Sports
The Minnesota Lynx return to the WNBA Finals. Can they play up to their legacy?
MINNEAPOLIS — As Lindsay Whalen’s face appeared on the JumboTron in Target Center on Tuesday night to a raucous reception, the Minnesota Lynx PA announcer took some liberties with her introduction. “She’s an avid golfer,” he quipped about arguably the most famous homegrown basketball player in Minnesota … before stating the obvious. “And her No. 13 jersey is retired in the rafters.”
From a courtside seat, Whalen watched as the Lynx punched their ticket to the WNBA Finals with an 88-77 semifinals win over the Connecticut Sun, marking the franchise’s first trip to the finals since 2017, when Whalen helped lead Minnesota to its fourth championship in seven seasons.
After that 2017 run, the band remained together for another season, but by 2019, Whalen, Maya Moore and Rebekkah Brunson had retired. That same year, Cheryl Reeve used her No. 6 WNBA Draft pick to take Napheesa Collier out of UConn. Collier’s numbers, at the time, reminded Reeve of Moore and fellow UConn alum Breanna Stewart, who had just won her first WNBA MVP title in 2018.
Six years later, it’s Collier who is the face of Minnesota basketball. So it came as no surprise that at the final buzzer, Collier nearly sprinted directly across the court to hug Whalen, who is enshrined in Lynx lore for what she did for this franchise in the 2010s.
Lindsay Whalen is in the house for Game 5 tonight!! @Lindsay_13 #lynxrecognize #wnba pic.twitter.com/GiTJUTtJvk
— Wendell Epps (@epps_wendell) October 9, 2024
Collier said it’s meaningful to have “someone who is such a Hall of Famer and has gone through this and done what I want to achieve. … I wanted to give her a hug just to say thank you for showing up for us, for showing up for me and the team. Thank you for passing this legacy on to us because it means a lot, and (I) definitely want to do her proud and continue. The job is not done.”
The next part of the job? A monumental task. In New York, the Lynx face a team that was assembled to win titles. The Liberty brought in multiple former MVPs (Stewart and Jonquel Jones) and they added Courtney Vandersloot, who could play well with Sabrina Ionescu, their own drafted guard. New York got German star Leonie Fiebich (drafted in 2020 but acquired by New York in 2023) to come over to the States to play in the WNBA.
New York is a team dripping in All-Stars, accolades and expectations.
Frankly, it doesn’t look all that different from Reeve’s last team that made it to the finals. She had five starters on her 2017 squad who are now in various (and multiple) Halls of Fame. She had four players who won gold medals with the U.S. Olympic team. She had a starting core whose jerseys all hang in the rafters alongside Whalen’s No. 13.
This year’s Minnesota team? In the preseason, it was picked to finish ninth. There’s Collier, a bona fide star and two-time Olympic gold medalist. Her jersey isn’t in the rafters yet, but with her current trajectory, it seems like only a matter of time. But she might be the only one whose jersey hangs alongside the other greats’ at the end of the day.
“Becky Hammon in Vegas described us as good players (who make) a great team,” Reeve said. “That’s what’s so special about this team — we didn’t scare anybody. I’m not sure anybody at any point in the season was like, ‘Yeah, they have a real shot at winning a championship,’ other than the people that are in our corner.”
No coach has won more postseason games than Reeve (47 — the same number the Phoenix Mercury and Los Angeles Sparks have as entire franchises). She knows that to win in the postseason, you have to have talent and a lead guard you trust and who elevates every player around her. You need to have a player like Collier, whose steadiness permeates the entire team. (It helps when that leader plays at an MVP level, too.)
Reeve knows, especially, that teams that make it to the finals need to be selfless.
After the Lynx win, Courtney Williams recalled a moment following a regular-season game against the Dallas Wings. Reeve had pulled Williams aside in the locker room to tell her that under the challenging elements of the game, she thought Williams bent.
“From that moment, I invited hard,” Williams said. “Obviously, those conversations don’t have to happen with Phee — not that I know of — or any of the other players. I just didn’t want to be that person to let the coaching staff down or my teammates down, just giving in to hard. We embody that. None of us give in to hard.”
With a WNBA Finals matchup against the Liberty and coming off five relentless games against Connecticut, it doesn’t get much harder. Minnesota might have gone 3-1 against New York during the regular season, but like the Lynx, the Liberty have elevated their game in the postseason.
“The fact that we have worked so hard and we genuinely like each other so much makes it sweeter. It makes you want to win for them, too. It’s not just you want to get the accolade of winning a championship; you want to do it for your teammates as well,” Collier said. “We want to keep playing because we want to stay together. We know every year looks different. This team will never be the exact same again. Not only do we want to win a championship, but we don’t want to leave each other yet. And that’s a great feeling.”
Said Reeve: “We’re happy that we’re going to the finals. But we’re not going to be just happy to be there.”
(Photo of Courtney Williams and Napheesa Collier: David Sherman / NBAE via Getty Images)
Sports
Pirates star pitcher makes unfortunate history after being taken out in middle of perfect game bid
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Jared Jones was flirting with Major League Baseball history on Wednesday night — he got it, but it was not what he originally envisioned.
The Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher retired the first 18 batters he faced, but he was taken out in the middle of his perfect game bid after six innings.
Now, the Pirates certainly have their reasons — the 24-year-old Jones hasn’t thrown more than 81 pitches in eight starts since returning May 20 after missing all of last season while undergoing ulnar collateral ligament internal brace surgery on May 21, 2025. He was yanked with 77 pitches and likely would have needed more than 100 pitches to record the 25th perfect game in MLB history.
Jared Jones of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches during the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park on July 8, 2026, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
However, Jones left the game after getting zero run support, so when the Atlanta Braves tacked on three runs late for a 3-0 victory, Jones instead found himself in the wrong chapter of the history books.
According to Opta Stats, Jones became the first pitcher in the modern era (since 1920) to pitch at least six perfect innings and not record a win.
“It does suck. Something’s cool coming on, but I’m on what? My eighth start off of surgery? I completely understand it, and it is what it is,” Jones told reporters after the game.
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jared Jones (17) makes his way to the field to warm up before pitching against the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park. (Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images)
JUSTIN VERLANDER ANNOUNCES HE WILL RETIRE AFTER THIS SEASON: ‘I’VE REALIZED THAT TIME HAS COME’
Jones said he didn’t entertain attempting to complete the perfect game.
“Not with the pitch count,” he said. “Not really ever expecting to go nine right now, so that was never in my head.”
Joey Bart, traded to the Braves from the Pirates on June 18, followed a double by Mike Yastrzemski with a 422-foot, two-run homer to left-center field off a slider from Dennis Santana. Drake Baldwin added an RBI single to center in the ninth for good measure.
It was the second time in less than a week that a pitcher was taken out of the game with a perfect bid through six innings — the Miami Marlins took Eury Perez out after seven innings in which he had 92 pitches. Perez, too, is in the midst of returning from injury and has surprisingly found himself right in the postseason mix.
He was pulled for Lake Bachar to start the eighth, and the Marlins allowed eight runs to the Athletics in the final two innings, but held on to win 9-8.
Jared Jones (17) of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch during a MLB game against the Cincinnati Reds on June 27, 2026, at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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The Pirates are 4.0 games out of the final wild card spot, which is held by the Marlins.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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WASHINGTON — The Dodgers are scheduled to visit the White House on July 23 to celebrate their latest World Series title.
“President Trump is excited to welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers BACK to the White House to celebrate their World Series championship!,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement to The Times.
The date falls on a scheduled off day in the middle of a nine-game East Coast road trip for the Dodgers. The team will play three games in Philadelphia against the Phillies July 20-22 before ending the trip with a three-game series against the New York Mets July 24 to 26.
The visit continues a tradition from the Dodgers’ two previous World Series championships. They were hosted by President Biden in 2021 and President Trump in April 2025.
After the Dodgers claimed their second consecutive World Series title with a dramatic Game 7 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, a visit to the White House was planned, but it wasn’t until Thursday that a date was officially booked and confirmed.
Questions swirled around whether players would decline the visit this year after it did not happen during a scheduled visit to Washington in April.
Kiké Hernández said in 2018 he was unsure he would have gone had the Dodgers won the World Series the previous year. Mookie Betts said he was undecided and needed to talk it over with his family when last year’s visit was announced. After winning his first World Series with the Boston Red Sox in 2018, Betts skipped their trip to the White House the following year during Trump’s first term.
Both players, along with every returning member of the 2024 team who was with the team during its road trip, participated in the visit. The only notable absence was first baseman Freddie Freeman, who remained in Los Angeles to nurse an ankle injury.
Manager Dave Roberts, who indicated in comments to The Times in 2019 he might not go to the White House if Trump was president, also participated in last year’s ceremony.
Asked at the Dodgers’ fan festival in January about the possibility of returning to the White House, Roberts told The Times’ Bill Shaikin: “For me, I stand by: I’m a baseball manager. That’s my job.”
“I was raised — by a man who served our country for 30 years — to respect the highest office in our country,” Roberts said. “For me, it doesn’t matter who is in the office, I’m going to go to the White House. I’ve never tried to be political. … For me, I am going to continue to try to do what tradition says and not try to make political statements, because I am not a politician.”
Clayton Kershaw, who retired after last season but was on Team USA for this year’s World Baseball Classic, told The Times in the spring that he was aware Dodgers fans are split over whether the team should visit the White House again this year, but he said he is looking forward to it.
“I went when President Biden was in office. I’m going to go when President Trump is in office,” Kershaw said. “To me, it’s just about getting to go to the White House. You don’t get that opportunity every day, so I’m excited to go.”
Times deputy sports editor Ed Guzman contributed to this report.
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All eyes were on Caitlin Clark on Wednesday night as she made her anticipated return from injury in a road matchup in Los Angeles.
But instead of a triumphant comeback, the Fever spent the entire night chasing the Sparks as Clark’s rough return fueled a 106-92 rout.
The superstar never found a groove, looking completely out of sync in her return from a back injury.
STEPHANIE WHITE GIVES CAITLIN CLARK STATUS UPDATE AHEAD OF FEVER-SPARKS, BUT HER NEXT MOVE RAISES QUESTIONS
Caitlin Clark huddles with teammates as the Indiana Fever battle the Sparks. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) ((Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images))
Much of that disjointed performance falls squarely on head coach Stephanie White, who kept Clark on a ridiculously tight leash by limiting her to just 16 minutes. The stop-and-go approach could have sabotaged any chance for the phenom to establish a rhythm.
Clark finished with just 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Her minus-16 plus-minus told the story.
The Los Angeles Sparks were severely shorthanded, taking the floor without stars Kelsey Plum and Cameron Brink.
MERCURY’S NOW-DELETED SOCIAL MEDIA POST MOCKING CAITLIN CLARK DRAWS SCRUTINY AFTER STAR’S INJURY
Yet while a depleted Sparks roster played to win, Indiana spent the night over-managing its biggest asset.
With Clark on a minutes restriction and Aliyah Boston out of the lineup, Kelsey Mitchell was forced to shoulder the entire offensive burden.
Mitchell did her part, pouring in 29 points while shooting 5-of-9 from beyond the arc.
Caitlin Clark orchestrates the Fever offense as Indiana battles the Los Angeles Sparks in primetime action. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) ((Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images))
But one hot hand couldn’t stop an efficient LA squad.
The Sparks shot 45% from three-point range, going 9-of-20 from deep to cruise to the 106-92 victory.
White’s next move is to sit Clark against the Mercury on Thursday while Boston returns.
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After Wednesday’s loss to a shorthanded Sparks team, it’s fair to question whether Indiana’s cautious approach is working. The Fever dropped to 12-9.
Caitlin Clark and Dearica Hamby face off as Fever and Sparks battle at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. (Photo by Tyler Ross/NBAE via Getty Images) ((Photo by Tyler Ross/NBAE via Getty Images))
Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela
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