Patriots QB Drake Maye misses practice with illness, the latest hiccup to Super Bowl preparations

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is dealing with an illness and did not practice on Friday, the latest wrinkle in the quarterback's preparations forthe Super Bowlmatchup with the Seattle Seahawks.

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Coach Mike Vrabel confirmed Maye sat out after he was not spotted during the limited period at the beginning of workouts that is open to reporters. It came a day after Maye was alimited participant in practicewith a shoulder injury. Vrabel said both issues kept of him off the field Friday.

Maye was at the team facility, however, and able to participate in team meetings. The coach said Maye responded "favorable" after Thursday's practice in which he did some throwing and would have practiced Friday if not for the illness.

Vrabel reiterated that he isn't concerned about Maye's availability going forward.

"Nope. We've had a lot of guys over the last month or six weeks with illness," Vrabel said. "Again, trying to do what's best for the player and the team. And try to take care of guys (and) don't spread things. But we've worked with this here for the past six weeks."

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Friday was the team's final practice in Massachusetts before heading toSanta Clara, California,for the start of Super Bowl week.

Maye said Thursday that his focus was on being ready to go in time forthe Super Bowl.

"I'm feeling good and looking forward to being ready to go," Maye said. "This is the game you dream of playing, so looking forward to getting out there and playing in the Super Bowl."

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

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in Celebrities, Lifestyle, SHOWBIZ, Spoprts

January 30, 2026

Patriots QB Drake Maye misses practice with illness, the latest hiccup to Super Bowl preparations

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is dealing with an illness and did not practice on F...

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Justin Rose breaks out to 4-shot Farmers lead; Brooks Koepka makes cut

Justin Rose will carry a four-stroke lead into the weekend at the Farmers Insurance Open after posting a stellar 7-under-par 65 on Friday in San Diego.

Rose broke his own 36-hole record at the tournament by two shots at 17-under 127. After opening with a 62 on Torrey Pines' North Course, he recorded the round of the day at the more challenging South Course with an eagle, six birdies and just one bogey.

The 45-year-old Englishman is continuing a career renaissance after he went to a playoff with Rory McIlroy at the 2025 Masters and won a FedEx Cup playoff event later that season.

"I feel like in my career I've won on tough golf courses generally, so that's my M.O., I would say," Rose said. "It's the kind of a place I enjoy. It's one of my favorite tournaments on Tour just the whole area, the whole atmosphere, the whole vibe."

Irishman Seamus Power is alone in second at 13 under. After shooting the only 65 at the South Course on Thursday, he settled for a 66 at the North Course in the second round.

Joel Dahmen (63, North Course) and Max McGreevy (67, North Course) are tied for third at 11 under, and Si Woo Kim of South Korea (66, North Course) rounds out the top five at 10 under.

Everyone in the field played one round at each course, and those who made the 36-hole cut will spend the weekend on the South Course.

Rose recorded his eagle at the par-5 sixth hole after he landed his second shot inside 8 feet of the pin. He also ended his round with back-to-back birdies.

"Yeah, that was two special rounds of golf," Rose said. "Today probably even more so just given it's hard to often follow up a low one. Obviously this week you kind of go from the easy course to the tough course, but it was really kind of cool to keep momentum up out there."

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Power made easy work of the North Course and rolled in a long eagle putt at the par-5 ninth to finish his round.

"As well as I scored (Thursday), it was more the putter and I knew I was a little off with the long game," Power said. "So I was able to get that figured out after the round yesterday, so it felt much, much better long-game wise and the putter obviously was still there. So feeling really good going into (Saturday)."

Brooks Koepka made the cut on the number at 3 under par in his first tournament back on the PGA Tour following nearly four years with LIV Golf. Koepka, like many, struggled on the South Course on Thursday but hit his stride on Friday with a 4-under 68 on the North Course, sinking an eagle putt at the par-5 17th.

"I think (Thursday) I was excited to play, nervous, and kind of didn't know what to expect, but today felt more normal, I guess," Koepka said.

"But yeah, I mean, don't get me wrong, I definitely still got antsy, but I guess maybe a little bit of nerves, just trying to figure it out and test -- see where my game's at too, right? I feel like I'm playing really well. It's just been a long layoff."

Not everyone was as fortunate. Xander Schauffele's consecutive cuts streak of 72 -- the longest active on tour -- came to an end as he finished 2 under for the week. He only managed a 69 at the North Course and missed a birdie putt to qualify on the number on his final hole, the par-5 ninth.

"It's going to be nice to have the weekend off," Schauffele quipped. "Going to go home and relax and regroup."

Other big names who have the weekend off include Patrick Cantlay (2 under), Gary Woodland (1 under), Will Zalatoris (1 under), J.J. Spaun (even), Max Homa (1 over) and Sweden's Ludvig Aberg (6 over). Max Greyserman, who began the day one shot off the lead, followed his opening 64 with a disastrous 78 at the South Course to miss the cut by a shot.

--Field Level Media

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in Celebrities, Lifestyle, SHOWBIZ, Spoprts

January 30, 2026

Justin Rose breaks out to 4-shot Farmers lead; Brooks Koepka makes cut

Justin Rose will carry a four-stroke lead into the weekend at the Farmers Insurance Open after posting a stellar 7-und...

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Lakers' Luka Dončić records triple-double in first half during blowout 142-111 win over Wizards

The Washington Wizards likely would've preferred for Luka Dončić to sit out Friday's game to give his sore left ankle a rest.

Instead, the Los Angeles Lakers' star played against the Wizards after being listed as questionable earlier in the day on the NBA's injury report due to left ankle soreness. And he was explosive from the game's opening tip ofa 142-111 win.

Luka Dončić DOMINATED tonight!🔥 37 PTS (26 in 1H)🔥 11 REB🔥 13 AST🔥 6 3PM🔥 LAL WHe joins LeBron James as the only players in Lakers franchise history to tally a 35-PT triple-double with 5+ 3PM!pic.twitter.com/AyLHivMItW

— NBA (@NBA)January 31, 2026

Dončić scored 11 of the Lakers' first 20 points and assisted on two Deandre Ayton baskets on his way to finishing the first quarter with 17 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists as the Lakers scored 41 points in the opening 12 minutes.

By halftime, he already had a triple-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists as the Lakers went to the locker room with a 77-48 lead. Oh, and he only played 19 minutes in the first half.

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Luka posed BEFORE the finish 😎pic.twitter.com/40CgLRvhQj

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers)January 31, 2026

Demonstrating that it was simply his night, Dončić posed after making a lob pass to Jaxson Hayes (before Hayes even finished the dunk) and banked in a 3-pointer for the Lakers' final score of the second quarter. Lakers coach JJ Redick wasn't too impressed by the bank shot during his halftime interview, however.

"Sometimes, he gets bored. So it did not surprise me,"Redick saidon the Spectrum SportsNet broadcast. "He did not call it, though."

"Sometimes he gets bored. So it did not surprise me. He did not call it though."JJ Redick on if Luka called "bank" on making that shot in front of the Lakers benchpic.twitter.com/bJU5dGwCBk

— 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐩𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅 🏆 (@PurpGolded)January 31, 2026

Dončić insisted after the game that he intended to bank the shot in, however.

He hrottled down in the second half, sitting out the entire fourth quarter with the Lakers holding a big lead. Dončić finished with 37 points, 11 rebounds, 13 assists and 3 steals. The NBA's leading scorer has tallied 30 points or more in seven of his past 10 games.

Like father, like son 🔥pic.twitter.com/ieCuQ5n5zW

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN)January 31, 2026

By the end of the game, it was Bronny James who entertained the fans at Capital One Arena with a breakway dunk from a steal by Jake LaRivia.

Prior to that, LeBron James gave the fans a highlight with a reverse dunk on a lob pass from Marcus Smart.

This never gets old! 😄pic.twitter.com/cXPTxpsRBl

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN)January 31, 2026

The elder James scored 20 points, while Bronny tallied four. Ayton added 28 points (his second-highest total of the season) with 13 rebounds, while Rui Hachimura provided 11 points off the bench.

[Get more Lakers news: Los Angeles team feed]

The Lakers have won of five of their past seven games and improved to 29-18 as they wrestle with the Phoenix Suns forthe No. 6 spot in the Western Conference. Los Angeles continues its eight-game road trip with a Sunday primetime matchup against the New York Knicks.

For the Wizards (12-35), Malaki Branham scored a team-high 17 points. Alex Sarr followed with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, while Kyshawn George and Bub Carrington each scored 13 points. Washington next hosts the equally struggling Sacramento Kings (12-37) on Sunday.

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January 30, 2026

Lakers' Luka Dončić records triple-double in first half during blowout 142-111 win over Wizards

The Washington Wizards likely would've preferred for Luka Dončić to sit out Friday's game to give his sore left a...

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Lydia Ko, Lottie Woad tied for lead at Tournament of Champions

An LPGA Hall of Famer and a 22-year-old phenom shared the 36-hole lead at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions on Friday in Orlando, Fla.

Lydia Ko, the three-time major champion from New Zealand, fired a 5-under-par 67 at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club to move to 8 under for the tournament. Lottie Woad built on her opening-round 67 with a 69, moving the Englishwoman to 8 under as well.

They're one stroke ahead of South Korea's Amy Yang (69) and Japan's Nasa Hataoka (71), the latter of whom was the first-round leader.

Thirty-nine players were invited to the season opener, a 72-hole event without a cut. They are playing alongside 44 amateurs contesting a separate competition with a Modified Stableford scoring format. Former Major League Baseball outfielder Aaron Hicks posted a round of 43 Friday to move past tennis player Mardy Fish for a two-point lead, with a two-day score of 78.

Ko is bogey-free through 36 holes at her "home course" in Orlando. She scrambled for five birdies and 13 pars Friday despite missing half the 14 fairways and six of 18 greens in regulation.

"I would never say this golf course is easy," Ko said. "Obviously we play mixed tees. We tee off some of the black tees and the white tees and the blue tees.

"I think this golf course changes a lot depending on how the conditions are. In May, actually, it actually plays hard because it's so soft because of that time of the year.

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"The greens (are) the biggest change, I think, between a day-to-day time that I play out here and when it's tournament-ready. The superintendents do an unbelievable job making the greens as pristine as possible and as fast as possible."

Woad (four birdies, one bogey) felt she could have played better, but her position is buoyed by her first-round score.

"I looked at the leaderboard quite a lot today because I was getting annoyed," Woad said. "Seemed like there weren't that many low scores out there, so kind of knew I was still in it. The pins were probably a little trickier, so weren't as many birdies as yesterday, so I just got to keep giving myself chances is all I could do."

Woad won the Women's Irish Open last July as an amateur, then captured the Women's Scottish Open in her professional debut three weeks later.

Nelly Korda knows something about being a promising young talent. The current World No. 2 and former No. 1 is in the mix, three shots off the pace at 5 under following a 71.

Korda hasn't won an event since November 2024.

"I think the weather is going to get a little worse, so I'm going to go to the putting green, go to the range because wasn't hitting it the best today," Korda said. "Just going to figure some things out ahead of the weekend."

--Field Level Media

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January 30, 2026

Lydia Ko, Lottie Woad tied for lead at Tournament of Champions

An LPGA Hall of Famer and a 22-year-old phenom shared the 36-hole lead at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Cha...

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Greg Biffle plane crash: NTSB report indicates Biffle wasn't flying plane, co-pilot 'was not qualified' to fly the Cessna Citation 550

The National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary report intothe plane crash that killed former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, his family and three others determined that Biffle was not flying the plane owned by his GB Aviation Leasing LLC company when it crashed on Dec. 18.

Per the report released Friday, the plane was flown by Dennis Dutton, a pilot certified to operate numerous commercial aircraft, with his son Jack, in the right cockpit seat. Biffle, a licensed pilot with "civil flight experience that included over 3,500 hours of flight time," was seated behind the two and is identified as the rear passenger in the report.

However, neither Biffle nor Jack Dutton were licensed to fly the Cessna Citation. The report notes that Dennis Dutton was licensed to fly the Citation with a second-in-command on board, and even though Jack Dutton was a pilot himself he "was not qualified to perform second in command duties for the flight," according to the NTSB, as he had just over 175 hours of single-engine aircraft experience.

Aero Consulting Experts CEO Ross Aimer told Yahoo Sports that Jack Dutton's lack of qualification was "troublesome" and said the plane required two pilots.

"In this particular case, because it requires two pilots, and neither of those — Biffle or the young man — were qualified, they should have had a licensed pilot in that seat," Aimer said.

Biffle, his wife Cristina, their son Ryder, Biffle's daughter Emma, Dennis and Jack Dutton and Craig Wadsworth were aboard the plane as it attempted to land at Statesville (North Carolina) Regional Airport shortly after taking off from the same airport. They were flying to Sarasota, Florida.

The Cessna Citation 550 is a dual-engine aircraft, and the report states that issues with the plane started before the flight began. Here are the key takeaways from the NTSB's findings.

• The left engine initially did not start before both engines were powered on at approximately 9:53 a.m. ET. As the plane was taxiing for takeoff "the pilot and the two pilot-rated passengers discussed that a thrust reverser indicator light(s) for an unspecified engine was inoperative, but that the thrust reverser for the affected engine was working properly."
  

• The plane took off at approximately 10:06 a.m. "During takeoff roll, the rear passenger commented that the left engine was producing more power than the right and indicated there may have been a faulty gauge. The pilot continued the takeoff." The report states that it was overcast at approximately 5,000 feet for the entirety of the flight, though visibility dropped from 10 miles to five miles from 9:54 to 10:15.
  

• Early GPS data shows that the plane turned left as it climbed and that Dennis Dutton said he'd fly under visual flight rules before he was cleared to fly under instrument flight rules. After a 180-degree turn and reached 2,200 feet, it "continued to turn left and began to descend. The right-seat passenger attempted to contact" air traffic control "and activate the flight's IFR flight plan between 10:08 and 10:10 but was unsuccessful due to the controller's workload and associated radio communications.
  

• At 10:09, Dennis Dutton and Biffle discussed climbing higher even though they were supposed to continue flying under visual flight rules. The report states that "the pilot initiated a climb, and shortly after, the rear passenger noted a difference between the left and right engine interstage turbine temperature indications." There were no other discussions that covered the instruments throughout the remainder of the [cockpit voice recorder] recording" and the autopilot disengaged — either intentionally or independently — just after 10:10.
  

• Seconds later, "the cockpit area microphone captured the pilot making remarks indicating his altitude indicator was not working properly and that additional left side flight instruments may not have been working properly." The Garmin GPS on board had stopped recording airspeed data and heading data at around that time.
  

• At 10:11 "airplane controls was transferred to the right seat passenger, at an altitude of about 4,500 ft msl." At 10:13, the plane was at just under 1,900 feet and that all three said they could see the ground. "Although a positive transfer of airplane control was not recorded, subsequent communication between the pilot and right seat passenger was consistent with the pilot having resumed control of the airplane at that time." At just after 10:13, the pilot turned the plane right towards the west and requested that the landing gear be extended. "Subsequent discussions were consistent with the landing gear being configured, however, the gear indicator lights were not illuminated."
  

• Jack Dutton noted just before 10:14 on the common traffic advisory frequency that they were "having some issues here." Biffle references power to an alternator — the Cessna Citation 550 does not have an alternator. After a brief audio quality issue with the cockpit voice recorder, Dennis Dutton is heard saying there was a "problem" but did not specify what the problem was "or what actions were taken to correct it."
  

• The GPS data resumed recording just after 10:14 and Dennis Dutton "made comments which indicated he had acquired the runway visually" around 10:15. Data from the GPS "showed that the airplane's airspeed and altitude continued to decrease from the time the airplane was aligned on final approach to the runway until 10:15:18" when the airplane's altitude had dipped below 1,000 feet and under 99 KTS.
  

• The plane hit a light station approximately 1,400 feet from the runway threshold and "a group of damaged trees located about 235 feet" from that light station "were sheared about 12 feet above ground level. "The first indication of fire was blackened branches and grass near the west side of the trees."
  

• "A ground impression was observed about 350 feet from the [light station], near the airport perimeter fence, and extended through the [runway lights]. The debris path continued along a westerly heading through the runway overrun to where the main wreckage came to rest on the runway blast area about 400 feet short of the runway 28 threshold." "Heavy charring" was seen from a second set of lights "and continued along the remaining length of the debris field to the wreckage."
  

• The engines remained attached to the plane after it came to a stop and both thrust reversers were in the stowed position. Investigators found "no evidence of unconfined engine failure with either engine. Examination of the cockpit throttle quadrant found both thrust levers to be in the full forward position and both reverse throttle levers in the down position, consistent with being stowed."
  

Biffle competed for 16 full or part-time seasons in NASCAR's Cup Series from 2002 through 2022. He raced full-time in the Cup Series from 2003 through 2016 and scored 19 wins and 92 top-five finishes over 515 career starts.

His best season came in 2005, when he finished second to Tony Stewart in the points standings. Biffle's six wins were the most of anyone in the Cup Series that season and his average finish of 11.9 was second only to Stewart.

Biffle is one of just two drivers to have won both a championship in the third-tier NASCAR Truck Series and the second-tier NASCAR Xfinity Series.

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January 30, 2026

Greg Biffle plane crash: NTSB report indicates Biffle wasn't flying plane, co-pilot 'was not qualified' to fly the Cessna Citation 550

The National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary report intothe plane crash that killed former NASCAR driver Gr...

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Nets guard Egor Demin sets NBA rookie record with a 3-pointer in 34th straight game

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Brooklyn Nets guard Egor Demin made a 3-pointer in an NBA rookie-record 34th straight game on Friday night against the Utah Jazz.

Magic Nets Basketball

Demin set the record on the first basket for the Nets. He was 3 for 5 from long distance in the first quarter, scoring 11 points.

Demin entered Friday's game tied with Portland's Rudy Fernandez (2008-09) and Philadelphia's Landry Shamet (2018-19).

Drafted 8th overall out of BYU last year, Demin entered Friday's game with 98 3-pointers this season, ranking second behind Charlotte's Kon Kneuppel among NBA rookies. He has made the second-most 3s through 40 career games in NBA history, trailing only Kneuppel, and has shot 39.7% from long distance in that stretch.

Extra hours spent on refining his shooting helped him become a reliable perimeter threat.

"Shooting the ball," Demin said ahead of Friday's game against the Jazz. "As simple as it is, just being in the gym and shooting the ball."

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The milestone represents a major leap forward from Demin's one season at BYU where he shot just 27.3% from the perimeter. While Demin struggled to find his shot at times while playing in Provo, he credited BYU coach Kevin Young with helping him find success as a rookie.

"He's an NBA coach, so he taught me — in this one year — basically whatever I have to know to be able to play at the NBA level," Demin said. "He gave us a lot of knowledge so that I come here and I'm ready to play and I know what we're doing and I have an idea of what it is. He gave me this base of an NBA player to be able to come here and know what's going on around me."

Demin has another record withing reach. He has made the second-most 3s for a rookie in Nets' history, trailing only Kerry Kittles' 158 3-pointers in the 1996-97 season.

This season, Demin has set Nets rookie records for the most 3-pointers in a game (seven) and most games with five or more 3s (six).

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

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January 30, 2026

Nets guard Egor Demin sets NBA rookie record with a 3-pointer in 34th straight game

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Brooklyn Nets guard Egor Demin made a 3-pointer in an NBA rookie-record 34th straight game on Frida...

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NFL salary cap to crest $300 million in 2026

NFL teams are expected to have a little extra spending cash for their rosters during the 2026 season.

The NFL informed its clubs on Jan. 30 that the league's salary cap is expected to increase to between $301.2 million and $305.7 million per team in 2026, according to a person with knowledge of the announcement. The person spoke to USA TODAY on the condition of anonymity because the numbers were not yet official.

If finalized, the increase would be up to $26.5 million higher than the $279.2 million teams could work with under the 2025 cap.

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NFL Network reporterTom Pelisserofirst reported the news. Pelissero reported that the exact number would be finalized before free agency opens on March 11.

Super Bowl VII ring: The Miami Dolphins beat Washington, 14-7, on Jan. 14, 1973.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Super Bowl XVII ring: Washington defeated the Miami Dolphins, 27-17, on Jan. 30, 1983.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Super Bowl XVIII ring: The Los Angeles Raiders beat Washington, 38-9, on Jan. 22, 1984.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Super Bowl XXII ring: Washington defeated the Denver Broncos, 42-10, on Jan. 31, 1988.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Super Bowl XXVI ring: Washington beat the Buffalo Bills, 37-24, on Jan. 26, 1992.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

Super Bowl rings through the years

Since thesalary cap's inception in 1994, it has steadily risen from $34 million, topping $100 million in 2006 and $200 million in 2022.

Contributing: USA TODAY NFL reporter Tyler Dragon

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:NFL 2026 salary cap to exceed $300 million per team

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January 30, 2026

NFL salary cap to crest $300 million in 2026

NFL teams are expected to have a little extra spending cash for their rosters during the 2026 season. ...

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