At the New York Review of Books, Benjamin DeMott reviews "Reclaiming the Game: College Sports and Educational Values," a recent study of the impact of athletics on admissions by William G. Bowen and Sarah A. Levin.

Levin was an All-American sailor at Harvard. Her dad is Richard Levin, Yale's president.

Pelton checks in on Seattle's training camp.

Coach Donovan spoke to him about Adrienne Johnson's retirement.

She talked to me yesterday, and I asked her to go home and sleep on it, because, although she said she was sure yesterday, I wanted to make sure she was extra sure and sleep on it overnight. She called me first thing this morning and said she was still feeling good, had a good night's sleep, and that's what I told her - it was really hard at the end of my career to give it up. That transition from athlete to the next step is very difficult. The only way to do it is to do it all the way and be completely happy that it's done.

Saletan has two good articles, here and here, on steroids, Congressional hearings, and the conceptual incoherence of the distinction between "natural" and "unnatural" performance enhancers.

At Fullcourt, Clay previews the Monarchs' season. He says that Nicole Powell will be the key to the team's success.

And a couple days ago, Mark Lewis handed out his final grades for the NCAA tournament TV broadcasts.

The information is a little sketchy, but it sounds as if the NCAA D-I Board of Directors has passed the basketball recruiting and access proposals. We'll have to wait a couple weeks for the complete summary of the Board's actions.

The Board also adopted a resolution opposing the administration's new Title IX survey tool. "We felt that it was not true to the principles that have been in effect," said chairman Robert Hemenway.

Krista Latham at the Free Press interviews Elaine Powell and Coach Laimbeer about Powell's overseas fight.

"It's behind me now, and I've tried to move forward," Powell said. "I don't want to resurface it. I don't want to bring it back up. It's something that happened, and I can't change it."

"You can make any excuse you want to," Laimbeer said, "from the pressure of playing overseas to her personal situation with her mom passing away."

Tim Korte at the AP reports, in an article picked up by dozens of papers across the country, that Seattle has sold out its opening game.

"We got them in the door last year. Now we've got to keep them coming back," coach Anne Donovan said.

Timber has come back into the fold.

The City Pages just came out with its annual "Best of the Twin Cities" awards.

In the category of "Best Place to Meet Single Women (Lesbian)," the winner was: Lynx games.

Jimmy Jam, Jessie Ventura, Prince: You straight men can keep your ringside T-Wolves seats, because we love the low-key lezzie-watching at Lynx games. Bargain ticket prices ($10 to $100 for a single game, plus great packages) ensure that the Target Center's packed with a mix of, um, folk: rainbow families, straight dads with their daughters, businesspeople with clients and season tickets, 18- to 20-year-olds who can't yet do the club thing. You can use binoculars for a closer, yet covert, look. Then at halftime you can wander around, see friends you haven't seen in a while--or wink and hand off a phone number. There's no smoking, and it's okay if you don't know how to dance. Oh yeah--and you get the opportunity to enjoy some pretty good basketball.

A bar run by a friend of mine won "Best Breakfast with a Hangover." True that.

Kathy McConnell-Miller's plan at Colorado: "continue what Ceal Barry, the legend in our game, has done."

The USA men's basketball team is trying to become more like the women's team.

Michael Rand talks to McCarville about her salary -- $41,600 this year, 2 percent raises for the next two, and an option for a 5% raise in the fourth. Also an apartment in Charlotte and a car to share with a teammate.

"I think $40,000 for four months of work isn't too shabby," Janel said. "I'm loving it."

Coach Donovan is grumpy. Without Bird, the Storm are hard to watch.

Asked if she's worried about having Holdsclaw in the West, she responded: "L.A. got rid of a great player and sure thing for a great player and a question mark."

Katie Smith talks about the "30-something crisis" faced by WNBA players who know that they need to find another career to pay the bills, and who must consider quitting basketball early in order to get started.

"It's good money, and it's fun," Smith said of playing in the W. "But there has to be something else."

"With us, no matter how hard we work, we'll still have to have another job," Tamika Williams said.

Orender on expansion beyond Chicago: "I'm not sure I see a downside to expansion." Not a historian, apparently.

On Taurasi: "She is to women's basketball what Tiger Woods is to golf."

Holdsclaw: "It was a tough situation for me to ask to be traded. I know a lot of Washington fans didn't understand it at first, but I needed a change. Everybody told me, 'You're leaving your comfort zone,' but I'm not afraid of change. I embrace it. It brings about new challenges. I wanted to take the chance. I wanted to fulfill another part of me."

Ted previously discussed the salary cap situation faced by the Los Angeles Sparks...and the current situation involving Nikki Teasley.

But Teasley is not the only player holding out for more money. Laura Macchi (one of the two Italians from last season's squad) is also demanding more than the minimum she received last year. Unless the Sparks want to forgo having an eleventh player on the roster, it is highly unlikely that both Teasley and Macchi will both be on the Sparks' active roster this summer.

My guess is Los Angeles throws money at Teasley, while Macchi stays home until next season...when Tamika Whitmore's salary is off the books.

Colorado has found a coach. It's Kathy McConnell-Miller, who built (or rebuilt) the program at the U of Tulsa. Tulsa cut women's hoops in the late Eighties, but restored the sport in 1996; McConnell-Miller took over in '99. She also gives reporters Girl Scout cookies.

McConnell-Miller's sister Suzie McConnell-Serio coaches the Lynx. Suzie, Kathy and four other coaching McConnells sponsor a a basketball camp together.

A few days ago, Mike Terry reported that Nikki Teasley wasn't reporting to camp immediately because she was "attending to a personal matter." But as the OC Register reported yesterday, she's actually holding out for more money.

Teasley deserves to get paid well. Staley, Penicheiro, Johnson, and Bird all earn the league max of $89,000. Hammon gets a bit less than 80. Teasley, the W's assist leader last year, should be in the same ballpark.

Unfortunately for Teasley, the Sparks are having salary cap trouble (again).

Dixon, Hodges, Holdsclaw, Leslie, Mabika, Thomas, Wheeler, and Whitmore have combined salaries totaling over $520,000. That leaves only about $150,000 for the last three roster spots.

If the Sparks add two young players at the minimum ($31,200), they would have room to pay Nikki something in the 80s. But that's assuming they can add two at the minimum. Plus, if they get too close to the cap, they'll lose flexibility to have extra players on the IR and to add short-term contract players. It's unlikely that they'll be able to receive the sort of "emergency" cap exemption that they got last year.

In short, though Nikki is worth something in the 80s, it's not going to be easy for LA to pay her that much.

One of the functions of the salary cap is to promote parity by preventing an evil empire from buying up all the talent. LA has a powerful roster full of superstarstars... and the cap is starting to bite.

In other words, the cap is working exactly as intended.

Maria Conlon has smoothed things over with coach Thibault. Last year, she ruffled some feathers by wondering aloud why the Sun had invited "lesser caliber" players to camp instead of her.

"I apologized," she said. "It's not in my character to say things like that.”

But does she really have a chance to make the roster? And how will Connecticut fans react if she gets cut?

“You know what? I don't care," says T-Bone. "I've said this to anybody who wants to listen. Fans, media, whatever. This is about the business of sports. This is a business. When I'm selecting a staff, or employees, for lack of a better term, I want people who can fit the needs of the job description. Whoever is the best gets the job. I have no other agendas.”

Lynx media day was yesterday. The big question is: how is Katie Smith's knee?

The answer: it's coming along, but Minnesota is going to be careful. "I'm on a short leash right now," she said. "It is frustrating because you want to do everything you've done in the past."

"As you get older, and a couple of knee surgeries later, you have to pick and choose. Is an exhibition game as important as a midseason game? I can't play like I used to when I played eight hours a day. I have to pace myself."

Seattle Pacific grad Amy Taylor is getting a shot at a roster spot with the Storm.

"It's very overwhelming," she said. "Being at the D-II level, we didn't get that much media press. Things are a little bit more laid back. So, the glitzy things are a surprise to me."

Myth about Kamila Vodichkova...Seattle could not have matched the offer.

This only tells part of the story. Phoenix' offer to Vodichkova was made over three weeks into the free agency period. While Phoenix was waiting to see if Sacramento would match the Merucy's offer to DeMya Walker, Seattle was free to sign Kamila Vodichkova. But the Storm didn't.

Anne Donovan cannot hide behind her "couldn't match" comments. She could have signed Vodichkova for less than the maximum amount (what Phoenix is paying her). But Donovan did not take advantage of the opportunity. After Sacramento matched on Walker, Phoenix extended the offer sheet to Vodichkova. Donovan had over three weeks to re-sign Vodichkova and failed to do so. She could have re-signed Vodichkova, plus still have had money to pay Janell Burse to keep the post nucleus together.

More draft analysis from Keegan.

At dotcom, Matt Wurst reports on rookie orientation, which included "a lot of what you might expect to happen when a group of 37 college girls gets together: laughter, bonding, story-telling and general socializing."

("Girls"?)

Sue Bird sends in her last Russian dispatch. She says she bought a lot of cheap DVDs in Moscow. The MPAA is investigating.

The father of Tina Thompson's baby had a big night last night -- 30 points, 7 for 9 from outside.

"This year has been a great year for me personally, as well as for the team," Jones said. "I'm living my dream right now."

Jayda Evans on the new-look Storm.

"When I first heard about Sheri leaving, I was pretty sad," Janell Burse said. "I got pretty close to her, and that was the first piece. Then I heard about Tully. Then I heard about Kamila, and it was like, geez."

Vodichkova was the biggest loss. Seattle just couldn't match the three-year, $89,000 deal offered by Phoenix.

Over at WBOL, Kim Callahan has decided, correctly, that the debate over whether and how Sacramento should build a new arena counts as a women's hoops story.

Today's Sac Bee goes to town on the issue: columnists say build it. Developers propose a deal. A Sac State public policy prof has a plan. The editorial board sums up: "the political elite ...don't want to incur the public's wrath by throwing too much public money at a new arena. Neither, it seems, do they want to fail and thus be blamed for losing the Kings."

Do stadiums benefit cities? If so, how? It's for questions like these that I go to the Sports Economist, who weighs in on Sacramento here. The SE has other developments and opinions on stadium funding here, and here, and here, and here.

If the Maloofs moved the Kings, would they take the Monarchs? Or would the Monarchs stay, as the Sting did?

Michael Alter, who owns the Chicago Namethatteam, promises "great role models"-- and excellent parking. (Tickets here.)

One week ago, Donna Orender hosted a party and the pros handpicked the NCAA's best in preparation for 2005 WNBA basketball. The heart and soul of the Penn State womens' basketball team tuned in on 8 tv's, surrounded by family and friends at a restaurant-sportsbar in Pittsburgh.

As it turned out, the WNBA champion Seattle Storm stole the heart - the player Rene Portland called the 'best all-around player she coached in 25 seasons' -with the next-to-last pick of the first round.

TV analyst Ann Meyers said that Anne Donovan was hoping that Wright would slide to the 12th pick. "She was very excited about Tanisha Wright," Meyers said of her meeting with Donovan before the draft. "She said, 'Nobody's talking about her, are they?'" After the draft, Donovan beamed. "Tanisha, I think, is a great player to develop down the road."

The group that cheered for Wright was still waiting at Dave and Buster's for Strom's magical moment. Days earlier, however, Strom had re-injured an ankle she sprained in the Big 10 semi-final. 'Its not serious', she said. But on the day an out-of-school, out-of-shape Kara Braxton was judged to be an acceptable risk, the fortunes of an All Big 10 point guard ranked among the NCAA's best turned on an ankle.

Strom's reaction? "To even be considered is a big compliment," she said. "Teams can still call you and you can go to the training camps."

The duo started playing together at 14. They were opposites who became inseparable. Their AAU coach once said, 'It was like they shared one brain'. Rene Portland once said, 'They are our team.' As it turned out, Strom's phone did ring. Like Wright, Strom's invitation came from a champion. Wright went West, drafted by the Storm. Strom is staying in the East, invited to camp by the Sun. And the gods of basketball are smiling again.

More player movement news:

The Fever will send Kristen Rasmussen not to Detroit (as some expected) but to Houston. This year's Fever drops four of last year's eleven-- Rasmussen, Starbird, Ivey, and Stephanie White. Schuey, a free agent this year, will return.

Mystery reopened: the Sun sign Strom.

'Stics training camp invites go out to Koehn and to spidery ex-Buckeye center Courtney Coleman, cut from the Sun's preseason roster last year.

From Chicago, another opinion column in defense of Title IX (that is, against the Bush folks' proposals to change it).

Hannah Rosenthal, who runs the Chicago Foundation for Women, sounds rather alarmist: does "the life span of Chicago's eagerly anticipated WNBA team" really depend on the size of the "public outcry" over the rule change? On the other hand, she gets to use a legitimate and continuing national controversy to plug a local cause with a cool purpose: GoGirlGo! Chicago.

Clarissa Davis-Wrightsil announced that the San Antonio Silver Stars signed forwards Wendy Palmer and Mfon Udoka to free agent contracts.

Palmer helped the Sun win the East Conference last season and earned league honors as Most Improved Player. Udoka represented her homeland Nigeria in the 2004 Olympics and led her team in scoring and rebounding. She has played for three WNBA teams in parts of three seasons.

Stephanie White on retiring (at 27): ""My body's been telling me for some time that this is the direction I need to go." White adds that "being available in the summer and experiencing recruiting full time" will help her become a head coach.

Nell Fortner: "She was having her best professional season [in 2003] and then she blew out her knee. If that hadn't happened, she might still be playing today."

Non-Hoosiers may not know her storied high school career. Carolyn Peck: "When I got to Indiana I was told it was God, Stephanie White and Bobby Knight, in that order. That shows how highly people viewed her."

It's no secret why the Connecticut Sun have been in the headlines. Coach Mike Thibault and his players want to win. Thibault wasn't sure whether the Sun should trade for Margo Dydek so he asked his players. “Asjha Jones probably stood to gain more minutes the way we were headed,” he said. “She said, ‘Hey, if we can get her, we should do it, because it would make us a better team.'”

Only four players remain from the Sun's original 11 player roster. “Any time you take over a team that has underachieved, you're going to make changes,” Thibault said. “They didn't underachieve just by coaching, they underachieved by who they were.”

The Connecticut Sun added another Westerner to their mix- Western Pennsylvania, that is. St Francis (Pa) center Beth Swink joins Penn State's Jess Brungo (North Allegheny HS) and Candace Futrell (Duquesne University, Pa). Swink will stay with Brungo. (Futrell, playing in Israel, injured her ankle preparing for the Final Four in EuroCup play.)

St. Francis coach Jill Poe said Sun coach Mike Thibault saw Swink in NE conference play and believes she can play at the professional level. The New York Liberty also expressed interest in Swink.

"(Swink) is so excited and so is the whole town of Connellsville," Poe said. "(Thibault) believes Swink can play at the professional level."

Swink is the second-leading scorer in conference history with 2,044 points. She averaged 22.4 ppg this season and led St. Francis to four NEC regular-season titles, three conference championships, and three NCAA Tournament berths.

Would somebody interview Mary Garber, please?

Wait: somebody did.

The Aussies will abandon their bodysuits in favor of...something else; they're still designing the replacement uniforms.

Introduced in 1994 for the national team, and also used by some WNBL teams, the form-fitting garb attracted attention in Olympic play. The WNBL's Lorraine Landon notes one of their drawbacks: ""We've never had merchandise for young girls to wear and [the uniform redesign] is an opportunity to do that."

Ex-Lib (and ex-NBA) coach Adubato takes over the Mystics, says he's excited about the Phone Booth. 'Stics GM Hargrove: "We had some intense negotiations."

Why does our sport keep attracting triplets?

Feenstra: tall. Dydek: taller. T-bone says last year's Sun were "the shortest team in the league," "one center away from a championship."

The Buffs say they'll have a new head coach "early next week." New AD Bohn promises a "proven head coach," not an assistant. (Perhaps SMS' Abrahamson-Henderson?) K-State assistant Ethridge says she doesn't want the Colorado job anyway.

As expected, the Sun will not be offering free agent forward Wendy Palmer a contract. The Journal Inquirer reports that Connecticut head coach Mike Thibault and general manager Chris Sienko confirmed it; Palmer's playing days with the Sun are over.

Last week, the Courant reported that the Sun offered Palmer a one-year contract similar to the one she signed last season. But yesterday's message board talk was that had if Palmer had signed the contract, then "she would have been cut after the Margo trade".

"I feel bad for Wendy because she was a huge part of our success last year," Thibault said. "But, Margo is a huge change for us - literally."

"At one time, I thought she was going to sign with Seattle, but I don't think that's happening since they signed (Suzy Batkovic)", Thibault said. "I thought New York would be a good place, but I don't know."

When asked about Palmer, Detroit coach Bill Laimbeer said, "We won't be signing her. As time goes by, cap space is eaten up and vets have to get paid $45,427. That is a lot in today's WNBA cap."

The dot-com asks five players a neat question. Tina Thompson gives the coolest answer.

Indiana's Stephanie White has retired. Now an assistant at K-State, she hopes "to get into coaching full time."

White (formerly known as White-McCarty) was the last player left from the Fever's first season. The Indiana native also played on the Purdue team that won it all in 1999; Carolyn Peck, her coach at Purdue, calls White's life story "better than the movie Hoosiers." (That story might get buried in Indy by a notable retirement on the men's side.)

Janel tours the Sting's new digs in a hard hat and work boots.

President Orender tells a Connecticut press gig that "the WNBA is healthy, with all the right trends."

Sun GM Chris Sienko: '"It is refreshing to have a woman like her running this league."

The young, the Australian, and/or the injured:

Sun coach Thibault says Erin Phillips told him she would show up this season before he drafted her, and before her agent said she would not.

T-bone blames the Australian national squad: "She's kind of the young and the upcoming point guard of the future, and they've put a lot of pressure on her... What I think happened is that nobody on her national program thought that she was going to get drafted, so there wasn't any worry. So all the sudden it's, ‘Oh, shoot, Erin's been drafted. Is she leaving us?' Then the phone starts ringing. That's my theory."

Phillips speaks: "I've still got to make up my mind whether to go but at this point I'm thinking I'll hold off for a year and try and cement a spot with the Opals."

Tully's move to Indiana left Seattle with only one Australian. Batkovic will bring the count back up to two, but long-awaited guard Bibby reinjured her back and may not show up this year at all.

K-State coach Patterson says Megan Mahoney is exactly like Kristin Haynie, and will recover just like Nykesha Sales. Like Mahoney, Kesha hurt her Achilles tendon in her senior year: Patterson calls Sales "the standard example of how you handle an injury as severe as that."

Storm Coach Donovan lauds Bat-girl, Australia's Olympic center. Drafted two years ago, she'll make her W debut this season, but won't join the team till June.

Pilight fights draft grade inflation.

And over at Full Court, a mysterious writer named Kevin Brown uses statistics to argue that "the WNBA's track record on the hiring and retention of black coaches is bordering on the unacceptable"; "Donna Orender and her staff should take a glance... before it becomes a real issue."

Is Full Court now making all its new content free? Good idea, if feasible. Free sites have more influence. UPDATE: Nope: you still have to be a subscriber to read the articles with orange bubbles next to their titles, and to post on the message boards. The race-and-coaching piece, however, is free.

Cut from last year's Lynx, onetime New Mexico Lobos star Jordan Adams battled a bevy of injuries in her overseas and NWBL career. Now she's working at Lobo Reunion Camp and seeking high school coaching jobs. "In college, it was easier and I was part of a team that wanted to be successful," she complains; in the pros, "everyone's just in it for themselves."

Plenty of players approximate Adams' career path-- dominance in a less-than-top-tier conference, one season coming off the bench in the W, a frustrating couple of years overseas, then attempts to move into coaching. Few, however, can count on the amazing Lobo fan base.

On Sunday GWU forward Montañana called herself "very disappointed" not to be drafted. (Neither was anyone else from the A-10, though many wire stories mixed up Ari and Loree Moore.)

Today Montañana reports to the Sun's training camp. If free agent Wendy Palmer departs, the Sun may want to add depth at forward, though Brooke Wycoff (injured all last year) ought to return.

Draft party report: Amber Jacobs likes Lynx fans, doesn't like back-to-back road games. Lynx fans like AJ. AJ likes coaching at Toledo, too: "Two dreams of mine have come true."

Atlantic Coast coaching carousel: Rice's Cristy McKinney heads for Clemson. "I want to win and I want to win big," she says; with "the facilities, the resources and the support I have here, I think we can do it."

McKinney once played for North Carolina State. "Growing up [around] ACC basketball, everybody here knows how big it is; they don't understand that in Texas," she adds. "I'm back home where everybody understands ACC basketball, and I'm really thrilled to be a part of it again." (If only everyone did know: this year's ACC-champion Tar Heels drew fewer than 2,500 fans per game-- still a big leap from just 516 at Rice.)

Miami has hired Charlotte's Katie Meier, the 2003 C-USA coach of the year, a onetime all-star (and an English major) at Duke.

Showing up on the WNBA transactions page but nowhere else just yet, Maria Conlon and Dena Williams have been signed by the Sun, the Liberty have re-signed Bethany Donaphin, and the Comets have resigned Tiffani Johnson and waived Anastasia Kostaki, who has a snazzy website. Also on the radar, but not confirmed on the transactions page yet, Buckeye Caity Matter is rumored to have signed with Charlotte (thanks to tipperbuckeye for the, er, tip).

After reading Nancy Lieberman's draft grades, I have to wonder if her refusal to engage in any real criticism (or give bad draft grades) has to do with her desire to return to coaching. If that is the case, it is really truncating any substantive analysis. It would also help if she realized the important free agent signings (e.g., Tari Phillips to Houston).

Draft grades: Voepel at least suggests that the Lib indeed blew it, agrees that K-Brax likely belongs in Detroit.

Lieberman gives almost all but New York good grades. Her take on Houston's draft (Dant can play point in the pros; center Lyttle will "fill in for" Swoopes) may surprise you: has she seen enough C-USA to know? (We sure haven't.)

Keegan approves of the Sun, the Merc and the Storm, with verdicts on 6 teams still to come.

New moms in the W (or in the draft) not named Braxton:

Le'Coe Willingham, a real inspiration (as is Joe Ciampi, her college coach).

In Charlotte, Jia Perkins. And Teana Miller. And Helen Darling (triplets).

SLT. (I have seen Ryann. She is, indeed, melt-your-heart cute.)

Taj, who "had a child at 17 and still finished college." Her second turned two this winter.

DC draft pick Erica Smith-Taylor, who went back to school, and back to NCAA play, soon after giving birth.

Still in college: Katie Robinette, who played for Nebraska, transferred to Iowa State, gave birth, then suited up as a Cyclone. (She's hoping for one more year of eligibility; her case remains on appeal.)

Pam Schmid's smart '04 story on pro moms focused on Swoopes, Darling, SLT and the always-articulate Taj, who suggested that the W could help out a bit more (by, for example, giving referrals for day care): "As the league grows and more women have kids, it's going to be a major issue."

After her failed tryout with last year's Sparks, Maria Conlon spent '04-05 as a grad assistant for Geno. This week she heads south a few miles to Sun training camp, where she'll compete with Derevjanik and Valek for the backup point-guard spots. Erika's faster, but Conlon still "has that great combination."

What's cool about the WNBA Draft? Certainly not WNBA.com's column, Five Cool Things About the Draft. Brad Friedman, targeting the young WNBA.com audience, fixes the 'cool' stamp on first round draft pick Kara Braxton and boyfriend Odell Thurman. They have a three-month old son. 'The big question WNBA teams had', Friedman writes, 'was whether or not she could shake off the rust of such a long layoff'.

We thought that the big question that WNBA teams had was whether or not Braxton will stick around this time. After all, she was suspended from Georgia basketball's program four times in two years. Braxton has previously wanted to rejoin her playing career and asked forgiveness. That being then and this being the pros, forgiveness need not be requisite when forgetfulness will suffice. Jaws dropped when, during the WNBA Draft telecast, Braxton was asked if mom status made her more mature than some of the other players.

'Braxton sat out her senior season in Athens while pregnant with her three-month old son', Friedman tells us, but the truth is that Braxton would have sat out the 2005 basketball season regardless. She sat out part of the 2002-03 season, 'on her way to an all-star season before missing the last eight games of the season due to suspension'. She sat out parts of the 2003-2004 season, too. Stacey Dales Schumann commented, 'Losing Kara Braxton, the best scorer on the team, to yet another suspension simply because she couldn't and wouldn't adhere to the rules, can ultimately be taxing to a team's psyche.'

Braxton would have sat out the 2005 with or without a baby. Her suspension was permanent. "By kicking her off the team," Ted wrote, "Landers has lost one of his best players and probably hurt his team's chances to go far in the tournament. But some things are more important than winning."

The WNBA.com article applies the 'cool' sticker to Odell Thurman, too. Thurman is Braxton's boyfriend, the Georgia linebacker who fathered the couple's child. According to the Friedman's article, Thurman expects to be a Day One pick in next week’s NFL Draft. Braxton is quoted as saying she's 'happy and excited' for NFL-destined Thurman, and Thurman is quoted as saying, 'We're still where we want to be today', in regard to their draft status.

The truth is that some NFL teams have downgraded Thurman just as some WNBA teams downgraded Braxton. His college record includes getting kicked off Georgia’s team as a freshman, a three-game suspension in 2004, and two alcohol-related incidents involving police. While on suspension, police were called to Thurman's university residence hall after a domestic dispute with Braxton. Three-month pregnant Braxton requested medical attention but when EMS arrived she refused EMS treatment. Thurman had a two-inch scratch on his neck. Police chief Jimmy Williamson said, "The young woman would have been arrested if they were cohabiting."

Which brings us to Mechelle Voepel. Hearing that Braxton had been asked during the draft telecast if being a mother made her more mature than other players, Voepel wrote 'You've got to be kidding. Look, let's be realistic. Having a child instead of playing your senior season is not a sign of 'maturity'. Braxton's tumultuous career at Georgia didn't suggest that trait, either. 'That said,' Voepel continued, 'let's hope for the best for this young woman. She's a mom now, and there are certainly top players in the WNBA who also are mothers and will tell you that did make a big difference in how they learned to accept responsibility.'

To Voepel, thumbs up for the common sense. To Kara Braxton and Odell Thurman, best of luck in your pro careers. To the WNBA, two thumbs down. One thumb down for sending the wrong message in its telecast in its leading question to Braxton. Another thumb down for the 'Five Cool Things.. ' article that capitalized on Braxton and Thurman, two gifted but troubled student athletes whose careers at the University of Georgia were anything but 'cool'.

Memo to Mystics: do not hire Brian Agler.

The East Valley Tribune does a nice job complementing the Arizona Republic providing local draft coverage for fans of the Phoenix Mercury. Following are some quotes from Matt Paulson's feature in today's edition.

"She’ll make us more athletic on the perimeter. She was under the radar playing at Illinois, but she’s one of the top two or three athletes in the draft."
--Phoenix general manager Seth Sulka on 2nd round pick Angelina Williams

"She is like a coach out there. I’m hoping she can teach me a lot of things and help me. I think we can be great combo, like Kobe and Shaq back in the day."
--Phoenix 1st round pick Sandora Irvin on Diana Taurasi

"She is an exceptional athlete, she’s versatile, she has great work ethic, and she comes from a pretty good gene pool. I think she has a tremendous upside. We are going to have to make some tough cuts at camp, the way our roster is now."
--Phoenix head coach Carrie Graf on Sandora Irvin

Coach Balcomb will almost certainly stay at Vandy, whose AD says he's "comfortable with Melanie being here for a long, long, long, long — four 'longs' — time."

It's been a week since Sharon Versyp resigned the head coaching job at Maine. Versyp left to take the head coaching job at 'basketball-crazed' Indiana, her native state. Has anyone bothered to call Maine native Cindy Blodgett about the coaching position vacated by Versyp at basketball-crazed Maine? Steve Solloway wants to know.

Shaq Attack: Though she’s ecstatic to be the top pick, Janel McCarville said, she’ll miss playing at Minnesota. “The last four years at Minnesota have been good to me,” McCarville said Friday. “It’s going to suck not playing here.”

But McCarville will be back. The Charlotte Sting play against the Minnesota Lynx at 7 p.m. June 4 at Target Center.

Speaking of McCarville, Sting head coach Trudi Lacey says, "She's a solid, strong, physical player. We needed the physicality that was something missing from our team last year. And she can score from inside and out."

Lacey described McCarville's personality as 'festive', but McCarville also has a self described 'fierceness' which she intends to bring to training camp.

The three-time All Big 10, two-time Kodak All-American, Wade and Wooden finalist nicknamed 'Shaq' says, "I'm just going to go out and play how I play and do what I do," she said, "and if I'm not starting, oh well, I'm still going to have an impact on the team."

Mystery solved: Strom reinjured her ankle at draft camp, which may explain why no one drafted her. Big Ten fans hope someone besides the Sun still seeks backup PGs; some ask how good Strom would look if her team had posts.

19-year-old Australian PG Erin Phillips, Connecticut's second-round pick, "doesn't feel she is ready" to play over here, and may not make the move till '06. Injured third-rounder Megan Mahoney can't play this year either.

Erika Valek's chances to make the roster have just gone way up. At Purdue, Valek became a wonderful floor leader who closed her college career with a painful moment. Drafted and traded last year, then cut from the guard-heavy Mercury, Valek never played in a WNBA game.

"I always have had three point guards," T-Bone explains; "I think Lindsay's safe, but Jen [Derevjanik], Erika, and whoever else is signed is going to have to work hard to win a job."

(Partly via Keegan.)

More on recruiting: Babcock McGraw's new column suggests that all-hours text-messaging hasn't become the same sort of problem on the men's side because high school boys don't crave verbal reassurance (or, at least, high school girls crave it more).

The WBCA's Shannon Reynolds: “From what we’ve been able to gather, it seems that relationship-building is much more important on the women’s side... Kids will text message [coaches] at 2 a.m. and they feel that if they don’t respond, they’ll move on to the next coach who will."

Reynolds says the committee voted not to ban text messaging (and other instant e-communication) because smaller schools wanted to keep it: “Some of those coaches felt like that was their only way of being able to outwork other coaches for a recruit."

VT coach Beth Dunkenberger and others defend (at least some) nonschool tourneys and AAU. Recruiting-news maven Joe Smith: "Most high school coaches may have only one or two Division I prospects in a career... But a lot of AAU and travel teams have several prospects every year. The coaches are connected and they understand how to promote their players better than the typical high school coach."

More draft ink. The New London Day's DiMauro: "Someone should buy Washington officials a train ticket to Connecticut to see how sports franchises should operate." (DiMauro says Adams left because Washington refused to renegotiate his contract; given a raise, supposedly, Adams would have stayed.)

Sun fans should get used to bad puns about Dydek's height. Debbie Black says Dydek never liked playing for Utah/San Antonio; T-Bone says "Feenstra would have contributed, but Margo changes the game." SASS coach Hughes likes the trade: "We want people who want to be here."

Tennessee, UConn, Texas and Rutgers sent two players each into the draft. UConn's J-Mo says one of her "life [goals] is checked right off." (Shouldn't she wait till she actually makes a roster?)

Kara Braxton expects to see "family and friends" in Michigan, where she lived for a year during high school. Laimbeer says he "tried to trade up to get" Braxton, but adds "We're real disappointed we didn't get Kristin Haynie today... We're going to talk with [Sacramento] to see if we can work out some kind of deal where maybe we can bring Kristin home."

In L.A., new coach Bibby all but says "Draft? What draft? We have the Claw, and you don't."

Mel Greenberg, one of the all-time greats in reporting on our sport, now has his own blog. Cool beans.

Pacific coast coaching carousel: Richmond's Joanne Boyle to Cal-Berkeley, Duke assistant LaVonda Wagner to Oregon State.

Last week San Diego State, one of last year's worst teams, tapped Beth Burns. SDSU sought "somebody that really wanted to be at San Diego State," and she seems to fit that description. Burns coached the Aztecs from 1989-97, then left for Ohio State; she spent last year as an assistant at Stanford.

Queenie presents the all-time draft spreadsheet.

Reporters offer the fruits of press conferences. McCarville on becoming Charlotte's #1: "It was ridiculous how good I felt."

Tan White, #2: Indiana is "something I was hoping for."

Merc pick Irvin scores, blocks shots and has a famous uncle. If you've missed it so far, do read this March story about her hard life.

SASS pick Wecker expects to adjust to the small forward spot.

Mann: "Katie Smith... is going to take care of me" in Minnesota.

Washington's Hargrove calls Temeka Johnson "the consummate point guard," even though she's really short and won't often shoot threes. Johnson: "The size of my heart adds a couple of inches." She'll rejoin LSU teammate Aisha Smith.

Haynie says she can bring Sacramento a running game. Laimbeer:"We're a little disappointed we didn't get Haynie.... We'll have more talks to see if we can bring her back home ... but it's more difficult to get things done after the draft." Lynx fans: "Sure is."

Blaze says Moore "is the backup point guard to Becky Hammon." Lib fans say "Aaargh."

Voepel files her long and careful take on this year's top eight.

Who did well in yesterday's draft? One team that did a good job balancing pro potential and team need was the Seattle Storm. The returning champs selected players with the 12, 25, and 38 picks- Penn State's Tanisha Wright, Connecticuts' Ashley Battle, and Baylor's Steffanie Blackmon- who made most analysts' Top 25.

Wright dropped further than expected. Perhaps it was because Wright came up short in the tale of the tape. Wright was listed at 5-foot-11 but is actually 5-8. "We've watched Tanisha all year", Donovan said. We didn't talk about her a lot because we didn't think she'd be available. She's a great team player."

At the newly redesigned, newly bright-blue Full Court, Clay Kallam says the Lib blew it, the Sun took the SASS to the cleaners, McCarville is "a solid pick that could turn out to be exceptional," and the rest of the draft "will have almost no impact on the standings this year."

Lieberman complains that McCarville in Charlotte "will really struggle to guard the big, legitimate 5s." No, she won't.

ESPN also thinks McCarville is 6'4". Nope. I thought it was a typo until I heard the 6'4" repeated on SportsCenter. Has McCarville gained 2" recently? Nope.

We got to watch the draft from the (calm, all-business) Lynx pressroom.

Mann "had a slight idea I was going to end up" in Minnesota. She'll rejoin UCSB teammate McDivitt, at least in training camp and for preseason games. Mann says she's "totally stoked" to play with McDivitt, who "is going nuts" herself. There's no guarantee McDivitt will make the Lynx roster: they need her in camp, though, since both starting PG Harrower and mystery backup guard Nuria Martinez are still playing overseas. Martinez has played exactly as many minutes in the WNBA as McDivitt and Mann have.

Batteast skipped draft camp in part because she wanted to graduate from Notre Dame this year: she will. Coach McConnell Serio: "it will be a battle in training camp."

More thoughts on the other teams' picks:

Given Detroit's returning frontline, BL can afford to roll the dice on Braxton. The Shock need a three-ball shooter: can Lingor do it? She (and her teammates) sure did in the WNIT.

Anne Donovan picked for defense.

The Lib needed a point guard, because Becky Hammon isn't one. But by drafting a post and a center second and third, they've pretty much put all their eggs in Loree Moore's basket. Pelton says there are still questions about her knee; as for assists and turnovers, she's no Erin Grant. (Also, it's Rebecca Richman, not Richmond, no matter what it says on ESPN.)

Whoever invited Blackmon to Secaucus ought to apologize, to her and maybe to Kim. Last year's Mazzante invite made sense-- lots of folks had her first-round. Almost no amateur predictions had Blackmon anywhere near the top 13. It hurt to watch her step up to the lectern at #38, though she handled it fine.

Sac needed a true point guard as short-term backup and long-term replacement for Ticha, and a consistent outside shooter not named Lawson. Haynie fills the first bill: will O'Neill fill the second?

Sun fans ask "Who's Erin Phillips?" An Opals fan answers. Connecticut didn't need anything except height and another backup for Whalen; Phillips has to serve as the latter, since Mahoney won't be ready to play. (UPDATE: oops-- I forgot about Valek, who will compete with Phillips and Derevjanik for the backup point spots.) Phillips and Sun signee Laura Summerton play together in Australia. With the trade for Large Marge done, Thibault thinks this is their year: it had better be, given the '06 draft pick they gave up.

Surprisingly undrafted: Strom; Matter; Koehn; Roehrig, though that may not surprise you after the tournament; Illinois' Guthrie; GWU's Montañana; Iowa's Cavey, who fell off everyone's radar this year; Temple's Moore; Stanford's Suminski, and maybe King Borchardt as well.

So shocked was the audience when the new WNBA commissioner announced UT guard Loree Moore as the NY Liberty's first round pick that a hush fell over the room. A seemingly off-balance Donna Orender quipped, 'You can clap now.'

The biggest laugh of the first round came after Houston center Sancho Lyttle was selected by the Houston Comets. The Comets need just about everything but a center. So, Van Chancellor was asked if a player's local ties make a difference. His response, 'Oh, never', was greeted with giggles which the off-camera team of Pam Ward, Rebecca Lobo, and Annie Meyers suppressed just in time to hear VC continue, 'We're like Jimmie Johnson.'

Tackiest question of the first round was one posed by the usually smooth Kara Lawson to 1st round pick Janel McCarville. 'Are you going to pay someone to cut your hair now?' Here's hoping that Lawson doesn't write her own material.

Most excited family member of the first round was Sandora Irvin's uncle. Former NFL All Star and future Hall of Famer Michael Irvin, who is a huge Diana Taurasi fan, joined the telecast via live telecam from Phoenix.

The WNBA First Round is in the records. If you are scoring-

1. Charlotte, Janel McCarville, F.
2. Indiana, Tan White, G.
3. Phoenix, Sandora Irvin, F-C.
4. San Antonio, Kendra Wecker, F.
5. Houston, Sancho Lyttle, C.
6. Washington, Temeka Johnson, PG.
7. Detroit Shock, Kara Braxton, C.
8. Connecticut, Katie Feenstra, C.
9. Sacramento, Kristen Haynie, PG.
10. New Yorkm Loree Moore, G.
11. Minnesota, Kristen Mann, F.
12. Seattle, Tanisha Wright, G.
13. Detroit, Dionnah Jackson, G.

Two big surprises. First, Van Chancellor (VC) took center Sancho Lyttle from the University of Houston, rather than shore up the Comet's depleted rank at guard. Even though VC had scouted Lyttle early on, it was a surprise because the Comets return Michelle Snow and signed New York free agent Tari Phillips.

Trades cannot be announced until after the draft's three rounds have been completed. Did Van Chancellor draft Sancho Lyttle with the intent of trading her, perhaps to the Detroit Shock who picked two spots later? Detroit's coach Bill Laimbeer was said to be so keen on Lyttle that he considered moving up to be sure he got her.

When it came the Shock's turn to pick and Lyttle had been chosen, Laimbeer moved on to the next best center prospect on the board, Kara Braxton. Which brings us to surprise no. 2. If VC was looking to trade Lyttle and a proposed deal to Detroit fell through, did he then entertain trade offers from the New York Liberty? It might fit the scenario if he did, because at no.10 when NY had Dionnah Jackson, Roneeka Hodges and Tanisha Wright on the board, it inexplicably selected UT guard Loree Moore. Moore, projected by many as a second round pick, is a player that VC is said to have been high on since last year.

The head coach and director of player personnel of the WNBA World Champion Seattle Storm, Anne Donovan, talks about rebuilding. Donovan also talks about Kristen Haynie, the MSU point guard whose stock rose with her team's then fell in pre-draft camp last weekend.

"Every game she raised her stock to me. She's such a great floor leader and system player. But that's the kind of kid that gets to .. camp and doesn't really show well because it's an All-Star-type of situation and she's a system player. But coaches gotta do their homework. If you're relying just on the predraft camp, then Haynie is not even on the radar screen."

The hoopla and pizzazz are gone, writes Jim Gintonio for the Arizona Republic, but teams have a good chance of getting at least one player who can make an impact. One such player is 6'6 center Kara Braxton, the hit of pre-draft camp. Indications are that Braxton will be available when the Mercury look to pick. She would join newly acquired Kamila Vodichkova, giving the team size upfront.

Lieberman sees Braxton as a good choice. "Braxton was the talk of the combine. If it holds true to form, she can be an all-star in a couple of years."

From DTS, a handy mock-draft spreadsheet.

The Orange County Register reports that there is no consensus on the no.1 pick. It asked analyst Ann Meyers Drysdale and she said, "I don't think having the No.1 pick is as important as it was last year, because there's no clear-cut No.1 pick. You can talk to one coach and they'll say 'We love McCarville' and another has her at seven."

In Minnesota, the Strib's Pam Schmid, who sat out the college hoops season, will return to cover the WNBA. This morning, she says Lynx fans are reasonable people, especially compared to last year. The Lynx don't necessarily need a starter, "have more than a dozen different scenarios" for their 11th and 17th picks, "and even then could still wind up surprised." Schmid's mock draft (apparently a print-edition exclusive) sends the Fantastic Four to the usual places, Haynie to Minnesota, and Braxton to Connnecticut.

In Kansas, Wecker says "everybody in the league" would want to play in Phoenix with DT.

Analyst Debbie Antonelli tells the Indy Star, "I think Indiana would love to strengthen its backcourt. Tan White plays both ends of the floor. She's a defender and a scorer. And you have to be able to create your own shot in the WNBA, and she can. I can see Tan White and Tamika Catchings running together on the wings."

San Antonio coach Dan Hughes is not dismissing speculation that today's draft will see the Stars make a trade, perhaps one involving Connecticut and the Star's Margo Dydek. And according to the Express-News' Jennifer Bellis, the Stars are not alone. The Houston Comets are reportedly shopping around two-time league MVP Sheryl Swoopes.

Fueled by the opportunity to move his struggling team forward using today's draft, Hughes has adopted a 'shop till you drop' approach. "I work until I can't stay awake anymore."

Countdown: Its here! Commissioner Donna Orender will kick off festivities at 12:00 Eastern Time on ESPN. Grab a glass of your favorite beverage and your keyboard. Let the real drafting begin!

All-American Temeka Johnson has no idea where she will be selected but is expected to be a high pick. The LSU point guard will be joined in draft studios by her coach Pokey Chatman, her parents, and her grandmother. Teams that have expressed interest include San Antonio, Houston, Washington, Detroit, and Sacramento.

On the issue of size, Coach Chatman weighs in. "It may be a big girl's league in terms of who gets the publicity, but I think the point guard play has to fuel the engine.. It's funny because people say she's small. Dawn Staley's 5-4 and Becky Hammon's 5-6. I don't even entertain that and a lot of people don't go that route with me. I'm sick of the size card."

Just in time, Pelton on centers and power forwards. Feenstra "apparently impressed" folks at Draft Camp; Janel (at 6'2") counts here as a power forward.

Mystics Mayhem indeed: 'Stics lose coach Adams, pick up Iciss Tillis from Detroit.

Adams becomes a men's hoops assistant at Maryland. Mystics fans become fed up, ask GM Hargrove: "Besides Alana, where will we look for scoring?"

Hargrove, who used to coach the Portland Fire, could appoint herself to the Mystics vacancy, or hire someone else fast. Whoever she picks will become the franchise's eighth head coach in eight years.

Borseth stays put, apparently for family reasons: he says he expects to spend "the rest of my career" with the 'Nix. Results: confusion in Colorado; delight in Green Bay. CU's brand-new AD can now participate in the search.

“Honestly, I’ve told my roommates this whole week that deep in my heart I don’t believe that he can go and leave us,” UWGB junior Marty Dixon says. Sophomore Amanda Popp: "I guess he likes it here."

Countdown: The 2005 WNBA Draft is tomorrow!


Women's Hoops Blog Mock Draft
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Charlotte Sting. Janel McCarville, center, Minnesota.

'You can’t have enough players who can score in the paint. Offensive output is always a concern for us, and I like players with a variety of offensive skills. I’d hone in on that." -Sting head coach Trudi Lacey


2. Indiana Fever. Mississipi State guard Tan White.

The Fever go for the best overall athlete on the board, adding another versatile scorer to complement superstar Tamika Catchings.


3. Phoenix Mercury. Sandora Irvin, forward, Texas Christian.

"You know who I really like? Sandora Irvin down at TCU. She is a very good post player." - Diana Taurasi


4. San Antonio Stars. Kansas State forward Kendra Wecker.

Coach Dan Hughes says, “I think we need perimeter shooting and depth in the post. But I think if you look on the board and there's a player you like that for some reason slipped by the first three, you take her. We don't have the depth. We better take the best player we can get.”


5. Houston Comets. LSU guard Temeka Johnson.

"If they drafted a point guard, that would be a great, great way to start rebuilding and I think she'd fit perfectly." -Nancy Lieberman


6. Washington Mystics. Dionnah Jackson, guard, Oklahoma.

'With good size for a point guard at 5-9, Jackson isn't afraid to play in the paint, averaging 8.5 rebounds per game as a senior. That ranked her seventh in the Big 12 and would be a fine total for a forward, let alone a point guard. Jackson averaged at least five assists per game all three seasons as a starter and has more than enough playmaking ability to play the point, while she's a highly-regarded defender who averaged more than two steals per game.'


7. Detroit Shock. Sancho Lyttle, center, Houston.

'Just four years ago, Sancho Lyttle had never played a game of organized basketball. Growing up in St. Vincent, British West Indies, she just was not into the game. "One of my coaches at home tried to open a women's tournament. He had a friend up here and needed some tall players, so I came. I had no skills then," she said. Four years later, she led the country in rebounding.' Sancho's new tutor will be Detroit's newly hired assistant coach, Rick Mahorn.


8. Connecticut Sun. Kara Braxton, center, Georgia.

'You can't ignore a 6-6 post with good hands and agility who put up 16 points and seven boards in her first taste of SEC competition. Would be a perfect fit in Connecticut's up-tempo attack'. Its been reported that Connecticut might be drafting from this slot for San Antonio. If so, look for SA coach Dan Hughes to be smiling all next week after bagging the rights to both Wecker and Braxton.


9. Sacramento Monarchs. Katie Feenstra, center, Liberty.

With the strength of this draft's 1st round in its post players and with every day a different trade rumor involving Monarch's center Yolanda Griffith, the Ms will be tempted to go big. Feenstra reportedly showed well at the WNBA's pre-draft camp last weekend.


10. New York Liberty. Tanisha Wright, guard, Penn State.

'Probably the least talked about lock for the first round, just as she was the least talked about star in the Big Ten. Wright earned first-team all-conference honors by doing the little things in Kelly Mazzante's shadow as a junior and then repeated that honor as Penn State's focal point as a senior.'


11. Minnesota Lynx. Kristen Haynie, guard, Michigan State.

'Haynie might have solidified a place in the first round with her play in leading Michigan State to a second-place finish in the NCAA Tournament. She was just the fourth leading scorer on the Spartans this season but showed an ability to get to the basket and finish, as well as hit from outside, in the crucible of tourney play. All of which suggests she's the ultimate point guard, in the mold of Jason Kidd, willing to defer to teammates unless absolutely necessary.'


12. Seattle Storm. Shyra Ely, forward, Tennessee.

'At 6-2, Ely will have to play on the perimeter in the WNBA, though she will have the opportunity to use her post skills against some smaller opponents. Given time, Ely should be able to adapt and thrive as a professional.' -Kevin Pelton.


13. Washington Mystics. Jacqueline Batteast, forward, Notre Dame.

'The totality of her résumé, not to mention her ideal size and quickness, are imposing. Batteast simply looks like a basketball player, with her deceptively long reach fueling both steals and blocks in a defensive game that could blossom under the right coach.'

Voepel explains what the NCAA's management council has voted to do.

Coach evaluations at nonschool events during the school year: not banned, but restricted to two events per year. Smaller conferences complained that an absolute ban would make it harder for them (with their smaller travel budgets) to view the players they want.

Text messaging: not banned.

The Geno & Pat rule "did pass — but by such a narrow margin that it may not be approved by the board of directors," which meets next week.

Voepel, Hays and ESPN coordinator Melanie Jackson mock the draft. Voepel breaks up the Fantastic Four by sending the 6'6" Kara Braxton to Phoenix; Jackson sends Batteast to the Silver Stars. Two out of three agree on ten of thirteen picks; all three send Janel to Charlotte, a center to Connecticut, and a point guard to the Lynx. Meanwhile, Pelton rates the 3s.

The Times picks up the Merry Stephens story. Stephens is the Texas high school coach who seems to have been fired for being gay. This time, someone was there on defense.

"They'd test me to try to figure out if I was a lesbian or not," she says. "They'd ask if I had a boyfriend or if I wanted one. I lied because I knew it would be career suicide to admit anything."

"It was bogus and very obvious that the board had a specific plan to get rid of her because she was a lesbian," a colleague adds.

Attorney Lena Ayoub: "The Bloomburg school board thought they could get away with destroying her career without anyone knowing what they had done. They were wrong."

Stephens has reached a settlement with the school district, but will not return as the Lady Wildcats' coach.

Shaq chat. On the tan DT wants Janel to get in Phoenix: "I look good with the skin color I have."

On becoming an undersized post in the W: "I will do my best." (Why not "I can also play the 4"?)

On music: "A lot of rap... But for games, it's anything fast with a good beat."

On The Pick: "It's not meant to be a dirty play, at all. It's basically an opportunity to free up our point guards.... I had the chance to let her know that someone was there on defense and she can't be up in our point guard's shorts."

On her secret other nickname: "Juan."

More Shaq talk in Friday's Strib.

This K-State student columnist probably isn't a regular male practice player.

Countdown, continued:

Kristi talks to Australians about her return to the Lynx. "They have said they would like me to start at the point," she says, "but it's up to me to keep that position."

Loree Moore tells the dot-com that she enjoys "physical play," "though I could not get away with it too much in college."

The dot-com also offers a deluge of praise for the consensus Fantastic Four.

The Lynx tell fans they're not going to get McCarville; Ohlde says she would hope that the Lynx could get Wecker "if we didn't have the stinking 11th pick. But I guess that goes with making the playoffs last year."

Koehn just wants to play. (So does Haynie, who will certainly get the chance.)

Coaching carousel:

Surprising everyone, CU will not hire Kevin Borseth, who has decided to stay at Green Bay.

Clemson will not hire Carey Green, who will stay at Liberty instead. Lady Vols assistant Holly Warlick says she doesn't want the Clemson job either.

Stephany Smith says she'll love it at Alabama. The former MTSU coach, who also loves the triangle offense, promises Tide fans, ""You will get every piece of Stephany Smith that I have to give."

Over in the A-10, no news about Boyle or Staley, whose much-lauded community work gives her reasons to stay in Philly.

Countdown: Two more days until commissioner Donna Orender starts the timer on the Charlotte Sting's no.1 overall selection, and Matt Wurst writes Ten Things You May Not Know About the WNBA Draft.

In today's draft-related article from the Detroit News, writer David Goricki says that one of the players the Shock are considering is Michigan State's Kristen Haynie. Some consider Haynie to be the second-best point guard in the draft, behind Temeka Johnson of Louisiana State. But Houston Comets personnel man Tom Cross says that there are 4 point guards who are first round candidates and their selection order could flip flop depending on who is doing the picking.

"We have [Haynie] going anywhere from No. 10 to No. 20, but probably closer to No. 10. She's one of four point guards who can go No. 1 or No. 4 depending on the team. Johnson's very quick, but she's only 5-foot-2. Dionnah Jackson's a combo guard who has a long wingspan. Jamie Carey of Texas is also in that mix with Haynie."

Detroit is said to be looking at both Johnson and Haynie to bolster its guard rotation. It is also said to be considering Sancho Lyttle, Kara Braxton, and Jackie Batteast. Nancy Lieberman weighs in. "My thought is it would be a boon for Haynie to go to Detroit, to be quite honest. But I think Bill Laimbeer is interested in Sancho Lyttle, who can play a variety of positions. He could even trade up for her. As for Haynie, I think she's played amazingly well and I think she would help any team."

The Washington Mystics have signed free agent forward Charlotte Smith-Taylor, who played the last six seasons with the Charlotte Sting. Contract terms were not disclosed. Last season, Smith-Taylor started every game for the Sting, recorded career highs in several statistical categories, and led the league in 3-point shooting %. The Mystics also signed Cathy Joens to a training camp contract. Joens was a 2004 draft 3rd-round pick of the New York Liberty.

Looks like the WBCA's proposed changes to recruiting rules will happen.

The Management Council approved "most" WBCA proposals, among them a controversial rule that bars college recruiters from nonschool events, such as AAU tournaments, during most (not all) of the school year. No word yet on the fate of the proposal to kick Geno off TV.

Nothing's final till the NCAA Board of Directors votes next week.

More on Debbie Black...

I interviewed Black for Full Court Press back in January 2003. She is just as energetic off the court as on it.

People overuse the phrase, but she was one of a kind. At 5-3, she is the only woman in the history of professional basketball to have a quadruple double in a game. She was in peak physical condition and was one of the most tenacious defenders. Even at 38 years old, she was never a defensive liability on the court, because of her on-court savvy. Black forced more jump balls, getting more possessions for her team than anyone in the league this side of Kayte Christensen.

In 2002, at 36 years old, she lead the WNBA in assist-to-turnover ratio, putting up 4.3 assists per game to only one turnover. That same year, she also averaged 4 rebounds per game...again, at 5-3!

Last year, she mentored Lindsey Whalen on and off the court, and was an integral part in her development throughout the season. It is shocking she is not on the Connecticut Sun staff...of course, the Ohio State job pays quite a bit more.

Black was also a player opposing teams loved to hate. She was an ABL original and commented the ABL was really developed for women's players, not on the coattails of men. She was one of the few American players to play in the WNBL, and she maintain dual citizenship with Australia.

Debbie Black is a true legend.

Detroit coach Bill Laimbeer announced today that the Shock have acquired the rights to the Indiana Fever's Niele Ivey. Ivey holds career averages of 3.5 points, 1.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 18.8 minutes in 105 games, 71 as a starter. The Shock signed the restricted free agent to an offer sheet that her former team chose not to match. Coach Laimbeer signed Ivey to bolster his guard rotation by adding experience, steadiness, and 3-point shooting.

Debbie Black announced today that she will retire from playing in the WNBA, reports SportsPageMagazine. “It’s been an unbelievable ride, and I couldn’t ask for anything more than to do something I love for 17 years,” Black said. “But a great opportunity has come my way, and I can’t pass it up."

Black will join her former college coach, Jim Foster, on the staff of the Ohio State women’s basketball team.

In three (so far) linked articles, UCLA's student paper investigates homophobia in college sports.

For women athletes, UCLA sounds, if not perfect on such matters, then pretty good: "Every girl I know that's a lesbian out on a team has had no issues," one straight Bruin player says. Coach Olivier says she'll address sexuality only if players come to her with a problem, which has happened exactly once.

Do some coaches spread malicious gossip about their competitors' sexual orientations in order to gain an edge with potential recruits, or with those recruits' phobic parents? Coach Olivier says they do: "I've heard that it has happened... If some coaches think that's going to make them look better in a recruit's eyes, I think they'll do anything they can, and I don't think that's a good place to be."

Coaching carousel:

Will Joanne Boyle leave Richmond for Cal?

With Feenstra gone, will coach Green abandon the Falwell Flames for Clemson?

Will Staley, or Vandy's Balcomb, move to Miami?

Big East subbasement tenant Providence College has tapped PC men's hoops assistant Phil Seymore, who has never coached women before. "We've been down so long we have to create some energy," AD Bob Driscoll says.

Former Hoosier assistant Paul Nixon will try to create more energy at Columbia: he'll be the fourth head coach there in under a year. The Lions concluded an up-and-down season after the abrupt exit of troubled coach Traci Waites.

The WBCA keeps track of it all.

T-Bone says he'd like to trade the Sun's first-round pick for a veteran center such as TSB, Yo or Dydek. Such a move would let Taj, at 6'2", shift to forward, the position she strongly prefers.

Talks with Sac broke down when the Monarchs demanded Katie Douglas. And could Large Marge keep up with the Sun's speed-oriented offense?

A TSB deal seems plausible, if the Sun want one: Charlotte could then take a center with their #1, an offensive creator with #8-- or vice versa, if they are that high on White.

Surprising nobody, Lynx CEO Roger Griffith said yesterday that Teresa Edwards probably won't be back. The five-time Olympian and onetime Georgia star will turn 41 this summer.

Edwards has been called the best guard in the history of the game. In addition to starting at point and then shooting guard, she served the young Lynx as a de facto assistant coach. Her final regular-season home game last year, a surprise victory over Seattle, was likely the best in her two-year WNBA career.

Also surprising nobody, the Lynx made official point guard Kristi Harrower's return. Harrower took the 2004 season off to train and play with Australia's Olympic Opals.

Former WNBA Draft no.2 overall pick Swin Cash got an assist yesterday from her Shock teammates and head coach Bill Laimbeer, writes Rochelle Riley of the Detroit Free Press. They helped distribute 36 tons of food to 800 families. "My mom always says don't let basketball use me, use basketball. I may have 10 more years, I may have two. But creating opportunities for others is the only way to succeed in life."

The HOPE event kicked off the announcement of Cash for Kids,. a new foundation that will provide grants to youth programs in the arts, theater, dance, leadership and athletics.

"Some of these athletes have foundations and aren't involved in the community. That's not me," Cash said. "We were on welfare. We were getting government checks. You have to understand the struggle. Your only way is to give back and if you don't, something got mixed up in your priorities along the way." For more information on Cash for Kids. call Monique Thompson at 202-789-4670 or visit Swin Cash's website..

Countdown: 3 days until the 2005 WNBA Draft and the womens' basketball community wants to know, 'Who is going to be the first pick?'

Unlike last year's draft, this one is hard to predict. The Kansas City Star's Mechelle Voepel writes, 'The general consensus seems to be that the top four players available — in no particular order — are Sandora Irvin (TCU), Janel McCarville (Minnesota), Wecker and Tan White (Mississippi State).

The Charlotte Sting hold the first pick and Coach Trudi Lacey is not looking to tip her teams' hand. “We are somewhat deficient in the area of scoring,” she said. “And we're looking on improving on rebounding as well. I like players with a multiple-skill set.”

Tom Maher will coach the Chinese national team, up to and through the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Maher calls it "the most sought-after position in world basketball."

Maher coached the Tall Ferns (NZ's national team) in the Athens Olympics, the silver-medal Opals (Australia) five years ago in Sydney, and the unfortunate Washington Mystics in 2001. This week he said goodbye to the Canberra Capitals, of Australia's WNBL, whose fans have voted him "top coach of all time."

The (usually subscription-only) Houston Roundball Review coughs up a complete (and free) attendance sheet for Draft Camp. (If you don't see it right away, scroll down.) Also from the HRR, an attack on the U of Houston's athletic department for not being more like Baylor's.

Keegan rebuts Nancy Lieberman, tells Sting fans not to get their hopes up.

Countdown: 4 days until league commissioner Donna Orender announces the first pick in the 2005 WNBA Draft. Televised coverage commences noon ET Saturday on ESPN and concludes on NBA TV. Exclusive online coverage will be provided by the league's official website, WNBA.com, and features two-time Olympian Katie Smith of the Minnesota Lynx. Katie will be hosting a live draft day chat with fans and will joined by some of the top picks within moments of their names being announced.

Nancy Lieberman takes a team-by-team look at the first round in this WNBA Draft Special for ESPN. According to Nancy, no player is hotter at the moment than Tan White of MSU, the Kodak All-American who led the nation in scoring.

The paper of record denounces a "surrepetitious new attack on Title IX."

Temple's student newspaper made some good points against the new rule last week.

If you haven't been following this developing story, you can get up to speed with long (and carefully "balanced") reportage here, or else here, where UCSD's student paper quotes the NCAA's Brand and the National Women's Law Center (who blast the new rule), a Bush official and a wrestling guy (who like it). You might also check out the Women's Sports Foundation's take.

Coaching carousel: Alabama will hire Stephany Smith. Smith took Middle Tennessee State to the NCAA's second round this year and last-- her Blue Raiders made waves by upsetting North Carolina in 2004, NC State this year. Smith will replace Rick Moody, who is retiring after a crazy final game.

Yale has hired Chris Gobrecht, whose long resume includes good years at Cal State-Fullerton, stellar ones at UW-Seattle, one year at Florida State, and a not-so-stellar stint at USC, which replaced her with the so-far-impressive Mark Trakh last year.

"I think my career has been leading up to this," Gobrecht said. "She did a great job with the Huskies, and now she's a Bulldog," Yale's athletic director explained.

Gobrecht recently revisited her Husky days: "Washington was my Camelot," she told the Seattle Times.

I get my Voepel fix; Voepel gets her K-State fix. K-State's grads walloped K-State's recruits in a circus-like contest which featured an Ohlde dunk. Koehn scored 33: "It was a relaxed game," she said. Wecker couldn't show up: she got stuck in a Colorado snowstorm on her way back from the Wooden Awards.

Elsewhere in Colorado, the Buffs have a coach: it's Kevin Borseth. They're going to miss him in Green Bay.

Countdown: 5 days to the WNBA Draft on April 16, but the media spotlight in Denver will be on the NWBL Champion Colorado Chill. CBS4's award winning 'Colorado Sportswomen' kicks off at 6:30 pm Saturday when say-it-loud sportscaster Marcia Neville features the state's professional womens' basketball team, the Colorado Chill.

The Denver Post's Dick Kreck reports that Neville will be focusing on Teresa James Hinz, "a firefighter and mother of two who still has time to play basketball." There will also be segments on former Colorado State star Becky Hammon and recently retired CU coach Ceal Barry.

Reports start to come in from Draft Camp.

Vandy's Ashley Early: "the players that are relaxed are the ones that play well here."

Coach Laimbeer, diplomatic as always: "I don't see a lot of starters... This year's draft is average."

J-Mo says she wants to play for T-Bone. AB says she's "willing to do a lot of things on a basketball court that some people aren't willing to do."

Roger Griffith of the Lynx sees "an almost endless list of possibilities"; he says that with Harrower back, his team won't need to draft a point guard.

Camp will be especially useful for prospects from mid-majors, like GW's Anna Montañana, and players whose teams didn't make the Big Dance, such as WVU's Yolanda Paige.

Introducing this week's top non-draft story, Voepel examines whether and how to "change the culture of recruiting."

Do coaches spend too much time on recruiting? Do we need new rules about high-tech contact between coaches and high school players-- in particular, all-hours text messaging?

Do AAU, other non-school teams, and non-school tournaments have too much power? Should the NCAA ban coaches from summer tournaments, or otherwise regulate the AAU season? (Does the Rick Lopez disaster have policy implications for the NCAA?)

Joanne McCallie and Ceal Barry think modern recruiting has gone way too far. Jim Foster says it doesn't matter: "no matter what the rules are or the legislation is, in my opinion, the same kids end up going to the same schools... Ohio State is going to be mostly kids from Ohio and a couple from somewhere else." Candace Parker agrees: "Honestly, the changes that they want to make I don't think are going to affect things."

The WBCA's Beth Bass says high school coaches deserve more power. Duke recruiter Gale Valley: "You didn’t used to see all this pressure in the women’s game. But now there is much more media attention... With the WNBA growing, players now ask how we can get them to the next level.”

The WBCA's "recruiting and access package" considers twenty-one separate proposals. Voepel explains what most of them mean. (The WBCA itself offers a bunch of PDFs. Perhaps they should rethink their website.)

On the men's side, similar ideas have also come up.

The NCAA's DI Management Council will vote on proposed changes this week: any changes they green-light then go to the Board of Directors.

It's Mock Draft Week and Keegan's blogging up a Storm. Today he sounds off on Seattle's roster, then links to more mock drafts. You can find even more here, and here.

Pilight likes Anne O'Neill and Yolanda Paige. Charlotte, SASS and the Lynx now have their own draft HQ pages, though only the Storm have Pelton.

Countdown: 6 more days until new WNBA President Donna Orender steps to the podium and calls for Charlotte's ballot for the Number One Pick of the 2005 WNBA Draft. Meanwhile, the top prospects are working out for coaches and scouts at the Madison Square Garden Training Center in Tarrytown, NY.

Four of the top prospects have decided to forego the pre-draft camp.

Danielle Green played on the Notre Dame team that won it all in 2001. After college she served in the Army, as an MP.

Last year she lost her arm in Iraq. A long New York Times piece follows her struggles and those of West Point grad Dawn Halfaker, who also played hoops, served in Iraq, and lost an arm.

"Both were aware of being in this transparent world, their very personal fight being watched closely because they were women, amputees and athletes," says occupational therapist Capt. Katie Yancosek.

Green has talked about her recovery elsewhere, and about her new athletic ambitions. Disabled Sports USA took Green and Halfaker skiing. Green now hopes to compete in javelin at the Paralympics: “When I was able-bodied, I was scared to do this,” she says. “But now, it’s just like I’m ready to take on any challenge that comes my way."

In Israel, a remarkable league final with starring roles for Christon and C-Rob. Last month the Lib duo described their life overseas.

Who will replace Ceal Barry at Colorado? Names floated and bruited: UWGB's Kevin Borseth, Richmond's Joanne Boyle, Dawn Staley, and (to my surprise) BC's Cathy Inglese; also TCU's Jeff Mittie, Santa Clara's Michelle Bento-Jackson, and ex-OSU head coach (ex-CU assistant) Beth Burns. SMS' Abrahamson-Henderson denies she's a candidate. Big XII fans discuss the choices and rumors.

CU is hiring a coach and an athletic director simultaneously: the interim AD who hires the coach must make a good match between new coach and new boss. (The Gophers once faced a similar situation, also with an Inglese connection.)

Patricia Babcock McGraw talks about what's good for the game with the game's greatest ambassador in today's Daily Herald.

The Michigan High School Athletic Association is headed to the Supreme Court over a gender equity lawsuit and AD Jack Roberts is feeling the irony. The gender equity lawsuit would force the Michigan schools to move girls' basketball to the winter and girls' volleyball to the fall. The argument is based on aligning scheduling with the sports' traditional NCAA seasons. The irony is that the NCAA coaches have been discussing the merits of moving womens' basketball to the fall.

"It has been a continual topic at coaches' meetings, but it has not made it to an NCAA committee," Roberts said in the Saginaw News article. "The thrust now is not to switch the sports, because there really is no need to. They could both play in the fall. Major colleges can play volleyball and women's basketball at the same time because the athletes are different. In high school, many of the athletes are the same."

When TV announcers discuss a player's abilities in terms of 'athleticism', is it shorthand for her being black? InsanePlatypus takes a timely look at the athleticism=racism equation in today's entry. Does it balance? Some discussion can be found here.

Every year the WNBA finds new places for preseason games: these sites publicize existing teams near the limits of their geographical range, set pro players (especially new ones) before their college team's fans, or test the waters for future franchises.

In Albany, the Lib seek fans upstate. In South Bend, the Shock meet the Fever: will either team draft Batteast? In Kansas City, Mizzou fans can look for Lassiter; K-State fans (there are a lot of them) will cheer for Ohlde and hope to see Wecker. And in the Barn, Gopher fans can see Lindsay or fall for Vanessa. (The Lynx will also play the Sun at Mohegan.)

In Sacramento, the Monarchs, who have now signed two Chinese players, meet the Chinese national team.

Last thoughts on Indy from Mary Jo:

I was right next to Kim Mulkey-Robertson when a player dumped water on her. That was a surprise. Robertson said she hoped it was water and not Gatorade. It was H2O so her blue suit survived.

A unit specializing in pyro technics scared some of us by shooting off a gunshot-loud launching device seconds after the game ended. At that point I was halfway across the court with Randy Robertson and the couples' daughter and son who, by the way, are both successful in their young sports careers.

The launching device exploded long streamers into the air which fell on the court in a cascade effect. Little did any of us know how difficult it would be to untangle ourselves from those snares. The ESPN cameramen were going crazy trying to free their cables from the streamers.

When you're with a winning team the job is so much easier and Baylor was one of the most cooperative schools I've ever worked with. You know you're in heaven when a Waco TV guy asks politely if you would step aside and give him an angle for a shot. most of them just push you out of the way.

The NCAA rule for minicams bars anyone other than ESPN cameras filming the postgame until the network goes off the air. Sometimes that's a problem. This year it wasn't.

The two games I worked with Mulkey-Robertson gave me some idea about her personality. She's serious about her job, walks slowly from one place to another and has an awareness of what's going on around her. I'd call that a steady captain of the ship. Summitt is the same only she walks faster.

Because the Dome is so big we had to use golf carts to transport coaches and players from their locker rooms to the interview room.

I was on a golf cart with Emily Niemann after the final and asked her if she ever made five threes before. She said she had and that she also had played for three state champion teams but had never hit five threes in a game of this magnitude.

Mulkey-Robertson described Niemann as a gym rat who was always the first one dressed to play and liked to be the first off the bus. She also likes to be first into the gym and to make the first basket.

When she was besieged for interviews, Niemann thanked me for helping her break away to make it back to the locker room. "I have a hard time saying no," she said. What a joy it is to work with someone like that.

Here are some other media items you might appreciate. The first is from USA Today. It was a box of stats entitled "Who's in the seats." What really caught my eye was the demographic stats for the age of people attending the Final Four. For the Men's Final Four the age is 40-plus (average). For the women it was 40 (median). And the income level was noteworthy as well. For the men the average family income was $80,000-plus. For the women it's $70,000-plus.

Chuck Shoffner who covers women's basketball for the AP, was recognized by the United States Basketball Writers of America. USBWA gives an award to one of its members during a brunch. Mechelle Voepel also has won it.

High-profile media on press row on Tuesday included Mitch Albom from the Detroit Free Press (see Albom's writing an incorrect item in an advance story from the Men's Final Four here) and Christine Brennan from the USA Today. Mary Murphy of ESPN's Cold Pizza stopped by to talk before the final game and projected Baylor to win by eight points. Little did we know.

There were scalpers selling tickets one block from the RCA Dome in Indy. Next year's ticket to the Women's Final Four in Boston will bea tough buy. The former Boston Garden and former Fleet Center onlyseats 18,560. Both nights in Indy drew 28,937.

Dawn Staley will interview this weekend for the head coaching position at the University of Miami. There had been speculation that Staley would leave the head coaching position at Temple only for her alma mater, Virginia.

Final fanfares and fallout from the Final Four:

The Spartans return to their home state for a well-deserved two-minute standing O. Coach McCallie considers Sunday's game, and Tuesday's: the first was "the greatest comeback in the history of who-knows-what," the second a "terrible," "anticlimactic story." In Maine, McCallie's high school coach remembers her play.

Baylor fans held a rally. Their T-shirts read "Got Mulk?" A leading Texas Democrat congratulates the team. USA Today has more on the George W connection; ESPN has more on how the Bears won. GWB's upcoming meeting with Israeli PM Ariel Sharon could interfere with a planned parade.

With Young, Niemann, Scott and Wabara returning, Baylor could repeat. Voepel decides it might happen, but thinks Tennesse and Duke have better shots. "We have a returning nucleus of players," says KMR, "and they sure did like the way it felt when the buzzer went off."

Back in Ruston, La Tech have named assistant Chris Long as their new head coach after Kurt Budke's move to Oklahoma State. SI's John Walters assails La Tech's missed chance with coach Mulk.

The Storm have their own draft HQ. Kevin Pelton examines some point guards and makes some predictions. Keegan mostly agrees, then disses Ohlde.

Coach McConnell Serio has the same top picks as everyone else: McCarville, Irvin, Wecker, and Tan White (not necessarily in that order).

Strom and Tanisha report for draft camp. (Would Strom's prospects look better if Reicina Russell had stuck around to receive Strom's passes?)

A Texas Tech student columnist links Currie's and Cappie's postponed entry to SDS' early exit.

Last year's rookies tell this year's rookies what to expect once you're drafted. "Everyone is tall, long and fast," says Lindsay.

Indiana University's Hoosiers have a new coach.

It's Sharon Versyp, 1984 Indiana Miss Basketball, Purdue All-American, and since 2000 head coach at the University of Maine, whose previous head coach has done pretty well in the Big Ten.

(Via Board Junkie Kelli.)

Colorado State coach Chris Denker has resigned.

CSU's Rams reached the WNIT semifinals in Denker's first season (2002-03) and ended this year just 15-13 (6-8 MWC). Most of the players apparently didn't like him; their complaints led to a recent meeting with CSU's athletic director. One columnist says the players wanted him fired.

Candidates for the next Rams coach include some former CSU assistants.

University of Texas standouts 6'2 forward Heather Schreiber and 5'8 guard Jamie Carey are among the 40 college seniors participating in the WNBA's pre-draft camp in the Madison Square Garden Training Center in Tarrytown, NY, this weekend.

Former University of Wyoming standout Carrie Bacon is one step closer to living her dream. The Colorado Chill star signed a contract with the San Antonio Stars of the WNBA.

Sparks Coach Henry Bibby talks about relationships and family in Ryan Pearson's article in Pioneer Press.

"After being in a place for nine years, and you thought you had a relationship, then all of a sudden that's cut off. It really makes you think about your life, what you're doing. My life was 'SC basketball," said Bibby.

Bibby said what he's bringing to the Sparks is responsibility, accountability and respectability. "They've invited me into their family and I want to make them proud of what I have to bring to the table," he said.

MSU coach Joanne P. McCallie wasn't sure how much seniors Kelli Roehrig and Kristin Haynie improved their draft stock by playing in the Final Four, but WNBA.com has the word on Haynie in Draft Central's 'Best Kept Secret'.

Last week, former Wyoming standout Carrie Bacon helped her Colorado Chill teammates win their first NWBL championship. This week, Carrie said she has drawn interest from a few WNBA teams.

Charlotte Sting coach Trudi Lacey announced that 37 year old veteran free agent Andrea Stinson won't be offered a contract. "Stint's been great and wonderful," Lacey said. "This is very, very hard. To move in the direction we need to be competitive, the way to do it these days in the WNBA is to get younger."

Bibby Hired to Coach Sparks

Last winter, Sports Illustrated OC pinned USC to its Least Rootable Teams list and asked 'What's that dark cloud hanging over the basketball program in sunny L.A.? Oh, it's coach Henry Bibby. 'the Dr. Evil look-alike who needs a hug'.

Bibby, fired 4 games into his 9th USC season, told the LA Times, "My discipline, if that's what got me fired, then it will get me fired at my next job, because this is who I am and how I coach".

Today's LA Times brings news that Bibby has found new coaching digs in sunny LA. Sparks GM Penny Toler says, "He had his ups and downs at USC. But we feel we have a championship team and we wanted somebody who has pretty much been there and done that." And Sparks President Johnny Buss added, "I'm not concerned with his not having coached women. He made me feel comfortable. He's a no-nonsense coach and we wanted that kind of commitment."

Now that the tourney is over, I'm going to take a break for my annual "vacation" to Betty Ford. Some crew of like-minded lunatics will be holding down the fort. Via con dios.

Voepel looks back at the highs and lows of the 04-05 season.

From bonanzajellydog, a new blog focused on Duke women's basketball.

Via Dar, the story of a girls basketball coach in Texas who was apparently fired because she's gay.

Notes from Steve in Indy:

Kim Mulkey-R is about three feet from me right now and she's talking on her cell phone to George W. They seem to have a Waco friend in common. The first time he called, about twenty minutes ago, she thought it was the President of Baylor calling and didn't take the call.

Last night was at least the third game in a row (maybe the fourth -- I didn't see MSU/Vandy) where MSU faced a team taller, stronger and faster than the Spartans at almost every position. Vs. Stanford and vs. Tennessee the Spartans got it done with three-point shooting and by creating turnovers. Last night the three-pointers didn't fall and Baylor took superb care of the rock. The margin (like the rebounding margin) was a surprise, but the outcome (like the rebounding advantage) shouldn't have been.

Baylor's first-half perimeter defense was really remarkable. Any MSU player who got near the arc for the first 30 minutes found a Bear all over her. Kim knew MSU could win if they hit from long-range, and her players were on a mission to make sure that didn't happen.

When they weren't just plain boxed out, Shimek and Roehrig consistently failed tests of pure strength under the basket: when several players had their hands on the ball at chest level, a Bear ended up with it. (But I'm still not drafting Blackmon.)

Last night's crowd surprisingly evenly divided between State and Baylor fans; Baylor fans showed up earlier, more were college students, and they were louder, before the game and during it.

For some other eyewitness accounts, see here, here, and here.

Harvey Araton wonders whether Baylor-Tennessee will be the next great rivalry in women's basketball.

Before the title game, Michigan State took some offense at the notion that they weren't very athletic. During the game, the charge was proven true to some extent, especially on the inside.

Kelli Roehrig and Liz Shimek got worked by Sophia Young and Stephanie Blackmon. The Baylor posts combined for 48 points, 16 rebounds, and 5 assists. The Spartan posts combined for 15, 10, and 2.

And as a team, the Baylor players -- longer, quicker, higher-jumping -- thrashed Michigan State on the boards for a 2-to-1 advantage. The Bears sliced their way through the seams of the MSU zone for 12 offensive boards.

And Emily Niemann bombed away over the top of the zone. "She was the key to the whole game," said coach McCallie. "If you take No. 51 off the floor, it's a whole different game. She was the X-Factor."

The result: a blowout. The second-most lopsided margin ever. A nightmare for the Spartans.

"It's very sad right now, and obviously this is going to hurt for a while," said Kristin Haynie, who had a great game. "But we had a really successful year. We did amazing stuff. I believe we're still an elite program. We just didn't play our best game."

"They're hurting right now, as we all are, because the season is over," coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "But in the long run they'll look back and see they were a part of the best team ever at Michigan State -- and one of the greatest teams ever."

For Baylor, it was all good. Let the party begin.

"Just making history and being a part of something this special -- I can't stop smiling," Chameka Scott said. "That's one of the best parts, is that nobody saw it coming."

"Look up at these fans," coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson said. "That's how we change the Waco community."

Defying expectations, Mo Currie is staying for another year at Duke. Great news for the Devils; terrible news for the WNBA.

Who was the best player in women's college basketball for the 2004-05 season?

If someone asked you that right now (not last week or the week before), what would you say? Would you still take Seimone Augustus over Sophia Young?

Here are their numbers for the entire year.

Young: 18.4 ppg, 53% FG, 9.3 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.9 spg, 0.7 bpg.
Augustus: 20.1 ppg, 55% FG, 4.6 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.4 spg, 0.5 blg.

Augustus had better scoring numbers; Young had better numbers in every other category. Young was a better defender. And while Augustus played poorly in the most important game of her season, Young led her team all the way to a national championship.

It was a close race this year amoung several players. But Sophia Young separated herself from the pack down the stretch. She was as good as anyone all year long, and she was the best in March.

(You could say the same thing about Sean May on the men's side.)

The folks who give the awards want publicity. Most of them give out the hardware on Final Four weekend to maximize exposure. That means that they have to vote before the season ends.

It's understandable, but it's still unfortunate.

I suppose you can still make a case for Augustus (or someone else) over Young. But shouldn't we at least wait to see the biggest games of the year before deciding?

Stacey Dales-Schuman just said: "Lisa, it wasn't just awesome, it was totally awesome."

Mary Jo's dispatches from Indy, part 2:

Championship night in Indy means all the action focused on one game. That's a relief for those of us who work behind the scenes as the crossover Sunday night was difficult. I will work with Baylor escorting the coach and her designated players to the press conference.

If Baylor loses they will have a 15-minute cooling off period which begins when the coach goes into the locker room. If Baylor wins they will be on the court for the ESPN and Westwood One interviews. Since I had Connecticut last year I can tell you it's a hectic scene. After the awards ceremony and cutting down the nets, the team and coach return to the locker area for a cooling off period if they need it and then those designated to do so go to the locker room.

It's difficult for the media in the East as they are on deadline. Most will write the story before the game ends leaving room in the lead for the final score and postgame details. It's a commmon practice with sports that compete at night.

Took a side trip to Indianapolis Speedway today. The pace car, a Corvette, was introduced in a media conference and the local TV stations broke into late morning programming with details. In Indy, racing trumps regular programming. Indy began with hot air balloons then switched to race cars in 1909 presenting its first race in 1911. There was a period during WWII when the place closed and there were photos of weeds growing in the stands and on the track. The place was going to be wiped out and replaced by houses but a private party brought back the track and that family still owns it.

Lots of great pregame coverage today, both in the local media for each team and in the major dailies around the country. Check the WB Online news page for a comprehensive listing.

At ESPN, Miki Turner on Kelli Roehrig, and Kieran Darcy on Liz Shimek.

Tributes to coach Gunter after her Naismith Hall of Fame selection.

More on Title IX from Emily Badger at the Orlando Sentinel.

"The surveys we found were weak at best, haphazard at worst, so we developed a model survey based on sound statistical methods," said Susan Aspey, press secretary for the Department of Education. "Schools can't buy the rhetoric from some of these special-interest groups that they can just pass out an e-mail and be done with it. This is absolutely not a way to get around the law."

Aspey also explained that they didn't have any public comment period because the new rules are merely a guide, not a requirement.

Hmmm... that's not entirely consistent with the OCR's previous claim that the new rules "raise the bar" for surveys. Nor is it particularly relevant, as a legal matter.

Badger also asked several ADs what they think of the new rules. Miami AD Paul Dee doubts that the model survey technique will be very useful.

"It sort of collapses from its own weight," he said. "If you have a survey where people say `we want X team' and you create that team, probably those people in the student body who voted for it aren't on it. You're going to go out and recruit better people. You're basically saying, `What sports do you want to watch?'"

Phil Richards asks: when will women coach men?

"There's so much good to women's basketball, so much to conquer, so much juice," WBCA CEO Beth Bass says. "I don't know why (coaching men) would be among somebody's short-term career goals."

Coach Mulkey-Robertson, on what last year's loss means now: "You want me to tell you what I learned from losing? I hate it. That's what I learned. You learn you don't ever want to do it again."

Sophia Young: "It just gives kids an opportunity to see they don't have to go to UConn or Tennessee to be good or to end up in the Final Four."

Blackmon on Roehrig and Shimek: "They look pretty physical. Roehrig is a big, wide body, and Shimek is a pretty physical player. We've got to see what their strengths are and guard them toward their weaknesses."

McCallie on recruiting: "When you talk about these text messages, you talk about e-mail. You talk about these needy kids that need to be called all the time. I'm not into it. I think it's superficial. I'm hoping that we can be so good one day that they could just know us by watching us be successful and say, 'I want to go there,' and then come visit."

Roehrig on her roommate: "It was kind of funny -- we would just be laying there and I'd say, 'Kristin, we're going to be playing for the national championship in two days!'. I probably said it about 20 times, and she kept saying, 'I know, Kelli, I know!'"

Niemann on going to the gym: "I was always in there."

Bowen: "This year, we knew that we could get here. Every kid dreams of this, and it only comes once in a lifetime."

Last week I wondered why fans seem to hate certain commentators. At TNR, Jason Zengerle wrote this piece examining basketball commentary and fan psychology.

Zengerle says that fans love relentlessly positive cheerleaders like Dick Vitale, but they hate honest and critical analysts like Billy Packer.

As an descriptive matter, I'm not sure that's true. Plenty of people hate Vitale. Perceptions of bias dog him (hence the nickname Duke-y V), and his shtick has worn out. He has also hurt his credibility by selling out and making a barrage of annoying commercials, the embarrasing grandpa-ogling-tits Hooters ads worst among them.

And look at the women's game. Nancy Lieberman and Ann Meyers are cheerleaders, far more likely to play the role of booster than that of critic, yet they are still widely disliked by fans.

Zengerle's descriptive point -- that fans love cheerleaders and hate critics -- is debateable. His more important normative point, however, is unassailable.

When Packer points out a questionable coaching decision or comments on a player's lack of hustle, he'll at least be bringing some much-needed perspective to an event that all too often is more about hype than substance. And in the boosterish world of sports commentary, even just a little critical thinking is a rare and refreshing thing.

Elected to the Springfield Hall of Fame: Sue Gunter and Hortencia Marcari. Left out: Van.

Eric Adelson says Seimone disappeared last night.

Mary Jo writes in with some behind-the-scenes notes from Indy:

Every year the Women's Final Four has something new. Sometimes it's the game and sometimes it's the technology. This year we have both.

I have been the escort for both Michigan State and Baylor, two teams that are newcomers to the Final Four. I can tell you that the level of celebration both on the court and at the locker room was through the roof. When I walked Kim Mulkey-Robertson back to her locker she kept commenting "we are playing in the national championship game." Her husband gave her a huge embrace and said "You did it." Same with Joanne McCallie. Her husband, a professor, and her fifth-grade daughter were in the back areas with her. Her daughter told me she thought her mom's team was a "goner." Those moments are wondeful for the winners but devastating for the losers.

On the technical side ESPN announced that it is using new equipment this year and more importantly is dedicating Monday nights next year on ESPN2 to a women's game.

The tease or opening you saw on Sunday and one you will see Tuesday all were taped Friday. All four coaches were asked to simulate speeches they might make to their team in their locker rooms. It was difficult for all of them to act through the script and the ESPN director made them repeat their lines several times.

The NCAA issued over 700 credentials but that total includes ESPN and the four participating teams.

Senator Birch Bayh was the keynote speaker at a banquet Friday night attended by all four teams. He was instrumental in getting Title IX passed. He gave credit to his father who said little girls should have an equal chance and to his wife who was rejected in her college application to Virginia (no women allowed) and urged him to fight for equal rights for women. It was a moving story.

Voepel says last night was one to remember.

The news cycle on the Title IX changes has lasted longer than I expected.

Dave Fairbank at the VA Daily Press published this long, detailed piece about the issue yesterday. Fairbank's article has been syndicated and picked up by a few other papers around the country.

This morning, the editorial board of the Des Moines Register came out against the new rules.

Indy's local celeb columnist Bob Kravitz argues that the new faces are a good thing, even if ratings will probably be lower tomorrow night.

Also in the Star, Mark Alesia has a long state of the game article, discussing both the progress we've seen and the potential pitfalls that lie ahead.

Via pilight, the top 10 reasons it was ok for Dartmouth to lose by 48 to UConn.

Michigan State is making the most of its first Final Four appearance and heading to the national championship game after an amazing comeback victory last night. I knew the Michigan/Tennessee match-up would be a good, close game, but frankly, I thought Tennessee would come out on top. It just seemed that like it was Pat Summitt's season -- the breaking of Dean Smith's record, the myriad of injuries overcome, and so on. The Spartans put an end to that!

After opening an 18-10 lead in the first half, MSU seemed to lose focus. They stopped getting the ball inside and the Vols took advantage building a 31-25 lead going into the break. And then it looked like the season was over for the Spartans. The Lady Vols came out of the locker room smoking. They seemed ready to put MSU away in the opening minutes of the half as they opened a 16 point lead on the Spartans with 14 minutes to go.

Who knows what Coach McCallie said to her team at the 12 minute timeout, but they came out with a new energy and focus. The Spartans also capitalized on UT turnovers as the Vols committed 9 in the last 12 minutes, including 3 by Ely. They started getting the ball back into Roehrig, picked up their defense, and ended the half shooting almost 55% from the field. Lucas-Perry scored 7 points in a row to bring the Spartans with in a point.

With a minute left Zolman made a soft, cross court pass that landed in the hands of a streaking Haynie. Haynie took it the length of the floor to give MSU a 2 point lead. After Moore went end to end out of the net to tie it, Roehrig hit a short bank for another lead.

Even though Tennessee got 3 tries at the winning/tieing basket on the next possesion, they just couldn't make it happen. They looked frazzled and stunned.

"I'm really disappointed in with myself and the outcome of the game," said Shyra Ely after the loss in her hometown. Zolman, also back in Indy for a homecoming, said, "A loss is a loss. It doesn't matter if it's here or Nova Scotia."

"This is a very, very disappointing loss," coach Summitt said. "It will be a long time before I get this one out of my system. And I'm sure the players feel the same way."

"It's an outstanding victory," said coach McCallie. "We have played a lot of great programs this year. There's been a lot of neat things going on. So it's just really an opportunity for us now to play for a national championship."

"You get down 15, and I'm looking at my coaches going, ‘We're getting embarrassed on national television,'" said Baylor coach Mulkey-Robertson. "I challenged my players, and once again, what warriors they are. This is something else."

Baylor came back with the plan and the execution needed to shut down LSU, the nation's best team until last night. Baylor was just better.

The Bears switched to a zone designed to take away Augustus's midrange game and Johnson's penetration. Augustus ended 10 for 26, and Johnson was largely ineffective down the stretch.

Perhaps more importantly, Emily Niemann exploited Augustus on the other end. "Emily was hook-shooting big-time tonight," Mulkey-Robertson said. "That's in her repertoire. She was so valuable tonight."

The report from Steve in Indy:

LSU's lack of depth exposed--they seemed like a slightly better Ohio State: take away plan A (Augustus makes her midrange jumpers) and plan B (Fowles) and there's no plan C. Young just went right at Fowles and got enough of the calls to make it worthwhile. The biggest difference maker, though, was probably Kim's decision to take Blackmon out-- both in the first half and in the second half, LSU was ahead when Blackmon went out, fell far behind for the game after that.

The Tigers were in shock after the game. "You never are happy when you lose especially on the stage like this," said Augustus. "I can't see anything else but anger and frustration."

"I still think we're the No. 1 team in the country. I still think we're the best team in the country. It just didn't show," Temeka Johnson said. "Baylor played a better game. We could play ten times, ten times in a row against each other. But this was the only one that counted."

From tomorrow's Times, Harvey Araton on Baylor's shining light, and Jere Longman on the victory.

ESPN is bullish on the state of the game. Next year on ESPN2, there will be a women's game every Monday night.

And the folks in Bristol, Connecticut think it might be good that the Huskies aren't in Indy this year.

"Maybe for a casual fan that doesn't invest all that much time, if it's Connecticut and Tennessee every year, how much time do I really have to invest in the regular season and the early rounds of the tournament?" VP John Wildhack said. "Now when you see Connecticut bounced out of the Sweet 16, maybe I'd better spend some time or I'm going to miss some pretty good stories and some pretty good games."

Tennessean columnist David Climer, however, says it's just not the same without Geno.

In the Times, Lynn Zinser on Coach Summitt, and Harvey Araton on Nicky Anosike. Both Araton and Anosike came out of the West Brighton projects on Staten.

In the Post, Sally Jenkins on Kim Mulkey-Robertson, and Kathy Orton on Haynie's intestines (but who's that in the photo?).

In the IndyStar, Megan Duffy, Kristy Curry, and Sue Donohoe tell what the game means to them.

In the LA Times, Mike Terry on the new faces in Indy.

In hometown coverage...

Fleser discusses how the Vols have persevered through injuries. Vacek tells about some folks on the other bench who have connections to the Vols.

Mercedes Meyer says KMR is anything but calm (no kidding). John Werner at the Waco Trib wonders what the Bears will do with Augustus. Werner also has this article about Baylor's last Final Four team -- the 1948 men's team -- and how they've all come together to cheer on the women.

Sheldon Mickles, like the rest of us, gets seduced by Pokey's smile. William Weathers recalls the first game and revels in Seimone's trophies.

Angelique Chengelis goes back to Shimek's farm. John Niyo pins it all on Haynie. And Mark Snyder says MSU is ready to face the doubters.

Seimone Augustus has won the Wade Trophy.

The other nine members of the Kodak All-America team were: Jacqueline Batteast (Notre Dame), Monique Currie (Duke), Jessica Davenport (Ohio State), Sandora Irvin (TCU), Janel McCarville (Minnesota), Kendra Wecker (Kansas State), Tan White (Mississippi State), Candice Wiggins (Stanford), and Sophia Young (Baylor).

Patricia Babcock interviews former Senator Birch Bayh about the recent Title IX changes. Bayh was the primary author of Title IX.

"We’re still at a place where only 41 percent of all college athletes are women," Bayh said. "For all the progress we’ve made, we’ve still got more to do. If anything, Title IX needs to be made tougher. Now’s not the time to back away.”

And Sally Jenkins, writing from Indy, has another column today criticizing the new rules.

"If you pick out the right population for your survey, you can get the answer you're looking for," Coach Summitt told Jenkins, "But it's not necessarily the best answer."

The biggest news today is that the Washington Post editorial board has weighed in. It gives the feds credit "for developing a model survey that improves on the sloppy questionnaires in use by a number of schools." But overall, the Post's editors are critical.

[T]he new policy sets too lax a standard. Schools can simply e-mail students, providing links to the survey and warning that failure to respond will be taken as evidence of apathy. "Although rates of nonresponse may be high with this procedure, nonresponse is interpretable as a lack of interest," the department says. That goes too far, especially given the new rules for rebutting the results of the surveys. Indeed, the co-chairman of the administration's Title IX commission, Stanford University athletic director Ted Leland, criticized the policy, saying the administration erred in changing the rules without discussion and that it would be a "huge mistake" to rely solely on survey responses. He's correct on both counts.

The IndyStar examines the Final Four's economic effect on the city.

Chuck Schoffner's AP article, picked up by dozens of papers today, says there's no clear favorite in the Final Four.

In the Post, Camille Powell on Baylor's wild ride.

Kevin Pelton runs some numbers on the Holdsclaw deal. Looking at possession percentages and true shooting percentages, he wonders whether Mique won't be a perfect fit for the Sparks.

The USA Today Weekend edition had a nice set of articles previewing the Final Four.

Steve Wieberg on ticket sales, Dick Patrick on balance and on Tennessee's injuries, and Kate Smith on Tennessee's toughness.

Beth Mowins was reportedly very excited about the halftime show last weekend. “Oh my God! Did you see what that ape just did?” she exclaimed. “He just jumped off that little springboard, did a flip, and dunked the ball right through the hoop! And check out those funny shorts he’s wearing. They have little basketballs on them! Ha Ha Ha. This is the most fun I’ve had all night. I hope this halftime never ends.”

Ralph Hickok suggests some new names for women's teams.

Kristin Haynie on her own hair: "I haven't had a bad hair time yet."

Marcia Greenberger, co-pres of the NWLC, wrote this op-ed criticizing the new Title IX rules.

Gary Klein on what bracket pool strategies teach us about human psychology.

So what do we learn about ourselves through this national Rorschach test also known as March Madness? We use the same strategies in pools that we do at work. We reuse those strategies every year, even though most of us don't win. When we lose, we blame bad luck, and if we win, we attribute it to hard work or intelligence. Maybe these basketball pools aren't so different from the SAT after all.

In front of a big crowd at Hammons Student Center, SMS beat West Virginia to take the NIT title. The Bears' three-point barrage continued: they hit 11 and set a new NCAA D1 single-season record of 305

"This is the way you dream of ending your career," said senior Jenni Lingor. "Walking off the floor with the win."

Keegan has a new mock draft up.

At the Post, Kathy Orton on the Vols' resiliency.

At USA Today, Kevin Allen on the mutual success of the Michigan State men and women.

MSU basketball is front-page news, and people who didn't know much, if anything, about women's basketball two weeks ago are breaking down the MSU-Tennessee game like they are ESPN analysts.

Wendy Larry's new contract gives her the same base salary as the ODU men's coach.

The KnoxNews notes a growing trend: "WNBA teams are passing on veteran free agents to sign younger, less expensive players."

"The salary cap came into real play this season," Monarchs coach/GM Whisenant said. "It makes it real hard to keep veteran players unless they're starters. It forces you to take minimum-salaried players to fill out your bench. You can't make the cap if you don't."

Ruthie Bolton is one who may get left out, but she still wants to play. "I've got two (Olympic) gold medals, and I've still got to prove myself," she said.