Sports
Patriots' Drake Maye declares throwing shoulder 'just fine'
Feb 2, 2026; San Jose, CA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) and New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) during Opening Night for Super Bowl LX at San Jose Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images SAN JOSE, Calif. — Drake Maye is concern-free as Super Bowl LX approaches.
That goes for his throwing arm, too.
The New England Patriots’ second-year quarterback said his tender right shoulder feels fine and there’s no reason for worry entering the Sunday clash with the Seattle Seahawks in Santa Clara, Calif.
“I threw a good bit (today),” Maye said Monday during the Super Bowl Opening Night festivities. “I threw as much as I would in a practice, and it felt great.”
In other words, no worries.
“I feel good. I’ll be just fine,” Maye said.
Maye missed practice on Friday, but not due to the shoulder. Coach Mike Vrabel said Maye was out with an illness.
Vrabel said Monday he’s not concerned about Maye’s shoulder.
“We’ll work through these things through the week, just like everybody else does,” Vrabel said. “But we’re confident that the preparation that’s required for each position on our football team will be there by the end of the week, and everybody will be available.”
Sunday will mark the second time Maye has been inside Levi’s Stadium for a Super Bowl.
His dad took him to Super Bowl 50 when Maye’s favorite boyhood team, the Carolina Panthers, lost to the Denver Broncos.
And, yes, there’s a little bit of pinching involved to believe it’s truly his turn.
“It’s a full-circle moment, that’s the biggest thing,” the 23-year-old Maye said. “So thankful my dad was able to take me to a Super Bowl, I don’t take it for granted. I was watching my favorite team at the time and got a chance to watch Peyton Manning’s last game (for the Broncos).
“Now to be here and playing in one myself, I know how special it is.”
The No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of North Carolina, Maye completed an NFL-best 72% of his passes this season. He ranked third with 31 passing touchdowns and fourth with 4,394 passing yards.
Most important, he guided the Patriots to a 14-3 record that tied the Seahawks and Denver Broncos for most regular-season wins.
“There’s so many things that he does at an accelerated rate based on his age,” Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said Monday. “He’s 23 years old, but he’s wise beyond his years. He knows how to prepare well, he’s smart, he’s a great leader and he’s very authentic with his teammates.
“And certainly all the physical attributes that we’ve seen all year long: He loves the game, he wants to be good at every aspect of it and that’s a great trait to have as a young player. Playing quarterback in the NFL, there’s really no shortcuts in being good at that position.”
Maye is ready to hone in on his preparation for the week. He understands the Super Bowl hype and the possibility of distractions.
But he said he won’t be paying attention to anything that isn’t related to the game itself.
For example, Maye is considered a co-favorite with Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford for the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award that will be announced Thursday.
“Anything else outside is nothing I need to worry about,” Maye said. “That’s the biggest thing for me. Just go out there and give our guys a chance to make plays, get them the football. I’ve done that and they’ve made me look good.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
West Virginia overtakes Cincinnati with second-half surge
Feb 5, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats guard Jizzle James (2) dribbles the ball against West Virginia Mountaineers guard Amir Jenkins (2) in the first half at Fifth Third Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images Honor Huff sparked a key 14-0 second-half run with 11 consecutive points and finished with a team-leading 16, rallying West Virginia past host Cincinnati 59-54 on Thursday.
DJ Thomas added 14 points and drained two late 3-pointers, including one with 1:30 left to put West Virginia ahead 53-49. His trey with 4:05 to go gave the Mountaineers the lead for good, 49-47.
After an ice-cold start to the game from 3-point distance, West Virginia (15-8, 6-4 Big 12) found its range in the second half. The visitors used three triples as part of the key run that helped the Mountaineers wipe out a 12-point deficit and take a two-point edge in a three-plus-minute span.
Leading the surge was Huff, who came into the game tied for seventh in nation in 3-point field goals made with 78. He finished 3-for-8 from beyond the arc as West Virginia won for the fourth time in six games.
Jizzle James put up 18 points while Baba Miller added 15 points and eight rebounds for Cincinnati (11-12, 3-7).
Cincinnati took its fourth loss in five games to fall below .500 for the first time in Wes Miller’s five seasons as head coach.
The Bearcats held West Virginia without a basket for six minutes in the first half, ripping off a 12-0 run to take a 14-2 lead. James sparked the offense with a pair of 3-pointers and eight of the 14 points. James scored 10 points in the opening five minutes of the game.
The Bearcats built their lead up to as many as 13 in first half.
Miller drove to the basket for a layup in the closing seconds and Cincinnati led at the break 30-20. Miller and James led the Bearcats with 10 points apiece in the first half while Brenen Lorient had eight for the Mountaineers.
West Virginia also didn’t do itself any favors from long distance, missing all nine attempts from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes.
After missing the Mountaineers missed their first 3-point try of the second half, Huff ended the drought by sinking a trey with 14:40 left in the second half. The hoop got West Virginia within nine.
–Field Level Media
Sports
WTA roundup: Hailey Baptiste charges into Abu Dhabi semis
Jan 23, 2026; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Hailey Baptiste of United States in action against Coco Gauff of United States in the third round of the womenís singles at the Australian Open at Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne Park. Mandatory Credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images The United States’ Hailey Baptiste defeated Russia’s fifth-seeded Liudmila Samsonova on Thursday on the indoor hard court’s only three-set match, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open in the United Arab Emirates.
Baptiste took advantage of her four aces compared to Samsonova’s zero. Baptiste advances to face Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova, the No. 2 seed who won convincingly against the Philippines’ Alexandra Eala, 6-3, 6-3.
The Czech Republic’s Sara Bejlek needed just 63 minutes to earn a 6-0, 6-2 win against the United Kingdom’s Sonay Kartal. Denmark’s third-seeded Clara Tauson handled the United States’ McCartney Kessler 6-3, 6-4, and will face Bejlek in the other semifinal.
Ostrava Open
No seeded players remain alive entering the semifinals after Germany’s Tamara Korpatsch took down No. 6 seed Caty McNally 6-4, 6-2 in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
Korpatsch moves on to face France’s Diane Parry, who skated past Nikola Bartunkova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-3 in 66 minutes.
The other semifinal will pit Great Britain’s Katie Boulter against American Katie Volynets. Boulter won 18 of 23 first-service points and beat Czech foe Linda Fruhvirtova 6-3, 6-2 in 68 minutes, while Volynets rallied to beat countrywoman Alycia Parks 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.
Transylvania Open
Top seed Emma Raducanu of Great Britain kept her perfect week going with a 6-0, 6-4 triumph over Poland’s Maja Chwalinska in the quarterfinals in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Raducanu dropped only one service point in the first set as she cruised to victory. Her semifinal opponent will be Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova, who upset fourth seed Xinyu Wang of China 6-4, 6-4.
No. 3 seed Sorana Cirstea saved 5 of 7 break points as she took down No. 5 seed Anastasia Potapova of Austria. Cirstea also will face a Ukrainian in the semis, Daria Snigur, who charged past China’s Yue Yuan 4-6, 6-0, 7-5.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Will Riley, short-handed Wizards upset Pistons
Feb 5, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Washington Wizards guard Will Riley (27) drives against Detroit Pistons guard Marcus Sasser (25) during the first quarter at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Reginek-Imagn Images Will Riley led eight Washington players in double figures with 20 points as the undermanned Wizards surprised the host Detroit Pistons 126-117 on Thursday.
Riley added six rebounds and five assists for the Wizards, who had only 10 players available after trade deadline moves. Sharife Cooper supplied 18 points and five assists, while Tristan Vukcevic and Justin Champagnie had 14 points apiece.
Bub Carrington and Alex Sarr added 12 points apiece. Anthony Gill and Bilal Coulibaly each chipped in 11.
Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Duncan Robinson had 21 points, Ausar Thompson tossed in 13 and Ronald Holland added 11 with 10 rebounds.
Detroit’s All-Star center, Jalen Duren, missed the second half due to right knee soreness. Another starter, Tobias Harris, sat out due to left hip soreness.
Detroit came out flat while Washington built a 20-point lead. Midway through the second quarter, the Pistons were down 51-31.
A putback by Thompson kicked off a 21-2 run that pulled his team within a point. Cunningham and Holland had six points apiece during that span. Riley made a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the half to give the Wizards a 56-52 lead at the break.
Robinson knocked down two 3-pointers in the first minute of the third quarter, sandwiching a Carrington 3-pointer. Still, the Wizards wouldn’t easily concede the lead. They soon went on a 15-1 run for an 80-64 lead. That was sparked by 3-pointers from Sarr and Carrington.
Vukcevic had a personal 6-0 run late in the quarter to give the Wizards a 90-71 lead. Detroit finished the quarter strong and cut it to 95-84 heading into the fourth.
A Riley putback with 9:49 remaining made it 101-90. The Pistons kept chipping away and when Robinson converted a four-point play, Washington’s lead was down to 112-107.
The Pistons got as close as four but the Wizards kept answering. Riley’s jumper with 2:43 left pushed Washington’s advantage to 119-110.
–Field Level Media
West Virginia overtakes Cincinnati with second-half surge
WTA roundup: Hailey Baptiste charges into Abu Dhabi semis
