Why Kelsey Mitchell and Indiana Fever Coach Stephanie White have ‘had a bond’
The arrival of Stephanie White as Indiana Fever coach gave All-WNBA guard Kelsey Mitchell what she calls her "a ha moment."
Mitchell joined the "Between the Lines" podcast with WNBA legend Lisa Leslie, saying White's approach differed from those she had experienced in her previous seven seasons with the Fever.
"She really believed in me. I felt it. I could sense it," the 30-year-old said.
"That was the first time I got dealt a hand with a coach … that believed in my abilities, and it made me feel like I had superpowers. That's what you really need."
Mitchell said White's criticism is constructive and instructive.
"It felt like she really cared. That's hard to do in a pro career," Mitchell said. "Me and Steph have had a bond ever since."
Mitchell averaged 20.2 points per game on 39.4% 3-point shooting, earning first-team All-WNBA honors.
Kelsey Mitchell on Indiana Fever's injury issues
The Fever went through a lot of pain in 2025, with Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, Aari McDonald and Syndey Colson suffering season-ending injuries. Colson's ACL tear on Aug. 7 in a blowout loss to Phoenix hit hard.
"It was demoralizing," Mitchell said of the postgame scene. We were all just flooded with tears. ... We didn't know why were crying."
It also provided a turning point.
The Fever regrouped with a blowout win over Chicago, and they played well enough to reach the playoffs. They wound up taking eventual league champ Las Vegas to overtime in a decisive Game 5 in the semifinals.
Mitchell missed the overtime of that final game with leg cramps.
"Our entire dynamic shifted. Who we became as people. Who we became as players, as a team. We took a bad moment and we turned it," Mitchell said. "We learned so much about what we could accomplish. That's what made it fun."
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Why Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White made star Kelsey Mitchell confident
Floyd Mayweather announces return to pro boxing after Mike Tyson exhibition, will put 50-0 record on the line
Floydd Mayweather is about to be a professional boxer again.
The former five-division wolrd champion announced he will come out of retirement following his upcoming exhibition bout against Mike Tyson this spring, putting an undefeated 50-0 record on the line at the age of 48.
The last time Mayweather fought professionally was his 2017 bout against former UFC champion Conor McGregor, which he won with a TKO in the 10th round. He has participated in eight exhibition bouts since then, including his unscored sideshow against Logan Paul in 2021.
Mayweather's comment, from his release:
“I still have what it takes to set more records in the sport of boxing - from my upcoming Mike Tyson event to my next professional fight afterwards - no one will generate a bigger gate, have a larger global broadcast audience and generate more money with each event – then [sic] my events."
Mayweather's 51st professional fight is reportedly scheduled for this summer, with CSI Sports as his media partner. The fight's exact date, venue, broadcast information and opponent will reportedly be in the coming weeks, though we're also still waiting for Mayweather to nail down the date for his Tyson exhibition.
The decision to return to professional boxing comes amid rumored financial troubles for Mayweather, after years of "Money" making his wealth a central part of his identity. He also recently filed a $340 million against his former partners at Showtime Boxing, alleging aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty, civil conspiracy to commit fraud, conversion and unjust enrichment.
Scottie Scheffler just barely makes the cut at the Genesis Invitational to keep streak dating back to 2022 alive
LOS ANGELES — Scottie Scheffler’s run is still alive, barely.
Scheffler fought back all the way back from dead last on the leaderboard on Friday morning to make the cut on the number at the midway point of the Genesis Invitational. After wrapping up his weather-delayed opening round in the morning, Scheffler posted a 3-under 68 in the second round to get to even-par for the week.
It took a 7-footer that Scheffler just narrowly snuck in for par on the final hole to keep him safe. Scheffler immediately erupted with a big fist pump after it fell, and then slowly walked over to high-five his caddie in what was perhaps the most emotion he showed all day.
CLUTCH TO MAKE THE CUT! 😮💨
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 20, 2026
Scottie Scheffler hasn't missed a cut in 3 1/2 years ...
That streak will likely continue today after a clutch par on his final hole of the day!
📺 Golf Channel pic.twitter.com/DuWJ90jyPC
“I tried to make a mess of a pretty basic chip there on 18. Caught it a little thin and just dug in, so it was nice to be able to hole a putt and get another two cracks at the course,” he said. “I started the day not where I wanted to, but yeah, battled and it looks like I get another couple rounds to see what I can do.”
That final putt was just enough to get him through to the weekend on the number, giving him his 68th consecutive made cut. That’s the longest active streak on the PGA Tour, something Scheffler’s been building since late 2022. It’s by far the biggest streak in the league, too, after Xander Schauffele’s 72-event cut streak was snapped last month. Harris English is the next closest with 22 straight made cuts.
By comparison, Tiger Woods holds the all-time record with 142 consecutive cuts made from 1998-2005.
Scheffler’s last missed cut was at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in August 2022. Since then, Scheffler has won 16 times on Tour, including at three major championships, and recorded 45 top-five finishes. He entered this week having finished no worse than T4 in his three starts this season, too, and he built up a ridiculous lead in the Official World Golf Rankings. Scheffler, who has been No. 1 since mid-2023, is nearly 300,000 points ahead of world No. 2 Rory McIlroy.
While he’s been historically great in recent years, Scheffler has struggled so far this week at Riviera Country Club. He was 5-over for the day without a single birdie when play was suspended on Thursday night, which forced him to finish eight holes early on Friday morning. Scheffler got two back early to wrap his 3-over 74, and then he made three straight birdies at the turn of his second round to get right into the mix after yet another rough start to his round.
But finally, it was a birdie save at the short par-5 17th that did it. Scheffler went up-and-down from the bunker to get to even par for the first time all day.
A birdie on 17 has Scottie Scheffler on the cutline @TheGenesisInv.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 20, 2026
He's got one hole left to play at Riviera to make the weekend.
📺 Golf Channel pic.twitter.com/FGPBdXza44
“[I was] very aware,” Scheffler said of the cutline. “I mean, I pretty much knew I had to get to at least even par with the way the conditions were.”
Even though Scheffler has managed to finish inside the top four in each of his last two starts, he’s had to fight back after slow starts — something that’s continued again this week in Los Angeles. He started the WM Phoenix Open 2-over before finishing T3, and was at even par last week at Pebble Beach before his T4 finish.
Scheffler was 12 shots back of leader Marco Penge when he hit the clubhouse, so he has a long way to go to even get within striking distance of the lead. But if anyone has figured out how to pull that feat off on Tour time and again, it’s Scheffler.
“This place and I have like a weird relationship,” Scheffler said. “I feel like I can play so well out here and I just haven’t yet.”
Southern men hold on for 64-60 win over Fort Hays
In a game that saw 13 lead changes, the Missouri Southern State University men’s basketball team used a strong second-half performance Thursday night to come out on top with a 64-60 win over Fort Hays State University at Robert Ellis Young Gymnasium.
Fort Hays (17-9, 9-8) jumped out to a 7-0 lead off a jumper by JuJu Ramirez, a trey by Kyle Grill and a Dan Mukuna layup.
Southern (15-10, 9-7) stopped the bleeding with a Tyrone Wright score in the paint, but Hays responded with a Lucas Hammeke bucket to push the lead back to 7 points at 9-2 with 16:27 left in the half. The lead grew to 9 points, courtesy of a Blake Danitschek score in the paint.
The Lions battled back to within a score at 14-12 off a Hunter Fitch trey from the left side at the 12:43 mark and tied the game at 14 with a Fitch putback of his own shot.
The Tigers got their lead back to 6 points at 21-15 off a Grill trey with 8:53 left. Each team scored 9 points the remainder of the half as Fort Hays took a 30-24 lead into the break.
Lion guard Isaiah Atwater talked after the game about MSSU's ability to regroup for the second half.
“We just knew that our shots would fall eventually,” Atwater said. “We worked too hard to miss that many shots. We shot like 25% in the first half. We knew it had to come around and that it would have to start on the defensive end so we could get out and create some easy buckets, and that’s what we did.”
MSSU head coach Sam McMahon also talked about shots not falling in the first half and how Southern was able to adjust.
“That’s a testament to Fort Hays’ defense,” McMahon said of the first half. “They are one of the best defensive teams in the country and obviously in the MIAA, so we knew it was going to be a dogfight. We knew it was going to be like going to the dentist — no one wants to go to the dentist. Their physicality and toughness around the rim kind of stunned us at first. We weren’t getting great looks and kind of got used to it and had a really great second half offensively and were making the right reads on defense.”
Trailing 35-29, Southern got 7 straight points from Colin Ruffin to close the gap to 37-36 with 14:53 left in the game.
Hays took the lead back with a Jahvari jumper, but the Lions answered with an Atwater trey to go up 41-39 with 12:43 remaining.
Martino tied the game at 41-all and a pair of Mukuna free throws gave Fort Hays a 44-41 lead. Southern regained the lead at 45-44 after a Jaden Taylor jumper and a Ruffin lay up at the 10:33 mark.
The Tigers took the lead back after a Muhamed Kante score in the paint and a Ramirez bucket that made it 48-45 with 9:42 left.
A Wright layup and an Atwater 3-pointer put the Lions up 50-48 with 7:46 left. Several ties and lead changes later, the Tigers earned their last lead of the game with 2:45 left off a Mukuna free throw that made it 60-59.
Tyrone Wright tied the game at 60 with a free throw, and Taylor and Atwater both sank shots to secure the 64-60 win.
Taylor led the Lions with 14 points. Atwater netted 13 points and went 3 for 4 from behind the arc. Fitch tallied 12 points, and Wright finished with 10.
Grill led the Tigers with 15 points, and Kante finished with 13.
The Lions wrap up the home portion of their regular season schedule with senior day at 3:30 p.m. Saturday against the University of Nebraska-Kearney.
“We know that every game matters at this point,” Atwater said. “That was a great opponent and a good win to have."
The win put Southern in a three-way tie for fifth place in the MIAA with Missouri Western State University and Pittsburg State University. The top 10 teams in the MIAA qualify for the conference tournament.