Wilson wins WNBA MVP
Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson is the WNBA’s most valuable player, the league announced Thursday.
The No. 1 overall pick three years ago led the Aces to an 18-4 record during the shortened season and the top seed in the WNBA playoffs. Wilson averaged 20.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and two blocks this year for the Aces. She received 43 of the 47 first-place votes in easily outpacing Breanna Stewart and Candace Parker.
Wilson was surprised with the award on Thursday by WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. The Aces player thought she was going to a meeting with league referees.
Minnesota’s Crystal Dangerfield was the league’s rookie of the year and Cheryl Reeve earned coach of the year honors.
CYCLING
Victory at the Tour de France is within reach for Primoz Roglic.
The Slovenian rider safely negotiated the last truly mountainous stage of this year’s race in La Roche-Sur-Foron, France, on Thursday, moving a big step closer to adding what would be his first Tour win to the Spanish Vuelta title he conquered last year.
Polish rider Michal Kwiatkowski won the sawtooth Stage 18, up and down over a leg-burning succession of five Alpine ascents. His first stage victory at the Tour was also the first at this race for his Ineos Grenadiers team.
Further back, in his own battle to keep the overall race lead, Roglic again kept Tadej Pogacar, his Slovenian countryman firmly in his grasp. Roglic surged ahead of Pogacar on the dusty gravel track at the top of the day’s toughest climb, making clear that he was in no mood to cede even seconds so close to the finish in Paris.
Roglic remains 57 seconds ahead of Pogacar overall, and has a lead of 1 minute 27 seconds over Colombian rider Miguel Angel Lopez.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
This weekend’s game between No. 12 North Carolina and Charlotte has been canceled after the 49ers announced contact tracing had depleted their offensive line with several players placed into quarantine amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Charlotte announced the cancellation Thursday morning, two days before the Conference USA program that moved to the Bowl Subdivision ranks in 2015 was due to visit Chapel Hill for the first meeting between instate schools.
It marks the 14th game this season that has been canceled or postponed amid the pandemic. The latest move comes roughly a week before the Southeastern Conference is scheduled to open play and a day after the Big Ten announced it would try to go forward with football in October.
TENNIS
Naomi Osaka announced on social media that she will not play in the French Open.
Osaka said a sore hamstring will keep her from adequately preparing for the clay court tournament, which begins Sept. 27 in Paris.
She is coming off a win this past weekend at the US Open.