Sports
Pelle Larsson sparks shorthanded Heat with Hawks in town
Feb 1, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat guard Pelle Larsson (9) splits the defense of Chicago Bulls forward Isaac Okoro (35) and center Nikola Vucevic (9) during the second half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images After posting at least 20 points in two consecutive games, Swedish-born guard Pelle Larsson has become a surprising standout for the Miami Heat.
Larsson aims to extend his streak on Tuesday night when Miami hosts the Atlanta Hawks.
Larsson averages just 10.3 points for the year, which ranks seventh on the team. However, Larsson has capitalized on extra minutes recently as the Heat have been playing without 2026 All-Star Norman Powell (personal reasons), 2025 All-Star Tyler Herro (toe injury) and 2022 first-round pick Nikola Jovic (hip).
Additionally, starting point guard Davion Mitchell missed six games with a shoulder injury before returning for Sunday’s 134-91 victory over Chicago.
Larsson, a Stockholm native whose father played for the Swedish National Team, has made a habit of filling any role necessary. He was a starter for three of his four college seasons, but earned the Pac-12’s 2022 Sixth Man of the Year honor for Arizona in his lone year as a backup.
In 2024, Larsson was Houston’s second-round pick, but the Heat traded for him on draft night. He started only eight games as a rookie, averaging 4.6 points. This season, he has started 30 games and his production has more than doubled.
But production doesn’t just mean scoring.
Larsson draws charges, makes the extra pass and helps Miami win.
“Pelle makes the right play,” Heat captain Bam Adebayo said. “He does the little things.
“Sometimes he scores 20 points. Sometimes he scores two. But he makes an impact either way.”
Overall, the Heat have won four of their past six games and haven’t dropped consecutive games since Jan. 6-11.
They are in seventh place in the Eastern Conference with a 27-24 record, three games ahead of 10th-place Atlanta.
The Hawks also have won four of their last six, but they enter Tuesday with a two-game losing streak.
Hawks coach Quin Snyder continues to make tweaks in the wake of last month’s blockbuster trade that sent Atlanta’s all-time assists and 3-point leader Trae Young to Washington.
The team now revolves around forward Jalen Johnson, who recorded his eighth triple-double of the season in Saturday’s 129-124 loss to Indiana.
Johnson had 33 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. For the season, he averages 23.1 points, 10.5 rebounds and 8.0 assists.
The Hawks’ losing streak has coincided with the absence of starting center Onyeka Okongwu, who has missed two games and remains day-to-day after getting hit in the face and suffering a dental fracture on Jan. 28 against Boston.
“Onyeka is the most selfless ball-mover on our team,” Snyder said. “When our guys get him the ball, they know they will get it back.
“He will make a play for someone else. He sets the example, but we need everyone to play with the same mindset.”
Miami ranks second in the league in scoring average (120.0 ppg) while Atlanta shares ninth (117.2 ppg).
Nickell Alexander-Walker serves as Atlanta’s second-leading scorer (20.3 ppg). CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert — acquired in the Young trade — are being used as reserves. They are combining for 27.6 points in 47.1 minutes per game.
Snyder simply wants his team to play unselfish basketball.
“When we play well, we are getting in the lane, and we’re kicking the ball out, and we’re running and spacing,” Snyder said. “It’s something we believe in. It’s not a lack of buy-in. It just requires execution.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Astros, IF Isaac Paredes avoid arbitration with 1-year deal
Jul 8, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes (15) reacts after striking out during the third inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images The Houston Astros have avoided going to arbitration with All-Star infielder Isaac Paredes, announcing a new one-year deal with a club option for the 2027 season on Tuesday.
The terms of the contract weren’t announced by the team but Paredes is set to receive a $9.35 million salary, according to multiple reports. That reported salary would fall directly between the $9.95 million Paredes requested and the $8.75 the team offered in the pre-arbitration filing, per MLB.com.
Paredes, who turns 27 later this month, is coming off his second consecutive All-Star season in his first year in Houston. He hit .254 and had a .352 on-base percentage with 20 home runs, 15 doubles and 53 RBIs in 102 games, missing two months late in the season with a hamstring injury.
He’s played on four teams in six major league seasons, previously making stints with the Detroit Tigers (2020-21), Tampa Bay Rays (2022-24) and Chicago Cubs (2024) along with the Astros. He also was an All-Star for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2024 before he was traded to Chicago shortly before the trade deadline.
In 566 career games, Paredes is a .237 hitter with 92 homers, 287 RBIs, 387 strikeouts and 246 walks.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Seahawks nostalgic to be back in San Francisco, site of 2024 turning point
Feb 2, 2026; San Jose, CA, USA; Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald looks on during Opening Night for Super Bowl LX at San Jose Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images SAN JOSE, Calif. — As a rookie head coach in 2024, Mike Macdonald took his team to San Francisco for the first time with no trophies on the line but a sense the Seattle Seahawks’ season was on the brink.
“We were on a rollercoaster,” Macdonald said Tuesday at the San Jose Convention Center, recalling a critical moment during his first season as head coach.
With five losses in a string of six games, the Seahawks boarded the team plane at Sea-Tac Airport for a road game against the 49ers sporting a 4-5 record and more baggage than Macdonald could count.
“We were at an inflection point of where we want to go,” Macdonald recalled as the Seahawks are preparing to play once more at Levi’s Stadium in Super Bowl LX on Sunday night.
The Seahawks lost in overtime to the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 3 that season and split for their bye week. The buzzword bouncing around the offices of Macdonald and general manager John Schneider always came back to one idea.
“Connected,” Macdonald said of the theme he shared to inspire a defensive turnaround. “We made a pact: We’re going to be a great defense no matter what happens.”
The Seahawks ended up winning six of their last eight games in 2024 then won 14 games during the 2025 regular season. They head toward the Super Bowl with Macdonald in position to win his 27th game, playoffs included, in his first two seasons.
Since their turning point, the Seahawks are 22-5, counting two victories in the current playoffs. With changes along the way to further the shared vision of what Seattle could become, Macdonald views Super Bowl LX as an exhibit of the collective investment in the ongoing mission.
“It’s a masterclass by John and our personnel folks,” Macdonald said. “When you have a shared alignment of what kind of people you want what kind of player fits the process. They’ve bought in. All of us. And they’re doing it for the guy next to him.
“For us, we said it after the (NFC) Championship Game that we didn’t care (if they were expected to win). We don’t. I think what was important to us was that we had to become a championship team. That’s what our focus was on.”
–Jeff Reynolds, Field Level Media
Sports
Desperate Panthers face Bruins team looking to rebound from tough loss
Feb 1, 2026; Tampa Bay, Florida, USA; Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) reacts after missing during a shootout in the 2026 Stadium Series ice hockey game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images Florida Panthers star forward Matthew Tkachuk is nothing if not honest.
“We’re in trouble right now,” Tkachuk told reporters Monday after Florida’s 5-3 loss to the visiting Buffalo Sabres.
The Panthers — the two-time reigning Stanley Cup champs — have lost four straight games and trail the Boston Bruins by nine points in the battle for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot.
On Wednesday night, the Panthers will face the Bruins in Sunrise, Fla.
The Panthers have 27 games left in the regular season but just two before a three-week Olympic break. The sense of urgency surrounding the team is real.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice, speaking after Monday’s loss, said his players are “grinding and battling” as hard as possible. In fact, Florida outshot Buffalo 42-20 on Monday.
“If the shots were 40-20 the other way, we’d be shook,” Maurice said.
Even so, Maurice admitted Florida’s injuries are an issue, especially after center Sam Bennett left Monday’s game in the first period due to an upper-body injury.
Bennett joins several prominent injured Panthers, including forwards Aleksander Barkov, Anton Lundell and Brad Marchand as well as defensemen Seth Jones and Dmitry Kulikov.
“That’s a problem,” Maurice said, while also sharing Tuesday that a number of these players could return as soon as Wednesday.
Tkachuk, who scored a total of 48 goals the previous two seasons, has only played eight games this season due to injuries.
Following Monday’s game, Tkachuk said the Sabres — who are trying to break an NHL-record 14-year playoff drought — are more talented than the champs.
“From an individual standpoint, they have us by a lot,” Tkachuk said. “We have a certain style, and if we play it, we are successful. We just haven’t played it enough.
“We cannot try to out-skill teams. We have to get back to the basics and win 1-0 or 2-1. If we don’t simplify things, this year will get away from us.”
Barkov and Kulikov each skated in Tuesday’s optional practice, the first time either has skated since sustaining their injuries. However, time is starting to dwindle for the twice-reigning champs.
Meanwhile, the Bruins are coming off a 6-5 shootout loss to the host Tampa Bay Lightning in an outdoor game played before 64,617 fans on Sunday.
Boston blew a 5-1 second-period lead.
“The game was over,” Bruins forward David Pastrnak said. “We had them.”
Wednesday’s game will be Boston’s final one before its Olympic break.
So far, things have gone relatively well for the Bruins under first-year head coach Marco Sturm, a former Bruins player.
Goalie Jeremy Swayman has bounced back this season from the first losing record in his six-year NHL career. Last season, he went 22-29-7 with a 3.12 goals-against average. This season, he is 22-12-3 with a 2.92 GAA.
Joonas Korpisalo, who is 10-8-1 with a 3.12 GAA, is in his second year as Swayman’s backup.
Armed with that duo, the Bruins have not lost consecutive games this calendar year, going 12-2-2 since Dec. 31.
“They’re on a heater,” Maurice said of the Bruins.
Offensively, Pastrnak leads Boston in assists (48) and points (70). He’s gunning for his fourth straight 100-point season.
Morgan Geekie leads the Bruins in total goals (32), even-strength goals (22) and power-play goals (10). He’s also one goal away from matching his career high of 33 goals, set last season.
Charlie McAvoy leads Boston’s defensemen in assists (34) and points (38). He also has a six-game point streak, with one goal and eight assists during that span.
The key for McAvoy has been improved health as he has already played 44 games as opposed to just 50 all of last season.
–Field Level Media
Astros, IF Isaac Paredes avoid arbitration with 1-year deal
Seahawks nostalgic to be back in San Francisco, site of 2024 turning point
