Curler John Shuster, 39, who helped Americans win their first ever Olympic medal in 2006, heads to Beijing after winning an unlikely gold in Pyeongchang in 2018, kicking off a bit of a curling craze back home.
The big picture: Shuster's rise to Olympic glory hasn't come easily. In 2010, his team placed dead last in Vancouver and second-to-last in Sochi in 2014.Shuster and three of his 2018 teammates will now defend their gold medal win.
10 days out from the Olympics, athletes around the world are battening down the hatches in hopes of making it to Beijing COVID-free.
Why it matters:The Beijing bubble — a closed-loop system meant to shut off the outside world entirely — is the strictest ever created for a global sporting event.
Republican leaders on the House Energy and Commerce Committee have sent a letter to NBC Universal executives voicing concerns about "the extent of influence the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) may have over NBCUniversal’s coverage of the games."
Why it matters: The human rights abuses committed by the CCP have been the subject of intense scrutiny ahead of this year's Winter Games in Beijing. Activists last year sent a letter to NBC executives urging the network to cancel plans to cover the Olympics.
Australian Open organizers on Tuesday reversed a ban on T-shirts supporting Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai following widespread criticism.
Why it matters: Tennis Australia's announcement came less than 24 hours after the governing body defended the decision to ask fans last Friday to remove "Where is Peng Shuai?" T-shirts, citing a ticket policy prohibiting political clothing, per the BBC.
At least six people were killed and 40 others injured in a stampede during an Africa Cup of Nations soccer match in Cameroon's capital, Yaoundé, Monday — and officials warned the death toll could rise, per AP.
The big picture: The Confederation of African Football (CAF), which organizes the Africa Cup of Nations, said in a statement it is investigating the tragedy, which happened as fans tried to access Olembe Stadium to watch Cameroon's 2-1 win over Comoros.
After breaking her neck and back in a frightening crash in her debut at the Pyeongchang Olympics, 29-year-old luger Emily Sweeney returns to the Games.
The big picture: Sweeney said getting back on the sled "took everything" she had, but 11 months after the crash, she earned a bronze medal at the World Championships. Now in Beijing, she's searching for her first Olympic medal.
The 2021 NFL season featured unprecedented parity and a record number of walk-offs. This weekend was more of the same — and then some.
Why it matters: For the first time in NFL history, all four Divisional Round games ended in walk-off fashion. It was, quite simply, the greatest playoff weekend ever.
The NCAA's new one-time transfer policy has fundamentally altered college sports. And while football has garnered most of the headlines, basketball has been impacted just as much, if not more.
What they're saying:The Athletic spoke to 17 college hoops coaches about the transfer portal, which has "transformed the notion of roster building into a wild flea market of back-channel dealings."
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