Latest news with #2024RookieoftheYear
Fox Sports
26-06-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Road America Victory Drives Caio Collet Into Title Hunt
INDYCAR Caio Collet thrust himself into contention for the 2025 INDY NXT by Firestone championship with a commanding win June 22 at Road America. That was Collet's first victory of the season and second of his career in the INDYCAR development series. HMD Motorsports driver Collet capitalized on a rare error by Andretti Global's Dennis Hauger, who had led the opening 15 laps from pole. Hauger slid wide in the final corner on the 4.014-mile track, allowing Collet to pounce and take the lead, one he never relinquished. 'For 14 laps, he didn't put a wheel wrong,' Collet said. 'At one point in Turn 14, he had a little slide. I got a run. In my mind, I thought, 'It's now or never.'' Collet topped both practice sessions during the weekend and converted his pace into a statement win, leading all five remaining laps after Hauger's mistake. The win capped Collet's third consecutive podium finish, building on a second-place result on the streets of Detroit on June 1 and a third at World Wide Technology Raceway, where he led a race-high 58 of 75 laps June 15. Despite losing out late in that race to rookie Lochie Hughes and second-year driver Myles Rowe, Collet found consistency at a critical stage in the championship, reaching the midway mark of the season. Entering WWTR, Collet trailed championship leader Hauger by 84, but his form has begun to shift momentum. He sits 70 points back heading into the next round Sunday, July 6 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the site of his first pole and victory last season. This moment could catapult him to preseason expectations. Collet, the 2024 Rookie of the Year, was a title favorite entering this season – with good reason. He was the top returning points scorer, placing third last year. And 2024 champion Louis Foster and runner-up Jacob Abel each graduated to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. However, early dominance by Andretti Global rookies Hauger and Hughes, who won the season's first six races, left Collet playing catch-up. A third-place finish behind Hauger and Hughes in the season opener at St. Petersburg was followed by a mechanical DNF at Barber Motorsports Park. 'To be honest, it was quite tough,' Collet said. 'When you come in a second year, you expect to be at the front. We were there, but not to their level.' Road America proved he has leveled the playing field. With four of the remaining seven races on natural road courses – where Collet has a strong record – and three ovals where he holds experience over the rookies, the championship picture has shifted. Even Hauger acknowledged the potential turning of the tide. 'We've been on the back foot compared to Collet all weekend (at Road America),' Hauger said. 'We did everything right, but they were just a bit stronger.' With momentum now on his side and tracks ahead that suit his style, Collet's resurgence sets up a thrilling second half of the season. 'Hopefully, we can gain the momentum throughout the rest of the season,' Collet said. 'For sure will be a long fight and a difficult one. Hopefully, we can win a couple more races, and we never know what can happen. I think our focus is to win races and see what happens.'
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Caitlin Clark's Parents Have Strong Feelings About Indiana Fever in Year Two
Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark is looking to start her second WNBA season on the right foot against Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Saturday. Since the end of Clark's 2024 Rookie of the Year campaign, there has been a major overhaul to the Fever organization at every level, from front office changes to free agent signings like DeWanna Bonner to a new head coach in Stephanie White. Advertisement One area of consistency is the foundation provided by Clark's family. Her parents, Anne and Brent Clark, are some of the loudest supporters in attendance at many of her games. After a long offseason, they are excited for what is in store for their daughter in her second season. Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (left) is cheered on by her mother, Anne (right) during a preseason game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa Becker-Imagn Images; Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK Clark's mom and dad attended the preseason game the Fever played at the familiar confines of Carver-Hawkeye Arena, where her No. 22 jersey was retired after a record-breaking NCAA career with the Iowa Hawkeyes. It was roughly a two-hour drive from where they raised Clark and her two brothers, Blake and Colin, in West Des Moines. Advertisement Anne brought cookies for the ESPN crew covering the game. Brent, who used to coach his daughter, did an interview with Holly Rowe expressing the couple's initial impressions of the new-look Fever under White. "I commented to my wife earlier, it seems like — and I think Steph White is reinforcing this — she says you do not hold the ball more than one second," the former two-sport college athlete said. "It's quick decision making, they're moving the ball and that leads to a lot of points." Former Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark (center) poses with mother Anne Clark (left) and father Brent Clark after being named the AP Player of the Year on April 4, Lee-USA TODAY Sports In classic Clark fashion, Caitlin's dad brought up the officials without any prompting. When asked what he learned during his daughter's first season, Brent said, "there's a lot of room for improvement there, particularly in the officiating." Advertisement No matter how the season starts against Chicago, the Fever point guard can fall back on the certainty of her parents any time she needs. "She'll look to the stands every so often and I try to give her some reassurance," her dad said in 2023. "I try to do the best I can." Related: Caitlin Clark's WNBA Earnings Are Likely Lower Than You Think Related: Fans React to Paige Bueckers' Dad's Emotional Interview During WNBA Debut
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Caitlin Clark Sends Clear Rivalry Message Before Angel Reese, Sky Game
After a full WNBA offseason under their belts, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are set to face off to open the 2025 regular season. On Saturday afternoon, Clark and the Indiana Fever will host Reese and the Chicago Sky at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, airing nationally on ABC. Advertisement Since their college days, many fans have dubbed Clark vs. Reese as one of the biggest rivalries in all of women's basketball. It began in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, when Reese's LSU Tigers defeated Clark's Iowa Hawkeyes in the national championship. One year later, the two met again in the 2024 tournament, when Iowa exacted its revenge and eliminated LSU in the Elite Eight. Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese.© Jeff Haynes / NBAE via Getty Images Both stars joined the WNBA in the 2024 draft, where Clark was selected No. 1 overall, followed by Reese at No. 7. The Fever and Sky battled four times last season, with Indiana winning three. But the rivalry extends beyond their WNBA teams, as they remained neck-and-neck in the 2024 Rookie of the Year race for much of last season. Advertisement Despite Reese averaging a double-double of 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds, Clark was still able to take home the award, guiding the Fever to the postseason in the process. On Friday, just one day before the season opener against the Sky, Clark spoke on the importance of rivalries, claiming they are good for any sport. "I think rivalries are good for all of sports," Clark said. "Rivalries are real, and that's what makes sports so amazing. There's certain teams that those games just mean a little bit more. So, I think for our team, though, you come out here and you play the same way every single night. It gets the fans involved, and they love it. I think it's a great part of sports is having those rivalries that people get really amped up about and love coming to this arena and cheering for." Clark and Reese will face off for the fifth time in their young WNBA careers when the Fever face the Sky on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. ET. Related: WNBA Makes Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese 'Viewer Discretion' Announcement
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Paige Bueckers Getting Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese Treatment
You do not have to look far to see the similarities between WNBA stars Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark. As the last two No. 1 overall draft picks, both players made history in college basketball before bringing legions of fans from the UConn Huskies to the Dallas Wings and from the Iowa Hawkeyes to the Indiana Fever, respectively. Advertisement Both entertaining guards will feature prominently in the WNBA's opening weekend of the 2025 regular season. Bueckers makes her professional debut on Friday night against the Minnesota Lynx at 7:30 p.m. ET on ION. Clark follows on Saturday with Indiana's season opener at 3 p.m. ET on ABC against another WNBA showstopper — Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky. Paige Bueckers is interviewed by ESPN after being selected with the number one overall pick to the Dallas Wings in the 2025 WNBA Carchietta-Imagn Images Amid the Fever-Sky showdown and other marquee contests like the Golden State Valkyries' first game against the Los Angeles Sparks and the rematch of the past two WNBA champs between the Las Vegas Aces and the New York Liberty, SLAM magazine left little doubt what it is looking forward to this weekend. Advertisement The famous hoops publication awarded Bueckers and her Wings teammates a special edition cover for its 2025 WNBA season preview, putting her star power in orbit much like Clark and Reese early in their pro careers. Bueckers may not be the best player on the team — that would be all-WNBA guard Arike Ogunbowale, who is rightfully front and center of the SLAM cover. All three players, including free agent pickup DiJonai Carrington, got their own unique digital covers as well. The truth is, Ogunbowale was not putting the 9-31 Wings on news stands last season. Fairly or not, that kind of marketing power has followed some of the league's youngest stars. Advertisement Clark and Reese are joint cover stars of Athlon Sports' 2025 WNBA Preview, following the commemorative edition Athlon made to celebrate Clark's record-breaking 2024 Rookie of the Year campaign. The Fever star also graced the cover of TIME as its 2024 Athlete of the Year, while Reese's catalogue of cover shoots includes Vogue and SLAM's 250th edition. "It's crazy, I went from being the oldest and I guess the vet on the UConn team to being the youngest here, or one of the youngest,' Bueckers told SLAM ahead of her WNBA Debut. 'I'm [continuing] to stay humble, stay hungry and working to be the best teammate, best leader I can be, [and] working to find my voice. Obviously, I don't have as much experience, but I still feel like I have a lot of knowledge and wisdom for the game and a lot of love for it.' Advertisement Related: Fans Waste No Time Comparing Paige Bueckers to Caitlin Clark Related: Caitlin Clark Gets Big Reality Check From Indiana Fever Coach
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Caitlin Clark's WNBA Earnings Are Likely Lower Than You Think
Caitlin Clark was the highest-paid women's basketball player in 2024 — a year that saw her go from a record-breaking NCAA athlete at Iowa to her first professional contract in the WNBA with the Indiana Fever. Clark and the Fever are back and better than ever for year two. The hype can be seen in Clark's multi-million dollar portfolio of endorsements, from Funko Pop Figures and Panini collectables to ad campaigns for Gatorade, Nike and State Farm. Advertisement Tickets to see Clark play are in such high demand that six WNBA teams changed venues to accommodate more fans for home games against the Fever during the 2025 season. Clark's undeniable television ratings during her 2024 Rookie of the Year campaign led to a national TV designation for 41 of Indiana's 44 regular season games this year, starting with the season opener against Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky on Saturday. But when Forbes released its list of the 50 highest-paid athletes in the world on Thursday, Clark was nowhere to be found. The $76,535 salary in the first year of her rookie contract was the primary reason why Clark does not make as much money as you would think based on her status as one of the biggest stars in all of sports. Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) signs autographs on her way off the court after the Fever defeated the Atlanta Dream.© Dale Zanine-Imagn Images Unlike many of her WNBA colleagues, the 23-year-old opted out of playing for Unrivaled, a new 3-on-3 women's basketball league, this offseason. Advertisement Unrivaled offered players like Reese and Sabrina Ionescu an average salary of more than $200,000 for just 14 games. For comparison, Clark's Fever teammate Kelsey Mitchell has the largest salary in the WNBA at $249,244 for the entire season. Clark's off-court success is what kept her No. 1 among all women's basketball players in total earnings in 2024. Her reported eight-year, $28 million contract with Nike is worth more than 40 times her WNBA salary alone. Unfortunately, even the highest-paid female athlete in 2024 (tennis star Coco Gauff, $34.4 million) would not sniff the top 50 athletes overall because of the massive gap in salaries and revenues. Advertisement There is still a long way to go for the incomes of the most popular female athletes to more fairly represent their huge appeal to sports fans. Related: Fans Have No Faith in Caitlin Clark After Hearing Her Goal for WNBA Season Related: Caitlin Clark's New Teammate Reveals What Everyone Thinks About Indiana Fever
