On this episode of The IX Sports Podcast Women’s Basketball Edition, hosts Jackie Powell and Howard Megdal discuss injury transparency, how Chris DeMarco is settling in in New York, and the current state of the all-new Toronto Tempo.
First, Powell and Megdal jump right in to a discussion about why Caitlin Clark was scratched late from Wednesday night’s game with a back injury. In pregame, head coach Stephanie White also said that Clark did not practice the day before, but she was not on the injury list.
“The most important part of this is the space between public and private information is where illegal gambling can take root, and where you can have major issues with the integrity of the game. So, this [has] got to get fixed and fast,” Megdal said. He referenced a column he wrote about this issue for The IX Sports last year.
“The integrity of the game is at stake,” Powell said. Megdal pointed out that there is a straightforward solution to this issue: transparency on injury reports.
New coach in New York
This week, Powell published a profile on new Liberty Head Coach DeMarco and how he is adapting to the WNBA (DeMarco worked in the NBA for over a decade).
“Chris DeMarco is a people person and he’s a listener, he wants to listen, he wants to learn, and the fact that less than two minutes into our discussion, into our sit-down he uttered one of the most famous internet jokes about this league — and it was weird because he didn’t really realize how much of a joke it was — but he learned about it. He called the NBA the MNBA, and he understood why people in WNBA circles refer to it that way,” Powell said.
Megdal asked Powell what DeMarco needs to do to actually have staying power in the league and maximize success.
“The players have said is that there is a new level of focus, and I think what Jonquel Jones said about this made a lot of sense,” Powell said. “She said that the reason that there’s a discussion about a new level of focus is because the system is completely new, so by default you have to be more focused than if you have an understanding of the system before.”
Toronto Tempo
To close out the episode, Powell and Megdal were joined by Sarah Maat, the beat reporter for the Toronto Tempo. She said that the team is being embraced by some as Canada’s team.
“There’s never been professional women’s basketball in Canada until now, so it’s a whole new adjustment, not only for the staff and the players, but also for the fans, and just the women’s basketball fans that we know have been in Canada for years,” Maat said.
Megdal pointed out that (as of recording May 21), the Tempo are third in the WNBA in offensive rating, hold the sixth total rating, and the seventh defensive rating. Maat said Head Coach Sandy Brondello wants to win, and that the playoffs are not off the table.
Be sure to tune in to today’s episode to hear more about how the Tempo are building a new team that’s already on the path to success.
Make sure to subscribe to The IX Sports Podcast for in-depth coverage of women’s soccer, hockey and basketball; and tune in each weekday morning for a quick overview of the biggest headlines on Women’s Sports Daily, like WNBA preseason news and PWHL playoff updates.
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