Sports
Trade deadline looms as large as matchup for Bulls, Bucks
Feb 1, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers has words with center Myles Turner (3) during the second half against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images Riding a five-game losing streak after an unsuccessful road trip, the Milwaukee Bucks start a three-game homestand where fans in Milwaukee are likely more focused on what might happen off the court than on it.
With the trade deadline looming on Thursday and the rumors surrounding currently injured superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo only getting louder, Milwaukee will begin the home stretch by hosting the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night.
On its road trip, Milwaukee competed against Philadelphia and Washington until ultimately falling short late in both of those games. On Sunday in Boston, it was not as close. The Bucks scored their fewest points in a game all season, losing 107-79 to the Celtics.
“It’s hard to create shots. … Whenever we took (Ryan Rollins) off the floor, Bobby (Portis) off the floor, the scoring came to a halt,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. “When you’re struggling and you start missing shots, it starts to snowball. That’s what I felt tonight.”
Rollins led his Bucks team playing without Antetokounmpo or second-leading scorer Kevin Porter Jr. (oblique) with 25 points and seven assists. Myles Turner, who had scored 31 and 21 points the two games prior, added just seven on 2-of-8 shooting.
Chicago arrives in Milwaukee after facing the Miami Heat in each of its last three games. Miami won two of those matchups, including a dominant 134-91 effort in the finale on Sunday.
Coby White led the Bulls with 16 points despite his 4-for-13 shooting performance. Chicago shot just 6-for-41 (14.6%) from beyond the arc and 32.2% from the floor.
Tuesday is Chicago’s final game prior to the 3 p.m. Thursday trade deadline. The Bulls have nine players on expiring contracts, including White, Nikola Vucevic and Kevin Huerter, making them a team to watch.
Chicago has already been part of a move, acquiring Dario Saric in a three-team trade with Cleveland and Sacramento. Chicago sent Emanuel Miller to Cleveland in the deal and also waived Jevon Carter.
“I’ve heard nothing but great things (on Saric). I’ve always loved his IQ, his feel for the game. He hasn’t been in the rotation a whole lot this year, but a veteran guy that’s been around, in terms of getting him caught up to speed in terms of what we do, I’d imagine it’ll be pretty simple for him,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said.
Josh Giddey leads Chicago averaging 18.6 points and 8.8 assists per night. Vucevic leads down low averaging nine rebounds along with nearly 17 points per game.
On the injury front, there is still no official timetable for Antetokounmpo (calf strain) from the Bucks, despite his own estimate of four to six weeks starting from January 24th. Porter also lacks an official timetable but won’t be returning anytime soon.
Gary Harris (hamstring) also missed Milwaukee’s last game and is listed as out again on Tuesday.
Without Antetokounmpo and Porter, the Bucks are missing a combined 44.8 points and 13 assists per game.
Rollins averages 16.5 points and 5.5 assists, while Portis has been a consistent scoring threat, averaging 13.2 points and is among the league leaders in 3-point percentage (45.2).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Argentina club looking to lure Lionel Messi home in 2027
Dec 6, 2025; Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA; Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) looks on with the Philip F. Anschutz trophy after winning the 2025 MLS Cup against the Vancouver Whitecaps FC at Chase Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Argentina club Newell’s Old Boys is working on a plan to bring two-time MLS MVP Lionel Messi home next year.
A team executive confirmed that it’s trying to entice Messi to return to his boyhood club for the first half of 2027.
“It’s a project that goes beyond Newell’s. It involves the city of Rosario, the province, and Argentine football,” first vice president Juan Manuel Medina said, according to an ESPN story published Wednesday.
Messi, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner as the world’s best player, signed an extension with defending MLS Cup champion Inter Miami in October that runs through the end of the 2028.
Messi, 38, played for Newell’s youth teams from 1995-2000 before moving to the FC Barcelona academy.
Inter Miami will open the 2026 MLS season on Feb. 21 at Los Angeles FC. Messi also is preparing to defend Argentina’s World Cup championship this summer in North America.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Lindsey Vonn's coach, Stefon Diggs confident she can ski with ACL injury
[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Feb 3, 2026; Cortina d’Ampezzo, ITALY; Lindsey Vonn attends a press conference at a press conference at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in preparation for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. Mandatory Credit: Leonhard Foeger/Reuters via Imagn Images Lindsey Vonn’s coach and New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs are confident that the American skiing great can compete at the Milano Cortina Olympics with a ruptured ACL in her left knee.
Vonn, 41, is set to try her luck in the women’s downhill race on Sunday
“I’m pretty confident that she can still pull off this dream,” Vonn’s head coach Chris Knight told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “I’ve got no doubts in my mind that this is going to be OK.”
Knight’s comments came one day after Vonn said that she’s not interested in discussing surgery at the moment.
“It’s not really on my radar screen right now. The Olympics are the only thing that I’m thinking about,” she said. “Every day my knee’s gotten better. And every day we’re discussing with a full medical team, doctors, physios, everyone, to make sure we’re doing everything to make sure I am making smart and safe decisions.”
Diggs knows a thing or two about a torn ACL. His lone season with the Houston Texans in 2024 was cut short by the same injury.
“Prayers to her. I hope the surgery does go well when she does have it,” Diggs said Wednesday of Vonn. “Anybody who has torn an ACL, it’s kind of a weird injury. You can run after about two weeks when the swelling goes down. … As long as she doesn’t have to (decelerate), she should be fine.”
Like Vonn, Diggs has a big day ahead on Sunday. Diggs and the Patriots will face the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, Calif.
As for Vonn, she must complete at least one official training run to take part in the Sunday downhill. Vonn is no stranger to the mountain. She collected 12 of her 84 World Cup victories there, the most of any skier.
Vonn earned gold (downhill) and bronze (Super-G) medals at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and a bronze medal in the downhill at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.
Vonn retired after the 2019 world championships due to injuries. She subsequently received a partial replacement of her right knee and launched a comeback late in 2024 with the Olympics in her sights.
She has won the downhill twice this winter and leads the World Cup standings in the discipline and was considered a favorite to win the gold medal in the event in Italy.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Washington Post shutters sports department
Sep 15, 2022; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Amazon executive chairman Jeff Bezos in attendance before the Kansas City Chiefs play against the Los Angeles Chargers at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images The Washington Post shuttered its venerable sports department on Wednesday, part of a larger layoff involving one-third of the newspaper’s staff.
“The Washington Post is taking a number of difficult but decisive actions today for our future, in what amounts to a significant restructuring across the company,” a Post spokesperson said in a statement. “These steps are designed to strengthen our footing and sharpen our focus on delivering the distinctive journalism that sets The Post apart and, most importantly, engages our customers.”
Executive editor Matt Murray announced the changes in a video conference with employees.
The move comes with Post reporters already on site covering Super Bowl LX and the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.
“It’s like somebody taking a hammer to my heart,” Sally Jenkins, who wrote a Post sports column until she left the paper last summer, told The Ringer. “It’s not just broken. It’s broken into about 20 pieces, one for every single one of my close friends there.”
Some sports reporters are expected to move into other roles, but the exact number was not reported.
A skeleton crew will continue to produce what Murray described as features about sports as a “cultural and societal phenomenon.”
The Post has undergone repeated changes, downsizings and reinventions since Amazon chief Jeff Bezos purchased the paper in 2013.
In addition to cutting the sports pages, the Post is reducing its international footprint, making the Metro section more “nimble and focused” and eliminating the Books section.
–Field Level Media
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