Welcome to The A Block, Awful Announcing’s daily newsletter where you’ll always find the latest sports media news, commentary, and analysis.

Did someone share this newsletter with you? Sign up for free to make sure you never miss it.

🎤 QUICK START ✍️

🚗 Fox shatters Indy 500 mark. Fox’s first airing of the Indy 500 was a successful one. According to the network, Sunday’s race averaged 7.05 million viewers, marking the event’s largest audience in 17 years. Remarkably, the race even topped this year’s Daytona 500, which attracted 6.76 million viewers in February for Fox

🎙️ Shannon Sharpe postpones tour. As he continues to face a lawsuit accusing him of assault, sexual assault, battery, and sexual battery, Shannon Sharpe has postponed Nightcap’s “NSFW Tour.” The Hall of Fame tight end made the announcement on a live stream alongside co-host Chad Johnson, indicating that they now plan to hit the road in 2026.

🏓 Bill Simmons denies involvement in viral video. No, that wasn’t Bill Simmons in a viral video featuring a post-pickleball match altercation. The Sports Guy did, however, concede that he bears a resemblance to the gray-haired man who can be seen beating an opponent with a paddle in the clip that’s made the rounds in recent days.

🚨LEADING OFF 🚨

The most high-profile quad injury in WNBA history

As I scanned the worldwide web during an admittedly slow Memorial Day morning, I came across a headline that caught my attention.

“Caitlin Clark's impact on the WNBA could eclipse 'a billion dollars,’” the NBC News story read.

Granted, I’m not the most savvy person when it comes to such projections. But my first instinct was that the figure seemed low.

At this point in Caitlin Clark mania, there might not have been a number the headline could have included where my first reaction would have been that it was too high. $1 billion? $5 billion? $10 billion? You name it. At this point, it seems like Caitlin Clark is the closest we’ve seen a player — man or woman — come to replicating LeBron James’ ability to become an economy in and of himself.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only Clark-related headline I came across on Monday, as it was later revealed that the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year had suffered a quadriceps strain that will cost her at least the next two weeks of the Indiana Fever’s regular season. This isn’t the worst time for the 23-year-old to suffer an injury, but it obviously isn’t ideal either, as it comes on the heels of a hot start to her second professional season.

Looking at the Fever’s upcoming schedule, the biggest loser in all of this — besides herself, the Fever, and basketball fans — appears to be CBS, which will no longer get to showcase the high-profile rivalry between Clark and Angel Reese when the Chicago Sky face the Fever on Saturday, June 7. As for the rest of the slate, NBA TV will be without Clark for at least two nationally televised Fever games, while Ion and ESPN 3 will each miss her for one.

Perhaps the biggest game on Indiana’s upcoming schedule comes in the form of the June 14 matchup between the Fever and the reigning WNBA champion New York Liberty, which will air on ABC. Considering the timeframe of Clark’s injury, it seems realistic that this could be her first game back, in which case her current absence could prove to be a blessing in disguise for Disney.

While it’s always possible the two-week injury could slow Clark’s momentum, it seems more likely than not that it will just build anticipation for her return. And if that return happens to come against one of the WNBA’s most high-profile teams on network television, then Clark won’t have to wait long to set her next ratings record upon her return.

🗣️ AROUND AA 💬 

Why doesn’t Memorial Day have more sports?

Memorial Day is about honoring those who have served our country. It’s often celebrated with barbeques, pool parties, and the like. But unlike other holidays—including the suddenly NFL and NBA-heavy Christmas Day—it’s lacking when it comes to sports.

That doesn’t have to be the case.

As Awful Announcing’s Matt Yoder points out, Memorial Day is well-positioned on the sports calendar to be a much bigger showcase than it currently is for MLB, the WNBA, and the MLS, among others. In fact, it’s likely only a matter of time until one of these leagues or events takes notice and positions itself as a regular part of the unofficial start to summer.

For more thoughts on Memorial Day’s missed sports opportunities, read the full column here.

🎤 MEDIA MOMENTS ✍️ 

• Nearly one week after initiating a feud with Robert Griffin III, Ryan Clark is still saying sorry. In a clip from his podcast, The Pivot, which he shared on social media, the ESPN NFL analyst apologized to his family, admitting that he wasn’t aware of the impact that the fallout from such incidents has on them.

• The New York Knicks won Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals to cut the Indiana Pacers’ series lead to two games to one on Sunday night. Yet despite his role in the victory, nobody in OG Anunoby’s postgame press conference had any questions for the Knicks forward. Awkward.

• On Monday’s episode of First Things First, Nick Wright not only promised the take of the year, but he delivered. According to the Fox Sports star, any gesture that an NBA player makes calling for a play to be reviewed should be considered binding by the official, which would assuredly eliminate the number of times it happens throughout each game.

🔥 THE CLOSER 🔥 

What does pro wrestling’s Memorial Day Weekend takeover mean for the future of the industry?

Much has been made about WWE’s recent habit of scheduling shows that just so happen to run against AEW’s.

But while you’d have to be naïve to think that WWE doesn’t know what it’s doing from a competition standpoint, this much also seems clear: it’s made for some pretty awesome weekends.

Such was the case this past weekend, as WWE flooded the zone against AEW’s annual Double or Nothing pay-per-view on Sunday night. In fact, it wasn’t just WWE that joined the action, but also TNA Wrestling, which ran its Under Siege pay-per-view on Friday night.

That proved to be an appetizer for WWE’s Saturday Night’s Main Event, a two-hour NBC special that featured four high-profile matches and the (unadvertised) return of Cody Rhodes. Come Sunday, AEW got its spot to shine with one of its best shows of the year in Double or Nothing — albeit one that ran against WWE’s developmental brand, NXT, which hosted its Battleground event at the exact same time.

Factor in a three-hour edition of WWE SmackDown on Friday night and the United States’ three-largest promotions combined to produce no fewer than 15 hours of television from Friday to Sunday, all of which came in the form of high-profile shows.

Again, WWE isn’t being benevolent to its fans here; in fact, packing so much pro wrestling content into a single weekend that potential viewers have to pick and choose what they watch appears to be the basis of its strategy. Still, it’s hard to see this as anything but a win for the pro wrestling diehards, even if it meant catching up on Battleground via replay on Monday morning.

What’s more is that WWE isn’t slowing down anytime soon, as the company has already announced plans to pack three shows into the weekend of July 12, in which AEW just so happens to be hosting its biggest pay-per-view of the year, All In. Once again, fans will be forced to choose between watching WWE or AEW, and that’s before factoring in any responsibilities they might also have in the form of a social life.

Is this sustainable? It’s too early to say and one would imagine that WWE will eventually tire itself out chasing AEW around the calendar. But as long as both companies continue to produce quality content — as they did this past weekend — I can’t imagine you’ll be hearing too many complaints from the pro wrestling faithful moving forward.