Sports
Brittney Griner, Rickea Jackson ejected after Sparks-Mercury kerfuffle
Tuesday night was supposed to be a celebration for the Los Angeles Sparks, their fan appreciation night on the final home game of the regular season. It was also an opportunity for the Southern California crowd to honor one of its own, as Phoenix Mercury legend Diana Taurasi played what could be her final professional game in Los Angeles.
Instead, the contest was marred by an altercation between Sparks rookie Rickea Jackson and Mercury star Brittney Griner. Both were ejected with 18.8 seconds to play in the first half after a conversation between the two following a free-throw box out escalated in front of the Phoenix bench.
Security rushed onto the court, as did Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts, to help separate the players, but a related confrontation between Sophie Cunningham and Crystal Dangerfield also resulted in technical fouls for the pair.
L.A. was up seven points at the time of the ejection and took an eight-point lead into halftime. However, Phoenix junked up the game after the break, pressuring full court and sinking back into a zone defense that frustrated the Sparks into a 10-point third quarter. The Mercury went on to win 85-81.
The WNBA rulebook states, “During an altercation, all players not participating in the game must remain in the immediate vicinity of their bench. Violators will be suspended, without pay, for a minimum of one game and fined. Any such suspension will commence prior to the start of the player’s next game.”
The Phoenix coaching staff appeared to successfully keep any bench players from involving themselves in the incident. Regardless, a one-game suspension wouldn’t be terribly damaging to the Mercury, who have one game remaining in the regular season and are locked into the No. 7 seed for the playoffs.
Of greater concern is the availablity of Griner going forward. The Phoenix center entered the game with four technical fouls, so she has not yet reached the automatic suspension total of seven. However, the league could determine that the altercation with Jackson demands greater discipline. Griner was previously suspended three games for a near-brawl in 2019. What transpired with Jackson shouldn’t rise to that level, but that is for the WNBA to decide.
“Not a clear explanation (from the referees),” Tibbetts said when asked about the fracas postgame. “I haven’t looked at the video or anything like that so we’ll see.”
Phoenix finishes the regular season at home against Seattle on Thursday before traveling to Minnesota for the first round of the playoffs. Los Angeles concludes its season against Minnesota on Thursday and will hope to welcome Jackson back for the conclusion of what has assuredly been an all-rookie campaign.
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(Photo: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
Sports
Jaxon Smith-Njigba breaks Seahawks franchise record in victory over Titans
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The Seattle Seahawks came away with their eighth win of the season on Sunday, and once again, it was star receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba playing a large role in the victory.
This time, though, Smith-Njigba, the NFL’s leader in receiving yards, made some Seahawks history in the process.
The second-year receiver out of Ohio State set the single-season franchise record for receiving yards after totaling 167 in the 30-24 victory.
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Jaxon Smith-Njigba of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates after defeating the Tennessee Titans in the game at Nissan Stadium on Nov. 23, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images)
Coming into the game, Smith-Njigba needed 150 yards to break D.K. Metcalf’s record of 1,303, which he set in 2020. After Sam Darnold found his favorite target for a 63-yard touchdown in the second quarter, it was not only another deep touchdown connection between the two, but it made it quite possible that Smith-Njigba would break Metcalf’s record in just his 11th game of the season.
Smith-Njigba later reached the yardage needed in the third quarter, and that total is only expected to grow with six games left in the regular season.
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It was clear that Smith-Njigba was going to be a great receiver in the league when he tallied 100 receptions for 1,130 yards and six touchdowns during his rookie campaign in 2024. But with a new quarterback in Darnold — Geno Smith was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason — there were questions entering the year about whether the offense would look the same.
Darnold has proven to be the right fit for Klint Kubiak’s offense, and Smith-Njigba has set a new career high in touchdowns and appears poised to shatter his receptions total as well.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates after catching a pass for a touchdown in the second quarter of the game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium on Nov. 23, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images)
It’s worth noting that Metcalf was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason, partly due to Smith-Njigba’s emergence as a top pass-catching option during his rookie season.
The Seahawks also announced that Smith-Njigba has moved into the league record books. He now has the fifth-most receiving yards through the first 11 games of a season in the Super Bowl era, passing the great Julio Jones on that list.
No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward and the Tennessee Titans’ offense made things interesting late, as Chimere Dike caught a touchdown to bring them within six points in the fourth quarter. But Seattle’s defense, which has been a solid unit all season, came through in the end.
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Smith-Njigba finished the game with two touchdowns for Seattle, while Zach Charbonnet added a rushing score for the Seahawks.
Smith-Njigba will look to add to his single-season total next Sunday when the Seahawks return home to host the Minnesota Vikings.
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Sports
Angela Dugalic responds to her coach’s challenge, leading No. 3 UCLA past Southern
During practice Friday, UCLA women’s basketball coach Cori Close made it clear she wanted to see more from forward Angela Dugalic.
“You’re not using what you’ve earned,” Close recalled telling her while speaking with reporters Friday.
Dugalic is going to face some of the best players in the country this week. Close thinks she can match up with them, but she needs Dugalic to play like it. With all the work Dugalic has done on her low-post game over the offseason, she can’t settle for floating around the perimeter.
Close won’t let her.
“I just want her to be all she can be,” Close said. “She’s been an animal down there in the low post, and I want her to hunt for that. I don’t want her to settle for playing on the perimeter when she’s got a whole lot more tools in her toolbox that she’s not accessing.”
Close got that version of Dugalic in Sunday’s 88-37 rout of Southern at Pauley Pavilion. The third-ranked Bruins were in full control from whistle to whistle, even pitching a second-quarter shutout, and Dugalic led the way with 20 points, five rebounds and an assist. She shot eight for 15 from the floor with a trio of three-pointers.
It was pure dominance by UCLA. The Bruins shot 51% from the field while holding the Jaguars to 29%. They outrebounded Southern by 30. They forced 13 turnovers, nine in the first half, and scored 28 points off them. And on the offensive end, UCLA was flowing with 24 assists to Southern’s nine.
Gabriela Jaquez added eight rebounds, six points and five assists. Her first basket, a layup after cutting through the paint in the second quarter, gave the senior guard her 1,000th career point. Kiki Rice had 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists and Lauren Betts finished with 15 points and six rebounds.
Dugalic opened the scoring for UCLA with a midrange jumper followed by a fast-break layup. She finished the first half with 12 points, tied for the team lead with freshman forward Lena Bilic, who finished the game with 14 points.
Despite Dugalic’s strong start, Close issued her another challenge at halftime.
“I just want you to focus on making the right basketball play,” Close said. “What’s the defense doing? I didn’t think she was reading the defense. I thought she shot it well, and I thought she got some great rebounds, but I didn’t think she was in the flow that we’ve been seeing from her the last few days and our last few games.”
Close added that she thinks Dugalic is playing some of the best basketball of her career, and she’s continuously fighting to raise her standard. It’s not about how many points Dugalic scores, it’s about her decision-making, her defense, her consistency.
The Bruins entered the second quarter with a 22-9 lead thanks to a 14-2 run over the final six minutes of the first quarter after holding Southern (1-4) scoreless during the final three minutes. UCLA then exploded for a 27-0 run in the second quarter while holding the Jaguars scoreless for the entire period. It was the first time the Bruins held an opponent scoreless for an entire quarter since Dec. 5, 2021 against San José State.
Still, Close wasn’t satisfied.
During halftime, Close said she reminded the Bruins of what they want to accomplish. Close wrote down a list of “passion plays,” or goals for every player for the second half.
UCLA guard Kiki Rice controls the ball in front of Southern forward DeMya Porter during the first half of the Bruins’ win Sunday at Pauley Pavilion.
(Ethan Swope / Associated Press)
It’s part of a mentality Close is trying to instill in her players. They know a 51-point win against an unranked Southern team isn’t going to give them the feedback they need.
“Outcomes are actually a distraction,” Close said, referencing legendary Alabama football coach Nick Saban. “What are the processes that we’re going to be committed to that are going to actually lead us to where we want to go?”
UCLA (6-0) will face No. 4 Texas on Wednesday in the Players Era Women’s Championship in Las Vegas, followed by either No. 2 South Carolina or Duke on Thanksgiving. The Bruins then will host No. 15 Tennessee on Nov. 30.
Sports
UAB players take field hours after stabbing incident leaves two hospitalized
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University of Alabama at Birmingham football players took the field in Birmingham, Alabama, Saturday just hours after tragedy struck.
Two players from UAB were allegedly stabbed by a teammate at the team’s training center ahead of a game against South Florida, a university official confirmed to Fox News Digital.
Both were reported to be in stable condition at a hospital. The names of the victims and the player in custody were not released.
Saturday’s game kicked off at 3 p.m. ET, and USF cruised to a 48-18 victory.
Two UAB football players were stabbed hours before their game Saturday in Birmingham, Ala. (Wes Hale/Getty Images)
An online inmate inquiry from the Jefferson County Jail showed that Daniel Israel Mincey, 20, was arrested by the UAB Campus Police just after noon Saturday and is facing charges of “aggravated assault — A to M — attempted murder.” The university would not confirm whether Mincey was a player involved.
MAN WHO SHOT AND KILLED UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA FOOTBALL PLAYERS SENTENCED TO 5 LIFE TERMS
Mincey is a redshirt freshman who joined the team after one season at Kentucky, according to the UAB football roster.
The two players were attacked Saturday morning at the Football Operations Center, the training center for the Blazers’ football program. (Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
There appeared to be concerns about whether the game would proceed as scheduled given the incident, but a spokesperson confirmed that the university elected to play.
“We’re grateful to report that two players injured in an incident this morning at the Football Operations Building are in stable condition. Our thoughts are with them and their families as they recover. The suspect — another player — remains in custody, and an investigation is taking place,” a spokesperson said.
USF quarterback Byrum Brown threw for 353 yards and accounted for five touchdowns in the blowout win. UAB held a 10-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, but USF scored 27 unanswered points.
A South Florida Bulls helmet near the sideline during a game between the South Florida Bulls and the Miami Hurricanes Sept. 13, 2025, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. (Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The highlight of Brown’s day was a 60-yard touchdown pass to Mudia Reuben, which gave USF a 24-10 lead on the first play of the third quarter. Nykahi Davenport added 117 rushing yards and a touchdown run for USF.
UAB quarterback Jalen Kitna had 230 passing yards but was also responsible for three costly interceptions.
Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj and information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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