Who is the greatest all-time Gatorade Player of the Year?

For 25 years, Gatorade has recognized America’s elite high school students for their athletic achievement, academic excellence and exemplary character with the Gatorade Player of the Year award. Throughout the year, Gatorade will host 10 polls to determine the greatest all-time Gatorade Player of the Year in boys football, girls volleyball, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls basketball, boys baseball, girls softball, and boys and girls track & field.

You can cast your vote for your favorite athlete of all-time once per sport, per day at http://playeroftheyear.gatorade.com.

Former notable Gatorade Players of the Year include:

•        Kerri Walsh, Olympic gold medal winning beach volleyball player

•        Lisa Leslie, WNBA all-time leading scorer and rebounder

•        Lauren Cheney, Olympic gold medal soccer player

•        Cat Osterman, Softball Olympic gold medalist

In addition, make sure to enter the Gatorade Player of the Year sweepstakes where you could win a trip to the 2010 Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year Awards ceremony and the ESPY Awards.

For more information about The Gatorade Player of the Year program and its 25^th anniversary celebration, please visit http://playeroftheyear.gatorade.com.

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.

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!

WNBA: Expect Great

Be the first to see the two new ad spots for the WNBA’s Expect Great campaign for the 2009 season.The ads will begin to air nationally this weekend, but you can check them out now. Visit WNBA.com for more details.

Lisa Leslie and Sheryl Swoopes headline WNBA roster changes

Three-time WNBA MVP and four-time Olympic gold medalist Lisa Leslie says she will retire after her 12th season with the Los Angeles Sparks.The 36-year-old center announced her decision Wednesday in El Segundo, Calif., accompanied by her 19-month-old daughter and husband.

The 6-foot-5 Southern California native first grabbed headlines when she scored 101 points for her Inglewood Morningside team in 1990. Leslie stayed closed to home for college, helping USC reach the final eight of the NCAA tournament twice, in 1992 and 1994.

Leslie, who has been a cornerstone of the league since its start, guided the Sparks to the WNBA championship in 2001 and 2002 and became the first woman to dunk in a WNBA game.

Leslie says she decided to retire as it became more difficult to balance her family life and her basketball career. She took the 2007 season off to give birth, then returned last season.

In other WNBA news, the Seattle Storm released three-time WNBA MVP and three-time Olympic gold medalist Sheryl Swoopes a day before her 2009 contract would have become guaranteed.

Coach Brian Agler says the move was made to clear space under the $803,000 salary cap.

Swoopes is 37 and might now pursue something she’s talked about since September — coaching and being a full-time mother. 

With these announcements, an era in women’s basketball comes to an end.

Spark a Dream Essay Contest

December 11, 2008 – There’s one more week to share who in your life has “sparked” your dreams!

Each of us has a dream. Some of us dream big: we want to be a movie star, president, or a professional athlete. Some of us dream of being great: just like our mom, our dad, our big brother or sister, or our teachers and coaches. Whatever our dreams are, it is usually a special person in our lives who “sparks” those dreams.

Did watching Lisa Leslie hit a game winning shot inspire you to practice harder? Or maybe Candace Parker’s two dunks sparked you to reach heights you didn’t think possible? Perhaps someone in your family has inspired you to be great. This is your opportunity to tell who in your life has helped “spark” your dreams.

In 500 words or less, describe who in your life has provided the “spark” to your dreams. The winning submission will receive a visit from a Sparks player to their school, organization or workplace. Second and third place will receive four (4) red section tickets to the 2009 Sparks Opening Night game. Selected stories will also be shared on the LASparks.com. All entries must be received by 5pm PT on Wednesday, December 17, 2008.

For eligibility, rules and entry form visit wnba.com

btw: congrats to Sparks player Candace Parker who tied the knot with Shelden Williams when the couple eloped in Lake Tahoe last month.

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.

Female tennis & golf stars are top earners

July 22, 2008 – If you’re looking for a career that pays big bucks, learn to swing a racquet (or a golf club). For women, the highest-paid athletes come almost exclusively from tennis and golf, where prize money and endorsement dollars flow overwhelmingly to the brightest stars.

According to Forbes, the four highest-paid female athletes in the world are from the tennis circuit: Maria Sharapova (Russia), Serena and Venus Williams (U.S.) and the newly retired Justine Henin (Belgium).

Maria Sharapova leads the list of the highest earning female sports figures with endorsements from such big names such as Pepsi, Nike, Canon and Motorola. Her total earnings are estimated at $26 million per year.

Serena Williams, who was top earner before Sharapova became a teen sensation,  still brings home $14 million a year. 2008 Wimbledon champion Venus Williams is just behind her younger sister with $13 million. Coming in at fourth place on the top earning list is Justine Henin who just recently stopped playing professionally. Forbes estimates Henin’s yearly worth at $12.5 million—$5 million of which she earned by winning titles in 2007.

Golfers Annika Sorenstam, Michelle Wie and Lorena Ochoa have also broken into eight-figure earnings territory (that’s over $10 million for those who are counting).

Sorenstam has racked up more career prize money than any female golfer in history–some $22 million. The eight-time player of the year has 72 LPGA tournament wins to her credit, including 10 majors. She recently announced she’ll retire from the tour after the ADT Championship in November, just after she turns 38.

Teen sensation Wie has deals with Nike and Sony that contribute to her $12 million paycheck. Ochoa has netted $1.8 million in prize money this year to go along with major endorsement deals with Audi and Lacoste that bring her annual payday to $10 million.

The top 10 list is rounded out by IndyCar driver Danica Patrick and tennis player Ana Ivanovic who earn $7 million and 6.5 million respectively.

What about team-sport athletes? Will women’s team players ever catch up to men? Olympians and WNBA stars like Candace Parker, Diana Taurasi and Lisa Leslie don’t get nearly the same money from corporate sponsors that LeBron or Kobe command.  Who will be the one to break through? You?

Women’s roster set for Olympic basketball team

July 10, 2008 - Tamika Catchings, Delisha Milton-Jones and Kara Lawson are going to play ball in Beijing.

The WNBA stars have earned the final three spots on the U.S. women’s basketball team going to the Olympics, a person familiar with the choices told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because an official announcement was planned for today.

Catchings would have been among the original nine picks in May had she not been slow to recover after tearing her right Achilles tendon last September. She started all eight games in Athens on the gold medal-winning 2004 Olympic team, averaging 6.9 points and 5.4 rebounds.

The other nine members of the 12 member squad heading to Beijing are headlined by three-time Olympic gold medalist Lisa Leslie (Los Angeles Sparks) and two-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Smith (Detroit Shock). In addition to Leslie and Smith, the initial roster includes 2004 Olympic gold medalists Sue Bird (Seattle Storm), Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury) and Tina Thompson (Houston Comets); while Seimone Augustus (Minnesota Lynx), Sylvia Fowles (Chicago Sky), Candace Parker (Los Angeles Sparks) and Cappie Pondexter (Phoenix Mercury) will participate in their first Olympic Games.

Listen in as Anne Donovan & Lisa Leslie talk about USA’s training plans

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (19.0MB)

March 05, 2008 – USA Basketball announced today the spring training plans for the USA Women’s National Team and followed that up by co-hosting, along with the U.S. Olympic Committee, a teleconference that featured 2008 U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team head coach Anne Donovan, three-time Olympic gold medalist Lisa Leslie and two-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Smith.

A variety of questions posed were posed to the trio and in addition to the talk on this year’s spring training, Lisa talks about getting back to her ‘A’ game after the birth of her baby girl, Anne & Katie discuss last year’s training camps, Lisa and Katie answer a question about how they are able to take care of their bodies for an extended basketball career, what they think of seeing Sheryl Swoopes this summer in a Seattle Storm uniform, what it will be like having Candace Parker in Los Angeles … and more!

Listen to the audio at USA Basketball.