Sports
No. 18 Virginia intent on starting fast in encounter vs. Pitt
Jan 31, 2026; Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA; Virginia Cavaliers center Ugonna Onyenso (33) hangs from the rim after dunking the ball against the Boston College Eagles during the second half at Conte Forum. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images Coming off its fifth straight road win, No. 18 Virginia looks to start a new streak at home Tuesday night against Pitt in Atlantic Coast Conference action in Charlottesville, Va.
The Cavaliers (18-3, 7-2 ACC) had their 11-game home win streak snapped in an 85-80 loss against then-No. 22 North Carolina in their most recent contest at John Paul Jones Arena on Jan. 24.
Virginia bounced back last week with wins at Notre Dame and Boston College. They fended off the Fighting Irish 100-97 in double overtime last Tuesday and edged the Eagles 73-66 on Saturday to improve to 6-1 in road games.
“It’s hard to complain, winning that many games on the road,” said head coach Ryan Odom, whose Cavaliers are tied for third in the ACC. “It’s not easy to win on the road. It doesn’t matter what league you’re in. It’s difficult.”
Virginia trailed at halftime in both wins last week. Down 32-27 at the break against Boston College, the Cavaliers took the lead for good at 55-52 on Jacari White’s 3-pointer with about 10 minutes remaining.
“To come away this week with two wins on the road is really, really difficult, and I’m proud of the execution down the stretch,” Odom said.
Thijs De Ridder, a freshman from Belgium who turned 23 on Saturday, matched his season scoring average exactly with 17 points against the Eagles. Malik Thomas averages 13.0 points per game and Chance Mallory (10.5) and Sam Lewis (10.2) also are scoring in double figures.
Virginia averages 84.0 points per game in its first season under Odom, compared to 64.8 last season under interim coach Ron Sanchez and 62.9 in Tony Bennett’s final season in 2023-24.
Pitt (9-13, 2-7) dropped to 0-2 against Top 25 teams this season with Saturday’s 63-52 loss at then-No. 22 Clemson. The Panthers have lost four of their last five games overall and are 1-5 on the road this season.
Pitt’s streak of three straight winning seasons is in serious jeopardy at the midway point of the conference campaign. Three of the Panthers’ next four games are against ranked opponents, starting with the trip to Virginia.
The Panthers’ loss on Saturday was their 15th in a row against Clemson. The Tigers built a 33-16 lead by halftime and completed the season sweep after winning 73-68 in Pittsburgh on Jan. 3.
“We played Clemson close (the first time),” head coach Jeff Capel said Saturday, per the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “We played them well. That’s another one where if we can close around the basket and make some free throws, maybe the outcome is a little bit different.”
Roman Siulepa and Damarco Minor led Pitt with 12 points apiece against Clemson. Leading scorer Brandin Cummings (12.5 points per game) came off the bench and was held to just two points.
Cameron Corhen (12.2), Barry Dunning Jr. (11.9) and Siulepa (10.0) also are scoring in double figures this season, with Minor adding 9.5 points and a team-high 3.5 assists.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Argentina club looking to lure Lionel Messi home in 2027
Dec 6, 2025; Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA; Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) looks on with the Philip F. Anschutz trophy after winning the 2025 MLS Cup against the Vancouver Whitecaps FC at Chase Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Argentina club Newell’s Old Boys is working on a plan to bring two-time MLS MVP Lionel Messi home next year.
A team executive confirmed that it’s trying to entice Messi to return to his boyhood club for the first half of 2027.
“It’s a project that goes beyond Newell’s. It involves the city of Rosario, the province, and Argentine football,” first vice president Juan Manuel Medina said, according to an ESPN story published Wednesday.
Messi, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner as the world’s best player, signed an extension with defending MLS Cup champion Inter Miami in October that runs through the end of the 2028.
Messi, 38, played for Newell’s youth teams from 1995-2000 before moving to the FC Barcelona academy.
Inter Miami will open the 2026 MLS season on Feb. 21 at Los Angeles FC. Messi also is preparing to defend Argentina’s World Cup championship this summer in North America.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Lindsey Vonn's coach, Stefon Diggs confident she can ski with ACL injury
[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Feb 3, 2026; Cortina d’Ampezzo, ITALY; Lindsey Vonn attends a press conference at a press conference at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in preparation for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. Mandatory Credit: Leonhard Foeger/Reuters via Imagn Images Lindsey Vonn’s coach and New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs are confident that the American skiing great can compete at the Milano Cortina Olympics with a ruptured ACL in her left knee.
Vonn, 41, is set to try her luck in the women’s downhill race on Sunday
“I’m pretty confident that she can still pull off this dream,” Vonn’s head coach Chris Knight told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “I’ve got no doubts in my mind that this is going to be OK.”
Knight’s comments came one day after Vonn said that she’s not interested in discussing surgery at the moment.
“It’s not really on my radar screen right now. The Olympics are the only thing that I’m thinking about,” she said. “Every day my knee’s gotten better. And every day we’re discussing with a full medical team, doctors, physios, everyone, to make sure we’re doing everything to make sure I am making smart and safe decisions.”
Diggs knows a thing or two about a torn ACL. His lone season with the Houston Texans in 2024 was cut short by the same injury.
“Prayers to her. I hope the surgery does go well when she does have it,” Diggs said Wednesday of Vonn. “Anybody who has torn an ACL, it’s kind of a weird injury. You can run after about two weeks when the swelling goes down. … As long as she doesn’t have to (decelerate), she should be fine.”
Like Vonn, Diggs has a big day ahead on Sunday. Diggs and the Patriots will face the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, Calif.
As for Vonn, she must complete at least one official training run to take part in the Sunday downhill. Vonn is no stranger to the mountain. She collected 12 of her 84 World Cup victories there, the most of any skier.
Vonn earned gold (downhill) and bronze (Super-G) medals at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and a bronze medal in the downhill at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.
Vonn retired after the 2019 world championships due to injuries. She subsequently received a partial replacement of her right knee and launched a comeback late in 2024 with the Olympics in her sights.
She has won the downhill twice this winter and leads the World Cup standings in the discipline and was considered a favorite to win the gold medal in the event in Italy.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Washington Post shutters sports department
Sep 15, 2022; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Amazon executive chairman Jeff Bezos in attendance before the Kansas City Chiefs play against the Los Angeles Chargers at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images The Washington Post shuttered its venerable sports department on Wednesday, part of a larger layoff involving one-third of the newspaper’s staff.
“The Washington Post is taking a number of difficult but decisive actions today for our future, in what amounts to a significant restructuring across the company,” a Post spokesperson said in a statement. “These steps are designed to strengthen our footing and sharpen our focus on delivering the distinctive journalism that sets The Post apart and, most importantly, engages our customers.”
Executive editor Matt Murray announced the changes in a video conference with employees.
The move comes with Post reporters already on site covering Super Bowl LX and the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.
“It’s like somebody taking a hammer to my heart,” Sally Jenkins, who wrote a Post sports column until she left the paper last summer, told The Ringer. “It’s not just broken. It’s broken into about 20 pieces, one for every single one of my close friends there.”
Some sports reporters are expected to move into other roles, but the exact number was not reported.
A skeleton crew will continue to produce what Murray described as features about sports as a “cultural and societal phenomenon.”
The Post has undergone repeated changes, downsizings and reinventions since Amazon chief Jeff Bezos purchased the paper in 2013.
In addition to cutting the sports pages, the Post is reducing its international footprint, making the Metro section more “nimble and focused” and eliminating the Books section.
–Field Level Media
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