December 23, 2008 - She led Tennessee to a second straight national championship in women’s basketball, was the first pick in the WNBA Draft, took the league’s MVP and rookie of the year awards, helped the U.S. win a fourth-straight Olympic gold medal and, oh she got married last month.
Now Candace Parker has been selected Female Athlete of the Year by members of the Associated Press. She is only the third basketball player to win the women’s award, joining Sheryl Swoopes in 1993 and Rebecca Lobo in 1995.
Golfer Lorena Ochoa finished one vote shy of becoming only the fourth three-time winner of the award. Rounding out the top five were gymnast Nastia Liukin, swimmer Dara Torres, and gymnast Shawn Johnson.
And who won the Male Athlete of the Year? Michael Phelps of course!
December 11, 2008 - There’s one more week to share who in your life has “sparked” your dreams!
Each of us has a dream. Some of us dream big: we want to be a movie star, president, or a professional athlete. Some of us dream of being great: just like our mom, our dad, our big brother or sister, or our teachers and coaches. Whatever our dreams are, it is usually a special person in our lives who “sparks” those dreams.
Did watching Lisa Leslie hit a game winning shot inspire you to practice harder? Or maybe Candace Parker’s two dunks sparked you to reach heights you didn’t think possible? Perhaps someone in your family has inspired you to be great. This is your opportunity to tell who in your life has helped “spark” your dreams.
In 500 words or less, describe who in your life has provided the “spark” to your dreams. The winning submission will receive a visit from a Sparks player to their school, organization or workplace. Second and third place will receive four (4) red section tickets to the 2009 Sparks Opening Night game. Selected stories will also be shared on the LASparks.com. All entries must be received by 5pm PT on Wednesday, December 17, 2008.
For eligibility, rules and entry form visit wnba.com
btw: congrats to Sparks player Candace Parker who tied the knot with Shelden Williams when the couple eloped in Lake Tahoe last month.
Polls are now open for the 2008 United States Sports Academy (USSA) Athletes of the Year awards presented by USAToday and NBC Sports. The USSA Athlete of the Year ballot is the culmination of the Academy’s year long Athlete of the Month program, which recognizes the accomplishments of men and women in any sport around the globe.
November 20, 2008 - The 30-second spot is called “Dunk.”
Starring in the new spot is Sparks forward Candace Parker — of NCAA title, Olympic gold medal, WNBA rookie of the year and MVP all-in-one-year fame.
Thirty seconds, and with that, Parker joins what is mostly an athletic boys club whose members include ESPN “SportsCenter” anchors, well-known athletes and a furry, fruity collection of college mascots tapped to do the wickedly hilarious, always memorable “SportsCenter” promo spots.
There have been 325 spots since 1995 in what has been a wildly successful advertising series. Of that, only a handful have featured women athletes: Olympics gymnastics medalists Mary Lou Retton and Kerri Strug; college and pro basketball stars Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi; tennis pro Maria Sharapova; and Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt among them.
The premise of Parker’s spot is that she is in the “SportsCenter” offices, an unassuming female who can dunk a basketball amid a bunch of male sports anchors like Stuart Scott, Brian Kenny, Jay Harris, Scott Van Pelt and Neil Everett who are wannabe slammers.
One of the hippest, funniest and most imitated ad campaigns of the last decade, the long-running “This is SportsCenter” ad campaign portrays the ESPN offices as a playground full of athletes, mascots and other characters rather than a dull newsroom. The mockumentary-style spots perfectly blend sports and pop culture while featuring the good-humored and always deadpan anchors of the show.
We’re laughing just thinking about the new batch of ads and can’t wait to see Parker in action. Until then, here’s another of our favorite spots -this one features figure skater Michelle Kwan.
October 4, 2008 - Twenty two-year-old Candace Parker received the WNBA’s most valuable player award last night, becoming the first player in the league’s 12 year history to win the award along with rookie of the year honors.
The awards capped a big run for Parker, who was college player of the year for national champion Tennessee. Parker also was a member of the gold-medal winning U.S. team in the Beijing Olympics.
Parker was the only player in the league to pull down more than nine rebounds per game. Parker also led the league in double-doubles with 17 and ranked among WNBA leaders in rebounds per game (first), blocks per game (second), points per game (fourth), field goal percentage (fifth), minutes player (seventh) and assists per game (17th).
Parker joined some elite company on Friday as she became the first women’s basketball player and only the third basketball player ever to win Rookie of the Year and MVP honors in the same year – joining Wilt Chamberlain (1959-60) and Wes Unseld (1968-69).
In honor of being named the WNBA Most Valuable Player, Parker will pocket $15,000 and a trophy.
When asked by WNBA.com what she’ll do you do for an encore, CP laughed and answered “Win a championship.”
September 28, 2008 - Becky Hammon turned in 35 points, making four frees throws in the final 36 seconds, to help San Antonio advance to the WNBA finals for the first time in franchise history.
By beating the Los Angeles Sparks 76-72 in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals, San Antonio ended Candace Parker’s history making run at the elusive trifecta - winning a NCAA Championship, Olympic Gold Medal and Professional League Championship in one year.
It looked like the Sparks had the Conference final locked up at the end of Game 2 but a buzzer beater by San Antonio’s Sophia Young gave the Silver Stars a one point lead and forced a third game.
The best-of-five finals will start Wednesday in San Antonio. Their opponent will be determined Monday when Detroit and New York play Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals in Michigan.
September 25, 2008 - This is when it gets fun! Be sure to catch a WNBA game before the season’s over! To get you up to speed….
The Detroit Shock advanced to the WNBA Eastern Conference finals for the third straight year. They’ll face the NY Liberty, the youngest team in the league, tomorrow night in New York.
The Liberty are celebrating their playoff appearance by offering a discount for fans attending the Sept. 26th game against the Detroit Shock. To purchase tickets, click here and be sure to enter the code “STRETCH” during checkout!
In the West, the Los Angeles Sparks advanced with a tight win over Seattle. The Sparks will host the San Antonio Silver Stars in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals tonight. Note if you’re going to the game - it’s at USC’s Galen Center instead of the Staples Center.
The Silver Stars are one step away from the franchise’s first trip to the WNBA finals but to get there, they’ll have to figure out a way to stop Candace Parker.
Parker is trying to become the first woman to win an NCAA championship, Olympic gold medal and a WNBA title in the same year.
In other WNBA news, Minnesota Lynx guard Candice Wiggins has been named the 2008 WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year, the league announced today. A standout in her four years at Stanford, Wiggins was drafted No. 3 overall by the Lynx in the 2008 WNBA Draft. Wiggins made an immediate impact on the Minnesota Lynx as a rookie, helping to propel the team to 16 wins, the second-best total in team history and a six-game improvement on 2007.
September 19, 2008 - WNBA rookie Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks is on track to make women’s basketball history as the first of three rounds of playoffs begin tonight.
Parker and the No. 3 seed Sparks begin the quest for their first championship since 2002 in a Western Conference home game against No. 2 seed Seattle Storm.
The Trifecta: Parker will be looking to add to this year’s accomplishments of leading the Tennessee Lady Vols to a second NCAA championship in a row and helping the USA win the Olympic gold medal in Beijing.
No woman has accomplished the college, pro and Olympic trifecta in the same season. On the men’s side, only Boston Celtics center Bill Russell can make the claim.
May 8, 2008 - Candace Parker would rather grab a diploma this week than a rebound.
The Naperville, Illinois native will not be with the Los Angeles Sparks tonight when they play against the Chicago Sky in a WNBA exhibition game. Instead, the league’s No. 1 draft pick will be picking up a diploma from Tennessee in sports management and psychology.
“I think it would have been harder [to miss] had it been a regular-season game,” Parker said. “I feel like it’s very important for me to be there to get my degree. It’s something I had been working toward for four years.”
Parker will be joined at the commencement ceremonies by Lady Vol teammates and current WNBA players Nicky Anosike, Alexis Hornbuckle and Shannon Bobbitt.
“The graduating student-athletes take with them college degrees that prepare them for a life of learning and opportunities,” said Dr. Ruth Darling, assistant vice provost and student success center director. “They also take a set of skills they have acquired though their athletics participation that will contribute to their success in future careers and professions.”
You can catch Parker at the Sparks’ season-opener on the road against defending champion Phoenix on May 17 and she will return to Chicago for a regular-season game on June 3.
In the meantime, kudos on graduating college Candace.
April 22, 2008 - We knew Candace Parker was a superstar before her great performance in this year’s NCAA Women’s Final Four Tournament, leading the Tennessee Lady Vols to their eighth (and second consecutive) championship.
We knew the moment she started dunking rocks in high school and during college games that she was destined to shine in the WNBA. Earlier this month, she was the first overall pick in the WNBA draft, going to the Los Angeles Sparks.
Now, a week into her pro career, the endorsements are coming through. Gatorade was the first to sign Parker, who is also a member of the U.S. Olympic team, to an endorsement deal.
“It’s only fitting for me to announce Gatorade as my first partner as I begin my professional basketball career because they have been part of my life since the day I first picked up a basketball,” said Parker. “It still means a lot to me that in high school I was honored as a two-time Gatorade High School Basketball Player of the Year and as a college athlete at the University of Tennessee, Gatorade was always on the sidelines.”
Candace has also signed an endorsement deal with adidas, who was battling with Nike to grab the budding superstar. Young girls relate to her and someday may be able to lace up a pair of Parker basketball shoes. We’re sure these deals are just the first of many so stay tuned!
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