Sports
Super Bowl LX: Patriots try to capture usual Friday feeling at practice
Feb 5, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel talks to media members at the Santa Clara Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images PALO ALTO, Calif. — The New England Patriots finished their on-field preparations for Super Bowl LX with a nearly 90-minute practice at Stanford Stadium.
Head coach Mike Vrabel tried to keep many of the team’s typical Friday practice traditions in place while also getting his team ready for the unique situations his team will encounter on Sunday.
To keep things normal, the Patriots finished the stretching period just before 1 p.m. to the sound of the song “Friday” by Sir Charles Jones, just as they have throughout the season during their Friday practices in Foxborough. At 1:30 p.m., players gathered in the end zone to watch eight of the team’s assistant coaches face off in four rounds of one-on-one drills. Offensive assistants Riley Larkin, who played QB at John Carroll, and Chuckie Keeton, a former college quarterback at Utah State, each caught touchdowns that led to loud cheers from the team’s offensive players. Vrabel celebrated Keeton’s catch against special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer with a demonstrative fist pump and a short dance.
These coach-vs.-coach battles have become a fun staple of Vrabel’s final practice session each week.
“It’s Friday, we’re 48 hours before the game, and that’s just how we normally operate,” Vrabel said.
But Vrabel doesn’t typically send his team off the field and into the locker room an hour into practice like he did Friday. After a special teams session, Vrabel blew his whistle at 1:52 p.m. and motioned players to leave the field. Players spent 14 minutes inside while Bad Bunny songs (among others) played over the stadium speakers.
Practice concluded with a final set of team drills for the starting offense and defense against the scout team. Vrabel gathered his team for a long final huddle, and then smaller groups of players split off for their own huddles or final individual work. Quarterback Drake Maye, tight end Hunter Henry and receiver Efton Chism III were the final players to leave the field.
“We still have time to prepare. There’s a lot of time to fine-tune things and to get themselves physically and mentally ready to play, but I also want them to be able to enjoy their time with their families and people they care about,” Vrabel said.
Linebackers Robert Spillane and Harold Landry III were both limited in Friday’s practice and are officially listed as questionable for the Super Bowl. Spillane, who is dealing with an ankle injury, did not practice on Wednesday, and Landry, who is recovering from a knee injury, missed Thursday’s practice.
“They’re doing everything they can to be ready for the football game and we’ll see how they respond from practice today,” Vrabel said.
Defensive tackle Joshua Farmer, who is on the injured reserve list with a hamstring injury but designated to return to practice, is also listed as questionable. No other players, including Maye, have an injury designation for the game vs. Seattle.
The Patriots will return to Stanford Stadium for a team picture on Saturday afternoon.
–Pro Football Writers of America
Sports
Yasiel Puig guilty of obstruction of justice, lying in gambling case
Cincinnati Reds right fielder Yasiel Puig (66) charges the Pittsburgh Pirates dugout again as a brawl disperses in the ninth inning of the MLB National League game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Tuesday, July 30, 2019. The Pirates won 11-4.
Pittsburgh Pirates At Cincinnati Reds
Former Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig was found guilty of obstruction of justice and lying to federal investigators looking into an illegal bookmaking operation on Friday in a verdict delivered in Los Angeles.
Puig, 35, faces up to 15 years in federal prison after the completion of the 12-day trial. Sentencing is slated for May 26. Puig was released on bond Friday.
According to prosecutors, Puig accumulated $282,900 in gambling losses between May and June 2019 through an associate in a business run by former minor league pitcher Wayne Nix. The prosecutors allege that Puig sent Nix $200,000 to offset a portion of the losses the ballplayer accumulated in just a few weeks.
Puig then placed an additional 899 wagers on sporting events — excluding baseball — between July and September 2019. Puig made many of his bets at major league ballparks before or after games. His gambling debt eventually reached nearly $1 million, which he was unable to pay.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, investigators questioned Puig about his involvement in the gambling operation in January 2022. They allege Puig provided false statements to them on multiple occasions.
Puig initially reached a deal with prosecutors in August 2022 to close the case, agreeing to plead guilty to one count of lying to federal investigators. It likely would have meant probation and a fine. Instead, he chose to withdraw from the agreement in November.
During the trial, Puig’s defense stated he tried to cooperate fully, but the government refused to listen to his answers. Defense lawyers also said interpreters struggled to understand Puig’s Spanish dialect.
Puig’s defense said he is dealing with cognitive issues — including post-traumatic stress disorder — which impacted his ability to understand the line of questioning.
Puig’s bets were placed on tennis, football and basketball.
Nix pleaded guilty in April 2022 to one count of conspiracy to operate an illegal sports gambling business and one count of filing a false tax return. Nix is expected to be sentenced later this year.
Puig batted .277 with 132 homers and 415 RBIs in 861 games over seven seasons with the Dodgers (2013-18), Cincinnati Reds (2019) and Cleveland (2019). He was runner-up for National League Rookie of the Year honors in 2013 and was an NL All-Star in 2014.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Hopeful Providence prepares to host Big East foe DePaul
Feb 3, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; DePaul Blue Demons guard Brandon MacLin (0) goes to the basket against St. John’s Red Storm forward Dillon Mitchell (1) during the second half at Wintrust Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images Providence coach Kim English hopes that, finally, his team has another win it can build off in Big East play.
After making an improbable comeback to beat Butler 97-87 in double overtime on Wednesday, the Friars (10-13, 3-9 Big East) go for back-to-back home wins on Saturday against DePaul.
It was a win that Providence surely needed. A career-high 36-point, six-rebound performance from Jaylin Sellers led the way as the Friars came back from a seven-point deficit in the second half and ultimately snapped a four-game losing skid.
“We’ve had some very, very tough locker rooms after games this season. I’m not sure I’ve had the words to say to the guys a lot of the time with the ways we’ve lost,” English said after Wednesday’s game. “It feels good to be on the other side of it for them, a lot more than me.”
Providence was 0-4 in overtime games before Wednesday. Incredibly, both of the Friars’ meetings with Butler needed two extra periods.
DePaul (12-11, 4-8) has dropped three in a row, but a solid defensive effort Tuesday in a 68-56 loss to No. 22 St. John’s was admirable.
DePaul’s opponents have scored less than 70 points per game four times in Big East play, with the Johnnies netting a season-low 29 in the first half earlier this week.
“This is a tough, tough business for all of us,” DePaul coach Chris Holtmann said. “So, if you’re not tough and tough-minded, you’re going to struggle. I think we got a group that (is) going to respond well.”
The Friars, who have averaged a conference-best 87 per game, will play DePaul in two of their next four games.
DePaul has gotten strong play out of Layden Blocker recently, as he has scored in double figures in each of the last seven games. Providence freshman Stefan Vaaks has done the same in every game this season.
Blocker scored 13 points with five rebounds, two assists and two blocks against St. John’s.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Seton Hall wary of tournament exclusion, heads west to face Creighton
Feb 4, 2026; Villanova, Pennsylvania, USA; Seton Hall Pirates forward Najai Hines (25) reaches in against Villanova Wildcats guard Acaden Lewis (55) in the second half at William B. Finneran Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images Wednesday was not a good night for Seton Hall’s NCAA Tournament hopes.
Not only did the Pirates (16-7, 6-6 Big East) lose 72-60 at Villanova, but a game halfway across the country made their Big Dance dreams even slimmer.
When Oklahoma State upset No. 16 BYU 99-92 on Wednesday, it put the Cowboys in the driver’s seat for an at-large berth instead of the Pirates, according to CBS Sports Bracketology.
Seton Hall needs to get back on track starting Saturday when it travels to Omaha, Neb. to take on Creighton (12-11, 6-6) in a Big East matchup.
Villanova led 40-25 at halftime and never looked back. The Wildcats made 9 of 29 3-pointers while the Pirates only hit 2 of 17, including 0 for 8 in the first half.
“They make their threes, we don’t,” Seton Hall coach Shaheen Holloway said. “And that’s what happened tonight.”
What also happened was the Pirates dropping out of the NCAA Tournament picture, at least for now. No. 3 UConn, No. 22 St. John’s and Villanova are the only Big East teams most experts project to make the bracket.
The Pirates don’t have a dominant scorer as their three top threats, Adam “Budd” Clark (11.6), A.J. Staton-McCray (11.5) and Tajuan Simpkins (11.0) lead the way.
The Bluejays have also seen their NCAA Tournament hopes take a hit recently. After starting the Big East schedule 6-3, they have lost three straight. Wednesday was the latest setback in a 76-68 loss to Georgetown.
Coach Greg McDermott was frustrated that the Bluejays did not play like themselves.
“I told them at halftime they had nine (offensive) rebounds and no second-chance points … that’s fool’s gold,” McDermott said. “The 16 turnovers for us is just out of character. A lot of them were just foolish turnovers.”
The Bluejays also do not have a dominant scorer, but a collection of cogs. Josh Dix (11.7), Austin Swartz (11.3), Jasen Green (10.7) and Nik Graves (10.0) top the list.
Swartz is scoring 15.3 points per game in Big East play. Green, at just 6-foot-8, leads the team with 5.1 rebounds per game.
“We are playing small,” McDermott said. “Jasen Green started at small forward last year and at center this year. It is kind of the hand we have been dealt. We are asking him to do a lot.”
–Field Level Media
Yasiel Puig guilty of obstruction of justice, lying in gambling case
Hopeful Providence prepares to host Big East foe DePaul
