Sports
Ilia Malinin 3-peats in world championships after disastrous Olympics
Feb 21, 2026; Milan, Italy; Ilia Malinin of the United States performs in the figure skating exhibition gala during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images Ilia Malinin has 3-peated.
The 21-year-old U.S. figure skater won his third straight world championship Saturday in Prague, scoring 329.40 points to win gold by a margin of 22.73 over Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama. Shun Sato also secured Japan a bronze medal.
Malinin becomes the first skater to win three consecutive world titles since Nathan Chen did it from 2018-2021. The 21-year-old is also the youngest to win three championships since Russia’s Alexei Yagudin in 2000, and he’s the second-youngest American to claim three after Dick Button did it at the age of 20.
Malinin’s triumph also serves as a redemption arc after being the gold-medal favorite in the Milan Olympics last month and finishing eighth. He landed five quads in the free skate as part of a routine that featured a lower degree of jump difficulty compared to his Olympic performance. Malinin also declined to attempt his trademark quad axel.
“My expectation was to leave the long program in one piece, and I definitely think that happened,” he said after the victory.
When asked if he intentionally chose a safer routine, Malinin responded: “A better answer to that question is, this has been time for me to relax and enjoy the last competition of the season.”
Malinin also enjoyed a return to his winning form after his 14-competition win streak, the longest stretch in men’s skating in decades, stalled out in Milan.
“This was probably one of the easier world championships I’ve been to, just because of the amount (of) pressure I had at the Olympics. And going into here, I felt like it was almost no pressure at all,” he said. “I completely blocked out all the expectations, all the pressure that people put on me and was really here to skate for myself and enjoy every moment of these world championships, and I think I did exactly that.”
Malinin’s success in the world championship could mean he’s destined for further redemption at the next Winter Olympics. Every U.S. men’s singles skater who’s won three-plus world titles has also won an Olympic gold, including Button (1948, ‘52), Hayes Alan Jenkins (1956), David Jenkins (1960), Scott Hamilton (1984) and Chen (2022).
–Field Level Media
Sports
OpTic Texas, FaZe Vegas earn 3-0 wins in CDL Stage 2 Major
OpTic Texas dominated on Saturday, advancing to the Upper Bracket Final, as the Call of Duty League’s Stage 2 Major continued in Marston Green, England.
Texas faced G2 Minnesota in their Saturday matchup. They opened play with a 250-107 win on Den Hardpoint. Then, Texas cruised to a 6-2 victory on Raid Search and Destroy, before sealing the 3-0 sweep with 4-2 win on Den Overload.
FaZe Vegas also completed a 3-0 sweep in their shutout of Paris Gentle Mates. Paris entered Saturday with back-to-back wins, but their momentum ran out against Vegas.
Vegas had a 250-190 victory on Exposure Hardpoint, and a decisive 6-0 win on Raid Search and Destroy. They finished the matchup with a 3-2 win on Exposure Overload.
Texas and Vegas will meet on Sunday in the Upper Bracket Final.
Toronto KOI and LA Thieves will meet in the Lower Bracket Semifinal. Toronto defeated Paris 3-1, while LA defeated Minnesota 3-1. The Thieves closed out their matchup with an impressive 250-94 win on Den Hardpoint.
The Sunday schedule:
–Upper Bracket Final — OpTic Texas vs. FaZe Vegas
–Lower Bracket Semifinal — Toronto KOI vs. LA Thieves
–Lower Bracket Final — team TBD vs. team TBD
–Grand Final — team TBD vs. team TBD
Call of Duty League’s Stage 2 Major prize pool, with money winnings and CDL points
1. $150,000, 100
2. $90,000, 75
3. $50,000, 60
4. $30,000, 45
5-6. $15,000, 30 — Paris Gentle Mates, G2 Minnesota
7-8. $7,500, 15 — Riyadh Falcons, Miami Heretics
9-10. no money, no points — Vancouver Surge, Carolina Royal Ravens
–Field Level Media
Sports
Iowa-Illinois interrupted for 11 minutes due to horn
Mar 28, 2026; Houston, TX, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood talks with an official in the first half against the Iowa Hawkeyes during an Elite Eight game of the South Regional of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images HOUSTON — The NCAA Tournament South Region final between ninth-seeded Iowa and third-seeded Illinois on Saturday experienced an extended delay when the horn stuck with 7:43 remaining in the first half and the Hawkeyes leading 22-20.
The delay lasted more than 10 minutes, and when the game resumed, the center-hung scoreboard was no longer operational.
The Iowa-Illinois winner will advance to the Final Four in Indianapolis next weekend.
–MK Bower, Field Level Media
Sports
Gary Woodland nearing 1st victory since 2019 at Texas Children’s Houston Open
Mar 28, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Gary Woodland reacts after putting on the green on the 18th hole during the third round of the Texas Children’s Houston Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images Now it’s about finishing the task for Gary Woodland in the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
He shot 5-under-par 65 on Saturday to maintain the lead through three rounds as he seeks his first victory in nearly seven years in Houston.
“I’m here, I put myself in this position for a reason, so take a deep breath and maintain what I’m doing,” Woodland said.
Woodland is at 18-under despite his highest score of the tournament Saturday.
Hard-charging Nicolai Hojgaard of Denmark posted the best round of the day with a 63, so he’s one stroke back going into Sunday’s final round at Memorial Park Golf Course.
“There’s still a lot of players in the field that can win the tournament,” Hojgaard said. “But, obviously, Gary and I have a good chance. I’m going to go out, try to build up the round like I did today.”
Hojgaard has never won on the PGA Tour in 62 previous tournaments. His last international tournament title came in 2023.
Woodland tied for second place in the tournament a year ago. The galleries have been supportive this week, and he has noticed.
“Crowd (has) been amazing,” Woodland said. “Energy was so good. Definitely helped me. Something I fed off of and hopefully that’s the same (Sunday).”
Woodland had four birdies on a six-hole stretch on the backside to maintain the lead. The last three of those birdies came with putts inside of 7 feet.
“Once I settled in, I hit some great shots on the back nine,” Woodland said. “It was a good fight, for sure.”
Hojgaard also was 4-under on that same six-hole stretch, with a 14-foot putt his longest birdie among those holes.
Both golfers had pars on No. 18.
“The course is playing into my strengths,” Hojgaard said. “Good driving length off the tee and approach play, and then I felt like I had good pace with the putter all day.”
Defending champion Min Woo Lee of Australia shot 67 to sit at 12-under, joined by Michael Thorbjornsen (66). Lee might be a long shot to make up enough ground, but he hasn’t dismissed that from happening.
“Just got to stick to the process and hopefully make a lot of birdies,” Lee said. “You’ll probably need help from them to come backwards. I think I’m in the final group, so I’ll have a nice show (Sunday).”
As one of the highlights from Saturday, Lee took a bunker shot on one knee on No. 17, rolling the ball close enough for a birdie putt.
“It wasn’t the most pleasing lie when I first got there,” Lee said. “It was nearly very unplayable because it was on such a steep hill. Luckily, I’m somewhat flexible and I can get low and, yeah, play that shot.”
Combined with the 16th hole, that gave Lee birdies on consecutive holes for the second time during the round.
Thorbjornsen said he has been encouraged by his play this week.
“I think we’re just trying to play smart golf, play to the numbers, just whatever will produce the best score on average,” Thorbjornsen said. “That’s kind of the strategy we’re going to take.”
Sam Stevens (67) and Australia’s Jason Day (68) are at 11-under.
First-round leader Paul Waring of England moved back into contention by shooting 66. He’s at 10-under with Sahith Theegala (66) and Canada’s Sudarshan Yellamaraju (65).
–Field Level Media
OpTic Texas, FaZe Vegas earn 3-0 wins in CDL Stage 2 Major
Iowa-Illinois interrupted for 11 minutes due to horn
