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Dearica Hamby's 24 points, 14 rebounds lead Sparks over Mystics for 3rd straight win

Dearica Hamby's 24 points, 14 rebounds lead Sparks over Mystics for 3rd straight win

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dearica Hamby had 24 points and 14 rebounds for her 48th career double-double, Rickea Jackson scored 20 of her 22 points in the second half and the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Washington Mystics 93-86 on Tuesday night.
Los Angeles (9-14) has won three straight games, including back-to-back victories over Washington (11-12), before and after the All-Star break.
Los Angeles led 81-78 before scoring nine straight points, capped by Hamby's baseline jumper with 1:54 left in the fourth quarter for a 12-point lead. Kelsey Plum sealed it on a long 3-pointer with 49.1 left.
Plum finished with 11 points and three 3-pointers for Los Angeles. Jackson made four of the Sparks' 13 3s.
Brittney Sykes led Washington with 18 points and Shakira Austin added 17. Kiki Iriafen scored 13. Sonia Citron, Washington's second-leading scorer at 14.1 points per game, finished with seven points, five assists and three steals. Citron did not attempt her first field goal until midway through the third quarter.
LYNX 91, SKY 68
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kayla McBride and Napheesa Collier scored 19 points apiece and Minnesota dominated the middle quarters in a win over Chicago, improving to 13-0 in home games.
Down 24-18 after one quarter, the Lynx outscored the Sky 29-14 in the second for a 47-38 lead at halftime. A 23-12 scoring edge in the third quarter made it 70-50 entering the fourth.
Bridget Carlton had 11 points for the Lynx (21-4) and Alanna Sith and Courtney Williams each had 10. Backup point guard Natisha Hiedeman injured an ankle in the third quarter and finished the game on the bench.
Kia Nurse, starting in place of the injured Ariel Atkins, scored 16 points to lead the Sky (7-16). Angel Reese had 11 points and 11 rebounds with nine turnovers, and Kamilla Cardoso added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
LIBERTY 98, FEVER 84
NEW YORK (AP) — Jonquel Jones scored 18 points in her return from an ankle injury, and New York beat Indiana.
Breanna Stewart and Leonie Fiebich each scored 17, Sabrina Ionescu had 13 points and nine assists, and Isabelle Harrison also had 13 points to help the Liberty (15-6) beat the Fever for the second straight time. New York beat Indiana 98-77 last Wednesday in their last game before the All-Star break.
Kelsey Mitchell scored 29 points to lead the Fever (12-11), which again played without Caitlin Clark (groin injury).
WINGS 87, STORM 63
SEATTLE (AP) — Arike Ogunbowale scored 20 points including four 3-pointers, Paige Bueckers had 14 points for her 19th straight double-digit game to begin her career, and the Dallas beat the short-handed Seattle.
Bueckers also had six assists to tie Caitlin Clark's WNBA record for the fastest player to reach 300 points and 100 assists.
Skylar Diggins, Seattle's leader with 17.5 points and 5.8 assists per game, did not play due to personal reasons.
ACES 87, DREAM 72
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A'ja Wilson had 24 points and 12 rebounds, Dana Evans provided a spark off the bench and Las Vegas won three straight games for the first time this season with a victory over Atlanta.
Evans scored the first nine points of the second quarter to give the Aces the lead for good and finished with 14 points. Jackie Young added 14 points for Las Vegas (12-11), which plays its next four on the road. NaLyssa Smith had 11 points.
Allisha Gray led the Dream (13-10) with 24 points and eight rebounds. Jordan Canada added 12 points. Atlanta is without All-Star and leading scorer Rhyne Howard due to a knee injury. She missed the last two games before the All-Star break and will miss at least four more.
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From hoops to Hall of Fame: Antonio Gates' unique NFL journey to Canton
From hoops to Hall of Fame: Antonio Gates' unique NFL journey to Canton

Winnipeg Free Press

time13 minutes ago

  • Winnipeg Free Press

From hoops to Hall of Fame: Antonio Gates' unique NFL journey to Canton

Antonio Gates thought his path to a Hall of Fame career would have been in basketball. Instead, he became one of the best tight ends in NFL history. Gates will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, getting elected to Canton without playing college football. He played his entire 16-year career for the Bolts and finished with 116 receiving touchdowns, the most by a tight end in NFL history. 'My journey was probably the most unique journey in all of football because I came in as a former basketball player, not knowing what to expect,' Gates said. 'Some of those guys who are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, they wanted to be Pro Football Hall of Famers when they were 14 years old. I wanted to play in the NBA. That was my dream. Like I said, I still haven't wrapped my head around it all.' Gates played both football and basketball during high school at Detroit Central. Nick Saban recruited Gates to play football at Michigan State, but he didn't play as a freshman. Gates also wanted to play basketball, but Saban disagreed. Gates transferred to Eastern Michigan, then to two junior colleges, and eventually to Kent State. It was at Kent State that Gates reached national prominence. He led the Golden Flashes to the Elite Eight in the 2002 NCAA Tournament as a junior and an Associated Press All-America honorable mention selection as a senior after averaging 20.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. Even though Gates was convinced he would get drafted in the NBA, at 6-foot-4, scouts saw him as an undersized post player. However, Tim Brewster, who was the Chargers' tight ends coach in 2003, saw in Gates the size and speed that he thought would make him a great tight end. Brewster saw Gates during a private workout and immediately began making his pitch to Marty Schottenheimer and the Chargers' front office to sign him as a free agent. 'A lot of people like to take credit, but Tim is the number one reason why I am in the Hall of Fame,' Gates said. 'He found me, believed what I could become, and was around me constantly. He really got me into a position where I look up, and I was All-Pro my second year in the field.' After having 24 receptions for 389 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie, Gates had a career-high 13 touchdowns in 2004 en route to the first of three straight Associated Press All-Pro honors and eight consecutive trips to the Pro Bowl. He also had 81 catches for 964 yards. Even though he was catching a lot of passes, Gates' route-running didn't always get high marks from coaches. 'What I was doing as a rookie and in my second year was considered nontraditional. I would play well, but grade out bad because I creating a lane. And unfortunately, when you're creating something that's never been done or seen, it gets scrutinized. I would use my instinct to make the play.' Many of the things that Gates did with shape routes, pivot routes over the ball and tight ends releasing at the line of scrimmage are commonplace today with Kansas City's Travis Kelce and San Francisco's George Kittle. Gates utilized his basketball skills on the football field, as catching the ball at its highest point is similar to rebounding in the paint, as well as boxing out on the hardwood and trying to get open against a defensive back. Gates might have been outsized as a power forward, but he had an advantage going up against defensive backs who often were smaller than he was. Gates' career flourished under Norv Turner, the Chargers coach from 2007 through '12. Turner lined Gates up in different spots and also used more two tight end sets. Gates' route-running also improved under Turner and with Philip Rivers as the quarterback. 'He had to win on his route-running and his ability to separate and his understanding of coverages and all those things. Philip is as good a passer as there's been in a long time, but Philip wasn't going to move around and make a lot of plays off schedule,' Turner said. Gates finished with 955 receptions for 11,841 yards. He had 21 multi-touchdown games, the most among tight ends. Of his 116 touchdowns, 39 came on third down, which is tied for third all time. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. He had eight seasons with at least eight touchdowns and was a member of the NFL's All-Decade Team of the 2000s. Gates said the biggest thing he is looking forward to is being able to thank the people who helped him get to Canton. 'I've always been in a space where from a popularity standpoint, people know my name. It's my chance to thank everyone else,' he said. 'Although you are the face and the focus point, it's truly not about you. You're letting everybody understand what it took to get to this point and who were influential.' ___ AP NFL:

Cowboys sign tight end Jake Ferguson to a 4-year, $52 million extension
Cowboys sign tight end Jake Ferguson to a 4-year, $52 million extension

Toronto Sun

time43 minutes ago

  • Toronto Sun

Cowboys sign tight end Jake Ferguson to a 4-year, $52 million extension

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