NCAA Championship

The NCAA women’s big championship game takes place on Sunday. A lot of people will tune in – a ton more, in fact, than have historically given women’s basketball the time of day. This year, the Athletic reports, “Heading into the Final Four, all games have averaged 967,000 viewers, up 47 percent from 2023.” Television networks can thank “the Caitlin Clark effect” for these remarkable viewership numbers. And girl dads and moms across the country should be thanking Caitlin Clark for putting women’s sports on the map and inspiring more youth sports participation, the benefits of which extend beyond physical health to include increased emotional, mental and social wellbeing.

The LSU women’s basketball team won the NCAA National Championship Sunday night. The Lady Tigers beat Iowa 102-85, earning themselves a trip to the White House. But the meeting between First Lady Jill Biden and LSU’s star player, Angel Reese, might be a little frosty, as Jill Biden suggested the Iowa girls tag along for the visit, too. “I know we’ll have the champions come to the White House, we always do,” Jill Biden said yesterday. “So, we hope LSU will come. But, you know, I’m going to tell Joe I think Iowa should come, too, because they played such a good game.” It seems that either Joe doesn’t give a darn what Jill thinks, or else he forgot her suggestion already.