From Evil Empire to Super Bowl underdogs: is it OK to like the Patriots now?

Under Tom Brady and Bill Belichick New England were ruthless winners. But new head coach Mike Vrabel has transformed the narrative around the team

There used to be a simple rule: Anybody but the New England Patriots.

From 2001 through 2019, the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick dynasty totaled six Super Bowl titles, 13 conference championship appearances and 17 divisional crowns. They were the Evil Empire, constant contenders in a league designed for parity. It didn’t matter who you were; the Patriots were the final boss.

Published: February 4, 2026, 10:00 am

Report: Dallas Mavericks trade Anthony Davis to Washington Wizards

• Davis played sporadically after arriving in Luka Doncic trade

• Eight-player swap comes ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline

The Dallas Mavericks are sending 10-time All-Star forward Anthony Davis to the Washington Wizards in an eight-player trade, ESPN reported Wednesday.

The Mavericks will receive Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, Malaki Branham and Marvin Bagley III plus two first-round draft picks and three second-round selections, per the report.

Published: February 4, 2026, 7:35 pm

Lindsey Vonn forced to wait as first women’s Winter Olympics downhill training cancelled

• US skiing icon must wait to test injured knee

• Coach confident skier will be competitive at Games

Lindsey Vonn has been forced to wait for her chance to test her injured knee after heavy snowfall led to the cancellation of the first women’s downhill training at the Winter Olympics.

The American skiing icon was due to take part in Thursday morning’s training session in Cortina d’Ampezzo as she attempts to compete at the 2026 Games with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee.

Published: February 4, 2026, 6:06 pm

New York City’s real animal welfare crisis isn’t the Westminster Dog Show | Lauren Caulk

As Westminster week once again put dog breeding under the spotlight, Peta’s messaging remains as incisive as ever. But its moral clarity fades when the conversation shifts to cats

Every February, the Westminster Dog Show arrives in New York City trailing equal parts pageantry, nostalgia and protest. The dogs come to be judged. The owners and handlers come to uphold breed standards. And, almost as reliably as the movie references and the best-in-show ribbon, Peta arrives ready to dominate the conversation.

If there is one certainty about the Super Bowl of canines, it’s that the protest will share the stage with the pageantry. Westminster is an annual collision of tradition, spectacle and dissent, and Peta has become exceptionally good at owning that moment. This year was no different. Two enormous billboards screamed down from across the street of the Javits Center, where breed judging unfolded on Monday and Tuesday ahead of the prime-time sessions at Madison Square Garden. One read: Flat-faced dogs struggle to breathe. NEVER buy them. Another: You can get a nose job. They can’t. DON’T buy breathing-impaired breeds.

Published: February 4, 2026, 3:45 pm

Mauricio Pochettino’s odd jab at Tim Weah misread the player and the moment | Leander Schaerlaeckens

The USMNT manager said players should stay out of conversations that don’t deal with soccer

Last week, Mauricio Pochettino began a World Cup year with an unforced error.

At the tail-end of a virtual press conference that covered a wide range of ongoing USMNT business, the 53-year-old Argentine – who has made himself commendably available to the American soccer press – was asked about recent comments by Tim Weah.

Leander Schaerlaeckens’ book on the United States men’s national soccer team, The Long Game, is out on 12 May. You can preorder it here. He teaches at Marist University.

Published: February 4, 2026, 2:29 pm

Ten athletes from Team USA to watch at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics

With the Winter Olympics set to begin in proper on Friday, here’s a look at 10 Americans worth keeping an eye on

Mikaela Shiffrin has surpassed Vonn’s record haul of World Cup wins and staked her claim as the GOAT. But Vonn has a solid claim to be the best ever in the speed events (downhill, super-G), and she has been racing exclusively in those disciplines since returning from retirement, surging to the top of the World Cup downhill standings at age 41. She has a score to settle with the sport’s biggest stage – her lifetime total of three Olympic medals (one gold) would probably be higher if not for a horror crash in practice in 2006 and injuries that either limited or outright excluded her from other Games. After some selection drama in the team combined event in last year’s world championships, it seems inconceivable that Vonn and Shiffrin, both of whom have had some misfortune in the Olympics, would not be paired up to form Alpine skiing’s equivalent of the 1992 basketball Dream Team. Vonn was in a nasty crash last weekend but it seems that she will be fit to take part in Italy.

Published: February 4, 2026, 11:00 am

Quadruple-chasing Arsenal can dream a micromanaged dream | Barney Ronay

After prevailing in a gristly physical ballet with Chelsea, Arsenal’s season has now reached a point of pre-ignition

Zamina mina. Waka, waka, hé-hé. By the end of this gruelling, bruising, deep tissue ache of a football match, it felt as though the opening 96 minutes had been staged simply as an extended tease for a startlingly carefree final 30 seconds.

Up to that point Arsenal and Chelsea had produced something that felt like the football equivalent of having your eyes descaled with a wire brush. This was a dense, gristly kind of physical ballet. Johan Cruyff once said that in football the clock is never your friend. It’s either moving too fast or too slowly. Here the clock didn’t really seem to move at all, or to be going backwards. The clock hated everyone.

Published: February 3, 2026, 11:55 pm

Butler did it: 11 years on, was the NFL’s most criticized call actually the right decision?

The last time the Seahawks and Patriots met in a Super Bowl, a dramatic interception by an undrafted rookie changed the history of both franchises

When the New England Patriots faced off against the Denver Broncos in this season’s AFC championship, Malcolm Butler was at home in Houston. He had considered attending the game in Denver or watching on TV in a No 21 Patriots jersey, which he wore in Foxboro for four seasons through the mid-to-late 2010s, but feared he might jinx the outcome. In the end, it was just him and his nerves for company.

Just as Butler was feeling somewhat at peace with that setup, and the Patriots’ prospects, a bad omen intruded: His wifi glitched, delaying the broadcast as the Patriots clung on to a three-point lead in the fourth-quarter. “I was lagging bad,” Butler tells the Guardian. “But I did get the wifi back working. And as soon as I did my phone was ringing like crazy, so I knew something was going right. It’s crazy that we’re back.”

Published: February 3, 2026, 10:00 am

Are the Whitecaps about to die? Vancouver sound alarm bells amid difficult sale process

Scheduling and financial impasses at Vancouver’s World Cup stadium are leading down a road the league hasn’t traveled in over a decade

On the surface, Vancouver Whitecaps CEO Axel Schuster’s press conference last week would have felt familiar to almost any North American sports fan. Once again, a team was agitating for more money or a better stadium. Once again, local governments were at least partially to blame.

Some of his comments, though, felt more alien, and raised a question that seemed unfathomable just a couple of months ago: are the Vancouver Whitecaps about to die?

Published: February 3, 2026, 5:52 pm

Manchester City v Newcastle United: Carabao Cup semi-final, second leg – live

⚽ Carabao Cup updates,, 8pm GMT kick-off (first leg: 2-0)
⚽ Live scoreboard | Follow us on Bluesky | And mail Scott

1 min: Trippier’s first act of the evening is a fine block of O’Reilly’s shot, the City man having drifted in from the left.

Newcastle get the game started. They’re chasing down a two-goal deficit.

Published: February 4, 2026, 8:54 pm

Transfer window verdict: how every Women’s Super League club fared

After impressive work by Manchester United and Liverpool and disappointment for Chelsea, we assess every team’s business

With so many senior players’ contracts expiring in June, Arsenal’s focus was on preparing for the summer, when they are expected to go through a major rebuild. Therefore their quiet window was no surprise, but they will be relatively pleased to have brought in a star of the future, Smilla Holmberg, at right-back and to have fulfilled their need for a backup goalkeeper, with Barbora Votíkova’s deadline-day loan. Much more significant, though, is the positive progress they are understood to have made in their attempt to sign Georgia Stanway on a free at the end of the season, and big decisions such as not seeking to extend Katie McCabe’s stay, as they prepare to refresh the team.

Published: February 4, 2026, 1:00 pm

Celtic’s match at Aberdeen postponed and Dundee v Motherwell also rained off

• Pitches at Pittodrie and Dens Park waterlogged

• Celtic lose chance to close gap after Hearts’ loss

Celtic’s Scottish Premiership match at Aberdeen has been postponed, along with Dundee v Motherwell, after heavy rain led to the pitches becoming waterlogged.

Aberdeen confirmed shortly before 4.30pm (GMT) that the Pittodrie pitch was not suitable for play. Celtic were hoping to close in on leaders Hearts and could have moved to within three points. Dundee have struggled with the Dens Park pitch over the past two years and it again fell victim to the heavy rain.

This report will be updated …

Published: February 4, 2026, 5:11 pm

Football Daily | Arsenal’s fun boat sails on but quadruple attempt will surely hit the rocks

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Given their near misses in recent seasons, it is entirely understandable that most sentient Arsenal fans are not prepared to publicly entertain the notion that their team will almost certainly win the Premier League this season. While they’re all lying in bed at night secretly fantasising about Martin Ødegaard’s trophy lift, most remain too scarred by ridicule over perceived “bottle jobs” to confidently state that as far as the title is concerned, nothing can possibly go wrong. While they have gladly accepted Mikel Arteta’s invitation to jump on the fun boat, all are wearing life preservers. Quite what these same Arsenal fans make of various pundits blithely weighing up their chances of winning an unprecedented quadruple is anyone’s guess, but since they booked their place in the Fizzy Cup final, the external chatter has begun. Having won the square root of eff all in over five years, assorted experts are seriously suggesting Arsenal – Arsenal! – could win four shiny pots in the next four months.

I have to feel sorry for the Ipswich fans who made plans to visit Fratton Park last night with the game being called off for the second time (frozen pitch previously, now waterlogged). Not sure how we are going to stop the next rearrangement if it doesn’t suit our knack-list but I hear floodlights do lose power sometimes” – Ben North (and no other devious Pompey fans).

No disrespect to anyone – least of all Matt Atkinson – but comparing Timo Werner to the Yorkshire Stakhanovite that is James Milner (Monday’s Football Daily letters) is like comparing a pony to a thoroughbred” – Kev McCready.

This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.

Published: February 4, 2026, 3:38 pm

Andy Carroll denies breaching non-molestation order related to ex-wife

• Carroll allegedly repeatedly called Billi Mucklow last March

• Former England striker to next appear in court in March

The former England footballer Andy Carroll has denied breaching a non-molestation order by allegedly repeatedly calling his former wife. Carroll, a former striker for Premier League sides Newcastle and Liverpool, indicated a not guilty plea to the charge at Chelmsford magistrates court on Wednesday.

Carroll is charged with breaching the order made by the family court at Chelmsford justice centre by allegedly repeatedly calling in March last year Billi Mucklow, who has featured on the reality TV show The Only Way Is Essex.

Published: February 4, 2026, 4:21 pm

Celebrating the most remarkable almost-one-club players in football | The Knowledge

Plus: footballers’ weddings on live television, the most successful fictional teams, and more

• Mail us with your questions and answers

“Ian Muir played 95% of his games for Tranmere,” writes Robert Abushal. “One-club players aside, who’s the closest to 100% without being 100%?”

One-club men and women are among football’s more celebrated groups, the players who dedicated their entire career to one particular cause. Athletic Club give out the One Club Man and One Club Woman awards each year; the list of recipients include Paolo Maldini, Matthew Le Tissier and Malin Moström.

We haven’t included non-league teams, which rules out Paul Scholes (three games for Royton) and Le Tissier (Eastleigh) among others. We’ve also excluded Hamburg legend Uwe Seeler, whose one appearance for Cork Celtic was in a sponsored event.

Data on appearances for individual players can vary from source to source, particularly for older players. We made a judgment call in each case, so the figures may only be 99.82% correct. But that’s appropriate for this question, right? Right?

Published: February 4, 2026, 8:00 am

Everton sack Brian Sørensen with club languishing near bottom of WSL table

• Dane leaves after almost four years as manager

• Form at Goodison Park has been poor this season

Everton have sacked women’s team manager Brian Sørensen with the club ninth in the Women’s Super League. The club claimed their first home victory of the season on Sunday to move four points clear of relegation danger but it has not been enough to keep the 45-year-old Dane, who has been in charge since 2022, in his role.

The club’s chief executive, Angus Kinnear, said: “Sunday’s first win of the season at Goodison Park was important, but it has become evident that a change of direction is necessary to ensure the progression on the pitch we are all striving for.”

Published: February 4, 2026, 10:30 am

‘Focus on football’: Guardiola criticised by Manchester Jewish group over Palestine comments

• JRC unhappy with City manager’s ‘controversial views’

• Guardiola referred to ‘genocide in Palestine’ on Tuesday

The Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, has been urged to be “more careful with his future language” by representatives of the city’s Jewish community after he spoke out about Israel’s attacks on Gaza. Guardiola gave a speech in support of Palestinian children at a charity event in his home city of Barcelona last week, and on Tuesday he told journalists at a press conference how the suffering of innocent people caught up in conflict, including the one in the Middle East, “hurts” him, and leaves him feeling compelled to speak out.

However, he has been advised to “focus on football” by the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester & Region, who fear such comments fuel antisemitic acts. The group also accused him of a “total failure” to display solidarity with Manchester’s Jewish community in the wake of last October’s attack on the Heaton Park Synagogue, in which two people were killed.

Published: February 4, 2026, 7:17 pm

Top seats for Nations Championship’s ‘Glastonbury of Rugby’ at Twickenham to cost £280

• Spectators will not know finalists but can ‘swap’ tickets

• Cheapest standard tickets for day of the final are £125

Top-end tickets for the inaugural Nations Championship final at Twickenham will cost £280 as part of a weekend billed as the “Glastonbury of Rugby”, the Guardian can reveal.

The climax of the new 12-team competition, which will be held every two years and replaces traditional tours, will be held at Twickenham at the end of November with two matches on Friday, two on Saturday and two on Sunday.

Published: February 4, 2026, 5:06 pm

Team GB’s best chance of Winter Olympics gold dealt major blow after helmets ban

• Skeleton crew’s helmets ruled ineligible on eve of Games

• Great Britain appeal to court of arbitration for sport

Great Britain’s best hopes of gold at these Winter Olympics have suffered a setback after skeleton’s governing body banned its new aerodynamic helmets for being the wrong shape.

Team GB’s Matt Weston and Marcus Wyatt have dominated skeleton all season, winning all seven of the World Cup races between them, and are strong favourites to win gold and silver in Milan.

Published: February 4, 2026, 2:48 pm

Moguls duo Jakara Anthony and Matt Graham to carry flag during Winter Olympics ceremony

• Anthony attempts to successfully defend Olympics title

• Graham competing for second medal at fourth Games

Jakara Anthony, the defending Olympic champion, and fellow moguls medallist Matt Graham will lead the Australian team as the flag bearers during the Winter Olympics opening ceremony at Milan’s San Siro Olympic Stadium.

For the first time, the opening event will be spread across four locations with the moguls duo to lead the Australian contingent marching in Livigno, a northern Italian town in the alps near the Swiss border. As well as freestyle skiers, which includes aerialists and freeski competitors, the snowboarders are also competing in Livigno.

Published: February 4, 2026, 12:30 pm

Winter Olympics results from Milano Cortina 2026

The Winter Olympics returns to Italy for the first time in two decades. From the fashion capital of Milan to the dramatic peaks of Cortina d’Ampezzo, the Milano Cortina Games – the first to be co-hosted by two cities – will stretch across northern Italy blending world-class winter sport with a strong sense of history and ambition.

Sixteen sports and more than 110 gold medals await, from the raw speed of alpine skiing and bobsleigh to the tactical endurance of biathlon and cross-country. Alpine fans will once again be drawn to Mikaela Shiffrin, still redefining excellence across the technical disciplines.

Published: February 4, 2026, 12:00 pm

Winter Olympics: full schedule for Milano Cortina 2026

Keep abreast of every event at the Winter Olympics with our day-by-day and sport-by-sport schedules

The Winter Olympics returns to Italy for the first time in two decades. From the fashion capital of Milan to the dramatic peaks of Cortina d’Ampezzo, the Milano Cortina Games – the first to be co-hosted by two cities – will stretch across northern Italy blending world-class winter sport with a strong sense of history and ambition.

Sixteen sports and more than 110 gold medals await, from the raw speed of alpine skiing and bobsleigh to the tactical endurance of biathlon and cross-country. Alpine fans will once again be drawn to Mikaela Shiffrin, still redefining excellence across the technical disciplines.

Published: February 4, 2026, 12:00 pm

Weston McKennie is in the form of his life for Juventus, in any position

The American has earned the trust of Luciano Spalletti in Italy, but his role with the USMNT remains an open question

Juventus have tried to get rid of Weston McKennie. They even succeeded once, sending him on loan to Leeds United only for the American to return six months later. When he got back to Turin, as US coach Gregg Berhalter told the story at the time, Juve had emptied his locker and given away his parking spot. Despite this, McKennie stuck around.

It’s just as well for the Old Lady that he did – McKennie is now in the form of his life. The 27-year-old has scored four times in just eight games since the start of 2026. He has become one of Juve’s most important players and arguably the biggest driving force behind their recent upturn in form. Luciano Spalletti – among the most big-name coaches currently working in Italian football – has used McKennie to mould the team in his own image.

Published: February 4, 2026, 7:24 pm

The Pup Cup: thousands of dogs compete in the Westminster Dog Show – in pictures

Penny, a doberman pinscher, won best in show at the 150th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York

Published: February 4, 2026, 5:18 pm

Doberman named Penny takes Westminster’s best in show as Catherine O’Hara honored

• Penny the Doberman pinscher named America’s top dog

• Linton lands second best in show nearly four decades on

• Westminster honors Catherine O’Hara with video tribute

A Doberman pinscher named Penny is America’s top canine after earning the title of best in show on Tuesday night at the 150th Westminster Kennel Club dog show in New York.

Judge David Fitzpatrick tapped the four-year-old female with the mirror-sheen black-and-rust coat from Reseda, California, over a field of six other group champions, among them a Chesapeake Bay retriever named Cota, who was awarded reserve best in show to roars of approval from the crowd. Also making the final lineup were an Afghan hound named Zaida, a Lhasa Apso named JJ, a Maltese named Cookie, a smooth fox terrier named Wager and a popular old English sheepdog named Graham.

Published: February 4, 2026, 12:09 pm

Fans attack ‘classless’ NHL for cutting cancer donation by $800,000 after missed shot

• Successful shot would have made $1m for charities

• Social media users say event was ‘dystopian’

The NHL has received backlash after slashing a donation to cancer research by $800,000 after a missed shot during a charity promotion.

The incident came during Sunday’s game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins. Rob Higgins, the athletics CEO of the University of South Florida, was brought on to the ice to attempt a shot through a very small opening in an empty goal. If Higgins, who is a cancer survivor, made the shot the NHL said it would donate $500,000 to cancer charities; if he missed the donation would be $100,000. The event was broadcast live on Sportsnet in Canada and ESPN in the US. Higgins missed what was a very tough shot. He was then given another chance, with a guaranteed donation of $200,000 if he missed, which would increase to $1m if he scored. Higgins missed again.

Published: February 3, 2026, 5:09 pm