Football Drama and WNBA Call-Outs
Hello everyone, It’s Brogan LaRose M’26 back with another article. This week was an action-packed weekend of football and a recent callout that has sent shockwaves around the basketball world is worth talking about in this edition of Sports on The Hill News. Today will be talking about the Kansas City Chiefs’ dominant win against the Baltimore Ravens, and the recent callout by Napheesa Collier against WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert. With that said, let’s get into it!
Kansas City Dominates Baltimore
After some recent doubters calling out the Chiefs over their current performances starting out the season, it seems like the team is back on track after their latest game. While it did take some time early in this game, Patrick Mahomes put himself back in the MVP conversation and showcased why he is arguably the best quarterback in the National Football League. With 10 minutes remaining in the second quarter, this game saw the Ravens have a 7-6 advantage over the Chiefs and was en route to seeing a competitive and grind-it-out game for both sides. This would not last long, as with four minutes left in the quarter, Mahomes found JuJu Smith-Schuster in the end zone to give the Chiefs their first lead of the game. After a three-and-out by the Ravens shortly thereafter, Kansas City was able to execute again as Mahomes found Isiah Pacheco on an eight-yard reception to extend the lead to 20-7. After a Tyler Loop field goal, the halftime score read 20-10.
The second half saw pure dominance from the Chiefs. From the jump, Mahomes made his presence felt, finding Tyquan Thornton in the end zone for his third passing touchdown of the game. Things went from bad to worse for the Ravens as Lamar Jackson was struggling throughout the game. He ended up sustaining a hamstring injury and did not play for the rest of the game. Lastly, in the fourth quarter, Mahomes added another touchdown pass to his stats by connecting with Hollywood Brown to give Kansas City a 37-13 lead. In the end, the Chiefs ended up defeating the Ravens 37-20. Many fans were pretty surprised by this outcome since the anticipation was that this was going to be a highly competitive game between two of the AFC’s best teams. While the Chiefs proved that they are heading in the right direction, things are looking dicey for the Ravens. With Jackson not fully healthy and a blowout loss, Baltimore is going to have to turn this around quickly if it wants to find success this year.
Napheesa Collier calls out Cathy Engelbert
Recently, the circumstances surrounding the WNBA have grabbed headlines and sparked conversations amongst its fans. Particularly, the recent callout by WNBA superstar Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx. Collier has been one of the top players in the WNBA and led the Lynx to the best record and the league while looking to contend for the WNBA championship. However, for the Lynx, they would go on to lose to the Phoenix Mercury in the semi-finals, and their spectacular season was cut short. Furthermore, Collier got injured during the series, which Lynx Coach Cheryl Reeve saw as a missed call by the officials and went off on the refs during and after the altercation. Even worse, Collier is now in a boot with an ankle injury which consists of torn ligaments and will require a lengthy recovery.
Collier decided it was time to make a statement regarding the current direction and leadership of the WNBA and make clear that changes need to be made. Collier called out WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, citing her lack of leadership when it comes to managing the league. More specifically, Collier called out Engelbert’s mentality centered around officiating with her quote of “Only losing teams complain about the officials.” Collier also called out Engelbert’s perspective on the current situation revolving around pay, basically saying that WNBA stars such as Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers should be thankful for the WNBA and the platform it gives them. Collier revealed that Engelbert hasn’t reached out to her during the season regarding some of the issues surrounding the WNBA and sees it as a slap in the face and insulting her intelligence.
Lastly, Collier stated, “We have the best players in the world. The best fans in the world. But the worst leadership in the world.” Collier’s statement showed a great level of courage and strength in a time when the WNBA is going to need to come to an agreement regarding their Collective Bargaining Agreement, or else they will be in a lockout. Her ability to speak on the issues surrounding Engelbert shows that she cares about the league and the ability to get women’s basketball moving along in the right direction. It will be VERY interesting to hear about what will happen in the WNBA moving forward. As for right now, everyone should be applauding Napheesa Collier for her statement and for being a leader in a crucial time in the WNBA.