SEATTLE – It was unquestionably a special evening for basketball in Seattle on Wednesday night when Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever came to town to take on the Seattle Storm.
The rookie sensation helped the Storm draw a sold-out crowd of 18,343 fans to Climate Pledge Arena, which set a new franchise record. And there was an undeniable buzz in arena from the moment Clark stepped up the court and was swarmed for autographs during warmups.
That’s been the norm for the former Iowa star and all-time NCAA scoring leader. Clark captivated the nation during her collegiate career with the Hawkeyes. As a senior last season, she led the nation in scoring at 31.6 points per game and led Iowa to the national title game, becoming the first player to accomplish both feats in the same campaign.
Clark now plays for the team that had the third-worst record in the WNBA last season and is 0-5 after Wednesday’s 85-83 loss to the Storm. But that hasn’t dampened any of the hype surrounding the 22-year-old phenom. The jersey manufacturer Fanatics sold out of most sizes of Clark’s Fever jersey within an hour of her being drafted.
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“It was pretty incredible. That crowd and that environment was great, just looking around at like a sea of people on both sides, behind the baskets,” Clark said postgame. “It was a great game. Obviously I would’ve loved if we would have won, but I hope these fans continue to still show up for Seattle. They’ve got a great team. Hopefully when we come back here they’ll be here. It’s so fun playing in front of those environments.”
Clark and WNBA peers Angel Reese and Cameron Brink are among talented rookie class added excitement to the growing WNBA. The Associated Press’ Doug Feinberg reported that the league saw a 14% increase in attendance during the opening week of the season. Clark’s debut against the New York Liberty also drew record viewership numbers on ESPN. The 2.1 million average viewers of the broadcast was the best ever for a WNBA game on the network, and ESPN’s five broadcasted games in the season’s first week saw an average of 1.43 million viewers, an 181% increase from the first five games broadcasted last season.
“It’s definitely hard to put into perspective the reach and impact you have not only across the country, but really across the world,” Clark said, “and that’s obviously something I hope and want to do, especially because we want to make women’s basketball even more global than it already is and impact people with (showing) young boys and young girls what basketball can do for their lives. So it’s definitely hard to put into perspective, and it’s cool for me to have people come up to me (around the world) that say their fans and they love women’s basketball and they love the teams I’ve been a part of.”
Caitlin Clark pregame asked about an expected attendance record tonight at Climate Pledge Arena. pic.twitter.com/fcoj7FEkHG
The sellout crowd at Climate Pledge Arena included a number of well-known Seattle Sports stars. Tyler Lockett, Jaxon Smith-Ngjiba and a slew of their Seattle Seahawks teammates, former UW Huskies and NBA standouts Detlef Schrempf and Isaiah Thomas, and former Storm forward Gabby Williams were among the many in attendance. It was also the Storm’s first sellout since 2022, and the attention that Clark commanded to women’s basketball in Seattle didn’t go unnoticed by her opponents.
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“Amazing. I think it’s great for the city of Seattle,” Storm coach Noelle Quinn said of the turnout. “I think it’s great for women’s basketball (and) basketball in general to have an ability to put new eyes on the game and generate this magnetic energy that’s coming from basketball. I love it. I love that I was a part of it, and hopefully we can keep it flowing.”
Video: Caitlin Clark brings record crowd to game at Seattle Storm
Kicking off a six-week break between minicamp and training camp, the Seattle Seahawks hope to have several players returning from injury ready to roll once they report for the start of the new season in late July.
Speaking with reporters after the second and final mandatory minicamp practice on Wednesday, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald indicated most of the players who have been sidelined during the offseason program – including tackle Abraham Lucas and linebacker Tyrel Dodson – should have a chance to suit up early in game on the practice field. As is the case any time a player returns from a prolonged injury absence, however, they aren’t going to rush them back into a full workload.
“There will be a couple guys reassessed come when training camp starts,” Macdonald said. “Again, it’s not smart to just throw a guy back into the wolves and get all the reps that he would be getting come Week 8 of the season. We’ll play it safe with the player loads and try to be smart about it.”
Headlining Seattle’s veterans on the mend, Lucas has been sidelined throughout the spring coming off knee surgery, but was in attendance for mandatory minicamp as an observer. Following a strong rookie season where started 16 games across from Charles Cross, he played in just six games in 2023, landing on injured reserve twice with lingering discomfort.
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Macdonald didn’t have any new updates on Lucas on Wednesday after saying the Seahawks are “shooting for training camp” for his return during OTAs, but the team has been encouraged by his progress in rehab.
“Yeah, same thing we talked about last time,” Macdonald said. “He’s working his tail off. I can tell you that.”
While Lucas expectedly didn’t practice at all during the spring program, Seattle did welcome back guard Anthony Bradford for the final minicamp session after the second-year blocker missed the majority of OTAs with a tweaked ankle. He participated in individual and position drills, but McClendon Curtis and rookie Christian Haynes took all of the reps at right guard during the 11-on-11 team scrimmage periods.
“He’s right there. Just good to see him out there,” Macdonald said of Bradford. “Missed a little bit of time there throughout some of the OTAs. He’s right in the mix. Got a great competition, especially on the right side of the line, and he’s right there. He’s got a great opportunity to go earn himself a job.”
In addition to Bradford, tackle George Fant sat out on Wednesday for workload reasons, and per Macdonald, the Seahawks will be watching his snaps when camp arrives in July to keep him fresh, especially if Lucas needs more time before he’s ready to practice.
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On defense, Seattle went throughout the offseason program without Dodson or fellow veteran Jerome Baker seeing any field time as both players work back from injuries.
Earlier in the spring, Macdonald indicated Baker was working his way back from wrist surgery as well as lower body issues and wouldn’t be back until at least the start of training camp. As for Dodson, without his injury specifically being disclosed, his return will be the start of camp at the earliest, if not longer.
“Right now we’re shooting for camp. Hasn’t had any reps, so if he’s not out there the first play of camp rocking and rolling it’s not because — we have to ramp him back up into repping.”
Capping off Macdonald’s injury updates, second-year defensive tackle Cameron Young hasn’t participated at all in spring practice due to a lower body injury, but the Seahawks expect he will be ready to play early in camp. Receivers Jaxon Smith-Njigba (shoulder) and Laviska Shenault (toe) exited Wednesday’s session early for precautionary reasons and should be more than ready to go for the start of the season.
The latest in the long-running Madden NFL video game series will feature some special treats for Seattle Seahawks fans.
On Friday, EA Sports announced that Madden NFL 25 will feature multiple commentary teams, a first for the franchise. Brandon Gaudin and Charles Davis, who have served as the game’s commentators for the past eight entries, will return as the top commentary team in this year’s game. However, two new commentary teams will also appear in this year’s edition of the game, one consisting of Mike Tirico and Greg Olsen and the other consisting of Kate Scott and Brock Huard.
Of the four newcomers, three of them have notable ties to the Seahawks.
Starting with Olsen, who was FOX Sports’ top NFL color commentator for the past two seasons. The former tight end spent the final season of his 14-year career with Seattle, catching 24 passes for 239 yards and one touchdown in 11 games, including eight starts. Olsen, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, is most known for his time with the Carolina Panthers, but his last chapter in Seattle was a solid one given his age and injury history.
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Then there’s Scott, who became the Seahawks’ preseason play-by-play announcer last season. Scott, who is also the play-by-play announcer for the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, has an extensive resume as she’s called games for the NFL, NBA, NHL, college football, the Olympics and the World Cup. Now, she joins one of the world’s premier sports video games as yet another accomplishment.
Finally there’s Huard, who not only played quarterback for the Seahawks in two separate stints, but also emerged as a star at the University of Washington currently works with Seattle Sports as cohost of the Brock and Salk talk show. Huard also works as a sideline reporter covering the UFL for FOX Sports.
Madden NFL 25 launches worldwide on Aug. 16 on PC, PlayStation and Xbox.
RANT to the folks who, at the end of their neighborhood walk, stopped to watch me carry branches with my leg in a cast and say, “Doing yardwork with a broken leg?” and then walk away reflecting loudly on the absurdity of it. You know what would have been nice? An offer to see if there was anything they could do to make it easier on this older adult with a broken leg.
RAVE to the couple, caught on our porch camera, who returned a wallet I dropped on Queen Anne to our mail slot.
RANT to the county road crew working on our hill. They may be trying hard but the new road is worse than the old one. Put our old road back, please.
RAVE to the Coast Guard Museum on the waterfront. It’s a gem and parking and admission are free. Kids will love it.
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Submitted by Seattle Times readers The Seattle Times publishes reader rants and raves on a space-available basis. We reserve the right to edit for length or content. Send yours to rantandrave@seattletimes.com.
