December 2, 2008

The Comets dominated the fledgling league when it began operations, winning the first four WNBA titles from 1997-2000, led by its talented trio of players: Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper and Tina Thompson.  Kind of ironic that the most successful Houston sports franchise is no more.

With the Comets officially gone (well technically the franchise is “suspended”) what does that mean for the league?  In her ESPN column, Mechelle Voepel discusses the demise of the team and the struggles the league will face in this uncertain economy.

As the old adage goes, the Comets were in the wrong place at the wrong time. But it’s important not to forget that a decade ago, they were in the right place at the right time. And the WNBA benefited because of it…

…Bad news? Of course. But the NBA is still vested enough in the WNBA, and that — along with the energy and hard work of the independent owners — will keep the league going.

The folding of the Comets franchise leaves the San Antonio Silver Stars as the only remaining WNBA team in Texas. For now, bye, bye Comets. You’ll be missed but not forgotten. And hopefully, you’ll be back one day soon!

November 24, 2008

Now through the end of the year, you can vote for your favorite shots from the most talented basketball photographers in the world. You’ll see game-action photos, celebration shots, behind-the-scenes images, portraits and events from the community.

Photos are separated by home team and divided into four brackets by region. Fans’ vote and the top choices will then go on to meet in a bracket-style “Photo of the Year” tournament in December.

Visit The Best WNBA Images of 2008 to cast your vote.

November 20, 2008

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 5, 2008

The Shock had been one of the league’s best teams for much of the year, but sputtered after losing top post player Cheryl Ford to a season-ending knee injury in July. A trade for proven veteran Taj McWilliams-Franklin  was just what Detroit needed.

Detroit became the second team in league history to win a third championship. Only the Houston Comets, who won the first four (1997-2000), have more. Los Angeles (2001, 2002) is the only other team with more than one.

Katie Smith was named WNBA Finals MVP after averaging 21.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists in three games. She was the Shock’s leading scorer in each game of the Finals and led the team in rebounds in Game 1 with nine.

The celebrating isn’t over yet for the champs, who will be honored at a rally in Detroit on Monday.

Complete details at WNBA.com

October 4, 2008

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.”

With that said, we can’t wait for next season!

September 30, 2008

Games 1 and 2 in the best-of-five series will be played in San Antonio on Wednesday and Friday. The Silver Stars will have home-court advantage in the finals because of their 24-10 regular-season record, while Detroit finished 22-12.

Detroit lost both of its regular-season games against San Antonio, but they were both before the August trade for McWilliams-Franklin, who was acquired after star forward Cheryl Ford was lost for the season with a torn knee ligament on July 22.

Thirty-seven year-old McWilliams-Franklin, one of the oldest players in the league, was key in helping Detroit reach the WNBA finals .

Will Detroit three-peat?

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

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.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

Visit wbna.com for the latest playoff news.

WNBA: No easy victories in the WNBA Playoffs.  Sue Bird scored 20 points, Sheryl Swoopes added 16, and the Seattle Storm beat the Los Angeles Sparks 64-50 Sunday to force a Game 3 in the Western Conference semifinal series. The final game in the best-of-three series will be played Tuesday in Seattle.

Tamika Catchings had 27 points and 10 rebounds, and the Indiana Fever topped the Detroit Shock in overtime to force a third game in the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series. Game 3 is Tuesday night in Auburn Hills.

In other playoff news, the Sacramento Monarchs and Connecticut Sun both forced a decisive game three on Saturday in their WNBA playoff series. The Monarchs easily topped the San Antonio Silver Stars 84-67 in the Western Conference playoffs, while the Sun withstood a late New York Liberty rally to win 73-70 in the Eastern Conference. Both of these series will be decided tonight.

Tennis:  Dinara Safina lost a total of just five games in the final two rounds of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, winning her fourth title of the year at the Tier I event. She defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final. With the win, Safina moves up to #3 seed behind Serena Williams and Jelena Jankovic.

Beach Volleyball: Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh won in Manhattan Beach for fourth straight time. The number one seeds finished the season with a two set victory over No. 4 seed Jennifer Boss and April Ross 21-18 and 21-16.  From Walsh heading to next week’s Glendale Open to try to become the Best of the Beach to May-Treanor starting competition on Dancing with the Stars, these two are ready to start the next chapters of their lives.

Track & Field:  Olympic gold medalist Dawn Harper of the United States won the 100-meter hurdles in 12.56 seconds at the Golden Grand Prix in Shanghai. Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica won the women’s 100 in 11.01 and world record-holder Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia won the pole vault at 15 feet 1 after three failed tries at 15-7.

September 19, 2008

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.

What do you think? Will she make history?