After a Minnesota Vikings win in 2024, head coach Kevin O’Connell greeted Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson at midfield, telling him to keep his chin up after a recent demotion. A year and a half later, Richardson has been suggested as the Vikings’ big offseason quarterback addition.

Richardson remains a volatile bet, but Minnesota’s QB situation keeps his name in the conversation as a swing-for-upside option.

Minnesota will add another quarterback next to J.J. McCarthy in the coming weeks, and according to Bleacher Report, the Vikings should be on a shortlist for a Richardson trade.

Richardson Talk Lingers as Vikings QB Board Widens

Your Richardson agendas are alive and well.

BR: Vikings Make Sense for a Richardson Trade

BR’s Alex Kay sized up four destinations for Richardson, and in addition to the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, and Pittsburgh Steelers, Minnesota got a nod.

He wrote, “After going 14-3 with Sam Darnold at the helm in 2024, the Minnesota Vikings could be in the market for another rehabilitation project. Richardson would fit the bill as a promising talent who hasn’t come close to meeting the lofty expectations set by his first-round draft position.”

“While Minnesota will be working to build up J.J. McCarthy after a rough sophomore campaign, the No. 10 overall pick in 2024 has proved to be injury-prone early in his NFL career. He already missed his entire rookie season and seven games in 2025, making quarterback depth a priority this offseason.”

Richardson isn’t a dream fit for the Vikings’ current offense, but he does have the raw tools to mature into a long-term QB1 if nurtured properly.

Kay added, “O’Connell seems to believe Richardson has real potential to develop into a superstar despite the rough start to his career. After his Vikings bested the Colts midway through the 2024 season — a game Richardson spent on the bench backing up Joe Flacco — O’Connell went out of his way to heap praise upon the young QB.”

“Richardson could do far worse than landing in the Twin Cities this offseason. He’ll have a fantastic opportunity to develop his game and could even end up starting if McCarthy goes down with another injury in 2026.”

The IND Experiment Winding Down

Last offseason, the Vikings attempted to re-sign Daniel Jones, but he preferred the Colts as his free-agent destination because he figured he could win a starting job there over Richardson, while McCarthy felt like the preordained starter. Ultimately, Jones was correct.

He toppled Richardson somewhat easily during training camp and in the preseason, paving the way for Jones as the unabashed QB1, which he rewarded the Colts by starting the 2025 season white-hot.

Jones would later tear his Achilles tendon, but Richardson was battling an injury, too, so the Colts had to scramble and wound up mind-bogglingly signing Philip Rivers, who hadn’t played football in five years.

Every Colts quarterback outcome in 2025 involved a quarterback not named Anthony Richardson. Therefore, it feels like he’s the odd man out and must head elsewhere.

Just Another Version of McCarthy?

The problem with a Vikings trade for Richardson? He has two shortcomings: his performance shows extreme flashes of brilliance, followed by woeful inconsistencies. He also can’t stay healthy.

Does that sound familiar? It should — those are McCarthy’s bugaboos through two seasons. Finding a way to obtain Richardson would feel like onboarding another version of McCarthy. That is — he might eventually become consistent if he can stay healthy, but no one knows if either will occur.

Kay also noted on Richardson to Minnesota, “O’Connell is considered one of the league’s premier quarterback whisperers, coaxing some truly impressive seasons out of Pro Bowlers like Kirk Cousins and Matt Stafford in addition to maximizing the talents of written-off or unheralded talent such as Darnold and Josh Dobbs.”

“Daniel Jones, the passer who edged out Richardson for Indianapolis’ starting job last year, said the handful of months spent in Minnesota with O’Connell ‘made a big impression’ on him.”

Other Trade Options

Of course, Richardson isn’t the only trade option for the 2026 Vikings. If one assumes that established quarterbacks like Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield, and Dak Prescott are not for sale — why would those players’ teams trade them? — a realistic list might look like this:

• Derek Carr
• Mac Jones
• Drew Lock
• Jalen Milroe
• Jameis Winston
• Justin Fields
• Will Levis
• Davis Mills
• Kyler Murray
• Spencer Rattler

Minnesota would also explore Malik Willis’s free agency; he’s the QB2 for the Packers, who is on the cusp of netting a handsome free-agent contract, with hopes of breaking out big in 2026.

Any Vikings trade for a quarterback like Richardson can happen at anytime. The team doesn’t have to wait until free agency begins on March 9th.

Richardson will turn 24 in May. Youth is his friend.

On a day which many expected to be dominated by one teenager, it was a different, former teen star with a very different story who took centre stage, winning Olympic gold with a dazzling performance at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

Self-styled ‘alt girl’ Alysa Liu – a charismatic former teen star who retired from the sport after burning out before rediscovering her love of skating and returning to competition – set the stadium alight with her distinctive loose, free-flowing style and glitzy Donna Summer routine.

Team gold medallist Ilia Malinin, another to bear the weight of expectation, was among those to cheer on his fellow world champion, who jumped for joy and beamed as she left the ice.

The 20-year-old set a season’s best of 150.20 points – nearly four points clear of her previous best – to lay down a marker to the final two skaters to go.

Three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan missed a major combination, which cost her significant points in an otherwise powerful and elegant routine to an Edith Piaf medley.

The 25-year-old, competing in her final Olympics before retirement, waved to the crowd but was in tears as she entered the aptly named kiss and cry, knowing it wasn’t enough for gold.

Sakamoto finished just shy of two points behind Liu, while 17-year-old compatriot Ami Nakai, competing in her first Olympic Games, produced a peerless short programme and nearly matched that by finishing third overall on Thursday.

The teenager beamed as she took to the ice and the smile rarely left her face as she floated through a lyrical and beautifully executed programme – barring one underrotated jump – to take bronze.

She looked on the verge of tears of joy as Liu hugged her when her final score came in. “I love you both,” Liu said, the picture of happiness.

Liu has no triple axel and no quad jump in this routine, but her sheer vivacity and joy of skating shone through in a performance as glittering as her sparkling gold dress.

It was a far cry from the world of Russian teenager Adeliia Petrosian, who had been the one to dominate the build-up to this Olympic Games. But the 18-year-old finished well down in sixth overall.

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Petrosian’s very presence struck at the heart of a problem which has once again taken centre stage at the Olympic Games.

In four years’ time Petrosian may be able to compete under the Russian flag, without any pretence of representing nowhere in particular. The IOC has made noticeable overtures towards Russia in recent weeks; separately, the Paralympics have allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their own flags in just a few weeks time, much to the disapproval of hosts Italy.

Petrosian was widely expected to be the first ‘neutral athlete’ to win a medal, although earlier on Thursday Nikita Filippov took that dubious honour with a silver in ski mountaineering. Petrosian winning another was not out of the question, despite a short programme many believed was over-marked.

The 18-year-old has largely been shielded from the world; the only notice many had of her potential was in the ‘Skate to Milano’ qualifying event she won prior to the Games.

How she is welcomed by the figure skating world may be telling in the ongoing saga of where Russia finds itself in international sport in the coming years.

Petrosian is coached by the highly controversial Eteri Tutberidze, who achieved notoriety for publicly berating 15-year-old Kamila Valieva after she fell several times in her free skate in Beijing four years ago, days after the news of her positive doping test came to light.

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Tutberidze was found not guilty by Wada and avoided any sanction over the Valieva doping affair, and was granted accreditation for this Olympics as a coach of Georgian skater Nika Egadze.

Tutberidze is not officially registered as Petrosian’s coach – she would have had to go through the IOC’s vetting process, which she is believed to be likely to fail.

Wada president Witold Banka said earlier this month that Tutberidze’s presence made him “uncomfortable”, but the coach was approved nevertheless.

But she has been spotted at the 18-year-old’s practice sessions and has been loud about skirting around the regulations: she said in a documentary featuring pre-Olympics qualifying competitions: “I specifically moved away so that we wouldn’t cross paths anywhere, because they were really watching us.”

Her influence is all over Petrosian’s routines, from the non-traditional jumping technique, to the high-kicks and ragged transitions between sequences.

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And likely in Petrosian’s expiry date: Tutberidze’s charges have largely burned bright for one Olympic cycle, before retiring early, dogged by injuries.

Petrosian’s free skate was an improvement on a somewhat spiky short programme, aside from a fall on an under-rotated quad loop – the only quad any skater has attempted in the competition.

She fell repeatedly on the quad in practice and if rumours of a groin injury are true, perhaps it would have been the correct call from her coaching team – whatever it may be officially or unofficially composed of – to suggest she avoid it.

So it was for the better, for reasons both political and psychological, that Petrosian failed to make the podium on Thursday night: a win for less damaging methods of coaching, and for wider sport.

US national champion Amber Glenn made up for a heavily penalised mistake in her short programme – a triple jump that was awarded zero points as it was downgraded to a double – with an excellent free programme, bar a hand down on a triple loop.

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Glenn stood up and applauded for several of the competitors to go after her; it was interesting that she only smiled and blinked knowingly at the camera as the camera panned to her after Petrosian’s skate. The teenager went into second, less than four-tenths behind Glenn, but remained stone-faced as the scores came in.

Glenn was to finish just off the podium in fifth, with her compatriot Liu winning an individual gold to go with the USA’s overall team gold from last week.

Liu is the reigning world champion and among ice skating’s biggest stars. She retired at 16 – a similar age to when many of Tutberidze’s stars retire – after falling out of love with the sport and the restrictive nature of her training.

But a few years later she returned, having taken time away to be a regular teenager, going on holiday, learning to drive, spending time with her friends. By the time she came back to the ice she had reclaimed her agency and taken control of her own skating, from the costumes she wore to the way she approached the sport. “I’m older and I’ve learned so many lessons. I’m so much better at protecting my peace and knowing why I do the things I do,” she said last autumn.

As Liu jumped around and celebrated in Milan on Thursday, it was hard to argue that this wasn’t a victory for skating as it should be.

Ace jockey Tommy Berry is convinced a Queensland summer jaunt has realigned the formerly difficult Ninja, and he’s backing the gelding to hold his own against premier three-year-olds at Rosehill.

Ninja competed three times up north, triumphing in the Vo Rogue Plate (1300m) on Eagle Farm before a gritty second from the outer alley in the Magic Millions Guineas (1400m) at the Gold Coast.

Berry indicated the Michael Freedman-conditioned speedster has been far more attentive back in Sydney, priming him for a step forward.

“He was quite a handful as a younger horse, which is why Michael (Freedman) took his time with him,” Berry said.

“He didn’t have the attitude of a good horse, but the trip to Queensland has done him the absolute world of good, like it can with horses.

“He has come back, and his attitude is completely different. He’s a lot more relaxed and he’s in a really good frame of mind.”

Eight foes await Ninja in the Hobartville Stakes (1400m), including four first-up runners.

From a handy draw and armed with fresh legs, Berry hopes his partner can pounce.

“Even though it’s a quality field with horses like Attica and Autumn Boy, they’re probably going to get back with the barriers they’ve drawn and be better suited when they get to the mile and further,” Berry said.

“He’s at a distance he’s proven to be good at in the past and if he can’t perform against them on Saturday, then he’s going to struggle to go to the Randwick Guineas against them.

“It’s a good test for him but one that we think he’s well and truly up to.”

One of the fresh faces is Shangri La Boy, with co-trainer Adrian Bott keeping expectations grounded.

The colt shone in his first spell, winning twice from four and missing only Attica in the Spring Champion Stakes (2000m), but plotting a course to the ATC Australian Derby (2400m), he’s set to build with longer races.

“I do think he’s meeting a couple who have a fitness advantage on him and have kicked off their campaigns already. Naturally, they will probably be a bit sharper over the 1400 metres,” Bott said.

“He will try to go through that path of the Guineas races and potentially onto a Derby. With that, there’s good improvement to come.”

Check the racing betting markets for Hobartville Stakes value.

Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan (AP Photo)

A number of prominent figures from the cricketing world — including Indian icons Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar — have extended support to former Pakistan all-rounder Imran Khan, who has been incarcerated for more than two years. Reports suggest that Khan, Pakistan’s Prime Minister from 2018 to 2022, has nearly lost vision in one eye, allegedly due to medical negligence during his imprisonment. He was ousted from office following multiple corruption charges.The push for better treatment of Khan gathered momentum earlier this week when former Australia captain Greg Chappell initiated a petition urging authorities to ensure proper medical care for the jailed leader. The appeal has been endorsed by several former international captains.In a conversation with Australian journalists Gideon Haigh and Peter Lalor, Chappell explained what prompted him to take action.“And so, you know, I’ve been following and keeping in contact with him as much as possible, but since he’s been in jail, it’s been impossible. I’m in touch with one of his very best friends on a regular basis, and not even his family have been able to see him while he’s in jail. So, this has been sort of troubling me for a while, but I thought, well… What difference does one voice make? And it was in conversation with my friend [name not clear], and he said, Well, why don’t you talk to other captains, and see if you can get a group of captains that make a statement that that might carry a bit more weight.”Given the long-standing political tensions between India and Pakistan, and Khan’s firm stance toward India during his tenure as Prime Minister, public backing from Indian cricket greats was far from certain. Although Khan had visited India multiple times as both a cricketer and political leader and had forged personal bonds there, many of his Indian acquaintances had stayed silent following his imprisonment.Chappell admitted he was struck by how swiftly Gavaskar and Kapil agreed to support the initiative. “Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev probably had more pressure than the rest of us, but they both reacted instantly. You’ve probably seen Sunny’s comments… They’ve been friends for a long time,” he said.Earlier, Gavaskar had spoken about his long association with Khan in remarks that drew attention on both sides of the border. “I have known Imran since he was 17 years old, when India was playing at Worcester… after the Test series win at The Oval. He was trying to qualify as an overseas player for Worcestershire then. Whatever the political differences there, we believe that he should be looked after in a humane manner and given proper medical care,” he told The Indian Express.Others who have signed the petition include Ian Chappell, Clive Lloyd, Allan Border, Michael Atherton, Nasser Hussain, Michael Brearley, David Gower, Steve Waugh, John Wright, Kim Hughes and Belinda Clark.

With fans protesting against the club’s board at the start of the game and later ironically cheering Schmeichel making a save, the atmosphere at Parkhead was far from harmonious.

“It’s bitterly disappointing,” former Celtic captain and manager Neil Lennon said of the jeers directed at Schmeichel.

“He had a bad night but it still doesn’t warrant that kind of treatment.”

Thursday night was the latest in a string of perceived errors made by Schmeichel, following Joe Hugill’s looping header for Kilmarnock last weekend and Jonathan Rowe’s effort for Bologna last month.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Celtic closed ranks around their embattled goalkeeper post-match.

“It’s a tough evening for us,” interim manager Martin O’Neill said. “On paper, 4-1 looks pretty poor.

“We were masters of our own downfall in many respects, conceded some poor goals.

“Kasper [Schmeichel] has made some great saves while I’ve been here. This is a collective, there’s no doubt about that.

“We played Feyenoord in a game we probably had to win and he made an unbelievable save, otherwise we wouldn’t be here playing tonight.

“I will think about all sorts of things [before the next game], but Kasper has done really well since I’ve arrived at the football club, in both spells.”

Captain Callum McGregor added: “Everyone makes mistakes.

“Kasper has been amazing since he’s come to the club. He’ll dust that down. We win as a team and lose as a team.

“There’s no blame, he’s made so many big saves for us. He’ll bounce back for sure.”

Pakistan have sealed their place in the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup after a comfortable win over Namibia, becoming the final team to qualify. However, the victory did little to silence the growing debate around former captain Babar Azam, whose lean run with the bat has once again come under scrutiny.Babar has managed just 66 runs in three matches and has struggled to make an impact. During the Namibia game, controversy surfaced when he did not come out to bat despite being padded up for a long period. It also appeared that skipper Salman Ali Agha was not entirely pleased with the call.

Former Pakistan batter and selector Mohammad Yousuf has now openly criticised Babar, revealing that he had earlier recommended resting the batter during his tenure as selector.“I’ve been saying this for 2-3 years that Babar’s technique has gone for a toss. I’ve been hearing that he is out-of-form, but he is not. A player can only be out-of-form for two to three series and he has not scored runs for the past two-three years. The moment I suggested resting Babar, everyone suddenly turned against me. I had to resign because of this. He was eventually dropped a couple of series later,” Yousuf said on the ‘How Does It Work?’ podcast.He further questioned the emphasis placed on mentality over skill. “The churan of mindset is being sold very wrongly. Until you don’t have the skill, the mind can’t do anything. If you don’t have the skill, what will the mind do?” he added.Yousuf also compared Babar to legends of a previous era, placing them on a different pedestal. “Inzy Bhai and Saeed Bhai’s level can’t be matched. They can’t be matched. They were very big players. Zaheer Abbas…. These four players were of different categories and levels. Babar is nothing in front of them.”Despite the noise, Pakistan now shift focus to the Super 8 stage, where they have been placed in Group 2 alongside England cricket team, New Zealand cricket team and Sri Lanka cricket team.

Pakistan Super 8 Fixtures

Pakistan will begin their Super 8 campaign against New Zealand on 21 February in Colombo, followed by crucial clashes against England and Sri Lanka in Pallekele.

Team Akwa Ibom has departed Uyo for the 2026 Niger Delta Games in Edo State with a firm determination to surpass its previous performance at the regional sporting fiesta.

The contingent, which includes 270 athletes, left Uyo en route to Edo State on Thursday, February 19, 2026, from the NYSC Orientation Camp in Nsit Atai, where the athletes had been in closed camping in preparation for the Games.

The Honourable Commissioner for Sports, Elder Paul Bassey, who represented the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Pastor Umo Eno, at the send-off ceremony, charged the athletes and their coaches to remain disciplined and project the state positively throughout the competition.

He stressed the need for the athletes to have a proper understanding of the rules guiding their respective events, noting that discipline and strict compliance would enhance their medal prospects.

“We finished sixth at the maiden edition of the Games, and that was not satisfactory,” the Commissioner said. “Hosting the last edition came with distractions that affected our performance. This time, we must demonstrate the true spirit of Team Akwa Ibom.”

Bassey conveyed the goodwill of the Governor to the team and assured them of the government’s full support despite the Governor’s inability to attend the ceremony in person.

“Go there, give your best, and you will receive a warm welcome on your return,” he added.

While acknowledging that not every athlete may secure a podium finish, the Commissioner urged them to remain focused and give their maximum effort.

Accompanying the team are members of the State Liaison Committee, sports administrators, the media team, the team’s chaperone, camp commandants, and Directors from the Ministry of Sports.

Team Akwa Ibom is optimistic about improving on its sixth-place finish at the last edition and competing strongly for a higher ranking at the 2026 Niger Delta Games.