Sports Weekly Update: Is the NCAA in trouble? Who was the first pick in the WNBA Draft?
By: Dane Poe (April 17, 2020) (Header Credit: USA Today Sports)
The world has been put on pause as this pandemic continues to make its way through it. This includes the sports world as well. Even though we haven’t been able to watch any games, there have been many things happening off the courts and fields. Some may think that this is hurting sports overall but it’s actually helping people see these athletes as humans. It seems that more athletes are posting on social media and are interacting with fans more as well. This pandemic may have helped the sports world advance and adapt more with the technology available today. ESPN held a HORSE competition in which current and former NBA and WNBA athletes tried to make more trick shots than their opponent. They had cameras filming them from their houses and their courts. Mike Conley ended up winning the competition beating Tamika Cathchings, Chauncey Billups, and Zach Lavine along the way. Other leagues have done different things to connect to the fans. The MLB has made a league within the video game MLB The Show 20. They have a representative from each of the 30 major league teams that play against each other. The representative has to play with his team in a three inning game. Texas Rangers’ star Joey Gallo leads the league, at the time of this article being posted, with an 11 and 1 record. There are plenty more things going on in the sports world.
- College Basketball: March Madness being forced to cancel has hurt the NCAA financially. Since then student athletes have been announcing if they are returning to play in college or moving on to the NBA draft. High school athletes have been announcing where they are going to college as well. However, yesterday ESPN’s Jonathan Givony announced that high school senior Jalen Green, a top three recruit in his class, is going to go to the NBA G League instead of college. The G League will pay Green which is something that the NCAA forbids their athletes from getting. Green also has a chance at signing a shoe endorsement that could, according to ESPN’s Nick DePaula, go up into the seven figures. According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Isaiah Todd, another top recruit, is joining Green in the G League on the new G League team in Southern California. Are these signings going to lead more high school stars to get paid instead of playing for free? How heavy is this going to affect the NCAA? Those questions are sure to be answered within these next few years.
- WNBA: The WNBA draft was held on April 17 virtually. Oregon guard Sabrina Ionescu was taken first overall by the New York Liberty. According to Pac12.com, Ionescu had a career average of 17.9 points per game. Ionescu started every game in her college career. According to Bleacher Report, Ionescu signed a multiyear deal with Nike. Ionescu’s college teammate Satou Sabally was drafted second in the draft by the Dallas Wings. According to Pac12.com, Sabally had a college career average of 14.5 points per game including a 16.2 points per game average in her Junior season.
- MLB: Though the MLB has a league online, they are pushing to get back to playing within the next month. The plan is to try to have the teams play at their spring training facilities in Arizona and Florida. According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, the AL and NL would be replaced with the Cactus League and Grapefruit League. For example, since the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox both play in Arizona during spring training, they would play in the Cactus League. Since the St. Louis Cardinals play in Florida, they would play in the Grapefruit League. This would unfortunately mean there are less games between the rivals Cubs and Cardinals. This plan has not been made official yet and is only going to work if the COVID-19 cases decrease especially in Arizona and Florida.
- NFL: The NFL has their annual draft scheduled on April 23-25. The draft will be done virtually and be aired on ESPN, NFL Network, and ABC. The Cincinnati Bengals have the first overall pick. The consensus around the league is that the first two picks in the draft have already been decided with LSU Quarterback Joe Burrow going first to the Bengals and the Washington Redskins drafting Ohio State Edge Rusher Chase Young. After that the picks are up in the air. The Chicago Bears don’t have a first round pick but they do have two second round picks. The Bears top draft needs include a safety, cornerback, and an interior offensive lineman. The Green Bay Packers do have a first round pick but have to wait until the 30th selection. The Packers top draft needs are a wide receiver, cornerback, and offensive lineman. We’ll have to wait until next week to see if these needs were met.