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Record-setting rebounder Angel Reese calls out stat-padding critics
Angel Reese is rebounding the ball at an unprecedented rate in WNBA history. And she's a rookie.
On Sunday, the Chicago Sky forward collected another 19 boards to take her season tally to 418 rebounds, breaking the previous all-time single-season record of 404 rebounds set by Sylvia Fowles in 2018.
As part of her 24th double-double of the season, Reese also clinched the single-season record for most offensive rebounds (165), surpassing Yolanda Griffiths' mark of 162 set during the 2001 season.
Despite Reese's best efforts, the Sky (11-21) suffered their sixth consecutive defeat of the season and now find themselves in danger of losing the eighth and final playoff spot to the Atlanta Dream.
Reese has received some public criticism for potentially stat-padding herself into the record books — putting up empty calories in losses — while collecting her own misses. The most significant marker of this theory has been Reese's subpar field-goal percentage in close-range shots.
In shots attempted at less than five feet (restricted area), Reese is shooting a paltry 43.6% (132 of 303). Even worse, she's shooting 11.4% (4 of 35) in shot attempts in the five-to-nine-foot area — typically the zone where bigs thrive.
Reese, though, remains unperturbed by those allegations. After setting the rebounding record on Sunday, the Maryland native made it a point to call out anyone accusing her of being a stat-padder.
"A lot of people think it's because I get my own rebounds, but statistically it's not. A lot of people think it's because I'm the tallest on the court when I'm not the tallest on the court."
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) September 1, 2024
Angel Reese on why she's such a great rebounder ️ pic.twitter.com/zQd7DfsGKF
"A lot of people think it's because I get my own [misses] but statistically, it's not," Reese said, per The Sporting News. "A lot of people think it's because I'm the tallest on the court, but I'm not the tallest on the court. Just being able to go down there and bang, doing things that a lot of people don't want to do. Defense and rebounding wins championships. And I've won championships at every level by just doing that."
Reese further addressed the criticisms surrounding her offensive arsenal, stressing that she wanted to make a name for herself in the WNBA with her rebounding and defense, much like she did at LSU.
With eight games left in the season, Reese would need to average 10.25 rebounds the rest of the way to reach the 500-rebound mark. The Sky will next face reigning WNBA champions, the Las Vegas Aces, on Tuesday.
More must-reads:
- Sky rookie Angel Reese sets pair of WNBA rebounding records
- Has Caitlin Clark already clinched WNBA Rookie of the Year following win vs. Wings?
- The 'NFL QB rushing TD leaders' quiz
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In LeBron James' historic season debut, Lakers storm past Jazz
Luka Doncic scored 37 points with 10 assists and LeBron James added 11 points in 30 minutes of his season debut as the Los Angeles Lakers rallied for a 140-125 victory over the visiting Utah Jazz on Tuesday. Austin Reaves scored 26 points, Deandre Ayton added 20 points with 14 rebounds. Jake LaRavia had 16 points as Los Angeles won its third consecutive game. However, the game was historic for James and the NBA After missing the first 14 games of the season because of sciatica on his right side, James took the court to become the first player in NBA history to play in 23 consecutive seasons. Keyonte George scored 33 points and Lauri Markkanen added 31 for the Jazz, who lost for the fifth time in their past seven games. Svi Mykhailiuk and Ace Bailey each scored 13 points and Jusuf Nurkic added 10 points with 10 rebounds in Utah's only road contest in a stretch of seven games. The Lakers didn't take their first lead until going up 89-88 on a Doncic layup with 3:36 remaining in the third quarter. The basket was part of an 8-0 run that gave Los Angeles a 91-88 advantage. The Lakers dominated from there. They led 104-93 through three quarters after trailing by as many as seven points earlier in the period. Doncic scored 17 points in the third quarter alone when Los Angeles had a 37-22 scoring advantage. It was more of the same in the fourth quarter as the Lakers had a 36-32 advantage and finished with a season high in points. The Jazz led the entire first half, taking an 11-2 lead 3:19 into the game and going up 16-6 five minutes into the opening quarter. James had a turnover in the opening minute and missed his only shot of the first quarter as Utah took a 36-27 lead. James' first basket of the season came on a 3-pointer with 8:20 remaining in the first half. He scored seven points in the second quarter, while going 2 of 2 from 3-point range in the period. The Jazz led 71-67 at halftime by shooting 55.3% from the floor as George had 23 points and Markkanen added 22.
Major domino falls for Yankees with Trent Grisham decision
Outfielder Trent Grisham is accepting his $22.025M qualifying offer and will return to the New York Yankees in 2026, reports ESPN’s Jorge Castillo. Players who accept a QO are considered free-agent signings and are thus ineligible to be traded prior to the following June 15 unless they consent to the move. Trent Grisham had a breakout season It’s at least a modest surprise, as Grisham is coming off a breakout year at the plate that saw him club a career-high 34 home runs. He slashed .235/.348/.464, thanks in no small part to a career-best 14.1% walk rate and a 23.6% strikeout rate that stood as the second-lowest in his career. Between that production, the fact that Grisham only just turned 29 earlier this month, and a thin outfield market in free agency, the stars seemed to align for him to pursue a weighty multi-year contract this winter. Instead, Grisham returns to the site of his breakout and will hold down a key role in an outfield that’s also currently slated to include Jasson Dominguez and Aaron Judge. The Yankees are interested in re-signing Cody Bellinger, have been linked to Kyle Tucker and also have DH Giancarlo Stanton at least loosely in the outfield mix. (He played 132 outfield innings in 2025.) How does Trent Grisham's decision affect the Yankees? Grisham’s return muddies the waters a bit, but GM Brian Cashman said recently that even if he accepted, it wouldn’t impact the team’s pursuit of a new deal with Bellinger, via the New York Post’s Greg Joyce. The Yankees wouldn’t have made the QO to Grisham if they believed his acceptance was a roadblock to bringing back Bellinger or signing Tucker. They’re surely glad to have him back. Even though his defensive grades took an unexpected downturn in ’25, he has the best defensive track record in center of the Yankees’ in-house options. While Grisham could have looked to cash in this winter, he’ll instead take a hefty one-year payday in what amounts to a bet on himself. Though he’s a left-handed bat, his power output was hardly a product of Yankee Stadium’s short right field porch. In fact, Grisham hit just .195/.326/.376 at home this season, compared to .254/.364/.506 on the road. If he can replicate this year’s huge power production, he could hit the market next offseason on the back of consecutive plus seasons at the plate and without the encumbrance of a qualifying offer. A big enough showing this year could realistically position Grisham for a $100M+ contract — particularly if his defensive grades rebound, too. The looming potential for a work stoppage is one other wrinkle to consider, but if anything, today’s glut of QO decisions suggests that players aren’t necessarily going to shy away from short-term deals that put them on the open market next year — at least not en masse. Grisham is one of four players to accept the QO, joining Gleyber Torres, Shota Imanaga and Brandon Woodruff in that regard. In a vacuum, any one of the four accepting his QO wouldn’t be considered a major surprise — but all four accepting in the same offseason is downright atypical. This marks the first time since the inception of the qualifying offer that more than three players have accepted a QO. With Grisham back in the fold, the Yankees’ projected payroll for the upcoming season jumps to about $263M, per RosterResource. They’ll now have about $286M of luxury-tax obligations, placing them just over the third penalty line. That means that the Yankees’ top pick in the 2026 draft will drop by 10 places, unless they’re able to sneak their luxury count back under $284M. Given the wide swath of offseason dealings that’s likely still on the table for Cashman and Co., that doesn’t seem to be a very likely outcome. In all likelihood, the Yankees will wind up in the top CBT penalty tier, just as they’ve done in each of the past three seasons. How does Trent Grisham's decision affect the rest of MLB? Turning to the rest of the league, Grisham’s early removal from the free-agent market — to a team that didn’t clearly need to retain him, no less — subtracts arguably the top center field option from the market. Bellinger, of course, can still play center but barely did so in 2025. Most teams probably consider him more of a corner outfielder/first baseman who can play occasional center field. Harrison Bader and Cedric Mullins are the two most notable options still on the market, though the former has been more of a part-time player and the latter is looking to bounce back from an awful 2025 showing. The market was light on center fielders to begin with and is even more so now, so teams looking for help at the position might be more inclined to turn to the trade market to address that deficiency.
Steelers' Darnell Washington Makes History After Brutal Run Against Bengals: 'You Have Infamy'
The Pittsburgh Steelers are no stranger to Kyle Brandt's Angry Run award, but it usually goes to a running back, typically Jaylen Warren, or previously, when he was on the roster, Najee Harris. In Week 11 against the Cincinnati Bengals, someone made history, and it was not a running back. It was the 6'7", probably 300-pound tight end, Darnell Washington. During the game, Washington delivered a 31-yard catch and run and bulldozed through the Bengals’ defense. He was a one-man wrecking crew as he overpowered any defender brave enough to try and tackle him. His domination quickly became the talk of the game and left fans in awe of his size, strength, and determination. For the first time ever, Brandt did not have any other finalists for the award. Washington was finalist 1, 2, and 3. His historic performance against the Bengals will live on in football fans’ memories forever, a moment that changed the way people view the Angry Run award. For Steeler Nation, the 2025 season has finally been the year of Washington. "That is Darnell doing Darnell things, way too big of a dude to be running like that," Brandt said. "So I have got Darnell Washington from the Steelers and there it is again. That is the third finalist as Darnell Washington runs over a dude... This was the Godfather trilogy of runs, except he stuck the landing on part three." Not only was it crazy that a tight end was being nominated for the award, he completely stole any running back's chance of even being considered for the Angry Run award. That just shows how dominant Washington’s run truly was on Sunday. Every defender in his path was left in awe. His performance will be remembered as one of the most unstoppable plays of the 2025 season. "A play of three acts," Brandt said. "A play of violence, a tragedy, but also a comedy at the same time. This thing's going to the Steel City. Darnell Washington, you have made history. You have infamy, and you have the scepter. It's going back to where it belongs after an all-time Angry Run. New York, an all-time Angry Run. Boom. See you next week." Steelers fans have been waiting to see this kind of performance from Washington ever since he was drafted 93rd overall by Pittsburgh in the 2023 NFL Draft. Steelers' Darnell Washington Is Tight End 1 Coming out of Georgia, he was known as an elite blocking tight end, but Sunday showed the full extent of his rare combination of speed, size, and sheer strength. When used properly, Washington can be one of the most unique and dominant tight ends in the league. His historic run against the Bengals was a glimpse of his true potential and a reminder of why Steelers fans are so excited about his future. It seems that Washington has now clearly passed tight ends Pat Freiermuth and Jonnu Smith to become the current number one tight end for the Steelers. The Steelers have three elite tight ends on their roster. Now it's up to Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith to continue to find out how to use them properly. Steelers fans, when you saw Darnell Washington bulldozing through Bengals defenders and making those jaw-dropping plays, what was going through your mind in that moment? How did it feel to see him dominate like that on the field?
Concerns continue to mount after No. 12 Kentucky's latest loss
After falling to in-state rival Louisville for the first time since 2020 last week, No. 12 Kentucky had its second test of the season on Tuesday night when it took on No. 17 Michigan State in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden. The end result was no different, with the Wildcats falling, 83-66. In fact, the performance was even worse than one week ago as similar issues presented themselves once again. Kentucky's defense is a problem Michigan State entered the night shooting 21.7% from three-point range. Kentucky allowed the Spartans to go 11-of-22 from deep and 32-of-64 from the field overall. That came one week after Kentucky gave up 96 points to Louisville as it continues to struggle getting stops. The Wildcats trailed by as many as 24 and fell behind by at least 15 points in the first half for the second time this season. The issue, though, was not just on defense. Kentucky just simply looked lost on both ends of the floor and could not get any rhythm going on offense, shooting 35% and just 7-of-30 (23%) from long range. It only had 13 assists the entire game. For comparison, Michigan State sophomore guard Jeremy Fears Jr. had 13 assists by himself, speaking to the lack of chemistry and ball movement in the halfcourt. Senior guard Otega Oweh was Kentucky's leading scorer, but he only had 12 points (4-of-12 FG), which speaks to the lack of a go-to option for the Wildcats. There just seems to be some disconnect within this group at the moment. ESPN's Kris Budden reported that Kentucky's players were "barking at each other" in a timeout while trailing by 14, which prompted head coach Mark Pope to step in and tell them to get on the same page. Whatever the issue is, there is a clear chemistry problem with Kentucky right now, and the road ahead only gets tougher. A pair of home games against Loyola (MD) and Tennessee Tech will give them some rebound opportunities, but a brutal nonconference slate lies ahead, beginning with No. 18 North Carolina on Dec. 2. The season is still young, but if Kentucky does not improve its defense and get on the same page, the concerns will only grow larger as this team looks to find its identity after another disappointing loss.
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