A’ja Wilson wants a bigger All-Star conversation Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson said this week that WNBA players need a larger conversation during All-Star weekend about ugly online messages aimed at players. The debate centers on Caitlin Clark’s huge fan base and the nasty posts some players say they receive from people claiming to support her. Wilson did not say Clark wrote those messages, which is a fairly important detail in a sane world. She said the issue is “above us” and that “enough is enough.” Fair enough, but blaming one player for the internet is like blaming the weatherman for hail damage. Clark remains the league’s lightning rod Clark has brought massive attention to the WNBA, along with bigger ratings, packed arenas, and the kind of buzz most leagues would bottle and sell at a markup. Yet her arrival has also turned the league into a weekly courtroom drama. Fans point to hard fouls, missed calls, and tense moments as proof that Clark is not being protected. Critics argue the league and its officials have been too slow to set a clear standard. The WNBA, naturally, has managed to turn a marketing gift into a staff meeting with…

The Speech Fight Started Before the SpeechPresident Trump’s latest address managed to start a media fire before most viewers had heard a single sentence. According to the original report, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez urged networks not to air the remarks, and CNN, NBC, and ABC did not carry the speech live. Democrats including Chuck Schumer also moved quickly to define what Trump was going to say before he said it. That is a neat little trick from the modern political playbook: explain the danger of a message before the public gets a chance to hear the message. Nothing says “healthy democracy” quite like pre-screening the president for the viewers’ own good.Reason One: Election Talk Makes the System NervousThe first reason offered by Trump’s allies is simple: they believe Democrats and much of the press did not want election-integrity concerns placed in front of a national audience. Trump was expected to talk about voting rules, mail-in ballots, ballot harvesting, and public trust in elections. Those topics are treated in Washington like a raccoon in the pantry. Everyone knows it is there, but the official plan is to shout at anyone who points to it. The report argues that Democrats benefit from voting…