World
Caitlin Clark Not Gloating After WNBA All-Stars Top Olympic Team
PHOENIX – Caitlin Clark is not going to the Paris Olympics, and Saturday night at Footprint Center it sounded like she didn’t mind at all.
She’s been running at a hectic pace for a year, she said. First the regular college basketball season, then the NCAA Women’s Final Four, right into the WNBA draft, first half of the season and the WNBA All-Star Game. Every move analyzed, every shot dissected. Pardon her if she’d like to take the Olympic break off.
“See you in a month,” she said after the WNBA All-Stars took care of a U.S. Women’s Olympic team that didn’t select her in grand fashion, 117-109. “I’m going to do a few things for myself.”
She said she’s going on vacation and wouldn’t divulge the plans, although some of the time will be spent working out in the gym with her Indiana Fever teammates.
Any vindication she, fellow rookie Angel Reese and game MVP Arike Ogunbowale feel as they remain in the U.S. while Diana Taurasi and company head to Paris trying to win their eighth gold medal in a row was overshadowed by their respect for the players on the U.S. Olympic team.
“They have plenty of talent on that team,” Clark said. “If anything, it shows how good this league is, how much talent there is in this league. This was a good opportunity to help them prepare. I’ll be rooting for them. I mean, I love the Olympics. I’ve loved the Olympics since I was a little kid. They’re going to be just fine. They’re going to win gold and dominate.”
But there isn’t much time, and they have a lot of work to do, USA coach Cheryl Reeve acknowledged. Her team has one more exhibition game Tuesday in London against Germany, then it’s on to pool play at the Paris Olympics by the end of the week. “We weren’t good at what we were trying to do,” Reeve said.
Asked before the game if she had any second thoughts about not picking Clark, Reeve said: “From me? No.”
Clark dished out 10 assists, a rookie All-Star record and one shy of the record set by Sue Bird in 2017. She added a pair of layups but missed all seven of her 3-point attempts. Reese had 12 points and 11 rebounds, becoming the first rookie to post an All-Star double-double.. Ogunbowale set a WNBA All-Star record with 34 points, 21 alone during the third quarter.
Reeve admitted they all could have been on the Olympic team.
“We’ve said this for years: The depth of talent we have in the USA, no one has anything close to it,” she said. “There are players not on our team who are great players. Everyone knows that. There’s no suggestion that those players playing for the WNBA aren’t good enough to play for this national team. But only 12 can make it.”
There’s no question the WNBA has reached a watershed moment. Clark has had a major impact on attendance and television exposure both economically and artistically. After a brief period of indoctrination when the veterans bounced her around and hazed her, she’s earned their respect.
She’s 22 years old and it’s all upside for her and the league.
After 25 years of a 12-team format, the WNBA is expanding to San Francisco next season, Toronto soon after and to a 44-game schedule from 40. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert promised 16 teams by 2028 during her pregame media conference.
The event was framed against Suns and Mercury owner Mat Ishbia opening a self-financed $100 million Mercury practice facility just south of the arena, putting them on par at least facility-wise with his NBA Suns.
The atmosphere was electric both inside and outside the arena Saturday night as a sellout crowd of 16,407 filled the building to the rafters.
“Walking through WNBA Live as I did yesterday and today, the buzz was unlike anything we’ve seen at All-Star Weekend,” Engelbert said. “We had a record 24 partners on hand to celebrate.”
The WNBA has ridden the Clark phenomenon to a new pending media rights deal, plus merchandizing and marketing beyond their wildest imaginations. This is no longer your grandma’s WNBA.
Engelbert cited the highest WNBA attendance overall in 26 years, 16 nationally televised games–14 featuring Clark –that have drawn a million viewers or more. WNBA app usage is up 530%.
“And we’re not even halfway through the season,” she said. “When I stood in front of you at this time last year, I knew we were poised for big things. We were preparing ourselves for big things, but I’m just so thrilled with what we’ve been able to accomplish over the last year.”
Of course, Clark, Reese and a new wave of WNBA players also came along.
“I’ve been so pleased with Caitlin and all of our rookies,” Engelbert said. “So many of this rookie class, they’re so strong, and they’re performing at the highest level. You guys are all writing about it, which we love. Yeah, I’m really pleased with how that’s working out.”
And why shouldn’t she be pleased? The Fever lead the league with an average attendance of 16,898, 15,306 on the road through 15 games.
And as Engelbert said, they’re only halfway through the season. After the Olympics it’ll be a mad rush to finish the second half and soar into the playoffs.
The first half has been a learning experience for Clark.
“I feel like from the start of the season to now it’s completely night and day for me,” she said. “I just feel so much more comfortable. Things are starting to slow down. I’m having more time to learn between games. The most exciting thing for me is I still have so much more room to grow.”
That may seem a little scary to the rest of the league. But now, Olympics be damned. It’s time for a little rest. And then back at it.
World
Investors brace for a bigger backlash from Middle East war
World
Tel Aviv analyst shelters from 30 missile sirens in 48 hours, says Iran ‘won’t recover’
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The past 48 hours in Tel Aviv have been unlike anything seen before, a leading security analyst has said, as sirens blared amid missile threats following Operation Epic Fury and U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran.
“We are facing a biblical event — nothing less,” Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, told Fox News Digital, speaking from his shelter in the city.
Like many Israelis, Michael said he had spent hours in reinforced rooms during the ongoing barrage, adding that he was “very experienced in this.”
“But this all requires time and determination, and I do hope that Trump will also have them both,” he said, speaking shortly after the president released a video message stating that the military operation would continue “until all of our objectives are achieved.”
Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system over Tel Aviv. (JACK GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)
“Trump is the only one who can make the change — and that change will impact the entire region and the international order for years to come,” Michael added.
As of Sunday, Tel Aviv remained under a state of emergency following Iranian missile attacks that caused casualties and widespread damage.
According to The Associated Press, Iranian missile and drone strikes have killed approximately 11 Israeli civilians and wounded dozens more in retaliation for the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran.
Shrapnel from missile impacts damaged at least 40 buildings in Tel Aviv, and authorities reported at least one death in the area from falling debris.
The Philippine Embassy in Israel confirmed the death of a Filipino national after a missile strike hit Tel Aviv on Saturday.
TOMAHAWKS, B-2 STEALTH BOMBERS AND ATTACK DRONES POUND OVER 1,000 IRANIAN TARGETS IN 24-HOUR BLITZ
People take shelter as Iran launched missiles and drones towards Israel following the US-Israeli attacks. ( Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“We enter our shelter once the siren is heard and stay there until the Home Front Command announces that we can leave,” Michael said.
“Usually, it is about 20 to 30 minutes — unless there are further sirens during our stay. Since yesterday morning, it has happened around 30 times.”
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog also visited an impact site in Tel Aviv Sunday, delivering a message of resilience.
“The people of Israel and the people of Iran can live in peace. The region can live in peace. But what undermines peace time and again is terror instigated by this Iranian regime,” Herzog said.
EXILED IRANIAN CROWN PRINCE SAYS US STRIKES MARK ‘BEGINNING OF THE VERY END’ FOR REGIME
Israeli emergency service officer walks past building debris at the scene of a Iranian missile attack. (Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP via Getty Images)
Following the reported killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and roughly 40 senior Iranian officials, Iran formed a provisional leadership council.
Iran named Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, President Masoud Pezeshkian and Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i to lead roles.
“The Supreme Leader did not complete the necessary groundwork regarding his own succession,” Michael added.
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“Pezeshkian will face very troubling challenges due to their heavy losses, severe disruptions to control and command systems, and the massive bombing and attacks across Iran, including Tehran,” he said.
“Even if this regime doesn’t collapse, it will never be able to reconstitute itself, recover or return to its previous position,” Michael added.
World
Israel FM says Europe too divided, slams Spanish PM
Israeli minister Gideon Sa’ar said Europe “does not have unified position” on what role it should play in Iran as European ministers sought to establish a joint approach Sunday.
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As Israel and the United States conducted a joint military strike on Iran, leading to the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Europe was kept on the sidelines.
EU member states did not participate in the operation and, in some cases, they were not informed prior as it is customary among strategic allies.
Asked whether Israel sought to keep Europe on the margins, Sa’ar said internal divisions within EU member states had kept them out of critical exchanges of operational details, unlike the United States, which the minister described as his country’s greatest ally.
“In Europe, you have all kinds of approaches,” he told Euronews. “You have countries like the Czech Republic which is strongly supporting this operation and then you have Spain, which is standing with all the tyrants of the world.”
On Saturday, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez was among the most critical voices in Europe, suggesting the US-Israeli strikes on Iran risk plunging the region into total war.
“We reject the unilateral military action of the United States and Israel, which represents an escalation and contributes to a more uncertain and hostile international order,” Sánchez said Saturday. The Spanish PM reiterated that message on Sunday.
“We urge for de-escalation and call to respect international law in all conflicts,” Sánchez added. “You can be against a heinous regime, like the Iranian regime, while also rejecting a military intervention that is unjustified, dangerous and outside of international law.”
Sa’aar said Israel considers the operation “fully justified” citing the right to self-defense from a regime that “has called for the destruction of Israel” and lashed at the Spanish prime minister for sending an “anti-Israeli, anti-American message.”
“Read the statement, they are standing with Iran!” he added.
When asked if any of his European counterparts had manifested an interest in joining the military operation or provide support on the ground, Sa’ar said he held multiple exchanges with European ministers over the weekend and suggested that “if others want to join, they will know have to convey the message.”
On Sunday, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen appeared to back regime change in Iran in line with Israel and the US, saying that the “risk of further escalation is real. This is why a credible transition in Iran is urgently needed” in comments on Sunday.
Sa’ar told Euronews said the strategic strikes and the elimination of Khamenei alongside top regime commanders could “create the conditions to weaken the regime enough to allow the Iranians to take their future into their own hands”.
“The future leadership of Iran should be determined by the Iranian people through free elections. Our only requirement is that whoever comes to power in Iran must not pursue the destruction of Israel,” he said.
Watch the full interview on Euronews from 8pm CET
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