PGA Tour heads to the party in Phoenix. LIV Golf begins in Saudi Arabia

WM PHOENIX OPEN

Site: Scottsdale, Arizona.

Course: TPC Scottsdale (Stadium). Yardage: 7,261. Par: 71.

Prize money: $9.6 million. Winner's share: $1,728,000.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 4-8 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, noon to 3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6:30 p.m. (CBS); Sunday, noon to 3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (CBS).

Previous winner: Thomas Detry.

FedEx Cup leader: Chris Gotterup.

Last week: Justin Rose won the Farmers Insurance Open.

Notes: Brooks Koepka plays his second PGA Tour event since leaving LIV Golf. He is a two-time winner of the Phoenix Open, most recently in 2021. ... Scottie Scheffler is going for his third straight PGA Tour win dating to September. The American Express was the fifth time he has won consecutive starts. He has never won three in a row. ... Koepka won his first Phoenix Open in 2015, the last time the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots met in the Super Bowl. ... Koepka playing means the field will have two extra spots to 123 players. ... Joel Dahmen received one of the three unrestricted sponsor exemptions. ... Sahith Theegala, who also received a sponsor exemption, is coming off consecutive top-10 finishes. He last did that in September 2024. ... This is the final week for the leading five players from the "Swing 5" to qualify for the next two $20 million signature events. ... Thomas Detry is not back to defend his title because he joined LIV Golf.

Next week: AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Online:https://www.pgatour.com/

LIV Golf League

LIV GOLF RIYADH

Site: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Course: Riyadh GC. Yardage: 7, 464. Par: 72.

Prize money: $20 million. Winner's share: $4 million.

Television: Wednesday-Friday, 10 a.m. to noon (FS1), noon to 3 p.m. (FS2); Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Fox Business Network).

Defending champion: Adrian Meronk.

2025 champion: Jon Rahm.

2025 team champion: Legion XIII.

Last tournament: Legion XIII won the Team Championship-Michigan.

Notes: This is the first tournament of the fourth season of the LIV Golf League. ... Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed have left the Saudi-funded league. Koepka has rejoined the PGA Tour, while Reed is playing a European tour schedule this year with an eye on going back to the PGA Tour. ... Jon Rahm won the individual points title without having won a tournament last year. ... This is the first LIV Golf event that goes to 72 holes. ... The Riyadh tournament is played at nights under lights, the only golf event to do that. ... For the first time, points will be distributed to all players instead of just the top 24. There also is a $2.3 million bonus pool for players whose teams finish among the top three. ... Phil Mickelson is sitting out the opening two events in Saudi Arabia and Australia because of a family health matter. He is being replaced on the HyFlyers by Ollie Schniederjans. ... The league has not announced who is replacing Koepka on Smash GC.

Next week: LIV Golf Adelaide.

Online:https://www.livgolf.com/

European tour

QATAR MASTERS

Site: Doha, Qatar.

Course: Doha GC. Yardage: 7,508. Par: 72.

Prize money: $2.75 million. Winner's share: $458,333.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 4-9 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 4:30-9 a.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, 3:30-8:30 a.m. (Golf Channel).

Previous winner: Haotong Li.

Race to Dubai leader: Jayden Shaper.

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Last week: Freddy Schott won the Bahrain Championship.

Notes: Patrick Reed is playing for the fourth straight week on the European tour. He won the Dubai Desert Classic and lost in a playoff last week in Bahrain to move to No. 2 in the Race to Dubai behind Jayden Shaper. ... This is the last stop in the Middle East until the European tour returns to Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the fall to close out the season. ... Shaper is in the field as he looks to maintain his top ranking in the Race to Dubai. ... Ryan Palmer and Luke List are the two PGA Tour members in the field from finishing inside the top 200 in the FedEx Cup. Palmer missed the cut in Bahrain last week. List missed the cut at Torrey Pines in San Diego. ... Three-time major champion Padraig Harrington is playing the fourth straight week in the Middle East. He missed the cut the last two tournaments in Bahrain and Dubai. ... The tournament has been part of the European tour schedule since 1998. Six major champions are among past winners, including Ernie Els and Adam Scott.

Next tournament: Magical Kenya Open on Feb. 19-22.

Online:https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/

Korn Ferry Tour

ASTARA GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Bogota, Colombia.

Course: Country Club de Bogota (Lagos). Yardage: 7,237. Par: 71.

Prize money: $1 million. Winner's share: $180,000.

Television: None.

Defending champion: Kyle Westmoreland.

Point leader: Ian Holt.

Last week: Ian Holt won the Panama Championship.

Next tournament: Argentina Open on Feb. 26-March 1.

Online:https://www.pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour

Last week: Nelly Korda won the weather-shortened Tournament of Champions.

Next tournament: Honda LPGA Thailand on Feb. 19-22.

Race to CME Globe leader: Nelly Korda.

Online:https://www.lpga.com/

PGA Tour Champions

Last week: Stewart Cink won the Mitsubishi Electric Championship.

Next week: Chubb Classic.

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Stewart Cink.

Online:https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions

Other tours

Challenge Tour and Sunshine Tour: Circa Cape Town Open, Royal Cape GC, Cape Town, South Africa. Previous winner: Jamie Rutherford. Online:https://www.europeantour.com/hotelplanner-tour/andhttps://sunshinetour.com/

Asian Tour: Philippine Golf Championship, Wack Wack Golf and CC, Manila, Philippines. Previous winner: Julien Sale. Online:https://asiantour.com/

PGA Tour of Australasia: Webex Players Series-Sydney, Castle Hill CC, Norwest, Australia. Defending champion: Nick Voke. Online:https://golf.com.au/

Royal & Ancient GC: Africa Amateur Championship, Royal Johannesburg GC, Johannesburg. Television: Wednesday-Thursday, 6-10 a.m. (Golf Channel app); Friday, 7-11 a.m. (Golf Channel app); Saturday, 5-9 a.m. (Golf Channel app). Previous winner: Bryan Newman. Online:https://www.randa.org/

AP golf:https://apnews.com/hub/golf

byNeo

in Celebrity, Lifestyle, Politics, ShowBiz, Sport

February 03, 2026

PGA Tour heads to the party in Phoenix. LIV Golf begins in Saudi Arabia

WM PHOENIX OPEN Site: Scottsdale, Arizona. Course: TPC Scottsdale (Stadium). Yardage: 7,261. Par: 71. Prize ...

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Robert Kraft not selected for Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class

LikeBill Belichick, Robert Kraft won't be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year.

TheNew England Patriotsowner did not receive the necessary minimum 40 of 50 possible votes to be selected to the 2026 class,ESPN reported Tuesday.

Kraft had been the contributor finalist, while Belichick had been the coaching finalist. Anywhere from 1-to-3 candidates will be selected among a pool of five coach, contributor and senior player finalists. Roger Craig, Ken Anderson and L.C. Greenwood are the senior finalists.

Meanwhile, 3 to 5 of the 15 modern-era finalists – which include Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald, among others – are to be selected.

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Belichick wasrevealed last week to have not made the cut, with Kraft coming out in support of his former coach.

"Whatever perceptions may exist about any personal differences between Bill and me, I strongly believe Bill Belichick's record and body of work speak for themselves," Kraft said in a statement.

Kraft, 84, purchased the Patriots in 1994, saving the organization from potential relocation and steering it to one of the most successful runs in league history. After Belichick's hire in January 2000, the franchise went on to win six Super Bowls, tying it with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most of any team.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class will be unveiled Thursday night at the NFL Honors ceremony in San Francisco.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Robert Kraft not chosen for Pro Football Hall of Fame 2026 class

byNeo

in Celebrity, Lifestyle, Politics, ShowBiz, Sport

February 03, 2026

Robert Kraft not selected for Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class

LikeBill Belichick, Robert Kraft won't be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year. TheNew En...

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Minions music leads to nightmare for Olympic skater while putting a spotlight on a yearslong problem

Of course it would take those mischievous Minions to thrust what has become a yearslong musical nightmare for figure skaters into the global spotlight just days before they step onto the ice forthe Milano Cortina Olympics.

Britain European Championship Figure Skating

Spanish skater Tomas-Llorenc Guarino Sabate revealed this week that the music he has used all season, a medley from the animated comedy film "Minions" from Illumination Entertainment, could not be used in the biggest event of his career.

"I was informed that I am no longer permitted to use this program due to copyright clearance issues," Sabate explained Monday, four days before the opening ceremony. "I will face this challenge head-on and do everything I can to make the best of the situation."

Sabate is not considered a medal contender, but he had won over crowds with his Minions program, where he dresses in a yellow T-shirt and blue overalls to invoke those cheeky characters. But now, the 26-year-old will have to turn to one of his old programs when he takes the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena forthe men's short programnext Tuesday.

Even that is not so simple: Sabate's short program last season was set to music by the Bee Gees, and he used the same music for this year's free skate. That means he would be in the unenviable position of skating twice to the same music.

Music with lyrics was first permitted in 2014

For years, skaters never had copyright issues because music with lyrics was verboten. And most standard fare, such as classical music, was considered to be public domain, meaning it could be used or modified freely and without permission.

In 2014, the International Skating Union relaxed its rules to allow words in music, part of a push toward bringing the sport into the modern era. But most modern music is not part of the public domain, and that led to issues during the 2022 Beijing Games.

U.S. pairs skaters Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier had been using a cover of "House of the Rising Sun" by Heavy Young Heathens for their short program. Afterward, the indie pop band said the skaters did not receive permission, ultimately filing copyright lawsuits against the skaters, U.S. Figure Skating and broadcaster NBC.

The ISU and national governing bodies have spent the past four years trying to develop systems to help skaters obtain permission to use music. But the process remains confusing and nebulous. Sabate, for example, said he followed the prescribed procedure for getting his music approved through a system called ClicknClear in August, before the figure skating season began.

A spokesperson for the ISU said it was aware of Sabate's problem and would provide more details when appropriate.

"While the ISU does not have a contractual relationship with ClicknClear," the organization said, "we continue to work collaboratively with rights clearance stakeholders to ensure that thrilling performances can be accompanied by stirring music."

"It's very complicated, especially when it comes to social media," ISU president Jae Youl Kim told The Associated Press in a recent interview. "We are still engaging with the music companies. They understand the issue and they also want to find a solution."

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Skaters are responsible for clearing their music

U.S. Figure Skating has been working with ASCAP, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, along with BMI, or Broadcast Music Inc., to help ensure that its skaters have no problems with their music choices.

Still, it remains up to the skaters themselves to ensure their music is cleared.

One of the ways to do that is by checking Songview, a database developed by ASCAP and BMI to provide detailed information about copyright ownership. If music is not recorded there, skaters might have to go directly to the artist or publisher.

World champion Alysa Liu has developed such a good relationship with one of her favorite artists, Icelandic-Chinese singer Laufey Lín Bing Jónsdóttir, that the American essentially has carte blanche to use her music in any programs.

"We are such an artistic spot and we really rely on our music," Liu said told AP. "Without music, we're not really our sport."

Liu's teammate, three-time U.S. champion Amber Glenn, called her own experience in getting music approved "pure chaos."

"First we get a website or some sort of application to track things. And then once we're like, 'OK, yeah, it's cleared. It's good,' then it's not a reliable source anymore," Glenn told the AP. "OK, then what do we do? And especially as an athlete, this is not something that we should be worrying about. That's not my job. My job is to train and perform.

"The legal rights, the broadcast rights?" Glenn said. "All this different stuff, that's not my problem."

Until it becomes her problem. Just like it did for Sabate on the eve of the Olympics, the biggest competition of his life.

"It's not like we're a TV show and we're playing music in the background for an emotional scene," Glenn said. "We're going out there and performing as athletes. It just feels like a cash grab for different companies, and it's really upsetting that they can't just appreciate that their music has inspired something creative."

AP Olympics:https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

byNeo

in Celebrity, Lifestyle, Politics, ShowBiz, Sport

February 03, 2026

Minions music leads to nightmare for Olympic skater while putting a spotlight on a yearslong problem

Of course it would take those mischievous Minions to thrust what has become a yearslong musical nightmare for figure skat...

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Trump and Colombia's Petro, foes exploring a thaw, meet at White House

By Bo Erickson, Luis Jaime Acosta, Gram Slattery and Nelson Bocanegra

WASHINGTON/BOGOTA, Feb 3 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro began their first meeting on Tuesday, a White House encounter testing whether they can reach a lasting detente despite clashing ideologies and reputations for ​unpredictability.

Trump, who has voiced a desire for American dominance over all of Latin America, has in recent months had an up-and-down relationship with Petro, ‌a former anti-imperialist guerrilla who was elected Colombia's president in 2022.

In October, Trump called Petro an "illegal drug leader" though he provided no evidence, and in January, he mooted military action against the longtime ally, ‌which he has accused of failing to control the narcotics trade.

Petro, for his part, has been harshly critical of Trump. He has said the Trump administration's deadly strikes on alleged drug boats amount to war crimes and he described the U.S. operation last month deposing Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro as a "kidnapping."

In January, the two leaders held a phone call that both described positively, a surprise thaw that resulted in Petro's invitation to Washington. Trump told reporters on Monday that Petro's tone had changed of late, implying that he had become ⁠more acquiescent after the Maduro raid.

"We're gonna have a good ‌meeting," Trump said.

Still, if the two men have anything in common, it is that they behave unpredictably, speak elliptically and change opinions quickly. One Colombian source acknowledged that the meeting could be "tense" given the sometimes stubborn personalities of the two presidents.

'THE STAKES ARE ‍HIGH'

At the Tuesday meeting, which began shortly after 11 a.m. local time (1600 GMT), Colombian officials plan to deliver a detailed presentation on their main anti-drug achievements, including figures on cocaine seizures, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter.

Will Freeman, fellow for Latin America studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the meeting could go smoothly if Petro sticks to discussing ​counternarcotics matters, rather than broader philosophical disagreements.

"But everything we know about both presidents' personalities suggests that's not going to happen," he said.

If the two leaders fail ‌to reach a more lasting rapprochement, it could have profound implications for regional security, analysts said.

Colombia is the world's top producer of coca, the main ingredient in cocaine, and several U.S.-designated terrorist organizations are present in the country.

But it has also been one of Washington's staunchest allies in the region, working closely with successive administrations to suppress drug flows northward.

Under Petro, coca production in Colombia has climbed, though the exact figures are a matter of dispute. Bogota argues that while the government has shifted away from forced eradication - a policy that can harm subsistence farmers - it has ramped up seizures and more sophisticated interdiction efforts.

'FILL OURSELVES WITH OPTIMISM'

For foreign leaders, meetings with Trump ⁠can be fraught, and many have resorted to flattery to minimize tension with the president and ​his advisers.

It was far from clear, however, that Petro - who has positioned himself as a thorn in ​Washington's side for almost all of his career - will choose that route.

Last week, he urged Colombian migrants to return from Chile, Argentina and the United States so as not to be treated like "slaves." He also said it is better to live in Havana than in ‍Miami, which he described as traffic-clogged and ⁠cultureless.

Colombia requested the White House meeting be held in private, a Colombian official said. But Trump, who is famously media-hungry, often asks reporters to enter the Oval Office at the last minute.

Petro himself struck an upbeat if lofty tone.

"I think we should fill ourselves with optimism," he told public television station ⁠RTVC before departing for Washington. "I'll be expecting you on Tuesday, when I am meeting with the president, to be in all the public squares, to build the chain of affection, the certainty of love."

(Reporting ‌by Bo Erickson and Gram Slattery in Washington and Luis Jaime Acosta and Nelson Bocanegra in Bogota; Additional reporting by Simon Lewis in ‌Washington; Writing by Gram Slattery; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Cynthia Osterman and Mark Heinrich)

byNeo

in Celebrity, Lifestyle, Politics, ShowBiz, Sport

February 03, 2026

Trump and Colombia's Petro, foes exploring a thaw, meet at White House

By Bo Erickson, Luis Jaime Acosta, Gram Slattery and Nelson Bocanegra WASHINGTON/BOGOTA, Feb 3 (Reuters) - U.S. ...

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NASA’s countdown to the moon hits pause over hydrogen tank leak

It has been more than five decades since NASA sent astronauts to the moon — what's another month?

NASA's planned Artemis II mission to send four astronauts around the moon has been delayed at least a few weeks after the agency discovered an issue with Orion's liquid hydrogen tank during a "wet dress rehearsal" Tuesday morning.

The launch had been scheduled for Friday but is now targeted for March.

NASA said the tank leaked too much liquid hydrogen into the rocket's core stage. Liquid hydrogen is used as a propellant.

The agency also said a valve in the crew module needed retorquing.

Florida's Kennedy Space Center has been experiencing unusually cold conditions. NASA said the weather did not affect the wet dress rehearsal but could have been a factor if teams had proceeded with the Friday launch.

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RELATED STORY |Moonwalk delayed to 2026; NASA postpones next 2 Artemis missions

Because of the delay, the four astronauts will be briefly released from quarantine. The crew will return to quarantine two weeks before the launch.

Despite the setbacks, NASA said engineers "met many of the planned objectives."

"With March as the potential launch window, teams will fully review data from the test, mitigate each issue, and return to testing ahead of setting an official target launch date," the agency said in a statement.

In 2022, Artemis I marked the first mission in the Artemis program, which NASA hopes will pave the way for deep space exploration beyond the moon. While Artemis I was uncrewed, Artemis II will send four astronauts on a lunar flyby. Artemis III is expected to include a crewed mission to the moon's surface.

The last time NASA sent astronauts to the moon was in 1972 during the Apollo 17 mission.

RELATED STORY |NASA, in a rare move, cuts space station mission short after an astronaut's medical issue

byNeo

in Celebrity, Lifestyle, Politics, ShowBiz, Sport

February 03, 2026

NASA’s countdown to the moon hits pause over hydrogen tank leak

It has been more than five decades since NASA sent astronauts to the moon — what's another month? NASA...

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