Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) possesses the ball during the first half against the Connecticut Sun during game two of the first round of the 2024 WNBA Playoffs at Mohegan Sun Arena. (Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images/File Photo.)
NEW YORK--Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark was named to the All-WNBA first team on Wednesday, becoming the first rookie in 16 years to earn the honor. Clark joined Napheesa Collier, league MVP A'ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces, Breanna Stewart and Alyssa Thomas on the first team. Wilson and Collier, the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year, received unanimous first-team votes. It's the sixth first-team honor and seventh overall for Stewart, also a two-time league MVP. Sabrina Ionescu (New York Liberty), Kahleah Copper (Phoenix Mercury), Nneka Ogwumike (Seattle Storm), Arike Ogunbowale (Dallas Wings) and Jonquel Jones (Liberty) were named to the All-WNBA second team. Clark received 52 first-team votes, fourth-most overall.
She also finished fourth in MVP voting. She's the first rookie named to the first team since Candace Parker in 2008. Sue Bird (2002), Tamika Catchings (2002) and Diana Taurasi (2004) were also first-team rookies. The WNBA Rookie of the Year, Clark finished her first campaign averaging 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and a league-high 8.4 assists per game. Stewart, Ionescu and Jones all play for the New York Liberty, who are locked in a 1-1 series tie with the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA Finals. Collier is the only player from the Lynx named to either team. Ionescu was the top vote-getter on the second team, earning 204 points, 51 points shy of Thomas of the Connecticut Sun.
The teams were selected by a panel of 67 sportswriters and broadcasters. Voting was conducted at the conclusion of the regular season. Players were selected without regard to position.
CORDOBA, Spain - European champions Spain claimed a place in the Nations League quarter-finals with a 3-0 home win over Serbia thanks to goals by Aymeric Laporte, Alvaro Morata and Alex Baena on Tuesday. With two games left, Spain have secured at least a second-place finish as they top League A Group One with 10 points, three ahead of Denmark and six clear of Serbia, with Switzerland bottom on one point after a 2-2 home draw with the Danes.
Spain were missing several players from the team that beat England 2-1 in the Euro 2024 final in July but still outclassed Serbia with 30 shots against three from the visitors. Defender Laporte gave the Spaniards the lead with a close-range header in the fifth minute and Morata, who missed a penalty in the 54th, extended Spain's lead with a strike from just inside the box after 65 minutes. Serbia's Strahinja Pavlovic was shown a straight red card for a last-man foul on Mikel Oyarzabal on the edge of the area in the 78th and Baena curled a delightful free kick into the top corner to wrap up an easy victory for Spain. "We are in another final stage of a major tournament and that is something to be proud of," captain Morata told Spanish public television TVE. "It seems easy because we are always there in the final stages but sure it isn't so we have to understand how special it is and give it the proper value it has. "We have several injured players, we missed them but we have to look at the positives that are young players stepping up.
What we have created is special and we have to keep going forward. Spain has an incredible future." After beating Denmark 1-0 on Saturday without Dani Carvajal and Rodri due to serious knee injuries, and with key players like Nico Williams, Dani Olmo and Robin Le Normand also absent, Luis de la Fuente's side faced Serbia also minus teenage sensation Lamine Yamal, who got injured against the Danes. But his depleted team did miss a beat as they easily handled Serbia and secure a third successive Group A4 win to clinch a top-two finish and become the second team to book a quarter-final place after Germany who qualified on Monday. After Laporte headed the opener from a cross by Pedro Porro, Spain wasted several chances, including a penalty for handball by Veljko Birmancevic that Morata blasted over the bar. It was not until 20 minutes into the second half that they extended their lead as Morata slotted home first-time with the inside of his left foot after a neat through ball from Fabian Ruiz before Baena wrapped up the win with a terrific free-kick.
DETROIT -- Riley Greene, Matt Vierling and Spencer Torkelson each drove in a run and six pitchers combined on a second straight shutout Wednesday to give the Detroit Tigers a 3-0 victory over the Cleveland Guardians in Game 3 of the American League Division Series.
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SPAIN- - As Rafa Nadal prepares to ride off into the sunset after a stellar career, his fellow professionals from eras old and new agree on one thing - the Spaniard remains an inspirational role model whose legacy has shaped tennis over the last 23 years.
NEW YORK -- Sean Manaea carried a shutout into the eighth inning and benefited from strong defense behind him Tuesday by the host New York Mets, who beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-2 in Game 3 of a National League Division Series.
Pete Alonso and Jesse Winker homered, Starling Marte and Jose Iglesias each had two-run singles and Francisco Lindor added an RBI double for the Mets, who lead the best-of-five series two games to one. Game 4 is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, when host New York will aim to reach the NL Championship Series for the first time since 2015. The Phillies, who reached the World Series in 2022 and the NLCS in 2023, haven't won a game when facing elimination since defeating the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 5 of the 1993 World Series. Manaea (1-0), who entered Tuesday with a 10.66 ERA in four career playoff appearances, gave up one run on three hits while striking out six, walking two and plunking two over seven-plus innings.
The most well-struck hit off Manaea was Alec Bohm's one-out single off the right-center field wall in the fourth, but center fielder Tyrone Taylor barehanded the carom and fired to shortstop Francisco Lindor, who made a swipe tag at the sliding Bohm. Manaea got out of a jam in the sixth, when he walked Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner to open the inning. The 32-year-old southpaw then struck out Bryce Harper on three pitches and got Nick Castellanos to line to second, where Iglesias tossed to Lindor to double up Schwarber. Manaea exited to a standing ovation after giving up Edmundo Sosa's infield single leading off the eighth.
Harper and Castellanos had back-to-back two-out RBI singles against Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek before Bohm flew out to strand two. Alonso continued his run of dramatic moments by homering on the first pitch he saw from Aaron Nola (0-1) in the second inning. It was the third homer in the last four games for Alonso, an impending free agent who extended the Mets' season by hitting a three-run ninth-inning homer last Thursday in New York's 4-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 3 of an NL wild card series.
Winker homered deep into the second deck in right in the fourth. Marte and Iglesias added their insurance hits in the sixth and seventh before Lindor delivered his hit with two outs in the eighth. Nola (0-1) gave up four runs on five hits and two walks while striking out eight over five-plus innings.
