kirsty Coventry. Vance’s initial appearance appeared to go unnoticed by spectators, which instead cheered at the introduction of Mattarella. But the crowd let their feelings be known during the Parade of Nations.

The Israeli delegation was also booed earlier in the Parade of Nations, while Ukraine received a lengthy applause.

Earlier Friday, Vance met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and took in several performances during the team figure skating event.

Follow Cydney Henderson on X @CydHenderson

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The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics opening ceremony was broadcast from three separate locations across northern Italy.
NBC’s broadcast featured Mary Carillo, Terry Gannon, and former snowboarder Shaun White as hosts.
NBC’s coverage was noted for being an improvement over the 2024 Paris broadcast, despite logistical challenges.

LIVIGNO, Italy — Nothing will quite top the spectacle that was the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, where not even a significant rainstorm withered the parade down the Seine River.

The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics have a much different reality to confront. With three separate clusters and six total competition sites across northern Italy, from the Alps to the Dolomites to Milan, these Games are the most spread out ever, which NBC made clear at the top of the broadcast, and made the show, naturally, difficult to conjoin.

The network was looking to bounce back after Peyton Manning and Kelly Clarkson stepped all over the Paris opening ceremony broadcast and made a mess of it, clouding what was a special scene. This time, there were no celebrity guest hosts, as the network had to look at its talent bench with most of its sports broadcasting group, including Olympic host Mike Tirico, in Northern California for NBC’s Super Bowl 60 production Sunday.

Savannah Guthrie was scheduled to co-host alongside Terry Gannon but had to step aside as she and her family deal with the disappearance and suspected kidnapping of her 84-year-old mother, Nancy.

Mary Carillo filled in admirably on short notice. She and Gannon adequately addressed Guthrie’s absence during the 20 minutes between NBC going on air and the ceremony starting.

‘We are certainly without a loved member of our team,’ Gannon said.

Joining Gannon and Carillo was three-time Olympic gold-medalist Shaun White, who represented the U.S. at five Winter Games as a snowboarder. He was in the booth for a brief introduction at the start of the show and bowed out until the Parade of Nations, when air time needed to be filled, a wise move by NBC executives. Certainly qualified, White had his moments and provided insight into the snowboarding athletes because he knows them. Every country that walked though became a chance to tell a personal story, though.

We get it, Shaun. You’ve traveled the world twice over. Whoever got in his ear at the start of his set to encourage him to lay off the number of times he said ‘amazing’ was keen.

White, for his faults, is natural on television and his inclusion is sensical, unlike Manning and Clarkson were in Paris. He excelled in adding a former athlete’s perspective, complete with an amusing anecdote about not being told to walk during the opening ceremony because of his competition schedule, only to return to the athlete’s village in the wee hours of the morning. He left plenty to be desired when he transitioned into sportwashing on behalf of Saudi Arabia. His promotion of the Snow League, White’s winter sports circuit in its first year (which of course has a deal with NBC), was mildly irritating.

Carillo at least tried to keep the trains on the track by talking about Lindsey Vonn. She asked questions that advanced the conversation. There was a lightness to her interjections that matched the event. She tried to supply humor. At times, Carillo sounded like she was analyzing an actual sporting event, and it kind of worked.

Gannon mentioned protests in Iran and the Carillo followed up by pointing out the third act of the ceremony is about peace. They fawned over the Ukrainian athletes. Yet there was no mention of Israel receiving boos inside San Siro Stadium.  

The Parade of Nations lacked luster because athletes marched in separate places – inside San Siro, around Cortina and at the snow park in Livigno. The graphics department should have been busier and informed viewers which cluster they were watching as the broadcast canvassed each one. Having a camera in U.S. flagbearer Erin Jacskon’s family’s home in Ocala, Florida, created a heartwarming moment.

NBC threw it to special correspondent Snoop Dogg early but only returned to him for the Jamaican bobsledders and an interview with U.S. flagbearer Frank Del Duca. After his talent became an epic success for NBC in Paris, it was interesting to see the network not give him a bigger role throughout the show. Perhaps there’s an element of not wanting to shoot all of the Snoop bullets at once, but how many people at home would complain about more Double-G?

What has made Snoop indispensable beyond his entertainment value and camera presence is that it appears he actually does his homework and conveys a legitimate investment in the athletes. NBC deserves kudos for maintaining the partnership.

It’s not like NBC didn’t lean into the celebrity angle. Twelve minutes into the broadcast, Taylor Swift appeared and gave her props to the athletes representing America. It felt random until learning she dropped a music video for ‘Opalite’ on Friday.

Another lowlight for NBC was its interview with Chloe Kim, as reporter Tina Smith left plenty of meat on the bone when it came to asking about her injured shoulder and instead acted more like a fan.

The ceremony began with a montage of what we the world loves about Italy, and what Italy has given the world: opera, music, literature, Renaissance art, espressos, vino, natural beauty and architecture.

The ceremony’s theme, in Italian, was ‘armonia,’ which translates to harmony. There was a self-aware paparazzi skit that morphed into somewhat creepy mascot-heads of famous Italian composers Rossini, Verdi and Puccini.

Gannon was solid with the narration, complete with a Jim Valvano – his former basketball coach at North Carolina State – shoutout that would have made the late paisan proud. Carillo was never heavy-handed with additions.

Mariah Carey sang, in Italian, Domenico Modugno’s ‘Nel Blu, dipinto di Blu,’ followed by one of her most iconic songs, ‘Nothing Is Impossible’ (in English). She hit the falsetto notes – no lip-syncing controversies this time.

The introduction of Italian president Sergio Mattarella was tasteful. NBC didn’t overdo it by lingering on U.S. vice president JD Vance’s presence two spots from IOC president Kirsty Coventry, and only briefly lingered on him and wife Usha with a mention from Gannon during the Americans’ parade entrance.

Much of what ailed the NBC coverage was beyond its control. Tragic, in one sense. The network deserves credit for realizing its error two years ago, being nimble given Guthrie’s situation and juggling another massive sporting event. It wasn’t perfect, but much like these Games portend, it was perfectly disjointed.

Former NFL linebacker Darron Lee has been arrested and is being charged with the alleged murder of his girlfriend, police say.

According to the Hamilton County (Tennessee) Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a residence in Ooltewah, Tennessee, ‘to a report of CPR in progress.’

‘Upon arrival, first responders located a female victim and attempted life-saving measures,’ the police statement said.

The victim was pronounced deceased at the scene,

Named as the victim’s boyfriend, Lee was identified as a suspect and was taken into custody.

In 2023, Lee faced charges of misdemeanor domestic violence and misdemeanor assault.

Lee was drafted by the New York Jets in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft, spending three seasons in New York before he was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Ohio State product also had stints with the Buffalo Bills and Las Vegas Raiders, and was last part of an NFL roster in 2021 with the Raiders.

MILAN — NHL players are scheduled to land in Milan early in the morning Saturday and start practicing within hours.

It’s the logistical aspect of getting around 150 players from the U.S. to the 2026 Winter Games, where for the next two weeks they’ll try to reach the gold medal game Feb. 22. The players and other NHL personnel are traveling on chartered planes.

While NHL owners may grumble about the possibility of injuries, it’s a win for the sport to have the game’s best players back at the Olympics for the first time since 2014. (The 2018 Olympics in South Korea were a no-go for insurance and travel reasons, and the NHL pulled out of the 2022 Olympics in Beijing because of the pandemic.)

Here’s what to know.

When and where does Olympic men’s hockey get underway

The first practices run all day Sunday, with Latvia holding the first slot at 10 a.m. in Milan (4 a.m. ET). The U.S. has a slot from 6-7:30 p.m., and Canada from 7:45 to 9:15 p.m. There are practices through Feb. 10. They’re vital to getting everybody on the same page as quickly as possible, and to turbo-charge team bonding. As far as arenas, Santa Giulia Arena is the primary one, while Rho Ice Hockey Arena is a temporary venue.

When do the games begin

Games begin Feb. 11, with the marquee team in action that day being Sweden against Italy. In preliminaries, the U.S. plays Latvia Feb. 12, Denmark Feb. 14, and Germany Feb. 15.

How many teams are there

The participating national teams are Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.S. Host Italy is the only team without an NHL player on its roster. The teams are divided into fields of four. Group A has Canada, Czechia, France and Switzerland. Group B is Finland, Italy, Slovakia and Sweden. Group C has Denmark, Germany, Latvia and the U.S.

All 12 teams play three preliminary games in their respective groups, then move on to a single-elimination playoff that will conclude with the gold medal game Feb. 22.

Who is there from the NHL

All 32 NHL teams have a player going, but some teams have quite a few more than others. Take the Florida Panthers (10, representing five teams) and the Vegas Golden Knights (Nine, representing seven countries).The Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild and Tampa Bay Lightning each have eight players going.

Here’s the full list.

Anaheim Ducks

Lukas Dostal (CZE)Mikael Granlund (FIN)Radko Gudas (CZE)Jackson LaCombe (USA)

Boston Bruins

Henri Jokiharju (FIN)Joonas Korpisalo (FIN)Elias Lindholm (SWE)Hampus Lindholm (SWE)Charlie McAvoy (USA)David Pastrnak (CZE)Jeremy Swayman (USA)Pavel Zacha (CZE)

Buffalo Sabres

Rasmus Dahlin (SWE)Tage Thompson (USA)

Calgary Flames

Martin Pospisil (SVK)

Carolina Hurricanes

Sebastian Aho (FIN)Frederik Andersen (DEN)Nikolaj Ehlers (DEN)Seth Jarvis (CAN)Jaccob Slavin (USA)

Chicago Blackhawks

Teuvo Teravainen (FIN)

Colorado Avalanche

Joel Kiviranta (FIN)Gabriel Landeskog (SWE)Artturi Lehkonen (FIN)Nathan MacKinnon (CAN)Cale Makar (CAN)Martin Necas (CZE)Brock Nelson (USA)Devon Toews (CAN)

Columbus Blue Jackets

Elvis Merzlikins (LAT)Zach Werenski (USA) 

Dallas Stars

Radek Faksa (CZE)Thomas Harley (CAN)Miro Heiskanen (FIN)Roope Hintz (FIN)Esa Lindell (FIN)Jake Oettinger (USA)Mikko Rantanen (FIN)

Detroit Red Wings

Dylan Larkin (USA)Lucas Raymond (SWE)Moritz Seider (GER)

Edmonton Oilers

Leon Draisaitl (GER)Connor McDavid (CAN)Josh Samanski (GER)

Florida Panthers

Uvis Balinskis (LAT)Sam Bennett (CAN)Gustav Forsling (SWE)Anton Lundell (FIN)Eetu Luostarinen (FIN)Niko Mikkola (FIN)Brad Marchand (CAN)Sam Reinhart (CAN)Matthew Tkachuk (USA)Sandis Vilmanis (LAT) 

Los Angeles Kings

Joel Armia (FIN)Drew Doughty (CAN)Kevin Fiala (SUI)Adrian Kempe (SWE)Darcy Kuemper (CAN)

Minnesota Wild

Matt Boldy (USA)Joel Eriksson Ek (SWE)Brock Faber (USA)Filip Gustavsson (SWE)Quinn Hughes (USA)Marcus Johansson (SWE)Nico Sturm (GER)Jesper Wallstedt (SWE)

Montreal Canadiens

Oliver Kapanen (FIN)Juraj Slafkovsky (SVK)Nick Suzuki (CAN)Alexandre Texier (FRA)

Nashville Predators

Filip Forsberg(SWE)Erik Haula (FIN)Roman Josi (SUI)Juuse Saros (FIN)

New Jersey Devils

Jesper Bratt (SWE)Nico Hischier (SUI)Jack Hughes (USA)Jacob Markstrom (SWE)Timo Meier(SUI)Simon Nemec (SVK)Jonas Siegenthaler (SUI)

New York Islanders

Bo Horvat (CAN)Ondrej Palat (CZE)

New York Rangers

J.T. Miller (USA)Vincent Trocheck (USA)Mika Zibanejad (SWE)

Ottawa Senators

Lars Eller (DEN)Nikolas Matinpalo (FIN)Jake Sanderson (USA)Mads Søgaard (DEN)Tim Stutzle (GER)Brady Tkachuk (USA)

Philadelphia Flyers

Rasmus Ristolainen (FIN)Travis Sanheim (CAN)Dan Vladar (CZE) 

Pittsburgh Penguins

Sidney Crosby (CAN)Erik Karlsson (SWE)Rickard Rakell (SWE)Arturs Silovs (LAT)

San Jose Sharks

Macklin Celebrini (CAN)Philipp Kurashev (SUI)Pavol Regenda (SVK)Alexander Wennberg (SWE)

Seattle Kraken

Oscar Fisker Molgaard (DEN)Philipp Grubauer (GER)Kaapo Kakko (FIN)Eeli Tolvanen (FIN)

St. Louis Blues

Jordan Binnington (CAN)Philip Broberg (SWE)Dalibor Dvorsky (SVK)Colton Parayko (CAN)Pius Suter (SUI)

Tampa Bay Lightning

Oliver Bjorkstrand (DEN)Erik Cernak (SVK)Zemgus Girgensons (LAT)Jake Guentzel (USA)Brandon Hagel (CAN)Victor Hedman (SWE)Pontus Holmberg (SWE)J.J. Moser (SUI) 

Toronto Maple Leafs

Oliver Ekman-Larsson (SWE)William Nylander (SWE)Auston Matthews (USA)

Utah Mammoth

Clayton Keller (USA)Olli Maatta (FIN)JJ Peterka (GER)Karel Vejmelka (CZE)

Vancouver Canucks

Teddy Blueger (LAT)Filip Hronek (CZE)David Kampf (CZE)Kevin Lankinen (FIN)Elias Pettersson (SWE)

Vegas Golden Knights

Rasmus Andersson (SWE)Jack Eichel (USA)Noah Hanifin (USA)Tomas Hertl (CZE)Mitch Marner (CAN)Jonas Rondbjerg (DEN)Akira Schmid (SUI)Mark Stone (CAN)Shea Theodore (CAN)

Washington Capitals

Martin Fehervary (SVK)Logan Thompson (CAN)Tom Wilson (CAN)

Winnipeg Jets

Kyle Connor (USA)Connor Hellebuyck (USA)Josh Morrissey (CAN)Nino Niederreiter (SUI)

Several Seattle Seahawks players, including undrafted free agents, arrive at the team facility before 6 a.m.
Linebackers Pat O’Connell and Drake Thomas, along with safety Ty Okada, formed an early morning ‘breakfast club.’
Quarterback Sam Darnold and receiver Cooper Kupp often joke with the trio about who arrives at the facility first.

SAN JOSE, CA – First in the building, last to leave. It’s an aged cliché, and certainly one any NFL team and its fans want to accurately describe their quarterback.

But while Sam Darnold has been instrumental in leading the Seattle Seahawks to Super Bowl 60, it doesn’t apply to him. Nor is it true of one of his top receivers, Super Bowl 56 MVP Cooper Kupp – a renowned, early morning football film junkie who was constantly in the facility at daybreak with Matthew Stafford when they were Los Angeles Rams teammates, a habit Kupp carried over with Darnold this season.

But in Seattle – or, more specifically, at the Seahawks’ suburban training headquarters in Renton, Washington – Darnold and Kupp, dedicated as they are to their craft and successful as they’ve been over the course of the 2025 season, are routinely battling to be the fourth and fifth players into the picturesque Virginia Mason Athletic Center on the shores of Lake Washington. Darnold revealed the reason why during the buildup to the Super Bowl showdown with the New England Patriots.

“When I show up at the facility,” Darnold said Feb. 4, “me and Cooper are always kinda the first ones to get there – besides Ty Okada and Pat O’Connell.

“They’re there at 5:30, and then they sit down and have breakfast for 45 minutes – so, never really understood that.”

Who, you ask? And what’s to understand?

Ty Okada, Pat O’Connell, Drake Thomas form Seahawks’ ‘breakfast club’

O’Connell, a linebacker, and Okada, a safety, are undrafted free agents finishing up their third seasons in Seattle. Neither played much during their first two years in the NFL, each cut at the end of training camp in both 2023 and 2024 before being re-signed to the practice squad and subsequently shuttling back and forth between it and the active roster.

But Okada started 11 games this season and was also a significant special teams contributor. O’Connell only had 56 defensive snaps but nearly three times that many on special teams during his nine appearances this season.

But they enjoy daily collective appearances before sunrise at VMAC, where breakfast is served at 6 a.m. And O’Connell immediately wanted it known that Darnold wasn’t accurate. Totally.

“It’s only like 30 minutes, he exaggerated a little bit,” O’Connell told USA TODAY Sports. “We’re just there talking ball and catching up, talking life and everything. We call it our little breakfast club. It’s just three guys hanging out, talking shop.”

And it is a trio. O’Connell was quick to note that Darnold omitted starting linebacker Drake Thomas, yet another undrafted free agent who joined the team in 2023 − claimed by the Seahawks that year after he was waived by the Las Vegas Raiders during the post-camp roster reduction.

So what exactly are they discussing hours before the sun comes up in Renton’s northern latitude?

“Anything imaginable under the sun,” Okada told USA TODAY Sports.

“I would love to say it’s a little bit more football than social, but I would say it’s probably the opposite way, right? We love to talk shop about everything going on. … Really, it’s just a great time for us to connect in the morning before our busy days start.

“(J)ust really grateful for that group and being able to experience it all together with them.”

And if it sounds a bit like the high school cafeteria before homeroom?

“One hundred percent, that’s really what it is,” Thomas told USA TODAY Sports. “Just chopping it up, eating breakfast, talking about life.”

Family, weddings and football

And life is coming at them fast. O’Connell has a young family, while Thomas and Okada are both getting married later this year.

“We talk a lot about weddings,” Thomas admitted.

But don’t misinterpret this as an unserious troika. Their day jobs are often the topic du jour, especially, says Okada, given it’s helpful for him to compare notes with linebackers and vice versa.

“We just talk about whatever’s going on in the building, wherever we’re at in the week. We still talk a lot of football,” said Thomas.

And while they may not be the biggest names heading into Super Sunday, don’t discount the possibility one of them winds up making a pivotal play. Thomas and Okada combined for more than 160 tackles during the regular season. Thomas’ fourth-quarter interception in Week 18 at Levi’s Stadium – where he’ll be playing again Sunday – on a pass from San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy that was bobbled near the goal line by superstar Christian McCaffrey before settling into the linebacker’s hands helped Seattle secure the No. 1 playoff seed that’s been so critical to the Seahawks’ Super Bowl run.

Thomas was ready for that moment and might well be for his next opportunity thanks to those early morning talks about life and football. After all, the “breakfast club” existed in Seattle two years before Darnold and Kupp arrived last spring – even if it’s also a source of fun now.

“Sometimes they’ll beat us, sometimes we’ll beat them – we razz each other a little bit,” Okada said of Darnold and Kupp. “It’s just funny to (tell them), ‘You’re late.’”

But Kupp had the last word, and maybe unsurprisingly took the side of his quarterback rather than his defensive teammates (who, for the record, all live near Bellevue, about 15 minutes from Seahawks HQ).

“Oh, their little club,” Kupp burst out laughing on his way to a mid-morning meeting Thursday when asked by USA TODAY Sports about the fellas who are a perpetual presence when they’re in Washington.

“So what they don’t tell you is that they actually don’t have houses. They actually just live at the facility – they just throw mats down on the locker room floor, I mean they just use other guys’ lockers for their clothes. It’s really cheating what they’re doing. They set an alarm – it’s like they’re in their own kitchen. It’s not the same.

“They’re cheaters.”

But cheaters Darnold and Kupp are happy to work with. Whenever they punch in.

As Michigan State prepares for a Big Ten matchup with No. 6 Illinois, Spartans coach Tom Izzo has a big decision in front of him. The problem is, he has no idea how to make it.

That decision centers around MSU guard Jeremy Fears Jr., who is under fire for a series of underhanded plays against Minnesota in a 76-73 loss. Arguably the most notable was a backwards kick while trying to create space from Golden Gophers forward Langston Reynolds, resulting in a technical foul. And all of this came just days after Michigan coach Dusty May called out Fears’ play as ‘dangerous.’

Izzo, after the game, did not mince words. He said he wasn’t sure he was going to start Fears against Illinois in Feb. 7’s prime-time game, but comments on Feb. 6 indicate that threat may have been empty.

“I’ve looked at everything with Jeremy, and I can’t say like you normally do,” Izzo said, per the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY network. “I talked about not starting him and bringing him in, suspending him for a half. And then I looked at the whole situation, and I’m still not sure what I’m gonna do. And that’s the honest-to-God truth. And the only reason I’m not is because I gotta make sure that what is reported is always different than what actually happened.’

Izzo added Fears’ kick was largely retaliatory, something he was taking into consideration during his decision-making process.

‘I did not like the backward kick, OK?’ Izzo said. ‘He was pushed, he did that. Sometimes, those are reactionary.’

Izzo talked about Fears at length, praising his acumen in the classroom and the fact that the passion that got him in trouble is also the passion that makes him a strong player for the Spartans.

The timing, for Michigan State, is poor. A season-ending injury to Divine Ugochukwu has left Michigan State extremely thin at point guard, something Izzo did point out will not be a factor in whatever decision he makes.

With all of that in mind, there’s a very good chance Fears continues to start against Illinois despite the controversy. Which means the college basketball viewing world’s — and Izzo’s — eyes will be fixated firmly on No. 1, to condemn or vindicate the Hall of Fame coach’s decision.

They bring out personalities with whom we identify and bring us inspiration: The 40-something moms who bobsled and hope they packed enough diapers, the little girl who lost her leg to cancer but has learned to excel on the mountain.

They show us athletic events we don’t always see in our lives, and give us fresh ideas to try.

“There’s well over 50 (events) in the Winter and Summer Olympics,” says Dustin Williams, the assistant director of Olympic sports medicine and the head athletic trainer for track and cross country at Brigham Young University. “My advice is don’t be afraid to try something new because you never know if that’s going to be what you fall into.

‘There’s so many opportunities. Different athletes always talk about how they’re doing well at this event or sport because of their background. Many athletes that I’ve worked with, especially (at) bobsled and skeleton, talk about how it was their track and field background that’s now helped them to excel.”

Williams was speaking at a virtual media briefing hosted by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association last fall. The intent was to try to emphasize a diversity of activities for youth athletes to stimulate overall health and prevent injuries.

Winter Olympic-style activities are an excellent way to change up your routine and take a break from our primary sport before spring season begins. Modifying the events we watch on TV can help kids develop motor skills, control their bodies and build confidence through movement.

We don’t have to hit the bobsled track or find a steep mountain. Here are five easier suggestions:

Indoor curling

Our own Chris Bumbaca tried it before he left to cover the Games in Italy:

During the session with Chris Plys, a Team USA bronze medalist at curling at the 2022 Games, Bumbaca noted not only how much harder the sport was than it looked, but the workout he was getting.

One family found a creative way to tilt curling more toward precision and general movement than speed with mops, water bottles and a target that can be taped to the floor. (This activity could also change up the way you practice your golf putts.)

If you want more strength work, roll a medicine ball toward your target and skip the broom portion or, as one physical education teacher found, you can try “Plank Curling” to work your core and abdominal strength:

Modified speed skating and skiing

Several YouTube channels have come up with entire Winter Olympics units. Front Range Physical Education does alpine skiing in a gymnasium using pool noodles for poles and old scarves for skis.

It’s more of a cross-country activity that tests coordination and gets kids moving:

You can compete at speed skating indoors in similar fashion with carpet squares or paper plates for skates and a circle of cones for the track. The skating motion works familiar kid (and parent) muscles in a different way:

Bobsled and luge with mats and rope

Bobsledding can be mimicked by pushing floor (gymnastics) mats on top of rectangular scooters through checkpoints designated by cones. The idea is controlled strength as kids work their legs and push.

The floor scooters can work by themselves for younger kids and, as they get older, one or two can sit on the mat while the others push:

If you want more strength training, and have a smaller space, tie an end of a rope to something sturdy (basketball hoop, pull-up bar, bleachers) and attach scooters together (like with indoor bobsled). Have kids or adults lie down on them and pull the untied end of the rope to move themselves forward:

Wear a bicyle helmet for safety.

Floor hockey

I never played ice hockey as a kid, but I lived for floor hockey. It seemed to be an equalizer, like Pickleball, for different levels of skill. While pickleball neutralizes the strength and speed elements of tennis, floor hockey takes away the advantage of superior skating.

Floor hockey tests your fitness and physical dexterity and competitiveness. Like with youth ice hockey, you can adapt the game to large or small spaces.

Backyard Olympics

Several years ago, my family spent a weekend at a resort in Pennsylvania that hosted its own Winter Olympics. It was adults and kids mixed together, with teams balanced for strength, size and speed, and it contained events such as tubing, tug-of-war and running through the snow in boots.

While some of the adults made a big deal about their teams winning (go figure), the idea was we can always create our own games with our ideas. Find a safe, snowy hill and glide down it on a sled or a tube. Make it a biathlon by getting up, picking up a nerf gun and shooting at targets on a tree.

Michele LaBotz, a sports medicine physician and the medical director of the athletic training program at the University of New England, says the best opportunity to develop kids’ basic movement skills is preschool and early grade school.

A variety of activities, even if they’re not formal sports, help them with control of their bodies, such as backward, forward, upside down, in-the-air and balancing motion. This can all be done running around the playground.

If you’re at the slopes, doing similar motions can fill you with hope. Brenna Huckaby, who lost her leg to cancer but became a future Paralympic snowboarder and swimsuit model, got her inspiration on a rehabilitative trip to Utah.

“The idea was, if we could ski down a mountain, then when we got home, we were able to conquer everyday life things,’ she told USA TODAY Sports last month.

Borelli, aka Coach Steve, has been an editor and writer with USA TODAY since 1999. He spent 10 years coaching his two sons’ baseball and basketball teams. He and his wife, Colleen, are now sports parents for two high schoolers. His Coach Steve column is posted weekly. For his past columns, click here.