Sports
Pelle Larsson sparks shorthanded Heat with Hawks in town
Feb 1, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat guard Pelle Larsson (9) splits the defense of Chicago Bulls forward Isaac Okoro (35) and center Nikola Vucevic (9) during the second half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images After posting at least 20 points in two consecutive games, Swedish-born guard Pelle Larsson has become a surprising standout for the Miami Heat.
Larsson aims to extend his streak on Tuesday night when Miami hosts the Atlanta Hawks.
Larsson averages just 10.3 points for the year, which ranks seventh on the team. However, Larsson has capitalized on extra minutes recently as the Heat have been playing without 2026 All-Star Norman Powell (personal reasons), 2025 All-Star Tyler Herro (toe injury) and 2022 first-round pick Nikola Jovic (hip).
Additionally, starting point guard Davion Mitchell missed six games with a shoulder injury before returning for Sunday’s 134-91 victory over Chicago.
Larsson, a Stockholm native whose father played for the Swedish National Team, has made a habit of filling any role necessary. He was a starter for three of his four college seasons, but earned the Pac-12’s 2022 Sixth Man of the Year honor for Arizona in his lone year as a backup.
In 2024, Larsson was Houston’s second-round pick, but the Heat traded for him on draft night. He started only eight games as a rookie, averaging 4.6 points. This season, he has started 30 games and his production has more than doubled.
But production doesn’t just mean scoring.
Larsson draws charges, makes the extra pass and helps Miami win.
“Pelle makes the right play,” Heat captain Bam Adebayo said. “He does the little things.
“Sometimes he scores 20 points. Sometimes he scores two. But he makes an impact either way.”
Overall, the Heat have won four of their past six games and haven’t dropped consecutive games since Jan. 6-11.
They are in seventh place in the Eastern Conference with a 27-24 record, three games ahead of 10th-place Atlanta.
The Hawks also have won four of their last six, but they enter Tuesday with a two-game losing streak.
Hawks coach Quin Snyder continues to make tweaks in the wake of last month’s blockbuster trade that sent Atlanta’s all-time assists and 3-point leader Trae Young to Washington.
The team now revolves around forward Jalen Johnson, who recorded his eighth triple-double of the season in Saturday’s 129-124 loss to Indiana.
Johnson had 33 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. For the season, he averages 23.1 points, 10.5 rebounds and 8.0 assists.
The Hawks’ losing streak has coincided with the absence of starting center Onyeka Okongwu, who has missed two games and remains day-to-day after getting hit in the face and suffering a dental fracture on Jan. 28 against Boston.
“Onyeka is the most selfless ball-mover on our team,” Snyder said. “When our guys get him the ball, they know they will get it back.
“He will make a play for someone else. He sets the example, but we need everyone to play with the same mindset.”
Miami ranks second in the league in scoring average (120.0 ppg) while Atlanta shares ninth (117.2 ppg).
Nickell Alexander-Walker serves as Atlanta’s second-leading scorer (20.3 ppg). CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert — acquired in the Young trade — are being used as reserves. They are combining for 27.6 points in 47.1 minutes per game.
Snyder simply wants his team to play unselfish basketball.
“When we play well, we are getting in the lane, and we’re kicking the ball out, and we’re running and spacing,” Snyder said. “It’s something we believe in. It’s not a lack of buy-in. It just requires execution.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Argentina club looking to lure Lionel Messi home in 2027
Dec 6, 2025; Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA; Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) looks on with the Philip F. Anschutz trophy after winning the 2025 MLS Cup against the Vancouver Whitecaps FC at Chase Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Argentina club Newell’s Old Boys is working on a plan to bring two-time MLS MVP Lionel Messi home next year.
A team executive confirmed that it’s trying to entice Messi to return to his boyhood club for the first half of 2027.
“It’s a project that goes beyond Newell’s. It involves the city of Rosario, the province, and Argentine football,” first vice president Juan Manuel Medina said, according to an ESPN story published Wednesday.
Messi, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner as the world’s best player, signed an extension with defending MLS Cup champion Inter Miami in October that runs through the end of the 2028.
Messi, 38, played for Newell’s youth teams from 1995-2000 before moving to the FC Barcelona academy.
Inter Miami will open the 2026 MLS season on Feb. 21 at Los Angeles FC. Messi also is preparing to defend Argentina’s World Cup championship this summer in North America.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Lindsey Vonn's coach, Stefon Diggs confident she can ski with ACL injury
[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Feb 3, 2026; Cortina d’Ampezzo, ITALY; Lindsey Vonn attends a press conference at a press conference at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in preparation for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. Mandatory Credit: Leonhard Foeger/Reuters via Imagn Images Lindsey Vonn’s coach and New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs are confident that the American skiing great can compete at the Milano Cortina Olympics with a ruptured ACL in her left knee.
Vonn, 41, is set to try her luck in the women’s downhill race on Sunday
“I’m pretty confident that she can still pull off this dream,” Vonn’s head coach Chris Knight told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “I’ve got no doubts in my mind that this is going to be OK.”
Knight’s comments came one day after Vonn said that she’s not interested in discussing surgery at the moment.
“It’s not really on my radar screen right now. The Olympics are the only thing that I’m thinking about,” she said. “Every day my knee’s gotten better. And every day we’re discussing with a full medical team, doctors, physios, everyone, to make sure we’re doing everything to make sure I am making smart and safe decisions.”
Diggs knows a thing or two about a torn ACL. His lone season with the Houston Texans in 2024 was cut short by the same injury.
“Prayers to her. I hope the surgery does go well when she does have it,” Diggs said Wednesday of Vonn. “Anybody who has torn an ACL, it’s kind of a weird injury. You can run after about two weeks when the swelling goes down. … As long as she doesn’t have to (decelerate), she should be fine.”
Like Vonn, Diggs has a big day ahead on Sunday. Diggs and the Patriots will face the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, Calif.
As for Vonn, she must complete at least one official training run to take part in the Sunday downhill. Vonn is no stranger to the mountain. She collected 12 of her 84 World Cup victories there, the most of any skier.
Vonn earned gold (downhill) and bronze (Super-G) medals at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and a bronze medal in the downhill at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.
Vonn retired after the 2019 world championships due to injuries. She subsequently received a partial replacement of her right knee and launched a comeback late in 2024 with the Olympics in her sights.
She has won the downhill twice this winter and leads the World Cup standings in the discipline and was considered a favorite to win the gold medal in the event in Italy.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Washington Post shutters sports department
Sep 15, 2022; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Amazon executive chairman Jeff Bezos in attendance before the Kansas City Chiefs play against the Los Angeles Chargers at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images The Washington Post shuttered its venerable sports department on Wednesday, part of a larger layoff involving one-third of the newspaper’s staff.
“The Washington Post is taking a number of difficult but decisive actions today for our future, in what amounts to a significant restructuring across the company,” a Post spokesperson said in a statement. “These steps are designed to strengthen our footing and sharpen our focus on delivering the distinctive journalism that sets The Post apart and, most importantly, engages our customers.”
Executive editor Matt Murray announced the changes in a video conference with employees.
The move comes with Post reporters already on site covering Super Bowl LX and the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.
“It’s like somebody taking a hammer to my heart,” Sally Jenkins, who wrote a Post sports column until she left the paper last summer, told The Ringer. “It’s not just broken. It’s broken into about 20 pieces, one for every single one of my close friends there.”
Some sports reporters are expected to move into other roles, but the exact number was not reported.
A skeleton crew will continue to produce what Murray described as features about sports as a “cultural and societal phenomenon.”
The Post has undergone repeated changes, downsizings and reinventions since Amazon chief Jeff Bezos purchased the paper in 2013.
In addition to cutting the sports pages, the Post is reducing its international footprint, making the Metro section more “nimble and focused” and eliminating the Books section.
–Field Level Media
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