Breanna Stewart was holding court … High-above court actually inside Rocket Mortgage Center in Cleveland at the Women’s Final Four.

Stewart was there to support her UConners as they prepared for Iowa and Caitlin Clark about to tip-off below her “Loudville Lookout” in the RMC.

“Love what she (CC) is doing for our game,”
said Stewart. “The next level (WNBA) will be a real challenge … there are a lot of great players in our league.”

Stewart hinted Clark would find the transition a challenge as the players – across the board – are quicker, taller and …”tougher.”

What Stewart stopped short of saying is that Clark will/does have a target on her back. Clark and the Indiana Fever are an easy game to get up for.

Stewart got up alright!
31 points and 10 rebounds worth as her NY Liberty torched CC and the Fever 102-66 in Indianapolis last night.

Clark had 9 points. She can score 10 tying her shoes in the morning.
9 points! Ugly #2 …

The rematch is set for tomorrow afternoon 1p Eastern on ABC.

Speaking of ugly… Denver got drilled by 45.
But they win Game 7 against the T-Wolves… eh?

He had a dream life. All-American career at Duke University followed up with an NBA run of 12 years and over 10-thousand points; a post-playing spot as a college basketball analyst on CBS TV… a wonderful life!

Yet when the final buzzer sounded on his playing days, when the final horn rang out on his broadcast assignments, he had a ‘Jump Ball’ with bottles of booze.

Mike Giminski tells his story in riveting, candid detail these days. “Two fifths a day”; vodka … all to calm the nerves and mental anguish of the “love of his life” dying suddenly in his arms.

The days and the empty bottles piled up. Each empty Glass Soldier convincing his woe-filled mind he could fight another day.

Each empty bottle discarded to the back woods lying together in a field of carnage. Until that fateful day… the day of recognition for every alcoholic who doesn’t die first.

“I was well over 300 pounds; death warmed over and while my friends and colleagues gave me a “two year hall pass” it was no secret Mike was in a death spiral.

Father’s Day weekend he arrived at a kitchen table littered with mud-caked vodka bottles with a note from his son Noah: “Dad… I love you and we need to get you help.” Love, Noah.

300 + pounds of humanity and false pride melted in shame and guilt. God intervening no doubt.

The G-Man was at his bottom. It was clear as day even with a mind warbled by alcoholism.

Rehab, a true no-turning-back-surrender, and a plea to God to relieve him from the bondage of alcohol… Honesty, Openness and
a Willingness were the ingredients to save his life.

And, the AA credo of One Day at a Time…

Read the Mouth Daily for scores and notes on the ‘24 event.

Article from the city of Pella

39th Iowa Mid-Amateur Championship Tee Sheet

Ugly and any assessment of a woman therein is not advisable.
Yet, Caitlin Clark’s WNBA debut versus the Connecticut Seesusk was ….ok, BAD. Really bad!

Clark’s stat line at first glance screams… “what can be so bad …20 points?” Ah, when a “double/double” includes 10 turnovers the debate stops right there, on the spot. UGLY!

Clark, we are finding, is easily rattled. 2 quick fouls and she was off-her-rocker pissed off. She goes off at anything, anyone… the calls were legit.

CC is the WNBA right now. Amidst, her lousy performance ESPN insisted on flashing her graphics once she finally scored an off a lay nearly 15 minutes into her debut. This is very much akin to when Tiger Woods’ golf scores would flash across B-roll from previous rounds to to give viewers what they came for : All Tiger, All the time.

Clark is in new terrain / shark infested waters. She’s the new arrival to the party and someone will always look to spit in her drink; she’s the Chosen One and it ain’t all that and a bag of nuts.

On to NY on Saturday against the Liberty. National TV, of course, and watch how they open the telecast with CC for all to See-See!
1:00p Eastern on ABC no less! Love it!

Tonight:
Celtics finish off second straight series against a under-manned opponent.
Bracing for Celtics-Knicks.

Gutsy Award:
Bruins. One bad call away from “leading” this series 3 games to 2.
Charlie McAvoy is coming around after disastrous puck-handling early on in this series. He’s a key just you watch and see!

Colorado. Not ready to bow out just yet.

NFL Schedule Release:
Zzzzz…
Bad TV. I’ll read it in 10 minutes online and post on refrigerator in 10 seconds.
Then, over the summer, bring it to the beach with a highlighter. The schedule is meant to be slooooow goooood!

Gutsy II: Tom Brady admitting Roast was a huge mistake. His kids got hurt by it. That’s all you need to know.
Having to hear about their Mom’s affairs is cruel. I’d have loved Brady going all- Will Smith on anyone of his “roasters” including the biggest, unfunny, disgusting Kevin Hart.
Now, that’s TV!

CC debuts tonight !
Don’t even need to mention her name!

28th WNBA season unfolding with CC leading the Indiana Fever into Connecticut to face the Sun.

Methinks the Spotlight fuels CC to 30+ points !

Check out my Facebook on the NY Post today!

NFL schedule release tomorrow and it will – has already- overshadow everything else.

Mike Giminski on the show tonight along with Omar Vizquel. Hoops and MLB – 6p Eastern.

A great coach who guided a mystical group of women to incredible heights! Best of luck Coach Bluder! -Marty

Dear Hawkeye Nation:

It is with a range of emotions that I share with you today that I have decided to step down from leading the Iowa women’s basketball team after 24 memorable years. I informed President Wilson and Director of Athletics Beth Goetz of my decision and I am grateful for their unwavering support and offered them my assistance in any manner in the future.

It has been the honor of my career to be a part of the Iowa Hawkeye family, and to lead a women’s basketball program filled with so many talented and remarkable young women, who have gone on to do great things in their careers and, more importantly, in their lives. There is no denying that this past season was incredible for so many reasons, and we could not have accomplished our achievements without all of you. After the season ended, I spent time with our student-athletes and coaches reviewing the season and preparing those moving on for what comes next. With that also came personal contemplation about what this journey has meant to me, how to best champion this program, and what the future looks like for my family and me. After then taking some time away with my husband, David, it became clear to me that I am ready to step aside.

There is never an ideal time to retire and I am sure this fall that I will miss the games, the practices, the road trips, the atmosphere, the tremendous fans and, most importantly, the players. But my belief in the foundation of this program, knowing that success is now an unrelenting component of women’s basketball at the University of Iowa gives me comfort as I transition to become the program’s biggest champion.

I want to thank each and every young woman who believed in our program and in our values for nearly a quarter of a century, and who proudly wore the Black & Gold.

I want to thank Presidents Coleman, Skorton, Mason, Harreld and Wilson for their unequivocal support of our program and Directors of Athletics Dr. Christine Grant, Bob Bowlsby, Gary Barta and Beth Goetz for their unrelenting partnership.

I want to thank my assistant coaches and operations and support staff who each played an integral role in our journey. I specifically want to acknowledge the work of Jan Jensen and Jenni Fitzgerald whom I have had the pleasure of working alongside for the past 32 years. 

I want to thank the incredible fans for believing in what we were doing and how we were doing it, creating the greatest home court advantage in all of women’s basketball.

And finally, I want to thank David and our children, Hannah, Emma and David, Jr., for supporting me while I pursued my dreams and for their own sacrifices along the way.

It is my hope that now with more time and energy, I can be an asset to our basketball program and this athletics department in any way that I am able. 

With Love and Gratitude, Lisa Bluder, P. Sue Beckwith, MD, Head Women’s Basketball Coach

May 7, 1995. Madison Square Garden in New York. Reggie Miller torches the NY Knicks with 8 points in 9 seconds. The Indiana Pacers defeat the Knicks 107-105. Ah, playoff basketball right?

Last night, the defending Champions Denver Nuggets erupt for 8 points in 20 seconds right before halftime to stretch a 7 point lead to 15 and the Minnesota Timberwolves never recovered losing Game 4 and the series is now tied 2-2. I think the series might be Denver’s too!

When the smoke clears, we’ll probably realize Anthony Edwards is a legit superstar, but the T- Wolves are not Ready-for-Primetime just yet!

Tomorrow night on an Indian Reservation in Connecticut Caitlin Clark will officially begin her WNBA career. Clark and the Indiana Fever face the Connecticut Sun at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

In terms of context, the University of Connecticut is close by in Storrs; there are more cows than people.

But UConn is, and has been been, a sheer Basketball hotbed for a quarter century. The UConn men have won back-to-back National Championships.
And the Caitlin Clark debut has the locals scratching their heads.
If it’s big and it’s Basketball it has to be UConn…. But it’s not!

The Media List is dotted with National and International outlets — there is a Media “Waiting List”- and ESPN is airing the game as the World-wide Leader, right? Right!

The arena seats a little over 10,000 and they are creating a “ Standing Room Only “ and tickets you can actually sit in are off-the-charts.

Nike has its top executives in town (see Tiger Woods 1997 Masters for comparison.) In a word. Caitlin Clark in Gold.

Caitlin Clark’s publicity tour (her life) has got to be exhausting. Well, it’s about to ramp up a few more decibels as the Indiana Fever hit the East Coast for a couple of wildly anticipated games: Tuesday at the Connecticut Sun and a week from Saturday against the NY Liberty.

Why play her 32 minutes in a preseason game you ask? Because nearly 14,000 fans showed up for the game in Indianapolis.
NBA stars would NOT do it.

NY Rangers look unstoppable … appears like a sweep on the docket against a very solid Carolina Hurricane club.

Weekend Watch:
Golf: Wells Fargo leaderboard shaping up for a potential awesome Sunday final round. Taylor Moore could steal it after an interesting opening round on Thursday. Two bogey’s after the turn soiled what otherwise a solid round.

Our own Randy Bern fired an 82 at Bellerive in Saint Louis recently. Mind-numbing difficult is the staid old course in toney Town & Country, MO.

Bellerive opened 127 years ago in 1897; it’s one of the “Big 4” in Saint Louis.

Celtics bounce back… Florida Panthers are just better than the Boston Bruins. It just that simple.
It’ll be a make or break weekend for the Denver Nuggets. I say Minnesota in 6.