Poor Coverage
At this point, I am not sure where the WNBA is headed. One problem is that the WNBA does not have the best reporters covering the league on TV and in the print outlets. I listen to a lot of NBA, College Men’s BB, and WNBA podcasts, read a lot about the leagues, and watch TV programing. It is striking how often in college men’s and in the NBA coverage there seem to few, if any secrets out there. The reporters are always saying, “Inside sources tell me,” or “executives are telling me.”
If WNBA reporters are connected to management, coaches, or players- it does not come across in reporting.
As in many sports a significant program in understanding what is going on is that the primary source of info is ESPN. ESPN has become primarily an entertainment network, not a news network. And what complicates it is that ESPN owns rights to the WNBA, so it is obvious they want as much as possible to just promote the sport and avoid the negative.
My point is that the WNBA is in a worse position than we realize- the WNBA is in a worse spot than anyone is telling us.
One of the reporters that I respect is Ben Pickman with the Athletic. I would recommend reading his analysis of the current state of contract negotiations. Sadly he says that we could learn from NHL and MLB failed negotiations and the disaster that followed the failures.
In 1994 the NHL was exploding, it had added 6 expansion teams. Sports Illustrated had a cover that said, “NHL’s Hot, NBA’s Not.” After an extended strike and missed games. Some would argue that the NHL lost the momentum of their league and may not have ever completely rebounded.
The MLB after their extended strike in the ‘90’s had their attendance drop 20% the following year.
Either Engelbert or Collier United Players
You can decide, one of these two has totally united the players going into the contracts negotiations, and have succeeded in putting the fans 95% on the players side.
Although Engelbert is called the “Commissioner”, she was hired by one person- Adam Silver of the NBA.
Management has a problem of who is in control- Slver, Engelbert, WNBA owners (who own NBA teams too), or WNBA owners (who don’t own NBA teams).
ABA, Just a Thought
The WNBA expansion has shown that rich businessmen are interested in owning a WNBA team. People who know about money think women’s pro basketball is a great investment.
The WNBA players have shown an ability to form their own pro league, the Unrivaled League. The players feel empowered, have made money at it, and shown creativity in putting it together. And TNT was willing to broadcast and invest in the Unrivaled.
An interesting move this year is that they actually will take a couple set of games to a Philadelphia location.
With all but 2 veteran players as free agents (not under contract), I wonder if there is anything to keep the players tied to the WNBA. Whether it would be turning the Unrivaled into a regular 5 on 5 league, or getting investors in a dozen cities to buy a team in a new league— is it possible the players would form their own league.
If you think it is an impossible project- do you think it would be tough to put together a group in Oregon to have Sabrina Ionescu play pro ball there? It would be more complicated to get Caitlin Clark out of a rookie contract but I am guessing Nike lawyers could get it done. Could you find investors willing to play to have a pro team in Des Moines with Caitlin Clark? Columbia or Charleston with A’ja Wilson? Boston with Paige Buecker?
Championship Series
If anyone has seen the numbers for viewership in game #1 or for later games, please post in the Blog comments. I would be curious.
I watched game #1, and it was a good game, an entertaining game. Like most games, I avoided the ESPN pre-game, half-time and post game coverage. ESPN studio coverage is on an equal level to a high school TV station. Carolyn Peck and Andraya Carter are legitimate but the others are insulting to listen to.
Rebecca Lobo is easy to listen to but again, they are not willing to address the tough issues of the league with great candor, and they are not willing to give critical analysis of individual players. An example in the first game of the Finals, when Jewell Loyd (18) and Dana Evans (21) came off the bench to light up the Mercury, it was never mentioned the matchup issue that the Mercury had- Who was often their defender?
And in the last round, there was a player Minnesota consistently put in ball screens to get her switched onto Collier.
In both cases it was a former Indiana Fever player who was having defensive problems. That is insight the announcers should be telling the audience. Be critical when criticism is warranted.
My prediction… Las Vegas in 5.
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