It's all a bit unenlightening...

The quote goes to Frank Cottrell Boyce in his book Millions. I've been reading it a couple of weeks ago and found the line very relevant to my situation now.

Who here has heard of Armchair GM? Well, if you haven't, it's a site for avid sports fans. Being a fan of the WNBA, I decided to anonymously submit "In the WNBA, dissing it means you're missing it..." to the website. After that, I left home for a few hours, came back, and found comments on my article.

The comments, as my title goes, are all a bit unenlightening.

"You are not going to any WNBA game. You will be sitting in your basement blogging endlessly about 'serious' sports matters such as your dumb username, dunking (donuts into coffee instead of basketballs) and jars of vaseline. It does make sense in so many ways that you are such a big supporter of the WNBA. So what are you calling yourself now, Mr. Sheryl Swoops?"

- One anti-WNBA reader to a WNBA reader

The guy can't even spell "Swoopes" right!

"Yeah a supporter of a Sport - because I'm intelligent? open-minded? Because I love the game of basketball? think athletic women are beautiful in more than just sexual ways? Because my wife is a better player and more complete than me (and I'm better than you)? Because my daughter might want to have the opportunity to play professionally someday? Because the MJ of the Women's game probably hasn't been born yet? Because I am not afraid of 6'6" women? Because I don't feel worse when women I don't personally know get the chance to do better?

Because the game IS doing well in several markets...

Yeah, it could be all of those things... Oh, and I don't care if someone on a basketball court is a lesbian or not... I would think a guy like you would want MORE lesbians on the court?

Oh, and am I some kind of "sissy" orr "fag" or whatever you're gonna call me just because I like sports regardless of who plays them? Or am I that for cheering for girls? I am BIG fan of girls, sorry you're not!"

- The WNBA fan to the anti-WNBA fan.

I am seriously so disappointed right now.

Lesson learned: Don't post controversial articles where people would think they're losers for following a women's game. WNBA fan, I commend you for being proud!

And oh, my grandma asked me and a couple of my teammates on why are we playing a boys' game. I automatically corrected her.

WNBA Tuesday and more

On WNBA Tuesday, we've got some up and down matchups. Washington top the Connecticut Sun 91-75. Houston top San Antonio 75-67. Seattle lit Chicago up with 94-74, and Sacramento top New York with 59-46.

Taurasi Suspended
Phoenix guard/forward Diana Taurasi is given a two-game suspension because of inappropriate conduct. How will the Mercury do without her? We'll see.

Sports psyche
I am kind of running out of time right now, so I'll cut this short and would advise readers to read this article: http://www.wnba.com/features/streaks_070623.html. It's a lot of great help, trust me!

Till then, WNBA fans!

In the WNBA, dissing it means missing it...

Okay guys, what happens when you search a remarkable WNBA poster girl (Lauren Jackson, Sue Bird, Lisa Leslie, Diana Taurasi, Sheryl Swoopes - whoever fits the bill, actually) on Google? Well, aside from fansites, newspaper articles, and WNBA blogs, you also get the inevitable: WNBA rant columns.

As if this fact hasn't been overly stated enough, the WNBA has been around for 11 years. That's 11 years of drafting women's college ball's superstars, 11 years of women playing professionally for the sport they love, and 11 years of women and fans fighting to get the respect they deserve.

A staple in most critics' columns, the WNBA is the third attempt to establish a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The first two are the now defunct WBL and ABL.

Third time's the charm, right? 11 years is a sign of longevity and I think that just means the WNBA is just going to be around longer.

Due to my location right now, I have not watched a single WNBA game live. I have, although, watched games on WNBA's live webcasts and on rare occasions, on cable TV. On these broadcasts, I still feel the energy of the game, and people think I'm crazy when I'm yelling at the computer monitor when a ref makes a crazy call - and critics call the game boring. I am not someone who gets easily excited (I was once inches away from my favorite band and I didn't even scream, shout, or grin), but I'm one who savours the moment.

On the issue of the WNBA being boring, I think it's the dunks and flashy play (or lack thereof) that the critics are talking about. The average height of a WNBA guard is 5'7", and for the NBA it's 6'6". Women players don't get paid for dunking every night. They get paid for being team players who know their basketball and respect everyone in the business.

To some right now, I am making a pathetic effort of convincing people that the WNBA a worthy league to watch. I don't need to do that. The WNBA is a worthy sport to watch. Period. I'm not saying that you should watch the WNBA, but if you are so intent on dissing it without even watching a single game, then you're missing the excitement that the WNBA offers.

Contact the WNBA Wombat at wnbawombat@hotmail.com

The GM/Head Coach Scenario

I am still early into high school, and I am already considering my career options. My first option was to be a WNBA correspondent/columnist/analyst, my second option is to become a professional WNBA player, my third option is to be a coach, and my fourth is to be a sports agent or general manager.

This is also the only time I noticed they were all WNBA-related.

Let us now dwell on the being a coach and being a general manager part.

Let's say, for the 2008 WNBA season, some really, really rich and intelligent businessman like Bill Gates would be hooked onto the league, and the organization comes over to his huge mansion in Massachusetts and pitches him an idea for an independently-owned franchise in Boston.

That really rich guy would buy it and call it the Boston Shamrocks, parallel to the NBA team, but as I said, owned independently. The rich guy would hire me as his head coach or general manager, and he allots me a fixed salary cap of 2 million dollars to get together a team of 12.

Okay, now this might be out of hand already, but let's say that every single player in the WNBA is either a restricted or unrestricted free agent, and the teams' general managers are effectively bothered at the thought that this new franchise would take some of the best in the WNBA under its wing and give them the treatment of elites - the treatment that the league's players get in Europe when they play there during the WNBA offseason.

Well, they thought right.

If I was the general manager/head coach of the Boston Shamrocks, I will certainly use the salary cap to my maximum advantage to get the best players.

Here is my rough picture of an elite roster in alphabetical order:

Seimone Augustus
6'0", shooting guard
Acquired from Minnesota Lynx
Louisiana State Univeristy '06

Sue Bird
5'9", point guard
Acquired from Seattle Storm
University of Connecticut '02

Janell Burse
6'5", center
Acquired from Seattle Storm
Tulane University '01

Swin Cash
6'2", power forward

Acquired from Detroit Shock
University of Connecticut '04

Iziane Castro Marques
6'0", small forward
Acquired from Seattle Storm
Brazil

Tamika Catchings
6'2", small forward

Acquired from Indiana Fever
University of Tennessee '01

Lauren Jackson
6'5", power forward
Acquired from Seattle Storm
Australia

Ruth Riley
6'5", center
Acquired from San Antonio Silver Stars
University of Notre Dame '01

Nykesha Sales
6'0", shooting guard/small forward
Acquired from Connecticut Sun
University of Connecticut '98

Katie Smith
5'11, shooting guard
Acquired from Detroit Shock
Ohio State University '96

Diana Taurasi
6'0", shooting guard/small forward
Acquired from Phoenix Mercury
University of Connecticut '04

Lindsay Whalen
5'8", point guard
Acquired from Connecticut Sun
University of Minnesota '04

Okay, some controversial picks right there. I didn't include superstars such as Tina Thompson, Sheryl Swoopes, and Lisa Leslie because of the hint in the scenario that this team is going to carry the players that would perhaps fuel the WNBA's next decade. Tina, Sheryl, and Lisa made the league into what it is today, and it's time for the others to step up.

Who knows, in the WNBA's third decade, we might have half of the league shooting the lights out like Diana, Nykesha, Seimone, and Katie do right now. This twelve people are the most likely to pioneer the WNBA's next decade as their best game is still yet ahead of them.

Comments, suggestions, criticisms anyone? You could also post your own version of a "new" WNBA franchise with the same scenarios and your own version of the "elite" roster in the comment box!

Till then, WNBA fans...

SITE NOTES: The first widget on the right hand-side of the page there is a Featured Player of the Week. It will be updated every Sunday based on the previous week's games. Click on the featured photo and you are going to be directed on the player profile on the WNBA's official website.

First Post

Hello! I see you have come across my WNBA blog!

This blog will be the outlet of my take on recent events in the WNBA from this season onwards.

Remember: All opinions expressed in this blog are opinions only.

Looking forward to a good run on the rest of the 2007 WNBA season!