Greetings from the sports desk located somewhere below decks of the Good Pirate Ship RedState. Sammy the Shark and Karl the Kraken are too busy swimming victory laps to get any work done, so same as it ever was, it’s all on me. Musical interlude!

Now that football season is over, the significant stories involve basketball — both pro and college — and hockey. Much to Sammy and Karl’s annoyance, the former takes center stage.

On February 15, Iowa guard Caitlin Clark set the NCAA women’s basketball record for most career points scored by a single athlete when she dropped in a jaw-dropping 49 points to lead the Hawkeyes to a 106-89 win over Michigan. Clark finished the game with 3,569 points in her career thus far, eclipsing the record previously set in 2017 by Washington’s Kelsey Plumb.

Clark’s record is all the more remarkable given that even at six feet, she is not a dominating physical presence. Instead, her gift is a well-honed shooting eye accompanied by the ability to shake defenders. Like one of her on-court role models, Steph Curry, there is no mystery to Clark’s game. She is going to get the ball, she is utterly unafraid to shoot from anywhere on the floor, and whoever has drawn the unenviable task of attempting to guard her will be all by herself sooner rather than later as Clark puts on the moves before draining yet another trey.

Making Clark all the more admirable is that she is as skilled at life off the court as playing basketball on the hardwood. She is confident but not cocky, honest with her emotions, gracious in defeat, and readily deferring to her teammates in victory. Clark is an outspoken Christian and accepts her present high profile with relaxed grace. And when I say high, I mean high.

Clark is the hottest ticket in sports. How hot? This hot.

According to Vivid Seats, Iowa fans are traveling 34% farther to see Clark and her teammates this season than last. The average ticket price for Iowa's road games (past and upcoming) is $107.75, and fans have traveled an average of 137.7 miles to see the Hawkeyes away from Iowa City. Iowa has drawn an average of 10,953 fans to its road contests, which continue on Sunday at Nebraska. No other Big Ten team has averaged more than 8,288 fans at its away games (Indiana), and the average attendance when conference teams have appeared on the road is 5,227.

And that is but the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Additional security is now automatic for every Iowa road game, not because of any threats but to control the massive crowds Clark draws. Articles about her abound with references to girls saving money for a ticket and traveling whatever distance is required to see their sweet shooting hero. Rather like the stories involving some other six-foot blonde, although if it came down to it, there is little doubt Clark would mop the floor with Taylor Swift in a one-on-one game.

In an era dominated by She Who Must Not Be Named, otherwise known as Travis Kelce’s lovemuffin, it is refreshing to see a young woman worthy of emulation stepping up to embrace the role and have a fine, fun time while doing so. Like Sabrina Ionescu, Caitlin Clark is the real deal both on and off the basketball court. Whether she turns pro after this season or opts for one more year at Iowa, she is someone deserving of the accolades she is drawing.