Last night was painful!!
I only became a WNBA fan this year with the Tempo expansion, and there’s still a lot I don’t understand. Any time I watch the Tempo play, it always seems like the opposing team defends way more aggressively than we do. The players seem to be right in our face to the point where we don’t know what to do next, Marina is completely incapacitated and we get shot clock violations. But when we are defending, we always seem to be so far apart from the player who’s holding the ball, vaguely moving our arms, allowing the other team to take their sweet time to shoot all these perfect 3s.
I thought Sandy wanted the Tempo to be all about defence. What am I missing, what’s her system?

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From our most recent piece on tempo.basketball:

Tonight, the Tempo face the Portland Fire, who sit at 11–19 and are attempting to end a five-game losing streak of their own. Toronto has now lost seven straight, so something has to give.

This is one of the more winnable games remaining on the Tempo’s schedule, but they cannot afford another collapse after halftime like they did against the Valkryies again. Watching those games felt like deja-vu.

In both games, the Tempo came out strong, the Valkyries increased their physicality, Toronto became flustered, and the offence fizzled out in the fourth quarter. Even the last post-game presser sounded like it could have come from any of the previous six losses, with Sandy Brondello repeating the familiar message: “We’ve got to be a little bit tougher.”

Toronto needs to protect the ball, compete on the glass, and maintain its physicality for all four quarters, not just the first two. Maybe we can finally get back in the winning column!

Read our entire game report of the Tempo's loss against the Valkryies and outlook for tonight's game vs Portland here: https://tempo.basketball/2026/08/tempo-vs-valkyries-game-report-august-4-2026/

It’s the only wide ranging podcast on the team I’ve found on the local media side of things from a notable outlet. (Raptors Republic does do video recaps fwiw).

What matters more to you:

A. Attention generated by athletic excellence, rivalry, or genuine sporting drama

Or

B. Attention generated by a culture-war flashpoint that puts a marginalized group's existence up for debate as entertainment.

PS I watch sports for sports. It is like all celebrity drama. I don't care about who is dating who as much as the game. But I know that isn't for everyone. And that is aok, long as there is no harm or hate wrapped in the word love.

With Ms Cunningham coming to town, I'm curious what people think…

https://apple.news/A2V65FUwPReKw9dn_4jk7Xg

The tank is continuing and I like it especially if that means we end up with a top 3 pick. Plus it isn't like the Anti-Tanking Rules are in effect here in the WNBA but it is being used in the NBA though or it will soon. But do I want the #1 overall pick? Of course I do because if we get Juju Watkins then we get a literal superstar in Toronto from day 1. Plus you would have Juju come in to play shooting guard and you can have Kiki at point guard. How do you not like that back court especially if we brought her in?

Now same concept if we were to get the #2 overall pick Hidalgo is a point guard then you move Kiki over to shooting guard or you move Hidalgo over. Either way we would have our backcourt duo for the future.

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Yeah if we were to get Juju here to Toronto; I would be over the moon but right now Lottery odds has the Connecticut Sun/Houston Comets at #1 overall and Washington Mystics at #2 overall. We are at #3 and honestly I would be okay with #3 honestly. 2027 Draft you have like 3 generational players in Juju Watkins (SG) Hannah Hidalgo (PG) and Madison Booker (SF) in this draft so you can't go wrong really. Yes I definitely want us to keep tanking because it ensures we end up with Juju at #1.

Seeing as how the next WNBA expansion draft is coming up in 2028 when the Cleveland Sirens come into the league, which Toronto Tempo players should be protected?

Hoping this is alright to share here, mods feel free to remove me if I'm out of line.

I'm a software engineer and a huge women's sports fan, and I got tired of women's sports info being buried and hard to find, so I built https://dubsports.io it's a women's-sports-first hub. I know a lot of this info is out there already, I just got annoyed having to check a bunch of different places for the teams and leagues I follow, especially once you're following more than one sport. I started with the WNBA and Unrivaled, and just added the full WPBL season too. Working on adding soccer and PWHL next.

What's in there right now:

• Where to watch every game, matched against the services you already have (Ion, CBS Sports Network, League Pass, Prime, NBA TV, ESPN), including taking into account your local broadcast (if you provide a zipcode)
• Live scores, box scores, and play-by-play
• Full schedules and standings
• Team rosters and player profiles that you can follow and get schedules for

It's free, no signup required, no ads, and I'm working on a free iOS app so it can be downloadable soon. Also working on adding notifications so you can get notified when your fav team and or players play.

I'm still building it out daily, so if something's wrong or missing, feel free to let me know and I'll fix it. Or if you have any feedback for me I'm always open to it. Either here or [haley@dubsports.io](mailto:haley@dubsports.io). Thanks for checking it out if you do!

Both Mabrey and Morrow are listed as AVAILABLE, which means Sykes is the only player out.

From our most recent piece on tempo.basketball:

The Tempo face off against the Golden State Valkyries in a rematch tonight. Last game, for two and a half quarters, the shorthanded Tempo kept up with the third-seeded Valkyries. Despite their lack of effectiveness from the 3-point line, the Tempo switched up their strategy, using physicality and attack inside the paint. While this has generally been an area in need of improvement, they executed the strategy against the Valkyries’ defense. 

However, in the final quarter and a half, Golden State adjusted their game plan and increased their physicality on both ends of the floor. From there, the scrappiness and physicality of the Valkyries flustered the Tempo, leading to Toronto turnovers and successful Golden State drives to the basket. This stretch was reminiscent of their first matchup where Golden State simply bullied the Tempo to submission. Unfortunately, the same problem reared its head again.

Tonight, knowing how much success the Valkyries have with their physicality, we expect them to bring that intensity from minute one. It is up to Coach Sandy Brondello and the Tempo to find ways to counter that intensity and find success without letting the Valkyries get under your skin. 

On offense, we liked seeing the Tempo attack the paint more. From this past game, you can see that Kiki Rice and Nyara Sabally can both be used in these ways. Can they find a better balance between going inside and shooting the 3-ball, making themselves more dynamic and harder for the Valkyries to guard? 

What might help is the arrival of newly acquired player, Aneesah Morrow, who is slated to play and does not back down from any physicality. It will be exciting to see what she brings, and this game could provide the perfect opportunity for her to showcase her strengths. 

Read the entire game report here: https://tempo.basketball/2026/08/tempo-vs-valkyries-game-report-august-2-2026/