Soon as I lock in, I lock in.

US tops Canada in gold medal overtime thriller

USA Hockey got it done yesterday, reclaiming the Olympic title with a comeback 2-1 overtime win over rival Canada to earn Team USA’s third gold medal.

• Canada’s Kristen O’Neill opened the scoring early in the second period, creating a 1-0 lead that would hold until regulation’s final two minutes.

• US captain Hilary Knight registered the equalizer — becoming the nation’s top Olympic scorer — before Megan Keller slotted in the game-winner four minutes into sudden death overtime. (Watch full highlights)

Winning run: USA Hockey’s 2026 campaign will go down as one of the team’s most dominant Olympic runs, tallying a 33-2 goal differential through seven matches.

• “I’ve been on some great teams, with a lot of great teammates, great players, Hall-of-Famers,” veteran Kendall Coyne Schofield said. “This one is special.”

• Wisconsin star Caroline Harvey earned 2026 Olympics MVP, after notching two goals and seven assists for a tournament-tying nine points. (See full stats)

Captain’s swan song: Last year, 36-year-old Knight said this Olympics would be her last, wrapping a historic career with a gold medal win.

• “It’s been an incredible ride,” she said yesterday. “I have to soak this all in because this room is just so special, this team is so special. This is the best US hockey team I’ve ever been a part of.”

Alysa Liu ends US medal draught with figure skating gold

The Blade Angels made history on Thursday, as Alysa Liu became the first US women’s figure skater to win singles gold since Sarah Hughes in 2002 — three years before Liu was born.

• After finishing third in Tuesday’s short program, Liu posted a competition-high score of 150.20, leapfrogging Japan’s silver medalist Kaori Sakamoto and bronze medalist Ami Nakai with a clean, high-energy free skate.

• The medal punctuates an emphatic comeback, returning to the ice in 2024 after retiring at the age of 16 following her Olympic debut in Beijing.

• “I think my story is more important than anything to me, and that’s what I hold dear,” the 20-year-old said. “This journey has been incredible.” (Watch full replay)

Strong finish: The US saw additional triumphs, as Amber Glenn bounced back from a 13th-place short run to finish fifth behind a flawless triple axel.

• “I told myself, no matter how the program was going to go, I was going to look up and tell myself, ‘You're at the Olympics,’ and I did that,” she said. “I’m just really proud of that moment.” (Watch full replay)

SEC titans headline penultimate NCAA weekend

With just nine days left in the regular season, this weekend’s NCAA lineup could dictate both conference champions and national tournament seeding.

• The SEC steals the spotlight on Sunday, as college basketball’s deepest conference dominates an ESPN triple-header with three ranked matchups.

Sunday showdowns: Fresh off a tight 78-70 loss to No. 7 LSU, No. 17 Ole Miss closes out its ranked schedule against No. 3 South Carolina, as the 8-5 Rebels sit in a three-way SEC standings tie with No. 11 Oklahoma and No. 21 Tennessee.

• “If you look at the history of our league, we always have anywhere from four to five to six teams in the Sweet 16,” said Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin. “When we’re in here fighting night in and night out, it’s tough, and you can lose at any point."

• Tennessee then takes on Oklahoma in a battle for conference positioning, before No. 5 Vanderbilt looks to bounce back from a 76-74 loss to No. 24 Georgia against No. 16 Kentucky. (See full schedule)

Tune in: Ole Miss tips off Sunday’s triple-header against South Carolina at 12 PM ET, live on ESPN.

Your favorite WNBA show is back, as an all-new season of hit JWS podcast Between the Lines with Lisa Leslie presented by Intuit TurboTax brings more unfiltered commentary, insider perspective, and cultural critique to basketball fans everywhere.

• In the Season 2 debut, Indiana and Unrivaled star Kelsey Mitchell joins Leslie to chat about CBA talks bringing WNBA players together, Fever coach Stephanie White’s faith in her, and how trusting her game helped her become one of the league’s most consistent scorers.

• “Steph was the first coach I had in my eight years that, when she looked at me — you know how somebody look at you — she really believed in me,” Mitchell recalled. “Like an aha moment. I'm like, ‘Damn, she really believe in me.’ I felt it.”

Tune in: Catch Between the Lines with Lisa Leslie on YouTube.

Champions League sets heated quarterfinal derbies

2025/26 Champions League quarterfinals are set, with February’s playoff ties prompting a competitive field full of familiar foes.

• Reigning champion Arsenal advanced via a 7-1 aggregate drubbing of Belgium’s OH Leuven, joined in the winners column by Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Wolfsburg. (See full results)

Big picture: Four already-qualified challengers await this week’s victors in the quarterfinals — as two heated rivalries take center stage.

• Arsenal faces fellow WSL side Chelsea for the first time in UWCL knockout history, while Real Madrid battles Barcelona in an El Clásico rematch.

• Manchester United will take on Bayern Munich, while Wolfsburg drew perennial French champion OL Lyonnes.

Stay tuned: Champions League action returns on March 24th, live on Paramount+.

ESPN announces ‘Women’s Sports Sunday’

ESPN is doubling down on the women’s game, as the network announced plans to replace Sunday Night Baseball with Women’s Sports Sundays starting this summer.

• “Women’s sports are experiencing continued momentum, and Women’s Sports Sundays is ESPN’s next step in meeting that demand,” EVP of programming and acquisitions Rosalyn Durant said in Thursday’s statement. (See full release)

Big plans: The new program will spotlight 12 top NWSL and WNBA matchups over a nine-week span, as the broadcast giant invites “longtime fans and newcomers alike into a reimagined summer primetime tradition.”

• The weekend showcase will also include studio shows, digital storytelling, and social coverage, with games and talent yet to be announced.

Number of the day

1.7 million

South Carolina’s Saturday win over LSU averaged 1.7 million viewers, becoming the fourth-most watched regular-season NCAA women’s basketball game in ESPN history.