#wnba

#wnba

Some 24 hours ahead of the expiration of the WNBA's collective bargaining agreement, the league and the WNBPA agreed to a 30-day extension of the current CBA as the sides work toward a new deal. More than a year ago, the WNBPA opted out of the CBA, giving the union and the league about a year to create a new "transformative" deal that could build off the enormous growth the WNBA has experienced over the past few years.

Then you think, well, who would be counting that? Well, the NBA does. NBA teams do and count just about everything you see on the court. And nowadays, it's really easy to drown yourself in stats, but writer Shea Serrano instead wants you to stop counting basketball numbers and start getting in touch with how watching basketball makes you feel.

As confetti fell and Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" blared through the arena, the New York Liberty celebrated the end of a long odyssey. The team that always fell short, starting from their days in Madison Square Garden, through detours to Radio City Music Hall and Westchester County Center, finally found their way to the top.

Kalani Brown knows how to make an entrance. Standing at a statuesque 6 feet, 6 inches, the Phoenix Mercury center is unmissable on and off the court. In fact, she's turned the buzzy tunnel walk into her own runway, complete with beaded gowns, sporty sweats, and 2000s-era bags. Though Brown enlists stylists like Kristine Anigwe to serve up some seriously chic looks, she says her personal style comes naturally.

My girlfriend Morgan and I were introduced by my realtor at the preseason game for the Chicago Sky. I'm opening a women's sports bar called Babe's, and she became an investor. We go to every home game together. For her birthday, I wrote her a novella called Courtside Connection about our relationship because she loves those sappy sapphic romance books. I have been threatening to throw a self-published book party for it at Babe's.

The WNBA has never been more visible. The best-of-seven-games finals between the Phoenix Mercury and Las Vegas Aces will tip off Friday night before what are expected to be the largest TV audiences that women's basketball has ever drawn. Crowds have swelled, viewership milestones have toppled, franchise valuations are soaring and formerly niche stars have broken into the mainstream. Yet as the league celebrates a second straight year of explosive growth, an old and thorny problem has risen to the surface: officiating.

Hosts Alex Kirshner, Ben Lindbergh, and Lindsay Gibbs speak to Fried Egg Golf's Kevin Van Valkenburg about the American crowds, President, and golf lapses at the Ryder Cup. Ben previews the MLB playoffs, and the hosts discuss the purchase of Electronic Arts by Jared Kushner and a Saudi investment fund. For Afterballs, Ben dusts off a copy of Robert Redford's oft-forgotten and underrated ski film, Downhill Racer.

Travel and sport are deeply connected, and partnering with Sabrina is a natural continuation of our commitment to empowering athletes and the journeys they take,

"Even though we compete on the ice, we're very close with Larry Tanenbaum and the MLSE organization," Molson told The Canadian Press. "We talked about the WNBA and how it's performing and growing and how important it would be to get a team to Canada. "Larry took the lead knowing full well that we were very interested and when he finally, got around to getting his bid approved he called me and wanted to make sure that the Montreal market was represented and so we gladly invested in this venture with the Tempo and we're excited about it."

With her pink hair poking out of her blue hood, she's explaining her role in an incident at the end of a Minnesota Lynx- Seattle Storm game. The details don't matter much. But here goes: Hiedeman's Lynx teammate Kayla McBride fouled Erica Wheeler on a drive to the basket. McBride scooped up the ball and tossed it in frustration toward Wheeler. Seattle's Skylar Diggins rushed toward McBride. Hiedeman stepped in and had a few words for Diggins.

HENDERSON, Nev. -- Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson was voted WNBA Defensive Player of the Year on Thursday for the third time in four seasons, sharing the award this time with Alanna Smith of the Minnesota Lynx. Each player received 29 votes from the 72 media members who participated. It's the first time the award, first given out in the WNBA's inaugural season in 1997, went to more than one player.