I finally gave in and tried to watch a wnba game. well i watched the 2nd half.... and a lot of talk is about sabrina.... BUT CHELSEA GRAY SAID YALL BETTER PUT SOME RESPECT ON HER NAME!!!
WNBA Finals....
- Thread starter ankleassassin
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Only one of their matchups this year has been decided by less than 13 points. Curious that these games have been mostly one sided with these being the top two teams all season.
Also, if the WNBA wants to promote its game, going Sunday-Wednesday-Sunday in the first three games is not a good way to do it
Also, if the WNBA wants to promote its game, going Sunday-Wednesday-Sunday in the first three games is not a good way to do it
That's an interesting point ... you would have thought one of the games would have been close.
As for the scheduling, the W has battled this since its inception. The Sunday comes down to the fact that ABC/ESPN is available on Sundays because they don't have an NFL deal. They do have college football, so Saturday doesn't work for them.
Wednesday is fine, as the football competition is limited. They want to avoid going up against football if possible and Wednesday is probably the best option.
As for the scheduling, the W has battled this since its inception. The Sunday comes down to the fact that ABC/ESPN is available on Sundays because they don't have an NFL deal. They do have college football, so Saturday doesn't work for them.
Wednesday is fine, as the football competition is limited. They want to avoid going up against football if possible and Wednesday is probably the best option.
There are a lot of reasons, but as always, it comes down to money.
First, players make much more money overseas than they do in the WNBA, so it's important to the players to get the season over so they can rest a little bit before they go to Europe. Along that line, every other year there's the Olympics or World Championships, both much more important than the WNBA, so the WNBA has to cram its schedule in around those big events.
Second, as pointed out, once football starts, and to a lesser extent, the baseball postseason, it's harder to draw TV viewers. And note the NBA is very close to starting its season and an overlap will not work. The NBA still owns 42% of the league.
Third, even though these Finals are doing well at the gate, in the past ticket sales for postseason games have not always been robust. School is back in session, so half of the audience -- young basketball playing girls -- is not as likely to go to games.
All that said, the improved ratings and attendance will increase the push for a seven-game series, but the more likely first step would be to lengthen the early rounds from three games to five games.
And the players' need to get to Europe is also not going away. The WNBA can't pay the necessary salaries and remain profitable enough to keep players home. (And the European salary structure is weirdly inflated, as clubs there play to smaller crowds than here, and the TV money is absent too. The way club sports work in Europe is much different than in the U.S.)
First, players make much more money overseas than they do in the WNBA, so it's important to the players to get the season over so they can rest a little bit before they go to Europe. Along that line, every other year there's the Olympics or World Championships, both much more important than the WNBA, so the WNBA has to cram its schedule in around those big events.
Second, as pointed out, once football starts, and to a lesser extent, the baseball postseason, it's harder to draw TV viewers. And note the NBA is very close to starting its season and an overlap will not work. The NBA still owns 42% of the league.
Third, even though these Finals are doing well at the gate, in the past ticket sales for postseason games have not always been robust. School is back in session, so half of the audience -- young basketball playing girls -- is not as likely to go to games.
All that said, the improved ratings and attendance will increase the push for a seven-game series, but the more likely first step would be to lengthen the early rounds from three games to five games.
And the players' need to get to Europe is also not going away. The WNBA can't pay the necessary salaries and remain profitable enough to keep players home. (And the European salary structure is weirdly inflated, as clubs there play to smaller crowds than here, and the TV money is absent too. The way club sports work in Europe is much different than in the U.S.)
Do you know the reason why it is inflated over in Europe?
Appreciate the way you laid out this post!
The European youth athletic system is radically different from ours. To begin with, there are no scholastic sports -- everything is done through clubs. The clubs are vertically integrated, from youth to professional, so Real Madrid, say, has youth teams in lots of sports, all leading up to its top-level club teams, in many sports.
The competition between clubs is intense, and it extends beyond the big-money sports to all sports -- and of course, you can make money by running lots of youth basketball teams. And if your top-level team is really good, more kids will sign up for your youth teams.
Which means that even if your women's basketball pro team doesn't turn a profit in and of itself, it does so by attracting youth customers and improving your brand.
It also goes in cycles. Right now, Turkey has the best league, but a decade or so ago, it was Italy. And Poland is always strong. England is awful.
The bottom line, in more ways than one, is this: Haley Jones made about $75,000 with Atlanta as the sixth overall WNBA pick. She will make at least twice that in Europe.
The competition between clubs is intense, and it extends beyond the big-money sports to all sports -- and of course, you can make money by running lots of youth basketball teams. And if your top-level team is really good, more kids will sign up for your youth teams.
Which means that even if your women's basketball pro team doesn't turn a profit in and of itself, it does so by attracting youth customers and improving your brand.
It also goes in cycles. Right now, Turkey has the best league, but a decade or so ago, it was Italy. And Poland is always strong. England is awful.
The bottom line, in more ways than one, is this: Haley Jones made about $75,000 with Atlanta as the sixth overall WNBA pick. She will make at least twice that in Europe.
Great point. People say WNBA players should be paid more, but my guess is most of us would be pretty happy to make $75,000 for five months (May through September). And have a shot at making double that the other seven months.
Yes, it's hard, but it's not exactly tragic.
Yes, it's hard, but it's not exactly tragic.
Libs lose a tough one at home. 1-point win for Vegas gets them their 2nd title in a row, first repeat winner in 21 years.
That loss was incomprehensible. Becky Hammon earned every penny.
And Sandy Brondello is not a good coach. Why would you put the ball in the hands of a player who played horribly in that game, and hasn't shot well for months? How about Courtney Vandersloot and Jonquel Jones in a pick-and-roll with Betnijah Laney in the corner and Sabrina at the top of the key?
Unbelievable that New York lost.
And Sandy Brondello is not a good coach. Why would you put the ball in the hands of a player who played horribly in that game, and hasn't shot well for months? How about Courtney Vandersloot and Jonquel Jones in a pick-and-roll with Betnijah Laney in the corner and Sabrina at the top of the key?
Unbelievable that New York lost.
