Sports
Graham Ike, No. 12 Gonzaga take aim at Washington State
Feb 7, 2026; Corvallis, Oregon, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Graham Ike (15) drives against Oregon State Beavers center Yaak Yaak (4) during the second half at Gill Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images Graham Ike sounded like he was discussing something out of “Game of Thrones.”
Perhaps after yielding a saber and smiting a foe.
“Who shies away from the contact? If you do, you’ll be eaten,” the Gonzaga big man said. “It’s like sharks smelling blood in the water, you can sniff that out. You’ve just got to battle back, iron sharpens iron.”
Ike did just that Saturday, matching a career high with 35 points as the No. 12 Bulldogs vanquished host Oregon State 81-61 to bounce back from an upset loss at Portland three days earlier. That loss dropped the Bulldogs from their No. 6 ranking.
Gonzaga (23-2, 11-1 West Coast Conference) will return to their home den to face Washington State (11-15, 6-7) on Tuesday in Spokane, Wash.
Ike, who had guaranteed the Bulldogs wouldn’t repeat their 87-80 loss to the Pilots, almost single-handedly made sure it didn’t happen.
He played all but the final minute Saturday, shot 13 of 18 from the field, 8 of 9 from the free-throw line and made his only 3-point attempt. He also had seven rebounds, two assists, one steal, one blocked shot and drew nine of the 17 fouls Oregon State committed, including two on one possession.
“I liked every single matchup that was on me, on the guards, on the wings,” Ike said. “I thought we could exploit the mismatches in a lot of different areas and we did. … Shout out to the guys honestly for their relentless effort all 40 minutes, every single guy. We couldn’t do it without 1-15 and the coaching staff, included. Great plan, great execution.”
Ike lamented a second-half turnover that prevented the Bulldogs from breaking a program record. They tied the mark by giving the ball away just twice.
“I wish I could’ve taken my one turnover away,” he said. “We took great care of the ball.”
Tyon Grant-Foster came off the bench to add 15 points and seven rebounds for the Bulldogs, who have struggled with secondary scoring while forward/center Braden Huff has missed the past seven games with a knee injury.
Gonzaga’s defense was markedly improved Saturday. They limited the Beavers to 44.2% shooting from the field (19 of 43) after Portland shot 59.3% (32 of 54).
Gonzaga coach Mark Few still hasn’t quite gotten over the latter number.
“It’s hard to find any consistency on the defensive end, let’s start with that,” Few said. “If everybody just does their jobs and bring what they bring, we’ve been pretty darn good this year. When they deviate from that and not bring what they’re supposed to bring, then it really exposes us.”
The Bulldogs defeated Washington State 86-65 on Jan. 15 in Pullman, Wash., in their first game without Huff. Ike led the way with 23 points on 11-of-15 shooting, 11 rebounds and five assists.
The Cougars are coming off a 96-92 loss Saturday to visiting Santa Clara, which has a half-game lead on Gonzaga atop the WCC standings.
“We have got to get over the top. We have got to start winning these games,” Washington State coach David Riley said. “Giving up 96 points at home is too much.”
Eemeli Yalaho led the Cougars with 21 points and Ace Glass added 20.
“We have got to take care of the little stuff. Then just finishing plays,” Yalaho said.
Santa Clara outscored the Cougars 21-11 over the opening 7:15 of the second half to pull away from a 49-all tie and WSU couldn’t quite catch up.
“We have got to lock in on both sides and play a full 40 minutes,” Glass said. “I feel like we have played a lot of 30, 35-minute games.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
RHP Justin Verlander returning to Tigers on 1-year, $13M deal
Sep 17, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Justin Verlander (35) watches from the dugout after pitching 7 innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images Three-time Cy Young Award winner and 2011 American League MVP Justin Verlander is returning to where the right-hander’s highly decorated career started, agreeing with the Detroit Tigers on a one-year contract worth $13 million guaranteed, the team announced on Tuesday.
Verlander, who turns 43 on Feb. 20, will receive $11 million in deferred payments starting in 2030 as part of the deal.
A nine-time All-Star, Verlander pitched last season for the San Francisco Giants in his lone campaign on a National League team. After a 0-8 start with a 4.99 ERA, he finished 4-11 with 3.85 ERA, 52 walks and 137 strikeouts in 152 innings over 29 starts.
For his career, Verlander is 266-158 with a 3.32 ERA, 1,004 walks and 3,553 strikeouts in 3567 2/3 innings over 555 regular-season games (all starts) for the Tigers (2005-17), Houston Astros (2017-20, 2022, 2023-24), New York Mets (2023) and Giants (2025). He missed the 2021 season after having Tommy John surgery in September 2020.
In 13 years with the Tigers, Verlander was 183-114 with a 3.49 ERA, 766 walks and 2,373 strikeouts in 2,511 innings over 380 regular-season games. He was the AL Rookie of the Year in 2006 and swept AL MVP and Cy Young honors in 2011.
Verlander is MLB’s active leader in wins (266, 37th all-time), complete games (26), losses (158), games started (555), strikeouts (3,553, eighth all-time), innings pitched (3,567 2/3), walks (1,004), hits allowed (3,046), earned runs allowed (1,317) and batters faced (14,607).
He has a playoff record of 17-12 with a 3.58 ERA, 74 walks and 244 strikeouts in 266 innings over 38 games (37 starts) with one shutout. He was on World Series championship teams with the Astros in 2017 — when he was voted American League Championship Series MVP — and 2022.
Verlander collected Cy Young Awards in 2011 with Detroit, and 2019 and 2022 with Houston. He made the AL All-Star team in 2007, 2009-13, 2018-19 and 2022.
Only Verlander and Hall of Famer Don Newcombe have won Rookie of the Year, MVP and Cy Young honors.
Detroit selected Verlander with the second overall pick of the 2004 MLB Draft out of Old Dominion University.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees acquire IF Max Schuemann in trade with Athletics
Sep 8, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics third baseman Max Schuemann (12) throws the ball to first against the Boston Red Sox during the third inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images The New York Yankees acquired infielder Max Schuemann in a trade with the Athletics on Monday, sending right-handed pitching prospect Luis Burgos as the return.
Schuemann, 28, has appeared in 234 major league games over the 2024-25 seasons for the Athletics, who drafted him in the 20th round of 2018 MLB Draft.
He has a .212 career batting average and .306 on-base percentage with nine home runs, 18 doubles, 47 RBIs and 154 strikeouts to 69 walks. Last season, he hit .197 with two homers and 13 RBI in 101 games.
After largely playing shortstop (93 games) in 2024, Schuemann played his most games (39) at second base followed by third base (27) in 2025. He’s also played each of the outfield spots, bringing some real positional versatility to the Yankees.
Burgos, 20, was a Yankees undrafted-free-agent signing out of the Dominican Republic in June of 2024. He’s posted a 4-4 record and 3.39 ERA over 25 games (10 starts) in two seasons in New York’s farm system.
To make room for Schuemann, the Yankees designated outfielder Yanquiel Fernandez for assignment.
–Field Level Media
Sports
No. 21 Arkansas rides depth into SEC encounter with LSU
Feb 7, 2026; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks head coach John Calipari talks with guard Meleek Thomas (1) during the second half against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Humphrey Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images Arkansas has been one of the more successful teams in the Southeastern Conference recently.
The No. 21 Razorbacks (17-6, 7-3 SEC) have won four of their last five games and are just one game behind conference-leading Florida going into their contest against LSU on Tuesday night in Baton Rouge, La.
Their most recent loss came against Kentucky on Jan. 31, but they bounced back with an 88-68 road victory against Mississippi State on Saturday. The victory came without two injured players, guards D.J. Wagner and Karter Knox, both of whom have started 18 games.
“We know we’re a deep team,” Arkansas forward Nick Pringle said, “so when we’ve got a guy out, next man up.”
Razorbacks freshman Isaiah Sealy played 15 minutes, the most he has played in an SEC game, and had six points, three blocks, two assists and one rebound against the Bulldogs.
“He was ready,” Pringle said. “He’d been locked in all week.”
Sophomore Billy Richmond III made his first start in three weeks and tied his SEC career high with 14 points.
Head coach John Calipari, who used just seven players against Mississippi State, said Wagner and Knox were questionable against LSU.
Even though Calipari was operating with a shortened bench, he still got a team effort. Darius Acuff Jr. had 24 points and eight assists, Trevon Brazile added 19 points and eight rebounds, Meleek Thomas scored 17 and Pringle grabbed a season-high 11 boards.
Arkansas, which defeated visiting LSU 85-81 on Jan. 24, missed its first five shots against Mississippi State.
“We’ve got to get better at (starting),” Calipari said.
LSU started just fine in its most recent game, but quickly saw things turn. The Tigers (14-9, 2-8) rolled to a 31-16 lead against visiting Georgia as they sought consecutive SEC wins for the first time this season.
But Georgia scored the last 11 points of the first half, took a 42-37 halftime lead and led by as many as 17 points in the second half as LSU absorbed an 83-71 defeat.
“I thought there were two things in the difference to the game,” LSU head coach Matt McMahon said. “After a nine (assists) to two (turnovers) ratio, we were three to 12 the rest of the game. Then, after only giving up four offensive rebounds in the first half, we give up 12 in the second.”
Inconsistency within games has plagued the Tigers all season. It doesn’t help that starting point guard Dedan Thomas Jr., who leads the team in scoring (15.3) and assists (6.5), has missed the last two games, and seven of 10 SEC contests, because of a lower-leg injury. His status for Tuesday is uncertain.
Thomas had 18 points, five assists and three rebounds in the Jan. 24 loss to the Razorbacks, which was his first SEC start.
“We can’t separate,” said LSU forward Marquel Sutton, who had 14 points as one of just two double-figure scorers against Georgia. “We’ve got to stay together as a group, as a team, just like we’ve been doing all season.”
–Field Level Media
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