One Ticket to the Caitlin Clark–Angel Reese Show

Inside the sold-out Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Saturday afternoon, the crowd had started to boo. WNBA rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese were facing off for the first time in their pro careers, and it had been a close, physical game. From the press overspill section, which had been set up to accommodate the more than double the usual number of members of the media present, Indiana Fever president Allison Barber and I looked up at the JumboTron to see what the fuss was about. Barber had been mid-sentence, telling me about her “three C” strategy for franchise growth —“commit, compete, and contribute” — when suddenly, with 15 seconds left in the third quarter, the Chicago Sky’s Chennedy Carter had body-checked Indiana’s No. 1 draft pick to the floor before the ball was even in play.