Sports
Dearica Hamby helps spur Sparks teammate Rae Burrell's development
Every time Dearica Hamby substitutes out of a game or goes into a timeout, she tells Rae Burrell the same thing:
Stay ready.
“She’s playing behind two of the best guards in this league, so it’s very hard to find consistent minutes, especially with the format of the league,” Hamby said. “… But I try to remind her every game, because for me, I’ve been a role player. I’ve been that player that wanted to fight for more and felt like they deserved more.”
And on Feb. 21, Burrell got the opportunity she had been waiting on ever since she signed to Unrivaled, the three-on-three women’s basketball league started up by WNBA players Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart. Vinyl Basketball Club, the team featuring Burrell and Hamby, had blown a fourth quarter lead to the Mist. Hamby immediately got the lead back on a fast break layup and from there, Burrell took over.
Vinyl’s Dearica Hamby catches a rebound in front of teammate Rae Burrell and Rose’s Azura Stevens during an Unrivaled game on Jan. 17 in Medley, Fla.
(Marta Lavandier / Associated Press)
She went coast-to-coast off the inbound, slashing her way to the rim and hitting a floater. During the next possession, Burrell froze her defender with a head fake that opened up just enough space for her to lay it up. Then, she drained a three. Hamby tried to ice the game with a layup on the Vinyl’s ensuing possession, but her shot banked off the glass and bounced off the front of the rim. The Mist’s Stewart ran the floor, but her layup attempt rimmed out and landed right into the hands of Hamby, who launched a perfectly placed pass from one free throw line to the other for Burrell’s ninth consecutive point — the game winner.
“I just feel like that was like the perfect ending to the game,” Burrell said. “Especially because I feel like I was hitting her throughout the game, and then for her to give me that assist to my first win in Unrivaled as well, it was a special moment for me.”
Hamby assisted Burrell on the final three scores of that game, a testament to how much the chemistry between the two Sparks teammates has grown during the offseason. But there’s also something deeper there: a friendship that predates their time with Unrivaled and the Sparks.
Before being traded to the Sparks in 2023, Hamby was a member of the Las Vegas Aces and she’d occasionally cross paths with Burrell, a Las Vegas native who at the time was a five-star high school recruit.
“She was always just kind of around, but we didn’t have a relationship,” Hamby recalled.
Burrell would go on to star at the University of Tennessee for four years before being drafted ninth overall by the Sparks in the 2022 WNBA draft. Once Hamby was acquired by the Sparks a year later, the two still weren’t close but would carpool on drives back to Vegas. In the event that only one of them was making the four-hour trip, they’d ask each other for favors such as taking their dog with them.
Hamby says the friendship really began to take off last season, when she lived three doors down from Burrell in team housing and they began spending a lot more time together.
“I can’t give you like a pinpoint moment,” Hamby said. “But we’ve just kind of gravitated towards each other.”
Vinyl wing Rae Burrell, center, tries to slip past pressure from Lunar Owls forward Napheesa Collier, left, and wing Allisha Gray during their Unrivaled semifinal game on March 16 in Medley, Fla.
(Rebecca Blackwell / Associated Press)
The two also lived near each other at Miami-based Unrivaled, which has brought them even closer. Hamby sometimes popped in on Burrell’s workouts. Burrell often visited Hamby and her two kids at her apartment. Hamby typically cooked — spaghetti and meatballs is one dish that Burrell name dropped — while Burrell baked cookies.
That chemistry carries over onto the court. Burrell loves running the pick-and-roll after learning to read where Hamby’s going to be and what moves she likes to get to. Hamby’s also constantly communicating on the floor, telling Burrell when to wait, when to come off a screen, when to stay on it or when to pass.
“The thing about Dearica, she never stops talking,” Burrell said. “So when I’m on the floor with her, it’s just great because she’s always just communicating what play she wants to be run. It’s just very easy to play with her.”
Burrell refers to Hamby as her mom on the team. She’s always going to her for advice, and Hamby always seems to know when to nurture and when to light a fire under Burrell.
During the offseason, the two spent anywhere from three to five hours a day together in the gym, with Burrell eager to learn from the Olympian and three-time WNBA All-Star. But beyond the Xs and O’s, Hamby has focused on showing Burrell how to navigate the professional basketball world. She noted that Burrell — entering just her fourth WNBA season — has already dealt with a season-ending injury, being cut from training camp, playing on a hardship contract and signing a multi-year contract.
“She’s kind of gone through every process that she can as a pro,” Hamby said. “[I’m] just trying to just keep reminding her that her moment’s coming, and that we’re going to rely on her a lot. And I would say being able to kind of see her in a different element at Unrivaled has shifted my perspective.”
It’s not just the flashes of potential and confidence from Burrell that have impressed Hamby. It’s also her work ethic, how seriously she approaches the offseason. It’s her willingness to change her shot and being strict about her diet, which Hamby says even she hasn’t done during her career. It’s how Burrell’s always in the gym first thing every morning and never missing a workout, even if she was “still being her silly self late at night.”
And for as much as Hamby has helped Burrell’s development as a young player, the inverse is also true: Burrell has been instrumental in Hamby’s growth as a leader. Hamby said her leadership style has always been more empathetic and nurturing because she’s a mother, but she’s shied away from having tough conversations because she didn’t want to hurt anyone. But she’s been forced to have those conversations with Burrell, even if they’re uncomfortable, because of the care and respect they have for each other.
Sparks guard Rae Burrell celebrates after scoring against the New York Liberty at Crypto.com Arena on Aug. 28.
(Ashley Landis / Associated Press)
“There was a couple days we didn’t speak,” Hamby said. “But you know, we came back together and it was like, ‘OK, look.’ And I said, ‘You know, this is what I meant. And like, I want the best for you, so like, I’m standing on that.’ And she was very receptive. And I think it was just a very critical moment for both of us, for different reasons.”
Kelsey Plum played with Hamby for six seasons in Las Vegas and when the two reunited this offseason after the Sparks traded for Plum, one of the first things she noticed was Hamby’s growth.
“You can see it just in the way you talk to her and her interactions,” Plum said. “And someone like Rae is super fortunate to be able to have Dearica, because she’s so loving and nurturing. As a young player, what a gift to have a player like that, that is a perennial All-Star, but takes the time to care about your day-to-day.”
Sparks assistant coach Zak Buncik, who’s also an assistant coach for the Vinyl, sees it too.
“They’re around each other all the time. It’s kind of like the W, like they’re staying in the same hotel. They’re around each other every day,” he said. “They just lean on one another.”
Hamby and Burrell are excited about what the upcoming WNBA season holds.
In addition to the Plum trade, the Sparks signed free agents Emma Cannon, Mercedes Russell and Shaneice Swain. The team will also be running a new offense under new coach Lynne Roberts, which Hamby is excited about.
Hamby’s also looking forward to seeing how Burrell’s confidence carries over back into the WNBA. She fully believes that Burrell can be a solid sixth woman — if not a full-time starter — on this year’s squad, and she foresees a lot more than that down the line.
“When I had that talk with her, I said, ‘You know, in two to three years when you’re an All-Star, you’re gonna look back and you’re gonna thank me,’” Hamby said. “I think when her number’s called though, either way she’s going to be ready.”
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LAS VEGAS – Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio were once brothers in arms in the Judgment Day. The two helped the faction run “Monday Night Raw” for several years.
As championships and opportunities came and went, the rift between Balor and Mysterio grew. It came to a head when Balor caused Mysterio to lose the Intercontinental Championship to Penta. Balor leaving the Judgment Day left Mysterio and Liv Morgan as the leaders with JD McDonagh, Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez sticking around.
Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The latter four chose to ride with Mysterio and attacked Balor on one episode of Raw.
The bitter war led to a match Sunday night at WrestleMania 42. To make matters more interesting, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce made the match a street fight hours before the show was set to begin.
Balor had vowed to bring the “Demon” out and he certainly did.
JACOB FATU PUTS DREW MCINTYRE IN THE ‘REAR VIEW’ IN UNSANCTIONED MATCH AT WRESTLEMANIA 42
Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Balor made his way to the ring in his “Demon” gear, dripping with red and black paint. Mysterio was in a mask with other Mysterio supporters.
The two then proceeded to beat the crud out of each other.
Mysterio wrapped Balor’s head in between a chair and hit a 619 on him. He tried to pin Balor, but to no avail. At another point, Mysterio tossed Balor through a table set up in the corner.
As many have learned, it’s hard to keep your demons down. Mysterio learned the hard way.
Balor would not give up. Balor clotheslined Mysterio, hit him with a chair multiple times before wrapping his head in between the chair and drop-kicking him into the corner. Balor put Mysterio onto a table and hit the Coup de Grâce for the win.
Dominik Mysterio is introduced before his match against Finn Balor during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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Balor excised his own demons, while Mysterio is still haunted.
DENVER — What do you know? The once-stampeding Dodgers have been caged by the Colorado Rockies.
With a 9-6 loss Sunday at Coors Field, the two-time defending World Series champions lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Dodgers again couldn’t hold a lead, letting the Rockies tee off for 15 hits.
Nor could the Dodgers keep up offensively at the hitter-friendly park — though they put some pressure on in the ninth inning, when Shohei Ohtani led off with a ground-rule double and the Dodgers scored twice to cut the lead to three runs. Then the new guy, Ryan Ward, made the final out in his big league debut, robbed of a hit and a chance to keep chipping away by a diving Troy Johnston in right field.
Before that, the Rockies — who beat the Dodgers twice in 13 meetings all of last season — chased starter Roki Sasaki from the game in the fifth inning and then ruffled the Dodgers’ relievers. That included closer Edwin Díaz, who came on in the eighth and promptly gave up three singles, a walk and two runs before being pulled with the Dodgers trailing 8-4.
Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki gave up three runs on seven hits in 4-2/3 innings Sunday against the Rockies in Denver.
(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)
He and Blake Treinen combined to face eight batters without getting an out.
“They both weren’t sharp,” said manager Dave Roberts, who had theories but not many answers — though he did have real concern, especially about Díaz, who recently had his right knee checked out by the medical staff.
Roberts said the closer wanted to pitch after nine days off, even though it wasn’t a save situation. But his velocity was slightly down (95.4 mph vs. 95.8) and so, “today was a tough evaluation,” the manager said.
“It really was,” Roberts said. “Because, you know, I know what it’s supposed to look like, and when it doesn’t look like that, it gets a little concerning, really.”
And losing for the second time to the Rockies, who are now 9-13? Being in danger of losing their four-game series, after arriving in Denver without having lost to a National League opponent, against a club that hasn’t made the postseason since 2018?
It’s well below the bar the Dodgers have set, and it added a bitter note to Ward’s otherwise sweet debut.
Ward punched a big league clock for the first time wearing No. 67 and cranked his first hit off Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen in the fourth inning, lining a changeup to right field for a single that scored Andy Pages, made it 3-0 and got the 20-some members of Ward’s party up, jumping in place, hugging and high-fiving.
“When I was on first base, I got to see them all jumping around up there,” Ward said. “That was a pretty special moment.”
He also singled in the sixth and swung on the first pitch in his first at-bat, a fly out in the third inning.
The Dodgers gave Sasaki a 2-0 lead in the third. Alex Freeland drove in Hyeseong Kim, and Shohei Ohtani doubled in Freeland — and extended his career-best on-base streak to 51 games, moving past Willie Keeler into third place in Dodgers history.
Sasaki went 4-2/3 innings, threw 78 pitches and gave up three runs on seven hits, striking out two and walking two. His ERA after his fourth start: 6.11, worst in the six-man rotation.
The Dodgers fell behind 6-5 in the seventh when Treinen — who was cleared Friday after he was struck in the head by a batted ball during batting practice — gave up four consecutive hits, including a two-run home run by Mickey Moniak.
The result likely will be a minor detail when Ward tells the story years from now about getting the call after first baseman Freddie Freeman was placed on the paternity list.
The Dodgers’ No. 19 prospect and reigning Pacific Coast League MVP spent the last seven years in the minors. Last season, he hit 36 home runs and drove in 122 runs with a .937 on-base-plus-slugging percentage for triple-A Oklahoma City, and he has a 1.020 OPS and four homers this year.
Ward made it a point to improve his chase rate, draw more walks and get on base more frequently, everything the Dodgers asked of him. He also passed the broadest patience test.
“The plate discipline, being a better hitter … he’s done all that,” Roberts said. “He’s improved his defense. But honestly, for me, just not to let his lack of opportunity in the big leagues deter him. That’s easy when you get frustrated and let it affect performance, and he hasn’t done that.”
If anything, Ward said, the waiting made him better.
“I used it to keep going. ‘OK, if I’m not there yet, what do I have to do to get there?’” he said. “‘What part of my game do I need to work on to keep getting better?’
“I used it as fire to keep working.”
That will be the Dodgers’ assignment too.
In the finale of the four-game series Monday, the Dodgers are expected to start left-hander Justin Wrobleski (2-0, 2.12) against Colorado left-hander Jose Quintana (0-1, 5.63).
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LAS VEGAS – Danhausen’s curse may be real after all – just ask Stephen A. Smith and the New York Mets.
While the latter dropped their 10th game in a row, Smith got his share of the curse on Saturday night during Night 1 of WrestleMania 42. Smith was in attendance for WWE’s premier event of the year and heard massive boos from the crowd.
Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)
Smith was sitting ringside to watch the action. The ESPN star appeared on the videoboard above the ring at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. He appeared to embrace the reaction and smiled through it.
The boos came after Danhausen appeared on “First Take” on Friday – much to the chagrin of the sports pundit. Smith appeared perplexed by Danhausen’s appearance. Smith said he heard about Danhausen and called him a “bad luck charm.”
Danhausen said Smith had been “rude” to him and put the dreaded “curse” on the commentator.
WWE STAR DANHAUSEN SAYS METS ‘CURSE’ ISN’T EXACTLY LIFTED AS TEAM DROPS NINTH STRAIGHT GAME
Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)
Smith is far from the only one dealing with the effects of the “curse.”
Danhausen agreed to “un-curse” the Mets during their losing streak. However, he told Fox News Digital earlier this week that there was a reason why the curse’s removal didn’t take full effect.
“I did un-curse the Mets. But it didn’t work because, I believe it was Brian Gewirtz who did not pay Danhausen. He did not send me my money so it did not take full effect,” Danhausen said. “Once I have the money, perhaps it will actually work because right now it’s probably about a half of an un-cursing. It’s like a layaway situation.”
Danhausen enters the arena before his match against Kit Wilson during SmackDown at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on April 10, 2026. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
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On “Friday Night SmackDown,” WWE stars like The Miz and Kit Wilson were also targets of Danhausen’s curse.
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