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Tamika Catchings embraces a new WNBA spotlight as a USA Network commentator

Tamika Catchings never wanted to get into broadcasting when she retired from the WNBA a decade ago. She had other aspirations in her post-playing career.

That all changed when she was an analyst for a few college games back in 2017 and now she can’t imagine life without it. The Indiana Fever great will get the opportunity to broadcast WNBA games this upcoming season as a commentator for USA Network.

“My producer back then was like just try it,” Catchings recalled in a phone interview with The Associated Press on Thursday. “If you don’t like it, I’ll take you off the schedule. I fell in love with it. What I love about broadcasting is I’m not on the floor, I don’t have to ice, get treatment. I go to bed without any aches and pains. I love being able to showcase the women that we see.”

USA Sports, the sports arm of USA Network, signed a multi-year deal with the WNBA that will run through 2036. USA Network will show 50 games, including coverage of the WNBA playoffs and WNBA Finals in select years beginning this season.

“This is amazing from the standpoint of having a season and it’s a huge moment for the WNBA TV partnerships,” Catchings said. “Showcase these women and showcase the league. I love our game, a lot of college players that I covered are now in it.”

Catchings was excited that her former Tennessee Lady Vols courtmate Chamique Holdsclaw will also be working with USA Sports as a studio analyst.

“I’m going to be able to get to team up with my old teammate Chamique,” Catchings said. “We get to be together again for the first time since college which was insane.”

Catchings remembers her playing days when the WNBA wasn’t getting nearly as much attention as it is now and there weren’t as many options for national television. The cornerstone of the network’s WNBA coverage is doubleheaders on Wednesday nights.

“We’ve come so far,” she said. “For me now, watching and being able to see the momentum we have, the upward trajectory continuing to build. People want to feature the WNBA. Have the games we have and looking at the playoffs we get to do, the finals all of that. People want to broadcast it and want to see it.”

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

Grandfather recovering from surgery after bison attack at Yellowstone sent him flying

By WTOP Staff
(CNN) — What started as a yearly trip for a grandfather and his grandson turned into a visit to a Montana hospital after a bison attack at Yellowstone National Park.Carl McDaniel, 65, was hospitalized with a broken femur after a bison charged and tossed him into the air Friday evening at the park’s Bridge Bay Campground, according to McDaniel and the National Park Service.He was visiting the park with his 13-year-old grandson when they decided to take a walk after dinner.Along the way, they encountered a large bison that appeared to be rolling around in the dust and was not bothering anyone, McDaniel told CNN.“We were about a hundred yards away,” McDaniel said. “He was not aggressive; he was not having problems and we took some pictures and decided to walk on.”McDaniel and his grandson snapped a quick photo and continued with their walk, video of the encounter shows. At the same time, a truck drove by, and the driver laid on his horn in what appeared to be an attempt to get the bison to move, McDaniel said. There is no audio on the video.The bison then appeared to become agitated and began running toward the pair.“There was little time to decide what to do. At that point, he was within 100 yards; he could be to us in seconds, so I told my grandson to run in one direction and I went the other to try and draw him away,” McDaniel said.The animal then pushed McDaniel with the top of its head, sending him flying into the air before he hit the ground, the grandfather said.“When I was on the ground immobile, unable to move, he was right on top of me. He could have stomped on me, he could have gored me, he could have done almost anything to take my life, and he did not do so,” McDaniel said.After McDaniel hit the ground, photographer Mike MacLeod, who captured the encounter on video, had to step in, he told Cowboy State Daily.“I was really afraid he was going to gore the guy on the ground, so I stopped videotaping and ran at the bison, yelled loud, and was trying to be as big and intimidating as possible,” MacLeod said.After the bison took off, people rushed over to McDaniel, who was in a lot of pain, MacLeod told Cowboy State Daily. Yellowstone EMS arrived soon after, he said.“Park emergency medical personnel responded and transported him to a nearby hospital,” the National Park Service said in confirming the incident in a statement to CNN.This is the second bison attack at Yellowstone this year. A 12-year-old was injured near Mud Volcano on June 26, according to the agency.After Friday’s attack, “all the people that were there were amazing; they were all positive, they were trying to help as best they could,” McDaniel said. A nurse started tending to his leg, while another bystander held his head.He was then transferred to a hospital in Bozeman, a two-hour journey during which he was in intense pain. He said he was grateful for the paramedic who helped him along the way.McDaniel broke his femur, the body’s strongest bone, in four places near his hip and suffered several bruises. He had surgery Sunday and could stand by Monday.“I will be doing physical therapy for the next few days to get to walk, but it was not as catastrophic as it could have been,” McDaniel said.The National Park Service advises visitors to stay at least 25 yards away from bison at all times and to never approach the animals. “If the bison follows you, spray bear spray as you are moving away, and seek cover behind nearby trees or cars,” the agency said.Correction: An earlier version of this story understated how far visitors should stay away from bison. The National Park Service advises visitors to stay at least 25 yards from them.The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
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