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Three-time All-Star guard Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty underwent thumb surgery to repair a torn thumb ligament in her shooting hand.
Ionescu posted the news to Instagram on Frid ay, which was also her 27th birthday.
Ionescu is expected to resume on-court activity in four weeks, ESPN reported Sunday night.
Ionescu suffered the injury to her ulnar collateral ligament in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals in October. Ionescu led the Liberty to the WNBA title in five games over the Minnesota Lynx.
Ionescu, the former No. 1 overall pick of the Liberty in 2020, averaged 18.2 points, 6.2 assists and 4.4 rebounds in 38 regular season starts this past season. She averaged 16.9 points in 11 postseason games.
She has career averages of 16.3 points, 6.0 assists and 5.6 rebounds.
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Commanders flaw exposed in blowout preseason loss to Ravens
The Washington Commanders have a potentially significant problem on special teams. During Saturday's 30-3 preseason Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, kicker Matt Gay missed a 53-yard field goal wide left at the end of Washington's first offensive possession. Gay finished the preseason 3-of-5 on field goal attempts. He also missed a 49-yarder wide left in preseason Week 1 against the New England Patriots. Gay's struggles continue the chaotic journey for the Commanders at kicker. Last season's Week 1 starter, Cade York, went 0-of-2 in the opener and was promptly released. His replacement, Austin Seibert, was in the midst of a fantastic season through Week 9, going 25-of-27 on field goals and 22-of-22 on extra points before missing two weeks with a hip injury. He was later placed on injured reserve after missing three kicks in a loss to the Dallas Cowboys, including a would-be tying extra point following a wild 86-yard touchdown with under a minute remaining. Zane Gonzalez and Greg Joseph combined to go 7-of-10 on field goals the rest of the season, including each missing a 50-yard attempt. Overall, Commanders kickers struggled from long distance, with the four combining to go 2-of-8 on attempts of 50 yards or more. Only the Philadelphia Eagles had a worse percentage (14.3%) on attempts of at least 50 yards, per Pro Football Reference data. Washington signed Gay to a one-year, $4.25M fully guaranteed contract in late April following the 2025 NFL Draft. Per CBS Sports, it's the largest guaranteed contract for a kicker on a one-year deal in NFL history. Last season while with the Indianapolis Colts, Gay was 3-of-9 on 50-yard field goals. The Commanders have the talent on offense to be one of the league's top scoring units, so they might not need to convert many tries from over 50 yards. Still, having a kicker who can reliably hit from that distance is an undeniable asset, particularly late in close games or on possessions that stall after crossing midfield. Washington largely has a roster capable of contending for a Super Bowl. But following its final tune-up before the regular season, kicking is a notable flaw.
Buccaneers' Shilo Sanders may have jeopardized chance to make 53-man roster
Saturday was not a good day for Shedeur Sanders and Shilo Sanders, two players competing for a spot on the 53-man roster of their respective teams, the Cleveland Browns and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Hours after Shedeur took more sacks (five) than completions (three) and had a heated moment with Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, Shilo was ejected from the Buccaneers' preseason game against the Buffalo Bills. "Bucs S Shilo Sanders has been ejected from tonight's game following an unnecessary roughness penalty," Scott Smith of the Buccaneers posted on X. Shilo appeared to take exception to Zach Davidson hitting and blocking him after a play had ended before the rookie took a swing at the Bills' tight end. The ejection came at a bad time for Shilo, who was competing with Kaevon Merriweather and Rashad Wisdom for the No. 4 safety spot on the depth chart. Before the game, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said that Shilo's output against the Bills would be big in his evaluation before the team has to trim the roster to 53 players by Tuesday. "Shilo's very aggressive, very young, very hungry," Bowles said. "He can make plays in the box and we know he can run down and give us 100% on special teams, so this last week is going to be very important for those guys to show up." Following the ejection, Shilo lost critical playing time to show his strengths on the field. He also showed the coaching staff a short temper and cost Tampa Bay with an unnecessary penalty. Shilo will end his preseason with four total tackles. He has shown he has the talent to be in the league, but Shilo's role will likely be as a practice squad player until his play and mental strength develop.
Two-time Stanley Cup champion leaves NHL for Switzerland
Last season was a tough one for veteran defenseman Jan Rutta. He dealt with some lower-body injuries, and when he was in the lineup for San Jose, he was often on the third pairing. That has certainly contributed to his going unsigned through the first seven weeks of free agency, but that is coming to an end. Earlier this week, Blick’s Gregory Beaud (h/t The Hockey News) reported that the blueliner is signing with Geneve-Servette in Switzerland. Rutta played in 54 games for the Sharks last season, picking up just three goals and six assists in a little over 17 minutes a night. However, he took a regular turn on their penalty kill and played some tough defensive minutes. Speculatively, NHL teams could be eyeing him as a PTO candidate to fill a sixth or seventh role if things went well in training camp but clearly, a full contract offer has yet to materialize and at some point, a guaranteed deal overseas could be viewed as a better option than trying to earn a contract off a tryout. Rutta debuted fairly late in the NHL with his first season coming at the age of 27 with Chicago. Since then, he has suited up in 417 regular-season games between four different clubs, putting up 23 goals and 75 assists along with 479 blocked shots. He also has a pair of Stanley Cup rings from his time with Tampa Bay. Rutta will be the third veteran NHL player to join that team this offseason. Previously, it signed wingers Jesse Puljujarvi and Jimmy Vesey and has one import slot remaining that it appears they want to use to bring in a veteran defender.
Astros designate former first-round pick for assignment
The Astros have designated right-hander Shawn Dubin for assignment, according to Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle. Righty AJ Blubaugh has been called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move (KPRC 2’s Ari Alexander reported earlier on Saturday that Blubaugh was on his way to the Astros’ active roster). Dubin is out of minor league options, so Houston had to go the DFA route in order to remove him from its active roster. Dubin doesn’t have the service time or the past outright necessary to reject an outright assignment to Triple-A, so chances are he’ll just remain in the Astros’ farm system if he clears waivers. A pitching-needy team might consider claiming Dubin off the waiver wire, though his out-of-options status will probably scare off a few clubs, plus his case for sticking on a big league roster isn’t helped by his brutal month of August. Dubin had a 1.33 ERA over his first 20 1/3 innings of 2025, even if that standout ERA wasn’t quite supported by his secondary metrics. A forearm strain sent him to the 15-day injured list near the end of June, however, and since returning on Aug. 12, Dubin simply hasn’t looked the same. He has been tormented for 13 earned runs over five appearances and 5 1/3 innings since being activated from the IL, inflating his ERA up to 5.61 over 25 2/3 total frames. A bout of shoulder inflammation during Spring Training already put Dubin on the IL to begin the season, and he then didn’t make his 2025 debut until May 11 since an ankle injury set back his recovery. Things seemed fine once he finally got onto the Astros’ mound, yet whether Dubin is just rusty or is still feeling some after-effects from his forearm issue, his recent performance has been too rough for Houston to ignore. Selected in the 13th round of the 2018 draft, Dubin has spent his entire career in Houston’s organization, debuting in the Show with seven innings during the 2023 season. He then had a 4.17 ERA over 45 1/3 innings in 2024, getting a couple of spot starts but primarily working out of the bullpen. Dubin battled control problems last year, but while his walk rate is vastly improved in 2025, his strikeout rate has dropped (from 23.7% to 18.9%). The Astros’ bullpen has been strong for most of 2025, but the relief corps has hit some major roadblocks beyond just Dubin’s struggles. Star closer Josh Hader will miss at least the rest of the regular season due to a capsule sprain, and southpaw Bennett Sousa (already on the 15-day IL) is now also a question mark, as he’ll be shut down for the next two weeks while dealing with a flexor/pronator strain. Blubaugh is a rookie who has only nine MLB innings on his resume, but he’ll at least be a short-term fresh arm to act as a long man in the pen.
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