Women's Championship Games Deserve a Primetime Spot

Plus: Elena Delle Donne says goodbye, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. stays in Toronto, Mailbag, and more.

Sunday afternoon was a lot of fun – especially for someone without any rooting interest.

We got to see a rematch of the 2022 championship game, and a culmination of a legendary career as Paige Bueckers and the UConn Huskies defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks for the National Championship.

There was only one thing wrong with the game – it was at 3 p.m. EST.

ESPN holds exclusive rights to the NCAA Women’s Tournament, securing those media rights with an eight-year, $920 million agreement that started in 2024.

There was a lot to like about what ESPN did with the Tournament this year, including offering five different feeds for the Final Four compared to the men’s having one feed on CBS.

But for a sport that has shown time and time again that if you invest in it, the eyeballs and ROI will be there, having the championship game at 3 p.m. on a Sunday is a failure of epic proportions.

Listen, I’m washed. I was excited for Friday night’s doubleheader action of the Final Four in the evening, only to fall asleep as the fourth quarter started in the first game. 

But that’s a me problem – not an NCAA problem. What falls on ESPN and the Disney corporation is not showing the game in front of as many eyeballs as possible.

Yes, ABC had American Idol on at 8 p.m. Sunday, and ESPN had Sunday Night Baseball. I find it hard to believe that ESPN 2 couldn’t have carried a regular season baseball game to put the championship game front and center. 

And as far as American Idol goes. Well, there’s no hate here. But a one-week pause would be totally fine.

ESPN has shown it is willing to invest in women’s sports. But put two feet in – not one.

Goodbye, legend

I went to college at a rural school in Pennsylvania. Clarion University of Pennsylvania, in fact. I didn’t receive any assistance (I wish I did, trust me. This isn’t a “I’m proud that I did it on my own” statement. No, help me!), so I worked at the local steakhouse for six years throughout my undergrad and graduate studies. 

I held every position, but I eventually became a bartender. I remember a Sunday afternoon shift, where I would work open to close each Sunday, very closely. A man came in as I had basketball on the TV.

He asked me a question that meant nothing to me at the time but means everything now.

Him: Do you like women’s basketball?

Me: Yeah, I do.

Him: Do you follow high school women’s basketball?

Me: Not closely, why?

Him: There’s this player that you need to see. I tell you – she’s one of the most impressive players I have ever seen.

Me: Oh? What’s her name?

Him: Elena Delle Donne.

At the time, it meant nothing to me. I told him that I’d “look her up and keep an eye out” but I didn’t plan on doing that. There’s always that one athlete from our hometown that we think is the next big thing, but they really are just like Nate McLouth on the Pittsburgh Pirates. A good player on a shitty team.

But not Delle Donne. This guy hit it on the head. 

There’s always going to be a “what if” surrounding Delle Donne if she was able to stay healthy. I’m glad that, ultimately, she was able to say when she was leaving the game. And I’m forever grateful for not just being able to watch her play in person, but for the contributions she made to the game.

And that guy who came in? Well, thanks for introducing me to the name of a legend. Next beer is on me, pal.

Plakata Party

Mondays absolutely suck, but what didn’t suck was waking up this morning and seeing the news that the Toronto Blue Jays signed Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to a contract extension.

NEWS: The Toronto Blue Jays reached an agreement Sunday with 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on a 14-year, $500 million extension pending a physical, sources tell @ken-rosenthal.bsky.social. The contract gives Guerrero the second-largest guarantee in major-league history. 🔗: bit.ly/44iwQ71?sour...

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— The Athletic (@theathletic.bsky.social) April 7, 2025 at 6:35 AM

Hell. Yes.

Guerrero put a deadline on Spring Training for the Blue Jays to offer him a deal, and with the way things have gone for Toronto over the last few years, I thought he was as good as gone.

Instead, the Blue Jays offered Guerrero a 14-year, $500 million deal, that offers an AAV of around $36 million per year.

How will the contract age? No idea.

Do I care? Not at all. It’s not my money, so it can end up like Albert Pujols contract did for the Angels, and the Blue Jays will still earn their money back and then some.

He’s 26 years old and he’s a first baseman, and that’s been a declining asset in recent years. But good on the Blue Jays for getting this done. Vladdy wanted to say in Toronto, and now, without any opt-outs in the contract (I hate this from a worker’s rights stance), he will.

MAILBAG

I wasn’t sure what I was doing for this newsletter. I had an interview lined up that fell through, and I also had a super busy weekend. So I put the call out for some questions on Bluesky.

Let’s get to them:

What is your favorite pitch type in baseball?

— Jake Necessary (@bigtime1224.bsky.social) April 6, 2025 at 7:44 PM

Good question. I can go a number of ways with this, as I love a good two-seamer that has unreal horizontal break, as well as a changeup that just drops off and makes a hitter look silly.

But I’m going to go with the most visually pleasing pitch – a curveball. Seeing a beautiful curveball that is able to freeze a hitter and make their knees lock is a thing of beauty. Think Clayton Kershaw’s vintage curve.

Will Paige have a better rookie year than caitlin?

— Kix (@forkix.bsky.social) April 6, 2025 at 9:21 PM

Frankly? I don’t care. The league is more than these two, and I really hope that we don’t do this thing where we pit them against each other throughout their careers.

Caitlin Clark had one of the best rookie seasons of all time outside of Candace Parker. I like the potential team they have around her with NaLyssa Smith, DiJonai Carrington, and Arike Ogunbowale in Dallas. Based on scoring, no. She won’t do what Clark did, because she won’t be asked to do that. But she’ll be an immediate impact player for the Wings.

Who do you think is the best player in the NCAA WBB transfer portal?

— Chris Chase (@thatchrischase.bsky.social) April 6, 2025 at 7:46 PM

This is a fun one. I think the clear answer is Olivia Miles, right? Miles decided not to enter the WNBA Draft, opting to return to college but not go back to Notre Dame.

Since she’s the clear No. 1, here are four others I’m interested in seeing where they land.

1. Kayleigh Heckel: I was more shocked when Heckel announced that she was entering the portal after a successful freshman year at USC than her teammate Avery Howell. Heckel did everything right for USC, and she seems like a star in the making. I’m not sure what’s in the water at USC.
2. Ta’Niya Latson: The nation’s leading scorer is a bucket, and now she’s moving on from Florida State. SEC bound, perhaps?
3. Cotie McMahon: It seems like all signs are pointing to McMahon heading to the SEC, but which team will land her? Tennessee, Ole Miss, Kentucky, and LSU all make sense.
4. Sa’Myah Smith: Smith is joining LSU teammate Last-Tear Poa in the portal. Smith had a fantastic postseason for the Tigers. 

Do the Chicago Stars win a single match this season?

— Thomas Costello (@thomascostello.bsky.social) April 7, 2025 at 7:52 AM

I’ll say yes. Chicago is a mess, and while Mal Swanson being out for personal reasons doesn’t help, Chicago took an … interesting approach with who they did and didn’t bring in this offseason. The most obvious potential win for Chicago comes June 21 in Portland, but I’m looking at April 18 in Utah or April 26 against San Diego as the date of their first W.

Cross Reference

I’ll be chatting with baseball and fantasy baseball expert Eric Cross Tuesday night for Friday’s newsletter. We’ll be on video chatting about baseball, fantasy baseball, music, New England, and some other fun things.

Eric is a fantastic dude who lives and breathes baseball. 

Go support his work:

Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-384-opening-weekend-thoughts/id1537445938?i=1000701550226

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/cross-march-13th-124271662

Until Next Time

I love you awesome nerds.