WNBA

Monday, October 19, 2009
Confirmed: Detroit Shock moving to Tulsa

This would be breaking news. Mel just called me with confirmation from his sources, who are quite close to all of this, that the WNBA's Detroit Shock are moving to Tulsa, Oklahoma. This confirmation is independent of the AP's reporting from this morning, at least in that Mel's sources told him directly.

The Shock won the WNBA title in 1998, its first season as a franchise, and also won in 2003, 2006 and 2008. According to the AP's report, former Arkansas men's basketball coach Nolan Richardson will be the Shock's new coach and general manager.

Posted by Jonathan Tannenwald @ 1:53 PM  Permalink | File Under: WNBA | 1 comment
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
WNBA playoffs broadcast schedule

By Jonathan Tannenwald
Philly.com

Here's the TV broadcast schedule for this year's WNBA Playoffs. 15 games will air on ESPN2 and online at ESPN360.com, while four first-round games will air on NBA TV.

These are the ESPN2 games:

Sept. 16, 8 p.m.: Atlanta at Detroit (Pam Ward, Nancy Lieberman, Rebecca Lobo)
Sept. 16, 10 p.m.: Seattle at Los Angeles (Terry Gannon, Carolyn Peck, Heather Cox)

Sept. 17, 7 p.m.: Indiana at Washington (Bob Wischusen, Nancy Lieberman, Rebecca Lobo)
Sept. 17, 9 p.m.: Phoenix at San Antonio (Dave Pasch, Doris Burke, Heather Cox)

Sept. 20, 3 p.m.: Detroit at Atlanta (Pam Ward, Nancy Lieberman, Rebecca Lobo)*
Sept. 20, 5 p.m.: Los Anegles at Seattle (Terry Gannon, Carolyn Peck, Heather Cox)*

Sept. 21, 8 p.m.: Washington at Indiana (Bob Wischusen, Nancy Lieberman, Rebecca Lobo)*
Sept. 21, 10 p.m.: San Antonio at Phoenix (Dave Pasch, Doris Burke, Heather Cox)*

Sept. 23, 8 p.m.: East Finals (TBD)
Sept. 23, 10 p.m.: West Finals (TBD)

Sept. 29, 7:30 p.m.: Finals Game 1
Oct. 1, 7:30 p.m.: Finals Game 2
Oct. 4, 3:30 p.m.: Finals Game 3
Oct. 7, 7:30 p.m.: Finals Game 4*
Oct. 9, 7:30 p.m.: Finals Game 5*

* - if necessary

In addition to ESPN2's slate, the following first-round games will air on NBA TV. I don't have any information on broadcasters.

Sept. 18, 7:30 p.m.: Detroit at Atlanta
Sept. 18, 10:00 p.m.: Los Angeles at Seattle

Sept. 19, 7:00 p.m.: Washington at Indiana
Sept. 19, 10:00 p.m.: San Antonio at Phoenix

Posted by Jonathan Tannenwald @ 5:42 PM  Permalink | File Under: WNBA | Post a comment
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Selected college players invited to WNBA draft

The email came into Guru international headquarters, or whatver we call it these days, that the WNBA has invited 15 college players to attend the draft in person on April 9. It will take place in Seacaucus, N.J., starting at 3 p.m. The first round will be televised on ESPN2, with the second and third rounds airing on ESPNU and NBA TV.

Here is the list of invited players, in alphabetical order:


Name
School
Position
 Height
Chante Black
Duke
Center
 6-5
DeWanna Bonner
Auburn
Forward
 6-4
Marissa Coleman
Maryland
Forward
 6-1
Briann January
Arizona State
Guard
 5-8
Lyndra Littles
Virginia
Forward
 6-1
Rashanda McCants
North Carolina
Forward
 6-1
Angel McCoughtry
Louisville
Forward
 6-1
Renee Montgomery
Connecticut
Guard
 5-7
Ashley Paris
Oklahoma
Forward
 6-3
Courtney Paris
Oklahoma
Center
 6-4
Kristi Toliver
Maryland
Guard
 5-7
Kia Vaughn
Rutgers
Center
 6-4
Ashley Walker
California
Forward
 6-1
Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton
Purdue
Forward
 6-2
Shavonte Zellous
Pittsburgh
Guard
 5-10
Posted by Jonathan Tannenwald @ 7:26 PM  Permalink | File Under: WNBA | | Women's Collegiate Scene | 1 comment
About Mel Greenberg
Mel Greenberg covers college and pro women’s basketball for the Philadelphia Inquirer, where he has worked for 38 years. Greenberg pioneered national coverage of the game, including the original Top 25 women's college poll. His knowledge has earned him nicknames such as "The Guru" and "The Godfather. He was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.

Other contributors

Jonathan Tannenwald is a producer with Philly.com. In addition to covering the local college scene, he spent two years as the Washington Mystics beat writer for Women's Hoops Guru. He also writes his own blog, Soft Pretzel Logic, which covers men's college basketball, football, and other sports.

Kathleen Radebaugh is a recent graduate of St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia. She covered women's basketball for the school's newspaper, The Hawk, and served as sports editor her sophomore year. She was also a four-year member of the varsity crew team.

Erin Semagin Damio covers the University of Connecticut and the WNBA's Connecticut Sun for the blog, and contributes other features. The Storrs, Conn., native also attends Northeastern University, where she is a coxswain on the varsity crew team.

Acacia O'Connor is based in Washington, D.C., where she reports on the Mystics and the college basketball scene in the nation's capital. A graduate of Vassar college, she played on the varsity women's basketball team and was editor of the student newspaper.

Click on any of the contributors' names above to e-mail them.

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