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Arizona hires former WNBA player Michelle Marciniak as women's basketball GM

Arizona hires former WNBA player Michelle Marciniak as women's basketball GM

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona women's basketball has hired former WNBA player and Tennessee star Michelle Marciniak as general manager.
Marciniak will handle program operations, staffing, roster management, global recruiting and NIL development for the program that recently hired Becky Burke as head coach.
'I'm truly honored to step into the GM role at Arizona,' Marciniak said in a statement Thursday. 'This opportunity brings together everything I care deeply about — the business of basketball, leadership, and building something meaningful alongside others. I've been shaped by a championship mindset, and I'm committed to contributing in a way that honors the incredible foundation already in place.
Marciniak played under Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt from 1993-96, earning consecutive trips to the Final Four and a national championship in 1996, when she was named most outstanding player. She played six seasons in the WNBA and ABL before landing a job as an assistant at South Carolina, where she helped recruit Burke.
Marciniak co-founded performance bedding company SHEEX, spending 17 years as the company's CEO. She becomes one of a handful of GMs in women's college basketball and the second hired this year, joining Cal's Meghin Williams.
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.
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A test of the mind and body: The story behind AP's stage to stage coverage of the Tour De France
A test of the mind and body: The story behind AP's stage to stage coverage of the Tour De France

San Francisco Chronicle​

time24 minutes ago

  • San Francisco Chronicle​

A test of the mind and body: The story behind AP's stage to stage coverage of the Tour De France

The Tour de France is not only one of the biggest sports races in the world, it's also a test of the mind and body. On this episode of The Story Behind the AP Story, correspondent Gethin Coolbaugh explains how the race works, as well as some iconic moments. On the ground, AP photographers Thibault Camus and Mosa'ab El Shamy share the energy and mood at this year's race. Gethin Coolbaugh, correspondent: Well, the Tour de France is the pinnacle of global cycling. This year is the 112th edition of the men's race that was first held in 1903. COOLBAUGH: That's the equivalent of riding from Manhattan to about Western Nevada, nearly California. PANJWANI: Some consider the Tour de France the world's most difficult cycling race. I'm Haya Panjwani. On this episode of The Story Behind the AP Story, we're talking about the Tour De France. We'll hear from correspondent Gethin Coolbaugh. Also on the ground photographing the Tour de France, AP photographers, Thibault Camus and Mosa'ab El Shamy. PANJWANI: This race, as Gethin explains, is a test of the mind and body. COOLBAUGH: It's the treacherous terrain that makes this race one of the most challenging in the world and I would say among any sport in any athletic feat. Cycling 2,000 plus miles would be difficult on any surface, but it isn't comprised of only flat surfaces. The course fluctuates from flat surfaces to hills to mountains. The estimated change in elevation this year is about 52,000 meters. That's nearly 17,000 feet or 32 miles. That means that each section poses its own challenges, not just in terms of physical terrain, but also changes in oxygen levels. This year's route runs through 11 regions and 34 departments of France, beginning in Lille in the north and it ends in Paris. It winds all through the country, comprising of 21 stages. The 21 stages are seven flat stages, six hilly stages, six mountain stages, and five mountain finishes. That includes two time trials, which riders start in intervals and their times are recorded individually. The race runs from July 5th through July 27th. The first week is comprised mostly of flat terrain and progresses to a lot of climbing in the last 10 stages. The final week has three mountaintop finishes at the Mont Ventoux, which features the highest point of this year's race at just over 2,300 meters. PANJWANI: Mosa'ab has been following this route. It's his first tour de France. Mosa'ab El Shamy, AP photographer: It's been very exciting. Been a lot of diversity in terms of the places we've covered. It's a really thrilling experience for me. It's obviously a very festive occasion. The mood is very joyous. We pass through big and big cities and small towns and people are out. You can tell they've been waiting. They've been standing for a very long time, waiting for the racers. Everyone's really excited. 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EL SHAMY: We have a biker, an experienced person who knows the roads very well, he knows the rules, he is constantly getting briefed and communicated to by the race management. We alternate, one of us gets on the back of the bike one day with our cameras and our helmets. CAMUS: And when we're on the bike, we have to make pictures of the peloton, of the riders, but also we have a kind of postcard that means to put the peloton and the racers into the landscape here, which is everyday different and sometimes very beautiful. So that's a double challenge because we have be here for the action. We have two jobs when we are on the bike. PANJWANI: Of course, no mention of the Tour de France is complete without hearing a name most sports fans recognize - Lance Armstrong. COOLBAUGH: Lance's story was everything that you would ask for in an American sports hero. He overcame adversity, being diagnosed in 1996 with testicular cancer that spread throughout his body. He underwent treatment and surgery and was declared cancer-free in 1997. He founded the Livestrong Foundation. COOLBAUGH: He returned to cycling in '98 and went on his record run only for it all to come crashing down in 2012 when a U.S. anti-doping agency investigation concluded he had used performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career. They called it 'the most sophisticated, professionalized, and successful doping program that sport has ever seen.' He was subsequently stripped of all seven tour titles, his Olympic bronze medal, and was banned from cycling for life. Armstrong denied the accusations early on. But in 2013, in an Oprah Winfrey interview, admitted that he had used a number of PEDs and engaged in blood doping. It remains an incredible story of triumph and tragedy. CAMUS: There's many things to see, many things that will allow us to be creative. I mean, there's no end to this. So it's very good to be on this road and to be as much as we can creative, because we have this opportunity with AP to be creative. EL SHAMY: I think that Tour de France is a very special race to cover. It's the biggest in the world. It's kind of an adventure around France to cover it for AP. It is a really fun experience to go through. PANJWANI: This has been the story behind the AP story. I'm your host, Haya Panjwani. The executive producer is Ron Vample. Special thanks to sports freelancer, Gethin Coolbaugh, and AP photographers, Mosa'ab El Shamy and Thibault Camus for their contributions. For more on the AP's coverage of the Tour de France, visit

New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields carted off practice field with apparent leg injury
New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields carted off practice field with apparent leg injury

San Francisco Chronicle​

time24 minutes ago

  • San Francisco Chronicle​

New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields carted off practice field with apparent leg injury

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