INDIANAPOLIS — The game was going on, but Caitlin Clark chose not to be a part of it.

The Indiana Fever superstar wasn’t watching from the sideline Friday against the Minnesota Lynx; she wasn’t stuck in foul trouble or nursing an injury. She was in the middle of the action, lying on the court, and had simply given up. It was as if Clark was in a video game and the game player’s controller died. But this wasn’t virtual. This was the real thing.

This was a matchup — and a potential first-round playoff preview — between a pair of MVP candidates and their teams. Yet Clark’s composure had evaporated. After Lynx superstar Napheesa Collier blocked Clark’s shot and sent her to the floor, Clark didn’t get back up. She didn’t even try. Instead, she stared up at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse rafters for a couple of seconds while the Lynx played five-on-four on the other end, resulting in a midrange jumper by Courtney Williams that extended Minnesota’s lead to 10 points.

Clark thought she’d been fouled. A foul wasn’t called. And the Fever’s disastrous third quarter continued as the Lynx held on for a 99-88 victory. That rage-filled sequence from Clark, one in which she vehemently complained to the refs and had to be subbed out, didn’t decide the outcome of the game. But it certainly wasn’t helpful.

“I think I could have done a little bit better job controlling my emotions,” said Clark, who finished with 25 points, 8 assists and 8 rebounds.

Caitlin Clark congratulating the ref for getting a call right.

She’s fed up 😭pic.twitter.com/91BViQWD4E

— BricksCenter (@BricksCenter) September 7, 2024

Fever coach Christie Sides, though appreciative of Clark’s fiery nature, was more direct.

“It reminds me of Diana Taurasi,” Sides said. “So when she’s upset or mad, that’s what we’ve been working on, trying to figure out how to get past those moments. I was worried she was going to pick up a (technical foul) in that third quarter, and thank goodness she didn’t. But that’s growth, and she’s gotta learn that in those moments, I need my point guard to have a cool head.”

Clark wasn’t the only one.

Fever forward Aliyah Boston was assessed a technical foul early in the third quarter after she argued with an official over what she believed was a missed foul call. Of course, that didn’t change the ref’s mind, and Sides acknowledged that the Fever became too consumed by the officiating. The Lynx were quick to pounce on the Fever’s disarray, flipping a 5-point deficit at the beginning of the frame into a 12-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

What could the Fever learn from their lack of composure? Kelsey Mitchell didn’t mince words.

“I think from a leadership standpoint, we huddle ourselves together as a group to say, ‘Shut up and work. Leave the refs out of it,’ obviously,” said Mitchell, the Fever’s longest-tenured player. “Get to the next play. Get to the next action. Get to the next set.”

And, in theory, get to the next level.

Three nights ago, the Fever clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2016, and from Sides’ perspective, Friday felt like a playoff atmosphere. The crowd was loud, and the play was physical. Nothing came easy, and in the fourth quarter, the Fever responded like a team that finally understood that.

Mitchell scored 8 of her 23 points in the final frame. Boston chipped in with 6 of her 20 points and recorded a block. However, it was Clark who emerged as the main catalyst in the last 10 minutes.

After she regained her equanimity, she changed the game. Clark scored or assisted on 14 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Fever pull within a point, but that was as far as Indiana would climb. With the Fever trailing 78-77, Clark blocked Alanna Smith’s jumper and secured the loose ball on the ensuing fast break, but she threw an ill-advised pass toward Temi Fagbenle that was easily intercepted by Natisha Hiedeman.

“Honestly, I thought we played really good in the fourth,” Clark said. “My turnover in transition is what I felt like really kind ended the momentum for us.”

Caitlin Clark makes it a 3-point game in INDY 🍿

The arena ERUPTS!

Lynx-Fever on ION 📺 pic.twitter.com/rConwYDwAA

— WNBA (@WNBA) September 7, 2024

Williams responded on the other end with a 3-pointer to push the Lynx’s lead back to 4 points en route to handing the Fever their second defeat in nine post-Olympics games. Both of Indiana’s losses came at the hands of Minnesota and Collier, who was brilliant yet again. The four-time All-Star finished with a game-high 26 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks.

Clark called the Lynx “the hardest team in the league to guard” because of how well they move the ball, noting that it wasn’t just Collier who made big plays. Bridget Carleton nailed three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to extinguish a potential Fever comeback.

Mitchell said the Fever can learn from Minnesota’s play and the level-headedness it displayed at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, which doubled as a pressure cooker when Indiana made its late surge. The Lynx didn’t blink, and it’s a huge reason they’re now slated as the No. 2 seed in the WNBA playoff standings.

“(Minnesota) is the standard,” Mitchell said. “And if you want to compete at that next level and be a part of that playoff run — not just getting there, not just being a part of it, but making a run and making an impact — we’re gonna have to use this as leverage and know that they’re the best. And in order to beat the best, you gotta compete every night.”

And on every play.

Clark was reminded of that lesson Friday when, for a brief moment, she failed to compete to the fullest extent.

“Yeah, I think there’s a line and sometimes, your passion, your emotion can get to you,” Clark said. “But that’s never something I would ever change.”

And as Sides said, the Fever aren’t asking her to change. They’re just asking her to grow.

(Photo: Emilee Chinn / Getty Images)

SÃO PAULO — “It was sloppy,” DeVonta Smith said. And he wasn’t talking about caipirinha cocktails. He wasn’t talking about field conditions in a soccer venue in the first-ever NFL game in South America. No, the wide receiver was stating what was visible as the Philadelphia Eagles debuted their revamped system under offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.

“It was sloppy,” Smith repeated. “But we responded well.”

Indeed, they did. They’re 1-0 after their 34-29 victory over the Green Bay Packers at Arena Corinthians; despite Cam Jurgens snapping the ball to Jalen Hurts when the quarterback wasn’t ready; despite Hurts twice forcing the football into heavy coverage on passes that resulted in picks (one in the end zone); despite Jurgens and Hurts mishandling a last-minute “Brotherly Shove” snap that, instead of securing certain victory, preceded a field goal that gave the Green Bay Packers one last attempt at a possible comeback.

“We’re working out kinks,” said Jurgens, who took ownership of both fumbles. “When you can work things out and still get a win, it’s a good feeling.”

Saquon Barkley saved their pigskin. He jumped on that final fumbled snap. He accounted for three of Philadelphia’s four touchdowns. He logged 109 yards on 24 carries and two scores, plus two catches, including an 18-yard touchdown on a well-timed wheel route. He made general manager Howie Roseman quite happy that he set a franchise record in per-year spending on running backs by signing Barkley to a three-year, $37.75 million deal in the offseason.

Saquon Freaking Barkley#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/ZdXg8tLqB0

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 7, 2024

“He had a hell of a game tonight,” Hurts said. “I’m happy that he’s on our side.”

The Eagles haven’t wielded a weapon quite like Barkley since LeSean McCoy. As sufficient as D’Andre Swift and Miles Sanders were in Philadelphia’s backfield the last two seasons, neither running back possessed the start-stop speed or the burst that busted Barkley deep beyond the Packers defense on an 11-yard touchdown run and a 34-yard scamper into the open field.

At last, he had blocking. Barkley, who averaged 1.35 yards before contact in six years with the New York Giants, according to TruMedia, said in training camp that he chose to sign with the Eagles partly due to Philadelphia’s formidable offensive line. There, on that 11-yard score, was a colossal chasm between Jurgens and right guard Mekhi Becton. Barkley made one sudden cut, and the Eagles suddenly led 14-12 with 5:38 left in the first half.

“They did a really good job of just setting up for me,” Barkley said. “I just try to stick to my rules. That’s my big thing to share is, you know, sometimes I can tend to try to do too much. And I don’t have to have that mentality, but I let (the offensive line) work. And when it’s time to do extra stuff, I’ll be ready for that too.”

Speaking of “extra stuff,” Moore wasn’t restricted from deploying the pre-snap motions that’d been part of his philosophy. Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, whose 2023 system was the most stagnant in the NFL, had said earlier this week that “no one really knows what we’re going to do.” By my count, the Eagles used pre-snap motion on 47.3 percent of their plays against the Packers.

That included Dallas Goedert motioning left into a swing pass in which Goedert gained 1 yard. That included Britain Covey switching from wide right to wide left and Hurts hitting Goedert for a 4-yard gain in the space Covey once filled. That included A.J. Brown quickly stepping from the slot to just beyond Goedert, matching Brown against Jaire Alexander. Brown’s double move — outside, inside — left him open along the sideline. Hurts struck Brown in stride, and the receiver weaved past the Packers’ secondary for a 67-yard score.

Brown’s 23.8 yards per reception (five catches, 119 yards) were his highest average since Week 16 of the 2022 regular season. Hurts managed to find Brown in crucial third-down situations in which he faced a heavy rush. On third-and-8 on Philadelphia’s fourth drive (Barkley’s first rushing touchdown), Hurts zipped the ball to Brown for a 20-yard conversion just before getting demolished by a defender. Hurts was 6-of-7 passing for 91 yards and his 18-yard touchdown to Barkley while facing the Packers blitz, according to TruMedia.

It was a promising sign for a system in which Hurts is handling more of the pre-snap protection calls and designations for which a receiver is “hot” against the blitz. Hurts was sacked twice. The second he seemed to draw himself just before halftime, which limited a promising two-minute drive to yielding only a 38-yard Jake Elliott field goal and a 19-17 deficit to the Packers at the break.

“I thought pass protection was pretty good today,” Jurgens said. “I thought we did a good job. We’ll watch film, see how it was. But it felt good out there. We’ve got some weapons on the outside. I think we really used them today and played really well.”

Sloppiness stemmed to the Eagles defense, too.

Sirianni fired former defensive coordinator Sean Desai partly because his system surrendered the NFL’s second-most passing yards in 2023. The Eagles thought they’d improve the defense by hiring the system’s creator, Vic Fangio. But there were moments when it wasn’t clear there’d been any change at all. Jordan Love, who completed 17-of-34 passes for 260 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, exploited an apparent coverage bust by striking Jayden Reed for a 70-yard touchdown to seize their halftime lead. Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, signed in free agency to improve the back end, missed a tackle that could’ve saved the score.

Apparently, Gardner-Johnson caught some heat from the fan base by the time he returned to the locker room.

“All them fans that got some s— to say. Y’all get y’all a– out there and come tackle with us. Put that in the news,” Garnder-Johnson said. He turned to his left and spotted Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie. “Tell them, Jeffrey. Every fan say they can make a tackle, we’re gonna invite everybody that say we suck at tackling, we’re gonna bring them out there with A.J. Brown and see if they can make a f—ing tackle. Everybody know that s— ain’t so easy.”

Lurie just laughed.

Reed Blankenship, flushed in the face but not disagreeing, continued his post-game interview. Yes, they’d had some coverage breakdowns, Blankenship said. Yes, they hadn’t done just “what we did in practice.” But when the Packers had a shot to go up two scores in the third quarter, Blankenship hawked Love’s throw into the seam for a game-shifting interception. Blankenship said he’d seen Love make as if he wanted to throw to Reed along the sideline, but turned back to the middle of the field once Gardner-Johnson cut off that option.

“So, it was one of those anticipation moments,” Blankenship said. “But I couldn’t have done it if he didn’t do his job on the back end.”

It’s difficult to immediately deduce where the breakdown occurred on Reed’s 70-yard score. The Eagles were playing dime, their six-defensive back package designated for passing scenarios such as that third-and-10. Second-round rookie Cooper DeJean and veteran Avonte Maddox appeared to be covering short zones in the slot. Gardner-Johnson was the deepest safety, but at the very least caught by surprise that Reed was running alone into the right hash.

“This is the hardest sport because it includes all 11 guys,” Gardner-Johnson said. “And if all 11 aren’t on the same page, stuff happens. That doesn’t mean you’re the (worst) player in the world. If that’s the case, the owner would’ve let you go. We’ve got to understand that this game right here, we’ve got to understand that as young guys, we’re just now getting good. We’re playing together and we’re understanding we can be dominant in every f—ing aspect of the game.”

Rookie cornerback Quinyon Mitchell revealed himself to be a reliable starter in his professional debut. Love tested the No. 22 pick on a deep ball early in the first quarter, but Mitchell swatted the ball from Christian Watson’s grip. Later, Mitchell extended himself laterally to deflect another Love pass near the sticks.

Mitchell played entirely at outside corner, an interesting development considering Fangio’s devotion throughout training camp to platooning the rookie at nickel. Mitchell had played outside cornerback in base packages, then switched to nickel during preseason games. But Maddox started at nickel against the Packers. The arrangement may be untenable. Maddox was targeted on back-to-back plays by Love, first drawing a pass interference, then a touchdown on the following play.

The absence of Isaiah Rodgers may have played a role. He’d mainly been the outside cornerback throughout training camp when Mitchell played nickel. Rodgers was ruled inactive with a hand injury. When asked if Rodgers’ absence played into the decision, Sirianni said, “That’s still a competitive edge that we have that I’ll keep to myself.” Fielding Maddox at nickel also raises the question of whether the Eagles were confident Kelee Ringo could’ve fulfilled the game plan at cornerback in nickel packages.

Sirianni, who has further embraced his CEO-type role in 2024, has 10 days to reduce the sloppiness before the Eagles host the Atlanta Falcons on Monday, Sept. 16. The 43-year-old coach is now 4-0 in regular-season openers.

“Excited to continue to move on,” Sirianni said. “We’ll have some tough conversations about what went right and what went wrong, but pleased with these guys and we’ll get better from this game.”

(Top photo: Pedro Vilela / Getty Images)

“SUPER SPIKE!” the PA announcer bellows inside the electric party atmosphere of the North Arena on the outskirts of Paris.

Arms outstretched wide, Morteza Mehrzad, sitting on the floor in his red top and black trousers, lets out a roar to celebrate yet another punishing blow which immediately ends the rally.

It is just one of the 27 points, the most accumulated by any one player, that helped Iran win a record-extending eighth Sitting Volleyball Paralympic title after beating Bosnia and Herzegovina in the final by three sets to one (22-25, 30-28, 25-16, 25-14). When Mehrzad briefly stood to shake hands with his opponent at the end of the game, the net came up to his midriff. His team-mates came up level with his sternum.

Standing at 8ft 1in (2m 46cm) — larger than most doors, longer than most beds — the 36-year-old is the second tallest man in the world.

Born with gigantism, his impairment has posed some problems. Mehrzad had been sleeping on the floor in the Paralympic village. The Iran team requested an extended bed before the Games but the two extensions provided to a standard athlete’s bed were insufficient. A third extension was made and his coach Hadi Rezaeigarkani and Paris 2024 organisers confirmed this week that the issue had been resolved and Mehrzad was sleeping comfortably in the village.

Indeed it was Rezaeigarkani — who has won eight gold medals from his 10 Paralympic games, first as a coach and then as a player — who spotted Mehrzad on an Iranian television programme featuring people with physical abnormalities. The coach contacted Merhzad — who uses a wheelchair having injured his pelvis in a bike accident at the age of 16, stopping the growth of his right leg — and got him into the sport.

Mehrzad rarely went out in public, Rezaeigarkani has said in previous interviews, because his height and facial features — the latter caused by acromegaly, a hormonal disorder — attracted strange looks.

“I was a depressed guy and my life changed completely with volleyball,” Mehrzad told Esportivo. Rezaeigarkani believes the sport gave him hope.

Mehrzad was a key player in Iran’s gold medal pursuit (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Having stood out in public and received unwanted attention, Mehrzad is now head and shoulders above the rest courtesy of his sporting prowess.

Evidently, there are significant advantages to having such a tall player on your team. When sitting, Mehrzad has a maximum reach of 6ft 4in (1.96m). His hand stretches 81cm above the height of the net, allowing him to generate immense power as he kills off points with winning shots. As an outside hitter, that is his job.

Mehrzad has to make sure his body is in the right position, however, and such a large frame requires agile movement. Sweat dripping down his face, he pushes his lower body on the floor, legs extended, up and down the court swiftly, reading the quick interchange of play.

Mehrzad’s reach stretches 81cm above the height of the net (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

In fact, as well as his menacing spikes, what stood out most on Friday night is that Mehrzad, at the changing of ends or time-outs, always moved by shuffling and rarely got to his feet. “Morteza is the best spiker and one of the most important players in the world,” said his best friend and the final’s fastest server (73km/h), Meisam Ali Pour, speaking via a translator after the game. “He knows what to do, but he can’t do it by himself.”

Silver medallist Stevan Crnobrnja of Bosnia viewed Mehrzad as just another one of Iran’s great players. They accepted they could not do much about his height advantage, but focused on neutralising others who were crucial in setting him up. If one of his team-mates does not set or pass the ball, Mehrzad is helpless.

Ali Pour, who, going into the final, had contributed more points (39) than Mehrzad (28), emphasised the need for teamwork. “If all the best players in the world play together, they will not be able to beat Iran,” he said.

Mehrzad towers above his team-mates (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Expressive and animated on the court, off the court, Mehrzad, who was not available for interview, is shy, reserved and does not like attention.

His team-mates and coach see him as just one member of a very united group. “My team has 12 stars, Morteza is one of them,” said coach Rezaeigarkani. “We did not have Morteza before and we will not (always) have him in the future.”

When asked what the secret to Iran’s success is, Rezaeigarkan replied: “Work, work, work.”

(Top photo: Michael Reaves/Getty Images)