Sports
Facing Storm, Aces out to clinch home court for first round
May 25, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Wilson official basketball with WNBA logo goes through the net during the game between the LA Sparks and the Las Vegas Aces at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images A’ja Wilson broke the WNBA single-season scoring record last week.
On Sunday, the Aces star became the first player to score 1,000 points in a season.
Now, the likely league MVP and her teammates can focus on peaking for the start of the playoffs as the Aces visit the Seattle Storm on Tuesday night.
“This is when you need to start playing your best basketball because this is the rock ‘n roll time,” Wilson said. “This is the best time of the year. It’s really good to get these wins under our belt.”
The two-time defending champions (25-13), who finish the regular season at home against the Dallas Wings on Thursday, have won seven of their last eight games. Wilson reached 1,000 points in an 84-71 home victory against the Connecticut Sun on Sunday. She finished with a game-high 29 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
“There have been wins that we needed to grind out,” Wilson said. “There have been wins that we had to understand the flow of the game, and that’s what playoff basketball is going to be. We’re going to get everybody’s best shot no matter what. It helps to have these types of games so we can prep ourselves for this.”
The fourth-seeded Aces and the fifth-seeded Storm (24-14) are likely headed for a first-round playoff matchup. Las Vegas can clinch home-court advantage with a win Tuesday.
Seattle has won four consecutive games but is looking for more consistency.
Head coach Noelle Quinn said she was “befuddled” by her team as she lamented slow starts in two games last week. The Storm trailed the Los Angeles Sparks by as many as 13 points before winning by eight and trailed the Dallas Wings by 21 before winning by two.
Then, in a rematch with the last-place Sparks on Sunday in Seattle, the Storm started better and built a 16-point lead but had to hold on for a 90-87 victory.
“We know we have everything we need in that locker room,” said guard Jewell Loyd, who set the previous single-season scoring record last year. “I feel like we’re at our best when we’re playing free.”
Nneka Ogwumike led Seattle with 23 points and Skylar-Diggins Smith scored 19, including four free throws in the final minute, in the victory Sunday.
The Storm conclude the regular season on Thursday at the Phoenix Mercury.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Two ex-Fordham players banned after betting probe
Mar 11, 2023; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Fordham Rams guard Will Richardson (1) looks to drive past Dayton Flyers guard Koby Brea (4) in the second half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Two former Fordham men’s basketball players received permanent bans from the NCAA on Tuesday after a lengthy gambling investigation.
The NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions found that Elijah Gray and Will Richardson participated in potential game manipulation for sports betting reasons.
According to the investigation, a $10,000 bet was placed on a February 2024 game involving Fordham in which the bettor wagered that the other team would win. NCAA enforcement staff identified three members of the roster with connections to the bettor, including Gray and Richardson.
Another member of the team told investigators he overheard Gray, Richardson and another student-athlete discussing the idea of throwing a game for money.
Gray admitted to agreeing to participate in the scheme in exchange for a payment of $10,000 to $15,000, but said he reconsidered and played with his normal effort and Fordham won the game. Richardson has denied involvement and he declined to cooperate with the investigation, which itself is an NCAA violation.
Gray, a 6-foot-8 forward, played two seasons at Fordham (2022-24) before transferring to Temple for the 2024-25 season. He transferred again to Wisconsin but was dismissed from the program last October amid the investigation. Gray averaged 5.7 points in 61 games (nine starts) for the Rams.
Richardson, a 6-foot-3 guard, played three seasons at Fordham (2022-25) before transferring to Albany, where he was dismissed from the program in December without appearing in a game. He averaged 7.9 points in 73 games (41 starts) for the Rams.
The bettors involved in the plot were indicted in January by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on wire fraud and bribery charges related to sports contests.
–Field Level Media
Sports
PWHL officially passes 1M attendance mark for first time
Nov 30, 2024; Toronto, ON, CANADA; Toronto Sceptres forward Jesse Compher (18) joins team mates and fans as they celebrate a goal scored by forward Hannah Miller (34) against the Boston Fleet in the third period at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images The Professional Women’s Hockey League surpassed one million fans in the regular season for the first time in its three-season history, the league announced Tuesday.
In all, 120 games were played, with slightly more than 1.1 million people filling the seats for an average of 9,304 per game.
That total is an increase of 28 percent over last season, including the playoffs, and 71% over the first season of 2023-24. The average total of fans in the stands was 5,448 per game in the first season, 7,230 in the second.
On April 17, the PWHL surpassed one million fans in a single season for the first time in league history, reaching the milestone in 109 regular season games, 30% fewer than the PWHL needed to reach its first million fans.
The attendance mark was helped by the addition of the expansion Seattle Torrent and Vancouver Goldeneyes, which The Athletic reported had the largest average attendance of all franchises at home this season. Seattle averaged 12,875 fans, with Vancouver bringing in 11,234 per game.
The league is expected to announce further expansion soon.
Before that, the league will hold the Walker Cup Playoffs beginning Thursday. The top-seeded Montreal Victoire and reigning champion Minnesota Frost will meet in one semifinal, with the Boston Fleet and Ottawa Charge in the other pairing. The winners of the two best-of-five series will play for the Walker Cup.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Celtics' Brad Stevens named NBA Executive of Year
Feb 28, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens before their game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens was named the NBA Basketball Executive of the Year for the second time in three seasons on Tuesday.
Stevens’ Celtics finished with the second-best record (56-26) in the Eastern Conference in 2025-26 and secured a top-two playoff seed for the fifth time in his five seasons in his current role.
Boston accomplished that despite parting ways with Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday before the season and only having All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum for 16 games after he recovered from an Achilles injury.
Stevens, who also won the award in 2023-24, is the 12th executive to receive the honor multiple times since it was first presented in 1972-73.
Stevens, 49, received 11 first-place votes and 69 total points in voting by his fellow executives. Atlanta Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh was second with 41 points, one more than Detroit Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon.
Before joining Boston’s front office, Stevens served as the team’s head coach for eight seasons and tallied a 354-282 record. During his 13-year tenure with the franchise, the Celtics have made 12 playoff appearances.
The Celtics currently have a 3-1 lead in their first-round series with the Philadelphia 76ers. Game 5 is on Tuesday night in Boston.
–Field Level Media
Two ex-Fordham players banned after betting probe
PWHL officially passes 1M attendance mark for first time
