Sports
William Byron, Denny Hamlin in sharp focus as Daytona 500 arrives
Denny Hamlin gets in his car before the NASCAR Cup Series Duel during Speedweek, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. The twice-postponed Clash is in the rearview mirror, and NASCAR’s top drivers have headed to the Sunshine State for the 68th Daytona 500 on Sunday.
Two-time defending winner William Byron and Denny Hamlin arrive in Daytona Beach, Fla., on the verge of entering rarified air.
If Byron is the first to the checkers in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in Sunday’s 200-lapper, he would become just the fifth driver to click off three 500 wins.
But in the previous 67 runnings, no winner has ever reeled off three straight checkered flags. Not seven-time winner Richard Petty nor four-time victor Cale Yarborough, the only wheelmen ever to elevate themselves past three career victories.
Byron, 28, is one of five drivers to ever record consecutive 500 triumphs, after Hamlin (2019, 2020), Sterling Marlin (1994, 1995), Yarborough (1983, 1984) and Petty (1973, 1974).
Byron, who enters his ninth Cup Series season with 16 total victories, would give owner Rick Hendrick his 11th in the Great American Race and allow Byron to match Hamlin, Dale Jarrett, Bobby Allison and Jeff Gordon with exactly three wins of the sport’s crown jewel.
“I get reminders of the previous races, whether I see just the videos or whatnot,” Byron said Wednesday. “Yeah, it’s great career-defining moments that we’ve had. It’s awesome. It’s special. But I don’t really think ahead too much. I just think about what it’s going to take in these next couple days leading up to it.”
However, Byron ran into trouble Thursday, wrecking his No. 24 in Duel No. 1, and will race with a backup car Sunday.
Meanwhile, Hamlin will try to find some sense of normalcy: in his life, with his health and on the track.
During a difficult, tragic November and December, Hamlin lost his chance at his first Cup championship in the final laps at Phoenix to Kyle Larson as Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota, which led 208 laps, was driving away on an emotional win dedicated to his ailing father.
Then, as 2025 was ending, Hamlin’s father died following a house fire at the parents’ home. The son is also not fully healthy, as Hamlin chose not to have surgery for a torn labrum that had been surgically repaired before but was re-injured in a fall while walking through the house’s burned wreckage.
“It’s just going to take a little while to kind of get back in the swing of things,” said Hamlin, 45. “You know, it certainly has not been an easy offseason by any means, and I’m sure I’m probably in a different headspace than most of the competitors that have been rip-roaring, ready to go racing the last month or so.
“I’m probably in a different spot than that. I would certainly appreciate a few more months, but I don’t have that. But we’ll just kind of see how it goes.”
So there will be another season for Hamlin to grapple with, a new Chase point system to figure out and another Daytona 500 this Sunday.
Polesitter Kyle Busch will lead the pack to green, while Joey Logano and Chase Elliott will be ones to watch after their Duel qualifying victories Thursday.
Hamlin could certainly win Sunday — his Daytona 500 record shows it. However, that next phone call he will want to make, to the person who started it all, will be his hardest to reconcile because it can’t be made.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Czech teenager Jilek outclasses strong field to take 10,000m gold
Feb 8, 2026; Milan, Italy; Metodej Jilek of Czechia skates in the men’s speed skating 5000m during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Speed Skating Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images MILAN — Czech teenager Metodej Jilek produced the race of his life to beat a powerful field and seize gold in the 10,000 meters on Friday, delivering the Czech Republic its first speed skating title of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
Jilek was joined on the podium by Poland’s Vladimir Semirunniy, who claimed silver, while Dutchman Jorrit Bergsma took bronze.
Nineteen-year-old Jilek, who won bronze in the 10,000m at the 2025 ISU World Speed Skating Single Distances Championships, clocked 12 minutes 33.43 seconds to finish 5.65 seconds clear of Semirunniy, underlining his emergence as one of the sport’s most exciting prospects.
“I feel incredible,” Jilek said. “This gold medal represents all the training I’ve been doing for years — everything I’ve been working towards. It’s amazing.
“I knew even before I came to the Olympics that I could do really well in the 10,000m, that I could win it. It was just a matter of doing the lap times.
“I’ve done thousands of these lap times throughout the summer so I knew what it feels like, what I have to do. It was just about dialing it in.”
His victory made him the Czech Republic’s second Olympic champion of these Games, following Zuzana Maderova’s triumph in the women’s parallel giant slalom on Sunday.
It also marked the nation’s second speed skating medal in Milan Cortina, after Jilek claimed silver in the 5,000m on Sunday.
Competing in his first Olympics, Jilek faced a stacked field that included newly crowned 5,000m Olympic champion Sander Eitrem, France’s Timothy Loubineaud, Semirunniy and 10,000m world record holder Davide Ghiotto of Italy — all considered strong contenders after standout World Cup campaigns.
“Honestly, I wasn’t even that nervous before the race,” Jilek added.
“The only thing I was a bit nervous about is that I woke up a bit sick — I didn’t feel that good. I didn’t know how my body would react.
“Other than that, I knew I could do it. I was pretty confident.”
Drawn in the penultimate pair of the six-pair program, Jilek started in the inner lane alongside 2018 Pyeongchang 10,000 champion Ted-Jan Bloemen of Canada and quickly settled into a smooth, controlled rhythm.
He never looked in doubt and ultimately lapped Bloemen, who is two decades his senior.
Jilek had been forced to settle for silver behind Eitrem in the 5,000m, but there was no repeat of that heartbreak on Friday.
Russian-born long-distance specialist Semirunniy was congratulated by Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
“‘Poland welcomed me like its own child,’ said Vladimir Semirunniy recently, who won a silver Olympic medal for his new homeland today. A beautiful story. Bravo Wladek!” Tusk posted on social media platform X.
TIMELESS BERGSMA
Bergsma — the 10,000m champion at Sochi 2014, silver medalist at Pyeongchang 2018 and 5,000m bronze medalist in Sochi — turned back the clock with a performance full of his trademark composure and metronomic pacing.
The arena, awash in orange as Dutch fans filled the stands once again, roared the 40-year-old on with every lap as he battled alongside Ghiotto in the fourth pair.
Meanwhile, Loubineaud stayed patient as Eitrem set the early pace in the final pair, conserving energy before mounting a late surge. The Frenchman’s strong finish earned him fourth place once again, while Eitrem faded and ultimately slipped to seventh.
Italy’s Riccardo Lorello, the Milan-born skater who grew up minutes from the venue, missed the podium but impressed once more. The 23-year-old Olympic debutant posted the eighth-fastest time, backing up the bronze he claimed in the 5,000m.
Starting from the inner lane in the first pair, Lorello was greeted by a warm reception as Italian flags waved across the arena. Paired with Denmark’s Viktor Hald Thorup — a late replacement after American Casey Dawson withdrew — Lorello pulled clear early and skated alone for most of the race.
Thorup was unable to keep pace and later recorded a DNF due to cramping.
–Reuters, special to Field Level Media
Sports
After snapping 9-game skid, Oklahoma hosts reeling Georgia
Feb 11, 2026; Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Mike White reacts on the bench against the Florida Gators during the first half at Stegeman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images Georgia coach Mike White is counting on his team playing better from the jump Saturday than the Bulldogs did in their most recent game when they travel to Norman, Okla., to take on Oklahoma.
“We’ll do our best as a staff to figure out how we can get off to a better start and if that means playing the five guys that are going to bring the most energy – who look like they’ve got energy at the pregame meal – I don’t know,” White said. “But you’ve got to sprint up and down the court in this league to have success.”
The Bulldogs are coming off a 20-point home loss to Florida on Wednesday where they didn’t score until nearly six minutes into the game. Since their 16-3 start, they’ve lost four of their last five games.
There was one major bright spot in the Florida loss for Georgia. Freshman Kareem Stagg scored nine points in 16 minutes after scoring just six points in his first 10 SEC games.
“He grew up a little bit,” White said. “That happens with freshmen, and if you can string together two or three of those in a row (that’d be positive). There’s always a step or two backwards as these guys go through their process, but certainly he took a step forward.”
The Bulldogs (17-7, 5-6 Southeastern Conference) were without leading scorer Jeremiah Wilkinson in the loss to Florida. Wilkinson is dealing with a shoulder injury.
White said after that game there wasn’t a timetable for Wilkinson’s return.
The Sooners (12-12, 2-9) haven’t played since last Saturday’s 92-91 win at then-No. 15 Vanderbilt that snapped their nine-game losing streak.
“Obviously you wish they were playing on the road tonight in Alaska and flying home,” White quipped. ” … I’ve seen them just a few times live. Talented and versatile and fast and playing at home. We’ll have to play really well.”
The Sooners led by 21 points with less than five minutes left against Vanderbilt but the game still came down to the wire.
During their extended losing streak, Oklahoma dropped several games despite holding double-digit leads.
“We’ve played really good basketball and we just haven’t been able to finish them off,” Sooners coach Porter Moser said.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Team Peps completes comeback on Day 1 of OWCS Pre-Season Bootcamp
YMCA member Austin Manengu works the keyboard as he plays a game of Fortnite during the unveiling of the new gaming lab at the Maplewood Family YMCA in Rochester Thursday, June 20, 2024. YMCA of Greater Rochester in partnership with Metro Sports & Entertainment Group will open two gaming labs for youth and teens this year. Team Peps, Team Falcons, T1 and Virtus.pro won their opening games and moved into the quarterfinals of the Overwatch Champions Series Pre-Season Bootcamp on Friday in Seoul.
Peps outlasted Disguised 3-2 in a match that included a rare draw in the fourth round. Falcons swept VARREL 3-0, Virtus.pro did the same to All Gamers and T1 defeated Dallas Fuel 3-1.
Twelve teams are participating in the $25,000 event that kicks off the 2026 Overwatch Champions Series (OWCS). Teams from North America, the EMEA region, China, Japan and elsewhere in Asia were invited.
The single-elimination bracket saw teams seeded by regional and 2025 World Finals performance. All matches are first-to-three until Sunday’s grand finals, which are first-to-four.
On Friday, Disguised jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Peps, winning 2-1 on Ilios Control and 1-0 on Shambali Monastery Escort.
After Peps clawed one back on Esperanca Push, 89.03m-52.84m, the teams tied 3-3 on Midtown Hybrid. They continued on to New Junk City Flashpoint, where Peps took the momentum with a 3-0 win before sealing the comeback 2-1 on Watchpoint: Gibraltar Escort.
Falcons did not allow VARREL to score a point on any map, blanking them 2-0 on Lijiang Tower Control, 3-0 on Shambali Monastery Escort and 3-0 on Midtown Hybrid.
It was the same story for Virtus.pro, which shut out All Gamers 2-0 on Ilios Control, 1-0 on Eichenwalde Hybrid and 1-0 on Shambali Monastery Escort.
T1 opened its match against Dallas Fuel with a 2-1 win on Lijiang Tower Control and a 2-0 triumph on Midtown Hybrid. Dallas extended the match by taking Havana Escort 3-2, but T1 finished it off with a 3-0 result on New Junk City Flashpoint.
The tournament continues Saturday with the four quarterfinal matches:
–Crazy Raccoon vs. Team Peps
–Weibo Gaming vs. Team Falcons
–Twisted Minds vs. T1
–Team Liquid vs. Virtus.pro
Overwatch Champions Series 2026 Pre-Season Bootcamp prize pool
1. $15,000
2. $5,000
3-4. $2,500
5-8. No money
9-12. No money — Disguised, VARREL, Dallas Fuel, All Gamers
–Field Level Media
Czech teenager Jilek outclasses strong field to take 10,000m gold
Wordle today: Answer, hints for February 14, 2026
