Dawn Staley said, given a do-over, Caitlin Clark would be in “really high consideration” of making the USA Basketball squad.
If USA Basketball had a do-over, Caitlin Clark just might be on the 2024 Olympics squad taking part in the Paris Games.
South Carolina head women’s basketball coach and USA Basketball selection committee member Dawn Staley commented on Clark’s omission from the Olympics roster with NBC’s Mike Tirico on Sunday.
“As a committee member, you’re charged with putting together best team of players, the best talent. Caitlin is just a rookie in the WNBA. Wasn’t playing bad, but wasn’t playing like she’s playing now.
“If we had to do it all over again, the way that she’s playing, she would be in really high consideration of making the team because she is playing head and shoulders above a lot of people. Shooting the ball extremely well. I mean, she is an elite passer. She’s just got a great basketball IQ and she’s a little more seasoned in the pro game in a couple of months than she was two months ago,” Staley said.
Dawn Staley, a member of the USWNT selection committee, asked about Caitlin Clark.
“If we had to do it all over again, the way that she’s playing, she would be in really high consideration of making the team because she is playing head and shoulders above a lot of people.” pic.twitter.com/hMYqTsPWzc
Clark has certainly settled in as a professional. The 6-foot rookie guard for the Indiana Fever is averaging 17.1 points, 8.2 assists, 5.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 40.5% from the field, 32.7% from 3-point range and 89.1% from the free throw line.
Clark and the Fever return to action after the Olympics break on Aug. 16 versus the Phoenix Mercury at 6:30 p.m. CT on ION.
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Scottie Scheffler has been a busy man the last few days.
He and his wife, Meredith, along with son Bennett, explored Paris on Saturday, including a stop at the famous Louvre museum. They also saw the Mona Lisa.
On Sunday, Scheffler went to the table tennis competition, and he plans to attend gymnastics Tuesday. All of this in the midst preparing for his first Olympics golf competition.
“Obviously my biggest priority is showing up ready to play this week, but I definitely want to experience a little bit of the Olympics,” Scheffler said, “but it’s definitely been fun, being part of the Olympics, and it’s definitely a different vibe this week.”
Scheffler said come Wednesday, it’s all business as he, along with Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa and Wyndham Clark, represent Team USA in the Paris Olympics. The men’s golf competition, featuring 60 golfers from across the globe, will take place at Le Golf National, site of the 2018 Ryder Cup, beginning Thursday.
As for the No. 1 golfer in the world, he’s one of the favorites, along with Schauffele, the defending gold medalist and winner of two majors this year, including two weeks ago in the Open Championship at Royal Troon.
And Scheffler would be more than willing to don the gold medal come Sunday afternoon.
“It would be very special to have the gold medal,” Scheffler said. “It’s definitely one of the reasons why I’m here this week. I didn’t come here to — I love going to watch table tennis yesterday but that’s not why I showed up.
“I try to place an equal amount of value to all the tournaments I play. I feel like that any time I show up, I’m trying to do my best, and that’s definitely the case this week. It’s definitely special to be part of the Olympics and I’m looking forward to the chance to compete for a medal for our country.”
Scheffler has six wins this season, including the Masters, and he has grown to become one of the faces of professional golf since bursting onto the scene with his stellar 2022 season.
His fame is worldwide, too. Although he said nothing too crazy happened, he said people have recognized him in Paris and from time to time come up for a picture or autograph.
One of the most memorable moments of his time in Paris thus far was the Louvre.
“As we were walking around, I felt like we saw 1/10th of the museum at most. We were there for two hours and I felt like I could have been there for days exploring around looking at all the old paintings,” he said. “I would say the paintings were something that really took me back. It was pretty wild how big they were and how talented people were back then, and also how long they preserved them for as long as they have.
“I can get pretty interested in that kind of stuff just standing there reading the descriptions of all the stuff and the images, and it was definitely a fun few hours.”
Scheffler said he played 18 holes Sunday and another nine Monday, his first times at the course. He watched footage from the 2018 Ryder Cup, and his caddie, Ted Scott, has experience at the venue from that competition.
When it comes to the golf, Scheffler isn’t worried about how he can perform on the course. When it comes to being an Olympic athlete in another sport?
“I think at one time I would have considered the table tennis that we played elite, and I’m pretty sure it’s far from it,” Scheffler said after watching the competition Sunday. ”
“Could I be a multi-sport athlete in the Olympics? I don’t think so. But sometimes I have irrational self-confidence, and maybe if I really put my mind to it.”
New Zealand Olympic rugby sevens player Michaela Blyde is a HUGE of fellow Olympian and decorated track and field star Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
When I say huge fan, I mean Michaela could hardly keep it together at the mere thought of her idol following her on Instagram. In a new video, Blyde is downright giddy as she realizes that Fraser-Pryce followed her and commented on a recent reel she posted after she (perhaps jokingly) invited her to be friends.
“Oh my God. We’re best friends,” Michaela says before the video cuts to her receiving a message from Shelly-Ann and eventually getting help from her teammates to arrange a nearby meetup. Soon, a very excited (and barefoot) Michaela comes barreling down a Paris street and into the arms of an awaiting Shelly-Ann, who embraces her.
Aye Shelly have Michaela in shambles. 🤭
This is so cute btw, and her teammates coming together to reply to the message is even cuter.
I knew when I saw her barefoot that she ran from somewhere.
That’s amazing stuff, really. But that isn’t the end of the story. Shelly-Ann was in the stadium to see Michaela and New Zealand beat China during this year’s Games. You love to see it.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce 🇯🇲 cheering Michaela Blyde 🇳🇿 today in her Rugby match against China!
That is truly great news for everyone involved because Snoop Dogg is genuinely fantastic in not only the recording studio but in the broadcasting booth as well.
Just listen to him describe the highlights of this thrilling badminton rally between USA and China and you will see exactly why he is perfect for this job:
“Oh I love this badminton right here. This is a great rally here between China and the U.S. right here. As you see, it don’t stop ’till the casket drop. They rockin’ and rollin’ back and forth. Give me that. No, I need that. Nope, over here. No, over there. What about over there? Nope. What about over there? Nope. Give me that. I need that. That too. Nope, sit down. Wait a minute. Way up in the sky. Now down. Back up. Over there. Now over here. Get out the way. Move. I told you. We need that.”
This is a man who speaks in such rhythmic brilliance that he was built for this moment. Keep him on TV!
Jason Kelce and the USA women’s rugby sevens team is the duo we never knew we needed.
Jason Kelce is having the time of his life at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and he’s hamming it with the Team USA women’s rugby sevens team.
Jason and his wife Kylie went to Paris to watch the Olympic Games, and they already spent time watching the United States compete in women’s field hockey.
Now, Jason’s been hanging out with Ilona Maher and the USA women’s rugby sevens team, and the clips from his time in the Olympic village with the whole squad are genuinely tremendous. Maher recently asked him to be a super fan of the team (similar to the way women’s water polo has Flavor Flav), and he wholesomely agreed.
But it gets better. At some point, Jason was arm wrestling — YES, ARM WRESTLING — with another player, Nicole Heavirland, and you have to see the clip to believe it.
If you could be an Olympian, what sport would you want to play?
Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. This is FTW Explains: The Olympics. This one has a twist.
If you’ve ever watched the Olympics, you’ve almost surely wondered what it’s like to be an elite athlete out there competing on the world’s biggest stage. If you ever played or wanted to play an Olympic sport, you’ve probably dreamed of competing at the Games, regardless of how realistic that dream was.
So for the 2024 Paris Olympics, we here at For The Win are trying to put ourselves in the literal shoes of athletes, imagining what sports we’d love to excel at and which ones we’d maybe pass on.
What Summer Olympic sport would you love to be elite at?
Mike Sykes: Skateboarding. Skaters seem like the chillest people on Earth. They may not be the richest athletes or whatever, but I feel like the sponsorships they get are super cool. And they make enough money to sustain my terrible habit of purchasing sneakers I don’t need. I’d be good with that.
Michelle Martinelli: Swimming, no question. There was a time when I would have sacrificed just about anything — logical or totally nonsensical — if it meant being an elite swimmer competing for a spot on an Olympic roster. I’m clearly far from an Olympic swimmer. But swimming is my one true love, so if time travel and cosmic bargaining become options, I’d probably still make any trade.
Prince Grimes: Football. Or as we like to call it ’round here, soccer. And this has nothing to do with any sort of love I have for the sport. I just saw what Apple paid Messi and thought that’d be nice for me too.
Argentina’s forward #10 Lionel Messi takes a free kick during the Conmebol 2024 Copa America tournament final football match between Argentina and Colombia at the Hard Rock Stadium, in Miami, Florida on July 14, 2024. (Photo by Chandan Khanna / AFP)
Cory Woodroof: My disastrous coordination prevents me from being good at really any sports, but I’d absolutely love to be elite at carrying in the flag to the Olympic Opening Ceremony. I’d love to get a gold medal in carrying the flag and then just going to the stands to sit down.
Meghan Hall: Gymnastics. I thought I WAS Dominique Dawes growing up. Obviously, I’m not nearly as talented, but I got the height DOWN. Can you imagine me with knees that actually work and talent that won’t get me laughed out of the stadium?! BOW DOWN, PEASANTS. Your gold medals COULD NEVER.
Mary Clarke: Fencing. Swords are cool and learning to wield one professionally sounds so fun. Sure, swimming or gymnastics might get you more household name recognition, but consider: SWORDS!!!
Jul 27, 2021; Chiba, Japan; Anqi Xu (CHN), left, competes with Mara Navarria (ITA), right, in the bronze medal match of the women’s fencing epee team competition during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games at Makuhari Messe Hall B. ( James Lang-USA TODAY Sports)
Robert Zeglinski: Swimming. You’re telling me I could swim a few hundred laps a day in a massive pool of water and proceed to eat whatever I want for “fuel?” Uh, sign me up immediately.
Andrew Joseph: I feel like basketball is the obvious answer because it would be awesome to be an NBA player… and have an NBA contract.
Mitchell Northam: In high school, I was an extremely average shot put thrower. Being elite in that seems kind of cool, but far less fun than some other sports. Thinking a bit bigger here, I’m going to say archery, mostly because of comic books. Like, imagine just being Hawkeye, or Bullseye, and just being able to hit anything with an arrow. Is this a skill that would be useful or practical in everyday life? Probably not. But would it be neat to show off every now and then? Absolutely yes.
Christian D’Andrea: Golf. Oh, I get to make millions of dollars a year playing a game others spend thousands of dollars to play each year? And when I’m old and can barely move, I get to play against other old dudes who can barely move? Easy.
Aug 7, 2021; Tokyo, Japan; Mone Inami (JPN) tees off on the 16th hole during the final round of the women’s individual stroke play of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games at Kasumigaseki Country Club. (Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports)
Bryan Kalbrosky: Basketball. Have you seen how cool Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson looked in those USA Basketball hats in 1992? I would do anything for one of those neat snapbacks with the blue brim and green underneath. I don’t even want to be elite enough to take away minutes from anyone on the roster. I kind of just want the authentic merch and a front row seats to the games. By the way, artistic swimming gets an honorable mention here. My haters would rue the day they doubted me.
What Summer Olympic sport would you not want to be elite at?
Sykes: The triathlon is the easy answer here. That seems absolutely miserable. The event itself is so grueling I can’t even bring myself to imagine what the training is like. I’d rather keep my sanity. Shoutout to the triathletes, though. I respect you so much.
Triathlon athletes compete next to the bridge Alexandre III and the Seine river as they run to go from swimming to cycling during a Test Event for the women’s triathlon for the upcoming 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, on August 17, 2023. (Photo by Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP)
Michelle: Cycling, of any kind really. But particularly track, road and mountain cycling. Have you seen some of Olympic cycling accidents? Terrifying, especially when athletes become roadkill and run each other over.
Prince: Rugby Sevens. By the way, why do they call it Rugby Sevens? Anyway, nothing about a rugby scrum or being hit with a blindside tackle seems particularly exciting.
Cory: Diving. The world does not need me jumping off a diving board and doing twists and flips of any sort. It wouldn’t go well. I’d probably get hurt. It’d scare the children at home. It’s a bad idea.
Meghan: Badminton. Nothing about Badminton says ELITE to me. But you better believe if I ever nailed an on-court serve that was medal-worthy, YOU WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO SHUT ME UP. Excuse me, the Olympic queen is coming through. Meghan Hall, first of her name, crusher of badminton souls and expectations.
Nan Zhang (CHN) and Yunlei Zhao (CHN) compete against Kenta Kazuno (JPN) and Ayane Kurihara (JPN) in a mixed doubles quarterfinal at Riocentro – Pavilion 4 during the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games. (Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports)
Mary: The triathlon. The idea of a long-distance endurance race has me gasping for air already. Plus, you have to be good at not just one sport but three. Hard pass for me.
Robert: Boxing. Listen, I also cover American football. Boxing is probably the one sport that is truly worse from a head damage perspective. I would generally like to keep most of my (remaining) brain cells, thank you very much.
Andrew: Skateboarding with a doubt. Even the best skateboarders of all-time have more orthopedic injuries than they can remember. It brings all the physical risks of sports like boxing and football – but with little financial benefit unless you’re Tony Hawk. I’d prefer to not live in constant pain.
Aug 5, 2021; Tokyo, Japan; Pedro Barros (BRA) in the men’s skateboarding park during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games at Ariake Urban Sports Park. (Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports)
Mitchell: I’m totally out on cycling. I’m a big guy, and bikes have been uncomfortable and unfun for my entire life. Not on a road, not on a track, not on a trail, not anywhere.
Christian: Triathlon. I get bored watching extra-long episodes of The Bear. Not a chance in hell I could get through six hour training sessions, even if I didn’t have the cardio of a senior citizen.
Bryan: Table tennis. No one would believe me if I told them I was an Olympian, and they’d laugh when I said it was table tennis. Plus, I’d never be able to play a full, relaxed game with my friends when we were around a ping pong table again. Although it might give me the practical skills to finally beat my mom at pickleball one day, I’d rather her have than over me still anyway.
In an Olympics matchup featuring three current Rockets, Dillon Brooks and Canada will face Jock Landale, Jack McVeigh, and Australia on Tuesday.
In a 2024 Olympics matchup featuring three current Houston Rockets players, Dillon Brooks and Team Canada will face Jock Landale, Jack McVeigh, and Team Australia on Tuesday morning.
The game tips off at 6:30 a.m. Central from Lille, France, and it will be available to watch and stream live in the United States on Peacock (subscription required). Brooks and Landale are expected to start for their sides, while McVeigh will play off the bench.
The 12 nations in the men’s basketball tournament are split into three groups, with four teams in each group. Canada and Australia are both in Group A, along with Greece and Spain.
At the end of the three-game group phase, the top two teams in each group automatically advance to the quarterfinals. Additionally, the two best third-place teams, as determined by point differential, move on to the eight-team quarterfinals. At that point, the tournament will follow a standard single elimination, knockout format.
Both Canada and Australia won their initial group-phase game on Saturday, with all three members of the Rockets playing well in those games. So, both sides are well positioned to eventually move on to the quarterfinals — and a win Tuesday could potentially clinch it.
The USWNT has seven goals in two games, and there is still room for improvement
The U.S. women’s national team has started the Olympics in devastating form, and forward Sophia Smith offered a warning to any future opponents after a 4-1 rout of Germany.
This team hasn’t yet hit its peak.
Smith and her front-line partners Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson have been impossible to stop at the Olympics so far, as the U.S. cruised past Zambia 3-0 before putting global power Germany to the sword on Sunday.
The trio has combined for six goals and three assists at the Olympics, with the USWNT already clinching a spot in the quarterfinal ahead of Wednesday’s group-stage finale against Australia.
Speaking to reporters after Sunday’s game against Germany, Smith insisted that her side still had another level to reach.
“This is probably only game six or seven of us playing up front together,” Smith said in quotes on The Athletic.
“We’re clicking really well, really fast. I think this is only like 70 percent of what we can do.”
The USWNT’s front three had only started one time together before pre-Olympics friendlies this month, but have already formed a partnership that is borderline unstoppable.
With Smith as a nominal No. 9 and Swanson and Rodman to either side, the trio interchange liberally and cause fits for defenders who have to account for their constant movement and overloads.
The team’s attack stands in sharp contrast to last summer’s World Cup, when the U.S. beat Vietnam 3-0 to kick off the tournament and then proceeded to score just one more goal in its final three games en route to a last-16 exit.
This time around, the U.S. has already netted seven times in two games — and there appears to be much more to come.
“We have a lot of really special players and we’re finally starting to connect,” midfielder Rose Lavelle said. “But we know we still have another level in us.”
This is the only response you can have after exposing your buns to the world.
Olympic surfer Tim Elter lost his pants while competing, and he delivered the best response to having his hind parts exposed.
So many wild things will happen while competing at the Olympics. But if I had to guess, losing your pants and exposing your derriere to seemingly the whole world is probably not on your mind. However, German surfer Tim Elter was actually wildly prepared for this sort of thing. (Maybe it happens more than I think.)
When photos of his cheeky incident began flooding social media, he took the whole thing in stride and with way more humor than I ever could. He gave the best one-liner I’ve seen in quite some time, especially to something very unplanned. (Warning: NSFW language.)
Many coaching decisions that fall under public scrutiny can be put to bed that simply for me. If it worked, let’s move on.
That’s where I stand when it comes to Steve Kerr’s decision to bench Jayson Tatum Sunday for all of Team USA’s win over Serbia in group play of the Paris Olympics. Many people found it to be disrespectful to a First Team All-NBA player fresh off leading his team to a championship — especially given two of his Boston Celtics teammates combined for almost 40 minutes in the game. But as Kerr explained after the win, the matchup and Kevin Durant’s return from injury dictated Tatum sit.
The results speak for themselves. USA won by 26 points. Let’s move on. The only thing owed to Tatum was a conversation about the decision. Kerr said that took place prior to the game.
"He handled it really well. I talked to him today before the game that it may play out this way just with Kevin coming back… Jayson's gonna play… I felt like an idiot not playing him" -Steve Kerr pic.twitter.com/xwndCt6GW1
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) July 28, 2024
Steve Kerr to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst:
“It’s tough. But Jayson handled it really well. I talked to him today before the game that it may play out this way, just with Kevin coming back. The lineups that I wanted to get to. But that’ll change. Jayson’s going to play. Every game is going to be different based on matchups.”
What more needs to be said? Kerr picked a 10-man lineup he thought would work best, and he struck gold. When this many stars came together for one goal, sacrifices were always going to be necessary. Tyrese Haliburton also received a DNP-CD. When the U.S. plays South Sudan on Wednesday, it could be two different players. Kerr already revealed Tatum will play in that game.
“Jayson will play [Wednesday],” Kerr said, via ESPN. “I’m not going to answer your next question, which is if he plays, who doesn’t. But we’re going to need him, and part of this job for me is to keep everybody engaged and ready, because my experience with this is crazy stuff happens.”
Some people have argued that Tatum could have played in the second half of the blowout. But as analyst Tim Legler explained, giving a star garbage minutes would have been almost more disrespectful. Once the decision was made to not play Tatum in the first half, you can’t put him in when the game is out of reach.
“Once he didn’t play in the first half, it becomes then something for the coach to not disrespect him. As crazy as that sounds, it’s more disrespectful to give him a few minutes at the end of the game than not play him. Because by not playing him, Steve Kerr is saying ‘you know what? I can’t play 12 guys.”
That’s exactly what Kerr said. He doesn’t believe he can play more than 10 players in a 40-minute game. He’s wrong, of course. Kerr can do whatever he wants. He’s the coach. But he’s probably right that it doesn’t make sense to force minutes for more than 10 players in a 40-minute game.
The only problem now is that Kerr has established this as his base philosophy for the rest of these Olympics. So, barring games that get wildly out of hand in the first two quarters, we should expect to see at least two players sit each game going forward. And it’s a situation I’m glad I don’t have to manage.
All it takes is one player to not handle being benched as gracefully as Tatum to make this entire experiment incredibly awkward. And if Kerr concedes by trying to play everyone going forward, the Serbia game ends up looking a lot more disrespectful towards Tatum.
As it stands now, though, it was the right call. It’s on Kerr to figure out how to walk that tightrope the rest of the way to gold.
