The gold medal-winning United States women’s hockey team has declined an offer by the White House to attend Tuesday’s State of the Union address, citing ‘timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments’ as the reason.

The women’s team beat Canada for the gold medal in a come-from-behind 2-1 overtime victory in which Hilary Knight broke U.S. Olympic scoring records and Megan Keller scored the winning goal.

The USA men’s team made it 2-for-2 when it beat Canada for a gold medal on Sunday.

President Donald Trump called the men’s team afterward and invited those players to the State of the Union and a White House visit, offering to transport them on a military plane.

He also said on the call, ‘I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that?’

The president added, jokingly, ‘I do believe I probably would be impeached’ if he didn’t invite the women’s team.

A USA Hockey spokesperson said the women’s team did receive an invitation but wouldn’t be able to attend.

‘We are sincerely grateful for the invitation extended to our gold medal-winning U.S. Women’s Hockey Team and deeply appreciate the recognition of their extraordinary achievement,’ the spokesperson said. ‘Due to the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments following the Games, the athletes are unable to participate. They were honored to be included and are grateful for the acknowledgment.’

The Professional Women’s Hockey League has games on Thursday and the college hockey players on the USA team have games on Friday. The NHL season resumes on Wednesday.

This story was updated to add new information.

Kara Braxton, a former WNBA All-Star who played 10 years in the league, died in a car accident in Cobb County, Georgia, on Saturday.

Cobb County Police confirmed in a statement obtained by USA Today Sports that Braxton died in a single car crash outside of Atlanta around 5:13 p.m. Saturday. The accident remains under investigation.

A preliminary report says Braxton was driving a blue 2023 Ford Mustang Mach E northbound on I-285 and was approaching Cobb Parkway when she “failed to maintain her lane” and “collided with the concrete median wall,” riding against it until the car came to a rest on the left shoulder.

Braxton, 43, was transported to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, Georgia, where she was pronounced dead. She was a resident of College Park, Georgia.

The WNBA announced Braxton had died on social media on Sunday, Feb. 22.

‘It is with profound sadness that we mourn the passing of 2x WNBA Champion Kara Braxton. A 10-season veteran, Kara played with the Detroit Shock, Tulsa Shock, Phoenix Mercury, and New York Liberty. Our thoughts are with her family, friends, and former teammates at this time,’ the WNBA shared on X.

Braxton was drafted No. 7 overall in the 2005 WNBA Draft by the Detroit Shock. She was named to the WNBA All-Rookie team after averaging 6.9 points and 3.0 rebounds. A 6-foot-6 power forward, she would go on to win championships in 2006 and ’08 with Detroit.

She played in Tulsa, when the Shock relocated, and also spent time with the Phoenix Mercury and New York Liberty. Braxton also played overseas in Poland, Turkey, China and Italy through the 2017-18 season.

Braxton is survived by her husband, Jarvis Jackson, and her two sons, Jelani Thurman and Jream Jackson.

The United States finished the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina on a high note with golden performances from figure skater Alysa Liu and a dramatic men’s hockey win over Canada in overtime for their first gold medal since the 1980 Miracle on Ice. Team USA wrapped up the Winter Games with 33 total medals, second behind only Norway; their 12 gold medals were also the second-most in the competition.

Milano Cortina is officially in the rearview; attention now turns to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Excitement has been building for the first Summer Games hosted by the US in 30 years and first in LA since 1984 — over 1.5 million people reportedly registered for tickets within 24 hours on Jan. 14 — and despite the recent controversy surrounding Olympics chair Casey Wasserman’s alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein, that hasn’t deterred fans.

LA28 announced in a press release Monday afternoon that over five million people have registered for the ticket draw — ‘a record-setting surge’ — with just under a month to go before it closes.

‘As a historic Winter Games concludes, we celebrate the incredible athletes and achievements of so many,’ LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover said in the statement. ‘We are grateful for the millions of people who have expressed interest in joining us in LA in 2028 where more of these stories and dreams will come to life.’

So how can you score 2028 Olympics tickets in Los Angeles? Here’s everything you need to know:

How do I register for the 2028 Olympic ticket draw?

Fans can enter the ticket draw on the LA28 website. The registration period is open through March 18. Registered fans from select counties in Southern California and Oklahoma are eligible for the locals presale ahead of the first ticket drop.

How to buy tickets to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics

The only way to buy tickets is by entering the ticket draw. Fans who are selected will receive an email between March 31 and April 7 notifying them of a time slot for either the presale or any of the designated ticket drops.

Ticket availability and pricing will vary by sport, session and venue, according to LA28.

Keep in mind that registering for tickets doesn’t necessarily guarantee a selection in the draw. As mentioned above, LA28 announced Monday that over five million people have entered the draw and are seeing an average of 100,000 new registrations per day. Fans from all 50 states have registered, so have people across 194 countries and six continents, per the press release.

How the ticket draw works: a timeline

After the ticket draw closes on March 18, registered fans will receive an email between March 31 and April 7 notifying them whether they received a timeslot for either the designated drop or the presale.

The locals presale will be open to registered fans in eligible zip codes in Southern California (Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties) and Oklahoma City (Oklahoma, Canadian and Cleveland counties) from April 2-6. Locals get the first chance to score tickets starting at $28 ahead of the general public.

The first ticket drop is slated for April 9-19, with subsequent drops to be announced closer to 2028.

Barcelona turned down a €250 million offer from Paris Saint-Germain for Lamine Yamal when he was 17, according to former club president Joan Laporta.

Yamal, who is now 18, has already established himself as one of the world’s best players, finishing second in the Ballon d’Or voting for 2025.

After breaking out for Barcelona in the 2023-24 season, Yamal helped Spain defeat England in the Euro 2024 final just one day after he turned 17.

In the aftermath of the teenager’s breakout year, Laporta has claimed that the French giants prepared a massive offer for the winger.

Yamal went on to sign a massive contract extension with FC Barcelona in May 2025, securing his future at the club through 2031.

Laporta had previously claimed that Barça received a €250m offer for Yamal, but didn’t name the bidding club.

After Laporta’s advisor Enric Masip suggested PSG was indeed the bidding club, the French side denied that it had lodged an offer, telling L’Equipe that it couldn’t afford such a move.

Laporta served as Barcelona’s president from 2021 until his resignation this month, marking the end of his second term in the position. The 63-year-old is standing for reelection on March 15 and is considered the favorite to win another term.

Duke and Arizona looked like the teams to beat in the upcoming men’s NCAA Tournament after taking down No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 Houston, respectively, on Feb. 21.

The No. 3 Blue Devils beat the Wolverines 68-63 behind Cameron Boozer’s 18-point, 10-rebound and seven-assist performance. Guards Isaiah Evans and Caleb Foster added 26 combined points in the win.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats defeated the Cougars 73-66 behind a career-high 22 points from Anthony Dell’Orso, who played 34 minutes off the bench for the national championship contenders.

There will be a shakeup in the polls on Feb. 23, as No. 6 Iowa State fell to No. 22 BYU and No. 12 Kansas was upset by unranked Cincinnati. No. 18 Vanderbilt also lost to unranked Tennessee.

Here’s a look at the latest risers and fallers for March Madness as the regular season winds down:

March Madness bracket predictions

Risers

Duke

• Projected seed: No. 1

Duke still has remaining games against Notre Dame, Virginia, NC State and UNC in the regular season.

Arizona

• Projected seed: No. 1

Arizona is back to being a contender for the No. 1 overall seed, along with Duke.

Florida

• Projected seed: No. 2

Florida’s frontcourt trio of Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu might be the best in college basketball and starting guards Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee are also heating up, which could be scary for opposing teams facing the reigning national champions.

UCLA

• Projected seed: First Four Out

UCLA coach Mick Cronin went viral for the wrong reasons after its blowout loss to Michigan State on Feb. 17. However, the Bruins turned around and defeated No. 10 Illinois 95-94 at home on Feb. 21, which is a huge boost to their resume.

UCLA still has some work to do but holds an 18-9 record with ranked wins over Purdue and Illinois, two of the top projected teams in March Madness.

Fallers

Houston

• Projected seed: No. 2

Houston is coming off back-to-back losses to Iowa State and Arizona and appears to have fallen behind both schools in the Big 12’s pecking order. While the Cougars are still national championship contenders, they have some work to do to get back onto the No. 1 seed line.

Kansas

• Projected seed: No. 3

Kansas was blown out by Iowa State on Feb. 14, before defeating Oklahoma State on Feb. 18 with limited help from star guard Darryn Peterson. The Jayhawks then suffered perhaps their worst loss of the season on Feb. 21, falling to unranked Cincinnati by 16 points at home.

Thankfully for Kansas, Peterson played 32 minutes in the loss after pulling himself from the game against the Cowboys.

Vanderbilt

• Projected seed: No. 5

Vanderbilt, losers of three of its past five games, is quickly falling out of contention to be the higher seed for the Round of 32, should it reach that stage of the NCAA Tournament.

The Commodores have dropped back-to-back games to Missouri and Tennessee, who are looking to surpass Vanderbilt in the SEC order. The losses were only by five combined points, though, showing how slim the margins can be between winning and losing.

Vandy ends the regular season with games against Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee again, which could all go either way.

Clemson

• Projected seed: No. 9

Clemson was looking to compete with North Carolina to finish second in the ACC standings, until its current four-game losing streak started. The Tigers are 20-8 on the season, but have lost four straight, including three against unranked teams in Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Florida State.

The Tigers have upcoming games against Louisville and North Carolina, two ranked teams. Things could get ugly quick if they can’t win at least one of those two games, in terms of seeding and even avoiding the bubble.

When is Selection Sunday 2026?

The 68-team bracket for the 2026 NCAA men’s basketball tournament will be unveiled on 6 p.m. ET, Sunday, March 15.

March Madness 2026 schedule 

The 2026 NCAA men’s basketball tournament will transpire over the next three weeks, which will end with the Final Four and the national championship game in Indianapolis.

Here’s a rundown of the schedule for the 2026 NCAA Tournament:

• First Four: March 17-18 (Buy tickets)
• First round: March 19-20
• Second round: March 21-22
• Sweet 16: March 26-27
• Elite Eight: March 28-29
• Final Four: April 4 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis (Buy tickets)
• National championship game: April 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis (Buy tickets)

Haylee Young, one of the most decorated gymnasts in Iowa State history and a former member of the coaching staff, pushed back against Cyclones athletic director Jamie Pollard’s comments regarding issues within the program that led to the cancellation of the remainder of the season.

Young, who qualified for the NCAA Championships in 2017 and collected a pair of Big 12 Conference titles during her career and was a member of the coaching staff until 2025, criticized Pollard in a statement provided to The Des Moines Register on Feb. 23.

Pollard had issued his own statement on Feb. 17 to gymnasts and their families citing “unreconcilable differences” between athletes, coaches and parents. Pollard also shared conflicts within the program were not new and “comparable challenges have occurred multiple times in our program’s history.”

Young addressed that topic in her statement.

“If similar challenges have occurred previously, it is fair to ask what steps Athletics Department leadership has taken to ensure future teams are not placed in the same position,” Young wrote.

“To suggest a longstanding pattern without clear context risks mischaracterizing the experiences of those who built and sustained this program’s reputation. Jamie Pollard’s comments in the recent letter were extremely discouraging to all of those who have labored and competed for, nurtured and supported the Cyclone Gymnastics Legacy. The sport is not the catalyst of the culture, as his statement appears to imply.”

Iowa State announced the cancellation of the remainder of the season on Feb. 8. The school cited the health, safety and overall welfare of student-athletes in a news release announcing the decision. It came three days after Iowa State canceled its Feb. 6 home meet against West Virginia.

Cyclones coach Ashley Miles Greig said in a statement at the time the team did not have enough athletes available to safely field a team against West Virginia.

Young wrote when she left the program following the 2025 season, she offered “constructive recommendations” for the program. In her statement Monday, Young criticized the school’s support of the program, writing that “facility conditions warrant acknowledgement.”

Former associate head coach Ryan Snider and former director of operations Tory Cohen also left the program following the 2025 season. Miles Greig began the 2026 season with an all-new staff consisting of assistants Jazmyn Estrella, Ragan Smith and Mary Wise.

Young wrote there is no air conditioning in the practice facility and no trampolines beneath the pits, amenities Young said are common in modern facilities. Some gymnastics facilities have foam pits with trampoline bottoms for shock absorption to reduce injury risk.

Young added the pits were built by a local gymnastics club that uses the facility at night and equipment budgets have been limited, making it difficult to make updates when needed.

“These are objective realities,” Young wrote. “When evaluating outcomes and expectations, training environment and infrastructure should be part of a broader conversation.”  

Pollard’s recent statement acknowledged concerns about the future of the program but did not indicate what was next for the school. Alumni, including Young, have been speaking out, trying to get answers while publicly supporting the program.

“Alumni have supported this program across coaching eras because of deep pride in Iowa State University and the belief in what this program represents,” Young wrote. “The support has been consistent regardless of leadership changes. The same level of institutional support should be evident in ensuring that Iowa State Gymnastics is positioned for sustainable success at the highest level.”

Nick Joos, Iowa State’s senior associate athletics director for communications, declined to comment on Young’s statement.

Note to self: Be patient.

That was Feb. 21, 2016.

Ten years later — not almost 10 years later … exactly 10 years later — Rondale Moore died. A suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the New Albany (Ind.) Police Department. He was 25.

For people all over Indiana, that news — it broke Saturday night and spread across social media, becoming one of Twitter’s most-discussed topics in the country — was stunning, tragic. Moore grew up in New Albany and while he graduated from Trinity High in Louisville, he played as a sophomore on New Albany’s Class 2016 state championship basketball team.

A teammate on that championship team, one of his best friends — a teammate on youth football and basketball teams, and a neighbor who lived five houses down the street — was future Boston Celtics lottery pick Romeo Langford.

In 2018 Moore arrived as a freshman receiver on the Purdue football team, and needed exactly one game to set a team record for all-purpose yards in a game. As a true freshman he was a first-team All-American and the winner of the 2018 Paul Hornung Award, given to the most versatile player in the country. Two years later Moore entered the 2021 NFL Draft and was selected in the second round by the Arizona Cardinals with the 49^th overall pick.

Moore was quiet, reserved. Shy, you could call him. He didn’t enjoy talking with reporters, and not because he was surly. He just knew reporters were going to ask him about a topic he’d prefer not to discuss: Rondale Moore. He had greatness and he had humility, a winning combination in any walk of life. Before the first game of his sophomore 2019 season, I went to a Purdue practice to ask Moore about his next step at Purdue — and to ask, essentially, if it was fair for anyone to expect him to put up better numbers.

Moore recast the question, turning it away from himself. It’s what he did.

“There is no ‘next step,’ personally,” he said. “It’s what I can do to help this team win, and help guys get better. Get into a better bowl game. Compete for a national championship. That’s the next step for all of us.”

He continued.

“As far as putting up ‘better numbers,’” he said, “that doesn’t define me as a football player. It’s how I can work and how I’m treating my teammates. That’s something I value more so than myself.”

Moore was an old soul, 19 going on forever, the world laid out before him like a red carpet, but sometimes that carpet bunches up, snags your feet, knocks you down.

Moore’s time in the NFL, like his time at Purdue, was frontloaded with success. Moore missed most of that sophomore 2019 season at Purdue with a pulled hamstring, then missed three games of the COVID-shortened 2020 college football season with another hamstring injury. In the NFL, his best season was his first — 54 catches, 435 yards in 2021 — but he missed 12 games in 2022 with hamstring and groin injuries, and wasn’t as effective in 2023 (40 catches, 352 yards).

Moore was traded to Atlanta for the 2024 season, but missed it with a knee injury. He signed with Minnesota for the 2025 season, but missed it with another knee injury.

Moore wasn’t in the news again until Saturday — Feb. 21, 2026 — when his body was discovered inside a garage in New Albany, Indiana. He was taken to the Floyd County coroner.

He left behind so much shock and sadness, and that same message pinned to the top of his Twitter page:

Note to self: Be patient.

Find IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel onThreads, or onBlueSky and Twitter at @GreggDoyelStar, or at www.facebook.com/greggdoyelstar. Subscribe to the free weekly Doyel on Demand newsletter.