Latest news with #Whitcomb
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Mercury's Sami Whitcomb drops ‘stingy' message after brutal Lynx loss
The post Mercury's Sami Whitcomb drops 'stingy' message after brutal Lynx loss appeared first on ClutchPoints. PHOENIX– The Minnesota Lynx were nearly tamed by the Phoenix Mercury on Friday in a hectic finish. Thanks to Kalani Brown and Sami Whitcomb, Phoenix was in the game for a full 40 minutes against the league's only undefeated team. Advertisement The 74-71 loss was indicative of how close the game was and how valuable the two were. While the two had high expectations heading into the season, their play has been overshadowed by the duo of Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas. Still, the squad is comprised of more than those two stars. When Thomas was ruled out with a left calf injury for Friday's game, it forced players like Brown and Whitcomb to do more. Luckily, the duo knows all about stepping up. After all, Whitcomb brings championship experience to the Mercury and understands what is needed. Even on a team with five rookies, a tough loss can sting. Advertisement Following the game, she had a clear message for her team. 'We've been really stingy with ourselves in terms of the areas that we want to get better,' Whitcomb said. 'It might be small little things… that play obviously it sucks to lose that way. It came down to other things before that put us in that position. 'I think it's cleaning up some of those things, and understanding that it's a long season. This is a great opportunity for us to be in a sort of playoff-type position early on, where you play a team and you get to back up and make adjustments and play them again and see if you can make those adjustments. I think we're really excited.' Sami Whitcomb and Kalani Brown bring the Mercury some toughness Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Brown has experience, but not to Whitcomb's. Still, the former Dallas Wings center understands what a successful team looks like. When she's had the opportunity, she's contributed greatly. Advertisement On Friday, Brown posted 15 points, five rebounds, on 88% from the field. Following the loss, Brown detailed how she was ready for the chance to dominate. 'I think I take a lot of attention in the paint, and I had to be aggressive. That was nice,' Brown said, smiling. '(It was) the most comfortable I've felt since I've been here. 'I'm feeling more confident. Coach (Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts) just told me, 'Just be you, be dominant.' It's been an adjustment for me, so to feel some normalcy felt good… I'm happy.' On the flip side, Whitcomb has started every game this season for the Mercury. Again, both Sabally and Thomas have performed like superstars, so contributions from others haven't been necessary. Advertisement Still, defenses respect Whitcomb's shooting prowess and her savviness. However, her aggressiveness jolted to another level. She attacked the rim with ease, drug the defense out to the perimeter, and was leading the fast break. The Australian guard finished with 13 points, five rebounds, and six assists, on 5-for-11 from the field. Whitcomb felt a performance like this was long overdue. 'I really enjoyed that. I felt like I could just impact instead of just coming off screen, especially while I'm not shooting well,' Whitcomb explained. 'It was good. I felt good doing that and being able to use screens, find people, even just get downhill a little bit more and get some shots closer to.' Advertisement Both Brown and Whitcomb found their respective strides and put a sense of hope into the Mercury head coach. How does Mercury's HC value Sami Whitcomb and Kalani Brown? Whitcomb was Phoenix's prized possession and one of the more under-the-radar moves of the offseason. The 3-point specialist has made a career living from beyond the arc. In a pace and space system, combining with the Big 3 of Sabally, Thomas, and Kahleah Copper, everything fell into place. However, before Friday's game, Whitcomb was averaging career lows in shooting percentage. Even though Whitcomb was finding her orbit in the Mercury's championship quest, she might've carved out another niche on Friday. Advertisement Despite the shooting metric, the head coach felt optimistic about the Australians' ability to create and make plays with the ball, instead of playing off it. 'One of the things that we told Sammy (when we were) trying to get her to decide to come here is that we didn't want her to just be a shooter,' Tibbetts said. 'She did more; she played on pick and roll a little bit. She got downhill, she used her quickness, and she made some really good plays for herself and others.' On the contrary, Brown lives and feasts in the paint. Her soft touch, footwork, and sheer physicality had defenders like Jessica Shepard having trouble. Advertisement The deep post position opened avenues for Whitcomb and Sabally to create plays on the perimeter. While her game contradicts Tibbetts's fast-paced offensive system, it doesn't negate the big's impact in crucial minutes. 'I thought we did a really good job of finding her. This is a new system and a new team for her, and she's doing a really good job. She made some big plays for us.' The Mercury will take on the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday, in the first game of the WNBA Commissioner's Cup. The short turnaround could be beneficial and allow Brown and Whitcomb to give some insight and move on from the tough loss.
West Australian
20-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Millions of Aussies set to pay more for their mobile, NBN services with Telstra
Australia's largest telco has hiked the prices of a number of plans, with millions set to pay more - though there could be a silver lining for one group. Telstra consumer group executive Brad Whitcomb said Telstra was changing the price of postpaid mobile, mobile data and home small business internet plans as it looks to invest in its network. 'We're making these changes to help us to invest more to improve our mobile network performance and experience including the reliability and security of our services and continue to ensure we have local support on hand,' Mr Whitcomb said. Under the new plans, most Australians with Telstra will be slugged between $3 to $5 more each month on their mobile and internet. Telstra postpaid mobile plans will jump from $65 to $70, while its NBN25 and NBN50 plans will increase by $4 each and the NBN100 plan by $3. The telco's lowest-start mobile plans, starter NBN plans, and premium plans will remain the same or be lowered in price. Telstra has also lowered the plans of its high-speed home internet plans, with the NBN250 going down $1 per month and the NBN1000 coming down $11 per month. Pre-paid plans will not be changing. In a statement to NewsWire, Telstra said its customers were its priority. 'As you know, our priority always is to tell our customers first when it comes to any pricing changes and provide as much notice before the change comes in as possible,' the telco said. The company said when its half-yearly results were released in February that it was investing $800m in its mobile network. When the results were announced, chief executive Vicki Brady said this was the fourth consecutive year of first-half underlying growth on the back of its mobile business attracting new customers. 'This growth was driven by more people choosing our network, with 119,000 new mobile handheld customers and average revenue per customer growth. Mobile services revenue grew by 3.1 per cent,' Ms Brady said. The price change comes a day after telco rival Vodafone revealed it was calling on the ACCC to investigate claims Telstra has made about its coverage, alleging the company has 'been misleading Australians for more than a decade'. Vodafone's owner TPG Telecom has reported the allegations and says it is considering taking legal action against Telstra, claiming the telco has 'dramatically overstated' the reach of its mobile network by as much as 40 per cent and used the inflated figures to make 'unfair comparisons' against other operators' coverage. Telstra has denied the accusations, with a spokesperson telling NewsWire on Monday that any suggestion the telco had misled the public about the size of its network was 'completely untrue'. The ACCC says it is considering the allegations raised by TPG, though mobile operators do not have a standardised or consistent approach to coverage maps used on websites and in advertising.
Perth Now
20-05-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Telstra customers hit with new price hike
Australia's largest telco has hiked the prices of a number of plans, with millions set to pay more - though there could be a silver lining for one group. Telstra consumer group executive Brad Whitcomb said Telstra was changing the price of postpaid mobile, mobile data and home small business internet plans as it looks to invest in its network. 'We're making these changes to help us to invest more to improve our mobile network performance and experience including the reliability and security of our services and continue to ensure we have local support on hand,' Mr Whitcomb said. Telstra plans will rise by $3 to $5 depending on the service. NewsWire / Glenn Campbell Credit: News Corp Australia Under the new plans, most Australians with Telstra will be slugged between $3 to $5 more each month on their mobile and internet. Telstra postpaid mobile plans will jump from $65 to $70, while its NBN25 and NBN50 plans will increase by $4 each and the NBN100 plan by $3. The telco's lowest-start mobile plans, starter NBN plans, and premium plans will remain the same or be lowered in price. Telstra has also lowered the plans of its high-speed home internet plans, with the NBN250 going down $1 per month and the NBN1000 coming down $11 per month. Pre-paid plans will not be changing. In a statement to NewsWire, Telstra said its customers were its priority. 'As you know, our priority always is to tell our customers first when it comes to any pricing changes and provide as much notice before the change comes in as possible,' the telco said. The company said when its half-yearly results were released in February that it was investing $800m in its mobile network. Telstra said it wanted to give its customers time before the price hikes. NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers Credit: News Corp Australia When the results were announced, chief executive Vicki Brady said this was the fourth consecutive year of first-half underlying growth on the back of its mobile business attracting new customers. 'This growth was driven by more people choosing our network, with 119,000 new mobile handheld customers and average revenue per customer growth. Mobile services revenue grew by 3.1 per cent,' Ms Brady said. The price change comes a day after telco rival Vodafone revealed it was calling on the ACCC to investigate claims Telstra has made about its coverage, alleging the company has 'been misleading Australians for more than a decade'. Vodafone's owner TPG Telecom has reported the allegations and says it is considering taking legal action against Telstra, claiming the telco has 'dramatically overstated' the reach of its mobile network by as much as 40 per cent and used the inflated figures to make 'unfair comparisons' against other operators' coverage. Telstra has denied the accusations, with a spokesperson telling NewsWire on Monday that any suggestion the telco had misled the public about the size of its network was 'completely untrue'. The ACCC says it is considering the allegations raised by TPG, though mobile operators do not have a standardised or consistent approach to coverage maps used on websites and in advertising.
News.com.au
20-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Millions of Aussies set to pay more for their mobile, NBN services with Telstra
Australia's largest telco has hiked the prices of a number of plans, with millions set to pay more - though there could be a silver lining for one group. Telstra consumer group executive Brad Whitcomb said Telstra was changing the price of postpaid mobile, mobile data and home small business internet plans as it looks to invest in its network. 'We're making these changes to help us to invest more to improve our mobile network performance and experience including the reliability and security of our services and continue to ensure we have local support on hand,' Mr Whitcomb said. Under the new plans, most Australians with Telstra will be slugged between $3 to $5 more each month on their mobile and internet. Telstra postpaid mobile plans will jump from $65 to $70, while its NBN25 and NBN50 plans will increase by $4 each and the NBN100 plan by $3. The telco's lowest-start mobile plans, starter NBN plans, and premium plans will remain the same or be lowered in price. Telstra has also lowered the plans of its high-speed home internet plans, with the NBN250 going down $1 per month and the NBN1000 coming down $11 per month. Pre-paid plans will not be changing. In a statement to NewsWire, Telstra said its customers were its priority. 'As you know, our priority always is to tell our customers first when it comes to any pricing changes and provide as much notice before the change comes in as possible,' the telco said. The company said when its half-yearly results were released in February that it was investing $800m in its mobile network. When the results were announced, chief executive Vicki Brady said this was the fourth consecutive year of first-half underlying growth on the back of its mobile business attracting new customers. 'This growth was driven by more people choosing our network, with 119,000 new mobile handheld customers and average revenue per customer growth. Mobile services revenue grew by 3.1 per cent,' Ms Brady said. The price change comes a day after telco rival Vodafone revealed it was calling on the ACCC to investigate claims Telstra has made about its coverage, alleging the company has 'been misleading Australians for more than a decade'. Vodafone's owner TPG Telecom has reported the allegations and says it is considering taking legal action against Telstra, claiming the telco has 'dramatically overstated' the reach of its mobile network by as much as 40 per cent and used the inflated figures to make 'unfair comparisons' against other operators' coverage. Telstra has denied the accusations, with a spokesperson telling NewsWire on Monday that any suggestion the telco had misled the public about the size of its network was 'completely untrue'. The ACCC says it is considering the allegations raised by TPG, though mobile operators do not have a standardised or consistent approach to coverage maps used on websites and in advertising.
Reuters
11-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Index funds could double record sales of agricultural futures amid recession fears, research provider says
NEW YORK, March 11 (Reuters) - Index funds, the biggest participants in the commodities markets, last week sold a record amount of agricultural futures valued at over $7 billion and could double those sales amid recession fears and falling inflation expectations. Commodities markets research provider Peak Trading Research said on Tuesday the funds, the investment vehicles for large endowments, foundations and sovereign wealth funds, could sell 200,000 to 300,000 contracts in agricultural commodities futures. Get a look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets with the Morning Bid U.S. newsletter. Sign up here. They have already sold some 156,000 contracts last week, a record amount for the period, equivalent to $7.3 billion in contracts, it said. "Index fund investors are very nervous about the softening economy and lower forward-looking inflation expectations... and could sell a lot more agriculture futures," Dave Whitcomb, head of research at Peak said in a note. "That would drive agriculture futures prices significantly lower," he said. Whitcomb said that index funds invest in agricultural futures as a "store of value" and inflation hedge, and their positions usually track U.S. inflation expectations closely. Soybeans, corn, sugar, cattle and coffee are among the most traded agricultural commodities futures in the derivatives market. Whitcomb said that inflation data to be released on Wednesday and oil prices, which highly correlate to inflation pressures, are the catalysts to be watched regarding the risk for another large sell-off of agricultural commodities futures by the index funds.
