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NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Liberty are bringing their core group back and trying to add another piece with prized free agent Nneka Ogwumike while Seattle signed Skylar Diggins-Smith as WNBA free agency tipped off Thursday. The Liberty, who made it to the WNBA Finals last season before losing to the Las Vegas Aces, met with Ogwumike, according to a person familiar with the situation. Sabally, who was a restricted free agent, averaged career highs in points (18.6), rebounds (8.1) and assists (4.4) last season. They also signed free agent Megan Gustafson. Williams had a stellar season with Chicago last year, averaging 10.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and a career-best 6.3 assists.

Persons: Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins, Smith, Ogwumike, Breanna Stewart, Betnijah Laney, Stewart, Jonquel Jones, Jones, Diggins, Jewell Loyd, “, ” Diggins, Jewell, Noelle Quinn, Satou Sabally, Kalani Brown, Sabally, Brown, Kiah Stokes, Sydney Colson, Megan Gustafson, Courtney Williams, Alanna Smith, Williams, ___ Organizations: New York Liberty, Seattle, Liberty, WNBA, Las Vegas Aces, Associated Press, Nets, Los Angeles Sparks, ESPN, Phoenix Mercury, Notre Dame, Seattle Storm, Dallas, Wings, Aces, Minnesota Lynx, Chicago Locations: York

☆ Searching for Martin Luther King Jr.’s Past in His Old Atlanta Neighborhood
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-14 | by ( Nneka M. Okona | Photographs Gem Hale For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

FOR ANYONE RAISED in or around Atlanta, Martin Luther King Jr. is first and foremost associated with the city where he was born and raised. We Atlantans take pride in the fact that Dr. King grew up on Auburn Avenue, the downtown thoroughfare cutting through the neighborhood of Sweet Auburn. On my travels throughout the South, I’ve seen traces of King everywhere—on street signs and in civil rights museums—but it’s been many years since I’ve followed his footsteps in my own city. So on a recent winter day, I went looking for the roots of King’s legacy in an integral part of Black Atlanta.

Persons: Martin Luther King Jr, King, it’s, I’ve Organizations: Auburn Locations: Atlanta, Sweet Auburn, Black Atlanta

☆ The WNBA Finals brought a surge of engagement for advertisers, new data shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Margaret Fleming | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

This year's WNBA Finals brought in more spectators than ever before and the most viewers watching from home in 20 years. Compared to last year's WNBA Finals, fans were 30% more likely to engage online with a brand they saw advertised than they were in 2022, EDO data show. Michelob Ultra ran the most effective ad series during the Finals, tracking 211% above the average Finals engagement rate over its six ads, per EDO. Both the WNBA Finals and playoffs metrics sit well above the average primetime broadcast and cable effectiveness for advertisers, EDO shows. Bosley Hair Restoration and Old Spice were 341% and 134% more effective than 2023 WNBA average, respectively, EDO data show.

Persons: EDO's, Laura Grover, Ultra, Jimmy Butler, Nneka Ogwumike, Oofos, Michelle Cardinal's, Dawn Staley, Darren Brown, Cardinal, Ally, Stephanie Marciano, thad, Bosley Organizations: Las Vegas Aces, EDO, NBA, WNBA, Growth Agency, Brands, Gatorade Locations: York

☆ For N.K. Jemisin, Reality Inspired Horror Fiction
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Elisabeth Egan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“I view horror as catharsis through entertainment,” Jordan Peele writes in “Out There Screaming,” the best-selling anthology of new Black horror he edited with John Joseph Adams. Jemisin, Lesley Nneka Arimah, Tochi Onyebuchi and Tananarive Due. Initially Jemisin declined to participate, although she was pleased to be approached. “I like writing stories, but I’m very slow to write them and I don’t do well with commissions,” Jemisin said in a phone interview. But we were on this trip with some teenagers and we told them, ‘Do not go out by yourselves because this doesn’t feel like a safe place to be a bunch of young Black folks.’”

Persons: ” Jordan Peele, John Joseph Adams, “, Jemisin, Lesley Nneka Arimah, Tochi, ” Jemisin, ’ Locations: Banks

☆ Redonda: A Caribbean island once ruled by rats is now a wildlife haven
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Nell Lewis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

But with the humans came invasive species, such as black rats and feral goats. In 2016, they launched an effort to restore the island and eliminate the invasive species. We just removed the rats and the goats, and the island transformed right in front of our eyes,” she says. Jenny Daltry/Fauna & Flora/Re:wild Jenny Daltry/Fauna & Flora/Re:wild Redonda island, before and after the eradication of invasive species. Redonda, which is about a mile long, was estimated to have around 6,000 rats and 60 goats pre-eradication, explains Bradshaw.

Persons: Christopher Columbus, Redonda, Ed Marshall, ”, Johnella Bradshaw, Jenny Daltry, they’re, Bradshaw, “, ” Bradshaw, Lawson Lewis, Nneka Nicholas, Helena Jeffery Brown, Nature Organizations: CNN, Environmental, Barbuda Defence Force, Department of, Department for Environment, “ Locations: Redonda, Antigua, Barbuda, Caribbean, Fauna

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson was honored as the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year for the second time in a row. Wilson received 32 of 60 votes from a national media panel. No other player received more than three votes. In playing for the league's top-rated defense, Wilson also led the WNBA in defensive efficiency rating (93.2) and blocked shots (2.2). This is the third time in four years Wilson led the league in blocked shots.

Persons: HENDERSON, A'ja Wilson, Wilson, Alyssa Thomas, Thomas, Brittney Sykes, Breanna Stewart, Jordin Canada, Betnijah Laney, Ezi, Nneka, Napheesa Collier, Elizabeth Williams, ___ Organizations: Las Vegas Aces, WNBA, Connecticut Sun, Washington Mystics, New York Liberty, Los Angeles Sparks, Liberty, Seattle Storm, Sparks, Minnesota Lynx, Chicago Sky, Aces, Wings Locations: Nev

CNN —Vice President Kamala Harris was among those celebrating the return of Brittney Griner to the WNBA on Friday, five months after the Phoenix Mercury star was released from a Russian penal colony. Harris met with players from both teams before the game and thanked them for their support while Griner was in Russian custody for almost 300 days last year. “A team is a team, that’s family.”Harris addressed the players in their locker room before the game. Mario Tama/Getty ImagesIn return, Los Angeles star and players’ union president Nneka Ogwumike thanked Harris and the Biden administration for securing Griner’s release. “Just appreciating everything because tomorrow is not guaranteed.”Griner scored 18 points on her WNBA return.

☆ There's a bar in Portland that only shows women's sports — and it made nearly $1 million in its first 8 months
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Portland welcomed the city's — and possibly the country's — only sports bar that exclusively shows women's sports on its TVs. Founder and owner Jenny Nguyen told CNBC the business made nearly $1 million in its first eight months. The bar has gone viral online and received the attention of WNBA stars and more. Nguyen told CNBC that the Oregon bar raked in $944,000 in revenue during its first eight months, despite her fears not many would share her love for women's sports. "Me, personally, I thought the idea was brilliant and that (it was) what the world needs," Nguyen told CNBC.

☆ Brittney Griner's return could be the unlikely catalyst that forces the WNBA to relent on its most contentious policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Meredith Cash | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

WNBA free agency is underway, with teams receiving the green light to recruit stars as of this weekend. Top free agent Breanna Stewart has reportedly made charter flights a key issue for teams wooing her. Private flights are not covered by the league's CBA, but Brittney Griner's return may force policy changes. The 2018 MVP took to Twitter to announce that she's prepared to help "subsidize charter travel for the entire WNBA" by offering her "NIL, posts + production hours." Several current WNBA players, including Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike, Elena Delle Donne, Napheesa Collier, Alysha Clark, Erica Wheeler, Kahleah Copper, and Natalie Achonwa, offered their support in the comments.

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