The 2nd half of the WNBA season tips off on Tuesday. So many interesting storylines swirling around the league right now as they continue to see a boom in popularity.The Athletic’s Ben Pickman discusses it all with World Sport’s Andy Scholes

The WNBA is beginning the second half of its season with several major storylines, including the ongoing absence of star player Caitlin Clark due to injury and inconsistent performance from the Indiana Fever. The Las Vegas Aces, previously considered strong championship contenders, have also struggled with injuries and roster changes, leading to a less successful first half. Off the court, players and the league are engaged in contentious negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement, with players publicly expressing their dissatisfaction during the All-Star game. While the league has seen growth in attendance, merchandise sales, and expansion fees, it reportedly continues to operate at a financial loss. The possibility of a work stoppage remains if an agreement is not reached, as both sides remain far apart in negotiations.

Looking ahead to the second half of the WNBA season

Well, welcome back with the second half of the WNBA season tips off tonight. So many interesting storylines swirling around the league right now as they continue to see a boom in popularity. And joining me now to discuss is Ben Pickman, who covers the WNBA and women's basketball for the athletic. He also co-hosts the podcast, No Off-Season. Ben, great to see you. So the second half, as I mentioned, it tips off tonight. Caitlin Clark still going to be out for the fever. She nurses her injured groin. She's missed 11 games so far this season, and Ben, she's really been in a shooting slump all season long. So what are your expectations for Caitlin and the fever the rest of the way? I think my expectations are just about what they have been throughout the first half of the season. They enter the All-Star break sixth in the league standings. They've been pretty inconsistent, frankly, on the defensive end of the floor. And there's no real reason to think that is going to change in the second half of the year, Andy. I mean, it has been just that, an inconsistent up and down, uneven first half for the Indiana Fever. Injuries have certainly been a key part of that. And you mentioned it with Caitlin Clark. She has missed more than 10 games in the first half of the year. And she has been, yes, an All-Star starter, but not at her best, not at that first team All-W level we saw last year. You threw out her shooting numbers, two of 35 from three in the first half on the road. That is pretty crazy when you think about just how talented she is. Certainly, the Fever can turn it around some, but they entered the first half at six. I would kind of expect them to be about there come postseason time in September. Yeah, one thing's for sure. Fans want her to get healthy and so that they can see her on the court whenever the Fever comes to town. But Nafisa Collier and the Lynx, they're on top of the standings right now. No surprise there. The reigning champion, Liberty, not too far behind them. But, you know, Ben, the Las Vegas Aces, just 11 and 11 in the first half. You know, what's gone wrong for them? And do you see Asia Wilson and the team turning things around? I mean, comparison is kind of the thief of joy here, right? I think so many people are just comparing them to their back to back finals teams, championship teams from just two years ago, people thinking that they can live up to that and be a legitimate title contender this year. That was actually me. I thought the Aces were going to be in the finals at the end of year. They were my preseason pick, but I'm not seeing them making a deep run. I want to be pessimistic again, Andy, because there is just too much new that is going on with the Aces this year. Jewel Lloyd and Chelsea Gray, two Olympians, two multi-time All-Stars. They're not playing at the level that many people expected. Jackie Young, another All-Star. She's going to enter the second half a little bit banged up. Asia Wilson suffered a wrist injury towards the end of the first half. She is also a little bit banged up. She barely played in that All-Star game. The rest of the roster, the bench is also fully turned over. There's just a lot of new pieces. And I think that kind of consistency, much like the fever, it's going to take some time for this group to fully gel. And I don't know if they have that time in this very 2025 season. All right. We'll wait and see. But, you know, we just came off the All-Star game. The players at the All-Star game wore pay us what you owe us shirts during warm ups as they continue to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement. The current CBA expires in October. And, you know, Ben, you don't wear those shirts if things are going well in the negotiation. So, I mean, how do you see this playing out? I mean, these talks are going to continue to be pretty contentious, Andy. There's no reason to think we're going to get resolution on this deal anytime soon, especially with play resuming. There was this really important meeting at All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis on Thursday afternoon. It was the first in-person meeting that involved players meeting with members of the league to talk CBA since December. The league took months to respond to a WNBPA proposal and players were very frustrated with the counter proposal that the league sent. The players were hoping to make more progress over the weekend. They showed a lot of support and solidarity. More than 40 players attended this meeting. But, you know, the sides seem very, very far apart. You mentioned the shirts. You can see it on the screen now. What I like to think is this one image. You have the shirts and the players wearing the shirts on the court at one moment. And in another part of the stadium, Kathy Engelbert was talking about just how constructive the talks were. There's a duality there between those two scenes. Engelbert being confident a deal will get done by the October deadline and the players wearing these shirts. Something has to give. Eventually they'll come to a deal. But, you know, this is definitely a progress, a process that is worth watching. Yeah. And, you know, the league, I mean, it keeps expanding. They keep adding new teams. They got a new TV deal. Attendance is up. But, you know, Ben, reports are the still league, the league still lost, you know, around 50 million dollars last season. So, you know, the players, they want more money. But the league apparently still losing money. Could you see a lockout happening here? I think it's definitely possible that there is a work stoppage and players would say that they are hoping still to get a deal done, but they are talking amongst themselves that you kind of need to be prepared if things do, you know, at least get delayed, pushed back. That doesn't mean we're necessarily going to miss games in 2026. But as I just said, this process, there seems to be a long ways away from reaching an agreement. Basically, the league is telling the story of growth, right? Think about what you just threw out. Record attendance, record merchandise sales, this record TV deal, expansion fees. It was 250 million dollars for the three new teams that were just added. That's up from 50 just a few years ago. And the players are basically saying, well, then, hey, we should be getting paid more. We should be having a different revenue sharing system. We should be benefiting and growing with the business that as evidenced by those expansion fees is pretty clearly growing. The league would say, look, we want those things, too. We're going to significantly increase your salaries. Kathy Engelbert actually said just that at her presser. But again, there is a long way to go in these talks. It's a very busy offseason, a lot going on with two more teams coming in. Going to be contentious from here until a deal is officially signed. Yeah, we'll certainly be following it. You know, we'll see where things go. It's it would be a shame, you know, if there is a lockout and that ruins all of this positive momentum that the league's going right now. But Ben, I'm sure you're going to be following it. And we will have you here on World Sport sometime here in the near future to discuss it once again. Great to see you, though.

Ozzy Osbourne, the hellraising frontman of Black Sabbath and reality TV star, has died aged 76. CNN’s Stephanie Elam looks back at the legendary career as the Godfather of Heavy Metal.

Los Angeles

Legendary singer Ozzy Osbourne dies at 76

During his Oval Office meeting with Philippine President Bongbong Marcos, President Donald Trump accused former President Barack Obama of treason for his handling of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Washington

Trump accuses Obama of treason over 2016 election probe

A SkyWest flight, operating as a Delta connection, with 80 people on board made a sharp maneuver to avoid a B-52 bomber flying over the North Dakota State Fair. The FAA is investigating how the aircraft came so close.

Minot

Investigation underway after jet narrowly avoids Air Force bomber

A judge on Monday sentenced ex-Louisville police officer Brett Hankison to 33 months in prison and three years of subsequent supervised release, following the 2020 shooting death of Breonna Taylor.

Louisville

Judge sentences ex-officer in Breonna Taylor raid to nearly 3 years

A six-week-old infant and three other children have died of starvation in Gaza in the past 24 hours, local health officials said, with malnutrition and starvation now killing Palestinians faster than at any point in the 21-month war. This video includes images some may find distressing.

Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

Medics say four Gaza children starve to death in hunger crisis

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine and Russia will hold a new round of peace talks on Wednesday. The announcement comes as Russian drones hit parts of Ukraine, officials said.

Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

Zelenskyy says Russia, Ukraine to hold new round of peace talks

The Trump administration released thousands of records related to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., despite objections from his family. CBS News' Weijia Jiang has the latest.

Trump admin releases Martin Luther King Jr. assassination records

Students gather to protest in Bangladesh outside the school where a military jet crashed Monday, killing at least 30 people, including dozens of children.

Dhaka

Protests break out as death toll passes 30 in Bangladesh jet crash

CBS News has learned that a new assessment of the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June finds that only one of three facilities was possibly destroyed. CBS News senior national security correspondent Charlie D'Agata has the details.

Tehran

U.S. strikes may have destroyed one Iranian nuclear facility

For the first time, Taiwan has combined two major civil defense exercises and staged them in conjunction with its largest-ever military simulation. CNN’s Will Ripley explains why the self-governing island is bolstering its preparations for a potential war with China.

Taipei

Taiwan holds unprecedented military drills

With questions continuing around the so-called Epstein files, U.S. President Donald Trump has made several controversial social media posts. Some political scientists say the posts are likely a way to distract the public from talking about Trump’s past ties sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump posts fake AI video of Obama arrest amid Epstein furor

The next set of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia - the first meeting in seven weeks - is planned for Wednesday in Turkey, President Zelenskyy quoted the head of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council as saying.

Zelenskyy says new peace talks planned for Wednesday

Israel’s latest offensive in Gaza is targeting humanitarian hub Deir al-Balah because officials believe Hamas is hiding hostages there. The move comes as 25 countries, including Canada, called for an immediate ceasefire and the resumption of aid.

Israeli offensive targets humanitarian hub of Deir al-Balah

A sweeping cyber espionage operation targeting Microsoft server software 'SharePoint' compromised about 100 different organizations as of the weekend, two of the organizations that helped uncover the campaign said on Monday (July 21).

Redmond

Microsoft server hack hit about 100 organizations, experts say

Protestors showed up at the federal courthouse in Boston on Monday amid Harvard's $2 billion legal battle with the Trump administration.

Boston

Protestors gather outside courthouse amid Harvard-Trump hearing

Malcolm-Jamal Warner, an actor and artist who rose to fame as a child as Theodore Huxtable on “The Cosby Show,” has died in a drowning accident in Costa Rica, where he was on vacation with his family, according to a source close to the actor.

‘The Cosby Show’ star Malcolm-Jamal Warner dead at 54

An off-duty U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent was shot after an apparent robbery went wrong in New York, officials say. New York Mayor Eric Adams said a 21-year-old undocumented immigrant was taken into custody. The agent is in stable condition and is expected to survive.

New York

Off-duty Border Patrol agent shot in NYC by undocumented migrant

The jet crashed onto the campus of Milestone School and College in Dhaka's Uttara neighbourhood, where students were taking tests and attending regular classes.

At least 20 killed after Bangladesh Air Force jet crashes into school

An investigation into Jeju Air's fatal plane crash in December has found "clear evidence" that pilots shut off the less-damaged engine after a bird strike in South Korea, a source told Reuters. But a progress report was not released as planned, after families of the bereaved protested some of its phrasing.

Muan-gun

Report says pilot shut wrong engine before Jeju Air crash

Iran, China and Russia will discuss Tehran's nuclear activities and sanctions on Tuesday, with the E3 nations set for talks on Friday amid threats of reimposing sanctions.

Iran to consult with Russia, China ahead of European nuclear talks

Hundreds of Bedouin civilians were evacuated from Syria's predominantly Druze city of Sweida on Monday (July 21) as part of a U.S.-backed truce meant to end fighting that has killed hundreds of people, state media and witnesses said.

As Suwayda

Bedouin civilians evacuate Syria's Sweida as tense truce holds

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba vowed to remain in office on Monday after his ruling coalition suffered a bruising defeat in upper house elections, prompting some of his own party to deliberate his future as the opposition weighed a no-confidence motion.

Tokyo

Japan PM Ishiba vows to stay on after bruising election defeat

Police say Fernando Ramirez drove onto a crowded sidewalk outside a Los Angeles nightclub early Saturday, injuring dozens. He was later shot by a bystander who fled the scene, prompting a citywide search.

Police search for gunman after car-ramming attack in L.A.

Japan's ruling coalition is certain to lose control of the upper house in election, public broadcaster NHK reported, an outcome that further weakens Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's grip on power as a tariff deadline with the United States looms.

Japan's ruling coalition loses control of upper house

Iran's foreign minister has said the country France, Germany and the UK are looking to set a date for a meeting for nuclear talks, in what could be a step toward ending the protracted impasse over Iran's nuclear programme and Western concerns.

Iran and three European powers set to resume nuclear talks

The Trump administration said on Saturday (July 19) it will take action against Mexico under its "America First" policy, saying the Mexican government's earlier decision to cut flight slots in Mexico City, which affects U.S. airlines, violates a bilateral air agreement.

U.S. threatens Mexican flights over cargo, competition issues

U.S. President Donald Trump has sued the Wall Street Journal and its owners including Rupert Murdoch for at least $10 billion, over the report that his name was on a 2003 birthday greeting for Jeffrey Epstein that included a sexually suggestive drawing and a reference to secrets they shared.

Trump sues Wall Street Journal for $10 billion over Epstein report

Over 200 Venezuelans who were deported from the U.S. on allegations of gang membership earlier this year and detained in an El Salvador jail have arrived home to Caracas as part of a coordinated prisoner exchange. Ten Americans held in Venezuela returned to the U.S., officials said.

Caracas

El Salvador sends detained Venezuelans home in swap for Americans

Japanese voters headed to the polls on Sunday (July 20) in a tightly contested upper house election that could unleash political turmoil, with rising prices, immigration concerns and the emergence of a Trump-style "Japanese-first" party threatening to weaken Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's grip on power.

Japan heads to the polls for Upper House elections

The violent clashes between the Druze minority, Bedouins and other armed groups in the southern province of Sweida have left at least 900 people dead. Some reports suggest that fighting may have halted early on Sunday.

Breakdown