MON SEVEN

Now with Atlanta, Angel Reese says she is grateful for her 2 years in Chicago but wanted more

ATLANTA (AP) — Angel Reese was surrounded by the love — and the talent — during her first news conference with the Atlanta Dream she felt was missing in her two years in Chicago.

Angel Reese speaks during her introduction during a news conference by the Atlanta Dream on Friday, April 17, 2026, in Atlanta. The Dream acquired Reese for first-round draft picks in 2027 and 2028. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Atlanta Dream's Jordin Canada, Angel Reese And Rhyne Howard hold up their jerseys during a news conference by the Atlanta Dream on Friday, April 17, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Angel Reese is introduced during a news conference by the Atlanta Dream on Friday, April 17, 2026, in Atlanta. The Dream acquired Reese for first-round draft picks in 2027 and 2028. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Atlanta Dream's Allisha Gray, Brionna Jones, Naz Hillmon, Jordin Canada, Angel Reese And Rhyne Howard hold up their jerseys during a news conference by the Atlanta Dream on Friday, April 17, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Angel Reese is introduced by the Atlanta Dream on Friday, April 17, 2026, in Atlanta. The Dream acquired Reese for first-round draft picks in 2027 and 2028. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Dream Reese

The Dreamacquired Reesefrom the Sky on April 6. Chicago obtained first-round draft picks in 2027 and 2028. Atlanta also received the right to swap second-round picks with Chicago in 2028.

One of the WNBA's most recognizable stars, Reese led the league in rebounds in each of her two seasons with the Sky.

“I’m always gonna be grateful for that because I did experience a lot of great things,” Reese said Friday of her time in Chicago. “I enjoyed being able to grow within my first two years but I wanted more. I love to win, I love to compete and I wanted to be surrounded by people that can make me better.

“And I am not satisfied with what I am as a player and I felt like being around these kinds of players would help me be better. I can help them in different ways to help them win and that’s all I ever wanted. I don’t care about anything else that comes with it. I want to win and being able to come to an organization that really cared about their players.”

Reese was joined at the news conference by the five players Atlanta has re-signed this offseason. Guard Rhyne Howard said Reese, a two-time All-Star forward, could help Atlanta win a championship.

“Angel, I think is special for us because she could be exactly what we were missing,” Howard said.

Reese averaged 14.7 points and a league-best 12.6 rebounds last season. She joins a team that won a franchise-record 30 games last season under coachKarl Smeskobefore losing to Indiana in the playoffs.

Atlanta also re-signed Allisha Gray, Brionna Jones, Jordin Canada and Naz Hillmon.

Gray finished fourth in MVP voting last season. Howard became the fastest player in WNBA history to make 300 3-pointers.Hillmonwas named Sixth Player of the Year and Jones was an All-Star.

The trade to Atlanta came after Reeseexpressed frustrationlate last season, with Chicago on the way to a 10-34 finish. She told the Chicago Tribune the Sky needed to improve their roster and added she “might have to move in a different direction and do what’s best for me” if that didn't happen. She later apologized to the team for the comments.

The Skysuspended Reesefor half a game for comments deemed “detrimental to the team.” The team held her out for its final three games with a back injury, raising speculation about her future in Chicago.

Reese said the interest from the Dream “was mutual on both sides and I was able to choose a destination I really wanted to go to.”

General manager Dan Padover said adding Reese capped a successful offseason.

“When we went into this offseason, we had two main priorities,” Padover said. “That was retain our core. And to remain opportunistic. And over the last week, I’m thrilled to say we did both. Keeping these players in Atlanta was just so important to us. And the most special thing is that they want to stay here.

“And then to have someone like Angel come in and say ‘Hey guys, I love what you’re doing. I love that city. Let me jump in here.’ And to have this whole group as well as the others that are here today come together to try to build something and win a championship. That’s what sports is all about.”

AP WNBA:https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

byDaniel Coleman

in

April 17, 2026

Now with Atlanta, Angel Reese says she is grateful for her 2 years in Chicago but wanted more

ATLANTA (AP) — Angel Reese was surrounded by the love — and the talent — during her first news conference with the Atlanta Dream she fe...

Former Texas guard Jordan Lee transfers to SEC rival South Carolina

Jordan Leeentered the transfer portal after a breakout season atTexasand the junior guard isn't going too far. She's staying in theSoutheastern Conference.

Lee announced on Instagram Friday that she's transferring toSouth Carolinato play forDawn Staleyafter spending the first two years of her collegiate career at Texas under Vic Schaefer. Lee captioned her Instagram post, which featured a video montage of her visit to Columbia, South Carolina, "Feeling cocky."

Lee wasone of four players from Texas to enter the transfer portalafter theLonghorns' second consecutive trip to theFinal Four ended in a devastating loss to UCLA. She was named to the All-Region team in the Fort Worth 3 bracket in this year’s NCAA Tournament following her Sweet 16 and Elite Eight performance, where she recorded 22 points, six assists, three rebounds and four steals while also providing strong defense.

After being limited to five starts her freshman year, Lee slid into the starting lineup last season and started a career-high 38 games. She also averaged career highs in points (13.2), assists (2.5), rebounds (2.5), steals (1.5), field-goal percentage (42%) and free-throw percentage (75%), while shooting 34% from 3-point range.

Texas' Aaliyah Crump, Justice Carlton and Aaliyah Moore also entered the transfer portal. On Friday, Crumpannouncedshe's transferring to Duke, citing her connection with head coach Kara Lawson.

"For me, choosing Duke University goes far beyond one sentence. The moment I connected with Kara Lawson and her coaching staff, I knew I was exactly where I belonged," said Crump, who averaged 7.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game her freshman season at Texas.

Crump continued: "Their dedication and vision for the program is truly special, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be a part of it. The connection Coach Lawson and I have built is one of a kind, and I fully trust in her plan for the success of this program. I can’t wait to be coached by genuine people who support my growth not only as a basketball player, but as a person as well."

Three-time All-American Madison Booker and junior starting forward Breya Cunningham are expected to return to Texas.

Contributing: Mitchell Northam

Reach USA TODAY National Women’s Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at chenderson@gannett.com and follow her on X at@CydHenderson.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news —Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Jordan Lee transfers: Former Texas guard joins South Carolina

byDaniel Coleman

in

April 17, 2026

Former Texas guard Jordan Lee transfers to SEC rival South Carolina

Jordan Leeentered the transfer portal after a breakout season atTexasand the junior guard isn't going too far. She's staying in...

A dispatch from inside the Vatican bubble during a remarkable exchange between pope and president

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — There is an odd sense of isolation when you are coveringPope Leo XIVfrom inside the Vatican’s traveling press pool: Escorted from venue to venue with police motorcades that clear even the most congested of traffic jams, it’s a membership that has many privileges.

Pope Leo XIV speaks to journalists aboard his flight bound for Algiers’ Houari Boumédiène International Airport on Monday, April 13, 2026, at the start of an 11-day apostolic journey to Africa. (Alberto Pizzoli/Pool Photo via AP)

Algeria Pope Africa

But during Leo’s epicfour-nation trip to Africa, being inside the Vatican “bubble” has been an almost surreal experience, asan unprecedented back-and-forthplays out between U.S. President Donald Trump and history’s first American pope.

Every morning this week, waking up todevelopments in Washingtonfrom the evening before, the questions have abounded: Will Leo bite? How will he address the latest criticism, if at all, while focusing on the Africa program he has planned?

That was certainly the case on Wednesday, as Leo, the Vatican delegation and a pool of around 70 accredited reporters boarded the ITA Airways charter for the second leg of Leo’s 11-day odyssey — the flight from Algiers, Algeria to Yaounde, Cameroon.

Much to the reporters’ delight, Leo had responded head-on to Trump at the start of the trip when he gamely greeted reporters traveling April 13 from Rome to Algiers. He responded to those who asked him about Trump’s Truth Social post a day earlier, in which the U.S. president had accused him of being soft on crime, cozy with the left and owed his papacy to Trump.

Trump was responding to Leo’s calls for peace, in reference to the Iran war, and comments that Trump’s threat to annihilate Iranian civilization were “truly unacceptable.”

Leo had told journalists aboard the papal plane that he was merely preaching the Gospel when he called for peace and criticized war, and that he didn’t fear the Trump administration.

A comment about peace

On Wednesday, Leo didn’t take questions from reporters and kept his remarks focused on his just-concluded visit to Algeria, where he honored the legacy of his spiritual inspiration,St. Augustine of Hippo.

In brief remarks to reporters standing at the front of economy class, Leo didn’t refer to war or Trump. But he spoke in terms that could suggest the latest overnight lobs from Washington certainly hadn't gone unnoticed. Perhaps tellingly, he spoke exclusively in English.

Trump had kept up the criticism on Truth Social, while U.S. Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, said that Leo should “be careful” when speaking about theology.

For starters, Leo noted the sign of “goodness,” “generosity,” and “respect” that the Algerian government showed him in welcoming him on the first-ever papal visit. He said that the Algerian honors had included a full military aerial escort of the papal plane through Algerian airspace.

He also recalled his visit to the Great Mosque in Algiers, which he said was a significant way to show that “although we have different beliefs, we have different ways of worshipping, we have different ways of living, we can live together in peace.”

He said that St. Augustine’s message of searching for God, searching for truth, building bridges and seeking unity and community “is something which the world needs to hear today and that together we can continue to offer in our witness as we continue on this apostolic voyage.”

A papal press pool

Like other heads of state, the pope travels internationally with both the Vatican’s own media team as well as a group of external news organizations that pay, oftentimes handsomely, to have their reporters travel aboard the papal plane and have special access to cover his events.

Being inside the Vatican bubble has journalistic advantages and disadvantages. You get the best access and are traveling under the Vatican’s security umbrella, meaning there’s little or no hassle from local security organizers. The Vatican facilitates visas and local SIM cards in advance, and arranges hotels and local transportation, allowing reporters to focus on the news rather than logistics.

Journalists in the bubble get the pope’s speeches ahead of time and have occasional access to delegation members, as well as other information in real time from the Vatican spokesman.

But the real reason news organizations choose to spend thousands of dollars per journalist, per trip, to be on the papal plane is to be on hand for the pope’s news conferences. The only time a pope holds such briefings with journalists is at an altitude of 35,000 feet (around 10,000 meters)

Who could forget Pope Francis’ famous line on his maiden trip as pope, in 2013 to Rio de Janeiro, when he uttered the line “Who am I to judge,” when he was asked about a purportedly gay priest.

The downside of being in the Vatican bubble is obvious for many of the same reasons it’s helpful: You are removed from local reality, whether in Algeria or Alaska, and rarely have time to do the type of on-the-ground reporting that makes a news report balanced.

Those news organizations that have the resources have teams on the ground producing such content, or journalists within the bubble break away to do their own reporting, so that the end result is a healthy combination of official Vatican information and local input.

But when the real drama involving the pope is occurring thousands of miles and time zones away, being in the Vatican bubble is a somewhat jarring experience. The news everyone wants to know isn’t necessarily what the pope has on his agenda.

But on this trip, the first by an American pope to Africa, being in the Vatican bubble certainly had its advantages.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’scollaborationwith The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

byDaniel Coleman

in

April 16, 2026

A dispatch from inside the Vatican bubble during a remarkable exchange between pope and president

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — There is an odd sense of isolation when you are coveringPope Leo XIVfrom inside the Vatican’s traveling p...

Mike Trout crushes another Yankee Stadium homer, his fifth in four games

NEW YORK (AP) — Mike Trout’s latest homer against the New York Yankees put him some rare company, and going deep again made history at Yankee Stadium.

Los Angeles Angels' Mike Trout (27) hits a home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Thursday, April 16, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Angels Yankees Baseball

Trout homered for the fifth time during a four-game series on Thursday, crushing a 446-foot drive in the seventh inning for theLos Angeles Angels in an 11-4 victory.

The three-time MVP joined Jimmie Foxx (1933), Darrell Evans (1985) and George Bell (1990) as the fourth player with five homers in a series against the Yankees, according to MLB research.

Trout homered twice on Mondaybefore going deep again in the following two games. In the series finale Thursday, Trout drove a 2-2 slider from reliever Angel Chivilli about halfway up the left field bleachers to give the Angels a 7-4 lead. That drive made Trout the first player to hit five homers in a series in the Bronx.

“I heard that after the game,” Trout said. “It’s pretty surreal. All the great players that came through here, so it’s pretty cool.”

“Honestly, not surprising,” Los Angeles manager Kurt Suzuki said. “When you’re with Mike every day, there’s nothing that you believe that he can’t do."

He also became the first visiting player to homer in four consecutive days at the current Yankee Stadium, which opened in 2009.

Trout went 6 for 16 with five homers and nine RBIs in the series. He also has homered in his last five games at Yankee Stadium and drew an intentional walk in his next plate appearance before Jo Adell hit a grand slam.

“At this point it’s vintage Mike Trout,” Adell said. “When he’s healthy and feeling good, there’s nothing like it. It’s special. It’s one of a kind. So for all of us to experience it, it’s special.”

“He’s unbelievable,” Suzuki said. “He really is. It’s been an amazing week for him.”

Trout is hitting .246 with seven homers and 16 RBIs. He is 9 for 27 (.333) with five homers and 13 RBIs on the Angels’ road trip, which coincides with him making a mechanical tweak.

Trout’s career-high homer streak is seven games, achieved Sept. 4-12, 2022. He has homered in four straight games for the fourth time in his career.

Trout’s homer was part of a four-game series that featured four homers from Yankees’ slugger Aaron Judge. Judge homered twice Monday, again on Wednesday and went deep in the first inning in the series finale.

“He’s unreal,” designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton said after the Yankees lost for the seventh time in nine games. “Cool showing from him and Judgie all series. Obviously, you don’t want that against us, but you got to acknowledge the greatness.”

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first time opposing players who owned multiple MVPs hit at least three homers in the same series.

“It was an impressive show by those two,” Suzuki said. ”

AP MLB:https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

byDaniel Coleman

in

April 16, 2026

Mike Trout crushes another Yankee Stadium homer, his fifth in four games

NEW YORK (AP) — Mike Trout’s latest homer against the New York Yankees put him some rare company, and going deep again made history at ...

Patriots VP addresses Mike Vrabel NFL draft role after Dianna Russini photos

The first high-ranking member of theNew England Patriotshas now addressed Mike Vrabel's situation − sort of − nearly a week after photos of the club's head coach with NFL reporter Dianna Russini at an Arizona resort werepublished by the New York Post.

Asked during the team's April 13 pre-draft news conference about Vrabel's involvement with player evaluations over the past week, Pats vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf said: "Very involved. Business as usual. He’s been in there with us a little more than he was last year."

And that was pretty much it.

Wolf didn't talk about Vrabel before he began taking questions, then only got one remotely acknowledging the controversy his coach currently finds swirling about him. Wolf mentioned Vrabel a handful of times but only in the context of his role in evaluating draft prospects for the reigning AFC champions.

Feb 5, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel talks to media members at the Santa Clara Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Vrabel, who addressed reporters the week prior to last year's draft,did not do so Monday but was never scheduled to, either. He and Wolf met with the national media at this year's annual scouting combine. Vrabel also spoke to reporters at the NFL's annual league meeting in Phoenix on March 31, just days after he'd been photographed at a posh Arizona getaway with Russini, The Athletic's NFL insider, but before those pictures of them surfaced in The Post.

The photos, which were published on April 7, show Vrabel and Russini in bathing suits poolside as well as hugging on a rooftop at the Ambiente in Sedona, Arizona, days before the league meeting. Both Vrabel, 50, and Russini, 43, are married to other people with whom they have children.

"These photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable,"Vrabel told the Post, which published the photos, in a statement last week.

"This doesn’t deserve any further response."