From the Cheap Seats: WNBA All-Star Game, Candace Parker, and the Indiana Fever (Episode 37)

I must admit, this weekend's conference tournaments have got me excited to see the men's bracket Sunday evening, but the women's? Not so much. UConn's dominance this year has just made the whole thing seem rather anticlimactic. It's just hard for me to imagine them being beaten and, as a result, it's hard for me to muster up much excitement for the upcoming games. It's disappointing.

As for the Paris offer, one of the things Mechelle Voepel pointed out in a recent blog post is that the OU scholarships are endowed--it's a unique way for all Sooners' players to learn about the program's history and its benefactors. It's not hard for me to imagine Paris endowing a scholarship in the future--remember, in addition to the money she'll make in her professional career, she is the daughter of a retired NFL player. 

I wasn't at all surprised to hear about Thompson heading to LA--given her history in Southern California and her relationship with Lisa Leslie, it always seemed inevitable to me. You didn't mention this, but I do think Thompson's move puts some additional pressure on Lauren Jackson.

I mean, Thompson's move to LA cements them as the early frontrunner for the Western Conference title--if LJ wants to be competitive in the West, she has to ask herself if a Storm team, sans Yo and Sheryl Swoopes, can do it, or if the Mercury would provide more competition for the Sparks. I don't know... 

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"The problem of power is how to achieve its responsible use rather than its irresponsible and indulgent use — of how to get men of power to live for the public rather than off the public." -- Robert F. Kennedy

watch the video it's an interesting story about a female player who def. would have been bigger and better than Candace Parker is and was.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/otl/news/story?id=3790359

The candace parker ESPN mag special is pretty good after the comment about her cup size and all that jazz. Can't wait to watch her play again, and doesn't that now make 4 Olympians on the LA Sparks team...Tina, Lisa, Delisha, and Candace...........if they don't win a championship with all of this star power then something is just wrong.

Sylvia Fowles dunk is cool, I just wish that more women would not just dunk but get fancy with it. The womens game is going to need players to show off, dunk, cross folks up and add some extra swag to bring in more fans. It's the top complaint I get from folks that don't watch WNBA is that it's a slower pace, and it's boring, so if they do watch it's only for certain players.

Would love to see a WNBA team play an NBA team for sure, 1st string vs 1st string.

Maybe Jamie Nared can break the barrier and be the fist female to play in a mens pro league. Check her out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ACFjYlJINA

For those who might want to see the game, follow the links :

for the complete game : http://www.basketfrance.com/_box/index.php?video=232

for the 3 pts shoot contest : http://www.basketfrance.com/_box/index.php?video=231&gr

for the best parts of the game : http://www.basketfrance.com/_box/index.php?video=230&gr

and behind the scene : http://www.basketfrance.com/_box/index.php?video=229&gr=

from a cheap seat, it was a great afternoon ! ;-)

Selection is done, print your brackets here.  http://www.ncaa.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/ncaa/sports/w-baskbl/auto_...

Feel free to post your brackets (or maybe just your picks for the first round) and we'll respond to them on Saturday!

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." ~Howard Thurman

http://depts.washington.edu/aspuw