While true, Antonelli did point out a couple times where Clark could have been called for the use of her arm in the game. The initial shoving that wasn't dealt with during the first half is an example. The topic of arm control and what should be allowed is worth discussion along with what's considered an appropriate amount of physical contact.
Hard disagree. Caitlin got poked/slapped in the face, the foul is called, Jacy comes up with Clark chest puffed and doesn't give her space. Clark turns around not realizing Jacy's right there, pushes her away to get space and then is promptly T-boned by Mabrey.
Carrington, perhaps...
Exactly right. The eye poke, egregious as it was, probably wouldn't have escalated in that moment if Sheldon had simply allowed Clark to stand up while regaining her eyesight.
What are you talking about?
I saw was the clip above. Do you have another one, because from the clip posted above, it doesn't appear that she was poked in the eye. Take a look at my post up above with the frame by frame breakout of what happened. Again, I fully acknowledge I could be mistaken, but from what I've seen it doesn't look like it actually happened.
This 100%.
"Ragdolled" is a bit much. The entire incident was over-reaction after over-reaction after over-reaction with every player adding their own dramatic flair. It is a bad telenovela.
Careful, Deacon. I've shown no antipathy. I even defended her. So how about you recognize that and refrain from insinuating things. I grow weary of this.Careful, Bone Dog, your antipathy toward Clark is showing.
You've got company in that...
I've thought of that comparison too, but for whatever reason, Diana is charismatic. I don't see that from Clark.
There was a long article on this whole business. A huge number of WNBA players - including Clark - routinely commit numerous fouls and there is between inconsistent and no enforcement. The writer cited the paint in a WNBA game as one of the most dangerous sports places and cited I think it was 3 recent concussions - including blood being drawn by an elbow - and a case where the player with the concussion got the technical. Coaches - many of them are complaining as much as they can.
+100. All anyone seems to want to talk about is the "eye poke". Clark couldn't see and turned only to have Sheldon standing so close into Clark's space that she literally couldn't move without knocking into her. Clark pushed Sheldon back, and Mabry came over and body knocked Clark to the ground.
Sheldon is not a dirty player. She's always has played Clark tough since their college days. Cunningham could have fouled her hard without having to take her down around the neck. Nothing Sheldon did during that game earned that type of tackle.
No one thinks mistreatment of Clark is okay. It's that some of us think the interpretation that she's being targeted is overblown because of the media hype. Most if not all of us believe the issue with officiating is the problem and agree that it has to stop.
As always, I most certainly respect your opinion, and I can agree the media is at least 50% of the problem here. But, I don't think CC is treated fairly by the refs (most likely by design of the league office, because the more hype, the thinking is, the more ticket & product sales). If they don't get a handle on it and soon, that thinking is going to backfire of them. And, as I stated previously, this overlooking of the mistreatment is spilling onto the star players of other teams (Paige for example). Sheldon may not be a dirty player, but she looked like it to me in this game. Cunningham has taken on the role of CC's "protector". Ever team has one, and if not wished they did. She actually doesn't look like a protector to me.
This is theory I hadn't seen put out there before. It's also one that I cringe thinking at being even possible, because it implies that the league, including the NBA, are willing to sacrifice the health of players for profit.
I think Caitlin gets an advantage in that she is not called for the numerous push offs that are a part of her game. I am a fever fan ( mostly because of Boston) and enjoy Clark’s shooting and passing. But I understand how opponents complain that refs should try to limit her most obvious push offs.
Yup, but this issue is not only something Clark gets away with. A lot of guards do this in WNBA and NCAA.
While I would tend to absolutely agree with you based on my seeing her play many times in college, the fact is she is now in a new league trying to "earn her stripes" and with her new teammate association, she maybe trying to garner their respect.
Taurasi is the career leader in quite a few official categories, I'd guess she's probably also the all time leader in push offs. Never seemed to be an issue with her. Why is it such an issue for Clark?
It’s not an issue for Clark. That’s the point everyone is making. She gets away with a comparable amount of push offs as Diana did. But with that special treatment comes consequences, like more incidents of this sort. That may not have mattered as much ten years ago. But now that Caitlin has raised the profile of the W — and yes, she deserves much of the credit for this — more is at stake for the league. Either the league does something or nothing about it. It’s a marketability calculus and they may get it wrong… or they may get it right. Time will tell. Paige won’t face the same problem because her style of play is different, as someone mentioned earlier.