Those not fortunate enough to witness Caitlin Clark’s WNBA debut in person were glued to their televisions Tuesday night. It was a story of highs and lows. The former collegiate phenom that has WNBA teams selling out tickets like hotcakes excelled in certain areas, and came up woefully short in others. Hence, the life of a rookie in professional ball. Caitlin Clark delivered on the promise bestowed upon her by scoring a team-high 20 points. However, she also set an ignominious league record by committing 10 turnovers in a league debut as her Indiana Fever were blown out 92-71 by…
Author: Tom Carothers
Hard times are about to get harder for the Phoenix Mercury. The three-time WNBA champions fell to the bottom of the league standings last season and carry an 11-game losing streak into Tuesday’s start of the 2024 campaign. With the Phoenix Mercury opening the season at the defending league champion Las Vegas Aces, the team was dealt a severe blow to their hopes of not finishing dead last this year. On Monday, the team announced that center Brittney Griner will be out indefinitely due to a toe fracture. Information was not immediately available as to how Griner suffered the injury.…
When it comes to Caitlin Clark’s popularity, her playing skills aren’t the only factor. So says a two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player. With the collegiate phenom’s professional debut coming on Tuesday night, Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson told the Associated Press that the fact that Caitlin Clark is white is “huge” when it comes to how fans are lining up to watch her play. Wilson said: “I think it’s a huge thing. I think a lot of people may say it’s not about Black and White, but to me, it is. It really is because you can be top-notch…
The Caitlin Clark hype is certainly real. The much-anticipated professional debut for the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer is sold out. Indiana Fever fans must wait until Thursday to see Caitlin Clark play in Indianapolis. However, the Connecticut Sun will host her first WNBA contest on Tuesday night. The team announced Monday that the game has sold out. It is the first time that the Sun have sold out a home opener since the team’s inaugural game in 2003. The Sun made it official Monday as the team proclaimed that all 8,910 seats in the Mohegan Sun Arena have been sold…
When Caitlin Clark makes her WNBA debut on Tuesday, May 14, there will be one notable absence from the arena. As the saying goes, “You only have one chance to make a first impression.” It’s apparently a lesson that Indianapolis Star columnist Gregg Doyel never learned. Doyel, a three-time honoree as the nation’s top sports columnist by the Associated Press, stuck his foot — and pretty much everything else — in his mouth while addressing Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark during her introductory press conference on April 17. It was a facepalm moment for sports media, as well as the…
If there is one thing that the general public had in common with WNBA players, it was the hassle of air travel. Since the league began play in 1997, the overwhelming amount of travel that women’s professional basketball players undertook in this country was via commercial flights. However, keying on the explosion of popularity in women’s basketball over the past few years, the WNBA is committing to something that most professional athletes take for granted. The league announced this week that it will pony up $50 million over the next two years to provide its players charter flight service for…
What’s for a former two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player to do in retirement? Becoming a president, of course. No, this 16-year league superstar is not becoming President of the United States just yet — that will be decided in November. However, for the future of women’s basketball, the appointment may prove nearly as important. Candace Parker, a three-time WNBA champion, has been named as Adidas’ new president of women’s basketball. The appointment came just a week after Parker retired after being one of the league’s biggest attractions for more than a decade-and-a-half. The honor also comes 14 years after Adidas…
It’s no secret that the San Francisco 49ers receiving corps is in disarray. With reports that both Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel are on the trade block, the team sought to bring in a possible replacement. After initial reports leaked out on social media that the San Francisco 49ers were selecting Iowa defensive back Cooper DeJean, the team pulled a fast one and took Florida wide receiver Ricky Pearsall with the 31st pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. Pearsall played five college seasons between Arizona State and Florida. As one of the NCAA student-athletes who’s 2020 season was abridged by…
The No. 23 pick of the 2024 NFL Draft went through a few hands before it landed with the Jacksonville Jaguars. But after trading back from No. 17, the team got its man in LSU wide receiver Brian Thomas. Initially, the Jacksonville Jaguars held the 17th pick. However, a traditional draft night wheeler and dealer, the Minnesota Vikings, came calling as the teal-and-black attack was on the clock. The Vikings’ offer was to the Big Cat’s liking, so the team moved back to No. 23, adding a third- and fourth-round pick in the process. No. 23 would have initially been…
With many of the players that the Miami Dolphins were predicted to take in the 2024 NFL Draft already off the board, the team decided to add some chop with pick No. 21. Demeioun Robinson, better known to teammates and opponents as “Chop,” was a standout defensive end for the Penn State Nittany Lions the past two seasons. In a three-year college career with the Maryland Terrapins and Penn State, Robinson accumulated 11.5 sacks and 20 tackles for loss in 35 total games. In addition to playing end, he also has played linebacker. Robinson, who was given the name “Pork…
The Tennessee Titans went for foundation over flash with the seventh pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. The team nabbed the second offensive lineman of the first round, seeking to protect their backfield assets. With Notre Dame’s Joe Alt off the board two picks earlier, the Tennessee Titans gobbled up Alabama tackle JC Latham. Latham was just the second non-“skill” position taken among the draft’s first seven picks. Latham played every snap at Alabama at right tackle, but given the Tennessee Titans’ desperate need for a left tackle, the team’s newest player may end up being switched to the opposite…
After all the talk about the Denver Broncos moving up from their No. 12 slot at the NFL Draft in order to take one of the top quarterbacks available, the team ended up staying put, crossed their fingers, and perhaps took a reach on the last signal caller deemed worthy of going in the first round. Time will tell, but for now it appears that the Denver Broncos settled on the sixth-ranked quarterback available in the draft, Bo Nix of the Oregon Ducks. There was much speculation about all the wheeling and dealing that would be done at the top…
The Washington Commanders held true to what most folks thought they would do with the second pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. Hoping to find a franchise quarterback at last, the team selected LSU Tigers signal caller Jayden Daniels on Thursday night in Detroit. Daniels played coy Thursday morning on ESPN’s Get Up program, saying that he was not assured that he’d be the Washington Commanders pick, saying: “Nah, I ain’t got any assurance. I don’t know what’s going to happen, I don’t know when I’m going to hear my name called or by who so we shall see.” However, after USC…
With a hyper-focus on the April 15 WNBA Draft due to Caitlin Clark entering the pros, there was enhanced debate regarding the league’s comparatively low pay to the NBA. Many WNBA activists took to social media to raise their frustrations at the paltry pay earned by WNBA players compared to their NBA counterparts. Heated discussions took place comparing 2024 WNBA No. 1 draft pick Caitlin Clark’s first-year salary of $76,535 compared to the 2023 NBA No. 1 draft pick Victor Wembanyama’s initial salary of $12.16 million. The WNBA has a long ways to go to secure the kind of financial…
The Boston Red Sox are racking up injuries as fast as wins. The team announced Wednesday that it has placed its 13th player of the season on the injured list. Not only a 13th player, but a stunning fourth member of the ballclub’s starting pitching staff. The Boston Red Sox already have Lucas Giolito, Nick Pivetta, and Garrett Whitlock on the IL, but those three will have to make room for one of the team’s young pitching stars. Lat tightness could end up costing Bello nearly two months. The latest Boston Red Sox player to fall to injury is starting…
The Chicago Cubs became the latest MLB squad to batter the Houston Astros, as the Northsiders thumped their once-great visitors 7-2 on Tuesday night. However, the troubling specter of injury loomed over the Chicago Cubs late in an otherwise joyous night at Wrigley Field. One of the team’s key contributors was taken out of the contest wincing and holding his side. Former National League Most Valuable Player Cody Bellinger, a 2023 Silver Slugger award winner, was initially declared to be dealing with a rib contusion after colliding with the outfield wall during the game. After initially declaring that X-rays were…
All we know so far is that the new NHL franchise in Utah will play in Salt Lake City’s Delta Center and will identify itself by the state name. As far as what the team colors or nickname will be for the former Arizona Coyotes, it is still just a guessing game. However, the franchise has applied for two more trademarks regarding possible monikers for the team to play as starting later this year. That brings the total number of trademark applications from the franchise to nine. One thing we do know is that the eventual team nickname will come…
Just hours before he was set to start for the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday, the team was forced to pull the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner. Instead, the San Francisco Giants will start Ryan Walker against the New York Mets. The reason being that the Bay Area squad had to place one of their big-money signings of the off-season on the 15-day injured list. Starter Blake Snell became the fourth San Francisco Giants starting pitcher to be placed on the IL less than a month into the season. Snell is dealing with a left adductor strain, an…
The Arizona Diamondbacks, may be just 11-13 on the year, but the squad is two games under the slumping Los Angeles Dodgers in the division standings. However, the defending National League champions were dealt a significant blow Tuesday. The team lost its second starting pitcher to the injured list and now must fill his spot with a minor leaguer. Merrill Kelly, a key member of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ “best-case scenario” rotation, was placed on the 15-day injured list Tuesday with a right shoulder strain. The move was made retroactive to April 20. The team has called up pitcher Tommy Henry…
The Boston Red Sox list of injuries is as long as a Fenway Park beer line in the bottom of the seventh inning — and it just keeps getting longer. At current, the Boston Red Sox have five position players, five starting pitchers, and two relievers on Injured List stays from 10 days to all year. Some of the names out injured rank among the most crucial players on the roster. One of the team’s up-and-coming sluggers, first baseman Triston Casas was placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday. However, the American League’s No. 3 rookie last year is expected…
