Sports
Thompson: Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer's historic milestone deserves historic honor
PALO ALTO, Calif. — The packed house at Maples Pavilion didn’t wait for the final horn to begin the serenade of Tara VanDerveer.
As freshman forward Nunu Agara dribbled into the frontcourt, and Oregon State coach Scott Rueck gestured to his Beavers not to foul, what was inevitable was becoming official. The crowd rose to its feet, roaring loud enough to make this historic occasion tangible.
VanDerveer showed up to the gym Sunday tied with Duke legend Mike Krzyzewski for the most victories in NCAA basketball history. She would leave alone at the top.
Senior guard Hannah Jump waved for the serenade to turn up. Time expired. The 65-56 win over Oregon State — victory No. 1,203 — was in the record books. Kiki Iriafen scored a career-high 36 points, including the first two 3-pointers of her career. But her performance was just the appetizer, lathering up the crowd for the main event. VanDerveer had crested Coach K to become college basketball’s winningest coach. It was time for the house that Tara built to celebrate its architect. The foundation was now the showcase.
The crowd began to chant with fervor: “Ta-ra! Ta-ra! Ta-ra!”
But wait. Not so fast.
Tara loves the game of basketball and it loves her back 🫶🏀#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/fiYsUd4ZiC
— Stanford WBB 🤓🏀 (@StanfordWBB) January 22, 2024
Before Cameron Brink could dump a Gatorade bucket of gold confetti on her coach (who looked relieved it wasn’t Gatorade). Before the approximate 4-foot numbers, 1203, could be set up as props at this hoop party in Palo Alto. Before the stage could be erected and videos played and speeches given. VanDerveer walked to the other end of the sideline and hugged Rueck.
Because you don’t get to 1,203 without consistency, without discipline born of ancient eras, without humility relevant in any age. She climbed this mountain by not skipping steps, by valuing every rep. Not even reaching the summit is worthy of a diversion from principle.
So VanDerveer walked the line. She hugged the opposing assistant coaches. She shook the hand of every Beavers player, greeting them with a smile and a kind word. It wasn’t until she got through them all that she would allow the spotlight of the occasion to focus on her.
Now the ultimate deflector had to accept her flowers.
“When I think of you, one word comes to mind,” Jennifer Azzi, one of the renowned pillars of Cardinal hoops, said in a video played on the big board. “And that’s excellence.”
This place should be called Tara Pavilion. She didn’t build it with her hands in 1969. She didn’t renovate it in 2005. But she gave it life. She made it relevant. Her teams. Her success. Her tradition.
The last time the men’s team brought a championship here was 1942. But here wasn’t here yet. Maples wouldn’t open for another 27 years. The value of this place is centered on the standard the women’s basketball program set when VanDerveer took over in 1985. The outpouring of love has been brewed by years of teams and players worthy of affinity.
She didn’t shy away from Stanford’s elite academic standards, which can be an obstacle to recruiting, because it absolutely fits her holistic message of work ethic.
She has delivered three national titles, 14 Final Fours, 15 first-team All-Americans, 25 conference championships, 30 WNBA players and countless moments.
And 1,203 wins.
Any Mount Rushmore of basketball coaches must include a bob with bangs.
GO DEEPER
From piano lessons to swimming, Tara VanDerveer’s success is rooted in non-stop learning
“We all know that beyond the stats,” Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr said in the tribute video, “beyond the wins and losses and everything else, it’s the impact you’ve had on so many young lives.”
The significance of this moment was present in the energy. In who was present. Condoleezza Rice. Andrew Luck. Chiney Ogwumike. Azzi flew in with two kids, 6 and 3, which might be as impressive as becoming Stanford’s first Naismith National Player of the Year in 1990.
“I’m not usually lost for words,” she said addressing the fans. “But it’s pretty impressive. All these people here. All the former players coming back.”
A flood of former players joined the festivities. The background vocals were provided by the sea of fans in Cardinal red, many of whom have spent years watching VanDerveer mold young women while racking up victories.
What everyone here knows is this celebration belongs in this place. This venue, this audience, this central figure are worthy of this spotlight. This neck of the woods is foundational to the sport that’s thriving at new levels.
The torch being carried today by the likes of A’ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark, Dawn Staley and Sabrina Ionescu, got some of its spark from this lively hoops hub nestled in these manicured woods of intellectual prosperity. The story of women’s hoops cannot be told without Stanford women’s basketball. And the name Tara VanDerveer is an adjective for its quality.
Ex-Stanford QB Andrew Luck, here w/2 daughters, on Tara: “I’m just a fan. She’s part of what makes a place like this so special. I think there are so many lessons to learn from anybody in any profession, especially in sports and how she does it. I know I am learning from her.”
— Janie McCauley (@JanieMcCAP) January 22, 2024
Nike commemorated VanDerveer’s accomplishment with a white bomber jacket plastered with red tally marks. One for each win. The sporty 70-year-old, still fit enough to leap off the bench and light a fire into 20-somethings, put on the jacket. She looked like racking up another 500 wins isn’t off the table.
“I’ve had such an incredible life,” VanDerveer said on a stage erected as her pedestal. “I don’t want for anything. What I have is right here.”
The stage was christened by Ros Gold-Onwude, who played five seasons for VanDerveer, appeared in three Final Fours and built a reputation for defense. She’s now a versatile broadcaster for ESPN and hosted the festivities. She did a Q&A with Azzi and Ogwumike.
A video played at Maples included praise from Billie Jean King, Coach K, Staley and 2016 WNBA MVP Nneka Ogwumike. But it was Lisa Leslie crashing the Stanford party to declare herself VanDerveer’s favorite. Leslie, the USC star, played under VanDerveer in the 1996 Olympics, along with hoops royalty such as Sheryl Swoopes, Teresa Edwards, Rebecca Lobo and Staley. VanDerveer took a year off from Stanford to coach this team on a 52-0 exhibition tour that set the foundation for women’s basketball in America.
Later in 1996, the American Basketball League launched as the nation’s first women’s pro basketball league. In 1997, the WNBA followed.
“I’m not perfect,” VanDerveer said. “I never claimed to be perfect. We’re talking about wins, but we’ve lost a lot, too.”
A whopping 267 games in 45 seasons. But her point is a real one. Winning 81.8 percent of her games isn’t solely why she is worthy of this moment. It’s because of the bar Stanford has represented in women’s basketball, held up by her wiry arms and vintage conviction. Those celebrating her Sunday didn’t speak of her treasure chest of victories but of her principles and modus operandi.
“You have personally helped influence my life and the way that I move,” Leslie said in the video. “I always remember that repetition of error …”
Leslie pointed to Chiney Ogwumike, who finished the last part of the VanDerveer truism:
“Shows a lack of intelligence.”
No disrespect to Roscoe Maples, whose $1.7 million donation led to the building of the original home of Stanford hoops.
But this is Tara’s house. She built it up. She sustained it. And, as the winningest college basketball coach, she deserves it to bear her name.
(Photo: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
Sports
UAB players take field hours after stabbing incident leaves two hospitalized
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University of Alabama at Birmingham football players took the field in Birmingham, Alabama, Saturday just hours after tragedy struck.
Two players from UAB were allegedly stabbed by a teammate at the team’s training center ahead of a game against South Florida, a university official confirmed to Fox News Digital.
Both were reported to be in stable condition at a hospital. The names of the victims and the player in custody were not released.
Saturday’s game kicked off at 3 p.m. ET, and USF cruised to a 48-18 victory.
Two UAB football players were stabbed hours before their game Saturday in Birmingham, Ala. (Wes Hale/Getty Images)
An online inmate inquiry from the Jefferson County Jail showed that Daniel Israel Mincey, 20, was arrested by the UAB Campus Police just after noon Saturday and is facing charges of “aggravated assault — A to M — attempted murder.” The university would not confirm whether Mincey was a player involved.
MAN WHO SHOT AND KILLED UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA FOOTBALL PLAYERS SENTENCED TO 5 LIFE TERMS
Mincey is a redshirt freshman who joined the team after one season at Kentucky, according to the UAB football roster.
The two players were attacked Saturday morning at the Football Operations Center, the training center for the Blazers’ football program. (Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
There appeared to be concerns about whether the game would proceed as scheduled given the incident, but a spokesperson confirmed that the university elected to play.
“We’re grateful to report that two players injured in an incident this morning at the Football Operations Building are in stable condition. Our thoughts are with them and their families as they recover. The suspect — another player — remains in custody, and an investigation is taking place,” a spokesperson said.
USF quarterback Byrum Brown threw for 353 yards and accounted for five touchdowns in the blowout win. UAB held a 10-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, but USF scored 27 unanswered points.
A South Florida Bulls helmet near the sideline during a game between the South Florida Bulls and the Miami Hurricanes Sept. 13, 2025, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. (Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The highlight of Brown’s day was a 60-yard touchdown pass to Mudia Reuben, which gave USF a 24-10 lead on the first play of the third quarter. Nykahi Davenport added 117 rushing yards and a touchdown run for USF.
UAB quarterback Jalen Kitna had 230 passing yards but was also responsible for three costly interceptions.
Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj and information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Sports
UCLA loses in blowout to Washington in possible Rose Bowl swan song for Bruins
Somebody should check with SoFi Stadium to see if it rescinded its offer.
In what could have been UCLA’s last game at the Rose Bowl after 43 years of calling the place home, the Bruins unfurled the kind of showing that no one would ever want to relive or put in a scrapbook.
If this was goodbye, it was a sad sendoff.
There were lost fumbles, a laughably bad fake field goal that resulted in a touchdown for the other team and a dropped pass that probably cost UCLA its own score. And that was just in the first half.
Adding injury to insult, UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava took a crunching hit that sidelined him late in the third quarter, ending his gritty return from a concussion that had forced him to miss his team’s last game.
UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava passes in the first half against Washington on Saturday night.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
There’s mercifully only one game left for the Bruins this season after a 48-14 loss to Washington on Saturday night led to a fast-emptying stadium, no fond farewells in store for the home fans amid an announced crowd of 38,201 that was too depleted by game’s end to boo.
The site of UCLA’s next home game remains as big of an unknown as its next head coach. School officials have said they are still contemplating plans for where the team will play in the future, though that decision could be up to a court to decide given the Bruins have nearly two decades left on a Rose Bowl lease that doesn’t expire until the summer of 2044.
It’s believed that if school officials have their way, they will move to SoFi Stadium in time for their 2026 season opener.
Wherever the Bruins play, they have a lot of improvements to make. They looked lethargic in falling behind by 34 points Saturday while making one mistake after another on the way to a fourth consecutive defeat.
By the time he entered the game, there was little backup quarterback Luke Duncan could do except make the final score slightly more palatable. He succeeded on that front, firing a 37-yard touchdown pass to Mikey Matthews late in the third quarter that helped UCLA (3-8 overall, 3-5 Big Ten) avoid a shutout.
There was another highlight for the Bruins early in the fourth quarter when Kanye Clark forced a fumble on Washington’s punt return, allowing Jamir Benjamin to pick up the ball and run 13 yards for a touchdown.
But make no mistake: This was complete domination by the Huskies (8-3, 5-3), who rolled up 426 yards of offense while holding the Bruins to 207 yards, including just 57 yards rushing.
Washington alumnus and comedian Joel McHale performed a short recorded bit that was shown on the scoreboard before the game, but the real slapstick was about to come.
The Bruins coughed up two fumbles in the first half and would have lost a third had the Huskies not been called for defensive holding on the play, nullifying the turnover.
UCLA quarterback Luke Duncan throws during the second half against Washington on Saturday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
UCLA wide receiver Titus Mokiao-Atimalala dropped what could have been a touchdown pass at the Huskies’ 38-yard line with nothing but open field in front of him.
But there was no blunder quite like what happened when the Bruins lined up for a 46-yard field goal late in the second quarter. Holder Cash Peterman took the snap and flipped the ball over his shoulder as kicker Mateen Bhaghani circled behind him, the ball hitting the turf instead of Bhaghani’s hands.
Washington’s Alex McLaughlin picked up the ball and ran 59 yards for a touchdown that put the Huskies ahead, 20-0. It was the second straight game UCLA was held scoreless in the first half.
Things never got appreciably better, the Bruins left adrift without a haven in sight.
Sports
LSU national champion Breiden Fehoko retires from NFL at 29
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Former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Breiden Fehoko, who won a national championship with LSU in 2020, announced his retirement on Friday at age 29.
Fehoko, who began his NFL career as an undrafted free agent with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2020, made the announcement on Instagram.
Los Angeles Chargers defensive tackle Breiden Fehoko (96) reacts after the game against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on Jan. 1, 2023. (Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports)
“Sometimes in life you just get a sense of fulfillment & for me it’s now. 29 years old and I couldn’t be happier with the journey of where this game has taken me,” his post read.
“To my family you guys never let me quit and more importantly never let me stop believing in myself. I’m thankful for every coach, teammate, trainer, opponent, agent, etc. because you guys made me a better version of myself every time I stepped on that football field.”
Fehoko played two seasons at Texas Tech before joining former LSU head coach Ed Orgeron in the SEC for two seasons, culminating in a national championship with the Tigers in 2020. He finished his collegiate career with 71 tackles and four sacks across 48 games.
Breiden Fehoko (96) of the Los Angeles Chargers tackles Derrick Henry (22) of the Tennessee Titans in the third quarter of the game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on Dec. 18, 2022. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
A journeyman, Fehoko signed with the Chargers in 2020 after going undrafted that year. He made his NFL debut that season in a Week 12 game against the Buffalo Bills.
NFL STAR XAVIEN HOWARD ABRUPTLY RETIRES AFTER 4 GAMES WITH COLTS
Fehoko appeared in 19 games for the Chargers, registering 36 tackles across three seasons.
He signed with the Steelers in 2023, but never appeared in any games. He signed with the team in August but was later released before the start of the season.
Breiden Fehoko (96) of the Pittsburgh Steelers lines up during the second half of a preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on Aug. 24, 2023. (Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
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“I’m not a fan of long novels but I’m glad to say I’m retiring from this great sport of football,” Fehoko post read. “I’m so blessed to have a head start in life & I look forward to my next chapter with my family. I’ll miss the team dinners, bus rides, training camps, and everything in between. I won’t miss conditioning.”
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