Team USA hammers Canada in Olympic hockey masterclass

Be the change.

Team USA hammers Canada 5-0 to top Group A

Team USA put the world on notice yesterday, beating rival Canada 5-0 to remain unbeaten in Milan — and top Group A heading into Saturday’s quarterfinals. 

• Hannah Bilka scored twice, Caroline Harvey had a goal and two assists, and Abbey Murphy set up three tallies, while Laila Edwards became USA Women’s Hockey’s first-ever Black Olympic goalscorer.

• Goalie Aerin Frankel stopped 20 shots for her second shutout of the tournament, as captain Hilary Knight’s assist tied Jenny Potter’s all-time US points record.

• “Our team’s making my life pretty easy,” Frankel said postgame. “It’s been so much fun to play behind them.” (Watch full highlights)

Big picture: Canada missed injured captain Marie-Philip Poulin — ruled out five hours before Tuesday’s puck drop — as the 34-year-old remains questionable ahead of Thursday’s group-stage finale against Finland.

• Team USA, on the other hand, has now outscored opponents 20-1 through four Olympic games, while also counting seven straight victories over Canada across all competitions.

• “What’s the hardest part of climbing the mountain? Getting home,” US coach John Wroblewski said this week. “You think you’ve done something, that’s when the mountain eats you up.”

Up next: The US now gets a brief breather, as Canada looks to regroup against Finland tomorrow at 8:30 AM ET, live on Peacock.

Unrivaled’s 2026 1v1 tournament hits the court

The 2026 Unrivaled 1v1 tournament has arrived, tipping off tonight with a fully refreshed bracket and $300,000 on the line.

• The 32-player field is split into four eight-player pods, with Hive’s Kelsey Mitchell, Breeze’s Paige Bueckers, and Mist’s Allisha Gray and Breanna Stewart leading the charge as No. 1 seeds.

• Last year’s runner-up Aaliyah Edwards is back, along with rookies Bueckers, Sonia Citron, Saniya Rivers, and Dominique Malonga, while 2025 champ Napheesa Collier remains sidelined with injury. (See full field)

How it works: All games run a maximum of 10 minutes or until a player reaches 11 points, with a seven-second shot clock and make-it, take-it possession.

• Each knockout round sets the scene for Saturday’s best-of-three final series, with the winner taking home $200,000, the runner-up getting $50,000, and semifinalists earning $25,000 each.

• Fans can also get in on the action by filling out their own 1v1 brackets.

Tune in: The 1v1 tournament opens tonight at 7 PM ET, live on truTV and Max.

World champion Arsenal kicks off UWCL knockouts

Defending UWCL winner Arsenal is back on the pitch, opening the Champion League’s Round of 16 against Belgium’s OH Leuven — the same side the Gunners beat 3-0 in December.

• Arsenal’s UWCL path hasn’t been the smoothest, after an early collapse saw the title-holders slip out of the European tournament’s top ranks to fight for playoff survival.

• But the Gunners have momentum on their side, winning this month’s inaugural FIFA Champions Cup final before topping WSL frontrunner Manchester City.

Availability report: Stina Blackstenius, Beth Mead, and Anneke Borbe will likely sit out the first-leg clash after recent injuries, as Arsenal gears up to face the Belgium league leaders.

• “We respect who they are,” coach Renée Slegers said of OH Leuven. “So even though we came away with a 3-0 win here last time, we’re very humble for the challenge tomorrow.” (See full remarks)

• The two-leg playoff wraps next Wednesday, with the winner set to face reigning WSL champion Chelsea in March 24th’s UWCL quarterfinal.

Tune in: Arsenal faces OH Leuven today at 12:45 PM ET, live on Paramount+.

BHM Spotlight: Paralympic trailblazer Bonnie St. John

Every Wednesday in February, JWS celebrates Black History Month by spotlighting a prominent Black figure in women’s sports.

US skier Bonnie St. John broke barriers in 1984, becoming the first African-American athlete to win a Paralympic medal at the Innsbruck Winter Games.

• A above-knee amputee from childhood, St. John taught herself to ski at 15 using photocopied instructions and donated gear, going on to train at Vermont’s Burke Mountain Academy and later qualifying for the 1984 Games with the US Paralympic Ski Team.

• There, the San Diego native took bronze in both slalom and giant slalom before winning silver for overall performance — making her the world’s second-fastest woman on one leg that year.

Off the slopes: After her athletic career, St. John became a Rhodes Scholar, earning degrees from Harvard and Oxford before working on the National Economic Council under President Clinton and launching a career in corporate leadership.

• “I’m not only just a role model to say, ‘See what I did, you can do it, too,’ but to actually give people the tools and the techniques and the research to understand how to break through those barriers,” St. John said. “I love that I get to do that.”

Ex-Pitt players sue over alleged coaching abuse

Six former Panthers came forward last week, filing a lawsuit against the University of Pittsburgh and women’s basketball coach Tory Verdi.

• The suit claims Verdi — who led Pitt to a 29-60 record over three seasons — pressured players into the transfer portal, endangered scholarships, made harassing remarks, and threatened his players’ careers on and off the court, while the school ignored their complaints.

• “These players aren’t soft,” lawyer Keenan D. Holmes told The AP. “But this went beyond basketball. It went beyond the bounds of common decency.”

At stake: The players are seeking a Title IX violation acknowledgment, academic record restoration, compensation, and punitive damages.

• “The university is aware of these lawsuits and their allegations, which are without merit and will be vigorously defended,” Pitt said in a statement.

Quote of the day

Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn
confirming that she suffered a complex tibia fracture after crashing 13 seconds into her Olympic downhill run on Sunday.