Sports
Golden Knights wary of slow start vs. host Penguins
Feb 27, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) skates with the puck as Washington Capitals center Dylan Strome (17) chases during the second period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy has just one simple request for his team heading into Sunday afternoon’s game at Pittsburgh.
Start on time.
The three-week Olympic break did little to help the Golden Knights recharge and snap a season-long habit of poor starts. Vegas has been outscored 5-1 in the first two periods in its first two games of a five-game road trip coming out of the break.
The good news is that the Pacific Division leaders have earned a split of those two contests, scoring five goals in the third period to pull out a 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday, followed by a 3-2 setback to the Washington Capitals on Friday night.
Vegas trailed 3-0 heading into the final 20 minutes against the Capitals, managing just 13 total shots on goal during the first two periods. This despite the fact that five of its top players — center Jack Eichel, captain Mark Stone, forward Mitch Marner and defensemen Shea Theodore and Noah Hanifin — had been given Wednesday’s game off to help recuperate after playing in the Olympics. Those five players combined for just one assist, by Marner.
“They had plenty of rest, to be honest,” Cassidy said after Friday’s game when asked if the five players may have been battling fatigue after the long trip back from Italy. “They’re going to need to be better Sunday. Those are our best players, our leaders, and we expect them to play like that.
“They weren’t on time,” the coach continued. “We tried to give them rest. Hopefully, it pays off on Sunday, and next week, and whatnot. Tonight, it didn’t.”
Eichel and Hanifin had spent Tuesday at the White House with the gold medal-winning U.S. team and then stayed in D.C. for a couple of days of rest while Stone, Theodore and Hanifin spent their free time in Las Vegas before flying east on Thursday to join the team.
Cassidy, who has taken some of the blame in the past for slow starts, didn’t this time.
“We weren’t ready to play,” he said. “Coach has to prepare your team to play, but this one the players weren’t ready to play. They’re professionals. They’ve got to be ready to go. And we weren’t nearly good enough.”
Vegas had several chances down the stretch to tie the game, but Washington goalie Logan Thompson stopped a Brayden McNabb short-handed breakaway and followed that up by making a grade-A stop on a close-in try by Marner.
“We’re always going to respond,” Cassidy said. “I’ve said that many times, and we did it again tonight. Good for us to play 20 minutes. That’s the thing, right? We play 20 minutes and almost win a hockey game. Imagine if we played 40 or 45?”
Pittsburgh will be playing the second game of a back-to-back that began with a 3-2 shootout loss to the host New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon. The Penguins, who got goals from Anthony Mantha and Ryan Shea, blew a 2-0 second-period lead and fell to 1-8 in shootouts, the worst mark in the NHL among teams who have played in four or more shootouts this season.
Vincent Trocheck scored the lone shootout goal for the Rangers, with all three Pittsburgh players failing to convert.
“We’ve continued to work on it. We’ll continue to look at it,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Muse said of his team’s shootout woes. “It just hasn’t been good. It’s on all of us. We’ve got to keep looking at ways we can get better at it. We’ve tried some different guys, we’ve tried some different things, but the results are what they are.”
The Penguins, who are 8-1-2 since Jan. 19, remained in a tie for second place with the New York Islanders in the Metropolitan Division at 73 points.
“It’s a tough game, but we look (to) tomorrow, play back-to-back against Vegas, a good team, great challenge,” forward Evgeni Malkin said. “Back home. We play hard. I’m not saying anything bad tonight. We played hard.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Peyton Stearns, Taylor Townsend in all-American Austin final
Taylor Townsend, of the United States, attempts to return to Danielle Collins, of the United States, during the Cincinnati Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, on Aug. 8, 2025. For the second consecutive year, an American will win the ATX Open, as Peyton Stearns and Taylor Townsend won their respective semifinal matches Saturday in Austin, Texas, and will face off Sunday for the title.
The fourth-seeded Stearns, who was an All-American and national singles champion and part of two NCAA team titles at the University of Texas in Austin, went the distance in a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Australia’s Kimberly Birrell to reach her first singles final since 2024, when she won her lone title in Morocco.
Townsend, meanwhile, swept fellow American Ashlyn Krueger 7-6 (5), 6-3 to advance to the first singles final of her WTA career. Last year, Jessica Pegula took down McCartney Kessler 7-5, 6-2 in an all-American ATX Open final.
It took Stearns just over two hours, but she finally put away Birrell by winning the match’s last five games to secure a spot in her third career final. Stearns saved 5 of 10 break points while converting 7 of 10, including two of the last three of the match.
Townsend lost 12 of the first 15 points and trailed Kreuger 0-4 in the first set before turning the tables. Townsend won six of the next seven games, breaking Krueger when she was serving for the set. In the tiebreak, Townsend saved set point after letting a 5-1 lead in the tiebreak slip away.
Merida Open Akron
Spain’s Cristina Bucsa upset top-seeded Jasmine Piolini of Italy to set up a final against Poland’s Magdalena Frech, who took down China’s Zhang Shuai in the other semifinal at Merida, Mexico.
In her first career Top 10 win, Busca swept Piolini 7-5, 6-4 to reach her first WTA 500 final. Busca had been swept in all 10 of her previous matches against Top 10 opponents, but she defeated the World No. 7 player in 1 hour, 33 minutes. Busca hasn’t lost a set this week, taking leads of 5-2 in the first set and 4-0 in the second against Piolini en route to the upset.
In the other semifinal, Frech outlasted Zhang 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-3 in a two-hour, 35-minute match, to reach her third WTA singles final and second at WTA 500 level in Mexico. Frech had four match points in the second set, but Zhang prevailed to force a decisive third set.
Zhang nearly doubled Frech’s total of winners, but the Polish player would not be denied. After the opponents twice traded breaks to open the third set, Frech won the last four games to secure the hard-fought victory.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Lone’er Kavanagh spoils Brandon Moreno’s homecoming in Mexico City
Mar 21, 2025; London, United Kingdom; UFC flyweight Lone’er Kavanagh during official weigh ins for UFC Fight Night at O2 Arena. Mandatory Credit: Per Haljestam-Imagn Images Lone’er Kavanagh left former two-time UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno bloodied and bruised for an upset victory in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Mexico City.
England’s Kavanagh downed Mexico’s Moreno via unanimous decision in the non-title bout, securing the judges’ scorecards 49-46, 48-47, 48-47. Kavanagh was a late replacement for Asu Almabayev (23-3 MMA), who withdrew due to a hand injury, per a social media post on Feb. 3.
Kavanagh (10-1 MMA) dictated the fight early on, buckling Moreno (23-10-2 MMA) with a flurry of punches and kicks in Round 2. The pace slowed dramatically as the championship rounds (rounds 4 and 5 in traditional title fights and non-title main events) approached.
Kavanagh, 26, tipped his cap to Moreno, 32, calling him a “legend.”
“I said before the fight, I live for legendary moments,” Kavanagh said afterward. “This is a legendary moment. Brandon is a legend, a former two-time world champion.”
With only four UFC fights to his name, Kavanagh welcomes all challengers.
“Anyone can come and get it,” Kavanagh said.
Moreno has now lost back-to-back fights and three of his last five outings. He entered the fight ranked No. 6 in the flyweight division, a ranking he has hovered around since losing the title again in July 2023.
But for Kavanagh, a new era at 125 pounds may have just emerged.
A bantamweight co-main event featured Mexico’s David Martinez against a former UFC bantamweight title challenger in Marlon Vera.
Martinez (14-1 MMA) handed Vera (23-12-1 MMA) his fifth loss in his last six fights due in large part to a balanced attack of crisp striking, effortless wrestling and preserving energy when Vera pushed forward.
The unanimous decision win, all by 29-28 scores, extended Vera’s skid to four and could launch Martinez on the verge of stardom in the 135-pound division. Martinez has won 10 straight matches overall and is 3-0 in the UFC.
“I’ll be ready,” Martinez said after the fight, not hinting at future opponents.
An unexpected thriller saw King Green (formerly Bobby Green) secure a brutal TKO stoppage (strikes) against Mexico’s Daniel Zellhuber at lightweight.
Green (34-17, 1 NC MMA) used all but the last 5 seconds of the second round to send Zellhuber (15-3 MMA) to his third consecutive loss. Green, 39, said he would be open to fighting former “Ultimate Fighter” 5 winner Nate Diaz should Diaz return to the UFC in an intense post-fight talk from Green.
Diaz (21-13 MMA) has not fought for the promotion since September 2022, opting instead to box the likes of Jake Paul and former UFC welterweight title challenger and ex-“BMF” champion Jorge Masvidal (35-17 MMA).
More flyweight action took center stage as the main card moved along. In a split decision, Mexico’s Edgar Chairez edged Felipe Bunes in an all-action affair 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 in a fight that primarily stayed standing.
Chairez (13-6, 1 NC MMA), who has two straight and three of his last four bouts, is still chasing aspirations of winning a title in the near future. Bunes (14-9 MMA) has lost three of his last four fights.
Flyweights Imanol Rodriguez, in his UFC debut, and Kevin Borjas brought the Arena CMDX crowd to its feet as Borjas nearly won by first-round TKO.
The bout lasted to the second round and turned when an overhand right gave Rodriguez (7-0 MMA) his first win at MMA’s highest level and sixth overall KO/TKO finish at 4:21 of the round.
Borjas (10-5 MMA) has now lost four of his five UFC appearances, including a Nov. 2023 unanimous decision loss to current UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van (16-2 MMA) at UFC 295.
Bantamweight Santiago Luna used a mix of combinations to earn a unanimous decision against American Angel Pacheco, all by scores of 30-27, to begin the UFC Fight Night six-fight main card.
Luna (8-0 MMA) earned his second UFC win, while a resilient Pacheco (7-4 MMA) has not sniffed the win column since Aug. 2022 and has yet to find his footing in the promotion.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Commanding stretch gets No. 2 Arizona past No. 14 Kansas
Feb 28, 2026; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Koa Peat (10) dunks the ball during the first half of the game against the Kansas Jayhawks at McKale Memorial Center. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images Jaden Bradley scored six of his 10 points in a 16-0 scoring run as No. 2 Arizona took charge to deliver an 84-61 victory over No. 14 Kansas on Saturday at Tucson, Ariz.
The Wildcats (27-2, 14-2 Big 12) avenged their loss at Kansas on Feb. 9, which was their first of the season after a program-record 23-0 start. The victory also clinched at least a tie for the regular-season Big 12 title for Arizona.
Brayden Burries led Arizona with 20 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Koa Peat, who missed the Wildcats’ last three games with a lower-leg muscle strain, had 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Motiejus Krivas finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds for Arizona and Ivan Kharchenkov had 11 points and six rebounds. The Wildcats outrebounded Kansas 48-26 and outscored the Jayhawks 30-20 in the paint and 16-8 in second-chance points.
Darryn Peterson, out with flu-like symptoms when Kansas beat Arizona in the previous meeting, finished with 24 points for the Jayhawks (21-8, 11-5). Tre White and Melvin Council Jr. each had 13 points for the Jayhawks.
After Arizona took a 47-35 lead with 14:45 remaining, Kansas went on a 12-2 run. Council, who made a 3-pointer early in the run, culminated it with a jumper to cut the Jayhawks’ deficit to 49-47 with 12:07 remaining.
Arizona responded with a commanding 16-0 run to go ahead 65-47 with 8:52 left. Kansas missed seven consecutive shots from the field in the stretch after making five straight.
The Wildcats’ string of seven straight made field goals pushed the lead to 76-56 with 4:42 left.
Arizona went on a 21-2 run to build a 21-5 lead with 13:35 left in the half. During that run, Kansas missed nine consecutive shots from the field.
Arizona scored six unanswered points to take its biggest lead of the first half, 37-19, with 3:52 remaining until halftime. The Wildcats failed to make a shot from the field thereafter in the half, missing five attempts, and Kansas closed with a 9-2 run to cut the lead to 39-28.
Flory Bidunga, who had 23 points and 10 rebounds in the previous matchup with Arizona, did not score and had two rebounds in the first half. He finished with two points and four rebounds.
Arizona outscored Kansas by 20 points at the free-throw line. The Wildcats were 30 of 34 at the line while Kansas was 10 of 11.
–Field Level Media
Peyton Stearns, Taylor Townsend in all-American Austin final
Lone’er Kavanagh spoils Brandon Moreno’s homecoming in Mexico City
