ESPNW.com's Mechelle Voepel wrote it never seemed like the WNBA Shock were "able to get real and sustainable traction" in Tulsa after moving there in '10 and there are several reasons why a move to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area "could be so beneficial to the franchise." One big reason is the "much, much larger area to draw" fans from. However, that is "not necessarily guaranteed to manifest itself with huge increases in attendance." Big-market teams like the Liberty, Sparks and Sky "don't regularly have their arenas packed to the gills." Part of the reason Tulsa "was appealing" to the WNBA was the chance for the league "to become a bigger fish in a smaller pond." But it is "not a secret that most opposing WNBA players consider Tulsa their least favorite road trip," and the Shock had "little hope" in landing top free agents (ESPNW.com, 7/21).
THE NEW REALITY? The Red Sox currently are last in the AL East with a 42-52 record, and in Boston, Dan Shaughnessy writes the team has to "realize that last place has become the norm not the exception." Meanwhile, it "feels like the in-house dynamic of More-Tom Werner/Less-Larry Lucchino is taking hold." Lucchino over the years "has been a handy target," but phasing him out and the "notion of more input from Werner is not good news for fans of the franchise." Lucchino's "diminished clout is part of what you are watching now" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/22).
