Sports
Ice dancers help US hold lead in team skating event
Feb 6, 2026; Milan, Italy; Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States compete in ice dance rhythm dance during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images MILAN — Ilia Malinin made his anticipated Olympic debut at the Milan Cortina Games on Saturday and despite being upstaged by Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama, the U.S. extended their lead in the team event thanks to the ice dancing of Madison Chock and Evan Bates.
Going on to the ice last in the men’s short program, Malinin executed two soaring quadruple jumps and a crowd-pleasing backflip but his performance was far from flawless.
The American, who is expected to become the first competitor ever to land a quadruple Axel at the Olympics when the men’s individual competition begins on Tuesday, opted to play it safe by executing a triple Axel – but even that did not go to plan as he failed to land it cleanly.
The 21-year-old looked stunned when his score of 98.00 points flashed up on the big screen, leaving him well behind his closest rival Kagiyama, who delivered an exhilarating performance for 108.67 points.
But a sensational skate by ice dance veterans and team leaders Chock and Bates lifted the U.S. as they notched a season-best score of 133.23, prompting a beaming Malinin to wrap his arms around the couple in the Kiss and Cry area.
The U.S. lead the standings with a total of 44 points, followed by Japan (39), Italy (37), Canada (35), and Georgia (32). Medals will be decided after the final three events on Sunday.
France, South Korea, China, Britain and Poland were eliminated from the competition earlier in the day.
PACING HIMSELF
Malinin sought to downplay the upset, saying he was building up to the individual competition, where the two-time world champion is the runaway gold-medal favorite.
“I presumed to come into this team competition with only 50% of my full potential,” he told reporters.
“So that’s what I felt like here today. That’s the way I paced myself leading up to the individual.”
Asked about some of his landings being shaky, he said: “It’s Olympic ice. I’m sure a lot of people would feel that.”
Kagiyama could not contain his excitement, leaping to his feet when his score was posted and enthusiastically embracing his teammates.
“I did a perfect performance,” the 2022 Beijing Games silver medalist said.
“I did well today, so I’m satisfied, but for the individual competition, I have to make it even better.”
Thanks to his quad-heavy programs and explosive style, Malinin is one of the Games’ top draws.
But the Vienna, Va., native also comes into his first Olympics shouldering a heavy weight of expectation after winning 14 competitions in a row and going undefeated since Nov. 2023.
CHOCK AND BATES SHINE
Chock and Bates, who won a gold in the team event in Beijing four years ago, sent a message that they are coming for gold in their individual event with an aggressive dance to an instrumental version of the Rolling Stones’ classic “Paint it Black.”
“I believe in momentum. I think it’s proven to work in sports, and it feels like there’s something special out there in that atmosphere, on Olympic ice,” Bates said.
“We’re really happy with how we skated so far at this event, and especially happy to contribute meaningfully to the team.”
Sunday’s team finale will feature pairs, women’s and men’s free skates.
Malinin did not know whether he would perform on Sunday.
“I haven’t decided yet,” he said.
“I’ll go back and talk with a lot of people and really just make a decision whether it’s going to be worth it for me.”
Chock, who is competing in her fourth and possibly final Games with husband Bates, said she was confident in the team regardless of who takes the ice on Sunday.
“I think our team is incredibly strong, arguably as strong as it’s ever been,” she told reporters.
“I have the utmost faith in them, and I’ll be proud of them no matter what the outcome is.”
–Reuters, special to Field Level Media
Sports
Warriors upgrade G Pat Spencer to NBA deal for rest of season
Feb 5, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Pat Spencer (61) against the Phoenix Suns in the first half at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images The Golden State Warriors upgraded guard Pat Spencer from a two-way contract to a standard NBA contract for the remainder of the season as they square away their roster following this week’s trade deadline.
Spencer, 29, made his fifth start of the season during Thursday’s 101-97 road victory over the Phoenix Suns and contributed a career-high 20 points with six rebounds. He has averaged 5.8 points and 2.2 rebounds in 36 games (five starts) for Golden State this season.
Spencer played one season in Europe and four seasons in the G League after he went undrafted out of Northwestern. In parts of the past three seasons with the Warriors, he has averaged 3.8 points and 1.6 rebounds in 81 games (five starts).
–Field Level Media
Sports
US mixed doubles curling team takes first 2 losses after 4-0 start
[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Feb 7, 2026; Cortina d’Ampezzo, ITALY; Cory Thiesse of United States in action against Great Britain during the curling mixed doubles round robin competition during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Issei Kato/Reuters via Imagn Images CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Britain’s Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat beat Canada before ending the United States’ unbeaten run to clinch their place in the mixed doubles curling semi-finals at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Saturday.
Mouat and Dodds, who were world champions in 2021 and finished in fourth place at the Beijing Olympics in 2022, sit atop the round-robin standings after winning their first seven games in the competition.
They can no longer be caught by Canada or Switzerland, who are joint-fifth.
The British pair sealed a hard-fought win over Canada’s Brett Gallant and Jocelyn Peterman in the morning session, before returning to the ice and beating Americans Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse 6-4.
“It’s always a nice feeling to know you’re qualified, but we want to still continue to play well,” Dodds said.
“And today, those two games were definitely our A performances out there and we’ll need to continue that. So we’ll continue that into tomorrow and hopefully we can secure a top spot.”
It was a disappointing day for the U.S. pair. After entering the day as one of two remaining unbeatens with a 4-0 record, they also took a 6-5 defeat to South Korea’s
Jeong Yeong-seok and Kim Seon-yeong.
ITALY BEAT NORWAY, AGAIN
In the evening session, champions Italy beat two-time Olympic medalists Magnus Nedregotten and Kristin Skaslien of Norway 6-5 in a rematch of the final in Beijing four years ago.
In a close encounter, both teams appeared to struggle to get a read of the ice, with Norway’s Nedregotten miscalculating a shot in the final end which enabled Italy’s Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner to set up a steal and nab the win.
“Sometimes it’s the way the game needs to go, a couple of times we have been unlucky, and this time we were lucky, it’s always 50-50,” Mosaner said.
“Today we had some luck and we take it, to win a championship we need it.”
Italy’s win moves them up to joint-second in the standings, with Norway in joint-seventh.
Earlier on Saturday, Sweden’s Isabella and Rasmus Wranaa clinched a 9-4 win over Italy to boost their hopes of a top-four finish.
The Czech pairing of Julie Zelingrova and Vit Chabicovsky beat South Korea 9-4 to pick up their first win of the tournament.
Teams play nine times in the round-robin stage at the Cortina Olympic Curling Centre, with the semi-finals taking place on Monday and the medal matches scheduled for Tuesday.
–Reuters, special to Field Level Media
Sports
Women's Top 25 roundup: No. 1 UConn dominates Butler
Feb 7, 2026; Hartford, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies guard Kayleigh Heckel (9) drives the ball to the basket against Butler Bulldogs forward Mallory Miller (24) in the first half at PeoplesBank Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images Azzi Fudd’s 17 points led all five starters in double figures for top-ranked Connecticut in an 80-48 trouncing of Butler on Saturday at Hartford, Conn.
Serah Williams, Allie Ziebell, and Ashlynn Shade all scored 11 points, and KK Arnold had 10 points for the Huskies (25-0, 14-0 Big East). UConn made only five of 17 attempts from 3-point range. Reserve Jana El Alfy had 11 rebounds.
UConn played without sophomore Sarah Strong, who sat out for the first time in her career for what was termed an opportunity to rest. She was one of three Huskies who didn’t play, but they built a 44-19 halftime lead, with Fudd accounting for 15 points by the break.
Butler’s Caroline Dotsey had 13 points, but the Bulldogs (9-15, 3-11) committed 23 turnovers.
No. 12 Michigan State 81, Penn State 70
Grace VanSlooten scored 20 points, and the Spartans dug out of a 16-point deficit and used stellar second-half defense to avoid an upset despite Kiyomi McMiller’s 37-point outing at University Park, Pa.
Jalyn Brown’s 16 points, Rashunda Jones’s 14 points, and Kenndy Blair’s 12 points helped Michigan State (20-4, 9-4 Big Ten), which was 7-for-27 on 3s.
Miller made 16 of 33 shots from the field with three 3-pointers. Penn State (8-16, 1-12) poured in 28 first-quarter points and led 45-33 at halftime, but the Nittany Lions scored only 25 second-half points.
No. 20 West Virginia 87, Arizona 68
Kierra Wheeler’s 17 points came on 8-for-11 shooting, as the Mountaineers rolled at Morgantown, W. Va.
Sydney Shaw had 16 points, Jordan Harrison posted 14 points to go with eight steals, and Gia Cooke added 13 points for the Mountaineers (20-5, 10-3 Big 12), who led 50-26 at halftime. They shot 50% for the game from the field.
Arizona (11-12, 2-10) couldn’t overcome 29 turnovers, despite Tanyuel Welch’s 17 points and Daniah Trammell’s 15 points. The ball handling woes negated the Wildcats’ 51.7% shooting from the floor.
No. 22 Maryland 78, Nebraska 60
Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu racked up 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting to go with nine rebounds, as the Terrapins secured the victory at Lincoln, Neb.
Oluchi Okananwa had 14 points, reserve Rainey Welson notched 13 points, and Yarden Garzon added 11 points for Maryland (19-6, 7-6 Big Ten), which used a 30-point second quarter to build a 45-28 halftime lead.
Logan Nissley had 22 points, but Nebraska (16-8, 5-8) was stung by 22 turnovers and a 39-26 rebounding deficit. Nissley had six of the team’s nine 3-point baskets.
–Field Level Media
Warriors upgrade G Pat Spencer to NBA deal for rest of season
US mixed doubles curling team takes first 2 losses after 4-0 start
