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Clippers star forward Kawhi Leonard, the NBA’s seventh-leading scorer and likely the most deserving player left off the All-Star Game reserves, was added to one of the U.S. rosters for the new mini-tournament that will take place Feb. 15 at Intuit Dome.

He’ll play alongside Lakers forward LeBron James and former Clippers teammate Norman Powell of the Heat.

The NBA announced the rosters for the U.S. vs. the World format with the 10 starters, 14 reserves and Leonard split onto three squads: Team USA Stars featuring younger players, Team USA Stripes with the old guard and Team World with foreign players.

It’s a concept that NBA commissioner Adam Silver thinks will tap into national pride for the players and comes at a fitting time. The game will be aired on NBC, which is also broadcasting the Milan-Cortina Olympics that start this week and run through Feb. 22.

The U.S.-vs.-World concept was talked about for years before becoming a reality this season. The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association unveiled the long-awaited plan in their latest attempt to spark renewed interest in the game following a largely panned tournament format last season.

Towns was born in New Jersey but has played international basketball for the Dominican Republic — his late mother’s homeland.

The NBA had said in recent months that it would adjust roster sizes as needed to ensure all three teams had at least eight players, the minimum required under the new format. Giannis Antetokounmpo is not expected to play for the World team because of injury, which is why that squad has nine players.

Team USA Stars: Scottie Barnes (Raptors), Devin Booker (Suns), Cade Cunningham (Pistons), Jalen Duren (Pistons), Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves), Chet Holmgren (Thunder), Jalen Johnson (Hawks), Tyrese Maxey (76ers).

Team USA Stripes: Jaylen Brown (Celtics), Jalen Brunson (Celtics), Stephen Curry (Warriors), Kevin Durant (Rockets), LeBron James (Lakers), Kawhi Leonard (Clippers), Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers), Norman Powell (Heat).

Team World: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks), Deni Avdija (Trail Blazers), Luka Doncic (Lakers), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder), Nikola Jokic (Nuggets), Jamal Murray (Nuggets), Pascal Siakam (Pacers), Karl-Anthony Towns (Knicks), Victor Wembanyama (Spurs).

Associated Press and nba.com contributed to this report.

James Harden has played a key role in helping the Clippers become one of the NBA’s hottest teams over the last six weeks despite a disastrous start to their season. He may not be around, however, to see how the rest of the season unfolds.

Multiple media outlets are reporting that Harden and the Clippers working to find a suitable deal that would send him to another team by Thursday’s NBA trade deadline.

Many of those reports mention a possible trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers, swapping Harden in exchange for guard Darius Garland. Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated described discussions between the two teams as “advanced.”

The Clippers play the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Wednesday.

Harden, 36, had 25 points and nine assists in 34 minutes during the Clippers’ 122-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Friday but has not played in the team’s two games since. The Clippers have attributed Harden’s absence to personal reasons.

The trade reports involving Harden broke Monday during the Clippers’ 128-113 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers at Crypto.com Arena. Coach Tyronn Lue was asked about the matter during his news conference after the game.

“I can’t comment on rumors,” Lue said. “Sorry.”

After the game, Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard told Joey Linn of Linn Sports media he was surprised by the Harden reports.

“I respect his decision or whoever’s decision it is, and that’s it,” Leonard said. “I mean, he’s still gonna be my boy and, you know, I trust the front office.”

Clippers forward John Collins called the news “shocking.” Asked by Linn if he would be disappointed to see Harden leave at this point in the season, Collins answered, “Hell yeah.”

Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints reports that Harden initiated the trade talks and “the Clippers were stunned to find out about him wanting out.” The two sides have been discussing a possible parting for weeks, according to Siegel.

This past offseason, Harden signed a two-year, $81-million deal to remain with the Clippers. The second year was said to be a player option and is partially guaranteed. Harden has the power to veto any trade, according to ESPN.

Harden is an 11-time All-Star who was named the league MVP in 2018. He has played for five teams, including the Clippers since 2023, and is averaging 25.4 points, 8.1 assists and 4.8 rebounds in his 17th NBA season.

Garland is a 26-year-old two-time All Star who has averaged 18.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 6.7 assists during his seven NBA seasons. His contract expires in the summer of 2028. He has not played since Jan. 14 because of a Grade 1 sprain of his right big toe.

The Clippers were 6-21 after a 122-101 loss to Oklahoma City on Dec. 18. Since then, however, they have won 17 of 22 games to pull into a potential play-in spot (ninth place) in the Western Conference playoff standings.

Lue was asked Monday if Harden was someone he would like to continue to have on the team for a possible playoff run and beyond.

“Who wouldn’t want to have James Harden?” Lue said.

Tehran, Iran – Several of Iran’s former leaders, including some who are currently imprisoned or under house arrest, have released damning statements over the killing of thousands during nationwide protests, garnering threats from hardliners.

The Iranian government claims that 3,117 people were killed during the antiestablishment protests. The government has rejected claims by the United Nations and international human rights organisations that state forces were behind the killings, which were mostly carried out on the nights of January 8 and 9.

The United States-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) says it has verified 6,854 deaths and is investigating 11,280 other cases.

“After years of ever-escalating repression, this is a catastrophe that will be remembered for decades, if not for centuries,” wrote Mir Hossein Mousavi, a former reformist presidential candidate who has been under house arrest since the aftermath of the Green Movement of 2009.

“How many ways must people say that they do not want this system and do not believe your lies? Enough. The game is over.”

Mousavi told state forces to “put down your guns and step aside from power so that the nation itself can bring this land to freedom and prosperity”, and stressed that this must be done without foreign intervention amid the shadow of another war with the US and Israel.

He said that Iran is need of a constitutional referendum and a peaceful, democratic transition of power.

A group of 400 activists, including figures from inside and outside the country, backed Mousavi’s statement.

Mostafa Tajzadeh, a prominent jailed former reformist politician, said that he wants Iran to “move beyond the wretched conditions that the guardianship of Islamic jurists and the failed rule of the clergy have imposed on the Iranian nation”.

In a short statement from prison last week, he said this would be contingent upon the “resistance, wisdom, and responsible action of all citizens and political actors” and called for an independent fact-finding mission to uncover the true aspects of “atrocities” committed against protesters last month.

‘Major reforms’

Other former heavyweights have heavily criticised Iran’s current course, but have avoided calling for the effective removal of the Islamic Republic from power.

Former President Hassan Rouhani, who many believe is eyeing a potential future return to power, last week gathered his ex-ministers and insiders for a recorded speech, and called for “major reforms, not small reforms”.

He acknowledged that Iranians have been protesting for a variety of reasons over the past four decades, and insisted the state must listen to them if it wants to survive, but did not mention the internet blackout and killing of protesters during his tenure in November 2019.

Rouhani added that the establishment must hold public votes on major topics, including foreign policy and the ailing economy, in order to avoid further nationwide protests and prevent the population from looking to foreign powers for help.

Mohammad Khatami, the reformist cleric who was president from 1997 to 2005, adopted a softer tone and said violence derailed protests that could have helped “expand dialogue to improve the country’s affairs”.

He wrote in a statement that Iran must “return to a forgotten republicanism, and an Islamism that embraces republicanism in all its dimensions and requirements, placing development together with justice at the core of both foreign and domestic policy”.

Mehdi Karroubi, another senior reformist cleric who had his house arrest lifted less than a year ago after 15 years, called the protest killings “a crime whose dimensions language and pen are incapable of conveying” and said the establishment is responsible.

“The wretched state of Iran today is the direct result of Mr. Khamenei’s destructive domestic and international interventions and policies,” he wrote, in reference to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has been in absolute power for nearly 37 years.

Karroubi noted one prominent example as the 86-year-old leader’s “insistence on the costly and futile nuclear project and the heavy consequences of sanctions over the past two decades for the country and its people”.

Political prisoners rearrested

Three prominent Iranian former political prisoners were arrested and taken to prison by security forces once again last week.

The Fars news agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said the reason for the arrests of Mehdi Mahmoudian, Abdollah Momeni, and Vida Rabbani was that they had sneaked out Mir Hossein Mousavi’s statement from his house arrest.

Mahmoudian is a journalist and activist, and co-writer of the Oscar-nominated political drama movie, It Was Just an Accident, which won the Palme d’Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. Momeni and Rabani are also political activists who have previously been arrested by the Iranian establishment multiple times.

The three were among 17 human rights defenders, filmmakers and civil society activists, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi and internationally recognised lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, who co-signed a statement last week that put the blame for the protest killings on the supreme leader and the theocratic establishment.

“The mass killing of justice seekers who courageously protested this illegitimate system was an organised state crime against humanity,” they wrote, condemning the firing on civilians, the attacks on the wounded, and the denial of medical care as “acts against Iran’s security and betrayal of the homeland”.

The activists called for holding a referendum and constituent assembly to allow Iranians to democratically decide their political future.

Hardliners incensed

In hardline-dominated circles and among their affiliated media, the mood has been entirely different.

On Sunday, lawmakers in parliament donned the uniforms of the IRGC, which was last week designated a “terrorist” organisation by the European Union.

They chanted “Death to America” and promised they would seek out European military attaches working at embassies in Tehran to expel them as “terrorists”.

Nasrollah Pejmanfar, a cleric who represents northeast Mashhad in the parliament, told a public session of parliament on Sunday that former President Rouhani must be hanged for favouring engagement with the West, echoing a demand also made by other hardline peers in recent years.

“Today is the time for the ‘major reform’, which is arresting and executing you,” he said, addressing Rouhani.

Amirhossein Sabeti, another firebrand lawmaker, condemned the government of President Masoud Pezeshkian – but not Khamenei or the establishment – for proceeding with mediated talks with the US.

“Today, the people of Iran are waiting for a pre-emptive attack on Israel and US bases in the region, not talks from a position of weakness,” he claimed.

If Hilary Knight is the GOAT of women’s ice hockey, then Caroline Harvey is the kid.

That isn’t just a reference to her age, 23, which makes her the seventh-youngest player on the U.S. Olympic team. The term is also used for baby goats. And with Knight, the oldest player on the U.S. team, expected to retire from Olympic competition after the Milan Cortina Games, that makes Harvey the GOAT in waiting.

“Hilary is a great role model,” Harvey said. “She did blaze that trail. It’s been exciting to see what she did, the legacy she left.”

Like the 10 world championship gold medals, most by a hockey player of either gender; the soon-to-be five Olympic appearances, most by any American hockey player; the scoring titles and MVP awards. But the real legacy she’ll leave will have little to do with any of that.

In 2019, while at the height of her career, Knight risked everything when she joined more than 200 other players in boycotting the existing women’s hockey leagues to form the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Assn. Four years later that led to the creation of the well-funded Professional Women’s Hockey League, with eight teams playing in the U.S. and Canada.

Knight said she took inspiration for that campaign from the 1999 Women’s World Cup soccer team of Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Brandi Chastain, which not only won the title but soon after began the decades-long fight with the U.S. Soccer Federation that eventually ended with the women getting the same pay and benefits as the men’s team.

“We credit the ‘99ers to sort of helping us with our vision and creating more equitable space,” she said. “We’re far from there but we’re taking great steps in that direction.”

In fact, women’s hockey has never been better, a popularity both Knight and Harvey hope to build on in the Olympic tournament, which begins Thursday with the U.S. facing Czechia.

“Visibility is really important; continuing to get those eyes,” said Knight, a tireless promoter of the game. “We’re going to have some new and unique viewership. With the Olympics in itself [viewers] might accidentally watch hockey and be like ‘I love this sport.’

“Just having more programming elevates the game on the global stage. And that’s really exciting.”

U.S. forward Hilary Knight skates to the bench after scoring against Canada in November 2023.

(Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)

The game Knight, 36, is championing is really one she built, especially in the U.S. A two-time NCAA champion at Wisconsin, she’ll be going for her fifth Olympic medal — and second gold — in Milan. Yet she insists the experience never gets old.

“Every Olympics feels like my first Olympics,” she said. “Each is so unique. You’re in a different country, a different culture, just so much fun to be able to explore. The Olympics are so special, whether it’s your first or your fifth.”

These Games are likely to feel a little different, though, since they’ll end with her passing the baton to Harvey, who followed Knight to Wisconsin. The two women have more in common than just their alma mater, though.

Both were the youngest players on the team when they made their Olympic debuts, Knight as a high-scoring forward in 2010 and Harvey as a physical, offensive-minded defenseman in 2022. Both have won multiple world championships and both began their careers playing on boys teams. As children, they both told relatives they would someday play in the Olympics — a prediction that was particularly bold for Knight since women’s hockey wasn’t even an Olympic sport then.

When Harvey joined the national team ahead of the 2021 world championships, Knight shared some advice.

“She said something to the effect of ‘it’s the same game, no matter what level you’re at. Trust your instincts, play natural, play free,’” Harvey said. “That just really stuck with me.

U.S. defenseman Caroline Harvey shoots during a Rivalry Series game against Canada in November.

(Jason Miller / Getty Images)

“Hopefully at some point [I] grow into that leadership role,” she continued. “I’ve had some years now and that past Olympics, it was more of a being a sponge. I’m always trying to learn something new every day from the veterans.”

One thing she’s learned recently is how to beat Canada, which could come in handy in Milan since the U.S. will face its northern neighbors in the final game of group play, and likely a second time in the knockout rounds.

Canada has won five of the last six women’s Olympic tournaments, beating the U.S. in four of the those finals, including the most recent one in 2022. But the U.S. swept Canada in the pre-Olympic Rivalry Series, winning the four games by a combined 24-7. Knight and Abbey Murphy led the tournament in scoring with five goals each.

“When the puck drops, your heart is beating out of your chest,” Knight said of playing Canada. “You’re like ‘am I human? This is insane. This is awesome.’”

Still, when Knight finally does hang up her skates for the final time, those won’t necessarily be the memories she holds closest from her Olympic career.

“I get to do cool things with cool people on a daily basis,” she said. “What I’ve been able to accomplish in my career is incredible. And I’ve obviously played with amazing women and I’m so grateful for every opportunity that I’ve had.

“I’m just at a place where I want to embrace these lasting memories and moments with teammates and friends and family, all those people that go into this journey. That’s what I’m looking forward to.”

After that, the GOAT will give way to the kid.

How did a gay hockey romance made by a little-known Canadian streamer become a global cultural phenomenon?

The answer, as it turns out, was by leaning into female and queer audiences. Since the debut last November of “Heated Rivalry,” which chronicles the clandestine love story between two fierce hockey rivals, the drama series from Bell Media’s Crave has emerged as an unlikely success story, defying a broader industry trend of media consolidation and waning commitments to diversity in Hollywood.

The mastermind behind the show’s success is Jacob Tierney, who read author Rachel Reid’s “Game Changers” series during the COVID-19 pandemic and then optioned all of the books after reading a Washington Post story about the proliferation of romance novels. After writing a pilot on spec, he approached the executives at Crave — where he had previously produced “Letterkenny,” “Shoresy” and “Canada’s Drag Race” — about green-lighting a series. From the outset, the gay writer-producer had a clear idea of how he wanted to adapt the “smutty” story for TV, starting with casting relative newcomers Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie as Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, respectively.

“Jacob was very open to our feedback, but his common [refrain] back to us was, ‘We need to be true to the source material because the built-in fan base will expect certain things from us, and that includes the appearances of these actors and their ages,’” says Justin Stockman, Bell Media’s VP of content development and programming. “He’s like, ‘We found them. These are the people from the book.’ And that’s where we had to trust him.”

Brendan Brady, Tierney’s producing partner through their Accent Aigu Entertainment banner, notes that the Canadian TV model diverges from the American one, in that the producer retains ownership of the IP while collecting a licensing fee from the broadcaster. To fund the series, Tierney and Brady reinvested their personal fees to cover about 10% of the budget, while another 30% was sourced from tax credits. This included the Canada Media Fund, a resource derived from government and industry contributions that national broadcasters can allocate at their discretion. The rest of the financing usually comes from third parties.

But Tierney recalls that the notes from potential financiers did not align with his creative vision. Some wanted to delay the graphic depictions of gay sex and expand the world to include more characters. Someone even suggested introducing Rose Landry (Sophie Nélisse) earlier and putting her in a love triangle with Shane and Ilya, because they believed “this show won’t work without a female entry point,” Tierney recalls. Ultimately, Bell Media opted against a co-financier, instead covering the remaining costs through its new distribution branch, Sphere Abacus. But, Brady says, the budget was still “far south” of CA$5 million (approximately $3.6 million) per episode. “It’s so much less than that, it’s almost silly,” Tierney adds.

Sean Cohan, an American executive who worked at A&E Network and Nielsen before being appointed president of Bell Media, does not think “Heated Rivalry” could have been made in the U.S. For starters, “green-lighting” stateside is a “slower” process; Tierney could have been stuck in development hell for years. The show also contains numerous Canadian references — cottage country, loons, McGill University — which would have not made sense outside of the Great White North.

From left, stars Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, creator Jacob Tierney and executive producer Brendan Brady on the set of “Heated Rivalry.”

(Sabrina Lantos)

For his part, Tierney doesn’t believe that “Heated Rivalry” would have even been made at another Canadian network or streamer. “There’s lots of ways to put your fingers in and get them sticky and screw things up, and these executives wanted the same show that we wanted to make and they supported us 100%,” he says. Those executives were so confident in the show’s success that they decided to move up the premiere date from February to late November to take advantage of the increase in viewership around the holidays. The accelerated release schedule meant that Tierney delivered his cut of the Season 1 finale a week and a half before it aired.

At the time of our interview, Tierney was already trying to break the story for Season 2, which he and Brady say will not premiere until spring 2027. “As much as I appreciate how rabid and interested people are at this point, the first season worked because I trusted my gut with this, and I’m going to do that again,” Tierney says.

Like the audience, Bell Media executives are waiting with bated breath for the next chapter of “Heated Rivalry.” And given that Accent Aigu has optioned all of the “Game Changer” novels (including Reid’s forthcoming “Unrivaled”), everything is on the table — more episodes or seasons, one-off specials, maybe even a spin-off. “We’re open to anything that keeps the quality where it was, but also brings our show back as quickly as we can,” Stockman says. (HBO Max will not be involved financially and remains merely a distributor.)

Tierney declines to reveal whether he will split “The Long Game” into one or two seasons, but he volunteers that he does not see himself making more than six episodes per season. “I don’t need to do 10. I would always rather tighten the belt than get loosey-goosey,” says Tierney, who will have a co-writer for Season 2 but continue to direct all the episodes himself. “I would rather be like, ‘Let’s see how much story we can pack into these episodes.’”

“We want everybody to be left yearning,” Brady adds. “That’s what everybody loves about this show. Less is more!”

“Heated Rivalry” may center on Shane and Ilya, but there will “absolutely” be “diversions” to other characters in the canon. “Just like you can’t tell the story without Scott Hunter, you can’t really tell the story without Troy Barrett,” Tierney says, alluding to a character from Reid’s books who is yet to appear in the TV series. And while there may be a lot more incoming calls about higher-profile casting, he adds, “We need Canadian talent, and we love Canadian talent. It’s not a burden, but it’s also something we literally have to do to get our financing.”

For Cohan, “Heated Rivalry” is valuable proof of concept as he attempts to convince more Canadian creators to return to their roots, regardless of where they now live in the world. “It certainly helps to feel like we’ve got a dramatic illustration, a data point — a pretty good one too — to say, ‘Yeah, look, we Canadians, not just Bell, can make great, global and profitable [shows], and we can do it by being authentic,’” Cohan says.

In the old days, during the 1980s and 1990s, when the Notre Dame-Crespi basketball rivalry was in peak form, it would get so hot in Notre Dame’s sold-out gym that they’d have to open windows from high above or sweat would be everywhere. Then came the invention of air conditioning, but Friday’s Mission League tournament semifinals were also super hot in terms of intensity and top performances.

Notre Dame (20-6) was able to pull out an 82-78 victory over Crespi on the strength of four consecutive pressure free throws made by standout junior guard NaVorro Bowman Jr. in the final 14 seconds to earn the Knights a championship game appearance against host Sierra Canyon on Wednesday night.

Crespi (19-11), which went on the road to upset Harvard-Westlake on Saturday, gave the Knights plenty to sweat about. The Celts held a 70-67 lead with 4:46 left until a Josiah Nance three tied the score and started a 10-0 Notre Dame run. A three by sophomore Zion Lanier off an assist from Bowman with 1:10 left put the Knights on top 77-70. The Celts were forced to foul and never got closer than two points.

Notre Dame has produced some outstanding high school guards in the past five years, from Dusty Stromer to Mercy Miller to Angelino Mark, who’s a freshman at Rutgers and showed up Monday night to root for his former teammates. But Bowman is headed to rarefied air. From making threes to powering his way through defenders to converting layups to making a seemingly impossible off-balance shot Monday, he has been in a class by himself.

He’s averaging 23 points and finished with 32 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

“He’s a special player,” Notre Dame coach Matt Sargeant said. “He shows up in big moments. He’s super mentally tough.”

His father was an NFL player, and Bowman has the family genes to perform at his best when the team needs him the most. Crespi was trying to cover him closely in the first half. Notre Dame players kept setting him screens, but Bowman was a little bit off, missing six shots. In the second half, he couldn’t be stopped.

“I had to lock in,” Bowman said.

The game was briefly halted early in the second quarter when the officials gave a warning to Sargeant and Crespi coach Derek Fisher to stay in their coaching boxes. Adding to the drama, Fisher’s wife was asked to leave the gym by Notre Dame officials. Both teams plowed through the distractions to put on a terrific second half that went back and forth.

Isaiah Barnes finished with 24 points and Cayman Martin had 20 points. Ilan Nikolov helped out Notre Dame with 19 points.

“This has been a rivalry for years,” Bowman said. “It feels good to win twice.”

Wednesday’s Mission League tournament final will also decide league MVP honors. The league champion gets to pick who the MVP is, so if Notre Dame wins, it surely will be Bowman.

Sierra Canyon 103, Loyola 74: The Trailblazers (22-1) received 30 points from Brandon McCoy and 23 points from Maxi Adams, both of whom were selected for the McDonald’s All-American Game in an announcement on Monday.

Mater Dei 92, Orange Lutheran 65: Luke Barnett scored 31 points to lead Mater Dei in an opening game of the Trinity League tournament.

JSerra 78, Servite 53: Ryan Doane had 16 points for the Lions.

Cleveland 61, Chatsworth 56: Harout Posheyan had 14 points and Charlie Adams 13 for Cleveland, which clinched the West Valley League championship. Aaron Krueger had 13 points for Chatsworth.

Brentwood 71, Viewpoint 56: Ethan Hill had 24 points and 20 rebounds for Brentwood.

Los Alamitos 68, Edison 61: Tyler Lopez led the way with 17 points.

Tyrese Maxey scored 29 points, including seven 3-pointers, Dominick Barlow added 26 points and 16 rebounds, and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Clippers 128-113 on Monday night for their fourth consecutive victory.

The game featured two big names who weren’t selected as All-Star reserves: Joel Embiid of the Sixers and Kawhi Leonard of the Clippers.

Embiid had 24 points as he continues to gain full strength after a right ankle injury. The Sixers improved to 11-10 without Paul George, who is serving a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug program.

Leonard led the Clippers with 29 points and Jordan Miller had 21 points off the bench.

The Clippers were without James Harden, who missed his second straight game due to personal reasons. Coach Tyronn Lue said before the game that Harden was at home in Phoenix.

Leonard had two dunks and a three-pointer in the fourth, but the Clippers couldn’t put together a sustained run and he finished the game on the bench.

Maxey, Barlow and Embiid combined to score 22 points in the third when the Sixers were outscored 34-28, but still led 100-87.

The Sixers led the entire game, going up by 23 points before settling for a 72-53 halftime advantage.

The Clippers are 8-3 over their last 11 games as they try to stay within range of at least making the play-in tournament.

A father driving his daughter and two other families from the Santa Clarita Flyers hockey club to a tournament in Colorado was killed last week in a horrific crash in treacherous weather.

Three days later the Flyers won the Western Girls Hockey League 12U title with a 1-0 victory in overtime Sunday, their fifth win of the tournament.

The players met for two hours the night of the accident and decided they would participate rather than pull out and head home.

“We knew that the families in the crash would want us to play and decided not just to do it for ourselves, but do it for them mostly,” Flyers captain Sophia Boyle told Denver 9News. “We are more than a team. It’s like we are a giant family.

“We knew what we wanted, we tried our hardest and we got it.”

The driver of a Colorado Department of Transportation plow truck traveling on snow-covered and wet roads Thursday morning lost control on Interstate 70, drove through the median and hit the Flyers’ Ford Transit van head-on, according to the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office.

The van was knocked down an icy embankment before coming to rest, and the driver, Manuel Lorenzana of Chatsworth, was pronounced dead at the scene. Four children were treated for minor injuries at a local hospital; a fifth was flown to a trauma center with critical injuries. Three adults were admitted to the hospital, one in serious condition.

Lorenzana, 38, a noted tattoo artist and lifelong San Fernando Valley resident, was remembered as “a hero and the epitome of what an amazing man, father, partner and friend should be,” his family wrote on a GoFundMe page.

“He was the most thoughtful, loving and supportive man to his soulmate April, and the most caring, involved, fun, kind and loving parent, and best friend, to his daughter Brody.”

Brody was released from the hospital and joined her teammates Saturday. After opening the double-elimination tournament with two victories Friday and a loss in their first game Saturday, the Flyers advanced with a 14-0 win.

Santa Clarita Valley residents gathered at the Flyers’ home rink, the Cube Ice and Entertainment Center, to watch a stream of the game that unfortunately malfunctioned. Still, the crowd stayed, with several people refreshing the league’s website to keep up with the game and shouting when the Flyers scored.

Two victories Sunday — both shutouts — gave the Flyers the title. Moments before the championship game, the Flyers raised their sticks in a silent nod to Manny Lorenzana. Khaleesi Bewer scored the winning goal in overtime, and afterward the Flyers sang Katy Perry’s “California Gurls. ”

“It’s unbelievable how much people have rallied behind these girls,” said Prescott Littlefield, president of the Flyers organization. “If there is a silver lining to this, the amount of support they’ve gotten is beyond my ability to comprehend. The families are so grateful.”

Southern California will be well represented on the West team for the McDonald’s All-American Game on March 31 in Glendale, Ariz.

Selected to the boys team are Jason Crowe Jr. from Inglewood, Christian Collins from St. John Bosco, Brandon McCoy and Maximo Adams from Sierra Canyon. Former Sherman Oaks Notre Dame player Tyran Stokes also made the team.

Crowe is committed to Missouri and Adams to North Carolina.

Jerzy Robinson from Sierra Canyon and Cydnee Bryant from Corona Centennial made the girls team.

Robinson is committed to South Carolina and Bryant is a Kansas commit.

Pakistan’s decision to boycott their T20 World Cup game against India has been termed a political move, with cricketers and politicians in both countries and around the world urging the International Cricket Council (ICC) to resolve the dispute.

The Pakistani government on Sunday issued a statement saying its men’s cricket team will participate in the global tournament but will not take the field in the match against archrivals India on February 15.

In a swift response, the ICC was critical of Pakistan’s move of “selective participation” and asked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to consider the “significant and long-term implications” of its decision.

A decades-old political rift between the two nuclear-armed countries is blamed for their frosty sporting ties.

Pakistan was carved out of India in 1947, resulting in a bloody division of the subcontinent by the colonial British. Over the past 78 years, the nations have fought four wars, exchanged countless skirmishes and remained at odds primarily over the disputed Kashmir region that both claim in entirety but administer parts of.

The South Asian archrivals returned from the brink of an all-out war in May, when both countries clashed at their shared border before an internationally-brokered ceasefire.

An official of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has supported the ICC’s statement asking Pakistan to reconsider the move.

“The ICC has issued a big statement, they have spoken about sportsmanship,” BCCI’s Vice President Rajeev Shukla told the ANI news agency in India.

“We completely agree with the ICC. BCCI won’t make any comments on it until we speak with the ICC.”

However, former cricketers and politicians have called upon the ICC to act as a mediator between both countries’ cricket boards.

“Cricket can open doors when politics closes them,” former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi wrote on X.

He urged the ICC to “lead and prove through decisions, not statements, that it is impartial, independent and fair to every member.”

‘Sport has been politicised’

Prominent Indian politician Shashi Tharoor was critical of the politicisation of cricket, and slammed the BCCI’s decision to expel Bangladeshi fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman from the Indian Premier League in January.

“It is pretty disgraceful that sport has been politicised in this way on both sides,” he told reporters in New Delhi.

“I don’t think that Mustafizur should have been denied his contract to play in Kolkata. It was most unfortunate. [An] intrusion of politics. I think the Bangladeshi reaction was an overreaction, but it is also a reflection of the same, and Pakistan is trying to show its solidarity with Bangladesh. ”

Tharoor, who is a member of India’s main opposition party, said the situation was “spiralling out of control”.

“Sports, especially a sport like cricket which means so much to all the people, should be a means of bringing us together at least on the playing field, rather than allowing this to go on like this,” he said.

The 69-year-old, who is also an author of several books on history and politics, called on the ICC to help mend the ties.

“This is now a wake-up call for all concerned to contact each other on an emergency basis. The ICC could be the platform for it. Just say, ‘Let’s call off this nonsense’. You can’t go on like this forever.”

Pakistan’s decision, which came six days before the start of the World Cup, has cast a shadow on the marquee fixture of the group stage.

India and Pakistan were scheduled to play in Colombo on February 15 in a game that attracts millions of viewers from across the world and is seen as a major revenue-generating fixture for the tournament’s organisers and sponsors.

Outspoken former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif said Pakistan could face sanctions from the ICC, but such a move would be hypocritical as teams have boycotted games at previous World Cups.

“Where was ICC when Australia and West Indies forfeited their matches in 1996; England refusing to travel to Harare and New Zealand to Nairobi in 2003,” he said on X.

Latif, who played 37 Tests and 166 one-day internationals (ODIs), feared that Pakistan may be sanctioned by the ICC.

“They [Pakistan] don’t seem to care about it,” he said.

‘Would Pakistan refuse to play the final?’

Should Pakistan keep their word and boycott the group game, they will forfeit two points, which could have an impact on their standings in Group A.

Pakistan and India could meet again in the tournament, in the final on March 8, but with the multiple stages of progress between the group game and the final, it is unclear how that match would pan out.

Former England captain Kevin Pietersen questioned whether Pakistan would boycott the tournament decider as well.

“Would Pakistan refuse to play the World Cup final?” he asked.

Cricketers from across the border condemned Pakistan’s boycott of the game.

“This isn’t about guts at all, this is about foolishness,” Madan Lal, a former Test cricketer and coach, told Indian media.

“Because Pakistan wants to show India down, that’s why they’re taking all these decisions. That’s the reason their growth isn’t happening, either. If you keep looking at others, what will you do for your own growth?”

Indian cricket writer and commentator Harsha Bhogle said the boycott could deal a financial blow to Pakistan cricket.

“If there is an inevitable reduction in the ICC’s revenue caused by Pakistan’s forfeit and future uncertainty, the least affected countries, given other strong sources of revenue, will be India, Australia and England,” he said in a social media post.

“The most affected will be those completely reliant on revenues from the ICC; not just the smaller and associate nations but also the West Indies, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and…… Pakistan!”

Pakistan will open their T20 World Cup campaign on the opening day, February 7, against the Netherlands in Colombo.

The 2009 champions will play all their games, including any Super 8 fixtures and knockouts, in Sri Lanka.

This follows an ICC-brokered agreement between the PCB and the BCCI in December 2024 that allows both teams to play their games at a neutral venue when the neighbour hosts an ICC event.

Pakistan’s remaining Group A fixtures are against the United States on February 10 and against Namibia on February 18.

MELBOURNE, Australia — Carlos Alcaraz is 22, he’s the youngest man ever to win all four of the major titles in tennis, and he had to achieve what no man previously has done to complete the career Grand Slam in Australia.

The top-ranked Alcaraz dropped the first set of the Australian Open final in 33 minutes Sunday as Novak Djokovic went out hard in pursuit of an unprecedented 25th major title, but the young Spaniard dug deep to win 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5.

“Means the world to me,” Alcaraz said. “It is a dream come true for me.”

Djokovic had won all 10 of his previous finals at Melbourne Park and, despite being 38, gave himself every chance of extending that streak to 11 when he needed only two sets to win.

Carlos Alcaraz celebrates after defeating Novak Djokovic to win the Australian Open on Sunday.

(Asanka Brendon Ratnayake / Associated Press)

Alcaraz rose to the challenge.

“Tennis can change on just one point. One point, one feeling, one shot can change the whole match completely,” he said. “I played well the first set, but you know, in front of me I had a great and inspired Novak, who was playing great, great shots.”

A couple of unforced errors from Djokovic early in the second set gave Alcaraz the confidence.

He scrambled to retrieve shots that usually would be winners for Djokovic, and he kept up intense pressure on the most decorated player in men’s tennis history. There were extended rallies where each player hit enough brilliant shots to usually win a game.

Djokovic has made an art form of rallying from precarious positions. Despite trailing two sets to one, he went within the width of a ball in the fourth set’s ninth game of turning this final around.

After fending off six break points in the set, he exhorted the crowd when he got to 30-30. The crowd responded with chants of “Nole, Nole, Nole!”

When Djokovic earned a breakpoint chance — his first since the second set — he whipped up his supporters again. But when Djokovic sent a forehand long on the next point, Alcaraz took it as a reprieve.

A short forehand winner, a mis-hit from Alcaraz, clipped the net and landed inside the line to give him game point. Then Djokovic hit another forehand long.

Alcaraz responded with a roar, and sealed victory by taking two of the next three games.

As he was leaving the court, Alcaraz signed the lens of the TV camera with a recognition: “Job finished. 4/4 Complete.”

NEW YORK — Lakers star LeBron James made the NBA All-Star team for a record 22nd time Sunday after being selected as a Western Conference reserve by NBA coaches.

James had been selected as an All-Star starter 21 consecutive times, an NBA record, but fans didn’t choose him this season. The 41-year-old James is just the second player to earn multiple All-Star selections after the age of 40, joining Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, Denver’s Jamal Murray, Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren, Houston’s Kevin Durant, Phoenix’s Devin Booker and Portland’s Deni Avdija also were named Western Conference reserves.

The Eastern Conference reserves are Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson, New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns, Indiana’s Pascal Siakam, Miami’s Norman Powell, Toronto’s Scottie Barnes and Detroit’s Jalen Duren.

Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, seventh in scoring at 28.7 points per game and first in steals (2.1), could be chosen by commissioner Adam Silver to replace Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, who’s a starter but is injured.

James was averaging 21.9 points, 6.6 assists and 5.8 rebounds over 33.1 minutes per game. He was shooting 50.2% from the field and 34.9% from three-point range through 30 games.

James missed the first 14 games because of sciatica and started slowly when he returned, but has been playing at a higher level recently.

In January, James scored 109 fourth-quarter points, tied with Durant for the most in the NBA. James helped the Lakers post a league-best 14-2 record in clutch games entering Sunday’s game at New York.

James will join Lakers teammate Luka Doncic, who had the most All-Star votes, in the Feb. 15 game at the Clippers’ home arena, Intuit Dome.

The new All-Star format will be a three-team tournament that features two U.S. teams and one world team. The U.S. teams will have 16 players and the world will have eight. Doncic, who is from Slovenia, will play for the world team.

The teams play a round-robin of 12-minute games, with the top teams advancing to the final 12-minute championship.

PHOENIX — Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points and the Clippers, playing without James Harden, routed the Phoenix Suns 117-93 on Sunday night.

Leonard, who was left off the Western Conference All-Star reserves announced earlier Sunday, had eight rebounds as well as his 27th consecutive game with 20 or more points. Ivica Zubac had 20 rebounds as the Clippers bounced back from a loss at Denver on Friday and dominated the inside, outrebounding Phoenix 63-35 and outscoring the Suns 64-18 in the paint.

Jordan Miller had 20 points, John Collins scored 16, Zubac had 14 and Kobe Sanders had 12 for the Clippers, who shot 51.8% from the field. Sanders started for Harden, who missed the game for personal reasons.

Since starting the season 6-21, the Clippers have won 17 of 21 and are just two games under .500. The Suns had won three straight before Sunday, and are still 15-7 since Dec. 21.

Grayson Allen led the Suns with 23 points and eight assists, and Dillon Brooks scored 22 points. Phoenix shot just 33.3% from the field and was held under 100 points for just the sixth time in 50 games this season. Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin each finished with 12 points.

The Suns were without Devin Booker (right ankle sprain) and Jalen Green (right hamstring, left hip). Booker was selected as a reserve for his fifth All-Star Game earlier Sunday.

The teams split the season series 2-2.

Up next for the Clippers: vs. Philadelphia at Intuit Dome on Monday night.

Love Island: All Stars contestant Zac Woodworth has seemingly given away his “game plan” after entering the villa as a Bombshell on the hit ITV2 reality show earlier this week

Love Island All Stars contestant Zac Woodworth has seemingly given away his “game plan” after entering the villa. The reality star, 26, initially appeared on Love Island USA but recently entered the British version of the ITV2 reality dating show by arriving at the South African Villa as a bombshell.

He is currently getting close to Millie Court on the spin-off of the main show, which sees former contestants heading back onto the programme that made them famous, so they can have a second chance at finding love.

An Instagram account dedicated to Love Island memes screenshotted a story that was reposted onto Zac’s page, which was initially posted by his former co-star JD Dodard, who also appeared on the US version of Love Island in summer 2025.

READ MORE: Love Island viewers flood Ofcom with over 500 complaints over shocking scenesREAD MORE: Love Island fans spot problem minutes in as three new bombshells arrive

He wrote: “Pre game plan executed perfectly @zacwoodworth,” with a crying tears of laughter emoji, whilst his other co-star Zak Strakaew said: “Make sure ya’ll go back my boyyyy @zacwoodworth,” which was then reposted onto his Stories.

Viewers of the reality show rushed to the comments to share their thoughts, with some claiming that some contestants are just hoping for a spot on the show.

The original account wrote: “From Zak’s story!! I hope this wasn’t his plan all along and is leading her on,” and in response, one fan said: “Of course it is, the Americans all just want to get into the main villa. No one is there ‘looking for love,'” whilst another wrote: “Producers should step in because that’s someone’s feelings!”

Another wrote: “You can see this a mile off!” and a fourth viewer said: “It could be that he really likes her and happy he’s got what he went in for… never judge a book by it’s cover as they say.” Another shared: “Feel like pre game plan means that he saw her before on there, that was who he wanted and he beelined for her and got her! Really doubt it’s a negative thing.”

Just before heading into the villa, Zac said: “I am super social, I love talking to everybody. They can expect me to be gentlemen but also go for what I want.

“In the US Villa I was conscious of not wanting to talk to ‘somebody’s girl’ but I would do that differently this time. I’m really excited to just get in there and do my thing!” The reality star also shared that he thought his time was “cut short” the first time round, after making it to just day 20.

Zac, a native of Arizona, explained: “Honestly, I felt that my time in the Love Island USA villa was cut short, I didn’t get the best shot at getting to know someone so for me, experiencing Love Island again but in the UK is perfect. I’ve always travelled the world and I love meeting girls outside of the US. “

Love Island: All Stars airs weeknights at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.

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