Where do you think the $671 million figure came from? It's a neutral outside entity writing a report geared towards decisionmakers controlling billions in ad dollars looking for the best place to spend it.

That is the REAL figure that Silver tries to hide so as not to have to pay the players their fair share. There are multiple female NCAA basketball players currently earning at least $1 million in NIL money. CC makes over $4 million outside of her W salary.

Mark my words, the players are either going to get a significant slice of the money made through the use of their own names by the W or they'll strike and potentially damage what should be a rosy upcoming season. If NIL deals with outside companies didn't carry over to the W, most of the players wouldn't be playing there in the first place. And if the Unrivaled league proves to be popular, it becomes another vehicle for players to go out on their own and make what the market says they're worth, not Adam Silver.

You post PEAK numbers and to try to get people to compare that to AVERAGE numbers which are used in the industry.

Hey stunod, I posted the article verbatim. It says "peaked" it doesn't say average, but that wasn't the point. I've never said that the W is as popular as the NFL or NBA overall. The argument was whether people would watch the W if Caitlin Clark wasn't playing and the answer is YES! A record crowd AND it went up against both the NFL and MLB games going on at the same time.

What do you think viewership would have been if 2 major sports weren't on broadcast networks at the same time the W was on ESPN? I think you could safely add another 2+ million to the total and possibly more had the game been on ABC without competition instead of ESPN.

Gawd, you're dense.

And I also told you the league LIES about revenue. It's lied for years because NBA/WNBA Property is NOT included in the announced revenue. Selling licensed merchandise is a multi-billion dollar enterprise and the W players don't receive a dime.

Harris...who the hell knows what she's planning...don't want to find out.

It covered healthcare, more government subsidized programs, gun control...

Bill, government "subsidizes" the oil and gas industries. It subsidizes the pharmaceutical industry. It subsidizes other extremely profitable privately-owned businesses that Republicans have supported since forever.

Seems like you gripe is with government supporting those you don't like. Like government allowing businesses to file bankruptcies without limits - socializing all their losses while student loan recipients CANNOT use bankruptcy to escape their debt, often carrying it into their retirements and having money taken out of their Social Security retirement benefits.

she is a far left Socialist hiding behind a mask

She's a career prosecutor elected by the people 5 different times in California. Her job has been to put lawbreakers into jail. Even in California the people want to be protected from criminals and crime. This isn't partisan.

Where is she this stealth socialist?

You've fallen out of the idiot tree and struck every branch on the way down.

And if you don't care about that, you should stop calling yourself an American right now.

This, a thousand times THIS.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: All Harris should talk about for the next 2 weeks is January 6th. Every commercial should show all the Trumpers and Trump flags hanging all over the Capitol. It should show all the Trump supporters beating police officers and desecrating the Capitol. It should show the detritus left in the aftermath, with Rep. Kim picking up debris left by the Trump hoards left from breaking windows and doors, trashing offices and carrying off podiums and personal items. And it should show Trump sitting in the White House watching it all happen after having given them their marching orders to "Stop the Steal," in full knowledge that there was no steal.

And the ads should end with the words "Is this the America you want?" Ending with the bolded words "Never Again".

there are certain Democratic policies that are moving the country towards socialism.

What policies Bill? Name them.

Bill, we live in a social democracy. It's appalling that you don't realize this. We tax money from every citizen and then redistribute it to other citizens through government spending. The police and fire departments exist because of socialism - we pool our tax dollars to fund these social institutions. Our military is socialism in action. This is not the discussion here my friend, and it never has been.

Our current government is bipartisan - so if you truly believe Democrats are socialists, then so are Republicans because nothing changes when government leadership does. Our public schools are socialist, our road building is socialist, our infrastructure is socialist. The National Weather Service is socialist.

And you're nothing but a lemming taught a word that you don't begin to understand. The root of socialism is SOCIAL as in society. Government doesn't control business and they don't control individuals. Each are free within our laws - also socialism - to do what they want to with their time and money outside of paying the taxes that they owe to use what all of us contribute towards in order to live our lives in relative peace and safety. If not for socialism, if your house caught on fire, you better hope your neighbors will help you put it out. If someone steals from you, hope you're a good detective, although if you caught them, there wouldn't be courts or judges to assist making you whole again.

And then there's Social Security, something all of us pay into to fund the retirements of others as we expect future workers to pay their taxes to fund ours. You simply don't have more than a child's notion of how this nation could not exist if it weren't for the social contract we all agree to live under. You might recognize it. It's called the US Constitution.

Some Trump voters may believe his lies. But plenty more want Trump to be terrifying and stomach-turning so that reelecting him will be a fully realized act of social revenge. Harris cannot propose any policy, offer any benefit, or adopt any position that competes with that feeling.

Exactly why so many Americans feel this way is a complicated story - I wrote an entire book about it - but a toxic combination of social resentment, entitlement, and racial insecurity drives many Trump voters to believe not only that other Americans are looking down on them but that they are doing so while living an undeservedly good life. These others must be punished or at least brought down to a common level of misery to balance the scales, and Trump is the guy to do it.

Where all of this leaves us is that Harris could lose the election, not because she didn't offer the right policies, or give enough interviews, or inspire enough people. She could lose because just enough people in four or five states flatly don't care about any of that.

Rather than reckoning with the greatest mistake they've ever made at the ballot box, they have decided that their only recourse is to put Trump back in the Oval Office. For them, restoring Trump would be both vindication and vengeance. It would prove that 2016 was not a fluke, and horrify people both they and Trump hate.

It's come down to this: Either there are enough sane, patriotic erstwhile Republicans willing to either vote for Harris or not vote for either candidate in the key swing states or Trump will become the first American dictator in history and unleash a storm of tumult like this nation hasn't seen since the Civil War.

Face it, the Democrats could have nominated Jesus Christ himself, and Trump would still be Trump - demeaning him with insipid derogatory nicknames and calling him the devil. And his supporters would lap it up just like far too many are right this moment.

The entire WNBA generates about $200M per year.

I don't know why I keep kicking your --- all over this thread with your ignorant comments.

Now, I don't like the NBA and it is actually a dying league,

What a moron like you fails to recognize is that both the NBA and WNBA aren't just USA-based properties, they're global! And the W draws more female viewers in the most prized demographic than any other sport on television.

Sports viewing is bifurcated today due to streaming and narrow-casting unlike earlier days when it was primarily seen on major networks and cable outlets. And it takes a particular type of stupidity to call a league that just signed a $76 billion rights deal as 'dying'. They don't want nor need ignorant pinhead moron viewers like you - which is likely why you choose not to watch.

As I stated, some of the W's games on the same platforms as the NBA outdrew the senior league in viewership. And the women's NCAA basketball championship outdrew the men's championship game. What does that tell you?

No guarantee that would have translated to the WNBA. Further, she had yet to play against professional level competition.

Why do you keep saying entirely ignorant things? Just WHERE do you think most of the WNBA players came from? They came from COLLEGES here in the US, except for a few foreign players that didn't go to US schools.

Let's do a quick thought experiment. The 4 leading all-time scorers in women's college basketball are Kelsey Plum, Dyashia Fair, Kelsey Mitchell, and #1 Caitlin Clark. What do all 4 have in common? They're all WNBA players - 3 of them being All-Stars and CC being 1st team All WNBA. But you think anyone paying attention didn't believe she'd succeed? Are you Gino Auriemma?

In response to a question about whether he thought Mr. Trump was a fascist, Mr. Kelly first read aloud a definition of fascism that he had found online.

"Well, looking at the definition of fascism: It's a far-right authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy," he said.

Mr. Kelly said that definition accurately described Mr. Trump.

"So certainly, in my experience, those are the kinds of things that he thinks would work better in terms of running America," Mr. Kelly said.

He added: "Certainly the former president is in the far-right area, he's certainly an authoritarian, admires people who are dictators - he has said that. So he certainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure."

Mr. Kelly said Mr. Trump lacked a fundamental understanding of basic American values and what being president is about.

"He's certainly the only president that has all but rejected what America is all about, and what makes America America, in terms of our Constitution, in terms of our values, the way we look at everything, to include family and government - he's certainly the only president that I know of, certainly in my lifetime, that was like that," Mr. Kelly said.

"He just doesn't understand the values - he pretends, he talks, he knows more about America than anybody, but he doesn't."

on the promise that Clark would drive ratings with no proven track record of having done so.

No track record? Just how ignorant are you?

If I were the "media" I would wait to see if it sticks before signing a long term contract.

They already did - again, at a number I think favors the media and not the league. Starting with the 2026 season, rights will increase to $220 million per season from $60 million. While that sounds like a lot of money, it isn't in context. The NBA stands to make $76 BILLION over the next 11 years, almost $7 billion annually.

What? Should a homeowner not be bound by their mortgage contract because I am losing money? This is just a silly statement.

Not at all. Go talk to Bally Sports Network/Fox Sports regionals or other networks having to bail on sports contracts every year, leaving teams and fans in a lurch.

The leverage is just what I stated: The WNBA has a valuable property that just exploded in popularity and brought ION network its largest audiences ever - full of women who weren't watching that network before. Sports rights are truly partnerships, and when one side brings an enhanced value to the table, it's not wrong to expect that to be recognized.

At the end of the day, the networks want and need the eyeballs the WNBA delivered to them beyond what was thought possible when the current contracts were signed. It's called leverage, and it's no different than players holding out while they're still under contract. There isn't another show that can replace the eyeballs the W is now bringing, especially with Caitlin Clark and the other hyper-popular players. When a player outplays his/her contract, oftentimes owners will rip up the old and give them a new one. This is not unusual for generational talents.

Well, these were all-time record ratings, something equally similar. Don't think for a second that there aren't other networks willing to pay more than the current partners are - even if litigation takes place over contract breeches. But I get good faith partnerships and that's the way business should be run. But no intelligent businessperson should stand by and lose tens of millions while watching partners make even more off the backs of those losing so much. It's simply bad business. And if things drop off, then the reverse should be true as well. Both sides should get what they deserve based on the success or lack thereof of the entire enterprise itself.

The WNBA lost $40M last year.

Only because the owners are frigging idiots and deserve their stupid fate.

You can't create a thread linked to national review on this blog.

#2

Works for me, straight to Mediate. Try Googling.

In a February 2018 budget memo to Congress, bureau officials wrote that under federal law, they were obligated to pay for a prisoner's "surgery" if it was deemed medically necessary. Still, legal wrangling delayed the first such operation until 2022, long after Mr. Trump left office.

"Transgender offenders may require individual counseling and emotional support," officials wrote. "Medical care may include pharmaceutical interventions (e.g., cross-gender hormone therapy), hair removal and surgery (if individualized assessment indicates surgical intervention is applicable)."

The Bureau of Prisons is the only federal agency under court order to provide gender-related surgeries. But the number of inmates requesting such operations within the bureau is minuscule, with only two known surgeries approved via court action.

The amount the bureau has spent on hormone therapy was also very small - ranging from $60,000 to $95,000 a year during Mr. Trump's term, according to internal department estimates obtained by The New York Times.

The Trump ads, which have been running in several battleground states - often during events with high male viewership, like football games - focus on a response by Ms. Harris to a question about transgender care for incarcerated people on a 2019 American Civil Liberties Union candidate questionnaire.

In her answer, Ms. Harris told the group that she "pushed" the state corrections department "to provide gender transition surgery to state inmates" while serving as California attorney general from 2011 to 2017.

"I support policies ensuring that federal prisoners and detainees are able to obtain medically necessary care for gender transition, including surgical care, while incarcerated or detained," she wrote. "Transition treatment is a medical necessity, and I will direct all federal agencies responsible for providing essential medical care to deliver transition treatment."

Initially, Ms. Harris represented the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in its refusal to provide gender-affirming surgery to an offender convicted of murder who was born male.

But there's this nagging complication - if Kamala Harris is as stupid as her critics claim, why does she have the Democratic presidential nomination and a roughly 50"50 shot of being the first female president in U.S. history? Do you know how many ruthlessly ambitious Democratic men and women have desperately yearned to get where she is? How many smart, tough, shrewd, often underhanded and cold-blooded pols have tried to claw their way up the greasy pole and fallen short?

And somehow this supposed dunce managed to do it?

The record indicates that whatever Harris's results are on an I.Q. test or other measure of intellect, she is particularly talented by another measuring stick, one that may be even more important in politics: She is exceptionally skilled at getting other people emotionally invested in her success.

Read on to learn how Harris's political career got started, her connection to Clint Eastwood, how she persuaded the wealthiest and most powerful elites of San Francisco to back her when she was a little-known underdog, the BMW she received as a gift, who ended her relationship with Willie Brown, and the speculation that Halle Berry would play her in a movie someday.

At least Geraghty does present a factual recitation of Harris' rise even while pointing out every perceived misstep or utterance her critics obsess over compared to her presidential opponent, a man who can't even form coherent sentences above the 4th grade level. I guess they both are what they are.

National debt under Biden is up $7.65T and we are not yet done with his term.

Because the majority of that amount is accrued interest on money borrowed before he entered the White House.

But you knew that before you wrote that sentence, right?

Trump's about-face comes after Hurricane Helene left dozens dead and thousands temporarily pushed from their communities after widespread destruction of homes, roads and water supplies when the storm deluged the western part of the state in late September.

The 25 hardest-hit counties are almost all deeply conservative, places where Trump must rack up big margins to offset more liberal urban centers, such as Charlotte and Raleigh, that are likely to net voting gains for Vice President Kamala Harris.

Several Trump advisers said his campaign is worried that hundreds of thousands more Trump voters than Harris voters have been affected by the storm in a critical battleground that the former president must win if he is to regain the White House. Trump won North Carolina by just over a percentage point in 2020.

I wonder if Bill Johnson has anything to say about Trump wanting his affected voters to vote by mail-in ballots. Suddenly Trump isn't worried about voting by mail at all. Go figure.

No one needs Project 2025 to understand what the extreme anti-abortion GOPers are going to do next. Just look to what Justices Thomas and Alito have telegraphed from the bench.

His business career vaulted him to fame, and he had notable successes, perhaps most prominently the rehabilitation of the Commodore Hotel and the construction of Trump Tower. But he often reached further than he was able to deliver. His record in business was pockmarked with plenty of failures.

The Trump Shuttle airline? Failure. His dreams of building a Television City in Manhattan? Failure. A United States Football League franchise? Failure. The Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, Trump Taj Mahal, Trump's Castle Casino Resort, Trump Mortgage, Trump Vodka, Trump University, Trump Steaks, GoTrump.com? All failures.

His most spectacular flameouts came in the gambling mecca of Atlantic City, where he overextended himself building or buying three casinos that ultimately cannibalized each other's clientele as he failed to keep up with enormous debt payments. He filed bankruptcy for the Taj Mahal in 1991 and then for the other two casinos in 1992. He also filed bankruptcy in 1992 for the Plaza Hotel.

Even after recovering from that debacle, Mr. Trump failed again. His casino company filed for bankruptcy in 2004 and then again in 2009, for his sixth trip into that process. In his various bankruptcies, he was compelled to sell assets, and creditors were forced to write off some of his debt. But Mr. Trump has boasted that he still made money in Atlantic City even after leaving a trail of losses for nearly everyone else involved, including workers who lost jobs.

Mr. Trump played the game along the edge, and sometimes over the line, of propriety. To grease his path, he would hire a governor's son or a federal prosecutor's brother. Along the way, he was investigated time and time again. Federal, state and local authorities looked into his ties with the Mafia, found violations of money laundering laws and penalized him for skirting stock trade rules.

At one point when Mr. Trump was strapped for cash to make an interest payment, his father sent a lawyer to one of the son's casinos to buy $3.5 million in chips without placing a bet. New Jersey's casino regulators imposed a $65,000 fine for what amounted to an illegal loan.

But Mr. Trump makes a point of not admitting misdeeds or mistakes. Even his failures he portrays as triumphs. "I made a lot of money in Atlantic City," he once said, "and I'm very proud of it."