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Jazz look for continued success from Jaren Jackson Jr. vs. Blazers

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NBA: Sacramento Kings at Utah JazzFeb 11, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward/center Lauri Markkanen (23) drives into the basket around Sacramento Kings center Maxime Raynaud (42) during the second half at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Peter Creveling-Imagn Images

Jaren Jackson Jr. is fitting in well and making a solid first impression with the Utah Jazz.

The former NBA Defensive Player of the Year also has a solid offensive game, and he will look to record a 20-point performance for the fourth straight game with his new team when the Jazz battle the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night in Salt Lake City.

The clash will be the final one before the All-Star break for both teams.

Jackson might not want the time off as he has stood out since Utah acquired him from the Memphis Grizzlies as part of an eight-player trade early last week.

He scored 22 points in 25 minutes in his Utah debut on Saturday in a road loss against the Orlando Magic. Two nights later, he again had 22 points in 25 minutes as the Jazz notched a road victory over the Miami Heat.

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Jackson kept it going Wednesday with 23 points in 22 minutes as Utah walloped the visiting Sacramento Kings 121-93.

“Credit to my teammates,” Jackson said after the latest win. “It’s been a great week. It’s been crazy. They have made me feel welcome and comfortable. I’m glad to get a home game in. It was loud. It’s been great.”

Jackson, a two-time All-Star, is averaging 19.5 points in 48 games, the first 45 coming for the Grizzlies.

The Jazz acquired Jackson to team with Lauri Markkanen, a former All-Star who narrowly missed making the team this season. Markkanen is averaging a career-best 26.7 points in 41 games after scoring 19 against the Kings.

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“He can do everything on the court,” Jackson said of Markkanen. “This fan base knows what he brings. I’m happy to be out there with him, and we’re going to keep doing it.”

Utah has won back-to-back games for the first time since late December. The Jazz lost 12 of 14 games before the wins over Miami and Sacramento.

The two victories came without standout guard Keyonte George (sprained right ankle), who has missed five of the past six games, the first three due to a sprained left ankle.

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Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers are completing a quick two-game road trip.

Portland fell into 10th place in the Western Conference when it was blasted 133-109 by the Timberwolves on Wednesday in Minneapolis. Julius Randle had 41 points for Minnesota.

Jrue Holiday led Portland with 23 points while All-Star Deni Avdija managed just 11 points on 3-of-14 shooting. He missed all seven shots from behind the arc.

Avdija has struggled with lower back pain in recent weeks and is a candidate to be rested on the second end of the back-to-back.

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Portland’s Shaedon Sharpe (left calf strain) will likely miss his fourth straight game.

Trail Blazers interim coach Tiago Splitter wasn’t pleased with the effort against Minnesota. Particularly disturbing was seeing his squad turn the ball over 26 times to match its season worst. The Timberwolves scored 43 points off the miscues.

“Of course, not a great game. We couldn’t get our rhythm,” Splitter said. “They did a tremendous job with their defense. We turned the ball over way too much. Can’t win a game like that.”

Portland might fare better Thursday as it is 2-0 against the Jazz this season. The Trail Blazers recorded a 136-134 win on Oct. 29 in Salt Lake City, and Portland led by as many as 32 points during a 137-117 home win over the Jazz on Jan. 5.

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“We got to get better and we will,” Splitter said. “I think it was an off-game for everyone (Wednesday).

“We got to bounce back. We have another game (Thursday) night. We have to regroup and see who’s ready to play.”

–Field Level Media

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Terence Crawford predicts Errol Spence Jr’s reported comeback fight against Tim Tszyu

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It has been almost three years since Errol Spence Jr stepped through the ropes, but a summer return against Australia’s Tim Tszyu seems to be gathering pace.

Spence was handed the first defeat of his career back in 2023 by Terence Crawford, who became the undisputed welterweight world champion that night. Despite many feeling that it was a pick ’em fight beforehand, Crawford won handily, dropping Spence three times before scoring a TKO in the ninth.

After a lengthy lay-off and persistent rumours of a return, Spence reportedly has ‘a done deal’ with Tszyu provided the Aussie comes through Denis Nurja this weekend in Wollongong.

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Speaking to Fight Hub TV, Crawford praised Tszyu’s campaign so far.

“Tim Tszyu [has] had a great career, it’s still going. He’s accomplished a lot for what his experience entails. His fight this weekend – I don’t know too much about the opponent other than he’s undefeated. Will he be back on top and become a champion again? I can’t say he won’t, I can’t say he will. We just got to wait and see.”

However, the recently retired five-division world champion backs his former foe to win should all go to plan and the fight take place.

“I think Spence beats him. At this point in both of their careers, I think he beats him.”

Fans will hope to see a reinvigorated Spence, particularly since he will be returning at 154lbs after cutting to the welterweight limit of 147 for so long. However, questions remain over what he has left in the tank following various injuries – not least a serious car accident.

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Women’s Champions League: Arsenal beat Chelsea 3-2 on aggregate to reach semi-finals – Kim Little reaction

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Arsenal captain Kim Little says she believes her side are “getting better and better” as they reach the semi-finals of the Women’s Champions League, after beating Chelsea 3-2 on aggregate to close in on successfully defending their title.

READ MORE: Arsenal hold off Chelsea to reach Champions League last four

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J.T. Brown’s wife Lexi LaFleur demands “lifetime ban” after Stars fans’ Nazi salute incident

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Former NHL player J.T. Brown’s wife Lexi LaFleur is calling for immediate action after a video surfaced online showing a group of Dallas Stars fans performing Nazi salutes during a game.

The incident reportedly happened on Dec. 21, 2025, when the Stars faced the Toronto Maple Leafs at American Airlines Center in Dallas, ultimately winning 5-1. According to a Reddit post that has since gone viral, a fan who attended the game recorded a group of young men sitting in front of them doing a Nazi salute “every time the stars scored.”

“I was at the Stars game on December 21 and these boys were sitting in front of us doing a Nazi salute every time the stars scored,” the original poster wrote. “I’ve been to several games and never seen anything like this before. I recorded them and sent it to arena management, but they said they couldn’t find the boys despite me giving them their exact seat numbers.”

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LaFleur Brown quote-tweeted the post reshared on X with a strong message:

“Lifetime ban from all NHL arenas immediately. It’s literally in the NHL Fan Code of Conduct. If you ever see behavior like this at a game, alert staff. Unacceptable.”

In her follow-up comments, she attached a link to the NHL Fan Code of Conduct which explicitly prohibits such behavior.


Lexi LaFleur looks back on her days of playing on the boys’ team as a child

Lexi LaFleur herself has played junior hockey throughout school. Last week, LaFleur posted a photo from her elementary school yearbook on X revealing a childhood dream that has taken on new meaning in light of recent success of the PWHL.

“Crying over my elementary school yearbook in which I wrote ‘when I grow up I want to play in the NHL’ because now little girls get to dream of playing in the PWHL,” she wrote.

But her path to hockey wasn’t without obstacles. In a viral TikTok video that has garnered over 1 million views, LaFleur Brown shared her first experience with toxic masculinity in hockey at just 10 years old when several boys on her youth peewee hockey team voted to have her removed with the help of a parent.

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“It lit a fire under my ass that has fueled me for the rest of my life,” Brown said in the video. “My love for hockey is bigger and greater than anybody’s ability to hate me.” [H/T Glamour magazine]

Following the recent controversy involving President Donald Trump’s phone call to the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team, she has been among those calling for greater respect for women in sports.

“It’s sad that fans are new to this and that was kind of their first hockey heartbreak,” LaFleur Brown said in response to the controversy. “I have seen people say, ‘That’s it, I’m just gonna support the PWHL.’ I think that’s great too. There are other ways to love hockey than to just support the NHL.”

The incident occurred when Trump called the men’s gold medal-winning team and joked that he would “have to” invite the women’s team to the State of the Union or risk being impeached. The comment drew rancorous laughter from players in the locker room.