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The Chicago Sky are set to play the Dallas Wings on Thursday night at the Wintrust Arena to attempt their first win of the regular season. The Sky suffered a heartbreaking defeat to the Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday night when they blew a 16-point lead in front of 8,818 fans at PHX Arena.
Chicago had its best game offensively of the season in the 94-89 loss, but the team still lost the turnover battle 16-9.
A bumpy ride to begin the season was expected, given a contest on the road against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever, and then a turnaround game at home against the defending champion New York Liberty. But a 0-4 start isn’t what the Sky imagined would be their reality entering a must-win two-game stretch against rookie phenom Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings this week.
A disappointing start for the Chicago Sky
Per Steve Greenberg of the Chicago Sun-Times, Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca called the start to the season “disappointing.”
“It’s been a bit disappointing,” Jeff Pagliocca said. “I don’t think we were expecting things to go this way.”
The Sky added Courtney Vandersloot, Kia Nurse and Ariel Atkins to provide depth and chemistry to the offense that Chicago lacked when Chennedy Carter was the main feature on offense. The Sky have averaged the third-fewest points per game (74.8) and a league-worst 18.3 turnovers per game.
Angel Reese believes the team can win
Pagliocca believes new first-year head coach Tyler Marsh and his staff can turn the Sky’s fortunes around.
“We think we have the pieces here,” Pagliocca said. “I believe a lot in the staff. . . . This group, the continuity as people and as teammates, it’s a non-issue. They’re together. They’re locked in. We just need to play better basketball. We have to execute our stuff and follow the [scouting reports].
“We can always compete harder, but we have people here that care, and I think that’s what’s going to get us out of this hole.”
Following the Sky’s loss on Tuesday night, Reese told the media she and the team are not satisfied. In a locker room full of winners, Chicago is determined to get better.
Those comments have been the norm after all four losses. The Sky need to prove to Pagliocca, and frankly themselves, that they can win when they play a bad Wings team Thursday and Saturday night.
More must-reads:
- Sky's Angel Reese posts seven-word message ahead of showdown vs. Wings, Paige Bueckers
- WNBA releases findings of investigation of alleged racist comments directed at Angel Reese
- The 'WNBA all-time rookie scoring leaders' quiz
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Paige Bueckers Receives Brittney Griner Comparison That Demands Explanation
WNBA icon Brittney Griner was ejected from the Atlanta Dream's 88-85 win against Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings on Wednesday. Griner, 34, received two technical fouls in short succession while arguing a call. The second, which sent her to the locker room early, was for making contact with an official. In the Wings' next game against the Indiana Fever on Friday, Bueckers was caught on camera doing the exact same thing — perhaps even more obvious — and escaping any punishment for her actions. The All-Star rookie understandably drew comparisons to Griner, and when you see the two incidents side-by-side, they are very hard to explain. The Paige Bueckers Video That Demands an Explanation During the frustrating loss to the Fever, who beat the Wings 88-78 without Caitlin Clark, Bueckers made clear contact with an official. The official appeared to acknowledge the contact and give Bueckers a warning, but she did not receive a technical foul. For comparison, here is the incident involving Griner from the Wings vs. Dream game. She makes contact with the official for her second technical foul at the end of the clip. By physically contacting an official, Bueckers should have received a technical foul, just like Griner did. WNBA Rules and Fines for Technical Fouls The WNBA rulebook includes several examples of "unsportsmanlike tactics" involving interactions with officials that may result in technical fouls, including: Disrespectfully addressing an official Physically contacting an official Overt actions indicating resentment to a call Additionally, the rulebook states that "cursing or blaspsheming an official shall not be considered the only cause for imposing technical fouls." However, "running tirades, continuous criticism or griping" can lead to a technical at the official's discretion. A player's first three technical fouls in a season result in a $200 fine. The next three incur a $400 fine. When a player reaches the seventh technical foul, it results in an $800 fine and a one-game suspension. Every technical beyond the seventh receives the same $800 fine and one-game suspension. WNBA Technical Foul Leaders: Where Bueckers, Griner, Clark and Reese Rank After her double tech, Griner is up to three technical fouls during the 2025 WNBA season. Bueckers' tally should have been doubled, but for now, she remains at one during her rookie campaign. As of August 2, here are the WNBA leaders in technical fouls. 7 — Angel Reese, Chicago Sky 5 — Shakira Austin, Washington Mystics 4 — Stephanie White, Indiana Fever (head coach) 4 — Allisha Gray, Atlanta Dream 3 — Griner, Kelsey Plum, Becky Hammon, Lynne Roberts, Natasha Cloud, Bria Hartley, Alyssa Thomas 18 players and coaches have received two technical fouls, including Caitlin Clark, who has only played in 13 games for the Fever.
Justin Fields Called 'Biggest Loser' In Jets Training Camp
The New York Jets opted to cut Aaron Rodgers and sign Justin Fields to replace him during the offseason. This kind of commitment to Fields should bolster his confidence, but it could also place a lot of pressure on his shoulders. To this point, Fields has looked solid in training camp, aside from a scary toe injury that was quickly resolved in July. Justin Fried of the Jet Press recently reported that Fields' training camp may have reached a new low over the weekend as the young signal caller struggled. "Justin Fields put together his best practice of the summer to this point on Friday, completing his first 12 passes en route to an excellent all-around performance. The same can't be said about his showing on Saturday, however," Fried wrote. "Fields finished the day an abysmal 2-of-10 in the air, including a drop from rookie tight end Mason Taylor. "Some of his incompletions were catchable balls, but the Jets' passing game struggles on Saturday can largely be blamed on No. 7. Fields did flash his running ability with a 25-yard rushing score on the first play of red-zone drills, but the Jets would like to see more consistency in the air from the starting quarterback. Saturday's scrimmage was far from his best showing of the summer." Fields is a runner first at the NFL level, but his arm is nothing to scoff at. For most of training camp, his arm talent has been better than advertised, but during Saturday's scrimmage, it just wasn't there. A 2 for 10 performance is unacceptable for a $40 million quarterback who was signed to take over the team. The running game should open up the passing game for the Jets, which is going to need to be the case if Fields is going to struggle like this. However, it's just one day of camp. It's nothing to be too concerned about. Just because Fields lost this specific practice doesn't mean he's heading in the wrong direction as a whole.
Aaron Boone addresses Alex Rodriguez’s criticism of Yankees
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone responded Sunday, one day after Alex Rodriguez suggested his team lacks discipline and accountability. On FOX’s MLB pregame show Saturday, Rodriguez questioned the “accountability” of the Yankees after Boone did not pull Jazz Chisholm from Saturday’s loss to Miami after the infielder made a brutal baserunning blunder. Rodriguez suggested that the Yankees do not face consequences for such mistakes, and that it has contributed to further errors. “If any one of us made a mistake, we would be sitting our butt right on the bench,” Rodriguez said. “I see mistake after mistake, and there’s no consequences.” Boone took issue with those remarks when asked about them on Sunday. He said he accepts that the Yankees will always face added scrutiny, but that he disagreed with the substance of Rodriguez’s remarks. “I would disagree a little bit with the accountability factor, but the reality is, we’re focused every day on being the best we can be,” Boone said, via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. “That’s how we have to do it. But I understand when it doesn’t happen, or we don’t have the record that I think we should have, or certainly people think we should have — that comes with the territory.” Boone is known for keeping things positive publicly, even when things are going poorly for the Yankees. That has led to some criticism from fans, who feel that he goes too easy on his players when they are underperforming. The team’s recent stretch of mediocre play combined with a lack of consequences for errors like Chisholm’s have reinforced those critiques. The Yankees lost again on Sunday and were swept by the Marlins, dropping them to 60-51 on the season. Until the team starts consistently winning again, Boone is going to hear more comments like Rodriguez’s.
Report: Giannis Antetokounmpo still mulling exit from Bucks
Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors have died down in recent weeks, but the two-time MVP hasn’t reached a decision on whether he wants to continue playing for the Bucks, ESPN’s Shams Charania said Monday morning during an appearance on “Get Up.” “Sources tell me there’s still nothing set in stone about whether Giannis Antetokounmpo will stay in Milwaukee or whether he will be leaving,” Charania said. There have been past reports that Antetokounmpo might consider leaving Milwaukee to improve his chances of winning another NBA title. Speculation began to grow after the Bucks were eliminated in this first round of this year’s playoffs and star guard Damian Lillard suffered an Achilles tear that’s expected to sideline him for all of next season. Bucks general manager Jon Horst responded by retooling the team’s roster this summer. He waived and stretched the $112.6M that Lillard had left on his contract for the next two years and used the new-found cap space to sign center Myles Turner away from the Pacers. Horst also added Gary Harris, Jericho Sims and Cole Anthony in free agency and re-signed several of the team’s own free agents, such as Bobby Portis, Gary Trent Jr., Kevin Porter Jr., Ryan Rollins and Taurean Prince. The aggressive move with Turner was viewed as an important step toward convincing Antetokounmpo that the Bucks could remain competitive in the Eastern Conference. Although there hasn’t been much trade talk over the last month, Charania insists that Antetokounmpo’s situation hasn’t been resolved. “There’s been some very real conversations over the last week or so,” Charania said. “The constant question that Giannis has, though, is can I win a championship with this roster? …He wants to win a second championship, so he’s asking that question over and over.” He added that there are “multiple teams waiting in the wings” to make offers if Antetokounmpo decides he wants out.
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