PHOENIX -- The WNBA’s dream scenario last night -- Caitlin Clark flipping a bounce pass to Angel Reese for a bunny layup in the All-Star Game -- punctuated what Commissioner Cathy Engelbert called a “historic" first half of the season. All the drama (Diana Taurasi saying Clark will have trouble in a “grown women’s league" or Chennedy Carter’s flagrant hip-check on Clark) was a distant memory as even NBA Commissioner Adam Silver flew into Phoenix for the sold-out game with his young daughter.

Prior to tipoff, Engelbert rattled off the league’s metrics of growth this season: highest attendance in 26 years, an overall attendance rise of 45%, 16 game broadcasts of at least 1 million viewers, WNBA app usage up 530%, D2C league pass subscriptions up 360% and all-star voting volume up 600%. She even borrowed Silver’s patented phrase to describe her league: “growth stock."

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She pointed out some of the league's relatively new partners such as La Crema, Opill, Peloton, Skims, Bumble and DraftKings -- then mentioned she’d met with countless more this week in the desert “as we continue to look at a transformed economic model creating essentially a new paradigm for women’s sports."

RELATED: WNBA sports all-time high 24 sponsor activations at All-Star Game fan fest

On her own, she alluded to the W’s pending media rights deal -- sources confirming that ESPN, Amazon and NBC will pay $2.2B over 11 years, while ION, CBS or perhaps another broadcast entity will contribute a minimum of $60M more. While she would not get into minutiae of the deal, which WNBA All-Star coach Cheryl Miller called a "lowball" even though it supposedly can be renegotiated in three years, Englebert said, “I haven’t been shy in saying we’ve been preparing for this moment for many years, saying how important media deals are to the growth in the future of this league."
 
As an example of the league’s ascension, she talked about expansion, repeating that the WNBA expects to go from 12 teams to 16 teams by “no later than 2028." She said the 13th team -- the Golden State Valkyries, who launch in 2025 -- will hold their expansion draft in December and that the league will likely make a TV special out of that draft. She said other expansion hopefuls might get to host exhibition games in future years, the same way Toronto hosted exhibitions before being awarded the 14th franchise, set to start in 2026. She said she expects the regular season to grow next year from 40 to 44 games and that games or exhibitions overseas are a future possibility.

RELATED: Clark drives Indiana to average nearly 17K fans at home as WNBA attendance surges by 46%

As for the game itself, the WNBA All-Stars defeated the U.S. National team, 117-109, with Clark -- wearing a customized pair Kobe Bryant Nike Kobe 6 Protros -- registering 10 assists. Meanwhile, Reese put up a double-double and MVP Arike Ogunbowale scored an all-star record 34 points, prompting Taurasi to tell her Team USA teammates afterward, "This is a reminder -- you've got to come to play."

Team WNBA beat Team USA 117-109 in Saturday's WNBA All-Star Game before a crowd of 16,407 at Footprint Center. Dallas Wings G Arike Ogunbowale set a WNBA All-Star Game record with 34 points to earn her second All-Star Game MVP. After being held scoreless in the first half, Ogunbowale scored 21 points in the third quarter -- the most in a single quarter in WNBA All-Star Game history -- setting in motion a "repeat of what she and Team WNBA accomplished three years ago" when it knocked off Team USA in the first All-Star Weekend with the WNBA-USA Basketball format. Ogunbowale's 34 points were the second most scored in any half in WNBA history, including the regular season, playoffs, All-Star Games and the Commissioner's Cup. That helped Ogunbowale become the fourth player to earn multiple WNBA All-Star Game MVPs -- she also won in 2021 -- joining Basketball HOFer Lisa Leslie and former WNBAer Maya Moore, who both have three, and Basketball HOFer Swin Cash, who has two (ESPN.com, 7/20). Team USA coach Cheryl Reeve said, “It is one of the greatest spectacles, I think, in the history of our league, this game today.” That spectacle was "felt throughout" Phoenix, including a "jam-packed WNBA Live hours before tip-off of the sold-out game." Celebrities including Aubrey Plaza, Jason Sudeikis, Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe, Sheryl Swoopes, Shannon Sharpe and Paige Bueckers "littered the sidelines." Players "appeared at activations back-to-back over the last 48 hours with brands, surprising long lines of fans and signing autographs" (YAHOO SPORTS, 7/21). The family of late Basketball HOFer Kobe Bryant also was in attendance (SBJ).

CBSSPORTS.com’s Jack Maloney wrote the good news for Team USA is that they "won't face any opponent with as much talent as Team WNBA, which could win the gold medal itself if it entered the competition.” This loss was an "early wake-up call for the Olympians.” Perhaps the “biggest question is who will step up behind" Liberty F Breanna Stewart and Aces F A'ja Wilson (CBSSPORTS.com, 7/20). Team USA will face Germany on Tuesday in London in its final exhibition game before the Paris Games (SBJ).

Atlanta Dream G Allisha Gray won both the WNBA All-Star skills challenge and 3-point contest on Friday. She earned $110,000 courtesy of Aflac while also taking home an additional $2,575 from the league for each win, putting Gray at $115,150, which is over 62% of her $185,000 salary for the 2024 season, her seventh in the WNBA. Gray’s double contest win was historic for the league, as she became the first WNBA player to win both events in one night (N.Y. POST, 7/20).

Warner Bros. Discovery has until Monday to offer up a match on any part of the NBA’s new media-rights agreement (likely Amazon’s “C” package of streaming rights).

Here were some of the developments on the deal over the weekend headed into Monday's deadline.

• The Ringer’s Bill Simmons reported that Amazon “guaranteed” three years of its rights payment upfront in its offer to the NBA that it put into escrow, knowing that WBD is “cash poor” and would have a hard time matching that element of the deal. Puck’s Matthew Belloni noted that depending on the stock price, that amount (a three-year lump sum) would be around “half” of WBD’s value. Simmons: “Warner [Bros. Discovery] would have to take on way more debt and basically risk the future of the company” (“The Town,” 7/20).
• Sources also said the NBA deal will “not contain matching rights for Disney, NBC and Amazon” (THE ATHLETIC, 7/19).

NASCAR returns to Indianapolis Motor Speedway's oval today for the Brickyard 400 at 2:30pm ET and IMS is expecting to “host as many as 70,000 fans" -- a 10% increase year-over-year and its "highest race day attendance since at least 2017.” Today will also see a celebration of Jeff Gordon and Hendrick Motorsports’ win in the first Brickyard 400 30 years ago. It was last in 2019 that race fans sat in the IMS grandstands and watched stock cars “trundle over the Yard of Bricks going counter-clockwise, making left turn after left turn -- 640 of them in all -- while largely running in a single-file parade that has become this race’s trademark.” Now the premier level of stock car racing will “finally return to a track so much of the grid thinks it should never have left.” Stewart-Haas driver Chase Briscoe said, “I’ve always said I don’t care what we’re racing on; I just want to race at IMS, whether it’s the road course, the oval, or the dirt track. But I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t more significance, history and meaning running the oval" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 7/21).

The A’s have informed "as many as 50% of their non-baseball operations staff" that they "will be out of work starting Oct. 31," with employees from ticket services, finance, stadium operations, marketing, sales, legal and community relations “especially affected,” according to sources. The move does "not come as a surprise,” with the A’s set to spend the next three or four years playing in West Sacramento. The Sacramento Kings own and operate Sutter Health Park, so their personnel will “absorb many of the duties that otherwise would have been duplicated.” Employees will receive a "month of severance pay for every year worked for the team, up to 12 months, along with matching COBRA benefits” (S.F. CHRONICLE, 7/19).

Peacock implemented a “major price hike” last week as the Comcast-owned streamer began charging new subscribers $7.99 for its standard ad-supported tier, called “Premium.” That is a 33% increase compared to its old price of $5.99 per month. The “Premium” tier’s annual cost jumped $20 to $79.99, up from $59.99. For existing Peacock subscribers, the price increase will take effect “on or after Aug. 19, depending on their next billing date.” The timing of the move coincides with NBC’s coverage of the Paris Games beginning on July 26 and running through mid-August -- with many events streaming on Peacock. Peacock had 34 million subscribers as of the first quarter of 2024 -- an "increase of 55% compared to the same period one year earlier” (N.Y. POST, 7/19).

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred noted that the median age of the average MLB ticket buyer has "gone down by nearly five years.” Before last week's All-Star Game, Manfred said, “That’s a seismic shift.” Nationally televised games also have "higher ratings among viewers ages 18-34,” and Manfred feels that the rules changes to improve the pace of play have "played a large role." The All-Star Game lasted two hours, 28 minutes this year, “the fastest since 1988.” It was 3:34 in 2018 (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/20). 

Churchill Downs Inc. has "rescinded trainer Bob Baffert's suspension effective immediately.” Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanjen in a statement said it is "satisfied" that Baffert has "taken responsibility for his actions, completed a substantial penalty and is committed to running in full compliance with the rules and regulations going forward." Baffert was originally suspended after “traces of betamethasone” were found in 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit. He initially "denied giving betamethasone to Medina Spirit but ultimately discovered it was an ingredient used in a cream, Otomax, used to treat a rash on the horse’s hind end.” Baffert issued a statement “accepting responsibility for the cause of the suspension while expressing gratitude for the suspension being lifted." Baffert said, "I understand and appreciate that Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission took steps to enforce the rules that they believed were necessary to protect the safety and integrity of horse racing and the reputation of the Kentucky Derby” (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 7/19).

Warriors owner Joe Lacob, a Massachusetts native and former Celtics minority owner, in a recent interview said that he has “no interest in trying to buy his hometown team.” Lacob was a minority owner of the Celtics from 2006 until 2010, when he left to buy the Warriors for $450M. Lacob appearing on "The Athletic NBA Show" said, “No Chance. No chance, sorry. That ship sailed a long time ago -- a long, long time ago. I'm a Warrior, this is my identity, it's our identity. I love what we've done. I love our fans, our arena (and) the last decade, and I just wanna do more. I just wanna create an even longer and even greater legacy for this organization." Just weeks after the Celtics defeated the Mavericks to win the franchise's record-setting 18th NBA championship, the team said in a statement the ownership group of the Celtics, Boston Basketball Partners LLC, intends to "sell all the shares of the team” (CBSSPORTS.com, 7/19).

The Arena Football League held its 33rd Arena Bowl on Friday in the “unorthodox setting” of the American Dream shopping mall in East Rutherford, N.J. The Billings Outlaws defeated the Albany Firebirds 46-41 and footage from the game was “about as unique as one would imagine.” Fans were “gathered around on field level as well as on the second and third level of the shopping mall.” This was the AFL's first Arena Bowl since 2019, when the league went bankrupt before its reestablishment this year (SI, 7/19).

Meanwhile, a new AFL team from Eau Claire, Wis., has a name and logo, with the team set to be called the Eau Claire Jammers (Eau Clarie LEADER-TELEGRAM, 7/18).

The Red Bulls introduced a new mascot, aptly named REDD, before last night’s match at Red Bull Arena against FC Cincinnati. The introductory festivities included fans raising a tifo featuring REDD’s image, a comic book giveaway and the launch of a line of REDD merchandise. The club worked with Team Rottensteiner, the in-house creative team for parent company Red Bull GmbH, on the character design. Chicago Mascots manufactured REDD’s costume.

Inter Miami honored Lionel Messi on Saturday after he picked up his 45th title of his career in Argentina's Copa America final win over Colombia last Sunday. Messi was celebrated on the field at Chase Stadium ahead of Saturday's match against the Fire. Messi, wearing a boot on his right foot, was in attendance for the match despite not playing. Inter Miami managing owner Jorge Mas said, "Tonight we celebrate something we have never seen before and possibly will never see again. Tonight we celebrate a great milestone of our captain Leo Messi in becoming the footballer who has lifted the most trophies in the history of this sport.” He added, "And I am sure he won't stop at 45; we hope he can lift many more in the future” (ESPN.com, 7/20).

A Multnomah County (Ore.) Circuit Court jury on Thursday decided neither Dolphins WR Odell Beckham Jr. nor Nike were "in breach of contract, with no one awarded any damages.” Beckman sued Nike for $20M in 2022, "alleging breach of contract, only to be countersued by the sports apparel giant." Beckham "declared victory" in an instagram post. He wrote, “JUST DO……RIGHT @nike. ... my message to whoever needs this is, STAND UP FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN! JUSTICE WAS SERVED!!!” Nike in statement said all of Beckham’s claims have been "decided against him without any monetary award," as the decision "confirmed that Nike complied with its commitments.” Beckham -- who inked a reported one-year, $3M contract this offseason -- sought more than $20M in damages from Nike, alleging the retailer “withheld royalties owed to him via a sponsorship deal.” Nike countersued for between $7-15M, claiming that Beckham had “violated his contract by customizing his gloves” (N.Y. POST, 7/19).

Former Marlins GM Kim Ng has been appointed to the Board of Directors for the Baseball HOF, bringing the total number of directors to 17 (Baseball HOF).

Samsung unveiled an Olympic Edition of its Galaxy Z Fllip6. The Galaxy Z Flip6 Olympic Edition is a custom-built smartphone that will be provided to all competing at the Paris Games and includes built-in services and apps optimized for the athletes with interpreter and translation features (Samsung).

NBA Investments Head David Lee noted on his Linkedin feed that NBA Equity changed its name to NBA Investments (Linkedin).

"I'm going to win. That's what I always do" -- U.S. sprinter Noah Lyles, on his Olympic expectations after he ran a personal-best 9.81 seconds in the 100 meters at the final Diamond League meeting before Paris, watched by a sellout crowd of 60,000, the largest on the Diamond League circuit (ESPN.com, 7/20).

“We’ve talked about this knowing that it’s probably inevitable. I do know, at the end of the day, the players enjoy the compensation that’s coming their way, and they get, for the most part, half of every revenue dollar that comes through the door” -- Cowboys co-owner & COO Stephen Jones, on the potential for an 18-game NFL regular season ("Scoop City," 7/19).

“At my 50th college reunion, a classmate said to me I was the one guy who did exactly what I said I wanted to do” -- Red Sox radio broadcaster Joe Castiglione, 77, who was awarded the Ford C. Frick Award by the Baseball HOF on Saturday in Cooperstown, N.Y., for major contributions to baseball by a broadcaster (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/20).

The N.Y. TIMES goes with, "For Fashion, Sports Stars Are the New Superstars." The transformation of athletes to fashion stars "reflects a deeper shift in how we define and consume culture and how we structure community." It has "altered the balance of power between personal brand and actual brand." Athletes have "stopped thinking of themselves in purely performance terms and have begun to follow the influencer playbook." Skims co-founder Jens Grede said, “Sports stars are the new Hollywood stars. ... Sports might be the only place today where we meet across age, racial, social-economic, religious or political lines. So sport has become an important unifying force.”

Also:

• Baseball Hall of Fame honors the meticulous, irascible Gerry Fraley: ‘He saw everything.'
• Investing in women’s sports isn’t ‘charity-pity.’ There’s money to be made.
• How a Univ. of Washington alum’s Wiffle Ball league became a social-media sensation. 

Today we honor Joe Castiglione:a Ripken/Semien who posts daily, whose priorities are the game, the players and his audience, a man of unsual dignity and goodness. I will ever get chills every time I hear his call of the final out of the 2004 World Series, because it was Joe and…

— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) July 20, 2024

Wenyen Gabriel with the proudest of words after South Sudan’s first-ever game against USA Basketball 🇸🇸 pic.twitter.com/NJYze9et4h

— Cesare Milanti (@cesaremilanti) July 20, 2024

22 yrs ago, I asked @MichaelPhelps what his goals were out of the pool. He said: “I want to change the sport of swimming.” When I asked him to elaborate, he told me he wanted to see swimming on SportsCenter. We’ve seen a lot of swimming on SportsCenter since then—and now, @ESPN… https://t.co/DTckwBRf1J

— Peter Carlisle (@pwm8side) July 19, 2024

This is all true. Not sure how Giants fans are watching Hard Knocks and not walking away from it really worried. This is not how all front offices work. https://t.co/ZU9pdI6Iva

— Joe Banner (@JoeBanner13) July 20, 2024

Conor McGregor says he’s dropping Mike Perry from BKFC (Bare-Knuckle Fighting Championship) after his KO loss to Jake Paul: “You’re fired.” pic.twitter.com/JX7BX0aSC9

— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) July 21, 2024

Dr. J high-fiving a baby wearing a Julius Erving @sixers jersey at the BIG3 pic.twitter.com/RyCIO8sA64

— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) July 20, 2024

When Yogi Berra would run into Rachel Robinson, and this was true pretty much to the end of Yogi's life, they would always exchange two words.
“Safe” Rachel would say.
“Out” Yogi would say.
And then the two would smile & embrace.
Happy Birthday to Mrs. Robinson!! pic.twitter.com/fpIrTEQSYm

— Jim Koenigsberger (@Jimfrombaseball) July 19, 2024

Iowa Congressman and Former Blizzard Coach JD Scholten was called in for a professional game....and won....making him the 5th oldest winning st pitcher in league history! Among some pretty good company!#BlizzardBaseball#BlizzardAlum pic.twitter.com/YINljuJKRC

— Blizzard Baseball (@BlizzardBasebal) July 20, 2024