• Madison Chock and Evan Bates helped Team USA take the lead in the figure skating team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
• The ice dance pair faces a demanding schedule of four programs in six days, more than many of their competitors.
• Chock and Bates are aiming for an individual ice dance gold medal in addition to a team medal.
• Despite the challenging schedule, the duo feels mentally and physically prepared for the competition ahead.

MILAN — You wouldn’t have guessed Madison Chock and Evan Bates just put on another season-best performance, no less on the biggest stage at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The couple were calm and unceremonious with reporters after their free dance in the team event on Saturday, Feb. 7, which put the U.S. in first place with a five-point lead heading into the medal-deciding final day on Sunday.

Were they not happy? Far from it. Were they mad? Doesn’t seem so.

So what was it? Maybe it’s because they have their eyes set on a bigger prize, but are working through a gauntlet to get to it. Simply put, they’re buckling up for arguably the biggest week of their lives.

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Chock and Bates by far have the most challenging schedule of any figure skaters in the Games: Four programs in six days, including back-to-back duty in the team event on Feb. 6 and 7. Now, they have 48 hours until the ice dance competition opens Feb. 9 with the rhythm dance and concludes on Feb. 11 with the free dance. Their performances in the team event set up Team USA for its second straight gold medal.

“Our team is incredibly strong, arguably as strong as it’s ever been, and I have the utmost faith in them,” Chock said. “I’ll be proud of them no matter what the outcome is.”

But the most decorated ice dance pair in U.S. figure skating history wants more than a team medal in Milan — they want the ice dance gold medal, the one achievement they’ve been chasing for years. But while they did so much heavy lifting for their team, their competition got extra rest.

Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron (France) and Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson (Great Britain) didn’t skate the free dance because France and Great Britain didn’t qualify for the final. Canada did made the final, but it opted to go with Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha for the free dance, saving the legs of Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier. They’ll all be well-rested for the ice dance while Chock and Bates will still be recovering.

On paper, it seems like Chock and Bates are at a disadvantage. However, if you’ve seen this duo at all this season, you know that’s far from the case.

“We came into the event knowing that that was a possibility,” Chock said. “We’re mentally and physically prepared.”

For as crowded and deep the ice dance field is, the Americans don’t see it as a competition with others. Bates said they are just competing with themselves.

And every single time, they keep on winning.

“It’s just a progression,” he said. “It’s very cliche, but it is our mindset, and it is our approach, and it’s how we have stayed focused, and it’s how we’ve been training.”

A whirlwind of a week halfway done, but the job is far from over. It’s the biggest challenge of their careers, and this pair is ready for it.

The 285th and final game of the 2025 NFL season − Super Bowl 60 − has arrived after five months in the making.

In the ever unpredictable league, the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots will meet for the second time in 11 years − this matchup a far bigger surprise than the first given neither of these teams reached the playoffs a year ago. The next question will be whether their second Super Sunday showdown, if not exactly a rematch with Tom Brady and the Legion of Boom having left the stage years ago, can somehow approach the unforgettable Super Bowl 49 classic.

For the final time this season, USA TODAY Sports’ NFL experts submit their predictions − including Super Bowl 60’s MVP:

(Odds provided by BetMGM)

Super Bowl 60 picks, predictions, odds

• Seahawks vs. Patriots

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy – Mikaela Shiffrin, the most decorated Alpine skier of all time, is grateful to be at her fourth Winter Olympics. It’s an ‘honor’ and a ‘privilege’ to be part of this event with the red, white and blue on her chest, she said Saturday, Feb. 7 during media availability in Cortina.

But Shiffrin wants to make it clear that she’s representing her own personal values at these Games, not those of President Donald Trump’s administration back home.

Shiffrin came to Cortina prepared to be asked about whether she felt conflicted competing on behalf of the United States given the international backlash to immigration raids championed by the White House. She wrote down, in full, the Nelson Mandela quote actor Charlize Theron read aloud during the Milano Cortina opening ceremony the night before:

‘Peace is not just the absence of conflict. Peace is the creation of an environment where we can all flourish regardless of race, color, creed, religion, gender, class, caste or any other social markers of difference.’

She added, in her own words: ‘For me, as this related to the Olympics, I really hope to show up and represent my own values. Of diversity, and kindness, and sharing. Tenacity, work ethic, showing up with my team every single day.

‘… My greatest hope for this Olympic Games, from a broader perspective, is that it is a beautiful show of cooperation and of competition.’

Team USA athletes here in Italy known they are the face of their home country this month, at a time when political decisions by the Trump administration have earned worldwide criticism.

Shiffrin acknowledged the presence of ‘hardship,’ ‘heartbreak’ and ‘violence’ around the globe, which ‘can be tough to reconcile … when you’re also competing for medals in an Olympic event.’ In the U.S. specifically, ICE raids ordered by the Trump administration have led to the killing of two civilians in Minnesota: Alex Pretti and Renee Good. The Guardian reported Jan. 28 that eight people have been killed by ICE or died while in ICE custody in 2026.

American athletes at Milan’s opening ceremony Friday night received raucous applause from the stadium of 80,000. But when the camera cut to vice president JD Vance, their whoops quickly changed to boos. That message of disapproval came after IOC president Kirsty Coventry urged fans to be ‘respectful’ toward the U.S. contingent.

Reach USA TODAY Network sports reporter Payton Titus at ptitus@gannett.com, and follow her on X @petitus25.

Japan took gold and silver in men’s snowboarding big air thanks to some big tricks from Kira Kimura and Ryoma Kimata. Defending gold medalist Su Yiming of China overtook 17-year-old American Ollie Martin for bronze to keep Team USA from winning its first medal of the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.

But apparently, that all wasn’t enough for NBC broadcaster Todd Richards.

‘That was boring,’ he was caught saying on a hot mic immediately after the event concluded on Peacock. ‘That was so boring. The qualifier was way more exciting.’

Richards is commentating his sixth Winter Olympics. A former professional snowboarder, he competed in halfpipe at the 1998 Nagano Games, where snowboarding made its Olympic debut. He’s also a four-time Winter X Games medalist, winning gold in the halfpipe in 1997, the inaugural year of the Winter X Games.

NBC referred USA TODAY Sports to Richards’ Instagram post on the topic when reached for comment:

Richards stood by his opinion but also expressed his admiration for the competitors.

This story has been updated with new information.

Summer Britcher posted the fastest times for the Team USA during women’s singles luge training runs at the Cortina Sliding Centre on Sunday, Feb. 8.

Britcher’s time of 53.172 seconds on her fifth run was the ninth-best time recorded during the training session, tops among the three American competitors. The women’s luge course at the 2026 Winter Olympics is approximately 1,201 meters (1,313 yards) long.

Germany’s Merle Malou Fraebel and Julia Taubitz posted the top times in Sunday’s two training runs. Taubitz had the fastest time in the six training runs at 52.750, flying down the Cortina Sliding Centre track at a top speed of 119.4 kilometers per hour (approximately 74 mph).

The women’s singles luge medal competition starts Monday, Feb. 9 with two timed runs for each competitor beginning at 11 a.m. ET. There will be two more final timed runs beginning at 11 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Feb. 10. The combined times from all four runs determines the medal winners.

Germany, which won gold and silver in women’s singles luge at the 2022 Olympics, has won the most luge Olympic medals of any country, with 43 overall and 22 gold.

Emily Fischnaller is Team USA’s most decorated women’s luge competitor at the 2026 Winter Olympics. The 32-year-old is the second American to have won multiple luge singles medals, winning bronze at both the 2019 and 2025 World Championships.

Women’s singles luge fastest times for each run

Run 1 — Sandra Robatscher, Italy: 53.553 (Top Team USA finish: Emily Fischnaller, ninth: 53.820)

Run 2 — Elina Bota, Latvia: 53.541 (Top Team USA finish: Ashley Farquharson, eighth: 53.753)

Run 3 — Julia Taubitz, Germany: 53.268 (Top Team USA finish: Emily Fischnaller, 11th: 53.583)

Run 4 — Julia Taubitz, Germany: 53.408 (Top Team USA finish: Emily Fischnaller, fifth: 53.642

Run 5 – Merle Malou Fraebel, Germany: 52.855 (Top Team USA finish: Summer Britcher, seventh: 53.152)

Run 6 — Julia Taubitz, Germany: 52.750 (Top Team USA finish: Summer Britcher, third: 53.172)

• Actor Austin Butler is set to portray disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong in a new film.
• This upcoming movie is one of several films and documentaries made about Armstrong’s life.
• Armstrong’s story of a hero’s fall from grace continues to attract filmmakers.

America didn’t know it needed yet another movie about Lance Armstrong. But it’s getting one anyway, this time with actor Austin Butler cast to portray the disgraced former cyclist.

Multiple Hollywood news outlets even have reported that the upcoming film has stirred up a “bidding war” among film studios despite the fact that filmgoers have seen this movie before, or at least different versions of it. Grab some popcorn and binge on this:

∎ An ESPN documentary film entitled “Lance” earned critical acclaim in 2020.

∎ Actor Ben Foster played Armstrong in the “The Program” in 2015.

∎ ‘Stop at Nothing: The Lance Armstrong Story” came out in 2014.

∎ ‘The Armstrong Lie” by director Alex Gibney debuted in 2013.

∎ ‘The World According to Lance’ predated his confession to doping when it was released in 2012.

Now comes another one with a slight twist. Film producer Scott Stuber has acquired Armstrong’s life rights, according to Deadline.

Armstrong, 54, didn’t return a message seeking comment. But he didn’t like the last film in which he starred – the one on ESPN that actor Chevy Chase thought was so good that he agreed to participate in a film on himself with the same director (Marina Zenovich).

Why is there another movie about Lance Armstrong?

As far back as 2013, USA TODAY Sports posed the question: Why are film producers and book publishers falling over themselves to retell Armstrong’s story?

The answer is that it’s an epic tale about the rise of an American hero and cancer survivor who then became a villain after his lies and bullying finally caught up to him and led to his downfall. Armstrong won seven Tour de France titles but got stripped of all of them after using banned drugs and blood transfusions to boost himself on the bike. He denied his doping for years until he finally confessed to Oprah Winfrey in January 2013.

‘Lance’s story, his mythic story, was maybe the greatest sports story of all time,” Gibney told USA TODAY Sports in 2013. “That’s pretty big, and then the fall from grace was precipitous. That kind of Shakespearean or Greek tragedy is appealing to filmmakers.’

The new movie about Armstrong is set to be directed by Edward Berger, who also directed the 2024 film Conclave. That was another movie about secrets and scandal but was based on a book of fiction. The latest Lance film will be based on a true story, which includes his many lies.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

We’re only two days away from Super Bowl 60 in Santa Clara.

The New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks will meet Feb. 8 to decide who will win the Lombardi Trophy. After a week of festivities that included the 15th annual NFL Honors on Feb. 5, Super Bowl opening night, the Pro Bowl Games on Feb. 3 and more, it’s officially time to focus on the league’s annual finale.

USA TODAY Sports will provide the latest updates, highlights, news, quotes and more from Super Bowl week, leading up to Super Bowl 60 on Sunday. All times are Eastern.

Kliff Kingsbury to join LA Rams coaching staff

The Los Angeles Rams finished one win short of the Super Bowl this season, but will have one more offensive guru on the coaching staff for 2026. Multiple reports have former Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury joining buddy Sean McVay on his coaching staff in 2026. Read more here.

– Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz

Seahawks’ ‘breakfast club’ beating Darnold, Kupp to work on the regular

Here’s a story you won’t find anywhere else. Three unheralded Seahawks defenders have made it a habit to be the first in the door at Seattle’s training facility over the past three years, even beating notorious early risers Cooper Kupp and Sam Darnold. USA TODAY NFL reporter Nate Davis has the lowdown on the group that Kupp jokingly claims lives at the Seahawks training facility. Read more here:

– Nate Davis

Meanwhile, in Italy: 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony is live

Indulge us a diversion from all things football, but there’s something else major happening in the sports world today. The opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics is live now, broadcast on NBC, with a rebroadcast at 8 p.m. ET Feb. 6.

You can follow USA TODAY’s ongoing Olympics coverage at usatoday.com/sports/olympics/ and follow live coverage of the opening ceremony here.

– Eric Larsen

Seahawks face big decisions on Walker III, Shaheed after Super Bowl 60

Two major offensive X factors for the Seattle Seahawks are entering free agency after the Feb. 8 Super Bowl – Kenneth Walker III and Rashid Shaheed. USA TODAY NFL insider Tyler Dragon has the lowdown on what both mean to the Seahawks, and what they’ve said about their futures with the team. Read more here.

– Tyler Dragon

How the Patriots rookies powered a Super Bowl run

Significant NFL turnarounds in recent years have followed a similar path to that of the Patriots. Last year, the Washington Commanders made the NFC championship game following a 4-13 campaign the year before. In 2023, the Houston Texans made a run to the divisional playoffs a year after going 3-13-1.

Like those teams, New England has a new coaching staff, which helped their turnaround to AFC champion. But it also has been an influx of new talent – especially rookies.

Top draft picks Will Campbell and TreVeyon Henderson played crucial roles in the Patriots’ season, as is expected. It’s not just a two-man rookie class. Read on for more on the fresh faces propelling the Patriots’ resurgence.

– Ayrton Ostly

Matthew Stafford: MVP and MVD? Watch his daughters laud dad in adorable video

Here’s an award anyone who’s ever answered to the name of ‘Daddy’ can appreciate. NFL MVP Matthew Stafford thought he was in for a film session when his family surprised him with a heartwarming video you just have to watch.

– Scooby Axson

Can you trust Madden NFL 26 to predict the Super Bowl 60 winner?

Per a USA TODAY analysis of Madden NFL video game picks dating back to 2004 — the first year publisher EA ran predictions — the simulation generally beats the odds. Madden has correctly predicted 13 of 22 Super Bowls for a 59% success rate, far eclipsing the 48% pick rate of the Vegas line during the same span, per Pro Football Reference. However, that success hasn’t come without its share of rough patches.

– Jared Beilby

Patriots’ Christian Gonzalez reps Colombia at Super Bowl 60

– Chris Bumbaca

Sonny Jurgensen, Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback, dies at age 91

Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Sonny Jurgensen has passed away at the age of 91, the Washington Commanders announced Jan. 6. You can read the full story here.

– Scooby Axson

What makes Jaxon Smith-Njigba elite? Inside Seahawks WR’s route-running prowess

USA TODAY NFL insider Tyler Dragon has spent a lot of time with the Seattle Seahawks late this season while charting the ascendence of the 2025 NFL Offensive Player of the Year. Read here to learn more about how the third-year pro has compiled a record-setting season.

– Tyler Dragon

Jim Schwartz resigns as Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator

Hours after his star player, defensive end Myles Garrett, won Defensive Player of the Year, Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz resigned after getting passed over for the team’s head coaching vacancy, according to multiple reports.

Read the full story here.

– Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz

Matthew Stafford, Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald lead NFL Honors highlights

The NFL handed out its annual hardware Feb. 5, with Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford claiming the league MVP title in one of the closest votes in the award’s history.

The much-discussed 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame class was also revealed, with Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Adam Vinatieri, Luke Kuechly and Roger Craig getting the call. Catch up on USA TODAY Sports’ coverage of the night here:

• Brees and Fitzgerald (not Belichick and Kraft) headline Hall of Fame class
• NFL MVP Matthew Stafford announces he’ll return to play for Rams in 2026 season
• Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba named NFL Offensive Player of the Year
• Browns’ Carson Schwesinger wins NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award
• Tiffany Haddish mispronounces Patriots coach Mike Vrabel’s name at NFL Honors
• Christian McCaffrey wins NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award
• Mike Vrabel wins NFL Coach of the Year Award ahead of Super Bowl 60
• Myles Garrett unanimously wins NFL Defensive Player of Year
• Panthers WR Tetairoa McMillan wins NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year
• 2026 NFL Honors awards: Live updates, results on MVP and more winners

– Eric Larsen

Patriots vs. Seahawks playoff record

The Patriots and Seahawks have met once in the playoffs. That came in Super Bowl 49, a tightly contested game New England won 28-24.

Patriots vs. Seahawks regular-season history

The Patriots and Seahawks have met 19 times in the regular season in NFL history. Seattle has gotten the better of New England across those matchups, posting an 11-8 record.

When did the Patriots and Seahawks last play?

The Patriots and Seahawks last met during Week 2 of the 2024 NFL season. Seattle earned a 23-20 overtime victory after Jason Myers made a walk-off 31-yard field goal to cap off an eight-play, 71-yard drive after New England went three-and-out on the opening possession of the extra frame.

How much do Super Bowl 60 tickets cost?

According to Ticketmaster’s official website, the average annual Super Bowl ticket resale prices range from $4,000 to $6,000 before fees.

As of the afternoon of Wednesday, Feb. 4, the average price of the cheapest single ticket across multiple resale websites (StubHub, Ticketmaster, SeatGeek, Vivid Seats, etc.) is $4,785 with all fees accounted for. Last year, the average price of the cheapest tickets from the same resale websites was $3,374, including fees.

When is the Super Bowl?

• Date: Sunday, Feb. 8

Super Bowl 60 is set to kick off on Sunday, Feb. 8.

What teams are playing in Super Bowl 60?

• Teams: New England Patriots vs. Seattle Seahawks

The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks are set to play in the Super Bowl this year. The Patriots are the designated home team for the event at Levi’s Stadium.

Super Bowl odds for Patriots vs. Seahawks

The Seahawks remain favored to beat the Patriots in Super Bowl 60 as of Feb. 6, according to the BetMGM NFL odds.

• Spread: Seahawks (-4.5)
• Moneyline: Seahawks (-235); Patriots (+195)
• Over/under: 45.5

Yasiel Puig, the former All-Star outfielder who hasn’t played in the major leagues since 2019, was found guilty of lying to federal law enforcement officials about placing illegal bets with a gambling operation.

Puig, 35, was convicted by a jury in Los Angeles on one count of obstruction of justice and one count of making false statements. He faces maximum sentences of up to 10 years in federal prison for the obstruction charge and up to five years for the false statement. He remains free until a May 26 sentencing hearing.

The verdict in the Central District of California’s federal court concluded a 13-day trial in which prosecutors laid out a pattern, beginning in May 2019, of bets placed by Puig with bookmaker Wayne Joseph Nix, a 49-year-old former minor league pitcher.

Nix pleaded guilty in April 2022 to one count of conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business and one count of subscribing to a false tax return awaits sentencing. Puig likely was not the target of federal investigators, yet in a January 2022 interrogation, was warned by investigators that lying under questioning was a crime.

In March 2022, prosecutors said, Puig sent a WhatsApp message to an associate of the bookie, admitting he lied to federal investigators. At his trial federal prosecutors presented an apparently voluminous record showing Puig lied to investigators.

Investigators say after Puig paid $200,000 to gain access to Nix-controlled gambling web sites, he placed 899 bets on tennis, football, and basketball games between July 4 and Sept. 29, 2019. Puig placed some of these bets at major league ballparks either before or after he played in games.

Puig played for both the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland in the 2019 season, his last in the majors. He did not receive interest from MLB teams after allegations of sexual assault surfaced before the 2021 season. He has spent parts of the past five seasons playing in Mexico or Korea, along with winter league stints in the Dominican Republic or Venezuela.

• Deion Sanders stated college players are now ‘athlete-students,’ not ‘student-athletes.’
• Sanders called for a commissioner to govern college football and regulate NIL compensation.
• He criticized the NCAA transfer portal’s timing, which created challenges for academic departments.

Colorado football coach Deion Sanders wants a commissioner to govern the new Wild West of college football and declared that college players are no longer student-athletes but instead are athlete-students.

Sanders said this on ESPN’s First Take on Friday, Feb. 6, after traveling to California’s Bay Area to do media interviews at the site of Super Bowl 60.  One of the show’s panelists, Ryan Clark, used the term “student-athlete” to ask him about how times have changed in college football, leading Sanders to interject and correct him.

“It’s athlete-student,” Sanders said. “Ain’t no student-athlete no more.”

Sanders noted his team recently had the highest grade-point average in the history of Colorado football in 2024 (3.011). But he criticized the timing of the transfer portal this year, when players could enter it from Jan. 2-16. Colorado started spring-semester classes Jan. 8, putting the school in a crunch as it tried to enroll more than 40 new transfers. The NCAA’s Division I Administrative Committee adopted the transfer portal dates last fall.

“How is it about the student-athletes when we have a portal at the time that we had?” Sanders asked. “Now our academic departments have to work their butts off even to get all these kids enrolled. That was tremendous. That was a tremendous task. And I thank our CU department for doing that. But (the NCAA is) not thinking about the academic part of the students. They’re thinking about the athletic parts, because that’s the part that provokes the most money.”

Deion Sanders calls for college football commissioner

Sanders also was asked about the state of college football in general with players earning money for their names, images and likenesses (NIL). He criticized how schools with the wealthiest donors have an edge and called for something similar to the NFL, which shares revenue with teams and is overseen by a commissioner. He said he loves that players are compensated but there “should be rules and guidelines for that compensation.”

“What the NIL is presenting is not sustainable,’ Sanders said. ‘Oftentimes it seems like you see the same consistency of teams winning and winning and winning because of the finances that some of the boosters and the donors can give. But that needs to be fixed, and we need some type of commissioner. And we need somebody to step up and make sure we’re doing this thing in unison, so that you don’t have certain teams that’s able to do well beyond this team. And you know this team is not going to win because of the lack thereof of finances.’

Deion Sanders has new distaste for NFL

Last year around this time, Sanders had flirted with the Dallas Cowboys when they had an opening for a new head coach. He has said before that he’d only be interested in such a job if he could coach his sons. But after what happened with his son Shedeur last year, he said he has no interest.

“None whatsoever,” he said. “What transpired with my son last year, ain’t no way in the world. Nah.”

Shedeur Sanders was projected as a first-round draft pick but fell all the way to the fifth round before getting picked by the Cleveland Browns. Some critics of the team believed the Browns weren’t giving Shedeur a fair shot until injuries paved the way for him to finish the season as the starting quarterback.

“I know what’s behind the curtains,” Sanders said. “I know all the bull junk that transpired.”

But he promised this year will be different for his family, including his Colorado team, which finished 3-9 in 2025.

“We back,” he said. “This year, ‘26 is ours. We’re gonna dominate this year from the top to the bottom.”

Who does Deion Sanders predict to win Super Bowl 60?

Sanders’ lack of interest in the NFL also apparently extends to Sunday’s Super Bowl. Before he finished his appearance on the show, Sanders was asked for his prediction on who would win the game between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots.

“I don’t care,” he said.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com