Latest news with #Sparks
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Lady Vols legend Candace Parker honored by Los Angeles Sparks with jersey retirement
When Lady Vols basketball legend Candace Parker arrived in Los Angeles as a WNBA rookie in 2008, Michael Cooper told her something that still rang true 17 years later at her jersey retirement. The Lakers legend who won five NBA titles was the coach of the Los Angeles Sparks, who had just drafted Parker as the No. 1 overall pick the day after she won her second NCAA Championship at Tennessee. The Sparks had two WNBA championships, but they hadn't won one in six years. Parker wanted the lottery to fall in the Sparks' favor over her hometown Chicago Sky. LA was all about basketball to Parker, who grew up watching duos like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Lisa Leslie and Delisha Milton-Jones and Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. "I wanted the balls to fall in LA's court. I wanted to be out west. I wanted to be here, where all the eyeballs, all the lights, where there's ginormous shoes to fill," Parker said June 29 during her jersey retirement speech. "When I landed here, Michael Cooper said to me, 'Silk – that was my nickname – if you win here, you're a champion forever.' So there was one thing on my mind, and we got that. We got that championship." Parker led the Sparks to the 2016 WNBA Championship, the first of three during her 16-year WNBA career, and won WNBA Finals MVP. On June 29, her No. 3 jersey was retired, and her banner now hangs below the 2016 championship banner at Arena. Parker arrived with her family to an explosion of applause, wearing an orange vest and pants for her alma mater. Leslie, a Sparks legend, introduced Parker for her speech. Parker's jersey was retired at halftime of the Sparks' game against the Chicago Sky, which will also retire Parker's jersey on Aug. 25. She's only the second player in league history to have her jersey retired by two franchises. Parker's No. 3 jersey has been retired at Tennessee since 2014. It was fitting that three of the four active Lady Vols in the WNBA this season play for the Sparks – Rickea Jackson, Rae Burrell and Mercedes Russell. The seats in Arena all had yellow Adidas shirts laid on them for fans that read, "That's our Ace." The phrase was the theme for Adidas' celebration for the two-time WNBA MVP, who was signed with the brand for her entire professional career and now serves as its president for women's basketball. Parker made history in 2010 when she became the first woman to receive an Adidas signature shoe. SUMMITT: How Pat Summitt launched Danielle Donehew's Hall of Fame career by saying she'd be 'terrible coach' Leslie and Penny Toler are the only other players whose jerseys have been retired by the Sparks. Parker can remember standing in the tunnel with Leslie, with whom Parker played for two seasons, after the last game of her career in 2009. "You looked at me and you told me, 'Hey, yo, it goes fast. Enjoy it.' I remember you back there in that tunnel telling me that," Parker said. "Now, fast forward almost 20 years, and we're here." Parker retired in April 2024 as one of the most decorated players in WNBA history. She's the only player in league history to rank in the top 10 all-time in points, assists, rebounds and blocks. She's the only player to win WNBA Rookie of the year and MVP in the same season. Parker was a nine-time All-WNBA selection and a five-time All-Star with the Sparks. "I think the thing that I've learned through all the ups and downs, wins and losses, injuries, difficulties, highlights, records – it's about enjoying the process, enjoying the journey," Parker said. "I'm extremely humbled to have No. 3 up there amongst the greats, and I don't take that for granted. I do not take that for granted at all. I say thank you for this celebration. It means the world to me." Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women's athletics. Email her at and follow her on X @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora's coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it. This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Los Angeles Sparks honor Lady Vols legend Candace Parker with jersey retirement
Metro
4 hours ago
- Business
- Metro
Weak password let hackers bring down 148-year-old logistics firm
A company that had traded for more than 150 years and employed 700 people was brought down because of a weak password. Logistics firm KNP went out of business after criminals successfully hacked into its computers by guessing an employee's password before locking the whole company out of its systems. The firm is one of thousands affected by cyber attacks, which have also hit high street giants including Marks and Spencer, Harrods and the Co-op. KNP director Paul Abbott said he had yet to tell the employee whose security details were compromised that the leak had led to the company's closure. The Nottinghamshire-based company, which operated 500 Knights of Old lorries, was plunged into chaos after a crime gang known as Akira demanded a ransom after locking all staff out of the systems required to run the business. A threatening note to the firm's bosses read: 'If you're reading this it means the internal infrastructure of your company is fully or partially dead…Let's keep all the tears and resentment to ourselves and try to build a constructive dialogue.' Unable to pay the high sum demanded by the criminals, KNP folded up. The government's cyber security survey found that an estimated 19,000 British companies had suffered ransom attacks in the last year, although exact figures are hard to ascertain as businesses are not required to reprot incidents or if they have paid a ransom to criminals to reclaim their data. Earlier this year, Marks and Spencer was thrown into chaos after falling victim to cyber criminals, taking their loyalty scheme Sparks offline and halting online sales. While KNP's cyber attackers didn't name a price for restoring their systems,ransoms typically start at millions of pounds. The average demand to UK companies is estimated to be £4million and approximately a third pay up. Richard Horne, CEO of the National Cyber Security Centre, said that businesses needed to improve their security amid what he called a 'wave of cyber attacks' over the last few years. As well as cracking passwords, hackers are also using lower tech methods to gain access to systems, including blagging their way in, sometimes through IT helpdesks. Experts also believe that the latest generation of hackers were learning their skills through gaming. James Babbage, the Director General of Threats at the National Crime Agency (NCA) said ransomware had become a 'national security threat in its own right'. He told BBC Panorama that companies were further fuelling the lucrative crime by paying up ransoms. 'Every victim needs to make their own choice, but it is the paying of ransoms which fuels this crime', he said. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Bowling coach, 33, sent disturbing texts to teen, 17, before shooting her and himself dead MORE: Gang lures celebrity barber to London with honey trap to steal £500,000 in crypto MORE: Man guilty of murdering couple before dumping remains near Clifton Suspension Bridge
Scotsman
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Sparks, Edinburgh review: 'a delightful deep-dive of a concert'
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Beloved brotherly duo Sparks have released so many albums over the last 55 years that, at one point during this delightful deep dive of a concert, younger sibling Russell needed to draw on their audience's encyclopedic knowledge in the finer points of their chronology. Russell and Ron Mael are both now in their late-70s – though looking, acting and performing much younger – yet have never rested on laurels. Sparks PIC: Munachi Osegbu The art of the album is still what drives them and they have a new offering, Mad!, to show off. As to the rest of the set, well that is half the fun (and, occasionally, frustration) of a Sparks set – you never quite know where they will roam in their vast catalogue for inspiration. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It took them 50 years to write an obvious curtain raiser so now they're gonna use it. Following a pause to soak in the enthusiastic and respectful applause, they launched with So May We Start, from their movie musical Annette. To which the only reply can be: Absolutely. Next, they warmed up with the staccato rhyming couplets of recent single Do Things My Own Way. But it quickly transpired that the duo were in a Seventies frame of mind, excavating the light rock opera of Reinforcements, klezmer stomp of Goofing Off and, best of all, rocking out with their ace four-piece backing band on the beefy power pop of Whippings And Apologies from their second album A Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing.
Winnipeg Free Press
17 hours ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Los Angeles faces Washington after Hamby's 26-point showing
Los Angeles Sparks (8-14, 3-10 Western Conference) at Washington Mystics (11-11, 6-5 Eastern Conference) Washington; Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Mystics -2.5; over/under is 167.5 BOTTOM LINE: Los Angeles Sparks visits the Washington Mystics after Dearica Hamby scored 26 points in the Sparks' 99-80 win against the Washington Mystics. The Mystics have gone 7-3 at home. Washington ranks fifth in the WNBA with 35.5 rebounds led by Kiki Iriafen averaging 8.5. The Sparks have gone 5-6 away from home. Los Angeles leads the Western Conference with 38.8 points per game in the paint led by Hamby averaging 12.2. Washington averages 78.5 points per game, 8.4 fewer points than the 86.9 Los Angeles allows. Los Angeles averages 8.4 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.8 more makes per game than Washington gives up. The two teams match up for the second time this season. The Sparks defeated the Mystics 99-80 in their last meeting on July 16. Hamby led the Sparks with 26 points, and Shakira Austin led the Mystics with 16 points. TOP PERFORMERS: Brittney Sykes is averaging 17.1 points and 4.4 assists for the Mystics. Austin is averaging 16.5 points over the last 10 games. Hamby is averaging 17.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.9 steals for the Sparks. Kelsey Plum is averaging 17.1 points over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Mystics: 6-4, averaging 79.5 points, 34.5 rebounds, 19.1 assists, 6.5 steals and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 43.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 81.3 points per game. Sparks: 4-6, averaging 83.0 points, 31.9 rebounds, 20.8 assists, 7.0 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 45.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 87.9 points. INJURIES: Mystics: Georgia Amoore: out for season (acl). Sparks: Cameron Brink: out (knee). ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Mystics vs. Sparks odds, tips and betting trends - 7/22/2025
The Washington Mystics (11-11) hope to build on a four-game home winning streak when hosting the Los Angeles Sparks (8-14) on Tuesday, July 22, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Its last time out, Washington was defeated by Los Angeles 99-80 on the road, with Shakira Austin (16 PTS, 8 REB, 3 STL, 3 BLK, 53.3 FG%) and Sug Sutton (14 PTS, 55.6 FG%, 2-2 from 3PT) the top performers. Dearica Hamby (26 PTS, 52.6 FG%, 2-3 from 3PT) and Rickea Jackson (22 PTS, 69.2 FG%) led the way for the Sparks in the win. Here is what you need to get ready for Tuesday's action. Watch the WNBA on Fubo! Washington Mystics vs. Los Angeles Sparks odds and betting lines WNBA odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Sunday at 2:05 p.m. ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub. Mystics moneyline insights Sparks moneyline insights Mystics vs. Sparks: Game time and info Watch the WNBA on Fubo!
