Sports
Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever championship timeline accelerated by sudden coaching change
History will say that a new era for the Indiana Fever began on April 15, 2024.
That, of course, was the night that the franchise, which had yearned for any semblance of recent success, drafted Caitlin Clark No. 1. In an instant, everything changed.
Another date — one six months later — will now mark a nearly as significant moment. Oct. 27, 2024, will be sign-posted as the day in which the Fever officially parted ways with head coach Christie Sides after only two seasons. The Clark era is still here, but the franchise’s direction changed.
Kelly Krauskopf, the recently hired Fever president of basketball operations, seemed to say as much in her statement regarding Sides’ dismissal. Sides was hired by Lin Dunn, who moved into an advisory role after the 2024 season. Sides went 33-47 in two years. Krauskopf referred to Sides’ tenure as an “integral transition period.”
Krauskopf added, “It is also imperative that we remain bold and assertive in the pursuit of our goals, which includes maximizing our talent and bringing another WNBA championship back to Indiana.”
Bold and assertive. Those two words appear to define the Fever’s new path. They are no longer transitioning. They are thinking big.
We have parted ways with head coach Christie Sides.
More: https://t.co/eBb0wRuBlF pic.twitter.com/Ja5S3uGPOb
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) October 27, 2024
Even with Clark and 2023 No. 1 pick Aliyah Boston leading the franchise, the goal for last season was to make the playoffs. Dunn was clear about her desires to snap a seven-year drought. Clearly now, after Clark’s record-setting rookie season, expectations are much higher. The Fever are eyeing their first title since 2012.
A transcendent star accelerates timelines.
In the NBA, LeBron James’ first head coach (Paul Silas) oversaw just the first season-and-a-half of James’ time in Cleveland. Michael Jordan’s first coach (Kevin Loughery) was with MJ for only one year. In the WNBA, Candace Parker’s first professional coach (Michael Cooper) lasted just two seasons with the star forward. Same with Diana Taurasi’s first coach, Carrie Graf. Dunn drafted and coached Sue Bird during Bird’s first season out of UConn. But by Bird’s second year, Anne Donovan paced the Storm sideline.
Add Sides to the list of coaches who were hired for a developmental job, thrown into another and were made a casualty as a result.
The Fever are led by Clark. But with Sunday’s decision, they are Krauskopf’s franchise, too. Krauskopf initially led the team from 2000 until 2018, when she left to become the Pacers assistant general manager and the first woman in NBA history to hold an executive basketball management role. She previously made the postseason 13 times and played in three WNBA finals in seven years, including capturing the 2012 WNBA title. A desire to replicate those successes is why she has returned.
Familiarity seems like it will matter in Indiana’s coaching search. That might mean trying to poach current Connecticut Sun coach Stephanie White for another reunion. According to the Chicago Sun Times, White is still under contract with the Sun but had recent talks with the Fever about the head coaching role.
Krauskopf and White know each other well. White, an Indiana native and Purdue alum, played for the Fever from 2000 to 2004. She was then an assistant coach from 2011 to 2014 and later coached the Fever in 2015 and 2016.
Now widely regarded as one of the league’s top coaches, she has experience and achieved recent success as she installed a new offense in Connecticut. She won Coach of the Year in 2023, led the Fever to the 2015 finals and has drawn greatness out of stars such as Tamika Catchings and Alyssa Thomas. She would likely, in Krauskopf’s words, “maximize” Indiana’s talent, which is also expected to target veterans in free agency to pair with Clark and Boston.
There were obvious needs for improvement under Sides. Defense and diversifying Clark’s shot efficiency are two of the growth areas for the next coach to tackle.
But the Fever’s decision to part with Sides seems less about the player-coach relationship and more about what Krauskopf thinks can happen with a player (Clark) leading the way. Sides and Clark regularly discussed strategy as well as how Clark was handling pressure on and off the court. As last season progressed, Clark became a more effective shooter and driver, and the Fever won nine of 14 games after the All-Star break while Clark went on to lead them to the playoffs and win Rookie of the Year. Krauskopf even applauded Sides for this progress.
When Dunn was hired as GM, she said she wanted to get out of the lottery by her third season. She did that. Now under Krauskopf, no longer are lottery parties acceptable. Championship celebrations are the goal.
Clark and the Fever will be playing under a new coach and general manager (Amber Cox) next spring. The Fever are done experimenting.
A star has again accelerated a championship timeline. And a coach again paid the price.
(Photo of Christie Sides and Caitlin Clark: Elsa / Getty Images)
Trump says there’s ‘no time frame’ to secure Iran deal
Republican Minnesota Senate candidate Tom Weiler joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss President Donald Trump’s blockade in the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S.-Iranian conflict continues and react to Gov. Tim Walz’s, D-Minn., criticism of the president.
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Saudi Arabia was among the countries seeing missiles fly into their airspace as a conflict broke out in the Middle East between the U.S. and Iran.
The prospect of Iran targeting its Middle Eastern neighbors like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates put some sporting events on hold and questioned others. Formula 1 races in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were canceled and rumors swirled around whether future WWE events could be held in the kingdom.
Roman Reigns celebrates his win during WWE’s Royal Rumble at Riyadh Season Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Jan. 31, 2026. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
As the Trump administration brokered a ceasefire with Iran, WWE announced on Thursday that its Night of Champions premium live event will be held in Riyadh on June 27.
“We are proud to welcome Night of Champions back to Riyadh and look forward to delivering another unforgettable night of WWE action for fans in the Kingdom and around the world,” General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Al-Sheikh said in a news release.
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Sami Zayn makes his entrance during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
The release touted that WrestleMania 43 will still be held in Riyadh in 2027. It will be the first time that WrestleMania is held outside the U.S.
WWE president Nick Khan was adamant before WrestleMania 42 that the event will still take place in Saudi Arabia despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
“We’re doing WrestleMania next year in Saudi,” he said at a Sports Business Journal event, via The Sporting Tribune. “First time ever, WrestleMania will be outside the United States or Canada. And we’ve had a big, fruitful partnership with them.”
John Cena wrestles CM Punk during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
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He added that those complaining about WrestleMania being held in Saudi Arabia were a “vocal minority.”
Thousand-dollar tickets and hundreds of dollars in fees shocked some hopeful Olympic fans this month, but they did not keep LA28 from boasting strong sales in the committee’s first ticket drop.
LA28 announced Thursday that it sold more than 4 million Olympic tickets during the first ticket drop. The private organizing committee will have a second ticket drop in August with “refreshed inventory across all Olympic sports at a range of price points.”
But after the popularity of the first purchasing period, many of the lower-priced tickets have already been scooped up.
LA28 said roughly half of the total 1 million $28 tickets were sold during the locals presale, which was limited to people living near venue cities in Southern California and Oklahoma City.
The average price per Olympic ticket is less than $200, which includes a mandatory 24% service fee, and LA28 said about 75% of all tickets, including final events, will be under $400. The premier seats at high-demand events command more than $1,000 per ticket, but the highest priced categories make up about 5% of the total ticket inventory.
Artistic gymnastics sold out the quickest in Drop 1. Four new Olympic sports — flag football, lacrosse, softball and squash — sold all their available inventory for the first drop. After five days of local presale, global ticket sales opened and drew fans from 85 countries and all 50 states and U.S. territories. The largest international sales came from the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico and Japan.
For the first female-majority Olympic Games, LA28 reported that women’s Olympic sessions outsold men’s 93% to 88% during the first drop.
“The response to our initial on-sale was nothing short of historic. Fans from near and far have spoken: the world wants to be part of the LA28 Games,” LA28 chief executive officer Reynold Hoover said in a statement. “The success of Drop 1 is about more than momentum — it reflects LA28’s commitment to delivering a fiscally responsible Games that create a lasting legacy for Los Angeles and its communities.”
Drop 2, which will begin in August, will have additional tickets across all Olympic sports, including those that may have sold out during the first purchasing windows. The registration period for Drop 2 opened Thursday and will continue until July 22. Fans who registered for the first drop of tickets but did not receive a time slot and fans who did not buy their maximum 12 general ticket allotment will automatically be entered into the random lottery Drop 2. The new registration period is only required for anybody who did not sign up for the initial drop.
Fans are still limited to 12 Olympic tickets and up to 12 soccer tickets that don’t count toward the general maximum. There is a four ticket per ceremony limit for the opening and closing ceremony that count toward the 12-ticket maximum, which is cumulative across all LA28 presales and ticket drops.
LA28 will have multiple ticket drops with assigned purchasing time slots before ticket sales move to a first-come, first-served format closer to the Games, which open on July 14, 2028. LA28 began its ticketing process earlier than most other Olympic Games with tickets going on sale more than two years in advance of the opening ceremony. The early timeline has created excitement for the first Summer Olympics in the United States since Atlanta 1996, but also prompted concerns about scheduling. Fans clamored for tickets with little information about which teams or athletes would be competing in most sessions.
Tickets are not refundable, but fans can opt for verified resale when LA28 launches its official resale system in 2027. AXS and Eventim is the official secondary ticket marketplace of the LA28 Games and Ticketmaster and Sports Illustrated Tickets have also signed on as additional verified resale platforms.
LA28 will have 14 million tickets available for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which would eclipse the record of 12 million tickets sold for the Paris Games. Paris 2024 sold an about 9.5 million tickets for the Olympics, but used a different ticket system than LA28. For Paris, 3.5 million tickets were sold during the first phase, during which fans were required to buy tickets to at least three different sports instead of the option for single-event tickets available during LA28’s Drop 1 process.
Tickets for the 2028 Paralympics, which will be the first in L.A.’s history, will go on sale in 2027. Ticket sales and hospitality are expected to cover about $2.5 billion of LA28’s expected $7.1 billion budget for the first Games in L.A. in more than 40 years.
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An envoy for President Donald Trump has reportedly asked FIFA to replace Iran with Italy in the 2026 World Cup this summer.
The Financial Times reported the plan is an effort to repair the relationship between Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, which soured after the former’s comments against Pope Leo XIV regarding the war with Iran.
United States special envoy Paolo Zampolli suggested the idea to FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
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President Donald Trump receives the FIFA Peace Prize from FIFA President Gianni Infantino during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 5, 2025. (Emilee Chinn/FIFA)
“I confirm I have suggested to Trump and Infantino that Italy replace Iran at the World Cup. I’m an Italian native, and it would be a dream to see the Azzurri at a U.S.-hosted tournament,” Zampolli told the outlet. “With four titles, they have the pedigree to justify inclusion.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Fox News Digital.
Italy had a chance to be in the World Cup already, but it lost in a penalty shootout to Bosnia and Herzegovina in a qualifying playoff final.
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Italy became the first World Cup-winning team to miss three consecutive tournaments after the 4-1 penalty shootout loss earlier this month.
“We still don’t believe it that we’re out and that it happened in this manner,” Italy’s Leonardo Spinazzola told reporters at the time, according to the New York Post.
“It’s upsetting for everyone. For us, for our families and for all the kids who have never seen Italy at a World Cup.”
While Zampolli told Infantino about his proposed plan, FIFA’s president said Iran “for sure” will play in the World Cup despite the conflict involving the U.S.
Mehdi Taremi of Iran celebrates after scoring a goal during a 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers Group A game against Uzbekistan at Azadi Stadium in Tehran March 25, 2025. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu)
“The Iranian team is coming, for sure,” Infantino said during the CNBC Invest in America Forum earlier this month in Washington, D.C.
“We hope that, by then, of course, the situation will be a peaceful situation. That would definitely help. But Iran has to come, of course. They represent their people. They have qualified. The players want to play.”
Infantino visited the Iranian national team in Turkey, which is where it has its training camp.
All three of Iran’s group stage games are scheduled to be played in the U.S. That remains the case after Iranian government officials suggested to FIFA that their games be moved to Mexico because they could not travel to the U.S.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum revealed FIFA’s rejection of Iran’s request, and it is insisting Iran play where it’s scheduled — SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, and Lumen Field in Seattle. Iran said earlier this month it would only decide on its team’s participation once it heard from FIFA regarding its relocation request.
Iran is scheduled to play at SoFi Stadium against New Zealand June 16 to begin its tournament. It will also play Belgium at the stadium before finishing group play against Mo Salah and Egypt in Seattle June 26.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino attends an international friendly between Mexico and Portugal at Banorte Stadium in Mexico City March 28, 2026. (Antonio Torres/FIFA/Getty Images)
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Trump wrote in a Truth Social post last month that Iran would be welcome to compete in the World Cup as scheduled, though it might not be “appropriate” considering the conflict.
“The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup, but I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety,” he wrote.
Trump also told Politico, “I really don’t care,” when asked about Iran’s participation in the tournament. Infantino, who has a strong relationship with Trump, said Trump has “reiterated” to him that the U.S. welcomes Iran’s team to compete.
Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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