The clip is 42 seconds, and looks like something out of a late 1990s or early 2000s children’s cartoon. Kids assemble from around the neighborhood at the local ballpark and get ready to “Play Ball” in a colorful animation.

Except, for an entire generation of Millenial and Gen Z sports fans who grew up on the “Backyard Sports” video games, those aren’t just any kids. That’s ace pitcher Stephanie Morgan flashing her trademark screwball and bubble gum pop. That’s Achmed Khan and Pete Wheeler joining her. That’s slugger Kiesha Phillips, mad scientist Dmitri Petrovich, twins Tony and Angela Delvecchio and speedster Kenny Kawaguchi along for the ride before Morgan stares down the legend himself — Pablo Sanchez.

[Related: Top 10 sports video game characters: Where does Pablo Sanchez rank?]

Backyard Sports is returning after nearly a decade hiatus, its developer Playground Productions announced Tuesday. The 42-second trailer evoking the video game line’s flagship “Backyard Baseball” title immediately went viral upon its posting to social media.

“We’re incredibly excited to reintroduce Backyard Sports to a new generation of players,” Chris Waters, chief product officer at Playground Productions, told Sports Illustrated in a statement. “We’re taking great care to preserve the look…

Caitlin Clark scored 23 points and recorded nine assists to help the Indiana Fever beat the Seattle Storm 92-75 on Sunday.

With 232 assists so far this season, Clark broke the previous WNBA rookie record of 224 by Ticha Penicheiro in 1998. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft has scored at least 20 points in five of her last six games. She is averaging 23.7 points on 47% shooting from the field, and 11.7 assists over that span.

Kelsey Mitchell hit 10 of 19 from the field and 5 of 8 from 3-point range to finish with 27 points, while Lexie Hull was 8-of-10 shooting and hit a career-best six 3s on seven attempts for a career-high 22 points. Aliyah Boston grabbed 15 rebounds to go with nine points and a career-high eight assists for Indiana.

Jewell Loyd hit a jumper that cut the Storm’s deficit to 61-60 with 9 minutes to play. Indiana’s Damiris Dantas made a free throw about a minute later, Hull hit a pair of 3-pointers 35 seconds apart, and Mitchell added another from behind the arc before Boston hit a short jumper to cap a 14-5 spurt that made it 75-65 with 5:51 to go.

Skylar Diggins-Smith answered with consecutive buckets in the lane to make it a six-point game just 28 seconds later but Hull again hit back-to-back 3s — this time in a 31-second span — to spark a 15-2…

WNBA rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have reached another level in their continued rivalry — video game beef.

On Wednesday, the former collegiate powerhouses were featured in a teaser as characters in the upcoming NBA 2K25 video game, marking another way to watch the two battle it out on the court. 

Both Clark and Reese have been showing out in their professional debut season, with each in the running as favorites for the 2024 Rookie of the Year award. Among the highlights this season were Clark notching the first-ever triple-double by a WNBA Rookie, while Reese racked up a record of 15 consecutive double-doubles before seeing her streak end in July.

Their teams, the Indiana Fever (Clark) and the Chicago Sky (Reese), have faced off three times this regular season, with Indy holding a 2-1 advantage, and they will play once more on Aug. 30. 

NBA 2K25 is set to be released on Sept. 6 and will feature players from both the NBA and the WNBA. The popular game began including WNBA players back in 2020, and a version of this year’s cover will feature two-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces alongside NBA Champion Jayson Tatum. 

[Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to…

Standing on the medal stand with her third gold medal draped around her neck, Brittney Griner looked at the U.S. flag with tears streaming down her cheeks during the national anthem.

She didn’t wipe them away until after the anthem ended, never trying to hide how she feels representing her country 612 days after the U.S. got the American star home after 10 months in a Russian prison.

Not with all that this moment meant.

Griner didn’t think she’d have this chance again.

“This one meant a lot to me,” Griner said after the U.S. held off France 67-66 to win an unprecedented eighth straight gold medal in women’s basketball Sunday. “I mean, just having a chance to play for gold, represent my country, what my country did for me? Yeah, this is the highest on the pinnacle right here.”

This gold medal victory capped a long road back for Griner, who was sitting in a Russian penal colony two years ago not sure if she would ever get home again, let alone play basketball or compete in a third Olympics being held in Europe so close to Russia.

She had been sentenced to nine years behind bars for drug possession and smuggling in Russia, spending 10 months in jail before she was part of a high-profile prisoner exchange in December 2022. Griner, a Phoenix Mercury center who had been playing…

Breanna Stewart and the U.S. women’s basketball team cruised to a familiar place — the Olympic gold medal game.

Stewart led a balanced offense as the Americans beat Australia 85-64 on Friday in the semifinals to extend their Olympic winning streak to 60 consecutive games dating back to the 1992 Barcelona Games.

Team USA, which will play France for the gold medal on Sunday, are 15.5-point favorites.

“The streak is crazy. I mean, they just told me when I was doing TV that it was, like, before I was born that it kind of started, which is wild,” Stewart said. “It just goes to show those that have really paved the way and to create USA Basketball and what it is now. Tons of appreciation for that and knowing that when you represent this jersey and wear USA across your chest the standard is high and there really is nothing higher.”

And the team didn’t disappoint some notable onlookers, including Sue Bird, Dawn Staley, Kevin Durant and Vanessa Bryant and her children.

The U.S. was able to take control of the game in the first half, allowing coach Cheryl Reeve the opportunity to play her starters limited minutes, give players on the bench more court time, so everyone will be fresh and mentally set for the gold medal game.

“The group that’s going to be out there is going to be a…

The friendly warmup games are over. Now the U.S. women’s basketball team has to deal with the pressure of history.

Led by two-time WNBA MVPs A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart, the U.S. starts its quest at the Paris Games for an unprecedented eighth straight gold medal on a 55-game Olympic winning streak for a program that hasn’t lost since 1992 in Barcelona.

There’s also Diana Taurasi, 42, who will be going for a sixth gold medal. She isn’t focused on the big picture of what the U.S. has accomplished over the last three decades in the Olympics; her eyes are fixed solely on getting another gold in Paris.

“It doesn’t matter what the history is, it doesn’t affect this team or this Olympics,” she said. “We find a way to find our own identity as a team on and off the court. Those last eight don’t promise you anything going forward. That’s the mindset we’ve always taken.”

The team is trying to break a tie with the U.S. men’s basketball team for the most consecutive gold medals. The men won seven straight from 1936-68.

The women open play against Japan on Monday. The two teams met in the gold-medal game in Tokyo three years ago and the U.S. came away with a 90-75 victory. The U.S. also has Olympic newcomers Germany and Belgium in its group.

“There [are] so many good teams and everyone’s…

The 2024 Paris Olympics are here!  

If you are a bettor, you’ll have ample opportunities to throw a couple of bucks down on some of your favorite athletes while they represent their countries on the international stage.

And if you want to wager on which country will win the most gold medals in Paris, there’s also a market for that. 

So, which country is favored to win the most golds?

Let’s check out the latest odds at DraftKings Sportsbook.

OLYMPIC GAMES 2024 — MOST GOLD MEDALS: *

USA: -750 (bet $10 to win $11.33 total)
China: +350 (bet $10 to win $45 total)
France: +6500 (bet $10 to win $660 total)
Japan: +8000 (bet $10 to win $810 total)
Great Britain: +8000 (bet $10 to win $810 total)
Netherlands: +20000 (bet $10 to win $2,010 total)
Germany: +20000 (bet $10 to win $2,010 total)
Australia: +20000 (bet $10 to win $2,010 total)
Italy: +50000 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Hungary: +100000 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Cuba: +100000 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Jamaica: +100000 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Brazil: +100000 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
South Korea: +150000 (bet $10 to win $15,010 total)
Canada: +150000 (bet $10 to win $15,010 total)
Spain: +250000 (bet $10 to win $25,010 total)

*odds as of 7/25/24

As you can see from that betting board, the United States are heavy…

When it comes to the betting surge that the WNBA has seen during the 2024 season, BetMGM — unshockingly — attributes some of it to Caitlin Clark.

And regardless of how you frame it, the W’s popularity among fans and bettors has skyrocketed since the likes of Clark and fellow rookie Angel Reese have joined the league.

“BetMGM has already taken as many bets for the first half of the 2024 season as we did for all of 2023,” Michael Ranftle, BetMGM Senior Sports Trader said. “Between more player prop offerings, the ‘Caitlin Clark Effect’ and the incredible rise in popularity of the WNBA, we’re experiencing historic increases in betting on the WNBA.” 

Compared to this time last year, the book has taken nearly three times as many bets on the WNBA in the first half of the season.

But back to Clark and Reese, the rival newbies out of Iowa and LSU, respectively. 

With half the season left to play, at FanDuel Sportsbook, they’re the only two athletes on the board for Rookie of the Year. Clark is the heavy favorite at -2000; Reese has considerable ground to make up at +700.

On a recent episode of “The Herd,” host Colin Cowherd acknowledged that he’s “talking more WNBA because of — not only Caitlin Clark — but Angel Reese.”

The Team USA women’s basketball squad lost 117-109 to the WNBA All-Stars. 

However, bettors shouldn’t be concerned about them winning gold in Paris — at least according to Caitlin Clark.

“They’re gonna be just fine — they’re gonna win gold and dominate, so I’m not worried,” Clark said in her postgame presser after she, along with fellow rookie Angel Reese, helped lead the All-Stars to victory over the roster that’s headed to the 2024 Olympics this week.

And according to the odds, Clark’s prediction could be spot on.

Like the men’s side, the American women’s basketball team is the heavy favorite to win it all this summer. It is first on the oddsboard at -1800. Australia is second at +2200.

Let’s check out the entire board at DraftKings Sportsbook as of July 22.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL ODDS:

USA: -1800 (bet $10 to win $10.56 total)
Australia: +2200 (bet $10 to win $230 total)
Spain: +2200 (bet $10 to win $230 total)
France: +2800 (bet $10 to win $290 total)
Belgium: +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Japan: +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
China: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)
Canada: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)
Serbia: +8000 (bet $10 to win $810 total)
Germany: +10000 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total)
Puerto Rico: +15000 (bet $10 to win $1,510 total)
Nigeria: +20000…