Midway through the second quarter on Sunday afternoon in Columbia, Raven Johnson sprung a trap. Matched up against Cotie McMahon in the corner, Johnson watched and waited while Ole Miss ran a pick-and-roll up top. Then, just as Kaitlin Peterson picked up her dribble and turned to throw the ball out to McMahon, Johson jumped into the passing lane for a steal and took the ball coast-to-coast for a layup. 

Johnson’s bucket put South Carolina ahead by 11, and the Gamecocks led by double digits the rest of the way en route to a dominant 85-48 win that secured the SEC regular season title for the fifth season in a row. Though Johnson only finished with six points in the victory — tied for the fifth-highest total for the Gamecocks — she showed why she deserves to be a first-round pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft. 

Johnson’s WNBA stock has fluctuated throughout her time in college. She helped the Gamecocks win the national championship as a redshirt junior in 2024, and drew rave reviews for her defense against Caitlin Clark in the title game. However, she was unable to build on that momentum last season, and after a disappointing campaign on a personal level, she decided to use her extra year of eligibility to return to school rather than turn pro. 

That proved to be a wise decision. Johnson has bounced back with the best season of her career: 9.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.7 steals on 48.7/35.2/84.1 shooting splits. Those aren’t gaudy numbers, and Johnson can still be inconsistent as a scorer, as we saw Sunday, but it’s everything else that’s going to make her a first-round pick. 

2026 WNBA Draft Big Board 1.0: Awa Fam and Olivia Miles stand alone in first tier, UCLA stars dominate top 10

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“I think that Raven Johnson does not get the credit that she should. I think she is the best point guard in the country,” Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said Sunday after Johnson’s excellent two-way performance, which included seven assists, three steals and just one turnover. 

Shutting down McMahon

Johnson is best known for her defense, so let’s start on that side of the ball. 

She spent most of Sunday shadowing McMahon, Ole Miss’s leading scorer and another potential first-round pick in this year’s WNBA draft. McMahon entered the game averaging 20.7 points, and was coming off 39- and 25-point performances. Her hot streak came to an abrupt end

Johnson helped hold McMahon to a season-low two points on 0 of 9 from the field. This was just the second time in McMahon’s career that she’s played at least 10 minutes and failed to make a shot, and her two points were tied for the third-fewest in her career. 

Johnson is only 5-foot-9, but she has a 6-foot-2 wingspan, which is a real benefit against bigger players like the 6-foot McMahon. Throughout the game, Johnson got right into McMahon’s space and prevented her from getting anything going off the dribble. 

Here, early in the third quarter, Johnson picks McMahon up fullcourt and forces her to give up the ball early. Because McMahon is only just inside the halfcourt line, her pass to the wing is longer than usual, which gives Ta’Niya Latson time to pick it off. Johnson doesn’t get any credit for this turnover in the box score, but she caused it. 

A few possessions later, McMahon doesn’t even try to bring the ball up the floor and throws it ahead instead. She gets it back near the top of the key, but Johnson’s pressure immediately forces her backwards, and then Johnson pokes the ball away for what should have been another turnover. 

“I thought our players did a great job, Raven especially,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said of her team’s job defending McMahon. “The first line of that defense was so hard, that took her vision down, that occupied her dribble. Raven’s the very best at it.”

Johnson’s ability to mirror McMahon’s movements and weave around screens also made it difficult for Ole Miss to get McMahon going off the ball. Here, in the second quarter, Johnson fights through traffic to get a deflection on a baseline out of bounds play and forces Ole Miss to take the ball out again in the deep corner. 

There is no better point of attack defender in this class than Johnson, and as the WNBA leans more into spacing and 3-point shooting over the coming years, that is going to become an even more valuable skill. 

“Unafraid of a challenge, is willing — she knows. Like, she knew she was gonna have to guard Cotie, she knew she was gonna have to guard Mikayla Blakes. She knows she’s gonna have to guard our opponents’ best perimeter [players], and sometimes small, power forwards,” Staley said of Johnson’s defensive impact. “We’re unafraid to switch if need be because we know Raven’s gonna give it her best shot at defending and making it difficult for people. I see it. I don’t think she gets credit enough for what she’s been doing over her career… She doesn’t have the numbers and the steals and the blocks that we look at… If you really look at what makes our team go defensively, it starts and ends with Raven.”

An improved playmaker

Johnson’s perimeter defense has never been a secret, but there have been questions about her offense. Though she is shooting a career-high 35.2% from 3-point range (on just 2.4 attempts per game), she still offers little as a scorer. Johnson has made real strides as a playmaker, though, and now looks much more like a viable point guard at the next level. 

She finished with seven assists against Ole Miss and easily could have been in double figures in that category if her teammates had helped her out. 

Johnson excels in transition, as we saw time and again Sunday. The weight of her passes were excellent and allowed her bigs to catch the ball in stride to either go up and finish or get fouled. This one in the third quarter to Alicia Tournebize stood out. 

She also showed that she could make high-level passes in the halfcourt, such as this backdoor feed to Tessa Johnson (which should have been converted) and this pocket pass to Madina Okot. 

Additionally, Johnson only had one turnover on Sunday. She’s averaging 1.6 this season and for her career has just 196 turnovers in 3,485 minutes over 143 games. One of the most impressive stats about Johnson’s ability to take care of the ball is that she has 42 games without a turnover, and she played 20-plus minutes in 26 of those contests. 

Would WNBA teams like to see more from Johnson offensively? Sure. In particular, can she become even more consistent from behind the arc to command attention when she doesn’t have the ball? But in an expanding league that’s already lacking point guard depth, Johnson’s ability to run an offense without making mistakes — combined with her elite defense — is going to be attractive to teams. 

“Raven Johnson is a winner,” Staley said after South Carolina defeated LSU earlier this month. “Like, look it up in the dictionary, look it up on your iPhones, Raven Johnson is a winner. She makes plays. Winning plays… She’s probably the one that I’ll miss the most out of all the players that I’ve coached.”

Ryan Garcia beat Mario Barrios handily in Las Vegas to become WBC Welterweight World champion. Devin Haney – perhaps Garcia’s biggest rival, certainly his most bitter – was watching closely.

Barrios had no answers for a dialled in Garcia, who dominated proceedings from start to finish with a knockdown in the first and very little to worry about through 12. The 27-year-old joins Lewis Crocker, Rolando Romero and Haney among the division’s titleholders.

Taking to X post-fight, Haney cast up the new titlist’s past failed doping test, unwilling to give him clean credit.

“Ryan off that good juice.”

Ryan off that good juice

— Devin Haney (@Realdevinhaney) February 22, 2026

Haney’s reaction stems from Garcia testing positive for Ostarine after their fight. Despite claiming innocence, what was initially an upset points win for Garcia was overturned to a no contest and he served a one-year doping ban.

A rematch between the pair now becomes a unification and thus more intriguing. Though the loss was scrubbed from Haney’s record, he was floored three times during the fight and will be keen to put up a better account of himself if they face off at welterweight – a more comfortable division for both, as evidence by Haney’s impressive win over Brian Norman Jr in November of last year to become the WBO champion.

Garcia, however, has another target higher on his list. Post-fight, he called out Shakur Stevenson, and the recently crowned four-weight world champion has made no secret he is keen on accepting. Stevenson then laid out two conditions: a 144lbs catchweight and Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency testing.

Four professional soccer matches in Mexico were postponed Sunday after violence flared near Guadalajara — one of the country’s host cities for the 2026 World Cup — in the wake of a military operation that left cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera, known as “El Mencho,” dead.

Liga MX officials removed two top-flight fixtures from the schedule — Querétaro’s matchup against Juárez FC in the men’s league and the women’s showdown between Chivas and América — and also called off two second-division contests amid security concerns.

The disruption followed operations earlier in the day in Tapalpa, Jalisco, roughly two hours southwest of Guadalajara. Mexican authorities said Oseguera, a former police officer who rose to lead the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), was killed during the operation.

In the aftermath, vehicles were set ablaze and highways were blocked across nearly a dozen Mexican states, according to officials.

MAJOR DRUG LORD ‘EL MENCHO’ KILLED IN MEXICAN MILITARY OPERATION WITH US INTELLIGENCE SUPPORT

Vehicles drive past a burning bus used as a roadblock by organized crime following a federal operation in which Mexican drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, commonly known as “El Mencho,” was killed. (Gabriel Trujillo/Reuters)

Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco state, is slated to stage four matches during the 2026 World Cup, including two involving South Korea. Mexico, Spain, Uruguay and Colombia are also scheduled to play at the venue.

Mexico’s national team remains set to host Iceland in a friendly Wednesday at Corregidora Stadium in Querétaro. As of Sunday, the Mexican soccer federation had not announced any changes to that match.

Not all sporting events were affected. Organizers of the Mexican Open in Acapulco said the ATP tournament would begin Monday at the GNP Arena as planned.

“The tournament’s operation continues as normal,” organizers of the tournament said in a statement.

Oseguera had carried a $15 million U.S. bounty and rose to prominence following the arrest of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, the former head of the Sinaloa Cartel. Over the past decade and a half, CJNG expanded from a regional criminal group into a global trafficking network operating across much of Mexico from its stronghold in Jalisco.

A burned vehicle used as a barricade by organized crime members, following a series of arrests by federal forces, lies in Guadalajara, Mexico. (Michelle Freyria/Reuters)

“I’ve just been informed that Mexican security forces have killed ‘El Mencho,’ one of the bloodiest and most ruthless drug kingpins,” U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said in a post on X. “This is a great development for Mexico, the US, Latin America, and the world. The good guys are stronger than the bad guys.”

The Mexican Defense Department said the operation was conducted as part of bilateral coordination and cooperation with the U.S., and that U.S. authorities provided complementary intelligence that contributed to El Mencho’s killing.

After El Mencho’s death, cartel members burned cars and blocked roads in nearly a dozen Mexican states.

TOURISTS IN MEXICAN SEASIDE RESORT TOLD TO STAY ON RESORT AS GOVERNMENT WARNS OF ‘CLASHES’

A soldier stands guard by a charred vehicle after it was set on fire, in Cointzio, Michoacán state, Mexico. (AP Photo/Armando Solis)

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The Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación is considered the most powerful cartel in Mexico with an estimated 19,000 members and operations across 21 of the country’s 32 states.

The Trump administration designated the cartel as a foreign terrorist organization.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Farrell was also pleased with how his more seasoned Test players stepped up after questions over their form as they supplemented headline-stealing displays from Stuart McCloskey and Rob Baloucoune.

“Caelan [Doris] was back to his best, Joe McCarthy was outstanding,” observed Farrell, who also praised player of the match Jamison Gibson-Park.

“Josh [van der Flier] was immense in that first half, wasn’t he? You know, with his line running and stuff like that.

“They know they’ve a responsibility. We said before the game, big-game players turn up and make big-team performances happen.

“They set great examples, but for the lads that I just mentioned, for Rob Baloucoune to come here and do that, you know you’re on for a good day when he’s got a poach, a turnover ball…just his belief to take people on, and for Stu to dominate at this type of level, it was a joy to see.”

With McCloskey and Baloucoune establishing themselves in the Test arena, experienced players recapturing their form and the likes of Mack Hansen, Hugo Keenan and Andrew Porter still to return from injury, Farrell’s squad suddenly seems in good shape 18 months out from the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.

“That’s the point. That’s the best part of it,” he said.

“We know that and we have to take a bit of stick along the way. I suppose a win like this gets people a little bit back on board.

“As long as we know where we’re going.”

Ireland host winless Wales on 6 March (20:10 GMT) before finishing the campaign against fellow Triple Crown chasers Scotland in Dublin on 14 March (14:10).

Manchester City captain Bernardo Silva could leave the Etihad Stadium when his contract expires this summer.

Pep Guardiola is never short of praise for his Manchester City players. Win, lose or draw, Guardiola is the biggest cheerleader for this squad. However, there is one star who arguably receives more praise than most.

Captain Bernardo Silva moved to City in 2017 and quickly became a fan favourite. Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva may have stolen the midfield headlines but Bernardo’s quality has never been lost on Guardiola. “At the end we were guided by our incredible player, one of the best ever to play or train – our captain Bernardo,” the City head coach said after the Liverpool win.

“We follow him, I follow him too. He puts the team in front of himself. He does things through his own example. Everybody follows him, me the first. He scored the first one from the Erling [Haaland] assist, and made the assist for Matheus [Nunes] for the penalty.”

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Guardiola would love nothing more than for Bernardo to sign a new contract at City. The captain has never been afraid to discuss his future and has looked set to depart on a number of occasions.

Bernardo has been ever-present this season and his versatility is a precious quality for any team. “[It is] so important,” Guardiola replied in 2023 when asked about versatile players. “That helps us to have a bigger and a longer squad.

“We have players like Bernardo and Phil [Foden] who can play in three or four different positions if we need it.”

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The Carabao Cup Final will see Arsenal v Manchester City at London’s Wembley Stadium this March.

Antoine Semenyo was the in-demand forward ahead of this season’s January transfer window and you can see why. The Ghana international can play on the left, right or down the middle if needed.

City won that transfer battle and there are plenty more versatile players in their squad.

Nico O’Reilly graduated from the academy last season. He made nine appearances in the second half of the Premier League season, announcing himself at this level. But this season he has really started to flourish.

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After new signing Rayan Ait-Nouri picked up an injury, O’Reilly took his chance. Despite splashing more than £36m on Ait-Nouri, Guardiola stuck with the youngster.

When Ait-Nouri rediscovered his form, O’Reilly was moved into midfield – arguably the strongest area in the City squad. Has that fazed him? Absolutely not.

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O’Reilly took his brace superbly against Newcastle and he is guaranteed to start at Leeds next weekend. What’s even more impressive is that he only turns 21 next month.

It is also worth remembering he has played just three senior matches in the midfield role, although he did progress through the age groups as a midfielder.

His versatility means he is as impressive at left-back as he is in midfield. Guardiola began his post-Newcastle press conference by praising former City star James Milner after he surpassed the record for the most Premier League appearances of all time. 203 of those matches came for the Blues and while it is far too early to say whether O’Reilly will enjoy similar longevity, his recent form makes the prospect of replacing Bernardo seem a little less daunting than it once did.

O’Reilly will only get better the more matches he plays. Guardiola knows he has a real player on his hands.

Shakur Stevenson and Ryan Garcia could be on a collision course after ‘King Ry’ became world champion on Saturday.

Garcia dropped Barrios on his way to a dominant unanimous decision victory to secure the WBC welterweight title at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Following the bout, Garcia made it clear that he wants to face Stevenson next, the newly crowned WBO super-lightweight champion who claimed his belt with a win over Teofimo Lopez last month.

Stevenson laid out his demands for the bout to take place whilst speaking on DAZN, insisting that it would have to take place at a 144lbs catchweight and that VADA testing would be required.

“Was VADA involved in this fight? I saw him with Rolly he didn’t look like that. If he’s fighting me next, I’m all for the challenge but VADA will be involved.

“We’ll meet in the middle [144lbs]. Two big stars, we don’t need a belt for the fight.

“I think it’s a great fight to make. I’m in this for big fights. Me and Ryan would be an even bigger fight and would be a tremendous fight. I want to fight him and he want to fight me so it should be easy to get done. We’ve just got to make sure he’s on VADA and there’s no cheating involved.”

Garcia failed a drugs test in 2024 after facing Devin Haney, resulting in his win being overturned to a no contest. He returned after a 12-month ban and suffered a loss to Rolly Romero, but looked like a completely different fighter against Barrios tonight in Las Vegas.

International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry paid tribute to “a new kind of Winter Games’ as she declared the Milan and Cortina edition closed.

A spectacular, opera-themed ceremony at Verona’s 2,000-year old Roman amphitheatre, once used for gladiatorial battles, hailed new heroes of skeleton and mixed team snowboard cross.

Coventry told the Italian organising committee: “You delivered a new kind of Winter Games and set a new standard for the future.”

Gold medallists Charlotte Bankes and Matt Weston carried the Union flag at the ceremony, which drew heavily on the region’s historic reputation for arts and beauty.

In keeping with recent tradition, the gold medals for the men’s and women’s 50km cross-country were also awarded during the ceremony, including the record sixth gold of the Games for Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo.

Coventry’s comment was pertinent given ongoing discussion about the future of the Winter Olympics, and the possibility of including a range of other sports not played on snow and ice.

The unprecedented geographical spread of the Milan and Cortina Games – which enabled many events to be staged amid true alpine settings – have been hailed by many as an alternative blueprint.

The ceremony concluded with the official handover to organisers of the next Winter Games in the French Alps in 2030, which are facing increasing scrutiny around time and money.

Coventry, the successor to previous president Thomas Bach, had a difficult first Games. She presided over the decision to ban Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych, insisting his helmet, which honoured colleagues killed in the Russian invasion, broke rules on athlete expression.

Coventry also endured a bizarre interlude in which she publicly blamed her media team for not making her aware of a number of issues, including FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s appearance at a ‘Board of Peace’ meeting wearing a Donald Trump-style baseball cap.

The King issued a message to all the athletes, which read: “As the Winter Games come to a close, my wife and I send our most heartfelt congratulations to all the Olympic medal winners from Team GB, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, on your remarkable successes.

“Whether on the ice or amid Italy’s glorious snowscapes, you have demonstrated not only exceptional skill, but also the grace and camaraderie that embody the Olympic spirit at its finest.”