The Key for the week of February 23, 2026
The Future Is Now
For the Bengals, this is probably the most scrutinized NFL combine that the team has had in quite some time. The annual scouting fest this weekend, an invitation-only showcase for draft prospectives, brings in some 300 top college prospects to Indianapolis to perform physical, medical, and mental tests for NFL coaches, scouts, and GMs. Yes, we know that drills like the 40-yard dash may be archaic to judge how an offensive lineman can block, but that universal test along with the vertical jump, cone drills and team interviews give general managers and coaches a baseline upon which to rank players. For the Bengals, it’s also a marketplace to shop around Trey Hendrickson and see if there is any interest from other teams in picking up the defensive end. The Bengals draft 10th, which should leave solid defensive performers on the board for the men in stripes to bolster that side of the ball. The draft starts this weekend.
All Quiet in Goodyear
Which is a good thing as spring training moves into its second week. The schedule is a little off this year, only because some players, including Eugenio Suarez and Edwin Arroyo from the Reds, will be leaving camp around March 1 to play in the World Baseball Classic. The Reds’ first win this spring featured Ely De La Cruz and Suarez going deep back to back, and Andrew Abbott putting in his two innings of work and retired the side in his first inning. Pitching is primary, and so far skipper Terry Francona seems to be happy with the way the rotation is shaping up.
Arrivederci Milan
A golden Olympics for Team USA means golden results for NBC Sports. The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics achieved a 12-year high in U.S. viewership, averaging 23.5 million daily viewers across NBCUniversal platforms—nearly double the 2022 Beijing audience. Streaming set records with 16.7 billion minutes consumed, while high-stakes matchups like the USA-Canada men’s hockey gold medal game drew over 20 million viewers. It was helpful that the time difference was manageable, and that the USA had compelling athlete stories. In two years it’ll be LA and two years after that it’ll be the French Alps, so expect viewership to stay strong the next two Olympiads.
Ben’s Best Bet
We’re heading into conference tournament time, women’s first (in most cases) and then men’s. With women’s conference tournaments playing next week, let’s look at the BetMGM odds for national champion. No surprise, 12-time and defending national champion UConn is an overwhelming betting favorite to win lucky 13 this year. Quite a distance behind is UCLA, followed by South Carolina, Texas and LSU. Ben says we’ve seen this movie before, and Geno Auriemma is seldom denied when he has a powerhouse team. This is another one. You might not cash in big, but you will be a winner if you go with the Huskies.