August 9, 2026
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Michael's Daily Notes
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Full disclosure: I haven't been paying close attention to the WNBA.
Then, Saturday I watched the video of DiJonai Carrington's foul on Sophie Cunningham, and down the rabbit hole I went.
The play looked blatant. Cunningham was out ahead of the pack on a breakaway when Carrington chased her down and swiped an arm across her face and neck, dropping her onto her backside with no chance to break her fall. It was called a flagrant 1, upgraded to a flagrant 2 on review, and Carrington was ejected. Minutes later, apparently from the locker room, she posted two words to Threads - "White Privilege" - and tagged the Fever.
Context matters here. Cunningham has spent the past two weeks at the center of a national argument, ever since an ESPN profile published July 21 quoted her saying she wants to protect young girls who shouldn't have to compete against biological men. Rallies have been staged outside Fever road games. The players' union issued a statement condemning the demonization of transgender people while insisting its members won't be used as political pawns. Cunningham now calls the whole thing a distraction and says she wants to get back to basketball.
Carrington did not explain her post. She did not name Cunningham. Nothing indicates the foul had anything to do with any of that. But in this environment, nobody needed her to connect the dots. The interpretation wrote itself.
So I went looking for a pattern. Carrington caught Caitlin Clark in the face during the 2024 playoffs. In June 2025, Jacy Sheldon hit Clark in the face, Marina Mabrey shoved Clark to the floor, and Cunningham later retaliated with a hard foul on Sheldon that sparked a scrum and three ejections. No suspensions followed. A pattern, sure. But of what?
Here is what I can't answer: Is there actually a prevalence of hard fouls involving Black and white players in this league, or do we simply notice only when the participants make the storyline available? I suspect the latter. Basketball is a contact sport, and every collision now gets clipped, captioned and litigated online within the hour.
What I do know is that all of it is good for ratings. That's the uncomfortable part. The WNBA spent decades begging for attention it couldn't get, and it is getting it now for reasons nobody in the league office would have chosen.
I'm not sure whether that's progress.
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DAILY POLL
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Is race driving the WNBA's on-court tension?
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TOP STORY
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Iran's Supreme National Security Council increased their demands for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, stating that the crucial shipping passage will remain closed until the US ends its war with Tehran, withdraws forces from the Middle East, lifts sanctions, releases frozen assets and pays 'complete compensation' for war damage.
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TODAY'S YOUTUBE
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Hunter Biden told the BBC that former President Joe Biden's prostate cancer has metastasized into his bones and beyond, calling the disease "very painful" and "very debilitating" for his 83-year-old father.
Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham was left bloodied after a hard collision with Chicago Sky's DiJonai Carrington, who then accused Cunningham of benefiting from 'white privilege' amid an ongoing furor over Cunningham's recent comments about transgender athletes.
Conservative allies of President Donald Trump are turning the fight over birthright citizenship into a long-term legal and political campaign, vowing to keep challenging the constitutional guarantee despite the Supreme Court’s rejection of Trump’s broader effort.
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A MESSAGE FROM COMCAST
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House Democrats preparing for a possible midterm win are planning a sweeping investigative push targeting companies and financial firms tied to President Trump's political and business orbit rather than moving immediately to impeach him, four sources told Reuters.
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Former President Barack Obama revived his infamous tan suit in a sketch for the series finale of Larry David's HBO show "Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness," with David's character taking the blame for the 2014 fashion choice.
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CARTOONS
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The University of Michigan plans to shield letter grades earned by freshmen from official transcripts, opting for a pass/fail system during the students' first semester at school as part of a new mental health initiative starting with the class of 2027.
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UEFA acknowledged a six-figure departure payment and MBA fees for a female former employee during Gianni Infantino's tenure as general secretary, as the FIFA president denies a Telegraph report alleging the payout stemmed from an affair.
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For the Left
US weapons stockpiles have been depleted to troubling levels, officials say, with President Trump’s war on Iran being the main drain, opening concerns that the shrinking supply of air-defense missiles in Europe and Asia may leave the US military unequipped should Russia or China feel compelled to start conflict during the missile drought.
For the Right
A US District Judge blocked the Department of Housing and Urban Development from overhauling a $4 billion ‘Continuum of Care’ program, as those for the overhaul argue that the system fueled the current “homelessness crisis” and those against push that the lack of funds would jeopardize assistance for roughly 170,000 individuals.
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