Archive for WNBA
While Brittney Griner’s WNBA debut came in a loss with her Phoenix Mercury getting blown out by the Chicago Sky by a score of 102-80, she made it a memorable first act by becoming the first player in WNBA history to dunk twice in the same game.
Surprisingly — or perhaps not so much according to one’s perspective of women’s basketball — Griner apparently is only the third player in the league to dunk at all, so doing so twice is a remarkable achievement.
Yes, I know what you’re thinking: what the heck is a “Social Sideline Reporter”? You’re also probably thinking “Sweet Sassy Molassey” but before we get to that, let us define the interesting new job title that the Phoenix Suns claim is ” the first position of its kind for a professional sports franchise.”
Via NBA.com:
Christensen will join the club’s home-game broadcasts on Fox Sports Arizona and Arizona Sports 620 this season to share comments from fan discussions taking place on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.
“Social media has become an integral part of how the Suns connect and interact with our fans on a daily basis,” said Suns VP of Digital, Jeramie McPeek. “Kayte’s knowledge of basketball, experience in broadcasting and love of social media will help us take that fan engagement to a new level, enhancing our game broadcasts and in-arena experience this season.”
Interesting. Also interesting? Christensen is a former WNBA player who spent seven seasons with the Phoenix Mercury. After her professional basketball career, she went on to become the TV color analyst for the Mercury and later spent a few years as the pre and post-game show analyst for the Sacramento Kings before being replaced by the much less attractive — actually the diametrically opposite in attractiveness — Jim Gray.
Speaking of attractive, more photos of the Suns’ new gal on the block can be found below.
Who woulda thunk it, right? To make the story even more interesting/confusing, these four lads happen to pledge their chest-painting allegiance to the 3-23 Tusla Shock. Hey, when you gotta support the team, you gotta support the team. Even if they stink. But brighter days might be ahead, as the Shock recently halted a 20-game losing streak by going on a two-game tear of winning. Awesome. And these guys are cheering them on.
The best part? One of the guys goes by the moniker “The Shocker.” Yikes.
Video follows.
BALL MINE! Egad! That’s a whole lot of woman right there, folks. She is Courtney Paris of the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream and the woman being manhandled by her is Porsha Phillips of the San Antonio Silver Stars. Intense. WNBA Awkward Dancing Guy gives Paris’ aggressive play four out of five inappropriate pelvic thrusts.
[image via]
As the Minnesota Timberwolves trudge to the merciful end of another forgettable season, one of the team’s sole bright spots, forward Kevin Love – or more accurately, somebody purporting to be him – sent out the above e-mail to T-Wolves season ticket holders imploring them to spend the summer months following the local WNBA squad, the Minnesota Lynx.
Assuming that my readers are avid followers of WNBA basketball, many of you undoubtedly are aware that the Lynx selected UConn’s Maya Moore with the first overall pick (something the Wolves have never experienced, despite the team’s historic ineptitude – STERN!!!) in the WNBA draft the other day, and the excitement surrounding the Lynx’s upcoming season is at a fever pitch. Okay, not a fever pitch. How about “at a temperature a little higher than that of tepid water”? Yeah, much better.
The point, upon reading the above e-mail correspondence, is that there is no way in hell that Kevin Love wrote it. As my Twin Cities colleague Michael Rand asserts on RandBall, said author “apparently writes an awful lot like someone who is used to sending press releases.” Indeed. My guess is Kevin Love might not even be aware of the fact that Minnesota has a WNBA team, much less feel compelled to write something requesting Wolves fans take a pasing interest in the squad, let alone take in a game or give a lick about the team.
But I can think of one soul who, if he happened to be a Timberwolves season ticket holder, would take up the Kevin Love Doppelganger’s advice: this guy. Yep, went to that well once again.
If you’re a Wolves season ticket holder, you likely got an e-mail from “Kevin Love” [RandBall]
That video * pretty much sums up the excitement generated by the WNBA draft yesterday. It remains one of my favorite videos of all-time, despite the fact that the music has been removed due to copyright fascists.
And now, my hard-hitting analysis of the 2011 WNBA Draft: players were selected by WNBA teams in a draft-style format.
* Hey, I could have went with the WNBA video from Family Guy. You get what you get and you don’t throw a fit.
Set to hit newsstands this Friday, ESPN The Magazine‘s second annual “Body Issue” will feature WNBA star Diana Taurasi on two variations of the issue’s seven covers – the one above and another showing Taurasi completely nude, covered only by a basketball which she is holding on her hip.
Taurasi told USA Today‘s Michael McCarthy that she’s happy she went through with the shoot, saying “I am who I am — whether I have clothes on or off. I’m still the same person.” Me too. The prudes at Denny’s didn’t necessarily see it that way in my pending case, but Taurasi’s comfort with her own body certainly settled any nerves over the subtly racy photos.
First of all, before I get to my brilliant, yet brief, analysis, allow me to point out that this smartass post is in no way a criticism of the fine work done here by the brilliant author of this column, Jeff Pearlman. For those of you not familiar with his work, Pearlman is one of the finest sportswriters working right now. If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading his book, The Bad Guys Won: “A Season of Brawling, Boozing, Bimbo-chasing and Championship Baseball with Straw, Doc, Mookie, Nails, The Kid, and the Rest of the 1986 Mets, the Rowdiest Team Ever to Put on a New York Uniform–and Maybe the Best, get up from your desk, quit your job, go down to the nearest bookstore and steal it (on second thought, maybe you should buy it instead).
With that out of the way, allow me to quickly and succinctly summarize this article in one brief statement:
Why the WNBA isn’t — and will never be — a popular league:
Because it’s chicks playing basketball. Poorly. Duh. And I mean that in the least chauvinistic way possible. I think.
Why the WNBA isn’t — and will never be — a popular league [SI]
This just in: sports bloggers are marginally athletic and going places, baby! Well, one of the places we as a people are going (besides Hell) is one of us showed up to try and be one of the guys on the male scout team who practices against the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks.
Enter D.J. Foster (he’s the guy circled in the above photo), who runs ClipperBlog on ESPN’s TrueHoop Network. His entire recap of his tryout is very amusing, but here’s a glimpse (via The Fabulous Forum):
Part of me acknowledges that it would be cool to try and check Sparks star Candace Parker. Another part of me realizes that I just really, really like basketball. But as I stare out of my windshield at the giant gym that awaits me, I come to the conclusion that I’m here simply to find out why everyone else is here. Who willingly signs up for a chance to get emasculated by WNBA players on a weekly basis?
I grab my gym bag and head towards the entrance for my answer.
Continue reading about his lung-bursting experiences here to see how things went for Foster. Remember, he is a Clippers blogger – he’s used to punishment and suffering. But hey, at least he’s out there doing something: making bloggers proud with his commitment, desire and willingness to embarrass himself for our enjoyment.
Good on you, D.J. Foster.
A Clipper blogger tries out for the Sparks’ male scout team [The Fabulous Forum]
Behind Enemy Lines [ClipperBlog]
