MILAN — The Olympic torch arrived in front of Milan’s giant gothic cathedral on Thursday amid cheers and protests in the city on the eve of the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina Winter Games.

Nicoletta Manni, a leading ballet dancer at the nearby La Scala theater, carried the flame on to a platform in the shadow of the cathedral where it was used to light a brazier.

Most of those packing the Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square) in light rain and along the route had cheered the torch’s passage and snapped photos with their smartphones. The torch was brought into the square through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele arcade.

A small group of demonstrators flew Palestinian flags on the edge of the square in solidarity with the citizens of Gaza. There were also pro-Palestinian protests near the city’s university earlier in the evening.

Israel has a group of 10 athletes competing at the Games.

On Thursday morning, environmental group Greenpeace staged a protest in front of the cathedral, protesting the role of Italian oil major Eni ENI.MI as a sponsor of these Games.

An installation depicted the Olympic rings dripping black oil, a visual denunciation of companies it accuses of contributing to global warming and threatening winter sports dependent on cold conditions.

“Kick polluters out of the Games,” read one of the banners.

In a statement, Eni said it “shares the importance of addressing climate change” and would continue investing in the energy transition as part of its plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

The flame began its journey across Italy in December after being lit in Rome and has traveled through all 110 Italian provinces. It called in on Games co-host Cortina d’Ampezzo in the Dolomites last month.

The Games are due to open officially on Friday evening, with an opening ceremony at Milan’s San Siro soccer stadium, twinned with a celebration in Cortina.

Italian Olympic ski champions Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni will have the honor of lighting the cauldrons for the Games on Friday, Gazzetta dello Sport reported on Wednesday.

–Reuters, special to Field Level Media

SAN FRANCISCO — The Seattle Seahawks have been hit with the big injury concern days ahead of Super Bowl LX, but that didn’t stop the NFC champions from cushioning their favorite status.

The consensus line moved to the Seahawks favored by 5.0 points to beat the New England Patriots across major sportsbooks on Thursday afternoon, according to MetaBet. That includes at BetMGM, where the line had been at 4.5 points for several days after opening at 4.0 points when the Super Bowl matchup was finalized.

The book reported earlier in the day that 61% of the spread-line money and 55% of the total bets have backed Seattle. The Seahawks’ -235 moneyline to win the game outright has held steady, drawing 67% of the money, while the Patriots at +195 has been backed by 66% of the total ML bets.

Thursday’s bump in favor of the Seahawks came despite standout rookie safety Nick Emmanwori leaving Wednesday’s practice late with an ankle injury. However, coach Mike Macdonald said Thursday morning that he’s “fully expected to play.”

The line has remained at 4.5 at several other sportsbooks, including DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars.

The total points line is 45.5 at DraftKings and BetMGM. It opened at 46 at the latter, but has inched down slightly with the Over backed by 52% of both the total bets and money wagered.

The Patriots were the NFL’s second-highest scoring team at 28.8 points per game, with the Seahawks right behind at 28.4. Seattle had the stingiest defense in the league in 2025, allowing 17.2 points per game. The Patriots were fourth at 18.8.

The book reported that the most popular correct score prop bet has been the Seahawks to win 24-17 at +10000, while the most-bet winning margin has been Seattle by 7-12 points at +340.

According to teamrankings.com, the Seahawks and Patriots are the best teams against the spread (record when factoring in the point spread) this season, including playoffs.

Seattle is 14-5-0 against the spread (ATS), while New England is 13-6-1.

This will be the second Super Bowl meeting between the Seahawks and the Patriots. New England beat defending champion Seattle in Super Bowl XLIX (49) on Feb. 1, 2015 when Patriots defensive back Malcolm Butler intercepted Russell Wilson at the goal line with 20 seconds left in the game to seal the 28-24 win in Glendale, Ariz.

–Derek Harper, Field Level Media

The Boston Celtics traded forward Xavier Tillman Sr. and cash considerations to the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday, ESPN reported, moments before the NBA trade deadline passed for good.

The Hornets acquired Tillman and $3.5 million in cash considerations, pulling Boston away from the luxury tax, similar to the deal that brought guard Tyus Jones in and out of Charlotte from Orlando on Wednesday.

Tillman had been seeing declining minutes since his championship-winning stint with the Celtics in 2024, seeing more than 15 minutes on the floor just five times. Through the 2025-26 season, Tillman averaged 2.2 points and 1.8 rebounds per game in 14 appearances.

Tillman was drafted by the Sacramento Kings in the second round of the 2020 NBA Draft, but was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies on draft day. Tillman played three full seasons in Memphis, along with one full season in Boston.

–Field Level Media