Clark draws a crowd to TD Garden

BOSTON (AP) — Natasha Howard scored 18 points with 13 rebounds to lead the Indiana Fever to an 85-77 victory over the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday night in front of a sold-out crowd of 19,156 at the home of the Boston Celtics and Bruins.

Caitlin Clark struggled during the game, scoring 14 points on 4 for 14 shooting, and walked off the court in the final minute, crying and clutching her right leg. Clark missed five games recently and five others earlier in the season with left leg injuries.

Tina Charles scored 21 points with 11 rebounds for the Sun, who fell to 3-19 for the season — the worst record in the WNBA.

East Palestine Youth Volleyball Camp

EAST PALESTINE — The East Palestine Youth Volleyball Camp will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday in the high school gym.

Cost is $30. Day of camp registration opens at 8:30 a.m. Saturday in the high school gym lobby. It is open to all girls and boys entering grades K-8 in any school district.

Suarez dodges major injury

ATLANTA (AP) — Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suarez appears to have dodged a major injury after he was hit by a pitch on his hand at Tuesday night’s All-Star Game.

Suarez dropped to his knees in obvious pain after being hit by Chicago White Sox right-hander Shane Smith in the eighth inning.

NL manager Dave Roberts said Suarez got X-rays that came back negative. Suarez remained in the game but did not participate as planned in the first tiebreaking home run swing-off. He was replaced by Miami’s Kyle Stowers as the NL won the swing-off 4-3. The pitch appeared to hit Suarez on his left pinkie finger at the end of the bat handle. He was examined by a trainer before staying in the game and jogging to first base.

Suarez, who is hitting .250 with 31 homers and 78 RBIs, is considered a possible top target at baseball’s trade deadline. A serious injury could impact that trade outlook.

Philadelphia hosts 2026 All-Stars

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Next year’s game is set for Philadelphia and MLB plans to announce later this month the 2027 game will be at Chicago’s Wrigley Field. Manfred mentioned Baltimore, Boston and Toronto as possible future sites for All-Star Games.

Jets are paying up

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Jets are making Sauce Gardner the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL.

The Jets and Gardner agreed on a four-year, $120.4 million extension through the 2030 season, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the agreement had not been announced.

Gardner took to social media to report “THE DEAL IS DONE” and thank his agents for making that happen.

“This only the beginning,” Gardner posted. “I appreciate the Jets organization for believing in me, my teammates for the blood, sweat (and) tears we put in.”

The contract paying the two-time All-Pro an average of $30.1 million a year comes a day after the Jets agreed to a lucrative extension with top wide receiver Garrett Wilson. That deal with Wilson, who starred at Ohio State, is worth $130 million, as the organization locked up two foundational players for the long-term future.

Gardner, who turns 25 before Week 1, was the No. 4 pick in the 2022 draft out of Cincinnati. He established himself as one of the league’s top cornerbacks during his first two professional seasons, including being selected the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year.

After a down year by his standards, he is out to prove naysayers wrong, saying he has always felt like an underdog. Gardner opted to participate in mandatory minicamp rather than hold out to try to push for a new deal.

After recently declining to say whether he wanted to be the richest player at the position, Gardner now has that distinction.

“Man, I just wanted to show my teammates, show the coaches how much I’m bought into this,” Gardner said. “I want to win. I want to change the organization. I want to be a part of changing the organization.”

The Jets have the longest active playoff drought in the NFL, dating to a trip to the AFC championship game in the 2010 season.

Big-league Olympics

ATLANTA (AP) — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and players’ union head Tony Clark say plans are moving ahead exploring the possibility of using major leaguers in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, a tournament that could be played on an extended All-Star break.

“I think it is a opportunity to market the game on a really global stage,” Manfred told the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Tuesday. “Obviously the clubs are going to have to endorse this. I mean, it’s a big deal.”

MLB met with Los Angeles organizers Monday in Atlanta ahead of the All-Star Game and Manfred said the Olympic officials were meeting with the MLB Players Association.

“There’s a lot of work that still needs to be done,” Clark told the BBWAA in a separate session. “We do know players are interested in playing, whether it’s for the Team USA or any number of other teams around the world. … There’s just a lot of conversation that needs to be had sooner rather than later to see how viable this is, but we’re hopeful that we can figure our way through it for the benefit of the game.”

The World Baseball Softball Confederation said Monday the baseball tournament will be played from July 15-20 at Dodger Stadium. MLB is considering whether it can interrupt its 2028 season to allow major leaguers to participate, which could necessitate changes to the sport’s national television contracts.

“They put out a schedule. They tell you it’s not going to move. We’ll see whether there’s any movement on that,” Manfred said. “It is possible to take it, to play the All-Star Game in its normal spot, have a single break that would be longer, obviously, but still play 162 games without bleeding into the middle of November. That is possible, OK? It would require significant accommodations, but it’s possible.”

World Baseball Softball Confederation spokesman Richard Baker declined comment.

MLB did not allow players on 40-man rosters to participate in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, when Nippon Professional Baseball interrupted its season and Japan beat the U.S. 2-0 in the gold medal game.

“In the event that major league players are going to play, what does that mean and what does that look like?” Clark said. “And perhaps just as importantly, what does it mean for those players who aren’t participating? What type of scheduling adjustments need to be made? What type travel considerations and support need to considered? What does that means in regards to insurance?”