WNBA

Sophie Cunningham was as unfiltered as it gets in her defense of Caitlin Clark ... claiming anyone who doesn't think her Indiana Fever teammate is the face of the WNBA is "dumb as f***."

Cunningham -- known for her passionate defense of Clark on the court -- proved she's just as loyal off it in her new podcast, "Show Me Something," this week ... explaining to her cohost and Bravo star West Wilson why she gets so worked up over the debate surrounding the superstar's impact on the W.

The 28-year-old made her stance crystal clear -- "It pisses me off when people are like, 'She’s not the face of the league.' What? ... When people try to argue that she’s not the face of our league or that our league would be where we’re at without her — you’re dumb as s***, you're literally dumb as f***."

It was a rough night all around for the Los Angeles Sparks ... not only did they lose to the Las Vegas Aces -- their mascot got wrecked by a performer doing some backflips!!

The moment went down during a break in the action at Crypto.com Arena. As Sparky was interacting with the crowd, one of the dancers was backflipping his way down the court when he made contact with the dog ... sending him down to the ground.

But he didn't let it keep him down long ... as he was back in the crowd shortly after -- rocking a band-aid on his noggin.

Caitlin Clark's groin injury has stopped her from shooting basketballs, but not kicking soccer balls ... and some of her fans are pissed!

A video surfaced showing Clark at McCombs Middle School in Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday, where she was seen playing with kids, including kicking around a soccer ball.

Some fans were left stunned after watching the clip -- and not in a good way.

Angel Reese might've just added John Kruk to her Hater List -- she apparently clapped back at the former MLB catcher for shading the hell outta her during Tuesday night's Phillies game.

Kruk's comment came during the Phils' win over the Chicago White Sox ... when his co-announcer, Tom McCarthy, gave a birthday tribute to one of his buddies' wives -- pointing out the guy "played at Rider and Monmouth. It's all because I missed a lot of shots and he cleaned them up."

Kruk then hit back with a bit of a zinger ... replying, "I don't want to say anything, but there's someone here in Chicago that does that a lot."

A WNBA game on Tuesday night was delayed several minutes ... because of a flying sex toy.

Seriously.

The wild scene -- click here if you wanna see it -- unfolded late in the fourth quarter of the Valkyries vs. Dream matchup at the Gateway Center in College Park, Ga. ... when a fan decided to hurl a neon green dildo onto the court as the two teams were tied at 75 with one minute to play.

Michael Lewis -- the 55-year-old man accused of stalking and harassing Caitlin Clark -- was just sentenced to 2.5 years behind bars.

The Texas-native appeared in an Indiana courtroom on Monday, and after striking a deal with prosecutors ... he formally pleaded guilty to one felony count of stalking and one misdemeanor count of harassment.

In addition to time in a cell, Lewis was ordered to have no contact with Clark and to stay away from Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indiana Fever Events and Pacers Organization Events.

With the BIG3's $5 million offer to Caitlin Clark never coming to fruition ... could a lucrative Angel Reese proposal be up next for the hoops league?

Don't count on it.

TMZ Sports caught up with Ice Cube at LAX this week ... and the BIG3 honcho said there will be no deal put in front of Reese anytime soon.

Caitlin Clark keeps rewriting the record books -- her one-of-one, autographed logo patch rookie card just sold at auction for $660K ... making it the most expensive in women's sports!!

The gem was sold through Fanatics Collect's July Premier auction on Thursday ... and a lucky bidder got their hands on Clark's 2024 Panini Flawless WNBA Platinum card after shelling out the eye-popping amount of dough.

So, why back up the Brinks trucks for a piece of cardboard?? This item features Clark's game-worn jersey logo patch and an autograph with an extra note that reads, "769 pts and counting" -- a nod to her rookie season scoring total.

WNBA star Courtney Williams thought Diplo was boring the crowd with his EDM setlist during an after-party -- and demanded he play some hip hop pronto!!!

The wild scene happened at Sports Illustrated's All-Star after-party on Saturday night, where Diplo was the enlisted paid DJ, but Courtney didn't think he was doing his job properly.

Courtney confronted Diplo in the middle of his set, bombarding him with song requests, which he didn't seem to grasp in real time, but he eventually changed things up -- much to the approval of Williams.

Diplo didn't take it personal -- he's been a pro DJ for eons and later posted Courtney jamming to the GloRilla "TGIF" track he dropped to make her happy.

Caitlin Clark's groin is keeping her out of the All-Star Game this weekend, but there's no way in hell it was gonna stop her from having a good time ... 'cause the Indiana Fever hooper raged her face off with her fellow WNBA players on Thursday!!

Clark and a bunch of big WNBA names hit up the INVY nightclub for the All-Star Champagne Launch Party ... hours after she announced she would not be competing in the ASW festivities to rest her body after the injury she suffered earlier in the week.

Despite the disappointing news, Clark was in great spirits -- the 23-year-old made her way behind the DJ booth at one point in the shindig ... getting hyped when "Grove St. Party" by Waka Flocka Flame hit the speakers.

The WNBA All-Star Weekend festivities will go on without its biggest star -- Caitlin Clark just announced she will not be competing to allow her body to rest after suffering an injury.

The Indiana Fever guard confirmed the news in a statement on Thursday ... saying even though she was stoked for her home city to host the whole slate of events, she is "sad and disappointed to say I can't participate in the 3-Point Contest or the All-Star Game."

"I have to rest my body."

Caitlin Clark's frustrations with recent officiating boiled over on Tuesday -- the WNBA superstar went off on a referee during the Fever vs. Sun game, forcing a coach to step in and pull her away.

It happened in the third quarter of the contest at TD Garden in Boston ... when Clark and referee Michael Price were going back and forth on the court.

It's unclear what Price said to Clark, but whatever it was struck a nerve ... turning a calm exchange into a heated one.

Shaquille O'Neal just sent a stern warning to Robert Griffin III ... telling the Heisman Trophy winner if he continues to keep Angel Reese's name in his mouth, the Big Diesel is going to serve up a big ol' knuckle sandwich.

The NBA legend took aim at RGIII during an appearance on the "Off The Record" podcast this week ... going off on the former NFL quarterback for re-posting a racist meme of Reese on his X page.

"RGIII," Shaq said as he took off his sunglasses and stared into a camera. "Tweet another monkey post about my girl Angel Reese and I'm going to punch you in your f***ing face. OK? It's enough."

Swin Cash is all-in on the WNBA coming back to Detroit ... telling TMZ Sports the city and its fans deserve it -- no matter what the haters say!!

We spoke with the three-time champion at the Taylor vs. Serrano fight on Friday ... and asked her about the W's announcement that Motor City -- where Cash played from 2002 to 2007 -- would be home to a pro women's hoops team once again in 2029.

Of course, the Shock relocated to Tulsa in 2009 ... and eventually settled in Dallas in 2016.

The Caitlin Clark effect hate is real ... so says Nancy Lieberman, who tells TMZ Sports players need to embrace the "cash cow" and stop being petty.

We spoke with Lieberman after the All-Star voting results were released ... which showed Clark as the 9th-ranked WNBA guard in the player vote.

Keep in mind, CC has been suffering from injuries ... but has managed to earn 18.2 points and 8.9 assists per game.

Pro hooper Caitlin Cunningham -- known online as "Caitlin Dark" -- has been making waves for their unique on-court appearance ... and they tell TMZ Sports they're down to team up with the WNBA superstar who inspired their new nickname!!

The Australian baller, who currently plays for the Rockhampton Cyclones of the NBL1, recently broke the internet for their gothic looks on the court -- a face full of makeup, jet-black hair, tattoos and fang teeth.

As it turns out, everyone's just late to the game ... 'cause Cunningham says this has been going on for their whole 20-year career!!