by Ethan Johnson
July 10, 2008

I have a moment to catch my breath before the next blast of WNBA games. Since the Olympic break effectively wipes out most of the August schedule, it seems like the TV coverage is amping up big time. Good for the WNBA, bad for my DVR/available bandwidth to watch every moment. Here are some scattered thoughts about the league.

Atlanta Dream at Minnesota Lynx July 9, 2008: Can we just talk about this game? Why can't we talk about this game? Why do you gotta hate on this game? Well, I get that YOU aren't thrilled with Atlanta's 1-17 record going into this game, but come on, with a player like Betty Lennox on the roster they couldn't go 0-for-the-season. Atlanta had some heartbreakers along the way, and finally found the "wins" column against Chicago. The first quarter of this game was utter crap for Atlanta. I was ready to simply check the final score at wnba.com and delete the mess off of my DVR, when the second quarter perked up and got me hooked. Seriously, Betty Lennox is Atlanta's MVP hands-down. More on that story later. I have a soft spot in my heart for Katie Feenstra, because she is 6' 8" tall. But COME ON, she couldn't put the ball in the hoop if her life depended on it most of the time. Kinda reminds me... of me. Anyway, HUGE win for Atlanta tonight, and considering I'm not all that invested in Atlanta Dream basketball, I was cheering out loud (!) when they finally took the lead. Bear in mind that this was a blend of stellar Atlanta effort and embarrassing Minnesota meltdown. Atlanta scored SIX points in the first quarter, and Minnesota blew their lead and lost the game. There has got to be some celebratin' going on in Atlanta at this hour. Once again, miss a little, miss a lot.

My Faves: During the ATL/MIN game I started to think about who my favorite WNBA players are and why. The off-the-top-of-my-head list as of this writing:

• Candace Parker (LA): There are times I start to get teary just looking at her. I can't imagine the immense pressure she is under on and off the court. ESPN Classic just replayed the 2008 NCAA women's college basketball final and I didn't realize that the WNBA draft was to be held the following day. No pressure! As Mike Patrick proclaimed during that game, Candace Parker is going first in the WNBA draft (check), going to play in the Olympics (check), and is going to be a star in LA (check). Derek Fisher went so far as to anoint Parker as one of the three greatest female basketball players of all time. Sheesh, she's a rookie in the pros. But I will crawl out on another limb and declare that Candace Parker IS the 2008 WNBA rookie of the year. Not MVP, as I think she's too inconsistent right now, being a rookie and all. But definitely rookie of the year. Maybe even Player of the Year but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Anyway, to join a team like the LA Sparks and be paired up with Lisa Leslie, and somehow take on a leadership role AND effectively create a whole greater than the sum of its parts... well, legendary is only the beginning. All I'm sayin' is, Candace, please don't blow this. No pressure.
• Shannon Bobbitt (LA): This is mostly based on the 2008 NCAA final. I was amazed at Bobbitt's moves. I mean, she has moves that defy description. And she's 5' 2". She can drink from my canteen any day. I'm thinking super-short players like Bobbitt are going the way of the last dodo, but in her case, yeahhhhh, she's got mad skills that keep her on the roster.
• Leilani Mitchell (NY): Another shorty (5' 3"). She also seems doomed in the long run, but unlike Bobbitt's insane ball handling skills, Mitchell's gift seems to be ball distribution. She can ring up double-digit points too, but first and foremost her role seems to be all about moving the ball quickly down the floor and finding the open shooter. Watching her back up Loree Moore is educational. The team seems to get a jolt of energy from Mitchell that Moore doesn't *seem* to provide. Moore could be the overall better player, but I wouldn't let Mitchell stray too far down the bench.
• Becky Hammon (San Antonio): While I would cite her "wholesome good looks" and "goody-goody image", what amazes me about Hammon is how pretty she makes the ball look when she shoots from distance. Seriously. Poster-quality shots every game. I drove all over town looking for a WNBA ball so I could see it up close and see if there was some sort of CGI shenanigans going on in the remote broadcasting truck. Under the fluorescent light assault of the Target store (apparently the sole retail outlet for these balls) the ball didn't look that exciting, but somehow arcing shots go better with Hammon. Too bad about this whole Olympics mess, but she is handling the controversy well. I'm noticing that attendance spikes up when San Antonio comes to town, and I wonder if that's because fans want to boo/cheer her in person. I haven't heard much ambient booing when she is on the court, but who knows.
• Ann Wauters (San Antonio): She doesn't *seem* like a pro basketball player. I mean, she's 6' 4" and all, but I keep having weird daydreams about what her kids (assuming she has any, ever) would think when they heard that their "uncool" mother was a pro basketball player. (It would be like me finding out that MY mother was a basketball star. Riiiiiight.) She seems awkward and gangly, BUT, then she lights up the other team for double digits and pairs well with Becky Hammon.
• Betty Lennox (ATL): She is insaaaane. I have never met her, haven't heard/seen interviews with her, but I get the impression that she is on Planet Lennox during game time. I have never seen such hard work out of a basketball player. Not even Michael Jordan, mostly because he made it look easy. No, Betty Lennox works from tip-off to final buzzer. She has an exaggerated free-throw pump that she does that defines her work ethic. She missed the first of two free throws at one point in the game against Minnesota, and she broke with her usual routine to bop the ball against her forehead in frustration. Then... hard dribbles, jerky pump move... swish. Not sure why Seattle let her get away.
• Ivory Latta (ATL): This is one of those shameless "for looks" picks. She has a distinctive look (my old art teacher would probably say "wall eyed") and seems to do "okay" during games (13.1 ppg ain't bad). Lennox stands out as the work monster, but Latta is just fun to see on the court. I wish I has something more substantial to add.
• Katie Feenstra (ATL): She's 6' 8", man. And while Bill Laimbeer is looking like a genius for shipping her off to Atlanta, I keep hoping that she'll have a bust-out game and silence the critics. But when she blows gimme shots right next to the rim, I'm not feeling like Feenstra is going in the hall of fame. Anyway, tall unity!
• Kelly Miller (PHX): While Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter get all of the attention, Kelly Miller seems to bail Phoenix out at key moments in the game. Maybe not, as I haven't seen every Phoenix game this season, but when I do get to watch them, Miller is in on the action. Her muscular arms are very inspirational, as I slowly put weight back on (ack!).

Attendance Observation: Again, assuming that each WNBA has a 7000-seat threshold they need to meet to break even, 3 out of the 14 teams in the league are in the red. (That's the bad color.) Chicago can never break the 7000-seat mark as their venue can't hold that many fans, but I am told that they have other ways to break into the black in the accounting books. Connecticut is in grave danger of becoming the 4th team to sink below par.

Attendance Boost: I have to say, Atlanta has SMOKIN' ticket package deals going on left and right. Kinda makes me wish I lived in Atlanta. I wonder what this does to the ole bottom line, such as when they offer seats for $4. Another game features every seat for $10. Other teams are offering package deals of their own, so if the WNBA is an option for your entertainment dollars, check them out.

Diana Taurasi: She's one of those "love to hate, hate to love" villains, but I have to give her grudging respect. Not only does she take care of business on the court (she is the WNBAs top scorer to date this season), but when someone asked if she had a "special someone" in her life, she admitted to a girl-crush on WNBA president Donna Orender. Touché. (To explain the joke, the WNBA has a weird "love the money, hate the sinner" relationship with the lesbians. That's a story for some other time, but ZING.)

Annnnd finally: Quote of the month, from a blog called The Arena: "[The WNBA is] what happens when too many UConn and Tennessee players graduate from college." For real. <EM>

(The full WNBA archive may be found here.)