espnW Blog: WNBA
Courtesy of Women's Basketball Hall of FameA year after James Naismith invented basketball in 1891 -- and 121 years ago today -- the rules of "Basket Ball" were first published. In 1901, the mother of women's basketball, Senda Berenson, adapted those rules to bring the men's game to women, creating the Spalding "Official" Rulebook.
Allen Einstein/NBAE/Getty ImagesSome critics may say that I was not the most popular guy in the league during my time in the NBA. Perhaps I was an antagonist, but they can’t argue with one thing: I sure did get people going.
Courtesy of Tina Charles The city of Krakow, Poland, where I am playing basketball during the WNBA offseason, is already decorated for Christmas. There is snow everywhere and markets are full of Christmas décor! I will be back in New York to celebrate Christmas with my family.
Courtesy of Ticha Penicheiro For those of you who don't know, I announced my "divorce" from the game of basketball this past summer and on Sept. 22, 2012, I played my last game. Basketball was just like a marriage: love, time consuming, commitment, sacrifice, hard work, laughs, tears .
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty ImagesIt's funny how no matter what happens, every season finishes the same way: by cleaning out your locker. So just two days after the incredible high of winning my first WNBA title, here I am, pulling a yellowed robe out of the bottom of my locker.
Courtesy of WNBAA lot of people would say their teams are close-knit, everyone’s friendly and they are their home away from home, but Indiana is different. I’ve been a member of the Indiana Fever since I was drafted out of Arizona State in 2009.
AP Photo/Anthony Nesmith/CSM Briann January is a guard for the Indiana Fever, who are facing the Minnesota Lynx in the best-of-five WNBA Finals.When we left Indianapolis after Game 2 of the best-of-three Eastern Conference finals against the Connecticut Sun last Monday, we didn't know whether we would be back in three days or 10 days.
AP Photo/Jae C. HongI’m what outsiders might call a “townie.” I’m a proud Minnesotan, born and bred, and wouldn’t have it any other way. I grew up in Hutchinson, Minn., a town of 13,000 people about an hour and a half outside Minneapolis.
Brian Babineau/NBAE/Getty ImagesThere’s nothing better than celebrating a big win at Bobby’s Burger Palace! Just kidding … but when you’re looking for a place to eat at midnight, your options are slim. Of course, we were so thankful to have something to celebrate that any kind of food sounded good to us!
You want cogent analysis on why the Bikini Basketball League is a bad idea? Paragraph upon paragraph about how it is insulting and demeaning and detrimental to women’s sports? Why bother when the whole thing is easily summed up in a single word?
AP Photo/Kevin P. CaseyWow! What can I say? Obviously, Sunday's double-overtime win against Minnesota was an incredible game and for us -- a great win. After the game was over and I went home, I had tons of text messages and phone calls from people saying how much fun it had been to watch.
AP Photo/Jessica Hill Way back at the start of this WNBA season -- that seems like such a long time ago -- I was not thinking about my chances of winning the Most Valuable Player award. My concentration was on how to assert myself after being named a captain and what I would have to do in practices and games to set up a postseason run.
Well, it’s a good thing our team thrives under pressure! We had our backs against the wall Sunday in a must-win situation against Atlanta, but we played a great team game to stay alive in the series.
D. Clarke Evans/NBAE/Getty ImagesPlayoffs are a time for teams to remember the past with a chance of changing the future. Going forward, each game matters and it's win or go home. The regular season allows teams to jockey for home-court advantage and gain the best position to be the last team standing.
Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty ImagesHaving spent eight seasons in New York, I have a lot of great memories from my time with the Liberty, both on and off the court, but there is definitely one that sticks out. My favorite Liberty memory didn’t even take place in New York, but right along I-10 in Houston.