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‘The future’s bright:’ Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Mitchell, Caitlin Clark react to All-Star nod

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‘The future’s bright:’ Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Mitchell, Caitlin Clark react to All-Star nod


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LAS VEGAS — For the first time since 2007, the Indiana Fever have three All-Stars on its roster.

Rookie guard Caitlin Clark, second-year center Aliyah Boston, and seventh-year guard Kelsey Mitchell were named All-Stars on Tuesday night, taking up three of the 12 spots on Team WNBA.

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Tamika Catchings, Tammy Sutton-Brown, and Anna DeForge were the last trio of Fever All-Stars in a single season. That 2007 Fever team went 21-13, making the Eastern Conference Finals.

“It’s a really, really big thing for our franchise, but I think more importantly, kind of shows like where we are as players, and what we aspire to be individually,” Mitchell said. “I think any great player, any great competitor has an All-Star somewhere down a list, and you know, we put in a lot of work, so it feels good.”

This year’s All-Star Game, which will be in Phoenix on July 20, is Team USA vs. Team WNBA. Team USA, which will represent the U.S. in the Paris Olympics, will use the All-Star Game as an exhibition.

So, there were technically only 12 open spots to be an All-Star — the other 12 were already taken up with WNBA players on Team USA.

Voting for All-Stars came 50% from fans, 25% from media, and 25% from players, and players on Team USA were able to get votes. The top-10 vote getters automatically became All-Stars, regardless Team USA status. The next 36 top vote-getters that were not on the Olympic team went to league coaches, and they filled out the rest of Team WNBA.

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It’s the second consecutive all-star nods for Boston and Mitchell, who went to the 2023 All-Star Game in Las Vegas. Boston thinks it’s especially meaningful for Clark, the 2024 No. 1 pick who is an All-Star for the first time.

More: With Clark, Boston, Mitchell, Indiana Fever have three All-Stars for first time since 2007

“I think it just goes to show the talent that we have on this team,” Boston said. “It’s really amazing to be able to play together as an All-Star, but also I think this is really exciting for Caitlin being a rookie coming in and just having an impact the way that she does.”

All three Fever players will be on Team WNBA. Indiana is the only team to more than two players on that team. Las Vegas has four players on the Olympic roster, while Phoenix has three.

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“It’s cool, obviously, for myself to accomplish this in my rookie year,” Clark said. “I’m just lucky to be with these two. … It’s big for our franchise, too, like, I think it just shows the talent behind us, and slowly just putting that together. The future’s bright.”



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Boston, MA

Brothers bring boxing back to Fenway after 70 years and hope to revitalize the sport in Boston – The Boston Globe

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Brothers bring boxing back to Fenway after 70 years and hope to revitalize the sport in Boston – The Boston Globe


“Most people’s experience there is solely related to baseball,” said Richard Johnson, Fenway expert and curator at The Sports Museum in Boston. “But the fact is that this year, you can see an event that’ll be very similar to what your grandparents saw.”

Promoters Mark and Matt Nolan want “Fight Night at Fenway,” scheduled for Saturday, to be both a time capsule and time machine, taking spectators back to boxing’s glory days and what the sport can be for the city in the future.

The Nolans got their license to organize fights last year with the goal of bringing boxing back to Boston. After Fenway, “That’s mission accomplished,” Matt Nolan said.

“It’s not just like our dream, it’s everybody’s dream — every boxer on planet Earth,” he said. “Just the idea that some kid can fight his way to Fenway Park. It’s like hitting the lottery. You can’t you can’t beat it. There’s nothing comparable.”

Boston has played a long and impressive role in American boxing history and the development of the sport itself, said Johnson, author of “Field of Our Fathers, An Illustrated History of Fenway Park.”

The city was home to “Boston’s Strong Boy,” John L. Sullivan, born in 1858 to Irish immigrant parents and widely considered America’s first sports superstar. The first heavyweight champion of the world, he was as famous as Muhammad Ali was in his time.

Sam Langford, a Black Canadian-born boxer, moved to Boston as a teenager but was blocked from competing in the world championships by racist policies and is considered one of the greatest non-champions in boxing.

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Other boxing stars with Boston connections include Marvin Hagler and Rocky Marciano of nearby Brockton. ”The Boston Bomber” Tony DeMarco, whose statue raises his fists at passersby in Boston’s North End, was the last fighter to win in the ring at Fenway in 1956.

For a time after it was built, Fenway Park was the only outdoor venue with a significant seating capacity in Boston, making it a destination for all kinds of events, including boxing starting in 1920.

After new owners took over in 2002, the park became a venue for a variety of activities, including concerts and sporting events such as hockey, snowboarding, Irish football and curling.

“Back in the day, it was sort of the Swiss Army knife of sports facilities in Boston. And it’s returned to that — a little bit of everything. So, returning boxing to the park is just a nod to the past,” Johnson said.

Other venues can feel “more corporate and sterile,” but Fenway is living history, said Johnson, who calls it the “largest open-air museum in New England.”

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Mark Nolan said it’s not for lack of trying that no one has hosted a boxing fight at Fenway in almost 70 years. But many promoters couldn’t make a pitch that landed with ballpark management.

The Nolans, who teach full time and own a boxing gym in Waltham where people can train regardless of their ability to pay, were different. After success hosting events at other venues, Mark Nolan said Fenway Sports Group connected to their “everyman” appeal and decided to give them a shot.

The brothers fell in love with boxing while accompanying their father, a boat captain, to the gym as kids.

When they expanded from coaching amateur boxers to professionals five years ago, they were dismayed by what they found: shows full of uneven fights set up to make the promoters as much money as possible, with established amateurs fighting people who “have no right putting gloves on in any capacity whatsoever” in venues like high school gymnasiums. Fighters weren’t being paid fairly and contracts weren’t transparent.

They came up with a simple business plan: pick good venues, pay fighters well and only host matches in Boston proper. They said a lot of promoters sell fighters, but they’re focused on selling fights fans want to see.

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“They’re making sure that every fight is well-matched,” said Thomas “The Kid” O’Toole, a fighter from rural Galway, Ireland, who has lived in Boston for the past two years, “Nobody wants to see someone go in and just knock their opponent out right away and beat them up for four, six, eight rounds. They want to see a competitive fight.”

O’Toole went professional in 2021 and is undefeated with 13 fights. He said his fight against St. Louis-born Vaughn “Da Animal” Alexander at Fenway will be “the biggest test of his career.”

Massachusetts-born Lexi “Lil Savage” Bolduc will compete in her fourth professional fight. She faces Sarah Couillard in a rematch after coming out on the losing end of a majority draw at the Royale.

“Fighting at Fenway, I think adds a little bit of pressure because I’m local, I grew up in Mass and idolized a lot of players as I was growing up. … But at the same time, I’m trying to use it just as a huge opportunity and really soak in the moment,” she said. ”Pressure makes diamonds.

“To be able to kind of stand on that same ground of some of the most accomplished athletes, it’s really remarkable,” she said.

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Boston, MA

Large tree falls in South Boston, damaging 2 homes, several cars

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Large tree falls in South Boston, damaging 2 homes, several cars


A large tree fell in South Boston on Friday morning, damaging two homes and several cars in the neighborhood.

The tree fell around 5 a.m. on K Street. Photos and video from the scene showed a massive tree lying across the road, impacting two multi-story buildings and damaging multiple vehicles in the area.

There was no immediate word on whether anyone was injured.

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Boston, MA

Author readings around Boston through June 14 – The Boston Globe

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Author readings around Boston through June 14 – The Boston Globe


All author appearances are in person and free unless otherwise noted. A complete list can be found at bostonglobe.com/books.

SUNDAY, JUNE 8

  • Ken Bresler (“The Witch Trial Trail of Boston”) will discuss his book at 2 p.m. at Newtonville Books.
  • Lynda Mullaly Hunt (“Wish in a Tree”) will read at 3 p.m. at An Unlikely Story. RSVP required.
  • Brad Bolman (“Lab Dog”) is in conversation with Robin Wolfe Scheffler at 6 p.m. at Brookline Booksmith. RSVP required.
  • Michelle Young (“The Art Spy”) will discuss her book at 6 p.m. at East End Books Ptown. Tickets are $5.





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