Today In Sport: February 4th, 2025

Chelsea get back to winning ways against West Ham, Trae Young hits game winner and Cooper Kupp and Myles Garrett look for new homes - plus more!

Written by Lachlan Sherriff

Chelsea Come From Behind In Win Against West Ham

After their 3-1 defeat to Manchester City last week, Chelsea welcomed rivals West Ham to Stamford Bridge hoping to get back to winning ways, knowing the three points would put them back in the top four.

It was just as big of a game for West Ham, especially for their new manager, Graham Potter. After his sacking in 2023, this was the first time the former Chelsea boss returned to Stamford Bridge, and he was hoping his team could pull off an upset.

The upset appeared to be on the cards as Jarrod Bowen drew first blood in the 42nd minute. Despite being the better side, Chelsea were down 1-0 at half time.

Chelsea would eventually score, in the 64th minute through Pedro Neto, but in a tight top four race, a point still wasn't going to be enough.

Thankfully, a slice of luck saw Aaron Wan-Bissaka score an own goal in the 74th minute, and the game would end in a 2-1 win for Chelsea, who now sit fourth on the Premier League table.

While it wasn't Chelsea's best game, as despite having 22 shots, only three were on target, Enzo Maresca insisted that it was still a good performance.

"Today was a tough game, especially mentally. When West Ham come here and sit back with 10 players behind the ball, it's not easy, so you have to be mentally strong, and you need to be patient. We had more than 10 shots in the first half. We had clear chances in the first half, but unfortunately, we missed the target. With some changes, the game completely changed. Overall, we completely deserved to win the game. I'm not concerned [about the errors], it's the way we play. Sometimes, defensive mistakes happen. A keeper mistake, number nine misses the goal. That's football. It happens. The important thing is to continue."

- Enzo Maresca after Chelsea's 2-1 win over West Ham

Chelsea play Brighton away in the FA Cup next, while West Ham host Brentford at London Stadium in the league.

Ice Cold Trae Young Breaks Detroit Hearts

When the game comes down to the wire, there's no one Atlanta fans would rather see with the ball in his hands then Trae Young, and he proved that once again today.

With the score tied at 130 against the Detroit Pistons, Young stepped back on Malik Beasley and hit the game winner, securing a 132-130 win for Atlanta on the road.

Young was impressive throughout the whole game, with 34 points and nine assists on 56% shooting. Next to him in the backcourt, Dyson Daniels added to his numerous impressive performances this season with nineteen points, seven assists, six rebounds, four steals and three blocks.

For the Pistons, Cade Cunningham showed up once again, with thirty points and fourteen assists despite the loss.

For Young, the moment means a lot, especially after his recent snub from the 2025 NBA All-Star game. You can listen to his post match interview here.

The Hawks will host San Antonio at State Farm Arena in their next game. The Pistons will also play at home, against the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are first in the East.

James Drops New Career High In NC State Win

In the only women's college basketball game of the day, Aziaha James led NC State to an 89-83 win over Duke at the Reynolds Coliseum.

James, who is averaging 16.9 points this season, put up 36 points in the win over the Blue Devils, which is her new career high.

Zoe Brooks and Saniya Rivers also contributed to the Wolfpack's scoring with fifteen and thirteen points respectively, while Ashlon Jackson and Taina Mair led the way for Duke with 23 and 21 points respectively.

James was praised not only for her ability, but also her efficiency, as she scored on fifteen of her nineteen shots, resulting in a 78 FG%.

“She’s amazing, as you can see. She’s scoring the ball in so many ways. You can’t guard her. It’s literally impossible.”

- NC State's Zoe Brooks on teammate Aziaha James

NC State will hit the road for their next game, which is away against Florida State. Duke, meanwhile will return home to play Clemson.

Kupp, Garrett Placed On Trade Block

Two noticeable NFL players have been placed on the trade block today, with Cleveland's Myles Garrett and the LA Rams' Cooper Kupp both expected to find new homes before the start of next season.

Garrett, 29, has played his entire career in Cleveland after being selected first in the 2017 NFL draft. He won Defensive Player of the Year in 2023 and is a four time First Team All Pro.

Kupp, 31, also entered the league in 2017. He has spent his entire career in Los Angeles and was a crucial part of the Rams Super Bowl winning squad, winning both Super Bowl MVP and Offensive Player of the Year in that season. However, he was never quite able to reach those same heights in seasons before or after.

Garrett will provide a huge spark on the defensive end for whatever team is fortunate enough to secure his services. The Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears have both been mentioned, among others, when discussing teams who are likely to pursue Garrett.

While Kupp has not been able to return to the same production we saw from him in 2021, a fresh start may be what he needs to get the best out of him. The Dallas Cowboys are expected to pursue him, as are the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Garrett has two years left on his contact, and will be paid around 57 million USD over those two years. He's currently the highest paid non quarterback in NFL history.

Kupp, meanwhile also has a contract with the Rams until the end of the 2026 season. He's getting paid just under 40 million USD over those two years.

Medvedev Fights Back To Beat Wawrinka in In Rotterdam

Following a disappointing Australian Open, which saw him crash out in the second round to Learner Tien, Daniil Medvedev has started his 2025 ATP Rotterdam tournament with a bang.

Playing against Stan Wawrinka, Medvedev had to fight from behind after the 39-year-old pulled a shock win in the first set, defeating Medvedev 7¹⁰-6⁸ in the tiebreaker.

However, Medvedev didn't let the thoughts of a first round exit phase him, and instead battled from behind to win the final two sets 6-4, 6-1.

Speaking after the game, Medvedev talked about his mentality difference in his final two sets compared to the first.

“When you have confidence, you win some sets which you should lose, when you don’t have the confidence you lose some sets that you could win”

- Daniil Medvedev after defeating Stan Wawrinka

Medvedev will take on Italian Mattia Bellucci in his round of sixteen clash.

MLB Umpire Suspended After Gambling Controversy

MLB umpire Pete Hoberg will be out of the game for at least a year after being fired for sharing a sports gambling account with a friend who placed 141 bets on baseball.

While Hoberg did not place any baseball bets himself and did not manipulate a result in any way, MLB senior vice president of on-field operations Michael Hill still recommended Hoberg be fired, which Commissioner Rob Manfred did.

"His extremely poor judgment in sharing betting accounts with a professional poker player he had reason to believe bet on baseball and who did, in fact, bet on baseball from the shared accounts, combined with his deletion of messages, creates at minimum the appearance of impropriety that warrants imposing the most severe discipline. Therefore, there is just cause to uphold Mr. Hoberg’s termination for failing to conform to high standards of personal conduct and to maintain the integrity of the game of baseball.”

- MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred after firing Pete Hoberg

Hoberg's friend, a professional poker player, placed bets on five different games that Hoberg wasd either umpiring or in the replay booth for.

After becoming a full time MLB umpire in 2017, Hoberg was considered one of the league's best umps, especially after he called a perfect game in the 2022 World Series.

If Hoberg wants to re-apply to become an umpire, he can do so after 2026 spring training.

Former Socceroos Manager Makes Shock Swap to New Sport

Former Socceroos manager Graham Arnold has shocked the world after switching football codes and joining the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Arnold, 60, was a striker in the 1980s and 90s who played in Australia, the Netherlands, Belgium and Japan. However, he is known more for his managerial career, mostly for his role as the manager of the Australian men's senior football team.

Arnold took the Socceroos to their best ever World Cup finish in 2022, however resigned in September of last year after form had dropped.

He's been out of work ever since, but shocked the sporting world today by joining NRL side South Sydney Rabbitohs, to mentor their goal kickers.

At the Rabbitohs', Arnold is set to mentor goalkickers such as Latrell Mitchell, Jamie Humphreys, Fletcher Myers, Isaiah Tass and Matthew Humphries.

"He knows what he is talking about. He is a good person and a very good coach. All of our goalkickers can improve. Latrell will be our goalkicker this year but the back-up wasn't where it should have been last season. Graham will work with the back-up goalkickers as well. He will be taking over our goalkickers."

- South Sydney Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett, via AAP

South Sydney will play a pre-season match against the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles next week.

Senators Improve Winning Streak To Five Against Nashville

In the only NHL game of the day, the Ottawa Senators extended their winning streak to five games with a 5-2 win against the Nashville Predators.

After a scoreless first period, Nashville struck first with four minutes played in the second period through Filip Forsberg. But when Tim Stützle snagged his 300th career point after setting up Adam Gaudette for a goal, Ottawa were back in control.

Jake Sanderson would then score to give Ottawa the lead, before Jonathan Matchessault equalised for Nashville early in the third period.

But three late unanswered goals from Shane Pinto, David Perron, who scored his first goal as a Senator, and Ridly Greig was enough to secure a 5-2 win for Ottawa.

Ottawa are set for a trip to Florida to play the Tampa Bay Lightning next, while Nashville travel north to play the Chicago Blackhawks.