News out of Chicago: It was Cappie Pondexter Day at John Marshall High School, the home of the winningest program in the state of Illinios, courtesy of legendary coach Dorothy Gaters.

Gaters started the Marshall High School girls’ program prior to the 1975-76 school year. Prior to that she had coached at the club, park district and AAU levels, but she was far from an expert. “When I first started, I was really intimidated,” Gaters said. “I knew there was so much I didn’t know about coaching. How could I give these girls what they needed when I had so much to learn?

“But the one thing I had was determination. I was determined that Marshall would have a girls’ team to be proud of so I learned on the job. That’s how I gained my confidence and my credentials. I may have had doubts about myself, but I never let the girls know it. From their perspective, I was in charge and I didn’t waver.”

And the Trib does a piece on the Chicago Sky and their Spirit of Cooperation.

Unlike their male brethren, Chicago Sky players and other WNBA teams live in the same apartment building during the season and are around for the most part when they need each other. This closeness works for them, as teammates, as friends and as a support system for whatever may come their way. "Women are just different than men," says Chasity Melvin, the Sky center, a nine-year veteran of the league and the acknowledged "mama" of the group. "We're more sensitive, we're more emotional. For us and for women in the professional corporate world, it can be hard. I don't want to say it's a gift and a curse, but we work with men--most owners and coaches are men--so we tend to stick together.

"That said, we're very competitive. . . . Now it's more of a business." They're professionals, and deal with the game differently than during their college years.