Sports
WNBA Season 2024 Preview: What Plays to Watch
The WNBA Season 2024 is gearing up for a banner year. The league’s inaugural game follows a record-breaking women’s collegiate basketball season, in which more people watched the women’s championship game than the men’s.
Now, when some of those collegiate stars, including Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and LSU’s Angel Reese, make their formal WNBA debuts as rookies, the WNBA will begin play on Tuesday, seeking to capitalize on that excitement.
The WNBA hopes to expand on the success of its 2023 season, which was the most viewed in more than two decades, with viewing up 21% and attendance up 16% from 2022. And now, the league is considering expansion in 2025 and 2026.
The regular season will last until mid-September, with a break for the Paris Olympics in July and August, where dozens of players will compete. The playoffs will run from late September to October.
Here’s something to watch for as the The WNBA Season 2024 begins this week:
Most Valuable Player
Negley: A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
Wilson mentioned her fourth-place MVP vote again during a preseason Zoom call with reporters. That fueled her through a career-best playoff performance (23.8 ppg, 11.8 rpg, 1.4 spg, 2.3 bpg) and she wore the MVP votes total on her second championship parade T-shirt. The Aces collectively run best on negative outside noise — perceived or real — and Wilson appears hungry for the trophy after losing it last year. It should be a great battle between Wilson, Breanna Stewart and possibly Alyssa Thomas again.
Laase: A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
It’s hard to believe Wilson didn’t collect her third MVP trophy last season after putting up career numbers and leading the Aces to their second WNBA Championship. Her stats should be similar this season, and the Aces are the favorites to win a third title in a row. If that happens, it will be because of Wilson leading the charge on offense and defense, and voters should take note.
Rookie of the Year
Negley: Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever
Clark is a generational talent whose game is already translating well to the WNBA. More importantly, she’s stepping into a fantastic situation. Indiana began its rebuild a few years ago and has the foundation already set under second-year head coach Christie Sides. I expect Clark to rank top five in assists as the Fever settle in around her.
Laase: Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever
I can see Rickea Jackson or Angel Reese making a run for the Rookie of the Year award, but Caitlin Clark is in the perfect position to win it. All eyes will be on the Fever, a team that should make a significant jump this season, and Clark will play an important role in that rise. Aliyah Boston won last year, and I expect her new Fever teammate to do the same this season.
Coach of the Year
Negley: Christie Sides, Indiana Fever
This only has a little to do with Clark. Indiana flirted with a playoff spot last year in Sides’ first season and played close contests against Las Vegas and New York. It’s hard to emphasize how important those minor improvements are to a franchise accustomed to struggling. Clark immediately improves the team, but it takes a good coach to put it all together and keep it going.
Laase: Noelle Quinn, Seattle Storm
The Storm went to work this offseason, picking up Skylar Diggins-Smith and Nneka Ogwumike. They join Jewell Loyd to make up a powerful Big Three that should help the Storm to a playoff run. Quinn’s squad has the personnel and potential to go from 11-29 last season to a playoff team. If she can get this team to jell, while developing players like Jordan Horston, Ezi Magbegor and Nika Muhl, I like her chances to win Coach of the Year.
Defensive Player of the Year
Negley: Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut Sun
Thomas is one of the league’s toughest defenders who can guard every position and often does. (Ahem, she faces off against the ROY favorite to start the season on Tuesday.) The 11-year veteran stepped up last year, averaging career highs in most categories, including steals (1.8, ranking fourth). Having center Brionna Jones back from an Achilles injury that kept her out last season will help the Sun improve on both sides of the ball, and Connecticut was already the league’s best defense last year.
Laase: A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
Part of the reason Wilson is my prediction for MVP is because of her defensive prowess. She’s equally important on both sides of the ball, which is why she’s my pick for DPOY as well.
Sixth Player of the Year
Negley: Kayla Thornton, New York Liberty
It’s not always clear during preseason what a team’s standard starting five will look like, and this honor could easily go to Alysha Clark again. That would make six Aces players winning it in a seven-year stretch. Thornton was in line a few times in Dallas for the Sixth Player award and will be a key contributor off the bench for the Liberty again this year. She’s one of their best defenders, averaging the second-most steals per 40 minutes on the roster.
Laase: Rebecca Allen, Phoenix Mercury
Over the last three seasons, Allen has been both a starter and a bench player for the New York Liberty and the Connecticut Sun. She started the most games of her career last season for the Sun (27) and provided a lift as a 3-point shooter and defender, using her length to get off contested shots on offense and to alter them on defense. Now with the Mercury, Allen will likely come off the bench behind Sophie Cunningham, but her skill and experience will remain the same, allowing her to thrive.
Most Improved Player
Negley: Karlie Samuelson, Washington Mystics
Overseas success can be a good predictor of WNBA improvement, and Samuelson is coming off a EuroCup Finals MVP playing with the London Lions. It’s the veteran guard’s first season on a guaranteed contract and I see her taking off in a starting role, even though the Mystics aren’t expected to make much noise. She is one of the game’s best 3-point shooters (42.6%) and should improve on the 7.7 ppg, 3 rpg and 2 apg of her breakout season with Los Angeles.
Laase: Dana Evans, Chicago Sky
Evans has seen her minutes increase every year she’s been in the league. She played 21.5 off the bench for the Sky last season, but Chicago coach Teresa Weatherspoon has made it clear that Evans will be her team’s starting point guard. In her first season as a starter, Evans should improve upon her 9 points and 3 assists per game, putting her in position to win the award.
Postseason outlook
Negley: The battle for the No. 1 seed came down to the final weeks last year, and I see that happening again. The Aces have to play Phoenix and Seattle more than New York will, which puts the Liberty in the No. 1 spot. A full training camp and second year together to build chemistry helps New York’s case.
I’m high on Indiana’s offense with Clark at the helm and her pick-and-roll game with Boston. If NaLyssa Smith weren’t out for a few games with a stress fracture in her foot, Indiana would have been a playoff team last year. So jumping a few spots doesn’t seem that drastic. Seattle and Phoenix bulking up their rosters with All-Stars puts them each over Dallas, a top-four team in 2023 that will have to go without injured forward Satou Sabally for most of the season.
Laase: The Aces are my favorite for the No. 1 seed and the WNBA title until someone else proves otherwise. With the way Las Vegas has dominated over the last two seasons, I can’t with good conscience put any team over them at this point. After that, I like the Storm to make a big jump and can’t wait to see the Notre Dame guard duo of Loyd and Diggins-Smith playing alongside Ogwumike.
Source: Yahoo News
LAUSANNE, Switzerland Russia announced on Saturday that ten of its wrestlers, who were awarded neutral slots at the Paris Olympics, will refuse to compete.
The Russian Wrestling Federation said that its executives, coaches, and athletes met and “came to a unanimous decision — to refuse to participate in the Olympic Games.”
The wrestlers would have been the greatest number of Russians in any single discipline competing in Paris under the International Olympic Committee’s Individual Neutral Athlete policy, which allowed some athletes from Russia and its partner Belarus to compete during the conflict in Ukraine.
Olympics |
Russia Says It Won’t Send Wrestlers To The Paris Olympics As Neutrals
The IOC earlier stated that it invited ten Russian wrestlers to the Paris Olympics, and their website lists nine of them as having consented to compete, with one declining.
The IOC waited to respond to a request for comment on Saturday’s announcement by the Russian wrestling federation, whether it believed the wrestlers were under any pressure to decline and whether it would support any wrestler who wanted to compete despite the federation’s desires.
The federation opposed the IOC’s selection of wrestlers to invite. It stated that Russians had qualified for up to 16 slots at the Paris Olympics rather than 10 and that six of those invited were “far from the status of Russian team leaders.” The organization revealed the names of elite Russian wrestlers who did not receive invitations and stated that the Olympic event would be devalued.
“Any sane person understands that the status of the Olympic Games as the most significant sporting event is being questioned, and wrestling competitions without Russian athletes will be incomplete, and the champions will not receive the satisfaction of winning the Olympic tournament,” according to the statement.
The IOC earlier stated that it would only invite Russian and Belarusian athletes who had no ties to the security services or military and had not publicly supported the war. They would compete in neutral clothing, not under their country flag.
Some Russian sportsmen and authorities have welcomed competing in the Paris Olympics under such conditions, while others have called for boycotts. Unlike other Russian sports bodies, the wrestling federation sent athletes to compete in qualifying contests.
Olympics | NBC Image
Russia Says It Won’t Send Wrestlers To The Paris Olympics As Neutrals
Last Monday, the Russian Judo Federation announced that its board had not sent any participants to Paris. Its statement did not explain what its athletes believed. In an e-mailed statement to The Associated Press on Tuesday, the IOC said it was awaiting a “individual reply” from the judo athletes. The IOC website displays one Russian judo competitor as having accepted an invitation.
As of Sunday, the IOC website identified 23 Russian competitors from seven sports who have accepted invitations to the Paris Olympics, including the wrestlers. Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion, is one of six tennis players who the IOC claims have accepted.
SOURCE – (AP)
The World Boxing Council (WBC) has dismissed Ryan Garcia after he repeatedly used racist and discriminatory rhetoric against Black people and Muslims during a social media broadcast, according to the Associated Press.
“Exercising my authority as president of the WBC, I am hereby expelling Ryan Garcia from any activity with our organization,” WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman wrote on X, once known as Twitter.
Ryan Garcia | Talk Sport Image
Ryan Garcia Expelled By World Boxing Council Following Racist Remarks
“We reject any form of discrimination.”
Garcia issued an apology to X but has subsequently deleted the tweet.
“I was trolling, and I want all the killing to stop,” Garcia wrote, according to the Associated Press. “I love everyone sorry if I offended you.”
CNN has contacted Garcia’s representatives for comment but has not heard back.
Garcia’s family stated his suspension from the WBC, blaming the boxer’s mental health difficulties, according to ESPN.
“Our family unequivocally does not support any statements [Garcia] has made regarding race or religion – these do not reflect who Ryan truly is and how he was raised,” the statement read.
Ryan Garcia | Boxing News Image
Ryan Garcia Expelled By World Boxing Council Following Racist Remarks
“Those who know Ryan vouch to this truth. Ryan has been upfront about his ongoing struggle with mental health over the years, and as a family, we are committed to assuring and supporting him to seek the appropriate assistance to navigate this difficult time and address both his immediate and long-term well-being.”
Sulaiman stated in his tweet that the WBC has made “multiple attempts” to assist Garcia with mental health and substance misuse.
SOURCE – CNN
LONDON — For the first time this year, the All England Club is monitoring social media in an effort to help protect Wimbledon players from harassment.
“This will not appear in the public domain at all. We are not going to make a big deal out of it. However, we are scrolling social media for this type of stuff, which implies that we can obtain information we did not previously have. “We’re not just relying on what the player claims has happened to them,” tournament director Jamie Baker said Friday. “Also, if there is something of concern, that’s when our security (team) … can help do something about it.”
Wimbledon | AP News Image
Wimbledon Is Monitoring Social Media To Try To Protect Players From Cyberbullying
Baker compared the new endeavor to what the French Tennis Federation did during the French Open last year when it began paying a business to supply players with software that employs artificial intelligence to prevent unpleasant remarks.
“Tennis is doing a lot more of this now, so I think in general, for the athletes, it’s really positive that we’re taking this step,” said Baker, who used to be a player.
He said AI plays a role in the All England Club’s efforts in this area, but people also help monitor what’s being said about competitors online during the two-week Grand Slam competition, which ends on July 14.
Players can sign up for the service and request full scans of what is being shared on social media. Players report that messages might include rage expressed by gamblers who lost money on a specific match, racial insults, and even death threats.
“The basis of it is if they’ve got anything that we think is a concern or worth flagging, ultimately, it’s engaging with the player,” according to Baker. “The benefit of having it is, you do have the ability to … officially register what’s going on.”
Wimbledon | AP news Image
Wimbledon Is Monitoring Social Media To Try To Protect Players From Cyberbullying
Following a talk with the player, the tournament may contact the police if necessary. However, Baker declined to comment on whether this had already occurred.
“I guess, if it got to the point where there was any type of criminal activity,” Baker said, adding, “But that would be out of our hands.” We’d send that forward. But we’re not going to jump in and become the police.”
SOURCE – AP
-
News4 weeks agoFIA Warns of Rising WhatsApp Hacks Targeting Women
-
Sports4 weeks ago
Edmonton Oilers Goaltender Stuart Skinner’s Play Is The Biggest Uncertainty In The Stanley Cup Final
-
News4 weeks ago
Police Pepper Spray Antisemitic Protesters at McGill University, 15 Arrested
-
World4 weeks ago
Will North Korea Fly Trash Balloons Into South Korea Again? A Look At Rising Tensions Between Them
-
Celebrity4 weeks ago
Woman Who Says She’s The Real Martha From ‘Baby Reindeer’ Sues Netflix For Defamation
-
Health4 weeks ago
Man Dies After H5N2 Bird Flu Infection
