Caitlin Clark's College Coach Calling For WNBA Rule Change
Caitlin Clark's College Coach Calling For WNBA Rule Change originally appeared on The Spun.
Lisa Bluder knows very well that defenses are always keeping a close eye on Caitlin Clark. After all, she coached the WNBA All-Star for four years at Iowa.
Advertisement
Earlier this week, Clark dealt with a few hard hits during the Fever-Sun game. For starters, she got poked in the eye by Jacy Sheldon. A few moments later, Marina Mabrey bumped her to the ground. It was a wild sequence that ended with Clark and Mabrey receiving technical fouls.
Following the Fever's win over the Sun on Tuesday night, Clark let the media know that she's not worried about opposing defenses getting physical with her.
"At the end of the day, I'm here to play basketball... my game's gonna talk and that's all that really matters," Clark told reporters.
Bluder, however, believes the WNBA may have to consider changing their rules.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - APRIL 04: AP Player of the Year Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes poses with her award and head coach Lisa Bluder during a press conference ahead of the 2024 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Final Four at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on April 04, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by)During a conversation with TMZ Sports, the former Iowa women's basketball coach advocated for more fouls being called in the WNBA.
Advertisement
"It's a part of the WNBA. It's a part of the rules right now, and if we want that to change, I think we have to change the way the game is called," Bluder told TMZ Sports.
Bluder wasn't done discussing the future of the WNBA.
"I think there needs to be more freedom of movement in our game," Bluder said. "Which means, yes, calling more fouls, which people don't like, but people will adjust. The players will adjust. If we start calling more fouls and emphasize the rules, the players will adjust. I think that's the only way to change the behavior. And I think what's gonna happen is more people are gonna enjoy the game."
Fans probably don't want regular-season games to be extended, but calling more fouls would protect Clark and other stars in the WNBA.
Advertisement
Related: WNBA Referees Are Under Fire For 'Failing' Caitlin Clark
Caitlin Clark's College Coach Calling For WNBA Rule Change first appeared on The Spun on Jun 20, 2025
This story was originally reported by The Spun on Jun 20, 2025, where it first appeared.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
16 minutes ago
- Associated Press
This Date in Baseball - St. Louis' Tony La Russa becomes 3rd manager with 2,500 career victories
June 21 1916 — Rube Foster of the Red Sox pitched a 2-0 no-hitter against the New York Yankees. Foster struck out three and walked three and pitched the first no-hitter at Fenway Park. 1938 — Pinky Higgins of the Boston Red Sox extended his consecutive hit string to 12, with eight hits in a doubleheader split with the Detroit Tigers. He went 4 for 4 in an 8-3 win in the opener and 4 for 4 in a 5-4 loss in the nightcap. The next day, Higgins struck out against Vern Kennedy in his first at-bat to end the streak. 1939 — The New York Yankees announced Lou Gehrig's retirement, based on the report that he has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The 36-year-old star remained as the team as captain. 1941 — Lefty Grove's 20-game consecutive win streak at Fenway Park ended with a 13-9 loss to the St. Louis Browns. The streak spanned from May 3, 1938, to May 12, 1941. 1950 — Joe DiMaggio gets his 2,000th hit, a 7th-inning single off the Indians'Marino Pieretti, as the Yanks win, 8 - 2. DiMaggio joins Luke Appling and Wally Moses as the only active players with 2,000 or more hits. 1956 — In a rare double one-hitter, Chicago's Jack Harshman outdueled Connie Johnson and George Zuverink of Baltimore as the White Sox beat the Orioles 1-0. 1964 — Jim Bunning of the Philadelphia Phillies pitched a 6-0 perfect game against the New York Mets in the opener of a Father's Day doubleheader. Bunning threw 89 pitches and struck out 10, including John Stephenson to end the game. The no-hitter gave Bunning one in each league and Gus Triandos became the first catcher to handle no-hitters in both leagues. 1970 — Detroit Tigers shortstop Cesar Gutierrez had seven hits in seven times at bat in a 9-8, 12-inning victory over the Cleveland Indians. Gutierrez had six singles and a double. 1989 — Carlton Fisk set an American League record for homers by a catcher and drove in three runs to lead the Chicago White Sox to a 7-3 victory over the New York Yankees. Fisk hit his 307th homer as a catcher to pass the Yankees' Yogi Berra. 2000 — Eric Chavez hit for the cycle in Oakland's 10-3 win over Baltimore. Chavez doubled in the second inning, singled in the fourth, tripled in the fifth and finished off the cycle with a homer in the seventh. 2005 — Jeff Larish matched a College World Series record with three homers, and J.J. Sferra drove in the game-winning run with a bloop single in the 11th inning as Arizona State rallied for an 8-7 victory and eliminated hometown favorite Nebraska. Larish's record-tying third homer tied it in the bottom of the ninth, and Sferra's single in the 11th punctuated the 4-hour, 7-minute game. 2006 — Jose Reyes hit for the cycle in the New York Mets' 6-5 loss to Cincinnati. 2009 — St. Louis' Tony La Russa joined Connie Mack (3,831) and John McGraw (2,763) as the only managers with 2,500 victories following a 12-5 win over Kansas City. 2011 — Minnesota tied a major league record by opening with eight consecutive hits against San Francisco's Madison Bumgarner, en route to a 9-2 win. Ben Revere had two hits and two RBIs to highlight an eight-run first inning. 2021 — Jacob deGrom pitches five scoreless innings to lead the Mets to a 4-2 win over the Braves. This extends his scoreless innings streak to 30 innings, lowering his ERA to 0.50. He becomes the first pitcher in history to go twelve straight starts of giving up to one or no earned runs topping the record set by Bob Gibson in 1968. _____
New York Post
25 minutes ago
- New York Post
Even Dave Portnoy called out Caitlin Clark for this ‘terrible' game
Dave Portnoy apparently can be critical of Caitlin Clark. The Barstool Sports honcho and Clark superfan called out the Fever star for being 'terrible' in a 88-77 upset road loss Thursday against the expansion Valkyries. Clark shot 3-of-14 and missed all seven of her 3-point attempts, while tying her season-low with 11 points. 3 Caitlin Clark and the Fever lost to the Valkyries on Thursday. NBAE via Getty Images 'Caitlin had terrible game. Happy for Kate Martin though,' Portnoy tweeted shortly after midnight. 'Also Golden State is 1st crowd I've seen that was a true home crowd that was there for their team and not for Caitlin. Good for WNBA.' Portnoy is usually one of the most ardent supporters one can find on social media, so for him to even speak negatively about Clark — even in a tame manner by his standards — is a shocker. Earlier this week following Tuesday's melee against the Sun that featured the former No. 1 pick being bumped to the floor, he went on the offensive against the WNBA — and even Stephen A. Smith. 3 Dave Portnoy wearing a Caitlin Clark jersey. NBAE via Getty Images Portnoy immediately called out Sun star Marina Mabrey for knocking Clark to the floor. 'Imagine not kicking Marina Mabrey out after she assaults the face of the league?' Portnoy wrote Tuesday in a quote tweet featuring the play. 'Sick league @WNBA. Also shouldn't have been a tech on Caitlin since that girl got in her face after gouging her eyes.' He later chided Smith for his Solitaire scandal after Smith said Clark can be an instigator. 'I'll take things that never happened but ESPN always pretends did for 100 Alex,' Portnoy tweeted in reference to Smith saying Clark started certain skirmishes. 'Less solitaire. More facts.' In this case, Portnoy did not come rushing Clark's defense after she had a rough night out west. Thursday marked the second time she missed all of her shots from deep this year after failing to do so once in her rookie season. With Clark not providing her usual steady production, the Fever (6-6) wasted a 13-point lead. The Valkyries (6-6) outscored the Fever, 33-18, in the fourth quarter. 'They did a really good job of being physical with her. That's going to be the game plan all year long,' Fever interim coach Austin Kelly said. 'I think the lack of ball movement kind of allowed them to just really beat her up. When we move it, a lot of stuff happens, we're able to punch gaps, get to our sprays and it gets back to her, that's when she's going to get the good looks. But they did a good job of being physical and making it tough for her at the point.' 3 The Valkyries planned to be physical with Clark on Thursday. NBAE via Getty Images Golden State coach Natalie Nakase confirmed that her players took a physical approach to stymie Clark. 'We were being disruptive. We know she doesn't like physicality,' Nakase said. 'We know that she wants to get to that left stepback. I watched her in Iowa, she loves that left stepback, it's almost like a layup for her. We're making sure she wasn't getting into rhythm and then that she was seeing multiple bodies.'
New York Times
25 minutes ago
- New York Times
Jurickson Profar, Addison Barger and more top fantasy baseball waiver wire adds
Time for the weekly waiver report. Our most added names include a bunch of solid hitters on hot streaks. Here are your most added hitters on Yahoo: I'll actually start with the one name not included, because his 2025 stat line stops after the first four games: Jurickson Profar. He is eligible to return from his suspension on July 2, and if you want him on your team, you'll need to pick him up now. As for which version of him shows up, only time will tell. Last year was his best season by far, and it continued his long pattern of yo-yoing between good seasons and forgettable ones. The big difference in 2024 was his power, so if we see a ball hit over 110 MPH and (after a few weeks) a hard hit rate over 40%, that will hint at him maintaining last year's level. Advertisement We've mentioned many of these names recently, but other than Andy Pages, roster rates still hover in the 20-40% range. As for Pages, the breakout has officially arrived. Go get him if he's somehow still out there in your league. Addison Barger, Nick Kurtz, Gavin Sheets, Ryan McMahon, Alec Burleson, Colton Cowser and Wenceel Pérez all do the large majority of their damage against righties, and tend to sit against lefties. Of those seven, the first three feel the most solid. Barger and Kurtz have serious raw power and enough of a hit tool to back it up, while Sheets seems to be fully earning his batting line. McMahon has a similar Statcast profile to Sheets, but with more walks and strikeouts, and a huge difference in park. Sheets will give you a better average, McMahon does more for power. Burleson is useful enough in deep leagues, but the lack of power leaves me underwhelmed. Cowser has been swinging for the fences since returning from the IL. Baltimore is a nice place for lefty power hitters, and Cowser can do plenty of damage. The average will rise, but you can still pencil in something like the 30% strikeout rate he has last year, so he will hurt you in that category. There's nothing in Pérez's history to suggest he is suddenly one of the premier power hitters in MLB, but he's enjoyed three weeks of that existence. I listed him among the righty-crushers because the Tigers haven't used him much against lefties last year or this one, but he is actually a switch hitter who has raked against lefties the few times he's seen them. The funny thing is he's not actually riding some random BABIP or HR/FB luck. There is no way he maintains an 18.8% barrel rate, but he's worth rostering in most leagues just to see where this goes. While we're discussing inexplicably good Tigers, so much of Javier Báez's profile looks unchanged from last year. Swinging strike rate, K%, BB%, barrel rate, exit velocity, maxEV … all basically the same. And yet, last year he had an unplayable wRC+ of 43, and this year he's near-star level at 126. So what's changed? His BABIP, first of all, has gone from .220 to .340, bringing his average up 100 points with it. His HR/FB% has doubled to 16.7%. He's chasing a little less and making more contact in the zone. Like Pérez, he's pulling a lot, aiming for homers and doubles down the left field line. He will cool off, and he's capable of some ugly cold streaks, but he's made himself deep-league relevant and playable for now in 12-teamers. Advertisement Cam Smith shook off a rough first month, and now we're seeing what he can do with his top-notch tools. Get him now if you still can. Michael Toglia came back from the minors and hit three homers in two games. That puts him on pace for over 100 homers for the rest of the season, which is pretty good. In all seriousness, if he's tamed the strikeout issue to the point his power and speed can play, he can be a huge boost in the second half. Cam Smith (OF, HOU) — See above Evan Carter (OF, TEX) — Sure, there's some volatility here, but that comes with huge upside. He's still one of the fastest players in MLB, with enough power and contact to dream on a monster season. I mentioned Carter, Kyle Stowers (OF, MIA), Sal Frelick (OF, MIL), and Jo Adell (OF, LAA) last week. I'm still interested in all of them (in that order, with tweaks depending on your needs). Ryan O'Hearn (1B/OF, BAL) — Another righty-masher. He may cool off a bit, but what he's doing looks mostly sustainable. Nick Kurtz (1B, ATH), Ryan McMahon (3B, COL) — See above Rhys Hoskins (1B, MIL) — He has gone cold, but I still like him long term as a slugger who won't hurt you too much in batting average. J.P. Crawford (SS, SEA) — The power and speed are both unexceptional, but he's been hitting very well and should be good for counting stats from the leadoff spot. Jeff McNeil (2B, NYM) — There isn't enough raw power for me to buy his recent homer surge as a new level, but, like Crawford, he has plenty to offer despite not being a big contributor in homers or steals. He should have plenty of guys on base in front of him to make use of those contact skills. Alejandro Kirk (C, TOR) — He doesn't have the power of some other catchers, but he's a legitimately good hitter. Advertisement Agustín Ramirez (C/1B, MIA) — The average should rise, he has power, and he plays every day. Carlos Narváez (C, BOS) — Playing a little over his head, but the power is real. Jordan Beck (OF, COL) — Mentioned last week. I remain a fan. Jesus Sanchez (OF, MIA) — Another righty-masher with huge power. The park and the lineup drag him down, but in the right matchups, he's very dangerous. Matt Wallner (OF, MIN) — Again with a guy who crush righties. Wallner also has serious power, and the average should be more in the .240-range going forward. Not a ton to get excited about down here, but we'll see what we can do. The upside play is Brady House (3B, WAS), who we'll get to below. Nolan Schanuel (1B, LAA), Carlos Santana (1B, CLE), and Ty France (1B, MIN) all continue to provide boring but solid production and are at least deep-league fillers. Of those, I lean France for the power upside, but Schanuel is your guy if you want a high average and the occasional steal. Brooks Lee (3B/2B/SS, MIN) has similarly middling power and contact with good positional versatility. Colt Keith (1B/2B, DET) has the tools to be a great player, but he's been losing playing time as the Tigers get healthy. Hyeseong Kim (2B/SS/OF, LAD) — More playing time is on the horizon, and Kim looks like he'll contribute plenty of average, speed, and runs. Otto Lopez (2B/SS, MIA) — Plenty of speed, decent power, and x-stats that say his batting average should be at least last year's .270 instead of this year's .230. Max Muncy (2B/3B, LAD) — He has started to hit in the past couple of weeks. Still more of a deep-leaguer for me, but he can contribute across the board if he gets going. Dillon Dingler (C, DET) — Nice high average with decent power and a good lineup. Advertisement Victor Caratini (C, HOU) — Deep leagues only, but hey, he plays most days and isn't terrible! Christian Moore (2B, LAA) — I have my doubts the 22-year-old is ready to be a difference-maker right away, but if you need power, he's a decent speculative add. Where I'm less certain is if he'll make enough contact to take advantage of it. He carried a high swinging strike rate and strikeout rate through the minors, and due to the Angels' aggressive promotion, he has spent all of 79 games in the minors since being drafted eighth overall last year. Brady House (3B, WAS) — House has a similar power-and-strikeouts profile, but I trust him more because he's had more time in Triple A. He appears to have the job in Washington until further notice. Grant Taylor (RP, CHW) — Another aggressive promotion. He put up comical strikeout rates in Single and Double A. For fantasy purposes, he's a deep league saves dart throw and ratio helper, but in most leagues you can find a more established commodity for that purpose. Hayden Birdsong (SFG); Ryan Yarbrough (NYY); Brandon Walter (HOU); Ben Brown (CHC) Birdsong has looked good as a starter so far. He's figuring this out on the fly, but the arsenal is great and his home park helps contain the damage. Presumably, he'll stick in the rotation as long as he's performing after a certain trade you may have heard about. Yarbrough has tinkered with his pitch mix to favor the slower, bendier stuff, and it's been working. He's gotten the K% up to a workable 22% (which would be the best of his career over a full season), and SIERA and xERA, which factor in contact quality, say he has actually deserved better than his ERA. You're forgiven for not knowing about Walter, a Red Sox prospect who took a step back in 2023, missed all of 2024, and is now suddenly pitching like an ace for the Astros. It's too early to know what we're looking at here (or even if he keeps a rotation spot), but the stuff is legit, and he's worth picking up now. One more great start and the hype train will leave the station. Advertisement Brown has been giving up a lot of hard contact, which has undermined his strong strikeout and walk numbers. I'd tread carefully for now, but strength of contact rates for pitchers fluctuate a fair amount, and he's worth keeping an eye on. I'm trying to not repeat myself too much, but I'm still in on Chad Patrick, Cade Horton, Landen Roupp, and Jose Soriano, who looked great against the Yankees. Edward Cabrera (MIA); Michael Soroka (WAS); Bryce Elder (ATL); Lucas Giolito (BOS); Ben Casparius (LAD) Cabrera has looked good after a shaky first month, and he may have found a better version of his kitchen sink approach. He won't pick up a lot of wins — he doesn't always make it through five innings and the run support is subpar, but the ERA and K% are some of the best you'll find at this depth. Soroka is the sort of passable arm you may be looking for at this depth. He is throwing more in the zone this year, which has cut his walk rate, but may be contributing to a higher hard hit rate. Expect a mid-4s ERA and a 22% K-rate. While we're on boring-but-effective NL East pitchers, Elder is exactly that. The 20% K rate is fine in deeper leagues, and the sinker-heavy approach produces lots of grounders. SIERA and xFIP give him a sub-4 ERA. Giolito flashed better velocity in his dominant start against the Mariners (six shutout innings, 10 Ks). The optimistic take is he's shaking off the rust after missing last year and will start to see better results. We'll need to see him do that for another couple of outings before calling it a new level, but he's at least worth monitoring for now. Casparius' role is constantly in flux, but he's been a value whether he's starting, relieving, or bulk relieving (when he has a great shot at getting a win). He showed potential control issues in the minors, but so far he has kept the walk rate tidy and paired that with great stuff. Advertisement Shelby Miller has the job in Arizona, is pitching well, and is somehow there for the taking in a majority of leagues. Tommy Kahnle is likely to be the primary ninth-inning option in Detroit while Will Vest is out, and he will continue to get saves here and there when Vest returns. Calvin Faucher has righted the ship for now, and is the closer in Miami. (Photo of Jurickson Profar: Orlando Ramirez / Getty Images)
