Sports
Revived Clippers take on Nuggets after All-Star interlude
Feb 11, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) reacts to his winning basket against the Houston Rockets in the fourth quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images While the All-Star Game infrastructure figures to be gone by the time the Los Angeles Clippers play host to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday, much of the momentum is expected to remain.
Both teams will resume the post-break portion of their schedule when they meet at Inglewood, Calif., the site of last weekend’s All-Star festivities.
While the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray started for Team World, the Clippers’ hometown hero Kawhi Leonard stole some of the spotlight as a starter for USA Stripes.
Leonard scored 31 points against Team World during a 12-minute “game” that allowed USA Stripes to play for the title in the three-team tournament against USA Stars. In the title game, USA Stripes fizzled as a tired Leonard missed all four of his shots from the floor while scoring one point.
“I was happy for him, just to be in our arena, in our building and play the way he did. It was good,” Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said. “The crowd was really into it. They were going crazy. Even his teammates were going crazy about it. It was good to see.”
Leonard’s scoring burst looked similar to what he has shown while leading the Clippers to a revival since just before Christmas. Los Angeles started the season 6-21, but since Lue turned Leonard loose, they are 20-7.
The Clippers are 10th in the Western Conference and hold the last play-in spot with two months left in the regular season. However, they will proceed without James Harden, who was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers at the deadline for Darius Garland, whose toe injury has delayed his team debut.
So how can Los Angeles continue its surge?
“Just the same thing we have been doing, with the effort, staying competitive, wanting to compete every night, pushing the pace, rebounding,” Leonard said. “That has been what we have been doing the last couple of weeks.”
Jokic only saw five minutes of action in the All-Star Game and didn’t score a point. Murray shot 0-for-6 without scoring in one 12-minute game and had eight points in another.
Denver resumes play in third place in the Western Conference, 3 1/2 games behind the second-place San Antonio Spurs and 6 1/2 games behind the first-place Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Nuggets were just 2-4 heading into All-Star weekend in a stumble that started after a 122-109 home victory over the Clippers.
Jokic might not have much love for the All-Star Game, but he showed just how much the regular season matters to him with four consecutive triple-doubles before the break. He has 184 in his career, second most all-time behind former teammate Russell Westbrook.
Aaron Gordon (hamstring) has missed the last nine games, while Peyton Watson (hamstring) missed the past three. Denver still put together a 122-116 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies before the break started.
“I’m not concerned,” Nuggets head coach David Adelman said of the team’s recent form. “We had some guys that were exhausted.
“We wanted to get a win going into the break. And that’s what they did. The guys toughed it out. … All these guys need a break, not just from basketball but from each other (and) from me.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tua Tagovailoa embraces 'fresh start,' competition with Falcons
Dec 15, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Payton Wilson (41) sacks Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) in the third quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images Tua Tagovailoa said he welcomes the chance to compete for the starting quarterback job in a new NFL city and reboot his career.
The Miami Dolphins selected Tagovailoa with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, signed him to a massive contract extension and then released him last month. He signed a one-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons, where he’s expected to compete with Michael Penix Jr. for the starting job.
“Last year wasn’t the best year for me, and I’m looking for a fresh start in the sense of being able to compete, go back out and play good football,” Tagovailoa said Tuesday, speaking in public for the first time about his career change of course.
The Falcons signed him to a one-year, $1.2 million deal — the veteran minimum — while the Falcons will pay him the more than $50 million he is still owed from the four-year, $212.4 million extension he signed in July 2024.
“The best thing for me right now is making the best of this opportunity that I have with the team in terms of the relationships I make with these guys,” he said. “I get to freaking play football. This is what I dreamed of my entire life. I am going to be present. I’m going to be in the moment. I’m going to be where my feet are.”
Penix, who began the 2025 season as the Falcons’ starter, tore an ACL in Week 11 and missed the rest of the season.
“Everybody, not just those two, is coming in to compete. There are no starters right now,” general manager Ian Cunningham said on March 10, when Tagovailoa joined the Falcons. “We are excited to have Tua, but we’re excited to have all the players we were able to get (via free agency).”
Tagovailoa, 28, said he is OK with competing with Penix.
“Competition is just a thing in the NFL. I am no stranger to competition — had it in college,” Tagovailoa said. “I would say competition is just going to be there, and competition enhances the play of everyone. I don’t think the mindset changes at all. … I embrace the competition. I am excited to work alongside Mike.”
The NFL’s leading passer and a Pro Bowl selection in 2023, Tagovailoa compiled a 44-32 record in six seasons in Miami. He has completed 68.0% of his throws for 18,166 yards with 120 touchdowns and 59 interceptions.
The 2023 season is the only one of his six campaigns in which he appeared in every game. His career has been interrupted by a variety of injuries, including at least three known concussions while in the NFL.
Penix, 25, is 4-8 as a starter, completing 59.6% of his passes for 2,757 yards with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions. Atlanta selected him No. 8 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The agent for veteran quarterback Trevor Siemian confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday that Siemian, 34, also is joining the Falcons’ QB room.
Terms weren’t disclosed for Siemian, who last appeared in an NFL regular-season game in 2023 with the New York Jets. He spent most of the 2024 and 2025 campaigns on the Tennessee Titans’ practice squad.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Falcons add RB Brian Robinson Jr. on 1-year deal
Nov 9, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Brian Robinson Jr. (3) warms up prior to the game against the Los Angeles Rams at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images The Atlanta Falcons are signing running back Brian Robinson Jr. to a one-year, $2.5 million contract, NFL Network reported on Tuesday.
Robinson, who turned 27 on Sunday, rushed for 400 yards and two touchdowns on 92 carries in 17 regular-season games as a reserve in his lone season with the San Francisco 49ers in 2025. He also caught eight passes for 25 yards and returned 13 kickoffs for a 29.1-yard average with a long of 46.
He joins two-time Pro Bowl honoree and 2025 first-team All-Pro Bijan Robinson (no relation) and second-year running back Nathan Carter in Atlanta. Former Falcons running back Tyler Allgeier signed earlier this month with the Arizona Cardinals.
The 49ers had acquired Robinson from the Washington Commanders in August 2025 for a sixth-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Washington selected Robinson in the third round of the 2022 draft out of Alabama. He has rushed for 2,729 yards and 17 TDs and caught 73 passes for 612 yards and five TDs in 58 regular-season games (37 starts) for Washington (2022-24) and San Francisco.
–Field Level Media
Sports
European fans file complaint over World Cup ticket prices
Dec 5, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; FIFA President Gianni Infantino and United States of America President Donald Trump speak to media as they arrive 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 European soccer fans have lodged a formal complaint over the high cost of tickets for this summer’s FIFA World Cup in North America.
Football Supporters Europe (FSE) and the consumer rights organization Euroconsumers filed an 18-page complaint on Tuesday with the European Commission in Brussels.
“FIFA holds a monopoly over ticket sales for the 2026 World Cup and has used that power to impose conditions on fans that would never be acceptable in a competitive market,” FSE and Euroconsumers said in a joint statement.
They argue that ticket prices are significantly higher than at any previous World Cup. Tickets for the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19 start at $4,185 — seven times the cost of the cheapest ticket at the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar.
The complaint accuses FIFA of engaging in “bait advertising,” “uncontrolled” dynamic pricing, “pressure-selling tactics” and a lack of transparency about seat locations and refund policies.
“Dynamic pricing turns fans’ loyalty into a bidding war, inflates costs without added value and locks out many supporters,” said Els Bruggeman, head of policy and enforcement at Euroconsumers, per ESPN.
The allegation of bait advertising, which is illegal under European Union consumer laws, is a reference to FIFA’s claim in October that group-stage ticket prices started at $60. However, after fans’ groups across Europe complained about the lack of availability at that price, FIFA had to release more tickets at that price in December.
“Football is a universal passion but FIFA is treating it like a private luxury by exploiting its absolute monopoly over World Cup ticketing,” said Marco Scialdone, head of litigation at Euroconsumers, per The Athletic.
“We are calling on the European Commission to intervene immediately with interim measures to halt these exploitative practices before the 2026 tournament begins.”
The World Cup opens on June 11, with matches taking place in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
–Field Level Media
Tua Tagovailoa embraces 'fresh start,' competition with Falcons
Report: Falcons add RB Brian Robinson Jr. on 1-year deal
