Last Week around the Leagues
by Fran Stuchbury
Published on August 8, 2023 under Appalachian League (ApL)
This past week Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi became the first player in the Women's National Basketball Association to score 10,000 points, the Bay Area Panthers won their first Indoor Football League championship, and the Johnson City Doughboys won the Appalachian League title. Highlights from this week come from the Women's National Basketball Association, NBA G League, BIG3, Indoor Football League, Canadian Football League, XFL, United States Football League, Appalachian League, International League, Prospect League, Carolina League, Major League Soccer, National Women's Soccer League, United Soccer League Championship, Premier Lacrosse League, National Lacrosse League, Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League, 3ICE, Pro Volleyball Federation and American Ultimate Disc League.
BASKETBALL
Women's National Basketball Association
Phoenix Mercury guard and WNBA all-time leading scorer Diana Taurasi recorded her 10,000th career regular season point in the third quarter of tonight's game against the Atlanta Dream at Footprint Center, hitting the milestone on a three-point basket.
Diana Taurasi makes history as she becomes the first WNBA player ever to reach 10,000 career points. Taurasi entered tonight's game needing 18 PTS and finished with a game-high 42 as the Phoenix Mercury defeated the Atlanta Dream, 91-71. This is Taurasi's first 40-point game since July 2010.
The Connecticut Sun (19-7) defeated the Minnesota Lynx (13-14), 79-69. With the win, the Sun win the regular season series, 3-1. The Sun was led by Alyssa Thomas who tallied her second-straight triple-double with 21 points, a career-high 20 rebounds and 12 assists. She also added three steals and two blocks in the win. With that stat line, Thomas is the first player in WNBA history to record 20+ points, 20+ rebounds and 10+ assists.
Alyssa Thomas records a triple-double with 21 PTS, 20 REB & 12 AST to lead the Connecticut Sun to a 79-69 win against the Minnesota Lynx. Thomas becomes the first player in WNBA history with a 20-15-10 game.
NBA G League
The Minnesota Timberwolves today named Ernest Scott as Head Coach of the Iowa Wolves, the team's G League affiliate. Minnesota also announced the promotion of Nathan Bubes to Assistant Coach and Michael DiBenedetto to Assistant Coach/Director of Operations for the Wolves. Scott is entering his third season with the Iowa Wolves, first as the Head Coach after spending the last two as an assistant coach. Scott joined the Timberwolves organization after spending two seasons as an assistant coach with the South Bay Lakers of the NBA G League.
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BIG3
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FOOTBALL
Indoor Football League
Dalton Sneed ran for three touchdowns and threw two scoring passes to JT Stokes as the Bay Area Panthers won the Dollar Loan Center IFL National Championship with a 51-41 victory over the Sioux Falls Storm. "We've got a resilient group," said Sneed. "We've got great coaches who led us the whole way through. We believed in one another, came to work every day and you see all the work was put on full display today. ¬Â The victory completed the turnaround for the Panthers who were 1-15 in 2022 before the franchise overhaul. The game marked the end of the career of Storm Head Coach Kurtis Riggs, who leaves after winning 11 league titles and seven IFL Championships.
Here is the postgame trophy presentation
The IFL is proud to announce TJ Edwards as the 2023 League Most Valuable Player. Edwards was nearly unstoppable in all facets of the game in 2023. Whether attacking opponents through the air or inflicting damage to them on the ground, he showed why he is this year's MVP. Edwards led the Fighters to a 14-2 record and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. Edwards' dominance included 853 yards on the ground, third best in the IFL, and a league leading 49 rushing touchdowns. Edwards also led the IFL with 2,600 passing yards and was seventh with 39 passing touchdowns. He accounted for 87 touchdowns and showed the ability to take over a game.
The Indoor Football League is proud to announce the Tucson Sugar Skulls' head coach, Hurtis Chinn as the Head Coach of the Year. Chinn led Tucson to a 9-7 record in his first year as head coach of the franchise. The record was good enough to earn them the No. 3 seed in the West in the IFL playoffs.
Canadian football League
After another sellout Touchdown Atlantic in Atlantic Canada, Donnovan and Henoc start to dream about where else they'd like to see a CFL neutral site game.
XFL
The XFL announced that Seattle Sea Dragons offensive lineman Michal Menet has signed a contract with the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. This brings the total number of XFL players who have signed an NFL contract to 43 since the off-season began on May 15. Menet helped anchor a Seattle offensive line that paved the way for a league leading 4.6 yards per carry for the Sea Dragons running game.
Houston Roughnecks Head Coach Wade Phillips caught up with 2023 XFL Combine Live Stream Hosts Sam Acho and K.J. Sails on the field to talk about the XFL Combine, the Houston Roughnecks 2023 season and what he expects heading into 2024 from the Roughnecks.
United States Football League
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BASEBALL
Appalachian League
Johnson City Doughboys capture the 2023 Appalachian league bat league championship
International League
Boston Red Sox lefty Chris Sale makes a rehab appearance with the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox,
Prospect League
Now in their 35th year of playing summer collegiate wood bat baseball, the Danville Dans recorded their 1,000th regular season win with a 9-5 victory over the Rex Baseball club. The Dans overall regular season record is 1,000-716-1, for a .582 winning percentage. The Dans first win was in their debut game as the Danville Highlanders (the name changed in 1989). They swept a doubleheader against the Lincoln Collegiates on Saturday, June 11, 1988. The record that first year was 16-29, one of only four seasons out of 35 that have finished under .500 (the team had an even 24-24 record in 2002). There have been 14 seasons where the team was 10-plus games over .500 - including four years more than 20+. Their best season finish was in 2005 at 34-10, .773 winning percentage. There were two other years over .700: 1996 (29-11) and 2022 (40-17).
Danville Dans win 1,000th game in franchise history
Carolina League
Kannapolis bat dog Kacey Betty learns the ropes!
SOCCER
Major League Soccer
Inter Miami CF's Lionel Messi continued his scorching start in the MLS with two more goals, this time against Orlando City.
National Women's Soccer League
Majority owner and chairperson of the North Carolina Courage, Steve Malik, announces the successful completion of a substantial equity raise in the club. The investment is led by existing minority owner Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc. ("CBC"), who will receive a seat on the Courage Board of Directors as part of their increased investment. The cash funding will be used for both day-to-day operations to continuously improve the experience for players, staff, and fans, as well as long-term investments to continue to grow the club's value. CBC is also expected to help drive greater awareness of the Courage brand across its wide-reaching media channels.
A champion on and off the field, taking the field on the game's biggest stage for South Africa, Thembi Kgatlana continues to show girls can do anything.
United Soccer League Championship
The USL Championship announced the Team of the Week for Week 21 of the 2023 regular season with San Antonio FC forward Tani Oluwaseyi voted the Championship Player of the Week presented by Konami eFootball after recording the first four-goal game in the league this season during San Antonio's 5-2 victory against Hartford Athletic on at Toyota Field.
LACROSSE
Premier Lacrosse League
Top 10 Plays from 2023 Dallas
National Lacrosse League
The Philadelphia Wings announced that they have acquired defenseman Scott Dominey, transition player Mike McCannell, and the 18th overall pick in September's NLL Draft in exchange for Kiel Matisz, Trevor Baptiste and the rights to both Matt Anderson and Kyle Jackson in a massive three-team deal with the New York Riptide and the San Diego Seals. "Kiel and Trevor will be missed but today's move was an opportunity to inject youth and speed into the roster. Along with the addition of Holden Cattoni last week, we believe that Scott Dominey and Mike McCannell help us accomplish that, particularly in transition," said Head Coach & General Manager Paul Day. "These moves also provide us with additional salary cap flexibility and draft assets to continue to add pieces. Both players will make immediate impacts and we are excited to see them in Wings uniforms. ¬Â
2023 NLL Finals Cinematic Recap
HOCKEY
Western Hockey League
Angel Of The Winds Arena and the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League announce a renewal of their agreement, extending what has been 20 years of Silvertips hockey in Everett, WA for a guaranteed 5 more years. The renewal means that the Silvertips will play all of their home games at Angel Of The Winds Arena, managed by OVG360, through at least the 2027-2028 season. This partnership renewal is especially impactful in timing, as the facility prepares to celebrate its' 20th Anniversary year of bringing the best in live events and sporting experiences to the Everett and Snohomish County community.
We caught up with Prince Albert Raiders defenceman Terrell Goldsmith after the Arizona Coyotes selected him in the fourth round of the 2023 NHL Draft.
Ontario Hockey League
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United States Hockey League
The Chicago Steel and the United States Hockey League have announced the sale of the Steel to Chicago-based Wirtz Corporation. One of the most successful organizations in the USHL, the Steel has been a member of the league since 2000-01. The Steel, who went 39-18-4-1 last year en route to the Eastern Conference title, has won a pair of Clark Cups as USHL playoff champions in 2017 and 2021, along with Anderson Cup titles as regular-season champions in 2020 and 2021. "The USHL is excited to welcome the Wirtz family and Wirtz Corporation as the new principal owners of the Chicago Steel," remarked Hefferan. "With a history of success and development already in place and a new ownership group coming in, we are excited to see what's in store for Steel in the coming years. ¬Â
3ICE
2023, Week 6 - Stars of the Night
2023, Week 6 - 3ICE in 3 Minutes
OTHER SPORTS
Pro Volleyball Federation
The Atlanta Vibe was officially announced as the name of Atlanta's professional women's volleyball team as a part of the Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF). "We wanted a name that reflects our city. In order to accomplish that, a city-wide naming contest was conducted, returning well over 1,000 submissions with one that stood out to us the most "" the Atlanta Vibe. Owner, Colleen Craig "Having a name that resonates with our fan base and our city matters to us as we look to become a staple that is Atlanta professional sports," Craig continued. "The name Vibe represents the energy, culture, individual and collective personalities that make up our city. ¬Â
We are the Atlanta Vibe.
Pro Volleyball Federation held a league meeting ahead of the inaugural season that will debut the Grand Rapids Rise.
Major League Rugby
Major League Rugby (MLR) announced Atlanta's Rugby ATL has been acquired and will relocate. Details of the move are being finalized, and a formal announcement and introduction of the new ownership group are expected soon. Major League Rugby (MLR) today announced Atlanta's Rugby ATL has been acquired and will relocate. Details of the move are being finalized, and a formal announcement and introduction of the new ownership group are expected soon.
American Ultimate Disc League
The TOP 10 plays from the opening round of the 2023 AUDL Playoffs!
Did we miss anything newsworthy or fun? Have a nomination for next week's column? Contact us today and let us know.
Appalachian League Stories from August 8, 2023
- Last Week around the Leagues - OSC Original by Fran Stuchbury
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
