The best-value fan experience? Plus: Hurricanes keep winning
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Good morning! Smash all your shots today. Coming up:
Questions: Itâs a grab-bag day
Rather than try to shoehorn todayâs mailbag questions into one category â âwomenâs sports,â broadly, is tempting, but feels off â Iâll just concede: Itâs a miscellaneous question day! Letâs get to it:
Can anyone in the WNBA dunk, and if so, do they? BTW Iâm a WNBA fan. â Alan B., Fort Wayne, Ind.
đŹ Annie Costabile: Yes! There have been players in the WNBA to dunk, starting with Lisa Leslie. Candace Parker was one, Brittney Griner is another. Dominique Malonga has dunked in the 3Ă3 league Unrivaled. Thereâs a video circulating on social media of her dunking in a Storm practice, so it seems like itâs only a matter of time before she does in a game.
đŹ Sabreena Merchant: Washington Mystics forward Kiki Iriafen has dunked in practice and has said that now sheâs past her rookie year jitters, sheâs looking forward to dunking in-game.
Can you do a piece on the financial support the NBA gives to the WNBA? Just to clear up any misconceptions. â Jack FG, Elmira, N.Y.
đŹ Merchant: When the WNBA inaugurated in 1997, it was completely owned by the NBA. That ended in 2002, when the league returned control of the teams to the individual franchises; now, the NBA owns 42 percent of the WNBA. That manifests itself in some shared personnel at the league level, including legal teams and operations executives. They also have a combined media rights package, a shared office space in Manhattan and some of the same national sponsorships and marketing deals.
There are individual WNBA teams that are under the same ownership as the NBA teams in their city. They share tons of resources, including arenas and practice facilities.
Asli Pelitâs recent article about the NWSL being one of the best values for fans got me thinking why The Athletic hasnât done a deep dive recently on the cost of fan experiences across the major leagues in the country. Affordability is always a concern, but especially when Iâm looking at gas prices and seriously considering a Prius. So ⊠whatâs the best fan deal for a family of four? â Amos F., Sioux Falls, N.D.
đŹ Dan Shanoff: Amazing question, Amos! Obviously, it is four 100-level seats to the Knicks for Game 3 of the NBA Finals â only $59,044. (We kid, we kid!) Speaking of kids, the best live sports value for a family of four is watching your own kid play a sport that requires no spectator fee. OK, letâs really answer your question:
Having lived this question with my own family, especially when the kids were younger, I think minor-league baseball remains the perfect intersection of reasonable get-in prices, proximity to the action, typically kid-friendly amenities and no guilt if/when you decide to leave early.
Our go-to was the Brooklyn Cyclones, so let me use that as a proxy: This Friday, itâs âStar Trek Night,â so the 6:40 p.m. start includes a giveaway Trek jersey, and there is a ticket offer that includes two beers, seltzers or soft drinks per ticket (which at an MLB park will cost you as much as the $30 ticket).
I also recommend Henry Bushnellâs piece from last year on how U.S. sports tickets got so dang expensive.
One more day of Pulse Mailbag Week tomorrow, and itâs a fun one. Thanks for sticking with us.
News to Know
Chaos on Day 4 in Paris
I wasnât expecting to dig into tennis much today, but felt a series of wacky events at Roland Garros yesterday were worth highlighting. A few of the main ones, quickly:
- Two opponents got into legit beef over which ball marks in the clay they should be consulting for a line call. The weirdest part:Â They agreed the shot was out.
- Injuries were numerous, and temperature-related issues persisted.
- Russian player Karen Khachanov misplaced a smash (on match point!) so badly, our James Hansen said it was an immediate entrant into the worst-miss-ever conversation. Just watch:
Hereâs our full recap of Day 4 shenanigans and key results.
Hurricanes win 3 straight
Carolina is one game away from its first Stanley Cup Final since 2006. After getting walloped by the Canadiens in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final, the Hurricanes have won three in a row. Last nightâs 4-0 victory was potentially their strongest game of this postseason, our staff wrote, even after their sweeps in the first two rounds. And while Montreal took its first two series to seven games, it hasnât faced a 3-1 deficit since the first round last year. Game 5 is tomorrow.
More news
- Chiefs star Travis Kelce bought a minority stake in his hometown Guardians. While it seems unlikely that would materially change the teamâs day to day, Cleveland is staring down a potential majority owner change as soon as 2027.
- There could be a âNinja Warriorâ obstacle course as part of modern pentathlon at the 2028 Olympics after a licensing deal with the franchiseâs parent company. Iâm in.
- Another college sports bill is incoming, this time proposing an antitrust exemption for the NCAA that would allow it to limit transfers and eligibility, enforce a spending cap, prevent a Big Ten-SEC breakaway league and more. Full details here.
- Underdog Sports, the company that made the Operation game mocking Shai Gilgeous-Alexander we mentioned earlier this week, received a cease and desist letter from the MVPâs lawyers. Oof.
- MLB players made their first proposal of this round of labor negotiations, attempting to preempt the ownersâ push for a salary cap. Read our report.
- Mallory Swanson is back on the U.S. womenâs national team roster for the first time since 2024, restoring the famed âTriple Espressoâ for next monthâs friendlies against Brazil. See the full roster.
- The Philadelphia Union fired head coach Bradley Carnell less than a season after winning the Supportersâ Shield and MLS Coach of the Year honors.
- Argentine police arrested two Chilean men accused of being part of a criminal group linked to a string of burglaries targeting NFL and NBA players, including Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Kelce. More details here.
Watch Guide
đș Womenâs College World Series
Noon ET on ESPN
Mississippi State and No. 11 Texas Tech kick off this stage of the tournament in the first of four games today. The Red Raiders remain loaded with star pitcher NiJAree Canady after last yearâs runner-up finish, while the Bulldogs, who ousted juggernaut Oklahoma, are the only unseeded team left. Here are eight players to watch in the series.
đș Scripps National Spelling Bee
8 p.m. ET on Ion
I warned yesterday weâd have a poll coming on this, piggybacking off Mina Kimesâ role as host. In our sports business newsletter this week, Dan Shanoff posed the question: Is the Spelling Bee sports? Iâm blatantly stealing that ahead of tonightâs final. You can vote in the inbox version of this newsletter, or email us your thoughts at thepulse@theathletic.com.
đș NBA: Thunder vs. Spurs
8:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock
Victor Wembanyama looked mortal in Game 5 and needs to be back in superhuman form here (and in a potential Game 7). Small ask, right? Meanwhile, the Thunder seem even more dangerous after harnessing their championship mettle. Speaking of âŠ
Pulse Picks
Chet Holmgren has set aside any ego to embrace his role as a secondary star in Oklahoma City, a mentality he says runs through the entire team. Make time for this exclusive interview, where the wise-sounding 24-year-old took our Fred Katz inside his world.
A lot of uncomfortable questions loom for the Avalanche after squandering a dream season. Mark Lazerus gets the conversation started.
A former Minneapolis-area football star returned to lead his hometown middle school. Then the ICE raids began, and the community that once made him feel safe wondered if he could return the favor. Jourdan Rodrigue has the story.
In the second installment of our series on motherhood and soccer, Melanie Anzidei digs into how collective bargaining gave NWSL players autonomy.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Naomi Osakaâs latest tennis couture.
Most-read on the website yesterday:Â âïž
đ« Thatâs all for now! Say hello at thepulse@theathletic.com, and check out our other newsletters.