Sports
A'ja Wilson Deserves To Win WNBA MVP
There have been seasons in which the race for the WNBA’s MVP trophy has been close, competitive and compelling.
Last year marked one of them, when New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart beat Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas by just seven voting points—and Thomas had three more first-place votes. The 2005 season marked another narrow debate when Sheryl Swoopes received two more voting points than Lauren Jackson.
But this season is not one of those years. Frankly, there is only one logical choice for the league’s MVP award. It should be a runaway and unanimous decision. It should be the third time that Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson takes the trophy home. And it shouldn’t be close.
A year ago, Wilson finished third in that tightly contested MVP race, just 13 voting points behind the winner, Stewart. There has never been a smaller margin between the first- and third-place vote getters for MVP in the history of the WNBA.
If Wilson used that bronze medal finish as motivation, it worked. She dominated throughout the 2023 postseason and powered the Aces to a second-straight championship while taking home the Finals MVP award. If consolation prizes exist, those are pretty good ones.
And then Wilson proceeded to turn in one of the greatest seasons ever by a WNBA player.
The 28-year-old forward from Columbia, South Carolina, is averaging 26.9 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 51.8 percent from the floor and 84.4 percent from the charity stripe. She leads all WNBA players in points, blocks, defensive rebounds, field goals made, and free throws made.
No player in the history of the WNBA, which played its first season in 1997, has averaged as many points, rebounds and blocks in a single season as Wilson this year. Simply put, she’s doing things no player has ever done before. The University of South Carolina product also recently became the first player ever to score at least 1,000 points in a single season, and she took hold of the league’s single-season rebounding record on Tuesday night with seven boards in a win over the Seattle Storm.
“Since I’ve been a part of this league, which is 1999, I don’t know if we’ve seen a season like she’s having now,” Aces coach Becky Hammon told ESPN. “She’s just a beautiful player to watch… And makes it look easy. It is not easy. It’s a special, generational talent.”
Oh, and Wilson excels in advanced statistics too. She’s second in the WNBA in points-per-play (1.12), and first in defensive rebounding rate (31.8), player efficiency rating (34.9) and win shares (10). She’s also posting a career-best defensive rating of 90.5.
“I can probably say she’s the best rebounder I’ve ever seen, hands down,” 2009 WNBA MVP Diana Taurasi said of Wilson. “When you can secure the ball for your team, you are always going to give your team a chance to win. She is just playing out of her mind, and she is going to continue to do it because she loves the game.”
It’s difficult to even make a case for who might be a runner-up to Wilson this season. Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark has captured tons of attention with her long-distance 3-pointers and neck-breaking assists—which she leads the league in—but she isn’t scoring and defending at the same rate and as efficiently as Wilson is. Stewart is having another All-WNBA-caliber season, but not one that rises to the level of an MVP. Napheesa Collier is arguably having her best campaign as a pro and is leading the Minnesota Lynx back to the postseason, but no one would reasonably argue that she’s having a better year than Wilson.
The Aces don’t seem quite as dominant as they did last season when they went 34-6 en route to a second championship. This year, they’ve endured a three-game losing streak and another stretch where they lost five of seven games. The play, durability, reliability and heroics of Wilson are a big reason why Las Vegas is heading back to the postseason with the hopes of three-peating still alive. She’s missed just one game this season and has played a career-high 34.4 minutes per game.
“It’s an honor to be able to play with her,” Aces guard Jackie Young told ESPN. “She comes in every day and kind of shows us what a professional is.”
As long as Wilson is playing this way, consider the Aces to be contenders for the title.
And go ahead and pencil her in to join the likes of Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson as a three-time MVP.
Sports
Williams sisters to play doubles Saturday at Wimbledon
Jul 6, 2015; London, United Kingdom; Serena Williams (USA) and Venus Williams (USA) hug at the net after their match on day seven of The Championships Wimbledon at the AELTC. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-Imagn Images Serena and Venus Williams will play their Wimbledon first-round doubles match on Saturday after organizers gave Serena time to recover from a knee injury.
The sisters, who won the grass-court Grand Slam doubles title six times (most recently in 2016), take on Argentina’s Solana Sierra and Colombia’s Camila Osorio at the All England Club.
Playing her first singles match in nearly four years on Tuesday, the 44-year-old Serena tweaked her knee in the first set of a 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3 loss to Australia’s Maya Joint.
Tournament director Jamie Baker told the Associated Press the first-round doubles match was pushed back to give Serena “as much time” as possible to recover. All other first-round matches in the Ladies’ Doubles draw were contested Thursday and Friday.
“We want her to play if she … possibly can,” Baker said Friday.
Venus, 46, and Serena last played doubles at the 2022 U.S. Open, losing in the first round to Linda Noskova and Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic.
The winner of Saturday’s match will face ninth-seeded Ellen Perez of Australia and Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands in the second round.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tigers' Jack Flaherty, Rangers' Kumar Rocker have momentum after rough starts to season
Jun 28, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Tigers pitcher Jack Flaherty (9) pitches in the first inning against the Houston Astros at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images Following a short stint on the injured list, Detroit Tigers right-hander Jack Flaherty didn’t allow a run in his return. He’ll look to build off that outing when his team plays the middle contest of a three-game series against Texas on Saturday afternoon in Arlington, Texas.
Flaherty recorded nine strikeouts in his five-inning start against the visiting Houston Astros on Sunday. The only negative was that Flaherty required 94 pitches to get that far. The Tigers wound up losing 7-5 in 10 innings.
“Still needed a better job to find a way to get some quick outs. Some quick outs, quicker ABs,” said Flaherty, who was on the injured list due to a left peroneal strain, a tendon injury along his lower leg. “They did a good job of getting the two strikes, and fouling some pitches off and making at-bats go a little bit longer.”
It was just the second time this season Flaherty (1-8, 4.97 ERA) had gone at least five innings without giving up a run. He started against the Rangers on May 1 and was pulled after 3 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on five hits while issuing three walks.
In five career starts against Texas, Flaherty is 1-1 with a 4.18 ERA.
After starting their road trip with a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees, the Tigers lost the opener of this series, 10-4, on Thursday. The teams didn’t meet on Friday due to the Australia-Egypt World Cup match played at nearby AT&T Stadium.
Detroit trailed 5-0 before fifth-inning homers by Colt Keith and Hao-Yu Lee cut the deficit to two runs. The Tigers’ bullpen failed to keep them within striking range.
“We’re chasing it from behind. That’s a tough recipe, but we did give ourselves a chance,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “They were able to get out of it and then tack on runs.”
The Rangers’ victory was their seventh in the last eight games and gave them at least a share of the AL West lead for the fifth straight day. Their run total on Thursday matched their season high.
“At the end of the day, everybody in here wants to win,” said Texas outfielder Evan Carter, who went 2-for-2 with a homer off the bench. “I think everybody’s showing up in the field every single day, everybody’s got their own unique skill sets, and we go out there trying to compete and grind and do whatever we can to help the team win every single day. I think that’s a collective thing that everybody here feels. Nobody here is playing for themselves, and I think that shows on the field.”
The Rangers pounded out 17 hits despite not having Corey Seager, Wyatt Langford or Brandon Nimmo due to injuries. The Rangers are hopeful Nimmo can play this weekend. He sprained his AC joint when he slammed into a wall while making a catch on Sunday.
Kumar Rocker (2-6, 3.83) is slated to start on Saturday as fellow right-hander Cal Quantrill (3-0, 3.31), who has spent most of this season in a relief role, was pushed back to Sunday’s game.
Rocker has walked 31 batters and entered Friday tied for the major league high with six wild pitches in 80 innings over 16 games (14 starts) this season. He hasn’t won since May 19.
In his most recent outing on Sunday, Rocker threw six scoreless innings while allowing four hits and one walk and striking out five in a no-decision against the host Toronto Blue Jays.
“He’s on the attack really with the fastball today,” Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said after the game. “I thought his fastball command was one of the best he’s had in a while. Really kept (the Blue Jays) off guard throwing in and outside to righties and lefties. The slider is real; he can throw at any time to strike guys out.”
Rocker is 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA and seven strikeouts in 8 1/3 innings over two starts against the Tigers. He faced host Detroit on May 2 and yielded five runs on seven hits in two innings in taking the loss.
Texas selected Rocker third overall in the 2022 MLB Draft out of Vanderbilt.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Reports: England-Mexico start time Sunday moving due to storm risk
June 30, 2026; Mexico City, Mexico; Mexico’s Julian Quinones is thrown in the air in celebration by teammates after the match as Mexico qualify for the round of 16 stage of the World Cup. Mandatory Credit: Eloisa Sanchez-Reuters via Imagn Images The start time for the World Cup round of 16 match between England and host Mexico on Sunday is likely to move up to avoid inclement weather, according to multiple reports on Friday.
The kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. local time in Mexico City, 1 a.m. in the United Kingdom. FIFA has discussed moving up the kickoff six hours to 12 p.m. at Azteca Stadium, which would be 7 p.m. in the UK and 2 p.m. Eastern time, per the reports.
Mexico’s 2-0 victory over Ecuador in the round of 32 on Tuesday in Mexico City was delayed due to rain.
France’s group-stage match with Iraq on June 22 was paused under tournament safety rules when lightning strikes are detected within eight miles of the stadium, resulting in an automatic 30-minute delay to play.
England defeated the Democratic Republic of the Congo 2-1 on Wednesday in Atlanta to advance to the round of 16.
Fans of the Three Lions in Great Britain probably would prefer the earlier start time. Licensing laws were relaxed to allow pubs in the United Kingdom to stay open until 5 a.m. local time.
FIFA might also move the kickoff time for Brazil’s round of 16 match with Norway at 4 p.m. Eastern on Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J., to avoid a potential overlap with the match in Mexico City.
–Field Level Media
Williams sisters to play doubles Saturday at Wimbledon
Tigers' Jack Flaherty, Rangers' Kumar Rocker have momentum after rough starts to season
