Oh yeah, and another thing ...

Oh, and by the way, I watched Sue Bird's heroic game-winning shot at New York that you spoke so glowingly about. She was 0-for-8 before she made it, by the way.
But, I'll give her credit for hitting it when it counted if you'll also acknowledge playing with Lauren Jackson on her team makes it kind of easy. The reason Bird was so WIDE open was because Jackson gets triple-teamed constantly.
Gee whiz, if I had the best player in the world on my team I might make a WIDE open shot every once in awhile, too.
Becky Hammon takes and makes big shots in San Antonio, too. But, she does it while being the focal point of the opposing defense. NO ONE leaves Becky Hammon WIDE open with the game on the line.
Just the fact that Bird was unguarded in that situation tells you what the other team was worried about. It wasn't Bird.
Bird is good. The Hamster is better.
Tonight on ESPN2, San Antonio plays Detroit, then Seattle plays Sacramento. Watch both games, then kiss the ring.

My turn, you lose

I am shocked and disappointed by my adversary. You had ammunition at your disposal but didn’t fire a single shot.
Here, I’ll show you how the numbers support your case.
My girl Becky Hammon is leading the league in turnovers. I can’t believe you didn’t point that out. Hammon averages 4 turnovers per game while Sue Bird turns it over 2.4 times per game.
That would’ve strengthened your case. Of course, I would’ve then pointed out that Hammon is not a natural point guard. She was a scorer in college and earned a roster spot in the WNBA as a long ranger sniper off the bench at New York.
She’s still learning to play point guard but she will never have a true point guard mentality. Bird is a natural point guard. She’s always played point guard and thinks like a point guard.
To me, that makes Hammon an even better player. She’s playing out of position and still has her team on top. As for your history lesson, Sue Bird winning a game in the third grade during recess didn’t mean anything Sunday when she was getting that butt kicked by Becky Hammon.
If you must compare what happened seven or eight years ago in college, surely you will take into account Bird played at Connecticut and Hammon played at Colorado State. Bird’s teammates in college were Tamika Williams, Swin Cash, Diana Taurasi and Kelly Shumacher, all of whom play in the WNBA.
Hammon’s teammates at Colorado State? Well, none of them are in the WNBA, that’s for sure.
Bird was supposed to win a national title in college. I watched Becky Hammon put a team on her back and carry it to the Sweet 16.
I’ll put it another way, Connecticut won a national title after Bird left. Colorado State hasn’t sniffed the Sweet 16 since Hammon graduated.
But, you know what, I’m tired of winning this argument. I’ll let Bird’s own coach settle this.
This was in the Seattle newspaper on Monday.

Seattle coach Anne Donovan admitted that All-Star guard Becky Hammon (10-for-16 for 30 points) -- who had seven points in the final two minutes -- was way more than Seattle could handle: "We need to figure out how to guard Becky Hammon."

In other words, Donovan was saying their point guard kicks our point guard's booty.
Booyah! Thank you sir, may I have another?
The ring, kiss it.

Corey Smith fires back

Here is Corey Smith's rebuttal:

"Now the debate begins. As a coach I see things in how to win and how to lose. Sue Bird has proven this fact at every level, not only has she won a WNBA championship, she has also won a olympic gold medal, a collegiate championship, and a high school state championship. My friend I don't recall the great and mighty Becky Hammon winning a collegiate championship at Colorado State. Becky is a good player but not of Sue Bird callaber. It is women among girls. No she is not leading the league in assists but she also has the biggest trait of all as a basketball player. She waits her turn and plays within the system of Seattle. Lauren Jackson is probaly playing the best basketball of any player in the WNBA, but as I watched them play a couple of weeks ago in Madison Square Garden again my favorite player in the league Shameka Christon and the Liberty, and when the game was on the line and the storm were down two with 10 seconds to go who took the last shot not Lauren Jackson, but SUE BIRD hit a three with 3 seconds to win the game. Some people are just what can I say clutch."

The Master Debater.

I love a good debate especially on a subject I feel well versed about.
I know a lot about women's basketball so when El Dorado coach Corey Smith offered his opinion that Sue Bird was a better point guard than my favorite player, Becky Hammon, I said, "Oh, no you didn't!"
First off, let me point out I don't base my arguments on opinions. I don't base my arguments on anything other than pure facts. It's all about the numbers, my man.
Becky Hammon, who is the point guard for the WNBA's San Antonio franchise, is third in the league in scoring at 19.4 points per game. She leads the league with 5.1 assists per game. She is second in the league at the free throw line, hitting 94.9 percent. She's also shooting 46.6 percent from the field, including 40.7 percent from 3-point range. Her 55 made 3-pointers is second most in the league behind gun-happy Diana Taurasi.
Okay, let's look at Sue Bird, who is the point guard at Seattle. Bird is averaging 10.1 points and 4.8 assists per game. She is shooting 81.3 percent at the line, 42.8 percent from the floor, including 33.3 percent from beyond the arc.
Numbers don't lie and in this case, the numbers are laughing.
Coach Smith will argue, it's not about numbers, it's about winning.
So, let's go that route. Hammon's Silver Stars are currently 16-8 and leading the Western Conference. Last year, before Hammon's arrival, they were dead last in the West.
Bird's Storm is currently 13-13 and in fourth place in the West.
By the way, San Antonio, with Hammon, has won all four of its meetings against Bird and the Storm this season. Sunday night, San Antonio won 92-88. Hammon scored 30. Bird scored 17.
A closer look at the two teams tell an even bigger story. Seattle is 1-8 on the season in games decided by 10 points or less. That's worse in the WNBA. San Antonio is 13-5 in those same games, which is best in the league.
What's a better stat for a point guard than what they do down the stretch in close games.
I love a good debate but this one was too easy. Coach Smith, I respect your knowledge of the game but when it comes to women's basketball, don't mess with the king.
Kiss the ring, son.

WNBA approaching collision of interests

By MARK HELLER
Tribune
America’s largest women’s professional sports league will come to a financial crossroads shortly after September’s WNBA championship celebration.Armed with a new eight-year, multi-million dollar TV contract with ESPN and ABC, the league is creeping closer to financial independence, but its players will seek a bigger chunk of that change when the collective bargaining agreement expires Sept. 15. Here comes a collision. This is the first broadcasting deal in which the WNBA receives broadcast fees, both from TV and the Internet. It’s also the first deal independent of the NBA’s $930 million TV deal completed in June, which the WNBA sees as continued financial freedom from its big brother. “We anticipate moving closer to break-even and profitability and we anticipate a new TV deal, and we won’t know until we move ahead,” WNBA commissioner Donna Orender said during last Tuesday’s Mercury game. “But the expectation is that’s the direction we’re moving in, and quickly.” Orender wouldn’t offer a specific dollar figure for the TV deal, or how much would trickle down to each team and its players, but the union has made little secret of its desire to increase player benefits. More than 100 WNBA players spend six months overseas, some for fivefold the money. The current WNBA minimum salary is $30,400 for four months of work; the maximum is $93,000. “I’m sure that will be a negotiating discussion,” Orender said, “and I think we’ll get a deal done.” Paychecks, however, aren’t as high on the pecking order as perks. Among the issues: • Travel — Unlike the NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball, WNBA teams fly coach and share hotel rooms. “It’s tough when you’re 6-foot-4 with a middle seat, flying across the country,” said Mercury veteran Olympia Scott, one of the team’s two player representatives with Diana Taurasi. “You’re screwed.” The league will arrange for players’ housing together and provides funds for one car rental per two players during the season (many, including Taurasi, bring their own car to their WNBA destinations), which players say leads to more inconvenience and scheduling problems getting to a grocery store. “You take care of those things and they make life a little easier,” Taurasi said. • Salary cap — Currently, the cap is $728,000 per team. If a team doesn’t use all its allotted cap space, the league sends a check to the players union for the difference. In addition to a salary cap increase, Catchings said the union will push for a “soft” cap, a yet-to-be-determined dollar amount above the hard cap that would allow players more earning potential to compete with international basketball salaries. “Going overseas, they rely on it financially and keep you in shape in different ways,” Catchings said. “Some really need that money. We only get paid four to five months. The next seven months we don’t get anything from the WNBA.” Another facet to the soft cap would be a team’s flexibility to sign veteran players who make more than the rookie minimum, but are getting squeezed financially because of the hard cap and teams’ need to pay top dollar to keep the elite. “Veteran players who you want on your team, on your bench, in the locker room, who may also play crucial minutes but aren’t the top tier, those players suffer from the way it’s set up,” Scott said. “You have to spend money to make money. It’s hard to convince people of that.” Which leads to ... • Free agency — This is another potential means to increase income. The WNBA salaries can’t compete with those overseas, but Europe and Asia don’t allow American players to compete against what they consider to be the world’s best competition in front of family and friends. But they also feel stuck. Players need five years in the league before they can become restricted free agents, six years to be unrestricted. “Obviously you want the league to sustain its top-billed players and gain a following, but people should have the freedom to use the market, which is pretty much used in every other profession,” Taurasi said. Both sides this week said they don’t foresee messiness with a new bargaining agreement, but with the league’s modest increase in attendance and millions in TV revenue coming, players feel it’s their turn to pocket some of the profit. “For us to expect charter flights and millions is unrealistic and we realize that,” Catchings said. “I think upgrades would change a lot of perspectives. It’s simple stuff.”

He ain't leaving

Congratulations are in order for El Dorado's girls basketball program. Coach Corey Smith says he ain't going nowhere.
Before Smith came to El Dorado last year, he was a long-time assistant at Hot Springs under legendary coach Jim Elser. When Elser announced he was resigning, Smith's name was one of the first ones mentioned.
I talked to Corey on Wednesday and he said he was staying at El Dog (woof woof).
It's probably a smart move as I believe the Lady Wildcats will compete for a state championship for the next few years. I joked with Smith about the lack of competition in Class 6A. He thinks I'm crazy but my reasoning is simply numbers. There are only 16 teams in the entire classification. There are only two leagues in the entire classification. Sorry, but that's the easiest road to a state championship in the history of Arkansas High School sports.
However, that doesn't take away from the fact the Lady Wildcats have loads of talent. It's a shame about the reclassification because I believe El Dorado could compete with any team in the state (except Fairview).
Anyway, I'm happy Smith is staying put. He's done a good job and will do even better the more talent he has to work with.

What's wrong with the WNBA?

Everyone knows my love for the game of basketball and, specifically, women’s basketball. I’m probably the only man in Arkansas who watched Russia upset the United States last year during the World Championships.

By the way, I also watched Australia beat Russia for the gold medal.

Reading about how American women have to go overseas to get paid is a sad story for me. Amazingly, it was even sadder just 10 or 11 years ago, before the WNBA came into existence.

The WNBA is still going but it still hasn’t grabbed much attention. Part of that is the fact that it is not the premier league for women. If you want to see the best women players, you need to go to Russia.

That’s a problem.

In recent years, foreign players are not coming to the U.S. Russia’s Maria Stepanova, a 6-8 center, is considered the best player in Europe. Phoenix has her rights but they can’t get her over here to play.

Stepanova’s teammate is Ilona Korstine (pictured), who is one of my favorite players. She’s an athletic slasher who makes acrobatic shots and, of course, she’s also gorgeous.

Sorry, I’m a guy. Shoot me.

Anyway, neither of these women has played in the WNBA in several years. I recently contacted Korstine via email and asked when and if she would return to the United States. English isn’t her first language but I think you can figure out what she’s saying.

“Hi,

For the moment I'm not ready to come back to WNBA. My russian season isvery hard and after that during the summer I play for russian nationalteam. So I do not have enough time to go to the USA, because I wanthave some vacation. I addition, I win my life with my russian contract, I do not have an assurence if I get inguried in USA.

Amy best
Ilona”

Basically, she’s saying she can’t afford to play in the WNBA. If she gets injured in Russia, she will be taken care of. She can’t take that chance in the WNBA.

That’s the difference between the NBA and the WNBA. Players from Europe, Africa and South America look at the NBA as the ultimate dream. European women look at the WNBA as a minor league that offers more risks than rewards.

Women still have far to travel

It's the anniversary of Title IX but exactly how far have women come in the world of athletics? Title IX most certainly opened doors for women but it can only do so much.
This country will only let women go so far.
Even as the WNBA moves into another season, the league is simply a mirage. It's not a symbol of women achieving new heights but rather, a sign that things really haven't changed that much.
Women's basketball is a much bigger deal overseas. The WNBA is not the primary job of the top players, it is simply a part-time hobby.
I found this article recently and thought it was quite interesting.

***

By Paul Oberjuerge
Sports columnist
PHOENIX - Diana Taurasi worked her second job Friday night.
She's moonlighting again ths summer. Earning pin money. Even if it would be better for body and soul if she took some time off.
Taurasi's "other" job?
WNBA superstar, unofficial league poster kid, face of the Phoenix Mercury.
But that isn't her real focus, though fans of the domestic women's basketball league are forgiven for not knowing better.
Her real job is in Russia, where she played over the winter for Spartak Moscow of the Russian Super League.
Where she earned an estimated 10 times her reported 2007 WNBA salary of $49,000.
And lived in a rent-free, six-bedroom house with Spartak (and former UConn) teammate Sue Bird.
Where she had the services of a translator, a driver and flew business class to all games. And was showered with bonuses by the Russian businessman who runs the team.
"We have to do the job to pay the bills, to live, basically," Taurasi said before the Mercury's game with the Connecticut Sun. "And our bills mostly get paid overseas, by overseas teams and companies."
Nearly every WNBA player (Taurasi estimates 90 percent) spends the winter playing in another league, usually in Europe.
The WNBA's elite makes far more money in Russia, Spain, Poland, Italy, South Korea, et al, than they do in the salary-capped ($728,000 per team), red ink-drenched WNBA. Which can only grimace and bear the knowledge that its players increasingly consider Someplace Else their No. 1 job.
"It's always been a concern" of the WNBA, Mercury general manager Ann Meyers Drysdale said. "I'd say in the last three or five years, even more so and more so."
The "other job" phenomenon is not widely recognized by WNBA fans, who seem to share the common American conceit that our pro sports leagues are the best and wealthiest on the planet.
"I doubt (WNBA) fans even know about the other leagues," Mercury coach Paul Westhead said.
The WNBA continues to trumpet itself as the planet's most competitive women's basketball league, home to the best players. Which remains true, but perhaps solely because its brutally compressed summer season doesn't conflict with the rest of the planet's traditional fall-winter-spring hoops time frame.
Knowing it is Plan B for most top players might be little more than a source of embarrassment for the WNBA, except for this:
The strain of playing two seasons in a year is beginning to tell on the league's best players. They are becoming open about the possibility they simply will skip the WBNA season.
"That," Taurasi said, "would be everyone's dream. Three months kicking back. Going to Cancun ..."
Taurasi is perhaps the greatest women's player in the world, and her situation is instructive.
She calculates she has had six weeks away from basketball since May of 2005. That's more than 26 months ago.
In one insane two-week period in May, she led Spartak to the Russian championship on a Thursday night, flew all day Friday to Los Angeles, was maid of honor in her sister's wedding on Saturday, drove to Phoenix on Sunday and on Monday rejoined the Mercury, which opened the WNBA season five days later.
She is blunt about the toll exacted by year-round practices and games. She has had an Achilles injury for a year and a half, and deals with it by getting cortisone injections, rather than time off.
"Eventually, you need a break. That's just too much basketball on someone's body, on someone's psyche," she said.
Taurasi suggests WNBA defections already have begun. She seems convinced the "surprise" retirement of Sparks standout Chamique Holdsclaw, 29, last month is about too much basketball. Period.
Holdsclaw was the MVP in a Polish league earlier this year.
"She said, `You know what, I've played for so long, I'm going to take my summers off and play overseas (in the winter) and still make great money,' because she's still one of the top players in the world," Taurasi said.
"That might be the trend for people who get a little bit older."
Taurasi is only 25, but she already feels herself breaking down. If she continues to play in two leagues each season, with national team commitments, too.
"If I keep this up, I can play only four or five more years," she said.
To be sure, Taurasi and nearly all American players feel a deep sense of commitment to the struggling WNBA. They would love nothing better than to make "overseas money" domestically (as their NBA brethren do) and have a real home, and a real offseason, and give up living out of suitcases year after draining year.
"Sometimes you have to make decisions that have to be selfish," she said on the same day that adoring Mercury fans cheered her in a 111-109 double-overtime victory over Connecticut. "Because at the end of the day, no one is going to worry about you but yourself. That's just the bottom line."
And for the record, Taurasi returns to her real job on Dec. 1, when she returns to Moscow.