WNBA career triple-double leader Alyssa Thomas of Connecticut was selected an All-Star reserve by the league’s coaches. Thomas, who will be making her fourth all-star appearance, is the first WNBA player with three triple-doubles in a season. She’s joined by her Sun teammate DeWanna Bonner, who is making her fifth All-Star appearance. Atlanta teammates Allisha Gray and Cheyenne Parker will be making their first appearances in the game.

Fred VanVleet bet on himself, and the Houston Rockets are the beneficiaries. On an opening night of free agency where most big names — Kyrie Irving, Draymond Green, Khris Middleton, Kyle Kuzma and more — stayed put, VanVleet is headed to a new home. He agreed to a three-year deal Friday with the Rockets that'll pay him about $130 million.

The Vegas Golden Knights have re-signed Stanley Cup-winning goaltender Adin Hill to a two-year deal worth almost $10 million. Hill backstopped the Golden Knights to their first championship in franchise history after stepping in as an injury replacement in the second round of the playoffs. He won 11 of his 14 starts and had the best save percentage in the postseason.

The NFL announced suspensions of four more players for violations of its gambling policy this week. It brings the total to 10 players disciplined over the past two years as the league vows to increase training and education efforts across the board with an eye toward protecting the integrity of the game. Experts say it's part of a new reality for the NFL and other leagues with more violations likely on the horizon. But they don't think it's anywhere near reaching a critical mass that could cause fans to question the product on the field.

The rapidly expanding landscape of nonprofit collectives paying college athletes to promote charities has been hit with a potentially seismic disruption. A 12-page memo from the Internal Revenue Service released in June determined that in many cases, the nonprofit collectives may not qualify as tax-exempt if their main purpose is paying players instead of supporting charitable works. And if the collectives aren't tax-exempt, their donations to quarterbacks, point guards and pitchers may not be either. The founder of a collective tied to Ohio State athletics says it may cease operations in coming months.

You've probably seen the meme of the bored-looking lifeguard sitting next to a pool. It says, "If you ever feel useless just remember that someone is a lifeguard at the Olympics swimming event." Funny stuff, but hardly a joking matter. Lifeguards are stationed around the pool at every major swimming competition. That includes this week's U.S. national championships in Indianapolis, which feature Olympic champions such as Katie Ledecky and Caeleb Dressel. Everyone competing at the IU Natatorium is sure glad to have 'em. They point out that anything can happen, even to the world's best swimmers.

A flat salary cap combined with a lack of high-profile players hitting the market could make the start of the NHL's free agent signing period more of a dud on Saturday. Numerous teams are already being challenged to retain their own players. They include the Presidents' Trophy-winning Boston Bruins, who currently have less than $11 million of space and nine roster spots to fill. The bigger headlines are expected to come from teams re-signing their stars to long-term deals, such as the Sabres and defenseman Rasmus Dahlin. The Columbus Blue Jackets, meantime, are anticipated to announce the hiring of Mike Babcock as coach after his existing contract with Toronto expires on Friday.

The Chicago Blackhawks acquired their latest generational talent along with a big dose of speed in one of the NHL's largest draft hauls. They also made another big move for their future Thursday by adding veteran Corey Perry to help teach No. 1 overall pick Connor Bedard how to be the leader the Blackhawks need to contend for a Stanley Cup. Chicago general manager Kyle Davidson says he couldn't be happier with how this draft worked out with 11 players taken. The Anaheim Ducks added a big Swedish center to their young, talented offense in Leo Carlsson at No. 2 overall.

INDIANAPOLIS — The NFL suspended three players indefinitely Thursday for violating the league's gambling policy and a fourth was sidelined for six games.

Victor Wembanyama has grown a little. Or not, depending on perspective. The official height for the No. 1 pick in this year's draft, the San Antonio Spurs said Wednesday, is 7 feet, 3-1/2 inches — and that was measured without shoes, per NBA guidelines. That’s a half-inch taller than Wembanyama said he was back in October, when he was in Las Vegas for a pair of exhibition games.

Katie Ledecky will concede that a few things have changed over her long career at the top of swimming. Like those nagging aches and pains. Not that anyone else can tell. At 26, Ledecky already has sealed her legacy as one of the greatest freestyle swimmers the sport has ever witnessed yet she shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, she seems to be getting better. Ledecky started off the U.S. national championships with a dazzling performance in the 800-meter freestyle. She turned in her fastest time since setting the world record at the 2016 Rio Olympics.