Sports
US mixed doubles curling team takes first 2 losses after 4-0 start
[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Feb 7, 2026; Cortina d’Ampezzo, ITALY; Cory Thiesse of United States in action against Great Britain during the curling mixed doubles round robin competition during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Issei Kato/Reuters via Imagn Images CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Britain’s Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat beat Canada before ending the United States’ unbeaten run to clinch their place in the mixed doubles curling semi-finals at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Saturday.
Mouat and Dodds, who were world champions in 2021 and finished in fourth place at the Beijing Olympics in 2022, sit atop the round-robin standings after winning their first seven games in the competition.
They can no longer be caught by Canada or Switzerland, who are joint-fifth.
The British pair sealed a hard-fought win over Canada’s Brett Gallant and Jocelyn Peterman in the morning session, before returning to the ice and beating Americans Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse 6-4.
“It’s always a nice feeling to know you’re qualified, but we want to still continue to play well,” Dodds said.
“And today, those two games were definitely our A performances out there and we’ll need to continue that. So we’ll continue that into tomorrow and hopefully we can secure a top spot.”
It was a disappointing day for the U.S. pair. After entering the day as one of two remaining unbeatens with a 4-0 record, they also took a 6-5 defeat to South Korea’s
Jeong Yeong-seok and Kim Seon-yeong.
ITALY BEAT NORWAY, AGAIN
In the evening session, champions Italy beat two-time Olympic medalists Magnus Nedregotten and Kristin Skaslien of Norway 6-5 in a rematch of the final in Beijing four years ago.
In a close encounter, both teams appeared to struggle to get a read of the ice, with Norway’s Nedregotten miscalculating a shot in the final end which enabled Italy’s Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner to set up a steal and nab the win.
“Sometimes it’s the way the game needs to go, a couple of times we have been unlucky, and this time we were lucky, it’s always 50-50,” Mosaner said.
“Today we had some luck and we take it, to win a championship we need it.”
Italy’s win moves them up to joint-second in the standings, with Norway in joint-seventh.
Earlier on Saturday, Sweden’s Isabella and Rasmus Wranaa clinched a 9-4 win over Italy to boost their hopes of a top-four finish.
The Czech pairing of Julie Zelingrova and Vit Chabicovsky beat South Korea 9-4 to pick up their first win of the tournament.
Teams play nine times in the round-robin stage at the Cortina Olympic Curling Centre, with the semi-finals taking place on Monday and the medal matches scheduled for Tuesday.
–Reuters, special to Field Level Media
Sports
Hornets face Pistons in search of 10th straight win
Feb 7, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges (0) drives to the basket against the Atlanta Hawks in the fourth quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images Next on the to-do list for the Charlotte Hornets is picking up their 10th consecutive victory.
That will be the objective against the visiting Detroit Pistons on Monday night.
“It means the world because I’ve been through a lot with this team,” Hornets forward Miles Bridges said. “I’ve been through the lows, I’ve been to the play-in, and now I think we’re at the highest of our highs and want to keep going.”
It seems different even from rookie guard Kon Knueppel’s vantage point.
“We’re playing meaningful basketball, meaningful games,” Knueppel said. “And so every game, it’s going to be kind of looking at the standings and all that, and we’re battling for playoff position as we hit the home stretch of the season after the All-Star break.”
When the Hornets won 126-119 Saturday night at Atlanta, Bridges had 26 points and Knueppel had 23 points. Knueppel made six 3-point shots. That matched the Charlotte franchise’s longest winning streak since the 1998-99 season.
The Hornets also claimed the longest active winning streak in the NBA.
The Pistons have been humming along as well, winners of six of their last eight games. That includes Friday night’s 118-80 home rout of the New York Knicks.
The Pistons hold the best record in the Eastern Conference, so this should be a challenge for the Hornets along the lines of their Jan. 31 home win over San Antonio and Thursday’s win at Houston.
“We’ve shown that we can beat teams that are good teams, playoff teams, and we want to keep that going,” Bridges said.
Charlotte has shown necessary elements that would allow it to rise in the standings. The Hornets have climbed from 12th to 10th in the Eastern Conference — the final play-in spot — during their winning streak.
“It’s about learning along the journey and embracing every part that comes with it,” Hornets coach Charles Lee said. “… The care factor in that locker room between the players. The ability to want to adapt. We’ve thrown a lot of different lineups at them.”
Cade Cunningham has been the big source of offense for Detroit, leading the team in scoring in five of the last eight games. He averages 25.1 points and 9.7 assists per game.
The Hornets will have to be attentive defensively, where they’ve shown improvement.
“The communication got better, our defensive execution and coverages were a lot cleaner,” Lee said of the most-recent game. “The physicality on the boards, it takes all five guys to participate.”
The Pistons also are working to see how newly acquired Kevin Huerter fits into the plans. He played late in the Knicks game and provided eight points in eight minutes.
“I don’t want to put him into a situation where he’s uncomfortable and he can’t succeed,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said.
Huerter played briefly in that game without a practice with the team. So the weekend should have provided an opportunity to groom him for whichever role he lands with the Pistons.
“We need to get some time so he can be successful when his number is called,” Bickerstaff said.
The Pistons will monitor the status of Jaren Duren, the team’s No. 2 scorer (17.7 ppg) and leading rebounder (10.5 rpg) who missed Friday’s game because of knee soreness.
On Monday, Detroit begins a stretch of four consecutive road games that will be interrupted by the All-Star break.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Jalen Brunson leads scorching Knicks past Celtics
Feb 8, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; New York Knicks guard Mikal Bridges (25) passes the ball against Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) in the first quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images Jalen Brunson scored 31 points and had eight assists to lead the visiting New York Knicks to a 111-89 victory over the Boston Celtics on Sunday.
The victory ended Boston’s five-game winning streak and moved the Knicks into a second-place tie with the Celtics in the Eastern Conference standings. Both teams are five games behind Detroit.
Josh Hart added 19 points for New York, which received 12 points from Jose Alvarado in his debut with the Knicks. New York acquired Alvarado in a trade with New Orleans on Thursday.
Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds as New York won for the ninth time in 10 games.
The Celtics shot 7 of 41 from 3-point territory (17.1%), and the 89 points were the fewest Boston has scored in a game this season.
Jaylen Brown led Boston with 26 points and Derrick White finished with 19. Boston received 10 points, 13 rebounds and five assists from Baylor Scheierman.
New York’s OG Anunoby missed his second straight game with toe soreness on his right foot. Anunoby is averaging 16.6 points and 5.5 rebounds in 41 games this season (all starts).
The Knicks led 35-24 after the first quarter. Brunson had 15 points in the quarter, when Boston was 2 of 13 from 3-point territory.
New York stretched its lead to 17 points with 8:02 remaining in the second quarter, but the Celtics were within seven, 60-53, at halftime. The Knicks shot 60% from the field (24 of 40) in the first half.
The Knicks scored the final seven points in the third quarter and held an 85-68 lead entering the fourth. Boston was 0 for 10 from 3-point range in the third.
New York led by as many as 24 points in the final quarter.
The Knicks have won two of three meetings with the Celtics this season.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Aday Mara's career day sparks No. 2 Michigan past Ohio State
Ohio State Buckeyes center Christoph Tilly (13) defends Michigan Wolverines center Aday Mara (15) during the first half of the NCAA men’s basketball game at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus on Feb. 8, 2026. Aday Mara scored a career-high 24 points as No. 2 Michigan cruised to its eighth straight win with an 82-61 verdict over Ohio State on Sunday afternoon in Columbus, Ohio.
Mara made 11 of 16 field goal attempts and grabbed six rebounds while Yaxel Lendeborg had 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Wolverines (22-1, 12-1 Big Ten) as they maintained the league lead and extended the best start in school history. Trey McKenney added 12 points and Morez Johnson Jr. contributed 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Bruce Thornton had 16 points, Devin Royal 15 and Christoph Tilly 10 for the Buckeyes (15-8, 7-6 Big Ten), who never led while falling to Michigan for the second time in 17 days.
Michigan took a 4-2 lead and never looked back to take a 44-34 advantage into the locker room.
A critical juncture came when the Wolverines’ Mara, Nimari Burnett and L.J. Cason nailed 3-pointers in a 1:42 stretch to turn a 26-24 edge into a 35-26 lead.
Michigan extended its lead to 44-32 as the Buckeyes hit one of their final seven shots in the first half.
Tilly got off to a hot start with eight points in the first 3:35 of the game, but he did not score the remainder of the half and went to the bench with his third foul with two minutes to go.
The Wolverines won the battle of the boards 44-31, with 17 of them on the offensive glass that helped them outscore the Buckeyes 42-20 in the paint.
Michigan won 74-62 on Jan. 23 in Ann Arbor in the first of the home-and-home series that second-year Ohio State coach Jake Diebler pushed for after the schools played once last season. He enlisted the help of Michigan coach Dusty May to ensure the rivalry made the conference’s protected series list.
Michigan increased its 10-point halftime lead to 54-39 on Johnson’s fast-break dunk after a block by Lendeborg. The Buckeyes did not get closer than 11 points thereafter.
–Field Level Media
Hornets face Pistons in search of 10th straight win
Jalen Brunson leads scorching Knicks past Celtics
