Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson is headed to free agency after an injury-riddled 2025 season, appearing in only seven games.
Hendrickson has been with the Bengals for the last five seasons. However, his stay in Cincinnati will likely end soon due to the franchise’s complicated salary cap situation.
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NFL insider Cameron Wolfe said Hendrickson’s reunion with the Bengals is unlikely. He named the Indianapolis Colts, worth $5.9 billion (according to Forbes), as a potential landing spot for the four-time Pro Bowler.
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“A source told me he figures it’s unlikely for these two sides to reunite going into next season,” Wolfe said on Saturday, via “The Wolfe of Ball Street.” “A difficult decision for Cincy because their relationship has not been great in recent weeks, and I’m told that if this deal does end up happening, free agency-wise, keep an eye on the Indianapolis Colts.
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“It’s a team that wants to be aggressive. They made the big splash move for Sauce Gardner mid-season. Lou Anarumo has a lot of familiarity with Trey Hendrickson. They just hired a D-line coach named Marion Hobby who coached Trey Hendrickson for four years in Cincinnati when they were all together.”
Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo spent six years with the Bengals in the same role. He helped Hendrickson record 57 sacks and earn four Pro Bowl honors before leaving at the end of the 2024 season.
Bengals “unlikely” to give franchise tag to Trey Hendrickson
Trey Hendrickson posted 17.5 sacks in consecutive seasons before a hip injury restricted him to just four sacks in 2025. The veteran defensive end had lengthy negotiations with the Bengals last offseason and was expected to get a franchise tag this year.
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However, the Bengals are unlikely to tag him as it would cost them $30.2 million. The franchise tag window will open on Tuesday until March 3.
Zuffa Boxing returns on Sunday with Zuffa Boxing 03 from the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. The event is headlined by a clash between Efe Ajagba and former IBF heavyweight champion Charles Martin.
Ajagba is on the verge of being a top 10 heavyweight in the world and likely would already be considered as such had things broken better for him on the scorecards in his most recent fight. That night, Ajagba took on Martin Bakole, seen as one of heavyweight’s boogeymen, avoided by most in the division for the difficulties he can present to opponents.
Ajagba controlled much of that fight in May 2025, but the scorecards resulted in a majority draw, with one judge scoring the fight 96-94 in Ajagba’s favor and the other two ruling the fight a 95-95 draw.
Sign up for Paramount+ and watch Zuffa Boxing 03 live on Sunday night for no additional fee. Plus, every UFC numbered event and UFC Fight Night is included with the price of your subscription! Plans start as low as $8.99/month or $89.99/year!
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Ajagba was rewarded for his performance against Bakole with a proposed IBF title eliminator against Frank Sanchez, who handed Ajagba his lone defeat in a 2021 meeting. Ajagba was unhappy with how the purse bid for the fight shook out and declined to move forward with the bout, ultimately leading to the termination of his contract with Top Rank, which opened the door for the heavyweight contender to sign with Zuffa Boxing.
While Martin does hold the distinction of being a former world heavyweight champion, the circumstances of his title reign are unusual.
Martin won the IBF title in a 2016 bout with Vyacheslav Glazkov that saw Glazkov unable to continue due to a knee injury suffered during a third-round knockdown. Less than 90 days later, Martin was no longer champion, suffering a second-round knockout to Anthony Joshua.
Martin has insisted he was “badly injured” 10 days before the Joshua fight and continued to chase a rematch for years, rising to the fringes of title contention with a few wins before suffering repeated setbacks in the form of losses to Adam Kownacki, Luis Ortiz and Jared Anderson.
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After losing to Anderson in July 2023, Martin got back in the win column with a stoppage of unheralded Matthew McKinney the following November. He has not fought since, marking 15 months out of the ring.
The light heavyweight co-main event between Umar Dzambekov and Ahmed Elbiali appears to be the standout fight on the card, with unbeaten Dzambekov looking to continue building his resume against a tough out in Elbiali, whose lone loss came to former world champion Jean Pascal.
Let’s take a closer look at the rest of the fight card for Sunday night with the latest odds before getting to a prediction and expert pick on the main event below.
Zuffa Boxing 03 fight card, odds
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
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Efe Ajagba -1100 vs. Charles Martin +650, heavyweights
Umar Dzambekov-1400 vs. Ahmed Elbiali +700, light heavyweights
Abel Mejia -800 vs. Jaybrio Pe Benito +500, lightweights
Leonardo Ruiz -1400 vs. Casey Streeter +700, middleweights
Antonio Woods -425 vs. Mark Beuke +300, middleweights
Oswaldo Molina -1200 vs. Joshua Clark +650, lightweights
Emiliano Alvarado -2500 vs. Devin Gantt +1000, junior featherweight
Dariial Kuchmenov -3000 vs. Jorge Lagunas +1000, lightweights
Where to watch Zuffa Boxing 03
Date: Feb. 15 | Location: Meta APEX — Las Vegas Prelims begin at 6 p.m. ET Main card begins at 9 p.m. ET Watch live:Paramount+ (subscribe now for as little as $8.99 per month)
Prediction
As a 31-year-old on a six-fight unbeaten streak who was being lined up for a title eliminator, Ajagba is very much a contender at heavyweight. Martin started his career 23-0 and won a world title, but has fallen very much into a spot as a gatekeeper for the division. That’s not a knock because divisions benefit from gatekeepers; they’re good enough to fend off pretenders, and a win against them carries actual meaning.
Ajagba came up short against Frank Sanchez, which does raise some questions about whether he is ready to fully break through to the upper echelon of heavyweights and if he isn’t, Martin is talented enough to knock him down the ladder. But Ajagba’s performance against Bakole showed he can handle big, awkward heavyweights who carry some power in their fists.
This is a fight set up to get Ajagba a win over a former champion and he should be able to do just that. Pick: Efe Ajagba via UD
Italy’s Federica Brignone was crowned Olympic giant slalom champion on Sunday at the Milan-Cortina Games, three days after winning her first gold medal in the super-G.
Four weeks ago, on the way to Palm Springs for the American Express, Adam Schriber stopped his RV in Oklahoma City to see an old friend, who let him in on a secret.
“It’s going to happen,” Anthony Kim told him, according to Schriber. “My best golf is in front of me. You watch, it’s good. It’s just taking some time to get my confidence back.”
Fast forward to Sunday in Australia, and it happened.
Schriber watched from 7,000-plus miles away while lounging in his RV on the Monterey Peninsula on Saturday night, where the golf instructor is on-site for this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He streamed the action and received constant text updates from his son. Across the globe at LIV Golf Adelaide, his former student was putting the finishing touches on an epic final-round comeback to put an exclamation mark on a remarkable redemption story, one that many people never thought would come — except for Kim and those close to him.
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Kim fired a nine-under 63 to finish 23 under overall, beating major stalwarts Jon Rahm (20 under) and Bryson DeChambeau (17 under), who were tied for the lead entering the final day.
“I know I can make a lot of birdies,” Kim said. “I know my self-belief is second to none. Obviously taking 12 1/2 years off the game is a long time, and you have to build that confidence back. So I guess from when I was in my 20s, I was never scared to play anybody. I’m not scared to play anybody now. I know this is just one golf tournament, but I believe in myself. That will never change.”
Schriber taught Kim from his days as a promising 14-year-old junior up until he stepped away from the game. While Kim is officially with Matt Killen now, he still stays in touch with Schriber; they consider each other family. They talk or text often, and a lot of what Kim incorporates on the course now are concepts he worked on with Schriber, whose current pros include reigning U.S. Open champ J.J. Spaun and Denny McCarthy, among others.
“He is just a phenomenal athlete that defaulted to golf because it fit him, and we are lucky to have him in the sport,” said Schriber, speaking Sunday from the Pacific Coast Highway on his way from Pebble Beach to next week’s stop at Riviera in Los Angeles. “He’s a special talent, man. I have been around him a lot and he has all the tools, but most of all he gave himself the permission to fail.”
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Kim was a good story when he returned to pro golf in 2024 after more than a decade away, but he didn’t have the immediate success that made him a star years earlier. Now 40 and playing as a LIV wild card, he was relegated after the 2025 season but reclaimed a spot when he finished third at the LIV Promotions event in January, which handed out 2026 season memberships for the top-three finishers. Then, after Patrick Reed left LIV weeks before the season-opener, Kim took his spot on the 4Aces.
Making his team debut at Adelaide, it seemed unlikely Kim would win Sunday morning. All eyes were on the heavyweight battle between DeChambeau and Rahm, who entered the day tied at 19 under. Kim, five back and 14 under, was in the final group with them, but he seemed to be more of a spectator. Or so most thought.
Kim didn’t make a bogey and was four under at the turn, just one back of Rahm. DeChambeau made four front-nine bogeys and got left behind.
Kim birdied 12 to tie Rahm and got hot from there — making three more to reel off four straight and take a commanding lead. He added his final birdie on 17 and had a stress-free 18th hole as he finished off a three-stroke win.
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“Bryson and Jon have proven themselves as major championship-caliber winners, Ryder Cup players, and have consistently played well for a long time, so I have a tremendous amount of respect for them,” Kim said. “I knew it was going to be an uphill battle today, and I got putts to go my way.”
Before his 2024 return, Kim’s last start was as a 26-year-old at the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship (and his last win was the 2010 Shell Houston Open).
Schriber says he always thought Kim could win again, it just depended on how badly Kim wanted it. As Schriber says, he just needed to commit and get sharp.
Schriber is among a small group of people in Kim’s tight-knit circle, a group that also found some satisfaction in Kim’s win on Sunday. Their relationship is about more than just golf. Schriber still remembers, back more than 20 years ago, when he was having a hard time going through a divorce. Kim called him every day just to check in.
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“My buddies would forget what I was going through, but this 15-year-old kid was checking up on my all the time. That’s special, man,” Schriber says. “We’ve always been there for each other when that guy’s down. And that’s how you know who your true friends are. Everybody’s there when things are going good, but only the people who are real are there for you when s— hits the fan. We have that in common.”
Marin Cilic reaches first Tour Semifinal since 2024
Marin Cilic has reached a tour-level semifinal for the first time since 2024.
The semifinal is his first in around 18 months and comes after two knee surgeries. During the week, Cilic defeated three opponents aged 20, 21, and 22.
The result takes Cilic to 68 tour level semifinals, placing him fourth among active male players. Only Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, and Gael Monfils have reached more semifinals.
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Speaking after the match, Cilic said:
“Definitely a huge accomplishment. Another great milestone. Definitely a huge sign for me and my team. We’ve been working really diligently the last several months. It pays off. You have to wait for your chances and be patient in this sport. It’s not easy sometimes. You’re playing well, maybe you’re not winning. But you just have to keep that focus. I trained well and believed that good things are gonna come.”
Jul 16, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Florida State Gators defensive lineman Caleb Banks answers questions from the media during the SEC Media Days at Omni Atlanta Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images
Nearly a month after my first Vikings mock draft of 2026, and with the curtain pulled on the 2025 season and the Seattle Seahawks reigning supreme. It’s time to look again with my 2026 Vikings mock draft 2.0.
Adam New’s Post-Super Bowl Blueprint for the Vikings’ 2026 Draft
In my first mock draft, I concentrated on the defensive side of the ball early, and that trend remains. I firmly believe that’s how the Vikings should attack this draft, while making room for an RB, TE, and C at some point, depending on how the board falls on draft day. I have gone for a different position in round one this team, looking to add beef up front first, rather than boosting the secondary — that comes on Day 2. Here is my Vikings mock draft 2.0.
Round 1: Pick 18 – Caleb Banks (DI), Florida
There are a few areas of the Vikings’ defense that need to be addressed in this draft, and I start by finding a long-term partner for Jalen Redmond in the center of the Vikings’ defensive line. At 6’6″, 325 pounds, with arms over 35″, Caleb Banks has overwhelming size, length, and forklift power, to pair with inhuman burst and quickness at that size.
The only concern is a longer-than-ideal injury history, but the raw talent is there, and Banks can be the final piece to a completely dominant Vikings defensive line.
Round 2: Pick 49 – Keionte Scott (CB), Miami (FL)
Keionte Scott is a nickel CB who can have a big impact on a game. During Miami’s run to the national championship game in 2025, he amassed 13 tackles for loss, five sacks, and two pick-sixes. An explosive long-striding closer, with springy coverage and an elite processor with a fast-flowing style and relentless physicality, Scott should be a great fit in the Brian Flores defense.
Round 3: Pick 82 – Genesis Smith (S), Arizona
The Vikings need to replace Harrison Smith and never really replaced Camryn Bynum last season. Genesis Smith would be the Bynum replacement with rare range and long-strider speed as a center-fielder and single-high safety, and his playmaking instincts are elite. Smith is one of the best coverage safeties in this draft class, which is just what the Vikings need in their secondary.
Jadarian Price has been living in the shadow of Jeremiyah Love in the Notre Dame backfield. While you might need to spend a top 10 pick to acquire Love’s services, Price may be the better value pick on Day 2. An exciting draft prospect in his own right,
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Price is an explosive vertical threat with a great blend of vision, spatial instincts, and foot speed. He has a smooth running style, and he goes 0-to-100 in the blink of an eye when he sees a gap to exploit.
Round 5: Pick 156 – Jake Slaughter (C), Florida
The first player to land on the Vikings with the same pick as in my first Vikings mock draft. With the future of Ryan Kelly uncertain after a series of concussions, and in the last year of his contract. The Vikings need to think about the future at center.
The free agency addition of Tyler Linderbaum would be the dream scenario, but Jake Slaughter would make a good plan B, especially if Kelly does try to play on. Minnesota will need some insurance at center.
Round 7: Pick 234 – Drew Allar (QB), Penn State
This isn’t the draft to try again for a top QB, but taking a punt on one in the later rounds is always worthwhile, even if it’s for a guy whose ceiling is career backup. Drew Allar has the tools to be that and more potentially.
A former five-star recruit, standing at 6’5 “, 235 pounds, he has a rocket arm, and he has the nimble mobility and arm elasticity to work off-platform — as well as goodpre-snap command and post-snap processing. So why might he be available this late? Accuracy issues and poor mechanics will need much work for Allar to have any success in the NFL. At this point in the draft, it’s worth a gamble.
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Round 7: Pick 235 – Jeff Caldwell (WR), Cincinnati
Jeff Caldwell transferred to Cincinnati for a step up in competition in the 2025 season and reeled in 32 receptions for 478 yards and six touchdowns.
Nov 29, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats wide receiver Jeff Caldwell (9) comes off the field after scoring against the TCU Horned Frogs during the first half at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
I seem to suggest every off-season that the Vikings need a big physical wide receiver, and Caldwell brings this (6’4, 208 lbs) while also having the speed to be a vertical threat. An explosive talent that comes in at No. 29 on Bruce Feldman’s annual Freaks list, Caldwell would be a great get on Day 3.
Round 7: Pick 244 – Riley Mahlman (OT), Wisconsin
As the 2025 season proved, good depth on the OL is always valuable. Picking up a well-rounded if unspectacular OT prospect like Wisconsin’s Riley Mahlman, who is strongest in pass protection, would be an excellent use of a seventh-round pick — especially if the Vikings get back to the explosive passing offense that Kevin O’Connell wants.
Round 7: Pick 244- Jack Velling (TE), Michigan State
The second player to make it onto both of my Vikings mock drafts to date, though a few spots lower in the seventh round this time. The Vikings went TE-heavy towards the end of last season to help out their QB. If that trend continues, then a fresh face at the position makes sense.
Proud UK Viking. Family Man. Enjoy writing about my team. Away from football an advocate for autism acceptance.
Akwa United FC claimed a 1–0 victory over Rovers FC in a Nigeria National League Matchday 10 clash at the Uyo Township Stadium on Sunday, February 15, 2026.
The match started with early drama. In the 7th minute, Aniebiet Sunday appeared to score from Etim Charles’ cross, but the goal was disallowed for offside. Akwa United continued to press, with Etim Charles seeing a curling corner fly just over the bar in the 38th minute.
The second half saw both sides create chances. Yannick’s curling free kick in the 47th minute was tipped over by Rovers goalkeeper Chibueze Lambert, while Akwa United goalkeeper Aloysius ThankGod produced a superb one-handed save in the 54th minute to keep his side level. Esonwanne Gift also came close with a header in the 82nd minute, but it went wide.
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The breakthrough finally came in the 88th minute. Aniebiet Sunday calmly converted a precise pass from fellow debutant Oladimeji Dada to fire home the stoppage-time winner. The goal sent the home fans into celebrations and handed Akwa United maximum points in the derby.
Aniebiet Sunday’s performance earned him the Player of the Match award, powered by Ibom Air. His composure, movement, and decisive finish made him a deserved winner of the accolade on his first appearance for the club.
The victory keeps Akwa United at the top of the NNL Conference B table with 22 points from ten games. With the second half of the season underway, Coach Paul Offor emphasised the need for consistency and focus as the team prepares to face Abeokuta Stormers FC in Matchday 11.
Spanish figure skater Olivia Smart and former United States Olympic ice dancer Jean-Luc Baker are engaged, as the latter popped the question on Valentine’s Day on Saturday.
Smart said “yes,” and shared the news on Instagram.
Former Team USA Olympic ice dancer Jean-Luc Baker and ice dancer Olivia Smart of team Spain pose for a photograph after proposing in the streets of Milan on day eight of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games on Feb. 14, 2026 in Milan, Italy.(Joosep Martinson/Getty Images)
“It’s always been you,” the couple captioned a video leading up to the proposal in the streets of Milan.
Smart was clearly shocked at the moment, while the video showed Baker holding up the ring as his new fiancée competed on the ice below.
These two had been friends for quite some time, but on the ice, Team USA and Spain were obvious rivals as they competed for the same prize.
In the 2022 Beijing Games, as well as two World Championships, Baker and Smart competed against one another for gold.
Smart finished above Baker in the 2022 Games, as she finished eighth to his 11th place.
Former Team USA Olympic ice dancer Jean-Luc Baker proposes to ice dancer Olivia Smart of team Spain in the streets of Milan on day eight of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games on Feb. 14, 2026 in Milan, Italy.(Joosep Martinson/Getty Images)
Baker was in the stands this time for the Milan Cortina Games, while Smart was competing alongside partner Tim Dieck in the ice dance. They finished ninth in the competition.
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Smart may not have finished the way she hoped, but at least she didn’t leave Milan without some sort of hardware.
Read More About The 2026 Winter Olympics
Baker had won bronze in his Olympic career, taking it home during the 2018 Winter Games. He hasn’t been able to compete since 2023 due to injuries.
Olivia Smart and partner Tim Dieck of Team Spain compete in the Ice Dance – Free Dance on day five of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on Feb. 11, 2026 in Milan, Italy.(Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
LONDON — It was a tactical gambit only brought about by an injury in the warm-up. It was one that Mikel Arteta had had more than six years to play about with, something he had only done fleetingly. And it was the first look that he moved on from with a halftime substitution.
Basically, Bukayo Saka’s dalliance with central midfield in this 4-0 shellacking of Wigan Athletic is probably just going to be one of those curios that is left to gather dust in the vault. Mikel Arteta’s electric Nebraska, if you will. And maybe the boss has good reason not to indulge the wishes of his fanbase. Simplicity is so often the greatest conduit towards creativity. If your songs sound best with guitar and harmonica, play them that way. If you have one of the best right wingers on the planet, play him there.
Then again, maybe there’s something in this that merits a second hearing? After all, Arteta said as much after the game.
“That’s something that’s a possibility, and I wanted to try it, and we might use it in the future. We still have so many games, competitions and different scenarios to play in this season, and that’s a possibility that we have,” Arteta said.
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When Riccardo Calafiori limped out with injury, there could have been a like-for-like swap with Piero Hincapie. Myles Lewis-Skelly ultimately swapped out of his midfield berth for left back, but it could have been Martin Zubimendi or Declan Rice who brought experience to the engine room. Given that Martin Odegaard joined Kai Havertz and Mikel Merino on the sidelines, someone is going to have to step into midfield. Why not a player who seemed to offer his side some of what they have missing, albeit against very limited opposition?
Arsenal’s attack has occasionally drifted out of tune this season, very proficient individual players not always synchronizing as they might. Saka is not excluded from that assessment given he has seven goals and five assists in 33 games across all competitions, a tally he failed to add to on Sunday, even as he forced an own goal for the Gunners’ third.
A fair chunk of that underperformance can be credited to Saka being behind his expected goals and assists, not a fact you would necessarily expect to be quite so true a few months from now. Then again Saka is not quite delivering the same xG and shot output he had at the peak of his threat two years ago. Anything that might get their best attacker into the most dangerous positions more frequently is surely worth an extended play.
TruMedia
Arsenal have tried this before, Saka getting a sniff at central midfield in the drudgery of lockdown ball, late in the 2019-20 season and early in the weeks that follow. He is a different player now, however, and Arsenal are a different team.
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You could see Saka bringing back some of the qualities that this team has occasionally lacked in its worst attacking moments. His movement for the third immediately had one harking back to 2022-23 and Granit Xhaka: byline crasher. With the flying Noni Madueke drawing the attention of his defense, there was a seam for the central midfielder to attack. A first time cross before the ball went out of play should have been turned in by Gabriel Jesus, who instead miscued the ball into the path of the unfortunate Jack Hunt.first-time
That the cross came off his weaker foot speaks to the great quality he could deliver centrally, his two-footedness making him into even more of a double threat than he is off the right flank. With a bit more space to operate on the outside, Saka could blow by his opponents on the outside to get to a crossing spot or manufacture a shooting chance, too. As is apparent in the progressive flow graphic below, an awful lot of Arsenal’s forward momentum came in the inside right channel Saka occupied for the first 45 minutes, after which Viktor Gyokeres took his place.
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“He’s more central, he’s closer to the goal,” said Arteta. “It’s a bit more difficult for the opponent to get his reference constantly. He can interchange position with the wide player as well, and he’s so good at picking those spaces, and when he’s there, he can really hurt you with the ball.”
On a broader level, Arsenal found themselves with a midfield that was just that bit more intent on stretching play beyond the opposition defense. One of the few critiques you could throw at the Zubimendi, Rice and Odegaard triumvirate is that all three are so adept with the ball at their feet that they tend to gravitate towards it. Saka was more intent on attacking space. With Gabriel Jesus dropping off as Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli drove on, there were options for the deep passers. The outstanding Eberechi Eze exploited those with aplomb.
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“I was a bit surprised with the level of cohesion and connections very early in the match,” said a candid Arteta. “When you make that many changes, that can be a part of the game that can be lacking, but certainly it wasn’t, and we scored some very, very good goals.”
All of this comes with the most almighty of caveats. Sunday’s opposition were, ermmm, not very good. When Madueke cooly rolled in the opener, the travelling Wigan support serenaded their hosts with a chant of “How shit must you be, it’s only 1-0.” Three goals later they struck up a similar tune. When they’ve seen give up six to Peterborough United last week, there was little to really fear from the Emirates Stadium. Arteta could have played Saka at center back and given Tommy Setford his home debut at the tip of the attack. Arsenal were still going to win.
As such Saka’s shift infield might be a one and done, a short sharp burst rather than a change of direction. But when Arsenal find the rhythm that so impressed their manager from the off today, you do want to hear a little bit more.
After sitting as a healthy scratch for the last two games, Jon Cooper said Brad Marchand won’t be watching from the stands much longer.
The Canadian men’s Olympic hockey team head coach told reporters shortly after Canada’s 10-2 win over France to wrap up preliminary action that the veteran forward will play in their quarterfinal contest.
Marchand last made an appearance in Canada’s 5-0 opening win over Czechia, logging an assist, two shots on goal and a plus-one mark through 9:29 of ice time.
The 37-year-old has been a steady contributor for the defending champion Florida Panthers through the first half of the season, racking up 25 goals and 25 assists through 46 games prior to the Olympic break.
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As for Canada, the team heads into the knockout phase of the tournament in Milano Cortina with a 3-0-0 record and a goal differential of plus-17.
![Heathrow has said passenger numbers were 60% lower in November than before the coronavirus pandemic and there were “high cancellations” among business travellers concerned about being trapped overseas for Christmas as Omicron spreads. The UK’s largest airport said the government’s travel restrictions had dealt a fresh blow to travel confidence and predicted it was likely to take several years for passenger numbers to return to pre-pandemic levels. This week ministers said passengers arriving in the UK would have to take a pre-departure Covid test, as well as a post-flight test, because of fears about the spread of the new variant. “[The] high level of cancellations by business travellers concerned about being trapped overseas because of pre-departure testing shows the potential harm to the economy of travel restrictions,” the airport said in an update. Heathrow said the drop in traveller confidence owing to the new travel restrictions had negated the benefit of reopening the all-important corridor to North America for business and holiday travel last month. Eleven African countries have been added to the government’s red list, requiring travellers to quarantine before reuniting with families. “By allowing Brits to isolate at home, ministers can make sure they are reunited with their loved ones this Christmas,” said John Holland-Kaye, the chief executive of Heathrow. “It would send a strong signal that restrictions on travel will be removed as soon as safely possible to give passengers the confidence to book for 2022, opening up thousands of new jobs for local people at Heathrow. Let’s reunite families for Christmas.” Heathrow said that if the government could safely signal that restrictions would be lifted soon, then employers at Heathrow would have the confidence to hire thousands of staff in anticipation of a boost in business next summer. The airport is expecting a slow start to 2022, finishing next year with about 45 million passengers – just over half of pre-pandemic levels. This week Tui, Europe’s largest package holiday operator, said it expected bookings for next summer to bounce back to 2019 levels. However, Heathrow said on Friday not to expect the aviation industry to recover for several years. “We do not expect that international travel will recover to 2019 levels until at least all travel restrictions (including testing) are removed from all the markets that we serve, at both ends of the route, and there is no risk of new restrictions, such as quarantine, being imposed,” the airport said.](https://wordupnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/shutterstock_1100012546-scaled-400x240.jpg)
![Heathrow has said passenger numbers were 60% lower in November than before the coronavirus pandemic and there were “high cancellations” among business travellers concerned about being trapped overseas for Christmas as Omicron spreads. The UK’s largest airport said the government’s travel restrictions had dealt a fresh blow to travel confidence and predicted it was likely to take several years for passenger numbers to return to pre-pandemic levels. This week ministers said passengers arriving in the UK would have to take a pre-departure Covid test, as well as a post-flight test, because of fears about the spread of the new variant. “[The] high level of cancellations by business travellers concerned about being trapped overseas because of pre-departure testing shows the potential harm to the economy of travel restrictions,” the airport said in an update. Heathrow said the drop in traveller confidence owing to the new travel restrictions had negated the benefit of reopening the all-important corridor to North America for business and holiday travel last month. Eleven African countries have been added to the government’s red list, requiring travellers to quarantine before reuniting with families. “By allowing Brits to isolate at home, ministers can make sure they are reunited with their loved ones this Christmas,” said John Holland-Kaye, the chief executive of Heathrow. “It would send a strong signal that restrictions on travel will be removed as soon as safely possible to give passengers the confidence to book for 2022, opening up thousands of new jobs for local people at Heathrow. Let’s reunite families for Christmas.” Heathrow said that if the government could safely signal that restrictions would be lifted soon, then employers at Heathrow would have the confidence to hire thousands of staff in anticipation of a boost in business next summer. The airport is expecting a slow start to 2022, finishing next year with about 45 million passengers – just over half of pre-pandemic levels. This week Tui, Europe’s largest package holiday operator, said it expected bookings for next summer to bounce back to 2019 levels. However, Heathrow said on Friday not to expect the aviation industry to recover for several years. “We do not expect that international travel will recover to 2019 levels until at least all travel restrictions (including testing) are removed from all the markets that we serve, at both ends of the route, and there is no risk of new restrictions, such as quarantine, being imposed,” the airport said.](https://wordupnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/shutterstock_1100012546-scaled-80x80.jpg)
