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Indianapolis to host 2025 WNBA All-Star Game

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Indianapolis to host 2025 WNBA All-Star Game

Indianapolis is not new to hosting major sporting events, routinely hosting Final Fours and annually hosting the NFL Draft Combine. This past February, it was also the site of the NBA All-Star Game. Next summer, however, will mark the first time the city is hosting the WNBA All-Star Game.

The game will take place July 19 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, with the 3-point contest and skills challenge occurring July 18.

“We are excited to bring AT&T WNBA All-Star to Indiana for the first time,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement. “The city of Indianapolis and the entire state of Indiana have such an incredible and enduring passion for the game of basketball, making the region the perfect host to celebrate the WNBA and the game’s greatest stars.”

The news comes amid a significant surge in interest in the Indiana Fever. Led by 2024 No. 1 pick Caitlin Clark and 2023 No. 1 pick Aliyah Boston, Indiana leads the WNBA in attendance for both home and away games this year, with the franchise saying Wednesday it has had a 265 percent increase compared to last season.

Heading into the second half of the WNBA season, which begins Thursday, the Fever have also seen a boom in other areas. Indiana announced that single-game records for sales at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse Team Store have been set four times this season, and the team store has experienced a jump of more than 1,000 percent in net sales. The Fever have added 1.3 million followers across its social media platforms since mid-April, and according to the team, videos produced by the team from April 15 to July 19 had more than 800 million views, trailing only Miami FC (the club of Lionel Messi) across major U.S. sports franchises during that period.

Ten Fever broadcasts this season have also set network viewership records with the team’s June 23 matchup against the Chicago Sky becoming the most-viewed WNBA game in 23 years, averaging 2.3 million viewers. Even appearance requests for Indiana’s mascot, Freddy Fever, are up 150 percent.

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“This is a historic moment, an inflection point for women’s basketball, and there’s nothing more fitting than Indiana being at the center of it all,” Mel Raines, chief executive officer of Pacers Sports & Entertainment, said in a statement. “Over several seasons, we have built a young, talented roster that fans are excited to support, and this is momentum that we will build off for years to come.”

Clark and the Fever got off to a slower start than many expected, losing nine out of 11 games in 20 days. Since then, Indiana has rallied, with Clark, Boston, two-time All-Star guard Kelsey Mitchell and 2022 No. 2 pick NaLyssa Smith developing more chemistry. Entering the second half of the season, Clark leads the league in assists while pacing rookies in points per game. She also ranks third in 3-pointers and seventh in total points, all while playing the second-most minutes of anyone across the WNBA.

The Fever, who sit in seventh place at 11-15, return to the court Friday against the Phoenix Mercury. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.

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(Photo: Justin Casterline / NBAE via Getty Images)

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Try This Quiz on Thrilling Books That Became Popular Movies

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Try This Quiz on Thrilling Books That Became Popular Movies

Welcome to Great Adaptations, the Book Review’s regular multiple-choice quiz about printed works that have gone on to find new life as movies, television shows, theatrical productions and more. This week’s challenge highlights thrillers first published as novels (or graphic novels) that were adapted into popular films. Just tap or click your answers to the five questions below. And scroll down after you finish the last question for links to the books and their screen versions.

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Test Your Knowledge of the Authors and Events That Helped Shape the United States

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Test Your Knowledge of the Authors and Events That Helped Shape the United States

Welcome to Lit Trivia, the Book Review’s regular quiz about books, authors and literary culture. In honor of Gen. George Washington’s birthday on Feb. 22, this week’s super-size challenge is focused on the literature and history related to the American Revolution. In the 10 multiple-choice questions below, tap or click on the answer you think is correct. After the last question, you’ll find links to exhibits, books and other materials related to this intense chapter in the country’s story, including an award-winning biography of the general and first U.S. president.

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Video: How Much Do You Know About Romance Books?

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Video: How Much Do You Know About Romance Books?

Let’s play romance roulette. No genre has dominated the books world in the last few years. Like romance, it accounts for the biggest percentage of book sales, their avid fan bases. Everyone has been talking about romance as a Book Review editor and as a fan of the genre myself, I put together a to z glossary of 101 terms that you should know if you want to understand the world of romance are cinnamon roll. You may think a cinnamon roll is a delicious breakfast treat, but in a romance novel, this refers to a typically male character who is so sweet and tender and precious that you just want to protect him and his beautiful heart from the world. Ooh, a rake. This is basically the Playboy of historical romance. He defies societal rules. He drinks, he gambles. He’s out on the town all night and is a very prolific lover with a bit of a reputation as a ladies’ man. FEI these are super strong, super sexy, super powerful, immortal, fairy like creatures. One of my favorite discoveries in terms that I learned was stern brunch daddy. A lot of daddy’s usually a male love interest who seems very intimidating and alpha, but then turns out to be a total softie who just wants to make his love interest brunch. I think there’s a misconception that because these books can follow these typical patterns, that they can be predictable and boring. But I think what makes a really great romance novel is the way that these writers use the tropes in interesting ways, or subvert them. If you can think of it, there’s probably a romance novel about it. Oops, there’s only one bed. This is one of my personal favorite tropes is a twist on forced proximity. Characters find themselves in very close quarters, where inevitably sparks start to fly. Why choose is the porkulus dose of the romance world. Sometimes the best way to resolve a love triangle is by turning it into a circle, where everyone is invited to play. Oops, we lost one spice level. There’s a really wide spectrum. You can range from really low heat or no spice, what might also be called kisses. Only then you start to get into what we call closed door or fade to Black. These books go right up to the moment of intimacy, and then you get into what we call open door, which is more explicit. And sometimes these can get very high heat or spicy and even start verging into kink. There’s one thing that almost every romance novel has in common. It’s that no matter what the characters get up to in the end, it ends with a happily ever after. I say almost every romance novel. Sometimes you’re just happy for now.

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