Women's Sports
Caitlin Clark calls out Commissioner’s Cup vs. WNBA Finals payout disparity
Fever G Caitlin Clark called out the “desire for better pay for the league’s athletes,” noting the “disparity in the financial rewards” for winning the Commissioner’s Cup vs. the WNBA Finals during the Fever’s Commissioner’s Cup celebrations, according to FIELD LEVEL MEDIA. During a postgame celebra...
WNBA trusting expansion franchises to established NBA owners
It should not “be a surprise” that the WNBA “chose new ownership groups with NBA ties” for its expansion, according to Madeline Kenney of the N.Y. POST. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert reports to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, and Silver reports to the NBA Board of Governors, which is composed of t...
Houston to continue pursuit of WNBA expansion team
Rockets President of Business Operations Gretchen Sheirr said that a group led by Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta will “continue to pursue” a WNBA team for the city amid news of the league expanding with three new teams by 2030, according to Vorkunov & Pickman of THE ATHLETIC. Sheirr said in a sta...
Detroit, Cleveland social accounts respond to Sophie Cunningham’s WNBA expansion comments
The city of Detroit’s official account on X “could not let” Fever G Sophie Cunningham “off the hook” with numbers and information at its disposal after her comments about bringing expansion teams to Detroit and Cleveland, according to Tarohn Finley of the DETROIT NEWS. A post on X by the city of Det...
Mercury union rep Sabally criticizes WNBA’s latest CBA proposal
Mercury F and team union rep Satou Sabally said yesterday the CBA proposal the WNBPA received from the league was “honestly a slap in the face,” according to Ryan Young of YAHOO SPORTS. Young noted while specifics of that proposal are not known, Sabally’s comments are not “a great sign whatsoever --...
Int’l Tennis HOF pledges equal purses at new event
The International Tennis HOF will pay equal prize money to the men’s and women’s draws of its new ATP Challenger/WTA 125 tournament this month through a sponsorship agreement with The MARGARET Fund, a more-than-three-decade-old Title IX advocacy organization created by ITHF Executive Board Member an...
Bubba Cunningham outlines immediate future for himself, revenue generation at North Carolina
North Carolina has often found itself at the forefront of the evolution in college sports in recent years, writes my SBJ colleague Ted Keith. The man who has overseen UNC’s athletic department for more than a decade has every intention of staying involved in those changes, even as he himself undergo...
Cleveland’s WNBA expansion franchise brings excitement, opportunity to city
The WNBA’s announcement of a new expansion team in Cleveland in 2028 brings the league “full circle” with one of its original cities and marks a return “over two decades in the making,” according to Ethan Sands of the Cleveland PLAIN DEALER. The city is “offering belief in the most powerful form: ac...
WNBA returns to Detroit with big facilities plan from Gores-led group
Pistons owner Tom Gores said that landing a WNBA expansion team is a “huge victory for Detroit and the WNBA,” according to Jay Davis of CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS. Pistons Vice Chair Arn Tellem, also part of the ownership group for the Detroit WNBA team, said that it is the “perfect time to bring the ...
Philly landing WNBA franchise came after Harris’ persistent push
76ers owner Josh Harris “continued calling and ‘bothering people and making our case’” for Philadelphia to land a WNBA team, and that “persuasion -- and the formal bid -- worked,” according to Gina Mizell of the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert yesterday acknowledged that “th...
WNBA’s latest expansion looks to build on league’s growth
The WNBA is “moving fast to capitalize” by adding three expansion teams amid a “new surge,” according to Cassandra Negley of YAHOO SPORTS. The onus is now on ownership groups to “deliver on the long-held insistence that this is not a mere moment,” it is a movement as the WNBA hits its third decade. ...
Marketplace Roundup
In N.Y., Ryan Giancola noted Fever G Caitlin Clark’s Nike Kobe V Protro sneaker that retailed for $190 was put on sale on the Nike website yesterday and “sold out in minutes.” As soon as they sold out, the shoes “began popping up on the resale market.” At the time of writing his article, Giancola no...
WNBA announces expansion to Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia
The WNBA announced expansion to 18 teams, with new teams in Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia. The Cleveland team will begin play in 2028, followed by Detroit in 2029 and Philadelphia in 2030. Cleveland will be owned and operated by Rock Entertainment Group (REG), the umbrella entity that houses R...
Boom in WNBA exposes stress on players amid tighter schedules
WNBA players have “started to push back” on the league’s scheduling, which has seen games added “without adding days to the season,” according to Alissa Hirsh of the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES. Since 2022, the number of games has risen by 20% to 44, while the season length has remained “pretty much the same....
Joe Lacob ‘blown away’ by early reception to Valkyries
WNBA Golden State Valkyries owner Joe Lacob “can’t contain his excitement over his new team” during its inaugural season, according to Ann Killion of the S.F. CHRONICLE. Lacob said he is “blown away” by the excitement surrounding the team and it “does exceed” his expectations. He added Chase Center ...
Golf’s pace of play put into spotlight following recent rule changes
The “glacial pace of play” during the Women’s PGA Championship last week was “a talking point throughout the weekend,” according to Wang & Maese of the WASHINGTON POST. Interminable stoppages during the third of five major women’s championships came less than three weeks after “concerns over slo...
Hirshland joins Berman in exclusive club
Many times in their careers, U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland and NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman have found themselves as the only women in the room.
Sarah Hirshland’s effort to transform the USOPC earns her Sports Executive of the Year honors
Sarah Hirshland could have dropped by Palais Brongniart just about any night in the Paris Games to hear the chants of “U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!” coming from the atrium of the historic hall that once housed the city’s stock exchange.
Wings sell out first American Airlines Center game
The Wings hosted the Fever on Friday night at the American Airlines Center and drew a sold-out crowd of 20,409, even with Fever G Caitlin Clark missing the game due to injury. The game “presented a special opportunity for the Wings to show out for the city in the first WNBA game played at AAC,” whic...
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Quote of the Day
I love it that we beat the hot, sexy southern cities. Michigan and Ohio, in particular, we always struggle to have these kinds of wins when we're competing against these hot, sexy cities. And I love it today that we stuck it to them and we won.-- Pistons Vice Chair Arn Tellem, on the likes of Detroit and Cleveland getting WNBA expansion teams over southern cities that are often referred to as new centers of business growth.
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