Sports briefs
By NewsPress Now
Iowa star Caitlin Clark declares for WNBA draft
Iowa star Caitlin Clark, who is on the verge of becoming the all-time NCAA scoring leader in college basketball, announced Thursday she will leave the Hawkeyes after this season and enter the WNBA draft.
“While this season is far from over and we have a lot more goals to achieve, it will be my last one at Iowa,” Clark wrote on social media.
Clark has become the focal point of women’s basketball, with her flashy play and 3-point shot, often from the on-court logo. Many players would be benched for shooting from so far out, but Clark has the green light from her coach and has delivered while also finding her teammates and hitting the boards.
The guard, with one more year of eligibility, became the all-time leading women’s scorer in major college basketball by scoring 33 points to pass Lynette Woodard and post her 17th career triple-double in a 108-60 victory over Minnesota on Wednesday night.
In her announcement, she thanked her teammates, coaches and the thousands of fans who have packed arenas across the country to watch her and the sixth-ranked Hawkeyes.
Those fans were chanting “One more year! One more year!” while Clark was being interviewed on the court Wednesday night, when she also broke the NCAA single-season record by sinking eight 3-pointers for a total of 156.
She now has 3,650 career points. Woodard had 3,649 points for Kansas from 1977-81, before the NCAA sanctioned the sport. Earlier this month, Clark broke Kelsey Plum’s NCAA scoring record (3,527 points).
Next up is the overall NCAA scoring record of Pete Maravich, who is just 17 points ahead of her.
Clark is expected to be the top pick in the draft on April 15.
The Indiana Fever, who have the first pick, indicated on social media shortly after Clark’s announcement that they intend to select her.
“We’re just simply reminding you that there are only 46 days until the 2024 WNBA Draft,” the team posted after dropping a link to its game tickets and a conspicuous “No. 1.”
Red Bull’s Horner dismisses ‘anonymous speculation’
SAKHIR, Bahrain | Red Bull principal Christian Horner dismissed “anonymous speculation” after alleged evidence in his misconduct investigation was widely distributed on Thursday, two days before his team opens its bid for a fourth consecutive Formula 1 drivers’ championship.
His statement was forced by a stunning off-track development: As the second practice was going on for the Bahrain Grand Prix, a file alleged to contain evidence presented against Horner was emailed to nearly 200 people in the F1 paddock, including Liberty Media, F1, the FIA, the other nine team principals and multiple media outlets.
The authenticity of the files has not been verified by The Associated Press; the file came from a generic email account.
The files were sent one day after the team’s parent company dismissed a complaint that alleged misconduct by Horner toward a team employee. He was at the practice when the files were sent.
“I won’t comment on anonymous speculation, but to reiterate, I have always denied the allegations,” Horner said in a statement read to journalists by a team spokesman; the statement was from Horner, not on behalf of Red Bull.
“I respected the integrity of the independent investigation and fully cooperated with it every step of the way,” Horner said. “It was a thorough and fair investigation conducted by an independent specialist barrister and it has concluded, dismissing the complaint made. I remain fully focused on the start of the season.”
Details of the allegations involving Horner have not been made public. The Red Bull company said Wednesday the complainant has a right to appeal the decision.
The 50-year-old Horner has been the team principal since Red Bull entered F1 as a full constructor in 2005. He has guided the team to six constructors’ championships and seven drivers’ championships. Red Bull won all but one of the 22 races last season, with 19 wins for Max Verstappen, the three-time champion. Its redesigned car is widely considered the fastest on the grid for 2024 going into Saturday’s season opener.
McLaren team principal Zak Brown said F1 and governing body the FIA should seek to re-examine Red Bull’s decision to dismiss the complaint.
“From what I’ve seen, there continues to be a lot of rumors and speculation, questions,” Brown said shortly before the anonymous email was sent. “I think the sanctioning body has a responsibility and authority to our sport, to our fans. All of us in Formula 1 are ambassadors for the sport on and off the track, like you see in other sports. And so I think they need to make sure that things have been fully transparent with them.”
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff called the statement from Red Bull, which did not include any details of the investigation, “pretty basic” and said F1 “needs more transparency” on the issue.
“I just simply think that as a sport, we cannot afford to leave things in the vague and in the opaque on critical topics like this because it’s going to catch us out,” he said, also speaking before the anonymous email.
Horner, who remained in his role as Red Bull team principal during the internal investigation, led Red Bull during Thursday practice and said his team was more unified than ever heading into the new season.
“I’m just pleased that the process is over,” Horner told British broadcaster Sky Sports News, speaking before Wolff and Brown’s comments. “I obviously can’t comment about it, but we’re here very much to focus now on the Grand Prix and the season ahead and trying to defend both of our titles.”
Asked if the team was unified, he said: “Within the team it’s never been stronger.”
Stacy Wakefield dies
less than five months after her husband
Stacy Wakefield, the widow of former Boston Red Sox pitcher and two-time World Series champion Tim Wakefield, has died.
Her family said in a statement released through the Red Sox that she died Wednesday at her Massachusetts home, less than five months after her husband died at the age of 57. Stacy was 53, according to online records.
“She was surrounded by her family and dear friends, as well as her wonderful caretakers and nurses,” the statement said. “The loss is unimaginable, especially in the wake of losing Tim just under five months ago. Our hearts are beyond broken.”
The family mentioned a diagnosis but did not provide a cause of death. In September, Tim’s former Red Sox teammate Curt Schilling said on a podcast both of the Wakefields had been diagnosed with cancer. Schilling said Tim had brain cancer and Stacy had pancreatic cancer. The news came with an outpouring of support for the Wakefields and criticism for Schilling disclosing the matter without their permission.
“We will remember Stacy as a strong, loving, thoughtful and kind person, who was as down-to-earth as they come,” the family’s statement continued. “We feel so lucky to have had her in our lives, and we take comfort in the fact that she will be reunited with Tim, the love of her life.”
Stacy and Tim are survived by their children, Trevor and Brianna.
As much as Tim was celebrated for his achievements on the field, both he and Stacy were also regarded in Boston for their work in the community.
Stacy worked alongside her husband in raising money for multiple charitable groups, including the Red Sox Foundation. They also worked with the Jimmy Fund, visiting with patients and raising funds for the childhood cancer charity.
Medvedev and Rublev advance to Dubai semifinals
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates | Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev stayed on course toward a potential rematch for the title at the Dubai Championships after the Russians won their quarterfinals Thursday.
Medvedev, the defending champion and No. 1 seed, defeated eighth-seeded Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-2, 6-3 to set up a semifinal against fifth-seeded Ugo Humbert.
The second-seeded Rublev advanced when Sebastian Korda retired with an unspecified injury. Rublev was up 6-4, 4-3 at the time.
Rublev will face seventh-seeded Alexander Bublik, who reached the last four after his Czech opponent Jiri Lehecka also retired with an injury. The big-serving Bublik was leading 6-4, 4-1.
One year ago, Medvedev defeated Rublev 6-2, 6-2 in the all-Russian final at the hard-court tournament. The 2021 U.S. Open champion has 20 singles titles — 18 on hard courts — but has never won the same event twice.
Humbert advanced by beating third-seeded Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 7-6 (8), 6-3 in the last match of the evening. The Frenchman saved three match points in the second-set tiebreaker en route to his second win over Hurkacz since losing to him at the Australian Open in January.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani says he is married
TOKYO | Baseball star Shohei Ohtani has stunningly revealed he’s married.
Ohtani wrote on Thursday on Instagram in Japanese: “The season is approaching but I would like to announce to everyone that I have gotten married.”
He said his new wife was a “Japanese woman” without identifying her. He said he would reveal more in an interview; presumably at the Los Angeles Dodgers spring training venue.
The 29-year-old Ohtani is Japan’s biggest celebrity, and there has always been curiosity around his personal life, which he has always kept very private. His focus, and his image, has always been 100%-baseball focused — free of scandals or tabloid news.
Ohtani moved from the Los Angeles Angels to the Dodgers in December on a record-breaking contract worth $700 million over 10 years.
“I began a new chapter in my career with the Dodgers, but I also have started a new life with someone from my native country of Japan who is very special to me,” he wrote.
He asked the media refrain from “conducting unauthorized interviews.”
The post on Instagram included a photo of his dog “Dekopin,” which is also called “Decoy.”
He wrote: “We hope the two of us — and one animal — will work together.”
The news broke in the middle of the night in North America, and late afternoon in Japan where it was immediately the top news item on local television.
Local television reports daily on his training in the United States and, because of his unprecedented success in North America, he has become the pride of Japan, and the Dodgers have become Japan’s de facto team.
Ohtani is training in Arizona for the Major League Baseball season, preparing for the Dodgers to open in Seoul, South Korea, on March 20-21 in a two-game series against the San Diego Padres.
Ohtani just underwent surgery on his right elbow and will not pitch this season. He will be used as a designated hitter, and the possibility exists he could play in the field.
In his spring training debut this week, he hit a two-run home run against the Chicago White Sox.
Ohtani has hit 171 home runs — 44 last season — and has a career batting average of .274. His record as a pitcher is 38-19 in five seasons. He missed the 2019 season due to elbow surgery and has a career ERA of 3.01.
He was the American League rookie of the year in 2018, and the American League MVP in 2021 and 2023, and has often been compared to Babe Ruth for his skill as a two-way player.
—From AP reports
