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Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Fever HC Stephanie White Issues 3-Word Caitlin Clark Update
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The Indiana Fever will once again be without superstar guard Caitlin Clark as they take on the Connecticut Sun on Sunday. Unfortunately, there has been no firm timeline for when she could return to the court. Out of the 34 games the Fever have played this season, Clark has only been available for 13 of them. Even in those games, she was clearly hampered by injuries. Most recently, she has been out for over a month due to a groin injury. So far, she has been unable to even get back on the practice court with her team. Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever looks on in the game against the Phoenix Mercury at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on August 16, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever looks on in the game against the Phoenix Mercury at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on August 16, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Photo byAhead of the matchup against the Sun, head coach Stephanie White spoke out with a brief update about Clark. Read more: Caitlin Clark's Status for Fever-Sun Game Revealed When asked if Clark would return at some point this season, White spoke out with honest hope. She started off with a three-word message on the situation. "That's the hope," White said. "The hope is that she's back." Her response does not instill confidence in the Indiana fan base that Clark will be seen again this season. It's a good sign that the Fever haven't already shut her down for the year, but quite often hope doesn't become a reality. Right now, Indiana is fighting for its playoff life. Due to losing four out of their last five games, the Fever have dropped down to No. 7 in the WNBA standings. They still rank No. 3 in the Eastern Conference standings. Clark returning to the court might just be the push that Indiana needs to get back to being a contender. Ideally, with the time she has been out, she would be coming back at 100 percent health without much of a risk of another injury popping up. Read more: Paige Bueckers Fires Back at Fever's Sophie Cunningham's Referee Comments During the 13 games that she has played this season, Clark's performance has not lived up to the WNBA MVP hype she was receiving before the year began. She has averaged 16.5 points per game to go along with 8.8 assists, five rebounds, and 1.6 steals. Clark has also shot just 36.7 percent from the floor and 27.9 percent from three-point range. Hopefully, the Fever will have some good news to share about Clark in the near future. For now, all fans can do is wait and hope that she'll be able to make a return to the court before the end of the year. Make sure to follow Newsweek Sports for all Indiana Fever and WNBA news and updates.
Newsweek
3 hours ago
- Newsweek
Caitlin Clark's Status for Fever-Sun Game Revealed
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The Indiana Fever are set to face off against the Connecticut Sun on Sunday afternoon in a huge road matchup with playoff implications. Caitlin Clark's team has been struggling to stay afloat in the race for the postseason. Over their last five games, the Fever have mustered up a 1-4 record. They have been quickly falling in the WNBA playoff standings. With that being said, they can't be blamed much. Clark has been unable to play since July 15 in a game due to her groin injury. That matchup happened to be against the Sun. Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever brings the ball up the court in the game against the Phoenix Mercury at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on August 16, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever brings the ball up the court in the game against the Phoenix Mercury at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on August 16, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Photo byFans have been anxiously awaiting Clark's return to the court. For those hoping to see her play against Connecticut today, an official decision has been made. Read more: Fever Superstar Caitlin Clark Gets Updated Return Projection From ESPN Unfortunately, Clark has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Sun. Earlier this week, Indiana head coach Stephanie White spoke out with an update about Clark. "She's been able to get a little bit more in her full court running with all of her body weight," White said. "It's really building up from doing minimal to then building some endurance to do longer periods of time. She's been able to do a little bit more on the court in terms of how she moves, but not into practice yet." That is not an extremely great update. Clark hasn't even returned to the practice court. Before she can get back into a WNBA game, she'll need to ramp up from a conditioning perspective and test out her groin to make sure that it's fully healed. To this point in the season, the Fever have played in 34 games. Clark has only been able to participate in 13 of them. Even when she has played, the injuries she has dealt with this year have hampered her ability to produce big numbers. In the 13 games she has played, Clark has averaged just 16.5 points, 8.8 assists, five rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game. She has shot 36.7 percent overall and 27.9 percent from three-point range. Read more: Paige Bueckers Fires Back at Fever's Sophie Cunningham's Referee Comments Hopefully, some good news comes out about Clark in the near future. She was supposed to be an MVP candidate and have Indiana looking like a championship contender. It's unknown if Clark will be able to return this season, but it's now known that today is not the day of that hopeful return. Make sure to follow Newsweek Sports for all Indiana Fever and WNBA news and updates.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
The secret to Sparks star Cameron Brink's success after her ACL injury? Vision boards
Each morning before Cameron Brink pulls on her Sparks jersey, she scans a taped-up collage in her closet. Olympic rings, a WNBA All-Star crest, snapshots with her fiancé and a scatter of Etsy trinkets crowd the board. The canvas is a handmade constellation of who Brink is and who she longs to be. Between magazine clippings and scribbled affirmations, Brink sees both the grand arc and the small vows that tether her: to show up as a teammate, a daughter and a partner. 'You have a choice every day to have a good outlook or a bad outlook,' said Brink, the Sparks' starting forward. 'I try to choose every day to be positive.' That choice seemed to matter most when the future felt furthest away. The practice emerged in the thick of a 13-month recovery from a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Brink — the Stanford star and Sparks No. 2 draft pick — was forced to measure life in the tiniest ticks of progress after injuring her left knee a month into the 2024 season. Sparks veteran Dearica Hamby recognized how rehab was grinding down the rookie. One afternoon, she invited Brink to her home, where the dining table was set with scissors, glue sticks, stacks of magazines and knickknacks. 'I've always been taught growing up that your mind is your biggest power,' Brink said. 'So I've always been open to stuff like that. I heavily believe in manifesting what you want and powering a positive mindset.' Hamby had been building vision boards for years and believed Brink could use the same practice — both as a pastime and as a mechanism to combat the doubts that surfaced during her lengthy and often lonely rehab. 'If she can visualize it, she can train her mind the opposite of her negative thoughts and feelings,' Hamby said. 'When you see it, you can believe it. Your brain is constantly feeding itself. And if you have something in the back — those doubts — you need something to counter that.' Read more: Cameron Brink returns but Aces end Sparks' winning streak The board dearest to Brink wasn't crowded with stats or accolades. She crafted what she calls her 'wonderful life,' layering in snapshots of her fiancé, Ben Felter, and framed by symbols of family and team. 'You're a product of your mind,' Brink said. 'Everything in my life, I feel like I've fought and been intentional about.' Fighting was what the year demanded. However inspiring the boards looked taped inside her closet, the reality was gradual and often merciless. From the night she was carried off the court last June to the ovation that greeted her return in July, Brink's progress unfolded in inches — from the day she could stand, to the day she could walk to the day she touched the hardwood again. 'It's been such a journey,' Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. 'Cam's mentality was just trying not to freak out. She was really focused on not being anxious about it.' Brink came to practice with her game on a leash, her activity hemmed in by doctors' timelines. While teammates scrimmaged, she studied sets from the sidelines. Roberts praised her patient attitude as 'great,' a skill Brink sharpened by the ritual of opening her closet and trusting the journey. Kim Hollingdale, the Sparks' psychotherapist, worked closely with Brink during her recovery. While bound by confidentiality, she spoke to how manifestation tools can anchor an athlete through the mental strain of long recovery. Read more: For three Sparks rookies, the WNBA journey is one of uncertainty and promise 'Being able to stay in touch with where we're ultimately trying to get to can help on those days when it's feeling crappy,' Hollingdale said. 'Visualization helps us be like, 'OK, look, we're still heading to that vision. This is part of the journey.' It gives purpose, direction and a little hope when you're in the mud of recovery.' That sense of purpose, she added, is about giving the brain something familiar to return to when progress stalls — a way for the mind to rehearse what the legs can't. For Brink, that meant keeping her game alive in pictures she ran through her head. Putbacks in the paint became reruns in her mind, and Hollingdale said the brain scarcely knows the difference: If it sees it vividly enough, the muscles prime themselves as if the movement truly happened. What mattered wasn't just mechanics. Tuning out noise became essential as Brink was cleared to return as a WNBA sophomore by calendar yet a rookie by experience. What could have been crushing pressure was dimmed by the vision boards — the 'mental rehearsal,' as Hollingdale labeled it. 'I didn't want to focus on stat lines or accolades coming back from injury,' Brink said. 'I learned the importance of enjoying being out there, controlling what I can control, always having a good attitude — that's what I reframed my mindset to be about.' During Brink's return against the Las Vegas Aces on July 29, she snared an offensive rebound and splashed a three-pointer within the first minute. And since, she has posted 5.9 points and four rebounds an outing, headlined by a 14-point performance through 11 minutes against Seattle. Hollingdale tabbed Brink's return a rarity. She often prepares athletes to weather the gauntlet of 'firsts' — the first shot that clangs, the first whistle, the first crowd cheer — without expecting much beyond survival. But upon Brink's return, those firsts weren't looming unknowns. They were rehearsed memories. 'That is a testament to her being able to manage herself, her emotions and her anxiety and all the stress and pressure,' Hollingdale said. 'To come out and make a meaningful difference to your team straight away speaks to the ability to stay locked in and cut out the noise.' By refusing to sprint through recovery, Hamby said Brink insulated herself from the pressure that shadows young stars. The vision boards, Hamby added, became a tangible expression of Brink's decision to trust herself. Read more: WNBA motherhood: The balancing act between career and kids 'She's done it differently,' Hamby said. 'For her, it's more of a mental thing than a physical thing. She took her time, not listening to people tell her she should have been back sooner.' When Brink shuts the closet door and heads to Arena for game day, she's already spent the morning tracing the steps of the night. On the next blank corner of her canvas? 'Being an All-Star and going to the Olympics,' she said. Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
