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U.S. men’s hockey team visits White House; five players skip event

Syndication: The Fayetteville ObserverPresident Donald Trump speaks to a crowd of soldiers on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, at Fort Bragg.

Twenty of the 25 members of the U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team visited President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday afternoon as they continued to celebrate their first gold medal since 1980.

The five players who did not attend were Winnipeg Jets forward Kyle Connor, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jake Guentzel, Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jackson LaCombe, Colorado Avalanche forward Brock Nelson and Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger.

Photos and video posted by White House communications adviser Margo Martin showed the players posing wearing their medals and posing with Trump around the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.

Later, they were scheduled to attend Trump’s State of the Union address to Congress. House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that they were finding a way to “squeeze in” the team into Trump’s speech.

The players’ NHL franchises were working to arrange travel from Washington to rejoin their teams, with many back in action Wednesday night following the three-week Olympic break.

On a phone call to congratulate the men’s victory in Milan, Trump was heard joking that he would be impeached if he didn’t also invite the women’s team, which also beat Canada in overtime to win gold, to visit the White House.

The women’s team later declined an invitation from the White House, citing the academic and professional commitments of most of their athletes.

–Field Level Media

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Will Richard nets 21 to lead shorthanded Warriors past Grizzlies

NBA: Golden State Warriors at Memphis GrizzliesFeb 25, 2026; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Moses Moody (4) dribbles around a screen as Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaylen Wells (0) defends during the first quarter at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Will Richard scored 21 points and Gary Payton II and Brandin Podziemski added 19 apiece to lead Golden State to a 133-112 victory Wednesday night over the host Memphis Grizzlies.

Each of the nine Warriors who played made a 3-pointer as Golden State finished 19-of-46 from deep. Gui Santos contributed 17 points and Moses Moody had 14 for the Warriors.

Memphis, which lost for the seventh time in eight games, was led by GG Jackson, who finished with 24 points and eight rebounds. Ty Jerome added 22 points and five assists and made four 3-pointers. Javon Small scored 16 points and Taylor Hendricks had 14 for Memphis.

The undersized and short-handed Grizzlies were outrebounded 48-34. They have been beaten on the boards 150-107 in their past three games, all losses.

The Grizzlies played without star guard Ja Morant. Morant missed his 15th straight game Wednesday with an elbow injury. Also absent as a result of injuries were a trio of starters: rookie Cedric Coward (knee), Santi Aldama (knee) and Zach Edey (ankle).

The Warriors were minus an abundance of key players, too. Stephen Curry (knee), Draymond Green (back), Kristaps Porzingis (illness) and Jimmy Butler (torn ACL, out for season) missed the game. Curry was sidelined for the ninth consecutive game with a right knee injury. He hasn’t played since Jan. 30.

Golden State pulled away in the second quarter behind a 13-0 run that gave the Warriors a 63-39 advantage. The Warriors led 74-53 at the half.

The Grizzlies put together a 7-0 run early in the third quarter to trim Golden State’s lead to 82-70. But the Warriors responded behind Santos during a 12-2 run for a 22-point cushion with 1:51 remaining in the third.

In the fourth quarter, the Warriors extended their lead, which eventually reached 32 points midway through the period after a basket by Richard. His field goal ended a 10-1 run.

–Field Level Media

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Ebuka Okorie drops 34 in latest showcase, Stanford beats Pitt

NCAA Basketball: Pittsburgh at StanfordFeb 25, 2026; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal guard Ebuka Okorie (1) dribbles by Pittsburgh Panthers guard Omari Witherspoon (8) and toward guard/forward Barry Dunning Jr. (22) in the first half at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images

Ebuka Okorie saved his second and third 3-pointers of the night for a late flurry and finished with a game-high 34 points, lifting host Stanford to a 75-67 Atlantic Coast Conference victory over Pitt on Wednesday night.

Okorie also found time for six rebounds, six assists and three steals for the Cardinal (17-11, 6-9 ACC), who snapped a two-game losing streak.

Cameron Corhen had a team-high 22 points and Barry Dunning Jr. 19 for the Panthers (10-18, 3-12), who used a 14-2 burst to take a 63-57 lead on Corhen’s three-point play with 7:08 remaining.

But Pitt scored just four points the rest of the way, eventually falling victim to Okorie’s heroics.

The star freshman began his late run with a layup that put the hosts up for good at 65-64 with 4:07 remaining.

He then stole Omari Witherspoon’s pass, and despite getting a layup blocked by Witherspoon, the Cardinal retained possession. Benny Gealer found Okorie for a 3-pointer and a four-point advantage with 3:27 to go.

After Dunning missed a free throw for the Panthers, Okorie connected from deep again, giving Stanford a 71-64 lead from which the visitors never recovered.

Okorie shot 11-for-19 and made all nine of his foul shots in his sixth 30-point effort of the season. The Cardinal made all 10 of their free throws in the game and shot 50% from the field.

Gealer backed Okorie with 12 points and Aidan Cammann had 11 for Stanford. AJ Rohosy was the Cardinal’s leading rebounder with eight.

Corhen tied Rohosy for game-high rebound honors and also had four assists and two steals for Pitt, which lost despite shooting 49% overall and outscoring the hosts 27-21 from deep.

Corhen had a pair of three-point plays, Dunning a 3-pointer and a dunk and Nojus Indrusaitis a 3-pointer in Pitt’s 14-2 flurry that allowed them to turn a six-point deficit into their 63-57 advantage.

Indrusaitis had 10 points off the visitors’ bench.

The second half featured four ties and seven lead changes, the last on Okorie’s layup with 4:07 left that triggered Stanford’s fast finish.

–Field Level Media

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Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duran record double-doubles as Pistons top Thunder

NBA: Oklahoma City Thunder at Detroit PistonsFeb 25, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) dribbles on Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) in the first half at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Cade Cunningham had 29 points and 13 assists and Jalen Duren had 29 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 124-116 home win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday in a battle of the top teams from each conference.

The Pistons have won six of their last seven, while the Thunder had its three-game winning streak snapped.

Detroit led by 17 in the third quarter and as many as 14 in the fourth before the Thunder cut the deficit to three with a 13-2 run that included eight points from Aaron Wiggins.

After Oklahoma City made it 108-105 with 5:06 remaining, the Pistons grabbed four consecutive offensive rebounds before Javonte Green drained a 3-pointer with the shot clock dwindling to break the skid.

The Thunder cut the deficit to four in the final minute, but Cunningham found Duren for a dunk in the last 30 seconds to help the Pistons hold off Oklahoma City.

Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Thunder were already short-handed and wound up even more short-handed throughout the course of the game.

Late in the first quarter, Branden Carlson left with lower back soreness and did not return, while Isaiah Joe suffered a left glute contusion late in the second quarter and didn’t return.

Oklahoma City was not only without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell, who have all been out since before the All-Star break, but also Isaiah Hartenstein, Chet Holmgren and Alex Caruso.

Detroit’s Isaiah Stewart served the fifth contest of a seven-game suspension.

Even without all but one of its normal starters against the Eastern Conference’s top team, Oklahoma City jumped out to a big lead early behind its defense.

The Thunder closed the first quarter on a 15-2 run to take a 12-point lead. Seven of those points off turnovers came in the final four minutes of the quarter.

But Detroit quickly got back in the game in the second, cutting the deficit to one with a 9-0 run, kick-started by back-to-back rebounds and putbacks from Ronald Holland II early in the second.

The Pistons then pulled ahead with a 19-10 run over the final four minutes of the second quarter to take the lead for good.

Without Holmgren and Hartenstein in the middle for Oklahoma City, Detroit dominated in the paint, outscoring the Thunder 70-32.

Jaylin Williams led the Thunder with a career-high 30 points and 11 rebounds. Williams’ previous career high was 24. Cason Wallace added 23.

–Field Level Media

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