LOS ANGELES (AP) — Caitlin Clark’s first WNBA game in Los Angeles is being moved to a bigger stage.
The Los Angeles Sparks said Tuesday that their home game against Clark and the Indiana Fever on May 24 is being moved from Walter Pyramid on the Long Beach State campus to Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles.
Two other Sparks home games — May 26 against Dallas and June 5 against Minnesota — are also moving to Crypto.com Arena.
That's where the Sparks usually play all their games and it seats 19,067 for basketball games. Walter Pyramid seats 5,000. The games were originally moved to Long Beach because of construction at Crypto.com Arena.
“Women’s basketball is experiencing unprecedented viewership and attendance numbers so moving these games back to Crypto.com Arena provides us the ability to have more fans in the stands and have our players back to competing on their home floor,” Sparks President Christine Monjer said.
The Sparks will still open the season on May 15 against Atlanta and play Washington on May 21 in Long Beach.
AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
CORRECTS FROM CAITLYN TO CAITLIN - Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark reacts after making a basket during the first half of an WNBA basketball game against the Dallas Wings in Arlington, Texas, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) and head coach Christine Sides, center right, react after a play during the second half of an WNBA basketball game against the Dallas Wings in Arlington, Texas, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — At least 10 people were reported killed in attacks in Ukraine’s war-ravaged northeast on Sunday as Russia pushed ahead with its renewed offensive.
In the Kharkiv region, the focus of the offensive, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said five people were killed and 16 wounded in a Russian strike on the outskirts of the regional capital, also called Kharkiv.
He added that five more people were killed and nine wounded in an attack on the region’s Kupiansk district, southeast of the regional capital.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Sunday that its forces in the area were “continuing to advance into the depths of the enemy’s defense.” Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia had stepped up its attacks around Kharkiv and that the situation was “dynamic.”
Russia launched an offensive in the Kharkiv region late last week, significantly adding to the pressure on Ukraine’s outnumbered and outgunned forces which are waiting for delayed deliveries of crucial weapons and ammunition from Western partners. Ukraine’s overstretched forces are trying to slow Russia on the new front by using bomb-laden drones to destroy military vehicles.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday during a visit to China that Moscow’s offensive in the Kharkiv region aims to create a buffer zone but that there are no plans to capture the city.
Meanwhile, Ukraine and Russia continued to exchange drone attacks.
Ukrainian air force officials said Sunday morning that air defenses shot down all 37 Russian drones launched against the country overnight.
In Russia, Russian air defenses shot down 57 Ukrainian drones over the southern Krasnodar region overnight, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Local military officials said drone debris hit an oil refinery in the town of Slavyansk-on-Kuban, but there was no fire or damage. News outlet Astra published videos appearing to show an explosion at the refinery as it was hit by a drone. The videos could not be independently verified.
Nine long-range ballistic missiles and a drone were destroyed over the Russia-occupied Crimean Peninsula, following Friday morning’s massive Ukrainian drone attack that cut off power in the city of Sevastopol.
A further three drones were shot down over the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine. According to regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov, a church roof was set on fire by falling drone debris, but there were no casualties.
The Russian-installed governor of Ukraine’s partially occupied Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, said that one person died and 16 were wounded when a Ukrainian drone hit a minibus on Sunday morning.
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Morton reported from London.
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Follow AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Emergency Situations Minister Alexander Kurenkov and Natural Resources Minister Alexander Kozlov during their meeting at the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, May 18, 2024. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Ukrainian police officers look for fragments of a glide bomb in front of damaged house after a Russian airstrike on a residential neighbourhood in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday, May 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
A Ukrainian police officer and war crime prosecutor inspect fragments of a glide bomb in front of damaged house, after a Russian airstrike on a residential neighbourhood in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday, May 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
