Sports
Political tensions surface at slick Milan Cortina opening ceremony
[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Feb 6, 2026; Milan, ITALY; Fabric pours out from three tubes of paint from above as performers walk on stage during the opening ceremony during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. Mandatory Credit: Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters via Imagn Images MILAN/CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Italy launched the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics on Friday with a slick and colorful ceremony that celebrated the country’s history, arts and fashion but where global political tensions surfaced in the crowd reaction.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella formally declared the Games open at the main event in Milan’s San Siro stadium as part of an unprecedented show that also linked to celebrations in co-host Cortina d’Ampezzo, more than 250 miles away in the Dolomites.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were among the crowd in the iconic soccer stadium for the performance entitled “Armonia” (Harmony) that lasted three and a half hours.
Vance, who has been strongly critical of Europe, drew jeers in the stadium when an image of him waving the U.S. flag appeared on a big screen.
The announcement of the Israeli team prompted some booing in Milan over the loud soundtrack, but there were cheers in Cortina. Israel has a team of 10 in Italy.
The group of five athletes from Ukraine in Milan drew huge cheers.
TWIN CAULDRONS LIT IN MILAN AND CORTINA
International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry said the Games should bring people together.
“Let these Games be a celebration of what unites us — of everything that makes us human,” Coventry said.
“This is the magic of the Olympic Games: inspiring us all to be the best that we can be — together,” she added.
For the first time, two Olympic cauldrons, one of the symbols of the Games, were lit simultaneously and will burn throughout — one at Milan’s Arco della Pace (Peace Arch) and the other in Cortina’s Piazza Dibona.
Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni, two of Italy’s most successful Alpine skiers who both won three Olympic gold medals, lit the cauldron at the 19th century Milan monument.
Sofia Goggia, one of Italy’s top medal hopes for these Games, did the honors in Cortina. She became the first Italian woman to win an Olympic downhill gold at the 2018 edition.
MARIAH CAREY GOT THE PARTY STARTED
U.S. pop diva Mariah Carey had gotten the party started in a unique opening ceremony combining elements from the co-hosts, seeking to reflect both city and mountain life.
Carey performed the 1950s Italian song “Nel blu, dipinto di blu” (“In the blue, painted in blue”) with its famous “Volare” (“To fly”) refrain to cheers in the stadium.
Mattarella had been introduced to the fans via a recorded video clip in which the 84-year-old was seen traveling through the city on one of Milan’s historic trams.
The show also included a tribute to the late Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani, who made Milan his base and died last September.
The ceremony celebrated the diversity of Italian life, from fashionable Milan to the smaller mountain towns in the Alps that host the outdoor events at the Games, which run until Feb. 22.
Athletes also paraded in the mountain venues of Livigno and Predazzo, in a Games spread over 22,000 square kilometers.
INITIAL CONFUSION IN CORTINA
There was some initial confusion over access in Cortina.
Loredana Vido, from Padova, owner of a second home in Cortina, was blocked at the start of Corso Italia, the town’s main street, and said: “We were not told that everything would be closed off. We were told it was free entry.”
But some competitors in Cortina were pleased to get a slice of the action without having to trek to Milan, and they mixed with one another after their parades.
“Do I wish I was at the full one? Kind of. Am I happy I don’t have to spend 10 hours on a bus that day? Yes,” said Austin Florian, part of the U.S. skeleton team.
In the outdoor event in Livigno, at the foot of the snowboard and freeski runs, a thin crowd of locals and tourists gathered to watch the main ceremony in Milan on screens, as athletes in the small Alpine town walked in the snow, in sync with delegations at the San Siro.
PROTESTS IN MILAN
A series of protests took place on Friday, with more planned over the weekend, in the Italian financial capital to oppose the presence of analysts from a department that falls under U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Italy’s government has said the controversy is unfounded, with ICE personnel not on the streets during the Olympics and only operatives from its Homeland Security Investigations in Italy working out of U.S. diplomatic missions.
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has also said no agents from ICE were providing security for Team USA.
More local issues such as the closure of schools and streets in the city have also irked some Milanese.
–Reuters, special to Field Level Media
Sports
Top scorers collide when Wisconsin pays visit to Indiana
Jan 22, 2026; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard Nick Boyd (2) drives during the first half against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Rec Hall. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images Nick Boyd’s production is helping Wisconsin position itself nicely in the Big Ten standings while Lamar Wilkerson’s impressive output has not been enough for Indiana to climb out of the middle of the pack.
Two of the conference’s top scorers oppose each other when Boyd and Wisconsin visit Wilkerson and Indiana on Saturday afternoon in Bloomington, Ind.
Boyd’s 20.0 points per game are fourth in the conference and nine of his 13 games with at least 20 points have come in conference play. The Badgers (16-6, 8-3 Big Ten) are 10-3 when Boyd scores at least 20 and he is coming off consecutive 21-point showings in home wins over Ohio State and Minnesota last week that required comebacks.
Boyd shot 6-of-15 in last Saturday’s 92-82 win over Ohio State as the Badgers overcame an early nine-point deficit.
John Blackwell, who led the Badgers with 22 points, is eighth in the conference at 18.5 points per game. He was among five in double figures during Wisconsin’s ninth game with at least 90 points to date.
Coming off its long layoff, Wisconsin is tied with Purdue for fifth in the standings and is about to start a stretch where five of seven games are on the road. The Badgers visit No. 5 Illinois on Tuesday and host No. 10 Michigan State three days later.
“I think it was good just to come up for air a little bit,” Badgers coach Greg Gard said. “We’ve been in a pretty consistent routine of game, practice, practice, game. And I think just giving our guys a chance to get a day to relax a little bit and then also work on ourselves here.”
Indiana (15-8, 6-6) won three consecutive games by beating Rutgers, Purdue and UCLA following a four-game slide. The Hoosiers were unable to stay above .500 in league play when they shot 41.3% in Tuesday’s 81-75 loss at Southern California.
Wilkerson scored 33 points for his second-highest total this season while Tucker DeVries continued his slump. DeVries is averaging 13.7 points but shooting 32.8% from 3-point range and was a combined 3-of-17 from the floor over the past two games.
“I didn’t think we had the same juice and energy to start the game,” coach Darian DeVries said on the Indiana radio network after his team allowed 80 points for the seventh time this season. “As we started going, we never could get into sync. Every time we clawed back in it, we could never get enough stops to sustain anything.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
No. 15 Vanderbilt hope to be healthier against struggling Oklahoma
Jan 31, 2026; Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores guard Tyler Tanner (3) shoots the ball over Mississippi Rebels guard AJ Storr (2) during the second half at Memorial Gymnasium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images No. 15 Vanderbilt looks to extend its three-game winning streak against visiting Oklahoma — losers of nine straight — in Nashville, Tenn. on Saturday afternoon.
The Commodores (19-3, 6-3 Southeastern Conference) had a needed week off after a 71-68 home win over Ole Miss. Tyler Tanner led all scorers with 24 points, AK Okereke tied a season high in scoring (17) and Mike James established season highs with nine points and nine rebounds off the bench.
“I knew we weren’t coming into this game at our best,” coach Mark Byington said afterwards. “Injuries, illnesses, fatigue, just a lot of things going on. Ole Miss fought really hard and we knew they were going to play that way. We just had to figure out somehow, some way, to be able to win that way.”
The Sooners (11-12, 1-9) come off a 94-78 loss at Kentucky on Wednesday. Xzayvier Brown’s 21 points led the Sooners, who allowed 1.44 points per possession (per Ken Pomeroy) while being outrebounded, 41-25.
“It’s … physicality, size,” coach Porter Moser said when asked about the rebounding differential. “We battled back. I think we cut (the lead) to eight at one point and then they got two or three offensive rebounds. When you’re trying to cut (the lead) those are just daggers, when you’re trying to get a stop and can’t finish the play with a rebound.”
Vanderbilt has been burdened by absences to guards Duke Miles (16.6 ppg) and Frankie Collins (7.8); Miles likely won’t play Saturday while Collins’ status is uncertain.
The Commodores have been hampered by illness — Jalen Washington (8.9 ppg) threw up in warm-ups last Saturday and played through it at less than full strength, while leading rebounder Devin McGlockton (6.8) had a season-low two points in 26 minutes.
Vanderbilt ranks 31st nationally in average offensive possession length (15.9 seconds) per Pomeroy, but played its slowest-tempo game of the year (64 possessions) against Ole Miss. The game before, the Commodores slowed the pace to a crawl in the second half of an 80-55 win over Kentucky to rest Tanner, who has played at least 33 minutes in every league game.
The Sooners take care of the ball (10 turnovers per game, ranked 35th in Division I) and have capable scoring threats in Brown (16.4 ppg), Nigel Pack (15.8), Tae Davis (12.7) and Derrion Reed (11.9). But they’ve leaked defensively, allowing 79 points or more in their last eight games.
Pack, a sixth-year player, had scored 22, 23 and 25 in Oklahoma’s previous four games before scoring just six on eight shots in Lexington.
The Commodores would like more from Tyler Nickel (14.5) than the five points (which tied a season low) he had against Ole Miss, which snapped a nine-game double-digit scoring streak. He’s had a pair of games in which he hit eight 3-pointers this season.
Vanderbilt is 14th in the latest NET rankings, and has a 6-3 mark in Quad 1. It drew a four-seed in Joe Lunardi’s projected NCAA tournament field of Feb. 3. Oklahoma (85th) is a Quad 3 opponent.
This is one of just four remaining home games for Vanderbilt. The Commodores are in a fourth-place tie in the SEC’s overall standings behind leaders Florida and Texas A&M (7-2).
–Field Level Media
Sports
No. 1 Arizona chases another program record against Oklahoma State
Jan 31, 2026; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Brayden Burries (5) against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Desert Financial Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Top-ranked Arizona will not have played in a week when the Wildcats host Oklahoma State on Saturday at Tucson, Ariz.
It will be the first game since the unbeaten Wildcats (22-0, 9-0 Big 12) achieved the best start in program history with an 87-74 win at Arizona State.
They will attempt to break the school record of 22 straight victories, achieved from 1914 to 1917.
“I’m looking forward to having a little break in our schedule, but I’m also cognizant that we got to keep getting better,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “We got to make sure we stay sharp and have great rhythm.
“We got a tough couple games coming up. You got Oklahoma State coming, and then turn around and you got to play at Kansas (on Monday). Not easy.”
The Cowboys (16-6, 4-5) are coming off a 99-92 win over No. 16 BYU at Stillwater, Okla., behind a season-high 30 points from Anthony Roy.
The victory was the first of the season against a Quad-1 opponent for Oklahoma State, which some NCAA tournament prognosticators label as a team on the bubble.
Upsetting BYU prompted fans to storm the court.
“It was a heck of a night,” second-year coach Steve Lutz told reporters. “Obviously, we were able to get our first Quad-1 win against a team that I think can play for a national title. I’m proud of the guys. I think they did a fantastic job.
“They’ve done a much better job over the last couple weeks of being a good basketball team rather than a good group of individuals, and that’s paying dividends for us right now.”
After losing four of five games, including two defeats against Iowa State, Oklahoma State has won the last two games at Utah and against BYU.
Roy, a senior guard playing for his fourth program, leads the Cowboys with 18.2 points per game.
Formerly of San Francisco, New Mexico State and Green Bay, Roy is shooting 46.5% from the field and 44.8% from 3-point range.
Rebounding will be a concern for Oklahoma State, which has only one player averaging more than five per game — 6-foot-10 center Parsa Fallah (6.3).
Arizona deploys 6-8 power forward Tobe Awaka (9.8 rebounds a game), 7-2 post player Motiejus Krivas (8.3) and 6-8 forward Koa Peat (5.6).
The Wildcats are third nationally in rebounding margin at plus-13.1. Oklahoma State is No. 141 at plus-2.5.
Arizona counters Oklahoma State’s productive perimeter game that includes Roy and point guard Kanye Clary (5.0 assists and 2.1 turnovers a game) with Brayden Burries and Jaden Bradley.
Burries leads Arizona with 15.3 points per game. Bradley averages 4.5 assists to go with only 1.7 turnovers.
The Wildcats’ steady backcourt play is a significant reason Arizona has yet to lose.
“We value steadiness,” Lloyd said. “A lot of people talk about momentum, momentum, momentum. I understand what momentum is, but I think there’s way more value in being steady and consistent.
“From there, you’re going to get opportunities to create momentum. If you’re just worried about panic and having momentum, you really don’t have any substance to what you’re doing. We talk about just staying steady, steady, steady.”
–Field Level Media
Top scorers collide when Wisconsin pays visit to Indiana
No. 15 Vanderbilt hope to be healthier against struggling Oklahoma
