Tag: Sue Bird

Seattle Storm reportedly fined for tampering with Sue Bird, who was never going to play anywhere else

Breaking down the reports of the Seattle Storm being fined for tampering.

Alas, we have an ending to the tale of the Seattle Storms’ not-so-mysterious deleted tweets! And, it’s an annoying one that is likely insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

Doug Feinberg of the Associated Press took to Twitter to report that the Seattle Storm have been fined for its tweets last week about Sue Bird’s return to the WNBA, according to sources close to the AP. The exact penalties are unknown and the source preferred to remain anonymous. Still, it should be noted the CBA states that the fine for first-time offenders could amount to as much as $300,000.

Whatever the fine is, it doesn’t seem to be altering Seattle’s free agency plan. The club put the core designation on Jewell Loyd on Friday, reports Rachel Galligan of Winsidr and Just Women’s Sports. The Storm enter Saturday’s official start of free agency with more moves to make.

One, officially agree to a contract with Bird. Two, come to terms on a return deal with Breanna Stewart, the No. 1 free agent on BetFTW’s Top Free Agents list. And three—round out the roster with pieces that’ll put Seattle to contend for its fifth WNBA championship.

Tipico Sportsbook lists the Storm at +425 to win the title in 2022. Those odds may drastically change depending on how free agency plays out.

Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO).

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The Seattle Storm may have just tampered with themselves, but it probably doesn’t matter much

The Seattle Storm’s official Twitter account deleted tweets regarding Sue Bird’s announcement to return to the WNBA for a 19th season.

When your favorite player on your favorite sports team announces their return, what’s one of the first things you do? Go on social media to share, tweet, and retweet all about it, right? It turns out the Seattle Storm aren’t too different from you and I.

The Storm’s official Twitter account had the posts locked and loaded shortly after veteran WNBA point guard Sue Bird took to Instagram to announce her return for a 19th season in the W, presumably with the Seattle Storm.

But, perhaps the organization came to a realization that their tweets weren’t the greatest of ideas. They removed the tweets shortly after.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CYb1KVRrNr6/

 

Sue Bird came back to the WNBA and made life easier and harder for Seattle’s front office

WNBA legend Sue Bird announced her intentions of returning to the WNBA for another season.

As the WNBA approaches its negotiation period of free agency, a Friday bomb was dropped before the fun was supposed to begin. Sue Bird shared an Instagram post announcing her return to the W for her 19th season.

Under league rules, Bird and Seattle can’t officially begin negotiations until January 15th and a contract can’t be signed until February 1st. A violation of such is tampering, which is why Seattle quickly removed a “BIRD IS BACK” graphic and a “Run it back” post from its official Twitter account. But make no mistake about it. Bird’s intentions seem clear as she captioned her Instagram post with yellow and green colored heart emojis.

Bird’s anticipated 19th go-around with the Storm will be welcomed by both fans and an organization pursuing a fifth WNBA championship. Her decorated career includes four WNBA Championships, 12 All-Star appearances, five All-WNBA First Team selections, three All-WNBA Second Team selections, five Olympic gold medals, and she’s the all-time WNBA assists leader.

However, Bird’s return could make for an even more interesting free agency period across the league.

The Storm currently have eight players from their 2021 roster entering free agency — four restricted and four unrestricted. Arguably two of the top three or four unrestricted free agents in all of the W are Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd, who Seattle will have to pay top dollar to keep from leaving. Bird’s return makes that harder to do, but it’s still possible. Having all three players back just wouldn’t leave much money for the Storm to round out the roster with quality players.

Depending on which way free agency breaks, there will be more on the table for the rest of the league. Seattle keeps its “Big 3” and the top free agents steer clear of Seattle. Or, one of the three departs Seattle and the free agency period gets wild. Either way, the Storm (and their free agents) will have some decisions to make.

Seattle enters the free agency period looking to load up for another WNBA championship. It’s currently +450 at Tipico Sportsbook to win in 2022, but those may be changing in the next few weeks as free agency unfolds.

Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO).

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Drew Brees’ fourth quarter Saints commentary on ESPN2’s Manning show

Drew Brees’ fourth quarter Saints commentary on ESPN2’s Manning show, via @MaddyHudak_94:

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Former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees joined Peyton and Eli Manning’s “Monday Night Football” simulcast for the fourth quarter in their 13-10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. It was the first time Brees offered live commentary on a Saints game this season as they have yet to play a Sunday night football game over on NBC Sports.

The Mannings asked Brees to survey the state of the current New Orleans offense, Jameis Winston’s development and what he noticed last year, insight into who calls protections, and facing this defense in training camp and practice. His real-time comments on the performance of receivers was perhaps most telling. Here’s what Brees had to say on Monday night during the ESPN2 broadcast:

Megan Rapinoe explains how Sue Bird inspired her mid-career transformation

Megan Rapinoe’s diet switch-up included “Sue’s famous breakfast sandwich.”

Megan Rapinoe is in top form at 36 years old and doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon. Just this summer, the soccer legend scored two goals against Australia to help the national team win bronze at the Tokyo Olympics.

The USWNT star reveals that her remarkable career longevity is thanks in large part to her fiancée Sue Bird.

Rapinoe stopped by the Snacks podcast to talk with teammates Lynn Williams and Sam Mewis about the diet and exercise changes she made at age 30 when Bird walked into her life.

“I feel like that’s kind of just about the time where your body just kind of changes anyways,” says Rapinoe about the end of her 20s, when she was coming off her third ACL tear.

“You go the first part of your career, and you can kind of just do what you’re doing… but then there comes this time where you need to change something or you just get old really fast.”

That’s when future WNBA Hall of Famer Sue Bird entered the picture.

“I got really lucky because I met Sue, and Sue is five years older than me, and she kind of went through this period.”

As part of her own return from injury, Bird had implemented a new diet and exercise regime.

“Of course, I was smitten, in love, and I was like, ‘I’ll just pretty much do whatever Sue’s doing,’” remembers Rapinoe.

At the time, Rapinoe was also getting considerably less playing time with the national team after kneeling in support of Colin Kaepernick.

“I was a little on the outs with Jill [Ellis] and the National Team because of the whole kneeling situation. They didn’t really take well to that.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CVBmfsiNzD8/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=6852f3aa-ac76-492d-88a9-bf90fb8da3b2

Because she wasn’t being invited into national team camp, Rapinoe had a lot more time to experiment with her diet and exercise.

“I was just like, working out and eating the way Sue did,” says Rapinoe, “It wasn’t like I drastically changed everything, but it was more what I was eating and when.”

The diet switch-up included “Sue’s famous breakfast sandwich,” which consists of an english muffin, over hard eggs, onions, and sauteed spinach. It also meant cutting out a lot of carbs, especially earlier in the day.

Even with the strict diet in place, Rapinoe says she still finds time for charcuterie boards, wine, pizza and fried chicken every now and again, saying, “You can’t drive yourself nuts” if you get too obsessed with your diet.

Listen to the full conversation with Rapinoe for more on her historic career and her life with Bird here.

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The two flag-bearers for the U.S. at the Tokyo Olympics has been announced

The two flag-bearers for the U.S. at the Tokyo Olympics has been announced: women’s basketball player Sue Bird and baseball player Eddy Alvarez.

The two flag-bearers for the U.S. at the Tokyo Olympics has been announced: women’s basketball player Sue Bird and baseball player Eddy Alvarez.