“THE SCOREBOARD”
INDIANA BOYS BASKETBALL SCOREBOARD
HOMESTEAD.COM
| CENTERVILLE | 60 | UNION COUNTY | 41 | |
| EAST NOBLE | 63 | HUNTINGTON NORTH | 60 | |
| ELKHART CHRISTIAN | 32 | TRITON | 28 | |
| EMINENCE | 70 | INDIANA DEAF | 25 | |
| GARY WEST | 60 | EAST CHICAGO CENTRAL | 57 | |
| HOMESTEAD | 65 | FORT WAYNE NORTHROP | 53 | |
| INDIAN CREEK | 76 | BROWN COUNTY | 44 | |
| INDIANAPOLIS SHORTRIDGE | 67 | INDIANAPOLIS TECH | 63 | |
| LANESVILLE | 81 | WEST WASHINGTON | 66 | |
| MEDORA | 47 | PLEASANT VIEW CHRISTIAN | 24 | |
| MICHIGAN CITY | 74 | HAMMOND MORTON | 67 | |
| NORTHEASTERN | 71 | CAMBRIDGE CITY LINCOLN | 48 | |
| OAK FARM MONTESSORI | 43 | HAMILTON | 33 | |
| TRADERS POINT CHRISTIAN | 60 | INDIANAPOLIS INTERNATIONAL | 40 | |
| WOODLAN | 61 | LAKEWOOD PARK | 29 |
INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS SCOREBOARD
HOMESTEAD.COM
| ALEXANDRIA | 68 | MADISON-GRANT | 16 | |
| AUSTIN | 67 | SALEM | 24 | |
| BLOOMINGTON NORTH | 55 | TERRE HAUTE NORTH | 48 | |
| BLUFFTON | 86 | MANCHESTER | 51 | |
| BREMEN | 57 | ELKHART CHRISTIAN | 34 | |
| BROWNSTOWN CENTRAL | 53 | NORTH HARRISON | 42 | |
| CENTRAL CHRISTIAN | 45 | TABERNACLE CHRISTIAN | 22 | |
| CHRISTIAN ACADEMY | 64 | NEW WASHINGTON | 46 | |
| CLAY CITY | 51 | EASTERN GREENE | 34 | |
| CLINTON CENTRAL | 49 | EASTERN (GREENTOWN) | 10 | |
| CLOVERPORT (KY.) | 43 | CANNELTON | 39 | OT |
| COLUMBUS NORTH | 63 | RUSHVILLE | 42 | |
| CORYDON CENTRAL | 61 | CRAWFORD COUNTY | 26 | |
| CROSSPOINTE CHRISTIAN | 56 | INDIANAPOLIS WASHINGTON | 16 | |
| CROWN POINT | 64 | HANOVER CENTRAL | 50 | |
| CULVER | 37 | WEST CENTRAL | 29 | |
| DEMOTTE CHRISTIAN | 30 | CASTON | 25 | |
| EAST CENTRAL | 46 | CONNERSVILLE | 42 | |
| EASTSIDE | 62 | WESTVIEW | 40 | |
| EVANSVILLE MATER DEI | 57 | EVANSVILLE BOSSE | 22 | |
| EVANSVILLE NORTH | 64 | VINCENNES LINCOLN | 33 | |
| EVANSVILLE REITZ | 55 | EVANSVILLE MEMORIAL | 42 | |
| FLOYD CENTRAL | 61 | PROVIDENCE | 33 | |
| FORT WAYNE BLACKHAWK | 61 | ADAMS CENTRAL | 57 | |
| FOUNTAIN CENTRAL | 47 | RIVERTON PARKE | 11 | |
| FRANKTON | 53 | ELWOOD | 25 | |
| FREMONT | 45 | LAKELAND | 26 | |
| GIBSON SOUTHERN | 66 | TELL CITY | 37 | |
| GOSHEN | 44 | MISHAWAKA | 32 | |
| GREENFIELD-CENTRAL | 65 | SOUTHPORT | 43 | |
| GREENSBURG | 61 | LAWRENCEBURG | 37 | |
| GREENWOOD CHRISTIAN | 44 | SOUTHWESTERN (SHELBYVILLE) | 37 | |
| HARRISON (WEST LAFAYETTE) | 51 | WEST LAFAYETTE | 19 | |
| HERITAGE CHRISTIAN | 50 | HAMILTON HEIGHTS | 33 | |
| HOMESTEAD | 68 | FORT WAYNE NORTHROP | 42 | |
| ILLIANA CHRISTIAN | 46 | VICTORY CHRISTIAN | 19 | |
| INDIAN CREEK | 57 | BROWN COUNTY | 16 | |
| INDIANAPOLIS CATHEDRAL | 49 | COLUMBUS EAST | 25 | |
| INDIANAPOLIS HERRON | 37 | INDIANAPOLIS TECH | 26 | |
| JASPER | 66 | EVANSVILLE HARRISON | 25 | |
| JENNINGS COUNTY | 55 | FRANKLIN | 50 | |
| JIMTOWN | 41 | TRINITY GREENLAWN | 20 | |
| KANKAKEE VALLEY | 55 | PORTAGE | 32 | |
| KOUTS | 76 | BOONE GROVE | 17 | |
| LAVILLE | 44 | ARGOS | 34 | |
| LIGHTHOUSE CHRISTIAN | 33 | WASHINGTON CATHOLIC | 30 | |
| LINTON | 43 | WHITE RIVER VALLEY | 42 | |
| MADISON | 61 | TRINITY LUTHERAN | 45 | |
| MARTINSVILLE | 47 | EDGEWOOD | 35 | |
| MERRILLVILLE | 68 | HIGHLAND | 51 | |
| MONROE CENTRAL | 66 | BLUE RIVER | 17 | |
| MONROVIA | 67 | INDIANAPOLIS SCECINA | 43 | |
| MORRISTOWN | 61 | INDIANAPOLIS LUTHERAN | 17 | |
| MOUNT VERNON (FORTVILLE) | 55 | DELTA | 52 | OT |
| NORTH CENTRAL (FARMERSBURG) | 66 | CLOVERDALE | 18 | |
| NORTH DAVIESS | 53 | BLOOMFIELD | 31 | |
| NORTH JUDSON | 39 | PIONEER | 37 | |
| NORTH KNOX | 55 | BARR-REEVE | 31 | |
| NORTH NEWTON | 55 | SOUTH NEWTON | 45 | |
| NORTH POSEY | 44 | FOREST PARK | 37 | |
| NORTH VERMILLION | 44 | WEST VIGO | 39 | |
| NORTH WHITE | 38 | FRONTIER | 17 | |
| NORTHEAST DUBOIS | 49 | VINCENNES RIVET | 37 | |
| NORTHRIDGE | 60 | PLYMOUTH | 37 | |
| OLDENBURG ACADEMY | 56 | SWITZERLAND COUNTY | 29 | |
| ORLEANS | 50 | MITCHELL | 16 | |
| PARKE HERITAGE | 64 | SHAKAMAK | 31 | |
| PENDLETON HEIGHTS | 66 | NOBLESVILLE | 65 | |
| PENN | 34 | NORTHWOOD | 29 | |
| PRINCETON | 59 | HERITAGE HILLS | 49 | |
| RANDOLPH SOUTHERN | 62 | ANDERSON PREP | 23 | |
| RENSSELAER CENTRAL | 53 | LOWELL | 41 | |
| RIVER FOREST | 43 | CALUMET CHRISTIAN | 36 | |
| ROCHESTER | 38 | NORTHFIELD | 32 | |
| ROSSVILLE | 62 | TIPTON | 38 | |
| SEEGER | 46 | ATTICA | 23 | |
| SEYMOUR | 40 | NEW ALBANY | 29 | |
| SHAWE MEMORIAL | 74 | RISING SUN | 35 | |
| SHELBYVILLE | 47 | NORTH DECATUR | 23 | |
| SILVER CREEK | 60 | JEFFERSONVILLE | 51 | |
| SOUTH BEND RILEY | 62 | MORGAN TWP. | 26 | |
| SOUTH KNOX | 86 | LOOGOOTEE | 22 | |
| SOUTHERN WELLS | 67 | WES-DEL | 25 | |
| SPEEDWAY | 37 | UNIVERSITY | 24 | |
| TECUMSEH | 30 | SOUTHRIDGE | 16 | |
| TRI-COUNTY | 69 | FAITH CHRISTIAN | 43 | |
| TRI | 64 | EASTERN HANCOCK | 54 | |
| TRITON CENTRAL | 52 | BEECH GROVE | 31 | |
| TWIN LAKES | 46 | WINAMAC | 37 | |
| VALPARAISO | 72 | MUNSTER | 59 | |
| WAPAHANI | 52 | SHENANDOAH | 33 | |
| WARSAW | 74 | ANGOLA | 27 | |
| WASHINGTON | 51 | SOUTH SPENCER | 38 | |
| WHITKO | 63 | WAWASEE | 53 | |
| WOODLAN | 55 | PRAIRIE HEIGHTS | 34 | |
| YORKTOWN | 57 | NEW PALESTINE | 46 |
INDIANA BOYS WRESTLING SECTIONAL-FEBRUARY 1
1. EAST CHICAGO CENTRAL (9) | 9 AM CT | TICKETS | RESULTS
EAST CHICAGO CENTRAL, GARY WEST SIDE, HAMMOND BISHOP NOLL, HAMMOND CENTRAL, HAMMOND MORTON, LAKE CENTRAL, MERRILLVILLE, MUNSTER, WHITING
2. PORTAGE (8) | 9 AM CT | TICKETS | RESULTS
ANDREAN, CALUMET, GRIFFITH, HIGHLAND, HOBART, LAKE STATION EDISON, PORTAGE, RIVER FOREST.
3. CROWN POINT (10) | 9 AM CT | TICKETS | RESULTS
BOONE GROVE, CROWN POINT, HANOVER CENTRAL, HEBRON, ILLIANA CHRISTIAN, KANKAKEE VALLEY, LOWELL, NORTH NEWTON, SOUTH NEWTON, WHEELER.
4. LAPORTE (7) | 9 AM CT | TICKETS | RESULTS
CHESTERTON, GLENN, KNOX, LAPORTE, MICHIGAN CITY, NEW PRAIRIE, VALPARAISO
5. MISHAWAKA (8) | 9 AM ET | TICKETS | RESULTS
LAVILLE, MISHAWAKA, MISHAWAKA MARIAN, PENN, SOUTH BEND ADAMS, SOUTH BEND RILEY, SOUTH BEND SAINT JOSEPH, SOUTH BEND WASHINGTON
6. PLYMOUTH (10) | 9 AM ET | TICKETS | RESULTS
BREMEN, CASTON, CULVER ACADEMIES, CULVER COMMUNITY, NORTH JUDSON-SAN PIERRE, PLYMOUTH, ROCHESTER COMMUNITY, TRITON, WARSAW COMMUNITY, WINAMAC COMMUNITY.
7. TWIN LAKES (9) | 9 AM ET | TICKETS | RESULTS
BENTON CENTRAL, FRONTIER, LOGANSPORT, NORTH WHITE, PIONEER, RENSSELAER CENTRAL, TRI-COUNTY, TWIN LAKES, WEST CENTRAL
8. LAFAYETTE JEFFERSON (10) | 9 AM ET | TICKETS | RESULTS
ATTICA, CARROLL (FLORA), DELPHI COMMUNITY, FAITH CHRISTIAN, HARRISON (WEST LAFAYETTE), LAFAYETTE CENTRAL CATHOLIC, LAFAYETTE JEFFERSON, MCCUTCHEON, SEEGER, WEST LAFAYETTE
9. ELKHART (8) | 9 AM ET | TICKETS | RESULTS
CONCORD, ELKHART, FAIRFIELD, GOSHEN, JIMTOWN, NORTHRIDGE, NORTHWOOD, WAWASEE
10. WEST NOBLE (9) | 9 AM ET | TICKETS | RESULTS
ANGOLA, CENTRAL NOBLE, DEKALB, EAST NOBLE, FREMONT, LAKELAND, PRAIRIE HEIGHTS, WEST NOBLE, WESTVIEW
11. CARROLL (FORT WAYNE) (9) | 8 AM ET | TICKETS | RESULTS
CARROLL (FORT WAYNE), CHURUBUSCO, COLUMBIA CITY, EASTSIDE, FORT WAYNE BISHOP DWENGER, FORT WAYNE CONCORDIA LUTHERAN, FORT WAYNE NORTHROP, GARRETT, WHITKO
12. NEW HAVEN (10) | 8:30 AM ET | TICKETS | RESULTS
FORT WAYNE BISHOP LUERS, FORT WAYNE NORTH SIDE, FORT WAYNE SNIDER, FORT WAYNE SOUTH SIDE, FORT WAYNE WAYNE, HERITAGE, HOMESTEAD, LEO, NEW HAVEN, WOODLAN
13. PERU (10) | 8 AM ET | TICKETS | RESULTS
LEWIS CASS, HUNTINGTON NORTH, MACONAQUAH, MANCHESTER, NORTH MIAMI, NORTHFIELD, PERU, SOUTHWOOD, TIPPECANOE VALLEY, WABASH
14. OAK HILL (11) | 8 AM ET | TICKETS | RESULTS
EASTBROOK, EASTERN (GREENTOWN), KOKOMO, MADISON-GRANT, MARION, MISSISSINEWA, NORTHWESTERN, OAK HILL, TAYLOR, TRI-CENTRAL, WESTERN
15. JAY COUNTY (9) | 8:30 AM ET | TICKETS | RESULTS
ADAMS CENTRAL, BELLMONT, BLACKFORD, BLUFFTON, JAY COUNTY, NORWELL, SOUTH ADAMS, SOUTHERN WELLS, UNION CITY
16. DELTA (10) | 9 AM ET | TICKETS | RESULTS
COWAN, DALEVILLE, DELTA, MONROE CENTRAL, MUNCIE CENTRAL, RANDOLPH SOUTHERN, WAPAHANI, WES-DEL, WINCHESTER COMMUNITY, YORKTOWN
17. CRAWFORDSVILLE (11) | 9 AM ET | TICKETS | RESULTS
COVINGTON, CRAWFORDSVILLE, FOUNTAIN CENTRAL, NORTH MONTGOMERY, NORTH VERMILLION, PARKE HERITAGE, RIVERTON PARKE, SOUTH VERMILLION, SOUTHMONT, WESTERN BOONE, ZIONSVILLE
18. FRANKFORT (10) | 8 AM ET | TICKETS | RESULTS
CARMEL, CLINTON CENTRAL, CLINTON PRAIRIE, FISHERS, FRANKFORT, HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN, LEBANON, ROSSVILLE, SHERIDAN, WESTFIELD
19. ELWOOD COMMUNITY (10) | 8:30 AM ET | TICKETS | RESULTS
ALEXANDRIA MONROE, ANDERSON, ELWOOD COMMUNITY, FRANKTON, GUERIN CATHOLIC, HAMILTON HEIGHTS, LAPEL, NOBLESVILLE, PENDLETON HEIGHTS, TIPTON
20. INDIANAPOLIS ARSENAL TECHNICAL (12) | 9 AM ET | TICKETS | RESULTS
BREBEUF JESUIT PREPARATORY, INDIANA SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF, INDIANAPOLIS ARSENAL TECHNICAL, INDIANAPOLIS BISHOP CHATARD, INDIANAPOLIS CARDINAL RITTER, INDIANAPOLIS CATHEDRAL, INDIANAPOLIS CRISPUS ATTUCKS, INDIANAPOLIS GEORGE WASHINGTON COMMUNITY, KIPP INDY LEGACY, MTI SCHOOL OF KNOWLEDGE, PROVIDENCE CRISTO REY, PURDUE POLYTECHNIC – BROAD RIPPLE
21. SOUTHPORT (9) | 8 AM ET | TICKETS | RESULTS
BEECH GROVE, CHRISTEL HOUSE, LAWRENCE CENTRAL, LAWRENCE NORTH, MT. VERNON (FORTVILLE), NORTH CENTRAL (INDIANAPOLIS), PERRY MERIDIAN, RONCALLI, SOUTHPORT
22. PURDUE POLYTECHNIC (DOWNTOWN) (@ BROAD RIPPLE HS) (9) | 9 AM ET | TICKETS | RESULTS
FRANKLIN CENTRAL, GREENFIELD-CENTRAL, INDIANAPOLIS LUTHERAN, INDIANAPOLIS SCECINA MEMORIAL, NEW PALESTINE, PURDUE POLYTECHNIC – DOWNTOWN, SHELBYVILLE, TRITON CENTRAL, WARREN CENTRAL
23. CENTERVILLE (11) | 9 AM ET | TICKETS | RESULTS
BLUE RIVER VALLEY, CAMBRIDGE CITY LINCOLN, CENTERVILLE, EASTERN HANCOCK, HAGERSTOWN, KNIGHTSTOWN, NEW CASTLE, NORTHEASTERN, RICHMOND, SHENANDOAH, TRI
24. FRANKLIN COUNTY (10) | 9 AM ET | TICKETS | RESULTS
BATESVILLE, CONNERSVILLE, EAST CENTRAL, FRANKLIN COUNTY, GREENSBURG, LAWRENCEBURG, MILAN, RUSHVILLE CONSOLIDATED, SOUTH DEARBORN, UNION COUNTY
25. AVON (11) | 8:30 AM ET | TICKETS | RESULTS
AVON, BEN DAVIS, BROWNSBURG, DANVILLE COMMUNITY, GREENCASTLE, NORTH PUTNAM, PIKE, PLAINFIELD, SOUTH PUTNAM, SPEEDWAY, TRI-WEST HENDRICKS
26. MOORESVILLE (10) | 9 AM ET | TICKETS | RESULTS
CASCADE, CENTER GROVE, CLOVERDALE, DECATUR CENTRAL, EMINENCE, GREENWOOD COMMUNITY, MARTINSVILLE, MONROVIA, MOORESVILLE, WHITELAND COMMUNITY
27. BLOOMINGTON NORTH (11) | 9 AM ET | TICKETS | RESULTS
BEDFORD NORTH LAWRENCE, BLOOMINGTON NORTH, BLOOMINGTON SOUTH, BROWN COUNTY, EDGEWOOD, NORTHVIEW, OWEN VALLEY, SULLIVAN, TERRE HAUTE NORTH VIGO, TERRE HAUTE SOUTH VIGO, WEST VIGO
28. SOUTHRIDGE (10) | 9 AM ET | TICKETS | RESULTS
FLOYD CENTRAL, FOREST PARK, JASPER, MITCHELL, NEW ALBANY, NORTH KNOX, PAOLI, PIKE CENTRAL, SOUTHRIDGE, TELL CITY
29. JENNINGS COUNTY (13) | 9 AM ET | TICKETS | RESULTS
COLUMBUS EAST, COLUMBUS NORTH, EASTERN (PEKIN), FRANKLIN COMMUNITY, INDIAN CREEK, JENNINGS COUNTY, MADISON CONSOLIDATED, SALEM, SCOTTSBURG, SEYMOUR, SOUTHWESTERN (HANOVER), SWITZERLAND COUNTY, WEST WASHINGTON
30. JEFFERSONVILLE (11) | 9 AM ET | TICKETS | RESULTS
BORDEN, CHARLESTOWN, CLARKSVILLE, CORYDON CENTRAL, CRAWFORD COUNTY, HENRYVILLE, JEFFERSONVILLE, NEW WASHINGTON, NORTH HARRISON, PROVIDENCE, SILVER CREEK
31. CASTLE (9) | 9 AM CT | TICKETS | RESULTS
BOONVILLE, CASTLE, EVANSVILLE BOSSE, EVANSVILLE HARRISON, EVANSVILLE REITZ MEMORIAL, HERITAGE HILLS, SOUTH SPENCER, TECUMSEH, WASHINGTON
32. EVANSVILLE CENTRAL (9) | 9 AM CT | TICKETS | RESULTS
EVANSVILLE CENTRAL, EVANSVILLE F.J. REITZ, EVANSVILLE MATER DEI, EVANSVILLE NORTH, GIBSON SOUTHERN, MT. VERNON, NORTH POSEY, PRINCETON COMMUNITY, VINCENNES LINCOLN.
INDIANA MAT:
DUAL RESULTS: HTTPS://INDIANAMAT.COM/INDEX.PHP?/DUALRESULTS.HTML/BOYS-DUAL-RESULTS/
TOURNAMENT RESULTS: HTTPS://INDIANAMAT.COM/INDEX.PHP?/CURTOURNAMENTRESULTS.HTML/
RANKINGS: HTTPS://INDIANAMAT.COM/INDEX.PHP?/INDIVIDUAL-RANKINGS-MAIN.HTML/
INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL SWIMMING ASSOCIATION: HTTPS://WWW.GOMOTIONAPP.COM/TEAM/RECHSIHSSCA/PAGE/HOME
INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL GYMNASTICS: HTTPS://INHIGHSCHOOLGYMNASTICS.COM/
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
TOP 25
NEBRASKA 80 #18 ILLINOIS 74 OT
#19 MEMPHIS 68 TULANE 56
UCLA 78 #16 OREGON 52
ELSEWHERE:
OHIO STATE 83 PENN STATE 64
ROBERT MORRIS 106 IU INDY 53
CLEVELAND STATE 68 PURDUE FT. WAYNE 58
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
TOP 25:
OREGON 63 #16 MICHIGAN STATE 59
#3 NOTRE DAME 77 VIRGINIA TECH 61
#25 FLORIDA STATE 104 BOSTON COLLEGE 80
#17 NORTH CAROLINA STATE 90 WAKE FOREST 83
#23 VANDERBILT 99 FLORIDA 86
#12 KENTUCKY 65 #22 ALABAMA 56
#7 LSU 107 #13 OKLAHOMA 100
#11 KANSAS STATE 87 IOWA STATE 79 OT
#5 TEXAS 70 MISSOURI 61
#15 NORTH CAROLINA 65 #19 CALIFORNIA 52
#4 USC 82 MINNESOTA 69
ELSEWHERE:
NEBRASKA 74 PURDUE 68
ILLINOIS 69 RUTGERS 65 OT
VALPARAISO 73 INDIANA STATE 54
ILLINOIS CHICAGO 74 EVANSVILLE 43
NBA SCORES
LA LAKERS 134 WASHINGTON 96
CLEVELAND 137 ATLANTA 115
MINNESOTA 138 UTAH 113
MEMPHIS 120 HOUSTON 119
PORTLAND 119 ORLANDO 90
NHL SCORES
WINNIPEG 6 BOSTON 2
MINNESOTA 4 MONTRÉAL 0
TAMPA BAY 3 LOS ANGELES 0
OTTAWA 5 WASHINGTON 4 OT
CAROLINA 3 CHICAGO 2
NY ISLANDERS 3 PHILADELPHIA 0
DETROIT 3 EDMONTON 2
CALGARY 4 ANAHEIM 1
COLUMBUS 2 VEGAS 1 OT
SEATTLE 6 SAN JOSE 2
TOP NATIONAL RELEASES/NEWS
WORLD CHAMPION RUSSIAN SKATERS ON AMERICAN AIRLINES JET BUILT A NEW LIFE AS COACHES IN THE US
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The two Russian figure skating coaches killed in the American Airlines crash were two-time Olympians and former world champions in the pairs event.
They were also a married couple with a son who finished fourth last week at the U.S. national championships in Wichita, Kansas. Their son was not on the same flight.
Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov won a world championship title together in pairs skating in 1994 and narrowly missed out on Olympic medals that year at the Lillehammer Games before moving to the U.S. and coaching generations of young skaters in New England.
After their son Maxim Naumov skated at the national championships, the 52-year-old Shishkova and her 55-year-old husband stayed in Wichita for a development camp for some of the most promising young skaters in the country.
On Wednesday night, the American Airlines jet they were on collided with an Army helicopter near Washington and crashed into the frigid waters of the Potomac River. There were 60 passengers and four crew members on the American Airlines flight and three soldiers aboard the Blackhawk helicopter. Hope of rescuing any survivors evaporated by daybreak.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed Thursday morning that the pair had been on board the plane, and the Skating Club of Boston, where they coached, said Shishkova and Naumov had been killed.
“We are sorry and send condolences to the families and friends who lost those of our fellow citizens who died in the plane crash,” Peskov said.
Two teenage figure skaters and their mothers who were affiliated with the Boston club were also on the flight.
Lyudmila Velikova, the former coach of Shishkova and Naumov, told Russian state news agency Tass she had been in touch with Shishkova and Naumov regularly and that they had spoken shortly before last week’s event in Kansas.
“Everything was going well for them. They traveled to the main competitions in America and they had very good, worthy students,” Velikova said. “Many people wanted to work with them.”
Shishkova and Naumov started skating together in the 1980s in the Soviet Union and were two-time Olympians, but the peak of their career came in 1994 when they won a world championship gold medal together in Chiba, Japan. It was just over a month after they had narrowly missed out on medals at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics.
Shishkova and Naumov were among many Russian skaters who sought a new life as coaches in the U.S. following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Their profiles on the Skating Club of Boston website stated that each had qualified as sports instructors in St. Petersburg, Russia, and that each had at least 20 years of coaching experience. They had also coached at the International Skating Center of Connecticut.
One of their top students was their own son, who won the U.S. junior men’s title in 2020. He was named last week on the U.S. team to compete at next month’s Four Continents Championships in South Korea and as an alternate for the world championships in Boston in March.
The Russian skating federation issued a statement of condolences Thursday.
“The Russian Figure Skating Federation, Russian skaters, coaches, judges and experts are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragedy which has occurred in Washington,” the federation said in a statement. “All of us express our sincere condolences to the families and friends of those who have died, and also to the U.S. Figure Skating Association, which has lost talented junior athletes and qualified coaches in this air disaster. Some of them were our compatriots and had made a significant contribution to (Russian) figure skating.”
2 TEENS FROM A BOSTON SKATING CLUB, THEIR MOTHERS, AND COACHES AMONG PASSENGERS ON DOWNED FLIGHT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Passengers aboard the American Airlines flight that collided with an Army helicopter and crashed into the frigid waters of the Potomac River included teen figure skaters, their mothers and Russian coaches.
There were 60 passengers and four crew members on the American Airlines flight on Wednesday and three soldiers aboard the training flight on the Blackhawk helicopter. Hope of rescuing any survivors evaporated by daybreak.
“We are now at the point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” said John Donnelly, the fire chief in the nation’s capital, on Thursday morning. “We don’t believe there are any survivors.”
Donnelly said he’s confident that the remains of those killed in the crash will be recovered, but it may take some time.
Skaters Jinna Han and Spencer Lane were among those killed, along with their mothers, and coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, said Doug Zeghibe, CEO of the Skating Club of Boston, during a Thursday news conference.
“This will have long reaching impacts for our community,” he said, visibly emotional.
U.S. Figure Skating said in a statement that several skaters, coaches and their family members were on the commercial flight after attending a development camp that followed the championships that wrapped up Sunday in Wichita, Kansas.
“We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts,” U.S. Figure Skating said in a statement.
It’s not the first air tragedy in the U.S. figure skating community. The 18-member U.S. team that was set to compete in the world championships at Prague died when Sabena Flight 548 crashed on Feb. 15, 1961, in Berg-Kampenhout, about 45 minutes outside of Brussels. Also killed were six U.S. coaches and four skating officials, along with some family members.
American Airlines set up a hotline as well as centers in Washington and Wichita for people searching for information about family members who may have been aboard Wednesday’s downed flight. The hotline can be reached at 1-800 679 8215.
Here are the passengers identified in Wednesday night’s crash so far:
___
Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov
Shishkova and Naumov won the pairs title at the 1994 world championships in Chiba, Japan. They competed twice in the Olympics.
The Skating Club of Boston lists them as coaches. Their son, Maxim Naumov, is a competitive figure skater for the U.S.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Shishkova and Naumov were aboard the plane.
“Unfortunately, we see that this sad information is being confirmed,” Peskov said. “There were other fellow citizens there. Bad news today from Washington. We are sorry and send condolences to the families and friends who lost those of our fellow citizens who died in the plane crash.”
The International Skating Union sent a statement saying it was deeply shocked and heartbroken.
From the Skating Club of Boston
Skaters Jinna Han and Spencer Lane were returning from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Jinna, about 15 years old, and Spencer, about 16, were traveling with their mothers, Jin Han and Christine Lane, and their coaches, said Zeghibe.
PLANE CRASHES IN SPORTS HAVE DEVASTATED PRO TEAMS AND COLLEGE PROGRAMS
The crash of an American Airlines jet that collided with an Army helicopter was the latest to strike the sports world in the U.S. and globally.
Among the passengers were several members of the Skating Club of Boston who were returning from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas. They included teenage figure skaters Jinna Han and Spencer Lane, their mothers and two highly regarded Russian-born figure skating coaches, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov. All 64 people on board were feared dead.
Air travel accidents in sports are rare, but they have had devastating impacts on national programs, amateur teams and professional clubs.
A look at some of the plane crash tragedies that have struck the sports world over the decades:
Manchester United football club
On Feb. 6, 1958, a plane carrying the Manchester United team and officials crashed as it attempted to take off on a slush-covered runway in Munich. The team was returning from a European Cup match against Red Star Belgrade, and the plane stopped to refuel in Munich. Among the 23 people were killed were eight Man U players and three team officials. Among those who survived was England great Bobby Charlton.
U.S. Figure Skating team
On Feb 15, 1961, a commercial flight carrying all 18 members of the U.S. Figure Skating team to the world championships in Prague crashed near the Brussels airport, killing everyone one board. Six coaches were also on the plane, along with four team officials and six of the group’s family members.
Wichita State University football
On Oct. 2, 1970, one of two chartered jets carrying the Wichita State football team to a game in Utah crashed near Silver Plume, Colorado. Of the 40 on board, 31 died, including 14 players along with coaches, boosters, administrators, trainers and three crew members. The NTSB later said the crash could be attributed primarily to pilot error.
Marshall University football
On Nov. 14, 1970, a chartered jet carrying the Thundering Herd crashed in fog and rain into a hillside upon approach to an airport near Huntington as the team returned from a game at East Carolina. All 75 on board were killed, including 36 football players and 39 school administrators, coaches, fans, spouses and flight crew.
Uruguay rugby club
On Oct. 13, 1972, a chartered Uruguayan Air Force flight carrying the Old Christians Club from Montevideo Uruguay, to Santiago, Chile, crashed in the snowy Andes Mountains. The wreckage was not found for two months and only 16 of the 45 people on board survived. Facing snow storms, avalanches and starvation, survivors awaiting rescue were forced to eat the flesh of those who had died, and their ordeal has been chronicled in books and movies.
Evansville University basketball
On Dec. 13, 1977, an Air Indiana chartered plane with the Evansville University men’s basketball team crashed 90 seconds after takeoff from the Evansville airport. The 29 people killed included 14 players and first-year head coach Bobby Watson.
U.S. Boxing team
On March 14, 1980 the U.S. amateur boxing team was flying from New York to Poland for international events ahead of the 1980 Moscow Olympics when their plane crashed near Warsaw. All 87 on board were killed, including 14 boxers and eight team staff members. Two months later, the U.S. decided to boycott the Olympics due to the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.
Zambia national soccer team
On April 28, 1993, a military aircraft carrying Zambia’s national soccer team to a World Cup qualifying match crashed into the sea minutes after takeoff from Libreville, Zambia. The team was on its way to play Senegal in the second round of qualifying for the 1994 World Cup. Eighteen players and five team officials were killed.
Oklahoma State University basketball
On Jan. 27, 2001, a turboprop plane carrying 10 men associated with the Oklahoma State University basketball team, including players Nate Fleming and Daniel Lawson, crashed shortly after takeoff near Boulder, Colorado, after the Cowboys had played at the University of Colorado. Six team staffers and broadcasters also were killed.
Russian ice hockey team
On Sept. 7, 2011, 36 players, coaches and staff of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl professional ice hockey team were killed when their plane crashed near Yaroslavl in central Russia. Investigators said one of the two pilots accidentally put the wheel brakes on during takeoff. Of the 45 people on board, 44 died. The only player who survived the initial crash later died of burns. A flight engineer was the sole survivor.
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FLORIDA COACH TODD GOLDEN ‘HAPPY TO PUT IT BEHIND US’ AFTER SCHOOL CLEARS HIM IN TITLE IX CASE
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida coach Todd Golden is ready to move on, with any potential legal response to come after the season.
That might not happen until April for the fifth-ranked Gators.
In the meantime, Florida is embarking on a daunting, two-week stretch that includes three road games against top-15 teams. It begins at No. 6 Tennessee on Saturday — and with Golden seemingly absolved from sexual misconduct accusations he acknowledged were challenging.
The university cleared Golden on Monday following a four-month investigation into allegations of sexual exploitation, sexual harassment and stalking. The school said no evidence was found and ended its investigation.
“Happy to put it behind us,” Golden said Thursday. “Moving forward, we’ll continue to have our full attention on our team and then the game on Saturday. Look forward to talking about basketball with you guys.”
It’s unclear what’s next step for the Title IX complainants, who have the right to appeal the university’s decision. They also could consider filing a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights in Washington or suing in state or federal court. Their attorney, Karen Truszkowski of the Temperance Legal Group, has not responded to a request for comment.
Golden previously sidestepped chances to deny the allegations “out of the respect to the process” and threatened legal action, presumably against his unnamed accusers. The school’s university athletic association, Golden and his attorney released strong statements Monday, with the coach saying the process “dragged on” and his attorney ripping complainants for leaking confidential material.
Golden declined Thursday to address how he plans to rebuild his reputation.
“To be honest, it’s a very fair and real question,” he said. “I’m simply not worried about that right now. My job is to make sure our team’s prepared. My job is to make sure we’re ready to go for Saturday. I’ll worry about all that stuff later.”
The complaint against Golden accused him of sending photos and videos of his genitalia, making unwanted sexual advances on Instagram and requesting sexual favors. The Independent Florida Alligator first reported the allegations in early November.
Golden’s attorney, William Shepherd, said the university’s conclusion “proves that the complaint was meritless.”
The 39-year-old Golden signed a two-year contract extension last March that included a $1 million raise and brought his annual salary to $4 million. The deal runs through the 2029-30 season. He is 58-31 in three seasons.
Florida has won 18 of its first 20 games this season. Winning in Knoxville would boost the team’s postseason resume even more.
“Just going into one of the best venues in college basketball and holding onto your guts enough for 40 or 45 minutes, whatever it takes to find a way to win,” Golden said. “It would be a great feather to put in our cap. And I think if we can somehow find a way to win on Saturday, I think we, at this time, should be a (No. 1) seed, to be honest.”
The Gators also have upcoming games against No. 24 Vanderbilt, at top-ranked Auburn and at No. 14 Mississippi State.
“One of the benefits and one of the great things about this league is you don’t get punished for losing unless you lose in a really bad manner,” he said. “And every win is a resume win. … Win a game like that and maybe you are in a position to be a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.”
WESTERN OREGON WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PLAYERS ALLEGE PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL ABUSE
MONMOUTH, Ore. (AP) — Former players for the Western Oregon women’s basketball team have filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging emotional and physical abuse.
The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in Marion County, seeks $28 million damages. It names the university, its athletic director, president, the dean of students and two coaches.
The women allege the abuse occurred during the 2023-24 season and caused lasting damage for some players, including eating disorders and panic attacks.
The lawsuit claims coaches Jessica Peatross and Demetrius Marlow “physically abused plaintiffs through using excessive and unreasonable amounts of exercise as punishment,” in violation of NCAA guidelines. It says the coaches also made disparaging remarks about the players.
After a group of players complained, they were dismissed from the Division II team, the lawsuit said. That prompted the university to cancel the season with six games remaining.
“I met with the coaches and they said that nobody’s welcome back, that we’re not tough enough, that we’re not good for their culture,“ said former Western Oregon player Jodi Noyes, who lost her scholarship. ”It was truly heartbreaking and devastating.”
Noyes spoke at a news conference with several players in announcing the lawsuit.
Following the cancelation of the season, the university investigated the allegations but found they were unsubstantiated.
“We received the lawsuit and are currently in the process of reviewing its contents,” the university said in a statement.
The coaches named in the lawsuit could not be reached for comment.
TOP 25 ROUNDUP: NEBRASKA UPSETS NO. 18 ILLINOIS IN OT
Brice Williams scored a game-high 27 points, including Nebraska’s last eight in overtime, as the Cornhuskers stopped No. 18 Illinois 80-74 on Thursday in Lincoln, Neb.
Williams snapped a 72-72 tie on a pull-up jumper with 2:28 left, then drove for a layup at the 1:44 mark. He added a baseline jumper with 43 seconds on the clock and capped his clutch spree by sinking both ends of a one-and-one with 26.2 seconds left.
Connor Essegian came off the bench to add 14 points for Nebraska (13-8, 3-7 Big Ten), which ended a six-game skid and also beat the Fighting Illini for the first time in 10 games.
Kasparas Jakucionis scored 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for Illinois (14-7, 6-5). The Illini shot just 35.6 percent from the field and 10 of 42 (23.8 percent) from 3-point range to negate a 58-42 rebounding advantage.
UCLA 78, No. 16 Oregon 52
Eric Dailey Jr. scored 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting to lead the Bruins to a convincing victory over the Ducks in Los Angeles.
Tyler Bilodeau and Dylan Andrews scored 15 points apiece as UCLA (16-6, 7-4 Big Ten) won its fifth consecutive game. Dailey, Bilodeau and Andrews each made three 3-pointers.
Nate Bittle scored 13 points and Keeshawn Barthelemy added 12 for Oregon (16-5, 5-5), which has lost three of its past four games. TJ Bamba added 11 points for the Ducks, who posted their lowest point total of the season.
No. 19 Memphis 68, Tulane 56
Dain Dainja had 19 points and 10 rebounds and the Tigers held off the Green Wave in New Orleans.
PJ Carter and Colby Rogers added 14 points each for Memphis (17-4, 7-1 American Athletic Conference), which won its fourth straight game and prevailed for the eighth time in nine games.
Rowan Brumbaugh scored 19 points and Kaleb Banks added 14 to lead Tulane (11-10, 5-3).
WOMEN’S TOP 25 ROUNDUP: VANDY FRESHMAN MIKAYLA BLAKES SCORES 53
Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes needed a quarter to get warmed up, and then she went off, finishing with an NCAA freshman-record 53 points as the 23rd-ranked Commodores defeated Florida in Gainesville, Fla., on Thursday night.
Blakes made 16 of 24 shots from the field, including 5 of 9 from 3-point range, as she surpassed the 51 points scored by JuJu Watkins as a freshman last season. She also set Vanderbilt’s single-game scoring record and the Southeastern Conference single-game mark.
The Commodores (18-4, 5-3 SEC) turned a close game into what looked like a blowout when Blakes netted 18 points in the second quarter to extend the lead to 46-26. Her 13 in the third period helped pad the lead as high as 23 points, and she poured in 18 more in the fourth to hold off the Gators, who had their deficit down to single digits multiple times.
Iyana Moore collected 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Commodores, who entered the Top 25 this week for the first time in 11 years. Ra Shaya Kyle led Florida (11-11, 2-6) with 23 points and 12 rebounds, and Liv McGill scored 20 points.
No. 3 Notre Dame 77, Virginia Tech 61
Hannah Hidalgo scored 16 of her 30 points in the third quarter as the Fighting Irish won their 13th straight game, defeating the Hokies in Blacksburg, Va.
Hidalgo, who began the night second in the nation in Division I in scoring at 25.4 points per game, went 10 of 16 from the field for the game. She netted the first five points of the third quarter and kept on scoring as Notre Dame (18-2, 9-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) pulled away from a four-point lead at the half.
Carys Baker led Virginia Tech (9-12, 4-6) with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Matilda Ekh followed with 13 points.
No. 7 LSU 107, Oklahoma 100
Mikaylah Williams poured in 37 points, including 16 in the Tigers’ big second quarter, and LSU beat the Sooners in Baton Rouge, La.
LSU (22-1, 7-1 Southeastern Conference) made 68.8 percent of its shots in the second period while outscoring Oklahoma 32-19. The Tigers shot 52.2 percent for the game. Flau’Jae Johnson scored 25 points for LSU, and Aneesah Morrow had 21 points and 12 rebounds.
Payton Verhulst finished with 26 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Sooners (16-5, 4-4), who have lost two of their last three games, both against top-10 teams.
No. 12 Kentucky 65, No. 22 Alabama 56
Georgia Amoore finished with 16 points and nine assists, Clara Strack paired 14 points with 14 rebounds, and the Wildcats dominated the middle quarters for a victory over Crimson Tide in Lexington, Ky.
Amelia Hassett added 11 points, seven boards, three steals and two blocks for Kentucky (18-2, 7-1 SEC), which outscored Alabama 37-19 in he second and thirds quarters combined.
Sarah Ashlee Barker notched 22 points and seven rebounds, and Zaay Green had 14 points for Alabama, but Green also committed six of the team’s 16 turnovers. The Crimson Tide (17-5, 4-4) have lost two straight games four of six.
Oregon 63, No. 16 Michigan State 59
The Ducks built an 18-point in the third quarter and held on in the game’s last four minutes to topple the Spartans in East Lansing, Mich.
Peyton Scott led Oregon (16-5, 7-3 Big Ten) with 12 points, and Phillipina Kyei delivered nine points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Kyei went 3 of 8 from the free-throw line, but she hit two with 13 seconds left to put Oregon ahead by seven.
The Spartans (17-4, 7-3) were held to their lowest point total of the season and took their first home loss after 10 wins. Julia Ayrault logged 14 points, nine rebounds and two blocks, and Grace VanSlooten also scored 14 points.
No. 17 North Carolina State 90, Wake Forest 83
Zoe Brooks led four scorers in double figures with 18 points as the Wolfpack outlasted the Demon Deacons in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Zamareya Jones went for 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting while Saniya Rivers and Tilda Trygger scored 13 and 12, respectively, for NC State (17-4, 9-1 ACC). The Wolfpack were ahead by six at halftime but began the third period with 14 straight points. They led by as many as 24 points in the quarter en route to their sixth straight victory.
Rylie Theuerkauf paced Wake Forest (8-13, 1-9) with 25 points by going 10-for-15 from the floor. Raegyn Conley hit 7 of 11 shots and finished with 21 points off the bench.
No. 25 Florida State 104, Boston College 80
The high-scoring Seminoles put all five starters in double figures while blowing away the Eagles in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Makayla Timpson collected 21 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks, and Division I scoring leader Ta’Niya Latson had 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Florida State (17-4, 7-2 ACC). The Seminoles scored at least 22 points in every quarter.
Teya Sidberry carried Boston College (12-11, 3-7) with 28 points and 10 rebounds. T’yana Todd scored 14 points, and Tatum Greene had 13.
NBA NEWS
UNUSUAL BETTING PATTERNS SURROUNDING PLAY OF TERRY ROZIER IN 2023 GAME WITH CHARLOTTE INVESTIGATED
MIAMI (AP) — Unusual betting patterns surrounding the play of then-Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier in a game nearly two years ago are now under investigation by federal prosecutors, part of the same probe that led to the lifetime ban of Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter, the NBA confirmed Thursday.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the investigation, noting that Rozier — who played for the Hornets on the date in question, and now plays for the Miami Heat — has not been charged with a crime, nor has he been accused of wrongdoing.
The NBA said it looked into the matter at the time and did not find that any league rules were broken.
“In March 2023, the NBA was alerted to unusual betting activity related to Terry Rozier’s performance in a game between Charlotte and New Orleans,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement, first released to The Wall Street Journal and subsequently released to The Associated Press and other outlets. “The league conducted an investigation and did not find a violation of NBA rules. We are now aware of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York related to this matter and have been cooperating with that investigation.”
The U.S. Attorney’s office did not immediately comment. The Heat and the Hornets both referred to the NBA statement when asked for comment.
The game involving Rozier that is in question was played March 23, 2023, a matchup between the Hornets and the New Orleans Pelicans. Rozier played the first 9 minutes, 36 seconds of that game — and not only did not return that night, citing a foot issue, but did not play again that season. Charlotte had eight games remaining and was not in playoff contention, so it did not seem particularly unusual that Rozier was shut down for the season’s final games.
In that March 23 game, Rozier finished with five points, four rebounds and two assists in that opening period — a productive quarter, but well below his usual total output for a full game.
Posts still online from March 23, 2023 show that some bettors were furious with sportsbooks that evening when it became evident that Rozier was not going to return to the Charlotte-New Orleans game after the first quarter, with many turning to social media to say that something “shady” had gone on regarding the prop bets involving his stats for that night.
One frustrated bettor posted an image of a ticket for a three-leg parlay where a $65 wager would have returned $401.95. The bettor played over 6.5 goals in the Tampa Bay-Ottawa NHL game and over 8.5 rebounds for Julius Randle, both of which hit. But the ticket didn’t cash because Rozier finished well below his prop bet of 32.5 combined points, assists and rebounds. The bettor picked Rozier to exceed those numbers.
Another bettor posted that night of getting “some inside info” that Rozier was leaving that game early and showed an image of how he turned a $122 wager into a $222 payout.
Some sportsbooks offered Rozier prop bets — his totals for that night were generally set around 21.5 points, six assists and four rebounds — on March 23, then took them down hours before the start of the Charlotte-New Orleans game. It was not clear why that happened, and some bettors wondered aloud why that unusual move had taken place. Rozier was not listed on the team’s injury report going into the game.
The 30-year-old Rozier is in the third year of a four-year, $96.3 million contract.
Porter’s ban came after a similar investigation into his performance and “prop bets” — wagers where bettors can choose whether a player will reach a certain statistical standard or not during a game. Last April, the NBA banned Porter for life after a league probe found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors and wagered on games, even betting on his team to lose.
The Porter investigation started once the league learned from “licensed sports betting operators and an organization that monitors legal betting markets” about unusual gambling patterns surrounding Porter’s performance in a game on March 20, 2024, against Sacramento. The league determined that Porter gave a bettor information about his own health status prior that game and said that another individual — known to be an NBA bettor — placed an $80,000 bet that Porter would not hit the numbers set for him in parlays through an online sports book. That bet would have won $1.1 million.
The specifics of the bets that triggered the probe into the Hornets-Pelicans game are unknown.
NBA ROUNDUP: GRIZZLIES EDGE ROCKETS IN FINAL SECONDS
Jaren Jackson Jr. sank two free throws with 8.6 seconds remaining to lift the Memphis Grizzlies to a 120-119 victory over the visiting Houston Rockets on Thursday.
In a matchup of two of the Western Conference’s top three teams, the game featured 14 ties and 13 lead changes. Houston had an opportunity to win at the buzzer, but Fred VanVleet missed a 3-point attempt.
Desmond Bane led the Grizzlies with 24 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. Luke Kennard scored 22 points, and Jackson finished with 21. Memphis ended the contest on a 13-4 run to register its seventh win in eight games.
Houston, which had its four-game win streak end, got 25 points, six rebounds and five assists from Jalen Green. Dillon Brooks contributed 22 points and Amen Thompson had 21 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four blocks.
Cavaliers 137, Hawks 115
Darius Garland scored 26 points and Donovan Mitchell added 24 as Cleveland beat visiting Atlanta.
Ty Jerome scored 20 points off the bench, Evan Mobley celebrated his maiden NBA All-Star Game selection with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Jarrett Allen pulled down 15 boards to go with nine points. A dominant 39-21 third quarter, a clinical 58.2 percent shooting clip and a 53-43 rebounding advantage all contributed to Cleveland’s resounding third straight victory.
Zaccharie Risacher scored 30 points on 11-of-14 shooting for the Hawks, while sixth man De’Andre Hunter had 25 and Trae Young posted 15 points and 10 assists.
Timberwolves 138, Jazz 113
Anthony Edwards had 36 points and 11 assists as Minnesota extended its winning streak to five games with a win in Salt Lake City.
Edwards made 12 of 18 field-goal attempts, hitting 6 of 9 from 3-point range, in addition to blocking three shots. Minnesota rookie Rob Dillingham, the eighth overall pick in the 2024 draft, chipped in with career highs of 19 points and eight assists. Luka Garza scored a season-high 16. Former Jazz players Rudy Gobert and Nickeil Alexander-Walker both played well in their old home. Gobert totaled 16 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four blocks, while Alexander-Walker produced 15 points and five assists. Minnesota’s Julius Randle left due to right groin soreness.
Keyonte George topped six Jazz players in double figures with 23 points. Collin Sexton added 19 points, while John Collins and Jordan Clarkson each netted 16 points.
Lakers 134, Wizards 96
LeBron James had 24 points and 11 assists to help visiting Los Angeles rout Washington.
Bronny James, the 20-year-old son of 40-year-old LeBron, entered the game for Los Angeles to start the fourth quarter and played the final 12 minutes. He finished with a career-high five points. Rui Hachimura added 22 points, while Shake Milton chipped in 21 points off the bench as the Lakers won their fifth game in six tries.
Washington, which dropped its 16th straight game, was led by Jordan Poole’s 19 points and Kyle Kuzma’s 13.
Trail Blazers 119, Magic 90
Reserve Shaedon Sharpe poured in 23 points and Portland cruised to a victory over visiting Orlando.
Sharpe went 3-for-6 from 3-point range as part of a 9-for-14 performance from the field. Scoot Henderson also had 23 points to go along with seven assists for the Trail Blazers, who are 6-1 over their past seven games.
Wagner finished with a team-high 24 points as the Magic fell for the seventh time in eight games. Paolo Banchero paired 21 points with six rebounds
NFL NEWS
RAVENS’ TUCKER ACCUSED OF INAPPROPRIATE SEXUAL BEHAVIOR BY MASSAGE THERAPISTS
Six female massage therapists from high-end spas and wellness centers in the Baltimore area say Ravens kicker Justin Tucker engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior with them in incidents that took place from 2012-16, according to The Baltimore Banner’s Julie Scharper, Brenna Smith, and Justin Fenton.
Multiple massage therapists accuse Tucker of exposing his genitals during treatment sessions. Two therapists say he brushed them with his exposed penis. Three women also say Tucker left what they believed to be ejaculate on the massage table after three of his treatments.
Tucker’s behavior forced several therapists to end his treatment sessions early or refuse to work on him again. Management at two spas said Tucker is banned from returning, according to Scharper, Smith, and Fenton. Most of the massage therapists added that they originally didn’t know each other before being contacted by the Banner.
Five of the massage therapists said Tucker asked them to massage his pelvic region or inner thighs while he had an erection. He’s then accused of repeatedly wiggling his pelvis to remove the sheets, fully or partially exposing his genitals.
Tucker called the accusations “unequivocally false.”
“Throughout my career as a professional athlete, I have always sought to conduct myself with the utmost professionalism,” he wrote in a statement Thursday. “I have never before been accused of misconduct of any kind, and I have never been accused of acting inappropriately in front of a massage therapist or during a massage therapy session or during other bodywork. I have never received any complaints from a massage therapist, have never been dismissed from a massage therapy or bodywork session, and have never been told that I was not welcome at any spa or other place of business.
“In accusing me of misconduct, the article takes innocuous, or ambiguous, interactions and skews them so out of proportion they are no longer recognizable, and it presents vague insinuations as fact. This is desperate tabloid fodder.”
Tucker’s attorneys, Thomas A. Clare and Steven J. Harrison of the firm Clare Locke, called the accusations “impossible to prove.”
The NFL and Ravens said Thursday they’re aware of the allegations. NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said the league “will look into the matter,” according to The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec.
“We can tell if it’s intentional or just an accident, and this was intentional,” said one of the therapists, who added that Tucker touched her wrist with his naked penis.
“I can’t watch sports anymore. I see his face everywhere,” another therapist said.
Tucker entered the NFL as an undrafted rookie in 2012 after a college career at Texas. The 35-year-old’s spent his entire career with the Ravens and is one of the most accomplished kickers of all time.
BILLS GM WON’T MAKE EXCUSES BUT STILL DISAGREES WITH REFS AFTER TALKING TO NFL
Brandon Beane disagrees with crucial calls made by the referees during Sunday’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, but the Buffalo Bills general manager doesn’t want to use that as the reason his franchise fell short in the playoffs again.
“It’s frustrating,” Beane said Thursday, according to Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team. “There is only so much that I can say. We work with the league to try to get clarity and I’ll give them credit. They’ve taken our calls, they’ve sent video.”
“I still feel like he got (the fourth-down play). … Nothing has changed my mind on that.”
The Chiefs advanced to their third straight Super Bowl after defeating the Bills 32-29, but multiple calls made by the officials in the game were criticized.
Perhaps the most notable play was Bills quarterback Josh Allen falling short on fourth-and-inches early in the fourth quarter with Buffalo up 22-21. The spot of the ball a play earlier was also questioned.
After recovering the ball, the Chiefs scored a touchdown and two-point convert to take a 29-22 lead with 10:14 left.
Another controversial moment took place in the second quarter when Kansas City receiver Xavier Worthy came away with the ball on a contested catch. The officials ruled it a reception, but the Bills challenged it, alleging that he didn’t have full possession while fighting for the ball with safety Cole Bishop.
The ball seemingly didn’t move after hitting the ground. Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin was also flagged for defensive holding on the play, so K.C. would’ve gotten the first down regardless of the refs’ decision, but Worthy’s third-down reception gained 21 extra yards to set up a TD.
NFL rules state that possession goes to the offense if two players retain the ball after catching it “simultaneously.”
“I’m not sure either player had possession on the Bishop-Worthy play when the ball touched the ground,” Beane said. “When the ball touches the ground, someone has to have established possession.”
He added: “They’ve given how they see it, and that’s their job, but it is what it is. Those are just like plays in a game, too. By no means are we saying that’s why we lost the game.”
Buffalo is 0-4 in the playoffs in the Allen era against the Patrick Mahomes-led Chiefs. Beane – who once again doesn’t expect the Bills to be big offseason spenders – said he doesn’t think exclusively about K.C. when reshaping his roster.
“You can’t just build your team for one team,” he said, according to ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg.
“Keep kicking the door and you’re going to knock it down. “That’s my mentality,” Beane added, per Pro Football Talk’s Josh Alper.
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REPORT: BIG TEN CONSIDERING PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTORS
The Big Ten Conference is gauging investment interest from private equity firms despite the league’s previous opposition toward meshing risk capital and college sports, Sportico reported Thursday.
The investment bank Evercore, which was previously retained by the Big Ten, fielded initial offers from private equity firms earlier this week, per the report. A Big Ten spokesperson confirmed Evercore’s inquiries to Sportico but declined to provide additional details.
“To better support its 18 member institutions, the conference is evaluating potential strategic partnerships in order to enhance the conference’s event, sponsorship and other ancillary business endeavors,” the Big Ten spokesperson told Sportico in an email.
Evercore’s inquiries come after Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti pushed back on welcoming private equity into intercollegiate sports last fall. Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey took a similar stance when leaders from the two conferences met in October in Nashville. The Big Ten and SEC will reconvene for another summit next month in New Orleans.
No other conferences currently have a private equity deal, although the Big 12 explored that route, CBS Sports reported last June. Things could change in the near future if the House v. NCAA lawsuit is finalized this spring. The groundbreaking settlement would permit schools to share revenue directly with their athletes and distribute about $2.8 billion to former athletes who were not compensated for their name, image and likeness.
The Big Ten generated $880 million in revenue in 2023, the most among all conferences, according to Sportico. That also marked the first year of the Big Ten’s seven-year multimedia rights deal with CBS, Fox and NBC worth $7 billion.
FORMER BALL STATE COACH MIKE NEU JOINS ILLINOIS’ STAFF AS SENIOR OFFENSIVE ASSISTANT
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Former Ball State coach Mike Neu has joined Illinois’ staff as a senior offensive assistant.
Illinois coach Bret Bielema announced the hire Thursday.
Neu went 40-63 at Ball State from 2016-24. He was fired in November, when Ball State had a 3-7 record with two games remaining in its season.
His 2020 Ball State team won a Mid-American Conference title and beat San Jose State in the Arizona Bowl, the first bowl victory in school history. That team finished 23rd in The Associated Press Top 25.
Neu previously worked as a quarterbacks coach for Tulane (2012-13) and the New Orleans Saints (2014-15).
MANNING INTENDS TO ‘BRING TEXAS BACK’
Quarterback Arch Manning is eager to lead Texas after waiting his turn behind Quinn Ewers over the past two seasons.
“I haven’t really played much, so I guess it really hasn’t started,” Manning said in an interview with ESPN’s Marty Smith. “It’s been fun. I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve learned a lot. I love my coaches. I love my teammates. I’m ready to get it rolling.”
Manning, a redshirt sophomore next fall, is expected to assume the reigns of Texas’ offense next season after Ewers declared for the 2025 NFL Draft earlier in January.
Under head coach Steve Sarkisian, the Longhorns have steadily re-established themselves as a top contender for a national title. Texas won the 2023 Big 12 championship in its final year in the conference and competed for the SEC title this past season.
Manning pointed to his admiration for Sarkisian and the program’s rising stock as his main reasons for joining the Longhorns after high school.
“I wanted to bring Texas back,” Manning said.
Manning – nephew of Hall of Famer Peyton Manning and two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning – redshirted in 2023 but got his first taste of life as a starter when Ewers went down with an injury in 2024.
Manning passed for 223 yards and four touchdowns in relief of Ewers against UTSA. The 19-year-old earned his first collegiate start the following week against Louisiana-Monroe but described his play in the contest as “greedy” to Smith, throwing two touchdowns and two interceptions in the blowout win. Manning bounced back the following game by completing 83% of his passes for 325 yards, two TDs, and no INTs.
Manning picked his grandfather and namesake, Archie, when asked which family member his game best resembles, citing their ability to use their legs and arms at the position.
Despite carrying a famous last name and being considered one of the more popular collegiate stars in the country, Manning said he isn’t concerned about establishing his legacy.
“I’m just worried about playing ball and winning games,” he said.
Manning is expected to be the focal point of a roster that returns Ryan Wingo and DeAndre Moore on offense next season.
NHL ROUNDUP: MARC-ANDRE FLEURY, WILD BLANK HABS
Marc-Andre Fleury, playing his final game in his home province, recorded his 76th career shutout as the visiting Minnesota Wild beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-0 on Thursday.
Fleury made 19 saves while tying Ed Belfour and Tony Esposito for the 10th-most shutouts in NHL history. The 40-year-old veteran, who has announced this is his last season, is the first goalie in NHL history to record a shutout as a teenager and at 40 years or older.
Marco Rossi and Frederick Gaudreau each had a goal and an assist for the Wild, who won their third game in a row. Liam Ohgren and Devin Shore added a goal apiece.
Jakub Dobes made 23 saves for the Canadiens, who have lost four straight (0-3-1). It was Dobes’ first regulation loss in seven career appearances (5-1-1).
Jets 6, Bruins 2
Mark Scheifele capped a two-goal effort with the eventual game-winner and Wakefield, R.I., native Parker Ford scored in his NHL debut as visiting Winnipeg beat Boston.
Scheifele’s second goal, 35 seconds into the third period, marked the 328th of his Winnipeg career, tying him with Ilya Kovalchuk for the most in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers franchise history. Nikolaj Ehlers and Vladislav Namestnikov added a goal and an assist, Kyle Connor scored, and Connor Hellebuyck made 27 saves for Winnipeg, which is on a five-game winning streak.
Elias Lindholm led the Bruins with a goal and an assist, while Brad Marchand also scored and added 14 penalty minutes. Joonas Korpisalo stopped 21 shots in Boston’s second consecutive loss and third in a five-game span (2-3-0).
Hurricanes 3, Blackhawks 2
Mikko Rantanen scored in his home debut for Carolina, which defeated Chicago in Raleigh, N.C.
Rantanen was in his third game overall since joining the team via trade from the Colorado Avalanche. The right winger had gone eight straight games without a goal. Seth Jarvis and Jaccob Slavin also had goals for the Hurricanes. Juha Jaaska provided two assists. Pyotr Kochetkov made 18 saves as the Hurricanes pushed their points streak to seven games (6-0-1).
Ilya Mikheyev and Connor Bedard scored for the Blackhawks, who lost for the fourth time in five games (1-2-2). Arvid Soderblom stopped 24 shots.
Red Wings 3, Oilers 2 (SO)
Lucas Raymond and Dylan Larkin scored in a shootout to complete a comeback from a two-goal deficit and give Detroit a win in Edmonton.
Alex Lyon made 45 saves and denied Connor McDavid in the shootout. Edmonton’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins missed the target in the game-ending tiebreaker. Michael Rasmussen and Larkin scored in regulation for the Red Wings, who won their fourth straight game.
Leon Draisaitl and Jeff Skinner got the goals for the Oilers, who had their three-game winning streak end. Stuart Skinner stopped 32 shots.
Blue Jackets 2, Golden Knights 1 (OT)
Cole Sillinger batted in a rebound 52 seconds into overtime as Columbus rallied to win in Las Vegas.
Adam Fantilli also scored for Columbus, which leapfrogged the Boston Bruins into the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot. Elvis Merzlikins finished with 25 saves for the Blue Jackets, who won for the third time in four games.
Tomas Hertl had the lone goal for Vegas, which remained tied with Edmonton for first place in the Pacific Division. Samsonov stopped 22 of 24 shots.
Senators 5, Capitals 4 (OT)
Thomas Chabot scored at 1:46 of overtime and Ottawa beat visiting Washington after surrendering a two-goal third-period lead.
Washington’s Alex Ovechkin scored career goal No. 876 to pull within 19 of passing Wayne Gretzky for first place all time. He added two assists to go with his 23rd goal of the season. Dylan Strome scored twice and Connor McMichael had a goal and an assist for the Capitals, who had won seven of their previous eight games. Charlie Lindgren made 29 saves.
Josh Norris had a goal and two assists for the Senators, who have won three straight. Pinto, Chabot and Jake Sanderson each logged a goal and an assist, and Ridly Greig also scored. Anton Forsberg stopped 31 shots.
Flames 4, Ducks 1
Matt Coronato scored two goals for Calgary in a win against visiting Anaheim.
Adam Klapka scored his first goal of the season, Blake Coleman also tallied and Dustin Wolf made 30 saves for the Flames, who avoided losing three in a row for the first time since a four-game skid from Nov. 25-30.
Frank Vatrano scored short-handed for his 300th NHL point and John Gibson made 26 saves for the Ducks, who had won three in a row.
Lightning 3, Kings 0
Brandon Hagel scored twice in a three-point outing, Andrei Vasilevskiy notched his third shutout of the season and Tampa Bay blanked visiting Los Angeles.
The Lightning got goals from Hagel in the first and the third period plus Anthony Cirelli’s empty-net tally to win for the second time in six games. Vasilevskiy stopped 28 shots and added an assist.
David Rittich made 30 saves as Los Angeles lost 3-0 for the second straight game. The Kings are 2-7-1 in their past 10 games and have lost nine straight at Tampa.
Islanders 3, Flyers 0
Ilya Sorokin made 23 saves and Marc Gatcomb scored his first NHL goal as surging New York skated to a victory at Philadelphia.
Simon Holmstrom and Kyle Palmieri also scored for the Islanders, who have won six straight games. New York has allowed a total of seven goals during the hot stretch.
Ivan Fedotov made 25 saves for the Flyers, who have lost four of their past five games.
Kraken 6, Sharks 2
Defenseman Brandon Montour scored twice and Chandler Stephenson added a goal and two assists as Seattle defeated visiting San Jose.
Oliver Bjorkstrand and Eeli Tolvanen had a goal and an assist apiece and Jaden Schwartz also tallied for the Kraken, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Joey Daccord made 26 saves.
Carl Grundstrom and Tyler Toffoli scored for the Sharks, who lost for the seventh time in their past eight games. Yaroslav Askarov was pulled after allowing four goals on 11 shots. Alexandar Georgiev stopped 20 of 22 shots in relief.
SOCCER NEWS
DENVER TO JOIN NWSL AS 16TH FRANCHISE IN 2026
The National Women’s Soccer League officially announced on Thursday that Denver will join the league as its 16th team in 2026.
“As the NWSL continues its rapid growth, we knew it was critical to launch our 16th team in a city with a passionate sports culture and vibrant fan base — and Denver is the perfect match,” NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said.
“The club’s plans for a purpose-built stadium and state-of-the-art training facility demonstrate a commitment to providing world-class environments for our players and fans alike.”
Denver’s ownership group, led by IMA Financial chairman and CEO Rob Cohen, reportedly paid a league-record $110 million franchise fee. Other investors include Project Level, a group led by Mellody Hobson and former Washington Commanders president Jason Wright, and FirstTracks Sports Ventures LLC.
Cohen will be the team’s controlling owner and Hobson will serve as alternate governor.
“Being around the sports world, I heard about the grassroots effort around bringing a soccer team to Denver,” Cohen told ESPN. “I met with that group and the more I started to learn about what they were thinking, what their vision was, set me on a journey to start learning about the league, what they were doing, to the point where ultimately wanted to lead the bid and hopefully bring a team to Denver, which we’re now doing.”
Denver emerged from a finalists group that also included bids from Cleveland and Cincinnati.
The NWSL’s 15th franchise was awarded in 2023 to Boston, which will also begin play in 2026. Boston paid a $53 million expansion fee, matching the amount paid by Bay FC, which completed its inaugural season in 2024.
The NWSL kicked off with eight teams in 2013, following the collapse of the Women’s United Soccer Association (2001-03) and Women’s Professional Soccer (2009-11). The circuit currently features teams in (or near) New York; Chicago; Seattle; Washington; Houston; Orlando; Louisville; Los Angeles; San Diego; San Jose; Salt Lake City; Kansas City, Mo.; Portland, Ore.; and Cary, N.C.
TOP INDIANA RELEASES/NEWS
INDIANA FEVER
CAITLIN CLARK AND FEVER WILL PLAY EXHIBITION AGAINST BRAZILIAN NATIONAL TEAM AT IOWA
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever will be playing the Brazilian National Team this WNBA preseason at the University of Iowa.
The Fever announced the addition to their preseason schedule Thursday. The game on May 4 will allow Clark to play as a pro with her current team at Carver-Hawkeye Arena where she starred in college on her way to becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA last spring.
Indiana, scheduled to open the Fever’s 25th WNBA season May 17 against Chicago, also has Damiris Dantas on the roster. She played in two Olympics for the Brazilian National Team, at the 2012 London Games and the 2016 Rio Games.
Iowa is retiring Clark’s No. 22 on Sunday. Clark finished her college career last season as the all-time leading men’s or women’s scorer in NCAA Division I history and is widely regarded as a transformational figure in the women’s game. The flair of her game and long-distance 3-point shots spawned a legion of fans adorned in her No. 22 jersey at games both home and away.
She then joined fellow All-Stars Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston in her WNBA debut, helping the Fever reach the playoffs for the 14th time in franchise history.
INDIANA PACERS
PASCAL SIAKAM NAMED AS AN EASTERN CONFERENCE RESERVE FOR 2025 NBA ALL-STAR GAME
INDIANAPOLIS – The NBA announced Thursday that Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam has been named as an Eastern Conference reserve for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game to be played Sunday, Feb. 16 in San Francisco.
Siakam will appear in his third NBA All-Star Game and his first as a member of the Pacers. Acquired from Toronto in a trade last January, he becomes the 16th Pacers player to be named to an NBA All-Star Game, joining Don Buse, Billy Knight, Reggie Miller, Detlef Schrempf, Rik Smits, Dale Davis, Jermaine O’Neal, Brad Miller, Ron Artest, Danny Granger, Roy Hibbert, Paul George, Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis and Tyrese Haliburton.
“It feels awesome to be named an All-Star again,” said Siakam. “We have a lot of ambitions and goals as a team, but it feels good to be acknowledged as an All-Star to represent the Pacers. I love being here and being part of this team. Being named an All-Star for the first time as a Pacer means a lot, and hopefully there will be more.”
Siakam has led the Pacers in scoring and rebounding throughout the 2024-25 season and is averaging 20.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. He ranks 20th in the NBA in field goal percentage at 53.2 percent and is shooting a career-best 41.8 percent from 3-point range. Siakam led the Pacers with a season-high 37 points in Indiana’s last outing, a 133-119 win over the Detroit Pistons Wednesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The Pacers have posted a 10-2 record since the beginning of January and have won 16 of their last 21 games overall to improve their record to 26-20 this season, which is currently the fifth-best record in the Eastern Conference.
The reserves for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game were selected by NBA head coaches. The 74th NBA All-Star Game, which will feature a new tournament-style format with players divided into four teams, tips off from Chase Center in San Francisco Sunday, Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
INDY FUEL
FUEL LOOK TO KO GREENVILLE IN FIRST SERIES MATCHUP
INDIANAPOLIS- The Fuel are on a three-game win streak and hope to keep it going against South Division opponent Greenville. The Swamp Rabbits lost to Indy’s divisional rival Cincinnati on Wednesday, so both teams will look to generate offense and physicality.
LAST TIME OUT
These two teams have seen each other a lot over the years, however the last time the Fuel saw the Swamp Rabbits was March 23, 2023. Greenville shut out the Fuel 2-0 with both goals occurring in the 3rd period. Former Fuel goaltender Zach Driscoll faced 36 shots in a low PIM yet physical game.
CAPITALIZE ON EVERY PLAY
Greenville has allowed 11 shorthanded goals, 4 of which are on the road. Indy’s Darby Llewellyn and Jordan Martin have capitalized on those opportunities at home, being responsible for all three of the Fuel’s shorthanded goals this season. With prior games against the Swamp Rabbits ranging from 0 Fuel PIMS to 25, the Fuel need to never let go of momentum, even if they are shorthanded.
PURDUE MEN’S BASKETBALL
RIVALRY RENEWED AS #10 PURDUE HOSTS INDIANA ON FRIDAY NIGHT IN MACKEY
GAMEDAY INFORMATION — GAME 22
[10] Purdue (16-5, 8-2) vs. Indiana (14-7, 5-5)
Friday, January 31, 2025
8 p.m. ET | West Lafayette, Ind.
Mackey Arena (14,876)
TELEVISION: FOX (Jason Benetti, Robbie Hummel)
RADIO: Purdue Global Radio Network (Rob Blackman, Bobby Riddell)
THE NOTES TO KNOW
• No. 10 Purdue begins the second half of league play while wrapping up a three-game homestand on Friday when Indiana visits Mackey Arena for the 220th meeting between the two teams. The Boilermakers look to remain within two games in the Big Ten race of league leader Michigan State, while winning for the ninth time in their last 10 games.
• Friday is the annual Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers game. The Purdue coaching staff will wear suits, while sporting shoes designed by cancer patients at Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis. The shoes are being auctioned off with all proceeds going to Riley’s. In addition, Purdue’s Hammer Down Cancer jerseys worn last Friday earned $35,004 for the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research.
• Through Wednesday’s games, Purdue’s six quad-one victories are the fourth most in the country (Auburn, Oregon, Kentucky), while the 10 quad-one and two victories combined are the fifth most (Auburn, Alabama – 13; Marquette, Texas A&M – 11). Purdue’s four wins over nationally-ranked teams are tied for fifth. Only Purdue, Arizona and West Virginia have four or more ranked wins outside of the SEC.
• Purdue’s strength of schedule ranks third nationally (behind Alabama and Auburn), one year after ranking second nationally (behind Alabama).
• In the last four years, Purdue has defeated teams ranked No. 1 (Arizona), No. 2 (Alabama), No. 4 (Marquette), No. 5 (Villanova), No. 6 (Wisconsin, Tennessee, Gonzaga), No. 7 (Tennessee), No. 8 (Duke), No. 9 (Illinois), No. 12 (Illinois), No. 13 (Oregon, Illinois), No. 16 (Ohio State), No. 17 (Illinois), No. 18 (North Carolina, Gonzaga), No. 20 (Utah State) and No. 21 (Michigan).
• Since the turn of the calendar to January, Purdue ranks No. 2 nationally in efficiency behind Houston via BartTorvik.com. The Boilermakers are sixth in offensive efficiency and fifth in defensive efficiency in that span. Through December 31, Purdue ranked 29th overall in efficiency while placing 15th in offensive efficiency and 77th in defensive efficiency.
• Over the last eight games (Jan. 2 vs. Minnesota), Purdue is averaging just 8.9 turnovers per game while forcing 15.9 (+7.00 margin). The Boilermakers have outscored their opponents 162-64 (12.3 points per game) in points off turnovers, including 59-13 in the last two games.
• Since the 2015-16 season (10 years), Purdue owns a 133-50 (.727) record in Big Ten regular-season play. The 72.7 winning percentage is the best by a Big Ten program over a 10-season span since Indiana went 132-48 (.733) from 1975 to 1984.
• Braden Smith (3rd) and Trey Kaufman-Renn (6th) are the only teammates nationally to rank in the top 10 for the KenPom National Player of the Year race. Since the 2016-17 season, Purdue has had eight players ranked in the KenPom top 10 (including this year).
• Braden Smith is the only player in America with 300 points, 150 assists and 75 rebounds. Smith is on pace to become the first player since California’s Jason Kidd (1993-94) to average 15.0 points, 8.0 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. The others to do so in NCAA history include Gary Payton (1989-90), Kenny Anderson (1989-90) and Magic Johnson (1978-79).
• Braden Smith leads the Big Ten in both assists (8.9) and steals per game (2.4). Mike Conley Jr. (OSU; 2007) is the only Big Ten player to do that.
• The backcourt tandem of Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith have started all 95 games together (100th game will come against Wisconsin on Feb. 15), posting a record of 79-16 as starters. The duo has combined to score 2,210 career points with 824 assists and 661 rebounds. They have combined for 306 made 3-pointers.
• Braden Smith needs just 27 rebounds to become the second player ever with 1,000 points, 600 assists and 500 rebounds in his first three years.
• Trey Kaufman-Renn is the only player nationally to average 18.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and shoot at least 58 percent from the field. In Big Ten history, only Chris Webber, Evan Eschmeyer, and Trayce Jackson-Davis have done that.
PURDUE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
NEBRASKA OUTLASTS PURDUE IN MACKEY
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue women’s basketball team took Nebraska to the wire in a 74-68 loss on Thursday night in Mackey Arena. The Boilermakers trimmed a 12-point fourth quarter deficit down to three with two minutes to play but could not erase the gap.
Rashunda Jones exploded for a season-high 20 points, going 5-of-10 from the field and 10-of-10 at the line. It was the sophomores’ fourth 20-point performance of her career and three shy of her career high.
McKenna Layden continued her hot streak with a career-high 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from behind the arc, matching the most triples in a game by a Boilermaker this season.
Sophie Swanson finished in double figures for the first time since Dec. 21 with 11 points from 4-of-6 from the floor with a trio of 3-pointers. Destini Lombard posted her 15th in double figures this season with 11 points.
The Boilermakers (7-14, 0-10) shot an even 50% (24-48) from the field and connected on a season-high nine 3-pointers, finishing the night 9-of-20 from distance.
Purdue stood firm on the defensive end, holding the Cornhuskers (16-5, 7-3) to two made 3-pointers. Freshmen posts Kendall Puryear and Lana McCarthy teamed up to limit Alexis Markowski to two rebounds on the night, after grabbing 21 in the matchup last year.
Purdue won the battle on the boards 29-28 and flipped five offensive rebounds into seven point, as Nebraska scored three points on eight second chance opportunities.
Markowski finished with 18 points, while freshman Britt Prince led the way with a game-high 23 points, including 15 in the second half.
Nebraska took advantage of Purdue’s miscues to score 29 points on 21 turnovers.
KEY MOMENTS
• Jones powered the Boilermakers in the early going with the first six points of the game.
• Nebraska opened a seven-point advantage with 3:33 to play in the first, but Layden hit back-to-back 3-pointers before Lombard beat the buzzer to trim the gap to 17-16 10 minutes into the game.
• Purdue shot 46.2% form the field and 2-of-5 from behind the arc in the first.
• Swanson sparked Purdue into the lead in the second quarter with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting and a pair of triples.
• The Boilermakers were 9-of-14 from the floor and outscored Nebraska 23-19 in the second.
• Jones tallied 12 points in the first half on 4-of-6 shooting and a perfect 4-of-4 at the line, as Purdue went 55.6 from the field to lead 39-36 at the break.
• Lombard made a runner in the lane to start the third, before Nebraska went on a 12-2 run.
• Purdue overcame a 6:52 drought without a field goal in the third as Nebraska opened up a seven-point advantage.
• Layden connected twice from distance in the third, and Jones notched six points with Purdue trailing 57-53 with 10 minutes to play.
• Nebraska opened the fourth on an eight-point run, before Swanson hit a triple to cut the gap to nine with 6:39 to play.
• Swanson’s 3-pointer started a 13-4 run that saw the Boilermakers pull within three at 69-66 with 2:36 to go. Six different players scored on the run.
• Purdue hit four of their final six shots in the game, but Prince powered the Cornhuskers with 11 points in the final frame.
NOTES
• Nebraska leads the all-time series 12-10.
• Jones touched double figures for the sixth time this season and the 17th time in her career.
• Jones has knocked down 10 free throws in a game twice in her career. She is the eighth Boilermaker since 2002-03 to have multiple 10-free throw games in a career.
• The Boilermakers picked up 22 points from the bench, the 12th game with
• Swanson made three 3-pointers in a game for the sixth time this season. It was her 16th career game with multiple triples.
• The Boilermakers shot 50% for the fourth time this year and first since Dec. 17 at Miami (50%)
• Jones is the first Boilermaker to go perfect at the line with 10 or more makes since Karissa McLaughlin against Kent State on Dec. 8, 2019.
• Jones moved up to 23rd on Purdue’s sophomore assists chart with four helpers on Thursday night.
• Layden led Purdue with six rebounds, marking the sixth time in the last seven games she topped the team on the glass.
UP NEXT
Purdue will welcome home its alumnae on Sunday to celebrate its 50th season when the Boilermakers host Wisconsin at 2 p.m. on B1G+. Sunday will also mark the National Girls and Women in Sports Day celebration.
NOTRE DAME WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
HIDALGO EXPLODES FOR 16-POINT THIRD QUARTER TO GIVE NO. 3 IRISH 77-61 WIN OVER HOKIES
BLACKSBURG, Va. — No. 3 Notre Dame (18-2, 9-0) earned its 13th consecutive victory and moved to 8-0 away from home this season, downing Virginia Tech (14-7, 5-5), 77-61, on Thursday at Cassell Coliseum. Hannah Hidalgo dropped 30 points for the third time this season, and Liza Karlen had a breakout game off the bench with 12 points and a perfect 5-5 showing.
The Irish held Virginia Tech nearly 15 points below their season average, and kept Tech’s leading scorer, Carleigh Wenzel, to a 1-8 showing from the field.
“I thought in the second half we locked in,” Karen and Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Niele Ivey said after the game. “We picked up full court, forced turnovers and got a lot of energy from that. I thought our guards did a great job of trying to turn over their guards in the back court, get steals and easy buckets.
“Virginia Tech came out on fire and did a great job from the 3-point line, and we adjusted to that.”
The Hokies knocked down three consecutive 3-pointers and went on a 14-4 run early. Notre Dame answered with three buckets to make it a 21-18 lead for the home team after a quarter. Both teams shot 50 percent or better. Olivia Miles led all players with 9 points and a 4-5 showing from the field.
Tech went 0-6 from the floor in the middle of the second quarter while the Irish went on an 8-1 run. Maddy Westbeld hit back-to-back buckets, including a triple in that span, her first points of the game.
The Irish then took a 28-27 lead on a pair of free throws — their first since 8:36 in the first quarter — from Sonia Citron. That was the only time Notre Dame went to the charity stripe before the break. The Irish defense started to come alive as well, holding Virginia Tech without a field goal from 9:00 to 3:17.
Those that were hot in the first half — Miles, Hidalgo and Karlen — went a combined 11-18, including 3-3 from Karlen. As a team, Notre Dame was 15-28 from the floor (53.6 percent) with 18 rebounds. Virginia Tech was 11-19 (37.9 percent) with 14 boards. The visitors had a 36-32 advantage. Notre Dame has not trailed at the half all season.
“Runs are always important, and I think that our team thrives on runs,” Karlen said. “Virginia Tech did a really good job at stopping that. They wanted to stop us in transition, and that’s a strong part of our game. But to be able to build momentum into the second half was huge.”
A trey right out of the gate in Q3 from Hidalgo led into a 9-3 run start to the half, and a timeout was called by the Hokies. Notre Dame also went 4-4 from the line, doubling themselves up from the first half at the charity stripe just 1:49 into H2.
The Irish continued to get to the line in the quarter, going 9-10 in total with a 6-6 showing from Hidalgo. She had 16 before the frame ended with a pair of 3-pointers. At the end of the third, no other player had 16 points in the entire game. Notre Dame was up 61-46 with 10 to play and closed it out with a pair of Karlen 3-pointers after a couple of mini runs from the Hokies.
“Her poise,” Ivey said of Karlen. “I thought she had an incredible week of practice, and her presence today was much needed. We had a little bit of foul trouble. The game went back and forth, and I thought she was really solid for us.”
Other notable performances included 12 points from leading rebounder Liatu King, her 15th performance of the year with 10+ boards. She added 4 steals and a block.
Notre Dame plays its third of three straight road games on Sunday, closing out the swing away from home at Louisville. The Irish lead the series 20-14 and have won four of the last six meetings.
IU INDY GOLF
WOMEN’S GOLF PICKED FOURTH IN #HLGOLF PRESEASON POLLS’; MEN PEGGED FIFTH
INDIANAPOLIS – The IU Indianapolis women’s golf team has been picked to finish fourth in the Horizon League according to the #HLGolf Preseason Polls, released on Thursday (Jan. 30), while the men’s team was picked fifth overall. Youngstown State collected six of the eight possible first-place votes to earn the top spot on the women’s side while Wright State earned nine first-place votes on the men’s side.
Head coach Jamie Broce’s men’s team enters the spring with a 295.93 stroke average, having played six tournaments during the fall. Sophomore Titus Boswell leads the way with a 73.50 average in 10 rounds while Sam McWilliams checks in at 73.69, having played all 16 rounds. The Jaguars earned a runner-up finish at the Cleveland State Invitational on Sept. 30-Oct. 1, carding a 4-over 564 (284-280) at Pine Hills Golf Club. The Jaguars will look to improve on last year’s sixth-place finish at the league championships as they carded a 54-hole 895 (305-299-291) at Mission Inn Resort.
On the women’s side, the Jags enter the spring with a 314.67 scoring average, having played five fall events. Junior Yanah Rolston leads the way with a 76.73 average and sophomore Nina Wojtczak owns a 79.00 mark in 11 rounds. The Jaguars registered top-10 finishes at both the Brittany Kelly Classic and WMU Bronco Fall Classic while Rolston had two top-10 individual finishes. The Jaguars placed fourth at last year’s Horizon League Championships, shooting 967 (322-317-328) at Mission Inn.
The women’s team will open the spring slate on Feb. 11-12 when they compete at the BGSU Women’s Intercollegiate in Litchfield Park, Ariz. The men’s squad will open the spring at EKU’s World Golf Village Collegiate in St. Augustine, Fla., on Feb. 24-25.
PURDUE FT.WAYNE MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL TRAVELS TO CAMBRIDGE FOR THE HARVARD INVITATIONAL
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Purdue Fort Wayne men’s volleyball team will face Saint Francis (Pa.) and No.19 Harvard this weekend at the Harvard Invitational.
Game Day Information
Who: Saint Francis (Pa.) Red Flash and Harvard Crimson
When: Friday, January 31 – 4 PM | Saturday, February 1 – 7 PM
Where: Cambridge, Mass.
Live Stats: Link
Game Notes: Purdue Fort Wayne | MIVA
Know Your Foes
• Saint Francis (Pa.) has started off 1-6 this season, with losses to ranked opponents: No. 18 UC San Diego, No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 Long Beach State and No. 8 Loyola Chicago. The Red Flash’s best hitter on the season, senior Michael Mosbacher, leads the team in both kills (63) and kills per set (2.63). Freshman setter Kyle Charles has led Saint Francis (Pa.) in assists with 138, a 7.26 per set mark.
• Harvard has started off the season 2-2, both losses coming at the hands of No. 4 Hawaii. The Crimson’s best hitter on the season, senior Logan Shepherd, leads the team in kills (54) and hitting percentage (.373). James Bardin has 93 assists in his 11 sets played this season.
Series Histories
• The Mastodons hold the lead in the series history between the Red Flash 16-7. Last season’s meeting between the schools resulted in a five-set Purdue Fort Wayne victory on the Arnie Ball Court. Andrej Polomac finished the match with 27 assists. Michael Mosbacher had 11 kills for SFU.
• The ‘Dons hold a 5-2 series over the Crimson, winning the last four meetings. The only player on this year’s roster to play in that match was Emmanuel Jurineack, who contributed five kills and three blocks.
He Can Do It
JP Candrian earned his first MIVA Player of the Week award, earning Defensive Player of the Week (Jan. 28). Candrian led the Mastodons to a 2-0 week, beating both LIU (Jan. 23) and Lees-McRae (Jan. 25) on the Arnie Ball Court. The freshman averaged 2.67 digs during the stretch, collecting 16 in the five-set victory over LIU. The 16 digs ranks as the third-most in an NCAA match this season. The Florida native added 0.67 blocks per set to his weekly totals.
Last Time Out
The Mastodons won both matches during their homestand. The first being a five-set victory over LIU (Jan. 23), where The ‘Dons denied two LIU match points in the fourth set and rallied from a 7-3 deficit in the fifth. Axel Melendez Watts finished the night with a career-high 26 kills on a .404 percentage. Hunter Hopkins (59 assists and 13 digs) and JP Candrian (16 digs and 14 kills) both posted double-doubles in the contest. Purdue Fort Wayne showed off their serving capabilities in the next win, over Lees-McRae (Jan. 25). The ‘Dons ended with 12 aces in their three set match, most since the 2022 season. This mark also ranks third-most in a three-set match in program history and the ninth-most in a match of any length. Purdue Fort Wayne finished the match hitting .453 as a team and holding the Bobcats to a .000 hitting percentage.
Coming Up
Purdue Fort Wayne begins MIVA competition with a trip to No. 8 Ball State (Feb. 6).
PURDUE FT. WAYNE GOLF
MASTODON MEN’S AND WOMEN’S GOLF SELECTED THIRD IN #HLGOLF PRESEASON POLLS
INDIANAPOLIS – The Purdue Fort Wayne men’s and women’s golf teams were both selected third in the Horizon League Preseason Polls, the league announced on Thursday (Jan. 30).
The Mastodon men finished as the league champions two years ago and as the runners-up at the Horizon League Championship last season. In the fall season, the Mastodons finished with a season average of 296.7. In the Golden Grizzlies Invitational in the fall, the Mastodons finished third of the eight Horizon League teams in the field, behind just Wright State and Oakland. Six different players for the ‘Dons have a career average better than 75.00 per round. The men’s golf spring season kicks off on February 24 at the World Golf Village Collegiate on February 24 in St. Augustine, Florida.
The women’s golf team is coming off a sixth-place finish at the Horizon League Championship. In the fall 2024 season, the Mastodons won the Red Flash Invitational, which was their third tournament victory in the 2024 calendar year. The Mastodons’ top four golfers in the fall averaged 79 shots per round or better, with Olivia Jang leading the pack at 76.33. The women’s golf spring season begins on February 17 at the Islander Classic in Corpus Christi, Texas.
2025 Under Armour Men’s #HLGOLF Preseason Poll
Pl. Team – Pts. (First-place votes)
1. Wright State (9) – 99
2. Oakland (1) – 88
3. Purdue Fort Wayne – 81
4. Northern Kentucky – 64
5. IU Indianapolis – 59
6. Cleveland State – 54
7. Robert Morris – 36
8. Youngstown State – 31
9. Detroit Mercy – 24
10. Green Bay – 14
2025 Under Armour Women’s #HLGOLF Preseason Poll
Pl. Team – Pts. (First-place votes)
1. Youngstown State (6) – 62
2. Oakland (2) – 56
3. Purdue Fort Wayne – 49
4. IU Indianapolis – 37
5. Green Bay – 35
6. Northern Kentucky – 24
7. Cleveland State – 14
8. Detroit Mercy – 11
SOUTHERN INDIANA SOFTBALL
USI SOFTBALL PROJECTED 2ND IN OVC
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Softball is projected to place second in the Ohio Valley Conference in a vote submitted by the league’s head coaches and communication directors.
The 10-team OVC will feature a schedule with each team playing each other in one three-game series for a 27-game conference schedule from March 8 through May 4. The conference’s season concludes with the OVC Softball Championship Tournament in Peoria, Illinois May 7-10.
Reigning OVC tournament champion Southeast Missouri State University was predicted first in the OVC preseason poll with 152 points and nine first-place votes. Southern Indiana, coming off a 25-win season and fourth-place finish in the OVC last year, came in second with 140 points and six first-place votes. Reigning OVC regular-season champion Eastern Illinois University was selected third with 139 points and five first-place votes.
Tennessee State University was picked fourth with 107 points. Tennessee Tech University was slotted fifth with 82 ahead of Lindenwood University in sixth with 80 points. The University of Tennessee at Martin earned 74 points for a projected seventh-place finish ahead of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in eighth with 73 points. Morehead State University (30) and Western Illinois University (23) rounded out the preseason poll.
As part of the Ohio Valley Conference’s preseason announcement, senior pitcher Josie Newman (Indianapolis, Indiana) represented USI on the 2025 OVC Softball Preseason Players to Watch List. Newman heads into her senior campaign as the reigning OVC Pitcher of the Year and as a back-to-back All-OVC First Team selection.
Last season, Newman led the USI pitching staff with a 22-10 record and a 1.77 ERA in 2024. The right-hander set new career marks with 22 wins, 230 innings pitched, 230 strikeouts, and 30 complete games. The 230 innings of work were five innings shy of USI’s single-season record. Newman started 32 games in 33 appearances, tossed five shutouts, and held the opposition to a .194 batting average.
Across the OVC, Newman ranked first in wins, innings, and strikeouts as well as ranking top three in ERA. Newman struck out 10 or more batters in 11 games. The Indianapolis, Indiana native was a two-time OVC Pitcher of the Week.
Newman was also strong at the plate in 2024, hitting .344 with a home runs and 11 RBIs. Newman scored seven runs and totaled 31 hits. Throughout the season, Newman had nine multi-hit games and two multi-RBI outings.
Southern Indiana opens the 2025 season February 6-8 at the University of Hawaii Paradise Classic. USI will play three round-robin games against Saint Louis University, Santa Clara University, and the University of Hawaii before playing two seeded bracket games. Southern Indiana will begin conference play at home March 8-9 against Western Illinois from USI Softball Field.
2025 OVC Softball Predicted Order of Finish
1. Southeast Missouri (9) – 152
2. Southern Indiana (6) – 140
3. Eastern Illinois (5) – 139
4. Tennessee State – 107
5. Tennessee Tech -82
6. Lindenwood – 80
7. UT Martin – 74
8. SIUE – 73
9. Morehead State – 30
10. Western Illinois – 23
2025 OVC Softball Players to Watch
Briana Gonzalez, Eastern Illinois
Irelynn West, Lindenwood
Darlene Montoya, Morehead State
Aubrie Shore, Southeast Missouri
Josie Newman, Southern Indiana
Lauryn Yslava, SIUE
Anayah Baker-Rowell, Tennessee State
Sydney Kirby, Tennessee Tech
Kennedy Brown, UT Martin
Rylee Boone, Western Illinois
VALPO MEN’S BASKETBALL
VALPO VISITS ILLINOIS STATE FOR SATURDAY SHOWDOWN
Valparaiso (10-12, 3-8 MVC)
at Illinois State (13-9, 5-6 MVC)
Game No. 23 – Saturday, Feb. 1, 4 p.m. CT
CEFCU Arena (10,200) – Normal, Ill.
Next Up in Valpo Basketball: The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team will look to find its way back into the win column on Saturday as the Beacons begin a sequence of back-to-back road games with bus trips to Illinois State and Indiana State within the next week. Valpo and Illinois State will clash for the only time during the regular season as the Redbirds are the one Missouri Valley Conference team not slated to visit the Athletics-Recreation Center in 2024-25. The Beacons can stop a six-game skid and clinch a higher MVC win total than last season with a victory on Saturday.
Last Time Out: Valpo led by as many as 11 in the second half and held a nine-point lead with 4:41 remaining, but visiting Southern Illinois rallied late to beat the Beacons 79-75 on Tuesday night at the Athletics-Recreation Center. All Wright led all scorers with 22 points, while Cooper Schwieger (13) and Tyler Schmidt (10) also tallied double figures. Kaspar Sepp turned in nine points, four rebounds and four assists. Valpo outscored SIU 30-9 from 3-point territory but was outscored 46-26 in the paint. The Beacons held the lead for 31 of the game’s 40 minutes.
Following the Beacons: Streaming – ESPN+ – Kurt Pegler (play-by-play) and Kelly Burke (analyst)
Radio – WVUR 95.1 FM Valparaiso, TuneIn Radio App, ValpoAthletics.com – Todd Ickow (play-by-play) and Brandon Vickrey (analyst)
X updates – @ValpoBasketball
Links for video, audio and live stats will be available at ValpoAthletics.com.
Head Coach Roger Powell Jr.: Roger Powell Jr. (17-37) is in his second season as the head coach of the Valpo men’s basketball program. After helping guide Gonzaga to a 121-13 record during his four seasons as an assistant coach, Powell returned to Valpo, where he was part of head coach Bryce Drew’s staff from 2011-2016 and led the team to 124 wins in five seasons, including a program-record 30 victories and a National Invitation Tournament (NIT) title game appearance in 2015-16. He was part of head coach Mark Few’s Gonzaga staff as the Bulldogs reached the 2021 national championship game after winning their first 31 games of the season. During Powell’s first season on staff in 2019-20, Gonzaga was 31-2 at the time the NCAA college basketball season was halted due to COVID-19. The Bulldogs reached the Sweet Sixteen in each of his final three seasons on staff, including two Elite Eight appearances and the aforementioned trip to the 2021 national title game. Prior to his arrival at Gonzaga, Powell served as the associate head coach at Vanderbilt University under Bryce Drew from 2016-2019. During his stint as an assistant at Valpo, he was part of four Horizon League regular-season championships in a five-year period while also leading the 2012-13 and 2014-15 squads to Horizon League tournament titles and NCAA Tournament appearances. A product of Joliet West High School and a native of Joliet, Ill., Powell capped a prolific collegiate playing career at Illinois with a national title game appearance in 2005 before going on to a successful professional playing career.
Series Notes: Far and away the team against which Valpo has enjoyed the most success since joining the Missouri Valley Conference is Illinois State, a series that features a current four-game winning streak for the Brown & Gold. The Beacons swept both matchups last year, prevailing 59-50 in Normal and 75-72 at the ARC. Valpo leads 16-9 overall in the all-time series and boasts a 12-2 record since joining The Valley including 10 wins in the last 11 meetings with the lone loss coming in overtime. Five of the last seven matchups have been decided by five points or fewer.
Roger the Redbird
Visiting Illinois State holds significance for Valpo head coach Roger Powell Jr., whose father Roger Powell Sr. is a 1998 inductee into the Illinois State Athletics Hall of Fame.
Powell Sr. was a men’s basketball student-athlete for the Redbirds from 1973-76 as a four-year letterwinner and three-year starter.
Powell Sr. scored 1,306 career points, an average of 13.2 points per game. He finished his career with 568 made field goals, shooting 48.1 percent from the field.
During his senior season in 1975-76, Powell Sr. led the team by averaging 19.2 points per game. He shot a team-best 51.8 percent from the floor during his senior campaign.
With a Win Over Illinois State, Valpo Would…
Surpass its Missouri Valley Conference regular-season win total from last season.
Improve to 11-1 in the last 12 matchups with Illinois State and extend its head-to-head winning streak to five.
End a six-game losing streak while capturing the team’s third road win of the year (at Western Michigan, at Missouri State).
Notes Wrapping Up Jan. 28: Southern Illinois 79, Valpo 75
All Wright scored a game-high 22 points while draining four 3s, handing out four assists and swiping two steals. This marked his fourth game with 20+ points this season. The four made 3s tied a season high set on Dec. 14 vs. Central Michigan.
Cooper Schwieger added 13 points and a team-high five boards, his 13th straight game with at least a dozen points. He also rejected three shots, his fifth multi-block game in his last seven contests.
Tyler Schmidt was the third Beacon in double figures with 10 points to go along with four boards. He scored in double figures for the 13th time this season.
Valpo’s 3-point defense was much improved from the previous contest, holding the Salukis to 3-of-14 (21.4 percent) from beyond the arc in a game Valpo owned a 30-9 advantage in points scored on 3-point shots. Conversely, SIU held a 46-26 edge in paint points.
Valpo turned it over just six times, holding a 14-6 advantage in the turnover battle. This was the 13th time this year that Valpo limited its turnovers to 10 or fewer.
Darius DeAveiro played 20 minutes and owned a team-best plus-minus of +6, meaning Valpo held a six-point edge in the 20 minutes DeAveiro was on the court and was outscored by 10 in the 20 minutes he was not on the court.
Kaspar Sepp had nine points, four rebounds and four assists, going 4-of-8 from the floor.
This marked the first time a Valpo opponent overcame a double-figure deficit to win since Feb. 24 of last season at Murray State.
The six turnovers were Valpo’s fewest in a loss since also committing six on Dec. 1, 2022 at Belmont (L 76-64).
This snapped a five-game winning streak in games decided by five points or fewer that came after the program had dropped the previous five games decided by five points or fewer. The Beacons won their first four such games this season before the loss to Southern Illinois, recording wins over Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, Missouri State and Indiana State.
Schwieger Surging
Cooper Schwieger has played well of late, tallying 12 points or more in 13 straight games.
Through nine games this season, Schwieger was averaging 11.1 points per game. He is averaging 16.4 points per game over his last 13.
Schwieger ranks 10th in the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring (14.2 ppg), third in rebounding (7.1 rpg) and second in blocked shots (1.59 bpg). He’s the only player in the Missouri Valley Conference averaging at least 14 points, seven rebounds and one block per game.
Schwieger is one of three sophomores nationally averaging at least 14 points, seven rebounds and one block, joining South Carolina’s Collin Murray-Boyles and Texas Tech’s JT Toppin.
The last Missouri Valley Conference player to finish a season averaging at least 14 points, seven rebounds and one block was Missouri State’s Gaige Prim in 2021-22. The last Valley underclassman (freshman or sophomore) to do so was Drake’s Liam Robbins in 2019-20.
All Wright Among Valley’s Top Freshmen
Valpo freshman All Wright is averaging 11.9 points per game, second in the league among MVC rookies behind only Evansville’s Gabriel Pozzato, who missed significant time with an injury before returning on Jan. 18 and is averaging 15.8 points per game.
Wright also ranks second among Valley rookies in assists per game at 2.6 per contest, behind only Indiana State’s Josiah LeGree, who is handing out 3.0 helpers per game.
No Valley rookie has scored more points than Wright, who has scored 261 points on the season.
No Valpo freshman has finished the season with at least 10.0 points per game and 3.0 assists per game since Milo Stovall in 1998-99 (10.6 ppg, 3.1 apg). Before that, it was Bryce Drew in 1994-95 (13.4 ppg, 6.0 apg).
No Missouri Valley Conference freshman has averaged 10.0 points per game and 3.0 assists per game since Wichita State’s Landry Shamet in 2016-17 (11.4 ppg, 3.3 apg).
In the last 30 seasons, Valpo has had eight freshmen finish the season with a double-figure scoring average – Bryce Drew (13.4 ppg, 1994-95), Milo Stovall (10.6 ppg, 1998-99), Lubos Barton (13.8 ppg, 1998-99), Samuel Haanpaa (12.0 ppg, 2006-07), Alec Peters (12.7 ppg, 2013-14), Tevonn Walker (10.3 ppg, 2014-15), Javon Freeman-Liberty (11.0 ppg, 2018-19) and Cooper Schwieger (13.2 ppg, 2023-24).
Limiting the Giveaways
Valpo has won or tied the turnover battle in 17 out of 22 games this season.
For the 13th time this season, Valpo kept the turnovers to 10 or fewer with eight on Jan. 28 vs. Southern Illinois.
Valpo turned the ball over just six times in the Jan. 4 win over UNI, the team’s second-lowest turnover total of the season behind four on Nov. 27 vs. Northern Illinois.
The Beacons are averaging just 10.5 turnovers per game, the fewest in the MVC and 47th fewest nationally. They rank second in the league in turnover margin at +2.1 per game.
Making the Free Ones
Entering Feb. 1 at Illinois State, Valpo is shooting 77.8 percent at the free-throw line this season, second in the MVC and 19th nationally. The Beacons make an average of 16.9 free throws per game, first in the league and 35th nationally.
Valpo made 32 free throws on Jan. 8 vs. Indiana State, the second most of the season behind 35 vs. Northern Illinois. Before that, you have to go back to 46 on Nov. 10, 2017 vs. North Park.
Valpo has posted a better free-throw percentage than its opponent in 16 out of 22 games this season.
Cooper Schwieger (third, .872) and Tyler Schmidt (.855, fifth) rank among the top 10 in the MVC in free-throw percentage.
There is a lot of season left to be played, but for reference, the modern program record for team single-season free-throw percentage is 77.5 percent in 2016-17 followed by 77.4 percent in 1992-93.
Scouting the Redbirds
Picked to finish fourth of 12 in the MVC preseason poll.
Won back-to-back games over Missouri State and Indiana State before falling 61-57 at Bradley last Saturday and pulling off an 81-78 victory over Belmont on Wednesday.
Led in scoring by Johnny Kinziger at 14.6 points per game and Chase Walker at 14.4 ppg.
Under the direction of third-year head coach Ryan Pedon.
INDIANA SMALL COLLEGE WEB SITES
INDIANA WESLEYAN ATHLETICS: https://iwuwildcats.com/
EARLHAM ATHLETICS: https://goearlham.com/
WABASH ATHLETICS: https://sports.wabash.edu/
FRANKLIN ATHLETICS: https://franklingrizzlies.com/
ROSE-HULMAN ATHLETICS: https://athletics.rose-hulman.edu/
ANDERSON ATHLETICS: https://athletics.anderson.edu/landing/index
TRINE ATHLETICS: https://trinethunder.com/landing/index
BETHEL ATHLETICS: https://bupilots.com/
DEPAUW ATHLETICS: https://depauwtigers.com/
HANOVER ATHLETICS: https://athletics.hanover.edu/
MANCHESTER ATHLETICS: https://muspartans.com/
HUNTINGTON ATHLETICS: https://www.huathletics.com/
OAKLAND CITY ATHLETICS: https://gomightyoaks.com/index.aspx
ST. FRANCIS ATHLETICS: https://www.saintfranciscougars.com/landing/index
IU KOKOMO ATHLETICS: https://iukcougars.com/
IU EAST ATHLETICS: https://www.iueredwolves.com/
IU SOUTH BEND ATHLETICS: https://iusbtitans.com/
PURDUE NORTHWEST ATHLETICS: https://pnwathletics.com/
INDIANA TECH ATHLETICS: https://indianatechwarriors.com/index.aspx
GRACE COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://gclancers.com/
ST. MARY OF THE WOODS ATHLETICS: https://smwcathletics.com/
GOSHEN COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://goleafs.net/
HOLY CROSS ATHLETICS: https://www.hcsaints.com/index.php
TAYLOR ATHLETICS: https://www.taylortrojans.com/
VINCENNES ATHLETICS: https://govutrailblazers.com/landing/index
“SPORTS EXTRA”
NUMBERS IN SPORTS
7 – 11 – 2 – 4 – 12 – 8 – 21
January 31, 1920 – Number 7, Joe Malone, a Center of the Quebec Bulldogs set an NHL record 7 goals in a 10-6 win against the rival Toronto St. Patricks on the ice of the Quebec Arena. Malone led the NHL with 39 goals on the season and his 49 total points also were tops in the League that year.
January 31, 1923 – Montreal Canadiens beat Hamilton Tigers, 5-4 at the Mount Royal Arena, Montreal; first penalty-free game played in NHL history
January 31, 1927 – The National League brass ruled future Baseball Hall of Fame infielder Rogers Hornsby couldn’t hold stock in the St. Louis Cardinals and play for the New York Giants because of the obvious conflict of interest. Oddly enough the legendary ballplayer earned a $2,916 dividend on same day from his option with the Cardinals. That probably didn’t help his case any. Though he may not have worn a uniform number in 1927, no big league mandated them then, Hornsby would eventually in coming years be seen wearing 4, 9, 11 & 16 for various teams including the St. Louis Browns, Chicago Cubs, and St Louis Cardinals.
January 31, 1952 – Harry Heilmann & Paul Waner elected to Baseball Hall of Fame. Heilman played ball from 1914 through 1929 as a Right Fielder and a 1st baseman for the Detroit Tigers. He also played a couple of seasons for the Reds at the end of his career. The majority of his playing days he did not wear a number, and I am not sure what uniform digits he wore in 1929, 1930 & 1932. Waner was an outfield player for the Pittsburgh Pirates for 15 of his 20 years playing Major League ball. For most other seasons in Pittsburgh he wore the Number 11. His career spanned from 1926 all the way through 1945 in the Great American Pastime.
January 31, 1958 – “Jackpot Bowling” premieres on NBC with former Major League Basball player and manager, Leo Durocher as its host. Leo was an infielder for a few teams. He spent most of his career wearing the Number 2 as a member of the St Louis Cardinals and the Brooklyn Dodgers organizations.
January 31, 1959 – Former Major League Baseball player and manager, Joe Cronin signs 7 year pact to become head of American League of Baseball. In his playing days Cronis was a Shortstop and he donned the Number 4 mostly during his seasons with the Washington Senators and the Boston Redsox.
January 31, 1971 – Special Veterans Committee adds 6 former players and 1 executive to the Baseball Hall of Fame: Dave Bancroft, Jake Beckley, Chick Hafey, Harry Hooper, Joe Kelley, Rube Marquard and George Weiss
January 31, 1977 – Joe Sewell, Amos Rusie and Al López are elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame
January 31, 1988 – Doug Williams, who wore Number 12 for the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XXII took home the Most Valuable Player Award at Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego as Washington beat Denver Broncos, 42-10.
January 31, 1991 – Denver Nuggets Michael Adams becomes shortest NBA player to have put up a triple-double in a game. Adams wore the Number 14 for most of career in the Mile High City. Adams was listed as being 5′-10″ tall.
January 31, 1993 – Super Bowl XXVII at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California saw the Dallas Cowboys slap around the Buffalo Bills, 52-17. The MVP of this game Number 8 of Dallas, Quarterback Troy Aikman.
January 31, 1997 – San Antonio forward Dominique Wilkins, wearing Number 21 scores 27 points in the San Antonio Spurs’ 97-95 loss to Minnesota. That evening points gave him 26,009 for his career; and made him only the 6th NBA player to reach the 26k milestone.
January 31, 1999 – Pro Player Stadium, Miami, Florida – Super Bowl XXXIII featured the Dirty Birds of the Atlanta Falcons facing the AFC Champs the Denver Broncos. Denver was the defending champs as a year earlier they had defeated Green Bay for the franchise’s first championship per the Pro-Football-Reference. The Broncos were a little too much for upstart Atlanta though as they grounded the Falcons 34-19. Denver’s Number 7, Quarterback John Elway who threw for 336 yards and a touchdown took home the MVP trophy
January 31, 2015 – The Atlanta Hawks set a new NBA monthly win record as they move to 17-0 for January, with a 91-85 win against the Philadelphia 76ers.
FOOTBALL HISTORY
Football History Headlines
January 31, 1982 – NFL Pro Bowl was played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. The final score had the AFC squad defeating their counterparts of the NFC by the score of 16-13. There were Co-MVPs in this game as Kellen Winslow Sr. the tight end of the San Diego Chargers shared the honor with Lee Roy Selmon the standout defensive end of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
January 31, 1988 – Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego – Super Bowl XXII was not a very close one when the Denver Broncos faced the Washington Redskins. The Broncos jumped out quickly to a 10-0 lead after Ricky Nattiel caught a John Elway pass for 56 yards and a score. But the Powerful Washington team tattled off 42 unanswered points as QB Doug Williams caught fire and threw for 340 yards and 4 TDS to help the Washington Redskins cruise to a 42-10 victory. The MVP was Doug Williams per the Pro Football Reference website.
January 31, 1993 – Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California – Super Bowl XXVII had some special historic moments, the Buffalo Bills became the second team since the early 1970’s Dolphins to play in three straight Super Bowls. It is interesting that this would be the third different NFC East team that the Bills would meet in this run of Super Bowls for them. The Cowboys were just 4 seasons removed from having a League worst 1-15 record. Super Bowl XXVII was shaped up to be interesting indeed, but one team came in a bit more prepared than the other. According to the American Football Fandom site Dallas forced a Super Bowl record nine turnovers —four interceptions and five lost fumbles and scored 35 points off of those Bills miscues. The Dallas Cowboys won in a landslide 52-17 over the Bills. Troy Aikman, the quarterback of the Cowboys, won the Most Valuable Player honors as he tossed four touchdown passes and racked up 273 yards through the air. Another interesting note was that a 30 second commercial spot cost $850,000.
January 31, 1999 – Pro Player Stadium, Miami, Florida – Super Bowl XXXIII featured the Dirty Birds of the Atlanta Falcons facing the AFC Champs the Denver Broncos. Denver was the defending champs as a year earlier they had defeated Green Bay for the franchise’s first championship per the PFR. Quarterback John Elway was getting a little long in the tooth but his mastery of the offense was never in doubt. The Falcons were appearing in their first Super Bowl led by Quarterback Chris Chandler and running back Jamal Anderson. The Broncos were a little too much for upstart Atlanta though as they grounded the Falcons 34-19. Elway who threw for 336 yards and a touchdown took home the MVP trophy and traveled to Disney. A 30 second commercial during this Super Bowl would set you back a cool $1.6 million.
January 31, 2010 – Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens – The NFL Pro Bowl game had the AFC one upping the NFC, 41-34. The MVP of the game was Matt Schaub, the Houston Texans signal caller.
January 31, 2016 – Aloha Stadium, Honolulu – NFL Pro Bowl Team Irvin defeated Team Rice, 49-27 as the NFL was still in the series of games where two legends would divide the Pro Bowl players up instead of playing Conference versus Conference. The dual Most Valuable Players were Seattle Seahawk players Quarterback Russell Wilson and Defensive End Michael Bennett.
Hall Of Fame Birthdays
January 31, 1909 – Hinsdale, Illinois – Bert Metzger the guard from Notre Dame was born. The National Football Foundation voters selected Bert Metzger to gain entrance into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1982.
January 31, 1913 – Pine Bluff, Arkansas – The fine Alabama End Don Hutson celebrated his birth. Don Hutson had no trouble gaining entrance into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
January 31, 1913 – Roxbury, Massachusetts – Wayne Millner the legendary end from the University of Notre Dame was born. According to the National Football Foundation’s bio on him, “Double L” Millner was a hero in two spectacular Fighting Irish wins during a dismal season otherwise in South Bend in 1933. Notre Dame had won only two of its first eight games and was scheduled against the unbeaten Army team. With one minute to play Notre Dame trailed the Cadets by 6. With his legendary teammate, Moose Krause, leading the the way for him, Millner blocked an Army punt and recovered it for a touchdown. Notre Dame won 13-12 on the last minute heroics! Another story had Millner catching a late touchdown pass from QB Bill Shakespeare with 32 seconds left to lift the Irish to a 18-13 victory over Ohio State in a battle of unbeatens. He ended up having the honor of All-American status in two different seasons. The National Football Foundation selected Wayne Millner in 1990 to enter into the College Football Hall of Fame. After college Millner joined the Boston Redskins and played 11 seasons for them, being interrupted briefly for his military service during the war. When he retired he was the top pass catcher in Redskins history. Probably his highlight game was in the 1937 NFL Championship game where he caught TD passes of 55 and 78 yards. The Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined Wayne Millner in 1968.
January 31, 1938 – Oakland, California – The great Stanford end Chris Burford was born. The National Football Foundation voters chose the legacy of Chris Burford to enter into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995.
January 31, 1953 – Brenham, Texas – Roosevelt Leaks the running back from Texas University arrived into this life. Leaks was the first African American Texas Longhorns player to earn All-America honors according to the NFF. Roosevelt Leaks finished his collegiate career with 2,923 yards and 26 touchdowns in just three seasons and was recognized as a consensus All-America selection in 1973. The National Football Foundation selected Roosevelt Leaks to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1919 In Cario (GA), Mallie (McGriff) and Jerry Robinson give birth to Jack Roosevelt Robinson, the youngest of five children in the sharecroppers’ family. On April 15, 1947, the former UCLA football and track standout will break baseball’s color line, starting at first base in the Brooklyn Dodgers’ 5-3 victory over the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field.
1950 After purchasing his contract from movie producer Frederick Stephani, the Pirates sign Narbonne High School (Harbor City, CA) southpaw Paul Pettit to a record $100,000 deal. In 1951 and 1953, the ‘Wizard of Whiff,’ who once struck out 27 batters in a 12-inning high school baseball game, makes only 12 mound appearances for the Bucs, posting a 1-2 record and a 7.34 ERA.
1959 Joe Cronin signs a seven-year deal to become the American League president. The former Red Sox infielder will remain in the post until 1971, when Lee MacPhail succeeds him.
1961 Houston voters approve financing for a domed stadium, removing the last hurdle to gaining a major league franchise for the Texas city. The Astrodome, known as the world’s eighth wonder, results from today’s approval, serving as the Astros’ home from 1965 to 1999.
1977 One-time Indian infielder Joe Sewell, former Giants hurler Amos Rusie, and Al Lopez, as the White Sox manager, are elected to the Hall of Fame. The Veterans Committee is responsible for their selection to the Cooperstown shrine.
1980 Free-agent second baseman Joe Morgan, a one-time cog of the Big Red Machine, signs with the Astros, rejoining his first major league team. Houston traded the two-time MVP to Cincinnati in 1971 when their skipper Harry Walker, not known for his tolerance, labeled the 29-year-old future Hall of Famer middle infielder a troublemaker.
1983 Future Hall of Famer Tony Perez signs a one-year contract with the Phillies, joining his former Big Red Machine teammates Pete Rose and Joe Morgan. The veteran first baseman will hit .241, appearing in 91 games in his only season with Philadelphia, before returning to his first team, the Reds, for the final three years of his 23-year tenure in the major leagues.
2000 “I would retire first. It’s the most hectic, nerve-racking city. Imagine having to take the [Number] 7 train to the ballpark, looking like you’re [riding through] Beirut next to some kid with purple hair next to some queer with AIDS right next to some dude who just got out of jail for the fourth time right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids. It’s depressing.” – JOHN ROCKER, commenting on his feelings about playing for a New York team in a Sports Illustrated article. Commissioner Bud Selig suspends John Rocker for 73 days due to the Braves closer’s racial and ethnic insensitive remarks reported in a Sports Illustrated article by Jeff Pearlman. The 25-year-old reliever from Georgia, who was also fined $20,000 and ordered to attend sensitivity training, became the first player disciplined for public comments.
2001 A Wall Street Journal article quotes former players Monte Irvin, Sal Yvars, and Al Gettel, admitting the team stole catchers’ signs during the 1951 pennant race when the Giants overcame the Dodgers’ 13½ game lead. According to the WSJ story by Joshua Prager, Bobby Thomson, whose three-run, ninth-inning walk-off homer in Game 3 of the National League playoffs won the pennant for New York, did not steal a sign before hitting his historic home run.
2003 To secure funding for a significant re-design of the 12-year-old ‘new’ Comiskey Park, the White Sox announce the ballpark will now be known as U.S. Cellular Field. The 23-year deal with the wireless service provider, which will pay the White Sox $68 million, changes the name used since 1910 for the Southsiders’ home field.
2007 At New York’s Gracey Mansion, Major League Baseball announces Yankee Stadium as the venue for the 2008 All-Star Game, marking the fourth time in its history (1939, 1960, 1977) that the ballpark has served as the game’s host. The annual Midsummer Classic will showcase the historic ‘House that Ruth Built’ in its final season as the Bronx Bombers’ home.
(Ed. Note: The 2008 contest will be the longest All-Star Game ever played. Michael Young’s sac fly scores the Twins’ Justin Morneau, ending the four-hour and fifty-minute marathon that gives the American League a 4-3 win and the American League its 11th consecutive victory – LP)
2008 Pedro Feliz (.253, 20, 72) and the Phillies agree on a two-year, $8.5 million contract worth up to $15 million over three years with an option and various performance bonuses. The versatile free-agent third baseman helps the club address its weakness at the hot corner.
2008 Brad Wilkerson (.234, 20, 62) signs a one-year, $3 million contract to roam the Mariners’ outfield. The free-agent acquisition may indicate that the much-anticipated trade with the Orioles for southpaw Erik Bedard is close when Seattle includes outfielder Adam Jones to Baltimore as part of the deal.
2011 Rafael Betancourt becomes the fifth non-free agent to sign a multi-year deal with the Rockies when he agrees to a new contract that calls for $4 million in 2012 and includes a $4.25 million mutual option the following season. The 35-year-old right-handed reliever joins shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, and hurlers Matt Lindstrom and Jason Hammel offered an extended deal from Colorado this offseason.
2013 Martin Prado, acquired by the Diamondbacks in the Justin Upton trade with Atlanta, agrees to a $40 million, four-year contract with his new team. The team obtains the 29-year-old All-Star, who can be used both in the outfield and the infield, to play third base, helping to fill the void created by Chris Johnson’s departure, also sent to the Braves in the deal.
2018 Mookie Betts wins his arbitration case against the Red Sox, getting the highest one-year salary ever awarded to players in their first year of eligibility. The $10.5 million will be a bargain when the Boston Gold Glove right fielder easily cops the American League MVP award, leading the team to its fourth world championship since 2004.
2019 “The impact he made, the adversity he faced, the success he had, and the roads he paved for so many people in this country, it’s very inspiring.” – STEVE KERR, NBA head coach, speaking of Jackie Robinson’s legacy. On Jackie Robinson’s 100th birthday, NBA Warriors head coach Steve Kerr wears a tee-shirt honoring the baseball legend while addressing the media before Golden State’s loss 113-104 to the 76ers at Oracle Arena. The former point guard and avid fan of baseball history, known for his outspoken political views, believes the Dodgers legend probably represents Black History Month as well as any person possibly could.
TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
Jan. 31
1920 — Joe Malone of the Quebec Bulldogs scores an NHL-record seven goals in a 10-6 victory over the Toronto St. Patricks.
1941 — Joe Louis knocks out Red Burman in the fifth round at Madison Square Garden to retain the world heavyweight title.
1950 — High school pitcher Paul Pettit signs with the Pirates for a record $100,000. To do so, Pittsburgh has to purchase his contract from a film producer who had signed Pettit to an exclusive contract as an athlete/actor.
1988 — The Washington Redskins score 35 points in the second quarter to overcome a 10-0 deficit and beat the Denver Broncos 42-10 in the Super Bowl. MVP Doug Williams passes for four touchdowns and a record 340 yards. Timmy Smith rushes for a record 204 yards.
1991 — Michael Adams of the Denver Nuggets scores a career-high 45 points, hands out 12 assists and grabs 11 rebounds in a 123-119 win over New Jersey. The 5-foot-11 guard becomes the shortest player in the NBA to get a triple-double.
1993 — The Dallas Cowboys win the Super Bowl, beating Buffalo 52-17 and giving the Bills their third straight loss in the title game, a league record.
1998 — Martina Hingis, 17, becomes the youngest player in the Open era to defend a Grand Slam title, capturing her second Australian Open with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Conchita Martinez.
1999 — John Elway gets his second straight Super Bowl ring, weaving his magic for the final time during the Denver Broncos’ 34-19 win over the Atlanta Falcons.
2004 — Justine Henin-Hardenne wins her third Grand Slam title and extends her dominance in major finals against countrywoman Kim Clijsters with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win in the Australian Open women’s title match.
2009 — Serena Williams routs Dinara Safina 6-0, 6-3 to win the Australian Open — her 10th Grand Slam title — and return to the No. 1 ranking.
2010 — Roger Federer beats Andy Murray 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (11) for a fourth Australian Open championship and his 16th Grand Slam title overall.
2011 — For the first time since the WTA rankings began in 1975, the top 10 players are from 10 countries.Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki remains No. 1.
2015 — Serena Williams wins her 19th Grand Slam title and extends her decade-long domination of Maria Sharapova with a commanding 6-3, 7-6 (5) win.
2015 — Lydia Ko, 17, becomes the youngest golfer, male or female, to be ranked No. 1. She shares second place at the LPGA Tour’s season opener, where she finishes a shot behind Na Yeon Choi.
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Feb. 1
1913 — Jim Thorpe, star of the 1912 Olympics, signs to play baseball with the New York Giants.
1914 — The Chicago White Sox and New York Giants play an exhibition game to promote baseball in Egypt. The game ends in a 3-3 tie.
1950 — Green Bay Packers founder, player and coach Curly Lambeau resigns after 31 seasons and 6 NFL titles to his credit.
1956 — Hayes Alan Jenkins leads the United States in a sweep of Olympic men’s figure skating in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. The silver goes to Ronald Robertson, and Jenkins’ younger brother, David, wins the bronze.
1964 — Bobby Rousseau of the Montreal Canadiens scores five goals in a 9-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.
1968 — Vince Lombardi steps down as NFL Green Bay Packers head coach in favor of longtime assistant Phil Bengtson; stays on as Packers’ general manager for 1968.
1995 — Utah guard John Stockton becomes the NBA’s career assist leader, setting up Karl Malone with 6:30 left in the first half of the Jazz’s 129-88 victory over Denver. Stockton’s 9,922nd assist moves him ahead of Magic Johnson.
1998 — David Graham wins the longest playoff in Senior PGA Tour history, beating Dave Stockton with a birdie on the 10th extra hole in the Royal Caribbean Classic.
2003 — Regina Jacobs becomes the first woman to break four minutes in the indoor 1,500 meters at the Boston Indoor Games. Jacobs finishes in 3:59.98 to break the world record of 4:00.27 set by Romanian Doina Melinte in 1990.
2004 — The New England Patriots win their second Super Bowl in three seasons after Adam Vinatieri kicks a field goal with 4 seconds left to lift his team to a 32-29 victory over the Carolina Panthers.
2006 — New York’s Epiphanny Prince scores 113 points for Murry Bergtraum High School in a 137-32 win over Brandeis High School, breaking a girls’ national prep record previously held by Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller.
2008 — Jockey Russell Baze is the first to win 10,000th races in North America when he leads Two Step Cat to victory in the third race at Golden Gate Fields.
2009 — Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh offense end a Super Bowl of incredible swings with a final-minute touchdown for a historic victory, 27-23 over the Arizona Cardinals. Santonio Holmes makes a brilliant 6-yard catch deep in the right corner of the end zone with 35 seconds remaining, lifting the Steelers to a record-setting sixth Super Bowl win.
2014 — Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning becomes all-time record-holder for MVP trophies, winning his 5th at the NFL Honours in New York; also 2013 Offensive Player of the Year.
2014 — Ray Guy becomes the first punter elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
2014 — Oregon Institute of Technology men’s basketball coach Danny Miles becomes the second men’s coach at a four-year program to reach 1,000 career wins with a 71-51 victory over Corban.
2015 — Tom Brady throws for four touchdowns and Malcolm Butler intercepts Russell Wilson’s pass in the end zone with 20 seconds left, helping New England hold on to beat Seattle 28-24 for their fourth Super Bowl title.
2016 — For the first time in more than eight years, Duke is not in The Associated Press men’s basketball Top 25. The Blue Devils (15-6) had lost four of five, including two home games. They had been in every men’s poll since the preseason rankings of 2007-08.
2020 – Australian Open Women’s Tennis: 21 year old American Sofia Kenin wins her first Grand Slam title with a 4–6, 6–2, 6–2 victory over Garbiñe Muguruza of Spain.
2023 — At age 45, Tom Brady, regarded as the greatest NFL quarterback of all time, announces his re-retirement after a 23 year career and a record 7 Super Bowl titles with the NE Patriots and TB Buccaneers.
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Feb. 2
1876 — The National League forms, consisting of teams in Philadelphia, Hartford, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Louisville, St. Louis and New York.
1936 — Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson are the first members elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
1954 — Bevo Francis of Rio Grande College scores 113 points in a 134-91 victory over Hillsdale. Francis, breaking his own record for small colleges (84) set two weeks earlier against Alliance College.
1959 — Vince Lombardi signs a 5 year contract to coach NFL Green Bay Packers.
1962 — Using a fiberglass pole, John Uelses becomes the first man to vault more than 16 feet, indoors or out. Uelses, a Marine Corps corporal, clears 16¼ during the Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden in New York.
1970 — Pete Maravich becomes 1st to score 3,000 college basketball points.
1977 — Toronto’s Ian Turnbull scores five goals to set an NHL record for defensemen, leading the Maple Leafs past the Detroit Red Wings 9-1.
1991 — New Hampshire’s basketball team ends its 32-game losing streak at home with a 72-56 win over Holy Cross. The NCAA-record streak started on Feb. 9, 1988.
1994 — Lenny Wilkens gets his 900th NBA victory, and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Orlando Magic 118-99. Wilkens runs his regular-season mark to 900-760, trailing only Red Auerbach’s 938 in NBA regular-season victories.
1999 — Austria’s Hermann Maier and Norway’s Lasse Kjus ski to an unprecedented tie in the super-G to mark the start of the world championships.
2001 — Stacy Dragila breaks her world indoor pole vault record by a half-inch with a 15-2 1/4 vault at the Millrose Games.
2003 — Atlanta Thrashers star Dany Heatley joins Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux by scoring a record-tying four goals in the NHL All-Star Game. His Eastern Conference team loses the first All-Star shootout 6-5.
2009 — Kobe Bryant breaks the current Madison Square Garden record with 61 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 126-117 victory over New York. Bryant, who hits all 20 of his free throws, tops the previous visitor record of 55 points held by Michael Jordan and the overall record of 60 by Bernard King.
2012 — Sam Gagner has four goals and four assists in the NHL’s first eight-point game in 23 years, and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Chicago Blackhawks 8-4.
2013 — California Institute of Technology’s baseball team ends a 228-game losing streak with a 9-7 victory against Pacifica, the Beavers’ first win in nearly 10 years. Caltech hadn’t won since Feb. 15, 2003, 5-4 against Cal State-Monterey Bay.
2014 — The Seattle Seahawks win their first Super Bowl title, crushing the favored Denver Broncos 43-8. The Seahawks led 36-0 before Denver finally scored on the last play of the third quarter.
2014 — The Seattle Seahawks win their first Super Bowl title in overpowering fashion, punishing Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos 42-8 at the New Jersey Meadowlands.
2017 — Patrick Marleau scores his 500th career goal, Chris Tierney tallies twice and San Jose beat Vancouver 4-1. Marleau becomes the 45th NHL player to reach 500 goals, scoring in the first period on a power play.
2020 – Super Bowl LIV, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL: Kansas City Chiefs beat San Francisco 49ers, 31-20; MVP: Patrick Mahomes, KC Chiefs, QB; Chiefs’ 1st victory in 50 years.
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Feb. 3
1944 — Syd Howe of the Detroit Red Wings scores six goals in a 12-6 victory over the New York Rangers. Howe is the first player to score six goals in a game since Cy Denneny of the Ottawa Senators in 1921.
1956 — Austria’s Toni Sailer wins the men’s downhill to become first Olympic skier to sweep three Alpine events.
1976 — Washington’s Dave Bing, in his final NBA All-Star game apperance, wins the MVP and leads the East to a 123-109 victory over the West in Philadelphia. Bing has 16 points and four assists.
1980 — Larry Bird hits the first 3-point shot in the history of the NBA All-Star Game. Bird’ 3 came in overtime. The East wins 144-136.
1982 — Steve Mahre, twin brother of overall champion Phil Mahre, becomes the first American male skier to win a gold medal in an Olympics or world championship competition when he edges Sweden’s Ingemar Stenmark in the giant slalom at the worlds.
1990 — Bill Shoemaker, the world’s winningest jockey, finishes fourth on Patchy Groundfog in his final ride at Santa Anita. The 58-year-old Shoemaker finishes his 40-year career with $123,375,524 in earnings, a record 8,833 wins, 6,136 seconds and 4,987 thirds in 40,350 starts.
1998 — Dino Ciccarelli becomes the ninth NHL player to reach 600 goals when he scores on a power play with 5:09 remaining in the third period to give the Florida Panthers a 1-1 tie against the Detroit Red Wings.
2000 — World Wrestling Federation mastermind Vince McMahon unveils his latest creation: the XFL, a new pro football league.
2001 — One year later, the XFL muscles its way onto the national sports scene with its first two games. With exuberant cheerleaders and trash-talking players, the Las Vegas Outlaws beat the New York/New Jersey Hitmen 19-0, while the Orlando Rage beat the Chicago Enforcers 33-29 before a crowd of 35,603 in Orlando.
2002 — Adam Vinatieri’s 48-yard field goal as time expires gives Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots their first Super Bowl title with a 20-17 win over the two-touchdown favorite St. Louis Rams.
2006 — Martin Brodeur becomes the third goaltender in NHL history to reach 100 shutouts when New Jersey blanks Carolina 3-0. Brodeur joins Terry Sawchuk (115) and George Hainsworth (102).
2008 — Eli Manning and the New York Giants end New England’s unbeaten season and pull off one of the great Super Bowl upsets. Manning throws a 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress with 35 seconds left to beat the Patriots 17-14.
2013 — The Baltimore Ravens survive a power outage at the Super Bowl to edge the San Francisco 49ers 34-31. Jacoby Jones returns the second-half kickoff 108 yards, a Super Bowl record, to give Baltimore a 28-6 lead. Moments later, lights lining the Superdome fade. When action resumes 34 minutes later, Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers score 17 consecutive points, getting as close as 31-29. Baltimore stops San Francisco on fourth-and-goal from the 5 with under 2 minutes left when Kaepernick’s pass sails beyond Michael Crabtree in the end zone.
2017 — Tara VanDerveer becomes the second NCAA women’s coach to reach 1,000 career victories when No. 8 Stanford beats Southern California 58-42 to give the Hall of Famer a milestone before a home crowd at Maples Pavilion.
2019 – Super Bowl LIII, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA: New England Patriots beat Los Angeles Rams, 13-3; MVP: Julian Edelman, NE Patriots, WR; Patriots’ 6th SB victory
Feb. 4
1861 — The Philadelphia Athletics beat Charter Oak 36-27 in a baseball game played on frozen Litchfield Pond in Brooklyn, N.Y., with the players wearing ice skates.
1924 — The first Winter Olympics close in Chamonix, France. Sixteen countries competed in 17 events from seven sports.
1932 — The Winter Olympics open in Lake Placid, N.Y., the first Winter Games in the United States.
1957 — Joe McCarthy and Sam Crawford are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
1969 — The 24 major league owners unanimously select Bowie Kuhn as commissioner for a one-year term at a salary of $100,000.
1971 — The Baseball Hall of Fame establishes a separate section for players from the old Negro Leagues. In July, commissioner Bowie Kuhn, along with Hall president Paul Kirk, announce a change of heart and scrap plans for the separate section.
1976 — U.S. District Court Judge John W. Oliver upholds the ruling of arbitrator Peter Seitz that declared Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally free agents.
1977 — Rick Martin scores two goals in the third period, including the game-winning goal with under two minutes to play, to lead the Wales Conference to a 4-3 win over the Campbell conference in the NHL All-Star game at Vancouver.
1979 — Denver’s David Thompson scores 25 points on 11-of-17 shooting to lead the West Conference to a 134-129 victory over the East at the 1979 NBA All-Star Game in Detroit. Thompson also grabs five rebounds and is named the games MVP. Philadelphia’s Julius Erving leads all scorers with 29 points and san Antonio’s George Gervin adds 26 for the East.
1987 — The Sacramento Kings have the worst first quarter since the inception of the shot clock in 1954. The Kings set the NBA record with only four points in the opening quarter of a 128-92 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
1987 — Stars & Stripes, skippered by Dennis Conner, sweeps Kookaburra III 4-0 at Fremantle, Australia, to bring sailing’s America’s Cup back to the United States.
1991 — The doors of Cooperstown are slammed shut on Pete Rose when the Hall of Fame’s board of directors votes 12-0 to bar players on the permanently ineligible list from consideration.
1997 — Mario Lemieux scores his 600th goal, an empty netter, to help the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 6-4 win against the Vancouver Canucks. Lemieux is the first player to score 600 goals while spending his NHL career with one team.
2003 — Jaromir Jagr scores three goals, including his 500th, for his 11th career hat trick as Washington beat Tampa Bay 5-1.
2007 — Peyton Manning is 25-of-38 for 247 yards and a touchdown as he rallies Indianapolis to a 29-17 Super Bowl victory over Chicago in the South Florida rain. Tony Dungy becomes the first black coach to win the championship, beating good friend and protege Lovie Smith in a game that featured the first two black coaches in the Super Bowl.
2012 — Lindsey Vonn captures her 50th World Cup victory, winning the downhill with temperatures plunging to minus 13 on the demanding Kandahar course in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.
2017 — Gregg Popovich becomes the winningest coach with a single franchise in NBA history, leading the San Antonio Spurs to a 121-97 victory over the Denver Nuggets. Popovich earns his 1,128th victory to pass former Utah coach Jerry Sloan for the mark.
2018 — The Philadelphia Eagles win a record-setting shootout between Nick Foles and Tom Brady in the Super Bowl. Foles, the backup quarterback, leads a pressure-packed 75-yard drive to the winning touchdown, 11 yards to Zach Etrz with 2:21 to go. Then the defense makes two final stands to win 41-33.
2022 – XXIV Olympic Winter Games open in Beijing, China.
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Feb. 5
1913 — The New York State Athletic Commission bans boxing matches between fighters of different races.
1919 — Charges against Cincinnati’s Hal Chase of throwing games and betting against his team are dismissed by National League president John Heydler. Two weeks later, Chase is traded to the New York Giants.
1948 — After landing the first double axel in Olympic competition, Dick Button becomes the first American to win the Olympic gold medal in figure skating. Gretchen Fraser becomes the first U.S. woman Olympic slalom champion.
1960 — Bill Russell grabs 51 rebounds in the Boston Celtics’ 124-100 victory over the Syracuse Nationals. Russell is the first player in NBA history to pull in 50 or more rebounds.
1972 — Bob Douglas is the first black elected to Basketball Hall of Fame. Known as “The Father of Black Professional Basketball,” Douglas owned and coached the New York Renaissance from 1922 until 1949.
1976 — Austrian Franz Klammer wins the Olympic gold medal in the downhill at Innsbruck, Austria. Bill Koch wins a silver in the 30-kilometer cross-country race to become the first American to win a medal in a Nordic event.
1980 — Gordie Howe plays his 23rd and final All-Star Game. Howe doesn’t score, but sets up the final goal of the game, by Real Cloutier, in the Wales Conference’s 6-3 win against the Campbell Conference at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
1990 — Notre Dame bucks the College Football Association and becomes the first college to sell its home games to a major network, agreeing to a five-year contract with NBC beginning in 1991.
1991 — Dave Taylor of the Los Angeles Kings has two assists in a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers to become the 29th player in NHL history with 1,000 points.
1999 — Patrick Roy, at 33, becomes the youngest goalie in NHL history to earn 400 wins when he makes 26 saves in the Colorado Avalanche’s 3-1 win against the Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena.
2003 — Bode Miller of the United States captures his first major title, winning the gold medal in the combined at the world championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
2006 — Pittsburgh wins a record-tying fifth Super Bowl, but its first since 1980 with a 21-10 win over the Seattle Seahawks.
2009 — Tennessee’s Pat Summitt becomes the first Division I basketball coach — man or woman — to win 1,000 career games after her Lady Vols beat Georgia 73-43.
2011 — Dejen Gebremeskel of Ethiopia wins the men’s 3,000 at the Boston Indoor Grand Prix, after losing his right shoe at the start of the race. Gebremeskel stays close to the lead throughout the race and takes over on the final lap to finish in 7:35.37. Britain’s Mo Farah finishes second in 7:35.81.
2012 — Eli Manning and the Giants one-up Tom Brady and the Patriots again, coming back with a last-minute score to beat New England 21-17 for New York’s fourth Super Bowl title.
2017 — Tom Brady leads one of the greatest comebacks in sports, let alone Super Bowl history, lifting New England from a 25-point hole to the Patriots’ fifth NFL championship in the game’s first overtime finish. The Patriots score 19 points in the final quarter, including a pair of 2-point conversions, then marches relentlessly to James White’s 2-yard touchdown run in overtime beating the Atlanta Falcons 34-28.
2022 – Six days before his 50th birthday, 11-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater wins his 8th Pipeline title beating 22-year old Hawaiian Seth Moniz in the final.
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Feb. 6
1943 — Montreal’s Ray Getliffe scores five goals to lead the Canadiens to an 8-3 triumph over the Boston Bruins.
1958 — Ted Williams signs a contract with the Boston Red Sox for $135,000, making him the highest paid player in major league history.
1967 — Muhammad Ali successfully defends his world heavyweight title with a 15-round decision over Ernest Terrell in the Houston Astrodome.
1970 — The NBA expands to 18 teams with the addition of franchises in Buffalo, Cleveland, Houston and Portland.
1981 — Wayne Gretzky scores three goals and three assists in a 10-4 Edmonton victory over the Winnipeg Jets, giving him 100 points in the season.
1985 — Seventeen-year-old Dianne Roffe becomes the first U.S. woman to win a gold medal in a World Alpine Ski Championship race, capturing the giant slalom in 2:18.53.
1988 — Chicago’s Michael Jordan wins the NBA Slam Dunk contest with a perfect score of 50 on his final dunk, in front of a hometown crowd at Chicago Stadium.
1990 — Brett Hull of the St. Louis Blues scores his 50th goal, making him and his Hall of Famer father, Bobby Hull, the only father-son combination in NHL history to reach that milestone.
1993 — Riddick Bowe easily wins his first defense of his WBA and IBF heavyweight boxing titles by beating Michael Dokes in the first round of their championship bout held at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
2000 — Randy Moss sets records with nine catches for 212 yards, and Mike Alstott scores three touchdowns in the NFC’s 51-31 victory over the AFC, the highest-scoring Pro Bowl.
2000 — Pavel Bure records the 11th hat trick in All-Star history and goalie Olaf Kolzig plays a shutout third period as the World team routs North America 9-4 in the NHL’s 50th All-Star game.
2005 — The New England Patriots win their third Super Bowl in four years, 24-21 over the Philadelphia Eagles. It’s their ninth straight postseason victory, equaling Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers.
2011 — New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady becomes the first unanimous choice for The Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player Award. Brady gets all 50 votes since the AP began using a nationwide panel of media members who cover the league.
2011 — Aaron Rodgers throws three touchdown passes and Nick Collins returns an interception for another score, leading the Green Bay Packers to a 31-25 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl.
2022 – NFL Pro Bowl, Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada: AFC beats NFC, 41-35; MVPs: Justin Herbert, QB LA Chargers; Maxx Crosby, DE LV Raiders.
FEB 7
1919 In Cario (GA), Mallie (McGriff) and Jerry Robinson give birth to Jack Roosevelt Robinson, the youngest of five children in the sharecroppers’ family. On April 15, 1947, the former UCLA football and track standout will break baseball’s color line, starting at first base in the Brooklyn Dodgers’ 5-3 victory over the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field.
1950 After purchasing his contract from movie producer Frederick Stephani, the Pirates sign Narbonne High School (Harbor City, CA) southpaw Paul Pettit to a record $100,000 deal. In 1951 and 1953, the ‘Wizard of Whiff,’ who once struck out 27 batters in a 12-inning high school baseball game, makes only 12 mound appearances for the Bucs, posting a 1-2 record and a 7.34 ERA.
1959 Joe Cronin signs a seven-year deal to become the American League president. The former Red Sox infielder will remain in the post until 1971, when Lee MacPhail succeeds him.
1961 Houston voters approve financing for a domed stadium, removing the last hurdle to gaining a major league franchise for the Texas city. The Astrodome, known as the world’s eighth wonder, results from today’s approval, serving as the Astros’ home from 1965 to 1999.
1977 One-time Indian infielder Joe Sewell, former Giants hurler Amos Rusie, and Al Lopez, as the White Sox manager, are elected to the Hall of Fame. The Veterans Committee is responsible for their selection to the Cooperstown shrine.
1980 Free-agent second baseman Joe Morgan, a one-time cog of the Big Red Machine, signs with the Astros, rejoining his first major league team. Houston traded the two-time MVP to Cincinnati in 1971 when their skipper Harry Walker, not known for his tolerance, labeled the 29-year-old future Hall of Famer middle infielder a troublemaker.
1983 Future Hall of Famer Tony Perez signs a one-year contract with the Phillies, joining his former Big Red Machine teammates Pete Rose and Joe Morgan. The veteran first baseman will hit .241, appearing in 91 games in his only season with Philadelphia, before returning to his first team, the Reds, for the final three years of his 23-year tenure in the major leagues.
2000 “I would retire first. It’s the most hectic, nerve-racking city. Imagine having to take the [Number] 7 train to the ballpark, looking like you’re [riding through] Beirut next to some kid with purple hair next to some queer with AIDS right next to some dude who just got out of jail for the fourth time right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids. It’s depressing.” – JOHN ROCKER, commenting on his feelings about playing for a New York team in a Sports Illustrated article. Commissioner Bud Selig suspends John Rocker for 73 days due to the Braves closer’s racial and ethnic insensitive remarks reported in a Sports Illustrated article by Jeff Pearlman. The 25-year-old reliever from Georgia, who was also fined $20,000 and ordered to attend sensitivity training, became the first player disciplined for public comments.
2001 A Wall Street Journal article quotes former players Monte Irvin, Sal Yvars, and Al Gettel, admitting the team stole catchers’ signs during the 1951 pennant race when the Giants overcame the Dodgers’ 13½ game lead. According to the WSJ story by Joshua Prager, Bobby Thomson, whose three-run, ninth-inning walk-off homer in Game 3 of the National League playoffs won the pennant for New York, did not steal a sign before hitting his historic home run.
2003 To secure funding for a significant re-design of the 12-year-old ‘new’ Comiskey Park, the White Sox announce the ballpark will now be known as U.S. Cellular Field. The 23-year deal with the wireless service provider, which will pay the White Sox $68 million, changes the name used since 1910 for the Southsiders’ home field.
2007 At New York’s Gracey Mansion, Major League Baseball announces Yankee Stadium as the venue for the 2008 All-Star Game, marking the fourth time in its history (1939, 1960, 1977) that the ballpark has served as the game’s host. The annual Midsummer Classic will showcase the historic ‘House that Ruth Built’ in its final season as the Bronx Bombers’ home.
(Ed. Note: The 2008 contest will be the longest All-Star Game ever played. Michael Young’s sac fly scores the Twins’ Justin Morneau, ending the four-hour and fifty-minute marathon that gives the American League a 4-3 win and the American League its 11th consecutive victory – LP)
2008 Pedro Feliz (.253, 20, 72) and the Phillies agree on a two-year, $8.5 million contract worth up to $15 million over three years with an option and various performance bonuses. The versatile free-agent third baseman helps the club address its weakness at the hot corner.
2008 Brad Wilkerson (.234, 20, 62) signs a one-year, $3 million contract to roam the Mariners’ outfield. The free-agent acquisition may indicate that the much-anticipated trade with the Orioles for southpaw Erik Bedard is close when Seattle includes outfielder Adam Jones to Baltimore as part of the deal.
2011 Rafael Betancourt becomes the fifth non-free agent to sign a multi-year deal with the Rockies when he agrees to a new contract that calls for $4 million in 2012 and includes a $4.25 million mutual option the following season. The 35-year-old right-handed reliever joins shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, and hurlers Matt Lindstrom and Jason Hammel offered an extended deal from Colorado this offseason.
2013 Martin Prado, acquired by the Diamondbacks in the Justin Upton trade with Atlanta, agrees to a $40 million, four-year contract with his new team. The team obtains the 29-year-old All-Star, who can be used both in the outfield and the infield, to play third base, helping to fill the void created by Chris Johnson’s departure, also sent to the Braves in the deal.
2018 Mookie Betts wins his arbitration case against the Red Sox, getting the highest one-year salary ever awarded to players in their first year of eligibility. The $10.5 million will be a bargain when the Boston Gold Glove right fielder easily cops the American League MVP award, leading the team to its fourth world championship since 2004.
2019 “The impact he made, the adversity he faced, the success he had, and the roads he paved for so many people in this country, it’s very inspiring.” – STEVE KERR, NBA head coach, speaking of Jackie Robinson’s legacy. On Jackie Robinson’s 100th birthday, NBA Warriors head coach Steve Kerr wears a tee-shirt honoring the baseball legend while addressing the media before Golden State’s loss 113-104 to the 76ers at Oracle Arena. The former point guard and avid fan of baseball history, known for his outspoken political views, believes the Dodgers legend probably represents Black History Month as well as any person possibly could.
TV SPORTS FRIDAY
| NBA REGULAR SEASON | TIME ET | TV |
| Los Angeles Clippers vs Charlotte Hornets | 7:00pm | FanDuel Sports SoCal FanDuel Sports SE |
| Dallas Mavericks vs Detroit Pistons | 7:00pm | KFAA FanDuel Sports DET |
| Denver Nuggets vs Philadelphia 76ers | 7:30pm | ESPN ALT NBCS-PHI |
| Chicago Bulls vs Toronto Raptors | 7:30pm | CHSN Sportsnet |
| Boston Celtics vs New Orleans Pelicans | 8:00pm | NBCS-BOS GCSN |
| Milwaukee Bucks vs San Antonio Spurs | 8:00pm | KENS FanDuel Sports WI |
| Phoenix Suns vs Golden State Warriors | 10:00pm | ESPN AFSN NBCS-BAY |
| NHL REGULAR SEASON | TIME ET | TV |
| Nashville Predators vs Buffalo Sabres | 7:00pm | ESPN+ FanDuel Sports South MSG-BUF |
| Vancouver Canucks vs Dallas Stars | 8:00pm | ESPN+ Victory+ Sportsnet |
| St. Louis Blues vs Colorado Avalanche | 9:00pm | ESPN+ FanDuel Sports MW ALT |
| Columbus Blue Jackets vs Utah Hockey Club | 9:00pm | ESPN+ FanDuel Sports OH Utah16 |
| MEN’S NCAA BASKETBALL | TIME ET | TV |
| Yale at Princeton | 5:00pm | ESPNU |
| Butler at Georgetown | 6:30pm | FS1 |
| Dayton at Saint Louis | 7:00pm | ESPN2 |
| Akron at Kent State | 7:00pm | CBS Sports Network |
| Harvard at Columbia | 7:00pm | SNY |
| Dartmouth at Cornell | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Brown at Penn | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Indiana at Purdue | 8:00pm | FOX |
| GOLF | TIME ET | TV |
| PGA Tour: Pebble Beach Pro-AM | 3:00pm | GOLF |
| SOCCER | TIME ET | TV |
| Bundesliga: Werder Bremen vs Mainz 05 | 2:30pm | ESPN+ fuboTV |
| Serie A: Parma vs Lecce | 2:45pm | Paramount+ fuboTV |
| Ligue 1: Montpellier vs Lens | 2:45pm | Fanatiz beIN Sports fuboTV |
| La Liga: Leganés vs Rayo Vallecano | 3:00pm | ESPN+ fuboTV |
| Liga MX: Mazatlán vs León | 8:00pm | VIX |