Former Connecticut Sun coach hired to lead Caitlin Clark’s team

On By Littum

BASKETBALL

The Indiana Fever hired Stephanie White as coach on Friday, putting her in charge of a team led by WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark.

White spent the last two seasons as the head coach of the Connecticut Sun before parting ways with the team earlier this week.

White, a former star at Purdue, served on the Fever coaching staff from 2011-16, including as head coach the past two seasons. The Fever won the WNBA title in 2012 with White on the staff.

White replaces Christie Sides, who led the Fever to a 20-20 record last season and the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2016. The organization announced it was moving on from Sides, who was the head coach for two seasons before being let go Sunday.

TENNIS

CHAMPIONS OF PARIS: Alexander Zverev advanced to the semi-finals by beating Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 6-4, also knocking Tsitsipas out of contention for the ATP Finals.

Zverev, the French Open runner-up, next faces 2022 champion Holger Rune for a shot at the title. He is in his third semi-final in Paris in the past four years, although he has never won the hard-court tournament.

The other semi-final will match Ugo Humbert against 2018 champion Karen Khachanov.

AUTO RACING

FORMULA 1: British driver Oliver Bearman replaced an ill Kevin Magnussen in a Haas car at the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo and excelled.

Bearman, 19, was third in morning practice, just 0.195 seconds behind McLaren’s Lando Norris, the fastest. Later, Bearman left compatriot Lewis Hamilton in the final part of the sprint race qualifying and finished 10th.

Haas did not elaborate on Magnussen’s illness. The rules allow the Danish driver to return to qualifying on Saturday if he is in good shape.

COLD SHOT

GRAND PRIX: Amber Glenn of the United States is on her way to her first win after taking a big lead in the short program at the French Series round in Angiers, France.

Glenn was the only skater in the women’s event to land a triple axel en route to 78.14 points, taking the lead by more than seven points from Kim Chaeyeon of South Korea at 70.90.

Jin Boyang of China led the men’s short program in pursuit of his first Grand Prix win since his home Cup in China in 2020. Jin landed a quadruple toeloop as he scored 88.12, with Aleksandr Selevko of Estonia on 85.73 and Kazuki Tomono from Japan at 83.45 .

BASEBALL

MAJOR LEAGUES: Second baseman Jorge Polanco’s $12 million option was declined by the Seattle Mariners, who will pay a $750,000 buyout and allow him to become a free agent.

The Mariners also said infielder Luis Urías cleared waivers and elected to become a free agent.

Polanco hit a career-low .213 with 16 homers and 45 RBI this year. He was sidelined between May 26 and June 24 with a strained right hamstring.

• The White Sox declined a $25 million option on third baseman Yoán Moncada after he missed nearly the entire season with a left adductor strain.

Chicago also declined a $7.5 million option on catcher Max Stassi.

COLLEGES

MOUNTAIN WEST: Grand Canyon accepted an invitation to join the conference no later than 2026, according to a release sent by the school.

The Antelopes will join a conference that has six existing members, including Air Force, New Mexico, Nevada, San Jose State, UNLV and Wyoming. UTEP and Hawaii also announced they were joining the league.

Grand Canyon said 17 of its 21 sports teams will play in the Mountain West. The Antelopes do not have a football program, but have had significant success in men’s basketball, reaching the NCAA Tournament in three of the past four seasons.

HOCKEY

NHL: Florida captain Aleksander Barkov had a goal and three assists in his return to his hometown, Sam Reinhart scored twice and the Panthers beat the Dallas Stars 6-4 in Tampere, Finland.

Finnish players line up. Barkov had four points, Anton Lundell had a goal and Niko Mikkola had an assist for Florida, while Esa Lindell had a goal and an assist for the Stars. All seven Finns on the guards started the match.

Aaron Ekblad had three assists for Florida, which won its fourth straight. Evan Rodrigues and Mackie Samoskevich also scored for the Panthers, who got 32 saves from Sergei Bobrovsky.

SOCCER

YORKE RENTED: Former Manchester United star Dwight Yorke was appointed coach of Trinidad and Tobago with the aim of leading his home islands back to the World Cup.

Yorke captained the Soca Warriors at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the only time they qualified. Trinidad and Tobago did not progress from a group with England, Sweden and Paraguay.

The team is second behind Costa Rica in a five-team World Cup qualifying group. The top two advance to the next stage and Trinidad’s place can be sealed by beating Saint Kitts and Nevis on June 6.