Greetings from the sports desk located somewhere below the main deck of the Good Pirate Ship RedState. Sammy the Shark and Karl the Kraken have asked me to reassure you that they are hard at work researching the latest in sports news for you…
Assuming there’s a need to research how to deliver play-by-play for couch potato-ing, should it be in the next Olympics.
Anyway, lest someone gets their shin guards in a snit, we must mention that the grand finale of the 2026 World Cup took place today (Sunday, July 19, 2026) somewhere in the swamps of New Jersey. Spain defeated Argentina 1-0, although given how dominant Español was from start to finish, it might as well have been 11-0. Apparently having learned some better defensive tactics since the Armada days, Spain smothered Lionel Messi and Argentina as thoroughly as one can, outshooting the Argentinians 12-0. Clearly the better team won, and clearly the MLS—for the uninitiated, MLS is the premier soccer league in the U.S.—is heaving a collective groan of dread at the thought of Messi taking out his World Cup frustrations on the rest of the league (he plays for Miami) when the MLS resumes play on Wednesday, July 22, 2026. In the meantime, 99.44 percent of Americans can now go back to not pretending to care about soccer in the least.
As I’ve mentioned before, I enjoy watching soccer. It is not a priority in my sportswatching habits, but I won’t immediately turn the channel should it come on. I freely confess that now the World Cup has ended, I’m dealing with a bit of soccer burnout. There is baseball, although given that my team of choice (the Giants, now that the A’s have left town) is a train wreck this year, my enjoyment of the sport is somewhat muted. That, and given the almost certain lockout by the owners this offseason with the very real prospect of part or all of the 2027 season being canceled, makes me reluctant to invest much in the sport at this time. Bring on football and hockey, and not a minute too soon.
There is a sport I unashamedly admit enjoying watching right now, and that is the WNBA. Before you freak out, hear me out. My team of choice is the Golden State Valkyries, who as of this writing (Sunday, July 19, 2026) sit in second place in the league, riding a nine-game winning streak. This is despite not having an identifiable superstar on the squad. To compensate for this, the Valkyries play a terrific brand of team basketball that many NBA teams would be wise to emulate. No one takes a play off. Everyone knows where they are supposed to be on the court and carries out their assignment. When the Valkyries have the ball, although they will go through stretches of playing fast and loose with the inescapable truth that living by the three-point shot entails the risk of dying by the same, more often than not their scoring efficiency, combined with their defensive prowess, leads to the W for Violet and crew. My favorite player on the Valkyries is Veronica Burton, who is all hustle and grit on both ends of the floor. My favorite player period is Caitlin Clark, who is the closest thing to Larry Bird I’ve seen on a basketball court since, well, Larry Bird.
As has often been chronicled here at RedState, the WNBA has the biggest appetite for self-destruction of any institution since early 1990s Guns N’ Roses. The latest example of this involves none other than the queen of the thin-skinned hive herself, Angel Reese, who, in between laying more bricks than a skilled mason on a Red Bull bender, takes to social media for her latest installment in the ongoing saga, The Days of Whine and Poses. The latest grievous offense to come Reese’s way is courtesy of Toronto Tempo head coach Sandy Brondello. Brondello, who was born and raised in Australia, was complaining to the officials during a game between the Tempo and Reese’s Atlanta Dream on Friday, July 17, 2026, about Reese receiving preferential treatment from the refs. Given that this is the same league where all three on-court officials went Three Blind Mice when earlier this year Phoenix Mercury player Alyssa Thomas tried to drive her fist through Clark’s throat when Clark was lying on the floor, it is no surprise that Reese would get favorable officiating. After all, Reese is a superstar and should be the face of the league. Just ask her. Anyway, in the course of venting her vent, Brondello used the expression “protected species” in reference to Reese. In Australian sports, the term “protected species” is a common one used by opponents against what they believe is the athletic equivalent of a teacher’s pet. Naturally, Reese took it as a racial assault, and naturally the WNBA has suspended Brondello for a game for the crime of not being pseudo-ghetto. That is the WNBA for you. Seldom in the course of human events has one league done so much to make it so difficult for anyone to like its product or its players.
Hope you had a great weekend.
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