Any WNBA fans Here?

[smtpgirl]

Detroit, literally put the white line on Sacramento.

Deanna Nolan & Katie Smith - (G) Detroit Shock - MVP's for the WNBA championship

Come on you heathens, let women's basketball succeed.

For all new comers WNBA celebrates 10 years.

But if you don't get on the bandwagon, someone else will.

ESPN2 @ 3:30 pm Saturday!!

[LisaM]

1. The Shock ROCK

I loved how they played last night.

1gobluedem saw Laimbeer, Mahorn, and Swin Cash at the Detroit airport last month!

[1gobluedem]

2. Yes, I did

Rick Mahorn is a mountain. I can't believe how big he is.

Go Shock!

[Robeson]

3. I have to say, I just followed it a little bit, but I always loved....

...Laimbeer and the Bad Boys from those Piston teams. So that has crossed me over to pay more attention, and now I'm into it. I think it was a masterstroke to bring people like him over to the WNBA, in order to pull fans in.

[LisaM]

4. I also think that it helped the women players

There wasn't really a pro model for them to follow. Kudos to the men from the NBA (and there are others) who are helping to make this work.

[Phredicles]

5. I hope the Monarchs pull it out (although they sure look to be

on the ropes); I'm not a Pistons fan (except when they play the Lakers :P ), and the Shock are pretty much the Women Pistons.

[smtpgirl]

7. The Shock are the Shock

Deanna Nolan (G) Shock, is probably the closest you can get to an NBA player. She makes a jump shot look effortless.

That girl ROCKS!!!!

Don't be fooled these women are intense, hungry, persistent & GOOD!!!

And better than you give them credit for. In facy, most of the players play pick up games with men.

[Phredicles]

8. Sure, but their coach is Laimbeer, assisted by Mahorn.

Sorry, but I still have too many traumatic memories of the '90 NBA finals between the Blazers and Pistons ("Duckworth is whistled for hitting Laimbeer in the elbow with his ribs!" "Foul on Duckworth, for blocking the progress of Laimbeer's lead pipe with his head!").

I will say this for Laimbeer, though: When he took the Shock job there was much chortling among the usual old-boy sports honks, about how far he'd fallen, etc. But he's clearly not seen it that way, and has certainly thrown himself into the job. I'd've rather seen the Monarchs win, but the Shock were unquestionably the better team today.

Next year, though, here's hoping the Storm will be back!

[Captain Hilts]

10. What do you call one player for the Shock. A spark?

Same for the Liberty.

I HATE the names of these teams. They're not plurals.

I had season tickets to the Mystics. They should have been called The Supremes.

'Mystics' is even worse than 'Wizards'.

[LisaM]

11. I don't like the names either, though I will say

that I THINK Shock is supposed to go along with Pistons, as an automotive term. I'm pretty sure they couldn't get rights to the name The Supremes, but I agree, they could have done better.

The one that cracks me up is the Portland Fire. The names are supposed to loosely match the NBA names. Clearly, the fool who thought up the name "Fire" didn't realize that the name it was matching, The Blazers, actually refers to TRAIL Blazers (as in Lewis and Clark), not BLAZES. What a moron.

[Captain Hilts]

12. Then they should be the ShockS, not Shock, singular.

Yes, they're supposed to go along with the NBA names.

I LOVE the Liberty's Statue of Liberty green color, but, still, what's one Liberty?

[LisaM]

13. Well you wouldn't want them called the Statues!

That would be an insult to a basketball player!

I still basically agree with you about that kind of name (Heat and Magic being two I particularly detest). "Shocks" isn't really what they would be, though. They would have to be "Shock Absorbers" which could also lead to a lot of strange insinuations.

I've always preferred animal names, or names like Boilermakers or something that references something local. Packers, Pistons, Senators, those are the kinds of names I love. Essentially, the corny names.

[Captain Hilts]

14. I agree completely. That's why 'Wizards' is so terrible.

It has NOTHING to do with Washington.

Folks in Toronto really noticed when the 'Jays' removed all signs of the word 'Toronto' and Canada - the Maple Leaf - from their uniforms.

Names are becoming more generic to make the teams more portable.

[LisaM]

15. I read an interesting thing about the Knicks' and Mets' colors

They are blue and orange, the colors of the Dutch flag. It dates back to when the Dutch settled Manhattan.

One thing about being a Detroit fan, you never have to worry that your teams are going to be carted off. I live in Seattle now, but still root only for Detroit teams for the most part. From time to time, the local teams here are threatened. Even though I don't root for them, I always go to the rallies and donate money to try and save them (so far successfully).

[Captain Hilts]

17. I was told Mets colors come from Dodgers [blue] and Giants [Orange]

I like the Dutch flag story though. Interesting!

[LisaM]

18. Well, the fact that they wore blue and orange originally

could mean it's still true.

[Captain Hilts]

19. By the way, I loved those early 70s Tigers.

Norm Cash, Al Kaline, Gates Brown, Rodriguez, Joe Coleman, Eddie Brinkman, Mickey "I don't throw with my stomach" Lolich, etc.

[LisaM]

20. Me too! My favorite was always Norm Cash

My sister liked Bill Freehan. And one of my friends had a little kitten she named Willie Horton.

Aurelio Rodriquez was killed a few years ago by a woman who was prone to seizures - had one while driving, and drove right up on the sidewalk and killed him as he was walking down the street. Ever since then, I've had really strong feelings about letting people who are on medication for seizures drive.

I went to NYC two years ago. I loved it! My grandmother was born in Brooklyn, and I realized that even though I couldn't root for the Yankees, there was no reason I couldn't become a Mets' fan. So I did.

[Captain Hilts]

21. Cash had the league's biggest chaw of tobacco...

Rodriguez, Brinkman, Coleman and, later, Howard, were refugees from my beloved Senators.

Wow. I hadn't heard that about AR. Really sad. Brinkman's a team official somewhere. Al Kaline is still under-rated and Howard is in the Yank's front office, I believe. He still comes to DC regularly.

Horton and Brown were two of the fattest players I've ever seen. Cecil Fielder stepped into VERY big shoes...

You need an AL team and an NL team to root for. So, welcome to Metdom.

[1gobluedem]

16. Washington used to be the Bullets

But when the murder and violence rate started to go sky high, they decided they needed to change it. I agree, though, that Wizards was a stupid choice.

The one I dislike is the Minnesota Wild. Wild what?

[smtpgirl]

22. Yep, like Wizards/Mystics

Comets/Rockets, Sun/Mercury, Kings/Monarchs

[erpowers]

6. Comets Fan

I thought the series would be over by now due to the way Detroit was beaten by Sacramento. I did not think Detroit would mount a comeback and especially not the way they beat Sacramento in the last game. I did not watch the game, but I saw the score and Detroit just beat Sacramento silly.

[LisaM]

9. It was awesome!

I watched the second half (I am very superstitious) standing on one square of linoleum in my kitchen. As long as I stayed there, the Shock did great. I really enjoyed seeing them win again and good for the fans for showing up at the Joe 19,000 strong!

THE SHOCK ROCK!

[Captain Hilts]

23. I went to college at Old Dominion...

and actually had a class with Nancy Lieberman. Old Dominion's "Team from Mars" in 1980 - Lieberman, Inge Nissen and Anne Donovan - was a joy to watch. I'll never forget them losing to the Soviet National team by ten points. I was three rows behind the team bench.

I think some of the talent in women's basketball has become diluted. That 1980 team - using the full-sized ball - was still better than the NCAA winner last year, not to mention the WNBA winner.

I loved how former Old Dominion MONARCHS men's coach, Sonny Allen was coaching the Monarchs of Sacramento and how Ticha Penicharo, a former Old Dominion Monarch, played for them at the same time.

[smtpgirl]

24. The Terps kicked Dukes ASS

2006 NCAA Champions MAryland Terrapins

Look for the Terps to kick ass in 2006-2007

Terps 78
Duke 75 in OT

Kristy Toliver 5'8", made a 3-point play with 12 seconds in regulation, with Allison Bales in her face. Allison Bales is 6'7".

That was a great game. The game of total dominance was the UNC-MD game.

Ivory Latta got totally worked in that game, she even showed her frustration in the end, where she body slammed Marissa Coleman to the floor.

GO TERPS

[erpowers]

25. Nancy Lieberman-Women's Basketball Talent Pool Diluted

I have heard that Anne Donovan was really shy. So what was Lieberman like? Was she shy or stuck up? Also, could you clear something up for me? For a while I have heard that Lieberman left school early to play professional basketball, but I have also heard that she won a championship in her senior year. So what happened did she really leave school early, or is that just a misconception?

You said that the talent pool for women's basketball has become diluted. How and why, in your opinion, has that happened? Could you explain what you mean when you say the talent pool has been diluted? Are you saying the players of Donovan's and Lieberman's era were more talented than the players of today?

[Captain Hilts]

26. Answers to your questions...

Yes, Anne Donovan was painfully shy. She's gotten over it through the years. But Inge Nissen, who was/is 6'5" and gorgeous evidently took her under her wing a bit. But Donovan really grew in college, emotionally.

No, Lieberman did not leave college early. She left without being anywhere near graduating. She showed up for the class I was in with her - Introduction to Logic - only a handful of times. Rhonda Rompola, who also played on the team, was in the class and I guess gave her notes. Still, she got out of the final before I did. A few years ago ODU said she'd earned her degree. I'm really stumped on how. I had friends on faculty who told me that she was not near graduation when she left the school and I was on faculty for a year.

Yes, ODU won the championship in 1979 and again in 1980. And a few years later, 1985? I was at the championship game against Tenn. in the late 1990s in Cincinnatti.

Since more schools are under pressure to take women's athletics seriously, there are more teams vying for the good high school players. Women still don't have as deep a pool as the men have. The 1980 ODU team had a ton of talented players because ODU took women's basketball seriously before other schools did so. As a result, they drew a couple thousand fans to every game, which was a great asset in recruiting when other schools were still playing afternoon games to empty gyms. A current NCAA coach told me that the 1980 team could have beaten this year's championship team.

Folks forget what an incredibly smart player Lieberman was. She knew to hunt for dead spots in the floor to help her make steals and she was tenacious. Nissen was the first major center to block shots - and referees often considered that a foul. She could play with her back to the basket, block out and make the 15 ft. jumper.

The most talented player ever to play for ODU was Medina Dixon. She could do amazing things. There are players out there that were as good: Miller, Woodard, etc. but their teams weren't quite as good. As Ralph Sampson learned the hard way in college, you need TWO good players. ODU had them. And three when Donovan arrived on the scene.

The players of today are as talented, and in better condition, but are dispersed. But Nancy and Inge were the Ruth and Gerhig of women's basketball.