{"id":391698,"date":"2026-01-06T12:21:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T12:21:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/391698\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T12:21:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T12:21:10","slug":"a-massive-womens-hoops-inflection-point-plus-nfl-firings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/391698\/","title":{"rendered":"A massive women\u2019s hoops inflection point, plus NFL firings"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Athletic has live coverage of Bears vs. 49ers<\/a> on NFL \u201cSunday Night Football.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

The Pulse Newsletter \ud83d\udce3 | This is The Athletic\u2019s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here<\/a> to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.<\/p>\n

Good morning! Keep your job today. Inside:<\/p>\n

Rivals? Unrivaled\u2019s big opportunity ahead<\/p>\n

Every moment of the past two years has felt like an inflection point for women\u2019s basketball in America. Viewership is surging. Will they capitalize?\u00a0<\/p>\n

It kind of defeats the entire definition of an inflection point, but if there really is one, the sport has arrived at its doorstep now. Consider:\u00a0<\/p>\n

The WNBA, after a spike in popularity, is undergoing a contentious<\/a> negotiation for a new collective bargaining agreement. Salaries and revenue are set to explode. The question is just how the players and league will agree to share the boom.
The sport\u2019s rise has manifested in other ways. As recently as a couple years ago, it was standard for WNBA players \u2014 afforded meager salaries compared to those in other pro sports \u2014 to travel overseas to make big money during the offseason.
Enter new leagues like Unrivaled, which opened its second season last night, and Project B, a new venture<\/a> that will launch in November. While there are differences \u2014 Unrivaled is a three-on-three sport, while Project B is more akin to the full game but with a wide travel schedule \u2014 they offer similar things: more money, and player equity in the league.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unrivaled started its sophomore year with four games last night, highlighted by the Mist, an expansion franchise, winning its first game, and Rose, the defending champions, winning by 20. My favorite bit about watching these games: The league uses a modified version of the Elam Ending, in which teams play three timed quarters, but the fourth quarter is untimed. The first team to reach a certain point total (11 points more than the leading team has after three quarters) wins.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I asked Ben Pickman, who wrote an excellent preview<\/a> of the Unrivaled year yesterday, about whether he thinks the league has a chance to make an imprint on the larger sports world this year:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cUnrivaled already excels at creating social media content that puts WNBA players fully onto viewer radars during the winter. What will be interesting is how its viewership continues to grow and whether fans become more invested in the nightly results of its games. The league\u2019s viewership on TNT and truTV in Year 1 was comparable to the NWSL\u2019s viewership on ESPN networks this past season, and though it is far behind the WNBA\u2019s viewership, the two leagues are of course at varying points in their history.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ben also made an interesting point to me: With the NBA off TNT, Paige Bueckers, who plays for the Breeze, is the second-most famous athlete broadcast by TNT Sports, behind only Shohei Ohtani.<\/p>\n

These are exciting things. Let\u2019s move on to something a little more dour:<\/p>\n

International Pink Slips: Black Monday, indeed\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Steve Marcus \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

We discussed the looming specter of \u201cBlack Monday\u201d yesterday \u2014 the day most NFL coaches get fired. That part came to fruition. What we didn\u2019t expect was the firings to extend beyond the American version of football.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start stateside:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cleveland canned<\/a> Kevin Stefanski after six years in charge, which saw two playoff appearances, a disastrous trade for Deshaun Watson and a sack record all achieved amid boggling highs and lows. Jason Lloyd writes that, despite those temporary highs, Stefanski leaves behind a lot of bad things<\/a>.
The Cardinals fired<\/a> Jonathan Gannon after three largely unsuccessful seasons. He finishes his tenure 15-36 with no playoff appearances. Tough timing after the team\u2019s X account wished him<\/a> a happy birthday Sunday.
Pete Carroll is officially one-and-done in Las Vegas, which feels like a sad line in what probably will be a Hall of Fame career (a convo for another day). General manager John Spytek, hired last offseason with Carroll, will remain in his role and help Tom Brady with the coaching search. What a weird year<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll have to wait on movement for replacements, as plenty of those candidates are still coaching for playoff teams. One curious name to consider, though: Philip Rivers<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, to the surprising news from across the ocean we briefly mentioned yesterday:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Manchester United is done<\/a> with manager Ruben Amorim after a maddening 14-month tenure that began with lofty promise. Amorim\u2019s critics viewed him<\/a> as inflexible, though his tactics were successful elsewhere. Man Utd finished 15th in the Premier League table last season and sits sixth right now. One thing will be missed: Amorim\u2019s bizarre news conferences<\/a>.
In other soccer sacking news, Celtic parted with Wilfried Nancy after just 33 days in charge. He joined Dec. 3 after a stint with the Columbus Crew. His early dismissal set records<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Woof. Let\u2019s move on to some more \u2026 normal news.<\/p>\n

News to Know\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Brett Davis \/ Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Hawks, Young working on trade
Atlanta and star guard Trae Young are discussing a possible trade, a source confirmed to The Athletic, which has been a long time coming on a few different levels. Young is still just 27 and in his prime, and still possesses the ability to be an elite scorer. But it\u2019s very clear the Hawks are a better team without him this year, and he can enter free agency after the season. Read our full story here<\/a>, which includes a potential suitor. <\/p>\n

Montana State wins wild FCS title game
Montana State won its first FCS championship since 1984 last night, 35-34 over Illinois State, which had become the Cinderella of the FCS tournament bracket. The game itself was unhinged, and ended after the Bobcats converted a fourth-and-10 for a touchdown in overtime on a pass from quarterback Justin Lamson to Taco Dowler (sweet name). That was merely the caboose for what transpired in the minutes before. The full recap is worth a read<\/a>.<\/p>\n

More news<\/p>\n

Sweden outlasted Czechia to win its first World Juniors gold medal since 2012 yesterday. More details inside<\/a>.
\nIndiana and Alabama drew a record 23.9 million viewers<\/a> for their Rose Bowl matchup. Yowza.
\nDolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is open to a fresh start<\/a> with a new team. Hm.
\nColts cornerback Charvarius Ward Sr. said yesterday he is considering retirement after suffering three concussions this season. Read the 29-year-old\u2019s full comments<\/a>.
\nTough flip: Notre Dame quarterback Kenny Minchey is heading to Kentucky<\/a>, just hours after he committed to Nebraska.
\nF1 driver Checo P\u00e9rez said being Max Verstappen\u2019s teammate at Red Bull was the \u201cworst job.\u201d Yikes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcf0\u00a0Find more news here 24\/7<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Watch Guide<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa NCAAM: Duke at Louisville
7 p.m. ET on ESPN
The Blue Devils are ranked No. 6 and have the star power, while the Cardinals are No. 20 and still favored in this game. Sounds like a good sell to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa NHL: Panthers at Maple Leafs
7:30 p.m. ET on TNT and HBO Max
The defending champions have steadied a bit after a tough start to the season, while Toronto remains moribund, which has been a slow-burn surprise<\/a>. Related: I still can\u2019t believe Sam Bennett didn\u2019t make<\/a> the Canadian Olympic roster.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa NBA: Heat at Timberwolves
8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock
The best NBA game of the evening is here, and it\u2019s funny that the 23-13 Timberwolves are flying under the proverbial radar a bit. Still great with a Tier 1 scorer, but sitting sixth in the West and biding time until the playoffs. Don\u2019t sleep on them, though.<\/p>\n

Get tickets to games like these here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pulse Picks<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

We had a scheduling mix-up last week, for which we apologize. Here is the excellent story we promised you then: Katie Whyatt\u2019s look at how sex workers have increasingly used European soccer clubs as sort of a brand boost on social media. Read it here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Nick Baumgardner has a new 2026 NFL mock draft<\/a> with Oregon QB Dante Moore going No. 1 to Las Vegas. Moore might be deciding between being the No. 1 pick and staying in college.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dan Duggan tore into Giants ownership yesterday for retaining general manager Joe Schoen, arguing the franchise has \u201cno standards anymore.\u201d Make time for this one<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Important table-setter: Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon update us<\/a> on where the Cubs, Yankees and Blue Jays stand as the MLB offseason withers away.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: NFL playoff schedule<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most-read on the website yesterday: Our projections of every NFL playoff team\u2019s odds to win the Super Bowl<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udceb That\u2019s all for now! Say hello at thepulse@theathletic.com<\/a>, and check out our other newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Athletic has live coverage of Bears vs. 49ers on NFL \u201cSunday Night Football.\u201d The Pulse Newsletter \ud83d\udce3…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":391699,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,48,82,630],"class_list":["post-391698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=391698"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391698\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/391699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=391698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=391698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=391698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}