Barrios Mean Mugs Garcia In ‘Sin City’
Mario Barrios and Ryan Garcia came face-to-face once again earlier today (Thurs., Feb, 19, 2026) in Las Vegas, Nevada at the conclusion of their final press conference ahead of their highly-anticipated WBC welterweight boxing match scheduled for Sat., Feb. 21 in “Sin City” streaming live on DAZN PPV.
Watch the press conference video replay here.
This is Barrios’ fourth major headlining title fight, and one could argue it could be the one that could catapult him into the next level of stardom with a win over someone with the popularity-level as Garcia. That said, “El Azteca” has been in there with the best of them, including Tank Davis and Manny Pacquiao, so there isn’t anything “King Ry” can bring to the table that he hasn’t already seen before.
For Garcia, this is his opportunity to put his past troubles behind him by winning a major world title, which has alluded him his entire career. And it’s also a huge fight for him in more ways than one since he claims that after the fight he will no longer be a part of Golden Boy Promotions and will be looking for a new promoter to partner up with.
Check out their staredown in the video player embedded above.
Also, Oscar de La Hoya showed off the new diamond-encrusted pendant that the winner of the title fight will win, along with a shiny new belt.
To order “Barrios vs. Garcia” on DAZN PPV click here.
Afghanistan crush Canada by 82 runs to bow out on a high
Canada signed off without a win from the tournament while Afghanistan had their second win. The Rashid-Khan led side was clearly the better team and had it won the cliffhanger against South Africa, the side would have avoided an early elimination.
In a battle of pride between two already-eliminated sides, Afghanistan rode on a blazing unbeaten knock from Zadran to post a formidable 200 for four and then restricted Canada to 118 for 8 to seal an emphatic win.
With both teams aiming to return home on a high, Afghanistan produced a commanding batting effort after being sent in to bat.
Canada's chase never really gathered momentum after captain Dilpreet Bajwa's brief 13 off seven ended in the third over.
They slipped to 33 for three inside six overs, with Mohammad Nabi striking crucial blows, including the wickets of Yuvraj Samra (17) and Nicholas Kirton (10).
Off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman removed Bajwa, while Azmatullah Omarzai accounted for Navneet Dhaliwal as Afghanistan tightened the screws early.
Harsh Thaker (30) and Saad Bin Zafar (28) attempted a repair job with a 53-run stand for the sixth wicket, but Afghanistan's spin duo ensured there was no comeback.
Nabi returned remarkable figures of 4 for 7 in four overs, while skipper Rashid Khan chipped in with two wickets.
With wickets falling at regular intervals and the required run rate soaring, Canada folded meekly to hand Afghanistan a comprehensive win to close their campaign.
Earlier, Zadran rode on a spilled catch to punish the Canada bowlers with seven fours and five sixes, leading Afghanistan to a big total.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz began cautiously but survived an early scare when he was dropped by wicketkeeper Shreyas Movva off pacer Dilon Heyliger in the second over.
It took Gurbaz (30 off 20) a few deliveries to measure the surface before he unfurled a flurry of crisp boundaries. However, just when he looked set, Jaskaran Singh had him caught at deep point in the sixth over.
Jaskaran struck again three balls later, trapping the dangerous Gulbadin Naib lbw for one, briefly pegging Afghanistan back at 49 for two.
Thereafter, Zadran took charge.
The right-hander ensured the run-rate never dipped, striking freely against both pace and spin. Alongside Sediqullah Atal (44 off 32), he stitched a fluent 95-run stand for the third wicket, with the duo particularly severe on the spinners.
Zadran was fortunate on 54 when Kaleem Sana spilled a chance off left-arm spinner Ansh Patel. Canada's fielding lapses hurt them dearly, and Afghanistan capitalised with sharp running between the wickets.
Jaskaran eventually broke the stand, inducing Atal to hole out in the deep, but Zadran carried on unfazed. He struck seven fours and five sixes in his 56-ball knock, narrowly missing out on a deserved hundred.
Late cameos from Azmatullah Omarzai (13 off 7) and Darwish Rasooli (4 not out) helped Afghanistan finish strongly at exactly 10 runs per over.
For Canada, Jaskaran (3/52) was the lone bright spot with the ball, but their indifferent fielding and inability to contain Zadran meant they faced a stiff chase in a match that offered little beyond pride but plenty of competitive intent.
Pirates star pitcher Paul Skenes shares thoughts on team’s direction in exclusive sitdown
Few players are dominating baseball quite like Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes.
Just a year and a half after making his Major League debut, he’s won both National League Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award.
It’s clear that it’s all in the rearview for the Pirates ace. He told Channel 11 that in 2025, and he’s looking ahead to 2026.
RELATED COVERAGE >>> Paul Skenes sits down for one-on-one with Channel 11; discusses keys to success in upcoming season
He’ll join a Pirates team that had one of its more aggressive offseasons in recent memory.
With the additions of Ryan O’Hearn, Marcell Ozuna and Brandon Lowe, there was an effort to add more power to the team’s batting order.
“I can see why we went after them,” Skenes said. “We went after the right people this offseason. Obviously, the players are great, but we went after the right people. We’re a week in, so stuff’s going to change. The newness is going to fade, and we’re going to get into kind of the grind of it a little bit here soon, but once that happens, I think it’ll be really telling who we have.”
Toward the end of last season, Skenes was vocal about the team needing to take strides with player acquisition, telling 93.7 The Fan in July they needed to “consciously and intentionally” make moves to improve the team.
Skenes had at least a small role in how that came together, including calling newcomers after they signed.
“It wasn’t as extensive as people probably think,” he told Channel 11. “I had conversations with (General Manager Ben Cherington) and (Manager Don Kelly) at the end of the season last year and during the off-season. I talked with Donnie pretty regularly, and I talked with Ben a few times in the offseason. They weren’t really asking me for who I thought we needed. They did to an extent, but in terms of specific names, they weren’t really asking, and I wasn’t really going to give it to them just because it’s not my job.”
Still, a genuine effort from the Pirates ace as the publicly perceived window to win with Skenes in the black and gold gets smaller.
It’s outside chatter Skenes already had to navigate during his first full season in Major League Baseball last year.
“You do your best to block as much outside noise as possible,” Skenes said. “It’s impossible to block it all, but the moves that we’ve made this off-season and the core that we’ve had from last season and two years ago that’s coming into this year, we have a lot of really good guys that have been here that are getting better. Obviously, we brought in some really good players. So, the ball’s in our court with that. We can win if we want to. We just got to go out there and take it.”
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USA superstar Liu wins women's skating Olympic gold
American superstar Alysa Liu added Olympic figure skating gold to her world title as she beat a standout field in the women's final.
Liu came into the free skate in third place following a couple of errors in the short program, but produced a performance for the ages.
Appropriately wearing a sparkly gold dress and performing to Donna Summer, she scored a staggering 150.20 in her free skate.
It pushed her to the top of the leaderboard with an overall score of 226.79, narrowly beating Japan's Kaori Sakamoto - who Liu beat to the world title last year.
Sakamoto, in her final performance before retirement, won silver with 17-year-old compatriot Ami Nakai claiming bronze.
Japan's Mone Chiba finished fourth, ahead of Amber Glenn - who rose from 13th to fifth after an excellent free skate - while Russian champion Adeliia Petrosian came sixth following a fall.
Liu, 20, becomes the first American Olympic champion in women's figure skating since Sarah Hughes in 2002, and the first USA medallist since Sasha Cohen in 2006.
She was playing catch up on Nakai - leader after the short program - and Sakamoto after Tuesday night following a mistake on her triple lutz where she failed to fully rotate in the element.
But there were no mistakes here with a truly showstopping routine that drew deafening cheers from the crowd.
It was a much needed boost for the USA, as their only gold in singles figure skating following Ilia Malinin's collapse in the men's event.
Malinin was among those in the crowd who gave Liu - the alt girl with her iconic halo hair and lip piercing - a standing ovation as she wrote herself into Olympic folklore.
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Sakamoto meanwhile has to settle for silver as her stellar career ends without an Olympic crown.
She is retiring aged 25 having won three world titles and bronze at Beijing 2022.
Her final performance here was to Non, je ne regrette rien by Edith Piaf, and Sakamoto must have no regrets about a performance in which all 12 elements were given positive grades of execution.
But it scored five points lower than Liu in the technical elements, with the American's routine judged to have been more challenging.
Sakamoto wept as she left the ice, but by the medal ceremony rightly looked delighted with another major honour.
That initial disappointment was in stark contrast to the joy of compatriot Nakai, who ends a phenomenal debut campaign with an Olympic medal.
The youngest skater in the competition, Nakai stormed to the top of the leaderboard following the short program and opened her free skate with a triple axel - a brutally tough element she is now making her trademark.
But Nakai stumbled on her triple lutz, which played a major role in knocking her down below Liu and Sakamoto.
For a while, it looked like American champion Glenn might have produced an Olympic comeback for the ages.
She was down in 13th following a disastrous short program which left her in tears after she missed her triple loop, meaning it was scored zero as an invalid element.
Glenn - who is open about her bisexuality and criticism of USA president Donald Trump - has been a magnet for online backlash, and came out on Thursday in Milan with a point to prove.
Despite suffering a heavy fall in the warm-up she attacked her free skate, including a triple axel to start then a complex triple loop and double axel sequence.
She punched the air at the conclusion, and even as she missed out on a medal she had the body language of someone pleased to have brought her best to the Olympic stage.
The same could not be said for Petrosian, who was aiming to be the second Individual Neutral Athlete (AIN) of the day to win a medal at Milan-Cortina 2026.
The teenager is under the tutelage of controversial Eteri Tutberidze - the coach of Kamila Valieva at the last Olympics - who was rinkside during Petrosian's pre-skate.
But the 18-year-old's medal hopes were all but dashed on her first routine as she attempted a quad toe loop but fell.
If she had nailed her complex routine, gold was likely. But instead Petrosian was left stony faced, and she exited the stage quickly when it was confirmed she had missed the podium.
Chargers' Super Bowl odds revealed: Disrespect for Justin Herbert?
This is a good conversation starter.