Simone Biles offers support to Ilia Malinin: 'I’ve been through that'

If there's an American Olympic athlete who can relate to whatIlia Malininwent through on Friday, Feb. 13, it would be Simone Biles.

Malinin — nicknamed "The Quad God" — entered the2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympicsas the favorite in the men's figure skating competition — he was a two-time reigning world champion and four-time U.S. national champion. But, there's a different level of pressure to perform on the Olympic stage.Malinin's long program turned into a nightmare, and the skater finished outside of the medals in eighth place.

At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Biles — a seven-time Olympic gold medalist — entered those Games with expectations to win five gold medals, onlyto struggle with the "twisties" andwithdraw from some events. She went home withsilver (team event)andbronze (balance beam)medals.

Biles was in attendanceat Milano Ice Skating Arena for Malinin's disappointing long program on Feb. 13, after whichMalinin admitted that he "was not ready to handle"the Olympic pressure.

In the aftermath of Malinin's upsetting performance, Biles was among a number ofnotable athletes who reached out to him, and the two spoke on Tuesday, Feb. 17.

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"Just for someone to validate his feelings and to know we've gone through the same things, but you can still come out on top,"Biles told Olympics.com. "While I was telling him some of what I thought he might be going through or how to move forward from this, he was like, 'Exactly this. Exactly.' He was like, 'You finally just said it.'"

Ilia Malinin was the gold medal favorite entering the 2026 Winter Olympics but the self-proclaimed "Quad God" had a disastrous free skate performance, falling twice and suffering an epic meltdown on the sport's biggest stage.
See the critical moments in his troubled routine.

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Ilia Malinin falls apart, fails to medal in men's figure skating

Ilia Malininwas the gold medal favorite entering the2026 Winter Olympicsbut the self-proclaimed "Quad God" had a disastrous free skate performance, falling twice and suffering an epic meltdown on the sport's biggest stage.See the critical moments in his troubled routine.

Malinin had a seemingly comfortable five-point lead after the short program, butfell twice and did not fully complete other elementsof his difficult long program.

"I was really worried about how his mental health was going to be," Biles told Olympics.com. "When you're expected to skate a performance of your lifetime and you don't deliver, I worry how that affects his mental (health) and how the world is going to view that.

"I've been through that firsthand and so I really went into protection mode."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Simone Biles encourages Ilia Malinin after Olympics skating disaster

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February 17, 2026

Simone Biles offers support to Ilia Malinin: 'I’ve been through that'

If there's an American Olympic athlete who can relate to whatIlia Malininwent through on Friday, Feb. 13, it would be...

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South Africa wins the toss, sends UAE into bat at cricket's T20 World Cup

NEW DELHI (AP) — South Africa won the toss Wednesday and sent United Arab Emirates in to bat in their last group-stage game at cricket'sTwenty20 World Cup.

Unbeaten South Africa has already qualified for the next stage with three consecutive wins, including adouble-tiebreaker win over Afghanistanthat required two Super Overs.

The UAE bounced back from a big opening loss to New Zealand to edge Canada and then lose a close game to 2024 semifinalist Afghanistan.

The South Africans rested David Miller, frontline spinner Keshav Maharaj, Marco Jansen and Lungi Ngidi, who was voted player of the match in the thriller against Afghanistan.

For UAE, Druv Parashar and Muammad Farooq replaced Harshit Kaushik and Simranjeet Singh.

In matches later Wednesday, Pakistan will take on Namibia in Colombo with a spot in the Super 8s at stake, and co-hostIndia will finish off the Group Aprogram against Netherlands at Ahmedabad.

Lineups: South Africa: Aiden Markram (captain), Quinton de Kock, Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, Jason Smith, George Linde, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Kwena Maphaka

UAE: Aryansh Sharma, Muhammad Waseem (captain), Alishan Sharafu, Sohaib Khan, Harshit Kaushik, Muhammad Arfan, Dhruv Parashar, Muhammad Farooq, Haider Ali, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Jawadullah.

AP cricket:https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

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February 17, 2026

South Africa wins the toss, sends UAE into bat at cricket's T20 World Cup

NEW DELHI (AP) — South Africa won the toss Wednesday and sent United Arab Emirates in to bat in their last group-stage ga...

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Mark Cuban says the NBA should embrace tanking and criticizes recent punishments for teams

DALLAS (AP) —Mark Cubanwrote in a pair of lengthy posts on social media that theNBA should embrace tanking, and the minority owner of the Dallas Maverickscriticized the league for punishing teamsthat appear to be losing on purpose to improve their chances of landing a high pick in the draft.

Cuban's posts on X on Tuesday came three days after CommissionerAdam Silver said the NBA was considering changesto the draft lottery and the possibility of revoking picks.

When announcing a$500,000 fine last week for Utahafter the Jazz sat star players Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. in the fourth quarter of a loss to Orlando, Silver said the league "would respond accordingly to any further actions that compromise the integrity of our games."

The sharpest comments from Cuban amounted to a response to Silver's strong words.

"The worst that the NBA dishes out is that if you don't lie to your fans about what you are doing, even though it's obvious to them, you get fined," Cuban wrote. "And (they) threaten you with losing picks."

Indiana president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard, whose Pacers were fined $100,000 at the same time as the Jazz over roster management decisions,asked his fans in a postif they agreed with Cuban. Most did.

The Pacers reached the NBA Finals last season, losing to Oklahoma City. Their best player, Tyrese Haliburton, tore an Achilles tendon in Game 7, and the expectation was he would miss the entire 2025-26 season. Indiana lost 12 of its first 13 games and had a 13-game losing streak to drop to 6-31, but has a .500 record since then.

The Mavericks are in a similar situation a year after trading generational superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for a package centered around oft-injured big man Anthony Davis, just nine months after Dallas reached the NBA Finals.

Davis missed more games than he played for the Mavs before getting sent to Washington in a trade deadline deal this year. It was the final step in moving on from an ill-fated trade. The first was the November firing of general manager Nico Harrison, who orchestrated the Doncic deal.

Dallas converted just a 1.8% chance in the lottery for the rights to draft former Duke star Cooper Flagg first overall this past summer.

Flagg is now the future of the franchise, and the Mavs have to decide, presumably soon, whether Kyrie Irving will play at all this season. The nine-time All-Star tore an ACL last March, and the Mavs entered the All-Star break on a nine-game losing streak, their longest in 28 years.

While Cuban is no longer in a decision-making role after selling majority ownership of the Mavs,he was fined $600,000by the league when he was still in charge late in the 2022-23 season for admitting Dallas was tanking to try to protect a first-round pick. The Mavs ended up getting center Dereck Lively II, a promising talent who has been plagued by injuries.

With tanking a hot topic again, Cuban started his post with "Why the NBA should embrace tanking," and went on to say fans don't mind tanking because they want to have hope that the team can improve.

"Few can remember the score from the last game they saw or went to," Cuban wrote. "They can't remember the dunks or shots. What they remember is who they were with. Their family, friends, a date. That's what makes the experience special."

With that in mind, Cuban said, the league should focus more on affordability than the integrity issue that is at the heart of tanking.

"The NBA should worry more about fan experience than tanking," he wrote. "It should worry more about pricing fans out of games than tanking."

Though the Mavericks weren't accused of tanking in 2017-18, Cuban essentially wrote in his post that they did. Dallas finished with its worst record in 30 years at 24-58, but didn't get lucky in the lottery like this past year. The Mavs ended up with the fifth pick and had to trade up two spots to get Doncic.

"We didn't tank often," wrote Cuban, who also noted that current salary cap rules have made productive rookies even more valuable for winning rosters. "Only a few times over 23 years, but when we did, our fans appreciated it. And it got us to where we could improve, trade up to get Luka and improve our team."

AP NBA:https://apnews.com/NBA

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February 17, 2026

Mark Cuban says the NBA should embrace tanking and criticizes recent punishments for teams

DALLAS (AP) —Mark Cubanwrote in a pair of lengthy posts on social media that theNBA should embrace tanking, and the minor...

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Ex-Michigan coach Sherrone Moore granted evidentiary hearing to challenge validity of arrest after firing, scandal

Former Michigan football head coach Sherrone Moore is going to get an evidentiary hearing next month.

A judge granted Moore's motion for the hearing Tuesday, which will allow his lawyer to challenge the basis for his arrest in their quest to have the case thrown out,according to The Athletic. That hearing is currently set for March 2.

Moore's attorney argued in court Tuesday that a detective did not disclose that the alleged victim in the case had worked closely with him within the Michigan football program. That, his attorney argued, presented a one-sided picture that was used to establish probable cause for his arrest in the first place.

"Judge Simpson got it right in this motion, and due process matters," Moore's attorney Ellen Michaels said. "Coach Moore maintains his innocence, and the truth will come out."

Moore was fired in December and then arrested hours laterin a massive scandal. The university fired him for cause after it said he "engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member." He was eventually charged with third-degree home invasion, stalking, and breaking and entering. Officials said that Moore grabbed butter knives and kitchen scissors at the woman's house after he was fired and threatened to take his own life.

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In court Tuesday, Michaels argued that a detective told a court magistrate only that the alleged victim had been in a romantic relationship with Moore, not that the alleged victim also worked for the Michigan football program and needed to communicate with Moore regularly. That meant that repeated communication from Moore to the alleged victim, Michaels argued, may not actually constitute stalking.

Michigan reportedly received a tip in Octoberthat Moore had been in a relationship with the alleged victim, though they initially denied it. Officials then said that the woman broke up with Moore and came forward to the university in December to reveal the yearslong relationship.

Prosecutor Kati Rezmierski argued Tuesday that disclosing the working relationship would not have altered the underlying facts that justified Moore's arrest, per the report. Rezmierski cited messages that Moore sent after his firing, including allegedly, "I hate you," and "My blood is on your hands," as evidence of the stalking.

"On Dec. 10, as was sworn to by detective Welker, there is more than sufficient probable cause for the issuance of a warrant that includes stalking," Rezmierski said. "That's my position."

Moore had been Michigan's offensive coordinator under previous head coach Jim Harbaugh, though he was promoted to take over for Harbaugh before the 2024 season. He spent two seasons as the team's head coach. Michigan has since hired Kyle Whittingham as its next head coach.

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February 17, 2026

Ex-Michigan coach Sherrone Moore granted evidentiary hearing to challenge validity of arrest after firing, scandal

Former Michigan football head coach Sherrone Moore is going to get an evidentiary hearing next month. A judge ...

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Jeremy Fears Jr. leads No. 15 Michigan State to 82-59 win over UCLA

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) —Jeremy Fears Jr.had 16 points and 10 assists, leadingNo. 15 Michigan Stateto an 82-59 victory over UCLA on Tuesday night.

The Spartans (21-5, 11-4 Big Ten) bounced back with a strong performance after losing three of four games and falling five spots in theAP Top 25this week. Fears scored 11 in the first half to help MSU build a 20-point advantage.

The Bruins(17-9, 9-6) have lost two straight games after winning five of six.

UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau scored 22 points but didn't have much help. None of his teammates were in double figures until Skyy Clark made some late shots to finish with 12 points.

Fears made three 3-pointers in the first half and Michigan State took a 43-23 lead into the break. He finished with four 3s, a career high.

The Spartans were 8 of 14 from beyond the arc in the first half and finished with a season-high 14 3-pointers on 27 attempts.

Coen Carr scored 16 points for Michigan State, Carson Cooper had 12 and freshman Jordan Scott added 11. Jaxon Kohler provided nine points and 10 rebounds.

The Bruins were outscored by 28 points in the second half Saturday at No. 1 Michigan and lost by 30. Then they were routed again Tuesday in the same state.

UCLA center Steven Jamerson, a former Michigan State student, was called for a flagrant foul late in the game for fouling Cooper from behind on a dunk attempt. Bruins coach Mick Cronin then sent Jamerson to the locker room.

Bruins center Xavier Booker, who transferred from Michigan State last April, had two points and two rebounds in 25 minutes.

Up next

UCLA hosts No. 10 Illinois on Saturday.

Michigan State hosts Ohio State on Sunday.

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign uphereandhere(AP News mobile app). AP college basketball:https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-pollandhttps://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

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February 17, 2026

Jeremy Fears Jr. leads No. 15 Michigan State to 82-59 win over UCLA

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) —Jeremy Fears Jr.had 16 points and 10 assists, leadingNo. 15 Michigan Stateto an 82-59 victory o...

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Sac State goes to the MAC as conference realignment rages on

The college football landscape never stops moving, shifting and changing. The latest change is yet another drastic move of conference realignment. Sacramento State is leaving the FCS to join the FBS as they will now become a part of the MAC. Yes, the team in California is joining the Mid-American Conference. Ross Dellenger explains why Sac State is making this move and what other avenues they pursued. Andy Staples and Steven Godfrey join the conversation and react to this decision. The conversation evolves to the broader landscape of conference realignment. The guys discuss why so many of these drastic shifts are being made and what type of changes to the college football landscape they see coming in the future.

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Then, the guys dive into a couple of notable eligibility court cases. Trinidad Chambliss will be a Rebel for one more season after a judge in the Mississippi state court granted an injunction to give Chambliss one more season of eligibility. The guys compare s the Chambliss situation to other court cases of the past and they contrast it with the Joey Aguilar case in Tennessee. At the time of this recording, we have yet to get a ruling on Aguilar. Plus, the crew shares some of the very unique events that happened at the courthouse during the Chambliss ruling.

Later, Andy, Ross and Godfrey revisit a topic from the previous episode. Recently, a fan of Mr. Beast proposed the idea of Mr. Beast donating $100 million to East Carolina University to try to win them a National Championship. Andy was convinced that wouldn't do much, but Godfrey said he does not feel the same way. The crew discusses the feasibility of this, how small schools could make a big jump with a large cash infusion and what additional power ECU would have by having Mr. Beast behind them.

All of this and more on today's College Football Enquirer.

0:00:00 - Sac State to the MAC

14:31 - Where does conference realignment go from here?

24:44 - Trinidad Chambliss & Joey Aguilar eligibility cases

42:32 - Would a $100 million from Mr. Beast get ECU to the CFP?

🖥️Watchthis full episode on YouTube

Check out all episodes of theCollege Football Enquirerand the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family athttps://apple.co/3zEuTQjor atyahoosports.tv

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February 17, 2026

Sac State goes to the MAC as conference realignment rages on

The college football landscape never stops moving, shifting and changing. The latest change is yet another drastic move o...

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Elliot Cadeau scores 17 and No. 1 Michigan uses strong interior game to beat up No. 7 Purdue 91-80

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Elliot Cadeau scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half Tuesday night, and Aday Mara added 10 points and 11 rebounds to send No. 1 Michigan past No. 7 Purdue 91-80.

Michigan Purdue Basketball

Trey McKinney, Yaxel Lendeborg and L.J. Cason each had 13 points for the Wolverines, who won their 11th straight andtook a big steptoward capturing their first outright Big Ten regular-season title in five years.

The win came one day after Michigan (25-1, 15-1)moved into the nation's top spotfor the first time since January 2013.

It was the 7-foot-3 Mara's early tone-setting presencethat helped the Wolverines turn the tables on Purdue's usually dominant front line as two-time national player of the year Zach Edey watched from the second row. Mara made each of his first four shots on the way to a 10-point, eight-rebound first half. He spent most of the second half in foul trouble, finishing 4 of 6 from the field as Michigan had a 39-31 rebounding advantage.

Trey Kaufman-Renn scored a season high 27 points to lead Boilermakers on a night most of his teammates struggled. Braden Smith added 20 points as the Boilermakers (21-5, 11-4) had their four-game winning streak end. They now trail Michigan by 3 1/2 games in the league race.

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Michigan took control quickly by using an early 13-0 spurt to take a 23-10 lead. A 14-4 scoring flurry gave Michigan a comfortable 44-22 cushion with 4:23 left in the first half, forcing Purdue to futilely play catchup the rest of the night.

Up next

Michigan: Faces another stiff challenge against No. 3 Duke on Saturday in Washington.

Purdue: Hopes to even the season series against Indiana at home Friday night.

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign uphereandhere(AP mobile app). AP college basketball:https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-pollandhttps://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

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February 17, 2026

Elliot Cadeau scores 17 and No. 1 Michigan uses strong interior game to beat up No. 7 Purdue 91-80

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Elliot Cadeau scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half Tuesday night, and Aday Mara adde...

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