Regular readers of this blog will know of my profound respect for the NY Times' coverage of women's sports *insert supremely sarcastic emoticon here.* So I had to laugh -- in a shake your head way -- when I read George Vecsey's piece on the US Women's World Cup soccer team ("The Greatest Team You've Never Heard Of," shouts their media guide).

Writes George, mid-piece:

Have women's sports been downgraded in a time of news media austerity? Or is this World Cup, on the other side of the globe, running smack into the first month of American football? Probably both.

While tempted to explore his need to BLAME FOOTBALL (Title IX advocates and detractors will get my jab), it's somewhat sad that he drops the "media austerity" question and dribbles off into blaming SARS and the collapse of WUSA. (Though it does remind us of the importance of the WNBA in the visibility battle.)

Why sad? Well, because his own sports editor, the lovely and charming Tom Jolly, has all but said he won't cover anything but the "major" (read men's) sports.

Witness the current use of AP reports on Liberty games (not a diss on AP -- Vin does a great job) and the lack of photo coverage. No surprise that transition coincided with the retirement of long time beat reporter Lena Williams and photographer Michelle Agins' rising star.

A little bit about Lena and Michelle.

Researching my women's basketball timeline, I discovered that Lena covered the famous Feb. 22, 1975 game between Queens College (where Donna O. played ball) and Immaculata at Madison Square Garden. 11,969 watched the Mighty Macs win the first women's inter-collegiate game played at the Garden.

Almost 30 years later, Lena was so committed to covering women's basketball, she was interrupting her vacation to write about the Liberty. Why? Because she felt the Times wouldn't send anyone to replace her if she didn't go.

Michelle is a stunning photographer who loved the mere fact the WNBA existed. She insisted covering the team. While the "rest of the world" may remember her for being part of the Pulitzer Prize winning team that put together How Race is Lived in America, WNBA fans will remember her iconic coverage of the Liberty during the 1998 season -- photo work that not only spanned several pages in the Sunday Magazine, but her shot of Kisha Ford going in for a lay-up made the cover. Oh, and there was some fantabulous writing accompanying it, too.

In 2001, Agins reflected on creating the piece. It was only supposed to be a short photo essay, and she was to travel with the Liberty for 10 days.

But things started off poorly -- the team was losing, the mood was poor and Cathy Ryan, the Times Sunday Magazine photo editor, phoned Agins to kill the piece. Agins pleaded for one more day.

After the call, and trapped on a plane with the team, Agins vividly recalls her desperate attempt to keep her composure. Then Kym Hampton, the Liberty center, tipped up her sleeping mask to look at her. “What’s the matter?” Hampton asked. “Your coach mad at you?“

“Well,” explained Agins to Hampton “they thought I’d have better access and you guys are shutting me down. It’s been kind of embarrassing. This was my shot, and I’ve blown it.”

Hampton paused. “Well, what do you want?” Before Agins knew it, once closed doors flew open.

Michelle ignored the calls of her editor, calculated what it would cost to pay for the trip out of her own pocket, and started shooting.

Those of us who have the Magazine safely tucked away on a shelf, who remember that Sunday's terrific nationally televised game between the Liberty and the Comets, and grin at the memory of the TV announcers leafing through the Magazine for the benefit of the TV audience know how amazing Michelle's results were.

So why this walk down memory lane? Because these two journalists had a passion for the game that demanded they take risks for it. For all the reasons papers have to NOT cover women's sports, there are writers who have the power to demand it.

George, Jere, Liz, Harvey, Selena? Your turn to come into the game. What say you?