Team USA stuns Canada for women’s hockey gold; Alysa Liu shines in figure skating

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Good morning and happy Friday! Carter Bahns here to close out the week, and I’m wishing an extra good morning to Team USA after a simply tremendous day at the Winter Olympics. The women’s hockey team just delivered one of the most thrilling gold medal games you’ll ever see, and the men have a shot today at punching their ticket to Sunday’s championship contest. Here’s how you can watch the semifinal game against Slovakia and all of the other action at the Milan Cortina Winter Games. Or you follow all of the action here.

While the Olympians were competing overseas, some big news dropped back home in the NBA. We’re also just one day away from the start of the MLS season.

Let’s talk about it all.

🏒 Five things to know Friday

1. The United States women’s hockey team is golden. Team USA will bring gold medals home from the Winter Olympics after defeating Canada in a remarkably entertaining championship game. The Americans trailed 1-0 with just over two minutes to play in regulation when Hilary Knight leveled the score with a historic goal — one that made her the United States’ all-time leading scorer in Olympic competition. That clutch effort sent the gold-medal showdown into overtime, wherein Megan Keller delivered what will be remembered as a legendary goal to put Team USA on top in a 2-1 thriller.
2. Alysa Liu is the breakout star of the Olympic women’s figure skating competition. Liu, who initially retired from figure skating after the 2022 Beijing Games, won her first individual Olympic gold medal with an exhilarating performance in the women’s free skate program. The 20-year-old became the first American woman to win individual gold since Sarah Hughes did so in the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. She did so with a career-best 226.79 score, which included a 76.59 mark in the short program earlier this week.
3. Rule changes are on the horizon as the NBA grapples with tanking issues. Commissioner Adam Silver reportedly informed all 30 general managers that the NBA will adopt rule changes to combat tanking, and several potential solutions are on the table after league discussions. Silver effectively had no choice but to act after tanking became the biggest storyline of the season and dominated the conversation at All-Star weekend. Suns owner Mat Ishbia yesterday called for “massive changes” as tanking becomes more blatant than ever.
4. NCAA Tournament expansion talks are on hold. March Madness could still feature a larger bracket in 2027, but whether expansion will come to fruition remains a mystery after NCAA senior vice president Dan Gavitt said talks will be halted and that an answer will not come until at least after the 2026 tournament. That announcement came shortly after NCAA president Charlie Baker reaffirmed that he wants to see the tournament expand beyond its current 68-team format.
5. Momentum is building toward the Bears’ potential exit from Soldier Field — and from Illinois entirely. The Bears remain in search of a location for a new indoor stadium, and a move outside Illinois state lines is on the table. With the Indiana House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee unanimously passing a key bill on Thursday, it became even more realistic. The bill permits the establishment of a Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority, which may finance, construct and lease a stadium. The Bears appear destined to leave Chicago, and while they initially sought to relocate to the suburb of Arlington Heights, all recent momentum points toward Northwest Indiana.

⚽ Do not miss this: MLS superlatives ahead of Saturday’s season-openers

We are merely one sleep away from the start of the MLS season. The campaign opens Saturday at 2:30 p.m. when St. Louis City SC hosts Charlotte FC, and the rest of the weekend’s slate features a plethora of matchups between reigning playoff teams. That includes a duel between Inter Miami CF and LAFC, which offers this year’s first look at reigning two-time MVP Lionel Messi.

Messi is already the first player in league history to win MVP in consecutive seasons. Could he bring home a third award in 2026? Chuck Booth thinks so.

• Booth: “Until proven otherwise, this award is Messi’s to lose, and while some like Heung-min Son and Anders Dreyer will do the best they can to take it away from him, if the Messi that has shown up for Miami so far does what’s expected in a World Cup year, look out. Seriously, Messi is one of one.”

In addition to the preseason MVP pick, Booth also named a number of other superlatives to kick off the campaign. Here are just a couple of them:

• Golden Boot: German Berterame, Inter Miami CF
• Best signing: Cristian Espinoza, Nashville SC
• MLS Newcomer of the Year: Iago, Orlando City SC

🏀 Biggest storylines for the NBA’s stretch run

With the NBA All-Star break complete, attention turns now to the playoff race and battle for the No. 1 pick in the draft. A lot will go into determining which teams compete for the Larry O’Brien Trophy and which will be hoping to see their logo on a ping pong ball at the draft lottery. Jasmyn Wimbish and Brad Botkin determined the eight storylines that will define those processes.

None are bigger than Jayson Tatum‘s potential return from the torn Achilles he suffered just last May.

• Wimbish: “The version we get of Tatum will greatly impact Boston’s outlook for the rest of the season. If he comes back close to his All-NBA self, then every other team in the East should be worried about matching up with the Celtics in the postseason.”

Also worth watching are two key award races. Wimbish called the Rookie of the Year battle between former Duke teammates Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel “one of the most intriguing” in recent memory. And Botkin has his eyes on the MVP race, which will remain a fierce contest so long as Nikola Jokić remains eligible.

👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest

📺 What we’re watching this weekend

Friday

🏅 Women’s Curling, semifinal: United States vs. Switzerland, 8:05 a.m. on Peacock
🏅 Women’s Speed Skating: 1,500 meters, 10:30 a.m. on USA Network
🏅 Women’s Bobsled: 2-Woman, heats 1 and 2, Noon on NBC
🏅 Men’s Freestyle Skiing: Halfpipe final, 1:30 p.m. on NBC
⚽ Hellas Verona at Sassuolo, 2:45 p.m. on Paramount+
🏅 Men’s Hockey, semifinal: United States vs. Slovakia, 3:10 p.m. on NBC
⛳ Genesis Invitational, second round, 4 p.m. on Golf Channel
🏀 Mavericks at Timberwolves, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Indiana at No. 7 Purdue (M), 8 p.m. on Fox
🏀 Clippers at Lakers, 10 p.m. on ESPN

Saturday

🏅 Men’s Bobsled: 4-Man, heats 1 and 2, 4 a.m. on USA Network
🏅 Men’s Cross-Country Skiing: 50-kilometer mass start classic, 5 a.m. on Peacock
🏅 Women’s Curling, bronze medal game: TBD vs. TBD, 8:05 a.m. on Peacock
🏅 Speed Skating: Men’s and women’s mass start, 9 a.m. on Peacock
⚽ Como at Juventus, 9 a.m. on Paramount+
⚽ Inter MIlan at Lecce, Noon on Paramount+
🏀 NCAA March Madness Bracket Preview, 12:30 p.m. on CBS/Paramount+
🏅 Women’s Bobsled: 2-Woman, heats 3 and 4, 1 p.m. on NBC
🏀 Cincinnati at No. 8 Kansas (M), 1 p.m. on CBS/Paramount+
🏅 Women’s Freestyle Skiing: Halfpipe final, 1:30 p.m. on NBC
🏀 Penn State at No. 9 Nebraska (M), 2 p.m. on Big Ten Network
⚽ Charlotte FC at St. Louis City SC, 2:30 p.m. on Apple TV
🏅 Men’s Hockey, bronze medal game: TBD vs. TBD, 2:40 p.m. on USA Network
🏀 No. 4 Arizona at No. 2 Houston (M), 3 p.m. on ABC
⛳ Genesis Invitational, third round, 3 p.m. on CBS/Paramount+
⚽ Newcastle United at Manchester City, 3 p.m. on NBC Sports Network
⚽ Atlanta United FC at FC Cincinnati, 4:45 p.m. on Fox/Apple TV
🏀 Magic at Suns, 5 p.m. on NBA TV
🏀 No. 5 UConn at Villanova (M), 5:30 p.m. on TNT/truTV
🏀 No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 3 Duke (M), 6:30 p.m. on ESPN
⚽ Philadelphia Union at D.C. United, 7:30 p.m. on Apple TV
🏀 No. 10 Illinois at UCLA (M), 8 p.m. on Fox
🏀 Rockets at Knicks, 8:30 p.m. on ABC
⚽ Minnesota United FC at Austin FC, 8:30 p.m. on Apple TV
⚽ Inter Miami CF at LAFC, 9:30 p.m. on Apple TV
🏀 No. 6 Iowa State at No. 23 BYU (M), 10:30 p.m. on ESPN
⚽ CF Montréal at San Diego FC, 10:30 p.m. on Apple TV

Sunday

🏅 Men’s Bobsled: 4-Man, heats 3 and 4, 4 a.m. on Peacock
🏅 Women’s Cross-Country Skiing: 50-kilometer mass start classic, 4 a.m. on USA Network
🏅 Women’s Curling, gold medal game: TBD vs. TBD, 5:05 a.m. on Peacock
⚽ Torino at Genoa, 6:30 a.m. on Paramount+
🏅 Men’s Hockey, gold medal game: TBD vs. TBD, 8:10 a.m. on NBC
⚽ Napoli at Atalanta, 9 a.m. on Paramount+
⚽ Arsenal at Tottenham Hotspur, 11:30 a.m. on USA Network
🏀 No. 17 Ole Miss at No. 3 South Carolina (W), Noon on ESPN
🏀 Providence at No. 1 UConn (W), Noon on FS1
🏀 Virginia at No. 8 Louisville (W), Noon on The CW
🏀 No. 6 Michigan at No. 13 Iowa (W), Noon on Fox
🏀 Cavaliers at Thunder, 1 p.m. on ABC
🏀 Ohio State at No. 15 Michigan State (M), 1 p.m. on CBS/Paramount+
🏀 Mississippi State at No. 4 Texas (W), 2 p.m. on SEC Network
🏀 No. 9 Duke at Clemson (W), 2 p.m. on ESPN2
🏀 USC at No. 10 Ohio State (W), 2 p.m. on FS1
🏀 No. 21 Tennessee at No. 11 Oklahoma (W), 2 p.m. on ESPN
🏅 2026 Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony, 2:30 p.m. on NBC
⚽ Cremonese at Roma, 2:45 p.m. on Paramount+
🏀 Nuggets at Warriors, 3:30 p.m. on ABC
🏀 No. 16 Kentucky at No. 5 Vanderbilt (W), 4 p.m. on ESPN2
🏀 Missouri at No. 7 LSU (W), 4 p.m. on SEC Network
🏀 Wisconsin at No. 2 UCLA (W), 5:30 p.m. on Peacock
🏀 No. 18 Michigan State at No. 23 Minnesota (W), 6 p.m. on FS1
🏀 Celtics at Lakers, 6:30 p.m. on NBC
⚽ New York City FC at LA Galaxy, 7 p.m. on Apple TV
🏀 Magic at Clippers, 9 p.m. on NBA TV
⚽ Colorado Rapids at Seattle Sounders FC, 9:15 p.m. on FS1/Apple TV