Sports
Defending champ Alex Hall 1 of 3 US skiers through to slopestyle final
Feb 7, 2026; Livigno, Italy; Alex Hall of the United States during slopestyle freestyle skiing qualification during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Livigno Snow Park. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images LIVIGNO, Italy — Olympic medalists Alex Hall of the United States and Jesper Tjader of Sweden made it through the freeskiing slopestyle qualifying round at the Milan Cortina Winter Games on Saturday to set up a showdown in next week’s final in the Italian Alps.
Hall, the defending champion, was one of three Americans to make the field of 12 who will compete for medals in the mountain town of Livigno, near the Swiss border. His teammates Mac Forehand and Konnor Ralph also advanced.
The 27-year-old Hall sounded relieved after securing his spot in Tuesday’s final after two smooth runs under sunny skies.
“It’s always nerve-wracking during the qualifiers,” Hall said. “There is a little bit of strategy involved. You don’t want to show all your cards. You don’t want to try something too hard that you might not land.”
“In the finals, you just go all out,” he added.
The slopestyle event features skiers who slide across rails and perform aerial tricks to impress the judges with difficulty and originality. The best score from each of the two runs determines the rankings.
Tjader, the bronze medalist at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, tumbled off a rail in his initial run, putting him in danger of elimination. A strong second run vaulted the 31-year-old to third place.
“Everybody did amazing runs so I really had to step up to make the final,” Tjader said. “I’m really proud of my run. I did a few new tricks that I haven’t done on a slopestyle run before.”
Norway’s Birk Ruud, the first men’s rider of the day, executed a flawless performance and finished at the top of the pack on Saturday.
“I was just all in on the first one,” the 25-year-old said. “I was focused as if it was my only chance. It felt awesome.”
Ruud finished just ahead of fellow Norwegian Tormod Frostad. Compatriot Sebastian Schjerve finished 11th to also advance.
–Reuters, special to Field Level Media
Sports
Avalanche face Blues, hoping to clinch top seed in the West
Apr 4, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Colorado Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson (42) and center Nathan MacKinnon (29) and center Martin Necas (88) and center Brock Nelson (11) celebrates an empty goal scored by MacKinnon against the Dallas Stars during the third period at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images The Colorado Avalanche are a win away from clinching the top seed in the Western Conference after a gritty 2-0 road victory at Dallas on Saturday.
They will try for that victory when they host the St. Louis Blues on Sunday night.
Colorado (50-15-10, 110 points) has an eight-point lead over the Stars, who can only earn 10 more points the rest of the way. The Avalanche, who took the season series from Dallas with Saturday’s win, have won 50 games for the fourth time in the last five years.
One of those 50 victories came against St. Louis (32-31-12, 76 points) in Colorado on Dec. 31. Nathan MacKinnon had two goals in the 6-1 win and leads the NHL with 51 after his empty-netter Saturday, and is third in the league with 122 points (71 assists).
Offensive-minded defenseman Cale Makar had an assist in the New Year’s Eve game but is sidelined with an upper-body injury suffered Monday night against Calgary, but the Avalanche have plenty of other weapons. Martin Necas has a career-high 94 points (36 goals, 58 assists) and Brock Nelson, with 33 goals, gives Colorado three players with 30 or more.
There are two others with 20 goals and Parker Kelly can make it three if he can get one in the final seven games. Kelly’s previous career high was eight goals but he surpassed that in mid-January. The bottom-six forward has seen time on the top two lines and credits MacKinnon for helping him improve offensively.
“He’s helped a lot with my offensive game, probably more than the outside public would see,” Kelly told The Denver Gazette. “It’s always good little pointers that I would have never thought of before with myself. Great leader, great teammate, and there’s a reason he’s the best in the world.”
The Blues have surged since the Olympic break to get into the chase for the wild card. Their 6-2 win at Anaheim on Friday night improved their record to 12-3-3 since Feb. 4, and they are 6-2-2 in their last 10.
The victory over the Ducks ended a two-game skid and came with another strong game from leading scorer Rob Thomas. Thomas had a goal and two assists and now has 53 points (18 goals, 35 assists) in just 57 games this season.
His two assists Friday night set up Dylan Holloway for power-play goals, including the last one to ice the game.
“He’s the most underrated passer in the league,” Holloway said of Thomas. “Such a nice pass and I was kind of blessed to have that lay right on my tape like that.”
St. Louis has moved into contention despite being a seller at the trade deadline. The Blues dealt Brayden Schenn and Justin Faulk last month in the midst of a four-game winning streak. Holloway, who leads St. Louis with 19 goals, has scored seven of those since the trade deadline.
He is fourth on the Blues with 40 points behind Pavel Buchnevich’s 44 points (17 goals, 27 assists) and Jordan Kyrou’s 41 points (17 goals, 24 assists).
-Field Level Media
Sports
Amaka Agugua-Hamilton no longer coach at Virginia
Feb 22, 2026; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Virginia Cavaliers head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton calls out instructions during the second half against the Louisville Cardinals at KFC Yum! Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images Virginia parted ways with Amaka Agugua-Hamilton as its head women’s basketball coach after four seasons.
The university announced the news Saturday about Agugua-Hamilton, who helped the Cavaliers become the initial First Four team to advance to the Sweet 16 of the Women’s NCAA Tournament after defeating seventh-seeded Georgia 82-73 in overtime in the first round, then upsetting second-seeded Iowa 83-75 in double overtime in the second round.
Virginia’s season came to an end after dropping a 79-69 decision to third-seeded TCU on March 28.
The Cavaliers, who finished 20-12 this season, posted a 70-58 record with a 29-42 mark in ACC play under Agugua-Hamilton.
The university issued a brief statement on Saturday, saying only that she will not return to the role and that a national search will begin immediately.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Kelly Morrone named women's basketball coach at Albany
Dec 10, 2022; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Merrimack Warriors head coach Kelly Morrone at the end of the first quarter against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images Albany announced the hiring of Kelly Morrone as the next women’s basketball head coach.
Morrone spent the past six seasons as the head coach at Merrimack, a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. She was named 2026 MAAC Coach of the Year after the Warriors finished 19-13 (15-5 MAAC) and was selected to the women’s NIT. Merrimack lost to NJIT in the first round.
“I am incredibly honored and excited to accept the position of head women’s basketball coach at the University at Albany,” she said Saturday in a statement. “I’ve long admired the tradition and pride of the Great Danes, and I am deeply grateful to be entrusted with this important opportunity. It is a privilege to lead a program with such strong institutional support and a clear commitment to excellence.”
Her record at Merrimack was 74-92. During her tenure, Merrimack made the transition from Division II to Division I.
She also won 117 games at John Carroll, a Division III program in University Heights, Ohio.
Morrone played at South Carolina and was a three-year captain, her career ending with a second-round loss in the Women’s NCAA Tournament in 2003. She began her coaching career as an assistant coach at Buffalo (2005-08), followed by stops at Davidson (2008-10), Rhode Island (2010-12) and William & Mary (2012-13) before John Carroll.
At Albany, she replaces Colleen Mullen, who recently accepted the same job at Rhode Island. Mullen led the Great Danes to one NCAA Tournament berth in eight seasons, but before her arrival, Albany was a consistent winner in the America East.
The Great Danes appeared in the NCAA Tournament six consecutive seasons between 2012-17.
–Field Level Media
Avalanche face Blues, hoping to clinch top seed in the West
Amaka Agugua-Hamilton no longer coach at Virginia
