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Caitlin Clark takes key step toward Fever return after month-long absence

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Caitlin Clark takes key step toward Fever return after month-long absence

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Caitlin Clark has been unable to get back on the court with the Indiana Fever, but she presumably took an important step to making that happen. 

Clark, who has been out since July 15 with a nagging groin injury, was spotted doing some light work at shootaround on Sunday before her Fever teammates took on the Minnesota Lynx. 

Now, head coach Stephanie White says Clark hasn’t officially returned to Fever practice, but taking part in shootaround drills is a step in the right direction. 

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FILE –  Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) plays against the Dallas Wings in the second half of a WNBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024.  (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

“It was a good step because she got out there on the floor with us for the first time, part of the sort of return to activity thing,” White told the Indy Star. 

White added that Clark’s role was “very low, low-maintenance” and “low intensity,” as they certainly don’t want to reaggravate her injury. 

CAITLIN CLARK’S RETURN TO FEVER LINEUP REMAINS MYSTERY

“I think just getting her back out there, getting her comfortable, and see where she goes.”

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The drill that Clark participated in, after going through what’s considered dynamic warmups, was non-contact and low impact. 

With seven games remaining in the Fever’s regular season, they’re hoping to remain in playoff position. They are currently 19-17, which is good for the No. 6 seed. Only the top eight seeds make the playoffs. 

Caitlin Clark on the bench

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) reacts to a call from the referee Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025, during the game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

And while it goes without saying what Clark can provide once she returns to the court, it’s almost imperative if Indiana wishes to make a run, as several other key pieces are out for the year with injury. 

The latest blow was Sophie Cunningham, the new Fever star who tore her MCL this past Sunday during a game against the Connecticut Sun. There were also guards Sydney Colson (torn ACL) and Aari McDonald (foot fracture) who both suffered season-ending injuries.   

That is three guards all out for the year, so the Fever are borderline desperate to get their superstar back if they can hold playoff position. 

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Clark, who also suffered a bone bruise in her left ankle on Aug. 7, has played just 13 games this year for the Fever. She dealt with a quad strain earlier in the year before suffering her current ailments. 

Caitlin Clark looks on court smiling

Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever walks on the court before a game against the Minnesota Lynx at Target Center on August 24, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  (Ellen Schmidt/Getty Images)

Clark averaged 16.5 points, 8.8 assists and five rebounds over 31.1 minutes per game in those which she played this season. 

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Buccaneers bring back 464-pound defensive lineman Desmond Watson

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Buccaneers bring back 464-pound defensive lineman Desmond Watson

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers re-signed defensive tackle Desmond Watson and added him to the practice squad as the team prepares to take on the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 4.

Watson, the 464-pound rookie defensive lineman out of Florida, failed to make the 53-man roster in the preseason. He was forced to the sideline as he failed to meet the conditioning requirements to take the field. He was considered to be the heaviest player in NFL history.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive lineman Desmond Watson (56) warms up during the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Rookie Mini Camp workout on May 9, 2025 at the AdventHealth Training Center in Tampa, Florida. (Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said on Monday that Watson had a “good workout” when the team brought him in last week.

The Buccaneers will look to try to find a way to stop the Eagles’ tush push, which has come under the spotlight in the last few weeks as it appeared some players had been jumping before the ball was snapped to Jalen Hurts.

Bowles said Watson wasn’t just being brought in as the answer to the tush push.

“We’ll never bring him in just to stop a tush push. If we’ve got to bring in a guy to stop one play and the tush push never comes up, you’re wasting your time,” Bowles said. “If we bring him in, we think he can play, not just for a Philadelphia thing. 

Desmond Watson looks on

Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Desmond Watson watches from the sideline during practice at NFL football training camp, Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Tampa, Fla.  (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

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“It’s very unlikely he’d be ready to play, once we bring him in, for Philadelphia right now anyway. It’s just a matter of us making room and seeing if we have a place for him, and then what we see for him in the future.”

The 6-foot-6 defensive tackle was working with a nutritionist during the summer. The team didn’t say what an ideal weight for him would be.

Watson spoke about his weight gain to reporters earlier this year. He said he would consistently stop off to get food while at Florida.

“Stopping while driving,” Watson said when asked about bad habits he’s tried to shed at his pro day. “My biggest thing is keep going, get to where I need to get. There are stores and a lot of temptations. That’s helped me immensely.

Desmond Watson warms up

Tampa Bay Buccaneers nose tackle Desmond Watson (56) runs a drill during the NFL football team’s rookie minicamp Friday, May 9, 2025, in Tampa, Florida. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

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“Don’t go inside the gas station. Pay at the pump. Because inside it’s snacks and all types of things like that. Don’t pull over. If you’re on the highway, stay on the highway until you get where you’ve got to go.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Prep talk: Another day, another life saved by high school athletic trainer

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Prep talk: Another day, another life saved by high school athletic trainer

For those high schools in California that still don’t have an athletic trainer, what happened last week at San Clemente High was another reason why they are so valuable for the safety reasons. And also proven was the requirement that coaches be certified in CPR every two years.

As a soccer class was ending last Thursday, an assistant coach fell to the ground. Head coach Chris Murray thought he tripped. Then he looked into his eyes, which appeared dilated, and saw that his face was purple. While a football coach nearby was calling 911, Murray began chest compressions.

Athletic trainer Amber Anaya received a text in her office that said, “Emergency.” She got into her golf cart that contained her automated external defibrilator (AED) machine and raced to the field within two minutes. She determined the coach was in cardiac arrest.

While Anaya hooked up her AED machine to the coach, Murray continued chest compressions. The AED machine evaluated the patient and recommended one shock. This went on for some seven minutes until paramedics arrived. Another shock was given after the paramedics took over.

The coach was transported to a hospital and survived. He would receive a pacemaker. It was a happy ending thanks to people who knew what to do in case of an emergency.

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Last school year, the Culver City athletic trainer helped save a track athlete who went into cardiac arrest.

Murray said what he did was based on instincts and adrenaline. As soon as the ambulance left, he said he collapsed to his knee exhausted.

“His ribs are sore but not broken,” Murray said, “so I guess I did good.”

All the preparation in case of an emergency was put to good use by the coach trained in CPR and the athletic trainer who knew how to use an AED machine.

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

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Police investigating USA Cycling incident as footage of organizers' interaction with activist goes viral

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Police investigating USA Cycling incident as footage of organizers' interaction with activist goes viral

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Police in Livermore, California, are investigating an incident that occurred at a USA Cycling event on Sunday, when organizers were seen berating a women’s sports activist who was inquiring about sex tests.

“At the moment, we are looking into the matter and are in the process of reviewing our report and video footage,” a Livermore Police Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

Footage of the interaction at USA Cycling’s Oakland Grand Prix has gone viral in recent days. 

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Beth Bourne, a California activist known to oppose biological male athletes in women’s and girls’ sports, was seen in the footage asking organizers if the women’s competitors at the event had been sex-tested to prove they were not male. One organizer was then seen approaching Bourne and covering her camera, saying, “We have policies in place. You can stop filming me.” 

Bourne was then heard saying, “Give me my phone!” 

The footage then showed Bourne walking away from that organizer in a panic before another organizer came up behind her to shout, “Hey! Get the f— out of here!” 

Bourne told Fox News Digital that the incident was “emotional.”

“It was so unexpected. I have an idea that we’re going to have people maybe calling us names, or maybe calling us TERFs, which we’ve had, maybe even grabbing our signs. But to have somebody come up from behind me, before I even, I hadn’t even gotten a sign out, I had just asked two or three questions, so that shocked me, I was scared,” Bourne said. 

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“I was actually terrified, I was terrified that this person might really, really hurt me.” 

Additional footage of the incident showed the same organizer who yelled in Bourne’s face later putting a pizza box in front of her face, covering the view of Bourne’s camera, then picking up her protest signs and throwing them in the garbage. 

Bourne alleged that the organizer told her, “Your God isn’t going to protect you.”

“‘You’re just a hateful, awful person’” he told Bourne, she alleged. “And then he grabs all my signs and takes them and puts them in the trash can next to the start and finish area. And like that’s insane to me, that someone would grab someone’s property and throw it in the trash can, and it would be the race organizer himself.” 

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Fox News Digital has reached out to USA Cycling for comment, but has not received a response. 

The same event also drew scrutiny for another viral video of transgender cyclist Chelsea Wolfe telling protesters, “Go suck a sawed-off shotgun,” “You’re a Nazi piece of s—,” and “We kill Nazis.” 

Chelsea Wolfe of Team USA competes in the women’s final during the BMX Freestyle World Cup on Dec. 11, 2022, in Gold Coast, Australia.  (Matt Roberts/Getty Images)

Wolfe, a former Team USA alternate in women’s BMX who previously said the athlete wanted to win an Olympic medal to “burn the American flag,” took to social media to share multiple posts celebrating Charlie Kirk’s assassination last week.

“We did it!” Wolfe wrote in an Instagram Story sharing a report on the assassination last Wednesday.

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Police in Livermore, California are investigating an incident at a USA Cycling event where a 'protect women's sports' protester was berated by organizers.

Police in Livermore, California are investigating an incident at a USA Cycling event where a ‘protect women’s sports’ protester was berated by organizers. (Getty Images, Courtesy of Beth Bourne)

USA Cycling provided a statement to Fox News Digital addressing Wolfe’s posts. 

“The views of current and former national team athletes are their own and do not reflect those of USA Cycling. Chelsea Wolfe has not been a member of the USA Cycling National Team or a member of USA Cycling since 2023,” the statement read. 

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