By Mel Greenberg

PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Dept. of Recreation Women's NCAA Summer League playoffs got under way Wednesday in quarterfinal action with one minor and one major upset in terms of seeds in the quarterfinals at Northeast High.

 In the major upset of note, sixth-seeded Vegas edged No. 3 Lime, 58-56, while No. No. 5 Red slipped past Gold, 71-68.

No. 1 seed Columbia Blue prevailed over No. 8 Cardinal, 62-54, and No. 2 Kelly beat Royal, 58-54.

The action moves to semifinals Monday night at Parkwood Youth Organization, DunksFerry & Mechanicsville Roads, which is a few blocks away from the I-95 Academy Road exit in Northeast Philadelphia. Nearby landmarks are the Junod Playground and St. Anselm's Church and School.

Since summer has finally decided to arrive, the Guru is told that the facility, which will also be the site of the finals, is air-conditioned.

On Monday, Columbia and Vegas will meet at 7 p.m. before Red and Kelly meet at 8:15.

The best of three finals will begin next Wednesday night, continue to the following Monday, and then, if necessary, the following Wednesday.

"After seeing these teams all summer, none of the winners would surprise me," commissioner David Kessler said prior to the start of the playoffs. "These teams were that close to each other. And it is interesting because you have a mix of (NCAA) Dvision I players with D-IIs and D-IIIs, some players just want to test their skills while others always are out to win because of their competitive nature."

Incidentally, Kessler was suppose to be heading for retirement from running the league after the season, but his farewell tour may ultimately exceed the annual adios concerts by the Eagles rock group.

The Guru didn't make it to his high school alma mater live Wednesday night, but the stats report notes that in the big upset, La Salle's Ashley Gale and led Vegas with 13 points and Drexel's Marissa Crane scored 12.

The Vegas roster also consists of such notables as recently-graduated George Washington star Lisa Steele of South Jersey, Drexel's Jennifer Stjarnstrom,and  Holy Family graduates Kelly Killion and Melissa Brooks.

Lime's Gabriella Marginean scored 21. The Drexel star is the reigning Colonial Athletic Association player of the year after leading the Dragons to a first-ever conference title and NCAA appearance. Recent Penn grad Carrie Biemer scored 14 points. The squad also includes Drexel's Alison Lupariello, Penn State's Renee Womack and La Salle's Michele McCaughern along with Penn's Caitlon Slover, former Penn star Katarina Lackner, and incoming Drexel freshman Taylor Wootton.

 Incidentally, under NCAA regulations, only two players from an existing D-I roster can play on the same team in summer leagues but incoming freshmen are exempt from the limitation.

In the Red win, recently-graduate La Salle star Margaret Elderton scored 26 points and West Chester's Megan Stewart scored 13. The Red team roster is dominated by West Chester players such as Mary Kate Serratelli, Natalie Winters, Alexandra Lennon, Lauren Commodari and Shamyra Hammond. La Salle's Chelsea Conner is also on the squad as are Drexel's Ayana Lee and incoming freshman Fiona Flanagan.

St. Joseph's Ashley Logue scored 21 points for Gold, while former La Salle star Davineia  Payne had 14 points. The team is Gold is coached by former St. Joseph's star Tracy Harmon. La Salle seniors Tara Lapetina and Jamie Walsh are also on the team as are a trio of Lehigh stars: Tricia Smith, Becky Guman and Alexa Williams, whose Mountain Hawks won the Patriot League last season. St. Joseph's Ashley Prim and Mireia Vila, an incoming freshman, are other players on Gold as is Princeton's Addie Micir.

In the Columbia Blue win, St. Joseph's Amy Gillespie scored 20 points and the Hawks' Shelby Smith, an incoming freshman, scored 13. The squad also has incoming Hawk freshman Ashley Robinson and St. Joseph's senior Brittany Ford. Swarthmore's Kathryn Stockbower is another player as is her winter teammate Brittany Schmelz. Former Holy Family star Kate Baum and Philadelphia U. senior Andrea Notta are two other members, as are Cheyney seniors Charnelle Taylor and Angel Henderson.

Cardinal is dominated by Holy Family players, who lost their first five and then won seven straight in making the playoffs. Part of the rough start was a delayed notice of the league to incoming freshmen in the wake of Tigers coach Mike McLaughlin's move as the new Penn coach and the ensuing hunt that occurred for his successor.

Lehigh's Kristen Iafolla led Cardinal with 13 points, while Holy Family's Lauren Peters scored 10 points. Tigers star Catherine Carr is among the slew of players from her school, while Lehigh's Emily Gratch is also on the team.

In the other quarterfinal result, Kelly's Laura Johnson of Princeton scored 12, while St. Bonaventure's Dana Mitchell and St. Joseph's Katie Kuester, the daughter of new NBA Detroit Piston's coach John Kuester, scored 10 each.

The Kelly roster also contains Drexel incoming freshman Hollie Mershon.

Royal's Aly Byorick of Lehigh scored 13 points and West Chester star Dana Weems scored nine points. Lehigh's Courtney Dentler is also on the team along with a slew of West Chester players, which forced the league to actually field two squads dominated by Golden Rams stars.

That's for this report.

 -- Mel

By Mel Greenberg

 It looks as if the WNBA couldn't overcome the media coverage of the dominant presence of University of Connecticut alumnae at last weekend's All-Star game at the Mohegan Sun the pro league might as well join the crowd.

And so it was that All-Stars Sue Bird (Seattle Storm), who was a candidate for weekend MVP honors, and Asjha Jones of the Connecticut Sun were made the East and West players of the week Monday as the WNBA stretch drive gets under way.

Bird and Jones were two of four starters on the 2002 unbeaten UConn squad that played Sunday along with Diana Taurasi and Swin Cash.

Weekend Leftovers

Here's some notes that were still hanging around and managed to escape the mental reach of the Guru in compiling the previous post.

As if there isn't enough UConn stories, the Guru ran into former Hartford Courant sportswriter Jeff Goldberg, who used to cover the Huskies women before moving on to baseball and the Boston Red Sox.

Goldberg is now living in Beantown where he is writing a book on the Big East title game of 2001 when Bird hit the mega-shot that gave UConn the conference title over Notre Dame. The Irish went on to get revenge in the NCAA semifinals and ultimately beat Purdue for the national title that season.

He promises to send along more info in the near future.

In other news, the streak of Philadelphia representation in the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame inductions continue, even if by a small bit this time.

Teresa Edwards, one of six picks for the new class, played for a very brief period in the City of Brotherly Love for the Philadelphia Rage then under coach Anne Donovan before the ABL collapsed under bankruptcy in the December, 1998.

Meanwhile, the Guru has heard from the Immaculata folks who informed the movie about the 1972 title -- Our Lady of Victory -- is very much alive and the goal for the flick to hit cinema houses is targeted between October and next March.

The Philadelphia Department of Recreation's NCAA Women's Summer League will begin playoffs Wednesday night.

The Guru was on the desk Monday and wasn't on hand for the regular finals to learn who qualified. Contact will be made with the commish on Tuesday so information can be passed along.

The format starts with eight teams Wednesday, quarterfinals on Monday and then a best-of-three finals beginning next Wednesday.

That's it for the monent.

  -- Mel

By Mel Greenberg

UNCASVILLE, Conn. - Years from now, persons looking up past WNBA All-Star games will find in the record book that the West beat the East 130-118 here at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday afternoon to end a two-year run that produced the only two victories held by the East in the series.

However, for those who  witnessed all phases of the event on and off the court Saturday, the reality was that the show of the WNBA's top talent could easily have been re-named the University of Connecticut Huskies Hall of Fame Women's Classic.

The largesse and legacy of the UConn program didn't just dominate the day - it smothered it.

Consider that on a facility economically driven by casino-entertainment action, the value of cash on Saturday was not about revenue stream. It was about former Huskies star Swin Cash who has emerged from injury to re-establish herself as a premier player with the Seattle Storm.

The native of the Pittsburgh suburbs had a game-high 22 points for the West to earn MVP honors.

Four other former UConn stars also played in the game.

The sellout crowd of 9,518 in the arena shook off Diana Tarausi's recent DUI arrest on July 2 in Phoenix to give the Mercury All-Star a thunderous ovation during the roster introductions. She then went on to score 18 points for the West.

Sue Bird, who also plays for Seattle, added 16 points to the West total and delivered 10 assists, while Charde Houston of the Minnesota Lynx scored 16 points.

Asjha Joseph, the lone representative from the local WNBA Connecticut Sun,scored six points in her home arena for the East. The combo of Bird-Taurasi-Jones-Cash represent four starters of the fabled 2002 unbeaten NCAA champions.

The fifth starter - Tamika Williams Raymond who retired from the Sun after last season -- was in town for a dinner reunion Friday night at the home of Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma.

Even Bill Taveres, the Sun media director, had an ex-UConn label having been a beat writer covering the UConn women for a local newspaper before joining the Mohegan Sun public relations department. The career change was made  prior to the Mohegan Tribes' purchase of the former WNBA Orlando Miracle franchise.

Speaking of the Sun, that became the next ex-factor the last two days -- Indiana's Katie Douglas, who scored 11 points, and Atlanta's Erika de Souza, who scored 12, are ex-Sun players who used to delight the summer fan base here, especially Douglas.

 Meanwhile, even off the court UConn produced two major storylines.

 Rebecca Lobo, the former Huskies star who helped lead UConn to its first NCAA title in 1995 and is now an ESPN-ABC broadcaster, was named as one of the six new inductees to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tenn.

  Since she was here doing sideline reporting for ABC, Lobo became the accessible WBHOF notable of the new group to be around for quotes.

When a reporter mentioned to Lobo that during induction weekend next June she might be the first UConn person invited to a party at Tennessee coach Pat Summitt's poolhouse, Lobo jokingly responded, "If you've been there and I haven't, something's wrong."

   Of course, considering her current career, that reporter could have noted that Lobo will be the second media person inducted.

 The other five newcomer inductees are former Georgia and Olympic star Teresa Edwards, former Louisiana Tech and New York Liberty star Teresa Weatherspoon, former Maryland coach Chris Weller, Leta Andrews -- about to enter her 48th season as Granbury High girls coach in Texas where she has the winningest high school girls record at 1,312-282, and as a contributor Gloria Ray who was the first women's athletics director at Tennessee and now heads the WBHOF.

 As for Auriemma, the orchestrator of all this Connecticut success, the maestro himself was also on the podium at halftime after an arena introduction as the previously-announced Olympic women's coach for the 2012 games in London, England.

  When Auriemma did color commentary in the early years of the WNBA, rival coaches complained about an undue recruiting advantage to the benefit Huskies.

  But all of that was mild compared to Huskies-mania on Saturday.

  The only way the NCAA could reduce UConn's bonanza of publicity off this year's All-Star game would be to censor coverage by TV and what remains of the newspaper industry and/or simply ban the WNBA itself.

  Non-Connecticut storylines that might produce headlines if the event were in other cities got relegated to the "by-the-way" portion of coverage.

  For example, first-time participant Nicole Powell (Sacramento Monarchs), who had 21 points playing for the West, was not far away from game MVP selection, especially considering she was a last-minute addition on the West roster to replace Los Angeles Sparks superstar Lisa Leslie whose farewell tour into retirement has been marred by a knee injury.

  "Oh yeah, Nicole," Taurasi jested when asked about the performance of her West teammate. "We let her come along and be an honorary Huskie for the day."

  The top East scorer was former LSU star Sylvia Fowles of the Chicago Sky who totalled 17 points. She also threw down a dunk on a second attempt -- another story that would have been a headline of sorts had the game been in another city.

 Former Temple star Candice Dupree, who is also with Chicago, scored 12 points for the East as did New York Liberty post player Shameka Christon and De Souza. Douglas, as mentioned, scored 11.

 San Antonio's Becky Hammon was in double figures for the West with 11 points to complete those in double figures for the winners. Phoenix star Cappie Pondexter, a former Rutgers sensation, had nine points.

Before the game, WNBA commissioner Donna Orender held a mid-summer state-of-the-league briefing for the press.

 One question was when might the All-Star game move to a Western outpost.

   Although Orender paid homage to those on the left coast, on this particular day the more appropriate answer might have been that the event will move in that direction if the Mohegan Tribe adds a venue in Danbury, located near the Hudson River in Western Connecticut.

-- Mel   

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