As crazy as it sounds, you might find yourself rooting for Angel Reese over Caitlin Clark on Monday night.
I’m not a fan of the Louisiana State University women’s basketball players who will take Iowa by storm in the most captivating women’s basketball game ever played.
“Bayou Barbie” vs. “Sho White” for the right to advance to the Final Four is a matchup between Irvin “Magic” Johnson and Larry “The Hiccup from French Lick” Bird in the men’s NCAA tournament. It remains the most culturally meaningful basketball clash in 45 years. title game.
In 1979, I rooted for the Magic. As an 11-year-old boy, no athlete captured my imagination quite like the 6-foot-9 point guard with his charismatic smile and no-look pass. I was obsessed with Magic and the fast-paced style of play that he popularized.
Eighteen years later, Tiger Woods’ ascent in golf sparked a similar enthusiasm for the sport, but even bigger. I wasn’t interested in golf until Tiger started winning tournaments. Woods changed me. He made me care about players like Ernie Els, Jim Juryk, David Duvall, Mark O’Meara, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and so many others. He forced me to take an interest in the history of golf and I came to appreciate Tom Watson, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Greg Norman.
Caitlin Clark had exactly the same influence on me as Magic and Tiger. I’m crazy about her. She forced me to learn more about the women’s game. Southern California’s JuJu Watkins is my second favorite player.
I love Caitlin Clark. However, I have come to expect young athletes to take on the challenges that arise.
This is the difference. When Magic Johnson took the court, when Tiger Woods strolled around the golf course, there was never a moment where I wasn’t obviously rooting for them.
I might be rooting for Angel Reese right now.
That’s crazy. Reese is probably the most overrated athlete of my lifetime. She is more overrated than boxer Gerry Cooney, who fought Larry Holmes for the heavyweight title in 1982. All Angel Reese really brings to this match is her direct, hey, look at me attitude. Her claim to fame is mocking Caitlin Clark. that’s it. She’s not that skilled. She’s no Larry Bird or Magic Johnson. She is Greg Kelser, the Michigan State wingman who benefited from Magic’s transcendent playmaking ability. Reese is a solid post player. She knocks down 5-8 putbacks and grabs 10-12 rebounds per game. solid job.
she’s not a star. She’s not a co-star.
So why am I rooting for her tonight?
Because LSU coach Kim Mulkey is a true star in women’s college hoops. Mulkey is a true villain and a threatening force in left-wing discourse in all sports.
Caitlin is one of the most interesting and inspiring athletes in all of sports. Mulkey is the most dangerous man in sports. She is the destroyer that the left establishment wants to destroy.
The left hates Mulkey because she is the antithesis of the left’s chosen savior, University of South Carolina coach Dawn Staley.
The discrimination, vitriol, and injustice that Staley pretends to receive is actually directed at Mulkey by the mainstream media.
The Washington Post reported this over the weekend as the Lady Tigers prepared for their Sweet 16 matchup against UCLA. 8,000 words deleted Mulkey’s. The long-awaited film portrays Mulkey as paranoid, vindictive, isolated, mean, and unloving.
A week earlier, Mulkey and her lawyer had pre-emptively threatened to sue over the article, which must have forced Post editors to tone down their attacks. But the thrust of the attack remained. While Mulkey was a coach at Baylor, a religious school, she refused to worship the LGBTQ Alphabet Mafia. She advised Brittney Greiner and other gay athletes to keep her private life secret.
Malki did not like tattoos or changing hair color frequently. She preferred that her players always represent themselves as women, rather than as androgynous hoopers.
Mulkey clearly believes in two genders, even if he doesn’t say it explicitly. She patrols the sidelines in flashy, hyper-feminine clothing because she wants to make the point that there is just as much strength in traditional femininity as in the hyper-masculine looks of Greiner et al. doing.
Because of all this and more, Mulkey is demonized. How could she not voice her support for Ms. Griner, who was imprisoned in Russia for her ill-advised choice to bring illegal drugs into a foreign country? Why would she prefer a locker room environment without the complications of romantic relationships between her teammates?
A Los Angeles Times reporter took his attack on Mulkey to a new level on Friday. He said the LSU-UCLA game was a battle of good versus evil. He called the Tigers “dirty debutants.” That label is given to porn video series. Writers called LSU a dirty whore.
Their crime? She plays for Malki, a straight Christian woman who doesn’t give in to worldly things.
It’s comical. Mulkey receives the kind of enthusiasm and criticism that secular woke people give Staley. Staley, who dresses like a teenage boy, is revered. She creates discrimination and victimhood.
Duke University volleyball player false claims BYU students serenaded her with racial slurs. Without any confirmation, Staley canceled a basketball game at BYU citing her safety concerns. When an investigation revealed this story to be false, Staley never apologized.
Last year, during the NCAA Tournament, Staley slandered Iowa State coach Lisa Bruder as a racist. Bruder said in a press conference that rebounding against South Carolina was like getting into a “bar fight.” Staley climbed on the cross and acted as if Bruder were leading a pregame Klan rally.
“We’re not bar fighters. We’re not thugs. We’re not monkeys,” Staley whined. “We’re not street fighters. This team embodies how we need to approach basketball on and off the court. And I think sometimes that carries over into the game and it hurts.” Masu.”
Thanks to Staley, I might be rooting for Angel Reese on Monday night. Reese and Clark will disappear into the WNBA abyss. The cold war between Staley and Mulkey would define women’s college basketball for the next decade.
I love Caitlin Clark. However, I have come to expect young athletes to take on the challenges that arise. There are too many pressures and financial incentives for them to hold firm to their beliefs.
Kim Mulkey doesn’t fold. She’s not perfect, but she has overcome challenges.
I think Mulkey and the Tigers have a better chance of beating South Carolina than Iowa.
