Sports
Report: MRI clean on Warriors star Stephen Curry's ailing knee
Feb 7, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) watches game action during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images Golden State Warriors All-Star guard Stephen Curry had an MRI exam that came back clean on his ailing right knee, but he has not returned to practice because of persistent pain and swelling, ESPN reported on Thursday afternoon.
Curry, who turns 38 on March 14, already was ruled out of the Warriors’ home game on Thursday night because of patellofemoral pain syndrome, also known as “runner’s knee.”
He has not played since leaving a Jan. 30 home game against Detroit, missing five contests leading into the All-Star break. He initially felt pain during a Jan. 24 individual workout and kept playing before being sidelined.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr had hoped to have Curry back by Thursday, but Curry told the training staff on Wednesday night that the knee had been flaring up after individual workouts and wasn’t ready for a live scrimmage, ESPN reported.
“Just wasn’t where he needed to be,” Kerr said on Wednesday. “It’s unfortunate.”
A two-time NBA MVP, Curry had to sit out his 12th All-Star Game last weekend. He has missed 16 games to date, but is averaging 27.2 points per game, the fifth-highest per game total of his 17-year career.
“It’s a matter of learning as I go what works rehab-wise,” Curry told ESPN on Feb. 5. “Because it’s still painful. You have to try to get rid of all the inflammation and pain. It’s something we still have to monitor and injury-manage, but it’s something where, if I come back too early, it could flare up.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Guardians pitchers plead not guilty in pitch-rigging case
Jul 22, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Emmanuel Clase (48) reacts after a win over the Baltimore Orioles at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images A scheduled spring trial for Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz accused of colluding with sports bettors on an alleged pitch-rigging scheme likely will be postponed until October.
U.S. District Court Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto said she ultimately will move the trial to the fall after Clase and Ortiz pleaded not guilty through a translator to a rewritten indictment on Wednesday in a Brooklyn federal court.
The parties were instructed to discuss a new trial date and submit their proposal by end of day Monday.
As it stands, the trial date remains slated for May 4.
The rewritten indictment accused Clase of using code words related to roosters and chickens when dealing with co-conspirators. It also alleged that Clase rigged a pitch to the first batter he faced — Detroit’s Matt Vierling — in Game 1 of the 2024 American League Division Series. He bounced that pitch before striking out Vierling.
Clase and Ortiz, who are free on bail, were indicted on charges including wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery on Nov. 9.
Ortiz pled not guilty the next day while Clase was taken into custody Nov. 13 at JFK Airport in New York, pleading not guilty that same day.
The prosecution alleged that Clase and Ortiz accepted thousands of dollars in bribes to help a pair of gamblers in their native country of the Dominican Republic win at least $460,000 placed on the speed of their pitches and whether they will be strikes or balls.
Clase, 27, is a two-time AL Reliever of the Year and a three-time All-Star. He has 21-26 record with a 1.88 ERA and 182 saves over six seasons, the last five of which came while pitching for the Guardians.
Ortiz, 27, was traded to Cleveland ahead of the 2025 season. He has a 4.05 ERA over 75 appearances (50 starts) spanning four major league seasons.
Both pitchers have been on non-disciplinary paid leave since July.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Freestyle skiing halfpipe, aerial events postponed at Olympics
Feb 19, 2026; Bormio, Italy; Workers clear snow from the course before the women’s ski mountaineering final during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Stelvio Ski Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Freestyle skiing halfpipe and aerial events were postponed at the Winter Olympics on Thursday because of heavy snow in Livigno, Italy.
The men’s aerials qualifiers and final were rescheduled for Friday morning, with the men’s halfpipe qualification beginning about an hour after the aerials conclude.
The aerial finals are scheduled for Saturday night, the final full day of competition at the Milan Cortina Games.
At the biathlon course in Anterselva, both men and women trained simultaneously for the mass start competition with heavy snow expected there later Friday.
“Snow is an occupational hazard of winter sports,” International Olympic Committee spokesperson Mark Adams said at a news conference.
“They are well used to dealing with delays, changes and bad weather … We are used to it, the federations are used to it. It is something we have to work with, unfortunately,” he said.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Speed skater Jordan Stolz denied 3rd gold medal, takes silver in 1500m
Jordan Stolz of the United States won the silver medal in the men’s 1500m speed skating event Thursday at the Winter Olympics in Milan. MILAN — China’s Ning Zhongyan won the men’s 1,500 meters at the Winter Olympics on Thursday, denying American Jordan Stolz of his third speed skating gold medal of these Games.
Stolz claimed silver, while two-time defending Olympic 1,500m champion Kjeld Nuis of the Netherlands secured bronze to round out a high-caliber podium.
Stolz entered the event as the overwhelming favorite after record-breaking victories in both the 1,000m and 500m. He was undefeated in the 1,500m this season.
But the field was stacked with heavyweights, including Nuis, the 1,500m world record holder; newly crowned 5,000m Olympic champion Sander Eitrem; 10,000m gold medalist Metodej Jilek; as well as Dutchman Joep Wennemars and Poland’s Vladimir Semirunniy.
But Ning, 26, already buoyed by two bronzes at the Milan Cortina Games in the men’s 1,000m and the team pursuit, had other plans.
Skating in the 13th of 15 pairs, Ning started in the inner lane alongside Nuis. On a remarkable day for the distance, the Olympic record fell twice: first to Wennemars in the 11th pair, and then to Ning, who obliterated the new mark moments later.
He stopped the clock at 1 minute, 41.98 seconds, finishing 0.77 seconds ahead of Stolz.
With Ning’s triumph, China now holds three gold medals at these Games, following Mengtao Xu’s victory in the women’s freestyle skiing aerials and Yiming Su’s win in the men’s snowboard slopestyle.
–Reuters, special to Field Level Media
Guardians pitchers plead not guilty in pitch-rigging case
Freestyle skiing halfpipe, aerial events postponed at Olympics
