(Guru's Note: The Guru's good friend Sue Wicks, the former Rutgers and WNBA New York Liberty star who is now an assistant coach at St. Francis, N.Y., sent the Guru a report on her summer travels.

Her work has already appeared at web sites of the WBCA, NCAA and the State Department among other places but she felt Guru visitors who may not frequent the other sites on a regular basis might like the opportunity to read of her experiences. 

Also, Sue may return next month as one of the Guru's celebrity analysts when the WNBA playoffs get under way.)

-- Mel

Blog Entry from
St. Francis College Women’s Assistant Basketball Coach Sue Wicks

At 30,000 feet flying over Mongolia on my way back to New York, my thoughts are still
in Manila wishing I were in a hot and humid gym with 200 plus enthusiastic Philippine
basketball players working on the “Dwayne wade patented jab step” with Miami Heat
Head Coach Erik Spoelstra and Assistant Coach Dave Fizdale.
 

In partnership with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural
Affairs, current and former NBA and WNBA players and coaches travel overseas each
summer as ambassadors of sport. This summer I was chosen by the NBA as one of its
Ambassadors. I can think of no greater compliment than to be entrusted by the league
and the State Department to represent our sport and more importantly our country
 

The NBA is dedicated to demonstrating leadership in social responsibility, using the
popularity and visibility of its teams, players and the league to effect positive change
around the world. While I have always been a fan of the NBA, especially my beloved
Knicks, my true calling is the promotion of the WNBA and the participation of all young
women in sports. The benefits are obvious as far as heath but to see the confidence and
self‐possessed attitude of young female athletes is so beautiful
 

During the trip, we conducted clinics, visited schools and spoke to youth about the
importance of education, positive health practices and respect for diversity. The goal of
the program is to bring people together through sports while encouraging the
development of basketball on a grassroots level. The Philippine people have a passion
for basketball and a knowledge of the league that would put many beat writers and a
few General Managers in the League to shame!
 

The first day started in Manila where we fought through a monstrous traffic jam of jeeps
and bicycles to get on a flight to Zamboanga City. We were briefed early that morning
about terrorist activity in the area but no one in our envoy even blinked, we were here
to share our love of basketball and Zamboanga children would not be denied that
opportunity because of any political situation. The closest we came to terrorist activity
was Coach Spoelstra singing karaoke.

The Basketball clinic with school‐based and out‐ofschool
youth basketball players was a great success. Seeing coach Spoelstra, a Filipino‐
American, was an amazing source of pride for all the children. Actually every person we
encountered in the streets seemed to know Coach Spoelstra and rushed up to shake his
hand and offer advice on free agency.

David Fizdale, one of the brightest young coaches in the NBA, used his quick mind to get
three hours of drills, skills and competitions together during a 5 minutes coaches
huddle. I guarantee at least half of the campers will be doing reverse pivots in their
dreams with coach Fiz commending them to “spin, spin, spin.” If Erik was the lead singer
of our group than Coach Fizdale was the rhythm section who never missed a beat. He
was the ultimate playmaker who made us all look good without taking a bit of credit.
 

We spent the rest of the week in Manila conducting camps for all levels of players from
8‐year‐old girls to the members of the Philippine national team.
 

We met with the wealthiest and the poorest people in the country during our trip. We
were offered everything from lavish dinners and the use of private jets to simple shell
necklaces; all presented with the same open hearted generosity that seemed to be the
unifying quality of all Philippine people! I know I speak for our entire team when I say
we were overwhelmed by the warmth and hospitality of these amazingly resourceful
people. I feel truly blessed to have had this wonderful opportunity of sharing with the
Philippine people.
 

I would personally like to thank the U.S. State department and the NBA. With very
special thanks to:
Ambassador Kristie Kenney
Ms. Leslie Basset
Ms. Martha Buckley
Ms. Najlaa Abdus‐Samad
Ms. Rebecca Thompson
Mr. Jomar Ascaño
Ms. Jojie Sopia
Brooks Meeks
Chad Kammerer
Carlo Singson
The next president of the Philippines and current coach of the Miami Heat Erik Spoelstra
and David Fizdale
David Stern
And Dave Yuen for offering me the use of Ruth Riley’s Condo in Miami

By Mel Greenberg

  PHILADELPHIA - In case you haven't had much chance to catch up with former Temple star Candice Dupree since her graduation in 2006, she'll be on display Tuesday night when her Chicago Sky visits the Los Angeles Sparks (10 p.m., edt, ESPN2).

   Both teams are fighting to stay in the playoff hunt in their respective divisions with Los Angeles beginning to live up to preseason expectations.

  Dupree's appearance will be another example of why the draft class of 2006 will be one of the most notable in the WNBA's 13-year history.

  To review the top of the crop, Minnesota took Seimone Augustus out of LSU, followed by Phoenix's selection of former Rutgers star Cappie Pondexter, followed by former Charlotte taking Monique Currie out of Duke, followed by San Antonio taking Baylor's Sophie Young, followed by Los Angeles using an acquisition pick to take Lisa Willias, and then the new Chicago Sky picked Dupree.

   Augustus has had some nagging injuries, including this season, but she went on to make the Olympic team with Pondexter, who paired with the Mercury's Diana Taurasi, the former UConn star and Big East rival, to win the 2007 title. Young was in the finals last year. Dupree has had yet to make the playoffs, but she has been one of the statistical leaders of her class.

  The native of Florida, who led Temple to three straight Atlantic 10 titles, has been an All-Star three times, this season as a starter. According to WNBA stats submitted last week, Dupree leads her draft classmates in rebounds and ranks fourth in points scored.

  Dupree's entry into the league was also noteworthy when she got to play against her college coach Dawn Staley, who was in the last go-round playing for the former Houston team. The two, though at different positions, went at it in the All-Star game that season in New York.

  Dupree's three-plus year total shows more than 1,900 career points and over 900 rebounds in helping the Sky to become a playoff contender this season. She is 12th in the league in scoring and sixth in rebounding.

 The league says the Class of 2006 has achieved more milestones and accolades in their first four years than any class since 2001. When Young and Dupree break the 2,000 point barrier, they'll join Pondexter and Augustus, who already have passed the mark, to make the class the first since 1999 to four 2,000-point scorers.

Of course, that year some of the newcomers weren't exactly new with the likes of Katie Smith coming on the refugee boats from the former American Basketball League, which had collapsed in bankruptcy in December 1998.

                             Triva Special

   Curiously, since the Guru posted a note last week about the normal upper echelon reaching hard times, Detroit, Los Angeles, and New York have drawn closer to the playoff contenders, while Sacramento has won a bit.

     So, get this: Sacramento's next win will mark only the second time and first since 2001 that the bottom teams in each division reach double-digit wins. New York posted win No. 11 Sunday night beating fading Minnesota.

   The Lynx situation bears watching in that new coach Jen Gillom is considered one of the frontrunners in a crowded group to land a spot on Olympic coach Geno Auriemma's staff.

    In 2001, there were 16 teams in the league and the schedule of the regular season was two less at 32.

   Keep those seatbelts fastened the rest of the way because it is going to be a bumpy ride until the postseason crowd is determined.

  -- Mel

By Mel Greenberg

UPDATE: Mel is aware that Tina Charles is from Queens, and asked me to update the post. - J.T.

    UNCASVILLE, Conn. - Here's an idea that won't go anywhere but would be fascinating.

   Instead of using a draft lottery this time around, perhaps the WNBA should consider adding on another postseason tournament to decide who will own the No. 1 pick next April.

   That would give some traditional teams such as New York, Detroit, possibly San Antonio, possibly Connecticut, and possibily Los Angeles activity they would normally enjoy in the real playoffs.

  True, the stakes won't be nearly as high as they would have been two years ago when the a rainbow with a pot of gold named Candace Parker was considered likely to forego her final season of eligibility at Tennessee and take a quick step into a her pro career.

  In the summer of 2007, while there was a terrific race at the top of the each division, Los Angeles and Minnesota were in a tight competition for worst record in the league and best shot at the ping pong balls that would lead to the opportunity to select Parker.

 Minnesota seemed a lock until Los Angeles lost a ton of games down the stretch and the Lynx suddenly were inficted with a small attitude of winning games.

  The Sparks should never have been in that situation but with Lisa Leslie missing the season following pregnancy and Chamique Holdsclaw becoming a retirement role model for the NFL's Bart Favre, Los Angeles plunged from its normal competitive heights.

  A year ago up here New York came into the Mohegan Sun Arena and grabbed a deciding playoff game that sent Connecticut into an early exit.

  On Wednesday night, the playoff dynamic was much different in the taffy pull known as the hunt for the postseason slots in the East behind front-running Indianapolis.

  The Sun was trying to hold its own, while New York was trying to move closer to joining the crowd.

   In the first half, the Liberty seemed ready to move a bit closer to playoff waters when New York took a 17-point lead while the only shots going down in the home venue where the ones being consumed in the various restaurants existing nearby in the casino-entertainment complex.

  By the time the night ended, however, the Sun had rallied, thanks to Lindsay Whalen's heroics, finishing with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while New York slipped away from the Straits of the Postseason deeper into the draft pool of also-rans.

  In the first half, New York's Shameka Christon and Janel McCarville each scored eight points, shooting 3-for-5 and 4-for-6 respectively. The two post players, however, were then shut down for the night, combining for an 0-for-10 effort the rest of the way.

   That left the Liberty with the second worst record in the league behind Sacramento, which was heading for underdog status in games the Monarchs were set to play Thursday and Friday nights.

    Of course it may be academic in terms of direrction if New York and Sacramento end up either way with the 1-2 picks next April.

     The Monarchs would be in the position to take what would pass as a hometown star in Stanford's Jayne Appel, whose collegiate team in the Bay Area of Northern California is located just a short drive away from where the Monarchs call home.

      That would leave New York in position to take yet a third star from nearby Rutgers in Brooklyn's E;pipphany Prince who has left the Scarlent Knights prior to her senior season to head for Europe, saying she could prepare better for a future life in the WNBA. The Liberty roster already cvontains Essence Carson and Kia Vaughn, who were Prince's teammates when Rutgers dashed to the NCAA title game in 2007.

     Of course, if Connecticut becomes the odd-team out in the Eastern gridlock, with a little luck in the lotto drawing, the Sun might be in position to take what likely could emerge as the top talent not named Mya Moore next April.

      That would be UConn's Tina Charles, giving the Sun a double win in the talent selectons. Then again, considering that Charles is a native of Queens, N.Y., perhaps the Liberty are in a position that - unlike Wednesday night here, and some previous games - they could not possibly screw up.

      Could they?

     -- Mel

By Jonathan Tannenwald
Philly.com

Word came from ESPN this afternoon that the University of Connecticut will play host to the first ever broadcast of ESPN's popular "College GameDay" show from a women's basketball game.

The show will be in Storrs on January 17th for its season debut as the Huskies face Notre Dame.

There were more than a few rumors last year that the show would have gone to the Connecticut-Tennessee game had it not been canceled before the season.

By Mel Greenberg

  They won't be going to the King & I soundtrack to play Getting To Know You when the Road to London 2012 goes into early rehearsals this fall under Olympic coach Geno Auriemma.

 If anything, with a few exceptions, they might adjust the title to Getting To Know You Better with a few exceptions.

As coach of the six-time NCAA champion Connecticut Huskies, Auriemma has already had two of the first eight pool players for the national team under his charge in Diana Taurasi of the WNBA Phoenix Mercury and Sue Bird of the Seattle Storm.

  As for former Rutgers star Cappie Pondexter, now a WNBA teammate of Taurasi, Auriemma has coached her in USA Basketball on the 2000 Under-18 and 2001 Under-19 national teams before coaching against her in the middle of this decade in the Big East wars with the Scarlet Knights.

 During Monday's teleconference, Pondexter referred to Auriemma as "the greatest," in terms of her experience with him in USA Basketball.

 Seimone Augustus and Sylvia Fowles were involved in matchups against Connecticut at LSU or also appearing in the same Final Fours, though the Tigers and Huskies did not meet in actual semifinals or championship games.

  Candace Parker, Kara Lawson, and Tamika Catchings were part of the former Tennessee-UConn national rivalry from the Orange side.

Although Tennessee outnumbers Auriemma's own UConn representation in numbers as of Monday's announcement, that should changed perhaps as early as prior to next year's FIBA World Championships.

  Huskies junior Mya Moore is expected to eventually make the team, while senior Tina Charles, recently graduated Renee Montgomery and former Olympian and UConn star Swin Cash are also considered prominent contenders for the 12 spots.

  Interestingly, during Monday's call, Bird was asked what of her experience with Auriemma might she be able to pass on to her national teammates.

  What wasn't asked -- the Guru was on a different track with a question -- is what might they all teach Auriemma since they have been a core group for a while with more togetherness experience among themselves in recent international battles.

                                          Big Five Hall of Fame

   Assuming that former men's coaches John Chaney (Temple), Rollie Massimino (Villanova), and Speedy Morris (La Salle), who were cited Monday, will be the only inductees to this year's Big Five Hall of Fame class, there might be a tendency to say that it is the first time in a while that the women have not had representation.

    But that's not entirely accurate.

  In 1984, Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw, then the AD at La Salle, made an out-of-leftfield choice when he hired Morris, then a longtime legendary boys coach at Roman Catholic, to be in charge of the women.

    Morris may not have known a thing about the women's game, but he quickly proved that coaching is coaching, though his time with the Explorers lasted only two seasons before Bradshaw offered him the men's job.

   In the season prior to Morris' hire, the Explorers were 11-18. A year later they finished 22-8, losing narrowly in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference to conference heavyweight Holy Cross, 62-61.

   The players and Morris quickly took to each other to the point that he actually spent a while wrestling with the men's offer before accpeting the position.

In Morris' second season, La Salle went 21-9 and this time captured the MAAC title, beating St. Peter's, 78-67, before losing an NCAA first-round game to Villanova, 60-55, at The Palestra.

  Some of Morris' players were Cheryl Reeve, now assistant coach and general manager of the WNBA champion Detroit Shock; former Penn coach Kelly Greenberg, now coach of Boston U.; Gina Tobin, and Big Five Hall of Famers Tracey Sneed, Jill Crandley, Allison Hudson, Suzi McCaffrey, and Linda Hester.

    - Mel

By Mel Greenberg

  UNDER NEW YORK CITY (In a railroad car) -- So has the Guru posted a headline to shameless steal some web traffic in his direction on a night and ensuing day when Philadelphia has suddenly become ground zero in the sports world in the wake of Michael Vick's signing with the NFL Eagles?

  To quote a remark often used by a former vice presidential candidate out of Alaska: "You betcha."

  It is 3 a.m. at the moment on the return trip from New London, Conn., technically Uncasville, where the Guru spent one of his days off on the schedule to zip up to Casino-Land and watch the Connecticut Sun handle the Seattle Storm, which has a former UConn, player or two, in another must-win night in the stretch drive of the WNBA season.

  Plenty of details of the game can be found at the sites of the horde contigent who regularly troll the WNBA waters in the summer to kill time between UConn NCAA championship seasons.

  And the Guru isn't weighing in on the dynamics of the move -- his capable colleagues back in the home office have quickly scrambled on a story they had no idea was coming shortly before it broke.

  But the Guru was quickly hit by the shock waves of the move up in New England.

 At a time that the future of the home office is in an undetermined state between the bankruptcy hearings and contract negoations, the Vick story once again shows why newspapers are still relevant.

 Ironically, on the previous short post on the way up north early Thursday afternoon, the Guru signed off to say he was about to watch a movie.

  He decided to bring along Invincible, the story of South Philadelphia's Vince Papale attending an open tryout for the Eagles and openingly making the team after Dick Vermeil became coach in the late 1970s.

   Who would known that several hours later the Eagles would again be back into the "giving a chance" business, though the Vick situation coming right out of federal. prison for dogfighting is quite different than the movie Rocky-style experience of Papale.

  In another ironic twist, 48 hours earlier when the Guru was working the desk, he led the nightly NFL roundup with three elements of Vick news on Tuesday -- Former Indianapolii Colts coach Tony Dungy, Vick's new mentor, along with Vick's agent saying that Vick may sign with a team soon, that the Washington Redskins were definitely not going to be involved with the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback, and Vick speaking to basketball campers in Virginia about his life.

 But as far as any thoughts of Vick becoming a Philadelphia Story at that moment, well, that potential was as remote as chronicling a newsside scrum occurring somewhere in the Middle East.

 Back to Thursday night, somewhere near the end of the first half with the Sun seemingly in control, the Guru went to the facebook section of his blackberry and suddenly noticed a reference to Vick and the Eagles on a friend's status report.

Then a few seconds later, another comment appeared from someone else in a different part of the nation. And then another.

 At that moment, the Guru went to the ESPN site and sure enough, there was the confirmation.

  News travels fast.

  How fast?.

  Before the Guru could comment to his Connecticut friends on press row, they were already making comments to him, not the least of which was Good luck getting anything into your section that isn't Phillies or Eagles related the next several months.

 Not to worry.

  That's why the technical creator invented blogging.

   By the way, the Guru is no longer under New York City, so he apologizes for any typos caused by the bumpy rails between wherever we are, oh South of Newatk?, to Philly.

   And, of course, Philadelphia had already drawn interest in New England with the Phillies signing former Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez.

   After the WNBA game was over, coaches from both sides had already become aware of the Vick story, saying to the Guru, Good luck in Philadelphia.

  Upon finishing the night's work inside the arena, the Guru headed for a quick stop at his favorite seafood place in the casino before heading to the train station.

    Of course, the Eagles also happened to be playing New England, and of course the Patriots network was on the screen. Thus, with the Guru still wearing his credential tag, the city-affiliation quickly caught the attention of the waiter at the oyster bar, who said, upon taking the Guru's order, "What are you crazy people doing down there in Philly?"

"Michael Vick, are you kidding me? I can't wait to read how you guys are going to handle this one."

 Naturally, his comments were heard by a few of the patrons who immediately had some quick positive and negative reactions.

  Then it was off to jump into the cab for the ride to the station in New London/

  "Where are you going?" the cabbie asked?

   "Oh Philadelphia, you guys just signed Michael Vick. That beats anything they gamble on from where you just came from."

   Finally, the conductor on the train came by to do his usual desatination check and asked "Philly?"

 "That's right."

"Oh yeah, the new home of Mr. Vick."

 And, folks it's only starting.

  But, hey, the old Amtrak is about to cruise into Central Jersey, notorious for bad cell phone connections, whiich is what an air card attachment is on a laptop.

  And so while the preceding helped keep the Guru awake and moving along, he'd hate to be unable to post thiis and then hsve to start complaining again about the blog platform program not saving copy properly.

  The Guru knows the home office is eagerly awaiting his return Friday.

  No, not because of help needed on the Vick story. That;s the day the Guru stops by one of his neighborhood delis to pick up norishment for the the night sports management crowd.

    So until the next post when the Guru returns to what he is actually known for, Goodnight to you in the States and good mrning to those of you in Europe and Asia.

  -- Mel

By Mel Greenberg

TRENTON-HAMILTON-PRINCETON, N.J. - The triple dateline is an attempt to stay accurate while the Guru reports that it is very early Thursday afternoon and he is aboard Amtrak (courtesy of Amtrak Points) for a quick trip up and back to casino-land to take in tonight's Connecticut-Seattle WNBA game.

The Guru will file on the return route. And now, since the laptop is plugged into the train's power system, the aircard is working (amazing though how many WIFI home networks are signaling the Guru), and Ipod is on stand by, it is time to take advantage of the technology and slip a disc into the blue-ray drive and watch a movie.

See you on the overnight.

 -- Mel

By Mel Greenberg

 Columbia Blue, accented by St. Joseph's and Cheyney stars, handed Red a taste of its own playoff medicine and came back for a 68-64 win Monday night to sweep the best-of-three championship round and claim the 2009 title of the Philadelphia Dept. of Recreation NCAA Women's Summer League at Parkwood Youth Center in the Northeast.

In the first two rounds of the playoffs, the fifth-seeded Red team rallied twice to pull a pair of upsets to advance to the title round against the top-seeded Columbia Blue squad, who went 10-2 in the regular season.

 This time it was Columbia's turn for a comeback after trailing 24-8 from the outset and 33-28 at the half.

 Former Holy Family star Kate Baum scored 13 points, while Cheyney's Angel Stephens scored 12 and her Wolves teammate Angel Handerson scored 11. St. Joseph's Amy Gillespie also scored 11.

 One might say a pair of Angels rescued Columbia after it appeared headed for theplayoff morgue.

 Columbia had to make do without St. Joseph's Brittany Ford, who suffered a minor injury in the quarterfinals, and Hawks incoming freshan Ashley Robinson, who appeared to sprain her ankle in the opening minutes of Monday's game, according to several observers.

 The winners were still able to dominate the boards despite missing the two prominent Hawks post players.

 Red got a monster night out of recently-graduated La Salle star Margaret Elderton, a Haverford High alumna, who matched her all-time Explorers total with 32 points. Drexel Ayana Lee added 10 points, West Chester's Megan Stewart was held to seven points, and La Salle post player Chelsea Conner scored six.

 The game marked the end of the era of longtime league commissioner David Kessler, who will be feted at a farewell party next month. Details will be listed here, but considering that last summer Kessler was set to bid adieu, it is still to be determined if this time it's for real.

-- Mel

By Mel Greenberg

  In the very early years of the WNBA, basketball purists found the court action to be -- well -- revolting, to put it mildly.

 More times than not, post play referred to guards mailing the ball to get it into the frontcourt without causing a turnover.

 Season 13, however, is anything but an unlucky number for the women's pro league if one dispenses with the national ecomonic conditions that have affected operations.

If a theme exists to date, it is Revenge of the Fallen, with perennial playoff-contending also-rans revolting against the teams that have been the dominate forces.

Much of that is due to the recent influx of new talented stars  who were the All-Americans of recent collegiate season.

In fact, this stretch right now could also be entitled The Underdog Days of August.

In many respects, the standings are almost a reflection of the last collegiate season with upsets galore.

True, Indiana is imitating the University of Connecticut record-wise, compared to the other 12 teams, but no one is bold enough to declare the Fever as the overwhelming favorite.

However, Indiana took one step to enhance credibility to its postseason hopes Saturday night in the desert when the Fever beat the Phoenix Mercury, 90-83, in a battle of conference leaders.

In an oddity, the word Connecticut can be applied to two aspects of the Fever's win with former Huskies star Jessica Moore scoring 19 points and former WNBA Connecticut Sun star Katie Douglas popping a career-best six three-pointers on the way to 28 points.

Indiana, which had its own UConn-Rutgers alumna roster combo in Moore and former Scarlet Knight Tammy Sutton-Brown (Phoenix has Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter, besides Ketia Swanier), seems to be upholding a dubious WNBA tradition.

There's been a history in preseason stories of teams projected for extinction suddenly becoming the hot number. That happened to the Detroit Shock, Sacramento Monarchs, and Seattle who have all risen to win WNBA titles.

Indiana, enjoying its best season ever, holds a whopping 5 1/2 game lead over Washington - yeah you heard that right on both counts -  and may soon have control of home court advantage in the finals, assuming Indiana gets that far.

And that cautionary note is also different than what is normally said this time of year.

By now, one could pretty much have an idea of what cities will be involved for the championship round.

Los Angeles, Uncasville (Conn.), Detroit, and Houston (prior to the Comets' demise), have been the frontrunners heading into the stretch drive with a few others making guest appearances in different season.

But now, long-range planning has yet to have viability.

The East, especially, has one heck of a race in terms of newbies (or seldom-bies) fighting for the postseason. Washington, in second, holds a slim one-game lead over Chicago, Atlanta (what a jump for the Dream from its rookie season),  and normally dominate Connecticut for the other three conference playoff spots with the defending champion Shock two games back.

Detroit is getting near the moment where the Shock are going to have to find some consistency to move ahead of the pack, which will be beating up on each other. New York, which finally got its first win in three tries under new coach Anne Donovan is 3 1/2 back, but given the condition, the Liberty may end up playing the role of spoiler.

Hard to believe that a year ago the same New York team was minutes away from the WNBA finals. Incidentally, Donovan's first return to Seattle since last coaching the Storm in 2007, was made less joyous when the Storm won a 70-69 thriller on Saturday night.

Seattle's Sue Bird, (yet another former UConn star), hit two foul shots with 3:11 left to play and the game remained scoreless the rest of the way.

 Meanwhile, over in the West, Seattle seems a postseason lock slong with Phoenix while Minnesota and defending conference champion San Antonio need to hold off a late-season surge, if it comes, from Los Angeles, which finally has both Lisa Leslie and Candace Parker back on the court together.

In fact, with Leslie heading for the last days of her career, one can envision the Guru's ESPN friends pulling for a storyline out of Hollywood.

                                      Washington's Troops Increase

  The Penn State family has a new addition but NCAA eligibility rules prohit court-time until more than a decade from now.

  Nittany Lions coach Coquese Washington gave birth to Rhaiyna Kamille Brown, the second child of the former Notre Dame star and her husbansd Raynell Brown, on July 23. The Guru is sure, newspapers existingt or not, that when Rhaiyna first puts on a uniform, her presence will be a reason for spell-checkers to remain on word processing programs to make sure reporters get her first name right.

The Guru got the email announcement but hadn't had a chance to say congratulations and, unless he missed it, hadn't seen a posting at the major public women's sites.

                                      Geno at the Beach

  Before heading to vacation, the Hartford Courant's John Altavilla worried that major news involving UConn would occur during his absence from the beat, which had become the case in recent situations.

Sure enough, Auriemma will be in the news Wednesday with  a nice gesture but nothing that will make John leap into the Connecticut River.

It was almost a year ago at this time that Auriemma finally ended of a summer of suspense when he sent word that Blue Chip recruit Elena Delle Donne had decided not to attend UConn.

She subsequently enrolled at Delaware, near her home, played volleyball in the fall and then decided to return to basketball where she will be a freshman with the Blue Hens when school resumes next month.

This summer's action at the Jersey shore is somewhat different.

 Auriemma will join his Philly buds and men's coaches Phil Martelli (St. Joseph's), Fran Dunphy (Temple men's coach), Steve Lappas (formerly Villanova and several other school who now commentates for CBS College Sports), and Chris Ford (former Villanova star and coach of the 76ers and Boston Celtics) just outside Ocean City, Wednesday morning to support Ocean City Bank president Steven E. Brady in a check presentation to Operation First Response.

The organization is a nonprofit entity that assists wounded soldiers and their families in times of crisis.

                Making A Point

      The Point Guard College for high school and collegiate men and women, run by former Virginia star Dena Evans and  will be held this week at St. James School in Hagerstown, Md., Monday thrugh Thursday.

    In the past, such notables as Kristi Toliver (WNBA-Chicago Sky, Maryland), Rashanda McCants (Minnesota Lynx, North Carolina), Lyndsey Medders-Fennelly (Iowa State and now a PGC director), Abby Waner (Duke), and Jenny Boucek (Virginia, who was recently WNBA Sacramento coach), have been among the attendees.

More information can be found at the web site pointguardcollege.com.

                 Personal Guru

   The Guru would just like to note that he was not involved in last Friday's Twitter collapse, even though curiously the computer server disaster happened within an hour of the Guru's most recent previous post in which he took a tongue-in-cheek shot at Twitter.

   Yes, to follow up on one of the 140-plus character comments, the Guru did get his hair cut.

 Furthermore, unlike others, the Guru is not involved with an endorsement deal for the Dr. Dre Heasdphones that have come onto the market in a partnership with Monster Technology.

   That said, although he does own the regular-size version, he purchased the new smaller "tour" edition, in the mode of Ipod buds, and he would like to say that the sound emanating from speakers of such tracks as Lady Gaga's Eh, Eh is quite remarkable.

      -- Mel