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Category: Mohegan
Mohegan CEO Ray Pineault’s phone was ringing off the hook in the early days of May.
Executives, cohorts and friends were clamoring to get tickets to watch Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark’s pro debut against the Connecticut Sun, which is owned by the Mohegan tribe, a Native American group that manages and owns entertainment resorts in the United States and Canada. He was the bearer of bad news, as the May 14 season opener sold out faster than any home game in the Sun’s 25-year franchise history. It was one of 11 sellouts that the WNBA franchise had this season, including Wednesday’s series-clinching 87-81 win over Clark and the Fever in the first round of the playoffs.
“Kudos to her, she’s a fantastic player,” Pineault said. “You can see the statistics. But we also have fantastic players on our team who have shown their mettle, strength and competitiveness on the court.”
The Sun, with year-to-year increases in nearly all business categories from group sales to TV viewership, look to capture their first WNBA championship as they ride the momentum from the league’s banner year. The first pro sports team to be owned by a Native American tribe has reached the WNBA Finals four times but is still chasing that elusive title. The semifinals-bound team hopes to finally get over the hump this year, all while playing a pivotal role in the overall business strategy for Mohegan.
The growth in women’s sports has been beneficial for Mohegan, but so has the explosion of online sports betting and gambling. The Sun’s current playoff run comes at a good moment for the team’s parent company, which operates the Mohegan Sun Arena located inside its casino complex in Uncasville,…
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Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark’s sensational first season in professional basketball came to an end on Wednesday, as the Fever were eliminated from the WNBA playoffs by the Connecticut Sun.
Per usual, Clark was fantastic on offense. She rebounded from a lackluster scoring effort during Game 1 on Sunday to score 25 points on 10-23 shooting from the field while adding 9 assists and 6 rebounds on Wednesday.
Clark re-finding her form on offense isn’t a surprise, given how elite of a playmaker and shooter she is. Yet, one play during Wednesday’s game has many fans believing that offense should not be Clark’s biggest concern.
Connecticut’s “dagger” on Wednesday came when guard Marina Mabrey hit a clutch three-pointer with 45 seconds left in the game to put Indiana up four points. Clark was supposed to be guarding her but appeared to fall victim to “ball watching”, which freed Mabrey up to hit the shot.
Clark caught a lot of criticism on social media for what appeared to be a defensive lapse in pivotal possession.
“Lmaoooooo throwing your hands up when that was your man should be a crime ,” X user @keepitplay8 wrote in a response to a video of Mabrey’s shot.
Lmaoooooo throwing your hands up when that was your man should be a crime https://t.co/OqUvNdsHOC
— Kia 🅱️ (@keepitplay8) September 26, 2024
X user @CallingsonMaka added, “The fact that their season ended on her typical bad defen[s]e is so poetic. Like you literally can’t make this s*** up”.
“On the first watch, I thought that she got caught going under a screen, but after watching again, she was just ball watching, lol. Wasn’t glued on her man whatsoever…,” added a third.
On the first watch, I thought that she…
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The “Piano Man” will perform a round of one-night-only shows at stadiums across the U.S. in 2025 with support from the iconic Sting and Stevie Nicks on select dates.
Billy Joel is slated to play five shows, kicking things off at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on February 8 with Sting. From there, he’ll appear at Uncasville’s Mohegan Sun Arena for a solo show and Detroit’s Ford Field with Nicks. Sting will help him round-out the run with gigs at Syracuse’s JMA Wireless Dome, the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, and Salt Lake City’s Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Joel is also on tour this year; fans can find him performing on September 27 at St. Louis’ Busch Stadium, followed by gigs in Inglewood, San Antonio, Las Vegas, and Hollywood, Florida throughout the year. He’s set to celebrate New Year’s Eve with a show on December 31 at Belmont Park’s UBS Arena in New York; the concert will mark the second consecutive year the singer will headline the venue to ring in the new year.
Earlier this year, Joel concluded his remarkable and record-breaking residency at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, taking the stage for the 150th and final time.
Joel’s newly-announced dates are available for presale starting Wednesday, October 2 with the code SETLIST, followed by a general onsale Friday, October 4 at 10 a.m. local time. Find Joel’s full list of upcoming tour dates, as well as various ticketing options, below:
Billy Joel Tickets
Billy Joel 2024-2025 Tour Dates:
2024
September 27 – St. Louis, MO @ Busch Stadium %
October 12 – Inglewood, CA @ Intuit Dome
October 25 – San Antonio, TX @ Alamodome %
November 09 – Las Vegas, NV @ Allegiant…
Now that the Indiana Fever have been eliminated from the WNBA playoffs, fans will have to (most likely) wait until the spring to see superstar Caitlin Clark back on the court, playing regular season games.
Despite the Fever being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Connecticut Sun, there’s no question that this season was a success for them. Not only had Indiana not made the playoffs since 2016 before this year, but they’ve been perpetual bottom-dwellers in the WNBA standings for most of the time since that point.
But their elite young core now appears destined to turn Indiana into a championship contender in the coming years.
While winning a WNBA championship is an obvious goal for any WNBA player and franchise, Caitlin Clark made it clear that she has a more specific goal in mind for her Fever in 2025 during her end-of-season exit meeting on Friday.
“You got a taste of getting the playoffs, obviously we haven’t been there since 2016,” Clark said, per X user Ken Swift. “So I think that’s what the message was for us, is like, hey, great, we got the six-seed. Our goal was to get back to the playoffs. But we probably could have given ourselves a little bit better of a chance to try to get it to game three to give our fans an opportunity to cheer us on at home, and that’s kind of what stunk about it.
“But next year, we’re wanting to be a top-four seed,” Clark added. “We believe we can build this place into a championship contender. That’s what I believe. That’s why I’m going to do everything in my power to help this organization get there. But you’ve got to let it hurt you a little…
Caitlin Clark closed the chapter on her rookie campaign with more personal records and another viewership milestone for the WNBA.
Clark became the first rookie in playoff history with at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists in a single game, but it was not enough for the Indiana Fever to pull off a victory in Game 2 of their first round series against the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday night.
Caitlin Clark, #22 of the Indiana Fever, drives to the basket during the game against the Connecticut Sun during Round 1 Game 2 of the 2024 WNBA Playoffs on Sept. 25, 2024 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. (Chris Marion/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Sun spoiled Clark’s playoff debut to capture the series and move on to the semifinals.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Despite the outcome, the game set a new milestone for women’s basketball in a year that was nothing short of historic.
According to ESPN Press Room, Game 2 marked the most-viewed WNBA game ever aired on cable – both regular season and playoffs. An average of 2.54 million viewers tuned in, a significant increase from the previous record set in Game 1 with an average of 1.8 million viewers that peaked at 2.2 million.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, #22, is goes to the basket as Connecticut Sun forward Olivia Nelson-Ododa, #10, and guard Veronica Burton, #22, defend…
Former Iowa Hawkeyes’ superstar Caitlin Clark just finished out her rookie season in the WNBA with the Indiana Fever. While they ended up making the playoffs, they were bounced out of the first round by the Connecticut Sun.
Despite losing in the first round, the future is extremely bright for Clark and the Fever.
Recently, NBA superstar LeBron James came out and shared some bold praise about Clark. She has received a lot of praise from NBA stars throughout her rookie WNBA season.
Speaking to Esquire, James shared quite a few thoughts about Clark and made it clear that he has a lot of respect for what she’s doing.
“I have a great deal of respect for Caitlin Clark because I know exactly what it means to be drafted, be the face of a franchise, and also get the scrutiny from a lot of people that don’t believe you’re ready for the next jump, don’t believe you’re ready for the big leagues, and just don’t think that you belong. And I remember that when I came into the league at eighteen years old, how many people doubted me and hoped and prayed that I’d fail.”
Those are some big words coming from a player of the caliber of James.
Clark has completely changed the outlook for women’s basketball. She has brought all-time high viewership to the WNBA and has become a global player.
As a rookie, Clark ended up playing in 40 games. She averaged 19.2 points per game to go along with 8.4 assists, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.3 steals. In addition to those averages, she shot 41.7 percent from the floor and 34.4 percent from the three-point line.
It will be interesting to see what the future has in store for Clark. She already looks the part of a WNBA superstar.
More than likely,…