Emma Baccellieri

“modern record”… they’re statcast-era-ing it!

Spent a bit of time at the WNBA All-Star Game chatting with a new basketball fan: Harvard economist Claudia Goldin, who has been advising the WNBA players in their labor negotiations, part of a more robust strategy this year from the union

“First pope from the U.S.” “First Augustinian pope” — no. First pope with an opinion on Juan Uribe.

More from the WNBA refereeing beat! “We didn’t meet as often with our stakeholders, and it just started to drift away, and we found ourselves with a game that was too rough. And now we’re living with the process of cleaning that up.”

"His team immediately thought of doing a Pope Leo bobblehead but tragically couldn’t secure the necessary NIL rights, he said."

Minor niche theory I’m developing: There are way more Bark in the Park games now than even just a few years ago. Feels like every night has at least one game with dogs.

WNBA teams averaged 17 foul calls per game in 2025. That was up to 22 in the first weekend of play in 2026. The new refereeing emphasis on freedom of movement was clear right away, and it asks for a big adjustment from players, coaches and refs alike:

If you didn't previously know about the new officiating emphasis on freedom of movement, Mystics-Liberty's first half should have let you know reeeeal quick

The most cohesive, dominant Canes team of my adult life, in the best position imaginable here, and I still spent the entirety of that wanting to die

If your hockey team goes to overtime multiple games in one playoff series you should be entitled to compensation

“I really hope that people still do talk about those players. I mean, without them, we wouldn’t be here.” The players of the original Portland Fire often felt they were forgotten. That's changed as the new expansion franchise has brought back the name—and the archives. www.si.com/wnba/fire-ha...

“I know what it feels like to be at the bottom... I wanted to be a voice for the players like me.” The WNBA kicks off its 30th season under a landmark CBA. On Alysha Clark, the oldest player in the league, who helped negotiate it: www.si.com/wnba/for-vet...

Sylvia Crawley is the all-time leading scorer (and rebounder and shot-blocker) of the original Portland Fire. When the franchise went under, it felt like a huge chunk of her career had simply disappeared. Now? "When they started resurrecting everything, it was like, we’re not forgotten.”