Caitlin Clark

[two3zone]

Reading this article, I’m astonished at the complete lack of self awareness Taurisi has.

Diana Taurasi speaks out on Caitlin Clark Olympics snub as backlash intensifies

Taurasi, likely playing in her last Olympics at the age of 42, played on the 2004 team as a 22-year-old and noted the challenges it brought.

nypost.com

Yes, your first time on the Olympic team was when you were the same age as Clark is today. You speak glowingly of the opportunity you had to learn from the greats, yet you never take that next step and say how wonderful it would be if Clark was given the same opportunity.

Moron

She is absolutely horrible.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

She is absolutely horrible.

And she really doesn’t see it that way, which is worse.

 

[two3zone]

And she really doesn’t see it that way, which is worse.

I saw a clip of her doing commentary in a very vulgar manner, I get it, its funny. Its funny because Im a 45 year old who's stoned and has the sense of humor of a child. That said, this is nonsense and in extreme poor taste and is just another example of her being a trash bag. Way to get little girls glued to the TV.

 

[sufandu]

All this stuff about growing the game is bunk. Selecting an Olympic team isn't about popularity or style of play. She was a fun to watch great college player who will be a great pro but isn't yet. There have been plenty of great men's college players that had to prove themselves in the pros before being respected. Jordan was criticized as being selfish 5 years into the pros. She'll prove herself, but she hasn't yet. She's part way through her rookie season and she isn't one of the top 15 players in the US. People need to chill a little.

 

[orange79]

All this stuff about growing the game is bunk. Selecting an Olympic team isn't about popularity or style of play. She was a fun to watch great college player who will be a great pro but isn't yet. There have been plenty of great men's college players that had to prove themselves in the pros before being respected. Jordan was criticized as being selfish 5 years into the pros. She'll prove herself, but she hasn't yet. She's part way through her rookie season and she isn't one of the top 15 players in the US. People need to chill a little.

Sorry - totally disagree.

Guess who caused the women's NCAA final to outdraw the men's final? CC

Guess who has constantly cried about inequality between the money in men's and women's sports? Pretty much all women professional athletes.

Would adding CC to the Olympic team have solved all the money issues? No. But it would have gone a long way in pointing out that women CAN draw eyes and fannies.

I stand by my statement - a huge opportunity is being missed here.

 

[sufandu]

not in the 88 conf semi and 89 conf finals with Pistons

And certainly not as a rookie. Jordan took his beatings and overcame them. The hits Clark has taken are ejection/suspension worthy but not unheard of in basketball.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

All this stuff about growing the game is bunk. Selecting an Olympic team isn't about popularity or style of play. She was a fun to watch great college player who will be a great pro but isn't yet. There have been plenty of great men's college players that had to prove themselves in the pros before being respected. Jordan was criticized as being selfish 5 years into the pros. She'll prove herself, but she hasn't yet. She's part way through her rookie season and she isn't one of the top 15 players in the US. People need to chill a little.

Again, do you think the US team is in danger of losing if she’s on the team over a woman who hasn’t played in 9 months and may not actually be able to play?

 

[sufandu]

Sorry - totally disagree.

Guess who caused the women's NCAA final to outdraw the men's final? CC

Guess who has constantly cried about inequality between the money in men's and women's sports? Pretty much all women professional athletes.

Would adding CC to the Olympic team have solved all the money issues? No. But it would have gone a long way in pointing out that women CAN draw eyes and fannies.

I stand by my statement - a huge opportunity is being missed here.

I stand by my statement that those shouldn't be factors. You pick your best team and play them against the other country's best teams.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

I stand by my statement that those shouldn't be factors. You pick your best team and play them against the other country's best teams.

Committed and wrong is still wrong.

 

[sufandu]

Again, do you think the US team is in danger of losing if she’s on the team over a woman who hasn’t played in 9 months and may not actually be able to play?

Not at all. The US's B team would win the gold medal. That doesn't matter. She'll get her turn. Right now other players are better, and it's not just one. That's all that should matter.

 

[sufandu]

Committed and wrong is still wrong.

I'm not.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Not at all. The US's B team would win the gold medal. That doesn't matter. She'll get her turn. Right now other players are better, and it's not just one. That's all that should matter.

Taurasi is on the team. From all accounts, she’s not one of the best players that should be on the team. Is it more important to get her her 6th gold, or let one of the better players (not necessarily Clark) get the experience?

 

[CuseFaninVT]

I'm not.

Shocked you’d think that.

 

[baggerbob]

And certainly not as a rookie. Jordan took his beatings and overcame them. The hits Clark has taken are ejection/suspension worthy but not unheard of in basketball.

For those of you just now watching the WNBA, I remember Stewie's first year.
Stewie went in for a fastbreak layup, and Sylvia Fowles came from behind and pretty much threw Stewie to the floor.
No foul play on, that is pretty much what happens to rookies early in their careers in the WNBA.
Bad referees, and Current Stars welcoming the new kids to the league.
Hopefully they will finally start getting better Refs, now that more people are watching.

 

[djcon57]

Sorry - totally disagree.

Guess who caused the women's NCAA final to outdraw the men's final? CC

Guess who has constantly cried about inequality between the money in men's and women's sports? Pretty much all women professional athletes.

Would adding CC to the Olympic team have solved all the money issues? No. But it would have gone a long way in pointing out that women CAN draw eyes and fannies.

I stand by my statement - a huge opportunity is being missed here.

I simply can’t understand the mindset of the other players.

Do you want to continue to make 200k a year and have to play in weird Euro countries the other part of the year? Or do you want the league to make more money so you can stay here for the year and make more money?

Report came out that the league is going to LOSE 50 Mil this year still.

They players and WNBA owners should have been the loudest demanding she's on the team, but whatever...if they want to continue to lose money that's on them

 

[Cheriehoop]

All this stuff about growing the game is bunk. Selecting an Olympic team isn't about popularity or style of play. She was a fun to watch great college player who will be a great pro but isn't yet. There have been plenty of great men's college players that had to prove themselves in the pros before being respected. Jordan was criticized as being selfish 5 years into the pros. She'll prove herself, but she hasn't yet. She's part way through her rookie season and she isn't one of the top 15 players in the US. People need to chill a little.

She’s actually 15th in the league in scoring. She’s 4th in both assists and 3 pointers made. She’s 20th in blocks, as a guard, 17th in steals and 26th in rebounding. There are 12 teams with 11-12 players per team so approximately 140 players in the WNBA. She’s on one of the 2 worst teams in the WNBA which was her destination as the #1 draft pick. Her turnover ratio is very troublesome to me though.

She was a member of the two time under 19 US World Cup Gold winning championship team in 2020 and 2021 and in 2021 was the MVP in that international competition. Why she didn’t participate in 2022 or 2023 I don’t know. She will do fine whether she was on or off the Olympic team as she matures and gains more experience. She’s obviously not in the inner circle of women’s basketball yet. There is some team and conference snobbery too, the Big 10 doesn’t get much respect nor representation in women’s basketball.

 

[Willy75]

I simply can’t understand the mindset of the other players.

Do you want to continue to make 200k a year and have to play in weird Euro countries the other part of the year? Or do you want the league to make more money so you can stay here for the year and make more money?

Report came out that the league is going to LOSE 50 Mil this year still.

They players and WNBA owners should have been the loudest demanding she's on the team, but whatever...if they want to continue to lose money that's on them

It's a dumb as rocks decision that has to have NBC furious. For some thoughts on mindset look at Jason Riley's and Jason Gay's columns in this week's WSJ,

 

[baggerbob]

She’s actually 15th in the league in scoring. She’s 4th in both assists and 3 pointers made. She’s 20th in blocks, as a guard, 17th in steals and 26th in rebounding. There are 12 teams with 11-12 players per team so approximately 140 players in the WNBA. She’s on one of the 2 worst teams in the WNBA which was her destination as the #1 draft pick. Her turnover ratio is very troublesome to me though.

She was a member of the two time under 19 US World Cup Gold winning championship team in 2020 and 2021 and in 2021 was the MVP in that international competition. Why she didn’t participate in 2022 or 2023 I don’t know. She will do fine whether she was on or off the Olympic team as she matures and gains more experience. She’s obviously not in the inner circle of women’s basketball yet. There is some team and conference snobbery too, the Big 10 doesn’t get much respect nor representation in women’s basketball.

This is also the league that Bill Laimbeer was the head coach of the NY Liberty and Las Vegas from 2014- 2021.
And he coached the way he played.
The league was very physical, and his team's much like when he played, crossed the line many times.
It's not as bad this year as it has been in the past.

 

[M2MPrinciples]

Seems like the people who want CC on the team the most are more concerned about “marketing” than fielding the best team possible, which is the entire point of the Olympics and sports in general. It’s a strange turn, like saying the Patriots should’ve traded up to draft Tebow instead of taking McCourty.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Seems like the people who want CC on the team the most are more concerned about “marketing” than fielding the best team possible, which is the entire point of the Olympics and sports in general. It’s a strange turn, like saying the Patriots should’ve traded up to draft Tebow instead of taking McCourty.

It’s nothing like that. You’re acting like having CC on the team makes them less competitive. That’s not close to the case, even if she doesn’t play a minute. They will win the gold, and it won’t be close. So why not use this for the opportunity it provides?

 

[sufandu]

She’s actually 15th in the league in scoring. She’s 4th in both assists and 3 pointers made. She’s 20th in blocks, as a guard, 17th in steals and 26th in rebounding. There are 12 teams with 11-12 players per team so approximately 140 players in the WNBA. She’s on one of the 2 worst teams in the WNBA which was her destination as the #1 draft pick. Her turnover ratio is very troublesome to me though.

She was a member of the two time under 19 US World Cup Gold winning championship team in 2020 and 2021 and in 2021 was the MVP in that international competition. Why she didn’t participate in 2022 or 2023 I don’t know. She will do fine whether she was on or off the Olympic team as she matures and gains more experience. She’s obviously not in the inner circle of women’s basketball yet. There is some team and conference snobbery too, the Big 10 doesn’t get much respect nor representation in women’s basketball.

She's going to be on many Olympic teams. She's going to be great. She's barely into her rookie year as a pro. It's ok if she has to wait. I get that fans want to see her. That shouldn't be at all a factor in choosing the team. I would be disappointed if that was a factor in choosing any team.

 

[sufandu]

I simply can’t understand the mindset of the other players.

Do you want to continue to make 200k a year and have to play in weird Euro countries the other part of the year? Or do you want the league to make more money so you can stay here for the year and make more money?

Report came out that the league is going to LOSE 50 Mil this year still.

They players and WNBA owners should have been the loudest demanding she's on the team, but whatever...if they want to continue to lose money that's on them

I can understand the mindset from the elite veterans in the league. They're more proven and think they deserve the notoriety she is getting. I doubt Dr. J was thankful Bird and Magic were saving the NBA when they first started. In the moment players aren't going to see her as elevating everyone. They're going to see her as stealing the spotlight they should be getting. The recognition for changing the league like Bird/Magic or MJ comes in retrospect. Whether or not that is the best strategy is a different discussion.

 

[sufandu]

Taurasi is on the team. From all accounts, she’s not one of the best players that should be on the team. Is it more important to get her her 6th gold, or let one of the better players (not necessarily Clark) get the experience?

Maybe Taurasi shouldn't be, she probably shouldn't be. The difference there is that she is in the discussion for best ever. The classy move for her would be to have voluntarily stepped aside and left the spot for someone else.

 

[djcon57]

I can understand the mindset from the elite veterans in the league. They're more proven and think they deserve the notoriety she is getting. I doubt Dr. J was thankful Bird and Magic were saving the NBA when they first started. In the moment players aren't going to see her as elevating everyone. They're going to see her as stealing the spotlight they should be getting. The recognition for changing the league like Bird/Magic or MJ comes in retrospect. Whether or not that is the best strategy is a different discussion.

Dr J was in the ABA until like 76 or whatever. Considering his original league closed down, I'm sure he was thrilled and thankful for Bird and Magic.

(Doesn't mean he wouldnt fight them though)

 

[sufandu]

Dr J was in the ABA until like 76 or whatever. Considering his original league closed down, I'm sure he was thrilled and thankful for Bird and Magic.

(Doesn't mean he wouldnt fight them though)

I guess we'd have to ask. I doubt he saw them as saviors in the moment. He was already a legend and probably thought the league should have been popular enough with the existing great players.That's the point, and I think you understand that. In retrospect, I'm sure he understood their impact.