Game 1: Golden State Valkyries vs Los Angeles Sparks, 7:00 PM PDT. OPENING DAY!
win or lose, it will be a party
I will attend as credentialed media, so if you have any ideas for questions for me to ask coaches or players, let me know in the comments.
To post comments and read my live notes, go to the Valkyrie Nation game thread.
VN also has plenty of articles to get you up to speed on the players, roster controversies, etc.
How to watch
ION, available on Fubo and YouTube TV and elsewhere.
It might take a while to find ION in your TV ecosystem, so go to ionwnba.com in advance.
WNBA League Pass if you are out of the blackout region
Injury report
Valkyries
Stephanie Talbot - OUT - Right Quad
Cecilia Zandalasini - OUT - Right foot
Kate Martin - PROBABLE - Right Hand
Sparks
Julie Allemand - OUT Left Knee
Cameron Brink - NWT Left Knee
What to expect
From the Valkyries:
High energy
Fast pace
Aggressive defense
Three-point shooting
Five-out sets
The LA Sparks actually have a lot of star power with their roster:
Cameron Brink (injured)
Kelsey Plum
Rae Burrell
Azurá Stevens
Dearica Hamby
Rickea Jackson
Mercedes Russell
Odyssey Sims
Julie Allemand
The state of the Valkyries roster
We reviewed the final roster recently:
Valkyries announce final roster; waive fan favorites Amihere, Bibby, Cunane, Chen and Toure
With Talbot and Zandalasini out, expect the same rotations from the last preseason game…
Probable Starters, slightly scoring challenged
#15 Tiffany Hayes
#5 Kayla Thornton
#14 Temi Fágbénlé
#25 Monique Billings
#22 Veronica Burton
Entertaining Bench, slightly chaotic
#0 Carla Leite
#20 Kate Martin
#35 Julie Vanloo
#31 Kyara Linskens
Out
#7 Stephanie Talbot and #24 Cecilia Zandalasini;
Probably Out
#13 Janelle Salaün, Just arrived in USA with a fresh Finals MVP from Italian championships, but also with no practice.