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World Baseball Classic: Why Tarik Skubal won’t be pitching for Team USA in the final

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Team USA’s World Baseball Classic roster looks like the best they’ve ever put together, but it just took a hit.

Two-time AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal will pitch just once for USA and it’ll happen in pool play (March 7 vs. Great Britain). If USA advances to the championship round, as expected, Skubal won’t pitch.

“If they go to the finals, I think I’m going to try and lobby to just go watch and be with the guys,” he told reporters, including The Athletic, Monday.

That’s too bad. Those of us who had already started looking ahead figured Skubal could be the USA starter in either the semifinals or finals, giving a nice edge to the squad. After all, he’s won two straight Cy Young awards, two straight AL ERA titles and has a 2.04 ERA in six career playoff starts. 

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Instead, if USA advances, it’ll be without Skubal. 

That gives the mantle of ace to Paul Skenes alone, instead of Skenes just being a “co-ace.” USA isn’t hurting for starters after Skubal or Skenes, either, as All-Stars Logan Webb and Matthew Boyd are also on the team. Fellow All-Star Joe Ryan is on the roster, though he’s currently dealing with a back injury, as is youngster Nolan McLean and his veteran Mets teammate Clay Holmes. 

The offense is headed up by Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, Bobby Witt Jr., Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber. 

This is to say that, yes, USA is still plenty talented and could well win the finals. Not having Skubal for the championship round is still a bit of a bummer.

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Pool play kicks off next week in Tokyo, San Juan, Houston, and Miami, and the tournament will conclude with the Championship Game at loanDepot Park on March 17. Team USA won the 2017 WBC, but fell to Japan in the finals in 2023. The Americans are the favorite to win this year (-115, per Caesars), ahead of Japan (+350) and the Dominican Republic (+425).

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U.S. women’s hockey team declines invitation to attend the State of the Union

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8 minutes ago

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23 February 2026

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The USA women’s hockey team has declined an invitation to attend Tuesday night’s State of the Union, a day after President Donald Trump jokingly told the men’s hockey team that he would probably be impeached if he also didn’t invite the women’s team. 

Scheduling conflicts was the reason for declining the invitation to attend the State of the Union, according to a USA Hockey spokesperson. 

“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.”

The spokesperson added that the team was “honored to be included and are grateful for the acknowledgment.”

Trump invited the men’s team to the State of the Union during a call with the team shortly after their win over Canada. It is unclear whether the team will attend. 

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“I must tell you, we’re gonna have to bring the women’s team,” he said. “I do believe I probably would be impeached.” 

Team USA made history at the 2026 Olympics by completing a sweep of hockey gold medals for the first time. The women’s team won the gold for the first time in eight years after recording a 2-1 overtime win over Canada. Two days later, the men’s team followed suit in nearly identical fashion after posting a 2-1 overtime win over Canada. The men’s team captured their first gold medal since the 1980 “Miracle on Ice.” 

While the women’s team trailed for most of regulation before tying the score in the third period, the men’s team took an early lead before Canada tied things up in the second period. It remained tied throughout the third period before Zach Werenski fed Jack Hughes for the game-winning goal less than two minutes into overtime. 

The women’s golden goal was scored by Megan Keller, who had assisted on Hilary Knight’s game-tying goal in the third period. 

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Popular WWE Superstar Provides Major Health Update Following Injury

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21 minutes ago

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23 February 2026

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A former WWE champion provided a major health update during a recent interview. The star sustained an injury earlier this month.

On the February 6 edition of Friday Night SmackDown, Chelsea Green wrestled Tiffany Stratton and Lash Legend in an Elimination Chamber Qualifying Triple Threat Match. The Buff Barbie pinned The Hot Mess to secure the win. Unfortunately, to make matters worse for Green, she also hurt her foot during the match.

In a recent conversation with Denise Salcedo, Chelsea Green disclosed that she was healing up better than expected. However, the 34-year-old noted that she should not be out of her walking boot. The former WWE Women’s United States Champion added that she was lucky that the injury was not serious. Green further clarified that she won’t be out for long.

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“I’m healing up much faster than I thought I would be. I’m out of the boot, but only for the fashion. I should not be out of the boot. I chipped my ankle, the side of it. So, it’s painful, but I feel like I got lucky. Like, in terms of a broken ankle, I feel like I got very very very lucky. Thank gosh… No, no, no, I won’t be [out for long],” Green said.

You can check out their conversation in the video below:

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WWE Superstar Chelsea Green lost a championship without competing

Chelsea Green and WWE NXT star Ethan Page won the AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championship by defeating La Hiedra and Mr. Iguana at AAA Alianzas in November 2025.

The duo was scheduled to defend the title against NXT’s Lola Vice and AAA’s Mr. Iguana on an episode of AAA on Fox. However, due to the injury she sustained during the Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match, Green had to be pulled out of the championship bout.

AAA’s La Hiedra replaced Chelsea Green as Ethan Page’s tag team partner for the match. Unfortunately, they lost the bot and, with it, the gold as well.

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It remains to be seen how much longer it takes for Chelsea Green to make her in-ring return following the unfortunate injury and the disappointing setbacks.

If you use any quotes from the first half of this article, please credit Denise Salcedo with an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.