Welcome back LJ and Happy 10th season Seattle Storm

Lauren Jackson’s free agency and rumors of her signing with the Phoenix Mercury have had Storm fans on an emotional rollercoaster.  She’s been playing in Russia during the off-season and her legions of supporters have been on edge waiting to hear about her WNBA plans.

It was with great relief then, when Seattle’s Head Coach and Director of Player Personnel Brian Agler announced today that they re-signed two-time WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson for the 2009 season.

“Lauren is a key to our team’s success and we’re thrilled she has decided to continue her career in Seattle,” said Agler. “She’s an MVP, an All-Star and one of the best women’s basketball players in the world. Her renewed commitment to this organization is a big asset as we continue to work toward bringing another WNBA championship to the city of Seattle.”

The Aussie 6′5″ forward – who has been the face of the Storm franchise since she was drafted in 2001 – led the team to the 2004 WNBA title with teammate and friend Sue Bird. Jackson’s departure would have been devastating to the team and its fan base. There’s no doubt that she, along with Bird, is largely responsible for the Storm’s intensely loyal following.

The 27-year-old Jackson has spent her entire WNBA career in Seattle, leading the Storm to the league championship in 2004. She has averaged 19.4 points and 8.0 rebounds, and is the franchise leader in scoring with 4,602 points. Most recently, Jackson was named to the WNBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2008 – the second time Jackson received the nod. Her first nomination to the WNBA All-Defensive Second Team came at the conclusion of the 2005 season. Jackson compiled 147 total rebounds, 108 total defensive rebounds and 33 total blocks in 21 games for the Storm during the 2008 season. Should she have qualified by playing the league minimum games, she would have ranked 11th  and 6th  respectively. Jackson missed five games prior to the WNBA’s Olympic break to practice with the Australian National Team, and eight games following the break due to ankle surgery.

Given her storied career and huge popularity, she’s bound to get a lot of love from Storm fans this year. Welcome back LJ.

Pretty Tough Trivia
LJ sunk her 1,000 career point at 22 years, 27 days old — the youngest in WNBA history.

Storm Brewing in Seattle

Just over a year since Force 10 Hoops bought the Seattle Storm, the new owners are learning to walk in preparation for running. Within the last month, the four-woman ownership group has guaranteed its team’s playing home for the next decade and leased a new office facility. With this foundation, they can now solidify their roster — the current uncertainty of which is worrying a lot of Storm fans.

A few weeks ago, the Storm waived basketball legend Sheryl Swoopes, whom they acquired last spring.

Anne Levinson, co-owner and spokeswoman for Force 10 Hoops LLC, cited economics, rather than performance concerns and said the WNBA’s new 11-player roster limit ensures that they make finding the right players a top priority.

Swoopes’ waiver came in the wake of news that the Storm has, as yet, failed to resign its star post player Lauren Jackson, who became an unrestricted free agent for the first time this year.

Long-time Storm player and fan favorite Sue Bird remains on the roster.

How will the team fare during their 10th anniversary season?

Full story at Fullcourt Press

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.

Storm trades for WNBA All-Star Swin Cash

SEATTLE Feb. 19 , 2009 - The Seattle Storm announced today the acquisition of two-time WNBA champion and two-time WNBA All Star Swin Cash. Cash was acquired from the Detroit Shock in exchange for the No. 4 pick in the April 9 WNBA Draft.Cash, a 6-1 forward, has averaged 12.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists during her six-year WNBA career, all as a starter in Detroit. The second overall pick in the 2002 WNBA Draft out of Connecticut behind new teammate Sue Bird, Cash averaged 11.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists during the 2007 season for the Shock. She was a member of the 2003 and 2006 WNBA champion Detroit Shock teams .

“Having Swin on our roster is a huge boost going into this season,” said Storm Head Coach Brian Agler. “She brings great scoring ability, but also tremendous experience. Her playoff experience and championships are exactly the kind of attributes we’re looking for. We’re excited about camp opening this spring with Swin in a Storm uniform.”

A member of the 2004 gold-medal-winning U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team, Cash also was a two-time NCAA Champion in 2000 and 2002 at the University of Connecticut, and was named to the Kodak All-American first team in 2002.

“I’m really happy to be in Seattle and I look forward to the upcoming season,” Cash said. “Playing with Sue and Lauren (Jackson) is going to be exciting for me. I’m also looking forward to playing for Coach Agler. He brings a lot of experience to the women’s game, and I’m happy to be playing for him in Seattle.”

Storm staying in Seattle with new owners, hiring new coach

SEATTLE, Wa. Jan. 9 2008 – A group of Seattle Storm season ticket-holders, with the financial means to be taken seriously, is making sure the Storm isn’t leaving Seattle.  Force 10 Hoops (great name for the group of women who have obtained an option to purchase the team), along with the stepped up support of the fans, corporate partners and the city, bring a vision and enthusiasm to the championship team.

And on the same day as the purchase announcement come reports that the team’s new coach will be Brian Agler. An assistant coach with the WNBA San Antonio Silver Stars, Angler succeeds Anne Donovan who resigned Nov. 30.

So who, or what, is Force 10? On the historic Beaufort scale, Force 10 is the point at which bad weather officially becomes a storm. Force 10 Hoops, LLC was created to ensure that the WNBA’s Storm continues in Seattle. 

Political dynamo Anne Levinson brought the new ownership group together and led the $10M deal. Levinson has served as a judge, chairwoman of the Washington State Utilities and Transportation Commission and deputy mayor of Seattle. She is also a Storm season-ticket holder, and by the time the deal closes at the end of February, she and three well-heeled friends will own the team they spend summers rooting for.

Force 10 also includes Ginny Gilder, who owns an investment business, is president of a family philanthropy and won a silver medal at the L.A. Olympics in rowing; Lisa Brummel, senior vice president of human resources at Microsoft and a Yale athlete named to the Ivy League Women’s Hall of Fame for Softball and Dawn Trudeau, who formerly headed Microsoft’s database division and now works with nonprofits.

The sale, which needs to be approved by the WNBA board of governors, would make the Storm the seventh independently owned WNBA team, joining Atlanta, Chicago, Connecticut, Houston, Los Angeles and Washington. It’s the third team with a majority female ownership, along with Washington and Los Angeles.

The group expects the team, led by players such as Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson, will continue to play at the KeyArena, located at the Seattle Center.

Get ready for storm watch!

WNBA’s 2008 Schedule: Season Tips Off May 17

NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2007 — The Women’s National Basketball Association will tip off its 12th season of play on Saturday, May 17, 2008 as 12 of the league’s 14 teams square off on opening day. The WNBA’s 2008 season tip off will be highlighted by Lisa Leslie’s much-anticipated return to the court when the Los Angeles Sparks take on Diana Taurasi and the defending champion Phoenix Mercury.

For the third straight year, ESPN2 will feature “WNBA Tuesdays” as the appointment viewing destination for WNBA fans. ESPN2 will televise “WNBA Tuesdays” for nine weeks during the 2008 regular season, beginning with a May 20 telecast featuring a Western Conference match up between the Sacramento Monarchs and Seattle Storm.

With more than 25 players expected to compete for the gold during the 2008 Olympic Games held in Beijing, China (August 8-24), the league has not scheduled any games between July 28 – August 27. Instead, the WNBA season will be extended by three weeks so WNBA players can represent their home countries in the 2008 Olympic Games.

Full story at WNBA.com

Storm moves forward after Donovan’s surprise resignation

SEATTLE Nov. 30, 2007 – After five seasons as head coach of the Seattle Storm, Anne Donovan today announced her resignation. Donovan informed Storm Chief Operating Officer Karen Bryant that she will not return for the 2008 season. Donovan has one year remaining on her three-year contract.

“After five years and a great experience with the Storm, I have decided it’s time for a change and a new direction in my career, an opportunity for me to explore new experiences.” Donovan said. “The level of support the fans in Seattle have shown for the Storm has been incredible. I will miss it, but feel I am making the right decision.”

“We regrettably accept Anne Donovan’s resignation as head coach and director of player personnel and wish her the very best,” Sonics & Storm Chairman Clay Bennett said. “She has been an integral part of the Storm’s success over the past five seasons and will forever be remembered for bringing a WNBA championship to Seattle in 2004.”

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