Indiana Fever takes down the New York Liberty 108-88 to win second straight game The Indiana Fever took care of business for the second consecutive night, taking down the New York Liberty 108-88 in front of a packed home crowd. Fresh off a career-high 45-point night that set a Fever franchise record, Caitlin Clark was back in action. Clark scored 17 points and added 7 assists, helping lead the Fever to a big second half. Saturday’s game also marked the first time Clark played in back-to-back games since her rookie season. At halftime, Indiana trailed New York 49-45 but outscored the Liberty by 24 points over the final two quarters. In the third quarter alone, Indiana outscored the Liberty 30-12 and held on to a 14-point lead heading into the fourth.
Ninth-year Fever guard and three-time WNBA All-Star Kesley Mitchell had another monster night. Mitchell scored a game-high 33 points while shooting 10-for-14 from the floor. As a team, the Fever connected on 14 threes and shot an even 50 percent from distance in the win. Indiana’s offense also dished out 22 assists as a team to New York’s 19. With the win, Indiana improves to 15-10 on the season and looks ahead to a home matchup against the Connecticut Sun inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Wednesday.
Indiana Pacers Close out the NBA Las Vegas Summer League with a win over the New Orleans Pelicans The Indiana Pacers wrapped up their stay in Las Vegas for the 2026 NBA Summer League with a 91-73 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night at The Pavilion. Two-way forward Jalen Slawson led the way with 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting to go along with four rebounds and three assists. Keba Keita added 14 points, seven boards, and three blocks off the bench while going 6-for-7 from the field. Two-way guard Taelon Peter had 14 points and four rebounds, while Rienk Mast tallied 12 points and six boards. The Pacers’ two-point guards combined for 21 assists in the victory. Second-round pick Braden Smith had five points and nine assists in 23 minutes, while Yuki Kawamura tallied five points and 12 assists in 20 minutes off the bench.
The Pacers raced out to an early 19-6 lead on Saturday night, with Smith assisting on four of Indiana’s first six baskets. Keita came off the bench and tallied six points and three blocks in the opening frame as the Blue & Gold took a 23-16 lead into the second quarter. The Pelicans surged ahead in the ensuing frame thanks to a 17-4 run. But the Pacers closed the half with six straight points capped by Kawamura’s layup in the final minute — to take a 41-39 lead into halftime. Slawson led Indiana with 10 points in the first half, while Peter added seven. The Blue & Gold blew the game open in the third quarter. An 8-0 run early in the frame pushed Indiana’s lead to 10. The Pacers ultimately outscored New Orleans 29-12 in the quarter to open up a 70-51 lead. They extended the margin as high as 24 points in the fourth quarter, cruising to a comfortable victory to close out Summer League play. The Pacers wrapped up Summer League with a 2-3 record.
Indy Eleven Shut Out at Detroit City FC Indy Eleven goalkeeper Eric Dick made five saves in a scoreless first half, but host Detroit City FC scored two goals early in the second half to earn a 2-0 win. Dick finished with six saves in the match, one shy of his season-high seven stops vs. Pittsburgh on April 4. He now has 288 in his USL Championship career, good for 20th on the league all-time list. The Boys in Blue recorded 12 shots in the contest, with Bruno Rendon leading the way with four and Charlie Sharp having two. Indy Eleven midfielder Jack Blake moved into third on the franchise all-time list for appearances in all competitions with his 116th, breaking a tie with current Indy Eleven TV analyst Brad Ring.
Defender Paco Craig returned to the lineup after missing the past two matches, playing his 249th USL-C regular-season game. He needs one more to become the 21st player in league history to reach the 250-mark. Defender Anthony Herbert made his first appearance for the Boys in Blue since May 23 after suffering an injury while on international duty with the Trinidad & Tobago National Team in Russia. The Boys in Blue host Loudoun United FC on “Princess Night” presented by IBEW Local 481 and SERVPRO Team Olson next Saturday at 7 p.m. at Carroll Stadium. Fans can meet their favorite princesses including the 2026 Indiana State Fair Queen, create magical crafts, get their face painted, join the halftime Princess Parade, and add-on their very own magical wand at checkout to be picked up at the match. Fans can purchase a “Princess Pack” with four tickets, free parking, $20 in Concession Vouchers, and a 20% Merchandise Discount, along with access to the Fun Zone/Kids Activation Area for just $49. Bring a new, unwrapped toy(s) to donate at the match for “Toys for Tots” and receive two complimentary tickets for any remaining match this season.
Curt Cignetti Reacts to Indiana University Football Not Winning Best Team ESPY: “Some networks are consistent getting it wrong” Curt Cignetti dropped the latest bomb in a war of words with ESPN that dates back to the 2024 season. His undefeated 2025 national championship team was nominated for the “Best Team” honor at this week’s ESPY Awards, a program operated by the sports network. The Hoosiers were certainly a worthy nominee after completing major college football’s first 16-0 season since 1894. The rags to riches turnaround story is one of the most improbable in the history of all sports. At least nine members of the 2025 IU football team were at the ESPY Awards.
But instead, the NBA’s New York Knicks were named the Best Team at the ESPY ceremony in New York. The Knicks were just the No. 3 seed in the East and then went on to a dominant postseason run. While their NBA title ended a franchise drought, it wasn’t historic on the scale of what IU accomplished. As he’s prone to do from time to time, Indiana’s head coach noticed the slight. “You know, that natty 16-0 hadn’t happened in 136 years,” Cignetti said Friday on the Pat McAfee Show. “Now, how that team doesn’t win a certain award as the team of the year, you know, but some networks are consistent at getting it wrong.” Cignetti didn’t have to worry about frustrating a Big Ten media partner with that comment. ESPN is not part of the league’s massive broadcasting rights deal he says helped lure him to IU in the first place. This back-and-forth has been ongoing for a while.
Several commentators from ESPN and its sister companies owned by Disney have taken cheap shots at Cignetti and IU, especially following their 2024 College Football Playoff loss at Notre Dame. Resident ESPN SEC shill Paul Finebaum seemed to take weekly digs at the Hoosiers before eventually being forced to acknowledge he had it all wrong. In the case of the ESPY Awards, McAfee, a vocal IU supporter who works for ESPN, informed Cignetti that fan voting heavily influenced the outcome rather than the network. With that, Cignetti pulled back some. “You’re not beating them (New York fans), and there’s a lot of deserving teams in there,” Cignetti said. But always in search of an edge, Cignetti had already said what he felt needed to be said. This probably won’t be the end of his exchange with ESPN. And that’s probably how both sides want it.
NFL FLAG Championships coming to Grand Park Sports Complex in Westfield The world’s largest youth flag football tournament is coming to central Indiana for the first time. Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield will host the NFL FLAG Championships on July 23-26, welcoming more than 350 teams and thousands of athletes and their families from across the United States and around the world. The event marks another major sporting event for the 400-acre complex and continues Indiana’s growing reputation as a destination for national sports championships. “We know we always have a great host in the state of Indiana,” said Nicki Ewell, the NFL’s Vice President of Global Events. “Our staff loves the Scouting Combine, they love downtown Indy, they love coming to Indy. Couldn’t ask for better hosts, and it’s a great venue. It’s 400 acres, it’s the largest flag football tournament we’ve ever held globally.”
Games throughout the week will be televised nationally on ESPN, giving Grand Park another opportunity to showcase one of the nation’s premier youth sports facilities. “For us to be able to market our event venue to the world and say, ‘We’re here and we’re here to grow,'” said Matt Trnian, vice president of operations at Grand Park Sports Campus. “The great part of this event is that it’s only touching eight of our fields. We have 31 other fields this can grow to, so that’s alignment that we have with the event owners in the NFL.”
The championships also come at a pivotal moment for the sport. Flag football will make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, creating a new pathway for young athletes competing next week. “There’s a clear pathway to girls and boys playing flag at the most competitive level, which is the Olympics,” Ewell said. “Getting on the map with LA28 was huge and sort of galvanized the world around it. We also have 15 international teams coming to Indiana.”
Trnian said fans could be watching future Olympians take the field. “These athletes at some point may be your national team,” Trnian said. “So you can get an early look at them as they hit the ground running this year and see what the sport is going to continue to evolve into.” Beyond the competition, the championships will feature food vendors, interactive fan activities and a festival atmosphere throughout the week. Fans planning to attend can register for free in advance by downloading the NFL OnePass app before arriving at Grand Park.
Taylor University Softball Set to Host Two Round Robin Tournaments and a Prospect Camp The Taylor softball program is set to host a prospect camp along with a pair of round robin tournaments this fall at Gudakunst Field. Taylor will host a fall prospect camp for girls entering grades 9-12 on Tuesday, September 19th. Players will go through a comprehensive power testing session, including overhand velocity, hitting exit velocity, home-to-first and home-to-home times, and vertical jump testing. Campers will also take part in position-specific drills, instruction, and live scrimmaging. Athletes and families will have opportunities to engage in Q&A sessions with our staff and enjoy a campus tour to learn more about our program and environment. Cost for the camp is $140 and runs from 9:00 am until 4:00 pm.
TU Softball will also host a pair of round robin tournaments for teams in the fall on Saturday, September 12th and Saturday, October 3rd. Both tournaments will be 16u/18u mix and feature six teams, with each team playing two 75-minute games at Gudakunst Field on Taylor’s campus. Each game will have one umpire behind the plate and TUSB players helping in the field and in the dugout. Along with the games each team will get a campus tour led by current TUSB athletes. The cost per team is $400 with games beginning at 10:00 am. For additional information on the camp and round robin tournaments, please contact Grace Glidewell at 765-998-5292, or via email at grace_glidewell@taylor.edu.
NBA Commissioner Adam Sliver says Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark has become a ‘political football’ amid WNBA officiating debates Conversations about WNBA officiating and Caitlin Clark have now expanded to include NBA commissioner Adam Silver. Silver said Thursday, July 16 that Clark has become a “political football” amid debates about officiating and physical play in the WNBA, spurred by a recent play involving the star guard and Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas. “Ultimately, the issues around Caitlin Clark are not largely about officiating,” Silver said, “and that particular incident is not about whether a foul should have been called at the time in the game or whether that was ultimately a flagrant on review.” Silver made the remarks during an onstage conversation with Andrew Ross Sorkin at the Game Plan Summit, presented by CNBC and Boardroom.
“I have come to know Caitlin really well,” Silver said. “She’s an incredible player and also an incredible person. And she wants to focus on being the best player she can. She has become a bit of a political football in this country, and I think it’s incredibly unfair to her. I don’t think that issue is ultimately about officiating. It’s become political ping-pong with her. And she’s a young woman who’s trying to improve her game.” The play Silver referred to happened during a June 24 game between the Fever and Mercury when Thomas made contact with her fist to Clark’s throat in the second quarter. Thomas was not called for a foul on the play during the game, but the league subsequently upgraded the play to a flagrant foul and suspended her one game for “recklessly making contact with her fist.”
Thomas later said the play was an accident. She has said she received death threats and has been called racial slurs after the incident, also criticizing WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert for not doing more to protect the league’s players. Clark and Fever coach Stephanie White have condemned threats levied at Thomas. Since she entered the league, Clark has helped significantly increase WNBA ticket sales and television ratings. However, many conversations around her have centered on polarizing topics, including race, officiating and politics. “I don’t even think it’s fair to her that this has become a separate storyline about one foul,” Silver said, adding: “Do we need to improve WNBA officiating? No doubt about it.”