Caitlin Clark will miss 5th game with quad strain but could soon start ‘ramping back up'
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Caitlin Clark will sit out a fifth consecutive game with a quadriceps strain when Indiana visits Atlanta on Tuesday, shifting the focus to whether the Fever star will return against the WNBA champion New York Liberty.
Indiana coach Stephanie White stopped short Monday of saying Clark had been cleared for basketball activities, saying the club was ready for the reigning Rookie of the Year to start 'ramping back up.'
The Fever initially said Clark would miss at least two weeks, and it has been 16 days since Clark was injured in a 90-88 loss to the Liberty. She finished the game, saying later adrenaline likely allowed her to play with the strain.
Clark told reporters last week she was targeting a Tuesday return, but said she wouldn't rush it. White reiterated the patience part Monday. The rematch with the Liberty isn't until Saturday at home, which should give Clark some decent practice time.
'We're going to be smart, and we're going to be cautious and we're going to play the long game and work her back in very intentionally,' White said.
Clark is averaging 19 points, 9.3 assists and six rebounds in four games this season. This is the first time in her college or pro career that she's missed games. She averaged 19.2 points and a WNBA-leading 8.4 assists as a rookie.
The Fever are also without guard Sophie Cunningham, who has been limited to four games by ankle injury. White ruled out Cunningham against the Dream.
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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
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Winnipeg Free Press
8 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Chicago Sky are struggling out of the gate with a new coach and revamped roster
CHICAGO (AP) — Angel Reese captured a national championship and never lost more than two games in a row during a four-year college career. She and Caitlin Clark helped lead women's basketball to new heights with a rivalry that gripped the nation. After all that winning, first at Maryland and then LSU, her rookie season with the Chicago Sky was an eye-opener. Year 2 is off to a bumpy start, too. 'I'm not really a patient person,' Reese said. 'I like to perfect things right away. That's why I'm so hard on myself. We have great coaches, we have great players.' For now, they have room to improve. The Sky are struggling with a new coach and revamped roster, and are 2-6 following a lopsided road loss to the New York Liberty on Tuesday. A season-ending knee injury to franchise career assist leader Courtney Vandersloot last weekend only added to their difficulties. The slow start comes on the heels of a 13-27 season and 10th-place finish in the WNBA. The Sky dropped 12 of their final 14 games last year, then got busy reshaping the roster. Chicago fired coach Teresa Weatherspoon after one season and hired Las Vegas Aces assistant Tyler Marsh to take over for the Hall of Famer. The Sky brought in veteran leadership to help Reese and Kamilla Cardoso take their games to a different level, reuniting with Vandersloot and acquiring two-time All-Star Ariel Atkins from Washington. But in the early going, the team is having a rough time. Chicago ranks among the worst in the WNBA on offense and defense and leads the league in turnovers. The Sky have been blown out twice by Indiana, starting with a heated season opener on the road. Clark had a triple-double and sent tempers flaring by knocking Reese to the floor with a hard foul. Chicago dropped its first four games before back-to-back wins over struggling Dallas, with No. 1 overall draft pick Paige Bueckers missing the second meeting while in the concussion protocol. Just when the Sky seemed to be pointing themselves in the right direction, things took another painful turn on Saturday night. They got wiped out again by Indiana in the first WNBA game at the United Center, with a national, prime-time audience watching and Clark sidelined with a quad injury. Worse, Vandersloot tore the ACL in her right knee during the first quarter. The five-time All-Star known as 'The General' returned to Chicago after two years in New York, where she helped the Liberty capture the championship last season and earned her second ring to go with the one she got with the Sky in 2021. A little more than a week before the injury, Vandersloot broke wife Allie Quigley's franchise career records for scoring and field goals made. 'She's our engine,' Marsh said. 'She's our captain, she's our leader out there. Obviously, it's a huge blow.' One of the best distributors the WNBA has seen, Vandersloot is second to Hall of Famer Sue Bird in total assists and holds the highest season and career averages in league history. The Sky figure to lean more on rookie Hailey Van Lith, the No. 11 overall pick in the draft. 'She's done as good a job as she can in terms of handling pressure,' Marsh said. 'I think she'll continue to see that. But just understanding how to command a team, how to run a team — I think she's kind of now on a fast track to that.' Van Lith said watching Vandersloot go down was 'heartbreaking' and added: 'Whatever is in store in the future for this team, I trust that we will find a way to make this moment mean something.' Reese and Cardoso hold the keys. Though Reese leads the league in rebounding at 12.1 per game, she's shooting just 35.8% while averaging 10.1 points. Last year, she set a WNBA record with double-doubles in 15 straight games and finished with 26 on the season — the most ever by a rookie. She has four this year, giving her 30 in 42 games — the fewest needed to reach the mark in league history. Cardoso, the third overall pick last year, continues to show promise, including a career-high 23-point game in the first win over Dallas. But the former South Carolina star hasn't become a consistent dominant force inside. 'I think it's just continuing to instill the trust level that we have in her,' Marsh said. 'Her teammates look for her inside. They know what a force she can be down low, and our staff certainly is aware of who she can be down there as well. We want to give her looks and opportunities.' ___ AP WNBA:
Toronto Sun
9 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
Former Maple Leafs GM reveals why team passed on drafting Joe Sakic
Former Leafs coach John Brophy 'was going nuts because he doesn't like small centremen.' Get the latest from Lance Hornby straight to your inbox Former Quebec Nordiques star Joe Sakic during a game in 1995. Postmedia files Say it ain't so, Joe. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account As the Maple Leafs grapple with all-star Mitch Marner's likely departure, former general manager Gord Stellick brought up another story of a first-round pick, this one that got away at the draft table. While it was well known that the Leafs passed on Joe Sakic in 1987 — as did 12 other clubs before Sakic went to the Quebec Nordiques — Stellick detailed how close the future Hall of Famer came to wearing Blue and White in a guest appearance on the Leafs Morning Take podcast. Holding the seventh overall pick that year, the Leafs had an ad hoc committee with Stellick, who was then the NHL's youngest GM at 30 years old, coach John Brophy and senior scouts, but all living with the whims of unpredictable owner Harold Ballard. Big Peterborough Petes defenceman Luke Richardson was on their radar, but as it got close to Toronto's turn, scouting director Floyd Smith made a convincing argument to consider Sakic. With 60 goals and 73 assists for the Swift Current Broncos, Sakic was certainly attractive, but lacked bulk. 'The table (at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit) is up in arms, like 'holy crap,'' Stellick recalled for the show's hosts. 'Brophy (who preferred scrappy players) was going nuts because he doesn't like small centremen. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'John Brophy was our coach and he had way too much influence as a coach because the owner, Harold Ballard, liked him … It's absurd. A coach who is even involved when you're drafting. But he had the ear of the owner.' That insured the Leafs took Richardson, but as was the case with many of their 1980s picks, they had no gradual development plan for him. He could've used another year of junior, but openly challenged Stellick's plan to demote him and, while he did play 21 years with various teams, his Toronto tenure wasn't as successful as hoped. Read More Stellick said he re-hashed the story with Sakic in 2012 at the latter's Hall of Fame induction. The irony was that Sakic wasn't even the Nordiques' first pick that year. In a draft dominated by defencemen, they took Bryan Fogarty ninth before Sakic at 15th. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Two Hall of Famers led off that draft, with Pierre Turgeon going first to Buffalo and future Leafs president Brendan Shanahan second to the New Jersey Devils. 'I always think about that … c'est la vie,' Stellick concluded his story. ' I'm sure that it worked out better for Joe Sakic.' Sakic had three 100-point seasons with Quebec, which changed addresses to Colorado in 1995 and won the Stanley Cup its first year in Denver. That was Sakic's first of two as a player, the second coming in 2001, before adding the 2022 title as the team's GM. He's now the Avalanche's director of hockey operations. lhornby@ X: @sunhornby NHL Celebrity Editorial Cartoons Toronto & GTA News
National Post
10 hours ago
- National Post
WNBA star fires back at fan who criticized injury rehab: 'Red carpets and schmoozing'
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