News From The World of Women's Basketball...

By Tara Polen: SPM Women's Basketball Editor
Posted Saturday, August 30, 2008

AUG 30 - WNBA President Donna Orender chatted with fans on Thursday, answering many questions about expansion possibilities and again defending the league's decision regarding the suspensions following the Sparks-Shock "brawl." Check it out.

AUG 27 - The WNBA resumes play tomorrow! Get ready!!

AUG 26 - Update: Delle Donne @ Delaware -- Hopefully this will be my last post on Elena Delle Donne for a while; the Hartford Courant goes into detail about her plans to play volleyball at the University of Delaware and how she came to her decision to leave UConn's basketball program.

AUG 25- Congratulations to USA Basketball for bringing home the GOLD for the 4th consecutive time. Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post reminds us just how significant Lisa Leslie has been to USA Basketball.

AUG 17 - The NY Times did a feature on Candace Parker today, about how she's got the whole marketing package.

AUG 16 - It's confirmed. Elena Della Donne will not enroll at UConn this Fall and is taking some time off from basketball. Wow.

AUG 15 - People are still talking (there was an article in one of my local papers today) about Becky Hammon, and her donning a Russian uniform to play basketball at the Olympics. So today, I found myself thinking about this -- yet again. And here's what I'm thinking today:

If it doesn't really matter what country one plays for -- or what country one is from -- because this is all just about healthy harmonious competition, then why do people come in under the flags of their nations? Why is the national anthem of the country which a winner represents played when they get the gold? Why does an Olympian's uniform have the name of a country on it?

Because it does matter. Because you play for your nation. All the other USA athletes say the same thing -- that winning a medal for the USA -- competing for one's nation -- is the most amazing honor they've ever had. Except Becky. She says it's just about basketball.

Alas, she is wrong.

The Olympic games are about national pride. But of course Becky has to keep telling herself it's essentially just a basketball tournament, otherwise how could she wear "RUSSIA" across her chest? I am convinced that deep down Becky is really, really uncomfortable with all of this. Walking in with the Russian contingent? Hoping to hear the Russian national anthem? How on earth does she reconcile that with her own love of country? I just don't buy it.

In order for her team to win the gold, the USA has to lose. Therefore, she has to root against the USA. If she's lucky, she won't have to actually play against the USA, but there is no guarantee of that. So, she wants the USA to lose? What kind of American wants the USA to lose anything at the Olympics? A very unusual American, I'll tell you. Are her midwestern god-fearin' American parents going to root for Russia over the USA? You betcha. They will root for their baby, of course. That is weird.

There's a reason why this kind of thing shouldn't be allowed. Because it makes no sense. And just because it is allowed, that doesn't excuse the people who choose to play for a country other than their own from dealing with the questions and criticism it brings up.

I've always been a huge fan of Becky's, but this was a bad idea, no matter how you slice it. The blindly loyal "Hammonites" won't convince me otherwise.

And by the way, the USA secured the #1 spot in pool B with their win over Spain early this morning, so they will face the team in the #4 spot in pool A. That is unlikely to be Russia or Australia, since they are both undefeated in their pool, but when they face each other, one of them will have to take the second spot. The USA cannot face both Australia and Russia -- if the USA gets to the gold medal game, they will almost certainly face one or the other.

AUG 12 - Big WNBA trade announced today ... USA Women cruising; next up is Mali, who just got even weaker with the injury to Hamchetou Maiga-Ba, and the Mercury's Tangela Smith had knee surgery today, and won't be back in action for the rest of the WNBA season.

08-08-08 -- Well, I was happily watching the Opening Ceremony from Beijing (wow!) when this news alert popped up -- apparently, the Comets are FOR SALE! OMG!

AUG 7 - George Vecsey of the NY Times discusses the increased physicality in women's basketball, and implies that the Australian team is accusing the USA team of some heavy hitting. I think he may have inferred more than was really there ... and to be fair, he might have mentioned that Sue Bird's nose was once famously (accidentally) broken by her own Seattle Storm teammate and league MVP Lauren Jackson, who patrols the paint for the Aussies. Basketball is a physical game. What do you think? Is Vecsey overreacting?

The Phoenix Mercury signed Olympia Scott for the rest of the WNBA season. Scott is the only WNBA player to have won two championships -- one with Phoenix last season and one with Sacramento in 2005. Maybe she's a good-luck charm? NB: Penny Taylor had just announced that she will not return to Phoenix for the post-Olympic WNBA season.

AUG 6 - A very interesting hire over on the banks was announced today...

AUG 5 - Well, I don't know about you, but I'm jonesin for the Olympics! In the meantime, however, I've been busy putting together photos of NYC Summer league basketball. If you haven't seen any of the West 4th St. Nike Pro Women's Classic photo galleries yet, you can find them all at this area of SPM's website. There are some faces you should recognize, from NCAA to WNBA. And there's more to come ...

Oh, in case you missed it, the USA Women won the FIBA Diamond Ball Olympic warm-up tournament. Check out who placed fifth. (*sigh* - Becky -- you're killin' me) BUT - this is not a real indication of the Olympic competition. Teams tend to hold back at these kinds of games. Especially the Russians. At least, that's what I've seen. The Aussies? I dunno. I hope not!

Also, I recently discovered a great new blog -- well-written, thoughtful, timely, and enlightening. Did I say well-written? (I really like a blogger with good grammar... )

AUG 1 - Nike has set up a site dedicated to USA Basketball -- with bios, blogs and pics of kicks ... some decent content, actually.

Candace Parker says she can't imagine any other team winning the gold. Me either, CP3. Me either.

USA Today reports that the women's national team has arrived in China.

In case you haven't read enough stories about Becky Hammon's decision to play for Russia in the Olympics -- here's another one from Sports Illustrated.

Check out this photo of Candace Parker, from ESPN's "Olympics are for Girls" gallery. Team USA will play its first 'warm-up' match tomorrow, and will have a chance to go up against both Australia (LJ, Penny, Tully) and Russia (Hammon) over the next four days. There's story on this "FIBA Diamond Ball Tournament" here.

JULY 31 - Well, Ms. Parker, I still think you should have gotten a 2-game suspension, but dayum girl! You really are HUGE!

According to Jayda Evans, Sue Bird is ready to lead the USA to gold.

WNBA 2007 MVP Lauren Jackson injured her ankle, but expects to be fine for the big games next week.

JULY 30 - Ah, the Olympics. Time for those heart-tugging, feel-good stories. Here's one about Houston Comet (and formerly Sacramento Monarch) Hamchétou Maïga-Ba. Bet you didn't know she had 18 brothers and sisters... (I thought that was just Ruthie Bolton! I guess they like kids from big families in Sacramento...)

JULY 29 - A former player shares her take on the "brawl" - check out Val Whiting's article.

CNN caught up with Olympian Diana Taurasi...

WNBA report card = A+ Isn't that special? (seriously, though - this is in no way surprising, but always good to hear). Also, today USA Basketball announced that ALL of the games from Beijing will be on TV -- if you get the NBC Olympic Basketball Channel... check with your local cable company)

JULY 27 - A comprehensive focus on Becky Hammon in the San Antonio Express-News on the last day of WNBA Action before the Olympic break. So if some teams have a "Faith Night," should they also have something like a "Secular Humanism Night?" (or in some cases, complete "Lack of Faith" night ...) I guess if New York had had a "Faith Night" (*shudders*) it wouldn't have been such a surprise to learn just how religious Becky is. Good thing they let you worship out in the open these days in Russia .. (ok, ok -- kidding...)

JULY 26 - Was the now-famous Tuesday night Sparks-Shock brawl a watershed moment for gender equality?? Has something changed in women's pro sports? (Should we be thanking Plenette Pierson, Candace Parker, Lisa Leslie AND Rick Mahorn?)

JULY 24 - Okay. It's NOT April Fool's right? It's July? Because apparently -- this news about Nancy Lieberman is NOT a joke. "Shocked" is definitely the right word for this one...

Oh, and I haven't discussed Tuesday night's big brawl here because between watching it over and over and reading all the takes on it and watching it some more and arguing over it with people ... it seems so much has been said and so many bytes of space have already been dedicated to it (and will continue to be) that there is simply no need for me to pile on. Just google "Candace Parker" + "fight" or "Rick Mahorn + Lisa Leslie" and you will be overwhelmed.

BUT - when the league releases its "verdicts" for punishment/suspensions/fines/whatever later today, I might find a thing or two to complain about. See you then.

JULY 22 - WNBA in Tulsa??

JULY 21 - Yahoo's Josh Peter spends a day with Lisa Leslie.

JULY 18 - Liberty win third in a row ... and everyone is focused on tomorrow's OUTDOOR CLASSIC at the National Tennis Center in Flushing!
Don't forget about the FAN FESTIVAL beforehand, with Knicks players and Liberty alumnae ... Get those metrocards out and hop on the 7 train!
(1) USA Today talking outdoor game (feel free to respond to dumb comments from haters)
(2) Outdoor classic prep photos
(3) Outdoor classic high school reunion
(4) ESPN's Mechelle Voepel gets in the act
(5) Tamika Catchings may or may not play, but the good news is, she didn't re-injure the achilles. *phew*

In other news ....
Is a WNBA Video game in development? (<---- scroll down...)
LA had a party with its fans - check out the photos!
Oklahoma's Jenna Plumley suspended for stealing makeup? Or is that primarily the cover story?

JULY 16 - *RUMOR MILL* One of my favorite sources has shared what could be the list of alternates for the women's Senior national team ... and they include two former Golden Gophers, a Boilermaker and possibly a Blue Devil. And a veteran teammate of the Dukie. And maybe someone from California. ;) And still no Swin. ?

JULY 15 - LJ is going to miss Sue (and Diana) over the next few weeks.

JULY 14 - Check out the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2009! And Happy Bastille Day!

JULY 13 - The New York Times has a feature on the Atlanta Dream's trials and tribulations -- and victories.

JULY 11 - Get psyched for the first-ever Liberty Outdoor Classic! Check out what the celebs have to say about it...

JULY 10 - Today at the NBA Store: Essence Carson, Tiffany Jackson & Shameka Christon.

Is Baltimore the next location for WNBA expansion?

The final three spots on the senior women's national team were officially announced today... And if you were here on July 3, you would have had this information WAY before it became public. :)

JULY 7 - Kym Hampton goes to Thailand!

JULY 6 - Hey peanut-head! ;) Don't miss this in-depth article about the reunion of former UConn college teammates and roommates Tamika Williams-Raymond and Asjha Jones, both now playing with the Connecticut Sun.

JULY 5 - ATLANTA WINS! That's right -- WINS! The nightmare is over -- at least for now.

JULY 3 - *FLASH!* A little birdie told me that USA Basketball has made its final choices for the women's senior team -- and the final three spots will go to KARA LAWSON, TAMIKA CATCHINGS and DELISHA MILTON-JONES. Personally, I was pulling for Katie Douglas or Lindsey Whalen. I think the team really needs them. This is not official information, though. We will let you know as soon as we have that.

JULY 2 - No offense to Sylvia Crawley (who laid down the first dunk back in the ABL) but WHY is the WNBA having a pre-game prayer service? Is this necessary? Is this appropriate? Um ... I don't know. I will have to investigate...

Hello from California! LA, to be exact. Got to see (and hear!) yesterday's Liberty-Sparks game, and now I'm looking at the ocean and listening to the breeze make its way through palm trees. It's quite nice here. I do understand the allure ... but I could never leave NYC. I will be here through Friday though, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow's game between the Lynx and the Sparks. Anyway ... here is an article that everyone should read by venerated LA columnist Bill Plaschke about the Sparks and dunking and CP3.

Poor Atlanta. They are setting all the wrong kinds of records.

Oh, and by the way, the WNBA is planning to honor Robin Roberts with its third annual "Women of Inspiration" award -- in San Francisco. Wish I could go...

One more thing -- this flashback article from 1997 about the WNBA in its first season must have just been loaded up to Newseek's website, because it showed up in my email box yesterday via google search. Cool.

JUNE 24 - Candace does it again. See great photo of dunk #2 here.

There's a new award in the WNBA, and Tamika Catchings is the inaugural recipient. Well, well deserved. Congrats, Catch!

JUNE 23 - Today the Phoenix Mercury were honored by President Bush --- and SPM was there to take photos! I'm so proud!

Cleveland Cavalier Daniel "Boobie" Gibson is a huge Cappie Pondexter fan, and got to see her play yesterday at Madison Square Garden.

A couple of transactions today ... Mystics signed Kendra Wecker, and the Dream signed Kasha Terry.

Last night Candace Parker became the second woman in WNBA history to dunk in a game, at the same basket where Lisa Leslie did it first a few years back. Our photographer got some great shots, including this one. I really, REALLY don't think we're going to have to wait six more years for the next WNBA dunk. Maybe six more days ... maybe six more weeks, if we have to wait for Sylvia to get all healed up and warmed up ... come on Big Syl!

Also, yesterday the Atlanta Dream announced that they traded Camille Little to the Seattle Storm for a 2009 Draft Pick. That's 3 teams in just over 1 year for Ms. Camille. She deserves better.

JUNE 22 - TRADE announcement: The Lynx trade Eshaya Murphy to Detroit for forward LaToya Thomas. Thomas will practice with the Lynx on Monday.

JUNE 20 - The Seattle Storm once again shows some serious love to its fans -- albeit the big-wig ones.

JUNE 19 - Legal stuff: SE Missouri State (ouch) and Fresno State (yowsa).

The "mainstream" sports press is figuring out that Becky Hammon's "defection" is a story. I could post links for you, but I'm so far beyond bored by the whole thing that I feel it might be hypocritical. If you really want to know, just google "Becky Hammon" and "Olympics." So unless something truly newsworthy occurs in relation to this story, I will not be adding fuel to the fire. I shared my feelings about this months ago already. (Scroll down to March-something) Whatever. Go USA.

Australia's women's basketball team, The Opals, will warm up for the Beijing Olympics with a two-game series against Brazil next month in Wollongong and Sydney.

JUNE 17 - Lindsay Whalen admits to being 'prankster" and more stuff about her you never knew ...

JUNE 16 - The 2008 Rookie class is living up to the hype ...

JUNE 15 - Boston's Bob Ryan is a WNBA convert. Welcome aboard, Bob.

JUNE 14 - Sylvia Fowles Update: As per SPM's Chicago Sky reporter, who talked to Sylvia briefly last night, she does not believe her knee strain will be an issue come Olympics time and expects to compete. This is very good news.

JUNE 13 - Della Donne update here... And apparently I missed the reports a few days back about Joe McKeown moving over to Northwestern ...

JUNE 12 - Catch is back!!

Cynthia Cooper added to the lineup for the Lynette Woodard Charity Classic. It'll be the only game in town come August, people. Book those flights to Houston, stat.

JUNE 9 - What's up with Elena Della Donne? The Courant is reporting that she went home from the UConn summer session ....

JUNE 6 - Hey - Bird and Dee are blogging again. This is one for the bookmark folder, peeps.

This just in: Mechelle Voepel reports that Becky Hammon may in fact descend from Russian aristocracy. Or she may not. *sigh*

For those of you who've been wondering where on earth former SMU great and WNBA 2001 Rookie of the Year JACKIE STILES is ... check this out.

Charde Houston will return to Connecticut tonight feeling pretty good as her 5-0 Minnesota Lynx will face the Sun. Speaking of homecomings, the Houston Comets will face the New York Liberty tonight as well, representing the only regular-season game between former Rutgers teammates Matee Ajavon and Essence Carson at the Garden.

And here's a feel-good rookie story about former Wisconsin badger Jolene Anderson.

JUNE 5 - The Sky's Sylvia Fowles has a sprained knee, (sustained in Tuesday night's game against the Sparks...) and Chicago has signed Ty'esha Fluker to help in the paint.

Steve Kelley of the Seattle TImes takes his turn at the "Becky will play for Russia" game. For the record, Anne Donovan says she never used the word "traitor."

JUNE 3 - Oy vey. They made up a new award and guess who won it? Yup. CP3. "Rookie of the Month." M'okay, people.

Hey Chicagoans! I hope you're not staying in tonight .... you should be getting ready to go to the Pavilion, people.

Crystal Langhorne is trying to find her rhythm in the pros...

MAY 31 - Shanna Crossley had surgery this week on her torn ACL.

First nine members of USA Women's Senior team named for Beijing.... three more spots to be filled by mid-July. One guard, one forward, one post player. more tough choices ahead for the USA Bball committee.

MAY 30 - Oh, if only Candace Parker didn't keep doing amazing things, I wouldn't have to sound like a Johnny/Jane one-note. So, last night the Sparks actually lost (is the Diana calling for Michael Cooper's resignation?) in a double-overtime game in Indiana. But what did CP3 do? She filled up the stat sheet in every category. ESPN explains the significance. Maybe something amazing will happen in tonight's Liberty-Sun game that will allow me to post info about another name here.

Of course, I could have told you about how comfy Katie Douglas is feeling in Indiana. If going back to Mohegan and smokin' out her former teammates wasn't enough, she was able to enjoy what could be a rare victory last night in her team's win over LA. Go Katie!

MAY 29 - More Candace Parker ... she is mentioned in an article on SI.Com about women in sports in 2008. Also mentioned - the Pat-Geno rivalry.

The Sparks visit Indiana tonight, and the local papers are talking about Candace Parker. According to this story, her jersey is outselling everyone else's -- combined. Geez.

MAY 28 - Check this out. According to USA Today, there's a class action suit against the NCAA over their Final Four (and Frozen Four) ticket-selling methods. Fascinating.

Oh, and in case you are a very (very) casual fan of women's basketball, you might need to get up to speed on Candace Parker's debut game. Talk about living up to expectations. She's not missing a beat. I wonder if she will even experience a rookie wall...

MAY 27 - So, I haven't posted in over a week. My apologies. I was in Atlanta for several days, catching opening weekend for the new WNBA team, the Dream. I had a great time taking photos at both the official home opener against Detroit last Friday, and Sunday's game against Los Angeles. The Dream behaved like the expansion team they are, and lost both games, but they definitely gave Detroit some trouble in the first half of the inaugural game against the Shock. There was a great crowd on hand for both games as well -- especially opening night. Anyway, you can check out the photos here: May 23 v. Detroit and May 25 v. Los Angeles.

MAY 18 - Donna Orender had a press conference, of sorts, during halftime of the Liberty-Sun game. Among other news announced by the league president was the strong possibility of two additional teams being added to the league, sometime over the next five years. She was hesitant to offer any details, as "negotiations are complex." She also said that the league would announce within the next two weeks whether or not they would hold some kind of event this summer to replace the annual All-Star Game, which has not been held in Olympic years in the past. No further details were offered, but she hinted that the event might be "non-competitive."

MAY 15 - Final WNBA Rosters are set, and there is more international reach than ever for the WNBA.

MAY 13 - Kelli Anderson over at SI.com has a great article about the Sparks and the new model of female-ownership in the WNBA.

Don't miss our own Richard Cohen's "Best Damn WNBA Season Preview Ever" features. There's one on the East and one on the West, plus predictions for the season at the end of Western conference preview. It's thorough, it's knowledgeable, and it's funny!

More cuts (and a handful of signings) in the WNBA the last few days ...

MAY 11 - Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there ... ha ha... just found this story, which I'm dubbing "Be Fit, Be Yourself, Eat McDonalds." Actually, if that sounds judgmental, it's not meant to be. It's meant to be funny, but comedy is not always my strong suit. Or dress. See? Anyway, I say the league should earn where it can. I hope they got a lot of $ for this.

MAY 9 - Gee, I didn't know I liked Usher ... but I do now. Unfortunately, I have to bitch today. About this. The WNBA's value is essentially assessed at less than 1/2 of 1% of the NBA. That's less than half a penny vs. a dollar. That's just too little. Does the WNBA really get 1/2 of 1% of the NBA's ratings? Do its viewers have less money to spend? I don't think so (of course, I have no idea -- I'll have to check on ratings numbers) But it just annoys the you-know-what outta me. < 1/2 of 1%? If I'm doing the math incorrectly, someone tell me. ($30 million v. $7.5 billion)

MAY 8 - Kudos to Seattle for leading the way environmentally.

TV guide talks about the WNBA's new ad campaign. Mel was right; Dawn signs with South Carolina.

MAY 6 - Hey, Mel Greenberg of the Philly Inquirer is asking -- is Dawn Staley on the coaching merry-go-round?

On Sunday, the Seattle Storm held a party for its fans. You know, more teams need to do stuff like this. Sometimes I really am jealous of those Seattle fans.

MAY 4 - The WNBA preseason has begun, and in Atlanta, they didn't need to dream of a large audience... but they lost to the league's newest one-two punch, Leslie and Parker. Scary.

Speaking of the Sparks, don't miss our own Donald Barnat's photo gallery of their Media Day. These are some of the best photos we've ever had on SPM -- just beautiful. This is why I talk camera with Donald. Great job, teach.

And for the UConn fans - congrats on the new big body transfer.

Oh, and this story from the world of college SOFTBALL will warm your heart, unless you're some kind of freak. You've probably heard about it, but in case you haven't, it involves one team's sacrifice for another during a game. And a home run. And an injury. You can't make this stuff up, people.

MAY 1 - I hate -- HATE reporting on bad news. Two knee injuries today -- of two players who were injured last season and missed much of it. I can only imagine how frustrating this is for them. For details: DeMya Walker (I am so loathe to even type her name) and Lindsey Harding (I'm shocked to be typing her name, especially because I saw her in Tampa and specifically asked her about her knee and she said it was 'great.' So it's just that much more weird that she's facing her second knee injury in her second season). It may still be the preseason, but it's like the real season has begun, ad the injuries start to pile up. UGH! All best wishes to DeMya and Lindsey for quick and complete recoveries.

By the way, "Mr. Mean" didn't last long in L.A, and no real explanation was given. I wonder if he felt superfluous! Haha.

Penny Taylor surprised no one with the news that she would miss most of the WNBA season to train with the Australian National team.

APRIL 30 - Just found this on ESPN ... Glenn Nelson compares Candace to Maya and concludes that Maya will be the better player in the long run. Scroll down, and you will see that I have said this previously. Way to copy me, Glenn. NOT.

APRIL 29 - Hey WBB fans! I'm baa-aack. I've been super busy trying to get all of SPM's staff in order for the upcoming WNBA season, which means I have to talk to all the teams to arrange for our reporters and photographers ... icky administrative stuff. But, that's about 85% set, so I thought I'd better update you all on as many things as possible, in case you missed anything.

Well, last week I was up in Tarrytown for the Liberty's Media Day, and I took a bunch of photos that you can check out here. Also, check out this article in the NY Times about Essence Carson and the Liberty.

WIN SOME COOL AUTOGRAPHED STUFF!
The WNBA is auctioning off autographed basketball and jerseys from Draft Day. Most auctions end May 1, so HURRY UP and BID! :)

The USA lost to China in the Finals of the "Good Luck Beijing" Olympic warm-up tournament, 84-81. This after beating them by 25 points a few days before. The silver lining? This compilation of players are not the group that will play in the actual Olympics. This is like a warmup for Lisa Leslie and Katie Smith and Swin Cash -- and maybe Kara Lawson. (no disrespect meant to Taj McWilliams-Franklin, Sylvia Fowles, Lindsey Harding, Laura Harper, Crystal Langhorne, etc.) Not in Beijing for this last tournament? Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Alana Beard, Seimone Augustus, Tamika Catchings, Cappie Pondexter, etc. Need I go on? You can catch up on all kinds of USA Basketball news and stats at their website.

Speaking of Lisa Leslie, she's got a book!

Candace Parker is gonna make some dough this season - read about her endorsements and the changing landscape of female athletes and endorsement deals.

Lots of updates in the WNBA rosters, but a big trade last week sent LA's Taj McWilliams-Franklin to the Washington Mystics in exchange for Sparks alum Delisha Milton-Jones. DMJ had requested a trade from the Mystics and as a free agent had the right to refuse options she didn't like. (For example, she didn't want to go to Minnesota, we think). So, all things considered, Washington was lucky to find a deal for her since she wasn't likely to be too inspired playing all summer someplace she didn't want to be. Taj is desperately needed in Washington, as they traded away their prior veteran center, Chasity Melvin, last season. Washington still looks pretty messy to me, but Alana Beard is super fun to watch.

NY LIberty's Janel McCarville moves up next winter -- to CSKA Moscow. She's played with Kosice in Slovakia for the past two years but I guess the deep pockets in Russia found out about her. Congrats J-Mac. Sorry, Kosice. (you'll need to understand Slovak to read this...)

Interesting article about the recruiting trail ... A Day in the LIfe of C.Vivian Stringer and her assistant coaches.

Silver Stars Preview on Scout -- Will Becky be as popular as she was BEFORE she decided to play for the 'enemy?'

It's a boy for Margo Dydek! Congrats!

Palo Alto online gives some props to Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer.

WCBB Coaching Changes: Legendary Leon Barmore will come out of retirement to join his former assistant and one-time Techster point guard, Kim Mulkey, at Baylor!

UNLV hires former UCLA Coach Kathy Oliver

Memphis hires McFerrin.

Sylvia Crawley replaces Cathy Inglese at Boston College

APRIL 18 - Candace Parker won another award. *yawn* I mean, Congratulations, CP.

Some good stuff I've found on the web recently: a) Nice profile of Candice Wiggins. If you didn't know about her Dad, you'll want to read this. b) Interesting story about Connecticut Sun's Cori Chambers, and what it takes stay competitive in the WNBA. Good luck Cori. c) From the Seattle Storm website, everything you ever wanted to know Brian Agler.

APRIL 17 - This is a fun story about an editor from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution living out a "dream" by attending the open tryouts for Atlanta's new WNBA team. Very impressive.

APRIL 16 - *snore* Bill Laimbeer and Michael Cooper's mutual admiration society met today in NYC ...

APRIL 13 - Teresa Weatherspoon will join the coaching staff at her alma mater, Louisiana Tech.

APRIL 10 - Quick newsflash: Sheryl Swoopes will throw out the first pitch at the Sunday, April 13th Seattle Mariners game at Safeco Field at 1:10pm.

APRIL 8 - Okay, Tennessee won its 8th National Championship. I wish their marching band would learn more than 2 songs + "Rocky Top," which had to have been played 5-6 times during the game alone, not to mention during warmups and/or the celebration.

But I think the news today that Becky Hammon will play for the Russian team in the Olympics in Beijing is a bigger story. As much of a fan of Becky's as I am, I do not like this. I do not like this, Sam I am, and I've already talked about it when she was first "naturalized."

Oh, and Yolanda Griffith signed with the Seattle Storm. Picture this locker room: Lauren Jackson, Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Sheryl Swoopes, Yolanda Griffith ... they're going to have to build an extension for all the award baggage that comes with these amazing women. But some fans in Sacramento are NOT happy with Yo.

Championship Time. Candice Wiggins called this "the biggest game of my entire life so far." Great quote from Pat Summitt from yesterday's press conferences. She said her father told her after she coached and lost her very first game -- by one point -- "You can't take donkeys to the Kentucky Derby." So I guess she went out and recruited some thoroughbreds. Doesn't sound like rocket science to me.

Speaking of rocket science, I thought I read somewhere that Stanford's forward/center Morgan Clyburn is majoring in biomechanical something-or-other. Here's to the smart girls! Maybe she'll get some minutes in the game, but if not, she'll have a degree from Stanford...

Side note: I just realized that I was Bat Mitzvah'd 30 years ago today. Holy crap, I'm old. (But I can still chant the first few lines of my haftorah, people...)

Starting lineups are in - no surprises. Stanford: Pedersen, Appel, Hones, Wiggins, Gold-Onwude. Tennessee: Parker, Auguste, Anosike, Bobbitt, Hornbuckle. Time to head on to the mess that is press row.

I was thinking, wouldn't it be kind of gross, but also funny, if Smokey the Tennessee dog tried to "mark" a spot on the Stanford Cardinal Tree mascot? I can't be the only sick mind thinking of this ... If I were Smokey, I'd probably jokingly go for it. The crowd would laugh ... Or maybe this is why I was only a mascot for 2 hours once. Let me tell you, it was HOT in that bear suit.

APRIL 6 - Well, sorry I haven't posted in a few days. Here's what I've been doing: WNBA Pre-Draft Camp Photo Gallery; WBCA 2008 High School All-America Game. In between I went to a live recording of the "Shootaround with Beth and Debbie" podcast on Friday night at the Marriott. Everyone was there, including Coaches Summitt, Yow, Dunn, Goestenkors, Boyle, Coale, Frese, Berenato, Bruno ... even Geno Auriemma was represented in the bottle of "Taurasi" wine he donated for an auctioned-off center-table steak dinner, which went to Coaches Goestenkors and Boyle for around $5,000. They then invited Coach Yow and Coach Dunn (who had been outbid) to join them. Also present were Kristi Tolliver, Crystal Langhorne, Erlana Larkins, Tamika Catchings (and maybe others whom I did not see, I'm sure...)

At the WNBA Pre-Draft camp, I saw some "Big East" action after the "final buzzer;" Olayinka Sanni, Marcedes Walker and Charel Allen were tossing around the ball and I asked them who they thought would win the NCAA Championship. Marcedes was first to respond, "Big East!" Yinka and Charel agreed. "BigEast," was the consensus. Smart girls.

They also said the most important thing to show at the camp was "hustle," and not to try to "play outside your game." Sounds logical to me. I definitely saw a lot of hustle -- lots of players willing to throw themselves around, get banged up, and quickly (quickly!) get up off the floor.

APRIL 3 - Hello from Tampa! After a slight delay, Continental Airlines did manage to fly me to the center of the women's basketball universe for the next week. Is it just me, or do planes just not land smoothly anymore? I seem to remember much straighter, softer landings when I was a kid ... Anyhoo -- just a little tease from me to say I hope to have some nice tidbits for y'all over the next few days leading up to the WNBA Draft. Tomorrow morning I'm heading over to the Pre-Draft Camp to watch the coaches watch the players ;) I'm hoping to snag some photos of the prospects, so keep an eye out.

I will also take this opportunity to admit that I totally blew it with my picks for the tournament this year. All of my brackets are ready for the shredder. Between essentially shooting the moon by picking Oklahoma to make the Final Four (hey, I could have looked like a genius) and otherwise banking on North Carolina (but wow, LaToya Pringle!) to win it all, I'm in a free-fall. I do have one bracket somewhere with UConn winning it all, but I think I still had Oklahoma (dammit, Sooners!) in the FF in that one. And forget the one where I picked Rutgers to finally cut down the nets. Oh well. Look out for the Scarlet Knights next year. Ridiculous incoming talent to Piscataway (hope to snag some photos of them -- and many others -- at the WBCA High School All-America game on Saturday...)

That's all for now. And kudos to Candace Parker for her performance on Tuesday. That was sick! Is she human? Can Jenny Moshak evaluate my 8-week-old sprained ankle? ;)

OH - And this bit of news almost slipped right by me, and probably many of you -- Quentin Hillsman of Syracuse, who won co-Coach of the Year Honors in the Big East this season (shared with some guy named Geno) signed a contract extension on Tuesday. Smart move, Syracuse. Great job, Coach Hillsman. Syracuse was ranked in the Top 25 for the first time ever this season, and was invited to its fourth NCAA Tournament this season, losing to Hartford in the opening round.

APRIL 1 - Parker backs up her swagger (preview article on tonight's game between Tennessee and Texas A&M) ... Louiville's Angel McCoughtry and Jeff Walz get some honors from the WBCA ... Rutgers and UConn will meet tonight as well, and Epiphanny, Kaili and Tina will try to forget how close they are. (NONE OF THESE POSTS ARE JOKES, but happy April Fool's) :)

Summit makes nice with Auriemma. Hmm.

MARCH 29 - The Big East, yesterday and today.

A Greensboro preview on Rutgers and GW reminds us of Rutgers' unlikely victory over Duke last year.

Scott Ostler of the San Francisco chronicle is up in Spokane for the regionals and provides this really fun read about the women's game and the coaches. (thanks, hoopfan24!)

MARCH 28 - NCAA Players are blogging on Yahoo. Get the latest on the tourney experiences of Crystal Langhorne, Abby Waner, Essence Carson & Erlana Larkins. Cool.

Women's Basketball Online's Helen Wheelock assesses the current state of media coverage in women's basketball, focusing on some alternatives you may not know about (unless you read this blog regularly :) )

Thinking ahead about how you will handle your WNBA withdrawal during the Olympic break in August? Here's one idea: head for HOUSTON.

The NY Times compares Geno to Kasparov. Well, sort of. Say it with me, people: "Maya Moore is the best player in the nation. Maya Moore is the best player in the nation...." Look out, ODU. Rutgers? If you can control GW like you did a few months ago, the real test will be whether or not you can contain Maya Moore? If Rutgers' defense can't do it ... can anyone?

Speaking of Rutgers, check out this sweet story about some die-hard fans that the NY Times published a couple of days ago.

MARCH 27 - Hey, Chicago Sky fans! Your team is having a sale on jerseys. But not everyone's jersey ... which might mean some of the following players won't be back: #44 Chasity Melvin, #20 Kayte Christensen, #52 Liz Moeggenberg, #11 Jia Perkins, #42 Carla Thomas, #21 Brooke Wyckoff, #9 Cathy Joens,#12 Stacey Dales. Notice how you can't buy a discounted Candice Dupree or Armintie Price jersey. Of course, it could just be that Dupree and Price sell well enough not to require a buying incentive ... but other than Melvin, Perkins and Dales (sort of), the list isn't really surprising.

Oh, and a shout-out to the mighty BIG EAST conference. UConn, Rutgers, Pitt, Notre Dame & Louisville! All still alive, mostly at the expense of the Big XII. Ouch. What was that you were saying, Nancy Lieberman? The Big XII is the best conference in the nation?! Are you sure??

Hey - Did y'all catch Charel Allen's 35-point performance for the Irish the other night? Dayum! Good for Charel. She deserves some love, people. Maya Moore hit like 10 3-pointers in a row against Texas. Well, okay, it was only four 3-pointers. But they were all in the first half or something.

MARCH 25 - Well, I'm totally caught up in the tourney, but I just found this article in the LA Times. It's quite reminiscent of SI's article about Diana & Sue in Russia last year, but updated -- and still fascinating. Gotta love a guy who wants to lavish WNBA players to the point of foolishness. Well, I do.

MARCH 21 - ESPN is talking Pat & Geno. Note the listing for "Outside the Lines" on Sunday morning. Also, don't miss SportsCenter Sunday night, there will be a special feature on great women's basketball teams of the past.

USA Today has a long, detailed feature on Candace Parker. Get ready, people. It could be All-Candace, All the time for the next few weeks...

WNBA NEWS: Diana Taurasi re-signed with the Phoenix Mercury. In case anyone was worried. The Connecticut Sun signed Tracy Gahan for training camp. Yet another player poached from the Aussie Adelaide Lightning squad. Hope they're stocking up on vegemite in Uncasville.

MARCH 20 - Catching up with USA Basketball -- the women' senior team (as is it now configured) is touring Spain at the moment, and today they took on Perfumidas Avenida and escaped with an overtime win. Seimone Augustus led with 17 points. You can read about that game here. In their prior game, the Americans beat Ros Casares Valencia by a more comfortable margin. Lindsey Whalen was the team's leading scorer in that matchup.

Meanwhile, this story/interview with Cappie Pondexter was posted on the USA basketball website a couple of days ago. It's a fun read.

SIGNING NEWS FROM THE WNBA; The Fever have signed wnba vet Alison Feaster.

Christine Brennan is fighting the good fight in USA Today, pointing out that "separate" is not proving to be equal come tournament time.

MARCH 19 - The big question. Did Becky Hammon become a "naturalized" Russian citizen to facilitate her CSKA club's ability to give her playing time? (There are rules about how many minutes non-Russians can be play in the league, and how many can be on the floor at the same time) Or is she seriously considering playing for the Russian national team in the upcoming Olympic games, as the Russians seem to think? I sincerely hope the latter is speculative garbage. Becky - you are an AMERICAN. You've been quoted as saying that the national anthem is your favorite moment at games. Was that total bunk? Sometimes I hate the policies of the USA, but the concept of America? I love America. I know you do as well. Can you really take the chance that you'll have to play against your true compatriots? Really? Becky, I hardly knew ye.

Say it ain't so, Becky. Say it ain't so.

MARCH 18 - This year's UConn seniors don't want to graduate without even reaching a Final Four game.

Could Rutgers stand between UConn and Tennessee? Jere Longman of the NYTimes thinks perhaps - yes. And there's some stuff about the Geno-Pat standoff in here too. Nothing fantastically new, unless you haven't been paying attention this season. Meanwhile, the Washington Post discusses Maryland's surprise #1 seeding. and the outlook for all four #1 seeds.

MARCH 17 - The brackets are out. You can see the NCAA bracket here and the WNIT bracket here. Look for the links to the printable PDF files. Not sure that Maryland deserved that #1 seed, but the general consensus is that UConn and Rutgers in the same bracket is just WEIRD. Oh well -- what would Selection Monday be like if we couldn't bitch about the committee's choices?

ESPN's "experts" go on record here with their tourney picks, and it's boring. I mean, with the exception of Hays and Creme everyone's got four #1 seeds in the Final Four, and they have three. Come on, there's got to be an upset somewhere. And everyone picked UConn to win it all. All five? I love you guys, but seriously?

Here are MY picks (well for my first bracket attempt; I do confess that I am playing in a few different places) :
Final Four: Rutgers, Stanford, North Carolina and OKLAHOMA!
I think Oklahoma has a shot at upsetting Tennessee, although I'm sure 95% of the rest of the world will think I'm nuts. They had a pretty close game at the beginning of the season, and although I realize that was -- like -- eons ago, I'm going to take a chance here because it's really not very exciting to predict four #1 seeds in the Final Four. As for Rutgers, well, since you never know between Rutgers and UConn, why not go for it? Isn't it more fun to imagine Rutgers there? Last year I picked Rutgers over Duke just for the heck of it, and that turned out pretty well. (Unless ESPN still has records of the brackets from last year, I can't prove this to you. But there were witnesses). You'll just have to take my word for it. Of course, I also had LSU winning it all ... and instead they broke a record for low-scoring in their semifinal loss to RU. *sigh*

Championship Game: Rutgers v. North Carolina
National Champions: North Carolina (sorry, CVS, they're just too good and perhaps it's Sylvia's turn again).

I expect to take a lot of flak for these choices. Bring it, people!

Check out this feature story on Maya Moore from the Boston Globe this past weekend. I told y'all she was the best college player in the nation! I know they're a little biased up in the northeast, but this girl can really do it all. That steal on DePaul and the subsequent timeout call totally sealed the deal for moi (as if her ball-handling skills and her slashing ability and her finger-rolls and those 3-pointers weren't enough...)

MARCH 16 - More on the Chicago Sky mystery from a local paper... and congratulations to the Aggies of Texas A&M, who won their first Big XII championship yesterday in Kansas City. Great game - the Oklahoma State Cowgirls definitely put up a fight and the game was not decided until the final 30 seconds. Standouts included Morenike Aturnase, A'Quonesia Franklin and Andrea Riley. No surprises there.

MARCH 14 - Hey, Seattle fans... you can exhale now -- Sue is back. For a long time. Here's a Q & A with Sue from the Storm's WNBA site.

MARCH 13 - Happy news - congratulations Nikki Teasley.

More on Overton and the Sky -- the local print media is now on to the story... and refers repeatedly to the Sky's message board. Here's another story asking why Overton resigned that does not repeat any rumors but clearly points out how strange it seems for Coach Overton to have resigned so suddenly, and with no explanation.

By the way, I just got back from the Big East Tournament last night -- while I was there I shot several games. If you are inclined to look at lots of photos of BIG EAST college basketball, here are some links:

Championship Award Gallery

FINALS: Connecticut v Louisville
SEMI-FINALS: West Virginia v. Louisville / Connecticut v. Pittsburgh
QUARTERFINALS: Rutgers v. Louisville / Connecticut v. DePaul
FIRST ROUND: Syracuse v. South Florida / Louisville v. St. John's

MARCH 12- Breaking News - The Chicago Sky have promoted Steven Key to Head Coach and GM -- and Bo Overton has resigned under what seem to be very odd circumstances. The Sky message board is ablaze with rumors of sexual harassment, but since that accusation was first posted almost a week before this changing of the guard was announced, this could well be true, and we could be on the verge of a lot of salacious publicity for the WNBA ... You know, I just know that somewhere, some jerk is already blaming women for playing basketball to begin with.

MARCH 9 - On the eve of the BigEast quarterfinals, more Rutgers love from a local paper -- the NY Times. Lots of coverage of various tournaments around the nation right here on SPMsportspage...

MARCH 8 - The New York Times couldn't resist leading the women's basketball recaps with the saga of Summitt and the raccoon ...

Yesterday's BIG upset took place in the BIG Ten. The #9 Fighting Illini took down the #1 Ohio State Buckeyes, who will now wait for an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament. The Illini made history as the lowest seed to ever eliminate a #1 seed. Ohio State, meanwhile, had never lost its tournament opener in all 14 years of the tournament's history. Buckeye center Jantel Lavender, the hometown freshman and conference's co-Player of the Year, seemed to follow in Jessica Davenport's footsteps as a powerful leader in the paint for a team that can't quite get through the postseason. The Illini are coached by rookie Jolette Law, a former assistant under C. Vivian Stringer. Can you say "Maggie Dixon Award?" (props to Queenie for the reminder)

MARCH 7 - **Update** You can read about ALL the BigEast Awards here - but kudos to the blogger who got that news out first. Now that I am chez Hilton, perhaps I will meet you. I can personally report a brief brush with Connecticut greatness upon check-in, as I walked by Geno on his cell phone. Saw various members of the team milling about as well.

Okay, had to add this breaking news about MAYA MOORE ... (hint - she got historic again with the awards, and tonight they are giving them out for the Big East)

Since I'm actually on the Amtrak as I type (love that wireless card!) I'm just going to post this story I found ... on a possible new player for the Phoenix Mercury from far, far away...

MARCH 6- Not a whole lot of time here -- lots of news in our Media Releases section (USA Basketball update, a few more signings, a book announcement) and there are conference awards being given out, like Sylvia Fowles getting SEC Player of the Year, Crystal Langhorne winning ACC player of the Year, etc., But I'm getting ready to head to the Big East Conference Tourney in Hartford tomorrow -- so not much time for specifics around here. However, I had to share this heart-warming story about the Marist Red Foxes from today's NY Times. Again, props to the gray lady for its increased recognition of women's basketball.

One more thing -- Anne Donovan, if you're listening, get Maya Moore on the Senior team. She can skip right over U19 and U20, please. And she won't have to go right into a pro team training camp in April -- she'll be better-rested than most of your players. Scary.

MARCH 4 - Last year, when the NY Liberty traded Becky Hammon to San Antonio, I remember trying to explain the significance of the NY fans' loss to a giddy Silver Stars fan. I had to use an unthinkable analogy to get through to her; "Imagine Sheryl Swoopes," I said, "being traded from the Comets."

She stared at me as if I had blasphemed against the church of Texas basketball. "Imagine going to a Comets game and seeing Sheryl Swoopes in some other color jersey, announced as starting forward for another team."

"Oh," she said, nodding understandingly, "I think I get it now."

Well, it's time to really imagine Sheryl Swoopes in another uniform. Holy doppler effect, Batman! I guess Betty Lennox really had to go so that her majesty could keep wearing #22 ...

Other WNBA updates: Laurie Koehn, Nicole Powell, Rebekkah Brunson, Nicole Ohlde. All have re-signed with their existing teams. You can keep up with all the latest on the WNBA.com's transaction page, here.

Hey, did I forget to tell you all about C. Vivian Stringer day?

MARCH 3 - So much to catch up on in just one day! Before I remind you all about the cool stuff that took place this weekend in college basketball -- and that tonight is the Rutgers - UConn rematch -- let me alert you to a great article in Tampa Bay Online about WNBA President Donna Orender. For those of you who might not know that much about her -- yet -- she is extremely dedicated and impressive, and this article is a good examination of why. I should have realized she grew up on Long Island. You can't mess with us L.I. chicks. Just ask Sue Bird or Sue Wicks. :)

Now, let's talk NCAA Women.

1. Candice Wiggins did it. She broke LLL (Lisa Leslie Lockwood)'s Pac-10 scoring record. She scored 24 points on Sunday against Washington State. Meanwhile, #9 California was surprised by Washington and lost, thus leaving the Pac-10 regular-season conference title to the #7 Stanford Cardinal alone.

2. #6 LSU had clinched their conference title with their last win, but they wrapped up their regular season with another win, this time over Mississippi State, to go an undefeated 14-0 in conference. Nice. #3 Tennessee, that other SEC powerhouse who will have to beat LSU at the SEC tournament to claim a conference title this year, also won their final regular-season game, taking down #20 Georgia behind Candace Parker's 30 points.

3. #2 North Carolina destroyed #11 Duke on the way to its own 14-0 undefeated ACC season. And on Senior Night. Congrats, Tar Heels. I can't imagine how this team doesn't make it back to the Final Four.

4. #5 Maryland held off N.C. State and enjoyed a surprise appearance from new mom, Coach Brenda Frese. Senior Laura Harper may have improved her draft stock with her performance in this game.

5. #11 Old Dominion's winning streak came to an end, but despite their loss to James Madison, they still lead the Colonial Athletic Association Conference going into the postseason.

6. #15 Utah and Leilani Mitchell have won 20 consecutive games, including yesterday's against #24 Wyoming, and now have secured their third regular-season Mountain West conference title.

7. #4 Rutgers beat Syracuse on Saturday for an enjoyable Senior Night for its three upper classmen. Tonight - Big Monday on ESPN2 - they will face Connecticut, who pulled out a stunning comeback and last-second victory over DePaul Saturday night. Connecticut is also 14-1 in conference; the winner of Monday night's game will take the BigEAST Conference regular-season title. Don't miss this one, people. And don't call me during the game.

MARCH 1 - Right off the top, a special birthday shout out to Joddy. And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming:

This video is making the rounds, for good reason .... Michigan's Coach Borseth is looking for some offensive rebounds and clearly needs to vent. As a fan of women's basketball, in a way this is inspiring. In a way. But after viewing this I'm seriously concerned about Borseth's blood pressure. Perhaps some yoga? WARNING: Lower the output volume on your computer. It starts with a bang.

**UPDATE** Graham Hays of ESPN.com throws in his two cents on Borseth. I actually saw the video of Borseth on the national news this morning, in between stories about Hillary, Barack, and ricin in Las Vegas...

There's a great story in this week's Sports Illustrated called "Over the Top" about how uncivil -- and in some cases dangerous -- NCAA basketball fans can be towards rival players AND THEIR FAMILIES. Whatever happened to good sportsmanship? If you recognize yourself in this article, it might be time to seek professional help, and take some time off from following your favorite team to put things in perspective. I would also hope that the conclusion reached -- that fans who are threatening or abusive to others be thrown out of arenas -- is heeded around the country. We are better than this and we need to discourage this disturbing mob-mentality behavior.

Candice Wiggins countdown: One more regular-season game, 15 more points to tie, 16 to take over. Take over what, you may ask? Friday night the Cardinal took down Washington 73-53, with 22 points from Ice. That leaves her just 15 away from tying Lisa Leslie's Pac-10 scoring record. Next up for Candy & the tree? Washington State, whom they trounced at their last meeting at Maples, 105-47, which was also Coach Tara VanDerveer's 700th win. Wiggins scored 14 points that time, playing only 21 minutes. Of course, she still has the post-season, so barring something incredibly unexpected, it's only a matter of time. More important to Stanford is the chance to secure its share of an eighth-straight Pac-10 title, and they will need that final win to do so and to grab the top seed in the tournament, whether main rival California wins its final game or not.

A side-note of interest -- Lisa Leslie was the roommate of Dawn Staley when the two played USA Basketball together. Dawn Staley's long-standing ACC assists record (729) was just broken by Virginia's Sharnee Zoll, and soon Lisa's long-standing Pac-10 scoring record (2,414) will soon be history thanks to Candice Wiggins. And I thought I was feeling old! But LL is still playing on the Olympic team and Candice is still auditioning to come off the bench ... while Dawn is an assistant coach for USA B-ball. It's all good.

Think Pink Update: So far, the WBCA has raised more than $440K. The goal is $600K, so if you haven't given yet, well, um, pony up.

FEBRUARY 29 - Happy Leap Year! Guess what? The NY Times continues the lovefest with Rutgers and C. Vivian Stringer, and yours truly doesn't mind ONE bit.

FEBURARY 28 - Candice Wiggins gets some attention in the International Herald Tribune (!). Wiggins is 37 points away from tying Lisa Leslie's all-time Pac-10 scoring record. Go Ice!

It's Senior Night in Tennessee ...

Mechelle Voepel continues the Stringer celebration on ESPN.com...

FEBURARY 27 - C. Vivian Stringer and the Scarlet Knights did not disappoint tonight, beating the DePaul Blue Demons in a typical low-scoring (60-46) Rutgers effort to get Coach Stringer's 800th win. Poor Doug Bruno -- he was also on the losing end of Pat Summitt's 800th. But given his continued efforts on behalf of women's basketball, something tells me the loss was bittersweet. *Just found this story on Stringer and Duke's Coach K in USA Today thanks to a friend on Facebook of all places! Sometimes I really like facebook. Anyway, lots of great quotes here. (Coach K was looking for win 799 tonight ... )

Aditi Kinkhabwala has a great story up on SI.com about the Tennessee assistant coaches plans to ride some Harleys to raise money for fight against breast cancer.

And while I was over on SI.com, I noticed a feature on Utah's Leilani Mitchell, who is a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman award. Although women's basketball coverage is still a very small percentage of what SI.com has on its "college bball" front page, seeing two columns out of four focusing on women made me think twice about visiting their site more often...

FEBRUARY 25 - Well, the big game has come and gone. And guess who dominated? Sylvia Fowles, you say? Well, yes, but even more so, that freshman from Connecticut via Georgia who just won her 8th or 9th (I've lost count) Big East player of the week honor, breaking Rebecca Lobo's long-standing record. And now the NY Times has shown UConn's Maya Moore some serious love. All of it deserved. She is all that and a bag of chips, people.

Don't miss tonight's big game. LSU (#1 in the SEC) v. UCONN (#1 in the BigEast). Game time is 7pm on ESPN2. Check out the Hartford Courant's preview article. And in case you missed it, Mechelle Voepel did a nice profile of LSU's Sylvia Fowles, certain to be the #2 pick in the WNBA Draft in April.

FEBRUARY 24 - Pat Summitt talks about C. Vivian Stringer, who is about to win her 800th game. Meanwhile, Coach Pat is none too thrilled with her team's latest effort, according to Tennessee's school paper.

Western Kentucky's Crystal Kelly scored 42 points in her final home game, and then the school retired her coincidentally numbered 42 jersey (already planned, of course) making her the first still-active player to have her jersey retired in school history. I wonder where she'll end up in the WNBA??

Check out this really interesting and important article on what it's like to be an athlete and PREGNANT.

FEBRUARY 23 - Battle of the Bay going on right now on FoxSports. The crowd is so loud I could hardly hear the announcers, but some producer just figured out to adjust the volume on their mics. Thanks, whoever you are. Go California! Go Stanford! Go Pac-10!

FEBRUARY 22 - WNBA Updates: Texas-LA-Texas: San Antonio's Marie Ferdinand-Harris was signed by the Los Angeles Sparks, while the Sparks' Mwadi Mabika was signed by the Houston Comets. Meanwhile, Indiana re-invested in Ebony Hoffman, matching a 3-year offer made by Phoenix. Hoffman is apparently fully-recovered from her late-season injury during last year's playoffs and playing well in Turkey, with teammate Tammy Sutton-Brown. Hoffman is also close pals with her newest teammate, Katie Douglas. They played together last winter in Lithuania, and Katie helped Ebony pick out her wedding dress when their team was on the road in Spain last year. Hoffman was married last November.

NCAA: Virginia guard Sharnee Zoll is going to need a new pair of sneakers, now that the ones with "729" on them can be retired. The senior guard broke Dawn Staley's team and ACC conference assists record from 1992, in the Cavaliers' 83-71 win over Clemson on Thursday - and now has 731 assists and counting. Virginia has three more regular-season games, including one at #11 Duke on Sunday.

Speaking of Virginia - sort of - West Virginia suspended senior LaQuita Owens "indefinitely," which could prove costly as they seek to close out their conference play, particularly against rival Pittsburgh. Should Rutgers or Connecticut lose one of their final games (unlikely, but Connecticut could theoretically lose to Rutgers again, and Rutgers could have one of their "playing down to the opponent" games against lower-ranked DePaul or Syracuse -- or even Providence, who just upset Syracuse). Ah, the Big East. It would be a shame for the Mountaineers if they missed the chance to capitalize on those potentially rare opportunities. Rutgers' only loss came at WV's hands, and Owens scored 23 points in that game.

And, while I'm on Rutgers, a sad note: the team announced on Friday that former Scarlet Knight Debbie Paladino died from pancreatic cancer at age 44. Paladino played on the Rutgers team that won the last AIAW national championship in 1982.

FEBRUARY 21- News flash - Rutgers' Myia McCurdy out for seaon with several torn ligaments in her knee - ACL, LCL, meniscus tear ... that's gonna hurt the famous "55" defense, which she usually comes in the game to help execute. That's three knee injuries for Rutgers this season.

Today's WNBA updates: VJ stays with San Antone and Nakia stays with Washington. ADD: Kelly Mazzante re-ups with Phoenix. Smart girl. *yawn* Oh, and apparently Candace Parker really is coming out. Officially. Shocking.

FEBRUARY 20 - Almost missed this. The dot com did an NBA-ASG interview with Janel McCarville, who was in New Orleans on a mini-break from her team in Slovakia. She talks about the Liberty's postseason run in 2007 and expectations for 2008. There's a picture too!

WNBA trade updates - Mwadi Mabika has signed with the Houston Comets.

FEBRUARY 19 - The Swin trade is done. Cash to Seattle for the #4 pick. How does Trader Bill do this every year? Maybe Swin's game will come back in a new city, with her old UConn teammate Sue Bird.

A reliable source has told li'l old me that NY Liberty Fans need not worry about RFA Shameka Christon. Although she hasn't re-signed with the Liberty yet, she is expected to be in a NY uniform again this summer. It doesn't look like there will be any dramatic changes at MSG for the Liberty. I guess after last year's big trade, no one really needs any "marquee" moves.

The trading period has begun, and there are already several announcements today. You can keep up with the whole megillah on the WNBA's
Player Movement Central webpage. I suggest bookmarking it and checking several times a day for the next two weeks. As of today, Katie Douglas, Tamika Whitmore, Anna DeForge and possibly Nakia Sanford have new teams. Well, probably not Sanford. But we'll see. You can also read all the details from the team's press releases in our Media Releases section.

If you're in Indianapolis, take a long lunch tomorrow and head to Conseco Fieldhouse. Katie Douglas is having an autograph session from 12-1pm at the Home Court Gift Shop. Cool.

FEBRUARY 18 - Well, the Connecticut Sun announced that they were having a press conference tomorrow - so I figured something was in the works since the WNBA trading period officially opens tomorrow. Turns out, Ned Griffin at The Day got the early scoop on a big trade with Indiana.

Maryland beat Duke again on Sunday, this time at Cameron Indoor -- and Coach Frese gave birth to the twins!

FEBRUARY 17 - Becky Hammon wins something again. Good job Becky. Special shout-out to Cappie and Swin for hitting half-court shots, though. Sorry Becky beat you again, Cappie. But you do have that western conference title over her team (controversial calls aside), a well-earned WNBA championship and -- oh yeah -- that MVP award! to boot.

Lindsey Harding says Minnesota could well be a playoff team in 2008 -- and that her knee is at 100%. Maybe better.

Is anyone outside of the ACC paying attention to Sharnee Zoll? She didn't make the final cut for the Nancy Lieberman award, which is given to the nation's best point guard each year ... but she's about to pass Dawn Staley's assist record at Virginia. That's pretty impressive.

FEBRUARY 16 - The Seattle P-I is reporting that the Storm's trade of the #4 pick for Swin Cash is essentially a done deal...

The top 20 High School Seniors have been selected for 2008 WBCA HS All-American Game.... can't wait to check them out all in one place! Wow. Four are committed to the same school ... and it's not Tennessee or UConn! (ok, I admit I already knew this, but if you didn't, you might find it interesting...)

FEBRUARY 15 - Swin says she expects to be traded next week...

The WNBA is well-represented at NBA All-Star weekend. Get the full scoop here, or check out some cool photos of players doing nice things in the N'awlins community here
and posing for pretty portraits here. The Celebrity game is tonight -- Swin v. Ruth. Let's hope this year the celebrities realize that these women are pros -- and PASS THEM THE BALL. Can you hear me, Stephen A. Smith?? Or will we have to watch Chris Tucker turn into Chris "Chucker?"

FEBRAURY 14 - Mechelle Voepel at ESPN.COM shares a bad dream. It makes a good read. "MECHELLE! GET OVER HERE! THIS ISN'T ABOUT YOU!" I reluctantly approached her. "Rebound!" I yelped, petrified.

FEBRUARY 13 - The Newark Star-Ledger has a good wrap-up on the latest concerning the "we're #1 - no you're not" controversy... Kudos to Agnus Berenato for her "maverick" ranking vote. Too bad her team is getting pummeled this very moment by West Virginia....and next up for them -- Connecticut!

WBCA president and Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale hopes officials can prevent clock problems

Overheard in Seattle: During a Q & A Session at a local elementary school, a little girl asked the Sonics players to name their favorite WNBA player. Jeff Green did not hesitate, shouting "Sue Bird!" (good answer all around). Kevin Durant found the question a bit more challenging, was speechless for a long, long time, and then came up with Noelle Quinn. At least he had an answer. Kurt Thomas raised his hand and said, "Lisa Leslie." Old school, L.A. love.

Apparently Durant's mother was in attendance; hopefully she'll take him to a Storm game this summer. Nothing against Noelle - she really stepped up last summer, but Kevin might like that Lauren Jackson chick. She's decent.

*UPDATE* thanks to TDAO for the heads up -- So it seems Kevin Durant's hesitation must have been due to true conflict in trying to pick a "favorite," as opposed to a lack of familiarity with the W. On January 14th, the Seattle Times asked him some questions about the WNBA, and he was more than qualified to respond.

Has everyone heard of Brittney Griner yet? Girl made SportsCenter Top10. 1 assist away from a quadruple-double. Here's something from SI.COM from a year ago. But the video is a lot more fun.

FEBRUARY 12 - Is this a nifty Think Pink glow? Or did Thompson-Boling spectators actually experience this entire game through rose-colored glasses?

The BCA (Black Coaches Association) names C. Vivian Stringer its coach of the week. What a week for Rutgers basketball.

Statement from Rutgers ... if only the pen truly were mightier than TPTB.

More on the Rutgers-Tennessee debacle - here's the inventor of the timing device. Human error?

*TV ALERT* - ESPN Classic will air a double Instant Classic tonight featuring the two controversial endings of last nights games between Villanova/Georgetown and Rutgers/Tennessee. Villanova vs. Georgetown will air from 7pm-8:30pm and Rutgers vs. Tennessee will air from 8:30pm-10p.

Haven't heard of Connecticut's Maya Moore yet? Read up -- she may just be the best female college basketball player in the nation -- and she's a frosh. And yes, I do mean better than Candace Parker.

FEBRUARY 11 - The Tennessee-Rutgers game ends in controversy. (Don't miss Stringer's quotes). Goliath wins again, though.

Devereaux Peters of Notre Dame is the latest ACL statistic. Bummer. At least she played most of her freshman year -- but the Irish will probably make the tournament (well, it will be tougher without Peters' scoring) and she'll have to watch that from the sidelines.

Don't miss Swin, Candice, Cappie & Becky at the NBA All-Star Game in the Haier Shooting Stars competition. Each will represent Detroit, Chicago, Phoenix & San Antonio respectively -- with some guys or something.

FEBRUARY 10 - Hoopgurlz picks its McDonald's High School All-Americans.

Angel McCoughtry just dropped 41 points on DePaul in Louisville's win over the Top-25 team. Still don't know this Big East Player of the Year and All-American? Get with it. Here's a photo of her (yes, by yours truly).

Looks like Emily Waner is tired of just warming the bench...

FEBRUARY 9 - Mechelle Voepel reevaluates the NCAA and the bracket-selection process. Fascinating.

The New York Times' coverage of women's basketball has definitely improved. I don't know about the rest of you, but I can't help thinking that some of those emails I've sent -- both "asking" for more coverage and thanking them for certain pieces -- have had some effect. There's an article in today's paper about NCAA coaches coming out of the WNBA ranks ... it's a good read. When you're done, you can do two things to help increase this kind of coverage: (1) Use the "email this article" link on the web page and send the story to as many friends as you think might like to read it, and (2) send the Times a quick "thanks for the story!" email. Enjoy.

FEBRUARY 8 - The status on Candace Parker, who did something to her knee in last night's Tennessee game... The Washington Times focuses on Terrapin Laura Harper

FEBRUARY 7 - More Rutgers talk -- this time Mel Greenberg brings up a good point about their opponents this week...

THINK PINK STARTS TOMORROW!

FEBRUARY 6- Wow - That was a powerful draft today! Check out ATLANTA's NEW TEAM! Some serious surprises here, folks. Ann Wauters from the Liberty? Whoa... And there are trades already -- The Shock have acquired LaToya Thomas and the 18th overall pick from the Dream for Ivory Latta.

RUTGERS! -- Another New Jersey upstart, another perfect 'New England' season ended -- Prince’s 33-point show leads Rutgers’ Take-Down of No-Longer-Perfect Connecticut

FEBRUARY 4 - Don't forget to THINK PINK at the Big East's big game tomorrow... (on CSTV if you can't get to the RAC) and Duke-UNC right now on ESPN2! -- Cameron Indoor is sold out. :)

FEBRUARY 3 - The Naismith midseason list is out, narrowed down from the original 50.

FEBRUARY 1 - Reminder: Mark up your calendars.... here's the complete WNBA schedule. Here is the story about the schedule, with some highlights and games to look out for.

Big, big deal -- the Atlanta team's expansion draft is set for next Wednesday. Who will your team core? Who will your team have to give up? Will your favorite player end up in Hotlanta??

Going to any NCAA games in February? THINK PINK!

JANUARY 31, 2008 - Hi everyone. I know I haven't been here in like -- well -- forever. At risk of annoying those who give me this platform, I'll just say that I was holding off posting (somewhat) because I was under the impression that a new platform was being built. So, while waiting for the metaphorical cornerstone to be laid, much time has passed. Too much time. I do not intend to try to "catch up," and I'm still hopeful that I will soon have a much more sophisticated home from which to share my thoughts and important information (and possibly even invite comments from you, dear readers), but in the meantime, something happened that inspired me to stop my unofficial boycott.

What, you might be wondering?

Not the new WNBA team in Atlanta -- although that was big.

Not their new name being announced last week -- although that was dreamy.

Not the new owners of the Seattle Storm, or UConn and Tennessee fighting it out for the #1 spot in the college polls all season -- that's actually getting kind of boring...

But when the WNBA announced it had come to a new agreement with the players' association - and that it would be good for six years - and then the next day the league announced some new rules (Instant replay!) for the 2008 season -- well, I was really feeling sheepish that I had been blog-free for so long.

So, I guess I'm back. Happy New Year everyone :)

 

OCTOBER 25 - The WNBA has put up some photos from Lindsay Whalen's wedding day...and a little blurb that has me guessing -- did she honeymoon in the Wisconsin Dells??

In other news, USA Basketball pulls out the win over CSKA Moscow. Augustus, Smith, Taurasi & Feenstra scored in double-figures; McCarville grabbed "like 13 rebounds" according to Seimone.

OCTOBER 24 - Graham Hays has some thoughts on the WNBA Draft, Candace Parker, Los Angeles, Lisa Leslie, and the 2008 WNBA Season.

Well, if some WNBA team with a slightly lower pick in the 2008 draft was hoping that maybe, somehow, one Rutgers Scarlet Knight Essence Carson would fly under the radar this year, a glowing feature in USA Today won't help things...goshdarnit! Don't miss the part about C.Viv learning Beethoven just to woo Carson to Piscataway...

Three ACC favorites face some changes this season, including a major coaching change at Duke.

USA Select squad loses its second FIBA World League match in Russia - to a Vilnius team that includes Nykesha Sales and Kristin Haynie. The USA won its first game over Australia's Canberra Capitals by more than 40 points.

OCTOBER 23 - Oscar Dixon talks to the Sparks about their 2008 #1 draft pick.

The WNBA had its draft lottery today, and Los Angeles got the first pick, as the odds would have predicted. The rest wasn't so obvious.

OCTOBER 19 - Rutgers' newest recruit, Khadijah Rushdan, is going to be starting out a bit slow after arthroscopic surgery on September 25th.

Candace Parker is talking on the Vols website, and she's "focusing on the present."

Tamika has updated her blog! Lots there -- updates on her rehab progress, some positive vibes on the progress of the collective bargaining agreement talks, etc. Tamika's pretty special. Check it out and bookmark it, people.

According to ESPN.com, Kia's Lawyer accuses Stringer and Rutgers of strong-arming Kia into dropping her lawsuit against Imus. Oy! Will this story never end?! If you ask me, this lawyer's been nothin' but trouble.

OCTOBER 18 - Pat Summitt talks about the upcoming season at Tennessee and what it takes to repeat as national champions...

The WNBA has announced when the draft lottery will be held...

OCTOBER 17 - WNBA.COM has put up a Q & A with the new owner of the Atlanta franchise, local real estate executive Ron Terwilliger.

OCTOBER 16- It's official, virtually. The press conference is tomorrow, but the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, one of our nation's oldest and most-respected newspapers, is reporting that the WNBA's newest team will play there starting in the summer of 2008. So is the New York Times (although it's off the AP wire...)

CSTV reports that Anne Donovan is getting an award from the NCAA. Speaking of awards, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights got an award from the Women's Sports Foundation last night. Take that, Imus.

OCTOBER 15 - Well, the Prom's not 'til March, but everyone's already thinking about their dance moves. So, college basketball got its official start this past weekend, with plenty of midnight madness events on Friday, and Saturday practices for those who couldn't get into their school's gyms on Friday ... Overwhelmed by it all? Excited but not sure where to start? It turns out that CSTV.com's Jeff Lippman has some pretty good ideas about this stuff, including which schools are on the fringe of greatness in women's basketball... and which are already the Elite Eight for 2008. Finally, he's making Div I Conference predictions here. Lots of good stuff. Lots of great players!! Kudos to Jeff and CSTV for the comprehensive assessments.

Another perspective -- a report from Israel on returning American players who are quite comfortable there.

OCTOBER 14 - Newsday's Karen Bailis reports on the Liberty's Loree Moore and Janel McCarville. Finally, official word about Moore's thumb injury and how it kept her from joining team USA in Chile.

OCTOBER 13 - A few questions for Cathy Joens... from Spain.

Indications are "positive" for Atlanta...

OCTOBER 12 - According to Women's Hoops Blog, Atlanta is definitely getting a WNBA franchise, and we can expect some kind of official announcement next week. I have to say, I didn't think this was really going to happen! As soon as we get an announcement or any official information from the league, we will post it here on SPM.

The Sacramento Bee gives us a little more detail (and a disconcerting smiling? photo) regarding Becky Brunson's DUI arrest. Reader comments are pretty harsh. Until they tell me her blood alcohol level, I reserve judgment. Some people have one drink and end up with a DUI. I don't drink, but I've had the occasional glass of bordeaux. Would I have been unfit to drive? I don't know. I'm sure I took the subway or a taxi anyway. But California, like most of the nation, is a driving culture. Maybe every car should come equipped with a breathalizer so that you can test yourself before you turn the ignition... (Didn't someone suggest some kind of automatic shut-off device like this? Something that would prevent the car from even starting if you don't pass the "test?") I'm not sure I like that one, because there could be a time where an emergency would override the risk (e.g., The WNBA Finals are on and you just had 2 beers -- but your wife goes into labor and you have to take her to the hospital. Sorry, the car won't start for you. Maybe your wife could get it to start, but she's busy screaming...) Humans should still be able to override machines. So, make it a car feature, like airbags, and make it standard. No excuses, like you didn't realize that 2 glasses of wine would put you over the limit. Just my thoughts.

Great Britain basketball moves a bit closer towards the 2012 Olympics...

Pat Summitt's gonna get a BIG award! First woman, too. And Geno doesn't have it.

OCTOBER 11 - USA Select Team to compete in Russia (without Rebekkah Brunson... but with Janel McCarville. And Loree Moore. Hmmm.)

I'm less than thrilled to report here that Rebekkah Brunson got a DUI today.

Sacramento Monarchs STATEMENT ON REBEKKAH BRUNSON -- "Early this morning, Rebekkah Brunson was stopped for a routine moving violation and subsequently she was tested and charged with a DUI violation." John Whisenant Statement: "We’ve communicated our deep disappointment to Rebekkah regarding the poor personal judgment which allowed this incident to occur and we take this very seriously. We believe she understands the implications and the seriousness of her actions and we will be supporting Rebekkah during this time." Rebekkah Brunson Statement: "I would like to apologize to the Sacramento Monarchs organization, the Sacramento Monarchs fans and the Sacramento community. I am very embarrassed and ashamed and I am well aware of the seriousness of the situation. It’s not representative of how I live my life and I recognize what a huge mistake this is. I am deeply sorry."

OCTOBER 10 - Time to eat your WHEATIES!

OCTOBER 5 - Ah, the off-season. Lindsay's getting married this weekend...

OCTOBER 4 - tonight, via pilight - Teresa Weatherspoon to coach! Yeah, Spoon! I'm off to check the train schedule to Peekskill..

over the past week or so... the USA Womens won the gold in Chile, guaranteeing their spot at the Olympics in Beijing next year. Phew! ...

Tree Rollins said he will stay on as the head coach of the Washington Mystics ...

11-year WNBA veteran Vickie Johnson will be inducted into the Louisiana Tech Hall of Fame this year ...

Former Northwestern basketball star and New York Knicks executive Anucha Brown Sanders won her sexual harassment lawsuit against Isiah Thomas and Madison Square Garden, and was awarded $11.6 million in punitive damages and legal fees. The judge is yet to decide how much she will receive in compensatory damages (back pay, benefits, and lost potential pay)

Connecticut Sun center Margo Dydek is pregnant with her first child and may not return to the WNBA.

SEPTEMBER 28 - Alana Beard had shoulder surgery last night.

The USA Women sent the Canadian team home from Chile this evening and secured the best record in first-round play at the FIBA Americas Championship. The semi-finals are tomorrow night (USA will face Chile, who are 1-1) and the gold medal match will be Sunday, hopefully featuring the red, white & blue.

SEPTEMBER 27 - Lots of stuff to catch you up on... Today the USA Women used the Jamaican team as a practice squad, after having a bit more trouble with the Cuban team the day before...tomorrow they face Canada. In case you're just figuring it all out, the games are being aired on NBA TV. Don't have NBA TV? Call your cable company. It's an extra channel on its own for only a few bucks a month on many cable systems. Worth it.

In the worst-kept secret out of Phoenix since Taurasi's was the #1 draft pick, now former WNBA Champion Mercury head coach Paul Westhead accepted an assistant coaching position with the Seattle SuperSonics (that's gotta be tough for Mercury fans and players, since that setup seemed to be working kind of well. Perhaps they will promote from within so as not to mess with their successful chemistry? Hmmm?)

Houston Roundball reports that Sheryl Swoopes had back surgery...ESPN does as well, and has a quote from her trainer.

LSU tapped Marie Ferdinand-Harris for its hall of fame...yay, Ferdi!

Cappie's blogging from Chile - and she's pretty thorough. I guess she has a little too much time to think about what to write while she's watching the games from the bench... ANNE? Put Cappie in more, please?

The UConn/Geno - Tennessee/Pat battle continues off the court ... and