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Good morning and happy Friday! It's Carter Bahns at the keyboard today as we enter the first weekend without football since August. I know -- it's hard to move on from one season to the next, but at least we have a plethora of fun events over the next few days to ease the process. The Winter Olympics are in full swing, NBA All-Star Weekend is upon us and the Daytona 500 is here. Sounds like a pretty entertaining weekend to me.
Let's dive in.
πΊπΈ Five things to know Friday
Team USA crushed Latvia in men's hockey, but the Americans had a tough day on the slopes.The 5-1 win on the ice, fueled by a pair of goals from Brock Nelson, headlined Day 6 at the Winter Olympics for the United States. The men's hockey squad bounced back after having two goals overturned to cruise to victory in its first game of the tournament. Up next is another preliminary round game against Denmark on Saturday. Not everything went Team USA's way in the Milan Cortina Games yesterday, though. Chloe Kim saw her reign over the women's snowboard halfpipe world come to an end with a silver-medal finish, and Breezy Johnson crashed out of the Super-G. But all was not lost for Johnson. She got engaged moments after her run.
Trinidad Chambliss received a preliminary injunction against the NCAA. Ole Miss got its quarterback back. A Mississippi judge ruled in Chambliss' favor in one of the highest profile court cases in college football history, paving the way for the breakout star to return to the Rebels for 2026 despite having exhausted his eligibility. The injunction blocks the NCAA from enforcing its eligibility rules against Chambliss until after a later hearing, which may not come until after next season.
Jaren Jackson Jr. will undergo knee surgery. Days after they acquired Jackson at the NBA trade deadline, the Utah Jazz are gearing up to be without their two-time All-Star potentially through the end of the season. Jackson is reportedly expected to make a full recovery from the procedure, which will remove a pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS) growth from his left knee. The Jazz discovered the disease in a post-trade physical.
Caleb Wilson is out indefinitely with a broken hand. The timing of this injury could not be worse for North Carolina, which will be without its best player for the foreseeable future as the NCAA Tournament quickly approaches. While X-rays taken during Tuesday's loss at Miami came back negative, further imaging upon UNC's return to Chapel Hill revealed a fracture in Wilson's left hand. The star freshman who is averaging 19.8 points and 9.4 rebounds per game is a projected top-five NBA Draft pick.
The Nick Castellanos era in Philadelphia is over. The Phillies released Castellanos after they failed to find a trade partner for their 33-year-old outfielder. The team will owe Castellanos his $20 million salary for the 2026 season minus the prorated portion of the $780,000 league minimum if and when he signs with another club. Coming off the worst year of his career, the two-time All-Star does not have an obvious landing spot because of his shaky defense but could latch on as a designated hitter or sign with an outfield-needy squad.
β Do not miss this: NBA All-Star Weekend tips off tonight in Los Angeles
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The NBA finalized on Thursday the rosters for its new All-Star Game format, announcing De'Aaron Fox as a replacement for the injured Giannis Antetokounmpo. Fox became the 28th player selected to the All-Star Game, which features a USA vs. World format and includes three teams (USA Stars, USA Stripes, Team World) competing for cash. Players on the winning team earn $125,000 each while second-place finishers win $50,000 and the third-place squad secures $25,000 apiece.
All-Star Weekend opens tonight with the All-Star Celebrity Game (7 p.m.) and Rising Stars (9 p.m.). All-Star Saturday (5 p.m.) features the 3-Point Contest, Shooting Stars and Slam Dunk Contest. And the main event, the All-Star Game, tips off at 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Here are the betting favorites for each event:
NBA Rising Stars: Team Melo (+155)
Shooting Stars: Team Knicks (+150)
3-Point Contest: Kon Knueppel (+380)
Slam Dunk Contest: Carter Bryant (+180)
All-Star Game: USA Stripes (+150)
All-Star Game MVP: Victor Wembanyama (+450)
π Kyle Busch takes pole position in Daytona 500
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The "Great American Race" is set for Sunday, and Kyle Busch will open in pole position after he finished first in Daytona 500 qualifying earlier this week. Last year's pole-sitter, Chase Briscoe, stands second in the lineup. The Duels on Thursday determined positions Nos. 3-40 for the famed 500-mile NASCAR Cup Series race. Corey LaJoie, Chandler Smith, BJ McLeod and JJ Yeley failed to qualify.
The countdown to the green flag begins at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. William Byron (starting 39th) has won the last two, and he's attempting to be the first driver to three-peat at the Daytona 500. Here's where to watch.
Weather may not cooperate with the NASCAR season-opener, though. Rain showers are in the forecast and could force interruptions, as they did last year when precipitation caused a nearly three-hour delay.
Here are the first 10 drivers in the Daytona 500 starting lineup:
Kyle Busch
Chase Briscoe
Joey Logano
Chase Elliott
Ryan Blaney
Carson Hocevar
Austin Dillon
Kyle Larson
Brad Keselowski
Michael McDowell
ππ The best (and not-so-best) of the rest
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πΊ What we're watching this weekend
Friday
π Men's Curling, round robin: United States vs. Canada, 3:05 a.m. on USA Network
π Women's Curling, round robin: United States vs. Canada, 8:05 a.m. on Peacock
π Men's Figure Skating: Single free skate, 1 p.m. on USA Network
β½ FA Cup, fourth round: Chelsea at Hull City, 2:45 p.m. on ESPN2
β³ Pebble Beach Pro-Am, second round, 3 p.m. on Golf Channel
π Women's Hockey, quarterfinal: United States vs. Italy, 3:10 p.m. on USA Network
π NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, 7 p.m. on ESPN
π No. 10 Michigan State at Wisconsin (M), 8 p.m. on Fox
π NBA Rising Stars Challenge, 9 p.m. on NBC Sports Network
Saturday
β½ FA Cup, fourth round: West Ham United at Burton Albion, 7:15 a.m. on ESPN+
π Men's Curling, round robin: United States vs. Germany, 8:05 a.m. on Peacock
β½ FA Cup, fourth round: Salford City at Manchester City, 10 a.m. on ESPN+
π Men's Speed Skating: 500 meters, 11 a.m. on NBC
π No. 20 Clemson at No. 4 Duke (M), Noon on ESPN
β½ FA Cup, fourth round: Newcastle United at Aston Villa, 12:45 p.m. on ESPN+
π No. 9 Kansas at No. 5 Iowa State (M), 1 p.m. on ABC
π Northwestern at No. 7 Nebraska (M), 1 p.m. on Big Ten Network
π UCLA at No. 2 Michigan (M), 1 p.m. on CBS/Paramount+
π No. 1 UConn at Marquette (W), 1 p.m. on FS1
π Women's Curling, round robin: United States vs. Japan, 1:05 p.m. on Peacock
π No. 25 Kentucky at No. 14 Florida (M), 3 p.m. on ABC
β³ Pebble Beach Pro-Am, third round, 3 p.m. on CBS/Paramount+
β½ FA Cup, fourth round: Brighton & Hove Albion at Liverpool, 3 p.m. on ESPN+
π Men's Hockey, preliminary round: United States vs. Denmark, 3:10 p.m. on USA Network
π NBA All-Star Saturday Night, 5 p.m. on NBC
π No. 16 Texas Tech at No. 1 Arizona (M), 6:30 p.m. on ESPN
π Georgetown at No. 6 UConn (M), 8 p.m. on Peacock
π No. 3 South Carolina at No. 6 LSU (W), 8:40 p.m. on ABC
π Kansas State at No. 3 Houston (M), 9 p.m. on Peacock
Sunday
π Men's Curling, round robin: United States vs. Sweden, 3:05 a.m. on Peacock
π Women's Alpine Skiing: Giant slalom, Run 1, 4 a.m. on USA Network
π Women's Bobsled: Monobob, 4 a.m. on Peacock
β½ FA Cup, fourth round: Leeds United at Birmingham City, 7 a.m. on ESPN2
π Women's Alpine Skiing: Giant slalom, Run 2, 7:30 a.m. on NBC
π Women's Curling, round robin: United States vs. China, 8:05 a.m. on Peacock
β½ FA Cup, fourth round: Fulham at Stoke City, 9 a.m. on ESPN+
β½ FA Cup, fourth round: Wigan Athletic at Arsenal, 11:30 a.m. on ESPN+
π No. 5 Vanderbilt at Georgia (W), Noon on SEC Network
π Indiana at No. 8 Illinois (M), 1 p.m. on CBS/Paramount+
π No. 21 North Carolina at No. 11 Duke (W), 1 p.m. on ABC
π Men's Curling, round robin: United States vs. Norway, 1:05 p.m. on Peacock
π Pairs' Figure Skating: Short program, 1:45 p.m. on USA Network
π No. 20 Maryland at No. 8 Ohio State (W), 2 p.m. on FS1
π No. 14 Ole Miss at No. 18 Kentucky (W), 2 p.m. on SEC Network
π Daytona 500, 2:30 p.m. on Fox
β½ Roma at Napoli, 2:45 p.m. on CBS Sports Golazo Network/Paramount+
π Indiana at No. 2 UCLA (W), 3 p.m. on Peacock
π No. 4 Texas at No. 22 Tennessee (W), 3 p.m. on ABC
β³ Pebble Beach Pro-Am, final round, 3 p.m. on CBS/Paramount+
π Men's Hockey, preliminary round: United States vs. Germany, 3:10 p.m. on USA Network
π No. 13 Michigan State at No. 7 Michigan (W), 4 p.m. on FS1
π No. 10 Oklahoma at No. 23 Alabama (W), 4 p.m. on SEC Network
π NBA All-Star Game, 5 p.m. on NBC
π Florida State at No. 9 Louisville (W), 6 p.m. on ACC Network
π No. 19 West Virginia at No. 17 TCU (W), 8 p.m. on FS1