The Caitlin Clark effect has paid off in a big way for the Indiana Fever and women’s basketball. 

Pacers Sports & Entertainment unveiled its $78 million plan to build a “world-class” performance center in downtown Indianapolis exclusively for its WNBA team, which is expected to open before the start of the 2027 season. 

“We are excited to partner with Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett to identify the perfect location for the Indiana Fever Sports Performance Center,” PS&E Owner Herb Simon said in a statement. “The city of Indianapolis continues to be a tremendous partner as we elevate our team, players and community.”

The 108,000-square-foot practice center will be connected to the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where both the Fever and the Indiana Pacers play, and construction is expected to begin in August 2025. 

According to a press release from the team, the design of the center will be geared toward “the specific needs of female athletes competing at the highest level, including performance and conditioning, recovery and rehabilitation, mental health and wellness and lifestyle support.”

“This elite training center is a reflection of our organization’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that our players have the highest level of resources to be successful,” Indiana Fever president of basketball and business operations Kelly Krauskopf said in a statement provided by the team. 

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) shoots as the Dallas Wings’ Jacy Sheldon (4) and Natasha Howard, right, defend in the first half of a WNBA game Sept. 1, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

EX-NOTRE DAME COACH OPENS UP ON CAITLIN CLARK BACKING OUT OF COMMITMENT: ‘I MAY STILL BE COACHING IF SHE CAME’

“As we look to the future, the focus of creating a first-class player experience designed exclusively for women athletes will set us apart.”

The new center will have two regulation courts, a full-service kitchen and areas dedicated to yoga and Pilates. In addition, the team said other features incorporated into the design include “a hair and nail salon, child care space and podcast and content production studio to support player lifestyles.” 

The Fever have their own standalone training center at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, which was last renovated in 2020. 

Clark’s historic rookie season generated record numbers for the WNBA, both in viewership and attendance. For the first time in league history, the league announced full-time charter flights for all its teams in May, which were projected to cost around $25 million per year for the next two seasons.

Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever reacts after a 3-pointer during the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse Aug. 16, 2024, in Indianapolis. (Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

Las Vegas, Seattle and Phoenix have all opened new training centers in the last few years, and Chicago has one under construction.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Jared Verse spent three years of high school in Pennsylvania.

So the Rams rookie edge rusher knows all about the Philadelphia Eagles, his team’s opponent Sunday in an NFC divisional-round playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field.

Was Verse an Eagles fan?

“I hate Eagles fans,” Verse told The Times on Thursday. “They’re so annoying. I hate Eagles fans.”

Verse repeated the phrase multiple times. And the front-runner for NFL rookie defensive player of the year did so with passion evident in his pass rushing.

Verse noted that when the Rams played the Eagles in November at SoFi Stadium, Eagles fans in attendance gave him an earful of obscenities that he could make out despite wearing headphones.

“I didn’t even do nothing to ‘em,” he said, “It was my first time playing. Oh, I hate Eagles fans.”

The Eagles’ uniform colors also are apparently triggering.

“When I see that green and white I hate it,” he said. “I actually get upset. Like I actually genuinely get hot.”

Verse, however, added he would be disciplined Sunday, stay on his assignments and contribute to a Rams defense that must control running back Saquon Barkley if coach Sean McVay’s team is to avenge its 37-20 defeat to the Eagles and advance to the NFC championship game.

In November, Barkley amassed 302 total yards against the Rams, including 255 yards rushing, and scored on runs of 72 and 70 yards. The Rams were out of position to make tackles and also missed Barkley multiple times.

Verse acknowledged his role in the debacle. Several times, he said, opportunities to limit Barkley to a short gain went awry and resulted in long runs because he tried to do too much.

“I just didn’t take advantage of them,” he said. “I left my feet.”

In the seven games since, Verse said he has improved in that regard.

In last Monday’s 27-9 wild-card victory over the Minnesota Vikings, the 6-foot-4, 260-pound Verse showed how fleet he was on his feet.

The former high school sprinter scooped a fumble by quarterback Sam Darnold and dashed 57 yards for a touchdown. NFL’s Next Gen Stats clocked Verse at 19.88 mph

“I’ve been trying to show coach McVay that I can play wide receiver or running back — whatever he needs me to do,” Verse said.

Verse, the 19th player chosen in the 2024 draft, said whenever he recovered a fumble in college an opposing player tackled him before he could run.

Against the Vikings, Verse had a clear path to the end zone.

“I was like, if I got five yards, then nobody is catching me, I’m like gone,” he said. “So once I got my five in, like it’s over with. So I was just trying to see how fast I could get.”

Verse is one of the top players for a young Rams defensive front that is excelling in the post-Aaron Donald era. Against the Vikings, the Rams tied an NFL postseason record with nine sacks.

Verse has 4½ sacks and was among the league leaders this season in quarterback pressures.

On Sunday, he once again goes up against an Eagles line that features two-time All-Pro right tackle Lane Johnson and left tackle Jordan Mailata.

In the first game between the teams, Verse created a viral moment when he ran over the 6-8, 366-pound Mailata.

“I remember when I got flat-backed,” Mailata told Philadelphia reporters this week. “It was a good rush by him.

“The guy plays with a high motor. I think he plays well, he plays hard. He’s got some great moves. … To be fair, I got a couple on him too. Good on good.”

Verse continues to bull rush and remains exceptionally quick at the snap, Johnson said.

“He plays hard, really has come along in the run game too,” Johnson told Philadelphia reporters. “He’s just one of those players that’s obviously really talented. The more experience he gets, the better he’s going to become.”

Verse, the only Rams player selected to the Pro Bowl Games, is expected to be among the postseason award finalists in New Orleans during Super Bowl week.

But he aims to be playing in the big game.

“I’ve never been focused on the results of anything,” he said when asked about awards talk. “If I do what I’m supposed to do, everything else will come with it.

“This year, I might be in the conversation of winning that prestigious award — and I’m happy to be in that conversation.

“Next year, it’s trying to be in a bigger conversation. But that comes with work.”

Progress toward that goal continues Sunday when Verse plays against the Eagles — and in front of their fans — in their home stadium.

“I’m going to go crazy,” he said, adding that he would play within his role. “It’s going to be something.”

Etc.

The Rams designated inside linebacker Troy Reeder and defensive lineman Larrell Murchison to return to practice from injured reserve. … Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon (thigh) and defensive lineman Bobby Brown III (shoulder) did not practice and tight end Tyler Higbee (chest) was limited. McVay said he expected that all would play Sunday.

Michael Olise does not like shin pads.

So much so that when the France winger was being brought on for Leroy Sane during Bayern Munich’s 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League in November, he was not wearing any.

This was spotted by the game’s fourth official Florin Andrei, who instructed the 23-year-old to put some on. Olise reluctantly tucked some into his socks before slinging them out again when officials looked away.

As Michael Olise prepared to come off the bench for Bayern in their Champions League game vs. PSG, he appeared to have a brief exchange with the fourth official.

Moments later, Olise was seen putting his shinpads into his socks, but then slyly removed his left guard and tossed… pic.twitter.com/ep0mqMLG79

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 28, 2024

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The International Football Association Board (IFAB) laws of the game state that shin pads must be worn by all players. There are no specific rules regarding size but Law 4 states that they “must be made of a suitable material and be of an appropriate size to provide reasonable protection, and be covered by the socks”.

For years, many footballers have been playing fast and loose with their interpretation of the rules. The low socks and micro shin pads trend made cool by the likes of Manchester City’s Jack Grealish and Chelsea’s Lauren James has become vastly popular in recent years.

“I don’t wear shin pads,” Olise told a fan who tried to gift him a pair recently, although the PSG incident may have been a one-off, with the 23-year-old usually spotted wearing shin protection in matches.

The former Crystal Palace player is not the only professional footballer who would prefer to enter games shin pad free if it was up to him.

“I don’t really like wearing shin pads — we never wear shin pads in the training,” former Sheffield United striker Oli McBurnie told The Athletic in November. “I want to feel how I train every day, so I wear normal socks. I cut my socks and roll them down, and then have little bits of foam that I put in like padding just to feel as comfortable.”

Manchester City’s Jack Grealish is an infamous tiny shin pad wearer (Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)

Sam Weller Widdowson is credited with inventing shin pads back in 1874. He was a cricketer as well as a footballer for Nottingham Forest, later becoming the club’s chairman and a player once capped by England. It is said that Weller Widdowson cut down a pair of cricket pads and started wearing them to protect him during football matches, and that his idea soon caught on.

Shin guards in sport have been heavily influenced by greaves, an ancient armour fashioned by soldiers dating back to the Bronze Age that protected the shinbone, which has little but skin to protect it.

It was in 1990 when FIFA (making use of IFAB’s laws) ruled that shin guards must be worn by all players in every game. Before that, players could pick and choose whether they protected their shins and ankles. Back then, shin guards were clunky and protected both a player’s ankle as well as their shin.

Custom-made Diadora shin pads made for Roma’s Francesco Totti in 2006, which now appear thoroughly retro by modern standards (Giuseppe Cacace/Getty Images)

They have slimmed down somewhat in the past three decades. Now players can source credit card — or, if you like, biscuit-sized shin guards. This trend has become a worry for grassroots football clubs, some of whom have now sought to enforce bans on young players wearing them.

Penistone Church, a team from Barnsley in South Yorkshire, made headlines last August when they put a ban in place after a 15-year-old player named Alfie suffered a double leg break when getting into a challenge while wearing miniature shin pads.

“It’s not worth the extra bit of speed to have you knocked out of football for months and months. It’s not worth the risk,” Alfie told the BBC after a 50-50 tackle left him nursing a broken tibia and fibular. The shin pads the teen was wearing at the time of the tackle measured just 3cm (1.1in) by 9cm (3.5in).

@officialbhafc The world’s smallest shin pad… 🤣 #BHAFC #AFC #PL ♬ original sound – Brighton & Hove Albion FC

Warrington Town defender Peter Clarke is 25 games away from reaching his 1,000th senior appearance since his Everton debut in the Premier League in January 2001. At 42 years of age, he says he can remember the cumbersome and bulky shin pads of the late 80s, 90s and early 2000s, with their built-in ankle protectors and velcro straps. And while he wears smaller guards than the ones he started his career with, plenty of on-pitch experiences have ensured that he has never downsized too much.

“The ones I wear now are carbon fibre and they have chips and scratches in which, when I look at them, I’m glad to be wearing them,” the centre-back, who also played for Huddersfield Town, Oldham Athletic and Tranmere Rovers, says.

“Twenty years ago, tackles would fly in a lot more. I remember going into a full-blown tackle and getting hit on the shin. As the game wore on, I realised there was blood on my sock — the studs had gone right through the shin pad and left a two-inch cut down my shin. It is a contact sport and it is wise to be well protected rather than wearing the smallest shin pads possible.”

Shin pads are designed to protect players’ legs during moments of impact (VI Images via Getty Images)

His longevity means Clarke is playing in the National League North alongside team-mates at Warrington who were born after he made his first professional appearance. What does he think is the reason that more players are opting for tiny shin pads these days?

“I don’t like the feel of them slipping around, so I wear sleeves to prevent that,” Clarke says. “Whether it is that or whether it is how an individual looks when they are playing; but I’m not sure a seven-inch piece of plastic or carbon fibre is going to slow an individual down that much. I’m not entirely sure but things have certainly changed and it is not for the best in terms of player safety.”

Clarke estimates he has used five or six pairs of shin pads throughout a career that has spanned more than 25 years and saw him defend against Thierry Henry (then of Arsenal) and Cristiano Ronaldo (then of Manchester United). He makes sure his daughter and son wear adequately-sized shin pads for their own protection when playing and encourages others to do the same.

While he has opted for plainer efforts, his children have customised guards with pictures of themselves and their family on. That is something a lot of players at all levels are opting for now, with some elite players even having pictures of just themselves on their own shin pads.

Cristiano Ronaldo wore shin pads at Euro 2024 featuring images of his nearest and dearest (Marcus Brandt/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Manchester City and Brazil goalkeeper Ederson, and Crystal Palace and France striker Jean-Philippe Mateta are among those who do take to the pitch with images of their own faces tucked inside their socks.

For every Luka Modric, who wears one with photos of himself playing for Croatia and winning the Champions League with Real Madrid and the other of his wife and children, which he often kisses before stepping onto the pitch, there’s a Declan Rice who prefers to keep things simple with plain shock-absorbing material guards.

Luka Modric gives his shin pad a kiss for luck (David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)

England and Arsenal striker Alessia Russo has a selfie with her parents printed at the bottom of hers and above is an image of her iconic backheel nutmeg goal against Sweden at the European Championship in 2022, which was nominated for the Puskas award that same year.

Arsenal and England striker Alessia Russo’s shin pads (Molly Darlington – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

For players, shin pads can serve not just as protection but as positive homages to help psych themselves up before a game. 

Former Real Madrid striker Joselu wore a picture of a dog on his shin guards for a Champions League quarter-final last season (Gonzalo Arroyo – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

Some footballers opt to have their shin guards specially fitted. When former Wales international Gareth Bale was at Real Madrid, he wore a pair made by Podoactiva, a Biotechnology company that specialises in podiatry and biomechanics. It also designs custom-fitted insoles for players’ boots.

Ultimately, shin pads are there to protect players from serious injury but have also become a fashion statement — and, believe it or not, some shin pads are now supporting some players in sourcing moves in the transfer window.

Italy and Lazio striker Martina Piemonte moved from AC Milan to Everton in 2023 and put the transfer to the Women’s Super League in part down to the data her XSEED shin guards, created by Italian analytics company Soccerment, helped her collect during matches.

Aldo Comi is co-founder and CEO of the wearable technology company who have been fine-tuning their artificially intelligent shin guards since the product’s official launch in 2022. They now have approximately 3,000 players wearing XSEED and using the adjacent app, which allows players to interpret their own data. As brand ambassador, Inter Milan full-back Federico Dimarco is one of the more high-profile male footballers wearing the shin guards.

“We try to give the player ownership of their data so that they can use it to improve, to be faster and better, but then also to gain visibility,” Comi says. Soccerment’s shin pads measure a player’s speed, sprints, shots, crosses, passes and more. They also became the first wearable technology to provide expected goals (xG) metrics.

Soccerment’s ‘connected’ shin pads on display at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in 2020 (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

Soccerment recently spent six days in California at the Major League Soccer youth tournament MLS NEXT Fest. “For six days, we datafied the 35 matches and more than 220 players,” Comi explains. “And basically, what we did there was create a scouting platform at the event.”

Comi says they were able to create a data breakdown in order to scout players (one of their goals is to create a worldwide scouting platform from this data) who outperformed their peers in various areas. The company has noticed the recent trend in shrinking shin guards, though, particularly among youth players — and are already reacting to it.

“The past two years, the trend has been having smaller and smaller shin guards. In some cases, players don’t even wear them,” he says. “You can see a lot of professional footballers are faking it by using these little sponges underneath their socks which, in my view, is dangerous. What we need to do (at Soccerment) is respond to this trend, which is why we are working on resizing our shin guards and making them smaller and lighter.”

Former Blackpool inside forward Allan Brown, pictured in 1953, shows shin pads as they once were (Allsport UK/Getty Images)

But Soccerment is first off focused on creating shin guards that — before capturing data and protecting the technology within each pad — protect the player.

“We wanted to have them certified as a protective equipment and that is why we had to select the premium materials. For example, we went for a copolymer, which is also used in the aerospace sector for its ability to absorb shocks. It’s been expensive for us but it makes the shin guards really protective.

“And that should be the main purpose of a shin guard: to protect your shins.”

(Top photo: Pau Barrena/Getty Images; design: Dan Goldfarb)