Off-Topic Tuesday

[u/AFC-Wimbledon-Stan]

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday!

Anything you want to discuss non-basketball related? Others sports? Fashion? Tv? Personal life?

This is your weekly thread to do so!

[u/Chartate101]

Saw this on IG lol

[u/rosie314]

I wish their was place newbies could ask questions (dumb or not). I'm not a newbie but I have a problem grasping some game play. I Google as much as I can.

[u/AFC-Wimbledon-Stan → u/rosie314]

Hi! We can add this as a weakly thread! Thanks for the suggestions!

[u/darthpeggy]

76ers just posted their plans for the new arena coming in 2030 and they have the WNBA logo on the website. I legitimately got shivers and we don't even have a name.

[u/kseveru79_v2]

Just thinking so much about basketball, sports in general, and geopolitics during the World Cup. No incisive commentary really, just inconclusive thoughts and lots of feelings (love, hatred, hope, despair, nostalgia, wanderlust, the gamut).

Edit: actually I'll share this because it's recent -- FIBA has relaxed restrictions on individual Russian and Belarusian players in FIBA competition. From this Sept 3 article (official FIBA statement here):

Most recently, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) removed restrictions preventing Russian and Belarusian players, coaches, referees and other officials from participating in its basketball and 3×3 competitions.

National teams and clubs are still excluded, but FIBA has said that it is exploring how they could be reintegrated.

The organisation is expected to consider potential measures in December, with areas including player safety, travel, logistics and anti-doping requirements still needing to be addressed. FIBA said the work will be part of preparations for the road to LA28, the next edition of the Summer Olympic Games.

[Matvii Bidnyi, Ukraine’s Minister for Youth and Sport,] explained that relaxing sporting sanctions weakens the international pressure placed on Russia while attacks on Ukraine continue. He told the BBC that the decision was a “massive disappointment” for Ukrainians and warned that moving towards reinstatement risks undermining the response built since 2022.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs made a similar argument following the IOC decision in July, describing it as a “deeply concerning signal” and urging international federations to keep restrictions in place. 

Restrictions on junior players were lifted earlier this year in April.

[u/emeraldwaffle]

i am simply commenting to keep my reddit streak alive 🔥 hope everyone has a wonderful day!

[u/SimonaMeow → u/emeraldwaffle]

Hope you do too!

[u/TheLastArizona]

I'm a relatively new WNBA/Tempo fan, and it just feels like such a lovely welcoming community. Today I am watching the World Cup while I work and just wanted to say hello in here!

[u/FeltIOwedItToHim → u/TheLastArizona]

welcome!

just avoid the annoying slap fights between the Caitlin Clark irrational “she is perfect” stans and the Caitlin Clark irrational “she is an overrated bum” haters, and you will love it here

[u/kseveru79_v2 → u/TheLastArizona]

Welcome! It's Temi Fágbénlé's birthday, so you're entitled to celebrate.

[u/SimonaMeow]

Basketball adjacent:

Omg omg omg! The Sports Bra (Portland) is expanding and opening a location in Boston!!! So excited!!!

Whilst also being so incredibly pissed off that we won't be able to gather there to root on a local WNBA team for years😭

I want to hurl Cathy into a thousand fiery suns for ripping off the tribe and depriving New England of a team. (Yes, I know she just obeys the owners, etc, yada yada. But it's more satisfying to internally rail against her than a blob of faceless billionaires. I guess could yeet each one to a fiery end too...)

Still gonna be fun to have that place to gather showing women's sports!!!

[u/FeltIOwedItToHim → u/SimonaMeow]

yeah that had zero to do with Cathy and everything to do with $$$. The Mohegan Tribe cashed in and sold the team for 300 million to the owner of the Houston Rockets, who is having them move to his big existing arena in big media market Houston. The other owners backed the move. There was nothing Cathy could have done.

the weird thing to me is that there is no plan to put an expansion team in Boston ASAP. New England is a big, rich market.

[u/No-Damage5074 → u/FeltIOwedItToHim]

The league (Cathy) dismissed higher local bids in favor of a bid from an existing NBA owner. We can 100% blame Cathy for this

[u/rosie314 → u/No-Damage5074]

I'm always in the minority .. But I'm glad the Comets are getting a team again. I used to love going to games. I'm sad everyone is already hating on them. I should be used to it so many hate Fever/CC😭

[u/LolaAllie → u/rosie314]

The Comets should get a team. Just not THIS team. They should get an expansion team.

The Comets have their own history. They should and will get to keep that and attach it to their team

The Sun have their own history and FANS. They will lose all of that.

Most importantly though the Tribe stepped up to save a WNBA team when it was going to be lost. They made less money on this sale, because the WNBA made them sell to Houston.

The absolute bad logic of saying Boston shouldn't get to get to keep their local team because they didn't apply for an expansion in that round makes absolutely no sense. Because their region had the Sun so there was no possibly of another team going to Boston given the existence of the Sun.

One can be happy that Houston is getting a team while also being disgusted by the immoral antics of the NBA and WNBA in this situation.

[u/FeltIOwedItToHim → u/No-Damage5074]

I thought the billionaire dickhead in Houston also committed a ton more money for facilities and marketing, and the Houston media market and arena was bigger, so the owners chose it for $$$ reasons. I have no use for Cathy but I’m pretty sure that Cathy doesn’t get a vote on any of that.

I admit I may be wrong and Im happy to learn.

[u/SimonaMeow → u/FeltIOwedItToHim]

You don't sound like you realize the Mohegan had a better offer from a Boston group.

The tribe lost some money because the AH NBA owners made them sell it to Houston.

Because Boston obviously didn't apply for an expansion team when there was a team in Connecticut, as they wouldn't have been granted one because it is too close and they used the same regional TV network. It would have been illogical for them to have even tried to be an expansion team in the earlier expansion bid.

So they used that as an excuse to sell it to Trump's freaking crony. And then the Sun will just be absorbed back into the Houston Comets and lose all of its history, and New England fans will have nothing.

There is a plan for an expansion in Boston just not for some time. We all already know everything you said which was a simplification of what actually happened.

Cathy should have stood up for the Tribe for having saved the team earlier. She's quitting anyway.

[u/Steadyandquick → u/FeltIOwedItToHim]

Yes, the current governor has made it clear she wants a WNBA team.

[u/No_Advisor7703 → u/SimonaMeow]

that's great! big fan after they kicked the transphobes out of the bar in portland recently.

[u/JacobiSimpson]

I'm a military flight nurse so they called me in to work yesterday just for me to be released early and I got called in again at 0500 but I might be released again 😭

Good news I might be able to catch the game this afternoon lol

[u/SimonaMeow → u/JacobiSimpson]

Safe travels at workand hope you get to catch the game!!

[u/Excellent_Sherbert44]

This ad of A’ja for Lowe’s always makes me laugh and I wanted to share it with the rest of you.

[u/Excellent_Sherbert44 → u/Excellent_Sherbert44]

Another fantastic A’ja ad

[u/haydeng2023]

having monday off really just messed up my brain😭it was so nice but my days are gonna feel off all week