MILAN, Italy — After quitting figure skating shortly after making her Olympic debut at the 2022 Beijing Games as a 16-year-old, Alysa Liu has returned to winter sports’ biggest stage with a message to deliver.

“I know who I am as a person now. I have ideas and concepts that I want to share with the world,” Liu said at the Milan Cortina Games after finishing second in the women’s singles short program portion of the team event on Friday.

“I hope that I’m able to inspire you to do what you want to do, be who you want to be, and go for it. Like, don’t let anybody stop you, and it’s good to be different,” she said sporting a blonde fringe on her dark hair.

Liu began bleaching a band of her hair in 2023, adding a stripe in each of the following two years, creating a two-tone look that some U.S. media have described as resembling a raccoon tail.

The reigning women’s world champion said the stripes are inspired by the rings of a tree, symbolising personal growth.

The California-born skater announced she was retiring in April 2022, saying she wanted to move on with her life after achieving her goals in skating.

At the time, Liu had twice won the U.S. Championships, finished sixth overall in Beijing and won bronze at the world championships weeks before the announcement.

Liu said the current Olympic experience was completely different.

“To be on the big stage and in front of so many people you have to be an adult. It’s so hard on a kid,” she said.

“Last time I was kind of like, let’s get this over with. But now I want to be here and I don’t want this to end. I will be sad when the Olympics are over.”

Following the controversy surrounding 15-year-old Russian Kamila Valieva, whose failed drugs test came to light during the Beijing Games, the International Skating Union (ISU) voted to raise the minimum age for competitors in senior events from 15 to 17 to protect skaters’ “physical and mental health, and emotional well-being”.

Liu resumed her career in 2024 and won gold at the 2025 World Championships in Boston.

“I don’t think (my performance) stands out more than the others. I just think: if I’m someone’s cup of tea, they’ll drink it. So hopefully I reach those people.”

–Reuters, special to Field Level Media

Ishan Sharma led a balanced offense with 15 points as No. 19 Saint Louis pulled away from La Salle 82-58 Saturday afternoon.

Quentin Jones and Amari McCottry scored 13 points and Dion Brown added 12 as the Billikens (23-1, 11-0 Atlantic 10) won their 17th straight game.

Rob Dockery scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Explorers (7-17, 3-8), who lost their fourth straight game.

Saint Louis shot 10-for-20 from 3-point range during the second half while outscoring La Salle 51-31.

The Explorers forced three early turnovers and pushed out to their 6-1 lead, with Dockery scoring four early points. The Billikens responded with an 11-2 run fueled by two baskets by Brown inside and Sharma’s 3-pointer coming off the bench.

After Saint Louis moved out to a 19-13 lead with Paul Otieno scoring twice inside, La Salle dug in at the defensive end of the court by switching up the aggressive zones.

The Explorers tied the game 19-19, 21-21, 23-23 and 25-25 while extending possessions with offensive rebounds.

The Billikens finally broke through with 3-point jumpers by Jones and Sharma on consecutive possessions, but Dockery scored inside to cut La Salle’s halftime deficit to 31-27.

Edwin Daniel cut the lead to 34-31 early in the second half with his second consecutive inside basket for La Salle.

The Billikens finally got rolling with a 7-0 surge, triggered by Trey Green’s 3-point jumper, to move ahead 41-31.

After making just three 3-point shots in the first half, Saint Louis made four in the first 7:30 of the second half while extending its lead to 52-40.

The Explorers battled back, cutting their deficit to 54-48 on Dockery’s layup with 8:26 left to play. But the Billikens answered with two 3-point jumpers by Sharma and one by Brady Dunlap in a 55-second span to build a 63-48 margin.

From there, the Explorers never got closer.

–Field Level Media

Ayo Dosunmu hoped for an opportunity to reach the playoffs this season.

It looks as if Dosunmu will get his wish. He will make his debut with the Minnesota Timberwolves when they tip off against the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.

Dosunmu arrived in Minnesota on Friday but was inactive for the Timberwolves’ game that night against the New Orleans Pelicans as he acclimated to his new city and new team. The former Chicago Bulls guard is expected to be a key part of the Timberwolves’ rotation starting Sunday.

“This is a great opportunity for me,” Dosunmu said. “I’m excited to be here with the Timberwolves’ playoff team. [There are a] lot of great guys on the team, great coaching staff, great management. I’m just excited to help get over that hump, whatever it takes to help win.”

Dosunmu’s debut could provide a much-needed jolt of energy to the Timberwolves, who are coming off a 119-115 loss at home against the Pelicans. The defeat left a sour taste in Minnesota’s locker room after the game and prompted Rudy Gobert to call out unnamed teammates for a lack of defensive effort.

“Just no effort,” Gobert said. “We’ve seen that many, many times this year, last few years, since I’ve been here. We always know it’s coming. When it comes there’s no sense of urgency, no accountability.

“So I think at some point, if the players don’t have accountability, someone has to have accountability for the players.”

If the players can’t police themselves, Gobert said, then the coaches must do it.

“It should start with ourselves, but it seems like we don’t have that, so I think at some point from the coaches, yeah,” Gobert said. “It’s not an easy position for a coach to take guys out of the game. It’s not something that you want to do, but I think if the players don’t show any effort, at some point, no matter how talented we are as a team, if you don’t have that, you just can’t be a winning team.”

The next opportunity for a high-effort performance comes against a Clippers squad that looks much different than it did a week ago. Los Angeles traded key veterans such as James Harden and Ivica Zubac before the trade deadline, and new acquisition Darius Garland remains sidelined because of a toe injury.

Despite the changes, the Clippers held on for a 114-111 road victory against the Sacramento Kings in their most recent game. Kawhi Leonard led the way with 31 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Look for Leonard to take on a leadership role again Sunday.

“(I’m) just staying aggressive,” Leonard said. “Trying to get wins, that’s it. I’d trade it all for more wins.”

This is the second of four regular-season meetings between the Timberwolves and Clippers. Minnesota won the first matchup 109-106 on Dec. 6 thanks to a team-high 27 points on 10-for-13 shooting by Jaden McDaniels.

-Field Level Media