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
SMU on right side of bubble as road test against Syracuse looms
Feb 7, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; SMU MUstangs guard B.J. Davis-Ray (9) drives on Pittsburgh Panthers Damarco Minor (7) during the second half at Petersen Events Center. The Panthers lost 86-67. Mandatory Credit: Philip G. Pavely-Imagn Images SMU takes its varied offensive attack on the road as it looks to build its resume for the postseason when it plays against host Syracuse on Saturday afternoon in an Atlantic Coast Conference game.
It’s the first time the teams will square off in Syracuse after SMU defeated the Orange twice last season — once at home and again on a neutral floor in the ACC tournament — in the only other contests between the programs.
The Mustangs (17-7, 6-5 ACC) head to central New York after an 89-81 home win over Notre Dame on Tuesday. Boopie Miller and Jaron Pierre Jr. traded off bell-cow duties in the game, with Pierre scoring 18 of his team-leading 22 points in the second half after Miller racked up 18 of his 20 before halftime.
“That’s how it’s got to be every game,” Miller said. “If I’m off, Jaron got to pick it up. And if he’s off, I’ve got to pick it up. So that’s how it’s going to be for the rest of the season. We’ve just got to keep bringing guys along so we can keep winning.”
Corey Washington added 14 points and Samet Yigitoglu racked up 11 points and 10 rebounds in the victory for SMU, which has captured back-to-back games and is back on track for an at-large spot in the NCAA Tournament.
The Mustangs are a No. 9 seed in ESPN’s latest bracketology update posted on Friday.
Syracuse (14-11, 5-7) beat Cal 107-100 at home in double overtime in its most recent outing, getting 27 points from Nate Kingz and 15 points and a career-high 16 rebounds from William Kyle III before he was forced from the game with leg cramps in the second extra period.
J.J. Starling scored 21 points and collected a season-high four steals for the Orange, who snapped a two-game losing streak and produced their second victory in a stretch of eight games. Donnie Freeman (16 points), Naithan George (14) and Sadiq White Jr. (10) all also scored in double figures.
“One thing you can’t question is this team’s fight,” Syracuse coach Adrian Autry said. “This team fights every game. They don’t give up. And you know, that’s what we’re gonna keep doing until we can’t fight anymore.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Feds allege Guardians P Emmanuel Clase fixed pitch in playoff game
Jul 18, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase (48) throws a pitch during the ninth inning against the Athletics at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images Federal prosecutors allege in an indictment unsealed Friday that former Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase rigged a pitch in a playoff game and used coded language to try to conceal his efforts to help gamblers win prop bets.
The indictment details the belief of prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York that Clase rigged more pitches during his years with the Guardians than initially thought.
They now suspect Clase, a three-time All-Star and 2024 AL Cy Young Award finalist, fixed 15 pitches between the 2023 and 2025 seasons, including in the ninth inning of the Guardians’ 2024 American League Division Series opener against the Detroit Tigers, and intended to rig pitches on three additional occasions but did not get into the game.
The documents unsealed Friday allege Clase and collaborators used words like “chicken” and “rooster” in text exchanges to mask his intention to deliberately throw certain pitches for balls.
The Athletic cited an example from May 18, 2025, when Clase, 27, received a text directing him to “Throw a rock at the first rooster in today’s fight.”
Prosecutors say gamblers netted at least $450,000 from the wagering scheme and kicked back some winnings to Clase and teammate Luis Ortiz, who face charges of wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery.
They accuse Ortiz, 27, of fixing two pitches.
MLB placed both pitchers on the restricted list and administrative leave last July ahead of their arrests in November.
Clase and Ortiz pleaded not guilty to all charges, and their trial in New York is scheduled to start May 4.
Along with requesting a later start date, counsel for Ortiz has asked the federal judge overseeing the proceedings to sever his case and allow him to be tried separately from Clase.
Clase owns a career 1.88 ERA with 182 saves in 366 games. Cleveland acquired him in a trade with the Texas Rangers in 2019.
Ortiz has a career 16-22 record and 4.05 ERA in 75 games (50 starts) with the Pittsburgh Pirates (2022-24) and Guardians (2025).
–Field Level Media
Sports
PGA Tour’s revamped schedule likely to bring more events to big cities
PGA Tour logo sign is shown at the PGA Tour Grill Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024 at Jacksonville International Airport in Jacksonville, Fla. A senior official said part of the PGA Tour’s plan to revamp its schedule is to bring tournaments to more major U.S. markets that don’t currently have one.
Lee Smith, the executive director of The Players Championship, met with reporters Thursday at a media preview day for the PGA Tour’s flagship event often billed “the fifth major.”
According to Front Office Sports, Smith described a three-step plan for remaking the PGA Tour schedule into a leaner and more streamlined product: playing in the largest U.S. cities, “starting the season big” while avoiding the football postseason and “owning the summer.”
“I think you’ll see a lot more of that that will come out, especially over the next month or two as that group continues to meet and they continue to focus on what that future model of the PGA Tour looks like,” Smith said.
The tour used to play annual events in the New York, Chicago, Washington and Boston areas, but each fell by the wayside over the years, and in some cases LIV Golf filled the void. Those four cities, plus Philadelphia, make up half of the top 10 media markets in the country and do not have a regular PGA Tour stop.
Meanwhile, the tour’s two January events in Hawaii have long been rumored to be on the chopping block as the sport considers starting its season after the Super Bowl. The WM Phoenix Open is traditionally played the weekend of the Super Bowl every year, which has become part of the popular event’s identity.
The Players Championship will be played March 12-15 at TPC Sawgrass and could be a moment for new PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp to unveil schedule changes.
–Field Level Media
SMU on right side of bubble as road test against Syracuse looms
Feds allege Guardians P Emmanuel Clase fixed pitch in playoff game
