Sports
Alysa Liu caps comeback with gold, ends US women’s figure skating drought
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics – Figure Skating – Women Single Skating – Free Skating – Milano Ice Skating Arena, Milan, Italy – February 19, 2026. Alysa Liu of United States performs during the Free Skating. MILAN — Alysa Liu produced a dazzling performance to win the gold medal at the Milan Cortina Games as she capped a remarkable comeback journey to snap a 20-year Olympic medal drought for Americans in the women’s figure skating event.
Kaori Sakamoto secured silver ahead of teenaged Japanese teammate Ami Nakai, who claimed bronze.
In a commanding and joyful performance, Liu nailed jump after jump as the sold-out crowd at the Milano Ice Skating Arena erupted.
Liu stunned the skating world when she retired from the sport at age 16 after the Beijing Games in 2022 citing burnout and the desire to pursue other interests.
She returned two years later with a newfound perspective on the sport, taking control of her programs and training, and won the world championship in Boston last year.
“That was unreal,” she said after the gold medal was placed around her neck.
“Never would have thought,” she added, shaking her head.
Aptly dressed in a shimmering gold outfit, she celebrated her flawless performance by playfully flicking back her striped ponytail at the end of her routine.
Her performance left her teammate Ilia Malinin punching the air in delight as he watched on from the stands and earned Liu a season-best score of 150.20 for her free skate and a total of 226.79.
It was Liu’s second gold medal in Milan following the United States’ triumph in the team competition earlier in the Games.
She came into Thursday’s competition as the U.S.’s last realistic hope for gold after teammates and fellow “Blade Angels” Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito put themselves out of contention in Tuesday’s short program. Liu delivered seven soaring triple jumps on Thursday to become the first American woman to win an individual medal since Sasha Cohen captured silver in 2006 and the first U.S. gold medalist since Sarah Hughes triumphed in Salt Lake City in 2002.
Sakamoto, a favorite coming into the competition, was looking to win her first gold medal in her final Olympics but it was not to be as the three-time world champion and Beijing bronze medalist paid the price for failing to deliver one of her jump combinations. She finished second with a total of 224.90.
Nakai came into Thursday’s free skate leading both Sakamoto and Liu. While she nailed her opening triple Axel, her next element did not go to plan as she mistimed the expected triple loop-triple toe loop combination and had to settle for a triple-double effort — which effectively cost her the gold.
The 17-year-old surprisingly finished a lowly ninth in the free skate but secured bronze with a total of 219.16.
The highly anticipated women’s event marked the end of the figure skating competition at the Milan Cortina Games. Musician Megan Thee Stallion and tennis great Maria Sharapova were among those in attendance.
–Reuters, special to Field Level Media
Sports
FIFA president: All 104 World Cup matches will be 'sold out'
[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Dec 5, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; FIFA President Gianni Infantino arrives on the red carpet ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Draw at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Mandatory Credit: Brian Snyder-Reuters via Imagn Images FIFA president Gianni Infantino said all 104 matches of the 2026 World Cup will be “sold out” despite tickets available for the tournament running from June 11 to July 19.
“The demand is there. Every match is sold out,” Infantino told CNBC in an interview Wednesday from U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla.
Infantino said there had been 508 million ticket requests in four weeks from more than 200 countries for about seven million available tickets.
“(We’ve) never see anything like that — incredible,” he said.
The 48-team World Cup is taking place across 16 host cities in the United States, Mexico and Canada, with MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., as the site of the World Cup final.
The head of the sport’s governing body said that tournament locations contribute to what soccer supporters’ associations have complained are exorbitant ticket prices.
“I think it is because it’s in America, Canada and Mexico,” he said. “Everybody wants to be part of something special.”
Also affecting prices are resale websites, which take the official ticket that has a fixed price and use “dynamic pricing” leading to the cost to fluctuate.
“You are able as well to resell your tickets on official platforms, secondary markets, so the prices as well will go up,” Infantino said. “That’s part of the market we are in.”
A report in the Straits Times said that a Category 3 seat — the highest section in the stadium — for Mexico’s match against South Africa in the tournament opener on June 11 in Mexico City was listed at $5,324 in the secondary market. The original price was $895.
The same seat category for the World Cup final on July 19, originally priced at $3,450, was advertised for $143,750 on Feb. 11, per the report.
In December, FIFA designated “supporter entry tier” tickets with a $60 price to be allocated to the national federations whose teams are playing. Those federations are expected to make those tickets available “to loyal fans who are closely connected to their national teams,” FIFA said in a press release.
The last time the U.S. served as a World Cup host in 1994, tickets ranged from $25 to $475. At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, prices ranged from $70 to $1,600 after the matches were announced.
Infantino in his comments this week estimated that the 2026 World Cup will raise $11 billion in revenue for FIFA, with “every dollar” to be reinvested in the sport in the 211 member countries.
He said the economic impact for the United States would be around $30 billion “in terms of tourism, catering, security investments and so on.” Infantino also estimated the tournament will attract 20 million to 30 million tourists and create 185,000 full-time jobs.
–Field Level Media
Sports
No homecoming for Jaren Jackson Jr. (knee) as Jazz visit Grizzlies
Feb 11, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (20) plans his next move around Sacramento Kings guard/forward DeMar DeRozan (10) during the first half at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Peter Creveling-Imagn Images The high-profile homecoming for Jaren Jackson Jr. will not materialize.
When the Memphis Grizzlies sent the veteran forward to the Utah Jazz shortly before the Feb. 5 trade deadline, they realized the schedule-makers had built in an intriguing mid-February matchup.
But when the Grizzlies play the visiting Jazz on Friday, Jackson will not be in uniform. The former Defensive Player of the Year, in his eighth NBA season, underwent successful surgery earlier this week in Salt Lake City to remove a localized pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS) growth from his left knee. A physical performed after the trade revealed the growth.
Jackson, the league’s top defender in 2022-23, will be out for at least four weeks, according to the Jazz, and could return to the court later this season.
In his team debut on Feb. 7 against the Orlando Magic, he had 22 points, three assists and three steals in 25 minutes. He is averaging 19.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 48 games, all but three with the Grizzlies.
Jackson, John Konchar and Vince Williams Jr. went from the Grizzlies to the Jazz on Feb. 3. Memphis received Walter Clayton Jr., Kyle Anderson, Taylor Hendricks, Georges Niang and three first-round draft picks.
Utah coach Will Hardy has only worked with Jackson briefly, but he said the Jazz knew the quality person and player they were getting.
“When we traded for Jaren, obviously there is so much talk about (Jaren) the player,” Hardy said. “And I’m very excited about the player. But what we are trying to build as an organization and a program, Jaren’s character, and who he is as a person, is just as important.
“That has been evident since the day that he (joined the Jazz). He is a high-character guy. He has a good sense of humor. He also has a respect level that comes with him because of how he has played during his career.”
Letting go of another key member of the Grizzlies’ core was difficult for Memphis general manager Zach Kleiman, but it could be a move that pays dividends.
“We felt good about the return (for Jackson) and we felt it healthier for the organization to turn the page as much as we were able to and be able to build this team with a clear mind as to what we’re trying to achieve going forward, which is pivoting to a younger build,” Kleiman said. “We’re not shying away from that. That’s where this team is.”
While the Grizzlies adjust to life without Jackson for the first time since he was taken with the No. 4 pick in the 2018 draft, they are hoping to snap a four-game losing streak without star guard Ja Morant.
Sidelined with a left elbow sprain since Jan. 23, Morant missed the team’s last 11 games and is expected to miss another two weeks. He has only appeared in 20 games because of a variety of injuries.
With Morant out, guard Ty Jerome recently returned from a right calf injury that had him unavailable from the start of the season. In his six games back, Jerome has averaged 19.7 points in 20.2 minutes.
Other contributions have come from Jaylen Wells, Cam Spencer and Cedric Coward, who were selected to play in last Friday’s Rising Stars mini-tournament at NBA All-Star Weekend. Coward was withheld from action due to knee soreness.
Jazz standout Keyonte George missed six of the final seven games before the break due to injuries to each ankle. He is averaging 23.8 points in 48 games.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tundra moves to top of Group B at DreamLeague Season 28
A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.
Jordan Woodruff
Tundra Esports won twice on Thursday to rise to the top of Group B with one day left in Group Stage 1 at DreamLeague Season 28.
Tundra is the first team to reach four wins in its group, with MOUZ close behind in second. In Group A, Aurora Gaming notched another win and remains comfortably in first.
Five teams have clinched passage into Group Stage 2 with one round to spare: Aurora, PARIVISION and Team Liquid from Group A, and Tundra and MOUZ from Group B. Either BetBoom Team or OG will earn the last bid from Group A when they square off on Friday. Four teams have a shot at the last two spots in Group B.
The $1 million Dota 2 event features 16 teams, starting in a round-robin stage split into two groups of eight teams. All series consist of two games, and the top four teams from each group advance to Group Stage 2, a single round robin featuring best-of-three matches.
From there, four teams will compete in a double-elimination playoff bracket Feb. 28-March 1 with best-of-three matches until the grand final, which will be best-of-five.
The championship team will receive $250,000 in prize money and a $40,000 club reward. The runner-up side will get $100,000 and a $30,000 club reward.
On Thursday, Tundra swept past Execration and Natus Vincere. In the first match, Tundra won in 29 minutes on green and 43 minutes on red; then, they took down NaVi in 35 minutes on green and 31 minutes on red. Russian Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko had a nearly perfect day, averaging a 9.0-0.5-14.5 kills-deaths-assists differential against Execration and then coming out unscathed with a 9.5-0.0-13.0 KDA against Natus Vincere.
MOUZ had a win over Natus Vincere and a tie with GamerLegion to secure second place and clinch a spot in the next stage. The only other 2-0 result in Group B came when Team Spirit beat Execration in 30 minutes on red and 27 minutes on green.
In Group A, Aurora’s fifth win of the stage came against OG in 39 minutes on red and 34 minutes on green. Team Liquid also beat OG (37 minutes on green, 38 minutes on red) to pave its way into the next stage, and BetBoom positioned itself in fourth when it beat Yakult Bros in 36 minutes on green and 42 minutes on red.
Group Stage 1 continues through Friday.
DreamLeague Season 28 Group Stage 1, Group A standings (W-T-L, map record)
1. Aurora Gaming, 5-1-0, 11-1
2. PARIVISION, 3-3-0, 9-3
3. Team Liquid, 3-2-1, 8-4
4. BetBoom Team, 3-1-2, 7-5
5. OG, 2-1-3, 5-7
T6. paiN Gaming, 1-1-4, 3-9
T6. Yakult Brothers, 1-1-4, 3-9
8. Team Yandex, 0-2-4, 2-10
DreamLeague Season 28 Group Stage 1, Group B standings (W-T-L, map record)
1. Tundra Esports, 4-2-0, 10-2
2. MOUZ, 3-3-0, 9-3
T3. Team Falcons, 2-3-1, 7-5
T3. Xtreme Gaming, 2-3-1, 7-5
T5. Natus Vincere, 2-1-3, 5-7
T5. Team Spirit, 1-3-2, 5-7
7. GamerLegion, 0-3-3, 3-9
8. Execration, 1-0-5,2-10
Dream League Season 28 prize pool, with prize money and club reward
1. $250,000, $40,000
2. $125,000, $30,000
3. $80,000, $25,000
4. $60,000, $20,000
5. $45,000, $15,000
6. $35,000, $15,000
7. $30,000, $12,500
8. $25,000, $12,500
9-10. $20,000, $10,000
11-12. $17,500, $10,000
13-14. $15,000, $10,000
15-16. $10,000, $10,000
–Field Level Media
FIFA president: All 104 World Cup matches will be 'sold out'
Wordle today: Answer, hints for February 20, 2026
