Asked during an appearance on FanDuel TV for her reaction to the Chennedy Carter hip check heard ’round the world, the great Nancy Lieberman said, “Well, if I were Caitlin Clark, I would’ve punched her in the face.” Old-school the ODU legend may be, but game recognizes game. “People need to thank Caitlin Clark,” she said, “for being that generational athlete that is making them wealthy.”
Hoop du jour: UConn coach Geno Auriemma, who’s sent dozens of players to the WNBA, believes Clark is receiving special treatment, and not the good kind. “So is she facing the rookie hardships that are inherent with being a rookie? Yes. She’s also being targeted.”
Another angle: Clark aside, it’s not unreasonable to think that there’s a schism on WNBA teams between other young players who enjoyed the advantages of the college NIL rule and veterans who did without.
Double trouble: At their current pace, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto would join Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig and Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle as the only Yankees tandems to each hit 40 or more homers in the same season.
Diamond dust: What gives with big-league baseball? Through Wednesday, only 11 of 30 teams had winning records.
Nepo baby: Less than three weeks from the NBA draft, Bronny James is the biggest name on the board.
Simple as ABC: Making America wait a week after the last playoff game for Thursday’s start to the NBA Finals is a good strategy for losing audience momentum.
The way it is: If Dan Hurley wants a new challenge after back-to-back UConn national titles, well, that’s what sports are all about. It’s not as if other college coaches haven’t seized on the chance to go to the NBA. What makes this scenario more intriguing than most is that Hurley is being recruited by the overhyped Lakers.
Just a thought: If Hurley goes to the NBA not long after Jim Harbaugh jumped from Michigan to the Chargers, you might be able to make the case that even national championship programs are stepping-stone jobs.
Quick hit: HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” this summer featuring the Bears’ training camp, has jumped the shark.
Over there: In Paris, French Open crowds are amusing themselves by doing the wave. So much for French sophistication. The wave is the most embarrassing American export to France since Jerry Lewis movies.
Different styles: After matches, men’s tennis players often bro hug at the net. Meanwhile, women mostly exchange chilly handshakes like boxers touching gloves.
Idle thought: Because injury alone knocked out defending champion Novak Djokovic, this year’s French Open men’s winner will feel a little asterisk-y.
Trivial pursuit: The bill introduced in the North Carolina legislature that would require North Carolina and N.C. State to play ECU, Appalachian State and Charlotte more often in football and basketball must be proof that all of the state’s important problems have been fixed.
Bob Molinaro is a former Virginian-Pilot sports columnist. His Weekly Briefing runs Fridays in The Pilot and Daily Press. He can be reached at bob5molinaro@gmail.com and via Twitter@BobMolinaro.
