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Since trading for Jaren Jackson Jr., the Utah Jazz have been an exciting team to watch. Since February 7th, when Jackson joined the team, the Jazz have had a top ten defense. Offensively, it’s not been as good, but that has not included having Keyonte George (who injured his ankle in Jackson’s debut) and Walker Kessler. The question is, how well can the Jazz play next season with their complete team?
In this edition of Utah Jazz Reacts, I wanted to see what Jazz fans thought. Do you think the Jazz will be a playoff team next season? Will they be able to find cohesion with Keyonte George and Walker Kessler? Or will it be a dissapointing season?
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The Spurs have two games left before the All Star break, tonight against the Lakers, and tomorrow night against the Warriors, both late night games on the west coast. It’s the back-to-back series of games with a LA face and an Oakland booty. Another interesting fact is that both the Lakers and Warriors will be missing their best players on both nights. Out for the Lakers tonight will be LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and Marcus Smart, and Ayton is listed as questionable. The Spurs have not been exactly dominant against teams that sit out a lot of their starting lineup, and the Spurs could be a bit distracted with several of their players taking part in All Star festivities this weekend. This will be an interesting test of Mitch Johnson’s coaching to see if he can get his team to play with intensity against a team whose best player is probably … Rui Hachimura? Don’t get me wrong, Rui is good, but he doesn’t have the ability to create trips to the free throw line from thin air like Luka. And LeBron is old, but still can take over a game in short stretches. Even with all those players missing, the Tinseltown torch bearers have a lot of players who can score. Dalton Knecht can hit shots, as can Rui and Luke Kennard. Jaxson Hayes is one of my least favorite NBA players, but he can dunk the ball well enough that he was invited to the dunk contest this year. If the Spurs allow the Lakers to stay in the game until the fourth quarter, it could be a tough night for the Silver and Black, when what they really want to do is save their energy for tomorrow night’s 9:00 PM game against the Curry-less Warriors in San Francisco (not actually Oakland any more).
The newly crowned Western Conference Player of the Week [Stephon Castle] will look to have a big night, and De’Aaron Fox should be able to get whatever shot he wants to, because the Laker defense is normally bad, but without Smart, it’s going to be terrible. Best case scenario, Victor Wembanyama puts this game away early and cheers on the Spurs garbage time crew from the bench for most of the fourth quarter. But the more likely outcome involves the starters having to play big minutes to put the Lakers away late. Ugh.
It’s a late night game, so you might want to check your coffee reserves before the game starts. GO SPURS GOO!!
Jordan McLaughlin puts on a show with 20 points in the fourth quarter as he repeatedly blows past Luke Kennard.
San Antonio Spurs vs Dallas Mavericks
February 10, 2026 | 9:30 PM CT
Streaming: NBA League Pass
TV: NBATV/FanDuel Sports Southwest
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The San Diego Padres still have a lot to determine as Spring Training kicks off with their game against the Seattle Mariners on Feb. 20. Among the 28 non-roster invites the Friars extended, surely one of them will be the next Gavin Sheets – someone who will go on a tear this spring and surprise us all by becoming a major contributor to the big-league club. So, who are these candidates? Here’s two possibilities: one pitcher and one position player.
While not the most inspiring offseason pickup by the Padres, there is a hopefulness surrounding Marco Gonzales’ return to the majors. In late August of 2024, Gonzales underwent surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his left elbow, which kept him out for the entire 2025 season. It’s hard to say exactly what is expected of the 33-year-old veteran as he enters his 11th season, but there are some interesting markers to watch for this spring.
Gonzales has shown throughout his career that he has a fantastic ability to pepper the strike zone. Throughout his 10 seasons in MLB, his lowest mark was 62% of pitches thrown for strikes (S%). Since then, he has averaged 67%.
Padres fans may remember Dylan Cease as a starter known for his strikeout numbers (200 Ks in five straight seasons). But Cease’s career high in S% came in at 63%, four percent lower than Gonzales’ career average.
Now, obviously, anyone can throw it down the middle (if that was the measurement of elite pitching I could be on the mound). The important thing is being able to dance around the corners of the zone. That’s why pitchers like Cease are able to achieve high strikeout numbers where Gonzales has never reached more than 147 Ks (2019). But with the help of pitching coach Ruben Niebla, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Gonzales turn into the strikeout artist he seems poised to become in San Diego.
That being said, an interesting stat to note with Gonzales is his ability to induce double play opportunities (GIDPO). In the seasons he made 30-plus starts (2019 and 2022), he managed to induce 134 and 105 opportunities, respectively.
To put that into perspective, Framber Valdez and Cristopher Sanchez (two of the best ground ball pitchers in the sport) have only managed to reach a max of 121 and 108 GIDPO, respectively.
Unfortunately, in 2019 Gonzales found himself on a Seattle Mariners team ranked 28th in defensive metrics, so only 22 of those 134 opportunities were actually converted into double plays. In 2022 the Mariners defense was quite good but seemed to be cursed when Gonzales took the mound, making crucial errors and again converting only 17 of 105 opportunities.
Thankfully Gonzales won’t have that problem in San Diego. The Padres had elite defense in 2025, with a .991 fielding percentage. And with middle infielders Xander Bogaerts and Jake Cronenworth returning, it’s difficult to imagine the Friars being unable to provide defensive support for Gonzales.
Who knew both of these candidates would come from the Pittsburgh Pirates? Nick Solak represents the Padres’ next-best option at first base, and (in my opinion) is ready for a Gavin Sheets-esque renaissance.
Solak decimated minor-league pitching in the Pirates’ system last year. He ended the season with a .332/.411/.492 slash line. But his time with the big-league club was far worse, going 1-for-11 at the plate. That’s obviously a small sample size, and he will get more opportunities this spring to prove himself. But there’s one particular stat of note.
Solak mashes against lefties. His career major league slash line versus left-handed pitchers is .255/.319/.394 compared to .182/.249/.251 against right-handers. That does include outliers like the shortened 2020 season and the meager 11 at-bats in 2025. But removing those doesn’t change the fact that, every single year, Solak has performed far better against lefties than righties.
*no plate appearances in 2023 and spent all of 2024 in the minors
Throughout his career, Solak has managed to produce incredible results against lefties (something the Padres have struggled with mightily in recent years). If he’s able to match or increase his past levels of production, perhaps Solak starts against left-handed pitchers — forming a platoon at first base with Sheets.
Whether Gonzales and Solak can put it together remains to be seen. Neither of them have managed to so far in their combined 17 years of MLB experience. But however Spring Training shakes out for these players, the excitement is palpable with San Diego’s first game of 2026 fast approaching.
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Malik Reneau scored 16 points, Ernest Udeh Jr. had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Miami never trailed while beating No. 11 North Carolina 75-66 on Tuesday night for the Hurricanes' first victory over a Top 25 opponent in two years.
Tre Donaldson finished with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Shelton Henderson added 12 points for the Hurricanes (19-5, 8-3 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Udeh made a free throw with 2:11 remaining, then rebounded his missed second attempt and scored on a layup to put Miami ahead 66-60.
After Donaldson’s layup with 1:20 left made it 69-62, Jarin Stevenson’s layup 5 seconds later got the Tar Heels (19-5, 7-4) within five. Despite finishing 14 of 23 from the foul line, Miami clinched the win with six free throws in the final minute.
As soon as the horn sounded, Hurricanes fans stormed the court, celebrating their first win over a Top 25 team since beating No. 16 Clemson 95-82 Jan. 3, 2024.
Stevenson scored 13 points, Caleb Wilson had 12 and Henri Veesar added 11 for the Tar Heels.
Wilson, the Tar Heels' leading scorer with 20 points per game, left briefly for the locker room midway through the second half and had his left hand wrapped when he returned with 8:47 remaining.
The loss snapped North Carolina’s five game-win streak.
Miami outscored North Carolina 46-28 in the paint. Udeh made seven of eight shots, including five on dunks. After shooting 7-of-13 from 3-point range in the first half, the Tar Heels were 1 of 14 from behind the arc in the second half.
The Hurricanes opened a 10-point lead on Reneau’s three-point play seven minutes into the first half that made it 22-12.
North Carolina chipped away and stayed within striking distance the remainder of the half. Kyan Evans’ 3-pointer with 1:01 remaining got the Tar Heels to 41-40 before Timo Malovec’s two free throws with 27 seconds left gave the Hurricanes a 3-point lead at halftime.
North Carolina: Host Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Miami: At North Carolina State on Saturday.
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“What the Utah Jazz are doing is messing around with the integrity of the game.”
Bobby Marks took to national television to reiterate the discourse that has been poisoning recent NBA discussion — the Utah Jazz are dismantling the sanctity of competition. They’re shredding the fabric of competition; defiling the tapestry of professional basketball. How are they doing this? By losing basketball games
The Utah Jazz have been at the forefront of NBA debate for the past few months, taking digital body blows from outraged observers and tanking scrutinizers.
Assuming you haven’t kept a tight watch on the bottom of the NBA standings, you’d understandably assume that a team sparking so much controversy would be far and away the ugliest example of their strategy. Surely, considering the growing wave of scrutiny, the Utah Jazz must have the worst record in the league, right?
Nope.
Bottom three?
Wrong again.
Utah sits with a 17-37 record, which is currently sixth-worst in the NBA and 5.5 games ahead of the last-place Kings. So what’s the rub?
I have a theory, but let me warn you that I’m about to get biblical.
On the Day of Atonement, the ancient Israelites would ritualistically place the burden of their nation’s sin upon a goat. This animal’s role removed all guilt of wrongdoing from its community as it carried the nation’s burden into the wilderness. Distancing themselves from all of their shortcomings and wrongdoings
The Utah Jazz are not the villains of the NBA; they’re the scapegoats. The poster boy for the tankathon. They’re the tanking franchise bearing the weight of the basketball world’s sins.
The Utah Jazz are not the villains of the NBA; they’re the scapegoats.
The fans paid for tickets to watch the Utah Jazz, and that is exactly what they got: Lauri Markkanen, Keyonte George, Ace Bailey, and the newly-acquired Jaren Jackson Jr each appeared in this game to Utah’s advantage, pushing the visiting Jazz ahead by as many as 17 points before the game turned to the fourth quarter and those starters reclined on the bench. Fingers laced behind their heads, legs outstretched with ankles crossed, Utah’s stars would not re-enter the game even as the Magic whittled their lead down to single-digits, then one possession, until eventually claiming the lead and victory away from the tanking Jazz.
Coach Will Hardy employed a similar strategy in the next game, pulling his starters in the fourth quarter and watching as the second unit beat Miami outright, thanks in part to a clutch three-pointer courtesy of third-year player and former first-round pick, Brice Sensabaugh.
Will Hardy has every right to employ the lineups of his choice — that’s what it means to be a head coach — and the NBA won’t punish him or the Jazz for the players he opted to play in crunch time. The moment Adam Silver steps in to declare who can and cannot play in the fourth quarter of a basketball game, that is when the integrity of competition will be compromised, not when a subpar team gives playing time to its bench.
Possibly the loudest whistle-blowers regarding Utah’s sins are the Dallas Mavericks. Yes, that’s right, the very same team that traded away Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis in a ‘win-now’ move to push themselves closer to championship contention. That team was rewarded with a shocking jump to the number-one pick and Cooper Flagg. Just one year prior, the Mavs were hit with a $750,000 fine for tanking, the largest such fine in league history.
Yet it’s Dallas, the team with the seventh-worst record, just behind the Utah Jazz, who choose to virtue signal, casting the finger of shame toward the unethical Utah Jazz all across social media. They started the movement, and the NBA community is running with it.
‘Ethical tanking’ is a myth. It’s baffling to suggest that one team’s intentional losing is commendable while another’s is vile. It’s hypocrisy. It’s selective outrage. Yet this perspective has leaked into the mainstream, as evidenced by Mark’s ESPN spot.
‘Ethical tanking’ is a myth.
Where is the outcry toward Washington, a team resting its two All-Star acquisitions, as Davis was announced out for the season, and Young still awaits his debut? Where is the hatred for Sacramento as they sit their core on the way to a league-worst standing? The Indiana Pacers, last year’s NBA Finals runners-up who are clinging to a top-four protected pick, announced that their newest center, Ivica Zubac, won’t be making his debut any time soon.
But the Utah Jazz are ridiculed for running their best players for three quarters and cratering in the fourth? Those outraged at the Jazz’s tanking methods are misguided. Tanking is tanking is tanking. Regardless of execution, plenty more NBA teams are losing deliberately — they just have far less press coverage.
Internet sleuths have their magnifying glass hovering directly over the Jazz; there’s no escaping their dutiful watch now. But the Jazz didn’t invent tanking, nor are they the only one of the NBA’s 30 teams to employ tanking strategies this season or any of the last decade-plus since Philadelphia installed “The Process”.
The system is flawed, and smart teams (especially those who historically struggle to lure in top free agents) are taking advantage. Don’t hate the player, hate the game, because the Utah Jazz are just one cog in the tanking machine.
Seemingly, everyone has an idea about how to solve tanking in the NBA. Ideas span from flattening draft odds, employing lottery bans for teams that received a top pick, and even eliminating the lottery altogether, opting for a 30-team rotation that shifts one spot every season.
I won’t pretend to know the solution for the NBA’s tanking problem — and yes, it is a problem that teams don’t want to win — but I’d suggest that all proposals are taken to Occam’s Razor. In other words, the best solution is often the simplest solution. I don’t subscribe to the idea that small-market teams should be barred from building through the draft in subsequent years. A one-and-done type of draft would be both complicated and unusual.
Basketball is a simple game at its core; complication isn’t the cure for its shortcomings.
Flattening the odds accomplished its original purpose: being detrimental to the worst records in the league and minimizing the reward for hunting that bottom spot in the standings. Since flattening lottery odds, the number-one odds have never been actualized into the number one pick.
Few understand this better than Utah (a franchise that has never had the pleasure of drafting first overall), which finished with the top lottery odds and a 52.1% chance of landing in the top four before sliding to five and picking up Rutgers’ Ace Bailey with their pick. Bailey is the symbol of Utah’s punishment for playing the game the ‘right way’ in 2025. He’s evidence that being the very worst guarantees nothing in the draft lottery, and the physical manifestation of his team’s shortcomings.
The idea behind dissuading tanking was sound, but more teams than ever are still hunting lottery odds. Utah is no exception, nor are they a red stain on the flawless reputation of the NBA. There are at least seven Utah Jazz equivalents in 2025-26, and it’s time we stop singling out the Jazz for their part in the movement.
Calvin Barrett is a writer, editor, and prolific Mario Kart racer located in Tokyo, Japan. He has covered the NBA and College Sports since 2024.
DALLAS (AP) — Jaron Pierre Jr. scored 22 points, Boopie Miller added 20 and SMU pulled away midway through the second half and cruised past Notre Dame 89-81 on Tuesday night.
Pierre made three 3s and scored 13 points during a 19-6 run to give SMU a 69-56 lead with 8:21 remaining. Pierre capped the surge with a windmill dunk.
Notre Dame cut the deficit to 83-77 with 1:12 left, but Pierre answered with a layup and B.J. Edwards made two free throws to push the lead to 87-77 with 22 seconds to go.
Corey Washington added 14 points, and Samet Yigitoglu chipped in with 11 points and 10 rebounds for SMU (17-7, 6-5 Atlantic Coast Conference). The Mustangs shot 52.5% (32 of 61) from the floor. Pierre, Miller and Washington combined for 10 of their 19 3-pointers.
Jalen Haralson scored 23 points to lead Notre Dame (11-14, 2-10). Cole Certa and Braeden Shrewsberry each added 16 points. The Fighting Irish have lost five straight and 10 of their last 11 games.
SMU opened on a 21-11 run before Notre Dame tied it 34-all with about three minutes to play in the first half. Miller scored the last six points to give the Mustangs 43-37 lead at the break.
It was Notre Dame's first game at Moody Coliseum since 1990.
Notre Dame hosts Georgia Tech on Saturday.
SMU plays at Syracuse on Saturday.
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LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Bailey Maupin scored 23 points, Snudda Collins added 17 off the bench and No. 16 Texas Tech beat Kansas 70-65 on Tuesday night for coach Krista Gerlich's 100th win with the Lady Raiders.
Maupin made a steal and then sank two free throws with 24.2 seconds left to give Texas Tech a 65-60 lead.
Brittany Harshaw sank a long 3-pointer to pull Kansas within 65-63 and Maupin went 1 of 2 from the free-throw line for a three-point lead at 19.7.
Kansas was called for an illegal screen at the 3-point line with 11.7 seconds left and Maupin made two free throws for a five-point lead.
Maupin was 6 of 15 from the field and 9 of 10 at the free-throw line to secure her fifth 20-point game of the season for Texas Tech (23-3, 10-3 Big 12).
S’Mya Nichols led Kansas (15-11, 5-9) with 15 points and Jaliya Davis scored 12 of her 14 in the first half. Elle Evans added 11 points and Regan Williams scored 10.
Texas Tech held a 28-25 lead at halftime despite making just 2 of its last 14 shots. The Lady Raiders did not make a field goal over the final four minutes of the first half.
Kansas: Returns home to play Houston on Saturday.
Texas Tech: Goes on the road to play Oklahoma State on Saturday.
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Though the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft figures to be spent on Kansas' Darryn Peterson, BYU star freshman AJ Dybantsa doesn't figure to make the decision easy.
The Cougars star had another monster night in a 99-94 win over Baylor, scoring 36 points, tied for his second-highest total this season.
Dybantsa also ran the offense effectively, notching seven assists for BYU. He was efficient from the field and nearly impossible to guard, going 14-for-20 shooting from the field. He was 7-for-8 from the free throw line. While things got dicey down the stretch for BYU, they were ultimately able to hold off the Bears to move to 18-6 (6-5 Big 12) on the season. His teammate Robert Wright III, who transferred from Baylor and endured chants of traitor from Bears fans, also had his first 30-point game in college in the effort.
BYU is now 4-1 when Dybantsa scores 30-plus this season, the lone loss coming in a 36-point effort against Oklahoma State that ended in a 99-92 loss and saw the Stillwater fans storm the court after. Dybantsa has shot over 60% from the field in all of his 30-plus point games.
Dybantsa scored 36 points on 14-of-20 (70%) shooting, and was 7-for-8 from the line. He had seven assists and five rebounds in the effort as well, along with a steal and a turnover.
BYU came back from a 12-point first half deficit to snap a four-game losing streak, giving the Cougars a big win after falling to .500 in the Big 12 following a loss to Houston on Feb. 7.
USA TODAY Network's Bryan Kalbrosky has Dybantsa going No. 2 to the Kings, with Darryn Peterson going No. 1 to the Wizards. Of Dybantsa, Kalbrosky writes:
The Sacramento Kings have had an utterly disappointing season and could use a new identity. Drafting a player like BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa would given them that. The young star recently became the youngest player in NCAA history with a 30-point triple-double against Eastern Washington on Dec. 22, then he had 43 dominant points against in-state rival Utah on Jan. 24.
Cameron Boozer of Duke also figures to be a top pick. Dybantsa's competition this year is stiff, but he has shown time and time again he has the talent to contribute early at the next level. Feb. 10 was just the latest example of that. BYU's next opponent is Colorado on Feb. 14.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: AJ Dybantsa stats: How many points did BYU star score vs Baylor?
There has been so much discourse this season about the Knicks needing more from Karl-Anthony Towns.
But what if they actually need less of him?
This Knicks surge, in which they entered Tuesday’s game against the Pacers at Madison Square Garden having won nine of their past 10 games to save their season from spiraling away from them, has come with noticeably less usage from Towns.
And during that stretch, the Knicks were elite on both ends of the floor.
Towns has gone from the clear No. 2 Knicks option behind Jalen Brunson to a rebounder and perimeter scorer, often on the bench late in games due to his defensive shortcomings.
He missed one game in that stretch — they went 9-0 in the nine games he played.
In those nine games, Towns averaged just 27.2 minutes and 14.2 points per game, way down from his season averages of 31.4 minutes and 19.7 points.
His rebounding was up, though, to 13.0 per game, an increase from his already Eastern Conference-high 11.9 for the season.
He took fewer shots, down to 11.0 per game during that stretch compared to 14.0 for the season. But it wasn’t like that led to Towns being more efficient.
He shot 44.4 percent from the field and 32.3 percent from 3-point range compared to 46.3 percent and 35.3 percent for the season.
And it’s not like he became more of a playmaker or distributor either, averaging 2.4 assists per game compared to 2.9 for the season.
There has simply been… less involvement on the offensive end of the floor.
He has become more passive, funneling his energy toward the glass.
“There are a lot of ways he can impact the game,” coach Mike Brown said before Tuesday’s game. “The way he moved in Boston was probably his best game, just moving. He doesn’t have the gravity that Landry [Shamet] has, but for a big guy, he has pretty good gravity because he can score. And they pay so much attention to him. That’s one of the focal points. That’s why they’re putting the four on him and trying to double-team with the five and all the other stuff.
“When he moves the way he did on both ends — because he was really good defensively, too — he’s highly impactful.”
Towns became the fourth-leading Knicks scorer during that period — behind Brunson (23.6 ppg), OG Anunoby (19.6) and Mikal Bridges (14.9).
And it’s hard to argue with the overall results.
The Knicks had an offensive rating of 117.5 during that stretch — sixth best in the NBA — and defensive rating of 110.8, best in the league.
Some of the change in minutes is a result of foul trouble Towns constantly finds himself in on a nightly basis. But there’s been a clear shift in both his approach on offense and in how Brown is using him, particularly late in games.
Often, Brown has preferred Robinson and his defensive prowess in crunch time.
Towns was notably benched for the last 6:51 of the Knicks’ win over the Kings during that stretch.
In the eight games Robinson played during that stretch, he averaged 21.3 minutes per game, up from 19.8 for the season.
Right now, less Towns involvement is working. But whether that will work in the playoffs, or if the Knicks will need a more aggressive Towns, is another story.
And Towns’ acceptance of that role will be a story to continue monitoring.
NEW YORK (AP) — Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram will replace injured Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry in the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday.
Curry, who was voted a starter, is out with knee pain. Commissioner Adam Silver chose Tuesday to have Ingram fill Curry's spot on Team Stripes.
It's Ingram's second All-Star selection. He is averaging 22.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game this season and has helped Toronto post a 32-22 record, good for fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
Ingram's Raptors teammate, Scottie Barnes, is on the USA Stars. Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic will coach the World team.
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Welcome to February Daily Topics at Golden State of Mind. A question (almost) every day this month to give the community a prompt to talk about!
The 2026 NBA trade deadline was, in a word, bizarre. The one big move that had gained steam — a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade — not only failed to materialize, but turned into smoke and mirrors before our very eyes.
And yet, while that move floundered, one of the greatest scorers in NBA history, James Harden, was shockingly traded. Another Hall of Famer, Anthony Davis, was shipped across the country. And former Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. was … traded to a team that’s openly tanking? Am I reading that correctly?
The Golden State Warriors, for their part, hung around in the middle. They didn’t acquire Antetokounmpo, or make a franchise-altering move like last year, when they traded for Jimmy Butler III. But they did acquire an All-Star in Kristaps Porziņģis, while ending their saga with Jonathan Kuminga and clearing future money off the books by getting rid of Buddy Hield.
Unlike last year, when the Los Angeles Lakers shockingly nabbed Luka Dončić near the deadline, there’s no clear winner this February. But there are a lot of teams that made good moves — both postseason contenders who bolstered their roster, and rebuilding squads who strengthened their future.
Who, in your eyes, made the best moves at the deadline?
For me it’s the Cleveland Cavaliers. Harden may have his fair share of both foibles and detractors, but I love the move for the championship-contending Cavs. It gives Donovan Mitchell a co-star to shoulder the scoring burden, while allowing them to keep their dynamic defense centered around their two bigs, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. And with Harden likely to opt into his player option for next season, it makes Cleveland the clear Eastern Conference favorites next year if LeBron James decides to return home for a final season, as has been rumored lately.
My runner-up is the Memphis Grizzlies, who got a trio of first-round picks for Jackson, as they started their rebuild right on time, rather than waiting too long.
What team do you think did the best at the deadline?
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- All the talk surrounding the Men's Olympic Hockey revolves around the United States, Canada, Sweden and Finland.
Sure, Czechia and Slovakia get some recognition but not nearly as much as what is considered the 'Big Four.' The four that represented the countries vying for the championship last year at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
But for St. Louis Blues forward Pius Suter, who will be among five Blues represented at the Milano-Cortina Olympics in Milan, Italy with the start of the men's portion of the tournament set to get underway with Dalibor Dvorsky and Slovakia vs. Finland at 9:40 a.m. on Wednesday, Suter had one simple message prior to departing for Italy: don't sleep on Switzerland.
"We've got a good team," Suter said. "It's obviously on paper, but those are good teams as you mentioned, but we've got a good team."
Switzerland hasn't medaled in men's hockey since 1948 when the Olympics were on its home soil in St. Moritz. The Swiss took home the bronze, one of two bronze medals Switzerland has ever won (also bronze in 1928 at St. Moritz).
But the Swiss go into these winter games brimming with confidence because they really have nothing to lose. They'll be the underdogs behind a slew of teams but coming off two major accomplishments at the past two IIHF World Championships.
"Guys won back-to-back silvers (in 2024 and 2025) so that's obviously not coming from nowhere," Suter said. "It's one game and we'll see how it goes and we'll be ready to battle, give it our all and see what happens."
The Swiss boast an NHL lineup with 10 currently in the league, including Suter. There's forwards Nico Hischier (New Jersey Devils), Timo Meier (Devils), Kevin Fiala (Los Angeles Kings), Nino Niederreiter (Winnipeg Jets) and Philipp Kurashev (San Jose Sharks); defensemen Roman Josi (Nashville Predators), Jonas Siegenthaler (Devils), J.J. Moser (Tampa Bay Lightning) and goalie Akira Schmid (Vegas Golden Knights). But there's another seven on the roster that were former NHL players, including goalie Reto Berra, who was a fourth round pick in the 2006 NHL Draft by the Blues; defensemen Dean Kukan and Tim Berni, and forwards Denis Malgin, Sven Andrighetto, Christoph Bertschy and Calvin Thurkauf.
"It'll be nice to play with all these great Swiss players. I haven't played with," Suter said. "There's quite a few guys actually because we always missed each other in the Worlds, then I was there and they weren't and vice versa. I'm looking forward to that too be on the same team as some of those guys."
The one guy that paved the way for Suter when he was younger was former NHL defenseman Mark Streit, who played in the NHL from 2005-18 for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins. Streit, who played in 786 NHL regular-season games, was part of the representation of Swiss players that opened doors for others to dream of making it to North America to the NHL.
"He was kind of that first guy that came along until Roman came along and Nino and all these guys obviously now," Suter said of Streit. "He made the breakthrough, played a lot of games.
"(Hockey) was always big. I think always behind soccer, the second team sport. Obviously there's skiing and all that stuff, but hockey was always very popular. It's always had a lot of fans. People care about it. It's always been played a lot in history. The Spengler Cup as well. I'm thinking people feel that way because now more (Swiss) guys play here (in the NHL). There more of a presence."
Suter, who represented Switzerland at the U-18 World Junior Championship in 2013, the U-20 WJC in 2015 and 2016 and World Championship in 2017 and 2022, also played in the Winter Games in 2018 when it was held in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
"It means a lot to represent your country," Suter said. "Best on best and it's going to be so close to home. It'll be nice to have family and friends coming down. I'm going to guess it's going to be a bit of home games for us there. It's a big honor and an awesome experience."
Based off initial experience, Suter said for the Swiss, who open their tournament Thursday at 5:10 a.m. (CT) against France, said for those experiencing it for the first time to just soak it all in.
"Honestly it's the overall experience," Suter said. "Just because as a kid, you would watch the Winter and Summer Olympics. You see everyone walking in the opening ceremony representing your country and all that stuff.
"Last time I was there, we really didn't have much success on the ice. It's hard to say, but hopefully we can change that."
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Spring Training is officially underway with Atlanta Braves pitchers and catchers reporting to North Port for workouts.
Today has been a jam-packed news day with the Braves adding catcher Johan Heim, losing starting pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach to the 60-day IL, dealing with new reliever Robert Suarez having visa issues and Dylan Lee winning his arbitration case. Oh, and Nacho Alvarez, Jr. is working out with the catchers.
All of that and it is just day one!
What do the Braves do next in the starting pitching market? Does the team look to bring in a right-handed bat?
Sound off below.