Sports
Cincinnati, West Virginia have work to do to for postseason berths
Feb 5, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Javon Small (7) speaks with West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Darian DeVries during the second half against the TCU Horned Frogs at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images Two teams on opposite sides of the bubble meet in a Big 12 clash Wednesday night when West Virginia hosts Cincinnati in Morgantown, W. Va.
The Mountaineers (15-10, 6-8 Big 12) have lost two straight and three of four, with the most recent defeat on Saturday, a 74-71 overtime loss at Baylor. Free throws contributed to West Virginia’s setback. The Bears went 27 for 32 from the line, while West Virginia converted 11 of its 17 attempts.
“We’ve got to figure out how to do a better job of keeping people off the free-throw line,” coach Darian DeVries said. “When you give a team 27 points and they shoot 32 free throws, it’s hard to win.”
The Mountaineers also could do a better job getting to the charity stripe. In conference play, they rank last among the 16 teams in both free-throw attempts (184) and makes (124).
Senior guard Javon Small leads West Virginia and the conference in scoring for all games, averaging 18.6 points per contest. He scored 22 in Saturday’s loss to Baylor.
Despite the Mountaineers’ sub-.500 record in Big 12 games, bracketologists from ESPN, CBS Sports and The Athletic still expect DeVries’ team to make the NCAA Tournament. Those analysts, though, do not expect the same for the Bearcats (15-10, 5-9).
Cincinnati saw its three-game winning streak snapped on Saturday when it lost 81-70 to then-No. 10 Iowa State on the road. The Bearcats led 48-45 with 15:06 minutes remaining, but the Cyclones responded with a 10-0 run to pull away.
Since a 63-50 home loss on Feb. 2 to West Virginia — which was Cincinnati’s fourth straight loss and eighth in 10 games — the Bearcats have seen their offense improve. In their last four games, coach Wes Miller’s team has averaged 83 points per game and shot 53.4 percent from the floor and 43.5 percent from the 3-point line. In the previous 10, Cincinnati averaged just 59.6 points and made only 39 percent of its shots and 26.6 percent of its 3-pointers.
Jizzle James leads the Bearcats in scoring, averaging 12.2 a game. However, the sophomore guard has stepped it up of late, matching his career-high of 25 points in each of his last two games. In the game before that, against BYU, he finished with 24.
James, though, fouled out in the Iowa State loss, as the Bearcats committed a season-high 23 fouls.
“Jizzle and Dillon (Mitchell)’s foul trouble really affected our ability to navigate the game the way we want it from a lineup and substitution standpoint,” Miller said after the loss.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Lucas Herbert wins LIV Golf United Kingdom with record-setting score
Jul 17, 2026; Southport, ENG; Lucas Herbert lines up a putt on the 18th green during the second round of The Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Birkdale. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Lucas Herbert wasn’t about to be denied the LIV Golf United Kingdom championship on Sunday.
Entering the final round at 20-under with a three-stroke lead over Bryson DeChambeau, the Australian holed 10 birdies for a final-round 62 and a 30-under-par 258 for the four-day event. That gave him a six-stroke victory over England’s Tyrrell Hatton, who turned in a 63.
DeChambeau closed with a 68 to finish 21-under par and in third place at JCB Golf & Country Club in Rocester, England.
Herbert’s dominance this week — his 62 was preceded by rounds of 61, 66 and 69 — led Rippers GC to a 52-under finish, four strokes ahead of captain Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII.
The 30-under finish by Herbert marked the lowest in LIV history. This was his second individual victory of the season — he also won LIV Golf Virginia in May — and he also set the league record for most birdies in a tournament with 30. His combination of 32 birdies and eagles in a tournament also broke a LIV record.
Herbert said confidence in his game grew after his strong finish at the Open Championship last week at Royal Birkdale, where he finished four shots behind winner Ryan Fox and tied for sixth.
“Just wanted to really carry that into this week the best I could,” Herbert said. “I think I got out of my own way the first two rounds and I started thinking about it yesterday. It was just good to play like that today when I was being pushed by two of the best players in the world.”
Hatton pushed as hard as he could with nine birdies, but it wasn’t enough given Herbert’s unprecedented four rounds.
“Obviously Lucas played amazing today, Hatton said. “I wanted to get off to a fast start, which is what I did, but unfortunately Lucas did as well. Yeah, I’m very proud of how I played. It would have been amazing to win in front of home fans, but I tried my best. But actually Lucas was incredible this week.”
Herbert said he did a good job at something else — hiding his nerves.
“I was definitely feeling it out there. I can only do what I can do,” Herbert said. “I was able to take care of what I needed to do today pretty well to get me over the line. I knew it wasn’t going to be a day where even par, 1-under, was going to get it done for me. I knew I had to go out there and get it. Just kept pushing myself the whole way, and here we are.”
Australian Cameron Smith shot a 69 on Sunday to finish in fourth at 17-under. Mexico’s Abraham Ancer (71) and Caleb Surratt (67) shared fifth at 14-under.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tadej Pogacar rides away with record-tying fifth Tour de France title
Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia celebrates winning his fifth Tour de France on Sunday in Paris. With a record-tying fifth Tour de France title already in hand, Tadej Pogacar did his best to put on another show on Sunday before relenting near the finish of the shortened final stage in Paris.
The cycling star from Slovenia was overtaken on the final straightaway of Stage 21, but still won the overall title in a time of 73 hours, 56 minutes, 26 seconds over the three-week event. He finished 6:26 ahead of Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel.
Pogacar’s UAE Team Emirates teammate Isaac del Toro of Mexico finished third overall, which also clinched the title for top rider 25-years-old and under.
Mathieu van der Poel of Belgium won the final stage in a sprint to the finish line along Paris’ Champs-Elysees.
Pogacar and van der Poel were locked in a duel on the final circuit before van der Poel used his famed sprinter’s speed to pull away. It was a 1-2 finish for the Alpecin-Premier Tech team with Jasper Philipsen of Belgium coming in second. Mads Pedersen of Denmark, and the Lidl-Trek team, finished third.
Stage 21 was adjusted this year to include the hilly Montmartre circuit, which has gained popularity since being used during the 2024 Paris Olympics. The route was adjusted further Saturday when it was reduced to 88.7 kilometers due to wildfires outside of Paris.
Richard Carapaz of Ecuador won the overall title for top climber while wearing the polka-dot jersey while Pedersen clinched the sprinter’s title in the green jersey. Lidl-Trek, which includes Quinn Simmons of the United States, won the team title.
Simmons, the reigning United States road race champion, was awarded “Best Teammate” for the second consecutive year.
Pogacar ended up in 30th on the final stage, but the overall title had long been in hand as he won the Tour de France for the third consecutive year. He also won titles in 2020 and 2021.
“It’s an incredible day and an incredible atmosphere,” Pogacar said. “I’m happy that it’s over and we won for a fifth time.”
Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark are the only riders to win the Tour de France since 2000. Vingegaard was forced to abandon this year’s race on Stage 15 when he crashed in a turn and came away with a right arm injury. Vingegaard was second overall when he crashed.
Miguel Indurain of Spain was the last to win five Tour de France titles, clinching the last of those in 1995. Bernard Hinault of France, Eddy Merckx of Belgium and Jacques Anquetil of France also won five titles.
“Every victory is really special and seven Tours already, seven times on the podium, with five wins, it’s something that you wouldn’t even write in a storybook,” Pogacar said. “It’s unbelievable for me.”
Pogacar stamped himself as one of the top road racers of all-time by winning Stages 3, 6, 10, 14 and 19 this year. The five wins this year give him 26 Tour de France stage wins.
“It’s a lot of factors,” Pogacar said when asked how he was able to secure title No. 5. “You enjoy what you’re doing, and you have the people around you that you trust and they help you. They’re there for you when you’re at your lowest and you can be yourself and chase your dreams.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Mario Hezonja back in NBA, signs deal with Cavs
Aug 11, 2020; Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Kristaps Porzingis (6) and Portland Trail Blazers forward Mario Hezonja (44) battle for the ball during the second half of a NBA game at The Field House. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images Mario Hezonja is returning to the NBA for the first time since 2020 after signing a one-year deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers, ESPN reported Sunday.
The deal for the Croatia native, who was the fifth overall selection in the 2015 draft, is reportedly worth $2.8 million.
Hezonja, 31, has spent the last six years in the EuroLeague and the last four at Real Madrid where he blossomed. Hezonja helped Real Madrid clinch the EuroLeague championship in 2023 and was named the MVP of Liga ACB for the 2025-26 season when he averaged 17.5 points and 4.9 rebounds.
The Golden State Warriors also pursued the former lottery pick, according to the report. The Cavaliers came out ahead in the end as they look to improve on a run where they made it to the Eastern Conference finals last season. It was their first conference final since 2018.
Hezonja last played in the NBA during the 2019-2020 season with the Portland Trailblazers and also spent time with the Orlando Magic (2015-18) and New York Knicks (2018-19) in five seasons. In 330 career games (69 starts) Hezonja averaged 6.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists, while shooting 41.7% from the field and 31.9% from 3-point range.
–Field Level Media
Lucas Herbert wins LIV Golf United Kingdom with record-setting score
Mike Flanagans Carrie gets its first trailer ahead of Oct. release
