Menu
Leagues and Governing Bodies

THE WNBA, TAKE TWO: LEAGUE STRONG AT GATE ON OPENING NIGHT

          The WNBA officially began its second season last night
     with four regular-season games, and in Akron, Terry Pluto
     writes, "It was nice to have the Cleveland Rockers back in
     town."  Pluto reports that women's basketball is "cheap ...
     fun" and is "something that's deserving of your attention." 
     The Rockers drew 17,911 fans for their opening night victory
     over the Liberty (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 6/12).
          OTHER GAMES: The expansion Mystics made their WNBA
     debut last night, losing to the Sting before 9,092 at
     Charlotte Coliseum (WASHINGTON POST, 6/12)....In UT, the
     Sparks defeated the Starzz before 9,330 at the Delta Center
     (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 6/12)....In Sacramento, the Mercury
     defeated the Monarchs before 7,816 at Arco Arena (SACRAMENTO
     BEE, 6/12).  The league averaged 11,037 for the four games.
          BRAND AWARENESS: The WNBA ran a 10-page ad supplement
     in USA TODAY, backed by league partners GM, Sears, Nike,
     Coca-Cola and Lee Jeans (THE DAILY)....WNBA Dir/Broadcasting
     Teri Schindler is interviewed in the BOSTON GLOBE, and says
     camera angles will be lowered this season for national WNBA
     telecasts.  Schindler, on filming the players: "You need to
     see who they are because they're not household names and
     because they do things like girls do -- they change their
     hair.  Nikki McCray with extensions looks a lot different
     than Nikki McCray without extensions" (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/12).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: May 14, 2024

The WNBA's biggest moment? More fractures in men's golf; Conferences set agendas for spring meetings and the revamp of the Charlotte Hornets continues.

Phoenix Mercury/NBC’s Cindy Brunson, NBA Media Deal, Network Upfronts

On this week’s pod, SBJ’s Austin Karp chats with SBJ NBA writer Tom Friend about the pending NBA media Deal. Cindy Brunson of NBC and Phoenix Mercury is our Big Get this week. The sports broadcasting pioneer talks the upcoming WNBA season. Later in the show, SBJ media writer Mollie Cahillane gets us set for the upcoming network upfronts.

SBJ I Factor: Molly Mazzolini

SBJ I Factor features an interview with Molly Mazzolini. Elevate's Senior Operating Advisor – Design + Strategic Alliances chats with SBJ’s Ross Nethery about the power of taking chances. Mazzolini is a member of the SBJ Game Changers Class of 2016. She shares stories of her career including co-founding sports design consultancy Infinite Scale career journey and how a chance encounter while working at a stationery store launched her career in the sports industry. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/1998/06/12/Leagues-Governing-Bodies/THE-WNBA-TAKE-TWO-LEAGUE-STRONG-AT-GATE-ON-OPENING-NIGHT.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/1998/06/12/Leagues-Governing-Bodies/THE-WNBA-TAKE-TWO-LEAGUE-STRONG-AT-GATE-ON-OPENING-NIGHT.aspx

CLOSE