NHL possibly getting bumped for a WNBA game

[Boltswin]

She’s an amazing story. The first woman to ever be drafted first overall by a WNBA team. Yes she can!

Who does the WNBA normally draft if not women?

 

[tarheelhockey]

More Europeans are in the NBA than ever , but its never been more boring

I wouldn’t agree with that at all. The NBA today is way more interesting than it was 20 years ago.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

The media props her up b/c she's a white girl succeding in a predominantly Black sport and is acceptable to mainstream Murica.

What a race-baiting comment.

I guess the facts that she is literally the best college women's basketball player and broke the record for most points all-time are just footnotes?

 

[Egghead1999]

Twice as many people watched her get drafted than watched any of the stadium series games this year.

More than the average viewership of the cup finals most years.

And that’s just the WNBA draft.

I am sorry if I offended you in any way. We know she broke the record recently. What happened to the old record holder after her NCAA years? One-off does mean it makes it to the big show.
Given what the current admin in the us gov't saying about her and the WNBA, I am more than happy that a WNBA game will bump an NHL SC playoff game, in fact, why only one game, make a bold move, show all WNBA games and drop the SC playoff games.

What a race-baiting comment.

I guess the facts that she is literally the best college women's basketball player and broke the record for most points all-time are just footnotes?

I do not agree with BMacLeafs, but what happened to all the old record holders when they broke the old record?

 

[Rodgerwilco]

I do not agree with BMacLeafs, but what happened to all the old record holders when they broke the old record?

I don't understand your question. What do you mean "What happened" to them?

 

[thegazelle]

I totally get this...NBA or WNBA is not my thing, but certain names sell and regardless of my own personal opinion, the networks will do what will bring them more eyeballs.

True story - I don't watch NFL and I am not conversant with current pop culture (don't have cable, don't go out to movies, don't listen to anything currently on radio) - so during a family outing around my son's 21st birthday we were at my Dad's house and he had on the NFL playoffs so my kids, nieces and nephews could watch. I found it deeply annoying they kept panning over to this lady in a booth. I am like "is that the owner or something?" The kids say no, that's Taylor Swift. I have no idea who Taylor Swift is but I said why can't these stupid networks just focus on the game? The kids all told me because she brings in eyeballs to NFL games as she is apparently dating a player. Anyways, I thought it was dumb, but I suppose the networks are capitalizing on name recognition.

Now, I don't know a thing about women's basketball aside from the fact it is subsidized by the NBA, but even I as sheltered as I am, know who Caitlin Clark is, only by ads that are playing during hockey games and such. If I didn't watch hockey games (which would mean I don't watch TV at all), I would have no idea.

So I think to a degree, Americans tend to gravitate towards name recognition and so having her on TV will draw more viewers, which is always their focus.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Absolutely they did know who she was.

I'm a Canadian who lives in the US. There are way too many Canadians (and a few Europeans) who are making definitive statements about the prominence of Clark and women's college basketball in general without knowing the first thing about their place in the US media market. Clark has been talked about fairly continuously this season and last on American sports radio, including national broadcasts. The same goes for ESPN proper, on the television. The top stories in women's college basketball also receive more play from those venues than the NHL in all but a very few media markets in the Northeastern US.

You can say what you want about why she has become so well known - I would argue it's because she's arguably the greatest Women's NCAA player ever, who downed many dominant, big name programs to take a middling program to the final two years in a row, but perhaps some of you are correct and it's a grand conspiracy .

The point, however, is that you clearly have no idea what you are talking about. She has been a celebrity in the US for going on two years running now.

Never heard of her until 3-4 weeks ago.

 

[POVERTY]

I know HFBoards posters are super cringe about other sports existing, but it's not hard to see why Caitlin Clark would displace an NHL game. She is an incredible player; shouldn't be difficult to understand why her popularity is so high.

I had never in my life considered watching NCAA Women's basketball, but I was tuning in this year to see her play.

And this is about a potential 2nd round game 5 that may or may not even happen.

 

[333359]

Better than my college football team getting bumped by Nascar truck racing. Hockey is a niche sport while basketball isn't. Whenever I bring it up to friends that are fans of other sports I get the look vegans and crossfit people must get. Like it's a quasi-religion. I like the NHL where it is at. Less ads and commercialism than the 8 or 10 sports ahead of it.

 

[Egghead1999]

I don't understand your question. What do you mean "What happened" to them?

Sorry i didn't get my point across, I mean did they got this kind of publicity when they broke the old record?
She is still a news story today.

 

[joelef]

Better than my college football team getting bumped by Nascar truck racing. Hockey is a niche sport while basketball isn't. Whenever I bring it up to friends that are fans of other sports I get the look vegans and crossfit people must get. Like it's a quasi-religion. I like the NHL where it is at. Less ads and commercialism than the 8 or 10 sports ahead of it.

Less ads” I guess you seen those dreaded digital board ads and Bettman fake polling.

 

[Ezekial]

Idk

I think you'd have to be pretty ignorant to think the Caitlin Clark/Angel Reese coverage/drama from the 2023 wasn't somewhat based in race. Not indicting either of those fine young basketball players for what happened, it was passion for the game, but the outside agents .... definitely some racial stuff thrown around.

This season I didn't follow it, but as someone who is very plugged into the sports world, Iowa City was known to be rocking all year. Iowa's women's basketball team was the ticket to have at that football school in 23-24. Then they took it on the road and had must watch basketball in their opponents home courts.
It all led to the 2024 tourney and her great run. I don't watch women's basketball, I barely watch men's, not an interesting sport to me. But, the drama last year fed into this year and the women's basketball world exploded in popularity over the past few months.

 

[MoneyManny]

Who cares? Why do some hockey fans have obvious inferiority complexes like this towards other entertainment businesses?

It's okay to like something that's not everybody's cup of tea. We don't need to all become clones seeking validation for our interests.

 

[Tofveve]

I honestly don't care a whole lot about the Debbie Downer perspectives. Having been watching the NHL from the late 70s this league just keeps getting stronger and stronger as far as I'm concerned.

And don't forget, nowadays a lot of entertainment programming is artificially propped up/promoted.

 

[Gnashville]

The WNBA season starts a month after the WNBA draft? That's wild.

MLB draft occurs during the season and players can play immediately after being drafted.

 

[Gnashville]

I am sorry if I offended you in any way. We know she broke the record recently. What happened to the old record holder after her NCAA years? One-off does mean it makes it to the big show.
Given what the current admin in the us gov't saying about her and the WNBA, I am more than happy that a WNBA game will bump an NHL SC playoff game, in fact, why only one game, make a bold move, show all WNBA games and drop the SC playoff games.


I do not agree with BMacLeafs, but what happened to all the old record holders when they broke the old record?

Pistol Pete had an amazing HOF NBA career that was cut short by cancer.

 

[cowboy82nd]

Kinda funny when some people try to compare the NHL to the NBA. NHL can't even keep up with WNBA lmfao

So, you’re saying that the WNBA has turned a profit?

 

[cowboy82nd]

She’s an amazing story. The first woman to ever be drafted first overall by a WNBA team. Yes she can!

What, were men drafted by WNBA teams?

 

[Golden_Jet]

She’s an amazing story. The first woman to ever be drafted first overall by a WNBA team. Yes she can!

What, 28th woman

Every WNBA draft No. 1 overall pick, and where they went to college

Here's where every top pick in WNBA draft history went to school, from 1997-2023.

www.ncaa.com

WNBA Draft history: How Caitlin Clark compares to Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird and other No. 1 overall picks | Sporting News Canada

Caitlin Clark is set to join an illustrious list of former WNBA No. 1 overall picks.

www.sportingnews.com

 

[Artorius Horus T]

Who is Caitlin Clark?
- i assume female basketball player

 

[Artorius Horus T]

Someone who doesn't follow basically at all, women team sports, how can that person know who this Caitlin Clark is?
I didn't even know that WNBA was a summer league, yes i knew a league of that kind exists, but that's pretty much it.

If my hometown's women basketball team gets to a point where they are one win away from the championship, sure i watch that game from TV
- we have won several titles in a row and are in the finals again, though this time we didn't win the regular season

I do watch the women world cup every time, also of late the women ice hockey world championships, until the gold medal fiasko watched that is.
But that's my experience of women team sports

 

[thefutures]

So, you’re saying that the WNBA has turned a profit?

No I'm saying WNBA is popping after being universally recognized as a garbage product. All it took was one player and now her debut is being prioritized over NHL playoff hockey. It is funny to me considering how much vitriol some people here have towards the NBA as a product. Who knows maybe Clark could bump some NBA games too but il have to see it to believe it. I don't think people are grasping how much of a doormat the WNBA has been.

 

[StreetHawk]

Network will put on whichever product they think will get more eyeballs. So, if the NHL takes a backseat to Clark, then it's on them to better promote their product and/or have their players step up their own self promotion.

Today is the start of the NBA and NHL playoffs. On Google, Saturday, the google home page, the Google name is embedded with images of basketball players. As we have known since Monday that the NBA PO begin for real this weekend with all teams starting.

NHL, only on about Wed did we know that more than a couple of series were beginning this weekend. Only 6 of the 8 will kickoff this weekend. NHL had a staggered end date for their teams from Monday to Thursday.

IMO, NHL needs to figure out how to get everyone done within 2 days of each other and ensure they get 3-4 days off before they begin. They will have to go H2H with the NBA, so they do have to account for that. NHL PO game can't be played in the afternoon to be followed by NBA game due to OT potential. And the NHL won't know if the NBA wants certain games on in the afternoon or evening. NHL should have figured out how to end of either Sunday/Monday to kickoff their PO on say Friday, ahead of the NBA or something. This year, only Boston, NY, Denver, Dall and LA with both teams overlap with the NHL in terms of shared arenas.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Network will put on whichever product they think will get more eyeballs. So, if the NHL takes a backseat to Clark, then it's on them to better promote their product and/or have their players step up their own self promotion.

Today is the start of the NBA and NHL playoffs. On Google, Saturday, the google home page, the Google name is embedded with images of basketball players. As we have known since Monday that the NBA PO begin for real this weekend with all teams starting.

NHL, only on about Wed did we know that more than a couple of series were beginning this weekend. Only 6 of the 8 will kickoff this weekend. NHL had a staggered end date for their teams from Monday to Thursday.

IMO, NHL needs to figure out how to get everyone done within 2 days of each other and ensure they get 3-4 days off before they begin. They will have to go H2H with the NBA, so they do have to account for that. NHL PO game can't be played in the afternoon to be followed by NBA game due to OT potential. And the NHL won't know if the NBA wants certain games on in the afternoon or evening. NHL should have figured out how to end of either Sunday/Monday to kickoff their PO on say Friday, ahead of the NBA or something. This year, only Boston, NY, Denver, Dall and LA with both teams overlap with the NHL in terms of shared arenas.

Starting the games 1 day early, makes no difference on a 2 month tournament.

 

[WayTooCold]

Hockey is just niche sport. In soccer you only need a ball and a field.
In hockey you need a massive money. Hockey is just a rich kids sport.