MON SIX

MILAN — Auston Matthews will wear the 'C' for the U.S. men's hockey team at the2026 Winter Olympics.

Matthews, a captain with theToronto Maple Leafs, captained the USA at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, where the Americans placed second, behind Canada.

It is a safe choice that reflects Matthews' status as the best American player in hockey. But it is also one that will raise questions if the U.S. team -loaded with elite players at every position- comes away from these Winter Games with anything short of gold.

The team plays its first game on Feb. 12 against Latvia, faces Denmark on Feb. 14 and Germany on Feb. 15.

NHL player Auston Matthews heads to the Winter Games looking for gold

Red-eyed, white and blue :Exclusive: US men's hockey GM Bill Guerin talks 2026 Olympics roster

Bill Guerin, the USA men's team general manager, had a number of choices.

There are several players on the roster who serve as captains of their respective NHL clubs, including Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa Senators), J.T. Miller (New York Rangers), Clayton Keller (Utah Mammoth) and Dylan Larkin (Detroit Red Wings).

There's also Quinn Hughes (Minnesota Wild), who was captain of his former club, theVancouver Canucks.

Matthew Tkachuk does not captain the Florida Panthers, but he had led them to two consecutive Stanley Cup titles.

Matthews, 28, is an enormously skilled player. He twice has reached 60 goals in a season and fell one goal shy of 70 in 2023-24.

What he does not have is a record of leadership in the playoffs when games are on the line. In career Game 7s - and once out of the preliminary group stage, every Olympic game is an elimination game - Matthews has not scored a goal in six showdowns, producing just three assists and a minus-4 rating.

Boston Bruinsdefenseman Charlie McAvoy and Matthew Tkachuk were named alternate captains.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Auston Matthews named Team USA captain for 2026 Olympics

Trinidad Chambliss'legal representation filed a response on Saturday, Feb. 7, to theNCAA's denial of his appeal for eligibilityfor the 2026 football season.

According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, the filing claims that Chambliss's case was "neither manufactured nor contrived," and there would be no great harm to college sports if theOle Missquarterback got a sixth year of eligibility.

Trinidad Chambliss' attorneys filed a response today in the Chambliss vs NCAA case. The filing claims that Chambliss's case was "neither manufactured nor contrived." It stresses that they'll be no grand harm to the college sports industry if Chambliss gets a sixth year.pic.twitter.com/lQZW7EGJcv

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel)February 8, 2026

The NCAA's denial upheld theinitial denial of the eligibility waiverissued on Jan. 9 against the former Division II Ferris State star.

REQUIRED READING:College football way-too-early top 25 poll for 2026 season: Who is on top?

The response included a reference to a clip from the 2024 Division II National Championship game, in which the commentators said it "took patience for the opportunity to be the everyday starter...medical redshirt in 2022."

Chambliss' attorneys  ― Tom Mars and William Liston ― also state that the NCAA's argument that an injunction would end the current Division I eligibility rules is "overstated".

The Rebels' 2025 starter of multiple games was seeking a medical hardship waiver for his 2022 season, in which he was affected by sickness and respiratory problems, according to theJackson Clarion Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network.

"It will not change the landscape of college football as the NCAA and some uninformed commentators suggest. Anyone who believes that the grant of a preliminary injunction in this case will shred the fabric of college sports all Division I student-athletes badly misperceives Trinidad's claim," the statement reads.

A hearing on Thursday, Feb. 12, is set in Pittsboro, Mississippi, where Chambliss is seeking a preliminary injunction.

According toYahoo's Ross Dellenger, Chambliss has a deal with Ole Miss for the 2026 season worth in excess of $5 million. He stands to make more returning to school than he would as a potential mid-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Trinidad Chambliss' attorneys file response vs NCAA over appeal denial

IRVING, Texas (AP) — The Big 12 Conference announced Sunday it fined Oklahoma State $50,000 following an investigation intoinappropriate chantsreferencing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormons, during a men's basketball game against BYU last week.

"The Big 12 Conference will not tolerate any behavior that targets or demeans others," the conference said in a statement.

BYU coach Kevin Young said after a99-92 loss at Oklahoma Stateon Wednesday night that he heard "F--- The Mormons" chants coming out of the student section. BYU is the flagship school for the religion.

"The reference to religion did not meet our standards and expectations," the university said in a statement. "Oklahoma State respects the Big 12's decision and will not appeal the fine."

It was at least the fourth time in a year that BYU teams had been the target of anti-Mormon chants.

The Big 12 fined Colorado $50,000 in September after football fans directed expletives and religious slurs at Mormons during a game against the Cougars in Boulder.

Similar incidents occurred at an Arizona men's basketball game last season and a Cincinnati football game in November. Neither school was fined.

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NEED TO KNOW

• Melba Moore made her Broadway debut in 1968 in the musical Hair

• The future Tony winner shared a dressing room with future Oscar winner Diane Keaton, who also made her Broadway debut in Hair

• Moore reflects on her life journey in the memoir This Is It — Marvelous... & Getting Better

"Once I got the Tony Award,everythingchanged!" Melba Moore exclaims during a sit-down with PEOPLE, recalling her best featured actress in a musical triumph forPurliein 1970. Even during previews, Moore's performance as Lutiebelle stirred such a sensation that the show's writers, Peter Udell and Gary Geld, penned a new song, "I Got Love," specifically for her, just so she'd have another show-stopping number.

It's one of several peak experiences that Moore reflects on in her memoirThis Is It — Marvelous... & Getting Better,named after her 1976 dance and U.K. Top 10 hit composed and produced by "The Hustle" maestro Van McCoy. Written with author Kevin E. Taylor, the book is a testament to the kind of faith and perseverance that's made Moore a legend in several realms, from television and film to theatre and Grammy-nominated recordings.

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In tandem with the book's release last fall, her longtime friend Valerie Simpson held a launch party at Ashford & Simpson's Sugar Bar in New York City while Moore quietly celebrated her 80th birthday with family.

"I had a special time with my daughter and my ex-husband [Charles Huggins]," she says. "They took me out to dinner. That's interesting because we are still a family. We really have come together around this book. When you tell your story, you tell other people's stories, too, so sometimes you got to be careful because what you say may affect other people, especially my family. I'm not interested in opening old wounds.

"I learned a couple of things," Moore continues on the topic of writing her memoir. "I'm willing to take chances."

Indeed, Moore hadn't even considered a career in musical theater before she made her professional breakthrough in the original Broadway cast ofHair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musicalin 1968.

"I got intoHairbecause of a recording session," she says. "Valerie Simpson had ushered me into the background singing world. I was making a good living. The people who were doing the music and book forHairinvited Valerie and myself, and everybody on the recording session, to come sing for the producer and the director. They were looking for interesting personalities, and they would train us for the role."

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Moore started out inHairas Dionne, singing "White Boys" in a flamboyant, Supremes-styled trio while revealing her exquisite vocal tone during her solo on "Walking in Space."

Future Oscar winnerDiane Keaton, who died in 2025, was among Moore'sHaircast mates. "She was hilarious," Moore says of Keaton, who started off as a member of the ensemble and later graduated to the lead role of Sheila. "We shared a dressing room. I remember a lot of times Diane and I would go to Tad's Steakhouse to have these cheap steaks."

"Whenever anybody would say anything, her comment would be 'la-la la-la la... yeah.' She said that to Marlon Brando when he introduced himself! She made me realize, when I saw her doing the role of Sheila, that she was a skilled actress. We all looked like we just came off the street, but I could tell that she'd probably studied."

When Keaton leftHair, Moore assumed her role of Sheila, becoming the first Black actress to replace a White actress in a lead role on Broadway. "I got the front page ofThe New York Times.It said 'Melba Moore Changes the Color ofHair.' It didn't change mycareerso much," she says with a laugh.

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Two years later, her career would change dramatically withPurlie, the musical adaptation of the Ossie Davis playPurlie Victorious. It marked another major step for Moore. "They really didn't audition me for singing," she recalls. "I auditioned for the acting part of Lutiebelle, with several other male actors who were auditioning for the lead role."

"I was raised by a domestic from the backwoods of South Carolina," she continues. "My mother, who was a singer, was gone all the time, so basically, my personality was like hers. I was like a cotton chopper. When it came time to audition for Lutiebelle, I was perfect for it. Plus, I could sing."

Opening on Broadway in 1970,Purliefeatured a cast of musical theater dynamos, including futureThe Jeffersonsstar Sherman Hemsley, Linda Hopkins and George Faison. Cleavon Little, who starred as the title character, and Moore both won Tony Awards and Drama Desk Awards for their star-making performances.

"I got invited to do everybody's TV show," she says of thePurlieeffect. "That's what made me a household name. The Tony Award is kind of limited to the people in theater. Once you get on television, whether they know about [the Tony Award] or not,everybodysees you." At the same time, Moore received her first Grammy Award nomination, for best new artist, after the release of her full-length debut,Living to Give, in 1970.

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Moore was about to make history again, this time with Broadway actorClifton Davis. The two met through Novella Nelson, one of Moore's cast mates inPurlie.

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"Clifton was in the chorus ofHello, Dolly!"she recalls. "Between matinees and evening shows, sometimes he'd come by our show. He took me out for a date. We became lovers and moved in together. He went from the chorus ofHello, Dolly!to the lead in [1971's]Two Gentlemen of Verona, so then we were like the Black Sonny & Cher of Broadway!"

Their relationship even inspired Davis to write "Never Can Say Goodbye," which gave the Jackson 5 a chart-topping hit on the R&B chart in 1971.

Representatives fromThe Carol Burnett Showapproached Moore and Davis about starring in a six-week series for CBS whileBurnettwent on summer hiatus. WhenThe Melba Moore-Clifton Davis Showpremiered in June 1972, they became the first Black couple to host their own television show, leading a cast that featured Moms Mabley, plus guest stars like Nancy Wilson,Jean Stapletonand recentThe Last Picture ShowOscar winnerCloris Leachman.

"We had great input to the show," says Moore. "We brought in a young woman by the name of Mildred Lane that had been inPurlie. We had them hire her as a backup singer to be part of the music ensemble. She would give us suggestions, in terms of what the humor should be."

"There were only White writers there, and we were very concerned that the humor should not be insulting to Black people," she continues. "I think my look was important, too. I had an incredible wardrobe designer by the name of Bernard Johnson, who did a lot of wardrobe for Broadway people, and I had these interesting Afro-centric hairdos that were just out of this world."

Though the television series was short-lived, Moore thrived in her recording career, from her hit disco rendition of the Bee Gees' "You Stepped Into My Life" to a Grammy nomination for Van McCoy's "Lean on Me," one of her signature anthems. However, it was her tenure on Capitol Records during the 1980s when Moore finally achieved her first No. 1 hit, 16 years after her debut album. Her duet with Freddie Jackson on "A Little Bit More" toppedBillboard's soul singles chart in 1986, quickly followed by her own No. 1 solo smash, "Falling."

Bob Riha, Jr./Getty

"A number-one hit is wonderful but to share it with someone like Freddie, who was a good friend, just felt so good, like living your best life," Moore says. "Freddie did the male lead first and then I came in and followed what he had laid out for us. I knew he was great, but when I listen to some of the songs, even now, I'm still in awe of his talent."

Moore made it into the record books with her 1982 albumThe Other Side of the Rainbow. On the title track, she held a note for 36 seconds. "I don't know which take it was because it's not something that Itryto do," she says. "It's just there. I can do it anytime. Some things are not so easy for me, but the long high notes are easy."

To this day, theGuinness Book of Recordsdeems Moore's sustained note "the longest studio-recorded note by a female singer and the longest-held single note on an album track."

Moore still astounds audiences with her stratospheric range, and even reunited with Clifton Davis, 80, at one of her sold-out cabaret performances in New York City several years ago. She applauds how his career has continued to flourish, especially with his current role on the hit CBS soap operaBeyond the Gates.

"He's pretty good in it," she says. "He has a little beard and everything. My goodness!"

The key to Moore's own longevity is fueled by a consistent fitness regimen, a disciplined diet and devout spirituality. "As a singer, you have to tell the story with your body," she says. "I always took a lot of dance classes from Alvin Ailey's company. You can't just think about the voice. Your feet, your back, and your legs have to be strong. I think my next book is going to be on singing therapy. What I find is that if you sing every day — I'm not talking about trying to be a 'singer' — you breathe a lot and you get more oxygen. It also clears inflammation. Singing really is a healer."

After more than 50 years onstage, Moore is building on her legacy with new recordings and film projects. Fans and colleagues cheered when comedian Katt Williams sponsored her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023, while the unveiling of Melba Moore Plaza across the street from Arts High School, her alma mater in Newark, N.J., symbolized a profound, full-circle moment for the singer.

"This business of show business is not just all fun and excitement," she says. "It means something to the community, to your life adding up to something. It's agreathonor."

This Is It — Marvelous... & Getting Betteris available wherever books are sold.

Read the original article onPeople

Phillip Faraone/Getty; Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times via Getty

NEED TO KNOW

• On Feb. 5, 2026, Adam Sandler attended the 41st Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival, where he was honored with the Maltin Modern Master Award

• During the event, Sandler revealed that Kathy Bates nearly passed on a role in one of his most iconic films

• In 1998, Sandler and Bates starred in the comedy 'The Waterboy' alongside Fairuza Balk, Henry Winkler, Rob Schneider and more

Adam SandlerandKathy Bateswere an unforgettable duo inThe Waterboy- but what fans of the movie might not know is that the pairing almost didn't happen.

During the 41st Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival, where Sandler was honored with the Maltin Modern Master Award, he told Leonard Maltin that Bates nearly turned down the role of Mama Boucher after the script initially failed to grab her attention.

"I remember we sent Kathy Bates the script forThe Waterboyto play my Mama. I don't know if I have the story 100% right, but apparently she kind of read the first page and went [shrugs] threw it in the garbage," the 59-year-old comedian recalled.

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The script's fate changed when someone close to Bates decided it deserved another look.

"The guy who works with Kathy, picked it up and read it and said, 'Kathy, I think you should read that script. It's pretty funny,'" Sandler explained.

It was only after giving it another read that she decided to "give it a shot."

From there, Sandler said they talked, met and enjoyed spending time together. Bates ultimately signed on to play Mama Boucher, the intensely protective and controlling mother of Sandler's Bobby Boucher, the socially awkward but kind-hearted water boy.

"We're very close," Sandler revealed. "I love her very much."

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The 77-year-old actress shared a similar story onThe Drew Barrymore Showin 2024, admitting she was initially hesitant about the project. While Sandler claimed she tossed the script after the first page, Bates said she made it to page 12 before she "threw it in the trash right next to my bed."

However, as Sandler said, after a bit of convincing, she agreed, and the rest is history.

"And so I said yes," Bates shared. "And I have to say, it's one of my favorite all-time experiences."

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

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That bond has continued well beyondThe Waterboy, with Bates remaining one of Sandler's greatest supporters.

At the event, he shared that "she's always kind to me," and noted that whenever he takes on a serious role, "she calls me up" to encourage him and let him know she's happy for him.

While that support means a great deal, Sandler admitted it also comes with pressure, as he deeply values her opinion. He recalled a recent stand-up performance that was "going very well," so he decided to take a quick look around the room and noticed Bates in the crowd.

"There were people laughing and then I locked eyes with Kathy and I started pissing," he joked.

Read the original article onPeople

Brandi Carlile will be among the artists who will be performing ahead ofSuper Bowl LX'skickoff on Sunday between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots.

Carlile is one of the performers who have been outspoken against PresidentDonald Trumpand his administration's policies going back to his first term in office. She will join Bad Bunny and Green Day as anti-Trump critics performing at Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California.

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The singer will perform a rendition of "America the Beautiful" before the game kicks off. She suggested in an interviewwith Varietyon Friday she's going into the performance with her "own moral code" in mind, adding that the performance was important to her as a member of the LGBT community.

"And I have my own moral code, my own moral imperative, that I have to answer to at the end of the day, as a wife and mother, and I believe in my ability and responsibility to do this, and that's why I'm here," she told the magazine. "And the throughline to being queer and being a representative of a marginalized community and being put on the largest stage in America to acknowledge the fraught and tender hope that this country is based on, it's something you don't say no to. You do it."

Nfl Legend Blasts League For Choosing Bad Bunny As Halftime Performer: 'Anything For Money'

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Super Bowl LX performers Bad Bunny and Green Day have been critical ofU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)agents and their operations against illegal immigrants in the U.S.

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Variety said in its interview with Carlile that the song "America the Beautiful" may be heard in a different way in "calmer times." "But even without hearing every verse that was written, there may be something about it that, in a time of trouble and division, will be moving for people who are really tuned into it. You're feeling that."

Carlile responded, "Yeah. And I think if we're gonna save this country as a people, we have to be reminded on some level that deep down we love it."

Despite the criticism she may hear from her own fans, Carlile said she wasn't going to get into arguments about why she was singing the patriotic song.

"… I'm not gonna waste my time in the pit fights," Carlile said. "My activism isn't gonna be in the comments section. And, you know, I may not be everyone's kind of activist, but like I said, I have my own moral imperative that I have to go to sleep with at night."

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Super Bowl LX is set to start at 6:30 p.m. ET.

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Original article source:Super Bowl LX singer Brandi Carlile says she will keep her 'moral code' in mind during performance

MILAN (AP) — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni condemned recentanti-Olympics protestsin Milan and alleged sabotage of train infrastructure, calling those responsible "enemies of Italy and Italians" early Sunday.

Milan-Cortina Olympics Protest

The protesters "demonstrate 'against the Olympics,' causing these images to end up on televisions around the world. After others cut the railway cables to prevent the trains from leaving," Meloni said in a statement on Facebook, adding that thousands of Italians are working to keep the Games running smoothly, many of whom are volunteers.

"Solidarity, once again, with the police, the city of Milan, and all those who will see their work undermined by these gangs of criminals," she said.

Italy's transport ministry said it has opened a terrorism investigation into the synchronized sabotage of railway lines in northern Italy on Saturday, the first day of the Games.

No one has claimed responsibility, Italian news agency ANSA reported.

The alleged sabotage first hit the central Bologna hub, which governs rail traffic between northern and southern Italy, around 6 a.m. Saturday when it was still dark out, ANSA reported. It then struck Pesaro-area trains along the Adriatic coast.

Infrastructure was burned or cut to cause the sabotage in both cases, the news agency said.

The transport ministry didn't provide details, but said it would seek millions of euros in compensation from the perpetrators. Thousands of passengers were impacted by the hourslong delays.

In Milan, Italian police fired tear gas and a water cannon on Saturday evening at dozens of protesters who threw firecrackers and tried to access a highway near aWinter Olympicsvenue. The brief confrontation came at the end of a peaceful march by thousands against the environmental impact of the Games and the presence ofU.S. agents in Italy.

The skirmish comes days after Meloni's governmentapproved a security decreethat allows police to detain people for up to 12 hours when there are reasonable grounds to believe they may act as agitators and disrupt peaceful protests. Opposition lawmakers criticized the measure as an attack on freedom of expression.

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Peaceful protest is legitimate, but "we draw a line at violence," International Olympic Committee spokesperson Mark Adams said during the IOC's daily media briefing. "That has no place at the Olympic Games."

Police on Saturday held off the violent demonstrators, who appeared to be trying to reach the Santagiulia Olympic ice hockey rink, after the skirmish. By then, the larger peaceful protest, including families with small children and students, had dispersed.

At the earlier, larger demonstration, which police said numbered 10,000, people carried cardboard cutouts to represent trees felled to build the new bobsled run in Cortina. A group of dancers performed to beating drums. Music blasted from a truck leading the march, one a profanity-laced anthem against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

Beforehand, a group of masked protesters had set off smoke bombs and firecrackers on a bridge overlooking a construction site about 800 meters (a half-mile) from the Olympic Village that's housing around 1,500 athletes.

The demonstration coincided with U.S. Vice President JD Vance's visit to Milan as head of the American delegation. Vance and his family visitedLeonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper"closer to the city center, far from the protest, which also was against the deployment of ICE agents to provide security to the U.S. delegation.

U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, an ICE unit that focuses on cross-border crimes, frequently sends its officers to overseas events like the Olympics to assist with security. The ICE arm at theforefront of the immigration crackdownin the U.S. is known as Enforcement and Removal Operations, and there is no indication its officers are being sent to Italy.

The demonstration on Saturday followedanother one last week, when hundreds protested the deployment of ICE agents.

Like last week, demonstrators Saturday said they were opposed to ICE agents' presence, despite official statements that a small number of agents from an investigative arm would be present in U.S. diplomatic territory, and not operational on the streets.

AP Olympics:https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics