Sports
WNBA star Angel Reese says she’d rather pay a fine than speak to reporters sometimes
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WNBA star Angel Reese opened up on her fear of the media and claimed she would rather just pay a fine than speak with reporters.
The Chicago Sky player and archrival of Caitlin Clark spoke about her thoughts on interacting with the media in the latest episode of her podcast “Unapologetically Angel,” this week.
“Even before the game, I’m terrified of what the media is about to ask. Because it could be the nicest question, but it’s going to get flipped or put into a different light or a different perspective. It’s like, ‘Are you here intentionally to start a mess, or are you intentionally here to ask a question?’ And it’s really tough for me in the media. Like, I don’t want to do an interview with anybody,” Reese said.
“Seriously, I’d rather take the fine sometimes than talking to the media because it always gets flipped. And I think that’s where media has gotten these days. You could literally post ‘the sky is blue,’ and Angel said, ‘It’s too dark.’ Stuff like that, you know. So, I think, it’s just, for me, the media is really scary.”
The Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese heads to the locker room after being ejected from a game against the New York Liberty June 4, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Reese has been the subject of intense media attention dating back to the 2023 NCAA women’s basketball national championship game, when her LSU Tigers beat Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes, and Reese taunted Clark by pointing to her ring finger at the end of the game.
Reese has become arguably the most controversial figure in women’s basketball since then. Many of Reese’s quotes and statements have often been at the center of controversy in the sport.
Toward the end of the 2025 WNBA season in September, Reese prompted backlash for comments made to a Chicago Tribune reporter, in which the star called out her team for a last-place finish and 10-34 record.
“I’m not settling for the same s— we did this year,” Reese told The Chicago Tribune. “We have to get good players. We have to get great players. That’s a non-negotiable for me. I’m willing and wanting to play with the best. And however I can help to get the best here, that’s what I’m going to do this offseason. So, it’s going to be very, very important this offseason to make sure we attract the best of the best because we can’t settle for what we have this year.
“I am very vocal about what we need and what I want. I’d like to be here for my career, but if things don’t pan out, obviously I might have to move in a different direction and do what’s best for me. But while I am here, I’m going to try to stay open-minded about what I have here and maximize that as much as I can.”
Reese later apologized for the comments but claims the quotes were taken out of context.
INSIDE CAITLIN CLARK AND ANGEL REESE’S IMPACT ON MEN’S BASKETBALL
“I probably am frustrated [with] myself right now,” Reese said at a postgame news conference Sept. 4. “I think the language is taken out of context. I really didn’t intentionally mean to put down my teammates because they’ve been through this with me throughout the whole year. They’ve busted their ass, just like I’ve busted my ass. They’ve showed up for me through thick and thin and in the locker room when nobody could see anything.
“So, I want to apologize to my teammates, which I already have about the article and how it was misconstrued about what was said. And I just have to be better with my language. Because I know it’s not the message, it’s the messenger. And understanding what I say can be taken any kind of way. So, I just have to really be better and grow from this.”
Reese was then suspended for the first half of a game later that week for “statements detrimental to the team.”
In May, Reese was at the center of a WNBA investigation into “hateful” comments made against her during the Sky’s season opener against Clark’s Connecticut Fever.
Reese was asked if she was able to provide the WNBA with details about the incident. She did not offer specifics on whether she had done so, saying, “That’s not a me question.” She also did not reveal what type of comments were made or any other specifics about what prompted the investigation.
However, moments earlier, in that same news conference with reporters, Reese said she was receiving widespread support from across the league because of the alleged incident.
“Obviously, there’s no place in this league for that,” Reese said at that time. “I think the WNBA and our team and our organization has done a great job supporting me. … Going through this whole process, if it can happen to me. It can happen to anyone.”
Then, after the investigation ended the following week, the league did not find sufficient evidence to validate the allegations.
Reese has previously accused Clark’s fans of racism and even alleged they created explicit AI-generated images of the Sky star and sent them to her family members.
Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese dribbles against the Minnesota Lynx in the first quarter at Target Center. (Brad Rempel/Imagn Images)
“I think it’s really just the fans, her fans, the Iowa fans, now the Indiana fans, that are really just, they ride for her, and I respect that, respectfully. But sometimes it’s very disrespectful. I think there’s a lot of racism when it comes to it,” Reese said in the first episode of her podcast in early September.
“Multiple occasions, people have made AI images of me naked. They have sent it to my family members. My family members are like uncles, sending it to me like, ‘Are you naked on Instagram?’
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Sports
Conor McGregor’s long-awaited Octagon return cut short by apparent knee injury seconds into UFC 329
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Nearly five years after his last walk to the Octagon, Conor McGregor made his long-awaited UFC return Saturday night against fellow MMA star Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 329 in Las Vegas.
McGregor opened aggressively, attempting a running kick before throwing a head kick moments later. He appeared to slip on both tries. Holloway quickly capitalized after the second, taking top position and landing a right hand before McGregor was able to work his way back to his feet.
Moments later, McGregor hit the canvas again after trying to throw a kick with his right leg, which appeared to buckle underneath him.
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Conor McGregor of Ireland participates in the walkout before facing Max Holloway of the United States in their welterweight bout during UFC 329 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. (Ian Maule/Getty Images)
The official inside the Octagon waved off the fight moments later, giving Holloway a TKO victory.
During the broadcast, UFC CEO Dana White pointed to a first-round replay that appeared to show the moment McGregor suffered the injury. The apparent injury was not to the same leg McGregor broke during his 2021 fight against Dustin Poirier, which led to a lengthy absence from the Octagon.
The loss extended McGregor’s long winless drought, with his last UFC victory coming by first-round TKO against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in January 2020.
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McGregor earned a unanimous decision over Holloway in a featherweight clash in 2013, when neither was an MMA megastar. In the blink of an eye, McGregor’s star rose.
Conor McGregor and Max Holloway face off during the UFC 329 ceremonial weigh-in at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 10, 2026. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
On Wednesday, he admitted he got caught up in his own stardom after winning UFC belts in two weight classes and becoming one of the biggest names in combat sports.
“I launched an Irish whiskey,” McGregor said. “I didn’t drink heavily, if at all, at that time of my life. I was an athlete at the top of my game. Next thing you know, thousands upon thousands of bottles (are) in my garage.
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“‘Sell this, Conor.’ OK, I’d leave my property with two bottles under my arm, and that was it. I was caught. And I wasn’t used to it. And that’s it. God gave me these lessons. That’s it. I was trapped and caught, and it is what it is.”
Conor McGregor jumps into the air for a kick as he fights Max Holloway in a welterweight bout at UFC 329 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (John Locher/AP)
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Easier said than done, perhaps, as the controversial former champion has been embroiled in multiple controversies and legal issues over the past several years.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
LAS VEGAS — The door opened for Arthur Kaluma to show his worth for the Lakers in the NBA Summer League on Saturday night.
He did so in a big way.
Kaluma had 34 points and five rebounds during the Lakers’ 91-70 win over the Dallas Mavericks at the Thomas & Mack Center.
He was 11 for 16 from the field and six for 10 from three-point range.
With Lakers rookie guard Cameron Carr unable to play because of a right thumb contusion, Kaluma took over the scoring role. Carr, the 24th pick in the NBA draft, is averaging 17 points per game.
“Cam doesn’t play tonight, so he gets a little bit more minutes, gets a couple more touches,” said Lakers Summer League coach Ty Abbott about Kaluma. “But he’s done a really good job of making the most of it when he doesn’t have actions run for him. So the way that he’s been able to stay ready, find windows for himself has kept him in a rhythm. So, on a night like tonight, when we can run some actions for him, he knocks them down and just plays out of his mind. It was great.”
Kaluma said he was “a little nervous” but his three-point shooting said otherwise.
“When [teammate] Jon Elmore came down and he pitched it back to me for a three … I just knew when it came off my hand it was cash,” Kaluma said. “So I said, ‘Yeah, I’m hot.’ It went on from there.”
Late in the fourth quarter, Kaluma lined up a three-pointer, setting his feet and scoring from 29 feet out. He flashed three fingers and smiled. His teammates on the bench stood and cheered, as did the fans.
“We have such a great group of guys this year at Summer League and going through this it’s hard to get that camaraderie with a group,” Kaluma said. “But I feel like everybody wants to see everybody succeed and I felt that tonight. I’m not going to lie to you. They tell me to shoot the ball. I passed up a couple of shots and they were mad at me the other day.”
Kaluma played for the South Bay Lakers in the G League last season. He averaged 14.6 points per game, 4.9 rebounds and shot 55% from the field, 37% from three-point range.
“The G can get grimey, you know what I’m saying? It’s a time where everybody is trying to fight for a position and there is a certain hunger that you have to have in order to be successful in the G,” Kaluma said. “And I feel like that drive that I had my first year in it pushed me into this summer to really get better and work on my game and come here and have the opportunity to perform.”
Kaluma wasn’t alone in helping the Lakers improve to 2-0 in Summer League play.
Adou Thiero ran the court, took a lob pass from Chris Mañon and threw down a two-handed dunk. He had another solid outing with 15 points and four rebounds. He shot just four for 12 from the field, but was a plus-15.
But the night belonged to Kaluma.
“I pride myself on the defensive end,” he said. “I know I got hot offensively, but the shot was just falling today, you know what I’m saying? My game is three-and-D. I lock-up on defense and I know I can hit open shots. I just got hot today and I’m not going to try to let it get to my head.”
Sports
Golf star records lowest round in LPGA major history with astounding performance at Evian Championship
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There are good days on the golf course, and then there is what Haeran Ryu just did on Saturday.
Ryu, 25, recorded the lowest round in LPGA major history on Saturday with an 11-under 60 at the Evian Championship. With the South Korean golfer’s historic round, she holds a three-stroke lead.
Ryu’s round comes just two weeks after winning her first major at the Women’s PGA Championship. On the 18th hole, Ryu left a 30-foot eagle putt a few inches short, and instead settled for a birdie.
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Haeran Ryu of South Korea reacts on the 18th green after the third round of The Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France, on July 11, 2026. (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
She said after the round that she had no idea what she had done until she counted up her scorecard.
“But after the putt and I counted my score with my caddie,” she said. “Oh my God, it’s 11-under par today. It was so amazing. My caddie says, ‘Yep.’ I’m so happy right now.”
If Ryu had made the eagle putt on the 18th hole, she would have been just the second player to shoot a 59 in LPGA history.
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Haeran Ryu of South Korea celebrates a birdie on the 15th green during the third round of The Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club on July 11, 2026, in Evian-les-Bains, France. (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Her 60 broke the record for the lowest round in an LPGA major by one shot. Leona Maguire and Jeungeun Lee6 in 2021, and Hyo Joo Kim in 2014, each shot 61 at the Evian Championship, which was designated as an LPGA major in 2013.
The lowest round in a men’s major is 62, which is shared by four players — Branden Grace at Royal Birkdale in the 2017 British Open, Xander Schauffele and Rickie Fowler in the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club, and Schauffele and Shane Lowry in the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla.
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Haeran Ryu of South Korea and Lottie Woad of England interact after their round on the 18th green during the third round of the Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France, on July 11, 2026. (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Ryu hopes her historic third round can help propel her to a second major win in three weeks.
“That is amazing, amazing dream,” Ryu said. “So I just want that one to come true, but we have one more day.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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