Midwest

Sophie Cunningham criticizes WNBA’s new expansion cities: ‘Not so sure what the thought process is’

Published

5 months ago

October 10, 2025

Sophie Cunningham criticizes WNBA’s new expansion cities: ‘Not so sure what the thought process is’

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The WNBA announced Monday it is expanding to 18 teams by the end of 2030, with franchises headed to Philadelphia, Detroit and Cincinnati.

It is continued growth for the league, which has the Golden State Valkyries, its 13th team, playing in its inaugural season. Toronto and Portland are due to get teams next season.

Despite more opportunities, one WNBA star isn’t exactly thrilled with the move.

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham runs up the court during a game against the Dallas Wings at the American Airlines Center June 27, 2025. (Jerome Miron/Imagn Images)

Sophie Cunningham, a teammate of Caitlin Clark’s on the Indiana Fever, praised the league for its efforts, saying, “You want to listen to your players, too,” while doubting players will be excited to be in the Midwest.

“Like, where do they want to play? Where are they going to get excited to play and draw fans? I think Miami would have been a great one. Everyone loves Florida. Nashville is an amazing city. Kansas City — amazing opportunity. There’s a huge arena downtown that no one’s using,” Cunningham added Tuesday afternoon. “I’m not so sure what the thought process is there.

“At the end of the day, you don’t want to expand our league too fast. We don’t want teams to totally dominate and some that aren’t. It’s a hard situation, but, man, I don’t know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or [Cleveland].”

Each city Cunningham mentioned submitted a bid for expansion.

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham in the second half against the Connecticut Sun at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis June 17, 2025. (Trevor Ruszkowski/Imagn Images)

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This will mark the second time the WNBA will be in Detroit. The Shock won three WNBA titles before relocating to Tulsa in 2010. They then moved to Dallas to become the Wings.

Cleveland will begin play in 2028, Detroit in 2029 and Philadelphia the season after, assuming they get approval from the NBA and WNBA Board of Governors.

“The demand for women’s basketball has never been higher, and we are thrilled to welcome Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia to the WNBA family,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said. “This historic expansion is a powerful reflection of our league’s extraordinary momentum, the depth of talent across the game and the surging demand for investment in women’s professional basketball.”

Other cities to submit expansion bids were St. Louis, Austin, Denver, Charlotte and Houston, the latter of which had the Comets, which won the first four WNBA championships.

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham poses for a photo April 30, 2025, during Indiana Fever media day at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (Grace Smith/IndyStar/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

“There are a variety of cities that obviously bid, and one of those I wanted to shout out — because they have such a strong history in this league and their great ownership group — is Houston,” Engelbert said. “The Houston Comets were just an amazing one, the first four inaugural championships in the WNBA. So, I would say that’s the one, obviously, we have our eye on. (Owner) Tilman (Fertitta) has been a great supporter of the WNBA, and we’ll stay tuned on that.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Illinois

Firefighter faces arson charges after Illinois wildfire burns hundreds of acres

Published

1 hour ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Firefighter faces arson charges after Illinois wildfire burns hundreds of acres

A volunteer firefighter is facing arson charges after he allegedly set a fire in a Lee County wildlife preserve, scorching hundreds of acres.

According to authorities, 21-year-old Trent Schaefer, a volunteer firefighter in Ohio, Illinois, was charged with one count of arson in connection to a fire that occurred in the Green River State Wildlife Management Area Friday.

On that date, temperatures had soared into the 60s, winds were whipping at more than 30 miles per hour, and humidity plunged below 30%, leading the National Weather Service to issue warnings on the danger of wildfires in Illinois.

It is alleged that Schaefer was seen by witnesses getting out of a vehicle and igniting multiple small fires within the nature preserve, which then coalesced into a larger blaze.

Those witnesses were able to restrain the suspect until Lee County sheriff’s deputies arrested him.

Image taken by Lee County Sheriff’s Office

By the time firefighters arrived on scene the blaze had already spread, and multiple departments were called in to assist with the fire, including the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Firefighters were able to bring the blaze under control by the late afternoon, but not before it burned more than 700 acres, according to authorities.

Schaefer is also a suspect in several other arsons around Lee County, but he has not been charged in any other fires at this time.

Illinois State Police are assisting with the investigation, and no further information was immediately available.

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Indiana

Coast Guard investigates death of mariner working barge in Jeffersonville

Published

1 hour ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Coast Guard investigates death of mariner working barge in Jeffersonville

U.S. Coast Guard officials are investigating March 1 after a mariner died while working on a barge in Jeffersonville, Indiana.

An incident involving the mariner occurred the afternoon of Feb. 27 at mile marker 597 of the Ohio River, said Lt. Cmdr. Steve Leighty, public affairs officer for the U.S. Coast Guard Ohio Valley Sector. Leighty declined to provide further details about the mariner and the circumstances of their death, citing the ongoing investigation.

Officials with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office are also investigating the incident, Leighty said.

Reach reporter Leo Bertucci at lbertucci@usatodayco.com or @leober2chee on X, formerly known as Twitter

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Iowa

Nebraska Men’s Basketball’s Week Ahead: Crucial Games at UCLA and Home vs. Iowa

Published

2 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Nebraska Men’s Basketball’s Week Ahead: Crucial Games at UCLA and Home vs. Iowa

Nebraska men’s basketball faces a critical week that will determine its Big Ten Conference and NCAA Tournament seeding.

The Huskers play at UCLA on Tuesday night and finish the regular season next Sunday at home vs. Iowa.

The Huskers are currently tied for second place in the Big Ten with Michigan State. Both teams have four conference losses. They are one game in the loss column ahead of Illinois and Purdue, with five losses. Wisconsin has six losses.

The top four teams earn the coveted triple bye for the Big Ten Tournament. Regular-season champion Michigan has one spot locked up.

Here are the remaining schedules of the contenders for the triple bye, with conference record in parentheses:

Nebraska (14-4)
* Tuesday: at UCLA
* Sunday: vs. Iowa

Michigan State (13-4)
* Sunday: at Indiana
* Thursday: vs. Rutgers
* Sunday, March 8: at Michigan

Illinois (13-5)
* Tuesday: vs. Oregon
* Sunday, March 8: at Maryland

Purdue (12-5)
* Sunday: at Ohio State
* Wednesday: at Northwestern
* Saturday: vs. Wisconsin

Wisconsin (12-6)
* Wednesday: vs. Maryland
* Saturday: at Purdue

Maintaining an NCAA seed no worse than 3 should benefit the Huskers, who wouldn’t have to play, theoretically, the No. 1 seed until the Elite Eight game.

It’s a ton to play for in the final week of a historic regular season for Nebraska. But that’s what March is all about.

Nebraska at UCLA

When: Tuesday, 10 p.m. CT
Where: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles
Records: Nebraska, 25-4, 14-4 in Big Ten; UCLA, 19-10, 11-7 in Big Ten
TV: FS1

Rankings updated based on games through Saturday.

UCLA rankings

* Associated Press Top 25: Not ranked
* NCAA Net Ratings: 40
* USA Today Coaches Poll: Not ranked
* Kenpom.com: 41
* ESPN Power Index: 34
* Top 25 and 1: Not ranked
* Team Rankings.com: 41

In Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology projections for ESPN, UCLA is a 9-seed for the 68-team NCAA Tournament. The next Bracketology will be released Tuesday.

Nebraska rankings

* Associated Press Top 25: 12
* NCAA Net Ratings: 12
* USA Today Coaches Poll: 10
* Kenpom.com: 11
* ESPN Power Index: 15
* Top 25 and 1: 8
* Team Rankings.com: 11

In Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology projections for ESPN, Nebraska is a 3-seed for the 68-team NCAA Tournament.

Nebraska-UCLA analysis

The Bruins are coming off a strange week. They crushed visiting rival USC, 81-62, on Tuesday, then lost at Minnesota, 78-73, on Saturday.

UCLA is 16-1 at home, its only loss to Indiana, 98-97, in double overtime on Jan. 31.

The game will be a homecoming for Huskers forward Berke Buyuktuncel, who played at UCLA in 2023-24, his freshman season. Buyuktuncel has started 27 games and averages 6.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game this season for the Huskers and frequently earns praise from coach Fred Hoiberg.

Nebraska thoroughly dispatched USC on Saturday, 82-67, an impressive performance on the road against a Trojans team desperate for a statement win to help — or save — their NCAA hopes.

Pryce Sandfort scored 32 points — one short of his career high — as the Huskers won their 14th conference game, a school record. Nebraska is 7-2 on the road in conference games.

This should be a great matchup — UCLA a strong team playing at home vs. a Nebraska team playing well and full of confidence. This feels like a one-possession game.

Nebraska guard Sam Hoiberg goes to the basket as Iowa forward Cooper Koch defends during the first meeting in Iowa City. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Iowa at Nebraska

When: Sunday, March 8, 4 p.m. CT
Where: Pinnacle Bank Arena
Records: Nebraska, 25-4, 14-4 in Big Ten; Iowa, 20-9, 10-8 in Big Ten
TV: Fox

Rankings updated based on games through Saturday.

Iowa rankings

* Associated Press Top 25: 33
* NCAA Net Ratings: 28
* USA Today Coaches Poll: 30
* Kenpom.com: 24
* ESPN Power Index: 35
* Top 25 and 1: Not ranked
* Team Rankings.com: 31

In Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology projections for ESPN, Iowa is an 8-seed for the 68-team NCAA Tournament.

Nebraska rankings

* Associated Press Top 25: 12
* NCAA Net Ratings: 12
* USA Today Coaches Poll: 10
* Kenpom.com: 11
* ESPN Power Index: 15
* Top 25 and 1: 8
* Team Rankings.com: 11

In Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology projections for ESPN, Nebraska is a 3-seed for the 68-team NCAA Tournament.

Nebraska forward Braden Frager defends a fast-break layup attempt by Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz in the teams’ first meeting on Feb. 17. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Nebraska-Iowa analysis

The Hawkeyes are coming off a puzzling, 71-69 loss at Penn State on Saturday. Iowa led 67-62 with 3:49 to play, and then scored only one more basket. Iowa plays host to Michigan on Thursday.

Nebraska will get a final curtain call at Pinnacle Bank Arena, where the Huskers are 15-2.

Nebraska should have revenge on its mind after losing at Iowa, 57-52, on Feb. 17, in Sandfort’s return to Iowa City, where he played for two seasons.

Whatever Nebraska nerves were a factor at Iowa shouldn’t be in play at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Nebraska shot only 21 percent from distance in Iowa City. Sandfort scored 13 points, his lowest total since Jan. 10, when he scored 12 at Indiana.

Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz scored 25 points. That won’t happen in this game. Neither will Nebraska’s ice-cold shooting from distance, especially if the game could determine the triple bye for the Huskers.

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