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!

Women’s Hoops: Katie Smith named USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year

December 29, 2009 – The year wraps up with some great news for veteran hoops player Katie Smith. The Detroit Shock forward was surprised to learn she has been named USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year.

The three-time Olympic gold medalist and co-captain of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team that captured the USA’s fourth consecutive gold medal Smith will also be nominated by USA Basketball for the U.S. Olympic Committee SportsWoman of the Year.

Smith’s shown an unrivaled commitment to the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Program, missing just one of the USA’s training camps over the past three years. She may not always put up the big numbers but her contribution to every team she’s been a part of is unparalled so it’s nice she gets the props.

College: No surprise here – Connecticut is the unanimous No. 1 choice for the fifth straight week in the women’s college basketball poll by the Associated Press.

Shock sweep Silver Stars; Capture WNBA title

October 5, 2008 – With the 3-0 series win over San Antonio, the Detroit Shock became WNBA champs for third time in 6 years.

The Shock had been one of the league’s best teams for much of the year, but sputtered after losing top post player Cheryl Ford to a season-ending knee injury in July. A trade for proven veteran Taj McWilliams-Franklin  was just what Detroit needed.

Detroit became the second team in league history to win a third championship. Only the Houston Comets, who won the first four (1997-2000), have more. Los Angeles (2001, 2002) is the only other team with more than one.

Katie Smith was named WNBA Finals MVP after averaging 21.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists in three games. She was the Shock’s leading scorer in each game of the Finals and led the team in rebounds in Game 1 with nine.

The celebrating isn’t over yet for the champs, who will be honored at a rally in Detroit on Monday.

Complete details at WNBA.com

Game on: Detroit Shock looking for three-peat

September 30, 2008 – The Shock’s 75-73 victory over the NY Liberty sends them to their third consecutive trip to the WNBA Finals and fourth in the past six seasons. They will take on Becky Hammon and the San Antonio Silver Stars, who eliminated the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday to advance to their first finals.

Games 1 and 2 in the best-of-five series will be played in San Antonio on Wednesday and Friday. The Silver Stars will have home-court advantage in the finals because of their 24-10 regular-season record, while Detroit finished 22-12.

Detroit lost both of its regular-season games against San Antonio, but they were both before the August trade for McWilliams-Franklin, who was acquired after star forward Cheryl Ford was lost for the season with a torn knee ligament on July 22.

Thirty-seven year-old McWilliams-Franklin, one of the oldest players in the league, was key in helping Detroit reach the WNBA finals .

Will Detroit three-peat?

Lisa Leslie named 2008 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year

September 19, 2008 – As expected, Los Angeles Sparks center Lisa Leslie was named the 2008 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year.

After sitting out the 2007 season due to the birth of her first child, Leslie returned to the Sparks to drastically improve the team defense from a year ago. The team center led the WNBA in both total blocks (97) and blocks per game (2.94). Leslie, an 11-year veteran,  has consistently been adept at swiping the ball from opponents as she ranks sixth in league history in steals (276).

In other post-season awards, Indiana Fever forward Ebony Hoffman has been named the 2008 WNBA Most Improved Player.

Heading into the season, Hoffman had never scored more than 16 points in a game. In 2008, she scored 20 or more points three times, including a career-high 26 in triple overtime at New York.

What are the awards worth? For the honors, Leslie and Hoffman will each receive a trophy specially designed by Tiffany & Co and $5,000.

Let the Playoffs begin!

September 18, 2008 – The 2008 WNBA Playoffs get underway tonight as the Connecticut Sun play the New York Liberty and the Sacramento Monarchs play the San Antonio Silver Stars. Tomorrow night Sue Bird and the Seattle Storm take on the Los Angeles Sparks.

The league is also prepping for post-season awards with Rookie of the Year almost certainly going to Candace Parker who is also in the running for MVP.

To break down the match ups and read blogs by players such as Deanna Nolan, Sue Bird, Tamika Catchings, Lindsey Whalen, visit at WNBA.com

This week in WNBA History
September 16, 2003: The Detroit Shock won their first WNBA title against the Los Angeles Sparks in front of a sell-out crowd and record attendance for the WNBA of 22,076.

WNBA resumes 18-day sprint to finish

August 28, 2008 – The Olympic break is over and the U.S. women’s basketball team has a gold medal. Now it’s time for the WNBA to get back and finish its season.

When the league went on a monthlong hiatus at the end of July, three teams were vying for first place in the Eastern Conference and all seven teams in the West were in playoff contention.

The season schedule resumes tonight with five games, including the Seattle Storm hosting the Houston Comets and the Los Angeles Sparks hosting the Sacramento Monarchs.  Teams have from seven to nine games remaining over an 18-day stretch.

The Shock entered the break reeling from a skirmish with the Los Angeles Sparks. Cheryl Ford was lost for the season with a knee injury, and Plenette Pierson was suspended for four games — the longest penalty among the 10 players on both teams that were sanctioned.

Pierson still has to serve two games on her suspension, but the Shock bolstered its frontcourt by acquiring six-time All-Star Taj McWilliams-Franklin from the Washington Mystics.

Will the Shock and Sparks meet in the play-offs? Will the Storm make the play-offs sans Lauren Jackson? With the resumption of the WMBA season, find out what to watch for down the stretch.

50 year old Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman makes Shock-ing comeback

July 24, 2008 – The stroke is still there for  Nancy Lieberman.

With five players handed league suspensions after Tuesday’s scuffle against the Los Angeles Sparks, the Shock went out and signed Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman to a seven- day contract. Lieberman had been the general manager and head coach of the Shock from 1998-2000, and is currently a television analyst.

At 50 (yikes) years old — she celebrated the big bday three weeks ago — Lieberman became the oldest player to suit up in league history.  In her first (and likely only) game as a Detroit player, the Brooklyn native went 0-for-1 from the floor and collected two assists in her nine minutes of play.

The Houston Comets went on to defeat the undermanned Shock 79-61. Despite the Shock slump, Lieberman played admirably and showed that she’s truly “the best dame athlete.” For all you youngsters out there, next time you think you can’t do it, think again.

Lieberman was a standout for Far Rockaway High School in Queens, and played on the U.S. women’s team for the 1976 Olympics and at age 18 became the youngest basketball player in Olympic history to earn a gold medal.  She went on to star at Old Dominion University from 1976-80 winning two national championships then performed in the short-lived Women’s Pro Basketball League.

Lieberman also broke ground in 1986, becoming the first female to play in a men’s league when she took the floor for Springfield of the USBL. She was originally drafted by the Phoenix Mercury in the 1997 draft, spending one season with the club–becoming the oldest (then) player in league history at 39 years, 54 days old.

Over 17 professional seasons, she averaged 15.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game. And with her latest foray into the game, the legend continues.

Basketball Briefs

July 24, 2008 – With so much happening in the WNBA this week, here’s a quick wrap-up.

Shock signs 50-year-old Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman – The Detroit Shock came up with a way to distract some attention away from their skirmish earlier this week. For one game at least. The team signed 50-year-old former coach Nancy Lieberman to a seven-day contract and she’s expected to play against Houston tonight.  

WNBA hands down suspensions – in response to the events at Tuesday’s game between the Detroit Shock and the Los Angeles Sparks, the WNBA announced penalties including Shock forward Plenette Pierson who has been suspended for four games for her actions that initiated and escalated the altercation.

Cheryl Ford to miss remainder of 2008 WNBA season with knee injury - Shock forward Cheryl Ford, who appeared to be injured while trying to restrain teammate Plenette Pierson during a confrontation Tuesday, is out for the season because of an anterior cruciate ligament tear in her right knee. The Shock made the announcement following an MRI exam Wednesday morning.

WNBA to take mid-season break for Olympics - With so many players involved in the upcoming Olympics, the WNBA will take a mid-season break to prepare for the Summer Games. The break begins Monday, July 28th and the league will resume play a month later.

Basketbrawl: Malice in the Palace Part II

July 23, 2008 – A melee at The Palace of Auburn Hills — also the site of the infamous brawl between the Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers and fans in 2004 — broke out Tuesday night with 4.6 seconds left in a WNBA game between the Detroit Shock the Los Angeles Sparks.

The game turned heated after a collision between LA’s Candace Parker and Detroit’s Plenette Pierson turned into a shoving match that saw players and coaches from both teams leave the bench. In the waning moments of the game, Parker got tangled up with Pierson and to many it was clear that Pierson intentionally baited Parker and took her to the ground “Piston style”.

Rookie sensation Candace Parker, the league’s poster child, scored 21 points and DeLisha Milton-Jones added 19 before both were ejected after the scuffle. The Sparks held on to beat the Shock 84-81 in WNBA.

Pierson and Detroit assistant coach Rick Mahorn (a former Pistons Bad Boy) were also ejected. The latter came off the bench as a peacekeeper but allegedly shoved Lisa Leslie to the ground during the incident. Pushing the star center may not have been the best idea to “protect the game” especially when Mahorn is twice her size. Suspensions and fines will surely follow for all involved.

The Shock’s Cheryl Ford, who also went down during the incident, will miss the remainder of 2008 WNBA Season with a knee injury sustained earlier in the game.

The brawl, which was televised (see below),  may have provided the WNBA with a much needed a shot in the arm to boost attention – albeit not the most positive kind. Now this may not have been on the same level as what happens in European Football (soccer) matches or between the Yanks and the Red Sox but it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise that a bunch of women lost their temper during an intense game. It’s exactly the kind of emotional stupidity that’s been known to afflict their male counterparts in a host of similar situations.

Anway, the rivalry between the Sparks and the Shock is firmly established and as a fan, a game between these two teams in the championship could definitely pique my interest.

What do you think?