Reese defends her foul on Clark

Angel Reese insisted all she did Sunday was make a basketball play against Caitlin Clark. The former Iowa star agreed with her college rival. But that isn’t likely to defuse what happens next. After the Indiana Fever rookie wound up on the ground courtesy of Reese’s right elbow striking Clark’s head on a drive to the basket, the referees used replay review to upgrade the foul call to a flagrant-1 and almost assuredly setting off yet another debate about the contact Clark seems to be facing each game. “I can’t control the refs and they affected the game, obviously, a lot tonight,” Reese (above left) said after finishing with 11 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and five fouls in the Chicago Sky’s 91-83 loss at Indiana. “Y’all are probably going to play that clip like 20 times before Monday.” Naturally, it didn’t take long for the highlight to start making the social media rounds. But regardless of whether the elbow was intentional, the result was the same — Clark taking a head shot most sports leagues want to prevent.

Mays to miss Negro League tribute

Willie Mays will not be in attendance when the San Francisco Giants face the St. Louis Cardinals at Rickwood Field on Thursday in a game honoring him and the Negro Leagues. Mays (left), who began his career in Alabama with the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues and played for the Giants from 1951-72, told the San Francisco Chronicle that he will enjoy the game at home. “I’m not able to get to Birmingham this year but will follow the game back here in the Bay Area,” Mays said in a statement to the paper on Monday. “My heart will be with all of you who are honoring the Negro League ballplayers, who should always be remembered, including all my teammates on the Black Barons. I wanted to thank Major League Baseball, the Giants, the Cardinals and all the fans who’ll be at Rickwood or watching the game. It’ll be a special day, and I hope the kids will enjoy it and be inspired by it.” Mays, 93, is widely considered baseball’s greatest living player. He won the World Series with the Giants in 1954 and was a 24-time All-Star during his career, tied with Stan Musial for second-most behind Hank Aaron’s 25.

Walsh cements Olympics berth

Gretchen Walsh followed up a world record in the 100-meter butterfly with something that felt just as good. Her first trip to the Olympics. Walsh (left) didn’t go quite as fast as a night earlier in the semifinals, but she touched in 55.31 seconds to claim the coveted Olympic berth against a loaded field at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials late Sunday. “I was definitely nervous,” Walsh said. “There were a lot of what-ifs. Coming off breaking the world record, I was thinking, ‘Do I need to do that again just to make the team? What if I get third? What’s that even even going to look like?’” No worries. She’s heading to Paris. So is Carson Foster. He made up for the disappointment of 2021, when he just missed out on the Olympics, with a victory in the men’s 400 individual medley. And 30-year-old Nic Fink, whose wife is expecting a child, made it quite a Father’s Day — or should that be Expectant Father’s Day? — by winning the 100 breaststroke on the second night of the trials.

— Associated Press