Team USA hockey wins legendary Olympic gold; Duke basketball tops Michigan

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Good morning to everyone but especially to the United States men’s hockey team. Carter Bahns with you this Monday morning to relish Team USA’s victory over Canada in the gold medal game of the final event at the 2026 Winter Olympics. What a way to end a simply tremendous two weeks of peak athletic performance in Northern Italy. I’m already counting down the days until 2030.

We will, of course, open today’s newsletter with the hockey triumph. But we also have some college basketball to discuss — I see you, Duke! — and the opening weekend of MLS action to cover.

Let’s dive in.

Five things to know Monday

1. For the first time in 46 years, the United States men’s hockey team reigns supreme. Team USA defeated Canada in a 2-1 overtime classic to win the Olympic hockey tournament and bring gold medals back to the States for the first time since the “Miracle on Ice” team won in 1980. Jack Hughes established himself as an American hockey legend when he delivered the game-winner in Sunday’s battle, and he did so with a couple fewer teeth than when he started the game. This is the first time that the men’s and women’s team have won gold in the same Olympics, and it put the finishing touches on an unforgettable Milan Cortina Games in which the United States racked up 12 gold medals — the most in the nation’s history. Our Matt Norlander offers his thoughts on what made the Milan Cortina Games one of the best Winter Olympics ever.
2. Floyd Mayweather will end his retirement and return to boxing. After nine years out of the ring, the undefeated boxing legend is set to make a comeback. Mayweather (50-0) has a planned exhibition bout with Mike Tyson this spring, and he will seek professional fights after that event. While Mayweather took eight exhibition fights since his retirement, he has not competed professionally since his 2017 win over Conor McGregor.
3. Pablo López will miss the 2026 season for Tommy John surgery. Following an offseason in which the Twins struggled to position themselves for a postseason push, they lost a critical piece of their rotation to further limit their potential. López will reportedly undergo his second Tommy John surgery to repair a torn UCL and may not return until the middle of the 2027 campaign. Minnesota must move forward without an arm that delivered a 2.74 ERA and 73 strikeouts over 75.2 innings last year.
4. Joey Aguilar was denied a preliminary injunction, ending his college football career. The NCAA came out on the right side of another eligibility ruling with Aguilar reportedly denied the opportunity to play another season at Tennessee. The ruling forces the Volunteers to hand the keys to their offense to an unproven option with George MacIntyre, Faizon Brandon and Ryan Staub set to compete for the job this spring and summer. This is the third key eligibility case to end this month after Alabama basketball player Charles Bediako was deemed ineligible and Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss received an injunction to play in 2026. 
5. The football community mourns the death of Rondale Moore. Lastly, on a somber note, the NFL lost a five-year wide receiver on Saturday to a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Moore did not play in 2025 with the Vikings nor in 2024 with the Falcons due to injuries, but he opened his career with three productive years with the Cardinals after being selected in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft. He was a college football star who dazzled as a freshman, winning numerous Big Ten and national awards at Purdue. Moore, gone far too soon, was 25.

🔢 Do not miss this: 2026 WNBA Draft Big Board 1.0

The 2026 WNBA Draft is fewer than two months away, and uncertainty abounds as the league and its players union continue collective bargaining negotiations. Predicting 2026 rosters is difficult because of the halt on free agency and the double expansion draft, so instead of building a mock draft, Jack Maloney ranked the top 20 prospects from college basketball and overseas.

The big board places the top prospects into six tiers. Tier 1 includes just two players: Spanish center Awa Fam and TCU guard Olivia Miles. Maloney explained why Miles is the best college prospect.

• Maloney: “Miles would have been a lottery pick last year if she had entered the draft, but she decided to return to school and transferred to TCU, where she’s been able to run the show in Mark Campbell’s spread pick-and-roll system. In just a few months in Fort Worth, Miles has proven that she’s more than capable of being an offensive engine.”

See the full big board for complete player rankings. To summarize the list, here is the top player from every tier:

• Tier 1: Awa Fam, C, Spain
• Tier 2: Azzi Fudd, G, UConn
• Tier 3: Kiki Rice, G, UCLA
• Tier 4: Gabriela Jaquez, G, UCLA
• Tier 5: Janiah Barker, F, Tennessee
• Tier 6: Charlisse Leger-Walker, G, UCLA

Also, here’s how South Carolina‘s Raven Johnson proved that she is worthy of a first-round selection even though she scored just six points in Sunday’s win over Ole Miss.

🏀 NCAA Tournament selection committee previews bracket; ranked matchups shake up March Madness outlook

The NCAA Tournament selection committee kicked off a huge weekend of college basketball with its annual unveiling of the in-season top 16 seeds. If the regular season ended on Saturday, No. 1 Michigan would have been the top overall seed in March Madness with No. 3 Duke, No. 4 Arizona and No. 6 Iowa State rounding out the rest of the No. 1 seed line. The reveal offered insight into this particular committee’s decision-making process, and our Matt Norlander and David Cobb also got a behind-the-scenes look at how the committee will build the 2026 bracket.

Here are the top 16 teams from the bracket preview:

• No. 1: Michigan, Duke, Arizona, Iowa State
• No. 2: UConn, Houston, Illinois, Purdue
• No. 3: Florida, Kansas, Nebraska, Gonzaga
• No. 4: Texas Tech, Michigan State, Vanderbilt, Virginia

What unfolded in the hours after the committee’s announcement brought immediate changes to the postseason outlook.

• Duke 68, Michigan 63: The Blue Devils notched the 11th victory over a top-ranked team in program history behind a near triple-double from Cameron Boozer.
• Cincinnati 84, Kansas 68: The No. 8 Jayhawks had not lost to an unranked team at home by more than 10 points since 1993 before the shockingly lopsided upset. Not even a full game from Darryn Peterson could prevent the devastating loss.
• Auburn 75, Kentucky 74: Mark Pope was caught on a hot mic saying the officials “cheated” the Wildcats out of a victory as his squad lost its third game in a row.

Check out our updated bracketology in the wake of these results and others, including Arizona’s win at No. 2 Houston. And see how we expect the AP Top 25 poll to shake out when it is released this afternoon.

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

• MLS is back, and the 2026 season already has significant drama. Following Inter Miami‘s 3-0 loss to LAFC in a disappointing opener for the reigning champions, Lionel Messi had to be held back from confronting referees. The Professional Referee Organization said Messi is cleared of wrongdoing and will not face punishment.
• Breakout running back Javonte Williams will avoid free agency and return to the Cowboys on a three-year, $24 million contract.
• Curt Cignetti reportedly secured another raise after leading Indiana to its first national championship and is now tied with Kirby Smart as the highest-paid coach in college football.
• Bill Self pushed back on the narratives surrounding Darryn Peterson and his availability — or lack thereof.
• Scotty Pippen Jr. and Myron Gardner were ejected for fighting at the end of the Heat‘s win over the Grizzlies.
• USMNT striker Josh Sargent will reportedly make his MLS debut with Toronto FC after a transfer from Norwich City.
• Jacob Bridgeman earned his first PGA Tour victory with a win at the 2026 Genesis Invitational. His first-place finish earned him a $4 million payout.
• Sean Strickland defeated Anthony Hernandez via third-round TKO to headline UFC Fight Night in Houston. In the featherweight division, Melquizael Costa knocked out Dan Ige with the sixth spinning back kick knockout in UFC history. And welterweight Uros Medic knocked out Geoff Neal in Round 1.
• Real Madrid suffered a 2-1 upset loss to Osasuna, setting the stage for Barcelona to jump into first place in La Liga. Meanwhile, in the Premier League, Arsenal rebuilt a five-point lead atop the table with a 4-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur.
• Conor Benn (24-1,14 KOs) is the latest marquee signing for Zuffa Boxing.
• Take a look at the Pat Riley statue the Lakers unveiled ahead of last night’s rivalry game against the Celtics.
• Aleister Black upset Randy Orton on WWE SmackDown, and multiple wrestling superstars called out Tom Brady for calling the sport “very cute.”
• Andy Reid confirmed that the Chiefs are in the midst of discussions with Travis Kelce about a return for 2026. Former NFL agent Joel Corry offered his take on how Kelce’s potential contract could look.
• After coming up on the wrong size of a bizarre two-point conversion against the Seahawks, the Rams plan to propose a rule change that would nullify future instances of that play.
• UCLA will continue to play its home football games at the Rose Bowl in 2026 despite seeking a move to SoFi Stadium.

📺 What we’re watching Monday

⚽ Pisa at Fiorentina, 12:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Golazo Network/Paramount+
⚽ Manchester United at Everton, 3 p.m. on USA Network
⛳ Atlanta Drive GC vs. Boston Common Golf, 5 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Spurs at Pistons, 7 p.m. on Peacock
🏀 No. 21 Louisville at No. 16 North Carolina (M), 7 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 No. 2 Houston at No. 8 Kansas (M), 9 p.m. on ESPN
⛳ Los Angeles Golf Club vs. Atlanta Drive GC, 9 p.m. on ESPN2
🏀 Jazz at Rockets, 9:30 p.m. on Peacock