Sports
Confident USC takes on struggling Northwestern
Feb 1, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans players celebrate with fans in the student section after defeating the Michigan State Spartans at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: William Navarro-Imagn Images Southern California heads to Evanston, Ill., on Tuesday hoping to build on a Top 10 win when it faces the slumping Northwestern Wildcats.
USC (13-8, 5-5 Big Ten) arrives brimming with belief after a 70-64 home win on Saturday over then-No. 7 Michigan State. Desmond Claude finished with 19 points and six rebounds for the Trojans, improving his team-leading scoring average to 16.2 points per game.
“Our team is a confident team,” USC coach Eric Musselman said after his side dealt the Spartans their first Big Ten defeat. “You lose a hard-fought game against UCLA at home (82-76 on Jan. 27), how are you going to respond? And then how are you going to respond when you’ve got two road games coming back?”
The Trojans play consecutive road games this week, as they will stay in the Midwest to face No. 7 Purdue on Friday. While USC will aim to pick up its third Top 20 win in Big Ten play against the Boilermakers — adding to the Saturday victory and an 82-72 triumph at Illinois on Jan. 11 — the Trojans cannot afford to overlook Northwestern.
The Wildcats (12-10, 3-8) carry a three-game losing streak into the Tuesday game as they seek to salvage something from their three-game homestand. Northwestern fell to Rutgers (79-72 on Jan. 29) and then-No. 17 Wisconsin (75-69 on Saturday), games that followed an 83-74 loss at Illinois on Jan. 26. The skid coincides with Brooks Barnhizer’s foot injury that went from painful to season-ending.
Barnhizer, averaging 17.1 points and team highs of 8.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, scored at least 20 points in three straight games after sustaining the injury Jan. 12 vs. Michigan State. However, after he labored through performances of three points at Illinois and 10 vs. Rutgers, Wildcats coach Chris Collins revealed through tears after the Saturday game that Barnhizer’s Northwestern career was over.
“Not only was he not moving well, but I could see it was mentally killing him,” Collins said. “He and I got together over the last couple days and had some real heart-to-hearts, and the decision was made to shut it down.”
That leaves 19.4-points-per-game scorer Nick Martinelli and 14.7-point producer Jalen Leach carrying the Northwestern offense.
For USC, Claude leads a contingent of four Trojans scoring at least 11 points per game, a group that also includes Chibuzo Agbo (11.7 ppg), Wesley Yates III (11.3 ppg) and Saint Thomas (11.0 ppg).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Brazil's Estevao (hamstring) in doubt for World Cup
Chelsea’s Estevao down injured in a match against Manchester United on April 18, 2026. Brazil forward Estevao’s participation in this summer’s FIFA World Cup reportedly is in jeopardy due to a hamstring injury sustained during Chelsea’s weekend loss to Manchester United.
The 18-year-old prodigy suffered a Grade 4 hamstring injury and is “highly unlikely” to be ready for the start of the North American tournament on June 11, The Athletic reported on Wednesday.
Estevao limped off with the injury in the 16th minute of Chelsea’s 1-0 loss on Saturday and was in tears in the locker room after the match, according to coach Liam Rosenior. He reportedly underwent an MRI on Monday afternoon.
Estevao has registered eight goals and four assists in 36 appearances during his first season with the Premier League side, including three goals in seven Champions League matches.
Internationally, Estevao has tallied four goals in his last four appearances with the Brazilian national team and has 11 career caps.
Brazil, currently ranked No. 6 in the world, is in Group C for the World Cup with Morocco, Haiti and Scotland. The five-time World Cup champions open play against Morocco on June 13 in East Rutherford, N.J.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Caps D Rasmus Sandin recovering from ACL surgery
Apr 5, 2026; New York, New York, USA; Washington Capitals defenseman Rasmus Sandin (38) warms up before the first period against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images Washington Capitals defenseman Rasmus Sandin is recovering from surgery to repair his torn right ACL.
The 26-year-old Swede sustained the knee injury in a 6-3 win at Pittsburgh on April 11.
The typical timeline for a recovery from ACL surgery is an estimated six to nine months.
Sandin finished the season with 29 points (five goals, 24 assists) and a plus-4 rating in 73 games. He was third on the team with 127 blocks.
A first-round pick by Toronto in 2018, Sandin has 145 points (25 goals, 120 assists) through 382 career games with the Maple Leafs and Capitals.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Ryder Cup organizers defend nearly doubled ticket prices for '27
Oct 1, 2023; Rome, ITA; Team Europe captain Luke Donald poses with the Ryder Cup after Team Europe beat Team USA during the final day of the 44th Ryder Cup golf competition at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images Ryder Cup organizers are defending nearly doubling ticket prices for the 2027 event in Limerick, Ireland, from the last time Europe hosted the event in 2023.
Daily tickets to Adare Manor Golf Club, which will go on sale to Irish residents Friday before opening for the rest of the world in a ballot June 3, will be the most expensive in European Ryder Cup history at 499 euros ($584.45 USD). That’s a steep increase from the 260 euros ($304.54) that a daily ticket cost for the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome.
“We acknowledge it’s an increase from Rome,” Richard Atkinson, the European Tour Group’s chief Ryder Cup officer, told BBC.
“That was four years ago and a lot has happened in the world since then. We are lower than Bethpage. We’ve tried to make this as accessible as possible to a wide demographic of people. Our practice day tickets will be from 89 euros and juniors from 20 euros.
“Our prices are proportionate to a global sporting event. This event has grown in stature and profile, it’s one of the biggest sporting events in the world. We’re confident in our pricing but we’ve made it accessible to everyone.”
Daily tickets for the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black Golf Course in Farmingdale, N.Y., cost $750 USD (640.34 euros).
This will be the first Ryder Cup in Ireland since the K Club in Kildare hosted the 2006 event. It also has a chance to be a historic one as Luke Donald seeks to become the first captain to lead his team to three straight Ryder Cup titles after Europe became the first visiting side to win since 2012 with its 15-13 victory in the U.S. last year.
Regarding the price hike, Atkinson discussed a number of ways in which officials are attempting to make the 2027 event the most fan-friendly Ryder Cup Europe has ever hosted.
“We have significant focus on the fan experience on site and from the moment the people arrive at 6:30 in the morning, they’ll be entertained not only by 24 of the best golfers in the world but also outside of the ropes, we’ll have an extensive entertainment program to keep the fans engaged,” he said. “We’ll have over 20,000 grandstand seats at Adare, that’s a record for any European Ryder Cup, we’ll have big screens on every hole.”
Higher prices don’t seem to be affecting the interest level. Atkinson told BBC that even before tickets go on sale, demand has been quite high as they expect about 250,000 fans in attendance over the course of the week.
“We’ve already had over a half a million people register their interest for tickets, so that tells you how significant the demand is,” Atkinson said.
“This is likely to be one of the largest we’ve ever delivered and one of the largest events to come to the island of Ireland so we couldn’t be more excited.”
–Field Level Media
Report: Brazil's Estevao (hamstring) in doubt for World Cup
Caps D Rasmus Sandin recovering from ACL surgery
