Will the Olympic break help or hurt the WNBA? According to Mike Anthony, probably neither.

"Fans who care about the WNBA and what will take place in the season's final month will still care when play resumes. Those who don't care might not realize the league has taken a month-long hiatus. And that is where the WNBA remains - stuck in the middle, not necessarily thriving, but at least sustaining. Some caring, some not."

Anthony's article in today's Courant is one of the best state-of-the-league analyses published this year. The basic thrust of the article is that the WNBA is finding stability as a secondary sports league -- that it's learning to live smaller, no longer trying to be just like the NBA.

The article also notes that while attendance is down from last year's full-season average, it's up from the same point last year (attendance typically rises as the year goes on).