WNBA news: Las Vegas Aces rookie Kate Martin went viral on Wednesday after the Iowa Hawkeyes posted a photo fo their former star guard returning to her alma matter. Martin addressed the current squad with an inspirational speech which has since blown up online.
Fellow former Hawkeye Caitlin Clark caught wind of the speech and the Indiana Fever superstar just had to react.
Martin was a special guest in a recent Hawkeyes practice session. Unsurprisingly, head coach Jan Jensen asked her former star guard to offer a few words for the team. Martin came prepared and she delivered a moving speech that was received well by the players.
“I keep thinking, ‘Why not just go all in?’” Martin said. “Our first Final Four we had a mantra, ‘Why not us?’ It’s like, why not show up every single day and work your a– off and see what can happen?
“… Have the mindset of ‘Why not?’. Why can’t you guys go back to a Final Four? Why can’t you guys win the Big 10 Championship again? Why not? Don’t put any limitations on who you can be and where you guys can go because that’s bulls—. F it and go have fun.”
It wasn’t just the team who appreciated Martin’s message, though. Apart from the hundreds of thousands of fans who have seen the video on social media, Clark just had share her thoughts on her former teammate’s speech.
Clark needed just five words to express her support for Martin.
“Gonna run thru a brick wall,” Clark commented.
Clark kept it short and sweet but there’s no denying that it was a powerful statement from the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year front-runner. Clark and Martin may no longer be on the same squad, but it is clear that their bond remains true.
Shane van Gisbergen has put together an extremely impressive rookie year in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, but you’d be wrong to simply call him a road-course ringer. While it’s true that all three of van Gisbergen’s victories have come on road-courses, he has three additional top-10 finishes at the likes of Atlanta, Phoenix and Indianapolis. With little practice available to him, van Gisbergen has forced to learn on the fly during races. However, he’s adapted quickly to the Xfinity Series, finishing top-15 in 12 of his first 20 races.
A potential top-10 run at Pocono was spoiled due to contact with Sam Mayer, but it’s clear that SVG has taken quickly to stock-car racing. Due to his road-course aptitude, it’s van Gisbergen who currently leads the Xfinity Series in wins. If the regular-season ended today, van Gisbergen would be seeded in the top-five, a major help in his bid for the 2024 Xfinity Series championship.
His lack of oval experience, however, shouldn’t be a reason for his championship competitors to take him lightly. While there’s only one road-course in the playoffs — the Charlotte Roval on Oct. 12 — it serves as the elimination race for the Round of 12. Even if Kansas and Talladega don’t go van Gisbergen’s way, a win at the Roval would automatically put him in the Round of 8.
The schedule for the Round of 8 doesn’t explicitly favor van Gisbergen, containing Las Vegas, Homestead and Martinsville, but it doesn’t serve as the death knell for his title bid, either. Van Gisbergen didn’t get a fair shake in his first trip to Las Vegas in March, as engine troubles derailed his day. Homestead will be a completely new venue for the New Zealander, but Martinsville could be his opportunity to strike. Van Gisbergen ran inside the top-10 at Martinsville in April before ultimately settling for an 11th-place finish. Considering how quickly he learns in his debuts at tracks, going to a track for the second time could be the catalyst for his first oval victory. Take SVG lightly at your own risk, Xfinity Series field: Behind the smiling, good natured shell of the Auckland native is a fierce competitor who is one of the best rookies any NASCAR series has ever seen.
Nearly four weeks into the NBA’s 2024-25 league year, there are only four restricted free agents who have yet to reach agreements on new deals, including just one who is coming off a standard contract. Here are the unsigned RFAs: Isaac Okoro, Cavaliers ($11,828,974 qualifying offer) Emoni Bates, Cavaliers (two-way qualifying offer) Jacob Toppin, Knicks (two-way qualifying offer) Oscar Tshiebwe, Pacers (two-way qualifying offer) There are still a couple teams with cap room available, so one of those teams – the Pistons and Jazz – could make life difficult for the Cavaliers by giving Okoro an offer sheet in that $12M-15M range, but there has been no indication either club plans to do so.
A sign-and-trade to an over-the-cap team is another possibility, and Fedor confirmed in a subscriber-only story for Cleveland.com that the Cavs have had talks with some possible trade partners about a deal, but it doesn’t sound like any real progress has been made on that front. Barring a late-summer push from a new suitor, Okoro may ultimately have to decide whether he wants to earn a higher salary in 2024-25 and bet on himself again as an unrestricted free agent in 2025 or if he prefers the security of a multiyear deal that would pay him less in year one. Okoro’s leverage is limited, but even his “worst-case” scenario would be a guaranteed $11.8M salary for next season. Bates, Toppin, and Tshiebwe have far less leverage and a far less appealing set of choices.
Of the 15 players who received two-way qualifying offers this offseason, only one (Vit Krejci of the Hawks) has agreed to a standard contract. Two others had their QOs withdrawn, while nine have returned to their respective teams on new two-way deals. The odds are good that the final three – Bates, Toppin, and Tshiebwe – will eventually have to accept two-way contracts too.
The deadline for teams to unilaterally withdraw a qualifying offer to a restricted free agent passed on July 13, so Bates, Toppin, and Tshiebwe aren’t facing any sort of short-term deadline on whether or not to accept their two-way offers. They can afford to wait a little longer to make their decisions. Still, even if they accept their respective qualifying offers, those one-year deals come with few assurances.
A two-way player can earn a $578,577 salary over the course of the 2024-25 season, but a qualifying offer is only partially guaranteed for $77,500. The Cavaliers currently have three open two-way slots, while the Knicks have two, so I think Bates and Toppin would be well-positioned to stick around into the regular season if they accept their QOs. Tshiebwe’s outlook is less clear. Within the last 24 hours, the Pacers filled two of their three two-way openings by signing Quenton Jackson and Tristen Newton. Tshiebwe could take the third slot, but Indiana still has an unsigned second-round pick (Enrique Freeman) who may be the frontrunner for that final two-way, as Dustin Dopirak writes for The Indianapolis Star. Tshiebwe was an All-NBA G League first-teamer and the G League Rookie of the Year this past season, so I expect he’d draw two-way interest from other teams if the Pacers determine they don’t have room for him.
As if NASCAR free agency couldn’t get any weirder this season, it now has a bow-tie-shaped wrench thrown in the middle of it. On Thursday, Spire Motorsports announced that Corey LaJoie would not return in 2025, opening the door for the team to put a new driver in the No. 7 car to be paired with Rodney Childers.
With the team losing a veteran driver in LaJoie, what if it were to bring another veteran driver to the team — rather than a win-less journeyman, however, what if a two-time champion took the reins of Spire’s flagship entry? It’s no secret that Kyle Busch’s 2024 season has been akin to Dante’s Inferno. With Richard Childress Racing sinking further into mediocrity with every passing week, it can’t be easy for one of the most fiery, driven competitors in NASCAR history to be content with a top-15 run. With Spire showing signs of improvement, as well as bringing on Childers, LaJoie’s departure could be the first domino to fall in what would be one of the wildest NASCAR free-agent moves of all time: Kyle Busch leaving the ruins of RCR to join a young, flourishing Spire. Busch is signed through 2025, but Spire has proved willing to open up its checkbook when it feels the situation calls for it. Signing Childers, who is revered as the best crew chief in the Cup garage, couldn’t have been cheap. Nor could partnerships with Gainbridge or adding a third Cup Series car or fielding three full-time entries in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Spire may represent a lateral move for Busch in 2025, but as the years go on, Spire will likely begin to outclass RCR. Rookie Carson Hocevar has been far better than LaJoie so far in 2024 and the team has young talent to flaunt in the form of Truck Series star Rajah Caruth. A Childers-Busch pairing may not be as potent as it could’ve been five years ago, but if Busch decides to stay with RCR, he could be throwing away the twilight years of his career when it appears he still has plenty of gas in the tank.
New York Giants is their secondary, a unit that lacks experience and, to a degree, potential upside. Aside from former first-round pick Deonte Banks, the prospects at CB2 and in the slot are somewhat limited. Assessing the Giants’ Secondary: Competition Heats Up However, an intriguing competition is unfolding at the cornerback spot alongside Banks. Third-year defensive back Cor’Dale Flott will contend with Nick McCloud, a former undrafted free agent from Notre Dame in 2021. The Buffalo Bills originally signed McCloud before he moved to Cincinnati and then spent the last two seasons with the Giants.
In 2022, McCloud played 583 snaps, yielding 296 yards, four touchdowns, and securing four pass breakups. Last season, he saw 312 snaps but surrendered only 152 yards, one touchdown, and collected an interception. Based on his statistics and film review, he could be a strong contender for a starting corner job, even though Head Coach Brian Daboll indicated several weeks ago that they have plenty of confidence in Flott.
Cor’Dale Flott’s Role and Challenges Flott, a 22-year-old lanky DB from LSU drafted in the third round, allowed 288 yards, three touchdowns, and achieved three pass breakups over 519 snaps last season. He experienced some inconsistency, particularly in tough outings against Green Bay and Philadelphia, where he conceded a combined 151 yards and a touchdown. Initially considered a nickel corner, Flott’s build does not lend itself well to run support.
He struggles with tackling and shedding blocks, which are not his strengths. The Giants are better off positioning him on the outside, where he can isolate and use his agile movements to mirror bigger receivers. McCloud’s Rising Prospects Conversely, McCloud has just as strong an opportunity to secure the starting position, having already started training camp impressively. The Giants recognize potential in both players and ultimately, they will let the best man win the job.