By Mel Greenberg

  UNCASVILLE, Conn. - In a reversal of normal Guru lifestyle, the Guru has opened his eyes here in casino-land this Saturday morning just past sunrise as opposed to heading for shuteye as daylight approaches.

Thus having several options -- one of which is watching a movie on the laptop blueray disc -- the Guru decided he better having something posted to answer a question that will have others here heading to the site prior to Saturday's pre-game activities. Those events will be WNBA commissioner Donna Orender's mid-summer state of the league and the skills competition.

The question is: "Let's see what the hell he wrote since he seemed to have time to walk around Friday telling stories of the past to some of the newcomers on the scene."

Well other than results which will go into the WNBA cyber-record book there will be some news of consequence.

The most prominent will be the halftime announcement of the next class of six that will enter the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tenn., next June.

It could be the Knoxville Sentienal will already be leaking the information on the internet since our colleague Dan Flesser -- the Vols' beat writer and 2007 WBCA media award recipinent -- has better access to the Guru's friends down there these days, not that the Guru can't find some of them in a heartbeat or the case of our media-director friend -- lots of heartbeats.

The Guru and everyone else did receive some hints a few days ago in terms of backgrounds -- three former players, two coaches, and a contributor.

 By now our friends up here that comprise the horde contingent have posted the little "I can't say anothing right now" grin that former UConn star Rebecca Lobo, now an ESPN broadcaster, responded with when asked Friday during the practice session whether she was one of the six.

 It was to easy assume she is one of the three players since she is now eligible and would be a first-time-eligible no-brainer pick. That said, she did lose out in a tough-choices competition on the first go-round last spring as a candidate for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield,Mass., according to some people familiar with the selection process. Rutgers longtime coach C. Vivian Stringer and former Olympian-WNBA,Southern Cal star Cynthia Cooper-Dyke emerged with Stringer becoming one of the overall committee choices for September's ceremonies.

Cooper was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame this past June.

Moving on looking to enhance the clues and adding Guru knowledge to those who don't keep track of everything, the Guru can say that former Olympic-Georgia-ABL-WNBA star Teresa Edwards is now eligible. Though older than Lobo, it took Edwards munch longer to finally find something else to do the rest of her life.

As for the third player -- There's lots out there to choose from. If a nod was made to attract attention in major markets -- a player has to be retired for five years thus still preventing Philadelphia's Dawn Staley from selection -- let's think about this.

 Two players come to mind out of the New York area: One would be Sue Wicks, the former Rutgers and WNBA New York Liberty star, and the other her former WNBA teammate and former Louisiana Tech star Teresa Weatherspoon, who is now coaching herr alma mater.

 We're not exactly sure of Vicky Bullet's eligibility, but she would be someone out of the Washington (Mystics) Maryland (college) combination, though the Terrapins could have a winner in another category.

 In the Midwest, most of names to be thought of - such as Notre Dame alumnae -- are still eligible.One thinks of former WNBA star -- the late Kim Perrott -- out of the Sothwest. There are some other eligibles out of Stanford, whose former star Jennifer Azzi was inducted in June.

As for coaches, it's been a few years since a well-storied high school coach has been picked and The Guru knows that Bergen Catholic's Rose Battaglia, who coached Anne Donovan among others, as discussed in recent years.

As for the college group, well here are the few remaining eligible coaches on the Guru's top-25 group of coaches in total AP poll appearance, who have yet to be named in Knoxville: Rene Portland (formerly Penn State, Colorado, St. Joseph's), Jim Foster (Ohio State, formerly Vanderbilt, St. Joseph's), Joan Bonvicini (formerly Vanderbilt, Long Beach State), Gail Goestenkors (Duke), although we're not sure of she's been a head coach long enough, Chris Weller (formerly Maryland), Gary Blair (Texas A&M, formerly Arkansas, Stephen F. Austin), and Muffet McGraw (Notre Dame.).

As for the contributor, there's lot to choose from  although since somehow inductee classes usually have a dose of Tennessee-Orange sprinkled in the group, someone of that ilk could be a frontrunner.

                                         Some Other Notes Off Friday

    As expected, as soon as Phoenix-Olympic-former UConn star Diana Taurasi hit the floor during the media session, a literal horde dominated by the horde surrounded her and virtually all she had to say is out there at other sites, though she later, flashing a big frin, she hit the Guru with her trademark abuse comment she honed upon entering the WNBA in 2004.

   Talking to former Temple star Candice Dupree, who has been on the all-star group since her rookie season, it was noted how she now made a career move joining the East this time as a starter.

  "Wow, a lot of things have happened in a short amount of time," Dupree noted, when she was reminded, that when Temple first approached her in Florida, she had no idea Dawn Staley was the Owls coach until the recruiting process heated up.

    The Guru first remembers meeting Nicole Powell when she had just committed to Stanford.

   Now on the WNBA's Sacramento Monarchs, Powell, who hails from the East, said she still marvels over the excitrment women's basketball draws in these parts.

    .  "You know when you spend time in the West, other than our one trip here every year, you don't really see energy in other cities as high as here, which not to say others have great crowds. But it is really intense here."

   Powell was asked how it felt growing up in the sport and becoming known at this event as the replacement pick for the injured all-time star Lisa Leslie, who will retire at the end of the season from the Los Angeles Sparks.

  "Yeah that really is something," Powell said recalling she was just becoming a Pac-10 star long after Leslie had become one of the dominant forces.

  Asked if she was surprised at the recent firing of coach Jenny Boucek, Powell said: "A little bit. When we weren't playing well, it was mostly our fault because we really weren't performing well. But then we won a couple of games and were in several others right down to the wire, so it looked like we were getting on the right track. In that sense, it was a little surprising coming when it did."

 And in a note of trivia, What does the Detroit Shock's Katie Smith and Connecticut Sun general manager Chris Sienko have in common in terms of all-star history in this state?

  Answer: Both were involved in the first of these events back in 1996 when the former ABL had its first game in Hartford. Smith was a member of the eventual-champion Columbus Quest and Sienko was an executive with the New England Blizzard.

                                                     Guru Hits the Jackpot

  Your Guru quickly found himself $100 ahead of the game upon his arrival here and none of hit had to do with applying elbow grease to the slot machine handles.

   The Guru had not worn a certain pair of pants, which he wore one day last month fresh out of the laundry, while attending the WBHOF action in Tennessee.

   Well, it seems the Guru must have moved some money into a front pocket for easier access because when he dressed to head over to the area, when reaching to straighten said pocket, five $20s came flying out.

   Meanwhile, the Guru hadn't been here since the opening of  added facilities, making walks from several parking garages a bit longer -- yeah he knows, he could have taken the hotel's complimentary limo over and high-hatted the all-stars upon arrival.

   Well, in spite of his aging mind, well after the evening's sociality ended -- media colleagues Jayda Evans and ESPN's Mechelle Voepel among his contingent at various times --the mental tea leaves he sprinkled to remember where his car was parked did the job mostly -- he was off by one level since he forget to note it, but he quickly realized that error.

  In another upset the media gift this time is functional -- the fact they still give them somewhat belies the economic questions sure to hit Orender a few hours from now.

  When he was handed a computer sleeve with WNBA signage, the Guru assumed his laptop wouldn't fit since it is one of the mega 17-inch kind as opposed to the traditional 15.4 sizes most users have, if not smaller these days.

  Well, surprise surprise. When trying to see if the sleeve was big enough when the Guru returned to his room, it actually slipped inside quite easily.

  In another computer-related note, the WIFI wireless signal is actuall strong and solid which has not been  the case in the past, although somewhere in here there is supposed to be an outlet for a cable to connect with the network.

   And speaking of the hotel, there  was the other lttle upset. For some reason wheneveer the Guru stays at this hotel upon coming for Connecticut Sun games, somehow across the stay the sound of a downpour comes out of nowhere, usually when the Guru is ready to go outbound and his jacket is still in the vehicle.

  Well, the Guru has once again heard the sound of pitter-patter, actually -- gushing water, against the window. But this time, although the sky seemed clear when emerging from the garage late Friday night, the downpour occurred AFTER the Guru had returned to his room.

   That's it for now. Not beholden to print deadlines on this trip the Guru may live blog a bit in the area. Either way, he'll return before sunset. There's another upset.

  -- Mel

By Mel Greenberg

PHILADELPHIA - And now some looking behind and ahead to give you all a reason to visit here

The summer is a bit slower by comparison to a year ago when a collegiate coaching shuffle moved along between May and early July.

Meanwhile, virtually all the media was caught by surprise over the recent coaches-only NCAA mock bracket sessions at headquarters in Indianapolis. It's not that we needed to be there, but we were unaware of the event until a few of the sports information directors sent releases out noting the participation of their respective coachees.

Upon seeing the list of attendees, the Guru's first reaction was that Connecticut's Geno Auriemma and his former player, Hartford's Jen Rizzotti, would be partnered up.

Sure enough, in going to the NCAA web site, the first picture to pop up was -- you guessed it -- the two of them looking at the data in one of the NCAA computers.

Upon reading the NCAA's live blog report (after the fact), it does appear the experiences were somewhat different than the media-dominated sessions the past two years in early February.

We worked with live data at the moment of the two-day session, with the only alteration was we had to make believe the regular season was over and skip a month ahead to selection weekend.

Thus, many of us were tuned into the season as it existed. Two years ago, the competitive dynamic virtually settled in early January so much of what we did came close to what resulted from the committee. Last year because of all the upsets, it was apparent that whatever we produced, short of UConn as the top seed, was going to implode within a week and it did.

The coaches, however, worked with past-tense data and had to go back and re-create the scene at the end of last season. Greg Johnson, the NCAA's blogger who once was an AP voter in Boulder, Colo., noted the result may not   be the same as what the committee produced. Also, each coach played the role of a real committee member.

Thus Auriemma was technically not himself -- what else is new? -- at the session and didn't have to leave the room when anything related to Connecticut was discussed. On the other hand, in the virtual setup, he was allowed to talk about himself, saying he was No. 1.

Time out. -- Off the official USA Basketball announcement on Tuesday, it's nice to see many of Geno's friends in the NBA and men's collegiate side will be his Olympic counterparts at the 2012 Games in London.

But back to the mock bracket, the way the session was  was run, it killed one of the Guru's initial muses when made aware of the event. By the NCAA not producing data projecting ahead, which would be impossible in terms of having to make up an RPI, devious minds didn't have to declare Delaware the CAA champion, which meant so much for placing Blue Hens rookie Elena Delle Donne on a path to an early collision with the Huskies.

Old Dominion's Wendy Larry was a participant meaning she had to live again with Drexel as the CAA champion after the Dragons killed the Monarchs' run of perfection in the conference tournament.

                       Summer League Action

 Speaking of Drexel, senior Gabriella Marginean had another 30-point game last week in the Department of Recreation Women's NCAA  Summer League at Northeast High. Although the Guru got retiring commssioner Dave Kessler's weekly newsletter, he'll wait to update action after attending Wednesday's (tonight) games in the neighborhood. 

The playoffs begin a week from tonight and it looks like a four-team race for the seventh and eighth playoff spots, while the top of the standings are still unsettled.

                          Women's Hall of Fame Announcement Time

    The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame will announce the next class during halftime of the WNBA All-Star game at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Saturday. The only clues provided for the moment are that the next six inductees consist of three former players, two coaches and one contributor.

    It would not be surprising for one of those players to be former UConn star Rebecca Lobo since she already reached eligibility for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., last time around.

  The Guru will be on the scene late Thursday afternoon or early evening in case any of you are around who want to dine. You have the Guru's email address.

                       Will Twitter Meet It's Match?

A recent release out of Rutgers announced that coach C. Vivian Stringer has joined the twitter world.

Now this should be interesting, considering twitter's 140-character limit. Enlisting the Scarlet Knights' legend is like offering a hummer a parking spot in a space reserved for compact cars.

On the other hand, Stringer's addition could be useful if twitter doesn't crash in the process.

Since the folks in Springfield told her she had five-six minutes for her acceptance speech when she's inducted in September, that will seem like an eternity of time compared to twitter rules. On the other hand, her good friend John Chaney, the former Temple men's coach, busted his limited by 20 minutes, but it was entertaining.

In the past, inductees generally have gone in alphabetical order. But considering Michael Jordan is in the class, Stringer will probably go sooner rather than later in the evening, which will help everyone's deadlines who are on hand to specifically cover her latest honor.

        That Was Then, This Is What It Is

  A recent news event out of the WNBA caused the Guru to reach into the archive system and in a major upset find a quote from five years ago from a certain individual.

(Guru's note: Things to do while working a slow desk night. The Guru will offer some fresh commentary after the shift. But for now, many of you would find this feature from the FIBA site of interest involving former Houston Comets assistant Kevin Cook, who was with Van Chancellor during his tenure in the Lone Star State).

NAIROBI (Coach clinic) - KENYA basketball this week gained immeasurably from the visiting USA college tactician Kevin Cook who conducted clinics for coaches and players in the City.

Cook's advice for local basketball was simple - "Your athletism is beyond question but what you need to improve on in your shooting skills. This should always be your number one priority. You need to considerably shot the ball and build on your fundamentals. In this way you will be unbeatable in Africa."

The veteran tactician who served for ten years as assistant coach with Houston Comets in the WNBA before moving back to college basketball told Fiba in an interview that Kenyan players have quickness and jumping ability but what is lacking is the fundamentals. This is whet he emphasised must be built on.

Cook, who is the head women's basketball coach at Gallaudet University, Washington DC - the world's only university for the deaf - said that all great players have something in common. "There is nothing mysterious about this fact, they master the skills in the sport."

"Kenyans are great runners.You have great opportunity to become great basketballers too if only you can use this to the best of your advantage in the game. You can rebound and translate this gift into great transition game that your opponents would find difficut to match."

For the four days Cook has been conducting clinics here, he observes that what the coaches enjoyed more was the full court shell drill and that they would work on it and make it a really strong weapon against the opposition.

Cook, who is no stranger to Africa has named the Nigeria women's head coach and handled the team during the 2006 World Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He also guided the side in the 2007 All Africa Games in Algiers, Algeria where they bagged silver medal while posting a 7-1 record.

Ronnie Owino, Fiba Africa coaches instructor and former Kenya national team head coach said." This was a very good clinic for the coaches and players who found time to attend. They gained alot. Even if your a great coach, there is always something to be learnt during a course like this. I got alot from coach Cook." he noted.

Beside the clinics for premier and division one coaches and players held at Nyayo National Stadium gymnasium, Cook also had sessions at St Georges Girls school and another one for the deaf.

The visitors busy schedule in Nairobi also saw him attend the launch of the H2O Beverages Sports Academy where he mingled with many sporting personalities including Olympians like Douglas Wakiihuri, Robert Ouko, Ruth Waithera, Pius Ochieng, John Ngugi and George Kariuki (Athletics).

Ben Ayimba (Rugby), Abdalla Kent (Boxing), Alex Ole Magelo (Football) were also present during the function as was the Sports Secretary in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, professor Wilson Langat, the deputy Sports Commissioner Maina Kamau and the H20 Beverages Ceo Myke Rabar.

By Mel Greenberg

NEW YORK – It was a bit of a homecoming here for Los Angeles assistant coach Marianne Stanley last Thursday night when the WNBA Sparks came to Madison Square Garden to play the Liberty.

Stanley, a former Immaculata star in the Philadelphia suburbs in the early 1970s, was a Liberty assistant to Patty Coyle for several seasons before joining C. Vivian Stringer’s staff at Rutgers in 2006-07 two seasons ago. That’s when the Scarlet Knights made a late-season turnaround dash to the NCAA title game.

A year ago Stanley returned to the Sparks to be closer to some of her family members.

Ironically, 2008 U.S. Olympic coach Anne Donovan now occupies the seat on the Liberty bench once held by Stanley.

In the late 1970s Stanley recruited the 6-8 Donovan, then a future Hall of Famer, to play at Old Dominion, which then won a second straight title under the former Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) in 1980.

The two coached against each other as WNBA head coaches several years ago when Stanley’s Washington Mystics upset Donovan’s Charlotte Sting in the Eastern semifinals.

Donovan later coached Seattle to a WNBA title in 2003.

At the collegiate level, Stanley went on to win a third title with ODU, this time under the NCAA in 1985. She then returned home to coach Penn for several seasons before moving to Southern Cal, where she recruited one Lisa Leslie, the WNBA superstar who is heading for retirement from the Sparks after this season.

This past winter Stanley coached over in Russia.

“It was a great experience but the day after the season ended I was at the airport ready to take the first flight home,” she laughed. “The funny thing is when I got to the airport, a slew of the American players were all there waiting for their flights.

Of course one of the questions of the moment is whether Stanley is the heir apparent to succeed Michael Cooper with the Sparks after he heads to coach Southern Cal this fall.

Stanley declined to discuss the possibility although it is believed she would accept the position if offered.

Prior to her hire, Sparks co-owner Katherine Goodman noted she had been a longtime fan of Stanley’s dating back to Stanley’s days at USC and later at Stanford and Cal-Berkeley.

But general manager Penny Toler will probably have a major say on the ultimate hire.

Thursday’s game also brought a brief reunion with Liberty rookie Kia Vaughn, whom Stanley coached as part of her post-player responsibilities at Rutgers.

When it was noted that maybe Vaughn missed Stanley a bit last season when the center struggled, she responded, “It’s hard to say if things would have been the same as 2007 or different. Every season is different in college, even when veterans return.”

Stanley said she was not surprised the way things have gone topsy-turvy in the WNBA standings where the Sparks are near the bottom of the West because of roster depletions early in the season. Candace Parker justed returned after giving birth to her first child in the spring. Leslie has been sidelined but is due back soon.

“If you know anything about this league you knew when rosters contracted, everything was going to get tighter top-to-bottom and the league would be better overall. Look at the teams below compared to what those teams looked like several years ago.

Stanley also inquired when the movie about Immaculata, “Our Lady of Victory,” was going to hit theater screens.

The film was last reported to be ready this summer, but nothing as emerged as of yet as to a review date.

Stanley, along with such former Mighty Macs stars as Theresa Grentz and Denise Conway, has roles as extras in the film shot on campus and elsewhere in the Philadelphia area in 2007.

Celebrity Offspring Play at St. Joseph’s

The Hawks program added to its list of celebrity parents last week when sophomore guard Katie Kuester’s father John Kuester was named head coach of the NBA Detroit Pistons.

On the men’s side, sophomore Michael Andretti is the son of Connecticut women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma, a longtime friend of Hawks coach Phil Martelli.

Katie Kuester celebrated Wednesday night, scoring 16 points as the Kelly team beat Teal, 67-51, in a Philadelphia Department of Recreation Women’s NCAA Summer League Game at Northeast High.

She then took an early flight the following morning to attend her father’s formal introduction as coach of the Pistons.

It was suggested that perhaps former Detroit Shock coach Bill Laimbeer might ask her to put in a word for him to be on her father’s staff.

Kuester laughed, saying, “He doesn’t need me to help him. But I know they like him a lot in Detroit.”

Summer Action

While on the topic, the league got a visit last Wednesday from Sandy Parrott, a member of the NCAA’s enforcement staff in Indianapolis whose job it is to make sure summer leagues adhere to the organization’s rules.

She made a quick stop to Philadelphia before heading to Dallas.

Observing the turnout observing the games, Parrott noted that, “This is pretty good. Some places I go you only see a handful of people.”

The night’s major result was an upset of summer power Columbia Blue by Cardinal, 53-52, as Kristen Lafolla scored 13 points and Meghan Gibson scored nine. Blue, which is coached by former St. Joseph’s star Tracy Harmon, got 14 points from Hawks senior Brittany Ford, and eight each from incoming St. Joseph’s freshman Ashley Robinson, and Charmele Taylor.

Lime took a half-game lead in first over Columbia Blue, beating Silver, 85-62, as Drexel senior Gabriella Marginean, the reigning Colonial Athletic Association player of the year, scored 32 points and Christine Matera had 17 points, including five three-pointers.

Thought to Ponder

Read with interest our good friend Mike DiMauro's column in the New London Day near the home of the Connecticut Sun noting that gambling action in Las Vegas has picked up this summer nvolving bets on WNBA teams.

This information comes at an intriguing time because in the Guru's formative years building the women's beat he was always told by sports editors that the women's game will arrive and get more coverage when people start placing bets on games.

Well, somebody better quick give them the word because in the face of the collapse of space and manpower in print editions due to the economic conditions in the industry, the WNBA has become the first victim of coverage in publications not located in league cities.

More to come.

-- Mel

-- Mel
 

(Guru's note: Parts of this Associated Press story will probably appear elsewhere. But here it is in full. The Guru will return to New York for the L.A. game Thursday night and be at the local summer league Wednesday.)

 By NANCY ARMOUR
 AP National Writer

    The opportunities for female athletes were so minimal back
then it was no wonder Lisa Leslie had modest expectations when
she first heard about the WNBA. She envisioned a summer league,
with games in small gyms and players wearing reversible jerseys.
    “When I saw our locker room was the same locker room that
Magic and Kareem and James Worthy had once come out of, I was
just overwhelmed with the possibilities,” she said.
    Critics gave the WNBA little chance when it began,
predicting it would join the WBL, ABL and soccer’s WUSA on the
trash heap of failed women’s leagues. Even the support — and the
deep pockets — of the NBA wouldn’t be enough to make it
relevant.
    Now here it is, 13 years later. Leslie is the league’s
all-time leading scorer and last of its founding stars and, as
she prepares to say goodbye, the WNBA is not only surviving but
thriving.
    “I don’t remember there not being a league,” said Candace
Parker, who was 10 when the WNBA started and is now Leslie’s
teammate on the Los Angeles Sparks. “And that’s a great thing.”
    Leslie was unstoppable at USC, the Pac-10’s all-time leader
in points, rebounds and blocked shots. She was thrilled at the
prospect of representing the United States at the Atlanta
Olympics, two years after she finished school, but figured that
would be the end of her basketball career.
    There was, after all, nothing more for her in America.
    Professional leagues for women operated overseas, so women
who wanted to keep playing had no choice but to become
international travelers. Sheryl Swoopes, dubbed the “female
Michael Jordan,” played in Italy and Russia. Cynthia Cooper
spent 11 years in Italy and Spain. Teresa Witherspoon was a
six-time All-Star in Italy, and played another two years in
Russia.
    Leslie decided to stay in the United States, signing with
the Wilhelmina modeling agency and planning a career in
broadcasting.
    Then, in April 1996, the NBA’s Board of Governors announced
the creation of the WNBA.
    “I wasn’t quite as sensitive to the gender discrimination
until we launched the league and everyone said it was going to
fail because it was women. That’s ridiculous,” NBA commissioner
David Stern said.
    As irked as Stern gets now about gender equity — the ho-hum
reaction the U.S. women got for winning their fourth straight
gold medal in Beijing compared to the adulation showered on the
men’s team is “enough to make you into a feminist” — it was
economics that drove the creation of the WNBA.
    The original WNBA franchises were initially affiliated with
their local NBA teams, giving owners a new revenue stream and
keeping their arenas occupied in the summer. Regional TV
networks got additional programming. Everyone was looking for
new ways to capitalize on women’s buying power, which was
steadily increasing.
    The players didn’t care what the reasoning was. They just
knew they had their own league and it was built for the long
haul.
    “It’s not our fault we’re girls,” Leslie said. “We just
wanted to play, too. We’re just trying to find our spot in the
world.”
    Ads trumpeting “We Got Next” outnumbered Dennis Rodman’s
tattoos during the 1997 NBA Finals, and the WNBA was on TV from
the very first tip. Not some random channel at 3 a.m., either,
but the big-time, NBC and ESPN. In its second season, the league
averaged an impressive 10,800 in attendance.
    “You’re talking about a group of ladies that were hungry. It
was something we wanted very badly,” said Witherspoon, still
third in all-time assists. “Of course we took full advantage.”
    Leslie remembers being in awe of the first-class treatment
they got, the big arenas and the fans cheering for them. She
also remembers — and still does — feeling a responsibility to
repay those fans by signing autographs or do community
appearances.
    “We’re all role models,” she said. “It’s still important
what that impression is for that one child, that one fan.”
    Like any new venture, there were bound to be growing pains.
Five franchises have folded, including the Houston Comets,
winners of the first four WNBA titles. Attendance dipped in the
early 2000s. Rosters have been trimmed from 13 to 11 this
season, a concession to the economic downturn.
    “If there was a problem for us, it was that it got very
successful very fast in the first year or so, and it was
perceived as more successful than it actually was,” Stern said.
“When it sank back ... the handwringing began, and all of those
people who in the first year predicted we’d be gone by the
second and in the second year predicted we’d be gone by the
third said, ’OK, here it comes.’
    “But it’s found it’s spot, it’s growing.”
    Indeed, attendance last year rose for a second straight
season and is up nearly 3 percent so far this year — impressive
numbers during the recession. Merchandise sales are up, and
LifeLock is reportedly paying at least $1 million a year for the
right to have its name on the Phoenix Mercury’s jerseys. The
level of play has risen, and Stern said there is interest in
expansion teams.
    In what might be the most impressive sign of the league’s
staying power, the WNBA is in the first season of an eight-year
contract with ESPN/ABC that, for the first time, pays those
all-important rights fees.
    “It has its own spot,” Witherspoon said. “We have our own
position, we have our own fan base. That’s the beauty for us,
it’s our own. We have something our young girls can wake up to,
turn their television on and visualize their dream.”
    And girls who once watched Witherspoon and Cooper and Ruthie
Bolton and dreamed of the day they could play, too, are doing
just that.
    Young players like Parker and Diana Taurasi, Cappie
Pondexter and Sylvia Fowles and Seimone Augustus have stepped up
just as their role models once did, allowing the league to make
a smooth transition from those golden girls of Atlanta into a
second decade.
    “It’s very powerful, but it’s also a tremendous
responsibility. As a mom of a girl, I want her to have every
opportunity that a boy would have,” said Parker, who played in
her first game Sunday since the May 13 birth of daughter,
Lailaa.
    Who knows? Maybe Lailaa and Leslie’s daughter, Lauren, will
be playing alongside one another as the WNBA celebrates its 35th
anniversary.
    “I’m glad at least her generation will have a choice,”
Leslie said. “It’s all a process. I just try to do my part so
hopefully we can continue to leave it in a better place.”
 

By Mel Greenberg

  NEW YORK - The last time the New York Liberty and Detroit Shock crossed paths, the Shock survived a close encounter in the deciding game of the Eastern finals on the way to a third league title.

  Much has changed in the early going of the current season since Detroit danced in the streets of Motown last fall.

  Bill Laimbeer quit as the Shock coach in the middle of last month, replaced by assistant and former 76ers Rick Mahorn.

 And on Thursday night here in Madison Square Garden, the two long-time rivals found themselves battling at the bottom of the conference standings.

   The appropriately named Liberty launched the arrival of the Fourth of July holiday weekend by lighting up the scoreboard for an 80-68 victory that enabled New York (3-6) to bolt out of the Eastern cellar a half-game ahead of Detroit (2-6).

   Although the Liberty provided the offensive fireworks, highlighted by Shameka Christon's 25 points, it was New York's defensive stand in the second period that helped gain control of the game.

      "We couldn't score off their turnovers but they scored against our turnovers," Mahorn said. "That was the difference in the first half. In the second half we competed, but we just didn't get a good chance or break."

    The Shock were forced into 10 turnovers and the Liberty produced a huge 22-8 differential in the quarter.

    "This was probably the best 40 minutes so far this season for us," said New York coach Pat Coyle after her team snapped a three-game losing streak.

     "You know I just talked about executing on both ends of the floor and I think it helps when you make some shots, but I thought defensively we did a pretty good job."

      The announced crowd of some 8,018 fans saw plenty of fireworks from the Liberty's three-point shooting with a sizzling 12-for-25 from the perimeter, one short of the franchise record. Detroit was limited to 2-of-12 beyond the arc.

   Loree Moore, who tied a career high with five three-pointers, added 15 points, Cathrine Kraayveld scored 13, and second-year pro Essence Carson from Rutgers scored 12. Cheryl Ford's 13 points led the Shock.

    The game had a bit of a Philadelphia accent beyond Mahorn's involvement. Coyle is a Rutgers graduate who also starred with her twin sister Mary at West Catholic in the late 1970s.

     Assistant coach Cheryl Reeve, who also was named Detroit's general manager after Laimbeeer's departure, is a former La Salle star who is from South Jersey. She had a large contingent of family and friends in the house.

    Speaking of South Jersey, although not connected to the WNBA, another product of the area was in the news yesterday.

   Lisa Cermignano, a former George Washington star and Colonials assistant, is moving from her assistant coaching position at Vanderbilt to Illinois, under Jolette Law, a former Rutgers associate head coach.

  The move puts Cermignano in the same state and conference (Big Ten) as her former coach and boss Joe McKeown, the Father Judge graduate who left GW a year ago after a longtime stint to head Northwestern's program.

    She had been a finalist to replace him. The move is an extension of a domino of moves in the wake of Hall of Fame coach Kay Yow's passing in January after a lengthy battle against breast cancer.

     Former Tennessee star Kellie Jolly Harper replaced Yow at North Carolina State, leaving the head coaching job at Western Carolina vacant to be filled by former Illinois assistant Karen Middleton.

    -- Mel

By Mel Greenberg

PHILADELPHIA-NEW YORK- KNOXVILLE - Ok everybody. If the Guru figured his way through the platform there are three new posts in correct order - this one for your entertainment and two more seriously written ones just underneath involving the Honda awards dinner in New York and the Dawn Staley Foundation annual event in Philadelphia (yes, she still comes home).

The triple dateline referes to some of the places the Guru has been, although the month started with a trip to the Jersey shore for the ECAC-Sida convention in Avalon followed by the wedding of his younger niece Allison Swartz, (one of the Guru's escorts with her sister Neena two years ago at the WBHOF induction), to Aaron Greenfield. The couple are still in Italy, it is believed, since no one in the family has reported a return to stateside.

Then it was a first-ever drive to Knoxville -- not grusome thanks to 80 gigs (half-full) of music on the Ipod and the dinner in New York. Travel tip: You can get some good deals without booking ahead from those interstate highway coupon books found at rest stops.

Speaking of fun city, the Guru is gertting this out of the way at the top because a brand new reader -- Kelly from Boston (last name unknown but the Guru does have a cell number) -- doesn't like sports. On Sunday night following the awards dinner, while joining the Drexel folks back at their hotel, the Guru got caught up in a chance conversation that began with answering a question about whether the area had been renovated since she was last there years before. The snack food on the counter was also in the early part of the conversation.

The Guru mentions this because of weird karma in that Kelly is the third person within a week thaty had a tie to Emory University in Georgia -- she's a graduate. The other two were a gentleman in the bar in Knoxville who went to Emory and Christy Thomaskutty, the women's coach at Emory, who was in Knoxville because she had been on the staff of former Illinois State coach Jill Hutchison, one of the 2009 inductees.

Prior to that, the Guru's last involvement with Emory was in 1996 at the first tryout for the former American Basketball League.

(The Guru will catch up to some of the conversation at the WBHOF in a few days. But he would like to note that the 4Kay run-walk in memory of the late North Carolina State hall of fame coach Kay Yow, who died in January after battling breast cancer, had 400 participants and raised over $4,000.)

The other reason for mentioning Kelly is a note of thanks for enabling the Guru, after missing the projected last train back to here, to learn it is possible to shorten the time between the last bar hop at 4 a.m. and a New Jersey transit train that leaves at 4:20 (funny, that's not what the schedule says).

Now to continue on, for those noticing longer gaps then usual between posts, the Guru is not having a contest with Alyssa Auriemma, the daughter of the famed UConn and now Olympic coach Geno Auriemma (unless he doesn't win a gold medal in 2012) over which of us can take the most amount of time between posts.

 The younger Auriemma has now become the most prominent member of the horde, without actually being a member of the horde -- after writing insider behind the scenes converage during the Huskies' run to the NCAA title.

 The Guru  still believes, however, that if it was still this time last year, Tonya would still call him first, as would Jamelle.

  Speaking of the horde, the Guru has been intending to do this but lost track, he noticed a while back on John Altavilla's blog in the Hartford Courant, in discussing whether the Tennessee-UConn series could resume one day, he gave the analogy :Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor one remarried.

  To use that comparison unfortunately give creedence to all those analyzing the death of the newspaper industry. That analogy is an admission that no one under the age of 55 is reading because none of them would have any idea who either actor was.

 In fact, the only two people in the entire offical UConn delegation who would know are Geno and Jack Eiseman and the only reason Eiseman would know is Geno probably made Jack go to the movies and pay for both of them at the box office in Norristown to watch Cleopatra.

 Now the Guru would definitely use something more contemporary, which is why his one of his Ipods might have Frank Sinatra but also has Springsteen, Jimmy Buffet, Diana Krall, Coldplay, and Beyonce in the mix.

  Next topic: Twitter.

  The Guru is avoiding it like the plague at the moment. In fact, the Guru believes that if twitter and CB radio were contemporary to each other, "Breaker, breaker, what's you'r handle? Come back rubber ducky on the 409 there's a bear behind the next billboard," would not be allowed because of two many characters.

 Next topic: Sunday night's dinner.

  The Guru was not originally planning to be in NYC (talk about fate) until he ran into Nicole Hester a week earlier at the opening night of the Dept. of Rec's NCAA Women's Summer League at Northeast High.

Hester: You coming Sunday?

Guru: Not sure.

Hester: You need to come. It will be your last chance to see me dressed up.

Guru: All right. I'll be there because it will be your first chance to see me dressed up.

In the early going, the Guru told a few people he recognized that he was with the Drexel folks. But within a matter of moments, it became apparent Drexel, needing to hobnob, said they were with the Guru.

 It looked like a movie where all the former war generals have a reunion. Officialdom included three former basketball committee chairs and severral others from the past. Many were at the creation of NCAA women's athletics, which is when they started the Honda Awards, which was then under the Broderick name.

 The Guru's table included Columbia athletic director Dianne Murphy and women's coach Paul Nixon, whose father Ed was one of the Guru's original voters, Chris Voelz who fund raises for the women's sports foundation but the Guru first knew her as the women's athletic director at Oregon (they had the last full AIAW tournament), and later at Minnesota; Drexel Triangle sports editor Mike Mazzeo, and Kathy O'Brien of Drexel's athletic department.

 Also seated were Dave and Raelene Erb of Reading, whose daughter Kristin starred in softball at Lock Haven and is the overall Division II winner for a second time in the Honda Awards.

 (The Guru promised he would smuggle softball into his basketball blog, so here it is.)

 Kristin has been highly successful and she's now a member of the Philadelphia Force from National Pro Fastpitch.

 Of the course the Guru had a sheepish dark secret in that less than 24 hours earlier while working on the desk late Saturday night, he killed a Force item from Friday's doubleheader out from the very last edition of the briefs roundup to get another item listed. But at least there's now more of an awareness.

The conversation was basically about the economy -- in newspapers and in collegiate athletics.

  One tidbit during cocktails (the front end of the event not the after) gleaned from a source famuliar with ESPN programming is that the sports network is not clamoring to do Elen Delle Donne's first game with Delaware.

 BUI there could be some interest in a Delaware-Drexel tilt in the Colonial Athletic Association schedule that matches the defending champions and reigning player of the year Gabriela Marginean against the newbie and long time rival Blue Hens.

Incidentally, not officially announced but look for Drexel to meet Maryland this season in College Park.

Next item: Epiphanny Prince. Well, that caused a quick scramble after the Guru mentioned her high school scoring feat for a women's timeline story in a special coffee table book the Naismith folks in Springfield are publishing in conjunction with the Hall's 50th anniversary.

As for the decision, the Guru agrees with the interviewees in the Sports Illustrated piece about Prince's move. When all is said and done, however, coach Stringer usually finds a way to survive. Of course, the private gossip is everyone would have liked to see the video of Prince walking into the office and blindsiding with the news of her departure.

Next topic: The WNBA:

Sorry, the Guru's schedule in the office does not offer compatibility with past trips to Washington, New York and Connecticut, but the Guru gets to know what he needs to know. The wild start, however, with past doormats playing great does promise to make this the most competitive summer.

Meanwhile, it's time to ride off into the sunrise (really).

To be continued and if we did this right: Serious coverage is just below.

-- Mel

By Mel Greenberg

NEW YORK - Drexel senior Nicole Hester did not win the Honda Collegiate Women's Sports Award for basketball that went to former Connecticut star Renee Montgomery, who is now a rookie with the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx.

But unlike the all-American guard for the NCAA champion Huskies, Hester received something from the Honda folks and collegiate administrators that Montomery did not -- a special dinner in her honor here Sunday night.

The occasion was the Honda Inspiration Award that is the latest tribute to the Maryland native for fighting her way back from missing a season after contracting Hodgkins Lymphoma.

The overall winner of the sport award -- the Honda Cup -- went to Georgia gymnast Courtney Kupets on Monday, while former Lock Haven softball star Kristin Erb, now with the Philadelphia Force, was the Division II athlete winner.

Track champion Ashley Huston of Hardin-Simmons was the Division III honoree.

The honor Sunday night was a sweet topping to the conclusion of Hester's career that went with the Dragons gaining a program-record 24 wins, taking a first-ever Colonial Athletic Association title by personally busting the long monopoly held on the crown by Old Dominion, and then playing in the NCAA tournament.

Hester missed what would have been her natural junior season two years ago after being diagnosed with the disease just before the start of play.

She fought her way back, returning to action a year ago and then working her way back to top form this past season.

 Hester has already been honored by the V foundation and in January won the prestigious Philadelphia Sportswriters Association's most courageous athlete award.

 A sizeable Drexel contingent made the trip to Manhattan, including Heser's mom Kim, coach Denise Dillon and associate head coach Amy Mallon, athletic director Eric Zillmer, associate athletic director Laura White, Kathy O'Brien (who helps oversee academics involving Dragon athletes), Drexel Triangle sports editor Mike Mazzeo, and associate sports information director Britt Faulstick, who hands media matters for the women's basketball team, among other sports duties.

 The Guru transcribed the speech, so additionally, some other references are to James Tucker, vice president for student life, Tony Caneris, who held Tucker's job before retiring in May 2007, and Rebecca Weidensaul, who heads the academic-related area.

  That said, here is what Hester had to say. The Guru's personal touch should be in the post above this one to give some color to the event and other items. But that is not written yet (but will be the time most of you are reading this) since he has to do this backwards to make the chronology appear in the right order.

  So here are Nicole's remarks:

By Mel Greenberg

  PHILADELPHIA _ In many situations, the reach of women's basketball stretches far beyond the court strategies, the summer WNBA competition, and the winter race for the NCAA championships.

  The Guru attended four separate events to date this month and all had roots in basketball but note was taken of how much the sport and life beyond the hardwood interact.

  On June 9 the Guru attended the eighth annual Dawn Staley Foundation Black Tie Sneaker Gala, which will be the focus of this post in a bit. Then it was on to Knoxville, Tenn., for the 11th annual Women's Basketball Hall of Fame induction celebration. While on the scene, the Guru dropped in on Tennessee coach Pat Summitt's camp, which at the time had a bunch of young Iraqi women who were thrilled to get a chance to come overseas and participate under the Hall of Famer and her staff.

   You can find coverage of the event elsewhere but the Guru mentions the Tennessee camp in that here was another illustration how people-to-people programs put a much friendler face on a situation that dominates the headlines in terms of the fighting in the Mideast.

  Because of that conflict, State Department officials said the last names of the participants were not given for security reasons. But being unable to know who these young students  were by full identity was not important. What was key was how eager they were to mix with Americans and learn to how to improve their game, which is only in its infancy compared to the sport in the rest of the world.

  Meanwhile, over at the Hall of Fame, 2009 inductee Jennifer Azzi, a former Stanford-Olympic-WNBA-ABL star noted in her remarks how she is about moving forward and not looking back. However, having grown up in nearby Oak Ridge -- yes, that Oak Ridge that's the home of the atom bomb -- Azzi said her return to her roots made her realize how connected everything is and how important the game is to international understanding.

  The Guru will have more of that weekend in a few days. On Sunday, the Guru attended the Honda Inspiration Awards dinner in New York where Drexel's Nicole Hester was honored for winning fight against Hodgkins Lymphoma. Posts above this one should have more detail on those activities.

  That brings us to the Staley foundation event, which is always a highlight. The fact that it was held again here demonstrates that her work continues in her home city even though she is now a year removed from Temple having completed her first season at South Carolina.

   Staley's work with the foundation, which she established after winning her first Olympic gold medal in 1996, has resulted in the WNBA naming an award after her for similart efforts, which recently went to former Connecticut Sun star Tamika Raymond, who was a member of several NCAA champions at UConn.

  Although Staley has been lauded over the years for her playing career at Dobbins Tech, the University of Virginia, in the Olympics and in the pros, it is her work with youngsters at-risk who have come to the foundation's after-school program that gives her the most passion.

  In past years, the black tie gala honored persons in the community from different business and entertainment fields for their work in the community.

  This time, the foundation turned to its own and it was impressive in citing five products of the program who came off the city streets and by all accounts are on their way to successful careers.

  The printed program gave profiles of five winners under the title: Women Who Beat the Odds.

  Alexis Felder, who was a participant from 1999-2005 is a graduate of Germantown High who will be a senior at Saint Augustine College in Raleigh, N.C., majoring in sports management. After graduation, she plans to attend Georgia State Law School, seeking to become an agent. But she also would like to create a program that helps young girls in Pennsylvania and gives them a safe residential haven.

 Avis Wilson joined the Navy in 2008 and is one of six females in the nationally recognized ceremonial guard. She is currently enrolled at the American Military Institute for legal studies. She would like to become a criminal defense attorney.

 Christina Johnson graduated this year from Chowan University in North Carolina with a degree in biology with a track in environmental studies. She has been on the dean's list for five semesters.

 Karin Wallace is a 2005 graduate of Simon Gratz high and is now majoring in public health at Temple. She hopes to begin her own program, focused on adolescents. she is a mother, a student, and an Emergency Medical Technication.

 Shaquita Grier graduated from Edward Bok in 2008 and just finished her first year at Chestnut Hill College with grade-point-average of 3.4. She is majoring in forensic science. She has been a summer intern in the engineering department of PECO, working on projects to identify faulty wiring in electrical stations throughout Pennsylvania.

  Although the Guru condensed the biographies here due to the late hour of the night this is being written, here is something not shortened.

  Angie Nelson, who is the hands-on day-to-day head of the foundaton, graciously provided the Guru with a copy of the acceptance speech, which Alexis Felder made on behalf of all of the winners. It speaks for itself, and thus, the Guru will sign off this post, leaving you to read the speech in its entirety: