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Caitlin Clark's historic season drives big WNBA ratings boost

WNBA: Playoffs-Indiana Fever at Connecticut SunSep 25, 2024; Uncasville, Connecticut, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) possesses the ball during the first half against the Connecticut Sun during game two of the first round of the 2024 WNBA Playoffs at Mohegan Sun Arena. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

Caitlin Clark’s rookie campaign might have come to an end Wednesday night, but her historic season helped drive the WNBA to its highest average game viewership in 24 years.

The league averaged 657,000 viewers per game, according to a report by the Sports Business Journal. That included a record 22 games topping 1 million viewers across the WNBA’s Nielsen-rated media partners (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ION, CBS and NBA TV), blowing away the previous league record of 15 in 1998. Of those 22, Clark’s Indiana Fever played in 19 of them.

The SBJ also reported record numbers for ESPN, which averaged 1.19 million viewers per game — a 170 percent increase from last season — as well as the top seven most-watched WNBA games ever on the network. ABC, meanwhile, had 2.23 million viewers for the Fever playing the Seattle Storm on Aug. 18, marking the highest viewership for an WNBA game in network history.

The WNBA All-Star Game was the most-watched WNBA event of the season with more than 3.4 million viewers tuning in on ABC. The next 12 most-watched games across networks all featured the Fever, topped by Clark playing against Chicago Sky and fellow star rookie Angel Reese, which drew 2.3 million viewers to ESPN on June 23.

How much the playoff viewership dips now that Clark’s Fever have been eliminated remains to be seen.

Indiana was eliminated in two games by the Connecticut Sun. While Game 2 viewership numbers have yet to be released, Game 1 averaged 1.8 million on ABC, making it the WNBA’s most-watched playoff game since 2000.

While viewership numbers are expected to decline with Clark’s season over, Game 2 of the Las Vegas Aces series against the Seattle Storm averaged 985,000 viewers, per Programming Insider. That was more than any of the WNBA Finals games last season, according to a report by Front Office Sports.

–Field Level Media

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49ers coach Kyle Shanahan corrects record, says crash was his fault

Mar 30, 2026; Phoenix, AZ, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan during the 2026 NFL Annual League Meeting at the Arizona Biltmore. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn ImagesMar 30, 2026; Phoenix, AZ, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan during the 2026 NFL Annual League Meeting at the Arizona Biltmore. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Making his first public comments since being part of a head-on car accident earlier this month, Kyle Shanahan admitted fault on Tuesday for the collision that left him with serious injuries.

The San Francisco 49ers head coach met with reporters in his office to give his side of the story after the initial news that leaked out over the weekend pinned the blame on the other driver.

A California database that tracks car accidents listed the other driver at fault for making an illegal turn. But Shanahan, 46, said that wasn’t accurate.

“I hit her,” Shanahan said. “I don’t know why it was reported that way (on the collision report database). The police report doesn’t say that.”

The accident occurred July 14 in Palo Alto and it did not become widely known — nor did the 49ers comment on it — until this past weekend in the lead-up to training camp.

“I was going 20 miles an hour,” Shanahan said. “I was not on my phone, but I dropped my phone and it was stuck in my seats. It’s on my lap and it slid off. And I went down to look for it and took my eyes off the road for two seconds. And as I was coming up, the airbags hit me in my face, and they broke my nose and then they said the visor really gashed me. … I took my eyes off the road looking for my phone, and my car veered into someone.

“It’s one of those roads where there’s no forgiveness. … When I hit her, the impact was just so, I’ll just never forget how violent it was.”

Shanahan suffered a concussion and broke his left hand, nose and three ribs in the collision. He required more than 40 stitches to his face.

The woman in the other vehicle was not harmed.

A Palo Alto police spokesperson told multiple outlets in a statement Tuesday that Shanahan was telling the truth.

“I can confirm that Kyle Shanahan’s statement that he provided is correct and that he was found at fault for the collision,” Lt. Nicolas Martinez said in the statement. “There was a clerical error in the preparation of the report that was transmitted to the State database. We are in the process of correcting that error.

“It is the officer’s discretion at the scene of the collision as to whether they issue a citation to either party. It is not uncommon for officers to elect to not issue a citation to either party involved in a collision. Neither party in this situation was provided preferential treatment.”

Shanahan is around the team but not healthy enough for full activity, so assistant head coach Chris Foerster is handling Shanahan’s duties along with the coordinators. He said although he is healing well, due to fatigue he cannot yet “stay the hours” required of an NFL head coach.

Shanahan also insisted he did not lose consciousness during the accident and was awake when receiving stitches at Stanford Hospital.

“It just crushed me hearing the girl get blamed for it,” Shanahan said. “I’m just lucky that I survived, that she didn’t get hurt and that I didn’t lose my eye.”

Shanahan enters his 10th season as head coach in San Francisco. He owns an 82-67 record in the regular season. He has a 9-5 postseason record and has guided the 49ers to a pair of Super Bowl appearances — losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020 and 2024.

–Field Level Media

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Red Sox tackle Blue Jays to secure sixth straight series win

Jul 26, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Ranger Suarez (55) pitches against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn ImagesJul 26, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Ranger Suarez (55) pitches against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

Boston Red Sox starter Ranger Suarez and four relievers combined to shut down the visiting Toronto Blue Jays in a 6-1 win Sunday.

Boston, which has won 17 of its last 19 games, won a sixth straight series.

Suarez, pitching for the first time since July 5 due to a groin strain, was taken out after four scoreless innings and 64 pitches. The southpaw allowed four hits with no walks and struck out six.

Greg Weissert (3-2), Tyron Guerrero, Justin Slaten and Ryan Watson scattered five Blue Jays hits the rest of the way.

Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman (4-10) allowed three runs and five hits in six innings. The right-hander walked one and struck out six in 98 pitches.

Toronto has lost eight straight Gausman starts, and the 35-year-old has not won since May 22.

Boston jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the third when Andruw Monasterio led off with a single off the Green Monster. He scored on a two-out single by Ceddanne Rafaela.

The Red Sox added two more in the fourth when Willson Contreras led off with a walk and Caleb Durbin singled. Romy Gonzalez laid down a bunt to sacrifice the runners to second and third, and Jarren Duran drove them both in with a single to center for a 3-0 lead.

Suarez, meanwhile, kept the Blue Jays off balance.

His only trouble came in the fourth inning when Alejandro Kirk and George Springer hit back-to-back one-out singles. Suarez, however, induced Daulton Varsho to hit into a fielder’s choice and then struck out Kazuma Okamoto looking to end the threat.

The Red Sox scored three more in the seventh.

Duran led off with a single and Monasterio walked. Carlos Narvaez bunted them over and pinch hitter Jahmai Jones doubled them both in with a drive off the wall in center.

Jones came home when Wilyer Abreu broke an 0-for-20 streak with a double off the wall in left.

The Blue Jays finally broke through in the ninth with three hits. Andres Gimenez drove in Varsho with two outs for their lone run.

–Field Level Media

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Birthday boy Ryan O'Hearn leads Pirates past Cubs

Jul 26, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe (left) and designated hitter Bryan Reynolds (10) greet first baseman Ryan O'Hearn (29) crossing home plate on a grand slam home run against the Chicago Cubs during the third inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn ImagesJul 26, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe (left) and designated hitter Bryan Reynolds (10) greet first baseman Ryan O’Hearn (29) crossing home plate on a grand slam home run against the Chicago Cubs during the third inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Ryan O’Hearn celebrated his 32nd birthday by belting his second grand slam of the season and fourth of his career as the host Pittsburgh Pirates held on for an 8-7 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday.

Pittsburgh’s Shawn Ross launched a two-run homer in his second MLB game while rookie Esmerlyn Valdez also went deep and added an RBI single

Brandon Lowe collected three hits and two runs as the Pirates snapped a three-game losing streak in the finale of the three-game series.

The offensive explosion proved just enough for Braxton Ashcraft (10-4), who allowed four runs on seven hits in six innings.

Carmen Mlodzinski bridged the gap to Mason Montgomery, who surrendered Seiya Suzuki’s two-run homer in the ninth before retiring the next two batters to secure his second save.

Pete Crow-Armstrong ripped an RBI triple and Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner and Pedro Ramirez each had an RBI single for the Cubs.

Swanson opened the scoring in the second with an RBI single, but that slim advantage didn’t last long.

Valdez sent a 1-1 cutter from Jameson Taillon (2-6) over the left center wall to lead off the second inning. Valdez’s homer was his 14th of the season and eighth in his last 13 games. After O’Hearn walked, Ross deposited a 3-2 cutter over the wall in left.

The Pirates loaded the bases in the third before O’Hearn deposited a 0-1 fastball from Taillon over the wall in center to stake his team to a 7-1 lead. The homer by O’Hearn was his 17th of the season and first since he went deep three times — highlighted by a grand slam — in a 12-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves on July 7.

Taillon permitted seven runs on six hits in four innings to fall to 0-5 in his last eight outings.

Chicago scored three times in the fourth before Valdez’s broken-bat RBI single off Ryan Rolison extended Pittsburgh’s advantage to 8-5 in the fifth.

–Field Level Media

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