Sandy Brondello is set to become the first coach of the Toronto Tempo, a person familiar with the hire told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no official announcement has been made. Brondello’s contract with the New York Liberty wasn’t renewed after the season after leading the team to its first WNBA championship in 2024. The Liberty were beset injuries this season and knocked out in the first round of the playoffs.

Now Brondello will be in charge of the expansion Tempo, who will begin play next year. The veteran coach was also up for the Dallas Wings’ open head coach position. The Seattle Storm also have an opening for a head coach.

The news was first reported by the website The Next.

MORE WNBA COVERAGE

WNBA

Oct 21

Exclusive: Adam Silver confirms WNBA players will get ‘big increase' in pay talks

WNBA

Oct 11

A'ja Wilson's historic season for the Aces: MVP, scoring title, Finals MVP, more

Brondello went 107-53 in four seasons with New York, giving her the most wins in franchise history. The Liberty got off to a franchise-best start, winning nine straight games, only to stumble over the next few months as injuries took their toll.

Before coming to New York, Brondello led the Phoenix Mercury to a championship in her eight seasons with that team. She was hired before the 2022 season by the Liberty after she helped the Mercury reach the WNBA Finals in 2021.

New York lost in the finals to Las Vegas in 2023 before winning the championship last year in a decisive Game 5 overtime victory over Minnesota.

Sandy Brondello is set to become the first coach of the Toronto Tempo, a person familiar with the hire told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no official announcement has been made. Brondello’s contract with the New York Liberty wasn’t renewed after the season after leading the team to its first WNBA championship in 2024. The Liberty were beset injuries this season and knocked out in the first round of the playoffs.

Now Brondello will be in charge of the expansion Tempo, who will begin play next year. The veteran coach was also up for the Dallas Wings’ open head coach position. The Seattle Storm also have an opening for a head coach.

The news was first reported by the website The Next.

MORE WNBA COVERAGE

WNBA

Oct 21

Exclusive: Adam Silver confirms WNBA players will get ‘big increase' in pay talks

WNBA

Oct 11

A'ja Wilson's historic season for the Aces: MVP, scoring title, Finals MVP, more

Brondello went 107-53 in four seasons with New York, giving her the most wins in franchise history. The Liberty got off to a franchise-best start, winning nine straight games, only to stumble over the next few months as injuries took their toll.

Before coming to New York, Brondello led the Phoenix Mercury to a championship in her eight seasons with that team. She was hired before the 2022 season by the Liberty after she helped the Mercury reach the WNBA Finals in 2021.

New York lost in the finals to Las Vegas in 2023 before winning the championship last year in a decisive Game 5 overtime victory over Minnesota.

One New York woman put her trust in her boyfriend’s understanding of “black tie” wedding only to find herself mortified and hiding in a stairwell at a the event.

“We get there. The elevator doors open, and I immediately panic,” Ashley Bez, 41, tells TODAY.com

Her partner of ten years, Shane, “bless his heart, thought ‘black tie’ meant the guys dress up and the women can wear whatever they want,” she says. “And I never went to the wedding website, so…”

Inside, guests shimmered in glittering ball gowns and black tuxedos, while Bez stood out in a casual fit-and-flare dress and white Doc Marten boots. The shoes, she explains, were her only option; a calf injury had sidelined her heels.

Spotting an exit sign, she bolted, needing to escape the glittering crowd long enough to catch her breath. That’s where Bez, a comedian, recorded the now-viral Instagram video about her predicament.

“I look like a kindergartner on the first day of school,” she joked in the video, trying to make light of the situation. “I look like a slutty church lady.”

“I keep hiding because I don’t want to ruin all the wedding pictures,” she added.

Having never looked at the invitation herself, Bez assumed the nuptials would be like most of the ones she and Shane attend. The couple mostly run in creative circles, where weddings are typically relaxed affairs, the kind where her outfit would have been right on theme.

After Bez shared her reel, the comments poured in, a mix of fashion scolding, sympathy and support for relatable mistake.

The harsh ones sting, she admits, especially because the dress had sentimental value: her mother, a “talented seamstress,” had crafted it from a three-tiered skirt.

Bez says she’s at peace with how the dress code mix-up played out.

“HE TRULY THOUGHT BLACK TIE MEANT ‘WOMEN CAN WEAR WHATEVER THEY WANT,’ WHICH IS KIND OF BEAUTIFUL,” Bez wrote in the caption of her post. “HE THOUGHT IT WAS THE ONE TIME MEN HAD RULES AND WOMEN DIDN’T. ALSO, I WENT TO THIS WEDDING WITHOUT LOOKING AT THE INVITATION.”

Despite her initial panic, Bez stayed at the wedding until the end, and eventually managed to enjoy herself.

She wasn’t the only one who’d missed the memo, either.

“When they saw me, I could see the relief on their faces,” she says, laughing. “It was like, ‘Oh, thank God, someone else blew it worse than I did.”

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

• 2 Pet Food Companies Recalled by FDA for Possible Salmonella Contamination: What to Know
• Jon Bon Jovi Announces New Tour After Recovery From Vocal Cord Surgery
• Jon M. Chu Shares New Details About ‘Wicked: For Good’

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.