Sports

'A great problem': Could Caitlin Clark make the U.S. Olympic team?

Published

2 years ago

April 17, 2024

'A great problem': Could Caitlin Clark make the U.S. Olympic team?

NEW YORK —

Caitlin Clark already heard her name called once this week, but the most heralded No. 1 draft pick in WNBA history is still in contention to make an even more exclusive roster this summer.

Before even playing a WNBA game, Clark has already become a key figure in the U.S. Olympic roster discussion as the United States goes for its eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal this summer in Paris. The Iowa star was invited to participate in the senior national team’s training camp in April, but could not attend as the Hawkeyes advanced to the Final Four on the same weekend.

A six-person committee, which is led by U.S. 3×3 head coach Jennifer Rizzotti and South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley and includes former star player Seimone Augustus, will make the final decision. Cheryl Reeve, who is taking over national tem head coach duties from Staley, will not play a significant role in the selection process. The Minnesota Lynx coach and president of basketball operations is happy to sit this one out.

“Thank goodness,” Reeve said with a hearty chuckle during the U.S. Olympic media summit Wednesday.

While the men’s team announced its Olympic roster Wednesday, the women’s team likely won’t reveal its final group until the summer. In 2021, USA Basketball didn’t name its women’s roster until about one month before the Tokyo Games opened. The WNBA season, which begins May 14, will break from July 21 to Aug. 14 for the Olympic Games. The Paris Games open on July 26.

“I just know that it’s a struggle,” Reeve said of cutting the roster down. “Every time they’re making a decision — this time it’s Caitlin, last time it was Nneka [Ogwumike], before that it was Candace Parker. … No matter what you do, you’ve left someone off that someone really thinks you should have brought. And that’s a great problem for the U.S., right?”

Breanna Stewart was the last WNBA rookie to make the U.S. Olympic team, in 2016. The New York Liberty star and reigning WNBA most valuable player knows the difficult path ahead if Clark makes the cut.

Stewart remembers how relentless the transition from college to the pros was. She felt like she was sprinting on a hamster wheel going from winning her fourth national championship with Connecticut on April 5, being drafted first overall by the Seattle Storm on April 14, being named to the Olympic team on April 27 and playing in her first WNBA game on May 15.

“I was just trying to be a sponge,” Stewart said. “I knew I was the youngest one on this Olympic team by far, so my advice would be to be a sponge and really just to take it all in. It’s a lot. A lot’s going to be thrown at Caitlin, just in her rookie year anyways.”

Stewart leaned on former WNBA and Olympic teammate Sue Bird for support through her professional transition. The five-time Olympic gold medalist retired in 2022.

Bird’s departure marks a new era at point guard for the United States. While Las Vegas Aces star Chelsea Gray will likely return for her second Olympics, Reeve acknowledged the relative lack of depth at that position compared to a loaded frontcourt that includes Stewart, two-time WNBA champion A’ja Wilson and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner.

New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu and forwards Aliyah Boston (Indiana Fever), Rhyne Howard (Atlanta Dream) and Shakira Austin (Washington Mystics) are vying for their first Olympic teams. Las Vegas Aces guards Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young also attended April’s 5×5 team training camp after helping the United States win 3×3 gold in Tokyo. The competition will be stiff, even for Clark, whose record-setting NCAA career made her a crossover star who helped propel women’s basketball into the mainstream.

“Obviously she’s a great player and what she’s been able to accomplish in college, and now she’s taking it to the next level in the WNBA, and we’ll see how things go,” Stewart said. “Obviously what I want to do is play alongside the other players that are named on this roster. I don’t know what that’s going to be, but I’m sure Caitlin has played USA Basketball before and I don’t think her time with USA Basketball is going to be done anytime soon.”

Clark does have experience on the international stage, but only on the junior level, winning gold medals at the 2019 and 2021 FIBA U19 World Cups and the 2017 FIBA U16 Americas Championship. She did not play in the AmeriCup tournament last summer on a team that included fellow recent WNBA draft picks Rickea Jackson, Angel Reese and Charisma Osborne.

Although Stewart made her Olympic debut as a WNBA rookie, she was already a regular on the senior national team. She was the only college athlete among 32 players considered for the 2014 FIBA World Championship and she made the final cut as a rising junior at UConn.

She was “a baby” when the U.S. team won gold in Rio, Stewart recalled with a wistful smile. She was learning from stars like Bird, Taurasi, Tamika Catchings, Sylvia Fowles, Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen. Every Olympic team could easily feature 12 WNBA veterans, but the organizing committee’s intentional roster construction that emphasizes a mix of experience and youth has been critical in sustaining the dynasty across generations.

“We come together and we have this sense of selflessness and pride because of the culture that when we were young, we were kind of thrown into,” Stewart said. “Now for the next generation of people … now they know. We’re coming together to represent our country.”

Sports

Anthony Richardson free to seek trade after injury setbacks amid Colts’ shift to Daniel Jones

Published

8 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Anthony Richardson free to seek trade after injury setbacks amid Colts’ shift to Daniel Jones

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Anthony Richardson Sr.’s future in Indianapolis faces more uncertainty than ever.

The Indianapolis Colts granted Anthony Richardson, the team that used the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft on the quarterback, permission to explore a trade. His agent, Deiric Jackson, confirmed the latest development in the 23-year-old’s tumultuous career to ESPN on Thursday.

Veteran quarterback Daniel Jones beat out Richardson in a preseason competition for the starting job. Jones made the most of another opportunity as an NFL starter, helping the Colts win eight of their first 10 games of the 2025 regular season.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson heads off the field after an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024 in Denver, Colorado. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

However, his season was ultimately derailed by an Achilles injury. The setback came two years after he tore an ACL with the New York Giants. The Colts appear ready to move forward with Jones, clouding Richardson’s future in Indianapolis.

Jones is set to become a free agent in March, meaning the Colts must either use the franchise tag or sign him to a new deal. Richardson has started just 15 games in three seasons with the Colts, his tenure largely shaped by injuries.

A shoulder surgery limited Richardson to four games during his rookie campaign, while a series of setbacks cost him four games in 2024.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (5) looks for an open receiver during the game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. (Troy Taormina/Imagn Images)

Richardson suffered what was described as a “freak pregame incident” during warmups last season, landing him on injured reserve after attempting just two passes in two games in 2025. He has thrown 11 touchdowns against 13 interceptions in his NFL career.

Colts general manager Chris Ballard said Tuesday that the vision problems stemming from Richardson’s orbital fracture last October are “trending in the right direction.” He added that Richardson has been “cleared to play.”

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (5) celebrates his touchdown against the New York Jets during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Brad Penner/Imagn Images)

Riley Leonard, a sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, is expected to return to the Colts next season.

When asked about Richardson’s standing with the Colts moving ahead, Ballard replied, “I still believe in Anthony.”

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Chantz Martin is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.

Sports

Prep talk: Freshman golfer William Hudson of St. John Bosco wins Servite Invitational

Published

8 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Prep talk: Freshman golfer William Hudson of St. John Bosco wins Servite Invitational

William Hudson, a 14-year-old freshman golfer, shot 71 on Monday at Western Hills Country Club in Chino Hills to win the Servite Invitational.

“It was very important to me and my school,” Hudson said.

Some think it’s the first time a St. John Bosco student won an invitational title.

Hudson is a straight-A student who picked up his first golf club when he was 3. He has a daily routine involving practicing at 6 a.m. before heading to school. He’s also enrolled in a school entrepreneur program that involves taking classes at a junior college that will qualify for college credits.

“They are long days, but I get through it,” Hudson said.

He comes from a family that enjoys golf. His great-grandfather played until his death at 98 last year.

“I love how it can take me to interesting places and meet interesting people,” Hudson said. “I can play for the rest of my life. It’s a lifelong sport.”

It’s looking like another strong year for golfers in Southern California, with several individual champions returning, including Jaden Soong of St. Francis and Grant Leary of Crespi.

Now Hudson has thrust himself into the conversation.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

Sports

Dashcam video shows former WWE executive Vince McMahon rear-ending vehicle on Connecticut highway

Published

20 hours ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Dashcam video shows former WWE executive Vince McMahon rear-ending vehicle on Connecticut highway

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Police have released new video showing former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon speeding before crashing his 2024 Bentley Continental GT into another luxury car on a Connecticut highway last summer.

McMahon appeared to be followed by a state trooper in Westport moments ahead of the eventual collision. McMahon’s vehicle reached speeds of more than 100 mph, state police said.

A trooper’s dashcam video showed McMahon accelerating and then braking too late to avoid rear-ending a BMW. The car McMahon was driving then swerved into a guardrail and careened back across the highway. A cloud of dirt, apparently mixed with vehicle debris, was visible in the immediate area of the crash.

WWE owner Vince McMahon enters the arena during WrestleMania at AT&T Stadium on Apr 3, 2022 in Arlington, Texas. (Joe Camporeale/USA Today Sports)

“Why were you driving all over 100 mph?” a state trooper asked McMahon after catching up to the wrecked Bentley.

“I got my granddaughter’s birthday,” McMahon replied, explaining he was on his way to see her. The encounter was recorded on police bodycam video.

No serious injuries were reported in the July 24 crash, which happened the same day former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan died of a heart attack in Florida.

In an image taken from Connecticut State Police police bodycam video, Vince McMahon is questioned in his car after an accident on July 24, 2025, in Westport, Connecticut. (Connecticut State Police via The Associated Press)

Aside from the damage to the rear of the BMW, another vehicle driving on the opposite side of the parkway was struck by flying debris. The driver of that third car happened to be wearing a WWE shirt, police video suggested.

McMahon was cited for reckless driving and following too closely. In October, a state judge allowed him to enter a pretrial probation program that could erase the charges if he completes it successfully.

He was also ordered to make a $1,000 charitable contribution. His attorney, Mark Sherman, called the crash simply an “accident.”

“Not every car accident is a crime,” Sherman said. “Vince’s primary concern during this case was for the other drivers and is appreciative that the court saw this more of an accident than a crime that needed to be prosecuted.”

Vince McMahon attends a press conference to announce that WWE Wrestlemania 29 will be held at MetLife Stadium in 2013 at MetLife Stadium on Feb. 16, 2012 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Michael N. Todaro/Getty Images)

State police said a trooper was trying to catch up to McMahon on the parkway and clock his speed before pulling him over. They said the incident was not a pursuit, which happens when police chase someone trying to flee officers. They also said it did not appear McMahon was trying to escape.

“I’m trying to catch up to you, and you keep taking off,” State Police Det. Maxwell Robins said in the video.

“No, no no. I’m not trying to outrun you,” McMahon clarified.

An accident information summary provided to the media shortly after the crash did not mention that a trooper was following McMahon.

The trooper’s bodycam video also shows him asking McMahon whether he was looking at his phone when the crash happened. McMahon said he was not and added he hadn’t driven his car in a long time.

After Robins tells McMahon that his car is fast, McMahon replies, “Yeah, too (expletive) fast.”

Fox News Digital submitted a public records request to obtain the police video, which was first acquired by The Sun.

McMahon stepped down as WWE’s CEO in 2022 amid a company investigation into sexual misconduct allegations. He also resigned as executive chairman of the board of directors of TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of WWE, in 2024, a day after a former WWE employee filed a sexual abuse lawsuit against him. McMahon has denied the allegations. The lawsuit remains pending.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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