The WNBA on Friday "became the first American sports league to hold a virtual draft on live television," and like "other 'first time' systems, this one was also not without its hiccups," according to Sarah Valenzuela of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. The remote systems "worked better in some of the prospects’ homes than it did in others." For example, when the feed "switched to get Sabrina Ionescu’s reaction being the first overall pick, video quality dropped significantly." It was like "watching an old home video footage, heartwarming, but difficult to see clearly." And over at WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert's home, you "could hear countdowns to when the cameras would be back on the new WNBA head." Dealing with the "service and reliability of the remote technology was OK, all things considered." Some feeds "came from laptops, others had cameras, others used their smart phones." There also were "many aspects of the feed out of ESPN’s control." The biggest "noticeable difference, aside from camera quality and timing, however, was the lack of noise" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 4/18).
LEADING THE VIRTUAL WAY: YAHOO SPORTS' Cassandra Negley wrote the draft was a "refreshing night of sports during a time when we all crave it." Negley: "While ESPN could have done a better job focusing on the second and third rounds rather than rushing through, their production work was seamless. Viewers still got the draft picks. The analysis. The trades. The excitement. The NFL draft will be fine. The WNBA just showed you how it’s done" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 4/17). In Boston, Gary Washburn wrote the WNBA "provided a blueprint" for this week's NFL Draft and it "allowed the sports world some type of normalcy" (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/19).
