Smooth like butter: Iowa State Fair honors Caitlin Clark with unique sculpture
Hannah Pratt works on a butter sculpture of Caitlin Clark while her mother Sarah Pratt observes at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. (Zach Boyden-Holmes/USA TODAY NETWORK)
Caitlin Clark is known for her smooth-as-butter 3-point shots. So it is only fitting that the Iowa basketball star is being honored with a life-size butter sculpture at the Iowa State Fair.
Clark’s sculpture will be on display from Aug. 10-20 at the annual event, which draws upwards of one million visitors each year. The 21-year-old guard swept the national player of the year awards for the 2022-23 season, in which she led the Hawkeyes to the national championship game and became the first Division I women’s basketball player to record more than 1,000 points and 300 assists in a single season.
She is one of three legendary Iowa athletes honored with a butter likeness at the state fair, alongside Kurt Warner, a former Northern Iowa football star turned NFL Hall of Fame, and Jack Trice, who made history in the 1920s as Iowa State’s first Black athlete.
The trio will appear at the Agriculture Building with the famed Butter Cow, which is sculpted each year from 600 pounds of butter. Much of the butter used in the sculptures will be recycled for future sculptures and can be reused for up to 10 years.
Twin sisters Grace and Hannah Pratt are serving as apprentices to their mother Sarah Pratt, the head sculptor for state fair, and helped craft the statues in a 40-degree cooler.
“The thing I love about Hannah and Grace is they have that drive,” Sarah Pratt told the Des Moines Register. “They have this amazing internal force that makes the creative process just part of their souls, which is so invigorating.”
USA Hockey Remains Undefeated Ahead of 2025 IIHF World Championship Knockouts
The USA topped their IIHF World Championship group with four straight wins. (Andrea Cardin/IIHF)
After a dominant group-stage run to advance to the quarterfinals, Team USA will take the ice for the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship knockout rounds on Thursday.
Winning all four games so far — including a 2-1 victory over reigning champs Canada on Sunday — the Group A victors join Group B winners Sweden as the tournament's only remaining undefeated teams.
After taking silver in last year's edition, Team USA is well on their way to avenging their runners-up status — with the possibility of squaring off against their North American rivals once again in Sunday’s final starting to take shape.
First, however, the US must take down Germany in their Thursday quarterfinal to claim a spot in Saturday's semis.
Other quarterfinal matchups include Finland battling Sweden, Canada going up against Japan, and host nation Czechia taking on Switzerland.
USA star Hilary Knight became the IIHF World Championship assists leader on Tuesday. (Chris Tanouye/Getty Images)
Knight adds another World Championship record to her resume
Helping buoy Team USA's momentum is veteran star Hilary Knight, who made tournament history on Tuesday.
With three assists in the USA's 5-0 win over Switzerland, Knight claimed the all-time IIHF Women's World Championship assist record with 50 total tournament assists, surpassing Canadian forward Hayley Wickenheiser's previous mark of 49.
The 35-year-old forward adds the assist record to an already stellar IIHF World Championship resume.
Her 14 medals — nine of them gold — make Knight the tournament's most decorated athlete of all time. Stepping onto Tuesday's ice, her 67 goals and 117 points across her now-15 World Championship editions already made Knight the tournament's all-time leading goalscorer and points-leader.
The USA icon's six points throughout the 2025 competition have her trailing just Canadian star Marie-Philip Poulin's eight points.
"A lot has been said [about Knight’s career], but she is just phenomenal, not only as a player but a human being," said defender Caroline Harvey after Knight's record-breaking performance on Tuesday.
"She leads this team, and she's leaving a lasting impact for years and years to come."
How to watch Team USA at the 2025 IIHF World Championship
Team USA will take the ice for their quarterfinal against Germany at 7:30 AM ET on Thursday, with live coverage on the NHL Network.
JWS Staff
Apr 16, 2025
LPGA Stars Land in California for the 2025 LA Championship
Australia's Hannah Green is shooting for her third straight LA Championship title. (Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)
Before the LPGA’s biggest names gear up for next week’s Chevron Championship, many are turning to this week's 2025 JM Eagle LA Championship for a chance to sharpen their skills — and pad their bank accounts.
A total of $3.75 million is on the line in Southern California, where 144 of the world's top golfers will take aim at a piece of one of the largest non-major purses on the LPGA Tour.
The stars will be out in full force when the LA Championship's first round begins on Thursday, including 16 of the world's Top 25 golfers, led by No. 1 Nelly Korda in her first return to El Caballero since 2023.
After sitting out several late-season 2024 tournaments with a neck injury, Korda has maintained her fitness through 2025, taking a planned seven-week break before rejoining the Tour last month.
"I kind of have the first part of [the] year until Chevron kind of set," Korda told reporters about her 2025 schedule in January. "After that, it'll be just how my body is feeling."
Reigning champ Green and top contender Korda headline the 2025 LA Championship field. (Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
Defending champ Hannah Green uses third title hunt to give back
While Korda is sure to draw crowds, all eyes will be on Australia’s Hannah Green as the world No. 5 golfer attempts to secure a third straight LA Championship title.
Green is already off to a strong start this year, earning two top 10 finishes in her first four 2025 tournaments.
The reigning champion is also giving back, pledging $500 for every birdie and $1,000 for each eagle she makes this week to the Los Angeles Fireman's Relief Association in the wake of January's destructive wildfires.
"California has been such a special place to my heart, so I want to give back in any way possible," the 28-year-old explained.
How to watch the LPGA Tour at the 2025 LA Championship
The first round of the 2025 JM Eagle LA Championship tees off on Thursday morning.
‘Sports Are Fun!’ Says 2025 WNBA Draft ‘Fits Stole the Show
The 'Sports Are Fun!' crew went all in on 2025 WNBA Draft night fashion. (JWS)
Welcome to another episode of Sports Are Fun! presented by TurboTax.
Every week on Sports Are Fun!, co-hosts soccer legend Kelley O'Hara, sports journalist Greydy Diaz, and JWS intern BJ serve up their hottest takes on the biggest women's sports headlines.
This week, Sports Are Fun! talks all things 2025 WNBA Draft. The crew dives deep into who went where, which teams scored big, and — most importantly — who wore what.
For Sports Are Fun!, style definitely stole the show.
"This is one of my favorite parts of draft night," said O'Hara. "It's seeing how people dress, what they choose, how they bring in their own bits of personality, or things that they want to pay tribute to."
"I'm a suit girl, so Paige [Bueckers] and Georgia [Amoore] were my two favorites," she added.
"Well do you know the background behind Georgia's?" asked Diaz. "She is the first WNBA player to be styled by an NBA player. Russell Westbrook has his own brand, Honor the Gift, which is so cool. And to see them both just interacting yesterday was so cool."
"I loved it," she continued. "I hope it sparks even more collaborations with other players and brands. Even them — I'd love to see them do some more work together.
"Yeah, I hope that Russ has some tunnel fits for Georgia going into the season. That'd be sick," said O'Hara. "I'd like to see more."
Over an action-packed 49 minutes, Sports Are Fun! also gets into the state of the USWNT post-Brazil friendlies, Midge Purce's return to Gotham, and so much more.
'Sports Are Fun!' rate player outfits from the 2025 WNBA Draft
After wading into the 2025 WNBA Draft style conversation, Sports Are Fun went all in. O'Hara, Diaz, and BJ didn't hold back when it came to WNBA Draft night fashion, discussing the good, the glam, and the uncomfortable.
"Apparently Georgia [Amoore] was like, 'I just want a blazer and I want to wear a skirt and I don't want to wear heels,'" O'Hara said, referencing the Kentucky grad's Russel Westbrook-designed outfit. "And I was like, girl after my own heart. She looked good, but she looked comfortable."
"So speaking of uncomfortable," O'Hara began, switching gears. "Paige [Bueckers] wore a three-piece suit on the Orange carpet. Then she did a fit change — still a suit, but went blazer, no shirt underneath. Clearly she was having some malfunctions, because she was having to hold it."
"She was also mic'ed up," reasoned BJ. "You could see her fixing the mic."
"I love that she matched Azzi," said Diaz, shouting out Bueckers's UConn teammate Azzi Fudd, who was seated next to her at the event. "They had a little matchy-matchy vibe. They both look so good in the black. And Azzi told me she straightened her hair — she's like 'Greydy, this is the first time I straightened my hair in like four years!'"
"Loved this look, amazing," O'Hara continued. "But [Bueckers] was having to hold her blazer down a lot and I was like, I just want her to be comfortable in this moment.
"I love this fit, I just like 'Could can someone get the girl some fashion tape and so she doesn't have to hold on?' In those moments, you want to look amazing and you want to feel your best but you don't want to be uncomfortable."
'Sports Are Fun!' places Kelley O'Hara at the intersection of women's sports and fun. (Just Women's Sports)
About 'Sports Are Fun!' with Kelley O'Hara
'Sports Are Fun!' is a show that’ll remind you why you fell in love with women's sports in the first place.
Join World Cup champ, Olympic gold medalist, and aspiring barista Kelley O'Hara as she sits down with sports journalist Greydy Diaz and a revolving cast of co-hosts and friends. Together, they're talking the biggest, funnest, and most need-to-know stories in the world of women’s sports.
From on-court drama to off-field shenanigans, to candid (and silly) chats with the most important personalities in the space, this show screams "Sports Are Fun!"
2025 WNBA Prospect Sedona Prince Goes Undrafted Amid Abuse Allegations
TCU center Sedona Prince was not selected in Monday’s 2025 WNBA Draft. (Cooper Neill/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
Despite some mock drafts projecting her to go as high as the first pick in the second round of the 2025 WNBA Draft, TCU’s Sedona Prince did not earn an invite to the pro league on Monday night.
The move came after the 6-foot-7 center helped lead the Horned Frogs to the 2024/25 NCAA tournament's Elite Eight round.
Prince, who turns 25 years old next month, suited up for Texas, Oregon, and TCU during her seven-year NCAA career. Her run spanned multiple injury-induced redshirt seasons caused by a broken leg, torn elbow ligament, and a broken finger.
During Monday's ESPN broadcast, commentators noted that her age and injury record may have impacted Prince's WNBA prospects. They also directly brought up Prince's history of intimate partner violence and abuse allegations.
As reported both via social media and by The Washington Post, several women have accused Prince of abuse or sexual assault. Prince denies these claims and, to date, has never been charged with a crime.
Prince's complicated collegiate campaign also includes a viral 2021 social media post calling out gender inequities within the NCAA tournament. The post ultimately ignited top-line changes across college sports.
Sedona Prince led TCU to an Elite Eight appearance in 2025. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
WNBA GMs weigh risk factors in drafting Prince
Like other undrafted athletes, Prince could still receive an invite to any of the 13 teams' training camps. Though the decision to offer her a preseason try-out remains complicated for WNBA front offices.
"You want to be fair about it and don't want to necessarily hold [the allegations] against her," one unnamed WNBA GM told ESPN’s Katie Barnes in a recent article detailing Prince’s draft prospects. "But from an organizational standpoint, you also have to be cautious and do your due diligence."
"We wouldn't touch it, but I think that everybody's at a different spot. Everybody has different information," another GM said. "But where we're at with this franchise, right, wrong, or indifferent, there's a risk associated and that's not a risk on someone's character that we'd take."
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