How to watch Stars, Mavericks, Rangers and Caitlin Clark with all in action Friday night
Caitlin Clark makes WNBA debut in Arlington on Friday, and Wings are embracing the moment
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Frosty start in many locations this morning. We will see a dry day today with rain returning Friday and into the weekend.
TODAY: Temperatures this morning in northern Indiana dropped into the 20s. Highs stay below normal for this time of the year but we will be warmer than what we’ve been the last couple of days. Highs today climb close to 60. Clouds are around for the first part of the day. We will see some sunshine later this morning and this afternoon.
TONIGHT: A few clouds expected tonight. Temperatures will not be as cold tonight. Lows fall into the low and middle 40s.
FRIDAY: Friday morning will start off dry and even mostly sunny. Temperatures will be in the 40s to start the day. Highs climb close to normal for the afternoon into the middle and upper 60s. Rain returns later in the afternoon and early evening. It will be breezy on Friday with winds gusting out of the south and southeast at 15 to 20 miles per hour.
If you are heading to the Pacers game tomorrow evening there is a chance for a few showers or storms. Temperatures stay into the middle 60s.
Rain chances continue into the weekend however we will see lots of dry time. Showers and even a few thunderstorms are possible heading into the first part of Saturday. We will see some dry time in the afternoon Saturday. Highs climb near 80.
A few spotty showers or storms are possible on Sunday. Highs climb into the lower 80s for the end of the weekend.
Rain returns Monday with a good chance for showers and storms. Highs Monday will be in the middle 70s. We stay in the 70s for the rest of the week. A few spotty showers are on possible on Tuesday but dry for the middle and end of the week.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Indiana filed a lawsuit Friday against Indiana University, alleging that the school violated the First Amendment rights of people who are banned from campus after participating in pro-Palestine protests.
According to the ACLU, the three individuals arrested have been banned by Indiana University police and are prohibited from setting foot on campus for one year.
“Today’s filing contends that these bans are an unlawful prior restraint on the free speech rights of the plaintiffs, each of whom wants to rejoin the ongoing protests on campus,” the ACLU wrote.
The lawsuit is requesting that the one-year bans be dismissed to allow the plaintiffs to rejoin current and future protests on the campus.
The arrestees are Jasper Wirtshafter, a Bloomington resident, Dr. Benjamin Robinson, a tenured professor, and Madeleine Meldrum, a current graduate student.
There have been more than 50 arrests on the university’s campus since pro-Palestinian protests began. More than 2,000 protests have happened nationwide since community members began asking universities to divest from Israeli companies and companies that supply weapons to Israel.
The Indiana University arrests happened in Dunn Meadow, the campus’ designated free speech area.
“Since 1969, Dunn Meadow has been a public forum, a place for persons to engage in First Amendment expression. Indiana University cannot preemptively ban persons from engaging in this protected expression by prohibiting them from entering Dunn Meadow for a year or more,” ACLU of Indiana Legal Director Ken Falk said in a statement.
In remarks this week, President Biden emphasized that peaceful protest is protected under the First Amendment in the United States but “violent protest is not protected.”
The protests on college campuses have largely been peaceful but came to a head this week after police moved onto many campuses to disperse demonstrators. Pro-Palestine protesters have also been met with a growing number of counter protesters.
The Hill has reached out to Indiana University for comment on the lawsuit.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Image credit:
Purdue catcher Connor Caskenette (Photo courtesy of Purdue)
Purdue on Friday continued its spectacular run with a big night at Alexander Field. The Boilermakers defeated Indiana, 7-4, to open the in-state rivalry series in style and take over sole possession of first place in the Big Ten standings.
Purdue (31-15, 12-4) has won 11 straight Big Ten games, a streak that dates to March 31. With its win Friday and Illinois’ loss to Ohio State, Purdue now sits alone atop the conference. Illinois 26-16, 11-5) and Nebraska (29-15, 11-6) are a game behind, with Indiana (25-19-1, 10-6) and Michigan (24-22, 10-6) two games off the pace.
Purdue led Indiana for most of the game Friday. It took a 2-1 lead in the first inning thanks to a two-run double from Connor Caskenette. Righthander Jordan Morales made that score hold up until the sixth inning when the Hoosiers tied the game at 2. But that stalemate didn’t last long, as the Boilermakers scored five runs over the seventh and eighth innings. Indiana made one final push in the ninth, but righthander Aaron Suval snuffed out the rally to close out the 7-4 victory.
Caskenette went 2-for-4 and drove in five runs to lead the offense. Morales, Avery Cook and Suval largely shut down a powerful Indiana lineup, limiting them to four runs on eight hits.
It was a banner night on what is quickly becoming a banner season for the Boilermakers. They on Tuesday became the first Big Ten team this season to reach 30 wins. This is their first 30-win season since 2018, when they went 38-21. Purdue is in first place in the Big Ten in May for the first time since 2012, the last time it won the conference. Between its conference standing, its winning streak and an RPI that has now entered the top 60, Purdue can start thinking about making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2018.
Purdue’s rise has been remarkable and unexpected. The Big Ten’s preseason coaches poll only ranks the top six teams in the conference and Purdue was left off that list coming into 2024. But coach Greg Goff has the Boilermakers operating at the top of the conference. They’re led by Caskenette (.322/.435/.631, 12 HR) and freshman Luke Gaffney (.412/.497/.727, 11 HR), who missed Friday’s game, as well a strong pitching staff that ranks second in the Big Ten in ERA (4.63).
The pieces are all coming together for Purdue. There’s still a long way to go in the season and the Boilermakers have a precarious hold on both first place and a spot in the NCAA Tournament mix. But they’re playing excellent baseball at the right time of the season and now have a chance Saturday to win a key series against their rivals. If they can do that, they’ll carry plenty of momentum into the final two weeks of the season.
Friday night is for the aces. Here we highlight some of the best pitching performances of the day.
Braden Davis, LHP, Oklahoma: Davis threw seven scoreless innings to lead Oklahoma to an 8-0 victory at Texas Tech. The junior struck out eight batters and scattered two hits and two walks. Davis improved to 6-3, 4.43 with 84 strikeouts and 34 walks in 65 innings this season.
Caleb Granger, RHP, Florida A&M: In a rivalry showdown against Bethune-Cookman, Granger threw seven scoreless innings to lead FAMU to a 4-0 victory. The junior struck out seven batters and worked around six hits and three walks. Granger this season is 8-2, 2.71 with 60 strikeouts and 21 walks in 69.2 innings.
Aiden May, RHP, Oregon State: May threw 6.1 scoreless innings to help Oregon State to a 2-1 victory at Washington State. He struck out seven batters and scattered five hits and two walks, while extending his scoreless innings streak to 16. May is 4-0, 3.13 with 52 strikeouts and 14 walks in 46 innings this season.
Hagen Smith, LHP, Arkansas: Smith struck out 14 batters in six innings to help Arkansas to a 10-3 victory at Kentucky to open a showdown for first place in the SEC. The junior held the Wildcats to one run on three hits and two walks while reaching double-digit strikeouts for the ninth time in 12 starts this season. The All-American improved to 9-0, 1.36 with 125 strikeouts and 25 walks in 66 innings.
Tyler Stromsborg, RHP, Southern California: Stromsborg threw seven scoreless innings to help USC beat Cal, 5-1. He struck out four batters, walked none and worked around three hits in his longest start of the season. Stromsborg is 3-8, 4.85 on the year.
Evan Webster, LHP, Louisville: Webster threw seven scoreless innings to help Louisville to a 3-0 victory at Boston College. He struck out six batters and scattered four hits and a walk. Webster improved to 4-1, 3.17, with 53 strikeouts and 14 walks in 59.2 innings on the season.
ARLINGTON — ”Reality is coming.” That was the warning all-time WNBA great Diana Taurasi issued Caitlin Clark when she finished her college career as the all-time leading scorer in men’s or women’s college basketball less than a month ago. The message was that Clark wouldn’t be facing 18-year-olds any longer.
”I’m here.” That was Clark’s announcement (she didn’t say it in words, just on the court) Friday night at College Park Center. In a preseason game against the Dallas Wings, in front of a packed house she was largely responsible for, Clark scored 21 points but missed a desperate three at the buzzer as the Dallas Wings won the exhibition game, 79-76.
Dallas‘ own Arike Ogunbowale, known for hitting big shots herself, drilled the winning 3-pointer with three seconds to play although she finished 1-for-7 from distance. Clark made 5 of her 13 three-point shots, scoring 16 points in the first half before running into foul trouble during the second in her pro debut.
As the first pick in the April 15 draft, Clark joined a team that was 24-84 the last three seasons. Suffice to say very few folks in Indiana had the Fever. But the basketball world loves watching Clark and she has a chance to rewrite everything, not just in her new midwestern home but for the women’s game across the board.
The Fever will have 36 of their 40 regular season games on national TV. This comes on the heels of Clark’s Iowa drawing 14.2 million viewers on ESPN for the national semifinal game with UConn and 19 million on network TV for the championship game with South Carolina.
If you’re the commissioner of anything besides the National Football League, you will kick your grandmother to the curb for those ratings. The women’s championship outdrew the men’s in April, not to mention the World Series or the NBA Finals overall. The WNBA is hoping to latch onto a piece of that through Clark, and her ticket-selling skills were on display in a sold-out College Park Center despite the fact sports fans could have watched the Mavs or Stars in playoff action.
On the Fever‘s second possession, Clark launched and hit a 3-pointer. By halftime she had 16 points, comprised almost entirely of four 3-pointers plus two free throws she made after being fouled from 3-point range. For those wondering, the 3-point line in the WNBA is the same distance as in college. Wouldn’t make much difference if it wasn’t as Clark has been known to launch from the logo and score.
But that’s not to say Taurasi was entirely wrong. Clark got her shot blocked by Natasha Howard, ran into foul trouble and committed five turnovers. It was the imperfect start one might expect when a great player joins a struggling team at a higher level. Dallas actually got 21 points from another rookie, left-handed Jaelyn Brown, who played for Cal in 2020 but has been overseas, most recently playing in Turkey.
On Friday morning, Clark said she did not know what to expect in terms of scoring, beyond the promise she would play hard.
“I think the shooting is always going to be part of my game, and it’s something this team needs,” Clark said after the team’s shootaround. “There’s going to be nights you shoot it great and nights that you don’t. That happens to Steph Curry, that happens to me, that happens to anybody.
“Whether I make 10 threes tonight or I don’t make any, there are other aspects of the game where I can help the team.”
Turned out to be five — right in the middle between 10 and 0.
Clark also had three rebounds, two assists and two steals, and that assist figure when Indiana plays a team that doesn’t have the massive size advantage the Wings enjoy against just about everyone.
Indiana already has had two road games moved from smaller WNBA venues to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (where the Stars played Friday) and to Capital One Arena in Washington (home of the Wizards and Caps). There are no plans announced to move either of Clark’s regular season games against the Wings out of Arlington, although the team is moving to Dallas in two years. The Wings will play in the old (but presumably refurbished) Memorial Auditorium downtown. I’m personally anxious to see how it looks for Wings games compared to Dallas Chaparral games I attended in the late ‘60s.
OK, that’s been a minute.
By the time the Wings truly become the Dallas Wings, the WNBA will have a new TV deal worth probably twice as much or more than the current $60 million per season. That’s attributable to several factors, but Clark is, without any doubt, No. 1.
”The buzz around the WNBA right now is super special,” Clark said. “The competition in this league is really really good. I’m excited that people are appreciating the W. Just a great atmosphere for women’s basketball, I think it’s a good kickoff to the WNBA season.”
Well, everyone loves the long ball. And no female has ever shot from distance — considerable distance quite often — like Clark. Her fifth 3-pointer of the game, one that gave Indiana a 67-65 lead in the fourth quarter, came from at least 28 feet.
It was the last one she would make in this particular game. Many, many more to come very soon, though.
Wings-Fever photos: Caitlin Clark, Arike Ogunbowale ball out in WNBA preseason opener
Find more Wings coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
Larry Webb’s deathbed confession solves 2000 cold case murder of Susan and Natasha Carter, 10, whose remains were found hours after he died
First cargo ship passes through new channel since Baltimore bridge collapse
Haiti Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigns, transitional council takes power
Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez suspends public duties to 'reflect'
US secretly sent long-range ATACMS weapons to Ukraine
American Airlines passenger alleges discrimination over use of first-class restroom
Humane (2024) – Movie Review
Video: Johnson Condemns Pro-Palestinian Protests at Columbia University