Now vaccinated, older adults emerge from COVID hibernation
Spring has arrived with sunshine and warmer weather, and many older adults who have been vaccinated, like Griffin, are emerging from COVID-19-imposed hibernation. Visiting grandchildren is a top priority for many older adults. Isolated by the pandemic, older adults were hard hit by loneliness caused by restrictions intended to keep people safe. Plenty of older adults are eager to hop on a jet to travel. Indeed, many older adults are taking a cautious approach, especially when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declined to ease recommendations for travel.
College players will need to opt-in to upcoming WNBA Draft
The WNBA and the Players' Association have agreed to an opt-in process for this season's draft, the league confirmed to The Associated Press, late Sunday, March 7, 2021. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)NEW YORK โ The WNBA and the Players' Association have agreed to an opt-in process for this season's draft, the league confirmed to The Associated Press on Sunday night. In the past, players who have run out of college eligibility are automatically entered into the draft. While this is a new situation in the WNBA, itโs unclear what the NCAA will do as far as allowing players to pull out of the draft. The NBA implemented similar rules, making players opt-in for the draft.
Koepka withdraws from Players Championship with knee injury
Brooks Koepka hits from the seventh fairway during the final round of the Workday Championship golf tournament Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021, in Bradenton, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)ORLANDO, Fla. โ Four-time major champion Brooks Koepka has withdrawn from The Players Championship next week with what his manager described as a strained right knee. Koepka won the Phoenix Open last month and was a runner-up in the Workday Championship last week. He has been saddled the last few years with injuries to his left knee, including a partially torn patella. His manager at Hambric Sports, Blake Smith, said Koepka would meet with doctors this week for a better evaluation and no further details. Koepka was planning to play the Honda Classic the following week, and he had the Dell Match Play after that as the Masters on April 8-11 gets closer.
Morikawa plays a steady hand to win Workday Championship
BRADENTON, Fla. โ PGA champion Collin Morikawa shook off an early mistake and played a steady hand on a Concession golf course known for calamity, closing with a 3-under 69 for a three-shot victory in the Workday Championship. And there was a tribute to Tiger Woods, his golf idol growing up. โWe don't say โThank youโ enough,โ Morikawa said, referring to how much Woods has raised the profile and prize money in golf. He finished at 18-under 270 and became the 24th player to win a major and a World Golf Championship title since this series began in 1999. โIf there was no Tiger Woods, I just the think the tour and the game of golf in general would be in a worse place.
WNBA's Layshia Clarendon has surgery to remove breasts
(AP Photo/Mike Carlson, File)NEW YORK โ Liberty guard Layshia Clarendon, who identifies as transgender and nonbinary, announced on social media Friday that they had surgery to remove breast tissue. The league, the players' union and the New York Liberty released statements offering support to Clarendon. Clarendon wrote in The Players' Tribune five years ago they identify as โblack, gay, female, non-cisgender and Christian," and expanded on their identity in an Instagram post in December. โExisting outside of the binary for me is freedom,โ Clarendon wrote. I know that my gender will keep evolving because we change and grow and shape shift and expand.
AP sources: Parker headed to Chicago, McBride to Minnesota
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Wednesday, Jan. 27, because no official announcement is allowed until Feb. 1. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)Candace Parker is headed home and Kayla McBride is getting a fresh start in Minnesota. that she would be signing with the Lynx once free agents can officially ink deals Monday. Nearly 75% of the players on the Sparks' roster are free agents. Thatโs led to increased player movement from our roster.โTwo players who are free agents but won't be moving are Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi.
Stewart leads Seattle to 2nd WNBA title in 3 years
Stewart scored 26 points and Seattle completed a sweep of the Las Vegas Aces with a 92-59 rout Tuesday night. It was the biggest margin of victory in WNBA Finals history. Seattle had pretty much the same core group that won the 2018 championship back for this year, led by Stewart, Bird and Jewell Loyd. Seattle has now won a record 11 games in a row in the WNBA Finals, dating to the team's first championship in 2004. She led the Dream to three WNBA Finals appearances but the team was swept in each one.
Stewart, Bird help Storm rout Aces; go up 2-0 in WNBA Finals
Las Vegas couldn't respond. A'ja Wilson had 20 points to lead Las Vegas while Angel McCoughtry and Emma Cannon added 17 each. The Aces led 65-64 with 3:22 left in the period before the Storm closed with a 11-3 burst. The Storm, who had 17 assists on their 18 baskets, built the lead to 13 before Las Vegas rallied to the six-point halftime deficit. ... Stewart had her fifth consecutive 20-point game in the WNBA Finals spanning back to the 2018 season.
Aces hope for winning hand in Game 2 of WNBA Finals
โYou impose on them it's a five-game series, even if you lose one game so what? โHe trusts us and knows what weโre capable of.โThe Aces feel that they have fixable problems. It was also the first finals for many of the Aces players, including Wilson and Jackie Young. Stewart had a career-high 37 points โ one short of the WNBA Finals record. The biggest thing is to make them contested shots," Wilson said.
Stewart lifts Storm to Game 1 WNBA Finals win over Aces
Seattle Storm forward Breanna Stewart (30) celebrates after the team defated the Las Vegas Aces during Game 1 of basketball's WNBA Finals Friday, Oct. 2, 2020, in Bradenton, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)BRADENTON, Fla. โ The Seattle Storm's lead down to two with a quarter left, Breanna Stewart took over. The big-game player scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter and finished with 37 to help the Storm beat the Las Vegas Aces 93-80 on Friday night in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals. She was a point short of the WNBA Finals record set by Angel McCoughtry. McCoughtry scored 20 points to lead Las Vegas, which was playing in the WNBA Finals for the first time since the franchise moved to the Nevada city three years ago. Eight players had reached 11 assists in a finals game before Bird's record performance.
Aces' A'ja Wilson earns AP WNBA player of the year honors
โShe knows who she is, she knows where sheโs going,โ said Las Vegas coach Bill Laimbeer. โI feel like I'm a more complete player now then when I first got into the league,โ Wilson said in an online interview. The second team included Phoenix teammates Diana Taurasi and Skylar Diggins-Smith, Connecticut teammates DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas, and Minnesota's Napheesa Collier. POWER POLLThe Las Vegas Aces finished atop the AP Power Poll, a spot they held for three of the final four weeks of the season. A'ja Wilson also received votes after she led Las Vegas to the top seed in the postseason.