Archive February 4, 2026

Spanish figure skater Tomas-Llorenc Guarino Sabate is optimistic he will be allowed to perform to music from the Minions films at the Winter Olympics after receiving copyright clearance from Universal Studios.

Sabate, known for his flamboyant routines, has performed to songs from the Minions animated film series while wearing a yellow T-shirt and blue overalls, similar to the characters’ outfits, throughout the 2025-26 season.

He said on Monday that he would not be able to perform to the music at the Olympics as rights holders Universal Pictures had not given permission.

However, on Tuesday Sabate said Universal Studios had reversed its objection and that he is “so close” to being allowed to perform his routine.

“Huge thank you to everyone who reposted, shared and supported,” Sabate said.

“Because of you, Universal Studios reconsidered and officially granted the rights for this one special occasion.

“There are still a couple of things to be tied up with the other two music of the program, but we are so close to accomplishing it! And it’s all thanks to you.

“I’m so happy to see that the Minions hitting Olympic ice is becoming real again!”

The routine in Sabate’s short program – the first of two routines in singles figure skating – has proved a hit in competitions, including in Sheffield at this year’s European Figure Skating Championships, where he finished 18th but became a fan favourite.

Sabate, a six-time Spanish champion set to make his Olympic debut in Milan, said he followed all required procedures and submitted the music through the International Skating Union’s (ISU) ClicknClear system in August.

If he is unable to perform to the Minions mix, he may use music by the Bee Gees for his short program, as this was the routine he performed to in 2024-25.

The men’s event starts in Milan on Tuesday.

“As soon as we have more details on this specific case, we will share them as appropriate,” read an ISU statement.

Former Premier League goalkeeper Shaka Hislop says it is “alarming” that tests for prostate cancer are not “regular and standardised” in the United Kingdom.

The 56-year-old was diagnosed with the disease in 2024 after he requested a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test during his annual medical examination in the United States.

Routine PSA testing is not offered by the National Health Service in the United Kingdom, with the screening usually only provided if you are over 50 or if other symptoms are identified.

According to research from Prostate Cancer UK, one in eight males will be diagnosed with the disease at some point in their life.

In black males, meanwhile, that risk is as high as one in four.

The former Trinidad and Tobago keeper – who now lives in the United States – believes the current testing protocol for the disease is flawed and needs changing, especially with cancer’s rising prominence in certain ethnic communities.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live’s Breakfast programme, Hislop said: “I honestly can’t believe that it is still a thing given all we know of prostate cancer and its prominence, particularly in the minority community.

“So, to have that not be a regular and standardised test as offered to people regardless of whether they have any family history or not, I find alarming.

“I have no history of prostate cancer in my family yet here I am having been diagnosed and been treated for it.”

Since his diagnosis, Hislop has tried to approach the prostate cancer with the same “fight” he had during a professional career that spanned six clubs in England, including West Ham and Newcastle.

But it has been difficult for his wife to deal with because of an “emotional history” with the disease.

“My father‑in‑law died of prostate cancer, so I can’t imagine what my wife was going through when she heard my news, knowing her emotional history with prostate cancer, having to deal with that and still be strong for me,” said Hislop.

“For me, it was slightly different in that I understand why they say fight cancer, because that was the only emotion I felt: ‘All right, this is a fight.’ And that’s exactly the way I saw it.

“This was me against cancer – or me and a surgical team against cancer. That was my mindset. I never felt beaten, I never felt demoralised. I never felt sorry. This was just another fight in my life.

“Much the same way I kind of approached a football game, where you focus solely on that.

“It’s the only thing that mattered and that was my entire mindset throughout.

“I know from speaking to people who’ve been diagnosed with prostate cancer that the initial emotional gut punch is tough.

Hislop is not the first former professional athlete to urge the NHS to change its testing regime.

In 2024, six-time Olympic gold medalist Sir Chris Hoy told the BBC it would be a “no-brainier” to lower the age that males are eligible to request PSA tests.

The previous year, Hoy, 49, was diagnosed with prostate cancer which had spread to his bones. He was told he had between two and four years to live.

In November 2025, the UK National Screening Committee decided against recommending mass screening on the NHS for prostate cancer, saying the main screening test for prostate cancer is “not very reliable” and as a result, can lead to “over-diagnosis and unnecessary treatment”.

Speaking to Naga Munchetty on BBC Radio 5 Live on Tuesday, health secretary Wes Streeting said the government is “still considering and weighing up the evidence.”

“It’s not done and dusted,” he added. “On one hand we know there are massive health inequalities in this space, for black men in particular. On the other hand what we wouldn’t want, in pursuit of expanding treatment, is to end up in another situation where we’ve got a bunch of men walking around impotent or incontinent because we’ve over-treated or unnecessarily treated.”

Hislop is hoping that by ex-athletes documenting their battles against prostate cancer, it will increase the “education” around diagnosis.

“Cancer can affect anyone,” added Hislop. “The earlier you catch it – whatever the cancer is – the better your chance of survival. So knowledge is key here. Knowledge around your own health is absolutely key.

“The other side to that is, if and when you do get that cancer diagnosis, that does not mean it’s the end of life. That is not a life sentence.

“If you catch it early enough, and again this goes back to the education around it, around early testing, you can still live a full and very long life. That’s certainly my expectation now.

“When the likes of Sir Chris Hoy, who again, keeping himself in shape, former athlete, is not caught early enough, the diagnosis can be very dire.

“So there are two sides to this: education around who can get cancer – and the short answer to that is anyone – and then just recognising that you’re part of that group of anyone, and getting tested for it, because the earlier you catch it, the better your chances of living as full a life as ever before.

“So those two things I think are important to know, to understand, to recognise and to speak about.”

It is difficult to hide from the cameras when you are as box office as Louis Rees-Zammit, even when you are among 70,000 spectators.

And sure enough, he was picked out among the Principality Stadium crowd when Wales suffered a 10-try drubbing by England during last year’s Six Nations.

Rees-Zammit was chasing his NFL dream at the time, before returning to rugby union in the summer.

“Obviously it wasn’t a great watch, especially against England and losing in that manner,” he said on Sarra Elgan’s Six Nations 2026 Preview.

It will actually be a first for Rees-Zammit, who at 25 has already played in three Six Nations, a World Cup and toured with the British and Irish Lions.

But he has never run out for Wales at Twickenham.

“We played Quins there for Bristol a couple of months back and that was unbelievable, the crowd was insane,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to it, it’s the first game as well. It’s kind of the unknown with Wales – what have we done to bring a more consistent performance from the autumn to now?

“All of the boys are raring to go. There’s no bigger game than Wales England.”

It is fair to say Welsh fans are not carrying a great deal of hope into this year’s Championship, especially after record defeats in the autumn.

You have to go all the way back to March 2023 to find Wales’ most recent Six Nations success, in a match against Italy.

But with Steve Tandy leading Wales in the Six Nations for the first time, Rees-Zammit says this year feels like a fresh start.

“It’s like a new team coming together. When you get new coaching staff and different ideas, it feels like everyone freshens up and starts from scratch,” he said.

“In parts, we put in some good performances in the autumn, it’s just about doing it consistently for a full 80 minutes.”

Rees-Zammit also recognises with the 2027 World Cup fast approaching, Wales are playing catch-up with the other nations.

“We’ve got to continue to work hard and try and accelerate this process as quick as possible,” he said.

Rees-Zammit’s pace and power have seen him flourish at full-back at Bristol, while Wales Tandy also sees “high potential” for him there.

“I love it. It allows me to get more touches on the ball in open field, it suits my game,” Rees-Zammit said.

“I much prefer it. I’ve played 15 in the past for Wales, but I think now I’m kind of seen as a 15 that can play on the wing.

“It just brings something different and the way Bristol play is absolutely perfect for me.

As a poster boy of world rugby, Rees-Zammit’s return to the Six Nations is not only a boost for Wales, but for fans and media alike.

“I try to not focus on that,” Rees-Zammit said.

“Everything that I’ve had off the field has come from my skills in rugby, and obviously going to America brought a new audience, but it’s all about performance.

“You’ve got Henry Pollock going through the same thing, he’s burst on to the scene and is playing unbelievably.”

And while England’s Pollock ruffles a few feathers, Rees-Zammit believes it is for the good of the game.

“You’ve got to try and bring your personality out when it comes to rugby, because a lot of it gets shut down,” he added.

“Henry is doing a great job of bringing his personality to the game and we need more people like that, it’ll just grow the sport.

“He obviously gets stick for it, and I got stick for it when I was younger, but you just go through it.”

Look who’s back!

Seven years after they lifted a sixth Lombardi Trophy, the New England Patriots have come roaring back to relevance to make Super Bowl 60, and the rest of the NFL is nervous.

For two decades Tom Brady and Bill Belichick mercilessly terrorised the league year after year, winning those six Super Bowl titles from nine appearances in an era of unrivalled dominance.

Finally relief came, as Brady departed, Belichick followed and the dynasty crumbled into obscurity as four-win also-rans with seemingly no way back.

In a league built to promote parity, the Patriots continually found ways to win – missing the play-offs just twice during Brady and Belichick’s 19 seasons together, and one of those the legendary quarterback missed through injury.

There were 18 divisional titles, 13 Conference Championship appearances leading to nine Super Bowls and Lombardis – a definition of dominance that still has NFL fans suffering with PTSD (Patriots Traumatic Stress Disorder).

Belichick masterminded a top-10 defence 16 times and Brady led a top-eight offence for 14 straight years, including one of the best in history in 2007 that came up a Super Bowl short of a 19-0 perfect season.

A snarling, hooded Belichick was all business all the time and slipped into the villain role with ease, so some NFL fans rejoiced when Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs came to the rescue, playing the role of Luke Skywalker and the rebel alliance to help defeat the evil Patriot empire.

A 4-13 season saw the end of Belichick’s tenure, and former Pats linebacker Jerod Mayo could only produce the same 4-13 finish that ended his stint after just one season.

Three straight years without the play-offs was the team’s longest run since the early 1990s, and in the final two they were not even close – ranking near the bottom of the league in almost every metric.

Owner Robert Kraft turned to another former Patriots linebacker, but one with vital head coaching experience in Mike Vrabel, and he has led a record 10-win turnaround that has the Patriots back on their perch.

Kraft deserves credit for acting quickly and switching head coaches as Vrabel looked the perfect fit.

Steeped in the ‘Patriot way’ of doing things, the three-time Super Bowl winner knows how to get he job done but, unlike Mayo, he had the crucial experience of leading the Tennessee Titans to the AFC Championship game during his spell in Nashville.

Vrabel was the most wanted head coach of the cycle last year and Maye has shown flashes during his rookie year that he had franchise quarterback potential. The two have proven to be a match made in heaven.

A head coach who built on fierce defence, and a second-year quarterback with a knack for producing the right plays at the right time – that’s just one of the similarities with the 2001 Patriots, the first Super Bowl win of the Brady-Belichick era.

The combination was promising enough for Kraft to sanction the biggest outlay in the league in free agency, with $364m splashed out on new talent – and crucially most of them have been hits.

They had the second-most snaps played by rookies this season and a total of 416 regular season games by players in their first year in Foxborough – a record for a team reaching a Super Bowl.

Perhaps Vrabel being new as well has helped so many new faces all knit together, but however it worked it’s certainly been a recipe for success as they’ve all delivered.

The team’s leading receiver Stefon Diggs, top tackler and defensive play-caller Robert Spillane, top sack leader Harold Landry and defensive giant Milton Williams all arrived in free agency last summer.

Their regular season rushing leader TreVeyon Henderson came out of the 2025 NFL Draft and the Patriots will be the first team ever to start two rookies on the offensive line in Will Campbell and Marcus Bryant.

For those who had their Super Bowl dreams dashed by the Patriots in the past, there are some uneasy similarities with how Vrabel and Maye have emulated the Brady and Belichick axis.

At just 23, Maye could become the youngest quarterback to win the Super Bowl so he’s younger than Brady was, but both have made the big game in their second season.

Maye is just the third quarterback to make the Super Bowl after generating under 17 points on offence in multiple play-off games – Brady’s 2001 Pats offence failed to put 17 on the board in all three games.

Weather played a part in all three play-off games but Vrabel’s defence was still excellent and coming through such tight encounters like that in the post-season is exactly how Brady and Belichick made their names.

In fact, New England’s win over Denver was just the fourth time since 2001 that a quarterback generated 14 points or fewer on offence and still won a Championship game or Super Bowl – Brady was part of the other three.

Maye spreads the ball out like Brady used to, with nine players this season having at least 200 receiving yards, and often pops up with the crucial play at the crucial time, albeit more with his legs than his arm.

Of Maye’s 16 runs in the play-offs, 12 have gone for a touchdown or first down – Brady had the same kind of magic in his arm to lead his team’s to glory.

So a tough, defensive coach, a talented, focused quarterback happy to win any way possible, some key drafting and expert free agent pick-ups have resulted in a team able to blow teams away or grind out tough play-off wins home and away.