Haliburton raves about Clark, Fever

Caitlin Clark turned 23 on Wednesday. And as a birthday gift of sorts, Tyrese Haliburton offered her some more high praise. Haliburton stars for the Indiana Pacers. Clark stars for the WNBA’s Indiana Fever and is that league’s reigning rookie of the year. Haliburton and Clark have become fast friends, both complimenting the other on multiple occasions. Haliburton went as far as to say in Paris on Wednesday, on the eve of the first of two Spurs-Pacers matchups here, that she’s become a face of the game. Not the women’s game. The whole game. “I think when it comes to the game of basketball, she’s probably in the top-five most famous people that are playing now. That includes our league as well,” Haliburton said. “And she handles it with such grace.” Haliburton, above, says he considers the Fever — not just Clark, the whole organization — to be “rock stars” at the forefront of growing the WNBA. “She’s amazing. That group is amazing,” he said. “To see what they’re doing for women’s basketball has been really cool. She’s spearheaded that, so I’m just glad to be a part of the journey and watch what she does.”

Ichiro near-unanimous pick for Hall

Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese player chosen for the Hall, falling one vote shy of unanimous when he was elected along with CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner. Quite the journey for a 27-year-old who left the Pacific League’s Orix BlueWave in 2000 to sign with the Mariners as the first Japanese position player in Major League Baseball. “As a baseball player, this is definitely the top of the top,” Suzuki said after Tuesday’s announcement. He received 393 of 394 votes (99.7%) from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Sabathia was on 342 ballots (86.8%) and Wagner on 325 (82.5%), which was 29 votes more than the 296 needed for the required 75%. Sabathia and Suzuki were elected in their first appearance on the ballot, while Wagner made it on final try. The trio will be inducted into the Hall at Cooperstown on July 27 along with Dave Parker and Dick Allen, voted in last month by the classic era committee. Mariano Rivera remained the only player to get 100% of the vote from the BBWAA, appearing on all 425 ballots in 2019. Derek Jeter was chosen on 395 of 396 in 2020.

Hamilton takes 1st spin in F1 Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton drove a Ferrari Formula 1 car for the first time Wednesday and described it as “one of the best feelings of my life.” Hamilton was behind the wheel of a 2023-specification Ferrari SF-23 bearing his racing number, 44, at the team’s Fiorano test track and wore a new helmet design in yellow with a prominent Prancing Horse logo. The 40-year-old British driver set out for his first lap at 9:16 a.m. local time in light fog and twice waved to a crowd of around 1,000 spectators, who had gathered on a nearby bridge despite the cold and wet weather. “When I started the car up and drove through that garage door, I had the biggest smile on my face,” Hamilton said of his first drive in a Ferrari since joining the Italian team for the 2025 season. “It reminded me of the very first time I tested a Formula 1 car, it was such an exciting and special moment, and here I am, almost 20 years later, feeling those emotions all over again.” Hamilton has shaken up F1 with his move to Ferrari after 12 years with Mercedes, where he won six of his seven world titles. —Associated Press