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Las Vegas Aces part ways with GM
The Las Vegas Aces are making major changes to their front office, and those changes will include a new general manager.
The team announced on Saturday that it is parting ways with GM Natalie Williams as part of a major organizational restructuring. That comes after the Aces won back-to-back WNBA championships in 2022 and 2023, and reached the semifinals in 2024. The Aces were eliminated by the New York Liberty this season, ending their bid for a three-peat.
Williams took over the GM role in 2022, and along with head coach Becky Hammon oversaw one of the most successful teams in the league.
Her contract expired after the 2024 season and was simply not renewed by the team.
Williams released a statement through the team following the news:
"It has been a joy and honor to serve as general manager of the Las Vegas Aces," Williams said. "Winning two WNBA championships with this incredible group of players and staff has been a dream come true. I want to thank [owner] Mark Davis and the Aces Organization for the incredible opportunity to help lead this franchise. I love the WNBA, and it has been wonderful watching the growth of the game. I'm looking forward to what lies ahead."
From a basketball perspective, parting ways with a GM who helped build one of the league's best teams would be an eye-opening and perhaps even shocking move. But for as good as the Aces have been on the floor, there have been some off-court issues that led to her tenure being a little tumultuous.
The Aces are currently under investigation by the league for potential salary cap violations, while the organization is also facing a lawsuit from former player Dearica Hamby.
Hamby filed a lawsuit against the Aces in August alleging discrimination and retaliation for becoming pregnant. Hamby was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks, which the Aces said was strictly for strategic roster purposes so the team could sign Candace Parker.
The WNBA ended up suspending Hammon for two games without pay, while also stripping the Aces of a first-round pick, for violating league and team workplace policies.
Las Vegas will still be bringing back one of the league's best teams next season and whoever gets hired as the new general manager is going to have an immediate contender to work with.
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Sophie Cunningham Makes Clear Choice Between Caitlin Clark, Diana Taurasi
Without All-WNBA point guard Caitlin Clark for a seventh-straight game, Sophie Cunningham made her return to Phoenix as the Indiana Fever faced the Mercury on Thursday night. Cunningham spent her first six seasons in the WNBA with the Mercury, playing alongside greats such as Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner. But, in light of Taurasi's retirement following the 2024 season, Phoenix elected to trade Cunningham to the Fever, while Griner departed for the Atlanta Dream. Taurasi became arguably the best player in WNBA history during, winning three WNBA championships and an MVP award. And in her short time in Indiana, Cunningham has noticed some similarities between Taurasi and Clark. Sophie Cunningham Compares Taurasi, Clark Ahead of Thursday's contest against her former team, Cunningham spoke to the media for apregame interview. When asked about similarities between Taurasi and Clark, Cunningham didn't forget to mention that Taurasi will always be her WNBA GOAT (greatest of all time). “DT will always be my GOAT," Cunningham said. "I’ve never met someone who thinks the game how she thinks. The way that she was a pro in doing her weights, her rehab. The way she trained in the offseason when she was toward the end of her career, when she wasn’t going overseas. I’ve just never seen anything like that. But the way that Caitlin thinks of the game, that’s a really close second.” Cunningham continued by sharing high praise for her former teammate. "They're always ten plays ahead of everyone," Cunningham added. "They're always on a whole different wavelength. I'm just happy that I got my time with DT. I love her to death, I'm so excited to watch her docuseries. I think she deserves the world and more. I know she's enjoying retirement, probably going crazy because she's also psycho. But it's been fun to be a sponge and then, kind of talking with Caitlin... She's at the beginning of her professional career, but there are a lot of similarities." Taurasi Has High Praise For Clark While Taurasi and Clark only spent one season together in the WNBA, the Mercury legend is well aware of Clark's impact on the league. In a recent interview, Taurasi dove further into their relationship. “We get along really well,” Taurasi stated. "We got some great interactions. I just absolutely love what she does on the court, off the court. When I watch her play, and the way she goes about her business, there’s a seriousness about it that I love... You know, she’s taking this game to new heights and it’s been amazing to watch and follow her. You know, it’s only gonna get better for our league and for Caitlin.” Following Thursday's game against the Mercury, Cunningham and the Fever will return home to face the Chicago Sky on Saturday.
Steelers Now Have A Surefire Solution To End Cam Heyward's Hold-In
The Pittsburgh Steelers got hit with quite a bit of interesting news on Thursday. It started when NFL insider Adam Schefter reported that veteran defensive lineman Cam Heyward was staging a hold-in, attending training camp but not fully participating as he seeks a new contract. Not long after that, kicker Chris Boswell was also reported to be interested in a new deal, adding another contract situation to the team’s growing list of concerns. As for Heyward, Steelers insider Mark Kaboly quickly suggested a possible solution that could effectively end the hold-in without requiring a full contract extension. Kaboly proposed the idea of adding incentives to Heyward’s existing deal, which would reward performance while avoiding a long-term financial commitment. He believes this compromise would allow the Steelers to show respect for Heyward’s contributions while keeping the team’s salary cap in check. Kaboly explained that the Steelers used a similar approach in 2016 with star wide receiver Antonio Brown. At the time, Brown was also seeking a new deal, and instead of offering an extension, the team added incentives to his contract to keep him satisfied for the season. The move kept Brown on the field and productive, and Kaboly believes this method could work just as well for Heyward, helping resolve the situation without complicating the team’s financial outlook. "Steelers don't restructure contracts until a year out, but Cam Heyward has 2 years remaining on his deal," Kaboly posted on his social media. "Here is the kicker and this is what I would use if I were Heyward: The Steelers worked some funny math with Antonio Brown in 2016 to get him a $4 million raise." Heyward just received a new deal ahead of the 2024 season. Now, Kaboly is pointing out that with two years remaining on his contract, the Steelers typically don’t restructure deals until there’s only one year left. However, Kaboly believes that if the team follows the same approach they used with Brown, it could help resolve Heyward’s situation. "They moved $4 million of AB's 2017 money to 2016, then tore up the contract in 2017 and made him the highest-paid WR in the NFL," Kaboly said. "AB got a $4 million raise, and the Steelers were able to keep their long-standing policy intact." Both sides could technically come out ahead with this approach. The money was going to Heyward anyway, but by advancing a portion of it to this year, he gets earlier financial recognition without requiring a full extension. Then, when the time comes to negotiate a new deal, both parties can do so in good faith, working toward a contract that makes sense for everyone involved. For now, moving some money forward would be a clear sign of appreciation for Heyward’s contributions and an acknowledgment of how the market has shifted for elite defensive linemen. It would also allow the Steelers to maintain their long-standing policy of waiting until a player enters the final year of his contract before negotiating an extension. Ultimately, it’s a short-term financial gesture that builds trust and buys time for a more permanent solution. Steelers And Cam Heyward Both Could Come Out As Winners This approach not only benefits Heyward financially in the short term but also helps preserve the relationship between the player and the organization. It shows the Steelers value his contributions and want to keep him motivated without rushing into long-term decisions prematurely. By handling things this way, the team retains flexibility in managing their salary cap and future roster moves. It also avoids the potential pitfalls of a large extension that might limit options later. For Heyward, it offers a sense of security and respect while keeping open the door for a more comprehensive agreement when the time is right.
Padres already demoting one of their trade-deadline acquisitions
The Padres announced they’ve optioned JP Sears to Triple-A El Paso. They recalled reliever Sean Reynolds and will go with a nine-man bullpen in the short term. Sears will spend at least 15 days in the minors unless he’s brought up to replace a player going on the injured list. San Diego acquired Sears alongside Mason Miller in last week’s massive deadline deal. The 29-year-old southpaw made his team debut Monday night. He allowed five runs in as many innings on 10 hits and a walk against the Diamondbacks. Sears took the loss in a 6-2 defeat. He’d carried a 4.95 earned run average over 22 starts with the A’s. Monday's performance pushed his ERA to 5.12 across 116 innings. It’s a bottom-10 mark among pitchers to log at least 100 frames. Sears had the highest home run rate among that group, offsetting his nearly league-average 20.3% strikeout rate and solid 6% walk percentage. This is the first time in two-and-a-half years that Sears heads to the minors. He broke camp with the A’s in 2023 and has been in the majors since then. Sears has also avoided the injured list for that entire time. As a result, he’s tied for fifth in MLB with 87 starts since the beginning of the ’23 season. The durability is the big selling point, as his production (4.62 ERA/4.56 SIERA) over that stretch is that of a fifth or sixth starter. The demotion shouldn’t have any impact on Sears’ service trajectory. He has already surpassed the three-year mark and will qualify for arbitration next winter. He’s under team control for three seasons beyond this one. While he’ll probably be back up at some point this year, it may require an injury elsewhere in the rotation. San Diego optioned Randy Vásquez over the weekend. They have a four-man rotation of Dylan Cease, Nick Pivetta, Yu Darvish and deadline acquisition Nestor Cortes. Darvish and Cortes will get the ball for the next two outings. San Diego is off Thursday and could turn back to Pivetta and Cease on extra rest for their first two games of the weekend series against the Red Sox. That’d point to the series finale on Aug. 10 as Michael King’s return date. King threw 61 pitches in what is expected to be his final rehab start on Sunday, via the MLB.com injury tracker. He’d be on six days' rest for his first MLB appearance since he went on the injured list in late May with a nerve problem in his throwing shoulder.
Rory McIlroy's controversial decision leaves PGA Tour 'very concerned'
Seventy players qualified for the first round of the playoffs at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, but only 69 will tee it up at TPC Southwind this week. That's because Rory McIlroy, who ranks second in the FedEx Cup standings behind only Scottie Scheffler, is skipping the first playoff event to prepare for the BMW Championship and Tour Championship. The PGA Tour isn't thrilled with his contentious decision. Peter Malnati, a PGA Tour pro and player director on the PGA Tour Policy Board, told Golfweek he's "very concerned" the new playoff format allows top players in the standings to skip playoff events. "I think there is stuff in the works, and I'll leave it at that," he said. The PGA Tour must make changes because McIlroy won't face any repercussions for skipping the FedEx St. Jude Championship. As the No. 2 player in the FedEx Cup standings entering the postseason, McIlroy is guaranteed to qualify for the Tour Championship. Before this year, he would've been incentivized to improve his spot in the standings because of the advantage the starting strokes format gave the No. 1 player. That's no longer the case. This year, the Tour Championship will operate like every other tournament on the PGA Tour schedule. There will be no starting strokes advantage for the top players, so every player from No. 1 to No. 30 will have an equal chance to win the $10 million prize. It doesn't matter where McIlroy resides in the standings. It just matters that he makes it to East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, and he's already locked up his spot in the season finale. Why spend a week in scorching-hot Memphis when you could stay home and prepare for the tournament that actually matters, right? The new playoff format will make the Tour Championship more entertaining for fans, but it renders the other two playoff events irrelevant for the PGA Tour's top players. The Tour must make playoff events mandatory to prevent other stars from following McIlroy's lead.
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