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Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon says her ‘heart’s a little heavy’ for Gregg Popovich, who officially stepped down as the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs after 29 seasons.

“My heart’s a little heavy for him because I know how much he loves it,” Hammon said on Friday ahead of the Aces’ preseason matchup against the Dallas Wings. She said Popovich, who will transition into the role of the Spurs’ president of basketball operations, is ‘one of the greatest to do it. Arguably, the greatest to do it.” 

Hammon said she texted Popovich following the news, telling her 76-year-old mentor that she’s ‘thinking about him and love(s) him’ because she’s sure it was ‘a heavy, heavy decision for him’ to step away. Hammon said she has no doubt that Popovich will ‘crush this new role just as much.’

‘I know he’ll still be running around that facility and be heavily involved with the everyday decisions. He will always be the most competitive person in the building, whatever building he’s in,’ Hammon said. ‘That part doesn’t change just because you get a little bit older.’

GREGG POPOVICH STEPS DOWN: Six ways he left his footprint on the Spurs and NBA

Hammon got her start in coaching after Popovich hired her as an assistant coach in August 2014, making her only the second female coach in NBA history. Hammon coached the Spurs to a Summer League title in 2015, the first woman to do so. When Popovich was ejected in the second quarter of the Spurs’ loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 30, 2020, Hammon became the first female acting head coach in league history.

Hammon interviewed for the Milwaukee Bucks’ general manager position in 2017 and the Portland Trail Blazers’ head coaching vacancy in 2021, before accepting the Las Vegas Aces’ head coaching job in December 2021.

“He’s a huge reason why I got this job,” said Hammon, who won back-to-back WNBA titles in 2022 and 2023 and is 87-29 in three seasons as the head coach of the Aces. ‘That’s who mentored me. That’s who spent literally thousands of hours with me.’

Hammon said Popovich’s leadership always stood out to her during the eight years she spent on his staff.

‘I think what was always so amazing about Pop was how he led,’ she said. ‘People have different leadership styles, but I thought he got the absolute most out of his roster. Whatever his roster looked like. Turns out, he had some really good players.’

After news of Popovich stepping down hit the airwaves, many sports reporters endorsed Hammon as his successor and recommended she be named the Spurs’ next head coach to continue his legacy. The job is going to Mitch Johnson, who has served as the interim head coach since Popovich suffered a mild stroke on Nov. 2.

Hammon said she’s ‘super happy where I’m at.’

‘This opportunity for me, I couldn’t pass on it. … I bet on myself instead of, maybe waiting it out for a maybe (in the NBA). I’ve enjoyed being back on the women’s side. You guys know I’m effusive about my love for this team and being back in the women’s game,’ Hammon said. ‘If I were to ever make that jump again, it would just have to be the right fit, right time and for the right people with the right team.’

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After winning gold in the 100m hurdles at the 2024 Paris Olympics with a time of 12.33 seconds, Russell bested herself and turned in a personal best time of 12.17 seconds at the Grand Slam Track Miami meet on Friday, which sets an American record and becomes the second-fastest time in world history.

Russell, 24, appeared to surprise herself, saying she’s ‘in shock’ over the result after the race.

‘I wasn’t expecting that,’ Russell said. ‘I just went out there and competed. These women force you to be your best self. It brings the best out of you. I’m just floating on cloud nine right now.’

Fellow American Tia Jones finished second in the race with a time of 12.19, which marks the third-fastest time in world history. Both Russell and Jones beat the previous American record of 12.20 seconds set by Keni Harrison in 2016. Nigerian Tobi Amusan currently holds the world record in 100m hurdles with a time of 12.12, which she turned in at the 2022 World Championships.

On Thursday, U.S. Olympic sprinter Fred Kerley was arrested for misdemeanor battery after allegedly striking a woman with a closed fist at a hotel ahead of this weekend’s Grand Slam Track event in Miami.

Grand Slam Track confirmed in a statement that Kerley, the reigning Olympic bronze medalist in the men’s 100-meter dash would no longer compete at this weekend’s event and declined further comment. He was scheduled to compete in the 100-meter dash on Saturday and the 200-meter dash on Sunday.

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SOUTH BEND, IN – All basketball eyes Friday were on WNBA rookie Paige Bueckers. 

Except those on former Notre Dame All-American guard Arike Ogunbowale. Or former Irish guards Jewell Loyd and Jackie Young. The three veterans received warm welcome back receptions during the first WNBA game played at Purcell Pavilion, an exhibition Friday between the Las Vegas Aces and the Dallas Wings. 

Bueckers, the top pick by Dallas in last month’s WNBA draft, wasn’t far behind. She was cheered when she was the second Wings starter announced. She was cheered after her first bucket with 6:12 left in the first quarter. 

She was usually jeered during two previous trips to Notre Dame, which both ended in UConn losses. 

“It wasn’t UConn playing Notre Dame so it was a littel bit different energy from the crowd,” Bueckers said. 

Twenty-six days after leading Connecticut to its 12th national championship, the Dallas rookie looked Friday like a rookie. In 22:37 on the court, Bueckers had 10 points, four rebounds and one assist. She made four of seven shots from the floor and two of three from 3. She did not attempt a free throw and finished with a plus/minus of (-23). 

Bueckers left the game for good with 5:31 remaining and Dallas down 94-75. 

“It’s super surreal in terms of the turnaround from where I was two weeks to where I am today,” Bueckers said. “I’m just excited to play basketball again.” 

Las Vegas won 112-78. 

Bueckers matched up much of the night against Young, one of the game’s elite guards. Young, also a No. 1 pick, admitted earlier in the day that it took years to adjust to the speed and style of the WNBA game. It’s nothing like college, something all rookies learn. 

The pace, the flow, the talent level on the other team and the physicality all were adjustments for Bueckers. 

“She’s just very poised and composed all the time,” said Dallas coach Chris Koclanes, also making his WNBA debut on Friday. “Just another game for her.” 

Koclanes’ pre-game message to Bueckers was simple — go and play in the present, don’t worry about being perfect. Nobody is. 

It looked like a game where Bueckers was still trying to figure it all out. Not trying to do too much, she often did too little. The Wings fell into an early eight-point deficit with Bueckers on the floor, then took the lead with her on the bench. 

Not long after she returned, the Aces built a double-digit lead. Dallas trailed by 19 at halftime and by as many as 34. Bueckers settled down a bit in the second half, where she banged in a pair of wing 3-pointers. 

It’s a long year for someone who’s already had a long basketball run. There will be ups and downs, wins and losses. Bueckers will be better for all of it down the line. 

“This is just the start,” she said. “You want to build off that.” 

The construction continues. 

Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at tnoie@sbtinfo.com

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Data center demand is not slowing down in the world’s largest market centered in northern Virginia, executives at Dominion Energy said Thursday.

Dominion provides electricity in Loudoun County, nicknamed “Data Center Alley” because it hosts the largest cluster of data centers in the world. The utility works closely with the Big Tech companies that are investing tens of billions of dollars in data centers as they train artificial intelligence models.

“We have not observed any evidence of slowing demand from data center customers across our service area,” Dominion’s chief financial officer, Steven Ridge, told analysts on the company’s first-quarter earnings call.

Wall Street has speculated that the tech sector might pull back investment in data centers as President Donald Trump’s tariffs make it more difficult to source parts and raise the risk of a recession. The emergence of China’s DeepSeek AI lab sparked a sell-off of power stocks earlier this year as investors worried that its model is more energy efficient.

Dominion has 40 gigawatts of data center capacity in various stages of contracting, Ridge said. Data center customers have not paused spending on new projects in Dominion’s service area and they have not shown any concerns about economic uncertainty, Dominion CEO Robert Blue said.

“We’re seeing continued appetite for additional data center capacity in our service territory,” Blue said. “They want to go fast, they always want to go fast. That’s their business, that’s always been their business. We’ve been effective at serving them thus far. I don’t see any reason why that’s going to change in the future,” he said.

Executives with Amazon and Nvidia said last week at an energy conference in Oklahoma City that data center demand is not slowing. Dominion shares rose about 1% in Thursday trading as the utility maintained its full-year operating earnings guidance of $3.28 to $3.52 per share.

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Shares of Tesla were flat in premarket trading Thursday after the EV maker denied a Wall Street Journal report that its board was searching for a replacement for chief executive Elon Musk.

The report, citing comments from sources familiar with the discussions, said that Tesla’s board members reached out to several executive search firms to work on a formal process for finding the company’s next CEO. Shares of Tesla fell as much as 3% in overnight trading on trading platform Robinhood following the news, before paring losses.

Tesla chair Robyn Denholm wrote on the social media platform X that the report was “absolutely false.”

“Earlier today, there was a media report erroneously claiming that the Tesla Board had contacted recruitment firms to initiate a CEO search at the company,” she wrote.

Elon Musk during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Wednesday.Evan Vucci / AP

“This is absolutely false (and this was communicated to the media before the report was published). The CEO of Tesla is Elon Musk and the Board is highly confident in his ability to continue executing on the exciting growth plan ahead.”

It comes after a sharp drop in the electric vehicle giant’s sales and profits, with its top and bottom lines missing estimates in the first quarter. Musk has admitted that his involvement with the Trump administration could be hurting the automaker’s stock price.

The mega-billionaire said on a Tesla earnings call last week that he plans to spend just a “day or two per week” running the so-called Department of Government Efficiency beginning in May.

Tesla’s total revenue slipped 9% year-on-year to hit $19.34 billion in the January-March quarter. This falls short of the $21.11 billion forecast by analysts, LSEG data shows.

Revenue from its automotive segment declined 20% year-on-year to $14 billion, as the company needed to update lines at its four vehicle factories to start making a refreshed version of its popular Model Y SUV. Tesla also attributed the decline to lower average selling prices and sales incentives as a drag on revenue and profit.

Its net income plunged 71% to $409 million, or 12 cents a share, from $1.39 billion or 41 cents a year ago.

Since the start of the year, its shares have plunged over 30%.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos plans to sell up to 25 million shares in the company over the next year, according to a financial filing on Friday.

Bezos, who stepped down as CEO in 2021 but remains Amazon’s top shareholder, is selling the shares as part of a trading plan adopted on March 4, the filing states. The stake would be worth about $4.8 billion at the current price.

The disclosure follows Amazon’s first-quarter earnings report late Thursday. While profit and revenue topped estimates, the company’s forecast for operating income in the current quarter came in below Wall Street’s expectations.

The results show that Amazon is bracing for uncertainty related to President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs. The company landed in the crosshairs of the White House this week over a report that Amazon planned to show shoppers the cost of the tariffs. Trump personally called Bezos to complain, and Amazon clarified that no such change was coming.

Bezos previously offloaded about $13.5 billion worth of Amazon shares last year, marking his first sale of company stock since 2021.

Since handing over the Amazon CEO role to Andy Jassy, Bezos has spent more of his time on his space exploration company, Blue Origin, and his $10 billion climate and biodiversity fund. He’s used Amazon share sales to help fund Blue Origin, as well as the Day One Fund, which he launched in September 2018 to provide education in low-income communities and combat homelessness.

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Netflix is on a winning streak.

The streaming giant’s stock has traded for 11 straight days without a decline, the company’s longest positive run ever.

Its previous record was a nine-day stretch in late 2018 and early 2019 when the stock traded up for four days, was unchanged for a day and then traded positively for another four days.

The stock is also trading at all-time high levels since it went public in May 2002.

This new streak comes on the heels of Netflix’s most recent earnings report on April 17, in which it revealed that revenue grew 13% during the first quarter of 2025 on higher-than-forecast subscription and advertising dollars.

Netflix has been one of the top performing stocks during the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term, with shares up more than 30% since mid-January. The company has been largely unaffected by Trump’s tariffs and trade war with China and is a service that consumers are unlikely to cut during a recession.

Meanwhile, traditional media stocks have been slammed by a tumultuous market prompted by Trump’s trade policy. Warner Bros. Discovery has lost nearly 10% since Trump took office, while Disney is down 13% in that same period.

Netflix continues to forecast full-year revenue of between $43.5 billion and $44.5 billion.

“There’s been no material change to our overall business outlook,” the company said in a statement last month.

As investors worry about the potential impact of tariffs on consumer spending and confidence, Netflix’s co-CEO Greg Peters said on the company’s earnings call, “Based on what we are seeing by actually operating the business right now, there’s nothing really significant to note.”

“We also take some comfort that entertainment historically has been pretty resilient in tougher economic times,” Peters said. “Netflix, specifically, also, has been generally quite resilient. We haven’t seen any major impacts during those tougher times, albeit over a much shorter history.”

JPMorgan said Thursday that it sees more upside for shares.

“NFLX has established itself as the clear leader in global streaming & is on the pathway to becoming global TV…Advertising Upfronts in May should serve as a positive catalyst to shares,” analysts wrote.

While Netflix has hiked its subscription prices — its standard plan now costs $17.99, its ad-supported plan is $7.99 and premium is $24.99 — it appears to have retained its value proposition for customers. But it’s unclear if the subscriber base is growing or shrinking because the company recently stopped sharing details on its membership numbers, instead focusing on revenue growth.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

When you’re lost in the woods, you reach for a compass to find true north. In the markets, it’s not so simple, as the landscape is always shifting. If there is a “true north” in this terrain, it might be better understood as a characteristic—strength and momentum over time, rather than a single stock or sector.

With sentiment muddled and signals mixed, how do you cut through near-term noise and find the “true north” in a shifting market landscape? This is where StockCharts’ MarketCarpets comes in. You can think of it as a visual compass that can help you reorient and recalibrate.

What MarketCarpets is Saying Now

All MarketCarpets readings use the five-day setting, since shorter time frames are particularly susceptible to noise in the current context.

FIGURE 1. MARKETCARPETS S&P VIEW. Lots of green, but I want to see a reduction.

On Thursday morning, there were more bullish greens than bearish reds. They represent S&P 500 stocks performing better relative to others—specifically from a ‘long only’ (bullish) perspective. But what do those greens have in common?

The answer is that most, if not all, are Information Technology sector funds.

Technology Sector Leads the Charge in S&P 500

If you select the S&P Sector ETFs group, Technology is the strongest among all 11 S&P sectors.

FIGURE 2. MARKETCARPETS SECTORS. Technology is far ahead of most other sectors, which read bullish.

If you follow financial news, you’re probably well aware of how certain tech companies are performing, especially in light of the current earnings season.

But not every investor wants to risk allocating capital toward individual stocks, given the volatility of today’s geopolitical environment, where news on a given day can cause markets to soar or slump. So, conservative investors, particularly those in or nearing retirement, might want to opt for a sector ETF instead, like the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK).

Why is technology outperforming?

Six Reasons Tech Stocks are Outperforming in 2025

Here’s a quick breakdown of what’s going on:

  • AI and cloud boom. Enterprise-focused giants are thriving due to surging AI demand.
  • Earnings confidence. Big tech’s strong earnings are keeping investor sentiment positive despite market volatility.
  • Tariff mitigation. Tech companies are proactively shifting supply chains to soften tariff impact.
  • Tariff relief. Temporary exemptions on key tech products give hardware makers a short-term boost.
  • Long-term innovation appeal. Investors see AI, chips, and automation as long-term growth drivers.
  • Stable revenue streams. Tech firms with enterprise and software services offer more stability than consumer-driven sectors.

Technology Sector Overbought? Market Breadth Says Maybe

That’s a lot of fundamental talk, but what does the technical picture look like? Let’s start by analyzing market breadth with the S&P Technology Sector Bullish Percent Index ($BPINFO) chart.

FIGURE 3. TECH SECTOR BPI. Most tech stocks in the sector are ultra-bullish, but that can also signal overbought conditions.

The Bullish Percent Index (BPI) is at 85, meaning 85% of all stocks within the sector are triggering Point & Figure Buy Signals. Above 50% is bullish, but above 70%, let alone 85%, XLK is straddling ultra-bullish to overbought.

If you look at the magenta rectangle, you can see where XLK’s trend is situated—at the point of recovery following a two-month tumble. However, it’s still below its 200-day simple moving average (SMA), and, as the saying goes, nothing good happens below the 200.

XLK’s Price and Volume Action: A Closer Look

Let’s zoom in on a daily chart.

FIGURE 4. DAILY CHART OF XLK. It broke above resistance, but can it sustain upward momentum?

XLK’s recovery effort gained momentum with a notable gap up on Thursday. Positive momentum is reinforced by a rising Relative Strength Index (RSI) above the 50 level, suggesting XLK still has room to run.

From a volume perspective, the On Balance Volume (OBV) indicator is trending higher, signaling increased buying pressure. A 20-day SMA is overlaid to show how OBV is performing relative to its average. However, the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF), hovering flat near the zero line (see blue circle), indicates accumulation with hesitation.

Key Support Levels to Watch If You’re Bullish on XLK

If you’re considering a long position in XLK, keep an eye on these key technical levels:

  • Initial Support – $205. The breakout level around $205 (marked by the blue dotted line) should act as the first line of support on any pullback.
  • Secondary Support Zone – $185 to $187.50. If $205 fails, the yellow-shaded zone becomes the next support range. But note: if price falls here, the $205 breakout level may flip into resistance.
  • Critical Support – $172.50. A drop toward $172.50 could signal deeper technical weakness. That’s why the area is shaded red—to underscore its importance.

In each case, monitor the CMF for confirmation. A rising CMF, especially in the first two support zones, would suggest continued buying pressure—a bullish signal. Conversely, if CMF dips below the zero line, it would signal growing selling pressure, reinforcing a more bearish outlook.

At the Close

The tech sector is leading the charge, but you have to estimate whether momentum is real or just generating noise. MarketCarpets works like a compass, helping you visually navigate market conditions and spot patterns. Pair it with tools like RSI, OBV, CMF, or any other preferred tool in your analytical toolbox to create well-defined setups and exits. In a market environment driven by sentiment, headlines, fear, and FOMO, having a solid technical foundation is more important than ever.



Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.

Discover the top 10 stock charts to watch this month with Grayson Roze and David Keller, CMT. They break down breakout strategies, moving average setups, and technical analysis strategies using relative strength, momentum, and trend-following indicators. This analysis covers key market trends that could impact your trading decisions. You don’t want to miss these insights into market dynamics and chart patterns that could impact your trading decisions.

This video originally premiered on May 1, 2025. Click on the above image to watch on our dedicated Grayson Roze page on StockCharts TV.

You can view previously recorded videos from Grayson at this link.