Sports
Trae Young closer to Wizards' debut, Anthony Davis progressing
Feb 1, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards guard Trae Young (3) looks on during the second half against the Sacramento Kings at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images Wizards point guard Trae Young is moving closer toward his Washington debut after the club announced he’s ramping up on-court activities on Thursday.
Young has been dealing with right knee and quadriceps injures. He will be re-evaluated in one week.
The Wizards also announced an update for forward Anthony Davis, who also has yet to make his team debut. Davis has ligament damage in his left hand and is making progress. He hasn’t been cleared for basketball activities and will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
Young was acquired from the Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 7 in exchange for veteran guard CJ McCollum and forward Corey Kispert.
Young, a four-time All-Star, played in just 10 games this season for the Hawks and averaged 19.3 points and 8.9 assists while shooting 41.5% from the field and 30.5% from 3-point range.
Young, 27, led the league last season with 11.6 assists per game. Over eight seasons and 493 games (all starts), Young has averaged 25.2 points, 9.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds per contest.
Davis was traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Wizards on Feb. 4. There has been heavy speculation that Davis won’t return this season.
Davis, who turns 33 in March, appeared in just 20 games this season with Dallas and averaged 20.4 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.7 blocks. He has career averages of 24.0 points and 10.7 rebounds in 807 games (800 starts) over 14 seasons with the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans (2012-19), the Los Angeles Lakers (2019-25) and Mavericks.
A 10-time All-Star, Davis was the centerpiece of the trade last February that sent Dallas star Luka Doncic to the Lakers. After his arrival with the Mavericks, Davis played only nine games because of injuries.
–Field Level Media
Sports
All-Star events draw biggest audience in 24 years
Feb 15, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Team USA Stars guard Anthony Edwards (5) of the Minnesota Timberwolves celebrates with the MVP trophy after the championship game during the 75th NBA All Star Game at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images The NBA’s All-Star festivities drew their largest viewing audience in nearly a quarter-century last weekend, the league announced Thursday.
The league said 46 million people in the United States watched All-Star weekend across the NBC platforms and ESPN, the most since 2011 and more than triple last season.
Capped off by Sunday’s reformatted USA vs. World mini-tournament of four 12-minute games, the weekend also featured Friday’s celebrity game and Rising Stars event and Saturday’s 3-Point Contest, Shooting Stars and Slam Dunk Contest.
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards was named MVP of Sunday’s 75th NBA All-Star Game at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. Edwards led the USA Stars to a 47-21 win against USA Stripes in the final.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Prez Charlie Baker still wants to ad at-large bids to NCAA Tournament
NCAA president Charlie Baker still envisions an expanded NCAA Tournament field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images NCAA president Charlie Baker rolled out the red carpet ahead of the Selection Committee exercise to set the top 16 seeds in the men’s tournament field this weekend and couldn’t help but dream of a bigger dance.
Baker and members of the Selection Committee are running their annual bracket stacking drill to be released Saturday with the public finding out where the NCAA sees the top 16 seeds in the tournament at this stage of the season.
The field will not increase in size in March. The men’s and women’s tournament field remains at 68 for 2026. But 2027 could bring a boost in field size to 72 or more, Baker has said.
“I think there’s some very good reasons to expand the tournament, so I would like to see it expand,” Baker said on Thursday in a session with select media, as detailed by tournament TV partner CBS, a network making headlines about coverage — and non-coverage — of news events and interviews. “You have to remember that some of the folks we’re talking to are going through some pretty interesting corporate conversations of their own. And I think for us, we accept and acknowledge that, but we’re still talking.”
Debate remains around how to structure a bracket growing by as many as eight spots. Baker said the number of at-large bids awarded — currently 36 — is not enough. But he doesn’t want to fiddle with the 32 at-large bids going to conference and conference tournament champions to satisfy the “bubble” teams that might be labeled the “last four out” on Selection Sunday.
“It puts some other really good teams that probably might belong there,” Baker said of the push to increase at-large bids. “But it also protects the AQs, right? Because I don’t want to end up in a situation where people say we need to do something about the AQs because we’re keeping too many good teams out of the tournament.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Poll: Winter Olympics draw interest from 40% of 'non-sports' fans
Feb 6, 2026; Milan, ITALY; Dancers perform during the Olympic rings segment during the Opening Ceremony for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano San Siro Olympic Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images The Winter Games draw interest from 40% of people who consider themselves “non-sports” fans while also serving to create new sports fans overall, according to a poll conducted by Edison Research.
The SSRS Sports Poll has captured interest in the Olympics compared to other professional and collegiate sports leagues among United States audiences for the past 30 years. The results based on polling throughout 2025 show that the Winter Games generate interest from a wider range of people while also serving as an “important factor to becoming a sports fan in the first place.”
According to the poll, along with 40% of those who consider themselves non-sports fans, the Winter Olympics have drawn interest from more than 60% of “light” sports fans. That is well ahead of other sports including the NFL at around 50% and MLB at 40%, followed by the NBA, college football, college basketball and the NHL.
In 2021, the SSRS Opinion Panel found that 68% of Americans aged 12+ said the Olympics played an important role in them first becoming sports fans in general.
SSRS acquired Edison in October 2025.
–Field Level Media
NYT Strands hints, answers for February 20, 2026
All-Star events draw biggest audience in 24 years
