There was plenty of news from this weekend, most of which we've been keeping up with in our FIBA section.
So we'll begin with some of the tidbits of information we haven't mentioned elsewhere, which include people's reactions to Australian center Liz Cambage's injury.
FIBA
- Mike Brown of the Tulsa World got a reaction to the news of Liz Cambage's ruptured Achilles tendon from Tulsa Shock president Steve Swetoha, who was apparently waiting until after the World Championships to get a commitment from th 6-foot-8 center for the 2015 WNBA season. "We heard those rumors as well," Swetoha said. "But we understood that Liz was wanting to concentrate on the World Championships, and we were waiting to see what she planned to do after that. This injury is unfortunate." Read more >>>
- Roy Ward of the Sydney Morning Herald reported the Australian Opals' reaction to the news of Liz Cambage rupturing her Achilles tendon and noted that it will be a blow to the WNBL's marketing efforts as well. "Cambage's injury is also a blow to the WNBL season, where she had signed with Dandenong Rangers and was a major selling point for the league. The Rangers may also need to look at a replacement player, possibly an import. " Read more >>>
"On behalf of the @TulsaShock family we would like to wish Liz (@ecambage) a successful surgery & speedy recovery." - Coach Fred Williams
— Tulsa Shock (@TulsaShock) September 21, 2014
thanks for all the love and support, seriously overwhelmed absolutely heartbroken, but this is a test I will get through xx
— Elizabeth Cambage (@ecambage) September 21, 2014
Team USA
- USA Basketball got Geno Auriemma's insights about what went wrong for Team USA yesterday in their surprising loss to France during which L.A. Sparks center Sandrine Gruda had 26 points and 15 rebounds. "She's very, very good at taking advantage of when she screens, of what her man was doing. So, I think we stayed with the ball handler too long and didn't get back to her on time. We didn't rotate over when we were actually going to trap. We just did things that she recognized right away and took advantage of it. We'll go back, look at the film and make some adjustments." Read more >>>
- USA Basketball announced its 13 finalists for the FIBA World Championships, cutting Skylar Diggins, Stefanie Dolson, and Kayla McBride. Read more >>>
- In what might have been a harbinger of things to come against France, the consistent observation about Team USA's win against China on Saturday was that they let up a bit. From Candice Dupree: "I think a little bit of both. I think we kind of slacked off defensively. We weren't as aggressive as we were in the first half. And then China started hitting shots. You can't count a team out at halftime. You have to keep playing for forty minutes." Read more >>>
WNBA
- Paulsen of Sports Media Watch broke down the numbers for the Finals with a neat little graph charting the ratings from 2007 to present. Read more >>>
- David Rogers of Awful Announcing on the improved WNBA Finals ratings: "So, what does this mean for the WNBA and the networks which cover them? It’s fantastic news for the league that sees it showing some of the best growth of any professional sports league in the last year. Simply, it means that even sports which carve out a tiny niche in our culture are able to find time on television and the fans are benefiting. If you broadcast it, they will come. It also speaks to the power of ESPN and the fact the network is able to continually post significant gains for events which usually pass under the sports radar." Read more >>>
- The Tulsa Shock also happened to post a Q&A with Swetoha, who offered his assessment of the key players from his team in 2014: "We are thrilled for Court, Sky and O, and our entire organization is so proud of them. We believe we are going to be set at the guard position for a long time, and we have two young players who will continue to work on their game and get better every year. With Courtney we have someone who has worked incredablly hard and has proven she's a top center in this league." Read more >>>
Got other links that people should know about? Create a fanshot or stick them in the comments below.