Bayern Munich is reportedly close to hiring Burnley manager Vincent Kompany. What does this say about Burnley?
One thing it could say is that Burnley’s situation is so naturally difficult that Kompany’s two years at Turf Moor were a roaring success, so much a success that one of the most storied clubs in Europe had him as one of their first ten options. His talent identification, recruiting, and schematics led Burnley to an historically dominant season in the EFL Championship, and while the club fell flat on its face once promoted back to the Premier League, this was still a better result than it should have been. This explanation bodes badly for our beloved Burnleys. Kompany had the ship afloat.
The other thing it could say is that Burnley is simply a better club than Bayern Munich, and that the Munitions were thrilled to get their hands on a manager used to the brightest of lights in the world of footie. Burnley will prevail. Anyone could succeed in this job!
We’re going with the second explanation.
Somehow, Caitlin Clark Coverage Has Gotten Worse
As regular readers know, we at The Barking Crow didn’t enjoy most of the Caitlin Clark coverage as her college career went on. Especially this final season’s coverage. It was patronizing. It was deifying. It was often kind of dumb. It neglected the conspicuously blank space under “WNIT Success” on Clark’s résumé. One time, Caitlin Clark ran into an Ohio State fan and the biggest losers in sports media (a loser-laden field—I write about the NIT!) started gnashing their teeth, calling for the Buckeye girl’s head.
We were happy when Clark moved on to the WNBA, because we thought that’d be the end of it. Though obviously much higher-caliber basketball than the college game, the WNBA doesn’t usually get a lot of attention, because more people have preexisting emotional ties to colleges than have any emotional ties to WNBA franchises. The WNBA is like Major League Soccer. It’s a good idea that’s historically been executed terribly, and the majority of diehard fans didn’t fall in love naturally. They fell in love as a choice.
When Clark moved on to the WNBA, we thought there’d be a little running coverage of her and not much else. She’d have good games and bad games and would be a good player and possibly a great scorer, and she’d fade into a more ancillary place in the American sports consciousness. We don’t usually ask the world right away out of first overall picks. We understand how sports work.
Instead, four games in, it’s somehow gotten more annoying.
What we neglected to consider, first off, is how dumb media people can be when they encounter a sport for the first time. Remember when Colorado football was labeled a national title contender after narrowly avoiding that horrific upset loss to Colorado State? Of course these idiots expected Caitlin Clark to dominate the WNBA right away. Of course they aren’t giving her the runway they’ll give Caleb Williams this fall.
What we also neglected to consider is that WNBA media is also NBA media, when NBA media chooses to dip its toes in those waters. College coverage of Clark was within the bounds of normalcy. Patronization and deification and kind–of–being–dumb are par for the course on the college sports beat. College sports have more of the romantic sheen, and higher salaries draw smarter careerists to NFL and NBA coverage.
With the NBA media, it’s different. Because while the upper crust of NBA media is brilliant, there’s a larger horde best personified by Shams Charania which just goes around yelling “YASSSSSSSS,” and there’s a yang to the upper crust which is entirely built of another type of self-serving grifters: Those who make everything about themselves. It’s wild LeBron James didn’t have a podcast sooner.
Anyway, in case you missed it, LeBron wants everyone to know that he’s a Caitlin Clark fan because she reminds him of him, and Jemele Hill wants everyone to know that they only care about Caitlin Clark because she’s white and straight.
The white thing is fair. There’s definitely some level of a white thing going on with the Caitlin Clark phenomenon. But Jemele Hill thinks Paige Bueckers wouldn’t get this reaction if they played for a non-dynastic program and spent every game pulling up from half court? Cameron Brink exists. Cameron Brink does not get the attention Caitlin Clark gets. Caitlin Clark might get more attention than a Black athlete with her abilities, but it has nothing to do with her sexuality and everything to do with her making it rain from absurd places during basketball games. Gen Z women’s basketball players are the most Gen Z of all the prominent Gen Z athletes. In Gen Z, a generation defined by how online it is, lesbianism is ubiquitous. Nobody cares that Caitlin Clark is dating a male. Most WNBA fans don’t even know she’s doing that.
The Indy 500 Is in God’s Hands
It’s supposed to storm all day on Sunday in Indianapolis.
I guess the bright side is that Kyle Larson might get another year to practice before he wins his debut Indy 500?
Did Craig Counsell Join the Cubs to Take Down Kyle Hendricks?
Let’s look at some numbers:
- Kyle Hendricks’s ERA when not managed by Craig Counsell: 3.48
- Kyle Hendricks’s ERA when managed by Craig Counsell: 10.57
We know Counsell’s a weasel. Even Brewers fans can see that now. Was this the point of him coming to Chicago? Was he trying to humiliate our man?? Is this revenge for Opening Day 2020, and for other good Hendricks starts against the Brewers which don’t come as readily to mind???
Etc.
The NIT:
- I was really hoping Bayer Leverkusen would tie Atalanta and lose in PK’s. Going undefeated but losing the Europa League Championship would have been a can’t-miss candidate for the NIT Vibe Hall of Fame. Instead, they got blasted in regulation. 3–0. Congratulations to Atalanta, our new European NIT champions. Can’t wait for you and Seton Hall to go visit each other’s campuses as part of our customary cultural exchange program.
Chicago:
- This is embarrassing, but I’m still salty enough about the Braves pausing that extra-inning game last fall to celebrate a regular season accomplishment (classic Braves*) that I’ve got the Acuña L meme locked and loaded in case the Cubs win this series. My only question is whether I need the Cubs to win the season series to use it, or if winning this week’s series is enough. Given the three games in Atlanta were only last week, I think I’m not justified in using it if the season series ends 3–3. But! If the Cubs go ahead 3–2, I think I can get away with it anyway. In other words, tonight is a must-win. If the Cubs don’t win, I have to wait four and a half months for the Phillies to eliminate the Braves in October again.
*See? Salty
The Ottawa Senators:
- Sens in action in tomorrow’s quarterfinals at hockey worlds: Brady Tkachuk, Jake Sanderson, and Shane Pinto play for Team USA against the Czech Republic in the afternoon (EDT, CDT) after Ridley Greig and Canada play Slovakia in the morning (all American time zones).
- Rob DiMaio is joining the Senators as the Director of Player Personnel and Professional Scouting, and I’m told this is good. Like the Cubs picking up Carter Hawkins, but in a more niche position. The idea is that he should help player development.
