Sun announces second annual Women in Sports essay contest

The WNBA’s Connecticut Sun is inviting Connecticut students in grades 4-8 to participate in the Second Annual Women in Sports Essay Contest in honor of National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD).

All Connecticut students  interested in participating in the project may submit a one-page essay answering the question: “Who is your favorite female athlete and why?” All essays must be received by the Connecticut Sun front office by Fri., April 9. Sun players, along with members of the organization, will judge the essays.

NGWSD began in 1987 as a day to remember Olympic volleyball player Flo Hyman for her athletic achievements and her work to assure equality for women’s sports. It has evolved into a day that acknowledges the past while recognizing current sports achievements, the positive influence of sports participation and the continuing struggle for equality and access for women in sports.

One grand prize winner in the Sun contest will receive an exclusive school assembly with Sun mascot Blaze and/or players to recognize the winning student, essay and school. The winner will be recognized at a Sun pre-season game, receive four tickets to a pre-season game and have their essay posted on the team’s web site. Five runners-up, one from each grade level, will receive four tickets to a Sun pre-season game and their essays posted on the team’s web site. The first 50 entrants in the contest will receive a special gift from the Connecticut Sun as well as two complimentary tickets to a Sun pre-season game.
Entry forms are now available on www.connecticutsun.com.

Candace Parker Holiday Clinic

If you’re lucky enough to live in, or near, Los Angeles, and you’re a basketball player who wants to train with LA Sparks star Candace Parker, then you’re in luck.

Parker is hosting a one day training clinic on Dec. 28th for girls who want to improve their game and play against top competition.

Check out the flyer for all the details:

NY Liberty overseas basketball update

The Liberty women definitely know how to score in their WNBA NY home court, but how do they bring their game on in other parts of the world?

Follow NY Liberty team players Shameka Christon, Essence Carson, Sidney Spencer, and more overseas as they play to help their European teams win.

From Poland to Turkey, and France to Israel, these players can handle the ball anywhere on the map! Check out this week’s overseas update here: http://blogs.msg.com/gameon/2009/11/17/liberty-hoopla-overseas-update-1117/

In other WNBA news,  the LA Lakers celebrated the accomplishments of recently retired LA Sparkers center Lisa Leslie during halftime at Tuesday’s game.  Great to see the huge crowd focus their attention away from Kobe for a moment to acknowledge this terrific player.

Carve a Liberty Halloween pumpkin!

Halloween is upon us. Are you getting ready to deck out your place with cobwebs, witches and zombies? Well, get psyched because if you’re a WNBA fan the New York Liberty is ready to add to your holiday fun.

Check out the team’s very special custom Liberty Pumpkin Stencils. You can carve the WNBA team into your Halloween jack o’ lantern with four fabulous designs.

Instructions:

1) Cut out a lid in the top of the pumpkin large enough to fit your hand and a spoon inside.
2) Add a small notch in the back of the lid. The notch will remind you how the lid is positioned, allow smoke and heat to escape, and ensure that
the candle receives enough air to remain lit.
3) Scoop out the pulp and seeds. Retain the seeds for roasting.
4) Scrape the inside of the pumpkin in the area where you’ll be using the pattern, until that area is about 1 inch thick.
5) Trim and make small incisions in your pattern so that it lies flat on the face of the pumpkin. Tape the edges of the pattern to the pumpkin.
6) Transfer the pattern by poking small holes along the pattern lines with a drill tool or needle.
7) Remove the pattern.
8) Saw carefully along the dotted lines. Gently push the pieces through with your fingers.
9) Create a glow effect by scraping designs into the shell of your pumpkin with a melon baller, wood gouge or linoleum cutter.
10) Anchor a candle in the bottom of the pumpkin and light the candle.

You’re now ready to display your best jack-o’-lantern ever.

WNBA playoffs begin tonight

Detroit opens it’s title defense vs. the Dream tonight. The WNBA Eastern Conference Semifinal series pits the second-seeded Atlanta team against the third-seeded Shock.

The Dream, in just their second year of existence, are making their first-ever appearance in the playoffs after posting an 18-16 record in the regular season, something that was thought to be impossible after they posted just four wins in their entire inaugural campaign.

The 1-2 opening round format, in which the lower seed plays at home first, could be a huge factor here. If veteran-laden Detroit is able to capture the opener at home, where it has won six straight, it could give them the mental edge over an Atlanta team getting a taste of the playoffs for the first time ever as a group.

Some fast facts about the first-round Shock-Dream matchup:

• Detroit snapped a three-game skid to Atlanta in their last meeting on August 27.
• The Shock lead the all-time series, 4-3.
• Atlanta is making its first trip to the playoffs, while Detroit is making its seventh straight and eighth overall.
• Erika de Souza posted three double-doubles vs. Detroit this season.
• Shavonte Zellous averaged 16.8 PPG vs. Atlanta this season.
• Detroit has won three straight opening-round series.

The second match up of the night features Los Angeles vs. Seattle in the Western Conference semifinal. The Sparks have been a thorn in Seattle’s side for years now. L.A. eliminated Seattle in a series that went the distance last season as well as in 2006. And with Tina Thompson now added to the mix, Candace Parker at full strength, Lisa Leslie motivated to win a title in her final season, the Sparks should present problems for the Storm once again in 2009.

Some fast facts about the first-round Storm-Sparks matchup:

• The Storm (74.82) and Sparks (74.50) are 11th and 12th in the league in points per game.
• Leslie has played in just one of the four games against the Storm this season. Parker has played in only two.
• Seattle was the two seed in 2004 when they won their only trophy.
• Lennox was part of that Storm championship team. Only Jackson and Bird remain off that roster.
• Leslie has spent her entire 13-year career with the Sparks. During that time, she’s made seven All-Star appearances and has won two titles.
• Milton-Jones and Leslie are the only two current Sparks from their 2002 championship team. Leslie has remained with the club over the years, while Milton-Jones left three seasons (2005-07) to play in Washington.

Be sure to catch both games tonight on ESPN2!

Seventeen: Play like a pro with Candice Wiggins’s tips

Basketball player Candice Wiggins, the star Stanford shooting guard, always had a goal of going pro. And after many obstacles, she’s finally there, playing in the WNBA for the Minnesota Lynx.

Her sponsor, Nike, recently announced they will feature Wiggins in a new program called Delicious Training, which is designed to inspire teen girls.

Seventeen.com caught up with the player recently. Read what Candice has learned about getting in shape (and making it fun), staying focused on the court, making sacrifices and dealing with the teammates she didn’t always like!

17: The new Nike ads you’re in are about “Delicious Training,” or making training fun for yourself. What are some of the workouts that are fun for you?
Candice Wiggins: As an athlete, I loved playing in the game. But there’s a whole other side of training, not necessarily just on the court. I love doing core workouts. In the [campaign photo] shoot, I was really doing boxing, and it was probably one of the hardest workouts of my life.

17: Are there any fun workout tips you can suggest for people who don’t necessarily like to train or work out?
CW: Being with friends is number one! Having fun means being around people who you can help motivate. There’s a lot of strength in numbers.

More of the interview at Seventeen.com

Blue Carpet: Los Angeles Sparks

You throw, girl.

Over the weekend,  golfer Michelle Wie threw out the first pitch at the Dodgers Game.

Not sure how we missed the fact that last Wednesday, Los Angeles Sparks forwards and 2008 Olympians Tina Thompson and Delisha Milton Jones were similarly honored. The pair were featured during the Dodger’s Olympic celebration.

As part of the night’s festivities, Tina and Delisha also got a chance to throw the first pitch of the game.

Pics and video

Earlier in the season, Jackie Joyner Kersee, Sports Illustrated’s Greatest Female Athlete of the 20th Century and winner of three gold, a silver and two bronze Olympic medals and  Cammi Granato, who captained the U.S. Women’s Hockey team to the gold medal at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games threw out ceremonial first pitches at games in Chicago.

Nice to see these female athletes getting some attention.

Naperville basketball court named after Candace Parker

How’d you like a neighborhood basketball court named after you? That’s exactly what happened to WNBA star Candace Parker last week. The Naperville Park District honored their fave local player by dedicating a newly renovated basketball court in her honor.

Spring-Field Park is where Candace practiced basketball growing up so  when she cut the ribbon on Candace Parker Court, she recalled her childhood.

“This is where I pretty much first picked up a basketball,” said Parker,  “The first time I was on the court I was 5, had these huge braids and played with my big brothers. The park meant so much to our family.”

A plaque implanted in the sidewalk leading to the court notes that it was “the place where, for many years, Parker practiced and honed her craft under the guidance of her father.” Larry Parker was a former college basketball player who helped his daughter shape her game through countless hours of play.

“I am so excited to welcome Candace back to Naperville and present her with a Key to the City,” Naperville Mayor A. George Pradel said. “Candace is one of our hometown heroes and a positive role model for future generations of Naperville athletes. This is a fitting tribute for an outstanding individual. She truly has the key to our hearts in Naperville.”

Parker’s prowess on the basketball court has earned her numerous distinctions, from her high school prep career at Naperville Central High School where her contributions drove the Redhawks to consecutive state titles, as a member of the University of Tennessee Lady Vols where she led in scoring and rebounds during her final season, and as the top pick of the 2008 WNBA draft, going to the Los Angeles Sparks, her current team.

Most recently, Parker led the U.S. women’s basketball team to the gold medal during the Olympic Summer Games in Beijing, China.

Parker said she never imagined evolving into a role model for female athletes during her days playing in Naperville, but believes she has plenty of company.

“My generation was probably the first that had a few female athletes to really look up to, but today there are countless female athletes for young girls to look up to,” she said.

WNBA All Star voting underway

The Beijing Olympics replaced the WNBA All-Star game last season, but online voting for the 2009 All-Star game begins this week.

Balloting will determine the starting lineups for the league’s premier event, which will be hosted by the Connecticut Sun on Saturday, July 25 and televised nationally on ABC at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Fans worldwide will have the opportunity to select their favorite players as starters for the ninth All-Star Game by voting in person at WNBA arenas or online beginning June 15 at WNBA.com.

The 65 players included on the 2009 All-Star ballot represent all 13 WNBA teams. Voters will  select two guards, two forwards and one center from each conference. A write-in option is also available, allowing fans to choose players not listed on the ballot.

The WNBA All-Star Balloting Program will be conducted from June 14 through July 7.  Following the completion of fan voting, starting line-ups will be announced on July 14 during the nationally-televised Sun vs. Los Angeles Sparks game on ESPN2.  WNBA head coaches will then select the remaining All-Stars from their respective conferences, with the reserves announced on July 20.

The Western Conference dominated play by winning six straight before MVP Katie Douglas led the Eastern Conference to a 98-82 victory in the 2006 All-Star Game. The East followed that up with another victory in 2007, when Cheryl Ford poured in 16 points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds to earn MVP honors.

You can vote daily for your favorite players to be named to the team here and be eligible to win a trip for two to Mohegan Sun for the All-Star Game.

Weekend Sports June 11-14

Looking for sports to watch this weekend? Here are some choices:

Tennis
June 8-14, Aegon Championships, London, UK
June 8-14, Gerry Weber Open, Halle, Germany

Golf
June 11-14, PGA St. Jude Classic, Memphis, Tenn.
June 11-14,  McDonald’s LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola

Track & Field
June 10-13,  NCAA Division I Track & Field Championships

BMX
June 13-14, The ABA First State Nationals,  Milford, Delaware.

FRIDAY JUNE 12

NHL
STANLEY CUP FINAL Game 7
Pittsburgh v. Detroit, 8 pm

WNBA (All Access)
Los Angeles Sparks v. Indiana Fever, 7 p.m.
Seattle Storm v. Minnesota Lynx, 8 p.m.
Atlanta Dream v. Chicago Sky, 8:30
Phoenix Mercury v. Sacramento Monarchs, 10 pm

MLB
Minnesota v. Cubs, 2:20pm
Detroit v. Pittsburgh, 7:05pm
Red Sox v. Phillies, 7:05pm
Braves v. Orioles, 7:05pm
Mets v. Yankees, 7:05pm
Cardinals v. Cleveland, 7:05pm
Florida v. Blue Jays, 7:07pm
Nationals v. Rays, 7:38pm
Dodgers v. Texas, 8:05pm
White Sox v. Milwaukee, 8:05pm
Cincinnati v. Kansas City, 8:10pm
Seattle v. Colorado, 9:10pm
Houston v. Arizona, 9:40pm
San Diego v. Angels, 10:05pm
Oakland v. San Francisco, 10:15pm

NPF
Pride v. Bandits 7:05pm

SATURDAY JUNE 13

NBA
Lakers @ Magic 8:00pm (Championship Game?)

NPF
Pride v. Bandits 7:05pm

WNBA (All Access)
New York Liberty @ San Antonio 8:00pm
Sacramento Monarchs @ Phoenix Mercury 10:00pm

WPS
Chicago Red Stars @ Washington Freedom 4:30pm
Los Angeles Sol @ Sky Blue FC 7:00pm (NBCU)

MLB
Twins v. Cubs,  1:05 pm
Marlins v. Blue Jays, 1:07 pm
White Sox v. Brewers, 4:05 pm
Mets v Yankees, 4:10 pm
Cardinals v. Indians, 4:10 pm
Nationals v.  Rays, 6:08 pm
Braves v. Orioles, 7:05 pm
Red Sox v. Phillies, 7:05 pm
Tigers v. Pirates, 7:05 pm
Reds v. Royals, 7:10 pm
Dodgers v.  Rangers, 8:05 pm
Astros v. D-backs, 8:10 pm
Mariners Rockies, 8:10 pm
Padres v. Angels, 9:05 pm
Athletics v. Giants, 10:05 pm

SUNDAY JUNE 14

NPF
Pride v. Bandits 3:05pm

WNBA (All Access)
Atlanta Dream  @ Connecticut Sun 3:00pm
Seattle Storm @ Chicago Sky 6:00pm

WPS
Saint Louis Athletica @ Boston Breakers 6:00 pm

MLB
Mets v.Yankees, 1:05 pm
Marlins v. Blue Jays, 1:07 pm
Braves v. Orioles, 1:35 pm
Red Sox v. Phillies, 1:35 pm
Tigers v. Pirates, 1:35 pm
Nationals v. Rays, 1:38 pm
White Sox v.Brewers, 2:05 p.m.
Reds v. Royals 2:10 pm
Twins v. Cubs 2:20 pm
Dodgers v. Rangers, 3:05 pm
Mariners v. Rockies, 3:10 pm
Padres v. Angels, 3:35 pm
Athletics Giants 4:05 pm
Astros v.  D-Backs, 4:10 pm
Cardinals v. Indians 8:05 pm

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