But I guess we can say that about the Houston Comets as well, that team had its own dynasty and still ended up folding.

The Indiana Fever will be back … at least for next season, but it is in the air as to what will happen to them after that.

Now …. the Atlanta Dream… as of right now they aren’t even taking down payments for next years season tickets because they aren’t too sure the team will even be around.

And Atlanta is a team that I don’t understand. We talkin ’bout the ATL! Atlanta can support a women’s basketball team if it was promoted better. To be honest, I don’t know why the WNBA and the teams are so damn scared to market to the gay and lesbian community. It really makes no sense to me. I think gay women alone could fill a lot of seats at Atlanta games if they were made to feel more welcome. And I am not talking about maybe placing an ad in a gay friendly publication… I’m talking all out marketing! Send some of those damn players out to the damn girl clubs and have them do some promoting! I’ve been in those clubs and have watched hundreds of chicks drop hundreds of dollars at a time on drinks. Yeah you can say ok well they are out partying at a club… just trust me when I tell you that if the Dream was sending these players out to these young gay women and even the older ones, they would be quicker to getting to their games. But instead the WNBA is more worried about marketing to men.

Do I think the gay community is the answer to all of the WNBA’s problems? No, of course not, but it could make a difference.

Now… onto other things….. D-Day has come anf gone for Diana Taurasi, she pled guilty to a lesser charge after 3 of the 4 DUI related charges were dropped. Her punishment:

- Minimum of 10 consecutive days in jail. The court may suspend 9 of the 10 days if defendant agrees to get an alcohol and/or drug evaluation, and submit to treatment.
- Fines.
- Driver’s license suspension for 90 days.
- Mandatory counseling.
- Possibility of probation.

I personally think that DT has learned from her mistake. I know some people are going to be pissed that she isn’t spending a shit load of time in jail and they are going to say she got special treatment. But from what I understand it is the norm for first time offenders that cop a plea to get exactly what she got. So it isn’t like she is getting a walk in the park, she still has to deal with things. But as for now… she is off to Moscow to start her season with Spartak.

And on another note, I cannot wait for college ball to tip off!! Ready to see what the UConn girls can do this season now that Renee Montgomery is gone. I think that Kalana Greene and Tina Charles will both be huge this season, and well Maya Moore is a given. I am also ready to see what Doty can do!

However, I must admit, my eyes will also be on Baylor. I am anxious to see what Griner does at the college level. I think all of us are just waiting for her to dunk at the college level so we can all be like “Candace who?”  LMFAO!!!

Nooo! I am just playing! I got mad respect for Candace and I love what she has brought to the game! I definitely think Candace is the real deal. The league is only going to get better and better with this level of talent coming in.

The WNBA season is coming to an end, and now it comes down to the Fever and the Mercury. Personally, I don’t even care who wins the finals. I love DT and I always love to see her play well and succeed. I’ve never been a fan of the Fever, but I do love Catchings and Douglas and they have fought long and hard to get to the Finals as well.

In so many ways I think that the Fever is more hungry for a ring, but hunger doesn’t mean much when you are facing a team whose bench could probably stay afloat against a lot of teams starters.

This also brings me to back to Taurasi. Is she the MVP this season? In my opinion yes, she has been amazing for her team all season long…….. minus the DUI. And that is what I am talking about. The WNBA is in a no win situation with DT and the MVP award. If she wins, there will be so many people that say she doesn’t deserve it because of the DUI. If she doesn’t win, then people are going to argue that her off court issues shouldn’t matter when it comes to an award that is for on court performance.

Like I said, in my opinion Taurasi is the MVP, but either way it goes, I guess I will understand both sides of the argument. I think that anyone that has ever lost someone due to a drunk driver can understand that even more.

As far as the All-WNBA Team this season… I thought they were perfect picks! When I had heard that LJ was on the 1st team, I asked Becky (Hammon) if she was picked and she told me that she made first team and laughed because she knew something before me …. (Don’t get used to that Becky! lol). If Becky wouldn’t have been picked for the 1st Team this season I was going to be pissed! So luckily she was and this blog isn’t a big-time rant and rave about it.

But the picks overall I was happy with. I know that some people were pissed off about Lisa Leslie and Candace Parker making it, but come on! Parker impressed the hell out of me! She missed part of the season and still led the league in double doubles and rebounds per game! That is damn impressive! She deserved her spot. As for Lisa Leslie…. I think she deserved it. She got injured and still came back and did her thing.

I’ve heard people say Sue Bird should have been on at least 2nd Team. I don’t think so cause as far as guards go, she definitely didn’t shine more than Becky, Cappie, Katie, or Tweety.

Now, on to Lauren Jackson. This is the 2nd season in a row that the Storm has made it to the playoffs and LJ has had to ride the bench and the Storm gets knocked out in the first round. But yet, the Storm will be resigning LJ to a 2 year deal once free agency starts. I don’t know if I would take LJ at this point. I’m sure Mercury fans were thanking God they ended up not getting her! LJ is one of those players that I don’t think can play hard and stay healthy for an entire season. I think those days are over for her. LJ played great for Seattle up until the end of August when she started riding the bench…. crunch time! So what is the point of having a player play great for you all season if you have to subtract them from the roster when it matters most?

I guess now it comes down to whether LJ will play her Russian season with Spartak, that’s where the big money is. If she does play in Russia, I don’t think that the Storm can realistically believe that she will be healthy enough by time WNBA playoffs come around next season to play hard for them… if she even lasts that long. And for that matter, can the Aussies realistically even depend on LJ being healthy for the World Championships in 2010? I guess it all remains to be seen.

Speaking of athletes that I don’t understand haha, let me bring up Ann Wauters. Ann showed up for San Antonio in August….. AUGUST!! When it was first said that Wauters would be showing up late for the Silver Stars because she needed to rest… I was pissed! Ann was not under contract but yet the Silver Stars were willing to sign her at the halfway mark of the season. What pro athlete does that??? I mean granted, Ann really isn’t a WNBA player, she is an international player. But what team allows a player to say they need the rest and they will show up later????? With an 11 man roster, a team that didn’t have depth to begin with allowed this. It is hard for me to comprehend that entire situation still. But what is even harder for me to comprehend is how the Silver Stars went out and signed Katie “Sloth” Mattera as a replacement until Ann got back…….. WTF!!! I think the whole Ann situation is what screwed the Stars this season. Next season the Stars will look totally different. VJ has retired, Erin has retired, and there are only 4 players under contract and Ruth Riley is cored….. so they BETTER look different! ok enough venting… NEXT lol!

The Lynx…. this team is going to be AMAZING next season! Augustus went down early and this team still competed and got better and better. With Augustus back next season, this team is going to be TOUGH! They are young, fast, and have a shit load of talent! I am looking forward to watching them next season!

Team USA Basketball

First camp is Wednesday morning and Taurasi, Cappie, and Catchings won’t be there because of the Finals. But Jayne Appel, Lindsay Whalen and Kara Lawson are all recovering from injuries so they will not be there. Sylvia Fowles is also still having foot problems and probably won’t participate much.

I’m still trying to figure out what USA Basketball’s obsession with Kara Lawson is… I just don’t get it lol!

College Ball

I can’t wait to see my UConn girls tear it up again this season! There is only one new player on the squad this season, Kelly Faris, so chemistry among the team should still be there, but how will they do without Renee? I guess we will see!

I will also be keeping my eye on Stanford, I can’t help but like that program! And of course Baylor, I think that everyone that is into women’s basketball wants to see what Brittney Griner will be bringing to the table. 6′8 and can dominate!

Oh… and I can’t forget about overseas ball! Russian basketball will be dominated by Spartak and UMMC again. It sucks to know going into a season knowing what teams will be in the finals before it even starts. But hopefully EuroLeague can offer up some competitiveness this winter.

Last year when Becky Hammon decided she was playing in the Olympics for Russia there were people that knew nothing about women’s basketball and nothing about Becky at all that came out to criticize her and bash her. The sentiment was… how un-american!

But now, fast forward a year and I am reading message boards and blogs and it seems that some of the same people that claimed how un-american Becky was for PLAYING BASKETBALL, are now some of the same people that are criticizing her and other athletes for wearing their religion and faith in God on their sleeve.

Amazing that they can call someone un-american, but yet criticize because of the way someone who chooses to be religious. I thought Americans have the freedom of religion…. guess not if you are an athlete.

Sidney Spencer has been criticized for writing a bible verse with her autograph…. she has been known to do this, it is what she does. If you don’t like the verse, or you dont like her… don’t get the autograph, it is as simple as that.

People have said that they think that her choice of verse wasn’t respectful to the Jewish community….. ummmmm…. yeah…… sooo basically they want her to put her religious beliefs to the side to satisfy another religion… which in its self seems sacreligious to do! I say GO SIDNEY and keep doing what you do, if they don’t want the verse, they don’t need the autograph!

Seriously if we are going to try to satisfy every religion and every group of people out there then priest shouldn’t wear their collars, nuns shouldn’t wear their habits, jewish people shouldn’t wear their yarmulkes when they are outside the church…. and they DEFINITELTY shouldn’t wear any of that stuff to ANY sporting events!

(BTW… you will NEVER here me say ‘Go Sidney’ in any other context haha!)

There are so many other WNBA players that acknowledge God on their shoes, their websites, their autographs, etc.

Some of these fanatics believe that with autographs and players including God in their everyday lives and by talking about it, that their religion is being crammed down their throats! 

Betty Lennox has given her testimony and has let everyone know that God led the way for her to be successful in her career.

Chantelle Anderson and Sophia Young both are very religious women and bless Twitter everyday with some kind of inspirational Tweet….. and even Cappie Pondexter is pretty vocal on Twitter with her thoughts about God and his/her role in her life.

The way I see it is… you don’t have to have that players autograph. If you don’t ask for it, it isn’t like they are going to run up to you and stick it in your pocket!

You don’t have to follow them on Twitter.

And if you have an issue with a team having Faith Night…. don’t stay, it is as easy as that.

If you feel these things are aggressive and being crammed down your throat, then you are one passive son of a bitch and need to stop worrying about what religion people are and get a damn spine!

It is what it is. Athletes and God seem to go hand in hand for some athletes.

There are even people that have an issue with athletes thanking God after games where they get a win and then not thanking him after a game they lose…. get real. You also don’t see them yelling out HI MOM after a loss neither. But that doesn’t make them less religious or have less faith when they lose. It is a different state of mind after a loss. And …. it isn’t like these athletes in their post game interviews are giving their testimony after a win. You may hear God mentioned once in awhile during that time, but not often. When it comes to big games, then yes, God is brought up more, the emotion is more intense, and I’m sure that they feel God has shined down on them. But in the end of the day whether they win or lose, if they are truly living their lives through God then he/she is still getting their praises.

It is so funny how so many people have a problem with athletes being religious and living their lives through God, but yet these same people don’t have a problem with the American dollar bill saying “In God We Trust” or the pledge of allegiance (ridiculous) has them pledging a damn flag like a damn idol and talking about being under God. And in reality people should be more pissed off at people that rock the spiritual jewelery and are going out acting like total fucking idiots.

And yeah and I said it, the Pledge of Allegiance is ridiculous and I stopped doing that shit when I was in 4th grade!

and……………………… I think that some people just like to find something to bitch about.

The season opener still sticks out in my head, the incident where Thompson flipped Pierson over her back and ended Piersons season with a shoulder injury. Yes, Pierson has a very bad habit of locking arms, but that flip was intentional by Thompson in my opinion and I cannot help but wonder if it would have been the other way around if Pierson would have been suspended if Thompson would have been hurt.

New York, in the off season they picked up Anne Donovan as their assistant coach…. yeah I’m still bitter lol! And as much as I love many of the players on the Liberty….. I cannot wish for AD to have any kind of success…..

Chicago………, I am waiting for Fowles to break out! I think she is an amazing player, but I am not sure if Chicago is a team that she is going to play up to her full potential with, just my opinion though.

Becky Hammon, she will miss the east coast road swing to report to the Russian National Team to play in the Euro Championship in Latvia. Becky will be back in a San Antonio uniform for their home game against Phoenix on the 23rd. Many fans are upset with Hammon for her decision but she does have supporters as well. People gotta realize that basketball is the chicks job, not her hobby. Things with the fans got ugly leading up to the official announcement, but hopefully fans will get over it and rally behind the Stars

Candace Parker, I’m actually anxious for Parker to get back and see if she can pick up where she left off. She is an amazing player and I think that she will just get smarter and smarter on the court… that is if baby Lailaa hasn’t made Mamma CP soft……….. I’m joking! lol

Kara Braxton – the league stepped up and suspended her for 6 games due to her second DUI. I’m glad to see the league stepping in and doing something.

Speaking of the league giving punishments… can they give some kind of infraction to Lisa Leslie for those hair bows and damn shorts! … I’m just sayin! lol

Bill Laimbeer announced he is leaving the Shock… I guess bigger and better paychecks are on the horizon. I will miss seeing Bill lose it on the sidelines of WNBA games. I also wonder how the Shock will do without him.

Being able to personally work with them on the development and construction of the sites has been amazing. It is always good to work with people that know what they want.  It is also good that both of these players are very much involved in their sites, writing blogs, answering fans questions, asking about the overall feedback in general. It is good and the fans love it! Chantelle and Becky are definitely 2 of the best bloggers in the WNBA!

However… working on these sites and my ShesABaller.com site and SilverStarsNation.com, which I co-own, I have come across some people with some serious issues lol! There are some men (and yes even women) out there that seriously despise women’s basketball and the women that play it and the people who support it.

Just today I got an email at one of the sites that I run through the contact form and the guy was just straight up rude and ignorant.

He was so ignorant that I ended up forwarding the email to my personal email account and responded to him, which is something I never do. And no surprise, he responded even more rude.

Maybe you should see the entire conversation… I think that would be a good idea lol:

His initial email:

Where are you from: Seattle, WA
Question: tell me….WHY is the WNBA fixed? And WHY do you female “ballers” allow yourselves to play in front of thousands of fans who really believe you are playing for real out there? I know lots of former wnba players, and I know the entire TRUTH! Of course, you won’t ever post this, write me back seperately or even want to address this subject, right? Been down that road with many other wnba players too, getting it all figured out. Shame on you, I hope God truly makes you rot in HELL!

My initial response: (I immediately looked this guy up and came up with some info on him at Yahoo so I graciously quoted it for him lol. BTW, the thing I quoted was a personal ad I found that he posted in a group for “Tall Women”…. how much do you want to bet this guy is a big nerd who got turned down by some tall women and has dreams of WNBA players and knows he doesn’t stand a chance. anyway…. here is my response lol!)

Hello,
 
I am the webmaster of _______ _______ website and I received your email. I think that it is pretty funny that you have such a miserable life that you found it in yourself to email her in the way that you did.
 
Are you starving for attention? Must be.

Also, it is very funny to me how you list the WNBA as being something that you are into:
 
 
*****2572
I’m 30, 6′8″, 245 pounds, male-looking for a tall woman to become
friends with and hang out. I live in north eattle/shoreline area and
I’m pretty much up for anything!! From going to a movie, dinner,
dancing, walk on the beach, sporting events, concers..you name it,
I’m up for it! Check out my profile info-raffy2572
Matt

INTERESTS
Interests: Concerts, sporting events, shooting darts and pool, old car shows, collecting sports and entertainment autographs.
Anything Else: www.martinamcbride.com, www.ebay.com, www.wnba.com, www.cavernousgroove.com

His next response:
Well I’m 37, not 30….and I USED to be into the wnba….until I found out from former wnba players I was friends with how REAL the wnba really was. Have you seriously ever watched a real game from courtside before? Now, do you even watch the NBA??? How many point guards do you know of in the NBA who come across half court and stop to give the ball to the shooting guard??  Answer….NONE!!!!

WNBA players do it all the time. Big cover up. REAL point guards drive to the basket. Centers & power forwards don’t shoot threes much in the NBA-wnba has it’s exception to the rule.

Why do the players in the wnba who I ask about it always refuse to talk about it, if there is NOTHING TO HIDE?? If your not fixing games, then WHY can’t you talk about it like a civil person? It’s all guilt, I know it.

Fake ball players collecting money from hard working americans for faking a ball game. Pathetic. I’ll just add your name to the list I send to the press and congress…Stupid CUNT!

and I know who you are….DYKE! seen you at games before…I kow many people in sporting world…you just made my list

Now you see how ridiculous this guy is. I didn’t respond to that email, I feel like there is nothing I can say to this stupidity lol! And seriously… he is sending names to the press and congress? LMFAO!! Because he doesn’t like women’s basketball? And I am wondering if calling me a DYKE is supposed to be an insult? LOL!!! Seriously!

That was my entertainment for the night and I thought I would share it with you guys lol!!!

I keep up with a lot of overseas ball during the offseason, everyone is playing over there and it’s cool to see all the players on different team and who is playing with who… however… keeping up with everyone is hard to do! Jeeez there has to be like 50 different teams that WNBA players play for over there!

The Russian SuperLeague is the shit though lol! When you have Taurasi, Bird, LJ, Miller, and Fowles on one team, then Hammon, Wauters, McCarville, Korstin, Douglas, and Lawson-Wade on one team, then Tweety, Cappie, Sveta, Biba …… you get the picture! The Russian SuperLeague is stacked!

The WNBA has now moved to an 11 man roster… which means there are about 30 players that you seen last season, whether on the bench or just in playoffs that won’t be on a team this season. It also means that if any teams sign rookies that cancels out one more player from last season. So how many rookies will actually make the cut from this years draft? Is there even a reason for a third round? Hell will anyone taken in the second round even make the cut?

The WNBA also decided to have an All-Star game this year. A lot of talk was going on that it wouldn’t happen this year. But… July 25th in Connecticut!

This weekend is the NBA All-Star game, I’m looking forward to the Shooting Stars competition Saturday night to watch Becky Hammon, David Robinson, and Tim Duncan defend their title!

And speaking of Becky Hammon………………. I am now the webmaster of her Official site, BeckyHammon25.com. The site will be launched very very soon, but until it is you can find a nice little note from her over there and she talks about her new hair color, being back home for the ASG, and some new pics. Sorry about the format it is in … on huge ass photo, but technical difficulties beyond my control made that happen. However…….. the new site will be up and running very very soon! Lots of new features and it will be updated often! lol!

The big news is Candace Parker is pregnant with her first child and will miss some of the season but is expected back. So I think all eyes will be on her upon her return to see if she can pick up where she left off last season.

The Atlanta Dream will be coming into the 2009 season re-loaded! I thought that Atlanta lost a lot of close games last season, but this season I can see them actually being competitive!

Candice Wiggins, Sylvia Fowles, and Alexis Hornbuckle are the 3 sophmores that I will be keeping my eye on this season, they were good last season so this upcoming season they are going to be even better. And I think a lot of us are hoping to see Syl dunk this season.

The 11 man roster for the WNBA…. Im NOT liking this at all. I don’t think that an 11 man roster will allow the league to develop new players. As it is now, at least 30 players that were on rosters at the end of last season will not be on teams this season. And that does not include teams that add one of the free agents from Houston or overseas and it does not include teams that will sign rookies. So that number 30 will rise. Realistically how many teams are going to choose an unproven rookie over a vet? Not too many. I am feeling like there really isn’t a reason to even have a draft this year. Shit just let the girls walk on to teams to try out lol! If you arent selected in the top 10 you have little to no chance at making a team unless you are a bigtime sleeper.

And for the hell of it, a look back at 2008

2008 Was an amazing year for womens basketball, Parker dunking in the WNBA, Fowles gets the first goal tending call in WNBA history, unfortunately she came down wrong and injured her knee, but came back and played like a beast in the Olympics and now has followed it up with an amazing season with Spartak… not to mention she got the first dunk ever in women’s euroleague play!

The USA women dominated the Olympics again and brought home the gold and Becky Hammon brought home a bronze with Russia. I really thought this was Australia’s year, but they were battered and bruised and the USA just smoked them.

The San Antonio Silver Stars did the unthinkable and beat LA in the Western Conference Finals, but then got whisked into the Detroit Shock’s Dynasty and was swept in the Finals.

Unfortunately we seen the historic Houston Comets franchise fold. There was a lot of history with that team and I think everyone hated to see them go.

The womens NCAA season so far has been very competitive with lots of upsets going on and schools getting ranked for the first time in history. South Dakota State earned its first ranking in school history at No. 25. during the week of December 22nd. While the week before, the Lady Vols fell out of the top 10 for the first time since March 3, 1997. Meanwhile UConn is remained #1 all season so far.

Outside of Basketball…………..

Well there were big changes in 2008, the USA made a big change and big step and elected the first Black president. Obama represents change and we needed a change! It was an amazing feeling to sit back and watch election coverage and to see it all happen. Whether you are an Obama supporter or not, the US made a big step in that election.

I watched my St. Louis Rams football team self destruct again this season… surprise surprise….

I watched my St. Louis Cardinals bomb this year….

Music……….. I’m not too sure as to what to think about music this year. There was music I really liked and of course music that made me scratch my head and think wtf!

My favorite verse of 2008:
Kanye’s verse from “I Put On (Remix)” …. if you don’t know it, then you need to look into that lol!

Ya know, I think the Atlanta Dream have a chance to be competitive this year. I mean, last year they were competitive, they had very close games, took teams to OT, and just happened to fall short on most of their games.

However, this year in the dispersal draft they were able to pick up Sancho Lyttle in the dispersal draft and they have the 1st and 13th pick in the draft. They have the opportunity to really turn their team around.

I would assume that they are going to core Betty Lennox… I would anyway, and then add a couple young players to the mix with her and Izzi.

So Im anxious to see what the Dream does in the draft and very anxious to see them play this season.