Champions League Match of the Day pundit Guillem Balague, who attended Real Madrid’s match at Benfica on Tuesday, explains the aftermath of the alleged racist incident between Vinicius Jr and Gianluca Prestianni.
READ MORE: Vinicius: Eight years at Real Madrid, 20 cases of alleged racist abuse
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After blowing a two-goal lead to draw against the Premier League’s bottom club Wolves, there will be no dodging the questions on whether Arsenal are mentally ready to end their 22-year wait to become champions.
For the first time really this season, the title race is not completely in the control of Mikel Arteta and his players.
If Manchester City – five points behind in second place – win all of their remaining 12 games, which includes a home meeting against Arsenal, they will finish first.
The same, though, can be said for the Gunners, who have 11 matches left – and they win the April encounter at Etihad Stadium.
But after dropping four crucial points in successive draws against Brentford and Wolves, they are in danger of being haunted by the ghost of past failures.
Three successive runners-up finishes, two of them to Pep Guardiola’s men, provide a constant reminder.
Former Arsenal forward Alan Smith admitted “that word bottle will be used quite a bit in the next few days”.
The scenario seemed a lot different when Piero Hincapie slotted home his first goal for the club in the 56th minute, adding to Bukayo Saka’s fifth-minute opener.
But the Gunners lacked the control and ruthlessness to finish off a Wolves side that had lost their nine previous meetings and are heading for the Championship.
The hosts showed remarkable spirit to fight back with Hugo Bueno’s 20-yard curler giving them hope. Then, in the fourth minute of added time, 19-year-old Tom Edozie – off the bench for his senior debut – pounced on a mix-up between Arsenal pair David Raya and Gabriel and his shot went in off Riccardo Calafiori for a dramatic, dreamy leveller.
Arsenal next face London derbies with Tottenham and Chelsea and they have worryingly started to wobble at a decisive stage in the season.
Arteta knows his side will come under fire and scrutiny.
“Any opinion you have to take it on the chin,” he said. “Any bullet, take it, because we didn’t perform at the level required.
“Anything anyone says can be right because we didn’t do what we had to do. The way to do it is on the pitch on Sunday [against Spurs].”
Wolves boss Rob Edwards said his side “knew there is a massive pressure” on Arsenal at the minute – and they capitalised on that.
The Gunners have not been performing at their best since the start of 2026 and won only two of their last seven league matches, with victories against Leeds and Sunderland.
Arteta added: “Certain basics we have to do, we did them so poorly, one after the other.
“It is better not to judge it. We are all too emotional about it. You have to take the hit because we deserve it. It is very easy with emotion to say things that can damage the team. Everyone wants to do their best.”
Only Crystal Palace and West Ham (both eight) have dropped more points from winning positions in the league in 2026 than Arsenal (seven) and the Gunners have now failed to win from a leading position in three of their last five league games.
This was also the first time in Premier League history that a side starting the day bottom of the table avoided defeat to the leaders, despite trailing by two or more goals.
“It feels like a pivotal moment, a vital one, maybe a turning point,” Smith added on Sky Sports.
“It’s in Manchester City‘s hands now. With their experience and Guardiola’s experience they will really fancy it now. They can almost feel the nerves of the Arsenal team watching that.
“Having been 2-0 up against the team rock bottom on nine points is just not good enough for the team hoping to win the title. It doesn’t bode well for Arsenal to be able to handle the pressure.”
MILAN — The U.S. men haven’t stood on the podium at the end of an Olympic hockey tournament in 16 years and haven’t played for a medal in 12.
In fact, it’s been so long since an American hockey team took home a prize from the Winter Games none of the players on this year’s team, the second youngest in the Milan-Cortina competition, had finished high school the last time it happened.
No one on the team was even alive the last time the U.S. won gold in 1980.
This team has a chance to end that drought after beating Sweden 2-1 in overtime Wednesday to advance to Friday’s semifinals, where they will play Slovakia. The win was the Americans’ first over Sweden in an Olympic tournament in nine games dating to 1960.
The winning goal came from Quinn Hughes 3:27 into the extra period. Canada also advanced to the semifinals, overcoming one-goal deficits twice to beat Czechia 4-3 in overtime. Canada will play Finland, another overtime winner, in its semifinals.
The first U.S. goal came from Dylan Larkin of the Detroit Red Wings but Sweden forced the overtime when it pulled its goalie, allowing Mika Zibanejad to score on a slap shot from the left circle with 91 seconds left in regulation.
Hughes, a Minnesota Wild defenseman, then ended things, circling around the ice to create space, then skating into the high slot and blasting a shot between two defenders and past Swedish goalie Jacob Markstrom.
“Quinn, he’s a special player,” said defenseman Noah Hanifin of the Vegas Golden Knights. “So much swagger and confidence on the ice. And he’s always looking to take over. He did that for us in overtime.”
The game began like a heavyweight title fight, with both teams cautiously probing the other for weaknesses. The U.S. finally found one midway through the second period with Larkin deflecting in a one-timer from Jack Hughes at the blue line. Hughes’ shot was headed directly into the pads of Markstrom, who was perfectly positioned for an easy save, before Larkin, perched on the doorstep, reached out to deflect the puck by Markstrom on his gloved side.
The Americans haven’t trailed since the middle of the second period of their second game. But losing a lead with just 1 ½ minutes to play tested the team’s “character, just the will to win,” forward Brady Tkachuk said.
“That’s something that can deflate you and end your tournament, if you don’t just put your mind back in a good spot,” he added. “It shows the character being able to bounce back get that one.”
“That’s a big momentum shift. But there wasn’t any panic,” Charlie McAvoy added. “I got back to the bench [and] it’s just you’ve got to flush it. That was kind of what I was saying to myself. It’s a tie game now.”
Dylan Larkin (21) is congratulated by U.S. teammates on the bench as he skates off the ice after scoring a goal against Sweden during the second period Wednesday.
(Hassan Ammar / Associated Press)
It didn’t stay that way for long before Hughes broke Sweden’s heart, beating Markstrom cleanly. Markstrom was otherwise spectacular, making 38 saves — two with his helmeted head and probably deserved a better fate.
In the last two Olympic tournaments the Americans, playing without NHL players, were bounced in the quarterfinals while Canada got no further than the bronze-medal game. The top pros didn’t participate in the 2018 Games because of a dispute between the NHL and the International Olympic Committee regarding insurance, travel costs and marketing rights. They were held out four years ago over scheduling complications caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Not surprisingly, getting some of the best players in the world back has made a difference, with the unbeaten Canadians rolling to a tournament-best plus-18 goal differential while the averaged 4 1/2 goals a game in their four wins.
“It’s been unreal,” Hanifin said of the tournament. “It’s so fun to be a part of. Anytime you get into these one-game eliminations, anything can happen so you’ve got to be to be prepared.
“But that’s part of what makes the Olympics so special and hard to win.”
Canada’s comeback spoiled good performances by a pair of Anaheim Ducks. Defenseman Radko Gudas got an assist on the Czechs’ first score while NHL teammate Lukas Dostal turned away 37 shots in goal. But Montreal Canadiens’ captain Nick Suzuki got a fortunate bounce on a deflection to tie the score with 3:27 left in regulation before Vegas’ Mitch Marner scored the game-winner 82 seconds in overtime for Canada, which led for less than six minutes.
On his way to the dressing room, Gudas picked some snow off the ice and kissed it. At 35, this was his second and likely last Olympic tournament.
“It’s a mix of emotions, because you feel sad but proud in the same time,” said Dostal, who was playing in his first Olympics. “It hurts. It’s probably gonna hurt for a long time.”
The victory might have come at a high cost for Canada, which saw captain Sidney Crosby limp to the dressing room in the second period following a collision with Gudas along the boards. Crosby, who has two goals and four assists in the tournament, will undergo an MRI exam on Thursday; his status for Friday’s semifinal is unknown.
For the U.S. and Canada, two more wins brings a gold medal while a loss Friday means that dream is over.
“It’s a one-game tournament,” Canada’s Tom Wilson said. “It’s not seven games. It’s a one-game tournament. And everybody thinks they can win.”
Lorenzo Hernandez, who was the football coach at Garfield for 24 years until stepping down after the 2024 season, is coming out of retirement to become head coach at Whittier High. He met with his new players Wednesday afternoon.
Hernandez helped elevate the Garfield program beyond the annual Garfield vs. Roosevelt rivalry game, with the Bulldogs becoming one of the best in the City Section year after year. He has been the school’s athletic director.
He rejoins former Garfield principal Andres Favela, who’s the principal at Whittier.
Whittier will be switching leagues in the fall, moving from the Del Rio League, in which the team has won one league game in the last three years.
Hernandez said he received approval from his family to return to coaching and sees Whittier similar to Garfield in receiving strong neighborhood support.
Patrick Schick scores twice to give Bayer Leverkusen a 2-0 away win over Olympiakos in the first leg of their UEFA Champions knockout round play-off.
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South Korea win the women’s 3000m speed skating relay gold medal as Italy finish in second, meaning Arianna Fontana wins her 14th Olympic medal to become her country’s most decorated Olympian.
FOLLOW LIVE: Winter Olympics 2026 – day 12
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Lindsey Vonn has been through a lot over the last few weeks, even more than we previously knew.
The legendary U.S. ski racer revealed Wednesday that on the day after she crashed violently while competing at the Milan-Cortina Olympics, Vonn lost someone very close to her.
Her dog, Leo.
Vonn wrote in a lengthy Instagram post that Leo has joined two of her other canine companions, Lucy and Bear, “up in heaven.”
“This has been an incredibly hard few days. Probably the hardest of my life. I still have not come to terms that he is gone…” Vonn wrote. “The day I crashed, so did Leo. He had been recently diagnosed with lung cancer (he survived lymphoma a year and a half ago) but now his heart was failing him. He was in pain and his body could no longer keep up with his strong mind.
“As I layed in my hospital bed the day after my crash, we said goodbye to my big boy.”
Vonn adopted Leo from an animal shelter in January 2014, days after she came to the realization she would not be able to compete in that year’s Winter Games because of a knee injury. She wrote on social media at the time that Leo had been hit by a car and, like her at the time, had “a bad knee.”
“My boy has been with me since my second ACL injury, when I needed him most,” Vonn wrote in Wednesday’s post. “He held me on the sofa as I watched the Sochi Olympics. He lifted me up when I was down. He layed by me, and cuddle me, always making me feel safe and loved. We have been through so much together in 13 years.”
Vonn made a comeback last year after nearly six years away from ski racing. In December, the 41-year-old Olympic gold medalist announced on Instagram that she had qualified for “my 5th and final Olympics!”
On Jan. 30, a week before the start of the Milan-Cortina Games, Vonn crashed during a downhill race in Switzerland and suffered a complete rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, along with meniscus and bone damage.
Nonetheless, Vonn was determined to compete in the Olympics. After successfully completing multiple training runs, the 84-time World Cup winner started her downhill run at the top of the Olimpia delle Tofane course in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
It lasted 13 seconds. Vonn lost control on the first jump as her pole hit a gate, spun sideways in the air and slammed to the ground. She was airlifted by helicopter to a clinic in Cortina, then transferred to a larger hospital in Treviso.
The crash had left her with a complex tibia fracture.
After multiple surgeries in Italy, Vonn was transported by plane to a U.S. hospital this week.
“Thankful to all of the medical staff who helped me get home 🙏🏻❤️ and seriously looking forward to my next surgery when I can get the X-fix out of my leg and will be able to move more,” Vonn wrote Tuesday on Instagram.
“My injury was a lot more severe than just a broken leg. I’m still wrapping my head around it, what it means and the road ahead… but I’m going to give you more detail in the coming days.”
Vonn’s post announcing Leo’s death came on the morning of her next surgery and included more than a dozen photos and videos of her beloved pet.
“There will never be another Leo. He will always be my first love,” Vonn wrote. “Heading in for more surgery today. Will be thinking of him when I close my eyes. I will love you forever my big boy.”
Hours later, she wrote on her Instagram Story: “Going in for surgery soon… lot on my mind but hoping this will be a big step forward.”
That post also included a photo that Vonn appears to have taken from her hospital bed. It shows her injured leg stretched out on the mattress. Sitting next to the bed is her laptop, which displays a close-up photo of Leo playing in the snow.
The chair of Kick It Out, Sanjay Bhandari, says the lack of support from Benfica and the response of their manager Jose Mourinho has “set the tone” in the racism row between the Portuguese club and Real Madrid, after Vinicius Junior alleged he had been racially abused by midfielder Gianluca Prestianni.
READ MORE: Benfica claim ‘defamation campaign’ against Prestianni
BBC Sport lists the best performing batters and bowlers from the Men’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
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Shivan Dube shines as India warm up for South Africa by beating Netherlands in final group game at T20 World Cup.
Published On 18 Feb 202618 Feb 2026
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India completed their clean sweep of Group A at the T20 World Cup by beating Netherlands by 17 runs in Ahmedabad.
The tournament co-hosts, along with Sri Lanka, had already secured their place at the Super Eights stage with wins in each of their opening three matches, but Wednesday’s win confirmed their form against a Netherlands side that nearly shocked Pakistan in their opening game.
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Having won the toss, India recorded 193-6 with Shivam Dube top scoring with 66 off 31, including hitting 19 off the 16th over.
“I try to hit boundaries, and I enjoy hitting sixes, but the bowling was good, and I had to prepare myself,” Dube reflected.
“I know all the bowlers will not bowl me yorkers or length balls; they will bowl slower, short balls, and I have prepared for that [as well].
“The captain and coaches have told me I have to keep the strike rate high, that wasn’t the case when I came in, but we got there.”
As Dube alluded to, it was not such a steady start, with India opener Abhishek Sharma dismissed for his third duck in a row at the competition.
The left-handed Abhishek, the world’s number one T20 international batsman in the ICC rankings, had his stumps splattered third ball by off-spinner Aryan Dutt, leaving the home fans at the world’s biggest cricket stadium stunned.
The 25-year-old Abhishek is yet to score a run in the tournament in three appearances, having missed the second group-stage match against Namibia with a stomach infection.
Tilak Varma (31 off 27) and captain Suryakumar Yadav (34 off 28) had earlier given impetus to the innings with cameos, after Sharma’s opening partner Ishan Kishan also fell relatively cheaply for 18, although he did score at a strike rate of 257.
Hardik Pandya also continued his fine run with a late onslaught, hitting 30 off 21 as part of the inning’s highest partnership of 76 (in 5.5 overs) with Dube.
Wrist spinner Varun Chakravarthy’s 14-3 led the bowling performance as Netherlands were dismissed for 176-7. Dube was not to be left in the shadows in the field, however, as he claimed two wickets, including Netherlands top-scorer in the innings, Bas de Leede, for 33.
India’s next assignment is their first match in the Super Eights on Sunday against South Africa at the same Ahmedabad venue.
When women take the ice for Thursday’s Olympic free skate in the global fashion capital of Milan, five skaters will compete in dresses made by Los Angeles-based designer Lisa McKinnon.
McKinnon has become the must-have name in figure skating couture, dressing the entirety of the U.S. and South Korea women’s teams. Americans Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito wore McKinnon’s designs in the short program and will do so again in the free skate.
And one of those dresses may be featured on the medal podium. Liu stands in third place after Tuesday’s short program, while Levito is in eighth and Glenn tumbled to 13th with the free skate still to come.
McKinnon knows exactly how clothing needs to fit on bodies moving across the ice — for spins, for jumps, for everything it takes to win. The fabric must be able to stretch in all directions, which necessitates a four-way stretch fabric. Design with a two-way stretch and a skater might not be able to lift their arm. Dress skaters in spandex, power mesh and stretch velvet, and they’ll move like they do in training.
American Amber Glenn competes in the figure skating short program at the Winter Olympics in Milan on Tuesday.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
McKinnon sources most of the fabric locally from the fashion district in downtown L.A.
“It’s really great to just go in person because sometimes it’s the fabric that can inspire you to create something with,” McKinnon said.
McKinnon’s time on the ice that taught her how to create fashion for an athlete tailored for movement and aesthetic appeal. She grew up as a competitive figure skater in Sweden, and she started making bodysuits and dresses — which she wore to practice — for herself at age 11 or 12. By 16, she was designing dresses for elite skaters in her hometown, Mariestad, Sweden, including a Swedish national champion. At the time, they shared a coach, and the coach asked McKinnon to design a dress for the skater.
“They had seen the dresses that I made for other skaters,” she said. “They were just — you know — putting their faith in my hands that I could do this.”
After high school, McKinnon skated in tours in Europe and then North America. In the United States, she first settled in Las Vegas, where she designed dresses for local skaters. When she moved to L.A., bigger name skaters started calling. She designed for Ashley Wagner, three-time U.S. champion, and Karen Chen, who competed in her dresses at the 2018 Olympic Games. McKinnon says they were the ones who “got her noticed.” Noticed to the point that Milan is by no means the designer’s Olympic debut. In 2018, she outfitted pairs gold medalists Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot from Germany.
Since then, McKinnon has become the go-to designer for elite women’s figure skaters in the United States. At U.S. nationals in St. Louis in January, eight of the 18 senior women competed in McKinnon’s dresses. In the final warm-up alone — composed of the six skaters leading after the short program — five wore McKinnon designs. There, Glenn, Liu and Levito stood on the podium in her dresses.
In St. Louis, McKinnon hand delivered a dress to Liu, the reigning world champion who debuted a long-awaited Lady Gaga free skate routine. Liu practiced in the dress and McKinnon was able to make on-the-spot adjustments.
Surprisingly, hand delivery isn’t the norm for the dresses that run from $3,000-$8,000, averaging around $5,000 (McKinnon charges by the hour). Because McKinnon designs for skaters who train all over the country — Liu in Oakland, Glenn in Colorado Springs, Colo., and Levito near Philadelphia in southern New Jersey — FedEx shepherds the dresses across the country. Skaters make sure the dresses fit OK before McKinnon and her four-person seamstress team add sparkle, which usually means a crystal count in the thousands. Beads, paillettes and pearls are often mixed into the shine. Each crystal is hand affixed with E6000 glue.
American Christina Carreira and partner Anthony Ponomarenko compete during the ice dancing free skate at the Winter Olympics on Feb. 11 in Milan.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
McKinnon affixed faux rose pedals to a dress for American ice dancer Christina Carreira to debut during the skater’s own Olympic debut. Midway through the skating season, Carreira and partner, Anthony Ponomarenko, returned to their free dance from two years ago, “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer.” They needed new costumes to differentiate from their performances two years ago, and McKinnon had already designed costumes for the team’s rhythm dance to La Bouche’s “Sweet Dreams.” McKinnon made the new dress in a little over a week, and it was set to arrive three days before Carreira left her training base in London, Canada, for the Games.
Except the dress didn’t arrive.
McKinnon learned that the package was stuck at a FedEx facility in Memphis, Tenn., after Winter Storm Fern pummeled the region.
“We would call and sometimes they’d say it’s in L.A., sometimes they’d say it’s in Memphis, so we didn’t know where it was,” Carreira said. “We weren’t getting answers, but going on social media actually helped.”
Carreira woke up after her flight to Milan to find an Instagram message with a photo of her dress. A woman told Carreira that her husband had found the package and put it on the first plane to Detroit, where Carreira’s coach, Scott Moir, retrieved the package to bring to Milan.
Carreira first tried on the dress in Milan. “It fit perfectly,” she said. “Lisa has never met me. She’s only seen me over FaceTime, and the two dresses she’s made fit perfectly.”
Carreira and Ponomarenko placed 11th in their Olympic debut.
“I wanted a dress that made me feel special at the Olympics,” Carreira said. “And both of those dresses did that.”
Carreira came to McKinnon’s designs through Glenn, who skated her short program to Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” wearing a McKinnon design based on the 1989 music video. After admiring McKinnon’s designs, Carreira talked it over with Glenn at an early season competition in Oberstdorf, Germany.
“She said Lisa was super easy to work with,” Carreira said. “The dresses fit perfectly.”
McKinnon designs from her studio, which occupies the first floor of her apartment in West Hollywood. There, McKinnon and her team watch their dresses take the runway in Milan. Except the runway is made of ice and the skaters will do much more than walk.
Japan’s Mari Fukada takes gold in her debut Olympics in the women’s snowboarding slopestyle final at Milan-Cortina.
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Great Britain’s women’s team are in a similarly precarious position.
The inexperienced rink – with only Jen Dodds surviving from the 2022 gold-medal winning team – finished sixth in last year’s World Championships and were some way short of their best against the US, with opportunities missed and mistakes made.
It looked for all the world like their chances were gone, trailing 7-6 going into the final end, and without the hammer.
However, Rebecca Morrison executed a sensational double takeout with her final throw and the Americans faltered under pressure, botching their effort to hand the British rink an implausible 8-7 triumph.
The Scottish quartet still need to win their final two games and hope for favours elsewhere if they are to salvage a place in the medal matches.
The next hurdle is a meeting with bottom-of-the-table Japan later on Wednesday (18:05 GMT) before they face second-bottom Italy on Thursday (13:05).
“There was a lot at stake but we just need to keep believing,” Morrison told BBC Sport. “We were up against it but we’re here to fight and that’s what we did.”
American star Mikaela Shiffrin cemented her status as the greatest alpine skier of all time as she won Olympic slalom gold in emphatic fashion.
Twelve years on from winning the title in Sochi aged 18, Shiffrin stormed to victory with an overall time of 1:39:10, a significant 1.50 seconds ahead of second place to become a three-time Olympic champion.
The 30-year-old put herself in pole position with a time of 47.13 seconds in the first run, a gap of 0.82 seconds to second-place Lena Duerr.
The German was the only skier to finish within one second of Shiffrin but she straddled the first gate on her second run to put herself out of medal contention.
That left Shiffrin with what was ultimately an exhibition run to take gold and she completed the run in 51.97 seconds.
Switzerland’s Camille Rast won silver while Sweden’s Anna Swenn Larsson took bronze.
More to follow.
It’s 6 a.m. at Loyola High. Students are supposed to be asleep unless they’re on the swim team doing early morning laps at the pool. So why in the name of beach, surf and sunshine is the volleyball team practicing in the gym?
Welcome to February’s gym crunch time, when winter sports teams such as basketball are busy with playoffs and spring sports teams such as volleyball are gearing up for the start of their season.
“It’s pretty brutal,” said 6-foot-8 volleyball standout Blake Fahlbusch, who would prefer surfing in the morning and practicing volleyball in the afternoon.
Veteran coach Michael Boehle, sipping coffee, understands the routine is only temporary and does his best to get his players focused on their early morning routine.
The Cubs begin their season next week with the motivation that they have “unfinished business.”
Last year at one point they were the best team in Southern California, but there were too many distractions and too many obstacles to overcome. Players lost their home in the Palisades fire. Boehle found out he had prostate cancer. A well-known classmate, Braun Levi, was killed by a suspected drunken driver.
Boehle, feeling refreshed and excited after surgery removed the cancer, thinks the chemistry is better. Fahlbusch, a USC commit, is a candidate for best in the Southland because of his size and athleticism.
JP Wardy, a 6-4 Pepperdine commit, arrived from Newport Harbor to play his final year at Loyola, the school he was set to attend as a freshman until he moved to San Diego for family reasons.
It’s rise and shine for Loyola volleyball players during a 6 a.m. practice session.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
“It feels great to be back,” Wardy said. “I missed being at Loyola. I feel growing up, this was supposed to be the school I would go to.”
Loyola’s libero, Matt Kelly, is the brother of UCLA standout Sean Kelly. He’s committed to Loyola Chicago and considering how well his big brother serves, practicing against him has gotten Matt ready for anything. There’s also 6-6 Lucas Posell, a Princeton commit with a 4.7 grade-point average.
The usual title contenders should be the teams to watch with Loyola — Mira Costa, Redondo Union, Huntington Beach, Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor.
Mateo Fuerbringer of Mira Costa is a UCLA commit.
(Mira Costa)
There’s lots of top players, from juniors Teddy Mandelbaum and Mateo Fuerbringer of Mira Costa, both UCLA commits, to Taylor Boice of Redondo Union, a UC Irvine commit. Mira Costa has also added Jake Newman, a transfer from Mater Dei.
Boehle will be coaching in his 28th year, having won seven Southern Section championships. The Cubs have won every Mission League title since sharing the crown with Harvard-Westlake in 2007 and haven’t lost a league match since that season.
Loyola students cheer on the Loyola boys volleyball team during a match against Mira Costa on March 21, 2025.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
The annual Loyola-Mira Costa nonleague match that brings out fans en masse is set for March 20 at Mira Costa.
The Cubs open their season on Feb. 24 at home against Newport Harbor, so Wardy will be waving across the net to his former teammates.
As for his early impressions of his new team, Wardy said, “We’re good. I’m excited. Practices are competitive, which I really like because it helps us getting better.”
On the cusp of what promises to be a bitter showdown with major league owners, the players’ union has no leader. Tony Clark, the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Assn., resigned under pressure Tuesday.
Clark and the union had engaged separate attorneys as federal authorities investigated alleged financial improprieties within the MLBPA, an affiliated licensing company and an affiliated youth sports venture.
The union also commissioned an investigation, initially focused on those allegations, that uncovered an “inappropriate relationship” between Clark and an employee, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to The Times, with the eight-man MLBPA player leadership team advising Clark that he should depart. The employee was his sister-in-law, the person confirmed.
The allegations remain under federal investigation, meaning that player leaders determined Clark could have been a liability on at least two fronts as players and owners head toward what is expected to be the most contentious collective bargaining in the sport in 31 years.
The Athletic first reported Clark had resigned; ESPN first reported on the relationship.
The MLBPA issued a statement late Tuesday saying player leaders had met Tuesday. Players planned to canvass their peers scattered across spring training camps, then meet again Wednesday, with the possibility of voting on a new executive director then.
That could be either a permanent hire or an interim hire; the latter would reflect the urgency of the upcoming labor negotiation. Although the collective bargaining agreement does not expire until Dec. 1, Commissioner Rob Manfred said last week he expected talks on a new deal to start soon after opening day.
Bruce Meyer, the union’s deputy executive director and lead negotiator, would be the most logical successor. The MLBPA hired Meyer away from the NHLPA in 2018, one year into a bargaining agreement in which Clark and union negotiators were widely viewed as being badly beaten by Manfred and league negotiators.
No. It just acknowledged his resignation.
Bruce Meyer in 2022
(Richard Drew / Associated Press)
Likely, yes, but not foregone. In 2021, with Meyer as lead negotiator and pushing for a better deal even as a 162-game season was threatened, players voted to accept the deal on the table. The union promoted Meyer into his current position in 2022.
In 2024, ESPN reported a majority of player representatives supported the replacement of Meyer with Harry Marino, who had unionized minor league players. Ultimately, Clark stuck with Meyer.
At this late date, however, internal bargaining preparations are underway, and Meyer is now a veteran of MLB negotiations. The goal is to “keep everything as stable as we can this year,” Angels pitcher Brent Suter told reporters. Suter is one of eight players on the union’s player leadership team.
No, and not that simple in any case.
On what looms as the core bargaining issue — the potential adoption of a salary cap — Clark and Meyer were aligned. Clark was the union voice calling a cap “institutionalized collusion,” with Meyer filling in the details of why the MLBPA believed a cap would not necessarily enhance parity and could leave players liable to receive a shrinking percentage of revenue over time.
Manfred has argued the current system helps elite players while squeezing the salaries and the jobs of the so-called middle class.
The owners currently appear united on pushing for a salary cap. If at some point they believe they have to do what the NHL did to get a cap — that is, lose an entire season — the interests of the large-market owners and the small-market owners could diverge.
Nothing, really. Within the game, a lockout is considered all but inevitable.
Manfred has said he views a lockout as a negotiating tool. If MLB locks out players Dec. 1, no games are lost. If a lockout remains in place April 1, regular-season games could be lost.
In the last collective bargaining negotiation, owners locked out players in December, and a new deal was reached in March, preserving a 162-game season that started one week late.
After Monday’s resounding defeat by Sri Lanka took World Cup fate out of his side’s hands, Australia captain Mitchell Marsh asked for the luck of the Irish to kick in.
The following day, Ireland were due to take on Zimbabwe in Pallekele. Any points for the African side would knock Australia out of the competition.
Clearly, no-one told Marsh that when it comes to Irish luck in a cricketing context, rain is never far away. The two sides shared the points after wet weather saw the match abandoned without a ball bowled. Zimababwe through, Australia gone.
For the first time since 2009, there will not be an Australian side in the Super 8s stage or equivalent. Since winning it in 2021, this edition marks a third consecutive T20 World Cup without Australia in the semi-finals.
Less than a month on from wrapping up a resounding Ashes drubbing, Australia’s T20 side has failed to hit similar heights. The failings of this competition, which has seen them play all of their group games in Sri Lanka, alongside a wider slump in this format, does little to discard the notion that T20 cricket is not a priority.
As always after a difficult tournament, selection is questioned. Steve Smith has long been out of this side, not appearing in almost two years. A century and two 50s in the recent Big Bash were not enough to earn a recall. Not until Marsh was hit in the groin in training prior to Australia’s first game against Ireland.
Smith was summoned to acclimatise in Colombo in case he was required. He ultimately was, but not as a replacement for Marsh.
Australia’s Test run machine eventually earned a place in the squad proper when the selectors belatedly named a replacement for Josh Hazlewood, who was ruled out of the competition before a ball was bowled.
All those moving parts for a player who only made it onto the park as a sub fielder while Australia were still mathematically alive, with Smith powerless to stop Sri Lanka and Pathum Nissanka’s charge.
The top two teams in each group – A to D – will progress to the Super 8s, which will be made up of two groups of four.
If any teams are level on points after the four group-stage fixtures, they will be separated by number of wins and then net run-rate.
The International Cricket Council has pre-determined the Super 8 groups if the eight seeded sides qualify:
X Group: India (X1), Australia (X2), West Indies (X3), South Africa (X4)
Y Group: England (Y1), New Zealand (Y2), Pakistan (Y3), Sri Lanka (Y4)
If any of those sides do not progress, the teams who do in their place will just fill the spot.
Each team plays three more matches in the Super 8s phase, facing each of the other teams in their group once.
After those fixtures, the top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals, with the winner of each Super 8s group facing the runner-up from the other.
Rugby Special pundits Chris Ashton and John Barclay look ahead to all the week three fixtures in the 2026 Six Nations.
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HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS
TUESDAY’S RESULTS
SOUTHERN SECTION
BOYS
OPEN DIVISION
Pool A
#1 Sierra Canyon 95, #8 Corona del Mar 65
Pool B
#7 Harvard-Westlake 83, #2 Santa Margarita 62
Pool C
#3 Redondo Union 69, #6 Corona Centennial 57
Pool D
#4 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 69, #5 St. John Bosco 60
Note: Quarterfinals Friday; Semifinals Feb. 24; Finals 6 p.m. Feb. 28 at Toyota Arena.
QUARTERFINALS
DIVISION 1
Crean Lutheran 83, Village Christian 58
Rancho Christian 71, Millikan 62
Inglewood 82, Fairmont Prep 69
JSerra 66, Rolling Hills Prep 49
DIVISION 2
Bishop Amat 74, Anaheim Canyon 70
Eastvale Roosevelt 74, Edison 65
Mater Dei 82, El Dorado 72
Hesperia 55, Rancho Verde 53
DIVISION 3
Murrieta Mesa 64, Ontario Christian 50
Warren 56, Golden Valley 53
Aliso Niguel 78, Alta Loma 58
Gahr 65, Woodbridge 55
DIVISION 4
Trabuco Hills 99, Blair 92
Norte Vista 70, Cathedral 63
Shalhevet 46, Long Beach Jordan 45
Colony 63, Walnut 60
DIVISION 5
Gardena Serra 65, Rancho Mirage 49
Vasquez 80, Oakwood 71
Pilibos 55, Temple City 33
San Juan Hills 70, Verbum Dei Jesuit 63
DIVISION 6
Placentia Valencia 57, St. Bonaventure 39
Ramona 66, Montclair 52
Laguna Hills 73, Orange Vista 62
Moreno Valley 49, Buckley 45
DIVISION 7
Canyon Country Canyon 60, Vista del Lago 55
Salesian 52, Webb 32
Rowland 48, Riverside Notre Dame 47
Rialto 63, Rosemead 32
DIVISION 8
Redlands Adventist 58, Twentynine Palms 48
Victor Valley at Barstow
South El Monte 65, Coastal Christian 50
Edgewood 58, Dunn 56
DIVISION 9
Colton 54, Sherman Indian 47
Santa Maria Valley Christian 53, Loma Linda Academy 51
Samueli Academy at Santa Barbara Providence
Pacific 68, Mesrobian 56
Note: Semifinals Friday; Finals Feb. 27 or 28.
WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 7 p.m. unless noted)
CITY SECTION
BOYS
QUARTERFINALS
DIVISION IV
#8 Hawkins at #1 East Valley
#5 San Fernando at #4 Gardena
#6 Angelou at #3 Bell
#7 Conteras at #2 Franklin
DIVISION V
#8 Legacy at #1 Van Nuys
#21 Camino Nuevo at #13 Magnolia Science Academy, 2 p.m.
#19 Santee at #11 Torres
#7 Monroe at #2 Canoga Park
Note: Semifinals Friday; Finals Feb. 27 or 28 at TBA.
SOUTHERN SECTION
GIRLS
OPEN DIVISION
Pool A
#8 JSerra at #1 Ontario Christian
Pool B
#7 Lakewood St. Joseph at #2 Etiwanda
Pool C
#6 Corona Centennial at #3 Sierra Canyon
Pool D
#5 Mater Dei at #4 Sage Hill
Note: Quarterfinals Saturday; Semifinals Feb. 24; Finals 8 p.m. Feb. 28 at Toyota Arena.
QUARTERFINALS
DIVISION 1
Windward at Ventura
Valencia at Troy, 6 p.m.
Moreno Valley at Orange Lutheran
Villa Park at La Salle
DIVISION 2
Portola at Saugus
Camarillo at Summit
San Clemente at Crescenta Valley
Rosary Academy at Dos Pueblos
DIVISION 3
Murrieta Valley at St. Monica
Oxnard at Trabuco Hills
Leuzinger at Mark Keppel
St. Margaret’s at Canyon Country Canyon
DIVISION 4
Long Beach Jordan at La Canada
Anaheim Canyon at Eastside
El Dorado at Long Beach Wilson
Pasadena Poly at Marina
DIVISION 5
Sunny Hills at Bishop Diego, 6 p.m.
Godinez at Torrance
Whitney at Oakwood
Burbank Burroughs at Carter
DIVISION 6
San Jacinto vs. Immaculate Heart at LA City College
Palm Desert at Savanna
Rowland at Hillcrest
Santa Fe at Warren
DIVISION 7
Laguna Hills vs. Foothill Tech at Rio Mesa
Patriot at Rosemead
Ridgecrest Burroughs at AGBU
Cajon at La Palma Kennedy
DIVISION 8
Yucca Valley at University Prep, 5 p.m.
Riverside Notre Dame at Orange
Schurr vs. CAMS at Cabrillo
Santa Monica Pacifica Christian at Chadwick, 5 p.m.
DIVISION 9
Vista del Lago at Santa Clarita Christian, 4:30 p.m.
Channel Islands at Desert Hot Springs
Redlands Adventist at La Sierra
Sierra Vista at Western
Note: Quarterfinals Saturday; Semifinals Feb. 24; Finals 8 p.m. Feb. 28 at Toyota Arena.
Rousey will return to MMA for the first time in nearly a decade when she challenges Carano on May 16 in California.
Published On 18 Feb 202618 Feb 2026
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Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano will end their lengthy retirements from mixed martial arts (MMA) to fight each other on May 16 at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
The two pioneering fighters announced their returns on Tuesday for a bout that will be staged by Most Valuable Promotions, the combat sports promotion established by influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul and his business partner, Nakisa Bidarian. The show will be broadcast on Netflix.
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The 39-year-old Rousey hasn’t fought since 2016, while the 43-year-old Carano’s eight-bout MMA career ended in 2009. They’ll fight at 145lb (66kg) for five five-minute rounds.
Despite their lengthy absences, Rousey and Carano remain two of the most iconic fighters in MMA history for their trailblazing careers. Carano led their once-outlawed sport into the mainstream of broadcast television, while Rousey secured the enthusiastic acceptance of women’s MMA by Dana White and the UFC.
Rousey (12-2) rose to become arguably the biggest athlete in all of MMA after winning an Olympic medal in judo in 2008. Her armbar finishes and cage charisma single-handedly prompted White to begin the promotion of women’s MMA, with Rousey at the centre of his plans.
Rousey won the UFC’s first-ever women’s bout in 2013 to claim the bantamweight title belt, and she still holds the promotion’s record with six title defences.
After ending 11 of her first 12 fights in the first round, her career abruptly stalled when she lost back-to-back bouts to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes, prompting her to move on to acting, professional wrestling and motherhood.
“Been waiting so long to announce this: Me and Gina Carano are gonna throw down in the biggest super fight in women’s combat sport history!” Rousey said. “This is for all MMA fans past, present and future.”
Carano (7-1) fought in the first Nevada-sanctioned MMA bout between women in 2006, and she won a series of fights that made her a network television draw in the sport’s early days. She was stopped by Cris “Cyborg” Justino in her most recent fight in August 2009, and she moved on to an acting career despite repeated rumours of a return to the cage.
“Ronda came to me and said there is only one person she would make a comeback for, and it has been her dream to make this fight happen between us,” Carano said.
“She thanked me for opening up doors for her in her career and was respectful in asking for this fight to happen. This is an honour. I believe I will walk out of this fight with the win, and I anticipate it will not come easy, which I welcome. This is as much for Ronda and me as it is for the fans and mixed martial arts community.”
Carano, who turns 44 in April, landed several prominent film roles and became a cast member of Disney’s “The Mandalorian” before her contract failed to be renewed in 2021, after she expressed controversial right-wing views in a series of social media posts.
Carano settled a lawsuit last year against Lucasfilm and The Walt Disney Company over her claim that she was fired for the posts.
HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS WATER POLO PLAYOFFS
TUESDAY’S RESULTS
SOUTHERN SECTION
SEMIFINALS
DIVISION 2
La Serna 16, Bonita 15
DIVISION 3
Glendora 15, Chaparral 4
San Dimas 6, Northwood 4
DIVISION 4
La Canada 12, Ramona 11
Schurr 15, Beaumont 11
DIVISION 5
San Bernardino 6, Laguna Hills 4
Edgewood 5, Rowland 4
Note: Finals Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College.
WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE
CITY SECTION
FINALS
At Valley College
OPEN DIVISION
#2 Granada Hills vs. #1 Birmingham, 7 p.m.
DIVISION I
#2 Palisades vs. #1 San Pedro, 5 p.m.
SOUTHERN SECTION
SEMIFINALS
At Woollett Aquatic Center
OPEN DIVISION
#5 San Marcos vs. #1 Mater Dei, 6 p.m.
#3 Oaks Christian vs. #2 Newport Harbor, 7:30 p.m.
DIVISION 1
Beckman vs. Foothill, 3 p.m.
San Clemente vs. Agoura, 4:30 p.m.
DIVISION 2
Murrieta Valley at Santa Barbara, 5 p.m.
Note: Finals Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College.