sky

Angel Reese is traded to Atlanta Dream after two years with Chicago

Angel Reese has a new WNBA home.

After spending her first two seasons with the Chicago Sky, the two-time All Star has been traded to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for first-round picks in 2027 and 2028, the teams announced Monday morning. Atlanta also receives the option to swap second-round picks with Chicago in 2028.

“An Angel’s DREAM,” Reese posted on X. “ATL WHAT UP?!”

Reese was already a star before coming to the WNBA after helping Louisiana State win the national championship over Caitlin Clark and Iowa in 2023 and leading the Tigers back to the Elite Eight the following year.

Selected by Chicago with the seventh overall pick in the 2024 draft, Reese finished as runner-up to Clark in rookie-of-the-year voting and led the league in rebounds per game in each of her first two seasons. Overall, she has averaged 14.1 points and 12.9 rebounds a game.

The Sky have gone 23-61 and missed the playoffs both seasons since drafting Reese. On Sept. 3, the Chicago Tribune published quotes from the star player that indicated her frustration with the team’s inability to build a winning roster and an inclination to leave if the organization isn’t able to get it right.

“I’d like to be here for my career, but if things don’t pan out, obviously I might have to move in a different direction and do what’s best for me,” Reese told the Tribune.

After the Sky’s 88-64 victory over the Connecticut Sun that night, Reese told reporters she had apologized to her teammates about the article.

“I think the language is taken out of context,” she said, “and I really didn’t intentionally mean to put down my teammates, because they’ve been through this with me throughout the whole year. They’ve busted their ass, just how I bust my ass, they showed up for me through thick and thin, and in the locker room when nobody could see anything.”

Reese did not play for Chicago again. She was suspended half a game for her comments, which were deemed “detrimental to the team,” served a separate mandatory one-game suspension by the WNBA for receiving eight technical fouls during the season and missed the final three games of the season with what was listed as a back injury.

The Sky said in a statement Monday that the “trade is designed to achieve roster balance and represents a great opportunity for all parties.”

“Angel has achieved many record-breaking milestones in her first two years in the WNBA and has been a competitive force for the Sky,” the team wrote. “We are thankful for her many important contributions to this league and this game, and we know she will continue to have a big impact on the court and beyond.”

Reese joins an Atlanta team that went 30-14 and finished first in the Eastern Conference before losing to the Indiana Fever in the first round of the playoffs. The roster includes Allisha Gray, who finished fourth in the MVP voting last season, as well as sixth player of the year Naz Hillmon and All-Star Brionna Jones.

“Angel is a dynamic talent and a perfect fit for what we are building in Atlanta,” Dream general manager Dan Padover said in a statement. “She has already proven herself as one of the most impactful players in the league, and her competitiveness, production and drive to win align seamlessly with our vision. This is an exciting moment for our organization and our fans.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source link

Sky News presenter Jayne Secker suffers from hiccups in hilarious 4pm bulletin

Newsreader Jayne Secker suffered from a bout of hiccups whilst presenting the 4pm bulletin on Sky News Today

Sky News presenter Jayne Secker suffers from hiccups in 4pm bulletin

Sky News presenter Jayne Secker suffered from a bout of hiccups whilst presenting the 4pm bulletin on Thursday. The newsreader, 53, was back in her usual slot on the live TV channel but as she began addressing the nation, she was befallen by a case of the hiccups, and couldn’t stop.

She began: “The wait is over! After more than half a century astronauts are finally on their way back [hiccup] to the moon!” It appeared that she let out a slight giggle as she began to present the next item.

Ever the professional, Jayne managed to regain composure in time to be able to continue with the rest of her news reporting segment.

READ MORE: Strictly’s Claudia Winkleman’s fake tan fail in ‘worst’ experienceREAD MORE: Good Morning Britain sparks backlash over Ed Balls debate ‘Is this even newsworthy?’

Jayne has appeared on Sky News Today since 2014, and initially appeared alongside Colin Brazier, and has been employed by the broadcaster since 2002.

Many viewers may be unaware that she is the daughter of the late Tyne Tees anchor Kathy Secker. Jayne’s media career began on home turf, editing student newspapers and securing an internship at BBC Radio Newcastle, before becoming a BBC trainee after graduating from the University of Stirling.

The Bedlington-born star, who was the first person to interview astronaut Tim Peake live from space, has a famous lineage; her mother Kathy joined ITV in 1976 and became well-known for presenting shows like Lookaround, the Birthday Spot, and the daily North East Tonight bulletins, as well as her own series Kathy and Co.

Kathy also made waves on radio, hosting her own show on BBC Radio Newcastle on Sunday afternoons, with her last broadcast airing just two weeks before her death in December 2015 at the age of 70.

Kathy, the founder of the renowned Grace House charity in Sunderland, a cause that Jayne proudly patronises, died at her home in Newcastle after she failed to turn up to a planned day out with friends.

BBC Newcastle, for whom she was still presenting a weekly show, confirmed the sad news on Twitter, now known as X, at the time. Paying tribute to Kathy, they wrote: “Some very sad news. Kathy Secker, one on our longest serving presenters, has died. She’ll be hugely missed.

“Kathy’s passing comes as a huge shock. Our thoughts are with her family. We’ll have a tribute on Sunday @ 2pm.” During her tenure at Sky News, Jayne spent a decade as a foreign correspondent, often reporting from conflict zones such as the Middle East, before joining their long-running rolling news programme.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.



Source link

Sky Sports TV picks: How they work & why they are headache for fans

Sky Sports has a position of dominance, with four of the five available TV packages.

It can combine its packs and make the system work as it sees fit.

Selections can be made in one package, but the time and day swapped with another.

This is how it can work.

Every team should be picked at least once. Arsenal and Tottenham are the only clubs who have not played on a Friday or Monday.

However, it does not necessarily mean Sky has not picked them in the slot.

Likewise, Everton have seven Friday or Monday games but two of those might be allocated to a different package.

When asked, Sky Sports and the Premier League would not discuss the breakdown of selections on a week-to-week basis.

But, as an illustration, BBC Sport can suggest how it could work from one weekend in January.

Let’s say Sky Sports picked Everton v Leeds as Saturday 17:30, and Bournemouth v Liverpool as Monday 20:00.

Liverpool could not play on the Monday because of the Champions League, so Sky Sports could swap the games.

Everton‘s game is on a Monday, but it was not picked for a Monday. So it may not count as part of the Monday allocation.

Sky Sports says the process involves so many bodies, including clubs and the police, that much of the decision-making is taken out of their hands.

The order of first, second and third-choice picks between Sky and TNT Sports can also have an influence.

It is clear that the five-appearance maximum is a just loose limit.

Supporters will simply see their club has been picked six, seven or eight times.

Manchester United will almost certainly be in Europe next season, so will join the band of clubs largely shielded from the Friday-Monday package.

But with at least eight Premier League clubs set to be in Europe, the issue is not going to go away.

If Tottenham stay in the Premier League they will go to the top of the list for Friday and Monday selection, given they have a large fan base and are viewed as a glamourous club.

Everton fans say the scenario is “damaging supporter accessibility, matchday experience, and long-term engagement”.

It seems unlikely to change next season.

Source link