Sports
Timberwolves, buoyed by newcomer Ayo Dosunmu, battle Blazers
Feb 9, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) and guard Ayo Dosunmu (13) celebrate against the Atlanta Hawks in the second quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images For the first time in a week, the Minnesota Timberwolves will arrive at a game in a good mood.
Minnesota will go for back-to-back wins when it tips off against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night in Minneapolis. It is the last game for the Timberwolves before the NBA All-Star break and the second-to-last game for Portland before the long layoff.
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch hopes to see his players continue to perform well after they sprinted to a 138-116 win over the visiting Atlanta Hawks on Monday night. Minnesota scored 81 points in the first half, including 41 points in the first quarter.
The lopsided victory snapped a two-game skid for the Timberwolves after players such as Rudy Gobert questioned the team’s effort level and called on coaches to bench starters if necessary.
As far as Finch is concerned, the bad week is over and the team is moving forward.
“Sometimes it feels like you’re really far away from where you want to be, but you’re actually not,” Finch said. “You’ve just got to remind yourself.”
The arrival of Ayo Dosunmu has helped to shake the Timberwolves out of their recent funk. Dosunmu provided a jolt of energy off the bench on Monday, making 9 of 13 shots from the field, and he likely will figure prominently in the rotation going forward.
Minnesota acquired Dosunmu from the Chicago Bulls before the trade deadline to add depth on the bench and help push the pace.
“That’s one of my strengths, and I think that’s something that can take this team to another level on both ends of the court …,” Dosunmu said. “We have so many great talents on offense that can score in so many different ways, so adding a different way to the offense is just going to make it harder to guard.”
Meanwhile, Portland enters the matchup on a three-game winning streak after knocking off the Memphis Grizzlies in back-to-back games and then cruising to a 135-118 win over the visiting Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night.
Toumani Camara will look to stay hot after erupting for career-high 30 points on 10-for-12 shooting in the win against Philadelphia. He made a career-best eight 3-pointer (on 10 attempts) and notched three steals.
Camara credited his teammates for playing a role in his sharpshooting from long distance.
“It felt great,” Camara said. “A lot of great looks, too. A lot of open shots. My teammates found good ways to find me. It felt pretty big (Monday), for sure.”
Deni Avdija in particular helps the rest of the Trail Blazers, Camara said of the player who leads the team in scoring (25.5 points per game) and assists (6.7 per game).
“He’s an All-Star for a reason,” Camara said. “He shrinks the floor a lot. A lot of people just worry about his drives and how aggressive he can be, so it opens up a lot of things for other players. And then he’s very unselfish, and he’s really looking to pass the ball a lot.”
This is the second of four meetings between the teams this season. Minnesota won the season opener for both teams 118-114 on Oct. 22 in Portland thanks to a 41-point performance by Anthony Edwards.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Super Bowl LX sets U.S. media record; Bad Bunny draws 4B+ social views
Feb 8, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) celebrates with defensive end Leonard Williams (99) after defeating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images Super Bowl LX was the second-most watched show in United States TV history and set a domestic record for peak viewership, the NFL revealed Tuesday.
Sunday’s game in Santa Clara, Calif., where the Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots 29-13, averaged 124.9 million viewers across NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, and other digital platforms. It fell short of the record 127.7 million who watched last year’s Super Bowl but ranked No. 2 and became the most-watched show in NBC history.
The viewership peaked at 137.8 million during the second quarter, setting an American TV record.
Soon after that, the halftime show starring Bad Bunny averaged 128.2 million viewers in the United States in the 8:15-8:30 p.m. ET window.
The Puerto Rican superstar generated over 4 billion views on social media within the first 24 hours after his performance, making it what the NFL called its “most-consumed halftime show of all time on NFL social platforms.”
According to NBC, its streaming platform Peacock experienced its best day ever on Sunday, driven by both the Super Bowl audience and Winter Olympics viewership. Estimates were not immediately available.
“The Super Bowl and the NFL once again delivered a blockbuster audience across the NBC broadcast network, Peacock and Telemundo, and provided an unprecedented lead-in to our Primetime in Milan coverage,” NBC Sports president Rick Cordella said in a statement. “The Super Bowl and the Olympics are the two most powerful events in the world, and we salute our talented production, tech and announce teams who delivered best-in-class presentations for our viewers, stations and partners.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Celtics, Bulls face former players in Anfernee Simons, Nikola Vucevic
Feb 6, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics center Nikola Vucevic (4) shoots a free throw during the second half against the Miami Heat at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images Anfernee Simons and Nikola Vucevic will each be playing against their former team when the Chicago Bulls visit the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.
Simons was traded from Boston to Chicago last Tuesday in exchange for Vucevic. The teams each included a second-round draft pick in the deal.
Simons jumped right into Chicago’s lineup and has averaged 20.0 points and 5.3 assists while shooting 11 of 32 from 3-point range (34.4%) in three games with the Bulls, who have been playing without Josh Giddey and Tre Jones. Giddey aggravated a hamstring injury during a Jan. 28 loss to Indiana. Jones also has been dealing with a hamstring injury that has kept him out since Jan. 22.
“I think even before (the trade), it was always going to be a job interview with this being the last year of my contract,” Simons said. “I’ve just got to make the most out of these last couple of months here, start building chemistry with the guys and see where that goes.”
Chicago coach Billy Donovan said it’s likely both Giddey and Jones will miss Wednesday night’s game.
“I don’t anticipate Josh or Tre playing Wednesday against Boston, but both guys are ramping up,” Donovan said. “They’re playing three-on-three, and they’re running up the court. I think the medical guys just want them to be in a place where there’s at least enough of a buildup and all that tightness has kind of subsided.”
Giddey averages 18.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 8.8 assists this season — when he plays. The Bulls are 17-17 when he’s in the lineup and 7-13 when he’s not. Jones has averaged 12.4 points in his 38 games, 20 of which were starts.
Chicago enters Wednesday’s game on a five-game losing streak, which appears to be the goal after shipping out four of their top six scorers at the trade deadline.
The Celtics have tinkered with their rotation since acquiring Vucevic, who has averaged 11 points and nine rebounds coming off the bench in his two games with Boston. The Celtics overcame a 22-point deficit to defeat Miami 98-96 on Friday, then had their five-game winning streak come to an end with a 111-89 loss to New York on Sunday.
“We’re playing a little different,” said veteran guard Derrick White. “We got some new guys in new spots and so I wouldn’t say we’re as crisp as we were maybe a few weeks ago when we’ve had all offseason and the beginning of the year to figure those parts out, but it’s exciting we can continue to learn and grow. Just understand it’s going to take day-by-day to get guys comfortable, get guys in the right spots. We got a lot of guys that know how to play and so I think we’ll pick it up quickly.”
Baylor Scheierman has started four of Boston’s last six games. He had career highs for rebounds (13) and assists (five) to go along with 10 points against the Knicks.
“We’ve tinkered with (the starting lineup) all year,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said after the loss to New York. “I think we’re up to 15 or 17 different ones, so nothing’s changed. Everybody on our roster has a chance to impact winning, we have a chance to develop, do different things there.
“So, whether before or after deadline, nothing changes in our approach. How do we have flexibility? How do we know everyone on the roster has a chance to impact winning? We just keep developing identities.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Speed skating: Nuis says Stolz the man to beat but expects battle in 1,000m
Jordan Stolz (near) and Cooper McLeod of the United States race in the 1,000 meters in the ISU World Cup meet on January 31, 2025, at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee, Wis. MILAN — Jordan Stolz is speed skating’s hottest property heading into Wednesday’s men’s 1,000 meters at the Milan Cortina Winter Games, but a pack of seasoned challengers led by three-time Olympic champion Kjeld Nuis are ready to crash the American’s party.
The 21-year-old Stolz arrived in Milan as the sport’s most talked-about skater and the leading contender for three individual events — the 500m, 1,000m and 1,500m — while also eyeing the unpredictable mass start.
He begins his Milan Cortina campaign in the 1,000m, the event in which he already holds a world record.
Since making his Olympic debut as a 17-year-old in Beijing with modest finishes of 13th in the 500m and 14th in the 1,000m, Stolz has transformed into a world-beating sprinter, collecting six world championship titles.
But the 36-year-old Nuis, chasing a fourth gold medal after victories in the 1,000m and 1,500m at Pyeongchang 2018 and the 1,500m at Beijing 2022, is not ready to concede defeat.
“Jordan is the man to beat but behind him there are so many guys with serious chances — including myself,” Nuis said on Tuesday. “I’m really looking forward to it. It’ll be a thrilling battle, and I’m totally up for that.”
For Nuis, Milan Cortina is his Olympic swansong.
“My parents will be there, and finally my son as well, which is truly remarkable,” said the Dutchman, who holds world and Olympic records in the 1,500m. “This will be my final Olympics, so I intend to thoroughly enjoy it.”
The Dutch squad enters buoyed by Jutta Leerdam’s storming 1,000m gold in the women’s event on Monday, leading a Dutch one-two with Femke Kok.
Among their medal hopes is 23-year-old Joep Wennemars, the 2025 world champion in the 1,000m and son of former world sprint champion Erben Wennemars, who knows what is required at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium.
“I think it’s fair to say a record will be needed and everyone will be skating extremely hard,” the younger Wennemars said.
–Reuters, special to Field Level Media
Super Bowl LX sets U.S. media record; Bad Bunny draws 4B+ social views
NYT Strands hints, answers for February 11, 2026
