Latest news with #Commissioner'sCupChampions
GMA Network
18-07-2025
- Sport
- GMA Network
Fever's Caitlin Clark to miss WNBA All-Star Game, 3-point competition
Jul 1, 2025; Caitlin Clark puts on a Commissioner's Cup Champions hat after defeating the Minnesota Lynx at Target Center. (Photo: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images/REUTERS) Indiana Fever star guard Caitlin Clark has opted out of participating in the WNBA's All-Star festivities while she recovers from a right groin injury. Clark had been named a starter and team captain for Saturday's All-Star Game in Indianapolis after receiving the most fan votes. She also planned to participate in the 3-point contest before issuing her statement on Thursday. "I am incredibly sad and disappointed to say I can't participate in the 3-Point Contest or the All-Star Game. I have to rest my body," Clark said in a statement. "I will still be at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for all the action and I'm looking forward to helping Sandy (Brondello) coach our team to a win." Phoenix Mercury forward Satou Sabally, who was chosen as a starter for Team Clark, pulled out Wednesday due to a ankle injury. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert selected Washington Mystics guard Brittney Sykes and Atlanta Dream forward Brionna Jones as replacements for Clark and Sabally. Sykes, 31, is averaging 17.1 points per game this season. This will be her first All-Star Game. Jones, 29, is now a four-time All-Star. She is averaging 13.4 points and 7.8 rebounds. Clark, 23, sustained the injury in the final minute of Indiana's 85-77 victory over the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday in Boston. She has missed 10 regular season games this season, 11 if the Commissioner's Cup final is included. Previously, she had never missed a game in her college of pro career. In 13 games, Clark is averaging 16.5 points, 8.8 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game in her second professional season. Sabally, 27, is averaging a career-best 19.1 points per game. She last played on July 3. "Unfortunately, my body still needs more time to recover and I am unable to suit up and play in this weekend's game," Sabally said. "I'm disappointed." --Field Level Media/Reuters
GMA Network
03-07-2025
- Business
- GMA Network
Caitlin Clark: WNBA Commissioner's Cup pay 'makes no sense'
Jul 1, 2025; Caitlin Clark puts on a Commissioner's Cup Champions hat after defeating the Minnesota Lynx at Target Center. (Photo: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images/REUTERS) WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark took time out of celebrating her Indiana Fever's Commissioner's Cup win to call out the desire for better pay for the league's athletes. The injured Clark didn't play in the Fever's win Tuesday over the Minnesota Lynx, but in the postgame celebration on Instagram livestream, she pointed out the disparity in the financial rewards for winning the Commissioner's Cup and winning the WNBA Finals. "You get more (money) for this than you do if you're the (WNBA Finals) champion," Clark said to the camera Tuesday night. "It makes no sense. Someone tell (WNBA commissioner) Cathy (Engelbert) to help us out." Each rostered player on the winning Commissioner's Cup team earned up to $30,000 as part of the majority portion of the $500,000 purse, per multiple reports. For comparison, players on the team that wins the WNBA championship reportedly receive $20,825. In another postgame video Tuesday, Clark referred to the in-season tournament final as the "Cathy Cup." Clark's comments come as WNBA players are negotiating for a new collective bargaining agreement amid surging popularity in the league. The WNBA registered its highest attendance in 26 years for an opening month to the season as well as record TV ratings. The league announced in June that 400,000 fans attended games since the season tipped off on May 14 through the end of the month, its highest since nearly the league's inception; the WNBA began play in 1997. Further, more than half of all WNBA games were sellouts, a 156 percent increase year over year, according to the release. Additionally, games are averaging 1.32 million viewers across all network partners, nearly tripling last season's average (462,000 viewers), per the league's June 10 release. Clark won't be back on the court when the Fever return to action Thursday against the visiting Las Vegas Aces. She will miss her fourth game in a row (counting the non-regular-season Commissioner's Cup final) because of a left groin ailment. A strained left quad kept Clark out for five games from May 28-June 10. --Field Level Media/Reuters
