Sports
WADA refutes report it is mulling rule that could bar US officials from LA Olympics
Feb 6, 2026; Milan, ITALY; United States Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance wave American flags during the Opening Ceremony for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano San Siro Olympic Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Alban/Pool via Imagn Images The World Anti-Doping Agency strongly denied a published report from Friday that said it was considering action to prevent President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other U.S. government officials from attending the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
The Associated Press reported Friday that WADA was seeking to take steps against governments that aren’t up to date on dues payments, topped by a ban of officials from those countries from sporting events. The United States hasn’t paid annual dues since at least 2024 over a dispute regarding the organization’s effectiveness in keeping athletic competition drug-free.
Per the initial report, WADA was scheduled to discuss the topic at its meeting on Tuesday.
WADA published its rebuttal on its website later Friday and didn’t deny that such a rule one day could be implemented. But, the agency said, the “FIFA World Cup, LA and Salt Lake City Games [2034] would not be covered given that the rules would not apply retroactively.”
It added that any such decision would be made by WADA’s Foundation Board, but that group does not meet until November.
The issue first arose under the administration of then-U.S. President Joe Biden and continues under the Trump administration, with government officials of both the Democratic and Republican parties siding against WADA.
The United States has withheld its dues, in part, in protest of WADA’s handling of a group of 23 swimmers from China who tested positive for a banned substance in 2021 but were allowed to compete in the Tokyo Summer Olympics that same year.
“Discussions related to the issue of governments unilaterally withholding funding from WADA have been ongoing since early 2020 and have nothing specifically to do with the U.S.,” WADA said in its statement. “A working group involving representatives of governments, the Sport Movement and WADA was set up in 2022, a period when the U.S. was still paying its annual contribution.”
According to the AP, the United States owes more than $7 million for the past two years alone.
Vance and his wife, Usha, led the U.S. contingent at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games and attended the Opening Ceremony and a variety of competitions to support American athletes.
–Field Level Media
Sports
NWSL roundup: Boston sets attendance mark but loses in league debut
Mar 14, 2026; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Legacy FC goalkeeper Casey Murphy (1) makes a save during the second half of the game against NY/NJ Gotham FC at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Natalie Reid-Imagn Images Boston Legacy FC set an NWSL attendance record for an inaugural game with 30,207 fans filling Gillette Stadium, but Gotham FC played spoiler by notching a 1-0 win over the expansion club Saturday afternoon in Foxborough, Mass.
Esther Gonzalez broke a scoreless draw in the 55th minute when teammate Lilly Reale sent a cross on the ground into the box, and Boston defender Bianca St-Georges accidentally backheeled it to the Gotham star for an easy strike.
Gonzalez had 13 goals last year for the reigning NWSL champion Gotham.
St-Georges later earned her second yellow card in the 77th minute, forcing the Legacy to play with 10 women the rest of the way.
Bay 2, Summit 1
Joelle Anderson’s tiebreaking goal capped off a wild 31 minutes and proved to be the game winner as host Bay FC spoiled the first game in Denver Summit FC history with a win in San Jose.
Alex Pfeiffer got the scoring going in the eighth minute to give Bay a 1-0 lead. Melissa Kossler evened it up in the 20th minute with Denver’s first goal but that momentum was quickly wiped away when Janine Sonis was shown a red card for violent conduct in the 27th minute, leaving the Summit short-handed the rest of the way.
Four minutes later, Pfeiffer struck again, this time dribbling through the Summit defense and finding Anderson just above the center of the box. Anderson immediately sent it to the goal and beat Abby Smith in the bottom-left corner.
Courage 2, Racing 1
Ashley Sanchez netted a brace, her second goal the difference in the game as North Carolina edged Racing Louisville FC in Cary, N.C.
Sanchez’s first goal came in the 29th minute, a right-footed shot off a cross from Payton Linnehan that beat Jordyn Bloomer. Sarah Weber answered in first-half stoppage time when Courage goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan’s clearing pass was instead corralled by Emma Sears just outside the box. Sears charged toward the goal then found Weber standing wide open in front of the net.
Sanchez answered in the 86th minute for the Courage when her ball she sent toward the net was instead immediately deflected by a Racing defender, sending the ball high into the air and over the head of a leaping Bloomer for the goal.
Current 2, Royals 1
Host Kansas City scored twice in the final 33 minutes, once off a back-heel pass and the other on an impressive individual effort, to take down Utah.
Tatumn Milazzo got the visitors on the board in the 35th minute with a header from a pass from Cloe Lacasse off a corner kick. Utah then stood tall on defense, but the Royals could not keep the Current out of the net for long.
Croix Bethune, playing her first game with Kansas City after two seasons with Washington, evened the match in the 57th minute when Kayla Sharples set found her in front of the net with a one-touch heel kick off a pass from just inside midfield.
Ally Sentnor then netted the winner in the 69th minute when she dribbled from just outside the top-left corner of the goal box to the middle of the penalty area, then sent a right-footed kick to the right of a diving Mia Justus and into the net.
Dash 1, Wave 0
Makenzy Robbe, who spent the previous four seasons with San Diego, scored in her first game against her former team and Houston weathered 18 minutes of total stoppage time to win on the road.
Robbe’s goal was itself in stoppage time, as she took a pass from Maggie Graham in the seventh minute of first-half stoppage time, then sent the ball across the goal box and past DiDi Haracic into the bottom-left corner of the net.
The Wave had 19 shots to the Dash’s five — and held a 9-2 advantage in shots on goal — but Houston goalie Jane Campbell made numerous big saves, including a leaping punch that sent a shot over the crossbar in the 63rd minute.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Kevin Vallejos makes statement with 1st-round TKO of Josh Emmett
Jun 28, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Jose Miguel Delgado (blue gloves) reacts after the fight against Hyder Amil (red gloves) during UFC 317 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images Argentina’s Kevin Vallejos officially established himself as a featherweight contender to watch, swarming Josh Emmett for a first-round TKO (strikes, 3:33) in the main event of UFC Vegas 114 from the Meta APEX Saturday night.
Vallejos (18-1 MMA) remained unbeaten in the UFC at 4-0, sending a message to his native fans of what’s to come. The 24-year-old called his shot, persuading the UFC to return to Buenos Aires for an event soon.
“Argentina, keep dreaming,” Vallejos said through an interpreter. “Because you’re going to have a world champion.”
Emmett (19-7 MMA), 41, has lost his last three fights and is now at 27 months since his last win in December of 2023.
The co-main event saw Canadian strawweight Gillian Robertson earn a unanimous decision against Amanda Lemos of Brazil to move one step closer to a title shot, taking all three judges’ scorecards 29-28, 29-28, 29-28. Robertson (17-8 MMA) has won five fights in a row, sending Lemos (15-6-1 MMA) back to the drawing board as she’s dropped three of her last four fights.
The card began to wind down with a precursor to the co-main and main event, as featherweights Andre Fili and Mexico’s Jose Miguel Delgado left it all out in the Octagon during a way-too-early Fight of the Year candidate as Delgado earned a split decision, taking the scorecards 29-28, 28-29, 29-28.
Delgado (11-2 MMA) went for the finish on several occasions in Round 2, while also surviving a Fili (25-13 MMA) rally in the third round after a slow-paced opening frame.
At featherweight, Marwan Rahiki (8-0 MMA) of Morocco won his UFC debut against a former Cage Warriors champion in England’s Harry Hardwick (13-5-1 MMA) after Hardwick’s corner was forced to stop the fight at the start of Round 3, where it was discovered Hardwick had a broken jaw caused by a flurry of punches, highlighted by a massive left hook.
Rahiki was awarded the TKO win, leaving Hardwick winless in the promotion through two fights. The bout was called after Hardwick verbalized noticeable pain in his jaw before his corner and UFC medical staff knew the fight was over.
In the light heavyweight division, Moldova’s Ion Cutelaba made short work of Frenchman Oumar Sy with a first-round mounted guillotine choke at 4:24. Cutelaba was able to stop a Sy takedown before securing the finish after reversing position. Cutelaba (20-11-1 MMA) has now won three of his last four fights, securing his second UFC submission win and fourth of his MMA career. Sy (12-2 MMA) had won three of his last four coming in to begin his UFC tenure.
Ranked flyweights Bruno Silva of Brazil and Charles Johnson began the six-fight main card in exciting fashion. Johnson edged Silva by split decision with crisp boxing and an overall balanced skillset, taking the cards 29-28, 28-29, 30-27.
Johnson (19-8 MMA) had lost two of his last three fights entering Saturday night’s clash. Meanwhile, Silva (15-8-2 MMA) has lost three of his last four fights after stringing together a four-fight UFC winning streak from March 2021 through July 2024.
-Field Level Media
Sports
Lakers edge Nuggets in OT Luka Doncic's last-second shot
Mar 14, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) controls the ball while under pressure from Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun (0) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images Luka Doncic hit a baseline jumper with 0.5 seconds left, and the host Los Angeles Lakers rallied to beat the Denver Nuggets 127-125 in overtime on Saturday night.
Doncic finished with 30 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds for his 11th triple-double of the season. With its fifth straight win, Los Angeles clinched the season series against Denver.
Austin Reaves had 32 points, including a bucket in the final seconds of the fourth to send it to overtime. Marcus Smart added 21 points and LeBron James scored 17 for the Lakers.
Smart’s fifth 3-pointer of the night gave Los Angeles a 125-123 lead with 30 seconds left in overtime. Nikola Jokic tied it with 15.1 seconds left but Doncic’s 17-foot fadeaway won it for the hosts.
Jokic had 24 points, 16 rebounds and 14 assists for his 27th triple-double of the season and fifth in his last six games. Aaron Gordon finished with 27 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. contributed 20, Cam Johnson scored 18 and Bruce Brown and Christian Braun had 12 apiece for the Nuggets.
Both teams struggled to hit shots in the overtime before Deandre Ayton’s floater gave the Lakers a 122-120 lead. Gordon hit Denver’s first field goal, a 3-pointer with 46 seconds left, to make it 123-122, setting up the final moments.
Hardaway’s 3-pointer to open the fourth gave the Nuggets a 90-87 lead, their first since the opening minutes of the game, and then went ahead 106-98 with 5:13 left.
It was a seven-point Denver lead when Doncic hit a 3-pointer and drained three free throws with 1:57 left to tie it at 109. Gordon hit a corner 3-pointer, Reaves made a driving layup and Smart had a steal and layup to give the Lakers a 113-112 lead with 47 seconds left.
Hardaway hit a corner 3-pointer to put the Nuggets back in front, and Gordon split a pair of free throws to make it 116-113. It was 118-115 when Reaves was fouled with 5.6 seconds left. He made the first, intentionally missed the second, got the rebound and scored to send it to overtime.
–Field Level Media
