Candace Parker, a 3-time WNBA champion, announces retirement
Candace Parker always said she'd know when it would be time to retire. That day came Sunday.
The three-time WNBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist announced on social media that her career was over after 16 seasons.
“The competitor in me always wants 1 more, but it's time,” Parker wrote in an Instagram post. “My HEART & body knew, but I needed to give my mind time to accept it.”
Parker, 38, had told The Associated Press in November she wanted to play another season if she could get healthy from a foot injury that kept her off the court last season. But she cautioned that she didn't want to “cheat the game,” or herself, and expressed the same in announcing her retirement ahead of the Las Vegas Aces' attempt to win a third title in a row. Parker has had 10 surgeries over her career.
Parker played her first 13 seasons in the league with the Los Angeles Sparks, establishing her dominance early as a No. 1 pick who won Rookie of the Year and league MVP in the same season. Parker was the only WNBA player to accomplish that feat, averaging 18.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists while helping the Sparks to a 10-win improvement in 2008.
STANFORD'S IRIAFEN WILL
TRANSFER TO USC >> Junior forward Kiki Iriafen, Stanford women's leading scorer this season, told ESPN that she is transferring to USC on Saturday night.
Iriafen will join a roster that includes superstar Juju Watkins and a recruiting class that will feature twotime California Open Division state champion Kennedy Smith of Etiwanda.
USC reached the Elite Eight last season.
With the newcomers, the Trojans, led by former Cal coach Lindsay Gottlieb, will now be a major contender to win their first NCAA championship since they captured back-to-back crowns in 1983 and 1984.
NFL
TEXANS WR DELL SHOT IN FLORIDA, SUSTAINS MINOR
WOUND >> Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell was shot in Florida and sustained a minor wound, the team announced on social media.
Dell was shot Saturday night in Sanford and has since been released from a hospital “in good spirits,” the team wrote Sunday in its social media post.
“We are in contact with him and his family and will provide more updates when appropriate,” the team wrote.
It was unclear whether Dell's injury was related to a shooting outside a Sanford party venue on the same night, in which authorities said a teenager wounded 10 people when he opened fire during a private event.
NBA playoffs
KNICKS 97, 76ERS 92 >> Jalen Brunson scored a career playoff-high 47 points, added 10 assists and the New York Knicks beat the Philadelphia 76ers to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.
OG Anunoby added 16 points and 14 rebounds, and took on some of the defensive assignment against Joel Embiid in the fourth quarter as the Knicks moved within a victory of getting to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the second straight year.
The No. 2-seeded Knicks can do that with a victory at home on Tuesday night.
Embiid finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
CLIPPERS 116, MAVS 111 >> Paul George and James Harden each scored 33 points while playing key fourth-quarter roles to help the Los Angeles Clippers hold on after blowing a 31-point lead and beat Dallas, evening the first-round series at 2-2.
The Clippers won again without Kawhi Leonard, who missed the series opener with right knee inflammation before playing in the two Dallas victories.
The teams have split a pair on each other's home court in the third Western Conference first-round meeting between them in the past five seasons. Game 5 is Wednesday night in Los Angeles.
Kyrie Irving scored 40 points for Dallas, including an acrobatic layup with 2:15 remaining for a 104103 lead that was the first for the Mavericks since the middle of the first quarter. THUNDER'S DAIGNEAULT IS NBA COACH OF THE YEAR >> Mark Daigneault, 39, was named NBA Coach of the Year on Sunday after leading one of the league's youngest teams to the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. He joins Scott Brooks (2010) as the only Thunder coaches to win the award.
The other finalists were Minnesota's Chris Finch and Orlando's Jamahl Mosley. Finch led the Timberwolves to a 56-26 record and the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoffs after they had to go through the play-in tournament to make the playoffs the previous year. Mosley led the Magic to a 47-35 record this season after the team went 34-48 last season.
NHL playoffs
AVALANCHE 5, JETS 1 >> Valeri Nichushkin recorded his first career hat trick, Alexandar Georgiev turned in another strong showing and Colorado beat Winnipeg in Game 4 to move a win away from advancing.
Artturi Lehkonen and Cale Makar also scored for the Avalanche, who grabbed a 3-1 lead in the first-round series. Game 5 is Tuesday night in Winnipeg.
Georgiev was on the hot seat after a shaky Game 1, but his confidence keeps surging with every big save. He stopped 26 shots.
Women's soccer
LYON TO FACE BARCELONA IN THE WOMEN'S CHAMPIONS
LEAGUE FINAL >> Lyon will play Barcelona in the final of the Women's Champions League after beating Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 in the semifinal second leg and 5-3 on aggregate.
Selma Bacha and Melchie Dumornay scored for the visitors.
The May 25 final in Bilbao, northern Spain, will be a rematch of the 2019 and 2022 finals, both won by Lyon, the most successful club in the competition with eight titles.
Lyon is the only team still unbeaten in the Women's Champions League this season. SD WAVE 2, BAY FC 1 (SAT.)
>> Bay FC scored an equalizer just after halftime and pushed for a winning goal in San Diego on Saturday night, but ended up on the wrong side of a deciding goal themselves, losing 2-1 to the Wave.
Substitute forward Jaedyn Shaw slid a cross from Elyse Bennett into the net in the 78th minute on a transition rush from San Diego. At the time, Bay FC had only 10 players on the field because forward Asisat Oshoala, who had scored earlier, was being evaluated for a leg injury.
After the goal, coach Albertin Montoya brought Princess Marfo on for Oshoala, seeking fresh legs to chase a late tying goal that never came despite 13 second-half shots. Oshoala said postgame that she was OK.
Tennis
ALCARAZ EARNS ANOTHER COMFORTABLE WIN IN MADRID >> Carlos Alcaraz continues to make a successful return from injury at the Madrid Open.
The two-time defending champion cruised past Thiago Seyboth Wild in the third round to earn another comfortable win.
Alcaraz won 6-3, 6-3 for his second straight victory in his first tournament after skipping Monte Carlo and Barcelona because of an arm injury. Alcaraz is trying to fully recover ahead of the French Open next month.