San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Stern, Catchings inducted into women’s Hall of Fame
What David Stern did for the sport of basketball transcended any gender bias and opened a whole new world for women in the game.
NBA commissioner from 1984-2014, Stern was the key figure in the formation and operation of the WNBA in 1997. That bold move paved the way for Stern, who died Jan. 1, 2020, to be inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday in Knoxville, Tenn.
Stern was joined in the induction class by former players Tamika Catchings, Swin Cash, Lauren Jackson and Debbie Brock, along with contributors Carol Callan, Sue Donohoe and Carol Stiff. “The WNBA was my father’s baby,” said Eric Stern, representing his father. “It was something he had to fight for. He had to spend a lot of professional capital, and even some personal capital, to make it happen.”
Catchings was a direct beneficiary of the work that Stern did. After being the college player of the year at Tennessee in 2000, she went on to have a 15-year career in the WNBA with the Indiana Fever. She was the MVP of the Finals in 2012 when the Fever won the title.
As USA Basketball’s National Team Director, Callan was instrumental in putting together players, coaches and administrators who won gold medals in the past seven Olympics, the most recent coming in Tokyo earlier this month.
“The best motivation you can have in life is to play with passion and purpose,” Callan said. “There’s no greater purpose than the pursuit of a gold medal.”
WNBA: Skylar Diggins Smith had 25 points and seven assists, Diana Taurasi added 18 points and 10 rebounds, and visiting Phoenix beat host Atlanta 84-69 for its fourth straight win . ... Layshia Claredon scored 18 points, Crystal Dangerfield had nine of her 16 points in the fourth quarter and Minnesota beat host Chicago 101-95.
Top-ranked Barty reaches Ohio final
Top-ranked Ash Barty used a strong service game to survive a challenge from No. 22 Angelique Kerber and reach the women’s Western & Southern final with a 6-2, 7-5 semifinal win in Mason, Ohio.
No. 76 Jil Teichmann dumped No. 4 and fifth-seeded Karolina Pliskova 6-2, 6-4, to set up a match against the reigning Wimbledon champion.
Alexander Zverev will face No. 7 Andrey Rublev in the men’s final after the seventhranked Rublev rallied to beat top-seeded Daniil Medvedev 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.Zverev shook off stomach issues to outlast second-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4).
Motor sports: AJ Allmendinger took the lead with four laps left in regulation and held on through three overtimes to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series Race at Michigan International Speedway. Noah Gragson finished third, and Josh Berry was fourth. The IndyCar championship flipped leaders when Alex Palou was collected in an early three-car accident that moved Pato O’Ward to the points lead after a runner-up finish to Josef Newgarden in Madison, Ill. Newgarden led 138 of the 260 laps and jumped from fifth to third in the crowded points race. He trails O’Ward by 22 points.
Hockey: Valeria Pavlova and Viktoria Kulishova scored in a 14-second span midway through the second period and Russia opened the women’s world hockey championship with a 3-1 victory over Switzerland in Calgary, Alberta.
Nina Christof scored twice in the first period to help Germany beat newcomer Hungary 3-0. Hikaru Yamashita scored early in the second period and Nana Fujimoto made 26 saves in Japan’s 1-0 victory over Denmark.
Horse racing: Tripoli took the lead around the far turn and went on to win the $1 million Pacific Classic by 11⁄4 lengths at Del Mar (San Diego County).
Tripoli ran 11⁄4 miles in 2:02.37 under Tiago Pereira. The 4-year-old colt trained by John Sadler paid $15, $7.80 and $4.80 at 6-1 odds.
Tripoli earned an automatic berth into the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 6.