Matthew Stafford wins NFL MVP and vows to return to Rams next season

• 37-year-old pips New England’s Drake Maye to award

• Myles Garrett is unanimous Defensive Player of Year

• Jaxon Smith-Njigba wins Offensive Player of Year

Matthew Stafford walked away with the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award and a declaration that he will return to the Los Angeles Rams for another season.

Stafford edged Drake Maye for the MVP award on Thursday night in the closest race since Peyton Manning and Steve McNair were co-winners in 2003.

Stafford received 24 of 50 first-place votes while Maye got 23. But Maye has a chance to go home this week with a Vince Lombardi Trophy: he leads the New England Patriots against the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl on Sunday.

Published: February 6, 2026, 5:24 am

Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend

Arsenal need energy from home crowd, Florian Wirtz has found his groove and Liam Rosenior deserves respect

Daniel Farke is understood to have wanted a new goalkeeper during the January transfer window but the Leeds board failed to oblige. Might that decision ultimately cost the club their Premier League status? It will be interesting to see whether Farke recalls the recently dropped former Lyon goalkeeper, Lucas Perri, or keeps faith with Karl Darlow against Nottingham Forest at Elland Road on Friday night. Darlow, formerly second choice at Newcastle, struggled with crosses when Arsenal won 4-0 in West Yorkshire last Saturday and may approach a quintessential relegation six-pointer against Forest with dented confidence. What about Illan Meslier? Previously a star under Marcelo Bielsa, a keeper once hyped as France’s future No 1 has been demoted to third choice and has been discussing a potential move to Besiktas before Friday’s transfer deadline in Turkey. Talks only began after Leeds rejected a bid for Perri from Besiktas last week. Time will tell if that was that the right decision. Louise Taylor

Published: February 6, 2026, 12:01 am

Brees elected to Hall of Fame as ‘pissed’ Johnson skips ceremony over Belichick snub

• Belichick left out despite building New England dynasty

• Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald among inductees

Six-time Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Belichick was officially left out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026, likely opening the door to revisions in the selection process later this year.

Still, the New England Patriots dynasty Belichick helped helm well into the 2000s earned partial vindication as former Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri gained induction in his second year on the ballot.

Published: February 6, 2026, 5:51 am

JD Vance’s first Olympic appearance unfolds with more photo-ops than protests

Amid officials’ concern about vocal crowd reactions against the US, the vice-president’s visit to a hockey game felt closer to theater than geopolitics

Several thousand spectators who turned up for a Thursday afternoon hockey game in Milan’s western suburbs may have gotten a sneak preview of the 2028 Republican ticket when US vice-president JD Vance and secretary of state Marco Rubio attended the United States women’s Olympic opener. With one hockey game already postponed because of norovirus, Olympic organizers could have been forgiven for hoping to avoid any other sudden waves of nausea inside the secondary rink across town.

Vance is in Italy to lead the official US delegation at Friday’s opening ceremony, joined by second lady Usha Vance, Rubio and billionaire Tilman Fertitta, the US ambassador to Italy and owner of the NBA’s Houston Rockets. The group watched Thursday’s game from the second and third rows at center ice behind the scorer’s table alongside Olympic gold medal-winning hockey sisters Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando.

Published: February 5, 2026, 8:21 pm

‘Penis injection’ claims in Winter Olympics ski jumping investigated by Wada

• Bild claims acid injections used to alter jumpers’ suits

• ‘If anything was to come to the surface we’d look at it’

During its 26-year history the World Anti-Doping Agency has faced thousands of questions about athletes using illicit substances. Thursday, however, surely marked the first time it was asked whether ski jumpers were injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid in order to fly further.

The Wada president Witold ­Banka’s reaction? “Ski jumping is very popular in Poland [Banka’s home country] so I promise you I’m going to look at it,” he said, with a wry smile.

Published: February 5, 2026, 2:00 pm

Pipe leaks and puck joy: Milan’s winter wasteland comes alive for ice hockey opener

The hosts managed to just about get the Santagiulia arena ready for Italy’s win over France – and the locals responded

‘Ladies and gentlemen! The women’s preliminary Group B match between Italy and France will get under way in five minutes! And the question is: Are! You! Ready! For! Hockey?!” Well, quite.

That had been the question for the past five months, as it happens, ever since it first became obvious that construction of Milan’s new Santagiulia arena was running massively behind schedule. At the test event last month the ice was grey because there was so much building dust in it, and midway through the match a man had to come on to the rink to repair a melted patch with a watering can.

Published: February 5, 2026, 5:28 pm

Winter Olympics 2026: all your questions about the Milano Cortina Games, answered

Stars, new events, iconic Alpine venues and a return to full Olympic atmosphere after the pandemic era. Here’s everything you need to know about Milano Cortina 2026

The Winter Olympics are back – and this time they’re zigzagging across northern Italy. Milano Cortina 2026 will be the most spread-out Winter Games ever staged, jumping from Milan’s arenas to the Dolomites’ classic Alpine slopes. With returning superstars, brand-new events and Italy leaning hard into its Olympic heritage, these Games may feel like they’ve arrived quietly – but there is a lot going on. From how and when to watch, to who matters and why these Olympics could look very different, here are your most pressing questions answered.

• This article was amended on 5 February 2026. In an earlier version, a map misspelled the resort of Livigno as “Livingo”.

Published: February 5, 2026, 8:00 am

Hilary Knight, Team USA’s north star, chases one more Olympic hockey gold

The five-time Olympian leads a young US team into Milan after nearly two decades at the vanguard of women’s hockey’s rise and transformation

For nearly two decades, Hilary Knight has been the heartbeat of USA women’s ice hockey – the constant through gold-medal ecstasy and silver-medal heartbreaks, coaching changes, domestic league collapses and the sport’s long, uneven push toward professional stability. Now, at 36, she’s arrived in Milan chasing one more Olympic gold before bringing down the curtain on one of the most influential careers the game has known.

The Olympic women’s hockey tournament opens on Thursday with the United States bringing one of their youngest and fastest teams in years – and their longest-tenured player in the captain’s sweater. Only 11 players return from the team that won silver in Beijing four years ago. Seven are still in college. Many developed inside a professional structure that did not exist for most of Knight’s career, shaped by the emergence of the Professional Women’s Hockey League and the broader surge in investment across women’s sports.

Published: February 5, 2026, 7:00 am

Winter Olympics briefing: curling subplots abound as lights go out on first action

British duo Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat get the better of Norway after power failure at curling arena

Curling fans, rejoice! It is only fitting that the one sport played every single day of the Winter Olympics is the one that opens proceedings at Milano Cortina. Dubbed “chess on ice”, curling may not have the brute force of ice hockey or the airtime of snowboarding, but it is a huge test in precision, patience and handling pressure.

Enter mixed doubles, which has its own subplot straight out of a romcom, with husband-and-wife pairings representing Norway, Canada and Switzerland. Norway’s Kristin Skaslien and Magnus Nedregotten came up against familiar foes on Wednesday, having edged Great Britain’s Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat in a semi-final thriller at Beijing 2022, sealing victory with the last stone.

Published: February 5, 2026, 7:19 am

The Patriots’ Robert Kraft posed as an NFL voice of reason – then fell back in line for Trump | Howard Bryant

As his team returns to the Super Bowl, the New England owner who once stood up on social issues proves he is just another transactional billionaire

During the worst of it, when Philando Castile and Alton Sterling were killed by police a decade ago and Colin Kaepernick took a knee in protest, when a widespread reaction was to tell the highly accomplished, overwhelmingly Black professional athletes they were un-American, or well-paid farmhands who needed to get back to work, or both, and some of his peers in the ownership class were releasing players as punishment for joining the protest, it was New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft who positioned himself as the voice of reason.

Kraft attempted to broker peace between the ownership hawks who saw the high-paid kneelers as ungrateful mutineers and, after decades of docility, the radicalized players unwilling to collect their checks in exchange for political silence. Kraft encouraged two of his players – the twins Devin and Jason McCourty – into deeper citizenship, to engage with the legal and political systems and promote reforms. As a sign of compassion and a willingness to listen, Kraft visited the incarcerated rapper Meek Mill, and later the two partnered with another artist, Jay-Z, on various criminal justice initiatives.

Published: February 5, 2026, 10:00 am

Cristiano Ronaldo warned by Saudi Pro League amid transfer spending dispute

• Al-Nassr forward reportedly unhappy with transfer policy

• ‘No one determines decisions beyond their own club’

Cristiano Ronaldo has been told by the Saudi Pro League that “no individual – however significant – determines decisions beyond their own club” amid a dispute over transfer spending.

The Portuguese superstar, who turned 41 on Thursday, is believed to be unhappy with Al-Nassr’s lack of activity in the January transfer window.

Published: February 5, 2026, 9:44 pm

From London to LX: the British mastermind behind the Seahawks’ standout Super Bowl defense

Seattle’s Aden Durde will be the first British coach to appear in the Super Bowl. He wants to ensure he’s not the last

Midway through the 2023 NFL season, Dallas Cowboys star edge rusher Micah Parsons was frustrated. Asked about the source – a feeling of being held by opponents all the time – Parsons credited his defensive line coach Aden Durde with keeping him in check.

“[Coach Durde] pulled me aside and said, ‘You gotta remember, you’re Micah fucking Parsons,” he recalled. “‘This shit is going to happen. You just gotta keep going. Fuck all the other stuff.’”

Published: February 5, 2026, 11:00 am

Infantino and Coventry backing Russia’s return shows sport’s soft power is in rotten hands | Emma John

The actions of Fifa’s fawning president as well as the Olympics leader’s call for ‘neutral ground’ underscores the hollowness of the global bodies’ values

In an ever more complex world, it is always good to have figures who can simplify things for us. A single person, making it crystal clear where they stand and what for, can be the light in the darkness that helps you navigate today’s turbulent waters.

That’s why I’m so grateful for Gianni Infantino. The man is the ultimate guide to geopolitics, and a waypost for anyone confused by the moral labyrinth they find themselves living in. Whichever way he’s pointing, you can feel confident you should be headed in the opposite direction.

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Published: February 5, 2026, 1:46 pm

Slot praises Wirtz’s gym work, Ronaldo warned, Milner eyes record – football live

⚽ All the latest news heading into the weekend’s action
⚽ Premier League: 10 things to look out for | Mail John

Slot has praised Florian Wirtz, who has been in great form of late:

“I think it’s all, first and foremost, always credit to the player because he has to do the work not only on the pitch, also in the gym. And then as a manager, even if he is maybe physically struggling a little bit in the start, you need to keep on playing him because that’s the only way players can improve.

Published: February 6, 2026, 9:57 am

Leicester City in relegation danger after six-point deduction for financial rules breach

• Leicester breached PSR rules for period ending 2023-24

• Club outside the relegation zone on goal difference

Leicester have been deducted six points after being found in breach of the Premier League’s financial rules. The punishment, determined by an independent disciplinary commission, leaves them outside the Championship relegation zone only on goal difference.

A hearing took place in November after Leicester were alleged to have breached profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) for the three-season period ending with 2023-24. There were also two further charges against the club for failing to cooperate and failing to submit their financial accounts on time.

Published: February 5, 2026, 4:44 pm

Liam Rosenior accuses Arsenal of lack of respect after disruption to Chelsea warm-up

• Arsenal staff member was in Chelsea half before cup tie

• ‘There are certain etiquettes in football,’ Rosenior says

Liam Rosenior has accused Arsenal of disrespecting Chelsea by disrupting their warm-up before the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final.

Television cameras caught Chelsea’s head coach losing his cool and aiming a foul-mouthed outburst at an unidentified member of Arsenal staff for straying into the wrong half of the pitch before the sides met at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday. Rosenior, who was seen telling someone to stay in their half, looked livid at the time and said on Thursday that there were “certain etiquettes in football” to observe, after being asked why the incident angered him so much.

Published: February 5, 2026, 3:19 pm

Chinese football returns against backdrop of bans, crackdowns and confusion

With 13 clubs punished, Chengdu are the only Super League top six side that will start the upcoming new season on zero points, but China’s U23s and provincial sides are lifting spirits

When Keir Starmer met Xi Jinping recently, reporters said the British prime minister was shocked at his Chinese counterpart calling Crystal Palace “Palace”, liking Manchester City and Arsenal and supporting Manchester United. The reasons can be guessed. Fan Zhiyi was popular at Selhurst Park in the late 1990s, Sun Jihai was a cult hero at Maine Road and Manchester United had Dong Fangzhuo. The president of the world’s second most populous country and second biggest economy didn’t, however, mention Everton.

Li Tie spent four seasons at Goodison Park, playing the most in his first, 2002-03, with 29 Premier League appearances. The Chinese international moved into coaching on returning home and managed the national team from 2019 to 2021. Since December 2024, he has been in prison, serving 20 years on charges of taking bribes. Since last Thursday, he has been banned from all football activities for life.

Published: February 6, 2026, 8:00 am

Arne Slot admits things will be ‘more difficult’ if Liverpool sustain any further injuries

• Club short on defenders before three games in seven days

• Head coach ‘very happy’ with squad despite lack of cover

Arne Slot has said Liverpool have “a hell of a challenge” to prevent injuries affecting their ambitions for the rest of the season after failing to sign Lutsharel Geertruida on deadline day.

Although Liverpool strengthened for next season with the £60m signing of Jérémy Jacquet, who will arrive from Rennes in the summer, their current problems in defence were not covered. The Premier League champions did move for the Netherlands international Geertruida, who is on loan at Sunderland from Leipzig and wanted the transfer, but the deal was called off because Sunderland were unable to secure a replacement.

Published: February 5, 2026, 10:30 pm

Frank says Romero ‘dealt with internally’ for latest volley at Spurs owners

• Manager refuses to criticise captain for outburst

• ‘Too much attention’ given to social media post

Thomas Frank has refused to criticise Cristian Romero after the defender’s social media attack on Tottenham’s owners, with the Argentina inter­national remaining club captain.

The Spurs manager was on the defensive in his press conference before Saturday’s Premier League ­fixture at Manchester United. He would not give any steer as to the outcome of Romero’s outburst – the second in two months – only saying: “We have dealt with the matter internally.”

Published: February 5, 2026, 6:20 pm

Top-four seeding of Women’s FA Cup would kill the magic and widen money gap

The FA’s proposals for a shake-up of the competition have met a groundswell of opposition with fans arguing it would bolster the wealthy elite

As so much of the modern game increasingly sucks the joy out of football, there remains something pure and precious about the sight of those famous black and white numbered balls being tipped out of the velvet bag for an FA Cup draw.

Your heart rate intensifies as they clatter when tipped into the bowl. Each side has the same chance of being pitted against any other club and, for those few moments, there is a special feeling. Hope.

Published: February 5, 2026, 12:51 pm

Does spending £60m on a young player pay off in the Premier League?

Liverpool paid £60m for the 20-year-old defender Jérémy Jacquet. Previous deals in the league suggest it is a risk

By WhoScored

As Premier League teams get younger and transfer fees get bigger, we are seeing players with little experience commanding huge prices. Jérémy Jacquet’s £60m move to Liverpool makes him the fourth most expensive player aged 20 or younger in Premier League history. Spending so much money for a defender with just 36 appearances in France’s top flight looks like a risk, but how have players Jacquet’s age fared after big moves?

Published: February 5, 2026, 8:00 pm

Abdusattorov triumphs at Wijk aan Zee as Uzbek pair sweep ‘chess Wimbledon’

The duo from Tashkent took first and second prizes at the traditional Netherlands New Year tournament, while the favourites from India ended up near the bottom

Nodirbek Abdusattorov added to his growing reputation as one of the world’s top players last weekend when the Uzbek grandmaster, 21, triumphed in the “chess Wimbledon” at Tata Steel Wijk aan Zee, with his compatriot Javokhir Sindarov a close second.

On his previous three attempts Abdusattorov, who has now surged to No 5 in the live ratings, had missed out in the final decisive rounds. This time he led early, had a wobble with three draws and a loss, but was strong in the final two rounds. “It was a long way for me,” he said. “I was very close every time and I failed year after year. I’m extremely happy to finally be able to win this tournament and to win in a very nice style.”

Published: February 6, 2026, 8:00 am

Bielle-Biarrey stars as France outplay Ireland to lay down a Six Nations marker

• France 36-14 Ireland

• Bielle-Biarrey scores twice in dazzling display

The Six Nations is under way and already a couple of things are ­crystal clear. It is going to take a seriously good team to beat France in Paris in this year’s championship and ­watching them attack will be an ­absolute treat. Ireland were not so much beaten as outplayed by ­opponents who will be even more dangerous with a dry ball at their disposal.

Never mind the argument about brief in-game adverts during ITV’s coverage. Irish fans would probably have preferred a total 80-minute blackout or, failing that, an entire evening of cookery programming. Instead those back at home had to watch the visitors being repeatedly sliced and diced by seemingly ravenous hosts. Talk about eating your greens.

Published: February 5, 2026, 11:55 pm

Australian snowboarder Valentino Guseli nails final jump at 2026 Winter Olympics to qualify for finals

• Snowboarder qualifies for big air final in Livigno

• Schedule | Latest results | Medal table | Full coverage

Valentino Guseli has launched Australia’s hunt for Winter Olympics gold in “insane” fashion, nailing his last jump to clinch a place in the snowboard big air final as a last-minute replacement.

Guseli had ambitions of competing in three Milan-Cortina Olympic events – big air, slopestyle and halfpipe – but failed to qualify for the first two after injuring his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in late 2024.

Published: February 5, 2026, 10:57 pm

France 36-14 Ireland: Six Nations 2026 opener – as it happened

Les Bleus opened the tournament with a dominant victory in Paris

7 mins. The attack is contained by France and a forced pass in midfield is spilled by a green hand. France will have a scrum in their own 22.

5 mins. The Ireland scrum creaks, but holds enough for Gibson-Park to clear their lines. This but of solid work is followed soon after by Osborne banging a MASSIVE 50:22 to give his side their first attacking platform of the game.

Published: February 5, 2026, 10:18 pm

Team GB chief predicts ‘most potent’ Winter Games ever with sights set on eight medals

• Eve Muirhead confident Britain ‘can disrupt the norm’

• Medal chances in snowboarding, skiing and skeleton

Team GB have never made anything more than the occasional ripple at the Winter Olympics. Which makes the prediction of Eve Muirhead, Britain’s chef de mission at the Milano Cortina Games, rather extraordinary.

“I believe that we are taking one of the most potent teams of athletes that we have taken to a Winter Olympic Games,” she says. “We have the capability to disrupt the norm.”

Published: February 5, 2026, 6:00 pm

Feyi-Waboso hands England Six Nations injury scare 48 hours before Wales opener

• Wing unable to complete training session on Thursday

• Daly the leading alternative if Exeter player ruled out

Immanuel Feyi-Waboso has given England a late injury scare before they start their Six Nations campaign against Wales on Saturday after pulling up in training.

The Exeter wing was unable to complete England’s session at Pennyhill Park due to a leg injury with Steve Borthwick’s medical staff investigating its extent on Thursday night.

Published: February 5, 2026, 6:00 pm

The race to be the USMNT’s top striker is – once again – an open competition

The window to impress on Mauricio Pochettino is waning, and the pressure is on for the No 9s on the bubble

In past points of his managerial career, Mauricio Pochettino could upgrade his squad via the transfer market. When Tottenham sold striker Roberto Soldado in 2015, his replacement came two weeks later: Son Heung-min. It’s a facet of the job completely absent in his role with the US national team, though he’d be forgiven for wishing a similar market was available ahead of this summer’s World Cup.

With provisional World Cup squads due 11 May and Pochettino wanting to avoid a “cruel” scenario of bringing players over for the final friendlies in May and June only to leave them off of his tournament squad, the window for hopefuls to make an impression is nearly closed. There are positional battles across the pitch; there’s no ironclad starting goalkeeper, a likely opening (or two) at center back beside Chris Richards, and multiple midfield places.

Published: February 6, 2026, 10:00 am

Winter Olympics 2026: Milan prepares for opening ceremony, Team GB sweat on helmet appeal – live

• Milano Cortina Games to be opened on Friday evening
• Schedule | Results | Medal table | Briefing | Get in touch

Lindsey Vonn inspected the Olympic downhill course with other racers early this morning as she prepared to take part in the opening training session despite tearing the ACL in her left knee a week ago.

The 41-year-old Vonn is planning to compete at the Milan Cortina Games with a large brace covering her injured knee.

Published: February 6, 2026, 9:56 am

Quad God and the Blade Angels: is the new USA Dream Team a group of figure skaters?

The US enter the team event as hot favorites: powered by world champions, rising stars and a generation determined to push figure skating beyond its traditional audience

On Friday morning inside the Milano Ice Skating Arena, the United States will launch their defense of the Olympic figure skating team title carrying something rare in a sport usually defined by individual brilliance: overwhelming depth. Which raises a question that, until recently, would have sounded almost absurd in figure skating.

Is the new USA Dream Team a group of figure skaters?

Published: February 6, 2026, 8:15 am

Bad Bunny goes to the Super Bowl – podcast

The journalist Jen Ortiz charts the rise of Bad Bunny – the Puerto Rican superstar musician and ICE critic – before his performance at the Super Bowl on Sunday

The halftime show at the Super Bowl is an American cultural institution and this year it will be performed by perhaps its most controversial star yet.

Bad Bunny has been labelled by those on the American right as “un-American” and “shameful” – criticised for everything from his outspoken stance against ICE to his insistence on singing in Spanish.

Published: February 6, 2026, 3:00 am