PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Mike Tomlin era with the Pittsburgh Steelers is over. The longest-tenured head coach in major American professional sports stepped down Tuesday after yet another quick playoff exit. The announcement came a day after the end of Tomlin's 19th season in Pittsburgh. Tomlin won one Super Bowl and went to another during his first four seasons with the Steelers before the club settled into a familiar and frustrating pattern of solid if not always spectacular play followed by a playoff cameo that ended with the Steelers on the wrong side of a blowout. Tomlin went 193-112-2 in Pittsburgh but lost each of his last seven playoff games.
Snowboarder Chloe Kim says she’s “good to go” for the Milan Cortina Olympics despite tearing the labrum in her shoulder during a training run last week in Switzerland. The two-time gold medalist in the halfpipe posted an update to Instagram, saying she wasn’t surprised to learn she had torn the area that holds her shoulder together. She says she's upset that she won't be able to snowboard again until just before the Winter Games, but that she'll be in Italy going for her third straight Olympic title.
The Milan Cortina Winter Games will feature Alpine ski racing on iconic courses steeped in history, a change after three straight Olympics were held on new tracks. The men’s events take place on the demanding Stelvio in Bormio, where Bode Miller’s one-ski run in 2005 remains legendary. The women will race on the Olympia delle Tofane track in Cortina. It's a hill known for its rhythmic nature but has plenty of teeth to it. Lindsey Vonn's record-breaking win in Cortina in 2015 was overshadowed by Tiger Woods' missing tooth incident. Mikaela Shiffrin's 2021 success in Cortina contrasts with her 2024 crash.
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A tennis player has learned not to celebrate victory before the match is really won. Before Sebastian Ofner lost in Australian Open qualifying, the 29-year-old Austrian had raised his arms and walked toward the net after taking a 7-1 lead in the decisive tiebreaker against Nishesh Basavareddy on Wednesday. The chair umpire sent Ofner back to continue playing the super tiebreaker until he got at least 10 points — not seven — and was two points ahead. Basavareddy went on to complete a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (11) win after Ofner had two match-point chances. The 20-year-old American winner did an apparent choking gesture at the net with both hands on his neck.
PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks have acquired eight-time All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado from St. Louis for minor league pitcher Jack Martinez. The Cardinals are also including $31 million in the trade. A 10-time Gold Glove winner, Arenado has played for the Cardinals the past five seasons and was shopped extensively after the 2024 season by a rebuilding team. The 34-year-old isn’t the offensive force he used to be but will still provide a veteran presence at the position after the D-backs traded slugger Eugenio Suárez at last season’s trade deadline. Arenado batted. .237 with 12 homers and 52 RBIs last season.
DALLAS (AP) — Dallas Mavericks big man Anthony Davis will be sidelined about six weeks in his latest injury absence, although the 10-time All-Star won’t need surgery to repair ligament damage in his left hand. The teams says the determination to skip surgery came after a medical evaluation Tuesday. Davis was injured late in the Mavericks’ 116-114 loss to the Utah Jazz last week. It will be the second absence of at least a month this season for Davis. The 32-year-old missed 15 of the 16 games in November with a calf strain.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points as the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder beat San Antonio 119-98 on Tuesday night. This marked their first win in four tries against the Spurs this season. Jalen Williams added 20 points, while Chet Holmgren contributed eight points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. The Thunder improved to a league-best 34-7 at the season's midway point. Stephon Castle leads San Antonio with 20 points. Victor Wembanyama added 17 points and seven rebounds. Oklahoma City has now won four straight games. The teams will meet again on Feb. 4 in San Antonio.
AMSTERDAM (AP) — Maximilian Ibrahimović, son of soccer great Zlatan Ibrahimović, has joined Ajax on loan from AC Milan. The 19-year-old winger is excited to play for another club his father once represented. Italian media reports said Ajax paid $4 million for the loan with an option to make the move permanent at the end of the season. Ajax's director of football, Marijn Beuker, praised Maximilian's skills and mentality. He will initially play with Ajax U23 and gradually integrate into the first team. Zlatan played for Ajax from 2001 to 2005, scoring 48 goals. Maximilian says he aims to create his own legacy, separate from his father's. Zlatan Ibrahimović currently serves as senior adviser to Milan’s American owners.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Nikita Kucherov scored the deciding goal in the shootout and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 on Tuesday night for their 11th straight win. J.J. Moser scored in regulation and Andrei Vasilevskiy had 26 saves for the Lightning, who have not lost since a 2-1 defeat at home against Los Angeles on Dec. 18. The Lightning moved into first place in the Atlantic Division, one point ahead of Detroit, which lost 3-0 at Boston. Evgeni Malkin scored for the Penguins and Arturs Silovs had 30 saves. Pittsburgh lost its third straight (0-2-1) since a six-game win streak. Gage Goncalves scored for Tampa Bay in the second round of the tiebreaker, and Egor Chinakov tied it for Pittsburgh on their attempt in the third round. Kucherov then won it for the Lightning.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas has shown what it can do with a healthy Darryn Peterson and a regular rotation. The timing couldn’t have been worse for second-ranked Iowa State. After falling from the AP Top 25 following a second loss in their first three Big 12 games, the Jayhawks roared away from the stunned Cyclones on Tuesday night. Peterson scored 16 points and Tre White led the Jayhawks with 19. It was the kind of performance that college basketball fans are accustomed to seeing from coach Bill Self's Jayhawks over the years.
Finals
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Ottawa 2 Vancouver 1
Final OT Washington 3 Montreal 2
Final Columbus 5 Calgary 3
Final SO Tampa Bay 2 Pittsburgh 1
Final Boston 3 Detroit 0
Final St. Louis 3 Carolina 0
Final OT Nashville 4 Edmonton 3
Final Winnipeg 5 N-Y Islanders 4
Final Utah 6 Toronto 1
Final Anaheim 3 Dallas 1
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final Kansas 84 (2)Iowa State 63
Final (3)UConn 69 (25)Seton Hall 64
Final (7)Houston 77 West Virginia 48
Final (8)Nebraska 90 Oregon 55
Final (12)Michigan State 81 Indiana 60
Final (16)Virginia 79 (20)Louisville 70
Final (18)Alabama 97 Mississippi State 82
Final (19)Florida 96 Oklahoma 79
Final (22)Clemson 74 Boston College 50
Final (24)Tennessee 87 Texas A&M 82