Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych’s push to legally wear a customized helmet as he competed in races at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics ran into perhaps its most daunting obstacle Friday.

Heraskevych took his plea to don the helmet that paid tribute to Ukrainian war victims to the winter sliding sport’s highest court.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled against Heraskevych’s appeal, effectively ending his final opportunity to compete for a medal at this year’s Games. 

Heraskevych was disqualified from a skeleton race over the helmet, which displayed the faces of more than 20 Ukrainian coaches and athletes who have been killed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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Ukraine’s Vladyslav Heraskevych arrives at the finish during a men’s skeleton training session at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026.  (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation also concluded that Heraskevych’s intention to wear the helmet was in direct violation of Olympic rules. The IOC cited rules against making political statements on the field of play. 

IOC President Kirsty Coventry met with Heraskevych before Thursday’s men’s skeleton event to try to change his mind about wearing the helmet, ultimately to no avail. 

“We didn’t find common ground in this regard,” Heraskevych said.

Heraskevych’s attorney, Yevhen Pronin, reacted to the court ruling in step with the IOC, arguing his client did not actually commit misconduct.

“The court sided with the IOC and upheld the decision that an athlete could be disqualified from the Olympic Games without actual misconduct, without a technical or safety threat and before the start,” Pronin said.

Vladyslav Heraskevych of Ukraine during training wearing a helmet in tribute to athletes who have died in Russia’s attack on Ukraine Feb. 11, 2026. (Reuters/Athit Perawongmetha)

CAS, the sole arbitrator hearing the case, said it “found these limitations reasonable and proportionate,” especially since Heraskevych could show his helmet away from the racing surface, such as in interview areas and on social media. Heraskevych also wore the helmet in training runs.

The appeal was largely moot anyway. He was disqualified from the competition less than an hour before its start on Thursday, and whatever CAS said on Friday wouldn’t have changed that. 

“Looks like this train has left,” Heraskevych said after Friday’s hearing.

AMERICAN OLYMPIAN AUSTIN FLORIAN GOES VIRAL FOR INCREDIBLE HELMET DESIGN

He left Cortina d’Ampezzo’s Olympic Village on Thursday night with no plans to return, then headed to Milan and arrived in Munich on Friday night — helmet in hand — for a dinner with Ukrainian officials at a security conference. He is expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this weekend as well.

Ukraine’s Vladyslav Heraskevych arrives at the finish during a men’s skeleton training session at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026.  (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Heraskevych admitted he was surprised by the strong reaction. 

s”I never expected it to be such a big scandal,” he said.

He also said he found his accreditation for the Games being taken away, then returned shortly afterward Thursday in what seemed like a goodwill gesture, puzzling.

“A mockery,” he said.

CAS did agree that Heraskevych should keep his accreditation.

Tributes from other athletes competing in Milan Cortina were permitted without penalty, including American figure skater Maxim Naumov displaying a photo of his late parents who were killed in a plane crash last year.

Italian snowboarder Roland Fischnaller had a small Russian flag image on the back of his helmet during the Games, and Israeli skeleton athlete Jared Firestone wore a kippah bearing the names of 11 athletes and coaches killed while representing that country during the 1972 Munich Olympics.

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The IOC said those cases were not in violation of any rules. 

Naumov showed his photo in the kiss-and-cry area and not while he was actually on the ice. Fischnaller’s helmet was a tribute to all the past Olympic sites he competed at, with Sochi included. And Firestone’s kippah “was covered by a beanie,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said.

The IOC offered Heraskevych a chance to compete with a different helmet and bring the tribute through the interview area after his runs. He also could have worn a black armband.

“I think it’s the wrong side of history for the IOC,” Heraskevych said.

Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Last month, Gervonta Davis was stripped of his WBA lightweight world title and a date for a clash for the now vacant belt has been confirmed, with one of boxing’s most exciting prospects involved in the bout.

Davis was winless since June 2024 prior to being stripped, with his lone outing since being a debatable draw against Lamont Roach Jr last March, that almost cost him his undefeated record.

Since then, a number of external issues have been behind the inactivity of ‘Tank’, who was issued with an arrest warrant issues based on charges of battery, false imprisonment and attempted kidnapping.

As a result, the WBA have decided to demote Davis to champion-in-recess, meaning that their lightweight title is now vacant, but that Davis will be well poised to challenge the new champion upon his return.

On Instagram, the WBA’s number one contender, 23-year-old Floyd Schofield, has revealed that he will be fighting for the vacant title in April.

“We been through the fire to get to this point in our life.

“We have so much more to do and so much more life to live. Stay tuned and continue to watch the growth of both me and my son.

“Tune in April for our @wbaboxingofficial World Title fight. Thank you to all our sponsors, fans and friends.”

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It is believed that ‘Kid Austin’ will collide with Canada’s Lucas Bahdi, despite the latter being ordered for an IBF final eliminator against Albert Bell earlier this week, with Saturday, April 11, the anticipated fight date.

Tempers flared at an Olympic curling match between Canada and Sweden Friday with a profane insult being hurled after allegations of cheating were made. 

Canada beat Sweden 8-6, and Canadian third Marc Kennedy and Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson got into it after Eriksson accused Kennedy of an illegal procedure called double-touching stones after releasing them at the hog line.

Kennedy shouted, “I haven’t done it once. You can f— off,” at Eriksson.

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Canada’s Ben Hebert, Brad Jacobs and Brett Gallant compete in the men’s curling round-robin against Sweden during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d’Ampezzo Feb. 13, 2026.  (Tiziana Fabi/AFP)

Eriksson replied, “I’ll show you a video after the game. I’ll show you a video where it’s two meters over the hog line.”

Both sides appealed to the officials, but no results were changed.

Swedish team leader Fredrik Lindberg said in a statement, “At this point, the Swedish Olympic Committee will not seek an investigation regarding the events during Friday’s game,” according to The National Review. 

POWER OUTAGE HALTS MILAN CORTINA OLYMPICS CURLING COMPETITION MOMENTS AFTER MATCHES BEGIN

Sweden’s Rasmus Wranaa, left, reacts next to Canada’s Ben Hebert during the men’s curling round-robin during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d’Ampezzo Feb. 13, 2026.  (Tiziana Fabi/AFP)

Kennedy responded to the allegations after the match.

“I have a ton of respect for Oskar Eriksson,” he said. “He’s one of the best players to ever play. I just told him … I would never accuse you of cheating. I’ve been on tour for 25 years. He pulled a hog line official on us to make sure we weren’t double-touching. The hog line official was there for six ends, never said a thing and he’s still talking about it in the ninth end.

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The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium on Feb. 4, 2026, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

“I don’t like being accused of cheating, so I told him what I thought of it.”

According to World Curling policy, a moving stone cannot be touched beyond the hog line, but it is not a violation if a thrower double-touches the rock before the line.

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Akshay Bhatia shot an eight-under-par 64 to share the second-round lead with Ryo Hisatsune at 15 under at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Defending champion Rory McIlroy birdied the final hole to sign for a 67 but sits six strokes off the pace heading into the weekend.

The Northern Irishman made five birdies and an eagle but was left to rue bogeys on the 10th and 14th, although his four on the par-five 18th proved a more than satisfactory conclusion to the five-time major winner’s day.

American Bhatia had earlier produced one of the rounds of the day at Spyglass Hill, while Hisatsune recovered from dropping shots either side of the turn to pick up four shots in his final five holes.

Rickie Fowler was equally as impressive as he moved into a tie for second alongside Sam Burns, at 14 under as he chases his first win since July 2023.

Austria Sepp Straka is currently the best placed European player at 12 under, with England’s Matt Fitzpatrick two shots further back along with the likes of Keegan Bradley, Jordan Spieth and Xander Schauffele.

Englishman Tommy Fleetwood followed his 67 on Thursday with a 68 to sit at nine under with McIlroy, with Ireland’s Shane Lowry one shot further back.

A charging Scottie Scheffler brought himself back into picture with three birdies and an eagle on a five-hole stretch after the turn to reach the clubhouse at six under across the first two days.

England’s Justin Rose and Harry Hall are at five under with Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre, with each player in the field having played one round at Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill.

All the third and fourth-round action will take place solely at Pebble Beach, with there also being no 36-hole cut at the $20m (£14.7m) PGA Tour signature event.

The truncated ISL 2025-26 season will start on Saturday. (X | ISL)

New Delhi: “Why don’t you write something positive?” said an irate Indian football official to this reporter. It was the plea of a frustrated representative who had done plenty at the grassroots level but was trying to please multiple stakeholders in the administrative chaos that is Indian football.Picture this. Only two days before the Indian Super League, the country’s top football division, was set to get underway on February 14, members of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) Executive Committee were voting on whether to keep it a 14-team league or expand it to 15 by including Churchill Brothers.

That plea from Churchill Brothers was unanimously rejected, keeping Inter Kashi in the top division after a legal quagmire that remains unresolved. The league will therefore remain a 14-team competition with a single round-robin format, featuring 91 matches across the 2025–26 season.Yes, the 2025–26 season is finally getting underway in February 2026, five months later than originally planned. The February 14 start date was reached only after the intervention of the Sports Ministry, which wanted the delay to not affect the country’s ambitious bid to host the 2036 Olympics.All this transpired because Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), the Reliance-backed company that launched and ran the ISL since 2014, saw its Master Rights Agreement (MRA) with the AIFF end in December 2025.The AIFF, stalled by court visits and constitutional updates, neither contemplated its options leading up to this deadline nor moved to renew the association.In the interim, uncertainty prevailed over if, or when, the season would get underway. While administrators twiddled their thumbs, foreign players departed to keep their careers going. Clubs were forced to let them go to recover some costs and to respect the players’ wishes.When the season finally received a start date, organisers struggled to get stadiums in playable condition. Odisha FC will only begin training for the new season on February 17 and, with no home venue confirmed, their opening fixture against Punjab FC on February 16 has been postponed. Kerala Blasters, who at one point considered shutting shop, had no clarity on which city they could feasibly play in.After extensive back-and-forth, the AIFF readied an interim fixture list, which was officially announced just a week before the league’s start. With FanCode on board as the digital broadcaster, the linear television announcement with Sony Sports Network will only take place on the day the season begins.

Not just doom and gloom

Now for the positives amid the gloom. All stakeholders, including clubs, players, fans, sponsors and even the AIFF, deserve credit for ensuring the season was not lost. They showed maturity for the greater good.Most players have agreed to take pay cuts to keep the ball rolling, quite literally. The same applies to club owners and CEOs who have agreed to invest in a truncated season, aware that revenues will not match previous years, but have returned for the greater good.Even the AIFF, which has faced heavy criticism and could serve as a case study in administrative mismanagement, can argue that its hands were tied by legal disputes and warring factions. The fact that it eventually managed, through multiple mediators, to get everyone moving in the same direction is commendable.

More drama in store?

Unsurprisingly, the drama and court visits may not be over. As the AIFF circulated the League Rules on the eve of the season’s start, it made clear that relegation will be implemented as per the latest Constitution.This comes barely two weeks after clubs wrote to the Sports Ministry seeking Force Majeure for the season, effectively requesting a pause on relegation.Subsequently, the club that goes down could take the legal route later if the issue is not addressed for now.

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Clubs: FC Goa, Mohun Bagan Super Giant, Odisha FC, East Bengal, Jamshedpur FC, SC Delhi, Punjab FC, Mumbai City FC, Bengaluru FC, Kerala Blasters, Inter Kashi, Mohammedan SC, NorthEast United, Chennaiyin FC1st match: Mohun Bagan Super Giant vs Kerala Blasters on February 14 at 5 pm2nd match: FC Goa vs Inter Kashi on February 14 at 7:30 pmPrize money for winner: Rs 1.25 crorePrize money for runner-up: Rs 75 lakhPrize pool for 2025–26 season: Rs 2 croreLive streaming: FanCodeLive on TV: Sony Sports Network

Zac Gallen is heading back to the desert. Gallen and the Arizona Diamondbacks are closing in on a one-year contract worth $22.025 million, according to a report from The Athletic. About $14 million would be deferred. The deal matches the $22.025 million qualifying offer Gallen rejected in November. The team has not yet announced the signing, which is pending a physical.

Gallen, 30, is coming off a 2025 season in which he didn’t live up to his established standards, hence settling for a one-year contract despite finishing in the top 10 of the National League Cy Young voting three times in his career. 

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For his career, Gallen has pitched to a 119 ERA+ and an FIP of 3.65 across parts of seven MLB seasons. Over that span he’s compiled a WAR of 20.7, and he’s topped 30 starts and 180 innings in three of the last four seasons. Gallen spent the last six seasons and change with the D-backs, who acquired him from the Miami Marlins in July 2019 in exchange for Jazz Chisholm Jr. 

Earlier in the offseason, CBS Sports ranked Gallen as the No. 18 available free agent in the class of 2025-26. Here’s part of R.J. Anderson’s write-up: 

“Gallen salvaged what he could with a good 11-start closing stretch, but an otherwise miserable walk year makes him feel like a strong candidate to accept the qualifying offer (if one is tendered) and try again in 2026. Otherwise? He’s a candidate to sign a one-year deal elsewhere and modify his arsenal in an attempt to push back against a trend that has seen his performance slip in each of the past two years.”

Before Gallen’s return, FanGraphs estimated Arizona’s 2026 payroll at $173 million. That is just south of the franchise record ($177 million in 2024), so Gallen will push the club well into uncharted payroll territory. The D-backs will neither gain nor forfeit draft picks to re-sign their own qualified free agent.

Arizona brought Merrill Kelly back earlier this offseason, and now they’ve reunited with Gallen. Those two will join lefty Eduardo Rodriguez and righties Ryne Nelson and Brandon Pfaadt in the rotation. Corbin Burnes, last offseason’s big free-agent splash, is expected to return from Tommy John surgery at midseason.

The D-backs went 80-82 last season and missed the postseason by three games. They sold at the trade deadline, most notably sending Kelly to the Texas Rangers and Eugenio Suárez to the Seattle Mariners, though they kept Gallen.

Gallen was originally drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals. He went to the Marlins with Sandy Alcantara as part of a December 2017 deal that sent Marcell Ozuna to St. Louis.

Retired wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson believes that quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s stint with the Miami Dolphins might be coming to an end. After a disappointing 2025 season, there is uncertainty regarding his future.

On Friday’s episode of Jordan Schultz’s podcast, the Super Bowl XXXVII champion said that Tagovailoa still has a chance at redemption. However, he needs the right coach and team to help guide him out of this hole.

“The guy, if he can stay healthy, and he finds the right coach in the right system, is Tua,” Johnson said. “Because he’s done it at high level at Alabama. I’ve seen the Miami Dolphins winning when he’s healthy. And I’ve seen the Miami Dolphins without him.

“And that tells me if he got the right coach in the right situation that understands the player, you can work miracles with him. I don’t need him to carry the team. I just need him to drive the bus and not sideswipe cars. And if he can do that, he’s a guy I think in the right situation, he gets out to places you’re trying to go.”

The Dolphins drafted Tua Tagovailoa with the fifth overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft. However, in just six years, he’s suffered multiple concussions, raising concerns about his longevity in the league. Despite this, the team decided to give him a four-year, $212.4 million extension in 2024.

During that season, Tagovailoa suffered his third concussion in two years, which sidelined him for a couple of games. The Dolphins missed the playoffs and finished second in the AFC East with an 8-9 record.

This season, they once again failed to make the postseason after a 7-10 campaign, finishing third in the AFC East. Tagovailoa played in 14 games and recorded 2,660 yards and 20 TDs passing with 15 interceptions and 30 sacks. He was then benched in favor of rookie Quinn Ewers for the last four games.

Last month, the Dolphins decided to fire coach Mike McDaniel after four seasons. They named ex-Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Halfey as his replacement.

ALSO READ: “Welcome to hell Tua Tagovailoa” “Doomsday hire”: NFL fans react as Dolphins sign Super Bowl-winning coach as pass-game coordinator

ALSO READ: Mike McDaniel says Tua Tagovailoa’a 2024 concussion “really narrowed my focus” during introductory presser as Chargers OC

Dolphins GM gets honest about Tua Tagovailoa’s future with the franchise

On Thursday, Dolphins GM Jon-Eric Sullivan shared his thoughts on the team’s quarterback situation involving Tua Tagovailoa.

He said that they plan on acquiring a quarterback at this year’s draft. However, they have not yet finalized whether they plan on retaining Tagovailoa after his disappointing 2025 season.

“Of course, we’ll be looking at other quarterbacks in the draft,” Sullivan said as per PFT. “But look, Tua was in my officec the other day, if I’m being perfectly frank. We had a great conversation. Tua has been a very good player in this league. He’s done a lot of really good things for the Miami Dolphins You guys should be proud to have him and having had him.

“I don’t know what the future holds right now, and I told Tua that. We’re working through some things. What I can tell you is that we are going to infuse competition into that room, whether Tua is part of the room, whether he’s not part of the room. … We’re getting close to a decision. And when we do, we’ll let Tua know whether he’s gonna be a part of this or not.”

In six seasons, Tua Tagovailoa played in 78 total games and has recorded 18,166 yards and 120 TDs passing for the Dolphins.