HOT CORNER

1 PRO BASKETBALL: Vice President Kamala Harris led a White House celebration Friday for the 2022 WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces, praising the team for its “grit and determination”on the court and“ferocious”advocacy in support of colleague Brittney Griner during her detention in Russia last year. The Aces defeated the Connecticut Sun 78-71 in Game Four of the finals to win the championship trophy, 3-1, along with what’s become a traditional invitation to the White House.

2 PRO SOCCER: The San Diego Loyal will cease operations after their fourth season in the United Soccer League’s second-tier League Championship. The team is led by former U.S. star Landon Donovan. Owner Andrew Vassiliadis made the announcement, citing the inability to find locations for a stadium, training facility and academy. The team has played at Torero Stadium, a 6,000seat venue on the campus of the University of San Diego. First-tier Major League Soccer said in May that San Diego will become its 30th team when the league expands in 2025.

3 INTERNATIONAL SOCCER:

The United States will play its first competitive match in Gregg Berhalter’s second term as coach in a CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal at Austin, Texas, on Nov. 16. The second leg of the homeand-home, total-goals series will be on the road Nov. 19-21. The opponent will be determined after group play in September and October. Mexico, Canada and Costa Rica also received byes to the quarterfinals and cannot be opponents.

4 PRO HOCKEY: The New York

Rangers have hired Hockey Hall of Famer Angela Ruggiero as a hockey operations adviser. The team announced the addition of Ruggiero along with several front office changes. Ruggiero won four Olympic medals as a defenseman for the U.S. including helping the country win gold in 1998 in Nagano in the first Games with women’s hockey.

5 PRO CYCLING: A 22-year-old

Belgian cyclist has died following a crash in training earlier this week. Tijl De Decker rode for the Lotto Dstny team and was a winner of Parisroubaix in the Espoirs category this year. He had been brought to the hospital for surgery in the Belgian town of Lier after he collided with a car Wednesday. He was then transported to the Antwerp University Hospital where he died. The Belgian team says“tijl has lost his battle to recover from the severe injuries he sustained after his crash on training last Wednesday.”