Sports
Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid fuel 76ers past wobbly Kings
Jan 29, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Sacramento Kings guard DeMar DeRozan (10) controls the ball against Philadelphia 76ers guard Kelly Oubre Jr. (9) during the first quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Tyrese Maxey made the decisive layup with 1.3 seconds left, guiding the Philadelphia 76ers to a 113-111 win over the visiting Sacramento Kings on Thursday.
Maxey finished with 40 points, while Joel Embiid added 37 – and each of them chipped in with eight assists. Paul George notched 15 points for Philadelphia, which overcame an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit.
Dennis Schroder scored 27 points and DeMar DeRozan added 25 to pace Sacramento, which lost its seventh straight game and fell to 0-4 on its six-game road trip. The Kings are 3-21 away from home this season.
The visitors trailed by a point before Zach LaVine (17 points) knocked down a wide-open 3-pointer with 1:21 left. After the teams exchanged empty possessions, Maxey was fouled on a drive and made both free throws to forge a 111-111 tie with 27.3 seconds to play.
Following a miss by DeRozan, the Sixers had a final opportunity. Embiid took the inbounds pass at the top of the arc and handed off to a speeding Maxey, who floated a left-handed layup over two defenders.
Maxey was also fouled on the play. He missed the ensuing free throw, but LaVine’s long-distance heave came after the final buzzer sounded.
Neither team led by more than five points in a first quarter that ended with Philadelphia ahead 28-25.
Maxey poured in 14 points in the second quarter, helping the Sixers take a 60-54 lead into the locker room. Maxey and Embiid combined for 42 points in the first half, while DeRozan (21) and Schroder (14) were the top scorers for the Kings.
Philadelphia led by seven early in the third quarter before Sacramento went on a 9-2 run to draw even at 70. The teams were tied five more times in the period before Maxime Raynaud and LaVine helped the Kings take an 89-87 lead into the fourth.
Early in the final period, the Kings scored seven straight points to open a 103-92 advantage. However, the Sixers countered with a 17-5 run in which Maxey and Embiid accounted for all of their points.
Maxey’s driving layup put the hosts in front by a point with 1:57 left.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Reports: Dolphins hiring Mississippi State's Bush Hamdan as QB coach
New Kentucky offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan coaches during practice Friday. August 2, 2024, in Lexington. Hamdan came from Boise State; he’s also coached at Missouri, the Atlanta Falcons and Florida as well. The Miami Dolphins are hiring Mississippi State associate head coach Bush Hamdan as the team’s quarterbacks coach, according to multiple reports Friday.
Hamdan only landed the Mississippi State position in December and also was to coach the team’s wide receivers.
The 40-year-old has 17 years of coaching experience, largely in the college ranks. Most recently, he was the quarterbacks coach at Missouri from 2020-22 and the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at his alma mater, Boise State, in 2023 and moved to Kentucky as OC in 2024.
Hamdan has one year of coaching experience in the NFL, having served as the QBs coach for the Atlanta Falcons in 2017 when Matt Ryan threw for 4,095 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.
The Hamdan hire was not the Dolphins’ first attempt to fill the quarterbacks coach position.
Miami originally hired former Broncos head coach and Packers offensive assistant Nathaniel Hackett before he took the offensive coordinator position under new Arizona Cardinals’ head coach Mike LaFluer.
The Dolphins also wanted to interview Detroit Lions offensive assistant Bruce Gradkowski for quarterbacks coach position, but the Lions blocked the interview, according to multiple reports.
Hamdan faces an uncertain quarterbacks’ room in Miami, where the future of starter Tua Tagovailoa is still up in the air. Miami general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan said Thursday at a fan event that the Dolphins are “getting close to a decision” on Tagovailoa and that the team would be looking at other quarterbacks in this year’s draft.
Quinn Ewers, a seventh-round pick in last year’s draft, is the other quarterback currently under contract in Miami.
Regardless of the Tagovailoa decision, Sullivan said he expects significant competition among quarterbacks.
“I don’t know what the future holds right now, and I told Tua that. We’re working through some things,” Sullivan said. “What I can tell you is that we’re going to infuse competition into that room, whether Tua is part of the room, whether he’s not part of the room. We’re going to infuse competition into that room, like we will do in every other position,” Sullivan said.
“… You can rest assured that we will add competition to that room, one way or the other, to make it the best that we can.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Anthony Alfredo disqualified from Daytona 500 after car inspection
Feb 11, 2026; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Anthony Alfredo (62) during qualifying for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Anthony Alfredo will not drive in the Daytona 500 on Sunday after being disqualified because of a technical violation with his No. 62 car.
NASCAR officials announced the decision late Thursday after the qualifying race in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Alfredo, 26, was in tears after qualifying for the Daytona 500, then heartbroken a bit later when he was told he had been disqualified following the post-race inspection.
“I was on top of the world, and now it feels like I’m at the bottom of it,” Alfredo told The Athletic. “It feels like I’m drowning.”
NASCAR officials said they found, upon inspection, a loose transaxle cooling hose and an improperly attached driver cooling hose.
“These parts have to be fastened properly,” NASCAR Cup Series director Brad Moran said. “Unfortunately, this one piece wasn’t on the right side, and there was also another hose disconnected for driver cooling.”
The No. 62 car is owned by Beard Motorsports, which issued a statement Friday morning.
“We are proud of our team and the work they put into this NASCAR program,” the statement began.
“Our intent is to make races, contend for wins and race with integrity. We will review what happened and work to make sure we do not have these issues in the future. We are heartbroken for our entire team, our wonderful partners and Anthony and his sweet family.”
With Alfredo’s disqualification, driver B.J. McLeod was elevated to the Daytona 500 field.
Alfredo finished 24th in the Xfinity Series — now called the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series — in 2025. In limited NASCAR Cup Series appearances since 2021, he has two top-10 finishes.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Blue Jays, Astros swap outfielders Joey Loperfido and Jesus Sanchez
Oct 23, 2025; Toronto, ON, Canada; Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Joey Loperfido (10) answers a question during media day before game one of the World Series at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images The Astros and Blue Jays exchanged outfielders on Friday, with Houston acquiring Joey Loperfido from Toronto for Jesus Sanchez.
This is a return to Houston for Loperfido, who was a seventh-round pick by the Astros in the 2021 MLB Draft. He hit .333 with four home runs, 14 RBIs and an .879 OPS in 41 regular-season games for Toronto in 2025.
In 91 games at Triple-A Buffalo, Loperfido batted .264 with seven homers and 44 RBIs.
The 26-year-old was traded from Houston to Toronto in July 2024, along with pitcher Jake Bloss and infielder Will Wagner, for pitcher Yusei Kikuchi. Before the trade he appeared in 38 games with the Astros in 2024, his first season in the major leagues, batting .236 with two home runs and 16 RBIs.
Sanchez, 28, appeared in 134 games between the Miami Marlins and the Astros in 2025, combining to slash .237/.304/.395 with 14 home runs, 48 RBIs and 13 stolen bases.
Sanchez is a career .239 hitter with 73 home runs and 238 RBIs in 580 games with the Astros (2020-25) and Marlins.
–Field Level Media
