Laine Higgins

1 week ago | wsj.com | Laine Higgins

Last year, the University of Nebraska drew more than 60,000 people to Memorial Stadium for a glorified practice. It was the annual spring football game, a chance for players to shake off the rust and fans to watch their team again after the offseason. But this year, exactly zero Nebraska supporters will watch the traditional spring game, because in Cornusker-land, the traditional spring game has ceased to exist.

1 week ago | wsj.com | Laine Higgins

Nico Iamaleava, one of the sport’s highest paid quarterbacks, skipped practice in an attempt to get a raise. The tactic was borrowed straight from the NFL. Back in 2022 when a hotshot quarterback recruit from California named Nico Iamaleava committed to the University of Tennessee, he joined the first generation of athletes to command eye-popping money to play college football. Before throwing even a single pass for the Volunteers, he’d already inked an endorsement deal worth $8 million.

2 weeks ago | wsj.com | Robert L. O’Connell |Robert O’connell |Laine Higgins

So when all four No. 1 seeds advanced to the Final Four for just the second time in tournament history, we had a hunch that the wildest contest in sports was saving something special for the end. What we didn’t anticipate was whatever just happened. This year’s Final Four didn’t produce one jaw-dropping comeback—it featured three of them. Every single game through Florida’s miraculous late triumph in Monday’s title game delivered twists and turns that defied any semblance of logic.

2 weeks ago | wsj.com | Laine Higgins |Robert L. O’Connell |Robert O’connell

Walter Clayton Jr. was held scoreless by Houston in the first half of the NCAA championship game on Monday. Then he roared to life to lead the Gators to a title. All season long, Florida had a weapon that no team could figure out how to neutralize. His name was Walter Clayton Jr. The former football standout was the closest thing that college basketball had to a cheat code. During the regular season, he averaged 18.5 points per game, making almost 40% of his 3-pointers.

2 weeks ago | wsj.com | Laine Higgins

On Sunday, Ovechkin finally got there. With a powerful wrist shot against the New York Islanders, he notched the 895th goal of his NHL career to surpass Gretzky and claim for himself what had seemed like one of the last untouchable records in all of sports. “I felt like I scored the goal, honestly when you scored the goal, I was so happy for you,” Gretzky told Ovechkin after the game. What made it all the more remarkable was that Ovechkin did it in his own way.