Yes but still strange compared to all other sports, including football. I never get used to one player just sticking a glove in another player’s face for the hell of it when other players are fighting. In every other sport, that would be a major infraction.
Caitlin Clark v WNBA
- Thread starter docrugby1
- Start date
I have never watched a WNBA game and only saw limited portions of Iowa in the NCAAs. If CC delivered an unintentional(intentional?) elbow earlier in the game, then an in game, basketball retaliation could be expected but a blindside block just looked like petty jealousy.
After watching portions of the NCAA, I doubt I will make any effort to watch the WNBA.
After watching portions of the NCAA, I doubt I will make any effort to watch the WNBA.
Man, I wish the goons were back. Sick of seeing guys on the Panthers like Chucky picking fights with Pasta or Bennett playing tough guy with everyone that won’t drop the mitts. Bring back Probie or the Grim Reaper!
Watching almost any center from any time before 10 years ago try to run around after Durant or Joker all game would be hilarious. They’d be absolute dead meat.
The changes in the NBA are really pretty simple: people finally noticed that three pointers are worth a lot more than two pointers, and three pointers are definitely not 50% harder to make than longer two point shots. Combine that with a bunch of big-height gumbys with handles and shooting strokes entering the league from all across the globe and you have an environment where math dictates you better get your scoring hat on.
But there is still a role for traditional big men in the NBA. Gobert is awful offensively but he just signed a huge contract. Clingan will go in the top 10 and he’s very limited offensively. Ewing, Shaq, Duncan, Robinson, and certainly Hakeem, would still thrive in today’s NBA.
I would rather watch just about anything else than the NBA. It's like a half-step above the WWE in my opinion.I don't get the current NBA hate. The talent, athleticism and playmaking are off the charts. The NBA playoffs are must-see TV. Doncic hitting a step back game winner over the defensive player of the year brought back memories of Jordan over Ehlo (and Jordan over Russell). Let go of the past and enjoy the present!
It does?
Here is a graph of fighting penalties (majors) by season:
It's impossible to read, but that peak year is 1989.
I look at NHL rosters today, and I have a hard time finding guys whose job it is to goon it up. Brady Tkachuk had the second most penalty minutes this season. Only a handful of guys exceeded 100. For a game that involves as much contact as it does, fights are quite rare.
In my view, the fights should be eliminated entirely. The refs standing around watching guys fight is ridiculous, and makes a mockery of the game. College hockey, for that reason, is a lot more fun to watch. Hockey fighting is just as ridiculous to watch as professional wrestling.It does?
Here is a graph of fighting penalties (majors) by season:
It's impossible to read, but that peak year is 1989.
I look at NHL rosters today, and I have a hard time finding guys whose job it is to goon it up. Brady Tkachuk had the second most penalty minutes this season. Only a handful of guys exceeded 100. For a game that involves as much contact as it does, fights are quite rare.
As a casual hockey fan, I’ve never understood why people want to see a game of skill, speed, and athleticism turn into a dumb brawl.
You play with sticks my friend. The game used to police itself. Now chippy little guys wield their sticks like machetes. Visors have protected players not only from pucks, but from punches. Stars getting abused are not protected by ref’s, but by teammates. The new docile NHL bores me until playoff time. Now get off my lawn.
Well...you apparently give enough of a shit to comment here. 🤷♂️
Clark handled the whole thing with veteran savvy while Carter looked like a clown. I'm asking Carter to do better if she wants to teach the rookie a lesson.
Hard foul when Clark drives to the basket? Sure.
A chippy hip check directly in front of the ref that Clark has to embellish to go to the ground? Nah. That's weak and then Carter doubled down on the weak by how she wouldn't back it up in the postgame.
Somehow the vets think that's teaching Clark a lesson?
Sorry. Still don’t care. I only commented because it kept going. Really, stop putting her in a pedestal. She is no saint and if an opponent doesn’t want to talk about someone other than her teammates, it is not weak. She did not want to spend her time talking about someone she does not care about. Good for her.
But, please, I only mention her because it is on a northwestern forum, for some stupid reason. I only comment now because I was quoted, for some weird reason. I have not watched a WNBA game and Caitlin won’t change that for me. When a Northwedtern player becomes a star in that league then maybe I will watch. Until then, it is the same as soccer, something I will not watch on purpose.
Sure. Cool story, Gary. You've now devoted paragraphs to something you don't care about. That's only slightly less believable than the idea that Carter doesn't care about Clark, who is far from being a saint or someone who needs to be put on a pedestal. But you already know that...because you're not interested...at all.
I understand that’s the case, although I’ll say it’s generally not looked upon as well in Minnesota, where the serious hockey people abound.
It was 2 in the morning. I am hooked up to a dialysis machine and was very very bored. I hope that news about our men’s basketball team would show up and instead get this thread. I really still don’t give a $h!t about the topic but respond to notifications when I am quoted, especially when the one quoting me is so wrong about how I feel. I have no idea who Carter is and I really don’t even know what teams these girls play for, but go ahead and keep thinking I care. Your opinion doesn’t matter much to me.Sure. Cool story, Gary. You've now devoted paragraphs to something you don't care about. That's only slightly less believable than the idea that Carter doesn't care about Clark, who is far from being a saint or someone who needs to be put on a pedestal. But you already know that...because you're not interested...at all.
Glad to be able to fill your boredom in some extremely small and inconsequential way. I know you don't care and all, but I think they prefer to be called "women".
Hope that you get some news that's more interesting to you soon.
Clark left off Olympic team, yet Griner who has played one game and Taurasi who is a shell of herself get selected. It pays to be a vet.
Meh. I just don't think she is one of the fifteen best players in the league yet. You're definitely taking Britney Griner over Clark and, if it's close, you're probably taking Taurasi.
This means nothing. How many millions more people would watch the games if Clark played?? This is about marketing. Isn't griner the hemp smoker that got arrested in russia?? Who the heck is tarasi? Nobody cares now. No one will watch without Clark. A really abject lost opportunity 😕
You think Taurasi is top 15 but Clark isn’t?
Clark has more points, more rebounds, 5 times as many assists, and triple the steals of Taurasi. This is all while she is the focal point of veterans on other teams in her inaugural season.
Wtf would you take Taurasi who is the old guard and clearly not what she was in 2017. Even foregoing the enormous lost marketing opportunity for the WNBA. This isn’t Laettner we are shoving on the team. Makes no sense unless it is a career award for being the loyal soldier.
Last edited:
Yep. The stats tell the story. Plus, Taurasi is also 42 and pretty washed up at this point.
Of course Clark has more points and assists. She's the focal point of her team's offense and has a nuts usage rate. It's why she has nearly 4x's as many turnovers as well. Taurasi has a backcourt mate who is averaging 26 pt./game scorer and is also on the national team. Comparing their numbers directly is silly. And, of course, Taurasi is a career reward for being a loyal soldier. I got no problem with that for the last spot on the bench.
I'm just shocked to see people so insistent on spots on the U.S. National Team being decided on the basis of marketing instead of on the basis what is best for bringing back the gold. I don't think either Taurasi or Clark are really Top 15 players in the league, but I can totally see Taurasi being a better fit at the end of the roster.
Last edited:
Then you obviously haven’t been paying attention to all their complaining over the years about how they get no coverage and nobody follows the league. Here’s a big opportunity…and they shit on it out of spite and jealously.
We could put you or me in as the 15th person on the bench and this team would win the Gold. This isn’t a case of jeopardizing winning by adding an undeserving player to the team. If it was really about putting the best team NOW on the floor Taurasi and Griner wouldn’t be in the team.
If Clark had a teammate like Cooper averaging 23 points a game her efficiency rate that the silly ESPN rookie ranking touts would skyrocket. Clark is routinely getting blitzed by a defense that says let anybody but her beat us! So the silly numbers comparison works both ways.
And the counting numbers that you started with would plummet. That's why they are a terrible argument against Taurasi. And you obviously pick Griner over Clark at this point in their careers. It's not remotely a question.
As a basketball decision, it's far from a shocking one. If they'd chosen Clark, it would have been defensible but likewise not a slam dunk. When you are choosing the 12th spot on a team, there are lots of different reasons for the choice. My larger problem is people wanting the choice to be made because of marketing interests instead of basketball ones.
It truly amazes me that people can’t comprehend how this transcends the roster decision making process. The Fever (one of the worst teams in the WNBA) had a larger attendance for their last game than the Boston-Dallas opener. Let that sink in for a minute. If you don’t believe me, listen to Christine Brennan.
Continue to be amazed all you want, but I can comprehend how the marketing part of it is more important to you. It seems you're the one who can't comprehend how that's not important to me.
I think I understand now. Thanks for clarifying your position. It’s very shortsighted in my opinion. The chance to grow the game with a multi-generational talent like Clark should not be overlooked. Having to wait four years to see her on the world stage is a shame and a disservice to the sport of women’s basketball.
Can you comprehend how marketing is important to the league or are you just going to keep doubling down?
Doubling down on my opinion on what is important? Yes.
Not sure why you think it's the job of the national team to market the WNBA, but maybe it's that you worked in marketing or something. What is best for the WNBA isn't my concern just as I wouldn't have supported the Dream Team concept just because David Stern wanted it to increase interest in the NBA internationally.
What I’m asking is do you understand why it’s important for the league to take the marketing into account?
Just an ignorant question, does the WNBA decide who is on the team or is there a separate Olympic body that makes that decision?
I think both of you have valid positions and neither of you will change your mind.
Last edited:
Im pretty pro Clark - or maybe moreso anti the people within women’s basketball who are against her for obviously racial and sexuality tinged reasons - but even I think it’s fairly obvious it shouldn’t be surprising a talented rookie isn’t a top 2-3 player at her position to make a 12 player roster yet. The sport doesn’t need her in EVERYTHING for her to drive attendance. The opportunity to go to the Olympics is still a rare thing that should be earned. Clark is most likely going to have opportunities to be an Olympic star in the future. Doesn’t have to be now.
Last edited:
I completely understand why the league wants to market itself. I just don't think it is the USOC's job to do it for them...just as I don't think it was the USOC's job to market the NBA for them when it came time to consider the Dream Team. Stern wanted it, but it was a basketball decision.
