August 21, 2025

Title: UNRIVALED (Freestyle)

Constructor: Brian Callahan

Editor: Amie Walker

Theme synopsis:

UNRIVALED (Freestyle): There's no theme today as this is a freestyle, or themeless, puzzle. The title is a nod to NAPHEESA COLLIER (36A: WNBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2024). 

And now a word from our constructor:

Brian: The seed entry for this puzzle is the incredible NAPHEESA COLLIER of the Minnesota Lynx. As noted in the clue, she’s the reigning WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, however I’d wager that if this puzzle ran towards the end of the year, the clue could be changed to [2025 WNBA MVP]. We’ll see what happens! As an aside, I got to see Napheesa play against my hometown Chicago Sky earlier this season. She went toe-to-toe with another one of my favorite players, ANGEL REESE (who I may have used as a seed entry for a puzzle at another outlet…). Hope you enjoyed the solve!

Brian shared this photo from the game he attended. NAPHEESA COLLIER and ANGEL REESE are at the bottom of the logo wearing numbers 24 & 5 respectively.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• THA (4D: Disturbing ___ Peace (record label)) Disturbing THA Peace is a record label founded by Ludacris, Chaka Zulu, and Jeff Dixon in 1998. The company's first release was Ludacris' 1999 album Incognegro.
• SOHO (27D: Home to NYC's Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art) The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art (LLMA) is a visual art museum in the SOHO neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. The museum primarily collects art created by LGBTQ+ artists. LLMA's vision is "to be a home for queer art, artists, scholars, activists and allies, and a catalyst for discourse on art and queerness."
• LATINO (44D: "___ USA" (NPR program hosted by Maria Hinojosa) LATINO USA is a nationally syndicated radio program that – as the clue informs us – is hosted by Maria Hinojosa. LATINO USA is the longest-running public radio LATINO news and cultural program, having started in 1992. 
• MANGA (45D: Akira Toriyama's art) Akira Toriyama (1955-2024) was a Japanese MANGA artist. He created several influential and popular MANGA series, including Dragon Ball. I didn't recognize Akira Toriyama's name, but I discovered I have written about him once before, back in 2021 when we saw the clue [Powerful attack in "Dragon Ball"] for SPIRIT BOMB. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• LEA (19A: Comedian DeLaria) LEA DeLaria is a comedian, actress, and jazz singer. DeLaria integrates musical performance into her comedy, and has released several jazz albums. LEA DeLaria played the role of Carrie "Big Boo" Black on the TV series, Orange is the New Black.
• GIN (29A: Liquor in a bee's knees cocktail) A bee's knees cocktail is made with GIN, fresh lemon juice, and honey. As a side note, I have previously written about whether or not bee's have knees.
• TAO (31A: "___ Te Ching") The TAO Te Ching is a fundamental text for Taoism. The oldest excavated portion of the TAO Te Ching dates back to the 4th century BCE.
• KEN (33A: "The Last Samurai" star Watanabe) The Last Samurai is a 2003 movie inspired by the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion and the Westernization of Japan. KEN Watanabe portrays Lord Moritsugu Katsumoto, the eponymous "Last Samurai."
• NAPHEESA COLLIER (36A: WNBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2024) NAPHEESA COLLIER is a professional basketball player. She plays for WNBA's Minnesota Lynx. She has also played on the U.S. women's national team, and was part of the gold-medal winning team at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics. Additionally, NAPHEESA COLLIER and Breanna Stewart (who plays for WNBA's New York Liberty) co-founded the UNRIVALED basketball league. UNRIVALED is a women's professional three-on-three basketball league that plays during the WNBA season. The league's inaugural season was January to March of this year.
• SERENA (46A: Tennis legend Williams) SERENA Williams is regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. She feels like a nice bonus for this UNRIVALED puzzle. 
• BADU (52A: "Didn't Cha Know?" singer Erykah) "Didn't Cha Know" is a 2000 song by Erykah BADU. 
• TIE FIGHTER (58A: "Star Wars" craft with a twin ion engine) A TIE FIGHTER is a fictional spacecraft featured in the Star Wars universe. TIE FIGHTERs have a distinctive shape with hexagonal panels on either side of a ball-shaped cockpit. 
• STY (64A: This is a mess!) The exclamation point alerts solvers to take the clue literally. STY is a synonym of mess.
• OSCAR (1D: The "O" of EGOT) EGOT is an acronym for Emmy, Grammy, OSCAR, and Tony Awards, and is used as a designation for people who have won all four of these honors. The first person to achieve EGOT status was Richard Rodgers (1902-1979) in 1962.
• TIMED (3D: Like tournament crosswords) At crossword tournaments, competitors solve TIMED crosswords, competing to achieve the speediest accurate solve. Then again, there are a lot of people like me at crossword tournaments. I say that I attend crossword tournaments for the "family reunion." I highly recommend crossword tournaments! They are extremely enjoyable for people of all solving abilities, and that is because crossword people are the best. (That's my completely unbiased opinion.) This seems like a good opportunity to remind you of the Midwest Crossword Tournament that will be held Saturday, October 4 in Chicago, Illinois. If you can't make it in person, there's also an online solving option.
• SONATA (7D: One of two Liszt piano pieces) Franz Liszt (1811-1886) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and conductor. He composed over 700 pieces of music, but only two SONATAs: Piano SONATA in B Minor and Dante Sonata.
• AFROPOP (25D: Ayra Starr's genre) AFROPOP, or African Popular Music, is diverse and can incorporate many styles of music. In 2019, Ayra Starr began uploading covers of songs on Instagram. Then she posted an original song, and that led to a record contract with Nigerian label, Mavin Records, and a 2021 album titled 19 & Dangerous. The Nigerian singer says she chose the stage name Ayra because, "It means woke and eye-opening and that's what I stand for." Ayra Starr's most recent album, released in 2024, is titled The Year I Turned 21.
• BLUE (35D: One of the Chicago Cubs' team colors) The colors of MLB's Chicago Cubs are BLUE, red, and white. I'm really torn by this clue, because the Chicago Cubs are rivals of the St. Louis Cardinals. On the other hand, BLUE is my favorite color...
• CAT CAFES (38D: Establishments that might serve "tabbyccinos") CAT CAFES are themed CAFES where patrons can combine watching and playing with cats and enjoying a beverage and snack. Many CAT CAFES have offerings with punny names, such as "tabbyccinos" (cappuccinos). Needles to say, my cat, Willow, is a fan of this CAT content.

• RUNS (47D: Ends a triathlon) A triathlon is an endurance race that consists of swimming, cycling, and running. The RUN is the last event of the three.
• NERDY (51D: Like someone who geeks out watching "Jeopardy!") I think the answer here is really "delightfully NERDY" – too bad that didn't fit.
• TIL (58D: "This is new to me," in online shorthand) TIL = today I learned
• IDA (59D: Journalist Tarbell) IDA Tarbell (1857-1944) is considered a pioneer of investigative journalism. She founded the American Magazine in 1906, and wrote biographies of prominent businessmen and articles about controversial issues of the day. Her book, The History of the Standard Oil Company,contributed to the dissolution of the Standard Oil monopoly.

Because I am not very knowledgeable about sports, I'm always delighted when there's sports content in the puzzle I'm familiar with. I was thrilled to know NAPHEESA COLLIER and recognize her connection to UNRIVALED. To be fair, like most of the sports knowledge I do have, I learned these things from crosswords. In addition to the answers I've highlighted above, I also enjoyed the abundance of lively long fill in this puzzle, like TACO SAUCE, AP CREDITS, THIS AGAIN, and TALK TO ME. Thank you, Brian, for this UNRIVALED puzzle.