Former Oregon Duck basketball star Sabrina Ionescu has the highest honor of wearing Team USA across her chest for the first time her young, illustrious career. Before heading off to the Paris Olympics in the search for gold, she will have the opportunity to compete against the rest of the country’s best who didn’t make the cut.

The WNBA All-Star Game rosters are officially set and two of the top rookies in the league are leading the team. Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever and Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky will be teammates on Team WNBA. There was a lot of skepticism as to why the most popular player on the planet wasn’t named to the Team USA roster. A major head-scratcher.

Ionescu of the New York Liberty, Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty, Kelsey Plum of the Las Vegas Aces, A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces and Brittney Griner of the Phoenix Mercury are apart of the stacked Team USA roster. The former Oregon Duck is currently averaging 18.7 points per game, 6.5 assists per game, 4.4 rebounds per game and 1.0 steals per game this season. She is 41.9% from the field, 34.0% on three-pointers and 90.5% from the free throw line.

“You’re just able to tell how they carry themselves and how they go about their business every single drill, recovery, what they eat,” Ionescu said. “It’s just an opportunity to get the best players in the world together and figure out what makes them so great. Everyone’s so unique in their own way, and these opportunities don’t come by often.”

“Everyone wants to put USA across their chests and represent their country, and I never take one of these moments for granted.”

At last season’s All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas, Ionescu won the WNBA Three-Point Shootout. At the 2022 All-Star Weekend in Chicago, the Oregon star won the WNBA Skills Competition.

It should be a jam-packed All-Star Weekend in Phoenix this summer. You can catch the exciting action between Ionescu’s Team USA and the WNBA All-Stars on Saturday, July 20th at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

Stay up to date on all things Oregon Ducks by visiting Oregon Ducks on SI daily and following Oregon Ducks on SI on Facebook and X.

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Triple-digit temperatures are expected over the next several days, which means animals need extra attention in beating the heat. In order to keep pets safe, owners need to take precautions. 

 “Do not leave your pets in your cars,” Victoria Arbona, the Veterinary Referral Center of Central Oregon’s veterinary emergency doctor, said Wednesday. “It’s really not safe to do at all during this time of the year. Even with the windows down, the temperatures can exceed 80 degrees within minutes.”

It’s also important to stay inside during the hottest times of the day — plan walks early in the morning or late in the evening, when it cools down. 

If your animal is suffering heat-related illnesses, you’ll notice vomiting, or they may get diarrhea. 

“When the internal body temperature goes up over, you know, 102 to 103 in a dog, and it stays that way, and it’s undetected or untreated, and it can cause internal damage to not only the organs, but the brain,” Arbona warned.

Summer beating down in the High Desert is not only affecting our furry cats and dogs. It’s also affecting farmers’ and ranchers’ livestock.

Larkin Valley Ranch owner and operator Jeff Larkin said, “A lot of our cattle are drinking out of ponds and stuff like that. Knock on wood, hasn’t been any problems with that.”

The Larkin Valley Ranch in Redmond has about 100 animals, from sheep to cattle. 

During a heat wave, the ranch owner makes sure to keep them shaded and provide plenty of water as well as reducing stress. 

Larkin said, “If we have to work something on the real hot days, we do it really early in the morning, like in daylight when the temperatures are still down. I think that’s just good livestock management — keeping the stress out of your animals.”

 You can identify heat stress by animals panting, loss of appetite and salivation, as well as being lethargic, and having increased water intake. 

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) – As of Wednesday, all Oregon Department of Forestry districts are in fire season. This means that to reduce the risk of human-caused wildfires, fire restrictions may be in place where you live or at a destination you plan to visit or recreate. 

ODF protects over 16 million acres of private, county, state and federal land in Oregon from wildfire. Fire season is declared at the local level when conditions reach a point where the risk of a fire starting and spreading becomes clear. This year, the Southwest Oregon district was the first to declare on June 1, and the North Cascade District was the last to declare on July 3. 

As we move into the Fourth of July and the holiday weekend, it’s important to remember that forests and fireworks DO NOT MIX. Fireworks are banned in all State Forest designated recreation sites including campgrounds, camping areas, day-use areas, trailheads, staging areas, and boat launch sites. Remember to check any additional city and county firework restrictions as well.  

“Mid-July and August are known for high fire occurrence due to increased lightning activity, but human activities continue to be the leading source of Oregon’s wildfires. RIGHT NOW is the time to practice fire safety and preparedness.  Wildfire is already on the landscape,” said Chris Cline, Oregon Department of Forestry’s Protection Division Chief. 

Cline said, “Prevention is our number one tool to reduce property loss and firefighting costs. We can’t prevent lightning fires, but we can prevent human-caused fires…and we need everyone’s help to that end!”

With a heat wave expected from July 4th into next week, now is the time to brush up on your wildfire prevention knowledge. Tips include:

• Know before you go. Campfires may be banned or only allowed in approved campgrounds.
• Make sure your campfire is cool to the touch before going to sleep or leaving your site. Don’t forget to Drown, Stir, Repeat. 
• Backyard debris burning either requires a burn permit during fire season or is prohibited altogether. If you burned earlier this spring, go back and check on your debris burn site to make sure nothing reignites due to the heat.
• Don’t flick a cigarette onto the ground. It may be just enough to start a fire.
• Don’t park or idle over dried grass.
• Don’t drag tow chains.
• Check local restrictions and fire danger levels.

For more information on how you can help prevent wildfires, visit keeporegongreen.org.