Sports
Sparks hire current University of Utah coach Lynne Roberts to fill head coaching job
The Sparks have named longtime University of Utah coach Lynne Roberts their new head coach, becoming the second WNBA team to tap a current college coach to lead their franchise.
Roberts, a Redding native, has 27 years of coaching experience. She has spent the past 18 years as a Division I coach, most recently working at Utah for nine seasons and earning 2023 Pac-12 coach of the year honors.
She inherits a roster that was hit hard by injuries last season while pushing to rebuild around young talent. Cameron Brink, the No. 2 pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, suffered a torn ACL in June. Rickea Jackson, the 2024 draft No. 4 pick, paired with former Las Vegas Aces standout Dearica Hamby to help lead the Sparks through a rough 2024 season that the franchise closed with an 8-24 overall record.
After missing the playoffs for a franchise-worst fourth consecutive season and setting records for defeats, the team fired coach Curt Miller and promised better results.
“Lynne is an outstanding coach and leader,” Sparks governor and managing partner Eric Holoman said in a news release. “We are thrilled to bring her decades of winning coaching experience to our organization. Through our comprehensive international search, Lynne’s modern view of basketball, her communication skills, and ability to build relationships made her the right choice for the role.”
Sparks general manager Raegan Pebley lauded Roberts’ skills creating a winning culture.
“Lynne has a dynamic and forward-thinking offensive mind, and her up-tempo style fits perfectly with the way we want to play,” Pebley said. “We love how she maximized her talent at Utah in one of the nation’s strongest conferences. We are honored to welcome Lynne and her family to Los Angeles.”
Roberts took over the Utah program in 2015, going 18-15 in her first year after the Utes posted a 9-21 record the previous season. She led Utah to the Sweet 16 in 2023 after winning the Pac-12 regular-season championship. Her teams spent 40 consecutive weeks ranked in the top 25. Average home attendance during Roberts’ tenure spiked from 594 to 7,209 fans per game. At Utah, Roberts coached 2024 No. 8 overall draft pick Alissa Pili and 2019 third-round selection Megan Huff.
“I am honored to be named the next head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks,” Roberts said. “I want to thank our ownership group for this incredible opportunity. From conversations with Eric Holoman and Reagan Pebley, it is evident that we share a like-minded commitment toward creating a winning culture and team. The Sparks have a talented roster with tremendous upside, and we will compete tirelessly for WNBA championships. I believe Los Angeles should be the premier market in the WNBA, and I’m eager to partner with our players and front office to make this happen.”
Roberts’ basketball career began in Redding, where she was a guard on the Enterprise High basketball team. She was the 1993 Northern Section player of the year before playing at Seattle Pacific University, setting a school record with 82 made three-pointers in a season.
Roberts began her coaching career as a student assistant at Seattle Pacific while earning her master’s degree, serving as a Falcons assistant coach from 1997-2002. She then led Division II Chico State, posting an 86-31 record. The Wildcats made the NCAA tournament all four seasons Roberts coached them, advancing to the Final Four in 2006.
From 2006-2015, Roberts led the Pacific Tigers, earning 2013 Big West coach of the year, the 2012-13 regular-season championship and WNIT bids during each of her final four seasons.
The Sparks learned earlier this week they have the No. 2 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft, falling short of getting the No. 1 slot they were favored to land in the lottery.
Roberts is the second current college coach to earn a WNBA job, with Florida Gulf Coast coach Karl Smesko landing the Atlanta Dream job.
Washington, Connecticut and Dallas are still working to fill coaching vacancies.
Sports
Chiefs and Browns make first trade of 2026 draft and both eventually fill needs
The Cleveland Browns, rumored to be willing to trade down from their No. 6 overall selection in the 2026 NFL draft, did just that Thursday evening when the traded the pick to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Cleveland traded the sixth overall pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft to the Chiefs, in exchange for the ninth overall pick, as well as pick No. 74 in the third round and No. 148 in the fifth round.
The Browns now hold the No. 9 and No. 24 picks in the first round of the draft. They have a total of 11 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns watch from the sidelines during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 7, 2025. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
So the Chiefs gave up three picks in making the first trade of the first round.
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And we know what the fan bases of both clubs were thinking prior to the selection:
Chiefs fans were thinking we know something they don’t. And then the Chiefs selected cornerback Mansoor Delane from LSU — a move no doubt forced by the club’s trade of Pro Bowl cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams earlier in the offseason.
So, the Chiefs fill a major need, assuming Delane is indeed the quality corner they believe.
LSU Tigers CB Mansoor Delane celebrates a defensive stop against the Clemson Tigers at Memorial Stadium in South Carolina. (Ken Ruinard/USA TODAY Network)
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ESPN’s Mel Kiper didn’t like the pick, by the way. He had Delane as the 14th best player in the draft.
“It was a necessity,” ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, a former NFL defensive back, responded.
Browns fans weren’t thinking that way.
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They were probably thinking something akin to “We screwed up.”
This is understandable because they’re Browns fans and this could have been the Browns Browning.
Well, the Browns, moving down three slots, gave up a shot to draft linebacker Sonny Styles of Ohio State to the Washington Commanders, receiver Jordyn Tyson to the New Orleans Saints and then the Browns got their chance with the newly acquired No. 9 pick:
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Offensive tackle Spencer Fano of Utah.
Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Ind., on Feb. 24, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
Fano is good. And he makes the Browns offensive line instantly better because he’s going to likely start at left tackle for them.
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So what will Browns fans think of this pick?
They’ll probably wonder why the Browns didn’t pick Miami’s Francis Mauigoa, who went with the No. 10 pick to the New York Giants and promised “to die for” Jaxson Dart if necessary. They’ll wonder this because Browns fans expect the worst.
Sports
Defending champion UCLA women’s basketball lands top transfer, continues roster overhaul
UCLA women’s basketball team has added some star power as its revamped roster begins to take shape.
Former Iowa State forward Addy Brown announced Thursday she is committing to UCLA, giving the Bruins one of the top players in the portal.
Brown averaged 11.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 43.1% from the floor and 33.8% from three-point distance with the Cyclones last season. She played just 21 games due to injury, but she is one of the better two-way players in the nation on the transfer market.
The 6-foot-2 forward co-starred with Audi Crooks for Iowa State the past few seasons and was a part of the mass exodus from the Cyclones’ program.
The Bruins reeled in former North Carolina junior guard Elina Aarnisalo and former Texas Christian senior guard Donovyn Hunter a few weeks ago, adding two more experienced players to the depleted starting lineup after a record six UCLA players were selected in the WNBA draft.
UCLA also signed Arkansas sophomore guard Bonnie Deas earlier this month. She is likely to start at point guard for the Bruins and is one of the best rebounding guards in the nation.
Along with returner Timea Gardiner, the Bruins are starting to form somewhat of a core to defend their national championship. Gardiner was a starter during UCLA’s 2024-25 Final Four run, but missed all of this past season with injury and has one season of eligibility left.
A lineup with Deas and Aarnisalo in the backcourt, Hunter at the three and Gardiner or Brown at the four and adding another big or Sienna Betts at the five would be a competitive lineup in the Big Ten.
Before going to TCU, Hunter played two seasons at Oregon State where she earned All-Pac-12 Defensive Team honorable mention and All-Pac-12 Freshman team honors. This past season with a Horned Frogs team that went to the Sweet 16, she was third in scoring with 10.2 points per game and averaged 3.2 rebounds per contest. She also shot 45.7% from the field and was 33.7% from beyond the arc.
Aarnisalo played her freshman year in Westwood after she originally committed to UCLA in 2025. Due to injuries from point guard Kiki Rice at the start of the 2024-25 season, she was forced into action early her freshman season and finished the year averaging 5.1 points per game.
The Helsinki, Finland, native averaged 10.2 points per game for the Tar Heels as a sophomore last season while shooting 47.3% from the field and 40.3% from the arc. The Bruins will desperately need to replace the three-point production lost with the departure of Rice, Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker.
UCLA coach Cori Close said she wanted to sign five players from the portal. She probably needs one more guard and a little more forward depth coming off the bench following the departures of Gabriela Jaquez and Angela Dugalic.
Lena Bilic and Amanda Muse are returners coming off the bench who got a little bit of playing time in the tournament and should have much larger roles, but they are still relatively unproven in late-game situations. They will get a chance to develop as backups with some more Power Four experienced starters now in the fold.
Sports
WWE to hold premium live event in Saudi Arabia amid Iran ceasefire
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.”
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