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Good morning and happy Thursday, sports fans! It’s Austin Nivison greeting you this morning, and there’s a lot going on in the sports world these days. Team USA men’s hockey appears to be on a collision course with Canada in the gold medal game after a dramatic quarterfinal round victory, Texas Tech just suffered a huge blow on the court and the 2026 Genesis Invitational gets underway today. Also, it could be a very big day for the American women at the Olympics as Team USA faces Canada in the gold medal hockey game and Alysa Liu is in medal contention in figure skating. (You can follow all of the day’s action right here.)
Let’s get right to it, shall we?
🇺🇸 Five things to know Thursday
- Quinn Hughes sends Team USA to the semifinals with an OT goal vs. Sweden. The U.S. was on the verge of going home early after Sweden tied the quarterfinal game with 1:31 remaining in regulation. In overtime, Hughes made a terrific play to blow a shot past Jacob Markstrom to keep the Americans alive. Team USA will now take on Slovakia in the semifinals on Friday as its bid for the gold medal continues. Canada, meanwhile, survived an OT scare of its own against Czechia but lost Sidney Crosby to injury.
- Texas Tech star JT Toppin is out for the season with a torn ACL. The Red Raiders suffered a frustrating loss to Arizona State on the scoreboard Tuesday night, but they also suffered a more significant long-term loss. Toppin exited the game with an injury, and tests determined he tore his ACL. This is a major blow to Texas Tech as Toppin is the team leader in points (21.8), rebounds (10.8) and blocks (1.7) per game.
- The Seahawks are up for sale two weeks after their Super Bowl victory. In the wake of his team’s Super Bowl 60 victory, the Seahawks are on the market. The estate of Paul G. Allen has begun the process of selling the team, which should command big money on the open market. The Commanders sold for a record $6.05 billion, and the price for the Seahawks is expected to top that.
- Magic star Franz Wagner is out indefinitely with an ankle sprain. The Magic are in the midst of a playoff race, and those postseason chances just took a hit. An ankle injury already forced Wagner to miss 25 games since early December, but he re-aggravated it before the All-Star break. Wagner will now miss an indefinite amount of time with a left ankle sprain. Wagner has been limited to just 13 games this season, averaging 9.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.
- NIU coach Thomas Hammock is leaving for a job with the Seahawks. The coach famous for leading the Huskies to an upset of Notre Dame in 2024, Hammock is joining the Seahawks staff in an assistant role. The timing of this move is rather poor for NIU, which is moving into the Mountain West Conference this year. The MWC represents a step up in competition for NIU, as the Huskies enter the coaching market.
🏈 Do not miss this: Pete Prisco’s top 100 NFL free agents
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NFL free agency begins in less than a month, and there will be some stars on the open market. As teams get ready to back up the Brinks truck, they’ll have to sort through some of the top names available.
Luckily for all 32 teams, our own Pete Prisco has already identified the top 100 NFL free agents in the 2026 class. One of the most intriguing players is running back Kenneth Walker III. A fascinating case, Walker had trouble getting regular carries in the regular season, but proved to be a workhorse for the Super Bowl champion Seahawks in the playoffs. How will free agency suitors see him?
- Prisco: “He split time during the regular season, but in the postseason he took over as the lead back when Zach Charbonnet went down and showed he was more than capable, winning Super Bowl MVP. At 25, he is the right age in terms of free agent backs. But what’s the cost? Is it more than $10 million per season?”
The No. 2 player on Prisco’s list is Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson. He should attract serious attention in free agency, but Cincinnati still has some options at its disposal.
🏌 Genesis Invitational preview
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A year after moving the tournament down the coast to Torrey Pines due to the Los Angeles wildfires, the Genesis Invitational is back in its usual home at the Riviera Country Club. Players will be vying for their share of a large $20 million purse, but which ones will still be in the running come Sunday?
In his 2026 Genesis Invitational preview, our own Patrick McDonald reviews the tournament odds and gives a few picks of his own. While Scottie Scheffler will be tough to beat, McDonald lists Harris English (45-1) as a contender who could charge up the leaderboard throughout the weekend.
- McDonald: “Not too many players are driving the ball more efficiently than English at the moment. A winner in California last season at Torrey Pines, English should have a chance to raise another trophy in the Golden State at a golf course where he has racked up finishes of solo seventh and T12 in his last two trips. In four starts this season, English has four top-30 finishes but no top 20 finishes. That could change this week given his proficiency with the mid irons.”
The first round tees off on Thursday morning, and here’s how you can tune in all weekend.
👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest
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📺 What we’re watching Thursday
🏅 Women’s curling: USA vs. Switzerland, 9:05 a.m. on Peacock
🥉 Ice hockey (W): Switzerland vs. Sweden (bronze-medal game), 8:40 a.m. on Peacock
🏅 Speed skating: Men’s 1500m, 10:30 a.m. on Peacock
🏅 Figure skating: Women’s free skate, 1 p.m. on Peacock
🏅 Curling: Men’s semifinals, 1:05 p.m. on Peacock
🥇 Ice hockey (W): USA vs. Canada (gold-medal game), 1:10 p.m. on USA Network
⛳ Genesis Invitational: Round 1, 4 p.m. on Golf Channel
🏀 No. 11 Oklahoma at No. 24 Georgia (W), 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network
🏀 NC State at No. 9 Duke (W), 7 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Pistons at Knicks, 7:30 p.m. on Prime Video
🏀 No. 3 South Carolina at No. 25 Alabama (W), 8:30 p.m. on SEC Network
🏀 No. 7 LSU at No. 17 Ole Miss (W), 9 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Celtics at Warriors, 10 p.m. on Prime Video
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