OLYMPICS:
There will be no gold medal for the U.S. women's hockey team, and no medal of any kind for Mikael Shiffrin at the Beijing Olympics.
Canada claimed its fifth gold medal in seven women's Olympic hockey tournaments by defeating the United States, 3-2 in the final. Marie-Philip Poulin (poo-LAN') scored twice and assisted on Sarah Nurse’s goal to add another chapter to her legacy as “Captain Clutch” for Canada. Ann-Renee Desbiens made 38 saves as the Canadians forced the Americans to settle for a silver medal for the fourth time.
Shiffrin skied out in the Alpine combined and once again was unable to finish a race at Beijing. She will leave the Games without an individual medal after participating in all five women’s events. Shiffrin also failed to complete three races.
Shiffrin was fifth-fastest in the downhill portion of the two-run combined this morning but went out without making it to the bottom in the slalom leg in the afternoon.
In other Olympic news:
American John Shuster and the defending Olympic curling champions won a last-chance match to qualify for the playoffs by beating Denmark 7-5. The Americans will play Britain in the semifinals Thursday night.
China’s Eileen Gu recorded the top score not once but twice in a competitive ski halfpipe qualifier as she chases her third medal. The standout American-born freestyle skier is bidding to become the first action-sports athlete to capture three medals at the same Winter Games. Gu played it safe in the first of her two runs and still scored a 93.75. Hardly content, she went even bigger on her final run and scored a 95.50.
International Ice Hockey Federation president Luc Tardif says he’s optimistic NHL players will participate in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, though he wants an agreement reached further in advance than this time around. A deal for the Beijing Games wasn’t announced until September. The NHL withdrew in late December after the omicron variant-fueled wave of the coronavirus pandemic caused mass postponements of games.
Olympic champions Martin Fourcade and Frida Hansdotter have been elected by athletes at the Beijing Games to represent them as members of the International Olympic Committee.
NBA:
A pair of NBA streaks have ended in Boston.
Jerami Grant hit the winning basket and scored 24 points in leading the Detroit Pistons past the Celtics, 112-111. The Pistons ended an eight-game skid and halted the Celtics’ season-high winning streak at nine games.
Cade Cunningham scored 20 points and had a key lock in the final minute in the Pistons’ first victory since Jan. 30.
Jayson Tatum had a chance to send the Celtics into the All-Star break on a 10-game roll, but his jumper from the top of the key bounced high off the rim. Tatum scored nine of his 22 points in the fourth quarter.
Checking out Tuesday’s other NBA action:
Devin Booker furnished 24 points and Deandre Ayton added 23 as the Suns squeezed out a 124-121 victory against the Rockets. Phoenix improved to a league-best 48-10 despite finishing the game without Chris Paul, who bumped an official after being ejected for arguing in the third quarter. Houston took a 95-89 lead into the final quarter before falling to 15-42.
Monte Morris nailed a 3-pointer over Stephen Curry from the right wing as the final buzzer sounded to give the Nuggets a 117-116 win over the Warriors. Curry hit an off-balanced 20-foot jumper over Morris moments before and converted the three-point play with 5.9 seconds left to finish with 25 points. Nikola Jokic had 35 points and 17 rebounds in Denver's third win in a row.
LeBron James scored 15 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter as the Lakers rallied from a 12-point deficit in the period to defeat the Jazz, 106-101. James delivered 10 points during a 19-4 run that helped Los Angeles end a three-game skid. Lakers forward Anthony Davis had 17 points before going down late in the first half with a sprained right ankle.
The Grizzlies’ six-game winning streak is over after a 123-119 loss to Portland. Jusuf Nurkic had 32 points and eight rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who have won four straight since dealing CJ McCollum before the trade deadline last week. Anfernee Simons finished with 31 points and six rebounds to help the Blazers overcome Ja Morant’s 44 points.
DeMar DeRozan poured in 38 points and broke a league record set by Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain, guiding the Bulls to a 125-118 victory over the Kings. DeRozan, who made 16 of 27 field goals, became the first player in NBA history to score 35 or more and shoot 50% or better in seven consecutive games. Coby White set a season with 31 points and matched one with six 3-pointers.
Rookie Cam Thomas provided 16 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter as the Nets beat the Knicks 111-106 after trailing by 28. Thomas sparked a 15-0 run in the fourth that gave Brooklyn its first lead of the game with just under four minutes remaining. Seth Curry added 20 points and Andre Drummond grabbed 19 rebounds, most by a Nets player this season.
Gary Trent Jr. scored 30 points and Pascal Siakam flirted with a triple-double as the Raptors dumped the Timberwolves, 103-91. Siakam delivered 17 points, eight rebounds and nine assists to help Toronto win without All-Star Fred VanVleet. Trent went 5 for 12 from 3-point range and had 10 points in the fourth quarter of the Raptors’ ninth win in 11 games.
All-Star starter Trae Young had 22 points and six assists in the Hawks’ 130-109 pounding of the Magic. Bogan Bogdanovic had a team-high 23 points for Atlanta, which led 72-53 after shooting 13-for-19 from behind the arc in the first half.
Keldon Johnson scored 22 points and Jakob Poeltl had a double-double as the Spurs beat the Thunder, 114-106. Poeltl had 20 points and 17 rebounds, while All-Star Dejounte Murray had 18 points, eight assists and seven boards. Josh Giddey had his third straight triple-double with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Thunder.
The Pacers’ seven-game losing streak is over after Tyrese Haliburton provided 21 points and 14 assists in a 113-108 decision over the Wizards. Terry Taylor added 18 point and nine rebounds, while Tristan Thompson had a season-high 17 points and six rebounds as the Pacers also ended a 16-game losing skid against Eastern Conference foes.
Zach LaVine has been cleared medically to participate in All-Star festivities this weekend in Cleveland and return to the Chicago Bulls’ lineup after the break.
Bulls coach Billy Donovan says LaVine got the OK after having his left knee drained and a lubricant injected in Los Angeles. He can resume activities after about 48 hours.
LaVine’s participation in Cleveland might be limited based on what team medical personnel and the doctors in Los Angeles decide.
In other NBA news:
The Timberwolves have signed guard Patrick Beverley to a one-year, $13 million contract extension. The 33-year-old Beverley is averaging 9.2 points and a career-best 4.9 assists per game in his 10th season in the NBA. He has started 35 of 39 games for Minnesota.
The Bucks have signed forward DeAndre’ Bembry less than a week after the Nets waived him. Bembry averaged 5.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1 steal and 19.8 minutes in 48 games with the Nets this season.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL:
Eleventh-ranked Texas Tech remains perfect at home this season.
The Red Raiders have completed a regular-season sweep of Baylor by downing the No. 7 Bears, 83-73.
Kevin Obanor scored 21 of his 23 points in the second half and finished with 13 rebounds. Obanor made back-to-back shots from beyond the arc to cap a 14-3 run that started the second half and put the Red Raiders ahead to stay.
Bryson Williams added 17 points for Tech, which is 16-0 at home this season.
James Akinjo had 18 points and seven assists for Baylor, while Adam Flagler had 14 points.
Both teams are 9-4 in the Big 12.
In Tuesday’s other top-25 action:
Chet Holmgren had 18 points and 17 rebounds to lead top-ranked Gonzaga to an 86-66 win over Pepperdine. Drew Timme (TIH'-mee) paced the Bulldogs with 19 points and Andrew Nembhard had a career-high 14 assists.
Jabari Smith had a season-high 31 points and second-ranked Auburn extended its home winning streak to 14 games by defeating Vanderbilt, 94-80. Smith was 7-for-10 from 3-point range as the Tigers improved to 24-2 overall, 12-1 in the SEC.
Zach Edey had 14 points and eight rebounds as fifth-ranked Purdue pulled out a 70-64 win over Northwestern to move into first place in the Big Ten. Mason Gillis and Eric Hunter Jr. each scored 11 points as Purdue moved a half-game ahead of No. 12 Illinois for the top spot in the conference.
Cliff Omoruyi had 15 points, 13 rebounds and a reverse alley-oop dunk in Rutgers’ game-breaking run as the Scarlet Knights routed No. 12 Illinois, 70-59. Ron Harper Jr. added 16 points and eight rebounds to the win as Rutgers beat a ranked team for the fourth straight time.
Adama Sanogo had 20 points and 16 rebounds as 24th-rated UConn beat Seton Hall, 70-65.
Jahvon Quinerly had 21 points and eight assists to lead No. 25 Alabama to an 80-75 win over Mississippi State.
In men’s college basketball, UAlbany held off Binghamton, 68-67, Vermont bested New Hampshire, 71-50, St. Bonaventure outscored UMass, 83-71, UConn defeated Seton Hall, 70-65, and Hartford outscored Maine, 75-65. On the women’s side, Maine bested Hartford, 71-56, UAlbany defeated Binghamton, 61-48, Vermont held off New Hampshire, 61-58, and UMass squeaked by Fordham, 60-57.
NHL:
The Florida Panthers have won a matchup of the top two teams in the NHL’s Eastern Conference.
Aaron Ekblad set up two goals before scoring the game-winner in overtime, giving the Panthers a 3-2 victory over Carolina.
Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart also scored goals for the Panthers. Reinhart came through by pouncing on a loose puck along the left side and zipping the puck past Frederik Andersen in the final minute of regulation.
Tony DeAngelo and Teuvo Teravainen did the scoring for the Hurricanes.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
One day after their 19-game point streak ended, the Avalanche earned a 2-0 shutout of the Golden Knights as Darcy Kuemper stopped 29 shots. Colorado’s victory spoiled the long-awaited debut of Jack Eichel, who was in action for the first time since being acquired from Buffalo and becoming the first NHL player to play after having artificial disk replacement surgery on his neck.
Mark Scheifele recorded the fifth hat trick of his career and added an assist to lead the Jets to a 6-3 win over the Wild. Blake Wheeler had four assists and Connor Hellebuyck made 33 saves for Winnipeg.
Elias Lindholm ran his goal streak to six games by scoring twice and adding an assist in the Flames' eighth win in a row, 6-2 versus the Ducks. Dillon Dube, Andrew Mangiapane, Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk also scored for Calgary, while Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson had a career-best three points with three assists.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL:
Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh has agreed to a reworked five-year contract with the school that runs through the 2026 season.
The announcement of a new deal comes two weeks after Harbaugh interviewed to fill the head coaching vacancy with the Minnesota Vikings.
The Wolverines went 12-2 last season and snapped a eight-game losing streak to Ohio State along the way before losing to eventual national champion Georgia in the CFP semifinals.
Harbaugh is 61-24 with four double-digit win seasons in seven years at his alma mater. He accepted a pay cut after the Wolverines went 2-4 during the COVID-abbreviated 2020 campaign.
Rams fans cheered on Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, Aaron Donald and the rest of the Super Bowl champions during a victory parade in Los Angeles Wednesday. Thousands lined up the parade route that runs about a mile through the city before a rally just outside LA Coliseum.
The celebrating began Sunday when the Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 after a final drive by Stafford that ended with a 1-yard TD toss to Kupp, the game’s MVP. Three LA teams have won championships in the last two years, but the Lakers and Dodgers didn’t get parades because of the pandemic.
In other NFL news:
The Vikings have finalized their hiring of head coach Kevin O’Connell, completing a sharp offseason shift in direction for the team. The 36-year-old offensive coordinator of the Super Bowl champion Rams replaces Mike Zimmer and becomes the 10th head coach in Vikings history. O’Connell is the fourth former assistant under Rams head coach Sean McVay to become an NFL head coach himself.
The Bengals have signed coach Zac Taylor to a five-year contract extension. The deal was announced, three days after the Bengals lost 23-20 to the Rams in the Super Bowl. Cincinnati improved to 10-7 in 2021 and went on an improbable run through the playoffs to reach the Super Bowl for the first time in 33 years.
The Falcons have released outside linebacker Dante Fowler after he failed to provide the expected boost to the team’s long-suffering pass rush. Fowler led the Falcons with 4 1/2 sacks in 2021, giving him only 7 1/2 sacks in his two seasons before Wednesday’s release announced by the team.
The Cowboys reportedly have paid $2.4 million to four members of the team’s cheerleading squad who accused a team vice president of watching them undress in a locker room during a 2015 event at AT&T Stadium. ESPN reports that each of the women received $399,523, citing documents and unidentified people as sources.
NASCAR:
Jacques Villeneuve has qualified for the Daytona 500. The 50-year-old former Formula One champion and Indianapolis 500 winner earned a spot in “The Great American Race” in Wednesday night’s time trials at Daytona International Speedway.
Only the front row was technically eligible to lock into Sunday’s starting grid. Those spots went to pole-sitter Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports.
Villeneuve was in one of the six cars vying for those one of the spots and locked himself into his first Daytona 500 by beating the other five open teams. Noah Gragson earned the second spot.
MLB:
Negotiations aimed at ending Major League Baseball’s lockout will resume Thursday.
The players’ association will respond to the offer MLB made last weekend, proposals that were received coolly by the union.
Baseball’s ninth work stoppage and first since 1995 enters its 78th day on Thursday, one day after spring training workouts had been scheduled to start.
There is little chance exhibition games will start as scheduled on Feb. 26, and the work stoppage soon will threaten opening day on March 31.
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