Sports
No. 12 Florida’s imposing size could pose trouble for Ole Miss
Florida center Rueben Chinyelu (9) rebounds against South Carolina guard Meechie Johnson (5) during the first half of a NCAA mens basketball game at Steven C. O’Connell Center Exactek arena in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, February 17, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun] Florida approaches the stretch run of SEC play in dominance mode.
The No. 12 Gators (20-6, 11-2 SEC) remain in sole possession of first place in the conference heading into their game against Ole Miss on Saturday in Oxford, Miss.
They have won 11 of their last 12 and their wins during their current six-game streak have come by an average of 22 points. But Florida head coach Todd Golden recognizes that some wins are going to be easier than others.
“Anytime you can win, that’s a huge step in the right direction,” Golden said. “And I tell these guys all the time when we’re preparing for games: I don’t care if it’s Alabama, I don’t care if it’s Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina — we’re treating that game like the national championship.”
The Gators, the defending national champion, began the winning streak with their most lopsided victory of the season, a 95-48 dismantling of host South Carolina on Jan. 28. But when they played host to the Gamecocks on Tuesday night, the margin was much smaller in a 76-62 outcome.
“I feel like there’s an expectation right now with our program that if we’re not up by 15 at halftime, if we don’t win by 25, (then) something isn’t going right,” Golden said. “But even when we’re not at our best, I think we’re really good.”
Golden acknowledged the Gators didn’t play their best the last time out, but they still enjoyed a comfortable lead virtually the entire game. Only a 92-83 victory against Kentucky last Saturday came by single digits during the winning streak.
“We’ve just got to attack it,” Gators forward Alex Condon said. “That’s what championship teams do every night — come out with the same mentality and keep rolling.”
Condon had 20 points and 10 rebounds Tuesday. Center Rueben Chinyelu had his 16th double-double of the season, finishing with 15 points and 17 rebounds to bring his average over the last five games to 16.2 rebounds.
The Gators’ size is of particular concern for Ole Miss, which got outrebounded 37-23 in an 80-77 road loss to Texas A&M on Wednesday night. The Rebels (11-15, 3-10) were beaten 16-4 on the offensive glass and gave up 18 second-chance points.
“The difference in the game is offensive rebounding for them,” Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard said. “The reason we’re not in a little bit better mood is we’re one or two blockouts away.”
Rebounding has been a consistent problem for Ole Miss, which has lost eight games in a row. The Rebels rank 15th in rebound margin (minus-2.3 per game).
Florida leads the conference in rebounds (46.0) and the nation in rebound margin (plus-14.6).
Despite the rebounding issues against the Aggies, the Rebels played better than they did four days earlier in a 90-78 home loss to Mississippi State. They led Texas A&M for most of the game but got outscored 12-2 down the stretch while going scoreless for the final 3:32.
“I thought in a lot of ways we outplayed the opponent,” Beard said. “(We were) probably deserving of winning the game.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
FIFA president: All 104 World Cup matches will be 'sold out'
[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Dec 5, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; FIFA President Gianni Infantino arrives on the red carpet ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Draw at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Mandatory Credit: Brian Snyder-Reuters via Imagn Images FIFA president Gianni Infantino said all 104 matches of the 2026 World Cup will be “sold out” despite tickets available for the tournament running from June 11 to July 19.
“The demand is there. Every match is sold out,” Infantino told CNBC in an interview Wednesday from U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla.
Infantino said there had been 508 million ticket requests in four weeks from more than 200 countries for about seven million available tickets.
“(We’ve) never see anything like that — incredible,” he said.
The 48-team World Cup is taking place across 16 host cities in the United States, Mexico and Canada, with MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., as the site of the World Cup final.
The head of the sport’s governing body said that tournament locations contribute to what soccer supporters’ associations have complained are exorbitant ticket prices.
“I think it is because it’s in America, Canada and Mexico,” he said. “Everybody wants to be part of something special.”
Also affecting prices are resale websites, which take the official ticket that has a fixed price and use “dynamic pricing” leading to the cost to fluctuate.
“You are able as well to resell your tickets on official platforms, secondary markets, so the prices as well will go up,” Infantino said. “That’s part of the market we are in.”
A report in the Straits Times said that a Category 3 seat — the highest section in the stadium — for Mexico’s match against South Africa in the tournament opener on June 11 in Mexico City was listed at $5,324 in the secondary market. The original price was $895.
The same seat category for the World Cup final on July 19, originally priced at $3,450, was advertised for $143,750 on Feb. 11, per the report.
In December, FIFA designated “supporter entry tier” tickets with a $60 price to be allocated to the national federations whose teams are playing. Those federations are expected to make those tickets available “to loyal fans who are closely connected to their national teams,” FIFA said in a press release.
The last time the U.S. served as a World Cup host in 1994, tickets ranged from $25 to $475. At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, prices ranged from $70 to $1,600 after the matches were announced.
Infantino in his comments this week estimated that the 2026 World Cup will raise $11 billion in revenue for FIFA, with “every dollar” to be reinvested in the sport in the 211 member countries.
He said the economic impact for the United States would be around $30 billion “in terms of tourism, catering, security investments and so on.” Infantino also estimated the tournament will attract 20 million to 30 million tourists and create 185,000 full-time jobs.
–Field Level Media
Sports
No homecoming for Jaren Jackson Jr. (knee) as Jazz visit Grizzlies
Feb 11, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (20) plans his next move around Sacramento Kings guard/forward DeMar DeRozan (10) during the first half at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Peter Creveling-Imagn Images The high-profile homecoming for Jaren Jackson Jr. will not materialize.
When the Memphis Grizzlies sent the veteran forward to the Utah Jazz shortly before the Feb. 5 trade deadline, they realized the schedule-makers had built in an intriguing mid-February matchup.
But when the Grizzlies play the visiting Jazz on Friday, Jackson will not be in uniform. The former Defensive Player of the Year, in his eighth NBA season, underwent successful surgery earlier this week in Salt Lake City to remove a localized pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS) growth from his left knee. A physical performed after the trade revealed the growth.
Jackson, the league’s top defender in 2022-23, will be out for at least four weeks, according to the Jazz, and could return to the court later this season.
In his team debut on Feb. 7 against the Orlando Magic, he had 22 points, three assists and three steals in 25 minutes. He is averaging 19.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 48 games, all but three with the Grizzlies.
Jackson, John Konchar and Vince Williams Jr. went from the Grizzlies to the Jazz on Feb. 3. Memphis received Walter Clayton Jr., Kyle Anderson, Taylor Hendricks, Georges Niang and three first-round draft picks.
Utah coach Will Hardy has only worked with Jackson briefly, but he said the Jazz knew the quality person and player they were getting.
“When we traded for Jaren, obviously there is so much talk about (Jaren) the player,” Hardy said. “And I’m very excited about the player. But what we are trying to build as an organization and a program, Jaren’s character, and who he is as a person, is just as important.
“That has been evident since the day that he (joined the Jazz). He is a high-character guy. He has a good sense of humor. He also has a respect level that comes with him because of how he has played during his career.”
Letting go of another key member of the Grizzlies’ core was difficult for Memphis general manager Zach Kleiman, but it could be a move that pays dividends.
“We felt good about the return (for Jackson) and we felt it healthier for the organization to turn the page as much as we were able to and be able to build this team with a clear mind as to what we’re trying to achieve going forward, which is pivoting to a younger build,” Kleiman said. “We’re not shying away from that. That’s where this team is.”
While the Grizzlies adjust to life without Jackson for the first time since he was taken with the No. 4 pick in the 2018 draft, they are hoping to snap a four-game losing streak without star guard Ja Morant.
Sidelined with a left elbow sprain since Jan. 23, Morant missed the team’s last 11 games and is expected to miss another two weeks. He has only appeared in 20 games because of a variety of injuries.
With Morant out, guard Ty Jerome recently returned from a right calf injury that had him unavailable from the start of the season. In his six games back, Jerome has averaged 19.7 points in 20.2 minutes.
Other contributions have come from Jaylen Wells, Cam Spencer and Cedric Coward, who were selected to play in last Friday’s Rising Stars mini-tournament at NBA All-Star Weekend. Coward was withheld from action due to knee soreness.
Jazz standout Keyonte George missed six of the final seven games before the break due to injuries to each ankle. He is averaging 23.8 points in 48 games.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tundra moves to top of Group B at DreamLeague Season 28
A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.
Jordan Woodruff
Tundra Esports won twice on Thursday to rise to the top of Group B with one day left in Group Stage 1 at DreamLeague Season 28.
Tundra is the first team to reach four wins in its group, with MOUZ close behind in second. In Group A, Aurora Gaming notched another win and remains comfortably in first.
Five teams have clinched passage into Group Stage 2 with one round to spare: Aurora, PARIVISION and Team Liquid from Group A, and Tundra and MOUZ from Group B. Either BetBoom Team or OG will earn the last bid from Group A when they square off on Friday. Four teams have a shot at the last two spots in Group B.
The $1 million Dota 2 event features 16 teams, starting in a round-robin stage split into two groups of eight teams. All series consist of two games, and the top four teams from each group advance to Group Stage 2, a single round robin featuring best-of-three matches.
From there, four teams will compete in a double-elimination playoff bracket Feb. 28-March 1 with best-of-three matches until the grand final, which will be best-of-five.
The championship team will receive $250,000 in prize money and a $40,000 club reward. The runner-up side will get $100,000 and a $30,000 club reward.
On Thursday, Tundra swept past Execration and Natus Vincere. In the first match, Tundra won in 29 minutes on green and 43 minutes on red; then, they took down NaVi in 35 minutes on green and 31 minutes on red. Russian Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko had a nearly perfect day, averaging a 9.0-0.5-14.5 kills-deaths-assists differential against Execration and then coming out unscathed with a 9.5-0.0-13.0 KDA against Natus Vincere.
MOUZ had a win over Natus Vincere and a tie with GamerLegion to secure second place and clinch a spot in the next stage. The only other 2-0 result in Group B came when Team Spirit beat Execration in 30 minutes on red and 27 minutes on green.
In Group A, Aurora’s fifth win of the stage came against OG in 39 minutes on red and 34 minutes on green. Team Liquid also beat OG (37 minutes on green, 38 minutes on red) to pave its way into the next stage, and BetBoom positioned itself in fourth when it beat Yakult Bros in 36 minutes on green and 42 minutes on red.
Group Stage 1 continues through Friday.
DreamLeague Season 28 Group Stage 1, Group A standings (W-T-L, map record)
1. Aurora Gaming, 5-1-0, 11-1
2. PARIVISION, 3-3-0, 9-3
3. Team Liquid, 3-2-1, 8-4
4. BetBoom Team, 3-1-2, 7-5
5. OG, 2-1-3, 5-7
T6. paiN Gaming, 1-1-4, 3-9
T6. Yakult Brothers, 1-1-4, 3-9
8. Team Yandex, 0-2-4, 2-10
DreamLeague Season 28 Group Stage 1, Group B standings (W-T-L, map record)
1. Tundra Esports, 4-2-0, 10-2
2. MOUZ, 3-3-0, 9-3
T3. Team Falcons, 2-3-1, 7-5
T3. Xtreme Gaming, 2-3-1, 7-5
T5. Natus Vincere, 2-1-3, 5-7
T5. Team Spirit, 1-3-2, 5-7
7. GamerLegion, 0-3-3, 3-9
8. Execration, 1-0-5,2-10
Dream League Season 28 prize pool, with prize money and club reward
1. $250,000, $40,000
2. $125,000, $30,000
3. $80,000, $25,000
4. $60,000, $20,000
5. $45,000, $15,000
6. $35,000, $15,000
7. $30,000, $12,500
8. $25,000, $12,500
9-10. $20,000, $10,000
11-12. $17,500, $10,000
13-14. $15,000, $10,000
15-16. $10,000, $10,000
–Field Level Media
FIFA president: All 104 World Cup matches will be 'sold out'
Wordle today: Answer, hints for February 20, 2026
