Has everyone seen the WNBA scuffle in the Detroit Shock vs. Los Angeles Sparks game?! Initiated by Plenette Pierson, it involved a tangle with rookie sensation, Candace Parker, that actually escalated to an all out brawl. Both players and coaches left the bench and began pushing and throwing punches. Or as Bill Laimbeer was quoted, Rick Mahorn and he left the bench as “peace-makers”.

Probably the most shocking moment, was the fact that Rick Mahorn shoved Lisa Leslie so hard that she flew in the air and fell on the floor. It must have been pretty hard because Lisa Leslie is 6′5 and a strong woman. It is ridiculous that a coach can put his hands on a player like that and only be suspended for 2 games!!!! Unbelievable. (Check out the WNBA website for the list of suspensions.)

This story has received so much press and attention. I am sure that this story is not the national headline that President Donna Orender was hoping, but then again, as they say, whether good or bad, being in the headlines is always good exposure. Also, perhaps more people actually start tuning in. Despite the preconceived notions of women’s sports, maybe word spreads that it is actually very competitive and physical in the WNBA. This is what a lot of people love about sports. However, it will take time to see how this affects the WNBA in the long run.

If you have not seen it already, I highly suggest looking it up on youtube.com and watch this shocking brawl.

With only 19 days to go, the Olympic buzz fills the air. In women’s basketball, it is a chance for us to redeem ourselves from the 2004 Olympic letdown and the recent disappointment in last world championships. After our consecutive gold medal run, what happened? It is suggested, and I agree that the rest of the world has “caught up to us” and some have even surpassed us in terms of strength. Australia and Russia proved this in the previous mentioned international competitions.

Our chances, in my opinion, are good. Unfortunately, I can not say that we will win gold, like Nancy Lieberman had recently said this past week on ESPN, however, I think that we have a decent chance. Yes, we have a lot of veterans, and some solid youth talent, but it is hard to say how that will mesh together come the Olympics. The fact of the matter, is that many of the other teams have been together for years and even more importantly have practiced together for this entire summer. Players like Penny Taylor, valued her Olympic team over playing a single game in the WNBA this past summer- talk about pride.

I hope that the fact that we were not smart enough to put Becky Hammon on the roster last year will not basically “bite us in the ***”, but that is yet to be seen. Do not worry, I will not get started on that subject again, since I have already written an entire article about Becky. Two other players that I feel deserved to be on the team would definately be Deanna Nolan and Katie Douglas. Deanna Nolen is probably the most athletic and skilled player I have seen in the WNBA- incredible. Katie has also reached a phenomenal level in the Euroleague and the WNBA over the past 2 years. However, it is like some players have “tenure” and can not be removed from the roster.

On the men’s side, there is the same pressure to get back to those winning ways. We might as well call the the 2008 Olympics “the year of redemption for U.S.A. basketball.” It will be exciting to watch these games and see who has what it takes to bring home gold.

I can not tell you how excited I am to play my first Euroleague season! It is where I have wanted to be since I started playing in Europe 6 years ago. I started at the bottom and worked my way up, with nothing being handed to me- a great feeling. Of course, however, now that I will be given this opportunity, there is still a lot left to get done!

A few days ago, FIBA Europe had its draw for the Euroleague teams, including my new team Lotos Gdynia. We will play in Group C with 5 other teams, including Ros Casares (Spain), USK Prague (Czech Republic), Union Halnaut Basket (France), UMMC Ekterinburg (Russia) and JBS Sibenik (Croatia).

I checked out the rosters from various teams and it looks like the whole WNBA is coming to play in Europe again. Of course, my team Lotos Gdynia signed some big names such as Alana Beard, who is among the top scorers in this year’s WNBA season with 18.3 points/game for the Washington Mystics. Also, there is a rumor that our team is after Tamika Catchings as well.

Lotos Gdynia also announced the hiring of its new head coach- Jacek Winnicki. Sounds like it will be an exciting season!  You can check out our teams website for up to date information at:  http://lotospkobp.pl/